AUSTIN, Texas — Texans curious about the fate of the once-popular Fairfield Lake State Park should get a big update on its future this week.
The TPWD board is holding a two-day meeting Wednesday and Thursday in Austin where it'll receive public comment, vote on an "eminent domain" process, and also discuss Fairfield Lake in executive session.
The meeting comes as Todd Interests, the development group that legally bought the park earlier this year, continues to blast the state for threatening to take back control of the land.
“To try to destroy a transaction in this great state of Texas where we’re so proud of our private property rights. We used to tell Californians, ‘We don’t do things like that here.’ We can’t say that any longer," attorney Blake Beckham said Tuesday.
An attorney for the developer, Beckham sounded off on the board and the department's leadership, accusing them of misleading the public.
A few months ago, the park officially closed after its power company owner, Vistra, sold the land to Todd Interests early in 2023.
For decades before that, the state had leased the 5,000 acres but didn't technically own the land.
There has been a back and forth between all parties about why the state didn't officially buy the park when it had the chance, but when the board met in June it voted to use eminent domain to get the land back.
It's unclear where that process stands legally. Todd Interests isn't interestedin taking any type of offer from the state at this point.
The board's chair, Arch Aplin III, said earlier this summer that, “Condemnation represents an extraordinary step and last resort for TPWD, and it is not one we undertake lightly."
Freestone County commissioners are now largely behind the project, saying it could enhance their local economy and tax base by millions of dollars annually.
TPWD says the park typically saw 80,000-plus visitors annually.
Many supporters have voiced support for keeping the land a park, although a series of bills to do just that in the legislature failed this past regular session.
