MCGREGOR, Texas (KXXV) — McGregor has renewed its lease agreement with SpaceX, and the new deal comes with stricter noise guidelines and additional revenue for the city.
SpaceX has operated a rocket testing facility near McGregor for years, bringing jobs, visitors and economic activity to the area. But for some residents, the rumble of rocket tests has been difficult to live with.
Linda Ford, a lifelong McGregor resident, said she sees the value SpaceX brings to the community.
"I do agree that it brings a lot of business." But Ford said the testing is hard to ignore. "I don't like the shaking rattling of my house and all the loud noises."
City Manager Kevin P. Evans said those concerns are directly addressed in the new lease. Under the agreement, SpaceX is required to stay within a set decibel limit measured at a monitoring point near the city's water tower.
"They're required to stay under a certain decibel level at a 3-mile measure we have right out here at the water tower., their average has dropped., from 95 to 105 down to about 80 to about 91 or 2., on a, on any given test. So that's, uh, they've spent a lot of money to control that, and that's a very good thing for everybody," Evans said.
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Evans said SpaceX has invested significant money into sound mitigation efforts to help reduce noise levels during testing.
The renewed agreement also brings direct financial benefits to McGregor. Lease revenue flows into the city's general fund, helping support city services.
"Um, the money actually from the lease goes directly into the general fund as a revenue line item," Evans said.
That funding helps support city services such as parks, sporting complexes and new partnerships.
Evans said SpaceX has also proven to be a strong community partner beyond the financial benefits.
"They're a very good neighbor. Uh, they participate in the school. Uh, they work with our fire department, our volunteer fire department. they're very, very, uh, good with training, uh, whenever we need training for the stuff that we need to do out there, um, so. They're a good partner. We appreciate having them," Evans said.
The city said it will continue monitoring test noise levels and working with SpaceX to ensure testing stays within the agreed limits.
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