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Mineral Wells council approves ordinance to abandon Watkins Trail easement after resident warning
Summary
The City Council voted 5-0 to adopt an ordinance abandoning the Watkins Trail easement. An attorney for a resident urged the council that the city remains obligated to repair the road to the date of abandonment or compensate owners.
The Mineral Wells City Council voted 5-0 to adopt an ordinance to abandon the Watkins Trail easement and close the road, after discussing the item in closed session.
An attorney for a nearby resident told the council during public comment that the city has been obligated to maintain Watkins Trail since 1980 and “you can't just walk away and leave it in a state of disrepair.” He urged the council to ensure the city either repairs the road before abandonment or compensates the owners who will assume responsibility.
John Saltarelli, speaking in his capacity as an attorney for resident Terrell Saltarelli, said he first learned about the proposed abandonment when the agenda was posted and that earlier emails to city staff had not produced substantive answers. “If you choose to abandon that road and that easement and close the road tonight, you don't get to neglect the obligation to fix the road,” Saltarelli said.
City staff placed the item on the agenda and the council recessed into executive session citing Texas Government Code chapter 551 (including 551.071 for attorney consultation) before returning to open session and approving the ordinance. The council’s formal vote on the ordinance to abandon Watkins Trail was recorded as 5-0 in favor.
Saltarelli said the obligation to repair predates recent neglect and that the obligation remains up to the date of abandonment; the city did not provide a public response during the comment period beyond acknowledging the issue had been reviewed. The council did not provide a detailed timeline or specific commitment on repair work in the public record during the vote.
The ordinance vote followed executive-session consultation with the city attorney; the council did not state on the record additional remedial steps tied to the abandonment during the open meeting. The matter had been discussed in executive session under statutory exceptions before the formal action in public session.
