Page 1 North Texas News

INTERNATIONAL RIGHT-OF-WAY ASSOCIATION

DALLAS-FORT WORTH, TEXAS

January 2018

In This Issue

January Luncheon 1

President’s Message 2

Director’s Message 3

Young Professionals 4

Ask the Attorney 5 - 6

Membership Committee 7

Education Committee News 8

Note from the Editor 9

North Texas News

Since 1960

President

KIM HIEBERT, SR/WA, R/W-NAC, R/W-

RAC

817.798.8398

Vice President

KRISTEN BENNETT, R/W-RAC

972.971.8660

Treasurer

LORA GUNTER, SR/WA

817.370.3682

Secretary

DALTON VANN, MAI, RWA, R/W-AC

817.962.2371

Director/ 2 YR KAREN STEARMAN, SR/WA

214.794.1014

Director/ 1YR MARCUS BOYD, SR/WA, R/W-RAC

972.979.2850

Chapter Officers 2017-18

January Meeting Lunch Date and Location:

January 9, 2018; 11:30 a.m.

Texas Star Golf Course— Conference Center

1400 Texas Star Parkway

Euless, Texas 76040

$20.00 before the registration deadline.

No-shows will be billed.

January Luncheon: January 9, 2018

Julia Ryan, AICP, Senior Planner for the City of Fort Worth

Julia has a Bachelor’s Degree from Iowa State

University in Political Science and Environmen-

tal Studies and a Master’s Degree from East-

ern Michigan University in Urban and Regional

Planning. Julia has been with the City for over

10 years and has worked extensively on trans-

portation policy issues such as Complete

Streets, Master Thoroughfare Plan, pedestrian

access, and planning, design, and implementation of on-street

bike lanes.

Sponsored by:

Luncheon Menu

Italian buffet and assorted cheese cakes

Julia Ryan

Page 2 North Texas News

Kim Hiebert, SR/WA, R/W-RAC, R/W-NAC

President’s Message

Kim Hiebert

HDR Engineering, Inc.

600 W. Sixth Street, Suite 200

Fort Worth, Texas 76102

817.798.8398

kimberly.hiebert@hdrinc.com

Our event planners, Leighton Gambill and John

Bennett, sure knocked the Chapter 36 End of

the Year Event out of the park and into 2018!

Hopefully you enjoyed it as much as I did. The

food was delish and the Bucket List Band was

so enjoyable and unique. THANK YOU to the Auction Sponsors who

generously donated great items which raised more than $2,500 for

the Scottish Rite Children’s Hospital. Here’s some exciting news! Be-

cause the ―member initiation fee‖ to the Petroleum Club has been

paid (thanks to the sponsor CBRE), we can have our lunches at the

Petroleum Club whenever we like. The current plan is to continue al-

ternating locations between Dallas and Fort Worth or somewhere in

the middle. This month’s luncheon will be sponsored by JLL Valuation

and Advisory Services and will be at the Texas Star Golf Club in Bed-

ford.

I also want to give my sincere appreciation to Andy Cox, the Chap-

ter’s Newsletter Editor, for his outstanding editing skills and his dili-

gence in gathering content each month. It’s not an easy job!

MARK YOUR CALENDAR FOR THESE 2018 IRWA EVENTS:

April 4 – 6, 2018 Region 2 Spring Forum, San Antonio

April 19 – 20, 2018 Ch 36 Hot Topics in Real Estate and

Eminent Domain, Walnut Creek, Mansfield

June 24 - 27, 2018 IRWA 64th Annual International Education

Conference in Edmonton, AB, Canada

August 1 - 3, 2018 Region 2 Refresher Course,

College Station

May this year bring new happiness, new goals, new achievements

and a lot of new inspirations to your life.

My best to you,

Kim Hiebert

Kim Hiebert, SR/WA, R/W-RAC,

R/W-NAC

Page 3 North Texas News

Karen Stearman, SR/WA

Director’s Message

Dear Chapter 36 Members:

I am pleased to announce the annual Chapter 36 Donald J.

Sherwood scholarship program. Each year the chapter awards

scholarships to deserving college students. This year we are ex-

tremely excited that Chapter 36 will have ten scholarships in

the amount of $1,000.00 each. To qualify, the applicant should

be enrolled, in an accredited college or university as a full-time

student (12 semester hours or more), studying a discipline that is

related to right-of-way, be a member of Chapter 36 or a family

member of a Chapter member, and meet the qualifications

contained in the official scholarship application form. The appli-

cation will be available on the Chapter 36 web later this month.

Scholarship Committee:

Karen Stearman, SR/WA, Director

Jim Thomas, SR/WA, Education Chair

Professional Dev. Chair

Karen Stearman, SR/WA

Karen Stearman, SR/WA

Real Estate Broker 972.221.9918

kgnuse@tx.rr.com

Page 4 North Texas News

Hello YP’s:

A big Thank You to everyone who came out

to the White Elephant Gift Exchange dinner.

It was a great time and congrats to our big

winners!

I want to thank everyone that has attended

our events this past year. It’s good to see the

continued support that we have received. We have three

events planned for this coming year with a Lunch and Learn,

Whirly Ball and then back to the Rustic. As details become avail-

able we will send out the updates.

Thank you again and I look forward to a great 2018!

YOUNG PROFESSIONALS

JIMMY THOMAS, SR/WA

Education Committee

817.215.6639

TOMMY MATTHEWS, R/W-AC

Education Committee (2YR)

214.924.4550

ROBERT ―WILL‖ SNIDER

Education Committee (3YR)

817.332.5522

MICHAEL HALE, SR/WA, R/W-NAC,

R/W-RAC, R/W-URAC

Professional Development

Committee Chair

817.709.6978

SARAH RIEBE

Professional Development

Committee (2YR)

817.304.2051

JACE WHATLEY, MAI

Professional Development

Committee (3YR)

214.340.5880

DENISE LOPEZ, SR/WA, R/W-RAC

Membership Chair

817.459.6537

LEIGHTON GAMBILL

Programs Co-Chair

214.340.5880

JOHN BENNETT

Programs Co-Chair

972.971.8661

MARGARET LEIN, SR/WA

PR & Marketing Committee

214.486.2206

SHERRY SMITH

PR & Marketing Committee

817.215.6588

JUAN SALAZAR

Young Professionals Chair

817.371.9428

TJ SMITH

Webmaster

469.337.4413

ANDY COX

Newsletter Editor

214.740.3154

DORRIEN HIMES

Historian

214.202.1471

Juan Salazar

Juan Salazar

Page 5 North Texas News

Scott Moran

Ask the Attorney

Submit Questions About

Right-of-Way Matters to

Scott Moran

Baker Moran Doggett Ma & Dobbs

1400 Preston Road, Suite 350

Plano, Texas 75093

469.351.3495

smoran@bakermoran.com

Question: Do entities with the power to condemn property

though the use of eminent domain have the right to enter a

landowner’s property for surveying purposes prior to the actual

taking of the property?

Answer: Generally, Yes. Texas courts have held that a con-

demning authority has the right to seek a temporary restraining

order or a temporary injunction to access and enter a private

landowner’s property to make a preliminary survey or for sur-

veying purposes. I.P. Farms v. Exxon Pipeline Co., 646 S.W.2d 544,

545 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 1982, no writ); Coastal Marine

Serv. of Texas, Inc. v. City of Port Neches, 11 S.W.3d 509, 513-14

(Tex. App.—Beaumont 2000, no pet.). Further, Section 181.001, et

seq., of the Texas Utilities Code grants condemnor’s the legal

right to enter the property and conduct surveys.

Texas courts have held that business disruptions may re-

sult in irreparable harm for which a temporary injunction is ap-

propriate, and therefore that injunctive relief is appropriate to

allow an entity with the right to access land to conduct survey

work on that land before instituting a condemnation proceed-

ing. In Occidental Chem. Corp. v. ETC NGL Transp., LLC, 425

S.W.3d 354, 361-62 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 2011, pet. dis-

m’d).

In Hicks v. Texas Municipal Power Agency, the condemn-

ing authority, an association of cities formed for the purpose of

developing facilities to be used in generating and transmitting

power, was seeking to enjoin certain landowners from interfering

with their proposed survey of their property. 548 S.W.2d 949, 951

(Tex. Civ. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 1977, writ ref’d n.r.e.). The

Court stated that even though the specific statutes granting the

Power Agency the right of eminent domain did not expressly

grant the right to a preliminary survey prior to condemnation, its

right to build necessarily implied the right to survey. Id. at 959.

Page 6 North Texas News

Scott Moran

Ask the Attorney

In the case of Lewis v. Texas Power & Light Co., a Tempo-

rary Injunction was issued to allow Texas Power & Light Co. engi-

neers and surveyors to go upon the Lewis’s farm to establish field

notes for an easement right-of-way to subsequently be con-

demned. 276 S.W.2d 950, 952 (Tex. Civ. App.—Dallas 1955, writ

ref'd n.r.e.). The Court held that the statute that gave the power

company the right to enter upon, condemn, and appropriate

lands also granted authority to enter upon privately owned land

for the purposes of making preliminary surveys with a view to later

acquisition of easements rights for construction of its lines. Id.

There are limits to this right, as most courts have refused to

recognize condemning authorities’ rights, prior to condemning,

to enter the land to conduct certain activities such as core drill-

ing. See Coastal Marine Serv. of Tex., Inc. v. City of Port Neches,

11 S.W.3d 509, 513 (Tex. App.—Beaumont 2000, no pet.)

Courts have also held that an injunction granting this

right of early entry is only wrongful if its issuance was wrongful at

its inception or if it was continued in effect due to some wrong

on the part of the party seeking the injunction. Craddock v.

Overstreet, 435 S.W.2d 607, 609 (Tex. Civ. App.—Tyler 1968, writ

ref'd n.r.e.). Unless an injunction has been wrongfully issued,

damages (except actual damages to property) are precluded

as a matter of law. I.P. Farms, 646 S.W.2d at 555.

In conclusion, courts generally have upheld the right of a

condemning authority and surveyors to enter onto lands for the

purpose of preliminary surveys prior to condemnation. See

Hicks, 548 S.W.2d at 955; I.P. Farms, 646 S.W.2d at 544; Hailey v.

Tex.-N.M. Power Co., 757 S.W.2d 833, 835 (Tex. App.—Waco

1988, writ dism'd w.o.j.).

IRWA on the Web

Page 7 North Texas News

Please join me in welcoming the following new members that

were approved at our December board meeting to become

part of the IRWA Chapter 36 family.

Angel Estefes Crossroads ROW Group LLC

Matthew Crosby Crossroads ROW Group LLC

Jennifer Malone City of Longview

Esmeralda Pyle Wheelhouse Land & Field Services, LLC

Anne Palermo Atmos Energy

Leticia Delgado DART

Nancy Canahuati G&P Land

Shawna Helterbrand Pinnacle Consulting Management Group Inc.

Charles Wilson Baker Moran Doggett Ma & Dobbs, LLP

A huge thank you to everyone who has paid their dues and re-

newed their membership. Please take the time to check the

Chapter website and view your contact information. Each mem-

ber has their own unique username and password to edit/

update their contact information. If you have membership ques-

tions please email Member Chair, Denise Lopez at mem-

berhip@irwachapter36.org.

Membership Committee News

Denise Lopez, SR/WA, R/W-RAC

Denise Lopez, SR/WA, R/W-RAC

Committee Chair

City of Arlington

817-459-6537

denise.lopez@arlingtontx.gov

Page 8 North Texas News

Happy New Year Chapter 36 members!

Looking ahead at 2018, please see our Education Schedule below for upcoming education opportunities that our Chapter has put to-gether. Please remember that in order to qualify for the Chapter 36 member discount and the Region 2 YP discount, you MUST register through the course coordinator listed on the registration brochure!

Don’t forget to check the websites of other chapters in the region for upcoming classes that may not be posted to IRWAOnLine yet.

For a complete list of registration forms, fees and all discounts of-fered by the Chapter, please visit www.irwachapter36.org/education.htm

Jim Thomas, SR/WA, Chair

Jim Thomas, SR/WA

Committee Chair

Will Snyder

Member (3 YR)

JLL Valuation & Advisory Services

will.snider@am.jll.com

Tommy Matthews, R/W-AC

Member (2 YR)

Edgestone Realty Valuation

tommy@edgestonerealty.com

Jim Thomas, SR/WA

Oncor Electric Delivery Company

1600 Bryan Street, EP 28

Dallas, Texas 75201

(214) 486-3208

jimmy.thomas3@oncor.com

Education Committee News

Education Committee

IRWA Chapter 36 Education Schedule - 2018

Course Date Location Instructor

701 - Property/Asset Manage-

ment: Leasing January 25-26, 2018

Halff-

Richardson

Georgia

Snodgrass

504 - Computing Replacement

Housing Payments February 14-15, 2018

Oncor -

Fort Worth Tami Benson

505 - Advanced Residential Re-

location Assistance February 2018

Oncor-

Fort Worth Tami Benson

804 - Skills of Expert Testimony March 2, 2018 TNP—Fort Worth John Baker/

Scott Moran

218- Right -of-Way Acquisition for

Electrical Transmission Projects March 21-22, 2018

Oncor -

Fort Worth Wayne Wright

Course 102/Spring Seminar April 19, 2018 Walnut Creek

CC Lora Gunter

SRWA Study Session April 30– May 2, 2018 TNP—Fort Worth Donnie

Sherwood

501– Residential Relocation Assis-

tance May 15-16, 2018

Oncor-

Fort Worth

Kristen

Bennett

Which Courses Do I Need?

Only the PDC can tell you which class you need to complete the education

requirements for designation and certification. If you are planning to get

your RWA, RWP or SR/WA the list of courses you need to complete your cre-

dentialing are located at www.irwaonline.org. Just visit the "Credentialing"

tab. You can also download an Excel file that allows you to check on your

course progress as you go and see how many classes you have left. That

download is available on the IRWA Chapter 36 Education page or http://www.irwachapter36.org/pdf/credential.xlsx.

Page 9 North Texas News

Happy New Year, Chapter 36!

I take this opportunity to highlight Director Karen

Stearman’s message in this month’s newsletter, (see page 3),

regarding the Donald J. Sherwood scholarship program. This

annual scholarship program is a true blessing to our Chapter

and a distinct honor to the recipients of these scholarships. I

have always considered this scholarship program as indicative

of the very best of our Chapter’s commitment to service, our

membership, and investment in the right-of-way industry. The

program is named for a true giant in that industry, and is a fit-

ting tribute to his many talents and contributions to our Chap-

ter and the right-of-way industry as a whole over many years.

As Director Stearman states, this year Chapter 36 is

pleased to have the ability to award ten (10) scholarships in

the amount of $1,000.00 each. I encourage all Chapter 36

members to consider those deserving students they know who

are currently pursuing or will be pursuing a course of study re-

lated to the right-of-way field and to encourage those students

to apply for a Donald J. Sherwood Chapter 36 IRWA scholar-

ship. There are many disciplines of study that could relate to

the right-of-way field in some way, and many of us know one

or more deserving college students who could use additional

scholarship assistance.

I wish each of our members a prosperous and blessed

New Year and I look forward to continue bringing this Newslet-

ter to our readership in 2018.

Andy Cox, Partner Burford & Ryburn, LLP

Note from the Editor

Newsletter editor, Andy Cox is a lawyer

and partner at Burford & Ryburn, LLP in

Dallas. He practices in the areas of gen-

eral civil litigation, including matters involv-

ing easements, property rights, and emi-

nent domain. He can be reached by

phone at 214-740-3100 or by email at

acox@brlaw.com

Andy Cox

Burford & Ryburn, LLP

3100 N. Akard Street, Suite 3100

Dallas, Texas 75201

214.740.3154

acox@brlaw.com

IRWA on the Web

Don’t put off advanc-

ing your career. Visit

the classes section of

Online Learning Cen-

ter at

www.irwaonline.org