NEWS
Bowie City Council to consider how to fill mayor vacancy
Bowie City Council members will consider how to fill the mayor’s vacancy and discuss the electric cost of service study when they meet at 6 p.m. on May 11 in council chambers.
Former Mayor Bill Miller resigned on April 30 effective immediately in after last November’s election.
As per the city charter any vacancy on the council must be filled within 30 days by a vote of the council or a special election may be called. If the position is not filled within 30 days a special election is required. The person would fill out the unexpired term.
Mayor Pro Tem Jason Love will preside in absence of a mayor and may be considered for the position.
The city is accepting applications for those interested in serving on the council. City Manager Bert Cunningham said the council wants to have the position filled before the end of May.
The city manager will present information from the electric cost of service and rate study conducted by Schneider Engineering. There have been recent discussions about possible rate adjustments that could reduce some of the commercial rates, and this study is expected to provide data to help make those decisions.
Council members will look to replace one person to the charter commission, after one asked to be removed. When group meetings are allowed again they will begin reviewing the city charter and develop updates and changes that would be presented to voters for consideration.
A memorandum of understanding and delegation of authority between the City of Bowie and the Montague Emergency Communications Team will be discussed.
Linda and Sean Reno will present a proposal to develop a BMX race track and bike park within the city possibly on city land near the Haggar Ball Complex.
A lengthy slate of topics will be updated in the city manager’s report: New UV system at the sewer plant; water plant bleach conversion; paving Lee and Matthews Streets; Clay Street water line; Community Development Block Grant; Texas Public Power Association Board appointment; Texas Department of Agriculture and block grant scoring at the state level Nortex appointment to state scoring committee; business openings – pool; Selma Park; Nature Conservancy and Bowie vs. Midwest lawsuit.
(Correction: This story was corrected from the print version and should state the vacancy will be filled within 30 days, not 10 days as the print version states. We apologize for this error. )
The second community meeting on needs for an emergency room or hospital in Bowie is scheduled for 6 p.m. on Nov. 19 at the Bowie Community Center.
This is the second meeting to discuss these needs following the closure of the Faith Community Health Center emergency room on Oct. 6, just shy of a year of operation. More than 200 people attended that first meeting, where discussion centered on the creation of a taxing district to support any sort of medical facility.
Citizens in the Bowie area are encouraged to attend and take part in these discussions.
The Bowie City Council has moved its Nov. 18 meeting to 6 p.m. on Nov. 19 where three new council members will take the oath of office.
Councilors include Laura Sproles, precinct two, Brandon Walker, precinct one and Laramie Truax, precinct two. After the votes are canvassed and the oaths given, a mayor pro tem will be selected.
The new members will jump right into training as City Attorney Courtney Goodman-Morris provides an orientation and discussion of duties for council members.
City Manager Bert Cunningham will make his monthly report on the following topics: Nelson Street, which opened last Thursday, update on the sewer line replacement project, substation transformer placement and information on medical companies.
A closed executive session on the Laura McCarn vs. City of Bowie lawsuit is scheduled. The suit arose in November 2022 when the city broached selling some 25 acres it owns on Lake Amon G. Carter, originally part of the land purchased for the 500-acre Bowie Reservoir completed in 1985.
McCarn challenges the ownership of the property stating it should revert to the original owners since it was not used for the lake.
This 24.35 acre tract is located at the end of Indian Trail Road surrounded by the lake and the Silver Lakes Ranch subdivision.
One of Bowie’s major thoroughfares, Nelson Street, was reopened Thursday after one busy block has been closed since August 2021 when a section of the street failed.
Construction finally came to an end on Thursday when the street, including the Nelson and Mill intersection were reopened. Mayor Gaylynn Burris, City Manager Bert Cunningham, Councilors TJay McEwen and Stephanie Post, Engineer Mike Tibbetts and Public Works Director Stony Lowrance met at the site Thursday morning and removed the barricades. It only took a few minutes for vehicles to start arriving and drivers were excited to go through on the new roadway.
This section of Bowie has endured flooding and drainage problems for many years and in the summer of 2023 the city council finally bit the bullet and sought bids for the repair work expected to top $3 million. In August 2021 a one block section of Nelson was closed when a large sinkhole appeared on the north side of the street. Traffic had to be diverted including all the school traffic flowing from the nearby junior high and intermediate.
Read the full story in the weekend Bowie News.
Top photo – (Left) Mike Tibbetts, engineer with Hayter Engineering, talks with Bowie City Manager Bert Cunningham as they look over the massive drainage project on Nelson Street.
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