The Galveston County Daily News

FRIENDSWOOD — Friendswood officials will negotiate with Alvin to annex 60 acres the city planned to buy for parks before a judge ruled in July that the land could not be purchased with money from certificates of obligation.

Some Friendswood City Council members said Monday night they still had questions about the judge’s ruling, which they said did not specifically prohibit the city from buying land outside its city limits.

Judge Scott Jenkins of the 53rd District Court signed an order in July ruling in favor of five residents, who dubbed themselves the Friendswood 5. The residents fought the city’s plans to issue $11 million in certificates of obligation to pay for several projects, including buying parkland in Alvin.

In his order, Jenkins wrote simply that all relief sought by the city was denied and the city took nothing in the case. The order did not specifically say the city couldn’t buy the land using other sources of revenue, some council members argued.

By annexing the land, the city would avoid any legal questions about buying the land outside of city limits. Friendswood also would avoid paying penalties for terminating the $2.6 million contract the city signed in September 2008.

According to the terms of the contract, Friendswood may have to pay $180,000 plus the cost of improvements to the property to cancel the contract. The total cost of improvements was estimated at $1.25 million. However, city officials do not know how much landowner David Wight has improved the land. The city has estimated Wight did up to $400,000 of work.

The city tried to buy the land in Alvin because officials said it was the cheapest and the 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.