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WEIMAR
WEIMAR — Weimar City Council appointed councilmember Carlton Tucker as the new mayor and announced the hiring of a public works director and a regional building inspector during the city council meeting, Wednesday, Aug. 6, at City Hall.
Mayor
With little to no discussion, the city council accepted former Mayor Milton Koller’s retirement then unanimously approved Tucker’s appointment. Tucker, whose been on the council for around a year, said he’s spent most of his adult life in public school service and intends to continue in addition to being mayor.
“My efforts will really be devoted to one agenda: to positively promote Weimar in every single setting I could possibly find myself in, to make sure that we base our decisions and actions… on core values that made Weimar what it is, why you want to live here and why you want to rear your children here,” Tucker said. “… My commitment to you will be that every effort at every turn, I will do what I can to make sure that Weimar remains exceptional and a place that we can rear families and be happy to call home.”
The appointment will be official once Tucker is sworn in at the next city council meeting, Thursday, Aug. 14. The council will also discuss filling Tucker’s councilmember position at the next meeting. The mayoral position will be up for election in May 2026.
Staff
City Manager Don Dixson announced Randall Jones, of Tennessee, as the new public works director. Dixson also reported that the city will be interviewing applicants for open positions in the public works department this week.
“He’s very knowledgeable. He’s running a plant right now that’s very similar to ours,” Dixson said. “…He’s very employee oriented. He believes in training his people.”
Dixson then announced Billy Nunn, of Teton County, Wyoming, as the new regional building inspector.
“We’re getting a good man on this one. He’s almost as certified as I am,” Dixson said. “He’s probably the easiest to be trained, because in other states, not every state has a Texas plumbing license inspector requirement. He’s been doing plumbing inspections for 10 years, so he knows his business.”
Dixson said Texas law has additional requirements on educational training hours that Nunn lacks but that he would be able to achieve and still work under Dixson’s direct supervision. The regional building inspector position is under an interlocal agreement with Schulenburg, so the position will be split between the two cities. However, Weimar will house the inspector and face the upfront costs then later bill Schulenburg for half. Dixson said that both men would start their positions around Sept. 15 due to the interstate transitions.
For the vacant police chief position, Dixson said that the hiring committee is speaking with applicants outside the residency requirements. The council held a private, executive session during the meeting to discuss the position.
Water lines and sewage
Dixson provided further updates to the city’s progress on the dirty water caused by dead ends in the water lines. He reported Seifert Loop and Franklin Street as the focus for current work to replace dead ends with loops. Dixson also shared that Director of Finance and temporary Public Works Director David Mason is in the process of incorporating contractors to assist.
Dixson also reported that an investigation of complaints from the Texas Commission for Environmental Quality resolved any alleged violations and rated Weimar’s water system as “superior.”
“We are superior. We do have problems. We do have dirty water that pops up now and then. [When] we get these dead ends out of the way, it will be tremendously better,” Dixson said.
Dixson also addressed the spikes in bacteria and other matter in the sewage storage lagoon on the east end of town. He said that third parties were excessively dumping up to around 100,000 gallons of water a week into the lagoon, overwhelming the variegation system. Dixson said he discovered an expired contract for one of the dumping companies and prohibited them from continuing.
“The numbers have stabilized. We are watching it. It will take awhile for them to come back down due to the sheer volume,” Dixson said. “We still have a few smaller dumpers in there, but they’re maybe 15-20,000 gallons a week.”
Dixson said the city is looking into adding more lagoons or applying for grants to construct a water treatment plant that would decrease or eliminate the need for lagoons.
Editor’s Correction: A previous story titled “Weimar digs into dirty water” misspelled the Barta and Seifert loops as the Bartell and Cypher loops.
“We are superior. We do have problems. We do have dirty water that pops up now and then. [When] we get these dead ends out of the way, it will be tremendously better.”
Don Dixson
Weimar city manager
