Forest Hill developers, business owners in limbo after city manager’s firing
Freddie Kioni said the Whispering Oaks subdivision he’s developing in Forest Hill is at a standstill because the recently fired city manager was handling his project.
So there’s no one to take care of the inspections he needs before paving the streets where the homes will be built at 7001 Forest Hill Drive.
Venus Wehle, who was with Forest Hill for 18 years, was fired April 7 on a split council vote with no specific reasons given for her termination other than a lack of communication.
Kioni said he has plans for more than 40 homes, priced from $375,000 to $485,000.
“I’m trying to make them affordable,” he said. “I am in limbo because the city is going crazy. The city’s politics is messing up my business.”
Kioni said his employees are also frustrated because work is on hold until the city signs off on the necessary inspections.
Adam Burns, the general manager of Conatser Construction in Forest Hill, is also concerned that plans to expand the company’s business from its 20 acre location are on hold.
Burns said that Conatser, a heavy equipment contractor, needs to expand office space and needs more room for moving the large machinery. The company operates primarily west of Dallas/Fort Worth Airport, taking in Hood, Parker and Denton counties, Burns said.
”I was surprised by what happened last Tuesday,” he said.
Burns was referring to the meeting when the council voted 4-3 to fire Wehle.
“This came out of nowhere for us. We just thought after working with her for 15 years, she is a wealth of knowledge. Replacing her will be a challenge for Forest Hill,” Burns said.
Mayor Stephanie Boardingham, who voted against the motion to fire Wehle, said the former city manager oversaw 55 projects at the time of her termination. She also held several titles including city manager, city planner and community development corporation president, Boardingham said.
Boardingham described how Wehle was overseeing everything from Community Development Block Grants for street improvements to plans for an 86-acre mixed use development where city officials hope a grocery store will locate.
Habitat for Humanity also has plans to build homes in Forest Hill, she said.
A Frost Bank location is expected to open soon, and over the past several years, Forest Hill has gotten other businesses, including a Starbucks and Dunkin’, she said.
Wehle played a key role in representing Forest Hill in discussions concerning a $10 billion data center developed by Black Mountain, a Fort Worth-based energy consortium. The data center project is planned for southeast Fort Worth near Forest Hill, at the corner of Lon Stephenson and Forest Hill Drive.
Boardingham said Wehle was instrumental in making sure that residents’ concerns about the data center were well represented.
“I am still in shock. I don’t know if I can process this it was so sudden,” she said.
During the council meeting Wehle opted to hold the discussion about her job performance in public rather than in an executive session.
Numerous city employees, residents and business owners spoke on Wehle’s behalf.
The four council members who voted to fire Wehle did not provide specific reasons why they felt she should be terminated.
Before the vote, Wehle asked each council member if they had provided anything in writing concerning corrective actions or improvements that needed to be made.
The council members voting to fire Wehle were Mayor Pro Tem Carlie Jones, Place 2 council member Anthony Cook, Place 4 council member Janet Carpenter and Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Sonja Coleman.
The three council members who voted against the motion to terminate Wehle included Boardingham, Place 3 council member Timey Boardingham and Place 5 council member Keith Smith.
Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Sonja Coleman said, “I am going to plead the Fifth, but I have continually spoken about communication. It has been my biggest issue, the lack of communication and inclusivity with this entire council.”
Another council member, Anthony Cook, said, “No comment. We’ve been through this many times.”
Wehle said that she sent 11,455 emails to council members in the past four years.
Council members who supported Wehle praised her accomplishments.
Keith Smith said that when he was first elected, he wanted to get rid of Wehle because she was part of the “old regime.”
But he soon changed his mind.
“I just wanted to clean house and start fresh, but I watched her performance and was blown away. She’s good. She’s doing her job,” he said.
Before the vote, Boardingham warned the council that terminating Wehle would lead to unwanted consequences, including possible legal action.
“We don’t represent one person. We’re here for the good of the city of Forest Hill,” she said.
After the meeting adjourned, the recording continued with Boardingham saying, “God, they don’t know what they just did.”
The city council is holding a specially-called meeting at 6 p.m. Wednesday, April 15, at City Hall, at 3219 East California Parkway, to vote on Wehle’s severance package and to hire an interim city manager. The council will meet in executive session.