Cronyism for Planning & Zoning, Denial of Citizen Rights and a Hurried Push to Bring Austin to Bastrop
On the Consent Agenda for the Special Called City Council Meeting of March 4, 2025, there were several items that should have been considered as individual items. Consent agendas are passed without discussion or public input. There was even a Consent Agenda Item that contained a Public Hearing. This is suspect in that the Consent Agenda normally does not allow for discussion. In addition, there were seven (7) Public Hearings scheduled here that had far reaching effects on the City’s Land Development Codes. While I support positive development for our City, I prefer such decisions by our elected representatives to be beneficial to our citizens while encouraging positive development. A hurried process to alert, inform and allow our citizens time to evaluate seems contrary to public service.
Items placed on this Consent Agenda included:
- 3C – The first reading of an Ordinance (basically a municipality’s law)
- 3E – The expenditure of $150K of public funds
- 3G – The first reading of an Ordinance with a PUBLIC HEARING. It should be noted that this item was moved for individual consideration, but no PUBLIC HEARING was provided.
- 3H – Confirmation of an appointment of Jimmy Crouch to the P&Z Commission
I had comments to make for Item 3H and submitted a Request to Speak before the Council started. Section 4.8 of the “Rules of Procedure for the City Council and Boards & Commissions of the City of Bastrop, Texas” states …..”a citizen may request that any item be removed from the consent agenda and considered separately”. The presiding officer, John Kirkland, did not ask if those in attendance wanted an item removed and although I asked for the item to be removed from the consent agenda TWICE, such was not acted upon. The presiding officer violated Section 3.13 of the City Charter by blatantly ignoring the published Rules of Procedures. Does this make the vote taken for this Consent agenda invalid?
In not allowing the opportunity for a public discussion, has John Kirkland, in a questionable capacity:
- Continued a private vendetta
- Adopted Cronyism as an accepted procedure
- Denied Citizen Rights
- Indicated that he makes up his own rules
Removal Ignored
Statement by Lyle Nelson upon request to remove an item from the “Consent Agenda” at the March 4 City Council meeting. Items can be removed as stated in the City’s own Rules of Procedure. John Kirkland, Mayor Pro-Tem, ignored the request and moved forward with the Consent Agenda.
As part of the Open Government process, I feel it is imperative that the public be informed and this Council be reminded of certain facts.
The appointee being considered tonight for confirmation in June of 2022 admitted to violating the City of Bastrop Ethics Policy Section 1.15.009(d) when he represented others before a City Department.
In June of 2023, while on City Council, he voted, along with Mr. Kirkland and Mr. Plunkett, to remove two citizens from the Planning and Zoning Commission because they may have had divergent views. Then in September of 2023, this tentative appointee, again with Mr. Kirkland and Mr. Plunkett, voted to deny the appointment of a qualified citizen to the Planning and Zoning Commission.
Now the same Councilmembers who joined with Mr. Crouch to remove or restrict Bastrop citizens from the P&Z, are considering him for this important Commission. There can be some argument that this meets the definition of cronyism. I would ask for caution moving forward and save such an appointment for an actual elected Mayor or perhaps a recusal on this matter by Mr. Kirkland and Mr. Plunkett.
Shocking Revelations
An Open Records Request revealed documents previously held outside the public eye proving that there were no financial improprieties at Visit Bastrop. And, City Manager Sylvia Carrillo knew it!
On Monday, January 29, 2024 prior to the first Ethics Commission hearing, Bastrop City Manager Sylvia Carrillo admitted in writing that it was “hard to show if anything is “wrong” when the existing policies allow it”. This was in reference to the allegations of financial wrong-doing at Visit Bastrop from 2020-2023.
In December 2023, investigating attorney Sarah Glaser issued a report that stated “The Mayor denied any knowledge of misuse of public funds and my investigation to date uncovered no evidence otherwise.”
John Kirkland repeated those false financial wrong-doing allegations in his January 18, 2024 ethics complaint and April 2024 recall petition even though he had to have known at the time that they were false.
In John Kirkland’s ethics complaint against Mayor Nelson, he stated under oath “a minimum of 51 occurrences of discussions regarding spending for meals, travel, and entertainment, some of which are already proven to be an improper use of public funds“. (emphasis added) I always claimed that wasn’t true. And, now, these previously not-publicly-available documents prove that wasn’t true and they knew it.
Former Visit Bastrop board chair, Kerry Fossler, recused herself from a May 16, 2024 vote that had to do with Visit Bastrop business while she was chair. Council member Kevin Plunkett served as board vice-chair in 2020 and 2021, two years that were included in the investigations. As a board member during those years, Plunkett should have recused himself from any votes regarding this issue, but he didn’t.
Ask yourself:
Why Kirkland so desperately wanted Mayor Nelson gone that he was willing to see more than $137,000 in taxpayers funds used for that purpose;
Why Plunkett didn’t recuse himself from votes where he had a direct, or at least perceived, conflict of interest;
Why the Kirkland-led Council majority refused to investigate the financial concerns laid out by Councilwoman Cheryl Lee in a 42 page report;
Why a re-write of the City of Bastrop development code is being rushed for adoption.
Mayor Nelson Resigns
This video speaks for itself. This press conference was used to write news articles. Watch the original press conference for yourself. Hear from Mayor Nelson directly rather than whatever the press has distilled from it. (If watching on a phone, click “YouTube” in the corner of the video to watch directly on YouTube.)
The Collapsing House of Cards
NO-BILL, NO CHARGES, NO CASE
Former Visit Bastrop CEO Susan Smith was “no-billed” by the grand jury this week and the DA affirmed that no case was even brought against Lyle Nelson.
In a letter to Mayor Nelson’s attorney dated September 12, 2024, Greg Gilleland, First Assistant District Attorney of Bastrop County, stated “Ms. Susan Smith was NO BILLED by a Bastrop County Grand Jury on or about September 10th, 2024. There are, specifically, no cases in our office regarding your client Lyle Nelson.” (emphasis added)
ALL FOUR FLOORS OF THE HOUSE OF CARDS COLLAPSE
The investigation consisted of 4 parts which were defined by the Bastrop City Manager, as directed by the City Council. The investigation results below are the first floor in the House of Cards.
- “Assess any knowledge the Mayor held regarding misuse of public funds.” The report said, “The Mayor denied any knowledge of misuse of public funds, and my investigation to date uncovered no evidence otherwise.”
- Did the Mayor share confidential or legally privileged information with the CEO? The report said: “There is no evidence to date that Mayor Nelson shared any other confidential or legally privileged information with Smith.”
- “Did the Mayor participate in discussions regarding Visit Bastrop where he had a non-disclosed conflict of interest?” The report said: “Therefore, there is no discussion in which the Mayor participated in where he had Conflicting Interest, as that term is defined in the Code of Ethics.”
The fourth part was a highly improper inquiry by a governmental body. The City of Bastrop had no business spending public funds on such an investigation violating the privacy rights of Mayor Nelson and Ms. Smith. Mayor Nelson refused to waive his right of privacy by turning over his private texts. That totally justified refusal, was warped into the next floor in the House of Cards, an Ethics Complaint made by the City Council itself to the Ethics Commission the City Council appoints.
No evidence ever existed that Mayor Nelson engaged in any such behavior about any legitimate and legal part of the Glaser Investigation. And tellingly, no one conducting the criminal investigation into the use of the Visit Bastrop funds ever needed or subpoenaed those private text messages in order to determine if public funds were embezzled or misused.
The next floor of the House of Cards consisted of a reprimand by the City Council-appointed Ethics Commission.
Then the same Council Members leading the charge for the Glaser Investigation, then the Ethics Complaint, then added the last floor of the House of Cards by circulating a Recall Petition accusing Mayor Nelson of “interfering in an investigation into misuse of public funds by his girlfriend.”
TAXPAYERS ON THE HOOK FOR $137,070.40 AND COUNTING
Attorney Bill Aleshire opined “It is time for transparency, particularly with the requested records and correspondence between the City Manager and Visit Bastrop, to show the House of Cards was built on false assumptions despite costing taxpayers over $137,070.40 for the audit, investigation, and attorney fees.”
Stop the Witch Hunt and Return to Business
Councilwoman Cheryl Lee very eloquently spoke about ending the witch hunt, stopping the drain on City resources both in personnel and in taxpayer dollars, and getting back to business. She urged the three Council people behind the recall to let it go. This video includes the response of Councilwoman Cynthia Meyer who is apparently happy to spend $140,000 (so far) in retaliation for false accusations against Mayor Nelson.
Council refuses to allow Mayor to Emcee event
The City Council, led by those who decided the Ethics Commission reprimand was not sufficient, stripped Mayor Nelson of the few powers he has. (The City of Bastrop is a weak mayor form of government.) One of those powers was representing the City at various events. They denied him doing so without their permission. Mayor Nelson explains why he won’t be the emcee for the November Farm Street Opry.
Mayor Nelson Update Meeting
On August 20, 2024, Mayor Lyle Nelson and his attorney, Bill Aleshire, talked with members of the public about the witch hunt, the false allegations, and the truth. A little over an hour, this video is well worth viewing if you live in the City of Bastrop or are simply interested in truthful, open government.
Statement from Mayor Nelson
Council Meeting, August 13, 2024
Throughout the drama of the call for my removal as Mayor, I always knew what the facts were. I made a personal and private mistake that was revealed in a very public and humiliating way, affecting not only me but my wife. I took responsibility and apologized for my actions as well as sought forgiveness from God, family and friends. However, some people, including some on this Council, continue to try to wrongfully connect my private indiscretion to a misuse of public funds and alleged criminal conduct.
Let’s be clear, once the investigations and thorough audits were completed—even though, by then, I had already been punished with an unjustified ethics reprimand—there was no evidence that I committed any crime, nor any evidence I caused or condoned any public funds to be improperly spent. All I did was resist an unlawful invasion into my constitutional right of privacy. That is why I have fought these unwarranted malicious attacks on me, on my right of privacy, and on the Office of the Mayor. There has been in excess of $137,000 of public funds spent on investigations, audits, and legal fees on embarrassing and attacking me. For perspective, that is an amount of money roughly equivalent to our entire Community Partners budget. Should this infighting continue, more City resources, money and time, will be expended. I’m extending my hand, and humbly asking that this stop.
Regardless of whether the signers of the recall petition were misled or intimidated into signing the Petition, I do recognize that over 1600 signatures were gathered. That has my attention, and I have some work to do to restore their faith. That said, it is time for all of us on the Council to “reach across the aisle” and strive for the better and more productive work this Council can do. We, as a Body, need to quit burdening our staff, administrative and legal, with work that does not move our City forward in a more productive manner.
To my colleagues, I am asking for your assistance to cease these recall efforts now that the truth is known that I have not committed any unlawful acts or done anything deserving of removal from office. If you will stop the attacks, I will gladly end my plans to fight back, in court if necessary, to hold all those accountable who have gone over the line of free speech and have defamed me, maliciously. We, as the legislative body and titular heads of this great City, can, instead, focus on matters of real interest to our constituents and serve them in a more productive manner if we, here and now, start working better together anew. I humbly and sincerely ask you to join me.