By Ken Esten Cooke —
Gillespie County Commissioners on Monday agreed in principle to a land-for-paving swap with the City of Fredericksburg with final details to be hammered out in the coming month.
At their regular meeting, commissioners adjourned to executive session to go over final details in the Barons Creek property the city wishes to have for downtown redevelopment plans. In turn, the city will perform paving work on Nimitz Parkway and an adjacent parking lot during its regular paving cycles.
Commissioners also debated for over an hour on a lease agreement on a 12-foot-wide path of county owned land that stretches from Creek Street to the back of the old Gillespie County Jail, which faces San Antonio Street.
The easement was deeded to the county in the 1920s for rear access to the jail. Now the two adjacent property owners are requesting a perpetual lease agreement as required for bank notes.
Ward and Jodi Johnson requested a lease agreement.
“The lender doesn’t want to give a loan where access may be closed without a written agreement,” Jodi Johnson said.
Commissioners debated a potential rush for similar agreements, where it has traditionally not allowed easements or granted access by written contract.
“The issue we’ve got is that the county doesn’t grant written easements or sell land we own,” Judge Mark Stroeher said. “We’ve had a number of requests over the years, and if we grant one, then we potentially open the flood gates.”
Commissioner Donnie Schuch said when government owns a property, it’s already considered public property and there are no prescriptive easements needed.
The property was deeded to the county in 1924.
County Attorney Chris Nevins suggested a lease with restrictions.
Calvin Ranseleben, Pct. 3 commissioner, said it would be better if the land was being utilized. “If it hadn’t been deeded to the county in the first place, it would still be owned by the property owner requesting this,” he said.
Commissioners voted, 4-1, to allow Nevins and Stroeher to come up with a lease that contains restrictions on how the property may be used and saving access by the county. Stroeher cast the no vote, saying it was a change in policy he was not comfortable with.
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