The Galveston County Daily News

FRIENDSWOOD — The city will have to pay more than $1 million in penalties in a stalled land deal if it can’t escape a contract with the jilted seller.

A judge ruled last week that the city cannot buy 60 acres in Alvin, just outside its limits. The ruling forces the city to terminate its contract with landowner David Wight. Although the city council has yet to officially vote on the future of the contract, Councilwoman Leslie Reid said Monday the city won’t buy the land.

If Friendswood cancels its contract with Wight Realty Interests Ltd., the city would have to pay $180,000 plus the cost of improvements to the property, according to the contract. The total cost of improvements was estimated at $1.25 million, bringing the total amount to $1.43 million, half the land’s $2.6 million price tag.

But one sentence in the contract could allow the city to back out of the deal without paying the penalties. The agreement between Wight and Friendswood “shall be construed and interpreted in accordance with the laws” of the state, the contract states.

The city plans to discuss the matter with Wight, Mayor David Smith said.

Ballpark Space

The city argued the Alvin land was the cheapest, best possible site for a new ballpark to alleviate crowding at others. But some residents argued the city was breaking the law and had agreed to pay too much for the land along FM 528.

The Alvin land was a bargain compared to land in Friendswood, Councilman Jim Barr said Monday.

After the judge ruled the city can’t buy land outside its limits, Friendswood might have trouble finding a new place to put a ballpark, Joe Russo, president of the Friendswood Little League, said. Open spaces are rare in Friendswood, Russo said. And, land is much cheaper in Brazoria County than in Galveston or Harris counties, Brannon said.

The 850 children in Little League desperately need new space, Russo said. There is no space to practice, he said. Games, which are often stacked back to back, stretch on until 10 p.m. on weeknights, Russo said. A city the size of Friendswood needs 360 acres of fields to accommodate children playing sports; Friendswood has 190, city officials say.

If the crowding gets any worse, the city might have to institute a lottery system for Little League, Councilman Jim Hill said.

For now, baseball and softball teams will have to make do with the cramped space they have, Russo said.

“But the good thing is, we finally have a city council looking hard at trying to take care of children and athletic facilities,” he said.

Councilman, Landowner Are Friends

Five residents who dubbed themselves the Friendswood 5, have raised questions about whether Councilman Mike Barker orchestrated the deal to help Wight, a friend of 30 years.

Barker did not return phone calls seeking comment.

Wight said he was angered by assertions that the deal was unethical, he said.

“Anybody who knows me cannot question my integrity,” Wight said.

Wight, the owner of a construction company, has done work for Friendswood since 1977. Through the years, Wight has been awarded $1.6 million in city contracts to fix drainage, pave a parking lot and replace a lift station, according to city records.

Wight and Barker have known each other since the late 1970s, both said. They’ve done business together. Wight bought machinery from Barker’s business, M.E. Barker Equipment Co., in the late 1980s, he said.

The two haven’t had business dealings since then, Wight said.

Last year, Barker asked Wight if he was interested in selling land to Friendswood so the city could build a ballpark, Wight said. Wight agreed to sell the land for $1.3 million and improve the property by adding a detention pond and installing a parking lot, among other things, for another $1.3 million. Barker was the point of contact during the land deal, according to city e-mails. City council members voted unanimously in September to sign an earnest money contract with Wight.

‘My Heart’s Broken’

Friendswood, however, agreed to pay three times more for the land than its assessed value, according to Brazoria County Appraisal District records.

The city in September signed a contract to spend $1.3 million for the 60 acres, which is in three parcels of 30, 20 and 10 acres. The appraisal district assessed that property in 2008 for less than $400,000.

Friendswood agreed to pay $658,108 for 30 acres, four times more than the property’s assessed market value of $149,550, appraisal district records show. The city agreed to spend $440,000 for 10 acres although appraisal district records show the property is assessed $125,000 on the market.

However, Wanda Morris, a Brazoria County Realtor, said $1.3 million is reasonable for 60 acres along FM 528.

Residential property in Alvin typically sells for $10,000 to $12,000 an acre, but the size and property on FM 528 makes it more valuable, Morris said.

Wight said he didn’t know the market value of the land, but he was confident Friendswood was not paying any more for the property than it should.

“I actually had the city’s best interest at heart,” he said.

Hill said he was disappointed the city would be unable to buy the space for a much-needed ballpark.

“My heart’s broken over this,” he said. “We were assured all the way that we were on solid legal ground.”