Double Oak Friday Updates (05-19-2023)

Celebration of Mayor Emeritus Mike Donnelly

On Monday night, former Double Oak Mayor Mike Donnelly was honored for his longtime service to the town with a proclamation by incoming Mayor Patrick Johnson and the Town Council.

Donnelly was named Mayor Emeritus, and May 15, 2023, was declared “Mike Donnelly Appreciation Day.”

Please click the link to the article in the Cross Timbers Gazette to read the full proclamation.
https://www.crosstimbersgazette.com/2023/05/16/former-double-oak-mayor-honored-by-town-council/

Meet the New Double Oak Mayor and Town Council Members

Pat Wellen – Town Council Member – pat.wellen@doubleoak.texas.gov

Pat is a native Texan, born and raised on the north side of Houston.  She graduated from Spring High School, earned a bachelor’s degree from Texas Tech University, and a Master of Science in Consumer Economics from Oklahoma State University.  Pat also holds a Texas teaching certificate and taught junior high and high school early in her career.  

Pat met her husband, Tom, at Oklahoma State and has been married for 33 years.  Pat and Tom have two grown children, a son, and a daughter, who live in nearby communities.  Pat and Tom’s daughter is married and has a 4-year-old daughter and a son on the way.

Pat and Tom’s family moved to Double Oak in 2007 - 16 years this June.  Before moving to Double Oak, they lived in Flower Mound for 12 years.  Some afternoons they would go on “country” drives and found Double Oak one afternoon and decided this was the community they had been looking for.

Pat is the National Director of Research for the Boy Scouts of America and has worked for the BSA for 25 years.  Pat has experience moderating focus groups, conducting surveys and secondary research, negotiating contracts, developing programs, agile design, budgeting, and controlling costs.

Pat has been an active member of the Double Oak Women’s Club since 2008 and has been on the board in different capacities since 2009.  This wonderful group of ladies provides service to our community, such as raising funds for the DOVFD, providing a scholarship for an outstanding senior each year, supporting our Police department, sending cards to residents of Double Oak when they are ill or have lost a loved one, holding children’s activities, and many other activities that help build our community.

Pat looks forward to working with and for all the citizens of Double Oak and encourages you to become involved on town boards or committees so that together we can keep Double Oak great!

Mike Gwartney – Town Council Member - Deputy Mayor Pro Tem – mike.gwartney@doubleoak.texas.gov

Mike and his wife have enjoyed living in Double Oak for 2.5 years.  They were High School sweethearts and have been married 43 years and have three grown boys, one daughter-in-law, and a 3-year-old grandson.  After 20 years in Lewisville, they moved to Double Oak in 2020 for his family to care for his mother and father-in-law.  Mike, a General Contractor, flips and renovates houses with his real estate partner. Having a background in broadcasting, he and his wife founded Radio South Sudan, a non-profit that builds Radio Stations in South Sudan, Africa. He has volunteered in his church, Valley Creek, the community, and Africa. "We were drawn to the area because of the beautiful one-acre lots, low crime, and small-town quality of life."

Patrick Johnson – Mayor – patrick.johnson@doubleoak.texas.gov

Patrick is President of a Women-Owned Business, Comco Systems, in Lake Dallas, Texas. The company manufactures Drive-up Tube Systems for banks, credit unions, pharmacies, and industrial markets.

As President, He is responsible for all aspects of the business, from financial performance to organizational excellence and the vision of the future of Comco. Patrick leads with a servant-leader style, whereas he works for the employees. This style has allowed Comco Systems to double its financial revenue in less than three years.

Patrick is married and has two grown daughters, both Nurses.  The oldest is an ICU nurse at a hospital in Denton, TX, and the youngest is a nurse in Labor and Delivery at a women’s hospital in Fayetteville, AR.  Patrick’s wife is a Global Account Manager for a large credit card company.

He graduated with a B.S. in Marketing from Northwest Missouri State University while participating in Division II athletics as a member of the football program.

Nominations for Open Council Seat with Form

Please use the following link to the form for nomination: Application for Town Council

The next is the process that will be used to nominate and vote for a new council person for the open seat vacated by Mayor Patrick Johnson. 

Please send the nomination forms to Lynn Jones at lynn.jones@doubleoak.texas.gov, and Lynn will send them to all the Town Council members for their review and possible nominations.

Nomination forms must be sent to Lynn Jones by Noon on Friday, May 26th.

Nominations

• Robert’s Rules allow the nomination process to happen in several different ways (by a nominating committee, by ballot, by mail, by petition). Still, the most common method is nominations from the council.
• Any councilmember can nominate anyone (we assume that the councilmember knows that the nominee is eligible and willing to serve).
• The presiding officer does not need to recognize a councilmember before he/she makes a nomination, and there is no need to go around the table to ask each councilmember for a nomination; simply ask the council for nominations. Once a nomination is made, the nominee’s name will be repeated, and then the presiding officer will ask if there are any further nominations.
• Each council member should nominate only one person until all other council members have had the opportunity to make their nominations.
• A nomination does not need a second and should not be submitted to a vote. It is not a motion. The presiding officer should not call for a second and vote on a nomination; too often, it is confused as a vote to appoint.
• The same person should not be nominated more than once.
• Once all nominations have been made, the presiding officer closes nominations, and the voting process begins.

Voting

Since we only have one vacant position, the election to appoint someone is simplified, and you follow the process regardless of how people are nominated – even if it’s just one. There are several ways in which a vote can taken (by ballot, by voice vote, by roll call, by cumulative voting). Still, the most straightforward and transparent way is to take a voice vote on each nominee in the order in which the nominees were nominated. The law only requires that a vacancy be filled by a majority vote of the members present, so if a councilmember makes a motion to appoint a nominee before the voting process begins, then you can regard it as an interruption and proceed with the process or call for a second and a vote. The process is simple:

• Since the nominees whose names appear first on the list have a much better chance of being appointed, the process must be explained before any motion or discussion occurs.
• Each nominee will be voted on separately and in the order in which they were nominated, and once a nominee receives a majority vote, the voting process will be over.
• All nominees should be listed in the order each was nominated. The presiding officer announces the name of the first nominee, then calls for a motion (to appoint), then a second to the motion, and then calls the question (asks for a vote on the motion to appoint). The town secretary will go around the table, asking each council member to vote yes or no.
• If the first nominee receives a majority vote in favor of the appointment, the process ends, and the appointee can then qualify for office (take the oath). If the first nominee fails to receive a majority vote, the presiding officer announces the name of the second nominee, then calls for a motion and a second, and then calls the question. The presiding officer should go down the list until someone is appointed.
• If no nominee receives a majority vote, the presiding officer should start the voting process over again. If that is still unsuccessful, the presiding officer should move on to the next agenda item. The vacancy appointment should come back on the next meeting’s agenda.
• If there is only one nominee, the appointment must be made by a majority vote (a motion, a second, and a majority vote).

Nominees do not need to leave the room. A nominee can, however, declare that they are unwilling to serve.  You must have resided in Double Oak for at least 12 months to be nominated.

Upon a majority vote, the new council person will be immediately sworn into the open position on the Double Oak Town Council.

Denco 9-1-1 Nomination

Monday evening at the Double Oak Town Council meeting, the new town council nominated the former Mayor of Copper Canyon, Sue Tejml, for the nominations for one of the two Board of Managers positions appointed by participating municipalities in the district.  We are in great hands with Sue looking out for Double Oak with Denco 9-1-1.  Congratulations on your nomination.

Double Oak Women’s Club Scholarship

Carys Stephenson – Denton Guyer Senior was awarded the Double Oak Women’s Club scholarship on Tuesday evening at the Town Hall.  What an impressive young lady.  Her resume is quite long and impressive.  She will continue her studies at Texas A&M in Chemical Engineering.  Congrats to the Carys Stephenson and the Double Oak Women’s Club for making the Town of Double Oak proud.

Reminders:

Memorial Day Flag Display in the J. B. Wright Park

Ashley Hart and her volunteers will again this year set up the Memorial Day Flag Display in the J. B. Wright Park adjacent to the town hall.  Please let Ashley know if you would like a flag placed in honor and memory of someone. Contact Ashley at Ashley@hartrealtyteam.com

Dick Cook Memorial – June 17^th Double Oak Town Hall

A ceremony will honor former Mayor Dick Cook on Saturday, June 17^th, 2023; details are still being worked out, so please mark your calendars for this special event. The town will update the citizens with these details in the coming weeks.

Town's 50th Anniversary Logo Contest

The town's 50th Anniversary is coming up in 2024, and as part of the celebration, the Anniversary Planning Committee is kicking off a logo design contest. The Double Oak 50th Anniversary logo design competition is meant to be a fun and community-minded activity open to all ages. We want to see the creativity of our citizens and how you would show what makes Double Oak a great place to live. To learn more about the Town’s 50th Anniversary, please visit the Town website. 50th Anniversary Committee Page

We wish everyone a safe and wonderful weekend.

Double Oak Town Administration