Llano County ends lucrative land lease, seeks new lessee
Llano County Precinct 4 Commissioner Jerry Don Moss explains the mechanics of managing 17,000 acres of land on behalf of local school districts and why the Commissioners Court chose to terminate its lease agreement with a Tom Green County rancher on the property. Staff photo by Dakota Morrissiey
Llano County commissioners voted to terminate a $281,000 leasing contract on 17,000 acres of land that is held in trust by the county for the benefit of local school districts. The former lessee, a Tom Green County rancher, failed to make payments and complete in-kind services.
The decision was made during the Commissioners Court meeting on Monday, June 12.
The 17,000 acres in question lie in Tom Green County and were originally given to Llano County in the 1840s by the state of Texas as a means of funding local school districts. Llano County manages the land with 90 percent of the money raised from its use going to the Llano Independent School District and the remaining 10 percent split between Marble Falls ISD and Burnet Consolidated ISD.
Llano County is one of the few Texas counties that still owns its full land allotment.
The Commissioners Court will seek a new lessee as soon as possible and continue to provide funding to the districts.
According to Precinct 4 Commissioner Jerry Don Moss, rancher Randy Mangham had failed to pay the county $68,000 in lease fees or conduct brush clearing and land maintenance services that were part of the contract.
“We talked about this once before, and he hasn’t held up his end of the bargain,” Moss told his fellow commissioners. “He told me that he does not intend to.”
The commissioners voted unanimously to end the contract.
Mangham was given fair warning, according to Llano County Attorney Dwain Rogers, who said a certified letter was sent weeks ago. The $68,000 payment was due on May 1.
The court discussed the matter during a meeting in February, when it officially billed Mangham for the $68,000. Part of the initial contract required that the rancher perform $80,000 worth of brush clearing and land maintenance, but he failed to do so within the allotted time. Moss estimated that only about $12,000 worth of work has been done.
“(Mangham’s) contract is terminated as of today (June 12),” Moss told DailyTrib.com. “He’ll have a certain amount of time to get his belongings and livestock off the property. He wanted to carry (the debt) over, and that’s just not an option. We’re stewards of the property for the school districts. We don’t have the option to be lenient with his contract.”
Moss, who has historically facilitated the land’s leasing on behalf of the Commissioners Court, said he hopes to have a new lease locked in within 90 days. He also said it was unlikely the county would sue Mangham, as legal fees could outweigh the money owed.
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As property owner and lessor, the lease should detail the consequences of termination for failure to perform. In the least, it should provide for reporting/recording the bad debt in records of the counties where located, and to credit reporting agencies.