NEWS
Burris only mayoral applicant; Kent resigns to force special election
Former Bowie Mayor Gaylynn Burris was the lone applicant to express interest in filling the unexpired term of Mayor Bill Miller who resigned two weeks ago.
Last week, the council agreed to accept applications for those interested in the position this week, afterwhich they would be interviewed and appointed.
As the called meeting of the council was posted late Friday with interviewing and naming a mayor the only agenda items, Councilman Thomas Kent resigned his position immediately indicating it was his effort to create a double-vacancy forcing a special election in November.
Per the city charter, the council had 30 days in which to fill the vacancy or call a special election in November for the mayor’s position or any council position.
City Secretary Sandy Page said she has sent the issue of a double vacancy to the city’s attorney for a ruling which can be provided to the city council.
In his resignation, Kent said he feels this action best protects the interest of the citizens of Bowie. See his full resignation below.
Burris was named to the council in June 2017 to fill a precinct vacancy and elected mayor in November 2017. She was defeated by Bill Miller last November .
Miller had served just under six months of the two-year term. He did not offer a reason for his resignation in his letter to the council.
The meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. May 18.
May 15, 2020
RE: Resignation
To: Mayor Pro Tem, Bowie City Council
Please accept my resignation as Councilor PCT 1 City of Bowie, TX effective immediately. I feel that this action best protects the interest of the citizens of Bowie, TX. By this action, it will create a double vacancy within the Council and thus mandate that these positions are filled in a Special election at the ballot box by the citizens of Bowie.
I feel strongly that no elected official that has been voted out of office by the public should be eligible to be “Reappointed to that same office” by a sitting council. They should be put back up before the people to be voted on for that office.
I hope that during the revamping of Bowie City Charter this is addressed and corrected.
Sincerely & Respectfully,
Thomas W. Kent
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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