What Willow Park wouldn’t allow me to say

Amy Fennell

I attempted to give the following statement to Willow Park City Council on Feb. 24 and again on March 10. I was only able to make it through the first two paragraphs before the mayor began gaveling me quiet and accusing me of slander. I was subsequently escorted from the meeting when I refused to be silenced. I have included my entire statement as I wrote it for delivery during public comment:

I became involved with city politics as an activist in 2016 when Willow Park was a mess and then won a seat on council in 2017, where I served through 2020.

During my time, the city began live-streaming meetings and repaired water and road infrastructure long neglected by previous councils. We brought in water from Fort Worth to provide for current and future demand, and approved a new wastewater treatment plant. We built relationships with neighboring cities and became a bastion for business, with double-digit sales tax increases year over year. In short, we built a city with pride. Willow Park’s reputation finally reflected the goodness of her citizens and was no longer an embarrassment to Parker County.

I was honored to be part of it and I left council feeling proud to have ushered in a new era for Willow Park. Then Mayor Palmer was elected, and within nine months of being sworn in, much of what I helped achieve has been unraveled.

Shortly after Mayor Palmer took office, people started calling me, asking for help and understanding on what was happening. I told them I didn’t know anything about her and perhaps things would settle down with time. 

Then Mayor Palmer called me looking for advice because she felt overwhelmed and especially wanted help with Bryan Grimes. Many people know I was not a fan of Grimes, and I tried to help her navigate those waters. I advised Mayor Palmer to win the trust of the council and put her in touch with a couple of business owners to bring her up to speed with development.

I called [council member] Eric Contreras and urged him to give Palmer the benefit of the doubt, have patience, and help lead the city through the change, which he has done a masterful job. When Palmer called me because Grimes had badgered her at a Texas Municipal League meeting, 

I chose to believe her story and advised her to get the security footage as proof. When the footage didn’t match Palmer’s story, it was clear that she had no interest in behaving like a mayor who builds relationships and works for the prosperity of the city.

In the months since, I have observed Mayor Palmer’s leadership with growing dismay. Rather than embodying the dignity of the mayoral role, she has presided over meetings from the dais alternating between displays of victimhood and performative authority—treating council members and dedicated staff as subjects instead of respected colleagues with valuable experience. 

She reads prepared scripts, talks down to staff, and berates them in open session. Meetings devolve into chaos and little to no progress is made. The conduct of these meetings reflects directly on the city.

As the public face of Willow Park, the mayor’s demeanor shapes perceptions among citizens, business owners, and neighboring communities. Citizens attending or viewing live-streamed meetings should witness a mayor who fosters consensus through respect, courtesy, and collaboration. Instead, they have been subjected to repeated spectacles of disarray.

This is not who we are as a community. Mayor Palmer has made Willow Park the subject of ridicule and we are, once again, an embarrassment to Parker County. If it weren’t for the competence of our city staff and council, the city’s basic functionality would be in serious jeopardy.

I appreciate council for their service and commend them for maintaining professionalism in the face of constant attack and unruliness. 

I also commend city staff for holding up under the onslaught of harassment and unfair treatment, especially our city secretary, Deanna McMullen, a woman of integrity and resilience who has 41 years of experience and deserves our utmost respect. Most people don’t understand how valuable an asset Deanna is to a city of our size.

I also give a shout out to Comms Director Rose Hoffman, Fire Marshall Chief Charlie Schneider, Asst Fire Marshall Kevin Lockwood, and Commander Quincy Harrison. I know all of these staff members personally from my time on council. I don’t know our acting interim co-city managers Toni Fisher and Michelle Guelker, or other members of staff very well, but what I have seen of their abilities has been courteous, competent. and worthy of respect. The fact that they’ve all stuck with the city despite the disrespect they’ve endured from the mayor is a testament to their dedication.

I offer my gratitude to staff and council for choosing to stay on the side of Willow Park. Our city needs good staff and thoughtful council members now more than ever before. Their work shows that our city can and will make a comeback and I encourage them to hang in there.

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