What happened: The Midland City Council met on Tuesday, Aug. 11, and adopted the city’s wish list for the 2027 Texas legislative session, put $7.5 million in debt money toward extending Sinclair Avenue near Costco, permitted 20 new oil and gas wells on Midland College land, and gave final approval to the Midland Development Corporation’s (MDC) $500,000 entrepreneurial challenge.

Key points:

  • City’s 2027 legislative priorities: Council adopted its legislative agenda for the 90th Texas Legislature, which begins Jan. 12, 2027. City staff said the document serves as general guidance for what the city wants to support or oppose at the Capitol and what it wants State Rep. Tom Craddick and State Sen. Kevin Sparks to pursue.

City staff said Midland will generally support legislation that expands the city’s ability to provide programs and offerings, specifically mentioning quality-of-life offerings. Staff said the city will generally oppose legislation that reduces city authority, increases the cost of city programs, limits local control, reduces city revenue, or restricts the city’s ability to regulate development.

Staff said the city will push for stricter requirements for certifying that groundwater is actually available for proposed developments. However, this applies only to areas outside the city limits in the extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ), where the city has limited authority over subdivision plats. State law does not require cities to maintain an ETJ, and property owners may petition to remove their land from the ETJ.

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Staff emphasized that the document is currently broad guidance, and once specific legislation is filed that could affect Midland, council and staff will determine the city’s position on those individual bills. The legislative agenda itself was not included in the public packet before the meeting. The Permian Press has requested a copy and will report separately on the full document once received.

  • Sinclair Avenue extension: Council voted unanimously to spend $7.5 million from certificates of obligation, new debt issued in 2025, to extend Sinclair Avenue west from Kirkland Drive to future County Road 1250 in the fast-growing area around Costco that council placed in Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone 3. It is unclear how long the new section of roadway will be.

City Manager Tommy Gonzales added that the city’s annual road maintenance spending now totals $9.3 million.

  • 20 new wells at Midland College: Council approved permits for Permian Deep Rock Oil Co. to drill 20 oil and gas wells on Midland College property near Midland Airpark, part of an oil and gas development project that college officials estimate could ultimately generate up to $200 million for the city.

Council also approved an agreement with Permian Deep Rock, which will spend up to $325,000 on road repairs for the northern portion of Garfield Street used to access the lease. Mayor Lori Blong said road repair agreements have become a priority as residents complain about damage from oilfield truck traffic. She noted the city does not have the same mechanism for trucks serving oil and gas operations outside city limits.

  • Entrepreneurial challenge final approval: Council gave final approval to the MDC’s agreement with the University of Texas Permian Basin to run the 2026-27 Midland Entrepreneurial Challenge, which provides $500,000 in awards to winning businesses plus up to $66,701 in administrative and marketing costs. The MDC board approved the agreement Aug. 3.

MDC Executive Director Sara Harris told council that 37 businesses have won awards since the program began in 2017 and all but five are still operating in Midland. Winners who leave the city or sell their business within five years must repay the award, which Harris said has happened once. Councilman Brian Stubbs said roughly 20 businesses a year benefit from the program’s coaching regardless of whether they win an award.

The city attorney added that Texas law allows economic development corporations to spend money advertising and publicizing a city to develop new and expanded business. Councilwoman Robin Poole called the program a good use of MDC’s promotional funds and said she would like to see more money go toward it in the future.

  • Penalties and water security: Before approving a right-of-way license on city-owned land in Winkler County, part of the T-Bar Ranch property that supplies some of Midland’s water, Councilman John Burkholder amended the agreement to impose a $5,000 fine for each verified violation of the city’s drug, alcohol, and illegal-hunting rules.

Burkholder said the requirement will apply to T-Bar right-of-way and service-use agreements moving forward, saying the city wanted to be serious about protecting its water supply. Blong also said the city hired outside cybersecurity specialists to try to hack into its systems. They were unable to break in, she said, but identified weaknesses the city is now addressing.