BOERNE — Despite efforts by Kendall County commissioners to stymie the development of a local Buc-ee’s, the fueling and retail chain famous for clean restrooms and Beaver Nuggets will break ground this fall.
The news caps seven years of negotiations and debate to establish the site on Interstate 10 West near the U.S. 87 bridge. Although economic agreements were reached between the Texas corporation, Boerne and Kendall County officials in 2016, the Texas Department of Transportation’s construction of the bridge — now complete — left the development in limbo.
During the last few weeks, local entities indicated they wanted to leverage the property worth millions instead of letting Buc-ee’s have it, in spite of previous agreements. In the end, commissioners decided to move forward without a contest to stave off legal challenges, effectively consenting to the establishment of the Buc-ee’s.
“Although I cannot speak to the opinions of the other members of the (Kendall County) Commissioners Court, I believe we all wanted to ensure that we were fulfilling our duties and performing due diligence to look out for the best interests of the county,” Precinct 2 Commissioner Andra Wisian recently told The Star.
The state highway department had owned the nearly 3-acre tract of land at 87 and I-10 needed for a utility hookup to the Buc-ee’s building, but it couldn’t be deemed state surplus – thus eligible for sale – until construction of the new bridge was complete.
Once traffic flowed more freely, the land was up for grabs. The Boerne Independent School District, the city and the county had first rights – something they’d all agreed to relinquish years ago, as expressed in a letter in 2018 written by an attorney representing Kendall County.
“You (Buc-ee’s) have asked if Kendall County intends to exercise its right to purchase excess right-of-way property abutting the planned Bucee’s Travel Center,” former county general counsel Bill Ballard wrote. “Kendall County will not exercise its right to purchase excess right of way abutting the planned Buc-ee’s…” However, when the letter finally arrived on the desks of a new group of commissioners following the May elections, the county leaders initially sought to squash the forfeiture and purchase the tract.
The newest commissioners have repeatedly exercised the right to overturn previous court decisions, but Precinct 3 Commissioner Richard Chapman said a decision could not be dissolved if it had a negative impact on a third party.
Wisian in a recent session wondered: Was there ever a court order to waive the county’s right to the property?
She noted that while Ballard represents the county in legal matters, he couldn’t make decisions on behalf of the elected Commissioners Court.
“The court order is, ‘The county and the company shall do all things necessary or appropriate to carry out the terms or provisions of this agreement,’” said Stan Beard, Buc-ee’s director of real estate, recently reading from a county-company document.
County Judge Shane Stolarczyk countered the agreement concerns a potential sales-tax abatement and does not mention the property.
The judge noted Bucee’s was receiving a “favorable” 20-year tax break and also wants a property worth “several million dollars.”
“We have a value for it, otherwise we wouldn’t have expressed an interest in buying it,” Stolarcyzk said.
The tax-incentive agreement, inked by county commissioners in 2016, reimburses Buc-ee’s 50% of the sales tax collected over its first two decades of operation.
Beard argued the only value to the county would be to sell it back to him at a markup, noting the “economic sliver” of land was 120 feet in depth at its widest.
Three weeks after this back and forth between Beard and the commissioners, the court opted to rescind a letter to TxDOT requesting to purchase the surplus property in an effort to avoid legal ramifications.
Chapman said the tract of land would become essentially “worthless” to anyone who bought it because right of way would immediately go to the city for a road to go through the center of it.
Precinct 1 Commissioner Christina Bergmann said the matter revolved around two issues:
• The majority of the state surplus will be dedicated to the city for right of way, which she said renders the property nearly useless.
• Not honoring the government’s agreement withdrawing the county’s right to the surplus could lead to legal issues at the cost of taxpayers.
“The Commissioners Court was made aware of a letter from TxDOT providing notice of the county’s right to purchase a parcel of property on I-10,” Wisian told The Star about the recent discussions. “The court did know the particulars of this notice and sought additional information.”
Buc-ee’s officials have not released a date for the start of construction.
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