The four to one vote yesterday in Liberty County Commissioners’ Court is a sure signal Republicans are not going to sit on the fence and waste a great deal more time on this controversial issue. They voted to halt the ongoing project to remodel the old Wal-Mart store into county office space and an emergency shelter. Liberty County Judge Craig McNair made the motion, adding he would like to see the building put of for sale to recoup some of the money already spent on the project. As expected Democrat Liberty County Commissioner Todd Fontenot voted against halting the project he and Lee Groce and Phil Fitzgerald initiated.
Before local politicians simply take a loss in the real estate market, Liberty Dispatch would like an answer to the questions centering on a middleman making suspicious profits off of the county’s purchase of this property. Rumors still are adrift about Todd Fontenot, Lee Groce, and Phil Fitzgerald giving thumbs up to a middleman purchasing the old WalMart building and then selling it to Liberty County in a pre-arranged “deal”. We would love for that rumor to be false, but in the midst of one scandal after another, we would like this to be verified before taxpayers simply take hundreds of thousands of dollars of loss in a sale of this property.
We also would be interested in hearing Phil Fitzgerald’s side of the story about any agreement he believed he had with Bruce Stratton and the hospital district or if it is true he paid over a million bucks for this property and had no inkling of a deal with anyone.
Our hats are off to Liberty County Judge, Craig McNair for moving on this issue. Liberty County taxpayers needed to hear a reasonable plan to develop the property or an exit strategy. Now we can at least recover some of the money the Democrats blew and we can get the building back on the tax rolls. Somewhere soon we hope there is an end to how much and how long we will pay for the past.
5 comments:
Yes indeed, this was a waste of tax payer money. This old Wal-Mart building would have been sold to another business and still have been on the tax roll if not for the crooked bunch we had in Commissioners Court. It does not suprise me that Todd Fontenot voted against selling this money pit. This old Wal-Mart store is just like the Hospital District. A waste of tax payer money and as useless as the people operating it,just another money pit. I commend our new County judge for making the motion to sell this money pit and recover at least some of the taxpayers money.
Ok, I am going to give ya'll the way out of this Wal-mart building without asking anything in return. Sell the building to Target or K-mart for what the County spent if they will move in here. That will recoup the money and give Wal-mart some competition.
You don't have to thank me, just do it!
Hats off? What plan? What strategy?
True enough, we inherited this mess.
But this is county property. By law it can't just be 'listed' with an agent. And due to the current business climate, it will be sold at auction for pennies on the dollar; IF we are lucky. (imaging the hay the Dem's will make off that DEAL)
Before we pass out congratulatory high fives, we'd better get a plan.
This is far from over and our guys will be the ones trying to stay off Channel 13.
Considering all the Fed involvment in the Phill thing, It makes me wonder who all has their hand in the cookie jar.
Like they say, follow the money.
Something is not right about this Walmart deal.
Keep up the good work Mr. Akins.
The walmart should be converted into a Rehab that takes kids that would otherwise go to TYC and teach them a skill like welding , a c ,and other skills. 100,000 sq ft could house feed and teach them. They could work in area doing skills they learned. The money would be used to pay for part of the expense and a portion of it put back for the kids that would be given to them when they left.
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