Jeff Griffith Talks Legislative Agenda and Ongoing Pandemic
Wednesday on KFYO Mornings with Dave King and Matt Martin, Lubbock City Councilman Jeff Griffith joined Dave and Matt to talk about the previous night's city council meeting, paying city debt with lower interest rates, sales tax, the COVID situation in Lubbock, vaccines, the Lubbock legislative agenda, transportation, and more.
Griffith started the discussion by talking about last night's meeting, which he said wasn't particularly long. The Councilman explained that they talked to the CFO of Lubbock about some bond refunding results, which he says will have some really good savings. He went on to say that some of the debt of the city has been reestablished, and with the newly lowered interest rates, the city will be able to save millions of dollars.
Another topic of discussion were the rumors that Amazon plans to build a 278,000 square foot warehouse in Lubbock, and Griffith was asked for his thoughts about that and if Amazon has approached the city council for discussion. Griffith, however, said that he is unable to comment on such a thing at this time.
The Councilman also talked about the ongoing COVID pandemic and how it affects Lubbock. Griffith expressed his concern, saying that the situation with hospital capacity and health care workers is just horrific, and that Lubbock is at a serious crisis level right now, going on to say,
"These numbers are big, and we look at them everyday. Guys, sometimes, you have to take a step back and go, this isn't numbers. These are real lives. These are real people in our hospitals. These are real deaths that have occured in our community. These are real people, and real families that are hurting. And so that's still front and center, and needs to be for everybody in this community, for all the listeners, how serious this is. Protect yourselves and your loved ones."
When asked about the state of the vaccine, and if there's a plan to get it to the people of Lubbock, Griffith said that it is being discussed, but it will mostly be left to the medical professionals, with healthcare workers getting it first. He went on to say that the state will be highly involved in the distribution, and that the Governor has assured the city that it is coming to Lubbock soon.
Finally, with a new Texas legislative session coming up, Griffith was asked about the Lubbock legislative agenda. The Councilman said this agenda is not just about Texas, but federally is about the 117th congress. It also contains a designation of Highway 87 through Lubbock and the continuation of Interstate 27 with proper design standards and funding. Yet another point is LP&L's move to ERCOT, which Griffith says includes entering a competitive market with choice. When asked what the ETA is on that move, Griffith said about a year and a half to two years. And finally, Loop 88, which Griffith said has over 7 miles of its funding, but has additional challenges ahead.
Watch the full interview with Lubbock City Councilman Jeff Griffith in the video above.
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