Conversations

City Council addresses electioneering complaints

Bill Spinks wspinks@cherryroad.com With a big election coming up in November, changes to electioneering rules at city-owned polling locations and problems during past elections drew the most discussion during Tuesday night’s regular semi-monthly meeting of the Midlothian City Council. Assistant city manager Clyde Melick said the city’s electioneering ordinance, which was originally approved in 2018, allows the entire parking area of the Midlothian Conference Center to be open for campaigning. However, that has been found to conflict with state law, which restricts electioneering within 100 feet of the doorway. To conform with the law, Melick proposed pushing all campaign activities back to the north and west parking areas at the Conference Center. Mayor Justin Coffman said he received “no exaggeration, a hundred complaints” from voters about candidates setting up tents and canopies in the past election cycle. Coffman said the intent is to allow voters to cast their ballot without walking through a gantlet, while still allowing candidates to meet voters. Councilmember Allen Moorman said he was against a restrictive ordinance, but councilmember Wayne Shuffield warned against a “free-for-all” if the law is not enforced. “I don’t think we had as harsh of a campaign cycle this time as we could have, but I think it could’ve been very harsh under the circumstances and if we don’t have some kind of guidelines, it’s going to get worse,” Shuffield said. City Attorney Joe Gorfida said the ordinance gives teeth to city officials to enforce restrictions. Councilmembers ultimately left the existing ordinance intact but agreed to move the electioneering area back one parking spot, or approximately 20 feet, in order to allow voters to enter, park and exit without interference. All councilmembers were present. Other items The council agreed to create a downtown advisory subcommittee at the request of Mayor Coffman. Among […]

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Suspect killed after police chase ends

Bill Spinks wspinks@cherryroad.com A police chase that started in Tarrant County early last Friday morning ended in Midlothian with the suspect dead following a shootout with officers. The pursuit, which started in Dalworthington Gardens, ended shortly after Midlothian officers deployed spikes on U.S. Highway 67 southbound. The car rammed two Midlothian patrol cars and came to a stop near an apartment complex in the 100 block of East Ridgeway Street, where the suspect fired at responding officers. Officers from the Midlothian, Dalworthington Gardens and Pantego police departments returned fire, striking and critically injuring the suspect. The suspect was taken by ambulance to a local hospital, where he died. No officers were injured in the shooting. The name of the suspect has not been released. In a press release, Dalworthington Gardens police said they received a tip from the Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney’s Office on July 3 that a man was threatening another family and police. The suspect involved had an active warrant for family violence. As a result, the home where the family lived was placed on a “Close Patrol” where officers checked on the location multiple times per shift. Officers were at the residence shortly before 2:30 a.m. when they saw the wanted person. When officers tried to stop the suspect, he drove off, starting a pursuit. The Texas Rangers are conducting a criminal investigation, and Midlothian police will be conducting an internal investigation into its officers’ involvement.

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Council OKs design work at water plant

Bill Spinks wspinks@cherryroad.com The Midlothian City Council on Tuesday night authorized an agreement that will start the ball rolling for improvements to the Tayman Water Treatment Plant. Councilmembers gave the green light to an agreement for professional services with Enprotec/Hibbs & Todd, Inc. for design and other engineering-related services associated with the water plant’s sludge mechanical dewatering press. The cost of the agreement is $230,000. The design work will set up the installation of a sludge press at a later date, city director of engineering and utilities Mike Adams said. The council will have to authorize the estimated $2 million expense at that time. The improvements are needed because the amount of sludge at the plant has increased along with its output of treated water, and Adams said dealing with it has resulted in more man-hours of work. The sludge, which comes from sediment in Joe Pool Lake, dries out in beds at the plant and is then hauled to the Auger water treatment plant, where it is land-applied in accordance with a state permit, Adams said. A press would speed up the process and remove the need for drying beds as well as reduce man-hours of work. Adams said the Tayman plant has a present peak capacity of 12 million gallons per day and in the future will be expanded to as high as 24 million gallons. All councilmembers were present. Other items The approved consent agenda included previous meeting minutes, and special event permits for four upcoming events in the city: the Rock City Summer Bash on Friday, July 26; Midlothian Revival Night on Sunday, July 21; the Minority Baseball Prospects Junior World Series July 25-27; and the Spike for Hope Sand Volleyball Tournament on Friday, July 19. A specific-use permit was granted for a new grocery store […]

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Beaming with pride: City leaders celebrate topping-off of new public safety facility

Bill Spinks wspinks@cherryroad.com A major project that has been a longtime goal of the city of Midlothian celebrated a milestone moment on Tuesday morning with the topping-off of a long-awaited new facility. Midlothian City Council members, appointed officials, first responders, and community leaders gathered to sign the pinnacle structural steel beam that will become a permanent fixture of the city’s new Public Safety and Municipal Court facility. Approved by voters in the 2021 bond election, the 77,000-square-foot facility will be the combined home of city police and fire administrations, as well as the Midlothian Police Department, city Emergency Management Services, and the city’s Municipal Court. Mayor Justin Coffman called the facility “a legacy of our community” that will serve Midlothian “for the next 50-plus years and serve the brightest and best men and women the city of Midlothian has to offer.” Coffman added that he is excited that the building is placed where it is, at the Ninth Street exit off of U.S. Highway 67 next to the existing MPD headquarters. “As people drive south from Dallas, the first thing they’ll recognize in the city of Midlothian is that we are a safe city, as our police station is right there at our gateway,” Coffman said. The mayor added that the new facility bears witness to the city’s standing as one of the 50 safest cities in Texas as well as the fire department’s recent attainment of the highest insurance fire rating, which impacts home insurance policies greatly. The new facility is set to come online in the spring of 2025. The new public safety facility was only one of four propositions approved in May 2021 by city voters. The first, a new City Hall and Library, will open in November. Two other propositions, a city recreation center and city […]

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Early voting open for Council runoff

Bill Spinks wspinks@cherryroad.com Early voting is underway for the June 15 Midlothian City Council Place 6 runoff between incumbent councilmember Hud Hartson and Wayne Shuffield. Early voting centers opened on Monday and continued throughout the week, with the polls open on Saturday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Early voting will conclude on Monday, June 10, and Tuesday, June 11, with locations open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. In Midlothian, early voting is taking place at the Midlothian Conference Center at 1 Community Circle Drive. Other voting centers are open in Waxahachie, Red Oak, Ennis and Palmer. All registered voters in Ellis County may vote at any early voting center. Election Day voting next Saturday, June 15, will take place at six locations across Ellis County, including the Midlothian Conference Center. In the May 4 City Council Place 6 balloting, no candidate received a majority of votes. Shuffield led with 1,228 votes, followed by Hartson with 907, Dannion McLendon with 484 and Ronnie Morris with 429. Shuffield and Hartson advanced to a runoff as the top two vote-getters. Hartson, a veteran Dallas police officer, was voted into office in a 2020 special election to complete the term of the late Art Pierard. Hartson avoided a runoff in a three-way race for a full term in 2021 by a comfortable margin. Shuffield is a former Midlothian ISD board president and a trustee for 10 years (2005-2015), and former chairman of Midlothian Economic Development who is still serving as the MED treasurer. Questionnaires from both candidates are being published on Page A6 of this week’s issue of the Mirror. Other races decided on May 4 were the election of Ross Weaver to Place 5 on the Council; the re-election of incumbents Richard Peña and Gary Vineyard to Place 1 and Place […]

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