KINGWOOD — City Clerk Mary Howell has resigned, citing behavior she witnessed that made her unhappy.
Council made the announcement after an executive session with Howell at Tuesday’s meeting. Howell, who has served as city clerk since 2016, gave her notice Friday. Prior to that she worked for two years for Kingwood Parks and Recreation.
“Thank you all, I appreciate that but I am leaving the city not because I can’t do my job but because I am unhappy with some behavior I recently witnessed,” Howell said in a statement made after the mayor and council thanked her for her work.
“I walked into this job promising to be fair and honest and do my job to my utmost and with integrity, and I will leave here tonight with that reputation. I apologize to my city employees for leaving you with the situation, but sometimes you have to take the high ground. Thank you,” she said, and left.
Mayor Jean Guillot and council members thanked Howell but did not elaborate on the situation.
“I would like to thank Mary for her years of service to the city and the work she has performed. Her expertise is going to be missed,” Guillot said. One by one council members expressed their appreciation. “I thank you for the job you did and hope you are still my friend,” Councilman Dick Shaffer said.
No vote was taken on Howell’s resignation. All council was present. Nothing was said about how Howell will be replaced.
In other business, Joseph Johns asked council to provide him with a copy of the town’s contract with Digger Construction, any insurance it had and a list of contractors licensed in Kingwood.
Johns owns a Price Street building next to one that the city contracted with Digger’s to demolish. Guillot told Johns to file a Freedom of Information Act request for the contract.
Johns also questioned the 2015 arrest of his son. Council did not respond to his comments on the incident.
Johns said the building next to his son’s building (Sweet Annie’s) has to come down. “I know what is going to happen. It’s going to go right into our building and they are both going to go down,” Johns said.
Council has contacted the owner of the Sweet Annie’s building about its condition.
In other discussions, Susan Hardesty asked council to remind Frontier its building at the corner of McDonald Street and Springhill Drive is in a residential zone. She also asked council to check the weight of trucks traveling the street.
Whether Frontier is operating a business facility in a residential zone has been in dispute for years. Hardesty said the most recent issue has been addressed.
“I came home to find that three parking berms had been painted blaze orange,” she said. The berms are visible across the street from her front porch, she said. They were repainted the same day she contacted a facilities manager, Hardesty said.
“I do wonder how long that paint will hold, though,” she said. “Because workers shoveled through and swept snow away from them in 20 degree temps — not ideal weather for spray painting anything, but I’m glad the orange is gone for now.”
Guillot said a letter could be written to Frontier reminding the company it is in a residential zone.
