“TPWD doesn’t have the money to purchase our on-going real estate development and compensate us for damages, let alone pay us fair market value for our water rights,” said Shawn Todd of Todd Interests last week, as he informed media of the development company’s rejection of the final offer submitted by Texas Parks & Wildlife to purchase the former Fairfield Lake State Park property, including additional land and water rights.
According to Todd, TPW Commission Chairman, Arch “Beaver” Aplin, III has been aware for months of the $238 Million appraised value of the water rights alone.
“Not only was the offer below what we paid for and have already put into the property and hundreds of millions below fair market value,” said Todd, “it was accompanied by an $85 million appraisal that we are told will be the offered amount in condemnation proceedings.”
Todd Interests purchased the lake and surrounding property from Vistra for $110 million, with the final sale and move-in occurring in early June. They have since demolished the former park headquarters and have begun clearing and dirt work in preparation for the planned gated community with multi-million dollar homes, golf course and exclusive lake access.
Although the state park had been in existence for 50 years, the 1,460-acre property was never owned by the State of Texas; but was on lease through Vistra Corp (and previous entities).
Following what they described as unsuccessful negotiation attempts to acquire the former park property and preserve the lands for public use, TPW Commission voted to approve the use of eminent domain to seize the state park property.
As developer Shaw Todd sees it, State legislators have already voiced their opposition to the use of eminent domain, as bills filed in the last session that were designed to ‘Save Fairfield Lake State Park’ either failed to pass; or had the eminent domain language stricken from their text.
Todd also points to the lack of support for eminent domain by local elected officials, as all four Freestone County Commissioners have voice their opposition, most recently in the August 9th letter to TPW Commission Executive Director, David Yoskowitz, Ph.D that was reported on last week.
And finally, Todd questions the amount of taxpayer money that TPW Commission may end up paying for just one state park.
“Chairman Aplin in his Dallas Morning News editorial stated that 10,000,000 people visited Texas Parks last year and that 80,000 of those people visited former Fairfield Lake State Park,” said Todd. “If the Chairman’s statement is true, less than 1% of all State Park attendees visited Fairfield State Park.”
Todd poses the question, “Why would TPWD spend 100% of TPWD’s allocated park acquisition money for 2024 and 2025 and additionally blindly obligate the Texas taxpayers for hundreds of millions more in compensation, for former leased property that had less than 1% attendance from all Texas Park attendees?”
Further, Todd states that the park acquisition money was allocated to purchase from “willing sellers, for which we are not.”
With both offers from the State now rejected by Todd Interest, the next step – if the State is still determined to secure the Fairfield Lake property — may be for TPWD to initiate condemnation proceedings.
“TPWD has a chance to finally listen to the Commissioners of Freestone County and the elected politicians of the State of Texas who have said NO to eminent domain,” said Todd. “They can stop this proceeding now.”
Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission met this week for a Work Session, Public Hearing and Commission Meeting.
Meetings may be attended remotely. For details, visit online at tpwd.texas.gov/about/remote-participation
