Fingers crossed FAIRFIELD

Really hope this happens and goes through!!!!

https://tpwd.texas.gov/newsmedia/re...;utm_medium=email&utm_source=may2023

Not happening. Another case of TPWD sitting on their arses to favor big business. They had their chance.
Read the first page of Metro and Business section of the Dallas Morning News of May 26th.

It's not gonna happen..... all this is save face by the morons in Austin

No one knows how this is going to turn out. We're all just guessing. I will say if state government really wants it they will get it.

For the state to get it now it will have to get ugly, per the recording of the commission meeting on TPWD last week they will be having a special session late this week or sometime next week to decide if it gets ugly.

Yes. Texas appropriated the funds( how much is anyones guess….probably a low ball amount) and approved the purchase( …of how much property and passage rights, again no one knows)

Hell even I CAN SAY THAT!!!

It doesn’t mean they are buying a damn thing. It just means that if Todd wanted to sell (settle) then the state would THEN pursue purchasing the park.

They don't want it, they just want to look like they tried real hard.....

Exactly.

Texas put a billion in a fund for the TPWD to fund future park land. Its called the Centennial Parks Conservation Fund.

TPWD says they have been given the authority to purchase the park at a meeting recently.
Todd says the state made him an offer equal to his purchase price plus a finders fee. I don't know what that amount was but it was from an article in which Todd was responding to. In that article he said that he responded to the states offer with a counter offer that would have been a good deal for the state but he had not heard from the state on his counter offer. So he said he is going ahead with his plans to finalize the deal and go ahead with his plans to develop the area.

So, my guess is time is running out on the state. If there is a meeting this week it may be the last time they could get all the facts together and buy the land from Todd.

The Texas House on Tuesday gave final approval to two bills, Senate Bill 1648 and Senate Joint Resolution 74, that would, with voter approval, create a Centennial Parks Conservation Fund to invest $1 billion to buy more land for the state parks system.

The bill and resolution by Sen. Tan Parker, R-Flower Mound will now head to the governor’s desk for final approval.
If he does, the issue will go before voters as a constitutional amendment in November, and the state could begin spending the money as early as Jan. 1.


That billion dollars will not be available until January 2024.

So. At the soonest it’s only 6 MONTHS TOO LATE!

So where did the money offered to Todd come from?

By LANA FERGUSON
Staff Writer
lana.ferguson@dallasnews.com

Despite a final push from state officials, Fairfield Lake State Park’s land won’t be sold to Texas and will be turned into a luxury neighborhood as previously planned, a developer says.

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission voted unanimously Thursday to allow the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s executive director to “take all necessary steps” to buy roughly 5,000 acres in Freestone County that includes the park, according to a TPWD statement.

While no deal has been reached as of Thursday afternoon, the commission’s action allows the director to sign an agreement at any time rather than having to bring it to a commission meeting for approval.

Texans have watched a monthslong saga unfold as failed negotiations led to Fairfield Lake closing in February and later partially reopening as a Dallas-based development firm, Todd Interests, which has had the land under contract for more than a year, released its plans to turn the property into a luxury gated community with multimillion-dollar homes and a golf course.

Just hours after the commission’s vote, developer Shawn Todd told The Dallas Morning News that Todd Interests will move forward with its plans and close on its contract with Vistra to purchase the land.

Todd said TWPD made an offer to purchase the contract for the land from the business.

“We responded timely, almost immediately and in good faith to that offer, which was a proposal that would have been an incredible win for the state of Texas and at a significant sacrifice to our family,” Todd said. “Since we submitted that offer, the state has not responded to us. To that end, we’re moving forward with our transaction.”

Todd said it’s refreshing to hear that the state is respecting private property rights, and noted a positive impact of this interaction has been the state realizing the importance of parks and working to pass legislation to fund them.

Although the 2,400-acre park has been open to the public since 1976, Texas leased the land from privately owned Vistra Energy at no cost. The company listed the property for sale in 2021 with an asking price of $110 million, but TPWD couldn’t afford to purchase it at the time.

After the land was sold to Todd Interests, Vista was prohibited from negotiating with the state because of the terms of the developer’s contract.

The park is about a 90-mile drive south of Dallas. Its central location to Dallas, Houston and Austin makes the land highly sought after.

‘Bipartisan
love affair’
In an attempt to keep the land public, Texas lawmakers discussed possibly seizing it through eminent domain to block development. There were also talks of the developer possibly selling water from the land’s reservoir to North Texas cities.

During those efforts, state Rep. Trent Ashby told The News that lawmakers and state park officials were scrambling to rescue the park.

“We’re all scratching our heads how we got here,” Ashby said. “There is a bipartisan love affair to save this state park.”

The commission might meet next week to “explore additional legal options to save” the park, the department said.

Texas had leased the land for Fairfield Lake since 1971, and the park sees an average of 80,000 visitors a year. The most popular activities at the park include horseback riding, family reunions, paddling, fishing, camping and hiking.

According to TPWD, more than 5,700 people have visited Fairfield Lake since its partial reopening in March. The department named Fairfield Lake its 2022 State Park of the Year.

Vistra Energy could not immediately be reached for comment Thursday evening.

New state parks
Vistra owns the land on another state park, Lake Colorado City State Park west of Abilene, but a company spokesperson previously told The News that it is prepared to sell the land to Texas when the state is ready.

The drama around Fairfield Lake has unfolded as TWPD is celebrating 100 years of Texas state parks. Lawmakers have proposed creating a centennial trust fund that could include $1 billion investment to buy more land for parks.

Six new state parks totaling 68,000 acres are already slated to open within the next 12 to 15 years.

Staff writer Sarah Bahari contributed to this report.

Twitter:

heres they key words on this deal the state leased the property at no cost jeez i wish i could get this deal on my property taxes.

No [censored]. What a deal.

I believe the money is available thru the Pittman/Robertson Funds

So is it closed now?

The lease terminates June 13. Only a few more days and we will see.

What fuster cluck

no wonder they made a weak offer they had used it for free all the years looks like that could have been a very profitable park.