Training, fire dept. top H’wick city meeting

Council training and continued friction with the volunteer fire department were the highlights of last week’s city meeting at Howardwick on November 13.

A special meeting preceded the regular meeting with attorney Bryan Guymon providing information on how to conduct city business and how the council can follow the Texas Open Meetings Act.

For about an hour, Guymon reviewed best practices and answered questions from aldermen, Mayor Greta Byars, and City Secretary Sandra Childress.

Guymon stayed for the council’s regular meeting, and the aldermen approved a motion to select his firm as the city’s official attorney. Among the first business, his firm will consider is the renewal of the Red River Water Authority franchise agreement with the city. The current agreement expires in January after a 40-year period, and Red River is seeking a new contract for 40 years.

In her mayor’s remarks, Byars discussed a proclamation she signed designating November 27 as “Giving Tuesday” and called on Roger Estlack to discuss the campaign benefiting the Donley County Community Fund.

Continuing disagreements with the fire department was evident when the council looked to pay the bills for the month and voted to charge back several expenses to the department, including fuel expense for attending a parade in Hedley and fuel expense to pick up meat in Oklahoma, which one fire official later told the Enterprise had been donated.

The council later voted to have the fire chief make a report to the city meeting each month. Volunteer fireman Coy Cooper was in attendance to represent the department and said the HVFD would make a report if it was placed on the agenda. The aldermen agreed that they wanted to hear from the department’s chief, who is currently Will Jordan.

“I haven’t seen him here since I was elected (in May),” Alderman Johnny Floyd said.

In other business, the council opened bids to sell surplus equipment and accepted a bid of $120 for a compressor to Ken Carden. The council also discussed developing a city website but agreed that more information was needed before a decision could be made.