Crockett City Council Approves Election Matters

Council Returns to Chambers

By Will Johnson

Messenger Reporter

CROCKETT – While the COVID-19 pandemic is still extremely worrisome, signs of a return to normalcy are starting to appear.

One such sign occurred on Monday evening, March 15 when the Crockett City Council allowed visitors inside the Council Chambers for the first time since the middle of last year.

After Crockett Mayor Dr. Ianthia Fisher gaveled the meeting to order, she said, “Thank you so much for being here today. We are so excited to be back inside of the office. We have nice barriers to protect us in the best way they can.”

With no public comments, Dr. Fisher moved the council into the actionable portion of the agenda.

The first order of business involved approving the city certification of an unopposed candidate for mayor (Dr. Fisher). This was followed by the consideration of cancelling the May 1 mayoral election. Both agenda items were unanimously approved.

The next election related item pertained to adopting a resolution to appoint election officials for the May 1 election, setting the rate of pay for election officials, determining the maximum number of election clerks for the polling place and the designation of the early voting ballot board. This item was also unanimously approved.  

The election judges for Precinct One (All Saints Episcopal Annex) will be David Minchew and Cathy Minchew (alternate).

The election judges for Precinct Two (Crockett Fire Station) will be Rosemary McCullough and Mary Black (alternate).

Deputy early voting clerks were also announced. City Secretary Mitzi Thompson will serve as the early voting clerk for the May 1 election while Selena Eleby and John Angerstein will serve as the deputy early voting clerks.

Prior to the election matters discussion, Crockett Police Chief said he would like to address to two topics, in addition to his monthly report.

“Something my Captain (Alfredo Fajardo) and I have talked about – all of you know we have had two shootings in the last several months and both involved juveniles. The mayor and I spoke about this one day after someone mentioned to us that we have a juvenile problem. The truth is – I don’t believe it is a juvenile problem or a kid problem. I think a lot of it has to do with parenting, knowing what your kids are doing, where they are at and who they are with,” he said.

The police chief said he and the mayor had discussed establishing four sections in the city and holding some type of town hall so “… we could address some of the things we are seeing. We are seeing juveniles out late at night or they are doing whatever they want to do. This will hopefully encourage them to know where their kids are at, what they are doing and who their friends are to hopefully eliminate some of this.”

Smith also said he was in hopes of having a Summer Fun Day event on June 5, while keeping with COVID-19 protocols.

“That will be the first weekend the kids are out of school. We were thinking about something in the (Davy Crockett) Park with water slides around the splash pad,” he said.

The mayor added, “When you have youth problems, you do have parent problems. Parents – there is a certain level of responsibility that parents should be involved in their children’s lives.”  

In other matters brought before the council:

• Minutes from the March 1 meeting was approved.
• Crockett Police Chief Clayton Smith reported the police department received 356 calls for service during the month of February which resulted in 35 arrests. There were 155 traffic warnings and citations issued while 56 police reports were filed.
• Crockett Fire Chief Jason Frizzell reported the fire department responded to 70 total calls during the month of February. Of the 70 calls, Frizzell reported 50 were in the city of Crockett while 20 were in the county. He added there was one structure fire in the city and three in the county.
• An ordinance establishing maximum speeds of 45 mph for motor vehicles in certain areas as designated from SH 19 South to SH 7 West was approved by the council.
• A lengthy discussion on city facility operations and COVID-19 measures was held, however, no formal measures were taken. 

Will Johnson may be contacted via e-mail at [email protected].