School
Land:
What It Costs for School Land These Days
As
everyone knows by now, I think our school district should require developers
to
donate land if they want schools built in their subdivisions before most of the
homes are sold. If they are halfway built out and there are a substantial number
of students living there, that is another matter.
My objection is to public tax dollars being used to assist private
enterprise (using a new school as a hook to attract homebuyers).
Our system and government (public schools ARE a government) are not supposed to work that way!
The precedent for such a practice (developers donating land) was set in Katy ISD in 1992
with the building of Edna Mae Fielder Elementary School when the Cinco Ranch Development Corporation
donated the land for this school to the school district. The school that was
built on the land cost $4,951,000.
It has had some things added to it since then, but when first built, that’s all
it cost the taxpayers.
Give credit to Ken Leach, Superintendent Hugh Hayes, and members of his administration for that money saving measure. (Too bad Leonard Merrell and Alton Frailey weren't as interested in saving the school district's money!)
The
Cinco Ranch Development Corporation donated the land because it needed a school
in Cinco Ranch in order to entice prospective home buyers to come to the area.
Until 1991 with Golbow Elementary and McDonald Junior High, the school district
had never built schools in areas where there were not children living in the
attendance zone already. The purchase of land for those schools from a
delinquent taxpayer for the same amount as the delinquent taxes always seemed
fishy to me. Maybe if the actual
owners were not hidden under layers of corporations, it might not have smelled
so bad! I had raised questions about
the deal when I ran for the school board the first time.
Even as a member of the school board, I couldn’t find out about this
deal. Shortly after I left the Board, I figured out that the owner of the land was who I
had thought it was all along. Had I known earlier, in my opinion, I would have gotten on
the Board a year sooner.
I
would have to say that the investment by the Cinco Ranch Development Corporation
was a good one for them as well as for the school district's taxpayers.
The
practice of setting aside land for the purpose of school construction is an old
one. Look at any 1800’s original plat map for any Texas county, and you will see
whole sections set aside for the purpose of building public schools.
Too
bad that practice didn’t continue. However, it is not too late to revive it.
Think how economical it would be for school districts to designate school sites
in all areas of the district. The land could then be purchased by the developer
from the original owner with the full knowledge that he would be expected to
donate that land to the school district if he built in the area and wanted a
school constructed before there were students living in the attendance zones
surrounding the site. Remember too, that school districts have the power of
eminent domain, and actually only have to pay the “fair market value” for land
they need. [That would be "fair market value" in the
two preceding years before the school district showed an interest in purchasing that
land!]
There
are some states that already require an assessment on each home in a newly
constructed area to pay for the schools that must be built. It does not seem
fair to me, especially in a school district like Katy ISD, where people move here to
get their children educated (under the false illusion that Katy ISD schools are better
than other Texas public schools) and then leave as soon as their children are out of
the schools, leaving those of us who stay to foot the tax bills.
It is
important for the public to understand that the KISD school board has
significantly changed a prudent board practice, which is that formerly schools
were not built until the students who would inhabit them were present and living
in the district. Accommodation for those students in new areas of the district
was made in existing schools until those schools reached their actual, not
manipulated, capacities. It’s cheaper to buy another bus than to build a
half-empty school. No public discussion of this change of policy was ever made. No board ever voted on the
matter publicly. It was pretty much
a behind the scenes decision.
Hard earned tax dollars should not be used to help private enterprise. If
that practice is not illegal, it should be. It's not the function of a public
school district to help a select group in the private sector to increase the
number of residents in the school district! Think about it!!!! Is
anyone using public tax dollars to help YOU with your businesses in Katy?
Mostly it is the other way around--you, as a business person are the chump who's forking out the tax
dollars to help someone else besides yourself.
In the second 2006 Bond Election (the Katy Citizen Watchdogs defeated the first 2006 bond), the allocation for land purchases was listed at $11,211,812 on the referendum that all of us voted on—either for or against. Actually 19,211 (53.5%) voted FOR the bond and 16,731 (46.5%) voted AGAINST the bond. Considering that the opposition was led by seven leaders of the Watchdogs and that’s all with no funds, just words, and the opposition had thousands and thousands of dollars from builders/contractors, architects and other partisan supporters, we thought we did pretty well to get 46.5% of the vote!
Below are properties for which information is available. There are other properties that have been bought and sold. The district hides the information for these by claiming it is stored in some far away mystical place and that they will have to charge untold amounts to get to it. Actually all they would have to do is look in the Board minutes that are stored in the superintendent's office.
The oldest property that is still held by the district is the Broussard property. It contains .9750 acres and was purchased in 1913 from the James Conner survey, A-157, Fort Bend County. It is located south of Katy, southwest of Katy Flewellen (Cross-over Road) and Gaston Road intersection. There is no plan identified for the future use of this property. Total purchase price was $1.00. This property is listed below as well.
Green Trails Park (another property of exceptional interest) is a property of 10.0923 acres that was purchased in 1995 for $395,500. The property is east of IH-10 on the southwest corner of Kingsland Blvd and South Greenhouse Road. It includes all of the unrestricted Reserve A-Sec. 11, Harris County. The real intended use of the property, while never conveyed to the School Board, in my opinion was for the purpose of building an elementary school to take the place of Wolfe Elementary. I think superintendents Hayes and Merrell apparently both wanted to use the Wolfe Elementary property for something besides an elementary school for the east end of the District. Their desire to do so and intended plan was never stated publicly. I am the one who discovered and uncovered their true intent. Ken Burton was accused of initiating such a proposal and lost an election because of the vicious lies that were perpetrated against him in that regard. At his last meeting Mr. Burton polled the Board, and no one was able to claim that the Board had EVER discussed the matter at any time. The matter was used simply to defeat this incumbent. This property has since been sold so that, in my opinion, the issue of removing Wolfe Elementary School will go away!
Since the bond election in November of 2006, the school district has purchased
these properties:
Calvert Site
Cost $1,803,776.04
Number of acres: 13.803
Clay/Peek Site
Cost $5,237,525.50
Number of acres: 161.557
Hawk’s Landing Site
Cost $2,037,301.20
Number of acres:
31.18
Marwood Site
Cost $63,092.00
Number of acres:
.9256
Pine Forrest
Cost $1,867,591.44
Number of acres:
25.22
Pine Mill Site
Cost $820, 167.28
Number of acres:
13.947
Terrabrook Site
Cost $836,090.64
Number of acres:
13.71
Totals
Cost: $12,665,544.10
Total
number of acres: 260.3426
Average Cost Per Acre: $48,649.53
The land and proposed building dates were sent to me on September 17, 2010 by
the school district in an open records request. The list of land has a date on
it of September 9, 2010.
My other concern is that at the time of the 2006 bond election, the proposal
that we voted on was to spend $10,457,000.
In a more recent KISD document “$269 Million Dollar Status Report July
31, 2010” The stated “original allocation” is $11,211,812.
The “Expenditures Booked to Date” number is $9,613,921 with the “Estimated Cost
to Complete: number at $2,302,843 for a “Current Estimated Project Cost" of
$11,916,764.
However, when one adds up the land purchased since November 2006, the total
amount spent, is $11,833,768.20 which is a tad more than $9,613,921! It’s also
more than the $10,457,000 figure.
So we have TWO “original bond amounts,” we have TWO “expenditures booked to
date” amounts, and this taxpayer is confused.
I suppose my first question is, does anyone at the Administration
Building know how much they were supposed to spend on land?
My second question is, does anyone know how much the district has
actually spent on land since November 2006?
My third question is why DOESN’T anyone know?
My fourth question is why are we buying land long before
it’s needed? And my fifth question is, why should I trust the District with any
more bond money if no one can account for the way they have spent what we
already gave them?
How responsible is a superintendent and his Board if they can’t get the
administrators to exhibit better accountability than this?
And last but not least, I have a real problem with purchases of
elementary sites that cost way too much for such a site and way too much for the part of
town in which they are located as well as being way larger than is needed to build an
elementary school.
The Calvert Site is on Greenhouse Road about five blocks north of Mayde Creek
Elementary. I suppose the demographics show another elementary is needed.
However, this property, the year before it was purchased for
$1,803,776.04, was appraised by the District and was on the tax rolls for
$1,402,773 in 2006, and that number was lower than the previous year.
So why would we buy that particular piece of land as it looks to me like
there’s empty land all over the place in that vicinity, for maybe half a million
dollars more than it’s worth? Is
there someone out there acting as a go between for owners of empty or otherwise
undesirable lots and the school district who drives really hard bargains?
And then there’s the Pine Forest site that the year before it was purchased for $1,867,591.44 was on the tax rolls and appraised for $790,410. It’s only 25 acres—too big for an elementary school and too small for a junior high school. Maybe it’s going to be another bus barn or something. (Oh yeah, there's no one over there who needs busing!) There is a small subdivision of older (35 to 40 years old) homes nearby, but there is no prospect of any new homes going in at that location. I’m guessing that these are the homes from which the students are bused to Wolfe Elementary. Perhaps someone was jumping the gun about what was going to happen at Wolfe. We can only guess about that, as no one ever tells the public anything! I drove by this site—you can too! Go north on Hiway 6, and turn left on Pine Forest Drive. You’ll miss the location if you are too busy looking at the abandoned real estate all around it. Don’t go at night! It certainly isn’t a very good place for a school, in my opinion. So why did our school board pay 1.1 million dollars more than the property was worth? Again I have to wonder about how someone gets the Board to buy land like this and about the intelligence of the Boards that allow these purchases.
I want someone to tell us why we purchased those two overpriced sites, please.
And where the Dickens is that Bond Review Committee, anyway?
**************************************************************************************************************************************************************
Here is a list of KISD’s currently held undeveloped properties and what the
District paid for them. (Source: KISD Open Records Requests) I asked for the
names of the sellers, and since that information is a matter of public record,
it would be illegal to withhold it. Hoping that someone has just forgotten to
send it, I have asked for it again, but so far it has not been forthcoming. When
I receive it, I will update this posting.
Cinco Ranch Site
The entire Cinco Ranch High School complex land was purchased on
August 29, 1996. The purchase included both the acquisition of 130.875 acres,
at a cost of $19,250 per acre, and 31.577 acres, at a cost of $5,000 per acre
for a total cost of $2,677,228.75. Acquisition of the 31.577 acre parcel was
required as part of the overall transaction and was foreseen as a potential
support service [bus barn] site for the District. Due to the diminishing ability
to easily access the site [and no proof of that inaccessibility has been offered
to the public in an open meeting], the Board felt that it would be appropriate
to consider the sale of the property. The Board approved the recommendation to
declare the 31.577 acre parcel as surplus on January 23, 2006. The property was
advertised for sale, bids were received and opened on April 10, 2006, and Falcon
Ranch Associates bid $14,750.00 per acre. Ultimately, the transaction did not
occur per the conditions of the contract. [No public indication as to the
failure of that transaction as well as any information regarding the viability
and acceptability of the other bids has been provided to the public in an open
meeting.] There is now a newly opened park on the 31 acres which was leased by a Falcon
Ranch MUD. The park is open to the public.
Broussard Site
Acreage of 0.975 acres was purchased in 1913 in the James Conner
survey, A-157, Fort Bend County. The property is located south of Katy,
southwest of Katy Flew Ellen (Cross-over Road) and Gaston Road intersection.
There is no plan for use identified by the school district. The total purchase
price was $1.00.
Green Trails Park Site
Acreage of 10.0923 acres was purchased in 1995 and includes all of
the unrestricted Reserve A - Section 11, of Harris County. The property is
located east [sic] of IH-10 on the southwest corner of Kingsland Blvd. and South
Greenhouse Road. There is no plan for use of this property. The total purchase price was $395,500. Cost per acre was
$39,188.29. [That property has now been sold.]
Morris & Cummings Site
Acreage of 131.3381 and 28.79 for a total of 160.2 acres was
purchased in 1983 and 2005 and includes A229500A-295 of the Morris & Cummings,
Tract 2, Fort Bend County. The property is located south of Katy on Gaston and
Katy Road at Green Busch Road. The planned use of the property is for high
school # VII (now Tompkins High School) and Stadium # 2. The total purchase price was $2,068,447. Cost for
the two purchases would have been of differing amounts, but averaging the two,
the cost per acre was $12,911.65. [Please note that the original intent was to put Stadium
#2 at this location.] So in 2005, they bought land for a
stadium, and then they sold it and bought MORE land for a second stadium, and now they are
going to have to buy yet an additional parcel of land for a stadium! They get to
have it in Old Katy and boost the local economy. I can't wait to see the traffic
jam. Interested citizens should read elsewhere in this section about the Western Gas Salt
Dome.
Of interest as well is the fact that Katy ISD appears to receive royalties from an oil and gas lease from this property.
PUBLIC NOTICE
Legal Notice
The Katy Times
The Board of Trustees of the Katy Independent School District will receive bids on oil and gas lease for the following property:
131.2601 acre [sic], more or less, situated in the Morris and Cummings Survey, A-295, Fort Bend County, Texas, being the same land described in deed dated May 17, 1983, recorded in Vol. 1204, Page 495 et seq of the Official Records of Fort Bend County, Texas, from Michael R. Pickering, Trustee, to the Katy Independent School District.
Bids will be received at the Katy Independent School District Administration Building, 6301 South Stadium Lane, Katy, Texas 77450, Attention: Earl Walden, until 12:00 noon, Monday, August 22, 1983.
By authorization of the Katy Independent School District Board of Trustees Eugene P. Myrick, President,
P. O. 22848
8-21s
One has to wonder if KISD still receives these royalties and why they are not reported to the School Board. I know I should have been told about this lease when the KISD school board was discussing whether or not to render a statement of approval or disapproval of the Western Gas Proposal in the 1990's.
Clay Road Site
Acreage of 31.9396 was purchased in 2001 and includes W.C.R.R. Comp
Survey, Abstract 906, Section 21, Block 2 in Harris County. The property is
located south of Clay Road and west of Greenhouse Road. The planned use of the
property is for a junior high school (Cardiff Junior High). The purchase price was $1,391,288. Cost
per acre was $43,559.97. Cardiff Junior High opened in 2008, seven years after the land
was taken off the tax rolls.
WoodCreek #1 Site
Acreage of 30.272 acres was purchased in 2003 and includes a
portion of the WoodCreek Reserve Subdivision. The property is located within
the WoodCreek Reserve Subdivision between Katy Flewellen road and FM 1463 south
of I-10. The planned use of the property is for a junior high school (Woodcreek Junior
High was opened in 2008, five years after the purchase of the property). The
purchase price was $1,598,310. Cost per acre was $52,798.30.
Morton Ranch Site
Acreage of 16.298 acres was purchased in 2003 and includes a
portion of the Golbow tract. The property is located west of and adjacent to
Morton Ranch Junior High. The planned use of the property is for an elementary
school (Morton Ranch Elementary which opened in 2008, five years after the purchase of the
property). The purchase price was $709,927. Cost per acre was $43,559.15.
Seven Meadows Site
Acreage of 12.2853 acres was purchased in 2003 and is part of the
La Patillo Survey A-307 in Fort Bend County. The property is located on Gaston
road and Seven Meadows Parkway at the intersection south of Fry Road and west of
the Grand Parkway. The planned use of the property is for an elementary school.
The purchase price was $722,452. Cost per acre was $58,806.22. Holland
Elementary has been built on this property and opened in August 2008, five years after the
property was purchased.
Firethorne Site
Acreage of 13.491 acres was purchased in 2005 from the William Ames
Survey, Abstract 104 in Fort Bend. The property is located on the northeast
corner of Firethorne Road and South Firethorne Road on FM 1463. The planned use
of the property is for an elementary school (Wolman Elementary). The purchase price was $734,564.
Cost per acre was $54,448.45. [The reader should note the fact that the
representative of the developer of Firethorne was a member of both of the 2006
bond committees and the 2010 bond committee.]
In the 2006 Bond Election, the allocation for land purchases was listed at $11,211,812 on the referendum that all of us voted on—either for or against. Actually 19,211 (53.5%) voted FOR the bond and 16,731 (46.5%) voted AGAINST the bond. Considering that the opposition was led by seven leaders of the Watchdogs and that’s all, and the opposition had thousands and thousands of dollars from builders/contractors, architects and other partisan supporters, we thought we did pretty well to get 46.5% of the vote!
The stipulated amount was $11,211.812 for land purchases in the 2006 Bond
Referendum.
Bhandara Property Site
Acreage of 47.2 acres was purchased in 2005 from the Bhandara Family Revocable Trust, and
is in the H.T.& C.
Railroad Co. Survey, Abstract 452. [TRS 2N-1 S2P - 1 Abstract 452
H&TCRR Section 65 Block 2. The property is located on the northwest
corner of Clay Road and Katy Hockley Road. The planned use of the property is
for an elementary school and a junior high school. The purchase price was
$849,600. Cost per acre was $18,000. [No schools built there yet (1/19/17)] The 2005
value of the property on HCAD in 2005 was $8,024. [See HCAD Ownership History:
0431180000096] [Information accessed from HCAD on 8/20/2008] The property was
purchased by Katy ISD on April 21, 2005. In 2007, the property was still being evaluated
by Paul Bettencourt, the Harris County Tax-Assessor-Collector
as "having an appraised value of $246,724! The property has been off the tax rolls
for 12 years.
Cross Creek Ranch Site
Acreage of 123.09 acres was purchased in 2006. Originally owned by Joe R. and Lisa G.
Calvert at 3035 Greenhouse Road, Houston, TX 77084-4415. The home was built in 1955 and
has 2,445 square feet. The Legal description is TR 2 ABST 216 3
Clifford. There was originally a home on the property valued at $151,773 in 2007 and
$159,777 in 2008. The land acreage by itself both years has market value of $81,160. The planned
use of the property is for a junior high school and a high school. The purchase
price was $4,000,425. Cost per acre was $32,500. (No junior high or high schools built
there yet eleven years later(1/19/17)].
Calvert Site
Acreage of 13.803 acres was purchased in 2007. [Originally owned by Joe R. and Lisa G.
Calvert at 3035 Greenhouse Road, Houston, TX 77084-4415. The home was built in 1955 and
has 2,445 square feet. The Legal description is TR 2 ABST 216 J
Clifford. There was originally a home on the property valued at $153,800 in 2006, $153,800
in 2005, and $148,000 in 2004. $151,773 in 2007 and $159,777 in 2008. The land
acreage by itself both years has market value of $81,160.t is located at the Northwest corner of
Greenhouse Road at Oak Ridge Park Drive south of Greenhouse Road and
Morton Road intersection. The
purchase cost was $1,803,776.04. The land will be used as the location of an elementary
school for the projected date of 2014. Cost per acre was $130,679.99. [As of January 19,
2017 this
piece of property is still just sitting there, empty and off the tax rolls.]
Clay/Peek Site
Acreage of 140 acres west of the future Grand Parkway corridor at the southwest corner of
Peek and Stockdick School roads was purchased on August 27, 2007. The planned use of
the property is for a high school, to open in 2013, and a junior high and elementary
school to open 2011-2013. The cost of the land was 4.97 million dollars. The
cost per acre was $35,000. And then, there's
the second District statement about this property! Acreage of 146.9 acres at the
southwest corner of Peek Road and Stockdick School Road was purchased in 2008. The
property was purchased from Clay/Peek 640, L. P. %Eileen Savage, 9 Greenway PLZ STE
2900, Houston, TX 77046-0923The planned use of the property is for an elementary, junior
high and high school. The cost of the parcel is $4,772,780.50. The cost per
acre is $32,490. In 2007 the market value of the land, according to HCAD documents was
$1,835,436 and the appraised value of the land was $36,103. [http://www.hcad.org/records/details.asp?tab=&bld=1&bld=1&card=1&taxyear=2008&acct=0470...
(8/20/2008] The junior high and high school will open in 2017. The delay
reflects the poor planning and faulty demographic projections, in my opinion, of the
school district's administrative staff and consultant demographer.
And then there's a third declaration of the purchase time, price and plan for this
property "Acreage of 161.557 acres was purchased in 2008. TR 1A ABST 1323 H&TCRR SEC
46 BK 2. It is located on the southwest corner of
Peek Road and Stockdick School Road. It was purchased from Clay/Peek640 LP.
The purchase cost was $5,237,525.50. The land will be used for elementary, junior
high and a high school, projected to be completed by 2014, 2014, and 2015. Cost per acre
was $32,419.053. [Notice here, the intent in 2008 for this property.] Bethke
Elementary opened in August 2016. Stockdick Junior High and Paetow High School are
set to open here in the fall of 2017. So land purchased nine years ago is finally of use.
It would appear that the school district bought land three times in this same location. That's another way to hide the true and accurate cost of the land.
Another point that needs to be made is that while sometimes it is prudent to purchase land in a highly desirable area at the lowest price possible several years in advance, many of KISD's land purchases are made in areas where there IS no demand for the land, and it has been much lower in value just up until the District purchases the land. It seems there is a plot afoot to scalp the District on land purchases.
Hawk's Landing Site
Acreage of 31.18 acres was purchased in 2009. No indication given as to the
legal description of the property. It is located in Hawk's Landing subdivision on
Hawk's Prairie Blvd. It was purchased from Simmons Katy Gaston LTD. The
purchase cost was $2,037,301.20. The land will be used for a junior high school.
Cost of the land per acre was $65,340.00. Tays Junior High has been built and opened in
August 2016, seven years after the property was purchased.
Marwood Site
Acreage of 0.9256 acres was purchased in 2007. No indication given as to
the legal description of the property. It is located on the NW Corner of Greenhouse
Road at Oak Ridge Park Drive south of Greenhouse Road and Morton Road
intersection. It was purchased from Marwood Land Investments LP. The purchase
price was $63,092.00. The land will be used with the Calvert Site (see above)
as the location for an elementary school to be completed by 2011. Cost of the land
per acre was $68,163.353 There's still nothing built on this land ten years later.
Peek Road Site
In the past the school district purchased a site on Peek Road for a high school. It was
sold to Faith West, complete with the lake. It was a perfect spot for a high school.
The story is that the Old Katy fathers didn't want a new high school anywhere near Katy
High School because they didn't want to lose their territory because of the football team.
When it started to look like they weren't going to be able to keep new high schools from
being built, they looked for another means of controlling their space--thus four (maybe
seven) committed members of the school board who will always vote to protect KHS's
boundaries. This presumption, of course, is just my opinion!
Pine Forest Site
Acreage of 25.22 acres was purchased in 2007. The legal description is PT TR 4Y (Homesite)
ABST 907 SCRR CO SEC 15 BLK 2. It is located at 16212 Pine Forest Drive/Lane,
Houston, Texas 77084 west of
Hiway 6. It was purchased from Pine Forest Lake Properties LTD, 5858 Westheimer Road STE
703, Houston, TX 77057-5647.. (The purchase price was $1,867,591.44. There is no indication for the use of the land
although initially it was stated that it was for an elementary school (TBD). Cost
of the land per acre was $74,052.00. The market value of the property and the home on it
in the 2007 Harris County Appraisal District statement was $75,747 and in 2008 it
was $101,602. The residence on it had been built in 1955 and was valued at $36,262.
My guess is that the plan was to make Wolf Elementary an IB magnet school, and this
property, with an elementary school on it, was to provide for the students that live in
the Clay Road/Hiway 6 area who would stop being bussed to Wolfe Elementary. Thankfully MY
complaints that were supported by Henry Dibrell kept that from happening. Hopefully
in the future everyone will have the good sense to keep IB (socialist backed schools) out
of Katy ISD! Even though the District has sold the Green Trails property, they have been
unwilling or unable to unload this totally undesirable piece of land.
Pine Mill Site
Acreage of 13.11 acres was purchased in 2007 at a purchase price of $799,500.24.
Then also in 2007 acreage of 13.947 acres was purchased. No indication given as to
the legal description of the property either time. It is located at the southwest corner of Pine
Mill Ranch Road and Katy Flewellen Road. It was purchased from the Cardiff
Ranch LP. The purchase price stated was $820,167.28 the second time. The land will be used for
an elementary school. Cost of the land per acre was $58,806. Keiko Davidson Elementary
opened in August 2014 seven years after the property was purchased. No explanation was
ever given as to the discrepancy between one report and another. The second purchase
cost $20,667.04 more than the first price. Since only 10.3 acres are needed for an
elementary school, it is not clear why the District would buy such a small amount of land
to add on to the original agreed upon price.
Terrabrook Site
Acreage of 13.71 acres was purchased in 2008. No indication given asto the legal description of the property.
[Or, another statement by the District says it was purchased in 2007 and that there were
13.11 acres!] It is located on Falcon Landing Blvd.and the intersection of Hinesdale Park Lane. It was purchased from Terrabrook Ciinco Ranch SW LP.
The first announced purchase price was $799,500.24. With a cost per acre of
$60,984.00. The second announced purchase price was $836,090.64. The land will be used for an elementary school in 2012. Cost of the land per acre
was $60,984. Wilson Elementary opened in August 2012. Once again, the "real" cost of
this school will never be known, and the reason for purchasing more land than is necessary
for an elementary school has not been divulged.
Since the 2010 Bond Election these additional properties have been bought.
York/EYS site
Acreage of 42.7512 acres was purchased in ?. No indication given yet as to the legal description of the property. No location was given either except that it is "on Franz Road." It was purchased from York Interests, LTD and EYS Holdings. The purchase price was $6,052,287.38. The land will be used for "future facility development." The cost of the land per acre was $141,569.99.
Terrabrook Cinco Ranch SW site
Acreage of 13.73 acres was purchased in ?. No indication given yet as to the legal description of the property. The location is at the SW corner of Cinco Ranch Blvd. and the future Ranch Pointe Road. The land was purchased from Terrabrook Cinco Ranch Southwest, L. P. The purchase price was $917,029.98. The land will be used for "future facility development." The cost of the land per acre was $66,887.67.
Powerhouse site
Acreage of 16.446 acres was purchased in ?. No indication given yet as to the legal description of the property. The north boundary of the property is adjacent to recently acquired school district owned property. The south boundary is adjacent to the Rhodes Stadium Complex. The western boundary is adjacent to the Powerhouse facility with the eastern boundary adjacent to Katy Fort Bend Road. The land was purchased from the Powerhouse Church. The purchase price was $2,507,407.00. The land was supposed to be for second site for the new stadium that was supposed to be approved in the 2013 bond election but which was instead defeated. Now it is listed as for "future facility development." The cost of the land per acre was $152,463.03. Currently the second stadium is being built there and is scheduled to open in 2017.
Cross Creek Ranch site
Acreage of 13.64 acres was purchased in 2006. No indication given yet as to the legal description of the property. The location of the property is at Flewellen Oaks Lane in Cross Creek Ranch development. No cross street was given. The land was purchased from Trendmaker Homes. The purchase price was $1,188,502.00. The land will be used for "future facility development." Randolph Elementary opened here in 2014, eight years after the property was purchased. There were most likely no homes in this subdivision in 2006. The cost of the land per acre was $87,133.58.
Fedorko site
Acreage of 9.994 acres was purchased in ? No indication given yet as to the legal description of the property. The location of the property is "adjacent to the west property line of Katy High School. The property was purchased from John. W. Fedorko. The purchase price was $835,000.00. The land will be used for "future facility development." The cost of the land per acre was $83,550.13.
Nash Cinco NW site
Acreage of 13.4 acres was purchased in ? No indication given yet as to the legal description of the property. The location of the property is at the corner of Westridge Creek Lane and Horizon Bluff Lane west of Cinco Trace Boulevard. The property was purchased from Nash Cinco NW, LLC. The purchase price was $1,049,841.00. The land will be used for "future facility development." The cost of the land per acre was $78,346.34
RH of Texas Limited Partnership
Acreage of 14.6 acres was purchased in July 2014. No indication available as to the legal description of the property. The location of the property is on Kingsland Boulevard west of Pederson Road. The purchase price was "estimated not to exceed $1.536 million. The cost per acre was estimated at $105,205.47.
Evidently buying land and then
re-selling and/or brokering it to the inept Katy ISD School Board is a quite profitable
venture. There is nothing illegal about the transactions, but they sure make Katy ISD look
like chumps.
Please notify
me at Icemom617@aol.com to report any factual errors. I
do not wish to be inaccurate with my comments or facts.