Navasota council begins new city manager search after candidate withdraws; councilmember moves to form citizen review board
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Summary
At a March 6 special meeting the Navasota City Council announced that city manager candidate Theo Alansan withdrew his application; councilmembers heard extensive public comment about transparency and a motion was introduced to form a citizen candidate review board, with each councilmember to select two residents.
At a special March 6 meeting, a city official announced that Theo Alansan submitted a written notice at 5 p.m. withdrawing his candidacy for city manager of Navasota, and the City Council moved to discuss next steps for the search.
The announcement prompted more than an hour of public comment urging greater transparency in the hiring process and closer community involvement. A motion was introduced to form a city manager candidate review board; the motion calls for each council member to select two Navasota residents to serve on the panel. The transcript does not record a final vote on the motion.
"I want to let you know that today at 5PM, the city received written notice from Theo Alansan that he is withdrawing his candidacy as city manager of the city Of Navasota," said a meeting official during the announcement. The council then returned to item 3 for public remarks after making a brief item 7 announcement.
Residents who addressed the council expressed a mix of support for elected officials and frustration with the selection process. Danielle Evans said Navasota had become "an impressive, beautiful, jaw dropping destination" and said she was glad the council would "start fresh" after the withdrawal. Taylor Perry told the council she remained "concerned" and said "the process of selection needs to be more open. It was flawed," urging more community involvement in future searches.
Other speakers said they appreciated council responsiveness while asking for broader input from businesses and residents. Several commenters recommended more town-hall-style meetings and greater outreach during the recruitment and vetting stages.
The council held an executive session under Texas Government Code §551.074 for personnel matters related to the city manager search; the session began at 6:30 p.m. and the meeting reopened in open session at 8:01 p.m., according to the transcript. After the executive session, Councilmember Miss May moved that the council "approve the formation of a city manager candidate review board with each council member selecting 2 residents of Navasota to serve on this review board." The motion was seconded; the transcript excerpt ends before a recorded vote or final action is shown.
Council staff also notified the public of upcoming community events: a spring cleanup scheduled March 9 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and a "trash-off" slated for April 26.
The council did not announce additional candidates or a revised timetable for the search on the record during the portion of the meeting captured in the transcript. The council said it would continue to consider next steps for the recruitment and vetting process.
