Whitesboro City Hall:

Whitesboro has a new Mayor. On Tuesday, May 13, members of the council that were re-elected took an oath of office. Mayor Jeff Butts and Aldermen John Moore, Carla Woolsey and Su Welch all stood before Judge Rachael Dockery and took the oath. Later, Dockery was reappointed as Municipal Court Judge for the City of Whitesboro. 

During the department head reports, a resident voiced a major concern for the early morning and late-night basketball dribbling happening at Trollinger Park. Mr. Miller, who lives across from the park, informed council there is no curfew in place in the state of Texas. He explained that his bedroom window is directly across from the basketball court. He addressed the council but wanted it to be clear that he does not think the youth of the community are the problem. He is hoping to find a peaceful resolution. 

Moving forward, Mayor Butts issued a Mayoral Proclamation declaring the month of May as Motorcycle Awareness Month. 

“I urge all residents to do their part to increase safety and awareness in our community,” Butts said. Members of the motorcycle community were present to receive the proclamation. 

Then, another Mayoral Proclamation was made, declaring May 14 as Keep Whitesboro Beautiful (KWB) Day. Members of KWB were present to receive the proclamation.

The Whitesboro Fire Department reported on calls and response times. The Police Department reported it is aiming to have dispatchers EMD certified by October of this year. 

A public hearing was held on the annexing of one acre of real property located behind 500 Locust Street in Whitesboro. The purpose of this public hearing was to annex one acre into the city limits. The annexation was approved. 

Next, a request for a preliminary plat of six lots located behind 500 Locust Street was approved. The lots are located between 4th Street and W. Main Street and East of 1 Bearcat Lane for a total of 125.3 acres. 

Fire Chief Steve Pinkston spoke to council about the possibility of having a burning permit in order to control accidents at home. Chief Pinkston said having the process of residents needing to fill out an application in order to even start a fire would allow the process to be more controlled and the Fire Department would visit the residence to approve the open burn. 
No action was taken. 

In other news, Ordinance 1238 establishing and implementing a program to charge mitigation rates was approved. These rates are for the deployment of emergency and non-emergency services provided for the City of Whitesboro. 

The Fire Department asked for the termination of billing services provided by Fire Recovery to be cancelled and to instead enter into an agreement with Emergifire for billing services. The council approved the request.

Next, Resolution 8720 was voted on, approving an interlocal agreement with Grayson County for street repairs. Alderman Woolsey motioned and Alderman Mike Pack seconded. The motion carried. 

After much discussion, a pay request number 8 to Mustang Excavation in the amount of $67,709.04 was approved. 

Moving on, City Administrator Phil Harris requested the approval of capital expenditures in the amount of $558,000. The request was approved. 

Then, with the preparation of the Water Tower comes a pay request to Landmark structures in the amount of $979,687.50. Harris went into much detail with the council and, after a long discussion, the amount was approved. 

The City of Whitesboro continues to move forward with ongoing city projects. The 16-inch water line project has not begun but Texoma Drive continues to move forward. 

Lastly, expenditures in the amount of $87,921.94 exceeding the City Administrator’s authority was approved.