8/7/2019 Willow Park-Mayor & Transfer Station

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WILLOW PARK

ayor wants

arty status,oice heardQ City may have ETJclaim on waste transfer

station issueBy Dominic GenettiThe Community News

Ken Hawkins is still sur-prised.

  At the last Brazos Transfer

Station meeting March 10, the  Willow Park Mayor could donothing but sit emotionless ashe was denied party status in thecase attempting to prevent theproposed Republic waste transferstation from being built.

“That is the will of the citizensand it is in the best interest of thecity to forestall this, to preventthis, to redirect this if we can,”Hawkins said.

Party status would allowHawkins to present evidence on

ehalf of Willow Park.  At the meeting, however

Hawkins was denied after vagueinformation presented did not

clarify if Willow Park had juris-diction over property in the areaof the proposed station site locat-

ed near Aledo High School.“The court wasn’t interestedin allowing the voice or allowingparty status,” he said. “It’s attempt

as to be exclusionary, to deny party status,” Hawkins said.

Five days later at the Willow

Park City Council Meeting,Hawkins was authorized by thecity council to represent the city in its attempt to achieve party 

status in court, after which a citi-zen noted Willow Park does infact have jurisdiction over a largeamount of the proposed stationsite.

The area is in Willow Park’sextraterritorial jurisdiction—

often referred to as ETJ.“It wasn’t a revelation,”

Hawkins said. “We were familiarthat it was in our area. One hun-dred percent of what the publicowns is in our ETJ.”

Despite his denial, the mayor

feels he wasn’t given the fullopportunity to speak.

“That’s not the intent of howgovernment should function,” he

said. “Everybody should be alloweda voice, an opportunity, and espe-cially when it significantly impacts

a particular area like this does inthe city of Willow Park.”

So what’s next?“I ordered our city attorney 

to begin the appeal process,”Hawkins said. “A letter is beingdrafted…requesting Willow Park

e granted party status.”“I think there’s a 50/50 chancehether (the court) will grant sta-

tus or exclude status.”

For the lawyers in the case,it’s watch and wait when it comesto Willow Park’s actions. Brent

  W. Ryan, the attorney for WasteService of Texas and DuncanDisposal, said he’ll wait until thecity’s letter is received.

“If we need to, we’ll submitany appropriate response to it,”the McElroy, Sullivan and Millerlawyer said. “I’m sure the city lawudge will consider whatever the

city files.”

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