Cy-Fair property owner accuses college trustees of overspending

A Harris County man is suing Houston Community College trustees to keep them from overpaying for a Memorial property, which they say will be the future site of a new school.

David Buren Wilson filed the petition June 24 in Harris County District Court against Trustees Bruce A. Austin, Mary Ann Perez, Dr. Michael Williams, Richard M. Schechter, Sandie Mullins, Neeta Sane, Eva Loredo and Yolanda Flores. Deputy Chancellor and Chief Operating Officer Arthur Q. Tyler is also named as defendant.

According to the complaint, the defendants adopted a resolution May 19 to buy a 21-acre property on Westheimer Road. Wilson claims they agreed to pay $8.3 million for the property, more than $5 million more than the alleged market value of the land.

Wilson alleges the community college is $40 million in debt and is trying to borrow $10 million to buy the property. He claims the school will not be able to pay for the loan in the next two years without passing a bond. Wilson, who owns property in Cy-Fair and East End, says the purchase and subsequent bond will significantly increase his property taxes.

Wilson also alleges the trustees bought the property for the purpose of starting a new community college without approval from the Legislative Budget Board -- a move he says is illegal.

Wilson wants a permanent injunction against the trustees to keep the purchase of the land at the proposed price from moving forward. He also asks to be awarded court costs for the lawsuit.

Attorney Keith A. Gross, of League City, is representing Wilson.

Harris County District Court Case No. 2011-37943.

This is a report on a civil lawsuit filed at the Harris County Courthouse. The details in this report come from an original complaint filed by a plaintiff. Please note, a complaint represents an accusation by a private individual, not the government. It is not an indication of guilt, and it only represents one side of the story.