LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Editor:

On or about the first of August, 2007, Phil Elledge, City Engineer, City of Whitehouse, Texas called me to request a topographic route survey across Donald Green's property located on Lilly Road. The request was to gather information across the Green property following a course as near as possible to the existing creek.

I asked Mr. Elledge if he had obtained permission for us to enter the Green property to conduct the survey, and he said that he had not. I then told Mr. Elledge that I would contact Mr. Green myself to obtain permission to survey on his land.

On or about that same date I called Mr. Green and explained to him that a new waterline from the new water well on Kenneth Moody's tract was going to come down Lilly Road and that the City Engineer asked us to do a survey of the proposed route across the Green property. He said we could enter his property to do our surveying, but he didn't have an agreement with the City for an easement across his property. He asked me how much the City paid for easements, and I told him I didn't have any idea. I told him that the topographic surveying information would be needed in order to know the acreage of the property involved, as well as the length of the pipeline that would be required. He said we could go ahead with the survey, but he wasn't inclined to grant an easement. I said I didn't have anything to do with that, and just needed his permission in order to do the surveying required, and he said that would be fine. In no way did I represent myself as in any way negotiating for easement rights on the behalf of the City of Whitehouse, but I did make him aware of the purpose of the survey.

I felt that it was a very amiable conversation, and that he had given us permission to enter his property, and that he understood the reason for our surveying, and that giving us permission to survey was not an acceptance of an easement on his part.

On or about Aug. 6, 7 and 8, 2007, my survey crew with crew members Tim Turley Jr. and Ben Dieter went to the Green property to begin the topographic survey, and I instructed my crew to call Mr. Green and let him know they were coming, but when they arrived in front of his property, they discovered they didn't need to call him because he was there at the front of his property working on his entrance gate. They then told Mr. Green that they worked for me and were there to do some surveying, and he then allowed them to enter his property to begin the survey, showed them where to park next to his barn, and indicated his preferred path for the proposed waterline across his property.

Over the course of the next couple of weeks (ending on our last trip to his property on Aug. 30, 2007), my crew entered his property, and on several occasions had contact with either Mr. Green or his wife.

On one occasion, Mr. Green asked my crew not to leave wire flags or to tie survey "flagging" in his donkey pens, as his donkeys might eat it, so my crew did as requested. On another occasion, horses in one of his pastures were being aggressive, so Tim telephoned the Greens' house, and spoke with Mrs. Green who told Tim that if the horses bothered them again, just "swat" them to run them off (which they never had to do).

For these reasons, I feel confident that we had Mr. Green's permission to enter his property to survey across his property, and I believe Mr. Green was aware of the presence of my field crew, and he knew the reason we were doing the survey. He never at any time asked my crew to leave his property, or not to enter his property. He even told them where to park, and showed them his preferred route for the waterline.

I believe that every contact that my crew or myself has had with Mr. Green and every trip to his property was above board, honest, and fairly represented as to the reason for our sur veying. The implication made by Mr. Green in public at the Dec. 18th City Council meeting (and also made by his son in writing in a Tri County Leader letter to the editor) is that I or my crew did not have his permission to enter his property. That is not true. Mr. Green called me at home after the City Council meeting and said "sorry I had to throw you under the bus". That night I didn't know what he meant, but after listening to the tapes of that meeting I understood.

I would have thought that by the 10th or 12th time my name was mentioned just one City Council member would have had the wherewithal to say "Let's ask Wes Turley what he knows about this", if anyone thought that I could contribute anything to the discussion.

State laws are very clear that I am responsible for getting my own permission to enter property. The implication that I or my employees have trespassed I take very seriously, and I believe Mr. Green should give the City Council and the public a clarification that my crew in fact did not enter his property without his permission.

I believe Mr. Elledge acted within the standard procedures I have seen Engineers use for my 30 year history of surveying, as engineers always expect the surveyors to get permission to enter property themselves, and that is exactly what happened in this case.

Also, Mr. Elledge acted according to standard procedures when he did not begin acquiring easements before he knew if they were going to be needed. When he called me to begin the survey was shortly after he had found out that the water was good. Acting before that time would have been premature.

I stand on my own integrity, as I'm sure Mr. Fite, Mr. Elledge, and Mr. Tomlin (who also were "thrown under the bus" that night) do as well.

[This is an edited statement. The full statement will be read at the next regular Whitehouse City Council meeting.]

Wes Turley Whitehouse