got Williamson County brochure days before election------
BYLINE: Kate AlexanderAMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
DATE: December 18, 2002
PUBLICATION: Austin American-Statesman (TX)
SECTION: Metro/State
A taxpayer-funded county brochure sent to selected
Williamson County voters days before the November
election might have violated state ethics laws,
according to a complaint filed this week with the
Texas Ethics Commission.
The complaint was filed by a Democratic Party precinct
chairman, David Fedesna, and claims that a brochure
about $350 million in road bond projects constituted
an illegal use of public funds for political
advertising because of its timing.
"In my view, this is a political ad . . . a slick
political ad coming out the week of the election,"
said Fedesna, who said he received the mailer the day
before the election.
But County Commissioner Greg Boatright said the
objective was to educate residents on the progress of
the road projects, not to influence the elections.
"It was something we'd been working on since August,"
Boatright said. "It was just coincidence that it came
out at that time."
The county spent about $9,300 to produce and send the
brochure, which was mailed Oct. 28 to the 15,745
households with voters who cast ballots in the March
primary elections, county officials said. The county
judge and two commissioners were up for re-election
Nov. 5, although only Commissioner Frankie Limmer
faced an opponent.
But Fedesna said the flier's content was a central
issue in the race between Limmer and Democrat Louis
Repa.
"I'm not doing this out of sour grapes. . . . I just
don't like the idea of my taxpayer's money being used
to pay for their political advertisement, win or
lose," said Fedesna, a Cedar Park resident.
The brochure features a map with the status of all the
road projects; it also has quotes from each member of
the Commissioners Court explaining how the road bond
money has been used to ease traffic in the
fast-growing county.
Buck Wood, a longtime election lawyer who previously
served as the head of the secretary of state's
elections division, said the self-promotional nature
of the quotes is questionable.
He said the contents were "clearly intended to cast
the incumbents in the best light." The appearance of
political influence could have been avoided if the
brochure had been issued by a nonpolitical figure,
such as the county engineer, Wood said.
"Sending out something like this with quotes by
candidates and paid for by the county right before the
election is highly questionable," he said.
He added that targeting the mailing to voters who are
"active enough to vote in a primary" and sending it
days before the election also is suspicious.
Boatright said the decision to send it to voters
rather than all taxpayers was driven largely by
mailing expenses.
"It would be very costly to mail it to 70,000
households, and we thought it was important to send it
to people who actually participate in the voting
process," Boatright said.
A similar mailing was sent last year to those who
voted in the 2000 general election, in which the
project was approved.
The Texas House of Representatives and the U.S.
Congress have established re- strictions on using
public money for mass mailings during designated
periods before an election. But no such constraint
exists for local governments, said Karen Lundquist,
executive director of the Ethics Commission.
However, public money cannot be used for political
advertising.
To determine whether the brochures are political
advertising, Lundquist said, the commission would
consider the purpose of the mailing and whether it
expressly advocates for an issue or candidate.
Fedesna's complaint is the third allegation of legal
or ethical violations stemming from the road bonds.
The attorney general's office is investigating whether
a public relations consultant, Amos "Pete" Peters,
overbilled the county for work on the bonds.
Another ethical complaint revolves around
irregularities in reporting contributions to the road
bonds' political action committee, Roads Now.
The Ethics Commission proposed an undisclosed
resolution last month to the committee treasurer, Mike
Robinson, and his lawyer, but the response, if any,
has not been made public.
kalexander@statesman.com;
--------
Who'll be the first to bring the water?
Williamson County is thirsty, and water dealers are
hungry
BYLINE: Kate Alexander, AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
DATE: October 25, 2002
PUBLICATION: Austin American-Statesman (TX)
SECTION: News
ROUND ROCK -- A race to pipe water into rapidly
growing Williamson County has been bubbling beneath
the surface for months. Among the contestants are a
Williamson County commissioner, an alliance of Austin
developers and a former Houston oilman with legal
troubles.
The winner could transport and sell water to cities
and utilities in eastern Williamson County, an area
expected to swell with houses and businesses when the
proposed Texas 130 highway comes through in 2008. On
Thursday, energy giant TXU Corp. of Dallas added a new
twist to the race when it suddenly backed out of a
fledgling partnership with one of the water companies.
The two remaining competitors -- Carrizo-Wilcox Water
Alliance and Magellan Water Co. -- aim to build
pipelines to draw water from the Carrizo-Wilcox
Aquifer, a massive aquifer that spans the length of
Texas and has a relatively untapped supply of quality
groundwater. It has long been seen as the region's
best opportunity for quenching the county's long-term
water needs -- and as a potential gold mine by some
powerful local players who have been working for
months to gain a foothold in Williamson County.
The Carrizo-Wilcox Water Alliance now controls the
groundwater leases once held by Metropolitan Water
Co., a Washington County company that has attracted
several high-profile Austin investors -- including
developer John S. Lloyd and architect Sinclair Black
-- since its inception in 1999. Lloyd is a major land
developer in Travis and Hays counties. Black is a
University of Texas architecture professor and urban
planner known for his criticism of suburban sprawl.
The two are now on opposite sides of a civil lawsuit
over the ouster of W. Scott Carlson, Metropolitan
Water's general partner, who pleaded guilty to two
counts of theft in a Harris County court in July for
swindling two former employers out of about $1.9
million.
Lloyd and a group of other investors sued Carlson and
Metropolitan Water last spring because of concerns
that Carlson's legal troubles would scare away public
customers. Black, however, continued to support
Carlson and is a limited partner in the alliance.
Though Carlson pleaded guilty and received 10 years
deferred adjudication for the criminal charges, the
civil lawsuit is ongoing.
Leaders of the alliance say that Carlson has no
involvement in the company but that the taint of his
legal issues ultimately doomed the prospective deal
with TXU.
The alliance had asked TXU to be its partner on a
pipeline project: The alliance would provide the water
and TXU would operate the line, said Skip Reissig,
manager of the alliance.
TXU spokesman Chris Schein said the offer appealed to
the company because it was an opportunity to expand
relationships with communities to which it has long
provided gas and electricity.
He said the company was exploring the feasibility of
such a project and met with local water suppliers
Thursday afternoon. The company decided later in the
day to back away from any cooperation after learning
of Carlson's legal issues.
"This is not something that we're going to participate
in," Schein said.
Before the talks broke down, some local water
suppliers saw potential in TXU's involvement.
"You actually bring someone to the table who has a
history," said one local water supply official. "TXU
has a history of being in the utility business . . .
(and) investing in solid, conservative, reasonable
business opportunities."
Reissig said Thursday night that TXU had not yet told
him the deal is off. But if it is, he said, the
Carrizo-Wilcox Water Alliance would regroup and move
forward with efforts to market the water.
"We've got a very legitimate, upstanding deal,"
Reissig said.
The end of TXU's involvement leaves the door ajar for
another company seeking to bring water to the area:
Magellan Water, headed by Williamson County
Commissioner Frankie Limmer. He has been courting
cities and other water providers throughout the county
since the summer to build a pipeline from the
Carrizo-Wilcox Aquifer.
Limmer formed Magellan Water in August after dropping
out of the Carrizo-Wilcox Water Alliance over concerns
about Carlson's past. Similar concerns prompted Mike
Robinson, a former Round Rock mayor, to quit the
alliance in August; he is currently sitting out the
fray.
One of Limmer's proposals is for a 47-mile pipeline
from Burleson County to Hutto, a proposal that could
cost about $42 million, Limmer said. Another
possibility is to use existing Alcoa Inc. wells, which
would require a 25-mile pipeline, he said.
On average, water pipelines cost about $1 million per
mile to build. The rural water supply corporations and
small cities, such as Thrall and Pflugerville, that
have expressed interest in Magellan do not have the
resources to finance a project of this magnitude,
Limmer said. So he has turned to private financing
from "friends, acquaintances and relatives."
"This is a public-private thing. It's been that way
from the start," Limmer said. "It's the opportunity to
put the best parts of both worlds together."
The county attorney's office issued a letter in August
stating that there was no conflict between Limmer's
role on the Commissioners Court and his water company.
Limmer is getting some help promoting his company.
State Rep. Mike Krusee, R-Williamson County, has
issued a letter in support of Limmer's plan and
participated in a meeting with Limmer and
representatives from the Brazos River Authority.
"Water is real important for Williamson County,
especially with all the growth we're going to
encounter with SH 130," Krusee said.
Krusee said he supports any effort to bring water to
Williamson County but was approached only by Limmer to
publicly endorse a project.
Also promoting Magellan is Amos "Pete" Peters, a
longtime friend of Limmer's and a public relations
consultantunder investigation by the attorney
general's office for billing improprieties relating to
a county road bond project.
Meanwhile, many cities, water supply corporations and
utility districts say they are wary of hooking up with
any private company. Although all the local water
suppliers recognize that the Carrizo-Wilcox Aquifer is
likely the best source for their water in the future,
they say the private companies provide a lot of hype
but not much substance.
"I'm not sure that it should be a private group that
should bring it here," said Joe Williams, general
manager for the Jonah Special Utility District. He
said it would be difficult for Jonah to commit public
funds to a private company seeking to make a profit.
"I don't think that's the way local government should
do business," Williams said.
kalexander@statesman.com
-------
State to assist inquiry of political consultant
Williamson officials hope to avoid potential for
conflict of interest in billing case
BYLINE: Tony Plohetski, American-Statesman Staff
DATE: April 6, 2002
PUBLICATION: Austin American-Statesman (TX)
SECTION: Metro/State
The Texas attorney general's office agreed Friday to
assist Williamson County officials in investigating a
political consultant who billed the county thousands
of dollars for meetings that allegedly never happened.
District Attorney John Bradley, who requested the
agency's involvement, said he wanted to avoid
suggestions that the consultant, Amos "Pete" Peters
III of Austin, would receive preferential treatment
because of his ties to county officials.
Peters has handled campaign work for almost every
major office holder in the county, including Bradley,
the county commissioners and Sheriff John Maspero.
"I believe the public would best be served by having a
special prosecutor present a case to the grand jury,"
Bradley said in statement Friday.
Bradley has said he didn't use Peters' company during
his recent primary campaign and has distanced himself
from Peters since the investigation started. In 1996,
he paid Peters' public relations firm, the
Communicators, $500 for political work during his
unsuccessful run for the state's criminal court of
appeals.
Peters declined to comment on the attorney general's
involvement and referred calls to his lawyer, Wayne
Meissner of Austin.
Meissner said that he and his client have no qualms
about the agency becoming involved in the case.
"We certainly welcome the involvement of anyone who is
going to help resolve the matter as soon as possible,"
Meissner said.
"We continue to believe that Mr. Peters was faithful
to his contract, and we hope that we can reach an
appropriate conclusion real soon," he added.
Peters, 54, and his public relations firm were hired
in January 2001 to promote a $350 million road bond
project that was approved by Williamson County voters
in November 2000.
He became the target of an investigation by the
sheriff's department in February after the Austin
American-Statesman reported in January that he billed
the county more than $600 for three meetings with the
newspaper's editor, Rich Oppel, who said the meetings
never took place.
A later Statesman review of his invoices showed that
Peters billed the county more than $2,400 for meetings
with media representatives who said they didn't
happen. Peters was paid at least another $2,300 for
meetings that other people said likely didn't happen,
according to interviews, reports and documents.
The county quietly dropped Peters from his job when
the investigation opened.
Overall, the county paid Peters about $41,000 for his
work on the road bond project last year. In addition
to what Peters earned, his company was paid about
$9,000 for work performed by an employee and about
$11,000 in reimbursements for expenses.
The majority of the money was paid for work that has
not been disputed.
Peters has attributed many of the questions
surrounding his billing practices to sloppy
record-keeping, saying he frequently prepared
information for reporters and then described the work
as a meeting.
Maspero said that so far his department's
investigation has centered on Peters' billings.
However, he said Friday that the scope has been
extended to all of Peters' work for the county and
that the investigation will likely continue for at
least the next six months.
Attorney General spokesman Mike Viesca said Peters'
case was handed over Friday to the agency's Prosecutor
Assistance Division, which he said routinely helps
with local investigations for a variety of reasons.
Viesca said the division is determining which
prosecutor in the division would work the case, but he
would not discuss further possible action.
Bradley's decision to seek outside help came as little
surprise to Maspero and County Judge John Doerfler.
"I totally concur with his observation and what he has
done," Maspero said.
Doerfler agreed.
"It was a good move on his part," he said. "It doesn't
surprise me because I think if John would have handled
the case, he'd have been accused of favoritism."
However, County Commissioner Mike Heiligenstein said
he was surprised by the move because of Bradley's
earlier statements that he was comfortable in his
role.
But, Heiligenstein added, "I would assume that he's
doing the best for all the parties involved."
tplohetski@statesman.com
-------
The line between 'legal' and 'ethical'
DATE: January 31, 2002
PUBLICATION: Austin American-Statesman (TX)
SECTION: Editorial
The mutual back-scratching between Williamson County
commissioners and favored consultant Pete Peters is
cozy enough to constitute a serious breach of ethical
conduct, if not the law.
Through his firm, The Communicators, Peters has worked
as a political consultant to every member of the
commissioners court. When the commissioners proposed a
bond package for highways in the fall of 2000, Peters
formed a political action committee to promote it. The
PAC then hired his firm as a consultant. After the
bonds passed, Peters was hired as a $130-an-hour
consultant to help oversee the road projects.
But the loop is even tighter than that, and more
lucrative for Peters. His firm billed the PAC, Roads
Now, for $18,000 in expenses, though there is no
documentation that Peters' firm spent its own money.
And his firm is being paid about $4,000 a month from
the county road budget to promote the projects.
The contractors who contributed to Peters' PAC and the
commissioners' election campaigns wound up getting
most of the highway construction work under
professional service agreements, which means there is
no bid procedure to ensure cost savings.
Peters' activities may fall just inside the law, but
this malodorous arrangement is beyond all ethical
boundaries.
Peters overcame serious personal problems and a
felonious past to build a circle of influence in
Williamson County, one wherein he gets paid by the
contributors, the consultants and the county, first to
build interest then to promote the projects. It smells
to high heaven, but Peters is only cashing in on an
opportunity and the contractors are only paying to
play, a longstanding Texas tradition.
It falls to Commissioners Mike Heiligenstein, Greg
Boatright, David Hays and Frankie Limmer and County
Judge John Doerfler to bring some integrity to bear on
this ethically dubious scenario. However, they are
unperturbed so far by Peters' actions, even his
billing the county for three meetings with
American-Statesman Editor Rich Oppel that never
occurred.
The commissioners say they aren't troubled by Peters'
revolving roles in their campaigns, the Roads Now PAC
and the county's oversight of the projects. Nor are
they concerned, they say, about the contractors who
gave to them and Peters' PAC getting the construction
contracts without a bid procedure.
They should be, because Peters' snug alliance with
them may not sit as well with the Williamson County
taxpayers, who foot the bills, and voters, who will
have something to say about who represents them in
Georgetown. Doerfler, Boatright and Limmer are running
for re-election this year.
---------
Pete Peters never did take me out to the ballgame
BYLINE: Rich Oppel, American-Statesman Editor
DATE: January 30, 2002
PUBLICATION: Austin American-Statesman (TX)
SECTION: Editorial
$
Newspaper types get the feeling that our names appear
on expense accounts more often than "miscellaneous."
But the expense claim I saw the other day was a doozy.
Filed by Republican political consultant Pete Peters,
the statement said: "American Statesman Editor Rich
Oppel to Express game about regional roads and Austin
challenges to area plan."
Let's back up.
Carter Nelsen, a staffer in our Round Rock bureau,
reported Tuesday (page A1) on how Peters, 53, has
achieved influence in the Williamson County political
community. Peters helped county commissioners get
elected, raised money from contractors and others to
build roads and claimed expenses to promote a road
bond issue.
When the reporter checked county invoices, he found
the reference to me in a document filed by Pete
Peters.
Peters claimed that he took me to the June 16 Round
Rock Express game. He billed for two hours of work, at
a rate of $130 an hour, for a total of $260.
Had I lost my mind?
Had I spent two hours with Peters and couldn't
remember a minute?
Did I consider the virtues of "regional roads and
Austin challenges to area plan" instead of talking
with Express fan Trey Salinas about the third baseman,
and with part-owner Reid Ryan about what it's like to
run a ball club?
No, the fact is that my wife and I never saw Peters.
Alerted by reporter Nelsen's questions about the
entry, Peters sent me an e-mail, in which he said in
part:
"I used about two hours to create some information and
a map to deliver to you at the (Dell) Diamond. I ended
up having to leave the information at the press room
door and was not able to see you (according to my
notes) though I did hang around for the full game,
looking in at various times . . . I apologize."
I'm glad Peters saw the full game; I never saw the
"information."
Last week, Austin lawyer Pike Powers called to request
a meeting in behalf of Peters. Powers canceled, but
joining Peters was Ed Shack. He is the Austin lawyer
you call if you're a politician with an ethics
problem. Shack said the problem was that Peters, who
heads a company called The Communicators, had been
"inarticulate" in filing his expense claims.
Four hours after the meeting, I received a
hand-delivered letter from Shack.
Shack argued that Peters' money raising was usual and
normal by Texas standards; Peters' expenditures were
in line with Texas ethics law; Peters did not take
county funds inappropriately; and there was no fraud.
"His employers in these matters are completely
satisfied with his work performance and his
explanation of this misunderstanding involving
shorthand notations referencing work on a project,"
wrote the lawyer.
Shack probably is right. Our reporting hasn't turned
up anyone in Williamson County political offices who
is upset with all of this.
Then again, what do taxpayers think?
Have the politicians and the lawyers asked them?
They are the people we care about.
Rich Oppel EDITOR, AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN
-----
Developer seeks to create two utility districts,
Finance plan for project north of Round Rock includes
$600,000 for baseball stadium
BYLINE: Dylan Rivera
DATE: July 11, 1998
PUBLICATION: Austin American-Statesman (TX)
EDITION: Final
SECTION: Metro/State
PAGE: B11
ROUND ROCK -- A California developer wants to create
two municipal utility districts to finance
construction of about 2,200 houses, an 18-hole golf
course and recreational trails just north of Round
Rock.
Newland Associates of La Jolla, Calif., hopes to start
building utilities, a golf course and hiking trails
for its development, called Stonewater, by the end of
this year, said Jim Powell, project manager for
Newland. The company also plans to contribute $600,000
toward construction of facilities for a minor league
baseball team.
The company bought 895 acres of the 1,510-acre
Margaret Nash family ranch in January and has a
contract to buy the remainder, which it also plans to
develop. Powell and other Newland officials presented
their plans to the City Council for the first time
Thursday night.
Municipal utility districts, or MUDs, have been
controversial because of disputes that arise over
annexation. Developers and cities create the districts
to speed growth in areas where it it would be
unaffordable for a city to extend utilities.
Most of the tract is in Round Rock's extraterritorial
jurisdiction, a ring of land around the city where the
city has limited control over development. A northern
portion is in Georgetown's jurisdiction and the
company may try to form a utility district there,
Powell said.
City officials said Thursday they think the plan will
allow them to annex the subdivision faster than they
could with some other utility districts in the area.
Proposed annexation of the Brushy Creek MUD has been
controversial because the district contains more than
2,000 acres and would be costly to annex, Round Rock
officials have said.
``There shouldn't be the contentiousness that we had
with Brushy Creek,'' Mayor Charlie Culpepper said.
As part of a proposed development agreement between
the city and the developers, Newland will pay Round
Rock 8 percent of the revenue it receives from bond
sales, expected to total $2.5 million over the 12-year
construction time. The council could vote on the
development agreement by the end of August, city
officials said.
In addition to the money from bond proceeds, Newland
will give the city about $200,000 per year for the
next three years to help finance construction of a
minor-league baseball stadium the city is hoping to
build, Powell said.
``We feel that baseball in Round Rock will add
significantly to the quality of life for the entire
community and the neighborhoods we intend to build for
our citizens,'' Powell told the council.
The $200,000 payments can be used for any
baseball-related project, including roads or other
facilities near the stadium, said Pete Peters,
spokesman for Newland. The contributions would be
canceled if the team does not move to Round Rock from
Jackson, Miss., as its owners have proposed, Peters
said.
In addition to the residential areas of Stonewater,
there are tracts of commercial land with frontage on
Interstate 35 the city can annex as soon as parcels
are developed, Powell said.
------
Wheels of Government often turn pohl's way
Land broker, partnerships give $70,000 to campaigns;
officials say they dispense sound policy, not favors
BYLINE: Dylan Rivera
DATE: April 19, 1999
PUBLICATION: Austin American-Statesman (TX)
EDITION: Final
SECTION: News
PAGE: A1
When it comes to improving the economy and tax base of
Williamson County, it's often difficult to distinguish
where the public's interest stops and Bill Pohl's
starts.
Pohl, Brown & Associates Inc.'s partnerships are the
dominant landowners near the RM 620-U.S. 183
intersection -- what state Rep. Mike Krusee,
R-Williamson County, calls the ``crown jewel of
Williamson County.'' The partnerships' holdings there
are among thousands of acres they own in the
southwestern part of the county.
Cedar Park has given the partnerships generous zoning,
extended water and sewer lines to their property and
successfully lobbied the state to transfer control of
6,000 acres -- about a quarter of it belonging to the
partnerships -- from Austin to the smaller city. The
county has persuaded the Legislature to reorganize a
road district so landowners -- primarily Pohl's
partnerships -- paid less in taxes and has endorsed
legislation that would keep Austin from stepping up
water quality regulation in and around the district.
City and county leaders say those decisions were good
policy, not favors repaid.
When city and county leaders did not back his plans
wholeheartedly, Pohl went to the Legislature for
solutions.
Pohl and his partnerships have cemented their
relationships with elected officials with dozens of
campaign contributions totaling almost $70,000 from
1994 to 1998.
``Obviously the county commissioners play a big part
in our business,'' said Gary F. Brown, vice president
of Pohl, Brown. ``We want them to be able to listen to
what our needs are, and that's about all you're
given.''
* From 1994 to 1996, Pohl, Brown was the largest
source of campaign contributions for Williamson County
commissioners. Company employees and partnerships the
company manages poured more than $25,000 into the
campaigns of Williamson County elected officials in
those years but made no contributions in 1998.
* Contributions from Pohl, Brown partnerships
accounted for two-thirds of the $14,700 that County
Commissioner Greg Boatright raised in 1994. Pohl,
Brown is the largest landowner in Boatright's
precinct, which extends from the Anderson Mill area up
the U.S. 183 corridor.
* Pohl, Brown also contributed $2,500 in 1995 and 1996
to five City Council candidates in Cedar Park,
accounting for between 33 percent and 59 percent of
the contributions they collected in those years.
Pohl's partnerships own about 15 percent of the city's
land and most of the undeveloped land in the city
limits.
When a company Pohl, Brown represented bought the
446-acre Hog Farm from the state last year, Pohl's
holdings became even more important, Boatright said.
``The property they control represents just a great
deal of the commercial real estate possibilities, the
prime areas,'' of the U.S. 183 corridor, Boatright
said. ``So they have a big impact on my precinct
because they do control quite a bit around the
(Lakeline) mall and Parmer Lane and the Hog Farm
property.'' Nonetheless, he looks out for the best
interests of the county regardless of whether
contributors are involved in issues, Boatright said.
While most of their contributions to local officials
went to Republicans, Pohl, Brown & Associates Inc.
gave $20,000 to the Democratic National Committee in
1996, when Pohl also contributed $500 to U.S. Rep.
Lloyd Doggett, D-Austin.
Campaign contributions by large landowners are not
unusual, said Pete Peters, a political consultant who
has worked for most of Williamson County's elected
officials.
``You expect business people to be involved in
political campaigns. That's tradition; that's the way
it's been,'' Peters said. ``They support the chamber,
and they support political campaigns, and
theoretically, that makes the world turn.''
Perhaps Pohl's most visible support of a political
campaign ultimately came back to haunt him.
In 1995, Austin appeared on the verge of bringing a
Triple-A baseball team to a stadium that would be
built with taxpayer help. If Austin had succeeded, it
would have ended Pohl's dream of attracting a
minor-league team to land owned by Carolville Ltd., a
partnership he had formed that has more than 1,000
acres in Williamson County.
Pohl poured money into a group buying ads opposing the
stadium, and Austin voters defeated the measure. But
Pohl had infuriated many Austin baseball supporters,
including state Sen. Gonzalo Barrientos, D-Austin. ``I
love baseball, and my constituents love baseball,''
Barrientos said. ``I know it's a free country, but I
was left kind of disgusted about the situation.''
He would exact revenge in 1997.
Pohl and the Legislature
When his local influence has failed him, Pohl has not
hesitated to seek a higher authority.
One of the laws the Legislature passed in 1995
prohibits Austin from considering the volume of new
traffic that development would cause when making
decisions on land within 1,500 feet of Southwest
Williamson County Road District No. 1, which surrounds
the RM 620-U.S. 183 intersection.
Austin officials still grouse about the law, and Pohl
referred to it in 1997 as ``that law that everybody
hates me for.''
Barrientos and Krusee, who sponsored the prohibition,
said they carried the bill because Austin had told the
developers of Lakeline Mall in the early 1990s that
they could not develop their land until the Texas
Department of Transportation widened U.S. 183 into a
six-lane highway.
``I didn't think it was completely fair,'' Barrientos
said. ``All I look for in these decisions is
balance.''
The second law Pohl pushed for, this time in
cooperation with Cedar Park, took 6,000 acres from
Austin's control and gave them to Cedar Park. Pohl's
partnerships owned at least 1,500 of the 6,000 acres.
The growing suburb and Pohl, Brown had reason to work
together at the time, although their relationship has
since soured. Austin had annexed a narrow strip of
land up U.S. 183 in 1977, thus extending its
boundaries into Williamson County. Later, Austin
annexed the land at the end of the strip that would
become Lakeline Mall. Lakeline is the only regional
mall within 10 miles of Cedar Park, yet all the sales
tax dollars go to Austin.
Austin's extraterritorial jurisdiction wrapped around
the east side of Cedar Park along Parmer Lane and
included 1,000 acres owned by Carolville Ltd. But
Austin officials said at the time they wouldn't extend
water and sewer service to the area for decades, if
ever.
``Cedar Park said they would service that area so it
would be developed for commercial and industrial uses
to diversify the tax base,'' Krusee said.
He denied that his efforts had anything to do with
contributions to him by Pohl's partnerships.
After the bill transferring the extraterritorial
jurisdiction passed, Cedar Park annexed Pohl's land
and other tracts in the area and started extending
water and sewer lines there, increasing the value of
Pohl's land. It remains undeveloped.
Austin and Cedar Park eventually agreed to the
6,000-acre transfer, though the law was ruled
unconstitutional because it singled out Austin for
treatment different from other Texas cities and
interfered with the city's contractual obligations. In
a 1997 interview, Pohl acknowledged his political
successes but said, ``We do not have these visions
that we're powerful people, because we're not.''
A unique MUD
In December 1996, with the Legislature soon to
convene, Cedar Park City Manager Don Birkner met City
Attorney Leonard Smith for coffee near Lakeline Mall.
They had just met with Pohl, Brown officials, city
staff and Krusee to discuss the company's proposal for
a municipal utility district (MUD) on about 1,600
acres at Parmer Lane and FM 1431.
Brown said at the time that the district would allow
developers to build roads and other improvements at a
faster pace and with higher standards than a city
could accomplish.
Birkner lectured his attorney on what to expect from
Pohl, Brown.
``They start the game with excitement and enthusiasm
and `This is the greatest thing, and then everything's
going to be dandy, if we can only get this done,' ''
Birkner recalled recently. ``And then you and I are
going to end up being the son of a bitches ok'd by kw
in this when they can't do what they wanted to do for
one reason or another.''
The municipal utility district could help pay for
Pohl's hoped-for baseball stadium through fees and
taxes collected within the district and would provide
water and sewer service to 1,400 acres surrounding the
stadium site owned by Pohl, Brown partnerships Aline
Ltd. and Carolville Ltd.
Cedar Park leaders opposed the idea and found it
puzzling. Why not use Cedar Park utility services,
which would be there within months? Why not bring a
stadium proposal before the voters? Why create a
unique MUD that could, by a vote of its own residents,
divide itself into multiple other districts?
City officials were concerned that the MUD, which
would be within the city but could levy its own taxes,
would be beyond their control.
``Baseball was a smokescreen, in my opinion,'' Birkner
said in a recent interview. He suspects Pohl and Brown
wanted to be free of any interference from Cedar Park
in developing their land.
Pohl, Brown officials sent a half-dozen drafts of the
MUD bill to Birkner and Smith, apparently seeking a
compromise, but it became clear that Pohl, Brown
wanted a special district that the city could not
tolerate, Smith said. The district -- which Birkner
took to calling a ``pregnant MUD'' -- could break
itself into many other districts, adding taxes on top
of city taxes, possibly creating an area so burdened
by taxes it would be unmarketable.
``We had been through a lot to get that property . . .
to take care of the future of the city,'' Birkner
said. ``And then to be willing to write it all off to
an external system was not something that the council
was interested in.''
The City Council rejected the idea in a 7-0 vote in
May 1997. Within a few days, Pohl and Brown called
council members, blaming Smith, who had counseled them
against the plan, for the failure to reach agreement.
``They were OK with me so long as I agreed with
them,'' Smith said. ``But when I disagreed, or asked
hard questions, I became an obstacle that needed to be
eliminated.''
Within weeks, Pohl lobbyist Chuck Rice Jr. persuaded
an aide for state Sen. Ken Armbrister, D-Victoria, to
add a scaled-down version of the proposal as an
amendment to a statewide stadium-financing bill.
Because Cedar Park opposed it, Krusee wouldn't support
the amendment.
There were two other problems.
First, the amendment would have allowed county
commissioners to create the district without a
referendum. Gov. George W. Bush had said publicly that
any stadium bill should require a vote of the
taxpayers.
Second, it ran into Barrientos, who described Pohl to
another senator as ``the guy who stole Austin's
baseball team.''
Barrientos, whose support was critical because of the
senatorial custom of deferring to local legislators on
local matters, said in a recent interview that it was
more than just Pohl's campaign against Austin baseball
that led him to reject the amendment.
``The most blatant thing was that you're going to have
public funding of something without voter approval,''
Barrientos said. ``That's what did it.''
A few weeks after the amendment was killed, Pohl was
apologetic for the way his company had pushed the
measure.
``It was extremely disappointing,'' Pohl said, ``but
we learned a lot of lessons, and we shouldn't have
done it the way we did.''
Late on bond payments
This year, Williamson County commissioners asked
Krusee to file a bill restricting Austin's ability to
change environmental regulations in the Lakeline Mall
area. The bill is intended primarily to promote dense
development within Southwest Williamson County Road
District No. 1, a special taxing district surrounding
Lakeline Mall that financed construction of $24
million in roads in the 1980s. Pohl's partnerships are
the largest landholder in the district, which includes
more than 1,100 acres in Austin and about 200 in Cedar
Park. Most of the land is undeveloped.
It's expensive to develop in the district because of
its high debt -- about $17 million -- which each
landowner has to help pay off. For example, one of
Pohl's partnerships owes about $6,600 a year to the
district for a 1-acre lot at RM 620 and U.S. 183.
Dense development -- offices, apartments and retail
centers -- would add to the tax base and make it
easier to pay off the debt. State and local
governments have spent hundreds of millions of dollars
building roads and utilities in the Lakeline Mall
area, Krusee said, and Williamson County residents
want to bring employers and commerce there, expanding
the tax base.
``Austin has annexed into another county, and it's
important that the City of Austin respect the needs of
that county,'' he said.
The bill also could provide an incentive for the
Austin City Council to approve a special development
agreement next month on 500 acres that are almost all
within the district. PacTen Partners, a California
developer, is trying to buy the land from some of
Pohl's partnerships.
For Williamson County commissioners, who are obligated
to make sure the road district's bondholders are paid,
it's important for Pohl, Brown to sell its land. Pohl,
Brown's partnerships have been six months late in
making annual bond payments three years in a row, said
Charlie Crossfield, an attorney who handles road
district matters.
``The main thing we've dealt with them on is the road
districts, and we've been as evenhanded with them as
anyone else,'' Boatright said. ``If they're
delinquent, then we're going to come in and we're
going to foreclose on the property to make sure the .
. . payments are made.''
Williamson County commissioners did foreclose in
December on 26 acres owned by Pohl, Brown partnership
Brooke Ltd., which had been delinquent in paying its
annual bond payments and Leander school district
taxes.
The pattern of late payments by Pohl, Brown
partnerships has hurt the district's credit rating,
making it unable to refinance the bonds at a lower
interest rate, Crossfield said.
``We would prefer anyone to hold the property other
than Pohl, Brown,'' Crossfield said. Noting PacTen's
history of construction in Los Angeles, he said:
``(The PacTen) people have a background. . . . They
plan on doing something with the property, and we feel
we have a better chance of getting our annual
assessments paid by PacTen than Pohl, Brown.''
You may contact Dylan Rivera at drivera@statesman.com
---------
Developers buy big tract along I-35
Californians want to build 1,510-acre community
between Round Rock and Georgetown
BYLINE: Dylan Rivera
DATE: January 10, 1998
PUBLICATION: Austin American-Statesman (TX)
EDITION: Final
SECTION: Metro/State
PAGE: B1
ROUND ROCK -- A California developer has bought the
1,510-acre Nash Ranch between Round Rock and
Georgetown, opening the way for construction of 3,000
homes and 225 acres of office space and light
industry.
Newland Associates of La Jolla has bought the property
for an undisclosed price, said Jim Powell, vice
president of Newland-Texas.
Real estate experts say that the Mary Nash family
ranch -- with frontage on Interstate 35 -- is a gem
that developers have been eyeing for years.
``It's got to be one of the major acquisitions for
development in the last decade for the Austin
metropolitan area,'' said Jerry Heare, a brokerwith
Commercial Industrial Properties, which lists property
in that part of Williamson County. The ranch is
``probably the single largest tract of land between
Austin and Georgetown yet to be developed with
interstate frontage,'' Heare said.
Newland wants to build a master-planned community with
heavy landscaping and deed restrictions ensuring
quality design for houses that would sell from $90,000
to $500,000. It could take 10 to 12 years for the
community to be built out, Powell said.
The company has developed and managed more than 25
master-planned communities nationwide, including two
in the Houston area, Greatwood and Cinco Ranch. The
Nash Ranch purchase is the company's first development
in the Austin area.
``The only thing like this in Central Texas is Circle
C, and that's not nearly as planned as this is,'' said
Pete Peters, spokesman for Newland-Texas.
The land purchase closed Thursday, but because of an
agreement with the Nash family, officials would not
discuss the terms of the sale, such as whether entire
1,510 acres was paid for in full or how it was
financed.
What is clear is that Newland controls the tract,
Peters said.
Newland expects to start construction by the fourth
quarter of 1998 on utilities, four sections of houses
and a golf course that will anchor the community. That
initial phase will be located just north of Chandler
Road.
The company also will market 225 acres that front I-35
for office and light industrial development, Powell
said.
``I don't foresee a manufacturing facility,'' Powell
said. ``It's planned to have an office campus out
front, but that may include some clean industrial
use.''
A final phase of development, on which construction
probably would start no sooner than seven years from
now, would include more residential sections in the
Westinghouse Road area, Powell said.
The land is almost completely in the extraterritorial
jurisdiction of Round Rock, except for about 385 acres
straddling Westinghouse Road that are in Georgetown's
jurisdiction. The land is in neither city's
boundaries.
Round Rock Mayor Charlie Culpepper said Friday that
the development will be good for the city and the
region.
Culpepper said he expects that Round Rock will annex
the parts of the community that are in its
jurisdiction as they are built. The southern part of
the tract is next to the city's water and sewer lines
on Chandler Road.
Round Rock and Georgetown will work together to
provide sewer services to the northern portion of the
tract, Culpepper said.
-------
Bond brochure gives incorrect information
Some Williamson - residents say pamphlet biased in
favor of bond package
BYLINE: DYLAN RIVERA
DATE: November 2, 1996
PUBLICATION: Austin American-Statesman (TX)
EDITION: Final
SECTION: Metro/State
PAGE: B4
An educational brochure on the upcoming bond election
that went out to Williamson County voters this week
gives statistics to show why four propositions were
placed on Tuesday's ballot.
At least one of the statistics is incorrect, and
others are stated in a manner that could misrepresent
actual situations. Furthermore, some residents charge
that the brochure is biased in favor of the bond
package.
County commissioners hired a consultant to spend up to
$20,000 to produce a cable television commercial and
70,000 brochures, which were inserted in five
different newspapers this week. The consultant wrote
the text for the brochures.
The brochure, referring to county jail overcrowding,
states that the county is paying to have inmates
transferred to other counties. That's not true,
according to a jail official. While the county is
looking into that possibility, no inmates have been
sent elsewhere for housing, Robert Webster, a captain
in charge of the jail, said Friday.
In a section relating to the proposed extension of
Parmer Lane, the proposition that has drawn the most
controversy, the brochure shows an out of date map
that would have the extension starting north of RM
620. The road already runs north of RM 620 to RM 1431,
where the proposed extension would begin.
According to the insert, ``one acre of land in
Williamson County is subdivided every 30 minutes.''
Using information from the county's appraisal
district, the American-Statesman reported in September
that an acre of land is subdivided every three hours
on an average day this year.
That figure jumps to every 30 minutes if you only
count business hours, said Pete Peters, a Round Rock
political consultant who calculated the numbers for
the brochure.
The brochures were made in good faith and any errors
were unintentional, said Peters and Randall Dennis,
the consultant who did the work.
Members of a citizens advisory committee that
recommended proposals for the ballot were supposed to
proofread the brochures, said Precinct 1 County
Commissioner Mike Heiligenstein.
Some people thought the brochure was a political ad.
Georgetown resident Nancy Rister wanted to know who
paid for the announcement, which didn't say how it was
financed.
``It's hard to believe this is just an informational
piece -- it seems more promotional,'' Rister said
Thursday. ``I have a hard time accepting them spending
taxpayer money to try and convince taxpayers to
increase their taxes even more.''
David Hays, commissioner for Precinct 3, said the
information needed to justify the bonds somewhat.
``How can you say we want to pass $17 million for a
new jail expansion without saying that it's
overcrowded now and that it costs more to send them
out of the county and it could affect how the court
treats crime in the area,'' Hays said.
The inserts also have drawn criticism from Common
Cause Williamson County, a local affiliate of a
nonpartisan organization that lobbies for open
government. The group announced Friday that it plans
to file a complaint Monday with the Texas Ethics
Commission, asking whether the brochures illegally
promote the bond proposals. A ruling probably will not
be made before Tuesday's election.
-----
Williamson's battle of the bandshells
County proposes own entertainment complex as Cedar
Park seeks amphitheater/ice rink
BYLINE: Kate Alexander, Laura Heinauer,
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
DATE: August 22, 2002
PUBLICATION: Austin American-Statesman (TX)
SECTION: News
CORRECTION: A map on Thursday's Page A1 incorrectly
located the site for an amphitheater proposed by
Williamson County. The amphitheater would be east of
Parmer Lane on the south side of County Road 174.
CEDAR PARK -- Two proposed amphitheaters, both backed
by political and financial muscle, are now on the
drawing board for Williamson County. But only one is
expected to survive.
County Commissioner Mike Heiligenstein unveiled plans
this week for a county-owned outdoor entertainment
complex -- including a 6,500-capacity amphitheater and
a special-events facility for receptions and
conferences -- along the new Brushy Creek Regional
Trail between Cedar Park and Round Rock. The project
includes partnerships with Run-Tex owner Paul Carrozza
and Tim O'Connor, owner of the Backyard outdoor music
venue and Austin Music Hall.
At the same time, the City of Cedar Park has been
negotiating with Southwest Sports Group, parent
company of the Dallas Stars, to build a 7,500-seat
amphitheater and an indoor ice arena big enough to
house a minor-league hockey team. City officials plan
to ask voters to approve money for the project in
November, but the city's contribution to the project
has not been determined. The cost of the ice rink
alone has been estimated at $20 million.
The county's announcement pits two publicly funded
venues against each other as they vie for the
entertainment market in this rapidly growing county.
Charles Attal, an Austin concert booking agent who
co-owns Stubbs, a restaurant and live music venue,
said two venues similar in size and so close together
would not work, particularly in such a tenuous market.
As it is, he said, the Austin area has seen a 25
percent drop in the music touring industry this year.
"No way, not the same size -- they'd kill each other .
. . especially with all the other competition in
town," Attal said. "But I think there is a need for
one up there with all the growth going on, and I think
both of these companies have realized that."
Heiligenstein says the county government is not trying
to undermine Cedar Park's plans, but he agrees that
the two amphitheaters could not coexist.
"I think they ought to kill it," Heiligenstein said of
the amphitheater component of Cedar Park's proposal.
"It would jeopardize their entire (bond) package."
But Cedar Park officials are not backing down.
"I don't think this region could support two, so I
guess the goal is to be first and to be better," said
Robert Powers, Cedar Park's city manager.
Land in hand
If survival comes down to being first, the county is
in the lead.
With 35 acres already purchased using money from a $25
million park bond package passed in 2000, the county
would be ready to break ground on the special-events
center in October should the Commissioners Court
approve the plan, said Lisa England, the county's
strategic planning consultant. The special-events
center would open in March 2003, with the rest
following a year later.
Cedar Park is still looking for a site and has said it
will seek voter approval to issue bonds to finance the
project.
The county's park bonds allotted $3.5 million to
create a facility at the trailhead of the Brushy Creek
Regional Trail. The trail will open in September, and
the money will be used for the entertainment complex,
Heiligenstein said.
In addition, Carrozza proposes building a running
center at the site with showers and other amenities
for trail users. Other proposed elements include a
play area, much like the one at Zilker Park, and a
smaller, open-air entertainment space with 500 seats.
Groves of oak trees run along a sloping field that
ends at the bluffs that would back the county
amphitheater. Heiligenstein said any development would
keep all of the trees and the bucolic setting.
"They want to keep it as natural as possible but still
have all the customer and artist conveniences that are
necessary to be successful," O'Connor said.
Heiligenstein said he did not anticipate having to ask
voters for additional money beyond the $3.5 million
already approved. O'Connor, however, acknowledged that
the entire project could not be completed for that
amount.
"It's great startup money," O'Connor said. But as for
the total cost, "it's obviously well above $3.5
million."
O'Connor initially would serve as a consultant for
concert booking and promotion, but his long-term
financial involvement is not clear. The county and
O'Connor have not finalized a contractual agreement.
Carrozza, who recently opened a Run-Tex store in Round
Rock's La Frontera shopping center, was introduced to
the idea by O'Connor. The two have worked together on
several projects, including Willie Nelson's Farm Aid
concert and run. Carrozza said Run-Tex would front the
cost for the running center, which would be paid for
by user fees.
Connections
Although the county may have a head start, Cedar Park
officials say their project has more clout.
The proposed ice arena and amphitheater would be built
and financed by the city but would be leased and
operated by Southwest Sports Group, a company led by
Tom Hicks. The Dallas financier is also vice chairman
of Clear Channel Communications Inc., the radio and
entertainment giant that has become the nation's
leading concert promoter. Those connections make Cedar
Park officials confident of their proposal's
sustainability.
"The fact is, the people doing ours happen to
coordinate all of the concerts in the country," said
Cedar Park Council Member Cory Shields. "In the end,
if there's two, it's going to be a question if people
want to go see Madonna, or somebody the local guys
bring in."
Randy Locey, vice president of Southwest Sports
Group's StarCenter operations, touts the benefits of
having an amphitheater included with the ice arena.
"We think the synergy of the two pieces -- their joint
parking capabilities and the nice trade-offs between
the seasons when they will be most active -- are what
makes our project more attractive as a whole," Locey
said.
Cedar Park Mayor Bob Young hinted at a possible
compromise between the city and county.
"I don't see this as a competitive thing," Young said.
"What I really see is an opportunity for us to share
our resources and work together."
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