Pages

Monday, March 7, 2011

Petition calls for investigation into Jacob's Well/Westridge land deal


Citizen requests for investigations are not that uncommon. In the last three years, and just in Central Texas, two County Judges, one County Attorney, and one City Attorney received complaints about members of a governing body

County Judge Bert Cobb/RoundUp

Editor's note: County Judge Bert Cobb is on record stating that the $1.7 million Jacob's Well/Westridge land deal was none of his doing – it all happened under the previous commissioners court. He even asked the previous court to delay it until the new court was seated. The old court nonetheless moved quickly to conclude the deal in December and authorized the court's special counsel and Assistant DA Mark Kennedy to sign the closing documents, bypassing then County Judge Liz Sumter. (Sumter refused to sign the paperwork, citing a lack of due diligence to ensure the County’s best interests were protected, and that it involved too much liability for the County.)

Cobb recently told the RoundUp, as the now sitting county judge, "it is not my venue" to call for an outside investigation. If not Cobb, then who? What are the odds that the Hays County DA's office would investigate a deal involving one of its own assistant DAs? Cobb's Chief of Staff Lon Shell, meanwhile, has spent considerable time reviewing the grant agreement and purchase contract. "
We're sorting through it," Shell said recently. "Just because people are asking questions we want to have answers or at least try to find them. It is a confusing situation, that's our position."

Stories previously published in the RoundUp have revealed information that was not a part of the public discussion when this deal – with its many moving parts – was being negotiated and finally signed. Read these stories: County paid taxes in land purchase for Jacob's Well and Jacob's Well land deal may come with a million-dollar tax write off
.

One of the parts still in motion, reportedly, is the county's interest in securing the rights to those 50-plus water taps and 6 million gallons of annual water usage attached to the former Westridge property (see first story above). Another is a mysterious IRS form reported to be floating around which, if signed by the county, would supposedly give Westridge a tax write off for donating a portion of the property to the county (see second story). A high ranking county official has privately acknowledged the existence of the form.

The unofficial review being done by Chief of Staff Shell may help answer some of the questions. But perhaps an outside, independent investigation is the only way to publicly clear the air in this overly complicated taxpayer-funded deal.
Click on image to enlarge
Click on this link to a petition you can sign to call for an investigation:
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/investigate/

Send your comments and questions to roundup.editor@gmail.com, to Liz Sumter at tesumter@msn.com, to Judge Cobb at bert.cobb@co.hays.tx.us, to Lon Shell at lon.shell@co.hays.tx.us or click on the "comments" button at the bottom of the story

By Liz Sumter
Guest Commentary

I recently became aware of a petition asking for an independent investigation into the purchase of 50 acres known as the Jacobs Well/Westridge Joint Venture transaction.

The request is unusual in two ways. Typically, requests for an investigation come from a single individual or, at most, a small number of citizens. Additionally, the request is usually directed toward the District Attorney. A request in the form of a petition, and one that calls for an independent investigator, as opposed to the District Attorney, is rather unusual.

In this case, the call for an independent investigator would be an appropriate request because the transaction in question involved a high ranking individual in the District Attorneys Office. Citizen requests for investigations are not that uncommon. In the last three years, and just in Central Texas, two County Judges, one County Attorney, and one City Attorney received complaints about members of a governing body. In each case, the citizens asked for an investigation.

In one of those cases, and acting in my capacity as County Judge, I asked the District Attorney to investigate complaints alleging misuse of county equipment and funds when citizens voiced their concerns. In another case, the Comal County Judge asked for an investigation into an election matter. The Williamson County Attorney recently investigated misuse of county funds. And in the news today, the City Council in Austin is under investigation as a result of complaints alleging open meetings violations.

It is the duty and responsibility of the County Judge, as the presiding officer of the Commissioners Court, to protect the integrity of the Court. Among other things, that means making sure that any vote taken on any motion is followed by action that is consistent with what the members of the court and citizens understand the motion to be. That is why motions are painstakingly specific. There should be no room for interpretation.

If there appears to be any question about what is appropriate action, the Court should revisit the matter in open court. Further discussion in open court is the only way to clarify any ambiguity and to ensure that the public is aware of any clarification.

As I read the petition, citizens are asking for information about what they see as numerous questions surrounding the transaction. In my view, citizens have every right to do that.

As a citizen, who also once presided over Commissioners Court as County Judge, I will sign the petition.

17 comments:

Anonymous said...

Excellent writing, to both Bob
and Liz!

Anonymous said...

Great writing Ms. Sumter- and thank you for refusing to go along with this scheme last November.

The reason that individuals didn't waste their time asking the DA is obvious. As one speaker commented to Mark Kennedy at the hearing in November, "who are you working for {the county or WVWA]?" In short, the DA's office is perceived to be complicit in this transaction.

Thomas said...

I signed the petition and thanks for the story.

If the county judge and the DA are stonewalling an investigation then it will be up to law abiding tax paying citizens to demand one.

I say to Judge Cobb, whom I voted for: Whether you were on the court or not when this deal was signed makes no difference. County funds will be spent on this grant on your watch and you will be signing the checks.

Suck it up judge before you lose your credibility, call for an impartial forensic investigation and open it up to all other possible crony deals and misapplication.

Your election did not usher in a clean slate by any means.

Steppenwolf said...

Doc, You look nice in your clean white shirt and tie, but a little too relaxed and happy in that chair. You're going to need to get your game face on and kick some butt on that court. And that Kennedy boy. He's a ticket, isn't he?

Doc, there is no malpractice insurance for a county judge. You either are bold and decisive, sir, or a wimp.

That courtroom has smelled kinda gamey for the past 8 years. Even with Barton gone you still have the Car Wash Guy, who is as slick as greasy pig.

Just because Car Wash Guy passed Speech class in high school doesn't give him the right to drone on and on and on in your courtroom. If he walks like a crook and talks like a crook and chain smokes 3 packs a day- he's uh crook.

Good liars need good memories.

Anonymous said...

I'm confused, what should the county spend that money on? These are park bond monies to be used on park projects. We can't complain after the fact, the majority of Hays County voters voted for this bond and the court was simply following through on the voters will. I'm not sure why this has caused such a stink, sure some projects seem better then others but it was the voters will. In the end Hays County has protected and established new parks that will serve us well in the future.

The idea of an investigation is just plain silly. This group didn't get their way now they want to spend tax dollars to "fix" something the majority of us voted for.

That is all.

Anonymous said...

Liz Sumter is doing a CYA. And a dump on Conley. Who is she kidding. Nice try, though.

HC said...

Who said Car Wash Man ever passed speech class?

Keeping the honest said...

Will Conley may well be the most boring and tiresome speaker I have ever had to sit and listen to.

Oh, I forgot about Jeff Barton.

It's a tie.

Taxpayer wants to know said...

WVWA people are saying there was never a tax write off deal for Westridge in the final contract. Yet somehow there is this mysterious IRS form floating around. Where'd it come from? Who is sponsoring it? Can it be confirmed? And why is WVWA being so silent about everything except in talking to themselves and spreading the gospel to insiders. Six million dollars in taxpayer funding later and we still haven't seen a public accounting of the funds from the WVWA or the county. Is there a public report or audit of some kind available to the public to see exactly how all this money is being spent, along with a cost-effective analysis? Or is public money just being doled out, by a Republican commissioner no less and now a Republican county judge and court.

Anonymous said...

@ Anonymous March 7, 2011 11:05 PM

You sound like one of the worker bees in the WVWA or an allied organization. I hope everyone who reads about this fraud will VOTE NO on all such Bonds and those that sponsor them from now on. Look elsewhere on this Blog to read Sam’s accounting of the outrageous debt the County has amassed do to these kind of wacky spending binges.

Give Judge Cobb a chance and he will do everything he can legally to get to the bottom of this criminal enterprise.

Anonymous said...

Liz Sumter is doing a CYA. And a dump on Conley. Who is she kidding. Nice try, though.

Liz does not mention Conley or any commissioner in her letter. Does this have something to do with Conley? If this has anything to do with Conley then it definately stinks. There needs to be an investigation. Who is afraid of this investigation? If I were Conley and innocent I would call for an investigation myself.

Anonymous said...

Last Anonymous sounds like one of Sam Brannon's Tea Party lite worker bees. So what is the difference? The Brannon-Lovejoy brigade wants to tear down everything while the Jacob's Well people want to at least build something. Both ultimately want to get into your pocketbooks.

Watch out for the self-appointed "budget watchdogs".

Anonymous said...

I commend Judge Sumter for taking this stand. It would have been easier to say nothing. It sounds like there may be a real reason she wouldn't sign the contract.

Saying the Obvious said...

Of course this article is partly about getting even with Conley. Watch how he berated her on CCTV at one of their last meetings. She would love to see him get shish kabobed.

And yeah, she may have had misgivings about the deal. But make no mistake, Conley is a primary target here.

Interesting how you fair weather wingnuts love Sumter when she seems to oppose this Conley enabled deal - but you saw her as a anti-growth liberal while in office.

Boy, how ethical standards change on a dime.

Anonymous said...

Liz is neither a liberal nor a conservative, growth nor no-growth; She is simply an opportunist. I’d also say more of an out-of-work politician looking for relevance these days.

Judge Cobb is correct in deflecting the call for an investigation since we have more pressing problems in Hays County. A ”Witch Hunt” led by Conley haters will produce nothing of importance to the big picture items. We should learn that these park Bond ideas are nothing but an environmentalist sponsored giveaway of out tax dollars. Don’t fall for it again!

The Truth said...

"We should learn that these park Bond ideas are nothing but an environmentalist sponsored giveaway of out tax dollars."

That may be true in specific situtations, but how much free infrastructure development money was spent over the years - and how much property tax money that would have gone to the county and the cities - has been lost while bowing reverentially to the sacred out of state retail corporations selling products from China and the other cheap labor repressive regimes around the world?

Yes, I know. "But they bring in jobs." Maybe, but at what price? And if these low paying jobs are the answer, why are we still deep in the budget hole? And if the jobs were so good, wouldn't the resulting consumption taxes and property taxes have jumped up?

Most of you are in denial. You want to blame WVWA, the unions, the liberals, Wimberley hippies, the environmentalists, and everyone else but your own gullibility and your inflexible free markets and private propery religions.

Here is the real solution that you all so conveniently and pathetically ignore, because you can't accept the fact you have all been duped:

Make the elite rich and the big corporations pay their fair share of taxes. Stop falling for the lies by Wall Street about what victims they are with their taxes and regulations.

Stop letting these same elite squanderers of the middle class keep fooling you with their lying Republican (and many Democrat) stooges who do not care about you at all. Quit giving them your souls by believing their anti-worker and anti-education, "we must slash programs for families" BS.

Until you are tired of being fooled and manipulated, you will keep sliding more and more into your now lower middle class deepening holes.

Anonymous said...

Paranoia is rampant in these posts. I can not believe how much venom is wasted on paranoid comments. The last time I saw this much paranoia I was working at the state hospital for the insane. Get a grip people this blog is supposed to be about a free exchange of ideas not about your paranoid rants.