Members of the public packed Potter County Courthouse during the July 5th hearing

Visiting judge William Sowder has set the scene for how the ongoing battle over civic center funding will proceed.

During a hearing on July 5th, Sowder officially merged the two lawsuits regarding the funding of civic center improvements. The two suits included one initiated by Alex Fairly who alleged that the chosen funding mechanism was not legal and one initiated by the city who asked for an expedited judgment declaring their choice of funding mechanism legal.

Both suits revolved around Chapter 1431 of the Texas Government Code, which allows government entities to issue “anticipatory notes.” A major distinction between anticipatory notes and more standard municipal bonds is that anticipatory notes do not require calling an election for approval. In April, the city approved issuance of anticipatory notes worth $260 million for Civic Center upgrades. This would be the largest use of anticipatory bonds in Texas history, with the next largest being $60 million issued by San Antonio in 2007 for flood and fire infrastructure.

At the end of the hearing, there were several other issues for the judge to rule on. Those decisions involved the timing of the trial, whether or not the trial would feature a jury, and the scope of discovery that would be allowed in the trial.

Those decisions are now in. Regarding the timing of the case, there will be a hearing during the first week of October with the trial lasting for two days.

On the question of whether or not the trial will feature a jury, the city was victorious as Sowder ruled that there will be no jury, citing Chapter 1205 of the Texas Government Code.

Fairly’s legal team did get a victory in the form of expanded discovery, with Sowder ruling that numerous documents requested by Fairly must be provided by August 5th. Fairly’s team will also be granted requested depositions of city officials, which will be completed by September 23rd.