Kevin Dockery recognized for 16 years of service with Whitesboro Police Department

Lieutenant Kevin Dockery was recognized by Whitesboro’s Police Chief Alex Coss on Tuesday, April 16, for his 16 years of service with the Whitesboro Police Department (WPD). 

“I feel it’s very important we honor and recognize him,” Coss said.   

During last week’s City Council meeting, Coss introduced himself to those present that have not already met him and went on to recognize Lt. Dockery. 

“There are many of us like the City Manager and some people on the board, that are kind of new to serving the City of Whitesboro in an official capacity, but there are plenty of employees that have been holding it together year after year, sometimes decades, and I feel it’s very important that we honor and recognize them when we have the opportunity,” Coss said.  

Coss was especially complimentary of Lt. Dockery who, during the change of command with the Police Department, was very instrumental with keeping the department afloat. Coss said Dockery kept them going. In addition to receiving an award that recognizes the number of years served, Coss also presented Dockery with an award bar that is designed to wear on his uniform and represents his years of service.   

Next, the City Council looked over updates for the city departments. Each department provided a summary with regular maintenance and routine work done for the month. The one item that did grab the council’s attention was the amount of asphalt used in the past month. Bradley Williams, D&C Superintendent and Animal Control Officer, said they have been diligently working on putting down asphalt on roads. 

“We have all hands on deck,” Williams said.   

He said the department has had a lot of catching up to do with potholes around the city. Williams said they have used 36.5 tons of asphalt over the last month. Williams was also very happy to announce the Animal Control Department has returned four dogs to their owners this past month. 

Next, according to the agenda, several employees with the Electric Department have been working on module trainings to better serve in their line of work. Morgan Rupert has completed modules in Pole Climbing, Fundamentals of Electricity and Personal Protective Grounding. Jacob Villareal has completed an extended training on utilizing Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) in the work environment. Clint Mitcheson has completed a module training on transformers and metering. 

Moving forward, the department continues to use SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) which are automatic meter machines that give real-time readings of the water and electric usage throughout the city of Whitesboro. The project remains in the second phase.   

The council discussed and approved the replat for a property on 208 Trollinger Street. Whitesboro’s Building Inspector, Dalton Fallaw, confirmed there is currently an existing house on 208 Trollinger Street. The reason for the request of the replat is to divide the property into two lots. 

Following that discussion and approval, the City Council held a public hearing to discuss and consider a rezone and re-plat for the property at 704 White Street. The owner is requesting to separate the property into two separate lots therefore making the new lot an R-4 (allowing a multi-family to be built) but allowing where the current house sits to remain an R-1 (a single-family dwelling). According to the agenda, allowing for this change would enable the property owner to develop on the other lot.  

One resident voiced her concerns regarding the rezoning, primarily worried about the potential of the property having a multi-family unit in that particular location. The owner of the property, Mark Percival, informed the City Council of the 25 letters sent out to neighboring property owners regarding this potential zoning change. He said there was only one that opposed. Percival said he would like to see something great being developed there for younger families, whether it’s a duplex, triplex or fourplex.   

The opposed resident said, after attending the zoning board meeting, she felt confident with their recommendation to keep that lot an R-1. She said she is opposed to the rezoning alone because to her, rezoning means more displacement of everything, more water issues and more traffic. Fallaw added that the biggest concern the Planning and Zoning Committee had during the meeting was where rainwater would drain. Fallaw said they didn’t think it would be a good idea to have an R-4 surrounded by a bunch of R-1 properties. A current issue around this property is flooding caused by storm water due to a lack of drainage.   

Once out of public hearing, and after much discussion and consideration, the City Council motioned to deny the R-4 rezoning with one opposed; the motion carried. Next, the City Council motioned the approval of a replat of the property; all were in favor and the motion carried. 

In other news, Lovejoy’s on Main was awarded a Downtown Building Improvement Grant of up to $7,500 including a fee waiver. Owners of Lovejoy’s on Main are looking forward to adding a new facade to their business to match a historic period of the 1950’s. Total cost of the project is estimated to be $25-$30K and expected completion of the revamped facade is within a year.    

After much discussion and reviewing, the City Council approved the amending of the Preservation Board. The City Council also adopted the International Property Maintenance Code; all were in favor.   

After being in executive session for over an hour, the City Council discussed with the City Administrator Julie Arrington, the possible approval of a contract for the purchase of land for future city projects. Once out of executive session, no action was taken. In order to move forward, the Mayor is to execute the appropriate documentation on the city’s behalf.