Mayor pro tem of Hawk Cove tells Hunt County commissioners her city was excluded from ESD petition

Becky Bernardi, mayor pro tem of the City of Hawk Cove, addressed the court during public testimony to contest statements made at earlier sessions about the status of her city's involvement in a proposed Emergency Service District (ESD).

Bernardi said the city council was not inactive but had been prevented from acting because items were denied placement on the council agenda, and she said the ESD and termination of QVFD had been known to city leadership since January 2026 without being placed on the city agendas for discussion. "As mayor pro tem of Hawk Cove, our council was not inactive," Bernardi said, and she asked the commissioners to review whether the city could still be added to the ESD mapping prior to the August 17 deadline.

County counsel and commissioners discussed the deadline and process; counsel said he would research whether the commissioners could legally revise the map before the 60‑day statutory cutoff and noted that any change close to the deadline may require additional procedural steps, including appraisal district recalculation and proper posting for special meetings. Counsel described potential remedies but said final legal effect would require review.

Bernardi provided handouts to the court and asked that the county consider whether the city could cure omissions before the election is called. The court did not take immediate action but added related items to a special session agenda for further review and directed counsel to examine the legal questions raised.