The June 28th special meeting

The meeting started about 5:30, with the invocation given by Councilman Scott Giddings. I arrived about five minutes late and missed this. There were maybe 15-20 citizens and visitors present (and Tribune Herald reporter Erin Quinn). The Council then went into Executive Session until 6:29 pm, then (back in open session) a motion was made (by Scott Giddings, seconded by Gil Lillard) to retain independent outside counsel to review the allegations against the City Manager/Police Chief. The motion passed by unanimous vote. Mayor Weber then read a statement (with copies to the media):

"The multitude of various allegations raised against the City Manager/Police Chief led to an internal City review which found no basis for any of the matters as alleged. The City Council, however, believes it is in the best interests of the City to request an external review of these allegations to remove any doubts some might raise about the veracity of the internal review. We have thus decided to engage outside independent counsel to conduct a separate review and, upon completion, provide a report to the City Council. Thereafter, a summary of the findings prepared with the assistance of the independent outside counsel will be provided to the citizens of Woodway. The outside counsel we hope to hire is Barney Knight, who has extensive experience in municipal law and is very familiar with how Texas municipalities operate. This is a personnel matter and on advice of legal counsel there will be no further comment at this time."

The Mayor did ask the audience, who had waited in the lobby during the Executive Session, if there were questions or statements from visitors, though this was not an agenda item.

Rodney Kroll asked about the proposed outside counsel’s background in financial matters, and whether an audit would be included in the review. He also stated that the citizens of Woodway were very tired of all this.

Barbara Tennison said that she was on the Council when the decision to hire Yost Zakhary as City Manager was made. The Council at that time recognized his skills in management. Having observed his performance over the past ten years, she remains confident that it was the right decision. She asked the new Council members to have the courage that, when the review comes back “clean as a whistle”, to keep the City management just as it is.

The meeting adjourned about 6:50 pm. The next regular meeting (the only one scheduled at this point) is Monday, July 12th (two weeks away).

What I would add: The Council approached this issue with a great deal of care and forethought, and with much consultation with the City Attorneys. We arrived at an approach and identified outside counsel that we feel will accomplish an efficient, credible review reasonably quickly and at a modest cost to the City. The unanimous vote represents the Council's confidence that these allegations will be effectively dealt with.

Special meeting June 28th

A special meeting of the City Council is scheduled for next Monday (June 28th), as announced on the City website here. This meeting will almost entirely be an executive session, for "Discussion and (to) consider action regarding retention of outside counsel to consult with the City Council and review allegations against City Manager/Police Chief." The Council is seeking to deal efficiently, yet fairly and effectively, with the allegations that have been made. Hopefully, the results will be available in the not-too-distant future, and I believe the Council's intent will be to disclose the outcome publicly.

Annual Boards & Commissions Appreciation Dinner

Once each year, the City of Woodway hosts a banquet to honor the service of the many volunteers on the boards and commissions. Tonight was this year's banquet, held at the Ridgewood Country Club. There were many people I knew and many that I did not, so it was a great time to both say hello and to meet new people. There are six boards and commissions: Parks and Recreation, Planning and Zoning, the Board of Adjustment, the Arboretum board, Woodway Beautiful and the Youth Commission. City Manager Yost Zakhary had the members of each board or commission stand to be recognized, and aptly concluded: "Volunteers are not paid, not because they are worthless but because they are priceless." It was short and sweet; the entire event was over in less than 90 minutes.

The event was organized by several of the City staff (see photo), who were also recognized for their service. More pictures of the event are here.

(left to right): Kasia Redden (Executive Secretary, Community Services), Donna Barkley (Administrative Assistant) and Jennifer Canady (City Secretary).

Summer concert #4: The MuddCatts

Tonight's concert enjoyed great weather and started right on time, with Family Center/Arboretum Director Janet Schaffer introducing the MuddCatts. Most of the show was Beatles' oldies, complete with British-accent dialog/trivia by guitarist "John Lennon" (Mark Nix, a life-long Texan). They did 45 minutes of rather good Beatles tunes, with pieces from throughout the entire history of the band (which recorded >200 songs, the number 432 was mentioned).

Then the most amazing thing happened: Elvis showed up! (see photographic evidence below) He did Blue Suede Shoes, Burnin' Love, Suspicious Minds, but then came the inevitable letdown: he admitted he wasn't the real Elvis. He (John Mandell) went on to give a touching tribute to the life of "the king". An Elvis medley followed, accompanied by a chorus of maybe a thousand Woodway crickets. The concert ended around 9:30 pm with an Elvis/Beatles medley, and an expression of appreciation for the Woodway DPS and the Arboretum. The band stayed for photos and autographs, despite the warm weather and their bulky "get-ups" (their term for the signature Beatles suits they wore). The MuddCatts do private gigs, and their website is here. This was my all-time favorite Summer Concert.

Next week: The Elephants (see their website here).
Elvis lives! And he tours with The Beatles. Who would have guessed?

Summer concert #3: Sandusky Classic Rock Review

Tonight was the third of the summer concert series, the six-person band Sandusky. Actually, this was the first full concert, since the first one (The Morticians) only made it to the fourth song before the weather got too bad, and the second (The Elephants) was canceled entirely due to weather. This time the weather was great, if perhaps a little warm. The concert got started just after 8 pm, with a quick introduction by City Manager Yost Zakhary. There was a full crowd, maybe 150 (?), and Mayor Bill Weber was present too. The first song was China Road, then Pretty Woman, Crocodile Rock...you get the idea, its classic rock. Or mostly, because they did do at least two country and western songs, "All my Exs" (George Strait) and "Mama He's Crazy" (The Judds). It went until 9:15 and was thoroughly enjoyed by all. Sandusky also does private gigs, so if you are interested, learn more at their website here.

Next week (June 23) is the MuddCatts, and the following week (June 30) is The Elephants, rescheduled from their original June 9th date.