If you thought the Park and Rec board's decision yesterday to defer a vote on a proposed sale of Samuell Farm and Samuell New Hope Park meant that was that till August 5, so sorry. But, hell, might as well go five-for-five this work week with one final item on the city's proposal to ask voters if they wouldn't mind pretty please selling park land W.W. Samuell donated to the city with the caveat the city not sell the park land ever, f'real. Because last we heard from the Texas Attorney General's Office, selling the land isn't even possible without first getting the courts to OK the sale -- and only then, if the city runs out of viable options for the land, chief among 'em finding another municipality willing to take them over. Said the AG's office, asking for the voters' OK is just a "secondary requirement"; a whole lot has to happen before that's even remotely OK.
To which the City Attorney's Office responds with a stern, Prove it.
On the other side is a letter First Assistant City Attorney Chris Bowers sent to Assistant Attorney General Marsha Acock, in which Bowers -- to whom we spoke about the proposed sale way back on Monday -- refutes most of the AG's office's claims.Bowers also reiterates a point he and Park and Rec officials made when we spoke Monday: Asking the voters to sell the land doesn't mean the city will sell it. Bowers especially takes issue with the AG's claims that the city can't sell the land because it didn't buy it and that it cant part with the property without court approval.
The City needs more park land in certain areas of the City and Dr. Samuell clearly wanted to create parks to be managed by the City's Park Board. Accordingly, if the City were to decide that it wants to use any of the proceeds from the sale of a Samuell park to acquire additional park properties to add to the Trust, the City would need to seek and obtain court permission to modify the Trust before doing so.Jump for the whole missive.
