Art Lawler
The Athens Review
Athens —
SEVEN POINTS — It’s OK to call Jack Nelson the Chief of Police in Seven Points now, It’s also been learned that there is a possible settlement between the former chief and the City of Seven Points.
Brad McConahay and new Mayor Joe Dobbs met in Terrell Monday morning, a source said.
When contacted Tuesday afternoon, Dobbs admitted the two had met with attorneys. But he refused to reveal the contents of that meeting.
The source said both Dobbs and McConahay signed documents agreeing to a severance pay deal.
“The conditions of that discussion, the terms and amount of the settlement are confidential,” Dobbs said.
At the time of his release, McConahay had not been released to active duty because of a broken foot.
Jack Nelson, 58, who was hired last week by new Mayor Joe Dobbs, received his Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Officers Standards (TCLEOSE) certification last Friday.
Because his earlier certification had expired, Nelson was named Seven Points Police Administrator last week until the new certification could be complete.
After the TCLEOSE papers came in last Friday, Dobbs met with Nelson Saturday afternoon and officially named him the town’s new police chief.
The city council has not approved the hiring because the mayor has not been able to get a quorum together for the last four scheduled meetings.
Dobbs, operating on a 1995 resolution which gave the mayor the power to run the Seven Points government, has been hiring and firing personnel ever since.
If the councilmen convene for a meeting, at least three of the five council members may, or may not, attempt to undo the decisions the new mayor has made.
However, Dobbs said he has the power to decide what goes on the agenda.
“If they want me to put legitimate items on the agenda for discussion, I have no problem doing that,” Dobbs said. “But if they want to undo everything I’ve done, that’s not going to happen.”
At issue in the early part of Dobbs’ tenure is whether council members can put items on the agenda without the mayor’s approval.
The missing three members, including Bubba Powell, Cheryl Jones and Hank Laywell, insist they have the right to put whatever they want on the agenda.
Dobbs says the Texas Local Government Code makes it clear that only the mayor can make that decision.
Both mayor and city council have been at odds over who has the final word since Dobbs’ tenure began.
While all of this could end up in court, no one, at this point, seems to know when and where, or even if it will happen.
