Brent Named Interim Fire Chief; Council Honors Nurse Practitioners
By Greg Ritchie
Messenger Reporter
CROCKETT — Councilman Hudson Duren was willing to make the motion accepting Fire Chief Jason Frizzell’s retirement at the Crockett City Council meeting Monday, Oct. 19. He just wanted his reluctance on the record.
“I’ll begrudgingly accept the retirement of Mr. Jason Frizzell as fire chief,” Duren said.
Councilman Christopher Price shared the sentiment.
“I begrudgingly second,” Price said, drawing laughter before council approved the motion.
Council members then appointed Justin Brent as interim fire chief, following an executive session devoted to Frizzell’s retirement and the selection of an interim replacement.
Brent thanked council members and encouraged open communication as he stepped into the position.
“I appreciate each one of you,” Brent said. “Anything that I need from you, I won’t hesitate to ask. I promise.”
He offered council members the same invitation.
“If there’s any question you have, just ask,” Brent said. “I’ll try to answer any question.”
The transition provided a warm moment in a meeting that also recognized local nurse practitioners and brought a heated exchange over the process for selecting firms to help Crockett pursue grant funding.
Earlier in the evening, nurse practitioner Natalie Bachynsky addressed council on behalf of the professionals who help keep health care available in Crockett and Houston County.
Bachynsky said 11 nurse practitioners currently practice in the city, providing an important source of care in a rural community. Their commitment, she explained, includes investments in the buildings and businesses where they see patients.
“Three of us have actually purchased buildings and remodeled and set up our businesses here to serve for the long run,” Bachynsky said.
Their work also extends to helping prepare future health care professionals. Bachynsky described mentoring younger students and the opportunities local clinics provide for students gaining practical experience.
As she looks toward retirement, she said, showing those students they are valued matters, particularly when they are considering where they might eventually practice.
Bachynsky told council she had spent 28 years in nursing and about 11 years locally. Her career has included work at the Texas Medical Center, as a professor at the University of Texas and as a staff nurse before her work as a nurse practitioner.
The city’s recognition included a proclamation declaring Nov. 8–14 as National Nurse Practitioner Week in Crockett.
The proclamation acknowledged the advanced education and clinical training nurse practitioners bring to diagnosing, treating and managing illnesses. It also emphasized their importance in rural and medically underserved communities, where access to care can be limited.
Crockett’s 11 practitioners were honored for their service, with special recognition of the investment made by those who purchased property and established their own clinics.
Later, council turned to the selection of a grant administrator for the city’s application to the Texas General Land Office’s Mitigation Reallocation Program.
City Administrator John Angerstein explained that the application faced a November deadline. The selected firm would help prepare the application and, if funding were awarded, administer the grant through the project’s completion.
Two firms submitted proposals: Traylor and Associates and Langford CMS. Using the program’s maximum award of $10 million for comparison, Traylor proposed an administration fee of 7% of the grant total, while Langford proposed 7.25%.
Angerstein described both firms as qualified. He noted the city’s history of working with Traylor and said its lower proposed cost helped give it the advantage in scoring.
Councilwoman NaTrenia Hicks questioned why the rating sheets used to evaluate the firms had not been included in council’s packet.
“Is there any particular reason why you didn’t include the rating sheets in our packet?” Hicks asked.
Angerstein explained that proposals closed Friday, after council packets had been distributed Tuesday. He said he had contacted council members to let them know the information was available.
Hicks then questioned what council was being asked to authorize without having reviewed a contract.
“I haven’t even seen the contract yet,” she said.
Angerstein explained that the resolution would allow the city to proceed toward preparing a contract and completing the application process. The contract itself would return to council.
Hicks continued pressing the issue, asking how members could approve a resolution for a contract they had not seen.
“You’re not approving the contract,” Angerstein responded. “You’re approving the resolution.”
The exchange grew heated as Hicks repeated her concern and Angerstein reiterated that council would have another opportunity to review the agreement.
“Then the contract I will bring back to council,” he said.
Angerstein stressed the approaching deadline and the need to select an administrator so the application could move forward.
The proposed administration fee would depend on how much funding the city received and would come from the grant proceeds, he explained. If the city did not receive the grant, it would not owe the fee.
Council approved the resolution selecting Traylor and Associates. The vote advanced Crockett’s application; no grant award was announced.
A related agenda item called for selecting an engineering firm for the same grant application. Angerstein said the city received four submissions and evaluated the firms on their qualifications.
He recommended Edge Engineering, which received a score of 98.67. The project’s schedule was a major consideration, he said, with a 24-month deadline encompassing design, engineering and construction.
Angerstein also described Pape-Dawson, which had acquired KSA, as qualified. However, he noted that the city already had several projects with KSA and wanted to ensure the proposed work could move quickly.
“We feel like speed is one of our biggest concerns and the reason for recommending Edge,” Angerstein said.
Hicks again questioned proceeding before council had seen a contract. Angerstein repeated that the agreement would return for review.
“We’ll bring that contract back to City Council,” he said. “I haven’t seen the contract either.”
Council approved the resolution selecting Edge Engineering.
Greg Ritchie can be reached at [email protected]
