In about a year, HEDCO did three separate deals with one local company, Bane Investment Holdings: a land purchase, a performance agreement and a small business grant. Each may make sense on its own. Together they deserve one clear public accounting.
This story is part of our review of every performance agreement the Henderson Economic Development Corporation has made. A performance agreement is a contract: HEDCO puts up sales tax money, land or work, and a business promises something in return, usually investment and jobs. We are not suggesting anyone did anything wrong. We are asking whether the public can see what was promised and whether anyone checks.
| The deal at a glance | |
|---|---|
| Recipient | Bane Investment Holdings (BIH) |
| HEDCO project number | 2025-05-19 |
| HEDCO approval | On the August 19, 2025 agenda |
| City Council approval | November 18, 2025 (item 19) |
| Incentive | Not stated in the records we hold |
| Promised in return | Help keep the state Railroad Commission office in Henderson |
| Agreement text public? | No |
What the record shows
At the November 18, 2025 council meeting, Mr. Gardella described the deal as “a daisy chain of events.” The Railroad Commission’s lease was expiring and the office was considering a move to Kilgore. Bane offered to vacate and renovate its own space for the commission, then move to another location on US 79 that needed work. HEDCO’s money goes to that work. Mr. Gardella said the spending is “all front-facing” and treated like a beautification grant. The council approved it.
Separately, HEDCO bought roughly 45 acres on Evenside Street from Bane Investment Holdings for a housing development. In a recorded HEDCO meeting, a company representative thanked the board for buying the land. That same land is now part of HEDCO’s deal with Brasso Development.
On April 21, 2026 the HEDCO agenda listed a presentation by Bane Investment Holdings and a “request from Bane Investment Holdings.” On July 28, 2026 the board approved a small business grant for a BIH parking lot on Laylon Street. The minutes say the board discussed the company’s existing performance agreement and confirmed the two are separate investments.
What’s missing
What the public record leaves out
- The dollar amount of the performance agreement.
- How many Railroad Commission jobs stay in Henderson, and for how long the company must keep the space available.
- The price HEDCO paid for the Evenside land, and the appraisal behind it.
- What the April 21, 2026 “request” was and what the board did with it.
- The total public money that has gone to or through one company in about a year.
Our ask
What would make this deal easy to check
- Publish the performance agreement, the land purchase contract and the appraisal.
- Report all HEDCO transactions with any single company in one place, so the public can see the whole relationship.
- Confirm in writing whether any HEDCO director or city official has a business tie to the company, and record any abstentions.
Sources: HEDCO agendas for August 19, 2025, and April 21 and July 28, 2026; HEDCO minutes of July 28, 2026, printed in the September 17, 2026 City Council packet; Henderson City Council meeting, November 18, 2025 (recording); recorded HEDCO board meeting on the Evenside housing project.