Karen Gleason
The 830 Times
A deep rift has developed in among county commissioners court members over proposed use of the county fairgrounds.
During Tuesday’s Val Verde County Commissioners Court meeting, three members of the five-member court voted to move a planned youth sports complex from the fairgrounds to a large property, formerly known as the SE Ranch, adjacent to Laughlin Air Force Base.
There were only four members of the court present at the meeting – Val Verde County Judge Lewis G. Owens Jr., County Commissioner Pct. 1 Martin Wardlaw, County Commissioner Pct. 2 Juan Carlos Vazquez and County Commissioner Pct. 4 Gustavo “Gus” Flores. County Commissioner Pct. 3 Beau Nettleton was absent from Tuesday’s meeting.
An item on the agenda dealt with use of the fairgrounds, and Owens initiated the discussion by speaking about fencing at the perimeter of the facility and the possible creation of a new entryway on Main Street.
When Owens finished speaking, Wardlaw said, “Judge, I’d like to make a motion, that we move the proposed sports center from the fairgrounds to the SE Ranch.”
“Okay, the item (on the agenda) is broad enough for that, so I have a motion. Do I have a second?” Owens said.
“I’ll second that,” Flores said.
There was no further discussion, and when Owens called for the vote, Wardlaw, Flores and Vazquez voted in favor, with Owens giving the sole vote against the motion.
“You know I’m going to have to bring this back again, and you’re fixing to plant 700 kids out at the SE Ranch, and the SE Ranch was bought in order to protect Laughlin, so at any given time you’re going to have 700 to 1,200 kids out there in danger of the airplanes, so I’m completely against this,” Owens said just before the vote.
“If we go down this road, I will do everything in my power to move all the damn horses from the fairgrounds because of all the shit that we’ve got out there. Now it’s a 3-1 vote, but you are fixing to risk the lives of over 1,000 kids on any given weekend, and if you all are willing to do this, this is on you all,” he added.
“Risked in what way, judge?” Wardlaw asked.
“The reason we bought the SE Ranch was to protect Laughlin because of the amount of planes that fly over, and we did not want development out there, okay? But if you all are willing to do this, and it’s a 3-1 vote, and I’m going to take a roll call (vote), but in my opinion, you are putting all 1,000 kids, that on any given weekend will play out there, at risk, and I think it’s a shame that we’re doing this,” Owens said.
“The fairgrounds is right next to the airport. It’s the same,” Wardlaw said.
“No, sir, it’s totally different. You don’t have the flights that you have coming out of Laughlin,” Owens replied.
“I respectfully disagree,” Wardlaw said.
“I take this very personally. You all have opened up a can of worms that for the rest of the year will be unbearable for all of us. Not a threat, a f***ing promise,” Owens, visibly angry, said.
The county judge also took to social media Tuesday night to express his frustration and said the vote to move the sports complex was “very, very disappointing for me,” and “for the kids and the citizens of Val Verde County.”
He said the court “has done a good job of working together,” adding in February 2021, the court voted to develop a master plan for a county sports complex to be built at the county fairgrounds off North Main Street.
He said the decision came after a citizen committee made recommendations to the court about the best use of the fairgrounds.
“That committee came back with pavilions and a fairplex like the one they have in Uvalde and a swimming pool for horses, of all f***ing things, but after that was taken out, (the recommendation) was presented to the court, and it’s a beautiful plan, but in my opinion, it does not do the citizens of Val Verde County any good; again, in my opinion. So it was scrapped. We went in and designed a sports complex there at the fairgrounds that we could use for the kids of Val Verde County, and that was done last November,” Owens said.
The court subsequently voted to apply for a grant to build the complex and to approach the school district to see if it wanted to partner and use school property between the school off Main Street and the fairgrounds for tennis courts and access roads.
Owens then went over the action the court took today, noting Wardlaw made the motion and Flores giving the second and a 3-1 vote “to move the sports complex out to the SE Ranch.”
“Evidently these three have a plan, and . . . if you all believe that the right thing to do is put a bunch of kids out there towards the base. . . and then we’re going to go out and borrow a bunch of money to build a bunch of pavilions and a fairplex at the fairgrounds which, at the end of the day, doesn’t make us a damn dime at all,” Owens said.
He also said the fairgrounds are “closer to everybody.”
Owens said he was “completely blindsided” by the three commissioners’ actions and said he will also ask for an investigation into whether the three commissioners participated in a “rolling quorum,” a term used to describe an action when a quorum of members of a governmental body meet and discuss items of public interest without giving the public notice of that meeting.
In the video, Owens also said he did not apologize for what he said, but was sorry for the way in which he said it.
