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Record of Proceedings

Watauga City Council Regular Meeting – June 22, 2026

City Council — Monday, June 22, 2026
BodyWatauga, Texas
SessionCity Council
DateMonday, June 22, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 28:18

Original source
Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it

Speaker numbers apply only to this recording.

Unassigned speaker

0:18

I

Speaker 1

0:18

call to order the Wataga City Council regular meeting Monday, June 22nd, 2026, City Hall Council Chambers at 6 30 p.m.

0:27

First item of business is roll call.

0:30

Place one.

Speaker 2

0:36

Chris Blackburn present.

Speaker 1

0:37

Place three.

Speaker 2

0:38

Lovey Downey, present.

Speaker 1

0:41

Place four.

0:42

Andrew Neal, present.

0:44

Place five.

Speaker 3

0:45

Stephen Welch present.

Speaker 1

0:47

Place six is absent with notice.

0:50

Place seven.

0:51

Jen Hill present.

Unassigned speaker

0:53

And

Speaker 1

0:54

Mayor Artliner present.

0:56

Next up is the invocation.

0:58

Pastor Lynn Nichols of the Northside Nazarene Church, if you would, sir.

Speaker 4

1:05

Heavenly Father, we're thankful that we live in a nation that allows us to worship, allows us to open business meetings with prayer.

1:15

Thank you for this council that makes that a point.

1:19

And so it's an honor.

1:20

We pray your blessing on this meeting.

1:23

Every item to be discussed.

1:26

We pray your blessing on each council member, the mayor, and all of those who are officials in this city that we have learned to love.

1:36

And so we pray that tonight would be a great night.

1:40

In your name we pray.

1:41

Amen.

Unassigned speaker

2:12

I

Speaker 1

2:12

don't I don't play honestly.

2:14

So all right, everybody.

2:26

Yes,

Speaker 5

2:27

sir.

Speaker 1

2:29

Everybody go.

Speaker 5

2:33

All right, here we go.

2:40

And to the Republic for the Chit Street.

Speaker 1

2:50

Now the Texas flag.

Speaker 5

2:54

I got some Texas.

Speaker 1

3:03

All right.

3:04

Thank you.

3:21

All right, good job.

3:22

How about a round of applause for all of them?

3:31

Next up, announcements.

Speaker 6

3:39

Pardon

Speaker 1

3:40

me.

Speaker 6

3:42

Not at this time, thank

Unassigned speaker

3:44

you.

Speaker 1

3:45

Place

Speaker 6

3:46

two.

Speaker 2

3:48

I do have an announcement.

3:50

As the uh temperature rises and the concrete does get a little hot.

3:55

Um, you want to be careful if you are a dog owner walking your dog on the concrete can actually burn their pads off.

4:02

So if you can't walk on the concrete barefooted, neither can your dog.

4:06

So I would want to just give you that little um warning or a heads up, okay?

4:10

You don't want to burn their feet.

4:11

Thank

Unassigned speaker

4:12

you.

Speaker 7

4:16

None at this time, but I'm sure place four does.

Speaker 8

4:23

You act like I never have announcements.

4:25

I don't.

4:26

But you know it, it is almost July 4th.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Procedural███████████████████19%
Youth Programs██████████████████18%
Public Engagement█████████████████17%
Public Safety███████████████15%
Water And Wastewater Management████████8%
Technology and Innovation███████7%
Personnel Matters██████6%
Animal Welfare█████5%
Engineering And Infrastructure█████5%
Summary of Proceedings

Watauga City Council Regular Meeting – June 22, 2026

The Watauga City Council held a regular meeting on June 22, 2026, at 6:30 PM in City Hall Council Chambers, 7105 Whitley Road. Roll call showed all members present except Place 6 (absent with notice). The meeting opened with an invocation from Pastor Lynn Nichols of Northside Nazarene Church, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance led by Fire Kids Camp attendees. The meeting adjourned at 6:58 PM.

Announcements

  • Councilwoman Downey warned dog owners about hot concrete burning pets' paws.
  • Councilman Neal announced the July 1st Fourth of July celebration at BISD Plaza (5–10 PM), featuring a fireworks and drone show with 2,500 drones to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the United States. He also noted other library events including a Mad Science show, coloring, dinosaur exploration, and a Three Musketeers class.
  • Councilwoman Hill reminded residents that the splash pad is open.

Presentations

  • Watauga Fire Department Kids Fire Camp 2026 – Fire Chief recognized 29 camp graduates. The weeklong camp focused on the theme "Impact," teaching leadership and service. Special thanks were given to Derek, Natalie Catherine, and Chief Lewis (Police Department) for collaboration. IT Director Brad Fraley and specialist Mirabel produced a video of the camp. The campers posed with the council. The Chief also promoted the upcoming Fall Public Safety Academy (starting early September) and the first annual open house on October 3rd.
  • American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Progress Report – Police Chief James Lewis presented the status of approximately $6 million in ARPA funds awarded to Watauga. Key projects and expenditures (as of the report) included:
    • Water/wastewater improvements on Summertime Lane: original budget $1.4 million, expended $1.9 million.
    • Park business stormwater rehabilitation culvert extension: original budget $87,000; reported as completed under budget at $623,000 (note: the agenda states an $87,000 budget, but the transcript states the project was completed under budget at $623,000; this discrepancy is unresolved in source materials).
    • Lead pipe identification: budget $800,000; completed, involving inspection of over 8,000 water meters, 1,700 water valves, and 653 fire hydrants.
    • Employee position restoration, leave bank liability reduction (vacation/sick buyback in 2022/2023), and appreciation pay: budget $375,000.
    • Creation of a Grant Manager and HR Generalist position (50% funded by ARPA through September 2024): budget $60,000.
    • Police lateral hire incentives: budget $32,000; only $30,000 expended for one officer who received an incentive, with remaining funds used for recruitment advertising.
    • Court efficiency software (defense attorney portal, electronic signatures, chatbot, online record service): budget $15,000; $10,000 expended.
    • Purchase of 10 citywide hand sanitizer stations in January 2023: budget $2,700. The Chief stated that the ARPA spending deadline had passed.

Consent Calendar

  • Approved purchase of Watauga Police Department vehicles with bullet-resistant components, not to exceed $74,116.56, funded by Texas Office of the Governor grant #5639901 and City Resolution 2025-033.
  • Approved the May 11, 2026 Regular City Council meeting minutes.

Key Outcomes

  • The consent agenda was approved unanimously (6-0-0) via motion by Councilwoman Downey and second by Councilman Neal.
  • No items were pulled from the consent agenda for separate discussion.
  • No public comments or testimony were offered.
  • No items were placed on a future agenda.

Meeting Transcript

I call to order the Wataga City Council regular meeting Monday, June 22nd, 2026, City Hall Council Chambers at 6 30 p.m. First item of business is roll call. Place one. Chris Blackburn present. Place three. Lovey Downey, present. Place four. Andrew Neal, present. Place five. Stephen Welch present. Place six is absent with notice. Place seven. Jen Hill present. And Mayor Artliner present. Next up is the invocation. Pastor Lynn Nichols of the Northside Nazarene Church, if you would, sir. Heavenly Father, we're thankful that we live in a nation that allows us to worship, allows us to open business meetings with prayer. Thank you for this council that makes that a point. And so it's an honor. We pray your blessing on this meeting. Every item to be discussed. We pray your blessing on each council member, the mayor, and all of those who are officials in this city that we have learned to love. And so we pray that tonight would be a great night. In your name we pray. Amen. I don't I don't play honestly. So all right, everybody. Yes, sir. Everybody go. All right, here we go. And to the Republic for the Chit Street. Now the Texas flag. I got some Texas. All right. Thank you. All right, good job. How about a round of applause for all of them? Next up, announcements. Pardon me. Not at this time, thank you. Place two. I do have an announcement. As the uh temperature rises and the concrete does get a little hot.

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