Over the past six weeks, the City of Jayton has lost a mayor, a mayor pro tem, and a city works technician and has taken steps in a series of three council meetings to address each of these sea changes, all while still recovering from the aftermath of a damaging mid-February winter storm.
The chain of events began with the death of first-term mayor Joe Martinez March 4 from a fast-advancing case of Covid-19, two weeks after the deadline for any challengers to have filed to run against him. There were also no other contenders for two seats on the city council.
As Martinez was deemed to have been reelected before he passed away, explained city secretary Michele Fager, protocol provided for the council to nominate and elect a replacement to fill the remaining days of his first term, as well as the upcoming second term. Although an appointee could have been put forward from among the sitting council or any eligible member of the Jayton population, the likely appointee appeared to be Mayor Pro Tem Wyvonne Spray, who had stepped in to help the city during Martinez’s illness and the February freeze.
Then, on March 9, at the council’s regular monthly meeting that had been postponed a day due to Martinez’s funeral, matters took an unexpected turn, according to Spray.
“I had talked with council members individually,” Spray told The Texas Spur. “I wanted to get going on things like the water tower, buying generators for two pumps at the pump station, that didn’t get done earlier.”
Spray presided over an agenda that included routine items such as approval of minutes, bills and bank statements, and employee time cards, Fager recalled.
When it came time for new business, however, the nomination for appointment to the mayor’s office went to council member George Chisum. In proposing the nomination of Chisum, Spray said, council members expressed a preference for a man who could relate more readily to city works employees. “A woman won’t get down in the hole and dig with them” is how Spray understood the disccussion. Teresa Benavides, who made the nomination, told the Texas Spur that she believed Chisum’s prior experience and knowledge as a city works employee would prove useful in the mayor’s job but does not recall any statement rejecting a female candidate or any discussion of other possible candidates.
“We were all pretty sad because of the loss of Joe, and I just said, let’s nominate George,” Benavides said. Chisum did not return The Texas Spur’s voicemail requesting comment before press deadline.
After brief discussion, said Fager, council member Jake Edwards offered a second to the motion, which carried unanimously excepting the abstention of Spray and the absence of council member Belle Branham, a 3 to 0 vote. Spray was thanked for her above-and-beyond interim service of the previous weeks.
Spray recalls that she ran the rest of the meeting without comment but upon consideration that evening, tendered her resignation from the council via email to Fager. Fager read it the following day.
On April 7, the council met in emergency session to present two new appointees to fill vacancies, Margot Clay and Marcia Smith. The council also chose current council member Belle Branham as mayor pro tem. Additionally, they accepted the resignation of one city works employee and hired another, Robert Lowry.
The new council appointees, including new mayor Chisum, were sworn in during the regular council session of April 12. At that session, also, the May 1 election was cancelled. The next city election will be in May 2022, when the seats held by Belle Branham and Jake Edwards will be up for election.
Other business conducted at Monday’s meeting included consideration of joining in a resolution regarding a 2021 AEP electrical power rate case, which was tabled pending clarification to be sought from city attorney James Decker; approval of a resolution to authorize submission of a Community Development Block Grant application; and approval of routine reports and the public works report. Technician Joey Buerkle, providing this last report, said that water and sewer connections to three school staff residences were nearly complete and that further steps toward repairing the water tower, and repairing broken water lines in the shop, would begin soon.
Council member Jake Edwards praised Buerkle for his dedication and expertise, especially during extended times when he had been required to handle responsibilities solo. The council segued into an extended discussion, in the absence of Buerkle and Fager, regarding merit pay increases, especially in light of the expected arrival of Lowrey, who had negotiated an increase in starting salary. Council voted increases to the base pay of Buerkle and Fager and also pledged to conduct a pay review regularly in conjunction with annual performance reviews of all staff.
Regarding anticipated grant applications for watersystem repairs, Fager reported that the city had almost completed its survey of residential customers to qualify for lowincome funding.
One member of the public, Sherry Kay Hall, addressed the council to request attention to a long-standing problem with a residential water line, and also asked that the city take action on potholes affecting entrance to the Jayton post office.
The meeting was ajourned at 8 p.m.
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