Texas State University announced in an email today it won’t move forward with the sale of University Camp due to public feedback.
The sale of the 126-acre property in Wimberley, Texas, which is along the Blanco River and provides exclusive reservation access to Texas State students and faculty, was set to be voted on in the Board of Regents’ Nov. 16 meeting.
An outpour of public feedback against the sale caused the Board of Regents to remove the item from the agenda on Nov. 9.
In an email sent to all Texas State students, staff and faculty, Texas State President Kelly Damphousse said Texas State decided it wouldn’t sell the property after receiving the public’s response.
“I appreciate those who took the time to share feedback regarding the possible sale of University Camp,” Damphousse said. “Their input made it clear that University Camp continues to be a valuable asset for our Texas State alumni, employees, students, and community members. For that reason, I have decided that so long as I am president at Texas State, the property will not be sold.”
On Nov. 9, the day the Board of Regents removed the agenda item, Texas Representative Erin Zwiener announced in a FaceBook Live video that Texas State Chancellor Brian McCall informed her the sale wouldn’t be voted on in the Nov. 16 meeting.
“My ask was, ‘Please give the community time to interact with this. Please give the community time to look at options.’… We are going to be sitting down with the folks at Texas State University to talk about options,” Zwiener said in her Nov. 9 FaceBook Live video.
Zwiener, along with other community members, wrote a letter to Texas State advocating for the university to keep the property.
“My hope is that if Texas State University decides that [University Camp] does not align with its educational mission, it will make every effort to keep [University Camp] in its natural state and in the hands of public access,” Zwiener said in her letter to Damphousse and McCall she shared on FaceBook.
According to the missing agenda item, Texas State would’ve received the appraised price of $4.6 million and an “unrestricted donation” of $4.4 million for the property – roughly $9 million.
