After a little more than a year on the job, Ray Lacy was relieved of his duties by the city council. The official reason cited was lack of confidence in leadership.
Lacy had been out on medical leave and Police Commander Quincy Hamilton was serving as interim chief. That will continue until he is given the title permanently or another replacement is found, council announced.
“He’s taking care of us right now and he is our interim chief,” Mayor Teresa Palmer said of Hamilton. “He’s doing a great job.”
No official announcement has been made concerning the start for the search for a new permanent chief. Hamilton sought the job before Lacy was hired.
Lacy was sworn in on April 28 of 2025 after being approved by city council on March 11, 2025. He succeeded Daniel Franklin, who served for 19 months following the retirement of Parker County’s first female chief of police, Carrie Ellis, who served for six years.
Beginning in May, Republic Services, the residential trash and recycling collection company for Willow Park and five other neighboring municipalities (Aledo, Hudson Oaks, all three Annettas), is making some changes that will cost residents of the city a little more money.
The company is transitioning to an automated collection system using claw-equipped trucks. With this change, all trash and recycling must be placed in Republic-provided carts for collection.
That’s not the only change. Republic Services has implemented a revised rate structure. The monthly charge for customers will increase from $19.08 per month to $25.12, including tax.
This fee includes one trash cart and one recycling cart. Additional carts will be available for rent at a rate of $3.15 per cart, per month.
Council voted to approve moving forward with the current contract, which is an automatic renewal from the last negotiation several years ago. However, their decision did not come without an addendum to look into possibilities of renegotiating in the near future.
There was discussion of beginning negotiations immediately, but Willow Park Communications Director Rose Hoffman advised council that such a move could be costly.
“If we do not approve this contract for at least this portion of the fiscal year we’ll lose a lot of money,” she said, noting that Republic would “make us eat that contract.”
Councilman Scott Smith agreed.
“Granted, it’s an increase to all cities, but if we step out as just Willow Park it could double our rates,” he said.
It was estimated that Republic receives approximately $11,400 per month from Willow Park.
“We’re between a rock and a hard place,” Council member Buddy Wright said, adding that at first opportunity Willow Park needs to get with the other cities in the joint agreement and renegotiate with Republic.
In the ongoing effort to control speeding on Kings Gate Road, Hamilton presented to the council a report of two surveys from March 23-April 1 at 600 and 808 Kings Gate. The posted speed limit at the site was 30 miles per hour and report showed:
At the 600 location (March 23-April 1), 536 cars passed by, with 51% going under the 30 miles per hour speed limit.
However, at the 808 location, of the 2,048 vehicles that passed by, 70% were going over the speed limit. Hamilton noted that one vehicle was even traveling 81 miles per hour.
“A speed bump or something to slow them down would be nice,” Hamilton said. “People aren’t going to go 81 over a speed bump.”
Crown Road has speed bumps.
Smith suggested the city research alternatives to speed bumps to slow down traffic.
“I drive down Crown Road quite a bit. It’s a beating to go down Crown Road,” he said.
Council voted to approve a water project that will loop the line west along the southern service road of Interstate 20 and East Bankhead Highway. This will improve water capacities and level out system pressures along the I-20 corridor, along with removing a dead-end main that requires monthly flushing.
Public Works Director Chase McBride told council a quote from Jacob Martin engineering firm was for $647,300 and would be paid through the city’s impact fee.
Clearion: Council approved a change in the recently annexed residential subdivision on Crown Road across from Oeste Ranch Golf Course, switching from single family district to special purpose/planned development district for just over 81 acres. This will allow for a coordinated residential subdivision layout with integrated open spaces, park dedication, and modified development standards tailored to the site conditions. The company’s updated plan has changed from an original 284 lots to 241.
Bar-Ko: Council approved a change from single family district to business/commercial district for just over seven acres on Bankhead Highway near the ballfields just south of Willow Bend Drive. This is to allow for the development of a Tractor Supply retail store and potential future commercial frontage.
Havins subdivision: Council approved a change for just under an acre of land in the subdivision off Bond Road, south of Interstate 20, from single family district to business/local retail district. The owner is proposing the site for an optometrist’s office.
Council approved a specific use permit to allow for existing pole sign at Willow Park Trinity Christian Academy to be updated to an electronic digital message sign.
The height of sign from current to new is not to change, and the sign should remain informative and not change too frequently, it was determined.
With recent annexations comes expansion, so council approved an update to the city map to reflect the city’s current jurisdictional boundaries. These do include the annexation of Bar-Ko, Clearion, and the just over 317 acres in the Beall-Dean Ranch Development, along with a disannexation of a small southern portion of East Bankhead Highway.
Council approved an extension of McKnight Title Company’s commercial lease at 120 El Chico Trail, Suite B, the same building that houses Willow Park City Hall.
The City of Willow Park’s purchase of 120 El Chico Trail for its city hall also included the building’s existing tenants in suites B and D. Recently, Suite D’s tenant, Sylvan Learning Center, vacated its space, which will soon become the city’s municipal court.
Suite B’s tenant, McKnight Title Company, decided to extend its lease effective Jan. 1, 2027. It will include an increase in rent from $12.50 per square foot to current market conditions at $20 per square foot, and a consolidated reduction in square footage from 6,128 square feet to 4,590 square feet, space which the city may occupy as needed and necessary.
The lease also offers the option of a one-year extension at market rate.
In other action:
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