By Karen Gleason
The 830 Times
Here is the story about the citizens’ comments, asking for evening meetings.
A divided commissioners court voted Wednesday to hold its biweekly public meetings in the mornings, after a year of having meetings in the mornings and in the evenings.
The court voted 3-2 to have all of its Fiscal Year 2024-2025 meetings in the mornings, despite hearing from about 10 citizens who asked that the court have all of its meetings in the evenings or to keep its current rotation of morning and evening meetings.
After hearing from the citizens, County Judge Lewis G. Owens Jr. moved directly to the agenda item discussing the setting of the court’s meeting times.
Owens said, “I’d rather have (the meetings) all in the mornings and not have anything in the afternoon. That’s just my thought.”
Immediately, County Commissioner Pct. 4 Gustavo “Gus” Flores said, “I make a motion, judge, that we conduct all meetings this coming year in the mornings.”
County Commissioner Pct. 1 Martin Wardlaw asked what time the meetings would be, and Owens replied the next meeting would be at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 9, and continue every other week.
“I second that motion, judge,” Wardlaw said.
Owens asked County Commissioner Pct. 2 Juan Carlos Vazquez how he would vote on the motion.
“I vote against that, judge,” Vazquez replied.
Owens then turned to his left and said, “Commissioner Nettleton?”
County Commissioner Pct. 3 Beau Nettleton replied, “Since I’m not going to be here, Fernando (Garcia) is going to be here, what do you want to do?”
Garcia, the Republican Party nominee for the Precinct 3 county commissioner seat, is unopposed in the November General Election and so will likely be the next commissioner for the precinct.
Garcia stepped to the podium and said to Nettleton, “I was asked this question at a community candidate forum several months ago, but at the end of the day, it’s still your vote, whatever you decide.”
But Garcia said he would offer his opinion “as a free citizen of Precinct 3.”
Before he spoke, though, Owens interjected and said, seemingly speaking to Fuentes in the audience, “I don’t want to be the deciding vote, and I told you I would vote to keep the meetings the way they are. . . I think Commissioner Flores and Commissioner Wardlaw show a lot of fortitude, a lot of guts, to be able to do this, in making a motion and a second.
“I told you that it takes a lot to show up, and people will say, you got elected, you’ve got to show up. Yeah, okay. In two years, we get to run again, and if you don’t want me, vote against me. But you know how I’m going to vote,” Owens said.
Garcia then told the court, “I know some people want all morning. Some people want all in the evening. I thought the compromise we had going was good, one in the morning, one in the evening. . . But what I think is that, like what one gentleman said, ‘we the people,’ this is our house, and we need to have access to it, because we have two things to do: one is to ask for the redress of grievances.
“That’s what your citizen comments are. We should have the right to petition our government for redress, and if we’re not available to come, we’re denied that right. Second issue, we have the right to come and see you govern in our name, and that’s what all these people are doing, they’re watching you. How are you governing in their name? Are you following what you set out to do?
“So for those two very valuable reasons, we need access. Even though we don’t come and take it on every occasion. . .we may not come every meeting, but we have the right and availability to come and see you. So for those two reasons, I would ask that at least one of (the meetings) be done in the afternoon or the evening, so that we the people can come and watch,” Garcia finished.
After Garcia spoke, Nettleton said he would vote against Flores’ motion.
Owens then cast the deciding vote.
“My vote is to keep the meetings in the morning, and the motion passes three-two,” Owens said.
“Can we ask why?” Fuentes called from her seat in the audience.
“I have an opinion. I gave my opinion. I thought I was going to go with it. After (Garcia’s) speech; again, I run again in two years, if you don’t want me, vote against me,” Owens said.
“We will,” Fuentes said, then left the courtroom, along with a number of audience members.
The writer can be reached at delriomagnoliafan@gmail.com
