Weatherford city council takes no action on invocation

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October 10, 2012

Weatherford city council takes no action on invocation

Brian Smith Weatherford Democrat The Weatherford Democrat Wed Oct 10, 2012, 07:30 AM CDT

WEATHERFORD —

No action was taken on an executive session item concerning potential legal issues on public invocations during Tuesday night’s council meeting.

The agenda included a consultation with City Attorney Ed Zellers on a letter the city received concerning possible litigation regarding public invocations before meetings. After much discussion, council members opted to allow public invocation before meetings back in June of this year.

City Manager Jerry Blaisdell said Friday that he did not expect any change in the city’s policy but wanted the council to have the opportunity to speak with Zellers and find out what was going on.

In other news during the 45-minute meeting:

Kathy Daniel with Community Learning Center of Fort Worth gave a presentation on how the city will be working with the organization over the next 30 months. The center received a $110,000 grant to help train young people ages 18 to 21 in Parker County who have had some prior problems with the legal system.

The grant allows for up to 115 people to go through a program where they will receive job skills, such as plumbing, construction trades and others. Once the training has finished, they will be allowed, under supervision, to help work on city projects such as the Girl Scout Camp and the Mt. Pleasant School in the city.

Blaisdell said in a prior interview the schoolhouse is scheduled to be turned into a meeting room. The students will also be allowed to do some job shadowing with city employees.

“We want to get young people engaged in where they live,” Daniel said. “We want to make them pillars of the community.”

All costs for the program will be covered by the grant, meaning the city has to provide only the job site. If desired, grant monies can also go toward getting the individuals their GED or an apprenticeship license toward another job, Daniel said.

Classes are scheduled to begin on Monday, Daniel said.

Council members also approved a resolution authorizing the police department to enter into an agreement with TxDOT to take part in the Crash Reporting and Analysis for Safer Highways, or CRASH, system. Police Chief Mike Manning said the computer program allows for all reports to be submitted to Austin online and be done correctly the first time, as the program provides checks to make sure things are done properly.

In some instances, reports must be sent back to the original officer for clarification or fixing, which can cost about a week or more in time. Manning said the program, which comes at no cost to the city, could save money and time, primarily to the department’s record division.

Council members also approved having just one meeting in the months of November and December, with a special meeting to be called if necessary.

The council normally meets the second and fourth Tuesday of every month. The November meeting will take place on Nov. 13 with the December meeting scheduled for Dec. 11.

Mayor Dennis Hooks said the city has gone with the custom of one meeting during the months in previous years.