City Council - Special Meeting

Yes, sir. Good evening everyone. I'd like to welcome everyone to the special city council meeting Monday, January 5th, 2026. It's a typo. Says 2025 on the agenda, just so you guys know. 2026. I'd like for everybody to stand for the uh pledge of allegiance followed by a moment of silence to the flag of the United States of America. nation indiv Okay. Our first item on the agenda is the approval of the December minutes. Do I have a motion?

Mr. Mayor, members of council, I'd like to make a motion to approve the minutes as they are written. I have a motion. Do I have a second? Second. I have a motion and a second. Do we have any further discussion? All right. I'll call the the order then. Uh all in favor say I. I.

I. Messions approved unanimously. Okay. And now we will be swearing in Miss. Carmen Miller as mayor. So, judge, if you would please. Thank you. Congratulations. Okay, raise your right hand for me, please. Just repeat after me. I do solemnly swear or affirm

I do solemnly swear and affirm that I am duly qualified that I am duly qualified according to the constitution of this state according to the constitution of this state to exercise the duties of the office to exercise the duties of the office to which I have been elected to which I have been elected and that I will and that I will to the best of my ability to the best of my ability discharge the duties thereof discharge the duties thereof and preserve and preserve protect protect and defend the Constitution of this state and preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of this state and of the United States and of the United States. So help me God. So help me God. As mayor of the city of Ta K as mayor of the city of Ta K, I will equally I will equally fairly fairly

and impartially and impartially to the best of my ability and skill to the best of my ability and skill exercise the trust reposed to me exercise the the trust proposed to me. And I will use my best endeavors I will and I will use my best endeavors to preserve to preserve the peace and carry the peace and carry into effect according to law into effect and according to the law the purposes for which I have been elected the purposes for which I've been elected. So help me God. So help me God. Congratulations.

Thank you. You're fine. You should sign right there for me. And then this is yours. Thank you. Sure.

Right hand. All right. Stand up. You're good. You're good. Right hand for me. Raise your right hand. Switch sides. There we go. All right. Repeat after me. I do solemnly swear that I am duly qualified. I do solemnly swear that I am duly qualified according to the constitution of this state according to the constitution of this state to exercise the duties of the office to exercise the duties of the office to which I have been elected to which I have been elected and that I will and that I will to the best of my ability to the best of my ability discharge the duties thereof discharge the duties thereof and preserve and preserve protect protect and defend the Constitution of this state and protect the Constitution of this state and of the United States and of the United States

as a council member of the city of Tig. As a council member of the city of TK, I will equally I will equally fairly fairly and impartially and impartially to the best of my ability to the best of my ability and skill and skill exercise the trust proposed in me exercise the trust proposed in me and will use my best endeavor and will use my best endeavor to preserve the peace to preserve the peace and carry and carry into effect into effect according to the law according to the law the purposes for which I have been elected the purposes for which I have been elected. So help me God. So help me God. Congratulations.

All right. You're okay. Want me to sign or you sign or

Thank you. Oh, it's mine. All right. appreciate it.

Congratulations, Tom. And the next um item is the o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o oath of office will be taken by Heather Jones to ser serve as our new council member.

You ready? Yes. Okay, just repeat after me. I do solemnly swear I do solemnly swear that I am duly qualified that I am duly qualified according to the constitution of this state according to the constitution of this state to exercise the duties of the office to exercise the duties of the office to which I have been elected to which I have been elected and that I will and that I will to the best of my ability to the best of my ability discharge the duties thereof discharge the duties thereof and preserve and preserve protect protect and defend the Constitution of this state and defend the Constitution of this state of the United States and and of the United States. As a council member of the city of TUK, as a council member of the city of TUK, I will equally I will equally fairly fairly and impartially and impartially

to the best of my ability to the best of my ability and skill and skill exercise the trust proposed in me exercise the trust proposed in me and will use my best endeavor and will use my best endeavor to preserve the peace and carry into effect to preserve the peace and carry into effect according to the law according to the law the purposes for which I have been elected

the purposes for which I have been elected. Congratulations. Thank you so much. Okay, we're going to do a little slow motion here. Got to figure it out. Um, the next item on our agenda is the election of our mayor prom. Could I have a motion, please? Okay, Heather, that's on you this time. You can't motion.

Madame Mayor, members of council, I make a motion to nominate council member Thomas Heislip as mayor prom. I have a motion and do we will second. Is there any discussion? All in favor? I

I um hearing that there's a majority vote. Um the eyes carry. Uh council member um Heislip, you are mayor prom. Um the next item on the agenda is um approval of our mean um minutes from our 2026. What am I doing here? That's where it was wrong. 2025 scheduled meeting is that for the schedule. Thank you. Okay. Can I have a motion, please? Uh, I'd like to make a motion to approve the 2026 regular council meeting schedule as presented.

Is there a second? Second. Is there a discussion? All in favor?

I. The motion carries. Um, next item on our agenda, um, council comments. We're going to start with Councilman Heislip. um quick meeting. A little odd with only three of us, but uh um uh thank you all everyone that came out. Really, really appreciate it. Um I'm honored to to be here serving for another four years. Um and u you know, congratulations to to Heather and Carmen. I look forward to working with with both of you and and Brian when he gets back from his wonderful vacation, which I'm hoping he's enjoying. Um and um uh with that uh I again I I hope I hope to serve and uh um earn earn your trust and continue to uh you know help lead TK into bigger and better and greater things. So with that's all I have. Thank you.

Uh thank you. It's a little different from this side. So uh first I just want to thank Mayor Gray and Council Member Shirley for your service to the city. I didn't get a chance at the previous meeting. Uh the other council members did. So, thank you. Um it's definitely a big seat to fill and I hope I will do a great job with that. And thank you to everyone who has supported me. Thank you to the other candidates who ran during the general election. Uh Tom, Ron, and uh Tom Rack, Thomas Rackley as well. Um thank you. It was a a very intense but very wonderful experience and I hope that I can live up to the honor and the uh gravity of what the city has entrusted me with here and look forward to digging in and doing the work with everybody up here. Um especially thank you to my husband Tom and our two kids, Tom especially because wrangling the two kids is a full-time job in itself and uh I couldn't have done this without you. So thank you. Um and then uh for Councilman uh Carter as well. I hope he's enjoying his trip. Um, and so I'll just end on thanking our city workers. We just got through our holiday season. Um, it was an amazing time in the city and I look forward to being part of the next one. That's it for me.

Thank you. Um, I'm a little bit twisted here because there's a lot to to do. Um, I want to say thank you. Um, thank you to all of you for for being here, for participating in the process of um the election, for participating in the process of making our city better, um, for voicing concerns, for voicing ideas, for being part of what makes TK special, and that is every single person that lives here. We are good because of who who we are as as a as a as a community. We are good in what we put back into our city and I am so incredibly proud and grateful to have earned your trust and to be able to sit here today and um be part of an amazing team that is going to lead us forward. Um I feel that our focus needs to be in that forward motion. We we can spend all the time and looking in that rearview mirror and and and finding finding the things that where roads could have been taken differently, but it's not going to take us back and it's going to hold us back. So, I I want to see us moving forward. I want to see the ability of new ideas to come in. I want to see more engagement from our community. I want to see more people that are here listening to when decisions are being made so that you can be our voice and understand why those decisions were made or how those decisions were made. I I look for an opportunity to to open every bit of communication and transparency so that you are part of not just the the the um whatever issue we're going through but part of the solution. Um, it takes more than five people to make good decisions

and it takes your input to help us get to those decisions. So, I I'm excited to be a part of this community. I'm always I I love our city and I'm excited to be part of the solutions. I'm excited to move us forward and I'm really looking forward to to what all of us sitting here get together are going to do. I am very grateful for the service of of Mayor Gray and Council Member Shirley. I know that I've spent um many conversations with both of them talking about what was whatever the issue was. I know how they felt about their decisions about TK and how they wanted to move everything forward. I'm I'm grateful for their time and for their dedication. It takes a lot to stand up. It takes a lot to to participate in in a um in an election and um it takes a lot to sit here and make those decisions and and know that you're carrying that weight and you have to do and you have to get it right. Um so know that we we take that very seriously and we want to get it right. Um our staff, you guys are phenomenal. You've you've you are on it. Whatever the city needs, you're on it. Um, and I'm so grateful for every opportunity that I've had to speak to each one of you and to your department heads to Charlie to to your staff. Um, they are truly the talent that keeps TK going and I'm very proud that I will have an opportunity to to continue to work with them and get to know them better. Thank you all for being here tonight and thank you again for the trust that you've you've put in me and into our council here. All right. Um, I think that with no further business, I will ask for a motion to adjurnn.

A motion to adjurnn. Seconded. And look, we are adjourned.