Fannin County, Texas -- Just when you think it couldn't get any worse, the political chasm that has plagued Fannin County in recent years deepened dramatically during the regular meeting of Fannin County Commissioners Court on Tuesday, June 10, 2025.
At the heart of the issue is whether the county should study how the six criminal indictments filed regarding courthouse restoration play out in court before pursuing civil litigation.
The timing of the six indictments had already raised eyebrows when these serious charges were handed down just prior to the retirements of former district attorney Richard Glaser and former district judge Laurine Blake.
Now, Fannin County residents are finally being advised that two of the six indictments have already been dismissed for lack of evidence. To make matters worse, those two dismissals for lack of evidence against architects David Chase and Anne Stimmel were handed down May 22, 2025 -- almost a month ago -- yet the public was never notified of this important development.
Since the county apparently cast too wide a net when it filed criminal charges against two people who have now been cleared of criminal wrongdoing, will this be the beginning of a long series of countersuits the county taxpayers could be liable for in years to come?
It is noteworthy that it was Dallas County District Attorney John Creuzot who advised the court to dismiss the criminal cases against Chase and Stimmel for lack of evidence, not the local political apparatus that has actively pursued all six indictments.
County residents are being told the civil litigation would be an attempt to recover a portion of cost overruns during courthouse restoration. But after another debacle in commissioners court, this reporter is left wondering if the civil litigation is specifically to recover overruns, or if the county simply favors the much lower burden of proof offered in civil court.
If wrongdoing is uncovered in the four pending criminal cases, restitution is already available according to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ):
In federal court, a convicted offender may be ordered to reimburse victims for financial losses incurred due to the offender's crime. This reimbursement is called "restitution," and it may be ordered for lost income, property damage, counseling, medical expenses, funeral costs or other financial costs directly related to the crime.
DOJ points out that some financial losses such as interest and legal expenses for the civil recovery of financial losses are not eligible for restitution.
But balance that with the fact that a lawyer handling this case on a contingency basis is going to take their cut off the top of any amount that might be awarded.
What cuts the deepest is the damage this political theatre is doing to the county.
Perhaps the underlying question is, how long will Fannin County be held captive by a personal vendetta that appears to have gone on for years? Judging by another regrettable spectacle in commissioners court Tuesday, this may get worse before it gets better.
Blake and Glaser were back in commissioners court Tuesday to encourage civil litigation. In civil cases, the burden of proof of guilt is much lower.
To be judged guilty in a criminal case, the defendant must be found guilty "beyond a reasonable doubt." In a civil case, the bar is much lower, requiring only "a preponderance of the evidence."
It would seem to be a fair question to ask if the county will continue to do millions of dollars of damage to its image with this endless public bickering while it attempts to recoup a mere fraction of that amount through what is beginning to appear to be vengeful litigation.
In other business:
All five members of Fannin County Commissioners Court were present for a regular meeting held Tuesday, June 10, 2025.
The meeting opened with an invocation by Stuart Courtney, pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church, and pledges were led by Major James Manis (Ret.).
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In public forum, Fannin County Judge Newt Cunningham thanked the county and state employees for tireless work in the aftermath of the violent weather June 8, 2025.
County resident Mike Nejtek noted that, until the county makes it a priority to pull ditches, thousands of dollars of gravel will wash away with every large rainfall event. Nejtek urged the county to make wise expenditures.
County resident Jason Walker addressed the court to make the public aware that on May 22, 2025, indictments against architects David Chase and Anne Stimmel were dismissed for lack of evidence.
"I was shocked that nothing was mentioned about it," Walker stated.
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Routine items
Fannin County Commissioners Court approved payment of bills totaling $1,523,752.43, payroll was $414,444.92.
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Commissioners court approved minutes from regular meetings on July 30, 2021; March 8, 2022; April 12, 2022; January 17, 2023; and special meetings on September 7, 2021; April 12, 2022; and February 7, 2023.
Judge Cunningham thanked Fannin County Clerk Jenny Garner for working to clear the backlog of minutes from commissioners court meetings.
"How many sets of minutes do we still have waiting out there that haven't been done?" Cunningham wondered aloud.
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Report of monies received by the District Clerk’s office for May 2025; $21,213.07.
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Report of monies received by the Justice of the Peace Precinct 1 office for May 2025; $20,948.07.
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Report of monies received by the Justice of the Peace Precinct 2 office for May 2025; $13,982.00.
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Report of monies received by the Justice of the Peace Precinct 3 office for May 2025; $5,890.69.
Discussion items
Commissioners court held a brief discussion regarding 3rd Quarter Surprise Cash Count Audits, which Fannin County Auditor Alicia Whipple described as "standard procedure."
Discussion and possible action items
Commissioners court reappointed Fannin County Sheriff Cody Shook to the Texoma Community Center’s Board of Trustees; September 1, 2025 thru August 31, 2027.
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Commissioners court approved the contract with CorrecTek at the County Jail; inmate health and safety information software services.
This software is used to ensure the county's compliance to manage detainee health and safety. Sheriff Shook pointed out that commissary funds will enable the purchase, as opposed to the money coming out of county coffers.
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Commissioners court awarded an updated contract for wrangler and corral services with the two proposals received by the county.
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Commissioners court passed on an agenda item regarding bids received for RFB 2025-004; John Deere Motorgrader Model 770G for Precinct 1.
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Commissioners Court approved the conveyance of a portion of a previously platted lot in Telephone in accordance with LGC Chapter 232, §232.010, with the condition that all taxes due are paid at closing.
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Commissioners court followed the recommendation of Development Services Director Di Hopkins and approved a one-time severance of one acre from a 2-acre tract in Leonard, Property ID#141334.
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Commissioners court appointed a replacement member to the Lake Ralph Hall Zoning Commission.
Gober, Texas resident Jan Johnson, the president of Gober M.U.D., takes the position on the zoning commission that was held by Greg Morris.
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Commissioners court confirmed the starting salary of $46,000 for the Development Services Designated Representative, with two weeks back pay.
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Commissioners court discussed possible action to hire litigation attorney(s) to attempt to recoup cost of repairs and damages for taxpayers related to the Fannin County Courthouse.
Terry Sterkel asked commissioners to reconsider hiring a litigation attorney on a contingency basis.
Lauri Blake, former district judge, said the point of a civil case is to make whole, while a criminal case is about accountability.
"Voting to retain counsel is in the interest of the taxpayers," suggested Blake.
Jason Walker reminded residents that Blake was recently admonished by the State Commission on Judicial Conduct.
Walker told commissioners court that using insurance claims in an effort to recoup money spent on defective construction could actually make the county whole, while a contingency basis would likely result in the county losing a portion of the settlement to a lawyer.
Walker noted that there is a 10-year statute of reposals in the state of Texas for construction defects. Now that two cases have been dropped for insufficient evidence, he applauded commissioners court for careful deliberation before agreeing to additional litigation.
"If we start suing everybody, how many lawsuits are we going to get coming back at the county and costing us money in the long run?" Walker asked. "That's one of my concerns. Y'all keep wanting to sue and litigate everybody -- how much are we going to pay the people we have falsely accused? I've got a feeling that we've got two that just got dropped May 25 that are probably going to sue you."
Cunningham recalled that Walker opposed filing against the performance bond of Bryco-Bryant, the masonry company, because it would slow down the project.
Cunningham told Walker that the advice he is getting is "bad and wrong."
"I'm also going to tell you that as part of a civil lawsuit, we can recover attorney's fees," Cunningham added.
"You have the ability and you won't tell me why you won't file on their insurance," Walker countered.
Bonham resident Tom Turner said he appreciated Walker's information that two indictments had been dismissed for lack of evidence, but he stressed his desire for civil litigation.
Turner questioned why former county judge Spanky Carter and former commissioner Dean Lackey were overseeing Bryco-Bryant, a company that has now filed for bankruptcy.
"Walker is right about filing a claim against the contractor's insurance," stated Pct. 1 Commissioner Troy Waggoner. "You can do that for up to 10 years."
"I will certainly do that," promised Cunningham. "We will do that. If you've got the documentation to file that, we'll file it."
Cunningham noted the litany of serious issues with the courthouse and repeated his desire to recover money.
"If we can go against the insurance company and get money, we will," Cunningham remarked, but he opined that the biggest payoff comes with litigation.
Cunningham said the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation has an open case regarding issues with the courthouse and contractors hired to restore the building.
Pct. 3 Commissioner Kurt Fogelberg asked who made the decision to go on fire watch at the courthouse, and the subsequent decision to end the fire watch.
Cunningham said the fire pump is working correctly now, but the courthouse still has electrical issues throughout the system.
Cunningham said water pump system should stay on for an hour, but it was shutting off in less than 15 minutes.
"That's why the state basically said it [courthouse] was in violation and told us to get a fire watch going on," explained Cunningham. "That fire watch cost us about $20,000. We haven't recouped that."
"I want to see the criminal case go to court and see what happens," Fogelberg stated, "and I don't need your explanation. I'm just trying....it's my turn to talk and I'm going to talk."
"OK, talk," said Cunningham.
"I'm tired of people blaming me and Troy [Waggoner] because we vote different," replied Fogelberg. "That's our right as a commissioner. This is not the judge's court, this is commissioners court."
Waggoner said that constituents warn him every day that the civil suit is a big mistake, and that the county will be liable for countersuits.
"If you want to be afraid of being countersued, you don't need to be in office," Cunningham told Waggoner. "There is always a chance that you can get sued. If you can't take the heat, get out of the kitchen!"
"So now you want me to quit, huh?" Waggoner fired back.
"No..." Cunningham began.
"That's exactly what you said," Waggoner responded.
"I want people who will vote their conscience," Cunningham told Waggoner. "That's what I want."
"That's exactly what I've been doing," Waggoner told Cunningham.
"Well, I'm not accusing you of not doing that," Cunningham replied. "I'm challenging you to take a look at the facts."
Cunningham implied that some recent court decisions have been made on the wrong facts
"Yeah, you've stated that we voted for the wrong reasons," Fogelberg said. "In fact you've tried to say that we're wrong, that we're liable for it -- you can be liable for anything."
"When did I say you could be liable?" asked Cunningham.
Fogelberg reminded Cunningham of a statement made by Fannin County civil attorney Andy Garner along those lines.
Cunningham said those were not his words.
"I think you'll find that I am pretty careful about what I say," Cunningham stated. "I'm not here to hear the criminal case. The criminal case will be made by another court and there will be a decision made as to whether of not there is sufficient evidence to find somebody criminally responsible. I'm not here to make that decision. I'm not here to weigh the evidence. What I'm here to do today is to try to persuade the county to take action. We are still at an impasse where we have a split."
"Can we have a motion and get this over with?" Fogelberg asked.
Pct. 4 Commissioner Doug Kopf made a motion to go forward with civil litigation and Cunningham seconded the motion.
The result was another 2-2 vote, with Waggoner and Fogelberg voting to oppose civil litigation and Pct. 2 Commissioner A.J. Self abstaining.
"So, let me ask you this, judge....are we going to do this every week?" Kopf asked.
Cunningham said that will depend on whether or not more facts come in, but he added that if someone is seriously injured because of issues with the courthouse, the county will get blasted for damages.
Fogelberg asked about the Request For Proposals to thoroughly inspect the courthouse and was advised that the county has received 30 proposals and is currently in the process of scheduling interviews.
Glaser asked the court to pursue all avenues of recovery and he made questionable implications about the reason for the two indictments that were dismissed when, according to filed documents, the cases were dismissed for lack of evidence.
Open discussion items
Open discussion items may be passed on unless discussion requested by a member of the Court or a Citizen.
In regard to courthouse repairs and litigation, Walker said he believes the information about how long the fire pump must run is incorrect.
"Ten minutes is all it would have to run," Walker said, and he encouraged everyone on the court to study National Fire Protection Agency #25.
"According to the state of Texas that met with us, their view was a little different than yours," Cunningham said.
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In regard to the Justice Center, Eikon assures the county that the design for the front parking lot will also alleviate the drainage issue in the back of the courthouse.
One issue is the height of a door that the sheriff's vans will need to enter.
Waggoner has been the county's go-to man for questions about construction at the Justice Center and he estimates that the county will likely need to budget for a new roof at the building in five years.
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In regard to Fannin County road issues, Walker recognized the work of farmers to clear roads of debris after the storm Sunday, particularly after what he felt was a disparaging remark about farmers in commissioners court.
"What I noticed all over Fannin County was farmers out with tractors and chainsaws," Walker remarked. "Just keep on telling the farmers that they don't deserve anything. You know what the number one industry in Fannin County is? Agriculture."
Walker said it isn't fair to tell a farmer that, because they take an ag exemption, they don't deserve a good road.
"We need to prioritize what we are going to take care of," Cunningham stated.
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In regard to solar and wind farms, and Battery Energy Storage Systems, Cunningham said the county is trying to stay abreast of developments at the battery energy storage system (BESS) near Savoy.
A nearby property owner located downhill from BESS plant expressed concern and asked when the plant would open.
Walker questioned the qualifications of Fannin County Fire Marshal Troy Hudson.
"Why are you paying him for a job he can't do?" Walker asked.
"We needed a fire marshal to get things moving and I appreciate that," said Savoy Mayor Roger Cada, later calling the plant operators "arrogant" and adding that there are security issues with Chinese-made components in the BESS plant.
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Commissioners court passed on an agenda item regarding Purchasing Policy and Procedures.
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Commissioners court went into executive session at 11:18 a.m.
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Commissioners court reconvened in regular session at 11:36 a.m. to announce that no action was taken in executive session.
