HUTTO – Temperatures rose a couple of degrees as Cory Denena, a candidate for City Council Place 3, came under fire during the public comment session at Thursday’s Hutto City Council meeting. Brandy McCool and Brandon DeLeon, a candidate for City Council Place 6, took Denena to task over building unauthorized trails in the Riverwalk Master Community where he lives.
“Not only did he illegally cut trails on (homeowners association) property, but he also promotes it as public land. Unfortunately, this misinformation promotes the public to trespass. I have seen the reports of safety concerns and littering,” DeLeon said. “This is a bad look on this council, especially when we have two sitting council members that have publicly endorsed this candidate. Are you okay with this behavior?”
Denena was also accused of possibly trying to have the city acquire the land without authorization of the Riverwalk HOA, which owns the land. DeLeon said he brought the matter to the city’s attention because he heard that Denena had tried to sell HOA property to the city and was promoting the land as public property.
Denena indicated the fury surrounding what actually happened has been blown out of proportion.
“The outlandish allegations that have been made about the trails all originate from one very bitter City of Hutto employee and Riverwalk board member who is only interested in damaging my campaign for City Council. They are certainly not interested in serving the interests of Riverwalk residents. The residents overwhelmingly love and approve of the trails,” Denena told the Taylor Press.
At the heart of the issue are two plots of land that Riverwalk Master Community owns: about 19 acres along Brushy Creek and almost 18 acres of Liard River Road. Denena said as a resident he discovered that the development was originally planned to have walking trails and the Liard River Road land was platted for a park.
“A group of homeowners got together to ask the builder to explore making the land accessible. The builder controlled board, with one homeowner rep, was downright negative and even hostile to the group,” Denena posted in a public document about his trail-making activities, which began in 2022.
“Property owners were paying taxes on both properties, yet the builder would do nothing toward making the land safe or accessible for residents to enjoy. After the hostile response from the board, I knew what I had to do. I went out and with my own two hands, and encouragement from the almighty, I cleared the walking paths. I knew that if I didn’t do it, it would never get done,” he said.
The Riverwalk Master Community HOA declined to comment, but public records show the association objected when they learned Denena asked Parks and Recreation Director Jeff White to put an item on the Parks Advisory Board agenda about the HOA’s land.
Emails between Denena and White on Dec. 2 show that White agreed to put two items on the agenda, one to discuss acquiring the trail land for city ownership, and another to discuss funding improvements to the trail through the city’s capital improvements plan.
On Dec. 4, The HOA board sent an email to Denena concerned over the agenda items, which resulted in the items being removed from the agenda.
“Please remember that neither you nor any individual board member is authorized to engage the city, or any other entity, regarding the sale of HOA property without the agreement of the full board,” the email said. “Additionally, we must emphasize that any further attempt to engage in discussions or negotiations with the city regarding this property should cease immediately.”
Denena says that he was not acting as an HOA board member in his discussions with White. His term on the HOA board officially ended in October. However, he was and still is a member of the Parks Advisory Board.
“In my capacity as a member of the City of Hutto’s Parks Advisory Board, I do not need the HOA Board’s approval to propose a discussion about the city’s possible acquisition of the Riverwalk creek-side property, and do not in any way legitimize this attempt to control my words and actions outside of my capacity as an HOA Board member,” Denena responded.
However, in July 2024, while he was still a board member, Denena sent a letter to Riverwalk residents who own the land that the trail runs through, outlining his overall plans for the trail to connect from Highway 130 all the way to Adam Orgain Park and asking property owners to consider ways to potentially give parts of that land to the city.
“And — the Riverwalk HOA Board of Directors is interested in deeding the HOA’s creekside property to the city as well,” the letter stated.
Residents’ response to Denena’s creation of the trails has been mixed. The HOA received letters from some concerned about people from outside the subdivision using the trails, including at least one report of a person feeling endangered.
Matthew Woodrow, a Riverwalk homeowner, said he appreciates the trails and uses them frequently for running along Brushy Creek. He has volunteered to be part of an HOA trail committee, but has not heard whether the committee has been formed yet.
“I found out about the trail at an HOA meeting. Hutto just has a lot of cement trails that I’ve gone all over and it’s really nice that I don’t have to go to Granger Lake for something that’s a little more technical in nature,” he said.
Woodrow added that since the HOA put up signs stating the trails were only for use of the subdivision residents, there is less litter along the trail and more people are using it.
“It definitely has value. It’s definitely a reason why we’re still in the neighborhood as opposed to moving someplace else. I really wish Hutto would connect the Brushy Creek trail system, but I’m glad that right now there’s at least something in the neighborhood,” Woodrow said.
There is some concern that Denena’s trail-cutting activities may have spilled over to city-owned land. Mayor Mike Snyder called Denena’s efforts at creating trails admirable, but admonished that members of the public can’t unilaterally decide to build trails on city property because the city could be liable for injuries.
Snyder called for a future agenda item to discuss the specifics of how any such activity may have occurred, or how to prevent it in the future.
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I really wish Hutto would connect the Brushy Creek trail system, but I’m glad that right now there’s at least something in the neighborhood.”
— Matthew Woodrow, a Riverwalk homeowner
