City Council to Discuss Civic Center Lawsuit Appeal During Executive Session

Potter County District Courthouse | Photo by Noah Dawson

Following other items, including consideration of $1.9 million in spending items, Amarillo City Council will meet behind closed doors to discuss various items in an executive session. Included on the executive session agenda is a consultation with the city’s legal team regarding the civic center lawsuit, which is currently being appealed.

The lawsuit was filed by businessman Alex Fairly, who sued the City of Amarillo, alleging the city broke numerous state laws when it attempted to use tax anticipation notes (TANs) to fund improvements to the Amarillo Civic Center Complex. According to Judge William Sowder, who ruled against the city after a trial held last October, the city’s actions constituted “a plan by the city to ultimately issue tax anticipation notes with the intent to do so with as little notice and discussion as possible.” The move to issue the tax anticipation notes also received public criticism, with many pointing out that voters had recently rejected a similar bond-funded proposal.

Both sides have since appealed the ruling to the Seventh District Court of Appeals. Briefings filed by the City of Amarillo continue to maintain that the city followed the law, while briefings filed by Alex Fairly argue Judge Sowder should have been harsher in his ruling.

While the TANs issuance was originally approved by a 4 to 1 vote of the council, it appears the council now has a 3 to 1 majority against the proposal.

Cole Stanley, who was the only vote against the project, was elected Mayor in a record-breaking landslide on May 6th. Voters also sent Don Tipps, who testified against the city during the trial, and Tom Scherlen, who campaigned against the original bond issuance in 2020, to the city council.

The only current member of the council who supported the TANs issuance is Howard Smith, who voted in favor of the plan. While he did not run for reelection, he is currently set to remain in office until the winner of the upcoming June 24th runoff is sworn in.

(There is also a runoff occurring for Place 1. However, Cole Stanley, who was the incumbent in the seat, was elected mayor. This means the seat is currently vacant pending the runoff.)

During the mayoral campaign, Cole Stanley argued that the city should drop its appeal. This drew some criticism, as dropping the appeal would also mean the city must pay Alex Fairly’s legal fees, which were awarded to Fairly by Judge Sowder. During a city council meeting held shortly before the election, then-mayor Ginger Nelson presented allegations that Stanley’s support had been in exchange for Fairly giving a substantial contribution to Stanley’s campaign. However, much of the public remained supportive of Stanley, with some voters who spoke to The Amarillo Pioneer calling Nelson’s actions “a witch hunt.”

Following the discussion of the lawsuit, other items on the executive session agenda include discussing the purchase of property in the Southwest, Northwest, and Northeast quadrants of the city, as well as an economic development project in the Northeast quadrant of the city.