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RIP Fairfield Lake State Park

GreenspointTexas

By GreenspointTexas
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TwiceHorn

TwiceHorn 31438

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Yeah I saw that.  Never made it out there myself.  Sucks.

I suppose at one time, Vistra/Oncor/TXU intended to build a coal or NG plant there and use the lake for cooling, but the recent environment makes that not feasible or needed, so they're offloading the property.  One the one hand, good on them for leasing it to the state, on the other, it might have been nice of them to sell it to someone that would keep the lease.  But profit.

I wonder how many other state parks are on leased private land.

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GreenspointTexas

GreenspointTexas 9598

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6 minutes ago, TwiceHorn said:

Yeah I saw that.  Never made it out there myself.  Sucks.

I suppose at one time, Vistra/Oncor/TXU intended to build a coal or NG plant there and use the lake for cooling, but the recent environment makes that not feasible or needed, so they're offloading the property.  One the one hand, good on them for leasing it to the state, on the other, it might have been nice of them to sell it to someone that would keep the lease.  But profit.

I wonder how many other state parks are on leased private land.

I think its around 10-15

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JCHIL

JCHIL 414

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19 minutes ago, deadshank said:

One of our Surly thousandaires should buy the joint.

I remember fishing and camping there with you and some other crazies many moons ago.   Trolling for redfish was really unique for inland freshwater lake.....

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Macanudo

Macanudo 12975

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4 hours ago, TwiceHorn said:

Yeah I saw that.  Never made it out there myself.  Sucks.

I suppose at one time, Vistra/Oncor/TXU intended to build a coal or NG plant there and use the lake for cooling, but the recent environment makes that not feasible or needed, so they're offloading the property.  One the one hand, good on them for leasing it to the state, on the other, it might have been nice of them to sell it to someone that would keep the lease.  But profit.

I wonder how many other state parks are on leased private land.

At this point, I wouldn't be surprised to see Abbott and his merry band of nincompoops start trying to sell of state owned ones.

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CHIEF

CHIEF 5077

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Our State Parks are woefully underfunded. A decade or so ago, I read some article on their funding. There was a crazy quote that caught my eye. It said that at current funding, state parks could replace their work trucks every 700 years. Trucks are a lot more expensive now.

CHIEF

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RPM

RPM 26317

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They did the same thing to the old county park at Lake Bridgeport. It was built in 1929 by the CCC and had several rock pavilions, covered picnic tables and a big sandy beach. In the mid 70's the Tarrant Regional Water District started building a new dam, closed the park and allowed a little gated community to be built there. Most of them are vacation homes for DFW doctors.

Edited by RPM
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CHIEF

CHIEF 5077

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We have three state parks in my area, Cleburne State Park, Meridian State Park, and Dinosaur Valley State Park. Dinosaur Valley is the only one that gets steady traffic. The CCC built them all in the 1930's. My grandfather told me when they were first built, during Prohibition, that's where you went every Saturday night for dancing, and to buy moonshine. There would be hundreds of folks there. After Prohibition was repealed, the state parks just dried up.

CHIEF

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stc

stc 1460

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Kerrville-Schreiner used to be a state park, was handed over to the city of Kerrville in 2004. It's amazing how underfunded the State Parks are. Was recently looking at Kickapoo Cavern state park, they haven't had hot water at the park since December 1st and are still waiting on the funding to fix the water heater. Strangely that's a common problem that I've experienced at multiple state parks...showers but no hot water. 

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RPM

RPM 26317

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1 hour ago, stc said:

It's amazing how underfunded the State Parks are. Was recently looking at Kickapoo Cavern state park, they haven't had hot water at the park since December 1st and are still waiting on the funding to fix the water heater. Strangely that's a common problem that I've experienced at multiple state parks...showers but no hot water. 

Makes you wonder what they are doing with all the fees they collect. Can't get hot water but they are driving a 2023 Yukon towing a $150K boat.

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bluto

bluto 4912

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2 hours ago, CHIEF said:

Our State Parks are woefully underfunded. A decade or so ago, I read some article on their funding. There was a crazy quote that caught my eye. It said that at current funding, state parks could replace their work trucks every 700 years. Trucks are a lot more expensive now.

CHIEF

Shocking this state would underfund a public good

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SimonBolivar

SimonBolivar 10957

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Posted (edited)
10 hours ago, CHIEF said:

We have three state parks in my area, Cleburne State Park, Meridian State Park, and Dinosaur Valley State Park. Dinosaur Valley is the only one that gets steady traffic. The CCC built them all in the 1930's. My grandfather told me when they were first built, during Prohibition, that's where you went every Saturday night for dancing, and to buy moonshine. There would be hundreds of folks there. After Prohibition was repealed, the state parks just dried up.

CHIEF

Love all 3 of those. Meridian and Cleburne are part of those classic lake parks.

Edited by SimonBolivar
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texasdago

texasdago 7568

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Reminds me of the old El Rancho Cima Boy Scout camp that was damaged in the Wimberley/Blanco floods of 2015 (?).  Beautiful land.  Some was bought out by the Nature Conservancy, I think, but the rest is getting divided up and sold for development.  Still, looks like they saved the best parts...

https://republicranches.com/properties/texas/hill-country/el-rancho-cima/

https://www.expressnews.com/news/local/article/Boy-Scout-nature-area-in-Hays-County-17192770.php

Not sure I fully appreciated going to Boy Scout Camp back then but it was a pretty magical location.

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Trey3216

Trey3216 15345

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On 2/15/2023 at 10:31 AM, JCHIL said:

Looks like Dallas developer bought it and has plans for gated community and golf course.....Was listed for 110 million...https://www.star-telegram.com/news/state/texas/article272507297.html

I was going to buy it and Boone Pickens ranch in Pampa last year had I hit that $2bn lottery.  Would've had some serious water rights.  

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TwiceHorn

TwiceHorn 31438

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23 minutes ago, DalTxHornFan said:

The State of Texas got the place for free for 50 years.  Apparently got a notice 2 years ago about the lease termination.  Incompetence?  FAFO.

TPW didn't have the money to purchase the property at the time of the notice.  They tried to negotiate a lease of some of the property with the buyer but no dice and a carveout from the sale with Vistra, and, again, no dice.

https://www.textise.net/showText.aspx?strURL=https%3A//www.star-telegram.com/news/state/texas/article272507297.html

This is making the news now because negotiations terminated and the lease has been formally terminated.

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Johnny Chimpo

Johnny Chimpo 478

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7 hours ago, deadshank said:

That was the Strake Boy Scout camp. 

Damn. I camped at both El Rancho Cima and Strake growing up. 
 
el rancho always flooded like a motherfucker so I guess I’m not surprised to hear it was blown out by floods. I remember camping there and having about an inch of water in my tent before our troop called it quits and pulled out for the weekend on Saturday morning. 
 

Did merit badge summer camp at Strake and weekend camped there a few other times. I think the summer camp was called trail to eagle. 
 

Sad times. The scouts seem to be pretty fucked too with their funding. Heard they had to mortgage Philmont. 

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sith_horn

sith_horn 2379

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On 2/16/2023 at 2:44 AM, SimonBolivar said:
On 2/15/2023 at 4:43 PM, CHIEF said:

We have three state parks in my area, Cleburne State Park, Meridian State Park, and Dinosaur Valley State Park. Dinosaur Valley is the only one that gets steady traffic. The CCC built them all in the 1930's. My grandfather told me when they were first built, during Prohibition, that's where you went every Saturday night for dancing, and to buy moonshine. There would be hundreds of folks there. After Prohibition was repealed, the state parks just dried up.

CHIEF

Love all 3 of those. Meridian and Cleburne are part of those classic lake parks.

Have been to Cleburne and Dinosour Valley State Parks several times as a boy. Not sure about Meridian. I was pretty young on some of those outings. Grandparents lived in Cleburne and we'd visit them from Dallas, often going to the parks on those visits. Have returned to both parks since then as an adult, with Cleburne Sate Park getting the lion's share. Good primitive camping and love to run the trails which have plenty of ups, downs and curves to navigate. While not part of the hill country, you might think you were there running parts of those trails.

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cactusflinthead

cactusflinthead 27598

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On 2/16/2023 at 8:14 AM, texasdago said:

Reminds me of the old El Rancho Cima Boy Scout camp that was damaged in the Wimberley/Blanco floods of 2015 (?).  Beautiful land.  Some was bought out by the Nature Conservancy, I think, but the rest is getting divided up and sold for development.  Still, looks like they saved the best parts...

https://republicranches.com/properties/texas/hill-country/el-rancho-cima/

https://www.expressnews.com/news/local/article/Boy-Scout-nature-area-in-Hays-County-17192770.php

Not sure I fully appreciated going to Boy Scout Camp back then but it was a pretty magical location.

They didn't even publicize selling Leonard in 2001.

Fort Worth's Longhorn Council has sold two properties to developers in recent years, collectively garnering about $8 million. The council's 2001 sale of the Leonard Scout Camp � land donated years earlier � drew protests from volunteers who criticized the council for not publicizing the sale, nor seeking a buyer to preserve the land.

https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/legacy-sites-sell-for-millions-589975.php

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UTexasFight

UTexasFight 9429

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Posted (edited)
17 hours ago, DalTxHornFan said:

The State of Texas got the place for free for 50 years.  Apparently got a notice 2 years ago about the lease termination.  Incompetence?  FAFO.

State got the first notice over 4 years ago when Vistra closed the coal plant in 2018.
Vistra extended the lease in 2020 for two more years to the fall of 2022 (contingent on the land being sold), to which they invited the state to submit an offer in 2021, but the state never did.

FAFO is right.

 

Edited by UTexasFight
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UTexasFight

UTexasFight 9429

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On 2/15/2023 at 8:48 AM, cactusflinthead said:

That's a list I'd like to see 

I don’t know the full list but Vistra themselves have 2 others:

 

Vistra also leases land to the state at Martin Creek Lake State Park, in Rusk County, and at Lake Colorado City State Park, in Mitchell County. It also leases more than 1,000 acres for public hunting in Robertson County.

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mdmost

mdmost 42999

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1 hour ago, GreenspointTexas said:

its back. TPWD just bought the land on which the park sits, and some of the surrounding area. 5000 acres total

I wonder how much that cost the state given it was sold to developers previously. 

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zman13

zman13 178

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15 hours ago, GreenspointTexas said:

its back. TPWD just bought the land on which the park sits, and some of the surrounding area. 5000 acres total

Any sources for this? I've only seen that the Lege is telling TPWD to buy it. 

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DaysOff

DaysOff 7947

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Posted
Damn. I camped at both El Rancho Cima and Strake growing up. 
 
el rancho always flooded like a motherfucker so I guess I’m not surprised to hear it was blown out by floods. I remember camping there and having about an inch of water in my tent before our troop called it quits and pulled out for the weekend on Saturday morning. 
 
Did merit badge summer camp at Strake and weekend camped there a few other times. I think the summer camp was called trail to eagle. 
 
Sad times. The scouts seem to be pretty fucked too with their funding. Heard they had to mortgage Philmont. 

Did my mile swim at River Camp in 1980 and Order of the Arrow at Strake. Neither is a csb.
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zman13

zman13 178

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6 minutes ago, GreenspointTexas said:

https://tpwd.texas.gov/newsmedia/releases/?req=20230525c&fbclid=PAAaaEYu_j2mjqPAVvaBHB9Lr7RmEcMR06LMA4jS1Re-9JKc-4IIglRsEIu7M
 

 

Lookin like its close to done

I saw the same news but interpreted it differently. To me, it seems like everyone in the state government (TPWD, legistature, etc.) wants to buy it. But they have to convince the property owner to cancel an existing contract and sell to them instead. Obviously the property owner could be "convinced" to sell or else things won't go well for them (legislatively) in the future. 

To me, it seems like my friends have authorized me to ask Angelina Jolie out on a date. Getting her to say yes is a whole nother challenge. 

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deadshank

deadshank 24652

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3 hours ago, MirrOlure said:

So why can’t the State acquire the property by eminent domain and offer to pay “maker value” and fight it out after the fact if they challenge?

They have a standing contract with an established price tag.  Market value seems spendy.  

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TwiceHorn

TwiceHorn 31438

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4 hours ago, MirrOlure said:

So why can’t the State acquire the property by eminent domain and offer to pay “maker value” and fight it out after the fact if they challenge?

TPWD doesn't have eminent domain power.  There's a bill that would give it, but I don't know where it stands.

Latest is cock developer won't sell.  https://www.textise.net/showText.aspx?strURL=https%3A//www.msn.com/en-us/travel/news/fairfield-lake-state-park-land-won-t-be-sold-to-texas-developer-says/ar-AA1bH77e

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DalTxHornFan

DalTxHornFan 3097

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1 hour ago, deadshank said:

They have a standing contract with an established price tag.  Market value seems spendy.  

I can imagine a pretty spendy lost profits claim from the developer.  25 year build-out.  High-end private homes on the water, multiple hotels, condos, retail, mixed use, maybe a casino?  Don't know the details, but it seems like the state f--ed up in letting it go this far down the road before taking appropriate action.   

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