Posted: Friday, April 6, 2012 12:00 am By
Nancy Flake
As hopes for a $500 million dinosaur theme park in East Montgomery County – including the jobs and tourism dollars that would follow – continue to dwindle, Montgomery County Judge Alan B. Sadler is asking the president of the East Montgomery County Improvement District to scale back on his advocacy of the project.
Residents appeared en masse at a March 8 EMCID board meeting hoping to hear an update on EarthQuest and to question EMCID officials about money the organization has put toward the development. But board members deferred the item because representatives from Contour Entertainment, the developer of the park, could not attend.
Announced in 2005, EarthQuest was to have broken ground by now. The approximately 1,600 acres to be used for the giant park is in bankruptcy, but EMCID President Frank McCrady previously said D.R. Horton homes purchased the land and will close on it in June.
A provision in the land sale to D.R. Horton allows for Chris Brown, of Contour Entertainment in Van Nuys, Calif., to enter into an agreement to purchase the right to the property where EarthQuest will be located, McCrady previously said.
McCrady will not discuss when Contour will begin developing the park, saying that’s for Brown to say. Brown did not return calls for comment Thursday.
But with resident concerns that EarthQuest may never happen – even after receiving $7.8 million in bond money and $2.5 million from EMCID, McCrady said – Sadler is cautioning McCrady about his role in continuing to fire the hopes of East County residents and business owners over the promise of EarthQuest.
“Having been a department head of real estate at a major Houston bank for 12 years, I have always been supportive of this project, yet skeptical of its viability for a number of reasons,” Sadler wrote in a letter Wednesday to McCrady.
“There has never been a lender, bank, investment banker or the like who has stepped up to the plate to fund this project. To the best of my knowledge, there has never been an individual or corporation with the ‘credit’ or financial statement to make a project of this scope and size become a reality.
“In short, the entirety of this project has been nothing but photos, renderings and dreams funded with taxpayer dollars.”
Sadler concludes his letter by advising McCrady “that I would not continue advocating this project or addressing the media that ‘this project will happen’ unless and until the above two questions can be answered with clarity and with certain assurances.”
EarthQuest is “busted,” Sadler said. “I’ve been following this for five years; I could have written this a year ago. Hell, enough is enough. It’s unbelievable.”
Sadler said he also has advised McCrady to quit spending money on EarthQuest until an investment banker steps forward.
He also has sent some information regarding EarthQuest to the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office, he said.
“Anytime something is brought to the attention of the Texas Rangers or the Public Integrity Division of the District Attorney’s Office, this office has a duty to investigate,” District Attorney Brett Ligon said about EarthQuest and EMCID’s involvement. “We have been receiving information from not only the county judge but other members of the community regarding what they believe is conduct considered to be questionable.”
Sadler has not personally given any money to EarthQuest, and said the county has only “informally” supported the project.
But in 2009, county commissioners agreed to consider a tax abatement for EarthQuest, The Courier previously reported.
The EarthQuest Institute is meant to be a “leading edge” learning center “focused on how we can live and prosper in a responsible, efficient and environmentally balanced manner,” according to the EarthQuest Institute website.
The website also states that it is located at the same address as the EMCID offices on U.S. 59. Leon Cubillas, who serves as EMCID board president, also is board president for the EarthQuest Institute.
Sadler believes that to be a “huge” conflict of interest, but McCrady disagrees.
“The way we structured our (agreement) was that one of our board members would serve on their board,” McCrady said. “It gave our board insight.”
But according to federal tax returns obtained by The Courier, the EarthQuest Institute is essentially bankrupt.
Its 2010 tax return lists total assets at the end of the year as $309,797, with total liabilities as $514,468.
The institute paid Don Allen Holbrook, the president and CEO, $44,940 in 2010 for 15 hours of work per week, and paid CFO Deborah A. Thomas $43,920 for 20 hours of work per week, the tax reports state.
The 2012 approved budget for EMCID shows total income of $5.75 million and $5.075 million in expenditures. The budget, which can be found on the EMCID website, also lists expenses of $190,000 to EarthQuest.
In an audit completed in June last year by McCall, Gibson, Swedlund and Barfoot PLLC, also on the EMCID website, the district’s liabilities exceeded its assets by $15,118 as of June 30.
“Actual expenditures were $523,384 more than budgeted, primarily due to expenditures for community development, contract labor, capital improvements and EarthQuest costs,” the audit states.
EMCID had $12.39 million in bond debt at the end of its 2011 fiscal year, the audit states.
That year, EMCID had more than $414,000 in expenses for EarthQuest. It paid $293,337 in salaries, $178,169 in professional fees and $135,925 in travel expenses, the audit states.
McCrady could not say when Contour Entertainment will begin developing EarthQuest.
“We want the developer to be successful in putting it on the ground, period,” he said. “If we have one idea and they have another idea, we want to be in sync with what our developer is proposing.
“We’re going to let our developer speak for the project from now on.”
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Don Holbrook · EarthQuest the Ultimate Project
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Ms. Deborah Thomas gained capital markets experience while working at Morgan Stanley and at Manufacturer Hanover Merchant Banking Group-both in New York City-and at Merrill Lynch Private Capital in Dallas, Texas. After leaving Merrill Lynch in 1989, Ms. Thomas served as President and Chief Financial Officer for Just Brakes Corporation, a chain of wholly-owned automotive after-market service centers in Texas. She has since held the position of CFO for a number of early- to mid-stage companies in the software, telecom, and financial services industries. Deborah Thomas has extensive experience in securing debt financing, raising capital for expansion and corporate restructuring, preparing and implementing strategic and operational business plans, preparing corporate and project budgets and financial analysis, and managing all aspects of company accounting functions.
Mr. White is Chairman and CEO of White Ventures, Ltd., a private equity company headquartered in Dallas, Texas. White Ventures controls and manages over $200+ million in assets through White Ventures and its affiliates. The company holds controlling interests in real estate property, real estate development, manufacturing, technology, and oil and gas companies. Mr. White is also committed to investing in the production of renewable fuel sources both domestically and on a global basis. White Ventures’ philosophy is to invest in forward thinking solutions where technology will accelerate and create exponential benefits and new markets in global economies.
Originally Posted by B/S Biography Services
Don Holbrook Please stop posting defamatory comments about me and linking me to your trashy blog. Your characterizations of me are malicious and inappropriate and you are making false allegations about my professional conduct and ethics and inferring and telling people that I am a drunk. Nothing is further from the truth. Your comments related to me are defamatory, slanderous and harming my ability to make an honest livelihood. You have been fairly warned if you continue this reproduction of my image and misinformation about my professional character and personal integrity, I will take serious action to protect my intellectual property and my economic livelihood.12 hours ago ·
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