Bonham, Texas -- Bonham Police Officer Kolton Phillips is the most recent example of an exceptional City of Bonham employee to be honored as Employee of the Month. During a regular meeting of Bonham City Council held Monday, February 10, 2020, Officer Phillips was selected as the City of Bonham Employee of the Month for January.
Kolton is a Corporal with the Bonham Police Department and has been with the City of Bonham since September 2018.
"I don't think I have ever been around an officer who is more genuinely concerned with cleaning up a city of its law-breaking, drug-trafficking and violent-acting individuals as I have witnessed in Cpl. Phillips," remarked Bonham Police Chief Mike Bankston. "I truly believe God gives each of us special and specific gifts. Well, Cpl. Phillips undeniably has the gift of seeking out individuals whose goals are to harm, hurt or disparage the members of our community and he does it all within state and city laws, profusely and professionally."
"His productivity has exceeded all records from past years," Chief Bankston continued. "None have come close. He is willing to put 100% into every shift he works and, even then, he believes 100% is not enough so he pushed for more. He is Bonham's best asset in fighting the things no one else wants to confront. I am proud of his diligence. I am proud of his character as a man and an officer. I am proud of his bravery. I am proud of his ethics and how he strives to better himself. Law enforcement in general needs more men like Kolton Phillips."
The City of Bonham is in the second year of this program to recognize exemplary employees.
Each Employee of the Month receives four hours of paid time off and a $50 gift certificate. At the end of the year, the Employee of the Year will receive eight hours of paid time off and a $250 gift certificate.
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Monday night's regular meeting of Bonham City Council opened with an invocation by Rev. Henry Shelton of Trinity Baptist Church.
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Councilmembers approved minutes of the January 13, 2020 regular meeting.
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Dave Struchtemeyer, CPA, Director of Finance for the City of Bonham, presented the January 2020 financial report to Bonham City Council.
"In January, the general fund collected $1.2 million in ad valorem revenues, leaving about $850,000 left to collect for the year, of which the majority will be collected in February and March," Mr. Struchtemeyer reported. "Sales tax revenues continue to track about 1% higher than what was budgeted for the year."
"Water Sewer Fund revenues are tracking about 5% behind what was budgeted for the year," Struchtemeyer added. "We expect revenues will recover by the end of the year as water demand is higher during the summer months."
Councilmembers approved the financial report for January.
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Six people addressed Bonham City Council during the segment of the meeting reserved to give citizens an opportunity to speak.
Rusty Deets said he wanted to learn more regarding the status of the sidewalk project and Mr. Deets asked if it would be possible for a representative of Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) to attend a Bonham City Council meeting to answer questions.
Catherine Krantz, Texoma Council of Governments Economic Development & Municipal Solid Waste Planner, addressed councilmembers regarding the availability and accessibility of public and specialized transportation resources throughout Texoma via Texoma Area Paratransit System (TAPS). For additional information or to schedule a ride, please call 844-603-6048 or visit www.tapsbus.com.
Emily Dempsey told councilmembers that residents of the Legacy Ridge neighborhood are experiencing numerous issues with mail delivery. Ms. Dempsey asked why the Legacy Ridge area is classified as "rural."
"Why should we pay city taxes when we don't receive city services?" she enquired.
Three residents asked councilmembers to scrutinize the formula devised to determine water bills.
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After considering a recent analysis of water rates by NewGen, a business process management consultant, Bonham City Council followed the consultant's recommendation to make no changes to water rates through 2022, however the average resident will see a monthly increase of approximately $1.50 in their wastewater bill beginning in the next fiscal year. The slight adjustment is needed for the department to break even.
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Stephen Filipowicz, Executive Director of Bonham Economic Development Corporation (BEDCo), told councilmembers that the city has renewed interest in becoming a Film Friendly Texas Certified Community. City staff initiated this process more than a decade ago, but never submitted the required photographs of publically accessible scenery.
Mr. Filipowicz said that BEDCo board member Lee Ellis had success at a Film Friendly Workshop and a production company will be shooting scenes in Collin County and Fannin County.
"This area gets strong interest," Filipowicz said. "We are definitely showing up on the radar."
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Bonham City Council unanimously approved a resolution authorizing the City of Bonham to request financial assistance from the Texas Department of Transportation for improvements to Jones Field Airport.
The Texas Department of Transportation Aviation grant requires resolution to initiate the process and the city must provide 10% of the cost for the project.
City staff estimates it will cost approximately $200,000 to engineer and design a parallel taxiway at Jones Field Municipal Airport. If the TxDOT aviation grant is approved, the City of Bonham's share would be $20,000.
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Bonham City Council approved an order calling for a general election to be held May 2, 2020 to elect councilmembers from Ward Nos. 1, and 5 for three-year terms.
Tony Rodriguez represents Ward No. 1 and Kevin Hayes represents Ward No. 5.
The deadline to file for a place on the ballot is Friday, February 14, 2020 at 5:00 p.m. Mr. Rodriguez and Mr. Hayes are both running again and, as of press time, no one else has filed.
Candidates must live in the Ward they represent, but all registered voters in the City of Bonham are eligible to vote in councilmember elections.
Early voting will be conducted April 20 through April 28 at Bonham City Hall during normal business hours. Voting hours will be extended to 7:00 a.m. until 7:00 p.m. on April 23 and April 28.
Lori Clayton will be the election judge and Lou Ann Bankston will be the alternate.
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Councilmembers received the 2019 Racial Profiling Report from Bonham Police Chief Mike Bankston as required by Article 2.131 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure.
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After recessing for executive session, Bonham City Council reconvened to announce that the City of Bonham would send a letter to Fannin County officials in hopes of reopening dialogue regarding Emergency Medical Services.