The Whitney City Council appointed a new council member, discussed beginning a fire academy at the fire department and reviewed updated permitting processes during a regular meeting held Thursday, June 27.
Vicki Wilson was sworn in by Judge Trey Jetton to serve on the council. Wilson will replace Aimee Boswell, who recently moved out of the city. The new council member was a candidate in the May city election and received the next highest number of votes after Boswell, Valery Peacock and Cheryl Taylor-West were elected.
Fire Academy Presentation
Assistant Fire Chief Robert Matthews presented information about a proposed fire academy that he asked to work with the city on hosting at the Whitney Fire Department.
Matthews was the coordinator of Hill College’s fire academy, which is no longer being offered. Matthews told the council that students have reached out asking where they can participate in fire academy training, and he is hoping to offer classes in the fall as Brazos Valley Fire Training.
Matthews said that students would complete training online or through workbooks during the week and would only need access to the fire department on Saturdays. The academy would be insured with no liability to the city, and equipment would remain in the Whitney area in case it is needed during an emergency. The academy would provide its own fuel when using the department’s equipment.
Matthews told the council that he believes the program would be a benefit to the city and community, as firefighters would have access to local training and community programs would also be offered, such as CPR certification classes, fire extinguisher training, youth programs and other outreach efforts.
The fire department would also benefit from equipment that the academy would provide, including training props that would be placed in a rural area around the city for use by both students and area fire departments, as well as self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) bottles. Fire Chief David Gilmore previously told the council that seven of the department’s SCBA bottles are at the end of their lifespan and out of service per state regulations.
After discussion, the council indicated a desire to pursue conversations with Matthews about the academy.
Permitting Process
The council also discussed progress that the city’s new permitting committee has made on streamlining and updating the city’s permitting process.
Operations Director Billy Pribble told the council that the existing process is confusing, and the proposed process would reduce the number of permits by combining all building permits into two categories covering jobs that either do or do not require inspections.
Under the committee’s recommendations, a general work permit would be available for a minimal fee and would cover work that does not need an inspection. This includes simple cosmetic projects that have no impact on structural integrity or city utilities, such as paint jobs or repairing a fence in the same location with the same material.
A complete work permit would be needed for jobs requiring Bureau Veritas, the city’s building inspector, to conduct an inspection. If a citizen receives a general work permit and it is determined that they actually need a complete work permit, the original fee would count towards the fee for the more expensive permit.
The committee also recommended that an appeals process be added in the event that there are disputes about what kind of permit is needed for a project.
The council is expected to review the full recommendations and take a vote on implementation at an upcoming meeting.
Building and Standards Ordinance
Pribble also brought the city’s building ordinance to the council’s attention and asked for direction about who should act as the city’s Building and Standards Commission.
He said that the city’s ordinance states that substandard structures must go before the city’s Building and Standards Commission, but no commission is in place. Pribble told the council that either the ordinance needs to be amended or a Building and Standards Commission needs to be organized.
The city’s attorney recommended that a commission be established, but after discussion, the council had concerns about how difficult it has been to find volunteers willing to serve on city commissions and boards after positions were advertised last year.
“I don’t know what else we can do,” Pribble said regarding finding volunteers. “If we want our city to look better, we have to have people step into these roles.”
The council ultimately opted to rescind the Building and Standards Commission language in the city ordinance and have the council act in that capacity.
Road Repair Discussion
The council discussed quotes for road repair on North Trinity Street between Jefferson and Washington. Businesses in the area had requested that the road be repaired after they said the project was supposed to be started under the previous city manager. Pribble presented bids and asked for the council’s direction on the project.
Mayor Janice Sanders said that she received calls after the proposal went before the community from citizens who believe their roads are as bad as or worse than North Trinity, and they also want their roads repaired.
Pribble said that the average cost of repairing the stretch of roadway was estimated to be between $60,000 and $70,000. He added that drainage needs to be addressed when repairing roads, otherwise the city would just be performing a patch.
Pribble said that the city now has road specifications in place with the goal of avoiding quick fixes that don’t solve long-term problems. “Hopefully, we quit throwing money on top of roads and we fix permanent roads,” he said.
No action was taken, but the council expressed interest in requesting proposals from contractors that could repair multiple roads, possibly lowering the overall cost of getting the city’s roads in better shape.
Verizon Proposal
The council heard from representatives of Verizon regarding the city’s cellular service and fleet management options. The city began looking into options due to three significant AT&T outages, two of which impacted the city.
Verizon provided a trial of its cellular service to the city, and employees reported positive results. Verizon representatives said that the company also offers priority network access for public safety and additional crisis response equipment in the event of an emergency.
Pribble said it appears that switching to Verizon would save the city about $4,000 a year.
The fleet management feature would allow the city to monitor all of its vehicles and other equipment, including location, maintenance, how they are being used and more. The program provides diagnostics that can alert the city to a problem before the point that a warning light would be activated. Verizon’s information showed that the fleet service has resulted in a 44% reduction in insurance premiums, a 77% reduction in false claims and a 49% reduction in accident costs due to dash cam videos being provided.
The representative said that fuel efficiency and maintenance features also help save money.
Verizon is also willing to provide the city a trial of the fleet service, which would cost $1,122 per month.
The council voted to pursue the Verizon cellular service in the 2024-2025 budget and move ahead with the trial of the fleet management service.
Ambulance Trade
In other action, the council declared an older, inoperable ambulance surplus equipment and will trade it in to have a heating and air conditioning system installed in the patient cabin of an operable ambulance.
Departmental Reports
In departmental reports, Mayor Sanders read a statement about the harm that rumors and gossip can do in a community. “While rumors may be easy to listen to, the amount of damage it can cause somebody is immeasurable,” she said. “While it may be standard in our current society, it’s incredibly harmful and toxic, and we have to fight it in our own community.”
Pribble reported that the city is several months into the budget process, which was started early this year. He told the council that July and August will be busy, with budget meetings to be scheduled. He emphasized that these meetings are open to the public.
Fire Chief David Gilmore reported that his department is continuing training efforts and responded to 67 total calls the previous month. That includes six medical calls in the city, 19 fire calls in the city, 19 fire calls in the county and 23 medical calls in the county.
Police Chief Kyle Nevil reported that the department responded to 208 total incidents in May, made three arrests, made 40 traffic stops and issued 54 citations. Chief Nevil and Sergeant Joshua Scholes attended the Whitney ISD end-of-year school safety and security meeting. Whitney ISD passed all safety and security audits for the 2023-24 school year.
Whitney Police Department received a microchip reader from code enforcement to assist in the identification of dogs at large in the city. Chief Nevil also recognized Sergeant Scholes for locating a vehicle involved in a serious hit-and-run crash in the Aquilla area.
The EMS report showed 41 calls in May, and 78% of the patients were transported.
The average response time was 5:14. It was also noted that community CPR classes are coming to Whitney, with the first class to be offered August 3, allowing members of the public to receive their CPR certification free of charge.
The Public Works Department reported four water leaks in May and three sewer taps.
Drew Youngblood reported that code enforcement and animal control work continues, and that he and Gilmore are still working to collect materials for an animal control facility. Both Youngblood and Gilmore recently attended animal control training to get certified. Two dogs were recently adopted. The city-wide cleanup resulted in all five dumpsters and the tire trailer being filled up. Another cleanup is planned before Pioneer Days.
Library Director Denise Carter presented statistics showing that in May, the library had 714 visitors, issued 43 new cards, had 235 reference calls and 116 computer users. The library’s website at http://www.whitneylibrary.org contains all of the latest activities and information.
Open Forum
In open forum, downtown business owner Anne Chastain approached the council about the condition of sidewalks in the downtown area. She said that they are dangerous and not Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliant. Chastain said that within the past four weeks, two individuals have had serious falls on the sidewalks. She told the council that while it may not be feasible for the city to totally tear up the sidewalks, there are things that can be done, and she will be coming to future budget hearings with a request to address the issue.
The council’s next regular meeting date is Thursday, July 18, at 6 p.m. at the Lake Whitney Public Library’s meeting room.
The Lakelander 