By ALBERT VILLEGAS
Special to the NEWS
The issue of monetary funds to disassociate with access between the Fun-N-Sun RV Resort and adjacent San Benito property owners has been a topic of discussion among city leaders here for two months now.
The recent proposal for a $20,000 “easement” offered by Fun-N-Sun to the City of San Benito was presented. Whether it will be approved at the upcoming Tuesday, Dec. 16, regular meeting of the San Benito Commissioners remains uncertain.
This will be the third time the issue has been brought before the elected officials for their opinions. At the last meeting, they heard from resident Eddie Loa, who shares the alleyway with Fun-N-Sun and six other landowners, as an attorney stated.
The item was initially considered for executive session, meaning it would have been discussed by commissioners behind closed doors and away from the public.
Instead, at the Nov. 18 regular meeting, several people, including homeowner Loa, Fun-N-Sun attorney Matthew Jones (based in Weslaco), and San Benito Interim City Attorney Javier Villalobos chimed in.
“It is my understanding that Mr. Loa and Fun-N-Sun have reached an agreement regarding (alleyway) access, and (San Benito) shouldn’t necessarily be a party to this,” Villalobos said during the meeting.
He added that if there had been dedicated alleyway access, it was never discussed by San Benito or neighboring Harlingen leaders when anything was constructed decades ago.
“It was never part of the cities of Harlingen or San Benito, so we have no interest in the property,” Villalobos said.
The “buyout,” as Mayor Ricardo Guerra phrased it, seems straightforward with no immediate repercussions; however, the future remains uncertain.
Commissioner Pedro A. Galvan said if he is to decide, it’s not so simple. “I think we need surveys, all the good stuff when you’re dealing with properties, but also I don’t want to take any money from Fun-N-Sun,” said Galvan, who brought up utilities.
Attorney Jones said Fun-N-Sun has been in existence for 70 years and shares sewer lines with the City of San Benito.
“We are offering the $20,000 in return for an acknowledgement of what we think is very clear, and Mr. Villalobos has echoed – the legal opinion is that San Benito has no rights to the alley,” Jones said.
The proposed agreement would also include metes and bounds, he added.
Jones said that Fun-N-Sun would like to put the issue to rest permanently, saying he would like to avoid returning to a different group of commissioners five years from now and having the same set of circumstances discussed again.
“We’re willing to offer the access rights to each of the seven landowners who adjoin the park; we’re agreeing to do that not because we’re legally obligated, but it’s part of our agreement with the city … now and in the future,” Jones said.
Jones said they would offer these rights to the seven neighbors, including Loa, as long as the City of San Benito agreed in writing that it would never have rights to an easement or the alleyway in question.
City Manager Fred Sandoval, who has been at his post since 2023, was eventually educated on the present-day circumstances that the resort, Loa and others find themselves in.
He didn’t want to phrase it as “mismanagement,” but he said, “This property got caught up with the development of Fun-N-Sun, including the property owners who were there.”
The sewer lines are not part of an easement; they are for utility services.
“Each of those homes is tied in to a private sewer line that exists in Fun-N-Sun,” Sandoval said.
Commissioner Deborah A. Morales asked Loa to speak, as attorneys were allowed to share details.
Loa said the current Fun-N-Sun manager allows him access to the resort, but there is a “correct” way to do this.
“When I go in and out, I’m having to call in every time,” Loa said. “I would like the easement to be open, so I don’t have to go through the front and bother anybody.”
Galvan asked to table the item upon reviewing utility maps, reading the proposed agreement, and allowing any attorney associated with the issue to walk the affected grounds.
Commissioners who voted to table until the next meeting were Galvan and Morales.
Mayor Pro Tem Thomas W. Goodman and Mayor Guerra voted not to table the item. Commissioner Joe E. Navarro was not present at the meeting.
Their meeting decisions on the item have no effect on Loa and other landowners gaining access to their homes.
This has been a point of contention for Loa for years.
“Commissioner Galvan and Commissioner Morales are doing the right thing, questioning concerns on utilities that run under easement going through Fun-N-Sun to avoid legal issues in the future,” Loa told the NEWS. “The City of San Benito is well aware that Fun-N-Sun built over an existing easement and put up a fence blocking the residents from going to their property using the back entrance.
All I want is to have back access to my back property without having to call the park manager to let me in.”
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