AUSTIN (Talk1370.com) -- The fight over the City of Austin's efforts to purchase a northwest Austin hotel for permanent supportive housing for those experiencing homelessness is just getting started, officials said Wednesday.
Williamson County Judge Bill Gravell, precinct 2 county commissioner Cynthia Long, and Austin City Council District 6 member Mackenzie Kelly were joined by Texas Deputy Attorney General Aaron Reitz and State Sen. Charles Schwertner at an afternoon press conference near the Candlewood Suites off of Pecan Park Boulevard.
“I want to say this unequivocally clear to the City of Austin: don’t mess with Williamson County,” Gravell said during the press conference. “I want you to know that Williamson County will use any and all resources to protect our citizenry. You have stepped over the line without coming to the table and having a conversation. I’m willing to have that conversation, but if you are not, we will take you to a conversation in the local courthouse, and you will not be pleased with the outcome.”
Tuesday, Williamson County Commissioners voted unanimously to explore the county's legal options in regards to the purchase of the hotel. This week's actions follow the council's 10-1 vote to purchase the property on Feb. 7 for $9.5 million, despite commissioners' request for a 180-day delay.
Reitz said that the attorney general's office, including Ken Paxton himself, is "exploring all options" when it comes to challenging Austin's efforts to purchase the hotel. Reitz said the City of Austin, “at the last minute, without consulting anybody, without conducting an economic analysis, a safety and security analysis, or a health analysis of its decisions, entered into a major contract and just sort of kicked the problem up to Williamson County. It’s not fair. It’s not just. And it stinks. And Attorney General Ken Paxton is mustering all the powers that he has at his disposal to see what legal avenues there may be to hold the City of Austin accountable."
Neighboring business owners were present at the press conference as well. Freda Cheng, who has owned Freda's Seafood Grille next door for nearly 19 years, "It's going to totally destroy my business," Cheng said.
State Sen. Charles Schwertner (R-Georgetown) said he filed Senate Bill 646 on Wednesday. The bill would require a county's commissioners court to approve the purchase of any property for housing homeless individuals. "Let there be no mistake," Schwertner said. "The Austin City Council, and Mayor Adler, have completely failed the homeless with the policies they have enacted in Austin. The citizens of Austin have seen that, and now they want to transport their failed problems to Williamson County without the services, the support, and the coordination that is necessary to benefit the homeless."
