Bedford council member says she wanted to help residents, didn’t intend to break rules
A Bedford city council member who resigned this week said in a Facebook post that she had no intention to break rules in the city charter.
Cindy Almendarez, who emailed her resignation letter before Tuesday’s council meeting, wrote that she wanted to help the residents who were concerned about ongoing unauthorized car club events in the Pennington Field parking lot.
Almendarez said in a text message that she would talk to the Star-Telegram once she hears from the City Council concerning her resignation letter.
But she wrote that “”Right now, I do not know my status as an elected official, as I am afraid if I speak up again, there will be more ramifications.”
However, she posted the letter on her Facebook page, which said that she was concerned for the residents and the community because of the “mayhem” at Pennington field.
“It was not my intent to break policy in any way or form. My concern was for our citizens and community with the mayhem at Pennington field that occurred for weeks on end,” she said. “
“I think this oversight on my part has been taken out of context and blown out of proportion for what I was seeking to do.
“Where is the consequence for ALL City staff & Council who didn’t do anything for 3 weeks?”
The city’s charter states that council members are not to direct employees and must go through the city manager.
Mayor Michael Boyter couldn’t be reached for comment Friday afternoon.
City manager Jimmy Stathatos wrote in a Facebook post that there were illegal car show events the two weekends before the meetup on April 8, when Almendarez got involved. Police got two complaints for the first event and six for the second, he said.
They didn’t have special events permits so police couldn’t adjust staffing.
During the night of April 8 police responded to 21 calls. Most of the calls were traffic stops, noise complaints and reckless driving.
Weekends are the busiest times for dispatchers, and Almendarez called twice She talked to a dispatcher for six minutes and also wanted a supervisor to call her back, and she kept him on the phone for 24 minutes, according to Stathatos.
“Council members absolutely deserve to be updated about all information. However, that is not the time to keep a city employee on the phone for almost half an hour while they’re trying to protect Bedford,” Stathatos said.
Stathatos said that the city “learned” from the event, and that the event organizer is aware that the city has a zero tolerance for “this type of activity.”