Friday, April 26, 2024
Jack Farr, owner of MotorSport Ranch and a longtime Cresson City Council member, is vowing to fight two lawsuits filed against him by the city that he said carry potential judgments of about $2 million.
Petitions filed by the city on April 13 in Hood County’s 355th District Court accuse the businessman of breach of contract regarding a water system that serves the citizenry and multiple violations of building permit rules.
Farr, who has served on the City Council since shortly after Cresson was incorporated in 2001, denied any wrongdoing. He is seeking another term and faces challenger Lisa Clement in Saturday’s election.
“It seems quite a coincidence that even though the permitting issues have been brewing for about 15 months, and the water system issues brewing for several years, that the City of Cresson has chosen to file a double lawsuit against me and two of my businesses a week and a half before the election and my running for re-election as city councilman,” Farr stated in an email sent to the Hood County News on Friday.
Farr also spoke with the newspaper by phone about the legal actions.
The lawsuits were filed on behalf of the city by Padfield Stout, L.L.P. in Fort Worth. Attorney Mark W. Stout declined to comment when contacted by the HCN.
The lawsuit involving the water system was filed against Farr and Vail Management Company (VMC), of which Farr is president and director.
According to the petition, Farr and his company entered into an agreement with the city on Jan. 20, 2005 with respect to the construction and operation of a water well and associated equipment. VMC was to assist Cresson in extending the city’s water service to meet the needs of anticipated development.
VMC was to construct the water system, including the well and corresponding tanks, pumps and distribution lines. The company was to also install a meter for each lot and bear financial responsibility for repairs and maintenance of the system. The city was to be paid 7% of the total collected by the city each month.
VMC tendered a construction bid of $257,000, which was verified and recommended by Childress Engineers, a company hired by the city. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) approved the system in October 2006, the court papers state.
Per the lawsuit, the parties amended their agreement in January 2007 at VMC’s request so that ownership of the water system could be transferred to the city. Only after ownership was transferred was the city to be responsible for repairs and maintenance.
The transfer still has not occurred, according to the lawsuit, even though the city has been handling the water system’s operation, maintenance and billing and has paid more than $78,000 to Farr.
The petition states that in a May 22, 2020 email to Mayor Teena Putteet Conway, Farr stated that “it would be unlikely for VMC to fully recoup its construction cost of the Water System even if the City paid seventy percent (70%) of the gross revenue for the entire twenty year period contemplated by the Amended Agreement.”
The lawsuit claims that Farr and VMC have repeatedly tried to re-negotiate the terms of the amended agreement.
Farr claims that the water system cost far more than the $257,000 noted in the city’s lawsuit. In his email to the HCN, he stated, “The City of Cresson has somehow rationalized that they should take possession of this $501,000 water system (and the land it sits on) for only a fraction of my investment in this system.”
As for the building permits, the city’s allegations against Farr, VMC and Superformance, Inc./MotorSport Ranch involve a newly constructed event center and multiple other structures on the 304-acre MotorSport property. Accusations include Farr allegedly not having permits required by city ordinances, stop-work orders and replacement stop-work orders being removed from buildings after having been placed there by the city inspector, and the city inspector being ordered off the property.
The lawsuit states that the lack of building permits and city inspections poses safety hazards.
Violators of the city’s permit regulations can be fined $2,000 per day, per violation. The lawsuit states that more than 350 days had passed since the time Farr and his companies were notified of the infractions.
Farr denies any such breaches.
“This is simply not the case, but will get resolved in court,” he said.
Farr noted that his MotorSport Ranch, DriveXotic and KartMoto attract 30,000-40,000 visitors per year and that, with the city attempting to halt all construction on his property, he may have to cancel or curtail plans for his properties to participate in festivities for “The Great Race” on the Friday and Saturday before Father’s Day.
Visit Granbury has been working with Farr and the city of Cresson on a three-day tourism partnership for that weekend centered around “The Great Race,” a cross-country competition featuring vintage automobiles and prize money. The event was started in 1983 by the late Tom McRae of Granbury and his friend, Norman Miller.
Visit Granbury is promoting an outdoor showing of the 1965 slapstick comedy “The Great Race” at Hewlett Park on the Saturday night of that weekend, and related festivities will take place on the square the next day, on Father’s Day.
Visit Granbury Director Tammy Dooley told the HCN on Friday afternoon that she was about to head to MotorSport Ranch to meet with Farr about the possible challenge to MotorSport Ranch being able to participate in the event. She indicated that both Farr and Conway had been wonderful to work with and said she felt confident that a solution would be found.
Monday morning, Dooley told the HCN that the festivities at MotorSport Ranch for Father’s Day weekend were set to move forward “with very few modifications.”
