Tuesday, October 15, 2024
Two members of Gatesville City Council will not seek reelection in the 2024 general election on Nov. 5, leaving two of their seats up for grabs.
City Council Members Barbara Burrow and John Westbrook share why they are choosing not to run again this year and the takeaways from their time as city council members.
Barbara Burrow
Burrow of Ward 1, Place 2, served on the council from 2011-2015, and then ran again in 2022. She said she is not running for reelection due to time constraints, and to focus on expanding her counseling business.
“I don't feel like I can devote the attention that I had in the past, and so I just need to kind of narrow my window of focus, and this was one of the things that unfortunately fell off,” Burrow said. “Great group of people, (I) look forward to the city continuing its evolution.”
In Gatesville’s City Council, most council members have full- time jobs along with serving on the council during its twice-a-month public meetings. However, Burrow said the process of serving on the council is a simple process and transition for the most part.
“It’s just a little bit of homework every other week. What you do beyond that is, of course, a choice, and how you leave your imprint, but it's pretty simple,” Burrow said. “If there's something you don't understand, staff are available to explain every single thing, and they're so patient with everybody.”
Burrow hopes to see a greater collaboration among the city staff, elected officials, and the community in the future, especially as the city faces infrastructure improvement and future growth.
“City council basically represents every single person, regardless of where,” Burrow said. “I would encourage everybody to be open and just invite opinions, invite feedback. That's how we know if we're on course or not.”
She adds that further transparency with the public will also help keep them updated on the city’s current projects and its funding sources.
“It's just a concept which goes back to the city council as representative of the citizens – get their thoughts, put it on paper, publish it, let people know where we're going, then they're going to be behind it, because they can't understand the segmented process right now,” she said.
She encourages both the citizens and the council to attend more off-site meetings when they occur, such as the recent tour at Faunt Le Roy Park that observed the flood damage and discussed the city’s plan to reopen it.
“It was eye opening for everybody, not only because the gate was locked, but because no one had taken the time to drive through and see, or even walk through,” Burrow said.
Burrow said helping represent people’s concerns is the part of her city council service that she enjoyed the most.
“I really enjoyed that and bringing that to other council members, so that we could reflect in our choosing that which is representative of Gatesville as best we can,” she said. “That's what I really liked best, was actually supporting the people and passing their concerns and their words on.”
John Westbrook
Westbrook of Ward 2, Place 6, has served for three years on the city council after filling an unexpired term in 2021 and running again in 2022.
Due to an out-of-town commitment on Tuesday nights, Westbrook said he is no longer able to devote the time needed to go to the council meetings.
“I just feel like the council would be better served with someone that could make total commitment to the position,” Westbrook said. “No problem at all with the council. (It’s) incredibly interesting, and I would say to anybody that's interested, take the opportunity – you learn a lot.”
Westbrook said that his service on the council was eye opening, and he appreciated the opportunity to learn how the city operates.
“Dealing in things I never knew the city dealt with, the infrastructure, how things get funded, the mechanics behind it all – just the mechanism that makes everything work,” Westbrook said.
“It's a wonderful council right now,” he adds. “I think we've strengthened as time went on. That's nothing about anybody that was on before, but it's a really good mix of people right now.”
When it comes to the city leadership, Westbrook wants citizens to know that one of their highest priorities is infrastructure improvement.
“You don't have a city if you don't have water services, wastewater disposal,” Westbrook said. “Streets are a big function, and, actually, that's become more of an emphasis recently, particularly since the city manager change. Brad Hunt is great – I think he's doing a wonderful job, and I'm glad he took the job.”
He also recommends learning how things are financed, such as the workings of tax rates and the budget.
“I hadn't done that before I got there, and I would say to anybody do that,” Westbrook said. “It'll increase your understanding of why some things happen as they happen.”
One of the things Westbrook would like to see in the city’s future is the establishment of a historic designation for downtown Gatesville through the Texas Historical Commission, which the council approved the application for last year. He adds that he would also like to see further implementation of the city’s Comprehensive Plan, which was developed as a guide for the city’s future growth and development in the community.
“It’s very important to me to see we make every effort to revitalize downtown to the fullest extent possible,” he said. “I think there's a ton of potential here but put the right mechanism and get the right people behind it, and that would be the one thing I would most like to see going forward.”
He also hopes the city continues their efforts to eventually reopen Faunt Le Roy Park.
“I walk down there every day or every other day on the granite track, but I used to walk down in the park,” Westbrook said. “In the town, everybody you talk to (says) ‘don't get rid of Faunt Le Roy.’ It’s going to look different when we're done. You’re probably never going to be able to drive down there again, but let's save that thing.”
Early voting begins on Oct. 21. On the City of Gatesville ballot, Jon Salter has filed unopposed for Burrow’s spot for the Ward 1, Place 2 seat. Kalinda Westbrook, Westbrook’s wife, and Willie Joe Taylor have filed for the Ward 2, Place 6 seat.
