MINUTES CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING MONDAY JUNE 9, 2025 ALDERMEN PRESENT Mayor. Alton Morris CITY STAFF PRESENT Noah Rose, Parks and Recreation Alderman Place 1 Libby Gonzales Michael Smith, City Manager Maintenance Technician Alderman Place 2 Shawnea" Smith Shalyn Burritt, City Secretary James Henry, Parks and Recreation Alderman Place 3 Greg Robinson Hanna Atkinson, Finance Officer Maintenance Technician Alderman Place 4 Joel Hood, Leslie Jackson, Human Resources Tedra Bilby, Police Department Mayor Pro Tem Jeremy Jennings, Fire Department Chief Administrative Assistant Alderman Place 5 Tyler Robinson Les Guthrie, Water/Wastewater Erica Garza, Senior UB Clerk Superintendent ALDERMEN. ABSENT JohnnyBurritt, Code Enlorcemenvsulding JACKSBORO ECONOMIC Inspector DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION CITY ATTORNEYS PRESENT REPRESENTATIVE Reid Spiller Brenda Tarpley 1. CALL TO ORDER Mayor Morris called the meeting to order at 5:30 p.m. 2. INVOCATION The invocation was led by Travis Jonas. 3. PLEDGES TO THE FLAGS Pledges were led by Mayor Morris. 4. PUBLIC COMMENTS Mr. Rod Hetzel addressed the Council regarding the flooding of his commercial property at 219 S. Main. He explained that because of the curbing that was placed along South Church Street and McCombs, the water from heavy rain was now flowing directly onto his property. The City tore out a section of the curbing to alleviate the situation. Mr. Hetzel discussed the public information request that he obtained, and felt there was a lack of information and planning that went into the road repair, and there was no chance that it would actually have worked. Mr. Hetzel cited Sections 11.086 A and B and Section 11.121 of the Texas Water Code regarding diverting the natural flow of surface water and the need for permitting. Ms. Kathy Young and Ms. Tery Martin, residents of 225 S. Church, at the comer of Church and McCombs streets addressed their flooding issues with the council. They expressed how they felt the new raised road and curbing was causing water to be trapped on their property, going into their home and underneath their home. They are requesting that the City fix the situation where the water is no longer trapped in the yard, but naturally running through it, as it did befor re. They expressed that the current situation was unacceptable. Mr. Joseph Garza spoke with the council about his home located at 218 McCombs Street. He expressed frustration with the City for not supplying legal documents, easements, designs, or plans as requested, and until he had received those documents, he did not want the City back on his property or moving forward with any more drainage plans. He requested the assistance of Alderman Gonzales and Mayor Morris, along with the City Manager, Mike Smith, to meet together and come up with a plan to move forward in the right direction and address any loss of land value. Mr. Cody Robinette introduced himself as legal counsel for several of the residents affected by the water flow issue on Church and McCombs streets. He acknowledged the City had an agenda item to discuss the engineering recommendations for the drainage situation, and that was a step in the right direction. He expressed that as the flooding continued, the residents felt there could be rreparable damages to their properties, making it difficult to insure their properties or potentially sell their properties in the future. His focus was to address with the City the issue of erosion of the value of their properties and potential health hazards such as black mold and would like the City to move to remedy the situation expeditiously, and any compensation owed to property owners. 5. CONSENT AGENDA All matters listed underltem 5, CONSENT, AGENDA, are tol be considered routinel byt the City Council and will be enacted by one motion. There will not be a separate discussion oft these items. If discussion is desired, that item will be removed from the consent: agenda and will be considered separately. a. EXCUSED ABSENCES. There were no absences. City Council Minutes Regular Meeting 06/09/2025 Page 1 of 5 b. MEETING MINUTES. i. APRIL 28, 2025 Alderman Robinson made a motion to accept the minutes for April 28, 2025, as presented. Alderman Hood seconded the motion. Motion carried with all three members present at the April 28th meeting voting "aye". ii. MAY 12, 2025, REGULAR MEETING. Alderman Hood made a motion to accept the minutes for May 12, 2025, as presented. Alderman Robinson seconded the motion. Alderman Gonzales abstained from voting due to her absence from that meeting. Motion carried with remaining council members voting "aye". iii. MAY 28, 2025, SPECIAL CALLED MEETING. Alderman Hood made a motion to accept the May 28, 2025, minutes as presented. Alderman Gonzales seconded the motion. Alderman Robinson abstained from voting due to his absence from that meeting. Motion carried with remaining council members voting "aye". 6. APPOINTMENTS. a. BOARD OF ZONING ADJUSTMENT REAPPOINTMENTS FOR THE 2025-2027 TERM. Discussion was held. The members presented for reappointment were Place 1 Alicia Guthrie, Place 3 Marci Thomas, Place 5 Tonya Smith and Alternate 1 Craig Adkins. Staff made a recommendation to reappoint all BZA members slated for reappointment. Alderman Shawnea Smith made a motion to reappoint the presented BZA members. Alderman Hood seconded the motion. Motion carried with unanimous consent. b. PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION REAPPOINTMENT FOR THE 2025-2027 TERM. Discussion was held. City Manager, Michael Smith stated that it was Staff recommendation to reappoint the Planning and Zoning board members up for reappointment with no changes. Alderman Hood made a motion to reappoint Blaze Mathis for Place 1, Patti Zuber for Place 3, Redonna Pulis for Place 5 and Leslie Holman for Alternate 1 on the Planning and Zoning Commission. Alderman Gonzales seconded the motion. Motion carried with unanimous consent. 7. COUNCIL TO DISCUSS AND TAKE ACTION ON ENGINEERING RECOMMENDATIONS FROM HAZEN AND SAWYER ENGINEERING FIRM FOR DRAINAGE SOLUTIONS ON MÇCOMBS AND S. CHURCH STREETS. City Manager, Michael Smith, submitted the recommendations from Hazen and Sawyer Engineering for drainage solutions on McCombs and South Church Streets. One proposed alternative would be a type of French drain to direct runoff water to the cliff. The other proposed alternative was a deep culvert going under McCombs Street to direct water to the cliff. Estimates from the preliminary review was $571,000 for "Altemative 1" and $370,600 for"Alternative 2". Alderman Robinson asked if the engineers recommended one alternative over another, and the City Manager stated it would be determined from the easement agreement. Mayor Morris inquired if there was an estimate to tear everything out, but the City Manager stated there was not an estimate done for those costs. Discussion was held over the options for the drainage situation, and which option would be the least invasive fori the property owners. The City Manager explained that the estimates given for both altematives included contracted labor, and that if City Staff are used, the labor cost estimate would be lower. Council members and Mr. Garza agreed that Alternative 1", with an underground culvert, would be the least disruptive option. Mr. Garza inquired about the telephone pole that was in the line of the potential culvert, and Mr. Smith stated that would be addressed, and shouldn't be in the way. He urged that more study needed to be done by the engineers and an easement needed to be finalized. Alderman Hood and Alderman Shawnea' Smith inquired if the underground culvert solution would also take care of the drainage issues with Mr. Hetzel and Ms. Young and Ms. Martin's properties, and Mr. Smith stated it would. Mayor Morris inquired what needed to be done to move forward, and Mr. Smith stated that he needed to know the direction that the Council would like for! him to move toward, and have the engineers do a more detailed and thorough study. Alderman Hood asked Mr. Garza if he would be agreeable to the more cosmetic approach in "Alternative 1", and Mr. Garza agreed that the least amount of damage would be his preference, with the land being returned to its original look. Mr. Smith agreed to readdress the specifics of "Altemative 1" with the engineers. Mr. Hetzel requested that the engineers come and directly speak with the property owners affected. Alderman Hood suggested that it would be a better use of the engineer's time to have the City have a town hall type of meeting for everyone to have input with the engineers. Council directed staff to movei forward with exploring the specifics of' "Alternative 1" presented by the engineering firm, and to arrange for a town hall meeting for the engineers and public to speak about the project. City Council Minutes Regular Meeting 06/09/2025 Page 2 of 5 8. FINANCE. a. COUNCIL TO DISCUSS AND TAKE ACTION ON THE 2025 STRATEGIC PLAN. Discussion was held on the draft strategic plan. Alderman Hood asked about the emphasis on maintenance and replacement schedule, and how that coincided with infrastructure. He also inquired about the leasing program versus purchasing vehicles and equipment. Mr. Smith stated that since implementing the leasing program, the costs of maintenance and replacement of vehicles and equipment had significantly gone down. Having a younger fleet of vehicles through the leasing program made the vehicles easier to maintain. Alderman Hood made a motion to approve the 2025 Strategic Plan as presented. Alderman Harmonson seconded the motion. Motion carried with unanimous consent. 9. COUNCIL TO DISCUSS AND TAKE ACTION ON THE DESIRED DIRECTION FOR CITY STAFF TO PURSUE IN INTERVIEWING AND HIRING A NEW POLICE CHIEF. The City Manager Michael Smith discussed how this issue was tabled at the last meeting, and City Staff required a direction to move for pursuing interviews for a new Chief of Police. Alderman Robinson thanked the Sheriff's Office for their commitment and help, and he suggested that a committee bet formed to properly review and hire a new police department He suggested a committee consisting of the City Manager, Sheriff, two council members and a representative from the public, to go through all of the applications. Alderman Harmonson also suggested that a representative from the school district and a staff memberfrom the child advocacy center bei included in the committee. Alderman Hood also suggested a member of a law enforcement agency. Mr. Smith stated that he knew he needed to gets some interviews scheduled, because if the Council did decide not to move forward, it would be easier to cancel interviews than to set them up and run out of time. Mr. Smith stated that he had reached out to a current Chief of Police, a current City Manager who was a Chief of Police, Brad Burnett, Jacksboro Independent School District's Superintendent, and Frank Hefner the Emergency Management Coordinator forthe County. He had not yet reached out to the Sheriff, but would, and he had reached out to the Child Advocacy Center, but no one was available. He also wanted to include staff that would be working with the Chief of Police, including Chief Jennings, and he wanted to include two Council members. He also added that he would like to have additional staff, the Municipal Court Clerk, City Secretary, and Human Resources Director be included. He stated that of the 33 candidates who had submitted applications, he was able to narrow them down to seven qualified applicants. He explained that some candidates didn't meet the basic qualifications, some did not submit all of the information that was required, and some lacked very basic grammar skills. Alderman Gonzales explained her hesitation in committing to a direction at the last meeting. She stated that if we did move forward with the Sheriff's Office fora ay year and a half, that would leave a police department employee that would be laid off. Mr. Smith stated that a memorandum of understanding (MOU) had not been written, and no matter what direction the Council decided to go, an MOU would need to be established. Alderman Robinson stated that we would need their assistance in the interim, and Mr. Smith agreed, stating a new Chief might be hired within two weeks, but then would need to give notice, then make the SRO officer hiring a priority before school began. Alderman Hood asked if a new Police Chief would be the primary source of hiring and Mr. Smith stated yes, the Chief would be. He stated that department heads, along with a small panel of three to four staff, hire fortheir departments. Mr. Smith stated that if the Council asks him to move forward, he would have interviews forthree candidates on Wednesday and fouron Thursday. Mayor Morris reiterated that the Chief would be hiring the officers, and Mr. Smith agreed, but there would also be a small panel involved. At this time, Alderman Harmonson made a motion to move forward using Mr. Smith's recommended committee to begin interviewing for a Police Chief. Alderman Shawnea' Smith suggested Alderman Harmonson and Mayor Morris to be members of the committee from the Council, but Mayor Morris declined. Alderman Hood was suggested, and he and Alderman Harmonson accepted. Alderman Hood seconded Alderman Harmonson's motion. Mr. Rod Hetzel asked the Council if this meant they would not be pursuing the Sheriff's plan, and Alderman Hood stated that this would mean we would not be directing the Sheriff's Department to hire officers. Mr. Smith stated that we would need continued support from the Sheriff's Department and need an MOU as we move forward. Alderman Gonzales stated that she did notfeel that there should be a delay in hiring a chief for one and a half years, but this decision did not dimir nish the value of the Sheriff's Department, and that they were a welcome presence in the community. Chief Deputy Sheriff Doug Angell spoke to the Council and wanted to clarify some misconceptions. He said the Sheriff's Department was 100% in support of a Police Department. He emphasized that this would be a unique opportunity fort the City to be able to take their time to hire the right person. He stated that his agency had gone above and beyond because of their responsibility to Jacksboro and all Jack County. He stated that the two agencies (Sheriff's Department and Police Department) had never worked together before, and he had wanted a round-table discussioni for a real solution and plan forthe best ideas to move forward and work together. He cautioned that it would take time to hire and do a background check, and not to rush. Aldemman Robinson stated that the Council had no intension of rushing into a decision and wanted to make sure everyone was "on the same train track". He suggested that if the candidates are interviewed and none are a City Council Minutes Regular Meeting 06/09/2025 Page 3 of 5 good fit, we can pass on them and move forward. Deputy Angell stated that the Sheriff's Department had wanted to hire five candidates that a Chief could adopt as his, and those five would be working seamlessly with current deputies. This would be an opportunity to try that option and to bring the agencies together. He said the current Police Department was a ten-person department, but they were making it work with four and doing well. If the new Chief were given a five-person starter kit, he could then bring in more. He stated that the Sheriff's Department had eight positions to hire, making $15,000 more than an officer would, and that would mean there would be less qualified people applying fort the City's officer's positions. He thought the Sheriff's plan would save money forthe City and redirect funds to other projects. He argued that the Sheriff's Department wasn't wanting to do this but offering to do this because they care fort the City. He stated that the City Manager had already moved forward and set up interviews with candidates, and the City Manager responded that he knew if he didn't have them scheduled, he would be pressing to get interviews finished by. July or August, and needing to have a SRO in place fors school to start. He stated it would be much easier to just cancel the interviews if the Council had wanted to go in a different direction. Discussion was held stating that a motion and second had been made, but no vote was taken. A review of the motion was made, and the motion carried with unanimous consent. Agenda Item 12, Updates, was moved up and heard at this time. 12. UPDATES a. CURRENT PROJECTS THE JACKSBORO ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION ARE WORKING ON. A review from the City Manager was given of two projects, a real estate project and an infrastructure project that would be presented to the Council once the 60-day project posting time had been completed. b. FUTURE DOG PARK BESIDE THE CURRENT ANIMAL SHELTER. The City Manager briefly described the project with the Friends of the Shelter for a dog park with two fenced areas for large dogs and for small dogs that would be located next to the current shelter. C. EVENTS COMING UP IN JUNE: i. FOUR STAR FORD GRAND OPENING AND RIBBON CUTTING = TUESDAY, JUNE 17 AT NOON. ii. RED RIBBON CUTTING AT THE SKATE PARK - FRIDAY, JUNE 20 AT NOON. iii. PEOPLE OF INFLUENCE QUARTERLY LUNCHEON - WEDNESDAY, JUNE 25 AT NOON, FCH BOARD ROOM. iv. TNT FEST - SATURDAY, JUNE 28 DOWNTOWN. V. JEDC STAKEHOLDER COMMUNITY ASSESSMENT WORKSHOP MONDAY, JUNE 30 (TIME AND LOCATION TBD). Council was updated with the upcoming events. Mayor Morris moved the meeting into Closed Session at 6:53 p.m. Mayor Moris invited the City Manager, Michael Smith; City Secretary, Shalyn Burritt; Finance Director, Hanna Atkinson; and City Attomey, Reid Spiller into closed session, along with the council members. 10. CLOSED EXECUTIVE SESSION. a. DELIBERATION REGARDING REAL PROPERTY, SECTION 551.072 TEXAS GOVERNMENT CODE. i. DELIBERATE THE PURCHASE, EXCHANGE, LEASE, OR VALUE OF REAL PROPERTY. b. CONSULTATION WITH AN ATTORNEY; SECTION 551.071 TEXAS GOVERNMENT CODE. (1), PENDING OR CONTEMPLATED LITIGATION. Mayor Morris moved the meeting back into Open Session at 7:29 p.m. 11. OPEN SESSION CONSIDERATION OF ANY OFFICIAL ACTION REGARDING CLOSED SESSION AGENDA ITEMS. a. DELIBERATION REGARDING REAL PROPERTY, SECTION 551.072 TEXAS GOVERNMENT CODE. i. DELIBERATE THE PURCHASE, EXCHANGE, LEASE, OR VALUE OF REAL PROPERTY. No action was taken by the council. 13. ADJOURNMENT Alderman Hood made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Alderman Gonzales seconded the motion. Motion carried with unanimous consent. APPROVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF JACKSBORO, TEXAS ON THE 23RD DAY OF JUNE, 2025. City Council Minutes Regular Meeting 06/09/2025 Page 4 of 5 CITY OF JACKSBORO ALTON MORRIS MAYOR ATTEST: hal lu AYBuAEE SHALYN L. BURRITT CITY SECRETARY City Council Minutes Regular Meeting 06/09/2025 Page 5 of 5