Tuesday’s (June 27) Willow Park City Council meeting celebrated the retirement of an individual who has played an important role in the city’s growth, along with the beginning of a new chapter in leader and protector.
Betty Chew is retiring after seven years in the planning and development department. Mayor Doyle Moss presented her with a proclamation honoring her service.
Also, Daniel Franklin was officially sworn in as the city’s new full-time police chief. He had held the position on an interim basis since the retirement of Carrie Ellis in late March.
Betty Chew came to Willow Park in 2016 planning to stay a couple or three months. It turned into seven years, and in that time she was instrumental in the growth spurt that included:
“Betty’s been an integral part of her staff. She got here a few months before I did, and it’s been a pleasure to work alongside her,” Moss said. “She’s very good at what she does and she will be missed.”
Chew, a retired community development director after many years serving the city of Stephenville, arrived in Willow Park at the request of her friend, then interim city manager Bobby Roundtree.
“All I could think of with Willow Park was a closed racetrack,” Chew said, referencing the old Trinity Meadows horse racing track. “The next day I came up. I realized the hospital was in Willow Park, and that’s about the time they were starting The Shops.
“One of the places we went was where they were going to put Crown Pointe Boulevard.”
So, Chew decided to come over and help her friend. And she just kept helping.
We just kept building and growing,” she said with a smile.
Chew credited current City Manager Bryan Grimes and the council with much of the growth.
“When they are all on the same page in the hymnal, you can sing great songs,” she said with a smile. “The quality of their development makes them such a dynamic and stable city.
“So many things have been done here. I don’t consider it my accomplishments. I consider it my team’s accomplishments.”
Grimes said, “I don’t know if Willow Park is where it is today without Betty Chew in that chair for seven years. She’s guided the council and me through some uncharted waters. When she speaks, people listen. I’m a better city manager because I worked with Betty Chew.”
Chew also issued a reminder that though she’s retired, she’s not gone.
“I told them I’m going to come back once a month and we’re going to do Taco Tuesdays,” she said with a chuckle.
The council officially pinned Franklin as the city's new chief of police. City Secretary Crystal Dozier did the honors.
At the June 13 meeting the council, in an announcement that surprised even Franklin, came out of executive session and named him the new chief. Franklin had been the interim chief, moving up from assistant, since Carrie Ellis retired in late March.
And no one is happier for Franklin than his former boss.
"Chief Franklin has been an asset to the City of Willow Park and the Willow Park Police Department. He has a tremendous amount of talent and expertise to lead the agency in a manner that reflects its core values of honesty, integrity, honor, and service," Ellis said.
"I could not be more proud of him and his well-deserved accomplishment."
Franklin has been with the City of Willow Park since 2018 as the assistant chief. He was previously with Jacksonville for two decades, once holding the title of interim chief there as well.
Budget Workshop
The council held a budget workshop as part of its meeting Tuesday. While nothing is official concerning numbers until it is passed, Grimes did detail some new parts of the 2023-24 fiscal year budget.
Grimes announced the creation of a fire marshal’s office, a newly created parks department and a new streets department.
“We feel pretty good about the budgets,” Grimes said.
Moving forward, here are the remaining steps to finalizing the budget:
July 7: File proposed budget with city secretary. She will post it on the city’s website.
July 25: Central Appraisal District deadline to provide certified appraisal tax roll.
Aug. 8: Discussion of tax rate. Council holds a vote on approving proposed tax rate and sets a date to conduct a public hearing on budget and tax rate.
Aug. 11: Publish notice of public hearings on budget and tax rate in The Community News.
Aug. 22: Conduct public hearings at council meeting. After, council will vote on adopting budget and tax rate.
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