The Council met June 9 without Councilmember Buddy Wright, so every vote carried 4–0, and with City Attorney Judy El Masri sitting in for Andy Messer. The meeting ran from 6:00 PM to 11:45 PM and included an executive session of nearly three hours.
The night’s principal action came out of closed session: the Council directed the City Attorney’s office to finalize Toni Fisher’s contract as City Manager and authorized the Mayor to execute it, ending the interim arrangement. In the same stretch, the Council took the unusual step of voting to exclude Mayor Palmer from the closed-session discussion of the Aledo/Fort Worth annexation lawsuit — recording no reason for doing so — and, on reconvening, voted to invite the Aledo City Council to a joint meeting within 14 days. The Home Rule Charter election was tabled again.
On policy, the Council directed staff to draft ordinances restricting data-center water use and limiting license-plate cameras to permit approval, and to work toward removing data centers from the Beall property’s zoning entitlements. It also approved a citywide salary and compensation study, a three-year GovWell software contract, and a budget calendar with a July 18 worksession.
This account is drawn from the official June 9 meeting minutes. Present: Mayor Teresa Palmer and Councilmembers Eric Contreras, Chawn Gilliland, Scott Smith, and Nathan Crummel (Mayor Pro Tem). Absent: Councilmember Buddy Wright. The items below are ordered by significance rather than by agenda number; the agenda item number appears on each.
After executive-session negotiations on her employment contract, the Council reconvened and voted to direct the City Attorney’s office to draft and revise Toni Fisher’s contract as City Manager — with the details discussed in closed session — and to authorize the Mayor to execute it. The motion was made by Mayor Pro Tem Crummel and seconded by Councilmember Contreras.
The action ends the interim period that had been in place. In the meeting’s closing comments, Fisher, identified in the minutes as the newly appointed City Manager, thanked the Mayor and Council for their confidence in her “to serve them and the Citizens of Willow Park for many years to come.”
In the middle of the executive session, the Council took an unusual step: it voted to exclude its own Mayor from the closed-session discussion of the Aledo/Fort Worth annexation lawsuit. After recessing into executive session at 8:48 PM, the Council returned briefly to open session at 8:55 PM and, on a motion by Councilmember Smith seconded by Mayor Pro Tem Crummel, voted to exclude Mayor Palmer from the discussion of that litigation item (City of Aledo and City of Fort Worth v. City of Willow Park, cause CV26-0175, 43rd District Court, taken up under the attorney-consultation exception of Government Code §551.071). It then resumed closed session at 9:01 PM.
On reconvening at 11:30 PM, the Council voted — Contreras moving, Smith seconding — to invite the Aledo City Council to a joint meeting within the next 14 days at a neutral site to seek resolution of the boundary dispute behind the lawsuit, and to ask Aledo to take a public vote at one of its own meetings to accept or reject the invitation.
The closed session also covered the Willow Park v. Halff & Associates litigation tied to the Fort Worth water project, economic-development negotiations with BPO Real Estate, LLC, the City Manager employment contract, and a personnel deliberation on the interim city manager position held by Michelle Guelker. Of these, open-session action was taken only on the Mayor-exclusion and Aledo-invitation votes above and on the City Manager contract.
The ordinance calling a November 3 election on the proposed Home Rule Charter was tabled to the next regular meeting, on a motion by Councilmember Contreras seconded by Mayor Pro Tem Crummel. The minutes reflect the table motion both before the Council recessed into executive session and again after it reconvened. The item carries forward to June 23.
Councilmember Smith opened a discussion on keeping data centers out of the city, citing their water and electricity consumption; City Manager Fisher noted that data centers are currently allowed only by Specific Use Permit, meaning both the Planning & Zoning Commission and the Council would have to approve any such use. Councilmember Contreras added license-plate-reading cameras (referred to as Flock cameras) to the discussion, proposing that they be allowed only by Specific Use Permit, on an as-needed basis and with a time limit rather than as a permanent fixture.
The Council voted, on a motion by Contreras seconded by Smith, to direct staff to draft an ordinance restricting data-center water usage, draft a separate ordinance allowing license-plate cameras only by Specific Use Permit, and work with the Beall property to remove data centers from its planned-development entitlements.
Mayor Palmer asked the Council to consider a $10,000 raise for all police officers to bring them in line with surrounding departments. City Manager Fisher reported that the City Attorney’s office had recommended a complete salary and compensation plan covering all city staff. The Council voted, Gilliland moving and Crummel seconding, to authorize Fisher to conduct a comprehensive salary and compensation study for all city staff, to be addressed during the upcoming budget discussions.
The Council approved a software contract with GovWell Technologies, Inc. for the Development and Building department — a three-year contract at $40,000 total cost. The motion was made by Councilmember Smith and seconded by Councilmember Gilliland.
Mayor Palmer and resident Marcy Galle presented a proposal to renew the interlocal agreement with Parker County for street repairs in Precinct Four, which expired in April, and to draw roughly $500,000 from reserves to address the worst streets — particularly in the El Chico and Laguna Vista neighborhoods. City Manager Fisher said staff is working with the County and the city’s engineers to determine which streets need full engineering rather than an asphalt overlay, as part of the capital improvement plan.
Rather than approve a specific agreement that night, the Council voted — Crummel moving, Gilliland seconding — to direct the City Manager to continue negotiations with the County.
Assistant City Manager Michelle Guelker presented the proposed budget calendar. The Council set a budget worksession for Saturday, July 18, 2026, from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM, on a motion by Contreras seconded by Gilliland. The calendar sets the Budget and Tax Rate Public Hearing for August 28 and budget adoption for September 8, and notes that four of the five Councilmembers must be present to vote on the budget and tax rate — the Mayor does not count toward that quorum.
Andrew Franco of Freese & Nichols, presenting in place of Jessica Brown, briefed the Council on the proposed Parker County Public Utility Agency. He described a county water picture of more wells drilled deeper for less yield amid regional growth, and explained that the agency would be joined by ordinance and interlocal agreement, would not be a taxing authority, and could improve members’ access to Texas Water Development Board funding. The annual cost to Willow Park would be about $20,000, based on population. No action was taken.
On the solid-waste contract, Hudson Oaks City Manager Sterling Naron gave background on how the joint Republic Services agreement came together, and Republic’s Jerri Harwell answered questions. In response to the Mayor’s question about cart rental, Harwell explained that Republic owns and maintains the carts and that its automated truck arms require company-specified carts. No action was taken.
The Council approved several routine items, each 4–0: authorizing HUB International to seek competitive proposals for employee health, dental, vision, life, and short-term disability coverage for the new fiscal year (Item 3); the Title VI Non-Discrimination Plan, Resolution 2026-27 (Item 6); a list of Public Works surplus items for auction (Item 8); and the donation of a Police Department patrol car to the Aledo ISD Police Department, first declared salvage on the City Attorney’s advice because it needs more in repairs than it is worth (Item 9). The May 12 minutes were also approved.
Two items were tabled to the next regular meeting, each 4–0: authorization for city staff to update City Ordinances as needed (Item 11) and a potential park dedication to Lea Young (Item 13).
