With a new mayor in place, Arcola’s city government hopes to find steady ground

ARCOLA – While Arcola saw a milestone Tuesday with the completion of its first full city council meeting in nearly four months, little progress was made.

At the meeting, the council officially transferred power to the city’s new mayor, Veeda Williams, and Council Member Ebony Sanco was appointed to be her mayor pro tempore, a move that came as a surprise to Sanco.

While no major interruptions derailed the meeting as they have in the past , the majority of actionable items on the agenda were tabled, such as infrastructure contracts. Council members also didn’t decide the fate of 83 acres of land that’s been at the center of controversy for the small town for months,  and the future of city administrator Annette Goldberg.

City attorney Grady Randle’s position was also up for consideration, but he resigned before council had a chance to make any decisions, according to Sanco.

Sanco said she was made aware of Randle’s resignation at the meeting and received no information beforehand.

Randle did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Council members felt optimistic going into Tuesday’s meeting coming off of a win in a Fort Bend County District court last week.

A conversation with

HISD Seniors
& Mike Miles

Vulnerability. Accountability. Connection.

Superintendent Miles and the students he serves, exploring the trials and triumphs of his first year.

Pay-what-you-can
Doors at 6,
show at 7 p.m.

After months of dispute over Sanco’s residency, a judge ruled that she is a legal resident of Arcola and that city officials went beyond their legal authority in preventing her from carrying out her official duties.

Former mayor Fred Burton led attempts to oust Sanco, claiming that she didn’t live in Arcola and, therefore, had to give up her council seat. To prove this, Burton hired a private investigator with public funds to surveil Sanco and her children for five days in February.

Despite being elected mayor, Williams said she still faced roadblocks from Burton. During the campaign, Burton had been criticized for his behavior online, specifically a video of him burning William’s campaign flyer in a Facebook Live video.

Williams said that she had not yet been briefed on any current projects.

Leading up to the meeting, she said she reached out to schedule a time to be caught up, but received no response. She said she was later informed by several city staff members that they were instructed by Burton not to speak with her.

“There can only be one mayor at a time,” Burton said in a message to the Houston Landing. “Give the outgoing mayor that same respect.”

During the meeting, Burton expressed frustration about items being tabled after many months with little action.

Evelyn Jones said that her desire to table items wasn’t to reject them, but to give Williams an opportunity to get into office and be informed on the decisions they were making.

“It’s not a no,” Jones said. “We want the new administration to come in and have knowledge of what’s going on.”

Sanco said that she wasn’t sent the agenda packet before the meeting and didn’t have an opportunity to feel prepared before voting on items.

Williams promised to address concerns and meet with project managers during her first month.

“It is important that my team has an opportunity to get caught up on the specifics of the project before rendering decisions that may impact all revenue,” she said.

Hopes for a path forward

City business had been at a complete standstill as political turmoil has led to meetings being cut short. With the transfer of power to Williams, council members expressed a desire to move forward and to keep city business in motion.

“Over the last number of months, the city government has been in quite a turmoil. Nothing has been done. No work has been done for the city or its citizens,” council member Greg Abarr said. “I’m hoping we can reunite the council with the mayor and move this city forward and make some significant progress.”

In an unexpected move, Burton handed over his gavel to Williams and shook her hand before leaving the podium.

After the meeting, however, Burton said he has no confidence in the new administration.

“Arcola is in a situation that they will never be able to recover from,” he said.

Sanco said she was shocked to be named mayor pro-tempore but is ready to take on the role. This promotion for Sanco comes after months of questions and investigations into her residency.

“It feels like a heavy cloud that has been on me has been lifted off,” she said. “I’m excited.

During trial last week, Sanco’s sister Jasmine testified and said that Burton and city administrator Annette Goldberg tried to intimidate her into persuading her sister to step down from council.

If not, they allegedly said they’d send the surveillance footage from the private investigator and a lease to a home Sanco signed in Missouri City to the district attorney’s office.

Sanco believed that this dispute had nothing to do with her residency, but stemmed from her disagreement with Burton on a land deal that would have brought 350 new homes to the city.

Last week, a Fort Bend County judge ruled that council member Sanco is legally a resident of Arcola and that city officials went beyond their legal authority in preventing her and two other council members from carrying out their official duties.

Sanco said over the past few months, she’s been holding onto the scripture Exodus 14:14: The Lord will fight for you; you only need to be still.

“In this season of my life, I am going to be silent and see where God takes me,” she said. “I feel like with this new council and the new mayor, I feel like everything is gonna be okay. We’re gonna do what’s best for the city and work together.”