Update:
The owner of The Barracks subdivision, Health Phillips, provided WTAW News with a copy of the letter he sent to the College Station school district board of trustees and administration the day after the board voted to uphold its original votes regarding the sale of land at Holleman and Deacon to DWS Development.
Original story:
A lawsuit against the College Station school board’s choice to sell vacant land has been withdrawn.
The owner of The Barracks subdivision, Heath Phillips, filed the lawsuit July 13 after the CSISD board sold land located next to his development to DWS Development.
The lawsuit was withdrawn July 20, the day after the board reaffirmed their votes last month to sell land at Holleman and Deacon and buy land at Holleman and Rock Prairie.
DWS is paying CSISD $3,356,200. Phillips bid was $2.5 million. He also offered the district $4,130,707 if the closing could be delayed from July 29 until March 2017 and with the condition he could terminate that offer if the property failed to appraise for that price…a condition Phillips later withdrew.
Phillips referred to the lawsuit when he addressed the board Tuesday night.
After Phillips and his lawyer spoke, the board went behind closed doors to discuss the lawsuit.
The board returned after a 60 minute executive session and members had no discussion in the open meeting. Prepared remarks were read by board president Valerie Jochen, board member Michael Wesson read two resolutions, and the board voted to approve both resolutions…one associated with the land sale and the other with the land purchase.
Board vice-president Jeff Harris, who is a partner in the law firm that is employed by DWS, abstained from the vote and all discussion about the land sale. Harris did attend Tuesday’s executive session. After Phillips withdrew the lawsuit, Harris told WTAW News neither he or the law firm represented DWS or David Scamardo in this transaction. Harris said he participated in Tuesday’s executive session “as an attorney on the board I am somewhat uniquely situated to serve as a go-between between the board and its attorney” regarding Phillips’s lawsuit.
Harris joined the rest of the board in approving a second resolution, reaffirming the purchase of property at Holleman and Rock Prairie for future school construction.
The day after the board meeting, Phillips withdrew the lawsuit. He did not state a reason for withdrawing the legal action in the notice he filed in Brazos County district court. Phillips has also not responded to WTAW News request for comment.
Dr. Jochen, who spoke with WTAW News after the lawsuit was withdrawn, says completing the land transactions by the end of July gives the district enough time to build a new elementary school that voters approved last year to open in the fall of 2018…if the board chooses that location.
