City of Poteet hires Popham as full-time city administrator

During the City of Poteet council meeting on July 18, the council moved forward to make Melissa Popham the full-time city administrator. Pictured left to right: Council Member Rick Flores, Council Member Jeremy Fernandez, City Administrator Melissa Popham, Mayor Denise Sanchez, Council Member Crystal Bautista, Council Member Henry Dominguez and Council Member Nick Sanchez. DIANA GUTHRIE | PLEASANTON EXPRESS

Pastor Dave Collett, First Methodist Church, led the invocation at the regular meeting of the Poteet City Council on July 16. He later announced that his church, along with the Hosanna Baptist Church and the First Baptist Church, are cooling stations for those who need to get out of the heat. The Shalom Ministerial Alliance, which became inactive during the pandemic, is being reorganized and should be getting back to work during the fall.

Citizens’ Comments

Andy Joslin, who was an officer of the law for 20 years, addressed the council and offered condolences to Police Chief Bruce Hickam for the loss of his officer, Jeffery Richardson. Joslin also congratulated and recognized a member of the council, who was involved in the resolution of a recent car chase. Joslin read the report on KENS 5 from July 7. The perpetrator “doesn’t get away with a chance to get away,” said Joslin. He reiterated that all the citizens of the county should know that a good guy with a gun took care of a bad guy with a gun.

Interim City Administrator’s Report

Melissa Popham reported on 608 Avenue I cleanup, showing pictures of the burned building before, during and after the demolition. She thanked the hard-working city team and Republic Services for the donation of two roll-offs they used for the debris.

The Parks Foundation will be donating money soon to assist in improving the city park. The restrooms will be updated, the water pressure will be corrected and she plans on upgrading the kitchen area, adding a refrigerator and stove.

Applications for participation in the Advisory Committees are available at Poteet City Hall and on the city’s website. One application is for all three committees, allowing volunteers to express which one they would prefer, followed by their second and third choices.

Finally, she said that the personnel grievance has been resolved and all plan to go forward in a positive manner.

Consent Agenda

The agenda consisted of the minutes from the regular meetings of June 7 or June 21. Council member Nick Sanchez moved to approve with council member Jeremy Fernandez seconding. Motion passed with Rick Flores, Sr. and Henry Dominguez voting in favor; Crystal Bautista abstained.

Hiring City Administrator

Mayor Denise Sanchez called an Executive Session at 6:47 pm to discuss the hiring of a permanent city administrator. They returned at 7:07 pm.

D. Sanchez asked if anyone was there who had applied. William Cox, from Mico, rose to address the council and answer any questions they might have. First question was if he would commute or move to Poteet. He answered that he wanted to be part of the community and would probably rent a place here and rent out his home in Mico. A firefighter for 19 years, he began in the city of Humble, then moved on to Brady as assistant chief and then to Leon Valley, where he worked as Business Director, concentrating on economic development, planning and zoning.

Flores thanked Cox for coming. However, they have been working with Melissa Popham for a month and are very pleased with her. Mayor Sanchez also thanked him for speaking at the meeting and told him that it meant a lot to her.

Flores moved to hire Popham; Dominguez seconded. Motion was approved unanimously. Bautista said that Popham proved that you don’t have to have a degree to do a job. N. Sanchez added that he voted against hiring her temporarily, but she has proved him wrong. Dominguez thanked Cox for making the commitment to come down and added that Popham is the glue that is holding everything together by being positive and working well with all employees and council.

Graciously, Cox addressed the council again and admitted that there is a technical fit and an organizational fit for any job. He further stated that the council knows what they have with her and they can work with her, so she is a good choice.

New Business

Performance Services, Inc. has completed the preliminary audit and has presented it to the council during earlier meetings. The second step in the process is to approve an investment grade audit, which will lead to replacing water meters and computerizing the system. Greg Smith, from the company, explained that this is a “self-funding energy and system approach that delivers guaranteed savings projects.” An increase in revenue is guaranteed to pay for this service. Looking at the numbers from the city, only 54% of the water is being billed, which means 46% is not being collected. This amounts to an estimated $893,000 annual water loss. The replacement meters are ultrasonic with guaranteed accuracy for the length of the project. There is also seamless billing integration, with little room for errors.

The company has many Texas references, with the closest ones being Lytle ISD, Natalia ISD, City of Beeville and the City of Poth. Average length of the contract is from 15 to 20 years.

Flores moved to continue with the project; N. Sanchez seconded. Motion passed unanimously.

An agreement was approved to hire 6S Engineering, who work without contracts and update the mayor and council. The attorney said that they had approved this during the last meeting, but this explains the terms of the contract.

Council also agreed to pass a resolution to allow the chamber of commerce use the old police department building. According to the attorney, they have to make a public purpose declaration. Robert Martinez, representing the chamber, said their vision was to make Poteet better, concentrating on economic development to bring other businesses to the area. They plan to do a city directory and become a tourist attraction outside the Strawberry Festival. Having a set place and a phone will help them work on these and other plans.

Council Comments

Mayor Sanchez said that she was so proud of Dominguez, thanking him for protecting the citizens. She also commended Flores for working so hard putting out the many fires and thanked Police Chief Bruce Hickman.

Dominguez thanked everyone for the recognition, saying they do what they do and are trained not to think, but to act.

Flores said he takes his hat off to the first responders. He asked that the cooling stations that Collett talked about be put on their website and that the library, which is a good place to spend time, especially with children, also be added.

Fernandez congratulated Popham and said that she was a true blessing with positive vibes. He thanked her for bringing everyone together and building the city up.

Bautista thanked her for everything she’s done, moving toward positivity.

Meeting adjourned at 8 p.m.