Hood County residents fighting Bitcoin mining plant now face another obstacle

MARA Holdings/Granbury, a Bitcoin mining company in rural Hood County, is suing officials over allegations that they knew a petition for a ballot initiative to incorporate an area along Mitchell Bend Highway was illegal, but they allowed it to go forward.

The federal lawsuit was filed Monday in the Northern District of Texas in Fort Worth.

The suit alleges that Hood County Judge Ron Massingill, County Attorney Matt Mills and Election Administrator Stephanie Cooper knew that a citizen-led petition for a ballot initiative to incorporate a rural area known as Mitchell Bend is “legally deficient.”

Supporters want to form a city to regulate the constant noise of cooling fans from a Bitcoin mining operation.

The suit alleges that emails obtained in Open Records requests show that Mills, Cooper and county commissioner Nannette Samuelson “repeatedly acknowledged” that the incorporation petition for Mitchell Bend was defective.

The suit alleges Cooper did not verify signatures before Massingill signed the order placing it on the Nov. 4 ballot, and that Cooper and Mills didn’t confirm its accuracy. Mills said MARA contacted him on Monday morning to inform him that the company was filing the suit.

“I said the courts are open for business. They filed the lawsuit. We’ll see what the courts do,” Mills said.

Mills also added that the county judge approved the petition in May and later invalidated it, but notified residents to submit petitions by the August deadline to include the incorporation vote on the Nov. 4 ballot.

Some residents living near MARA Holdings, a Florida-based crypto mining company, have devoted long hours to fighting against the whirring noise from fans that keep the computers cool. They described how the noise penetrated through the walls of their homes and contributed to health problems such as sleep disturbances, high blood pressure and dizziness.

They said that creating a city would give them a chance to regulate the noise and pollution from MARA and from the two power plants in their area, and that they will not levy a property tax, but would get funding through impact fees charged to the industries in the area..

Cheryl Shadden is one of the residents who fought for the incorporation effort, and she filed a complaint with the Secretary of State’s Office concerning the county judge initially removing the incorporation item from the ballot.

In an Oct. 6 response, the secretary of state said that if there is a dispute over the legality of the incorporation once the election was ordered, the only remedy is through a district court.

MARA also alleged that the topic of incorporating Mitchell Bend was removed from public meeting agendas and only those who supported incorporating were allowed to speak during public comment.

County officials “rushed the process” and urged the county judge to sign it quickly because “time is of the essence,” according to the lawsuit.

MARA also alleged that the company would face unfair taxes and regulations.