Mineral Wells calls regular, recall elections; Council assures family new duplex must comply with code

Jan. 17—MINERAL WELLS — Council members on Tuesday set regular and recall elections for May 4 and assured a family that an application for a new duplex would have to comply with building and fire codes.

The call for elections might have left Ward 1 Councilman Jerrel Tomlin feeling double-dipped. His term is up this cycle, and he is one of two council members targeted for a recall election that same day.

The other is Ward 4 Councilman, and mayor pro tem, Doyle Light.

So, does that mean Tomlin could be reelected and bounced out of office on the same day?

The Weatherford Democrat asked the Texas Secretary of State's office that question Wednesday and is awaiting a reply.

Ward 2 Councilman Carlos Maldonado also could be on the ballot. A group gathering a recall petition has until Jan. 29 to turn in sufficient signatures to force the council to schedule a recall vote for him in May.

A third recall vote, this one for Maldonado, is "possible," according to City Clerk Sharon McFadden.

Otherwise, the mayor's seat and the one for the Ward 3 council seat are up for reelection this cycle.

McFadden also reported Ward 3 Councilwoman Beth Watson filed for a new term in Ward 3 on Wednesday morning.

And there will be more on that ballot than picking elected leaders.

Voters will be asked to decide rewritten city charter language that conforms with state law.

Some of the seven amendments are housekeeping, such as renaming the corporation court, where people dispute tickets, to municipal court as it's known in most cities.

Discrepancies between state law and the city charter surfaced when the recall election petitions were turned in.

The charter says those should be scheduled 30-60 days after a petition is verified by the city clerk. At least a few of the petitioners were upset when the city attorney told the council state law sets those recalls on a uniform election date, in May or November.

One amendment sets the same schedule for other petition-driven elections known as initiative and referendum.

One brings the way the city buys or sells property in line with state law. Another revamps the charter with regard to hiring contractors.

The seven proposed amendments will be published by the city for voters to see, along with the potential financial impacts, according to state law.

Council members on Tuesday were attentive to the concerns of a family worried over the impact a new duplex and parking lot will have on safety in their northwest Mineral Wells neighborhood.

"I don't totally disagree with rezoning the property," resident Victoria Allen-Meneley led off to the council. "If they rezone and build more duplexes, I'm going to continue to have damage to my property. There's a lot of traffic."

Her daughter, Krista Allen, said she has three small children there and was also worried about increased traffic.

"Unfortunately now, people are coming in and out all hours of the day," she said, questioning whether a potential rezone aligns with the city's ongoing efforts to "uplift" its image.

The question before the council, however, was not a zoning change. That could come later.

Building Official Michael Dunn said Tuesday's issue was a cut-and-dry replat, a redrawing of the site's metes and bounds.

That led to discussions about when the developer will come back asking for building permits.

The family, who included son Christopher Allen, listed hazards that do not need more stress, such as a gully running alongside a road that has drainage issues and attracts unhoused people.

Fire/EMS Chief Ryan Dunn pointed out it was very early in the process and that his department has yet to inspect the neighborhood's needs under a growth scenario.

The chief said he has yet to determine a fit width for the road, how many fire hydrants are there, or are needed, and whether the road can handle heavy trucks.

"There's a lot still to go," the chief said.

The mayor also said approval of the replat "does not mean a green light" for the developer. And Place 1 Councilman Kyle Kelley added he needs to see "an overview of the entire plan" from the developer.

Johnson finally asked Building Official Dunn, who is the developer's city contact, if he was hearing the council's concerns — and those of the residents.

"Definitely," he replied.

In other action Tuesday, the council approved a new mutual aid agreement between its Fire/EMS and Sacred Cross EMS.

"(This is) so we can still help each other when we need it," the chief said, after noting it updates the 2017 mutual aid pact that was entered when Sacred Cross EMS arrived in the county.

The EMS is the ambulance provider for Palo Pinto County Emergency Services District No. 1 and assumes primary service for all of the county except inside Mineral Wells and the county's southwest portion where ESD2 operates.

Dunn also gave oaths of office to three of his firefighter/paramedics who have earned law enforcement certifications.

They are Capt./Deputy Fire Marshals Jared Self and Ethan Weathers, and Lt./Deputy Fire Marshal Randall Noe.

"It gives us a real-time response to any type of arson fire," Dunn said, describing a "head start" the firemen's new roles will provide collecting evidence.

Tuesday's meeting was gaveled in by Councilman for a Day Bodhi Sabbatini, a 13-year-old seventh grader at Mineral Wells Junior High.

Sabbatini is the son of Amy Bearden and grandson of Joe and Sandra Meyer.

The mayor said Sabbatini "has goals far beyond the walls" of his campus and that the teen is already learning mathematical vectors.

"Sounds like the ultimate goal is the Air Force," she said.