Thurber files suit against city
Former Wimberley Mayor Steve Thurber has filed a lawsuit in the Hays County District Court against the city of Wimberley alleging violations of the Texas Open Meetings Act in relationship to the vote to deannex Sabino Ranch from the city of Wimberley.
Wimberley City Attorney Charles Zech said it was premature to comment on the lawsuit. City Administrator Shawn Cox and Mayor Susan Jaggers declined to comment. Scott Johnson, owner of Sabino Ranch, which is not named as a defendant in the lawsuit but is referred to multiple times, declined to comment.
The lawsuit supposes that the city council approved the deannexation of Sabino Ranch in exchange for easements needed to complete the sewer line that would connect the city’s sewer collection system to Aqua Texas’ system.
The lawsuit calls the act an “apparent quid pro quo.” Quid pro quo is defined at “a favor or advantage granted or expected in return for something.”
The lawsuit does not specifically claim that a “quid pro quo,” if it occurred, would be illegal. However, the suit does allege that the discussion of such a situation should have been properly posted as an agenda item for the council to discuss so the public would know what the council was considering. It also argued that such potential discussions on the easement acquisition were not qualified for discussion in Executive Session.
“To promote open government, (Texas Open Meetings Act) limits the exceptions for which a government body may seek to discuss issues in closed meetings,” the lawsuit said.“...(E)ven if the city council sought legal advice regarding the disannexation, a discussion of the easement, especially if that discussion involved a quid pro quo of exchanging the critical easement for the disannexation, is beyond the scope of exception.”
The suit also suggests that the discussions about the easement took place before the council voted on the disannexation in a fashion that could qualify as a walking quorum. It does not give specifics of any alleged illegal meetings in this relation, but the suit claims the “evolution of the City’s contract with Aqua Texas supports the existence of a quid pro quo and a possible ‘walking quorum’ to discuss that quid pro quo.” A walking quorum is a series of meetings or discussions of elected members of less than a quorum in order to discuss public business and later approve that action during a public meeting with a quorum.
The lawsuit, which was filed on May 17, asks for the judge void the city council’s decision to deannex Sabino Ranch, compel the city to release “all transcripts, minutes recordings, and other evidence of the subject closed meetings,” require the city to pay for Thurber’s attorney fees and court costs for the suit and “that the Court grant (Thurber) such other and further relief, at law or in equity, as he may be entitled to receive.”