El Paso County Commissioners voted Monday morning to sue the owner of Western Playland.

At Monday’s meeting, Commissioners voted unanimously to sue Amusement Park Owner, Pat Thompson, for not cleaning up Western Playland's former location at Ascarate Park. Last month, Commissioners' Court invoked a clause in its contract with Thompson, claiming he violated the agreement by abandoning the property, where debris from the old park remains.

Commissioner Dan Haggerty said he hopes both sides can work out a settlement before the lawsuit makes it to trial.

"I hope that he will just be willing to sit down with us, come to some amicable agreement where we all ... just just put things back the way they were and move on," said El Paso County Commissioner Dan Haggerty. Thompson's disagreements with El Paso County led him to close his amusement park at Ascarate and reopen in Sunland Park.