OPINION:Town hall event illustrates need to adjust Killeen council priorities

Since mid-October, the council has discussed the procedure for naming a concourse at the airport, pondered the possible design and placement of welcome signs along I-14, considered other airport signs identifying the city’s elected officials and debated a lengthy presentation from the city’s economic development director about engaging in a regional branding initiative.

With all the significant challenges Killeen is facing right now, why are the city’s elected representatives and senior staff focusing on projects that are essentially window dressing?

Memorializing noteworthy city figures is a fine idea, as is providing attractive signage to welcome visitors to the community. But these potential initiatives are hardly high-priority items.

And when council members choose to focus on such low-impact issues on the heels of a nearly $30,000 taxpayer-funded trip to Washington, D.C, for the entire council and mayor, residents have a right to raise their eyebrows.

Earlier this year, the council spent nearly $350,000 on a new comprehensive plan for the city — though little has been done in the way of implementation, to date.

The council also signed off on spending $50,000 for a study on the region’s homelessness — a figure matched by the Temple City Council — though the consultant’s initial report to the council in September was rather long on statistics and short on concrete solutions.

What the city’s residents are clamoring for is decisive, meaningful action: Innovative strategies to curb crime, economic development policies that bring in jobs and spur sustainable growth, and a strong push to bring better retail options to the city’s older sector — including the procurement of a full-service grocery store to serve northern Killeen.

That’s what more than two dozen residents were concerned about last week when they attended a downtown rally hosted by Councilwoman Jessica Gonzalez, regarding the continued efforts to bring a grocer to the area.

Gonzalez noted that since the 2019 closing of the downtown H-E-B store — where the rally took place — and the IGA Foodliner on East Rancier Avenue, area residents have been forced to drive 20 minutes to Trimmier Road, Stan Schlueter Loop or Harker Heights to reach a full-service grocery store.

Attempts to bring in a retail grocery outlet have been ongoing for several years. Failure to do so has reflected more on the difficult negotiations that took place between the developer and grocery chain than anything city officials have done wrong.

But to residents who find themselves living in the city’s “food desert,” acquiring a store is an urgent need — and one that should be at the top of the council’s priority list.

When serious quality-of-life issues such as high crime, joblessness and food insecurity encroach on the lives of the city’s residents, initiatives such as naming protocols, branding initiatives and highway signage pale in comparison.

On Thursday night, the council, Mayor Debbie Nash-King and City Manager Kent Cagle held a two-hour town hall meeting, at which residents had the opportunity to raise concerns and ask questions about issues that concerned them.

Nearly three dozen people attended, and a few had some pointed criticism about the council’s perceived lack of engagement with the community.

Former Councilwoman Mellisa Brown pointed out that the council hadn’t gotten any public input before deciding on which roads to repair after last year’s winter storm.

She also noted that the amount spent on sending nine people to the AUSA conference in Washington would have largely funded the salary for a city support staffer.

Another resident, Monica Washington, said she was frustrated by finger-pointing in the community and said people need to listen to one another.

But perhaps the biggest issues brought up by residents were the challenges of homelessness and downtown revitalization — which some said were intertwined.

One resident, who rolled to the microphone in her wheelchair, told the council about the challenges she faces trying to navigate the uneven and broken sidewalks in the downtown area, where she lives. She even received a ticket, she said, when she was forced to travel with her chair on the street because the sidewalks were not accessible.

The woman further told of the problems homeless residents have in obtaining and keeping employment — partly because they don’t have any place to store their belongings while they are working. The woman, who said she used to be homeless herself, asked the council if one of the vacant buildings downtown might be used a place where homeless residents can check their belongings.

Council members were visibly moved by the woman’s presentation and vowed to see what they could do to help remedy the situation.

Mayor Pro Tem Ken Wilkerson said, “This is a matter of not knowing — not a matter of not caring. This is the first time I’ve heard about this.”

Other council members nodded in agreement.

Cagle also noted that the city was readying an action plan on homelessness, with accompanying resources, and it would be initiated soon.

Several new business owners spoke at Thursday’s meeting as well, registering their concerns about crime, but also expressing enthusiasm about starting their enterprises in the downtown area. Two owners acknowledged being recipients of the city’s ARPA small-business grants handed out earlier this year.

It was a very positive ending for a town hall meeting that started off as more of a resume-building exercise for the council members — as they spent the first hour informing residents about the council’s operations, priorities and updates on city projects in their respective districts.

However, when the meeting was opened up for residents’ comments, the true value of public engagement was in evidence.

At one point, Wilkerson stated that every member of the council has a vested interest in “making this place better.”

The council, mayor and city manager certainly seemed to validate that sentiment through their actions and responses Thursday night.

If anything, the city should offer residents more opportunities like the ones presented last week — outside the restrictive format of a council meeting.

Certainly, the council, mayor and city manager showed themselves to be more than willing to listen to and engage with the city’s residents.

Moreover, they seemed motivated to work toward solutions to the challenges put forward.

In the future, the council would be well served to consider the residents’ priorities more carefully before commissioning studies, pursuing pet projects or signing off on expensive trips.

That’s not to say those initiatives should be scuttled or are totally lacking in value.

But they should be put in the proper perspective, given the community’s more immediate challenges.

It’s simply a matter of priorities — and the city’s residents should be heard on that score.