It happened after Fennell, a former Willow Park council member (2017-20) started to criticize Palmer during the public comments portion of the meeting. She accused Palmer of working to undo everything that she [Fennell] and fellow council members, along with former Mayor Doyle Moss, had built over an eight-year span before Palmer took office last May.
“In short, we built this city,” Fennell said before she made her accusations that clearly inflamed Palmer.
Fennell did not curse, call names, nor was disruptive in her presentation as she addressed the mayor. Palmer, on the other hand, immediately started pounding her gavel repeatedly and telling Fennell to stop — to no avail. She then had Fennell escorted out of the meeting as the council members and many in the audience looked stunned.
One person was even overheard saying in a soft voice, “Did that really just happen?” as Fennell was being taken out of the meeting room.
Whispers of violating Fennell’s First Amendment rights could also be heard.
What made the moment with Fennell even more intriguing is the previous speaker immediately before her, Roy Ramos, also gave an accusatory presentation. He looked directly at council members Nate Crummell, Buddy Wright, and Scott Smith during his speaking time and told them he would not be voting for them because he does not like the job they are doing.
However, Palmer did not have him escorted out of the room, and made no attempt to reach for her gavel.
When asked about her actions after the meeting, Palmer said, “We have already stated we do not attack individuals at these meetings.” When pressed further, she said, “Talk to the attorney, that’s not my avenue.”
Later in the meeting, City Attorney Andy Messer did address decorum during meetings with some guidelines that include focus on items and not personalities, along with addressing the entire council as a whole and not individuals. Council approved these rules of order.
However, when Fennell was speaking, these rules had not been put in place. Nor was she addressing a single issue on the agenda. She was speaking during the public comments section.
Following her outburst, Palmer immediately called a recess. When the meeting started again, Shannon Brown took the podium and also addressed Palmer directly, citing the mayor for her derogative comments in the Feb. 10 meeting about Fire Marshal John Schneider.
Brown said Palmer’s comments in that meeting, including her saying “Whose call is the governor going to take?” displayed poor leadership.
Brown also called out Palmer for some comments she made about kindness in a recent magazine article, saying many of her actions have been anything but kind.
Palmer, however, did not have her escorted from the meeting.
Meanwhile, many watching the meeting online issued scathing comments about Palmer for removing Fennell.
“It’s called First Amendment, decorum or not. Which the mayor lacks, by the way,” posted Susan Al Ice.
“They censored her ass right out, didn’t they?” Kyle-Rhonda Hartsell posted.
“So disappointed in our Mayor for interrupting speaker Amy Fennell. When Amy Fennell raised her voice slightly it appeared it was only to be heard due the mayor interrupting her,” posted Deborah Sims.
It is true that on each agenda are rules/suggestions concerning public speakers addressing the council. While they do say that each speaker may only address the council and not individual officials, commission members, committee members or employees, there has been no evidence of this being enforced previously.
At one meeting city council candidate Judge Roy Kurban even referred to one particular council member as “Big boy” and the entire council “knuckleheads.” He was not escorted out of the meeting and is a big supporter of Palmer.
In fact, supporters of Palmer have regularly verbally attacked members of the council on several occasions and have not been censored. Also, while it is mentioned on each agenda that members of the audience may not speak out from the gallery, on numerous occasions they have done that very thing, often in defense of Palmer, without being censored.
There is also a question as to whether Palmer violated the Texas Open Meetings Act. According to Texas Government Code, a governmental body may not prohibit public criticism of the body, including criticism of any act, omission, policy, procedure, program or service.
Possible consequences if a mayor unlawfully stops a citizen from speaking can include voiding of an agenda item. Also, the city may be required to pay the citizen’s legal fees should the matter end up in court and the citizen prevails.
Red flags cited, all of which applied in this case, include:
Actions that can be taken by the speaker, in this case, Fennell, include a formal complaint to the Texas Attorney General and/or a civil rights lawsuit.
In the 1991 Texas Supreme Court case of Morehead vs. State, it was ruled that while a city can remove someone for disrupting a meeting, the disruption must be a physical or auditory interference that actually prevents the meeting from continuing — not just speech that is offensive or critical.
Council approved a zoning change for just over 317 acres of land in the Beall-Dean Ranch Development from a single family district to a planned development district. The land was annexed by the city from Fort Worth in January of 2025.
Some people addressed a concern that a data center could be part of the development. However, Robert Beall of Beall Investments, owner of the land, assured them they should not be worried.
“No way there’s going to be a data center,” he told the council and crowd. “There’s really just not practical room to build in that zone.”
Without actually addressing the lawsuit itself, one in which Aledo and Fort Worth have combined to sue Willow Park for what they are calling unlawful annexation of the property, Beall made it clear he wants to move forward doing business with Willow Park. He noted the city offers opportunities other neighboring cities cannot.
When asked by someone in the audience about what impact the lawsuit might have, Messer replied that the agreement between Beall and the city is alive and well and going forward.
Council approved The Promise as the sponsorship recipient of $10,000 from the city’s hotel occupancy tax. The production moved from its long-standing home in Glen Rose to Willow Park Baptist Church this past Christmas season following the sale of the Texas Amphitheatre.
The production, the longest running passion play in the United States and the second longest in the world, has committed to be in Willow Park through at least 2027.
Council approved implementation of pay of $1 per meeting for the mayor and council members. Messer noted that paid employees of the city are entitled to potential dismissal from lawsuits and the city will handle the suit.
Comments
No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here