Wednesday, July 3, 2024
The Granbury Independent School District board of trustees voted 3:2 to sell five acres of land on Acton School Road to Anchor Fellowship Church Granbury for $750,000 during a regularly scheduled meeting June 24.
According to a memo from GISD Chief Financial Officer Emmett Whitefield, the board determined Aug. 21, 2023 that the five acres located at 2750 Acton School Road were “surplus” and “not necessary to meet the current and foreseeable needs of the district for educational purposes.”
The district then contracted with VYBE Realty LLC and started the bid process described in Texas Local Government Code Section 272.001.
Whitefield explained that GISD received sealed bids June 6, and the highest bid for the five acres was received from Anchor Fellowship Church in the amount of $750,000 — which is above the minimum bid amount.
According to the memo, the bid included language that the district would grant utility easements — if needed — across the district’s adjacent property to connect water and sewer service from Acton Municipal Utility District. The bid also includes granting a 40-foot-wide ingress/egress roadway easement from the property to James Road, with the exact location to be mutually agreed upon by the district and buyer. The cost of the roadway would also be at the expense of the buyer.
The memo states that administration was in favor of granting these additional easements as part of the property sale, however, the board may agree to award this bid with or without these additional easements.
“The proposed resolution will delegate the authority to the superintendent to negotiate and execute the contract amendments to the contract, and other documents necessary to affect the conveyance of the property,” Whitefield said. “It is the recommendation of administration that the board of trustees approve the resolution authorizing the sale of real property consisting of five acres more or less located at 2750 Acton School Road Granbury, Texas 76049.”
Place 7 Trustee Karen Lowery commented that since the district is unsure what other amendments might be required by the buyer, the court should refrain on committing to the easements until the entire agreement can be presented.
“We should reserve our approval and disapproval until the agreement has been finalized by both parties, so we know exactly what this is going to be about,” she said. “I just believe that there needs to be a lot of transparency with this. It's a big transaction. It's a good price for the school, but we need to make sure that as it all comes out that it's all the same and stays the same."
Finance Purchasing Manager Houcine Chraibi clarified that the district did receive final agreements from the attorney. He said apart from the amendment the buyer requested regarding the notice of sale and listing — which was designed to protect school districts — that was the only easement they asked for.
Place 2 Trustee Nancy Alana asked Lowery if there were specific amendments she wanted to address.
“No, it just said that the superintendent was going to execute this, and then there could be other amendments,” Lowery said. “If we go ahead and do all of this and we approve it, can there be other amendments made after that point?”
“Beyond the scope of the easement for wastewater or whatever, no,” GISD Superintendent Jeremy Glenn said.
Alana made a motion to accept the recommendation of the sale of five acres located at 2750 Acton School Road to Anchor Fellowship Church. Place 5 Trustee Billy Wimberly seconded the motion and it passed 3:2, with Lowery and Place 3 Trustee Melanie Graft voting “No.” Place 1 Trustee Mike Moore recused himself from the vote as he is a member of the church and Vice President Courtney Gore was absent from the meeting.
