HAYS COUNTY, Texas — Thousands of people and thousands of jobs have flocked to Hays County and Caldwell County since 2010.
"Hays County is actually the fastest growing in the country," Jason Giulietti, the interim president for Greater San Marcos Partnership (GSMP), said.
Giulietti and GSMP compare the San Marcos area to places like Nashville and the southeastern U.S. To control the direction of the growth, GSMP released a survey called Vision 2020 to see what people who lived in the area wanted that growth to look like.
"Jobs and opportunity, how do you take the quality of life and increase the wages, increase the betterment of our residents?" Giuletti noted about the survey.
Now the survey is wrapping up, GSMP released a new survey, Vision 2025, to collect responses and data from residents about what would be best in the next five years.
"Anything that impacts our community, our quality of life, and ultimately how economic development can help that lifestyle is what we’re trying to get at," Giulietti said.
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The constant growth in the area does not sit well with everybody, though.
"From a business aspect, it's great," Randal Grizzle, who owns an Allstate Insurance branch in San Marcos, said. "From a personal standpoint, you get a little frustrated with all the new people."
Grizzle grew up in Buda and joked he wants the growth to at least slow down.
"I like to get out and run," Grizzle said. "You can't just get out and run on the roads like I used to. There's too many cars."
Giulietti wants that kind of feedback from everybody who takes the Vision 2025 survey.
"There's so much more opportunity given that we still have plenty of land, we have buildings going up every day – companies from around the country are seeing that," Giulietti said.
Companies like Amazon have appeared along Interstate 35, along with dozens of other buildings, according to Giulietti. Ultimately, the Vision 2025 survey and other research is being done all answer one question.
"Who are we? Really understanding who we are today – not where we were, but who we are today – and understanding our assets," Giulietti said.
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