Sandy Oaks News has received copies of the official incorporation paperwork submitted to Bexar County by the Committee to Incorporate Sandy Oaks (CISO).
An open records request was submitted to Bexar County on the behalf of Sandy Oaks News on January 19, 2016. The request was for
all forms, documents, and maps included with the ‘Application to Incorporate’ which was submitted on January 27, 2014 by the Committee to Incorporate Sandy Oaks to Bexar County.
It took Public Information Officer Laura Jesse 7 days to gather all parts of the application.
The paperwork had been submitted to the county by Art Martinez de Vara, the attorney for CISO.
The following is the letter written by Martinez de Vara:
The undersigned inhabitants of the unincorporated community of SANDY OAKS, Texas, citizens of Bexar County, all residents of the area herinafter described, and all qualified voters under 11.002 of the Texas Election Code, desire that SANDY OAKS be incorporated, and pray that an election be ordered on the question of the incorporation of the proposed City of Sandy Oaks, as provided in Chapter 6 of the Local Government Code and any other applicable Statues of the State of Texas.
At no point in any of the paperwork was the community of Waterwood or surrounding subdivisions mentioned. Instead, the area was referred to only as “Sandy Oaks”, the same name as the community located 3 miles away at the corner of Hardy and Cambleton Roads.
Related: Sandy Oaks vs Sandy Oaks: Explaining the Confusion
Not all of the information requested by Sandy Oaks was given. Jesse, the County’s Public Information Officer, did not release the petition document that includes the required 50 signatures needed to start the incorporation election. She did offer to provide the document with the dates of birth and voter ID numbers redacted.
Jesse cited new changes in the Public Information Act as the reason for the redaction. However, Sandy Oaks News requested an opinion by the Texas Attorney General as the dates of birth are required to confirm that the signatories were of legal age.
Leslie Haby, a Bexar County Assistant Criminal District Attorney, has written the Attorney General’s office for an opinion on the matter and told Sandy Oaks News that the AG’s office has 45 business days to reply.
Related: All 6 City Council Members Ignore Open Record’s Request
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