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City of Aledo

City Council approves new police committee

Early voting for Feb. 7 election now open

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Since taking office, one of Aledo Mayor Nick Stanley’s big objectives has been to stand up a police department for the residents of the city. That endeavor took a significant step forward during the city council meeting on Thursday, Jan. 26.

The Aledo City Council voted to appoint Josh Nichols, Lt. Corey Brasher, Stanton Pearson, Chris Sutton, Chief Stephen Watson, Mayor Stanley, and City Manager Noah Simon to the Public Safety Advisory Committee. The charge of the committee is to discover best practices for standing up a police department in a growing community like Aledo and benchmark with other cities who have recently added police departments themselves.

 

Early voting for Feb. 7 special election now open

The special election to fill the vacant seat on the Aledo City Council left when former councilman Dan Herbert resigned his seat for Place 5 in Nov. 2022 will be held on Feb. 7. Three members of the community have stepped up to run for the open seat. Voters will see Duane Beck, Summer Jones, and Stanton Pearson named on their ballots.

Early voting will continue to be open through Friday, Feb. 3. Those who wish to participate in early voting may do so at the Aledo Community Center between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m.

On Election Day polls will open at 7 a.m. Polls will remain open until 7 p.m.

 

Bailey Ranch Road reconstruction officially underway

Any Aledo residents driving on or near Bailey Ranch Road over the last week may have noticed some changes are under way. The 10-month reconstruction effort officially began on Jan. 23 with the closure of the westbound lane. Residents seeking to head west on Bailey Ranch Road are quickly figuring out alternative routes to get them to their destinations.

“It was a little bit challenging, because it’s something new,” said Simon of the traffic issues experienced by drivers as the project got underway. “This is obviously a very impactful and disruptive project. We found that as the week went on, it got better and better. It’s going to take some time for people to get used to the detours and the new routes.”

The current phase of the project, which will see the north side of the Bailey Ranch Road completely rebuilt and expanded from the dirt up, is expected to last six months. Once this phase is complete, enough concrete will exist to reopen both lanes to east and westbound traffic while the south side of the road is repaired.

“There was never going to be a good time to do this project,” Simon said. “We’ve gotten a lot of calls and emails. We’ve seen the stuff on social media. The main comment we see and hear is, ‘Why didn’t we do this in the summer?’ It’s a 10-month project. This is not a repaving project. Repaving can be done quickly. This is a complete reconstruction, meaning the entire existing road has to be removed. Then the sub-base has to be re-established with a new road poured on top of it, plus the drainage system and whatnot. It’s needed and necessary.”

When the initial construction of Bailey Ranch Road was completed 20 years ago the sub-base was done incorrectly resulting in catastrophic failure of the road system. As the structure has continued to crumble over time, the area has seemed more like a torture test for a vehicle’s suspension system than a leisurely drive down a side street in town. Once the project is complete, the new and improved Bailey Ranch Road will include east and west lanes, a turn lane, and a sidewalk allowing pedestrians to travel the length of the road safely removed from traffic.

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