Four years ago Tim Love got a sweetheart deal from America's Biggest Boondoggle, partnering with Mr. Love to build a restaurant on Tarrant Regional Water District land.
You know, land that is supposedly owned by the public.
If I remember right, as part of the sweetheart, no bidding competition deal, Tim Love pays a part of the restaurant's take to The Boondoggle.
The Boondoggle sees this Love operation as some sort of concession deal, like food vendors at the airport, and thus should not have to pay any property tax.
But, this year the Tarrant Appraisal District decided that the Woodshed Smokehouse is more of a private operation than a public one, so they sent Tim Love a property tax bill.
Tim Love says that dozens upon dozens upon dozens of Trinity Trail users are free to take a break from the trail, for free, sitting at one of the restaurant's outdoor tables.
I recollect doing this myself, four years ago, when the Woodshed opened, joining a group protesting the sweetheart no-bid deal The Boondoggle gave Tim Love. That protest also confused me, because several of the protesters protested by ordering food and drinks from the entity they were protesting.
Methinks this entire Woodshed Smokehouse scandal could be put to rest by The Boondoggle selling the Woodshed and the property on which it sits to Tim Love.
Tim Love would likely not be willing to pay what the property is worth, with the property then being sold to whoever was willing to pay the asking price.
Or have a bidding deal where whoever was willing to pay the most above the asking price gets to take possession of the Woodshed Smokehouse....
If this is a bellwether for all of the development upon the property that TRWD owns and will continue to own, along the new riverfront, then the properties taken off of the tax rolls will not be of much benefit to the people of the city and county. Did nobody think of this as the project was foisted on us? The water district manages the property along the river. I don't think it can then be sold to a commercial entity. So, yes, Love should get off the hook, but that decision puts the screws on tax revenue within the Boondoggle.
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