Mineral Wells Area News

MINERAL WELLS, Texas — Mineral Wells City Manager Jason Weeks recently marked his 100th day in office and on Tuesday hosted the city’s seventh “Coffee with the City Manager” event, continuing a series of informal public meetings aimed at building trust and transparency between City Hall and residents.

“These are an opportunity for visitors to come in and ask questions, press concerns, [and share] challenges,” Weeks told attendees. “I always need to know about the bad things. A lot of people think I know everything — I don’t. If I’m not told something, I can’t try to figure out a solution.”

The monthly 9 a.m. meetings have rotated around different locations, but Weeks announced the next gathering will shift to the evening. It is scheduled for May 13 from 6 to 7 p.m. at Bankhead Wine Bar.

“The idea is there are people that can’t take off work or can’t make it in the mornings,” he said. “They decided to open up especially for this event.”

Weeks highlighted several improvements prompted by feedback at previous events, including expanded access to the city’s brush and dump site.

“Our public works director… was able to work that out, so now it’s open seven days a week,” he said.

He also addressed concerns from local contractors and residents about the high cost of roll-off containers, which are provided under an exclusive contract with Frontier Waste Solutions.

“The cost is significant if you have to use [a roll-off container] from their base,” Weeks said. “Council is willing to consider an extension onto that contract if there are some other things that are met.”

The city is also exploring ways to better assist residents who struggle with code enforcement issues, especially those facing financial or physical limitations.

“If I can take [financial and physical barriers] off the table, then it’s all on them — they have to own that,” Weeks said.

Despite modest attendance at the events, Weeks said he is committed to keeping the conversations going.

“I understand you pay my salary, and I’m available at whatever time,” he said. “Whether it’s early in the morning or after hours or on a weekend — I’ll do what I need to do.”