Land owner wins fight with County over gate

ABC-7 found itself in the middle of a dispute Wednesday between an East El Paso County land owner and the County Road and Bridge Department.

The issue was a gate located off Hueco Tanks Road, blocking a private road leading to an inactive subdivision, about a mile from Hueco Tanks State Park.

Don Meier, 66, is the proud owner of more than 600 acres near Hueco Tanks and when the county threatened to tear down the gate blocking his private road, he called ABC-7 and fought back.

“I got a call from the County about three weeks ago saying they were going to come and cut down the gate because it was on their right of way,” Meier said. “I advised them it was on my property. I had all the maps and all the legal descriptions. I then informed the people at Road and Bridge, ‘Go ahead and come cut it down. I’ll have the Sheriff waiting on them when they get here.’ We had a few choice words and I can’t tell you what they were.”

Last week, Meier, who wants to keep the gate closed to protect his horses and keep people from illegally dumping in the area, said the County Road and Bridge Department sent out a survey crew.

‘I’ve never heard back from them, until I talked to (ABC-7) and (ABC-7) called them,” Meier said. “And then all the sudden, they called me and said, ‘Oh, the gate is on your property.'”

The gate sits next to the County right of way, which has not been graded in years. Just to the left of it, next to a “no trespassing” sign, sits Meier’s gate and private road.

“I got upset,” an emotional Meier said.

It wasn’t the first time an Meier said he has fought over the gate. Four years ago, while defending his property, he said he was jumped by three men and left for dead.

“I’m talking to one guy here and another one is off to the right of me and he hit me in the right hand side,” he said. “It’s my property and I do not have to let you on it.”

ABC-7 called the County Road and Bridge Department and spoke with Public Works Director Ernie Carrizal.

“Based upon the information we gathered, we determined the gate was actually located on his property,” Carriza said. “Based upon that information, we determined he was not blocking a County road.”

Carrizal was thankful for ABC-7’s help.

“(The land) is for the future for my great grand kids,” Meier said with a tear in his eye. “That’s what I always say.”

Meier said he wishes the County would do what he says it’s supposed to do, and grade its own road, parallel to his, rather than trying to take his private road. Carrizal said the County has no plans to grade the dirt road next to Meier’s since the subdivision is inactive.