Another Property Dispute Dividing Folks in Round Top

A standing-room-only crowd filled the Round Top Courthouse to hear the Town Council discuss the future of a small piece of property at the north side of town – 304 N. Washington St.

The property was deeded to the City in the 1990s for the purposes of establishing a Historical Center run by the Round Top Area Historical Association (RTAHS). At the last Town Council meeting, Mayor Judith Vincent said she discovered that the town has no formal agreement with RTAHS concerning the property. RTAHS has been subleasing the property for several years to a private nursery and landscape business.

The Historical Society presented the Town with documents concerning the property, including the deed which granted the property to the Town for the purpose of establishing a “Historical Center.” They also presented an ordinance the Town Council passed in 1991.

Deputy Town Administrator David Stall gave an overview of the history of the property. He said that in 2020, the Fayette County Appraisal District removed the tax exempt status for the property since it was being leased to a private business and no longer used for non-profit purposes.

“The then-mayor talked to the Historical Society and they came to an agreement where the Historical Society would reimburse the Town of Round Top for that property tax,” Stall said. “And that has been going on ever since. The tax now is like $1,200 a year for that piece of property.”

Stall said the Town could not find a lease for the property between the Town of Round Top and RTAHS. The ordinance from 1991 mentions a lease, he said. But the ordinance itself is not a lease. He also said that the deed to the property states that it was gifted to the Town for the purposes of a “Historical Center.” The Historical Society has since moved its operations to a campus on E. Mill St. behind the Post Office.

Furthermore, Stall said the ordinance from 1991 mentions that the Town would enter into a lease with the Historical Society “in perpetuity” for $1 a year. The Historical Society says that they paid the Town $100 back in 1991 to pay for the lease for 100 years.

“Neither of those is constitutional under the Texas Constitution,” Stall said. “That was a red flag. You have to get fair-market value. You can’t take publicly owned land or property and allow another organization to have or use it for less than fair market value, or something of fair market value in exchange.

“And perpetuity – that also can’t be,” he added. “These are things that small towns did for years, not for an evil purpose, they were just trying to get along and do the right thing. You cannot do anything in an ordinance that’s binding on future councils. The Council people are elected to operate your town, and you can’t tie the hand of an incoming council that stops them from doing something or binds them to do something.”

Stall said any lease the Town signs must have an “out” clause that allows the Town to end the lease at some point.

“Could we write a lease that would survive and meet all the requirements? Absolutely,” Stall said. Then Stall brought up the sublease between RTAHS and the tenant of the property.

Stall cited the Texas Property Code that states no tenant or holder of a lease may sublet without the express written permission of the lessor.

“It requires the Town’s permission,” Stall said. “It was not necessarily done for any malpurposes. A lot of times you may find a mayor who might have signed or said you can do something. But that’s not binding either. Only the Council can do that. And I’m not saying a mayor did or didn’t do something. It requires an act of Council to do this.”

Stall said he could find no documentation that the Council ever approved the sublease.

Before the meeting, several members of RTAHS called the Record expressing concern that the Town may try to take the sublease away from their organization. They said RTAHS depends on the sublease revenue to fund their operations.

“This is not a personal vendetta against anything or anyone or any organization,” Mayor Vincent said at the meeting. “This is not a step for me to take away anything from anyone. I’ve heard that represented, that, ‘The mayor is trying to take this away from us.’ The mayor is doing her job by making sure that our assets are well-guarded, that we know what our assets are, and documentation is in place.”

Alderman Lynn Conine said the Town had experienced some “laxness” in policy in the past.

“Part of our plan is that we would tighten up and pay special attention … that we’re going to enforce the statutes we pass, and we’re going to do that rigorously,” he said.

Town Historian Sally Reynolds recommended the Historical Society to formally request permission to sublease the property and for the Town Council to approve it.

“Clean it up, versus making any changes,” she said.

“We’re open to whatever we need to do to correct the problem,” said RTAHS President David Collins.

“I think the solution is, let’s continue to negotiate,” Collins said later in the meeting. “Let’s figure out what the City wants. I don’t think they want to take the facility away from us.”

“No, my proposal is, and I want to reach a consensus with the Council, but my proposal is I want to leave things the way they are,” Vincent said. “The nursery continues to operate as they are right now. We call a special meeting where the Council and the public can talk about the various options.”

Before the discussion ended, Alderman Conine said Alderman Jeanette Burger should recuse herself from voting on items related to RTAHS due to her membership and strong support for that organization.

“I’m concerned she is trying to serve two masters,” he said.

Mayor Vincent pushed back on that charge.

“I think we all have to recognize that we have interests,” Vincent said. “We all serve and are doing our best to serve in our capacity as public officials. But we all live here and have our own personal interests. It is a difficult balancing act between wearing our elected hat and our personal hat. We all bring our own passions … I don’t expect you to recuse yourself.”

The Council took no official action on the property, but they agreed to discuss it further at a special meeting on a future date.