In a historic move on Wednesday, the Fairly Consulting Group has ended its economic development deal with the Amarillo Economic Development Corporation and announced its intention to return money already received through the deal.
On Wednesday, Fairly Group president Alex Fairly spoke to the Amarillo EDC Board of Directors to ask for his company's $1.8 million deal to be ended. Fairly said the deal, which was finalized in 2017, weighed on his conscience and that he did not feel comfortable being the recipient of the deal.
"We're doing fantastic and the reality is we can continue doing what we're doing without help from the AEDC," Fairly said.
The risk management firm received the economic incentive deal in 2017. Under the terms of the deal, the company was asked to hire 100 new employees and increase its payroll by about $6 million over 15 years.
AEDC officials approved the deal shortly after the Fairly Group was involved in the brokering of a deal to bring a minor league baseball team to Amarillo. AEDC president Barry Albrecht has denied the company's involvement in the baseball deal had any weight on the incentive deal.
However, Fairly said on Wednesday that he was not personally involved in the economic development deal during its original creation.
"I literally never had a conversation about the deal until it was done," Fairly said.
During the meeting, AEDC board member Craig Gualtiere praised Fairly, calling the move historic.
"Many people don't know this but you made sports history when you changed the way risk management was handled," Gualtiere said. "You made Amarillo history today."
Board member Laura Street also praised Fairly's move, thanking him for his commitment to the community.
Fairly says that he decided to return the money because he "feels strongly" about taxpayer money and did not feel that his company was the best use of the AEDC's money.
"These moneys aren't mine or yours, they belong to everyone in our community," Fairly told board members. "And we can do what we're doing without them."
Fairly also debunked rumors of a potential company move on Wednesday, saying the Fairly Group has never intended to leave Amarillo.
"We were never moving...the reality is we're here," Fairly said.
Following the meeting, Fairly left a letter with AEDC president Barry Albrecht about the return of funds already received through the deal. The businessman said the return was very important for him, personally.
"I feel really strongly about taxpayer money...and frankly I just couldn't take the money," Fairly said. "We needed to stop before it got any bigger."
Alex Fairly during a Wednesday press conference.
Photo by Tom Warren III