Crockett Council Recognizes Juneteenth Contributors

Eagle Scout Presentation Given

By Will Johnson

Messenger Reporter

CROCKETT – The Crockett City Council met in a regularly scheduled meeting on Monday, July 19 highlighted by a presentation from an Eagle Scout candidate and recognition of several area residents for their service to the community during the recently held Juneteenth celebration.

Shortly after the meeting commenced, Alexander Burke was asked to come forward in order to give a presentation on his Eagle Scout project.

“This time last year, I was looking for an Eagle Scout project and I spoke with City Administrator John Angerstein about several possible projects. He said he would like to do a butterfly garden. After some research, I decided I would like to do a butterfly garden, as well,” Alexander said.

The first thing he did was to contact a plant specialist who encouraged him to create a soil mapping graph to determine what type of soil was present in Davy Crockett Park. Then, Alexander explained he had to determine what area of the park to locate the garden.

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“I decided to use an area that was close to a walking path so people would be able to see and enjoy it without having to walk out to the middle of the park,” he said.

Alexander said he ran into an issue with the plants because of the hard winter freeze in the area but once he secured the plants, he tilled the area, put a border around the area, planted the vegetation, got some assistance from the fire department in watering the area and applied mulch to the garden.

Before concluding, Alexander thanked the city of Crockett, City Administrator John Angerstein, the volunteers who helped with the project and everyone else involved with bringing it to fruition.

As Alexander wrapped up his presentation, Crockett Mayor Dr. Ianthia Fisher commented, “We are so proud of our young people who go above and beyond. My brother was in Boy Scouts and my son was, too. It’s things like this that make our city grow. You are doing an awesome job.”

The next item brought before the council was community recognition for the hard work several residents had put in to make this year’s Juneteenth celebration a success.

“Juneteenth is an official holiday and this year it took on a new twist, so to speak, as it became a federal holiday. For that reason, I think we need to emphasize what the holiday is all about. Even before we knew it would be a federal holiday, we always celebrated it in the city of Crockett. We have had an official ceremony for the last 35 years,” Dr. Fisher said.

The mayor then read a proclamation of community recognition and presented several certificates to those who helped contribute to the following categories: families and neighborhoods; historical achievement and talent; economics and wealth; and healthy lifestyles.

Among those receiving the award certificates were Buck McCullough; Latervance Patton; Billy “Hollywood” Groves; Keisha Sandles; Veroneka Wheeler; and Catina Brice.

As the meeting continued, Crockett Police Chief Clayton Smith addressed the council about a community-wide event “… where we can invite citizens to come in and get to know us. The main purpose of that – as the mayor and I have talked about – is to talk to parents about knowing where their kids are at, knowing what they are doing and some of the stuff that has been going on. We have tentatively set that for Aug. 10.”

Following several reports, the next item brought before the council concerned requesting financial assistance from the Texas Water Development Board.

On hand to discuss the matter was Financial Advisor Ben Rosenberg who said he was present to discuss two items. The first item, he said, was a water line rehab project.

“This has been talked about for a number of years,” Rosenberg said. “We thought – at the TWDB – we might qualify for something called principal forgiveness. We put in a project information form back in March of 2020 where they award free money to cities for sewer and water projects. Based on a series of criteria, the city qualified for 50 percent principal forgiveness. Because of last year being COVID, they are almost a year behind on that project. We were invited to apply in May and tonight we are just seeking approval to submit an application.”

The council gave its unanimous approval to submit the application.              

In other matters brought before the council:

• Crockett Police Chief Clayton Smith reported the police department received 410 calls for service during the month of June which resulted in 30 arrests. There were 160 traffic warnings and citations issued while 64 police reports were filed.
• Crockett Fire Chief Jason Frizzell reported the fire department responded to 42 total calls during the month of June. Of the 42 calls, Frizzell reported 26 were in the city of Crockett while 16 were in the county.
• An ordinance authorizing the city of Crockett to issue and sell tax notes was approved by the council.
• A resolution to select a grant writer/administrator to assist the city in applying for funding for the American Rescue Plan Act 2021 was given the green light by the council members.
• A resolution to select an engineer to assist the city in applying for funding for the American Rescue Plan Act 2021 was approved by the council members.

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