Amarillo City Hall/Photo by Noah Dawson
Amarillo City Council will meet in an executive session next week to discuss the civic center lawsuit and the city’s interlocal agreement with Randall County.
Earlier this month, the city filed a petition with the Supreme Court of Texas challenging a ruling from the Seventh District Court of Appeals requiring the city to pay Alex Fairly legal fees associated with his lawsuit against the city. The lawsuit successfully challenged the validity of tax notes meant to fund renovations to the Amarillo Civic Center. Then, just weeks after the city filed the petition, the legal team which had advised the city throughout the suit motioned to withdraw from the case.
The city has also been facing issues regarding its relationship with Randall County. Earlier this month, the Randall County Commissioner’s Court voted to terminate its agreement allowing the city utilize the county’s jail. The city is tentatively hoping to be able to pass a new version of the agreement during their upcoming December 12th regular meeting according to a rolling agenda planner, though it is not certain a deal will be reached by then. The existing agreement will remain in force until early May, at which point it will officially expire.
The meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, November 29th, at 5:00 pm and will be held in the Council Chamber. The executive session will not be open to the public. The council is not scheduled to hold a regular meeting until December 12th. The full agenda for the November 29th meeting can be found at this link.