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HomeMy WebLinkAboutBen White Transcription City of College Station Heritage Programs Oral History Interviewee: Ben White Interviewer: Tiffany J. González Date: January 30, 2019 Place: Municipal Court in College Station, Texas Project: The City of College Station Former Mayor Oral History Collection Transcriber: Tiffany J. González Abstract: Former Mayor Ben White’s interview details his upbringing in Austin, Texas, marriage and children, working in the U.S. Military, attending Texas State University, working in the healthcare administration industry, serving as a public servant in Garden Ridge and College Station, Texas A&M University, city development and growth, strategies and goals for the City of College Station, and lasting impressions for the future of the City. Tiffany González (TG): My name is Tiffany Gonzalez. I am College Station’s Historical Archivist and the Interviewer and the interviewer. It is 1:42 p.m. on January 30, 2019. We are conducting the interviewer at the Municipal Court, off Krenek Tap Road in College Station, Texas. Ben White (BW): Hello, my name is Ben White, I was the Mayor of College Station, Texas, from 2007 to 2010. TG: Thank you, Mr. White. To start the interview, can you tell us where and when you were born? BW: I was born in Austin, Texas, in 1936. I was born into a family of medical doctors. My father was an Austin physician as was his brother. In later years, my brother became a physician practicing in Houston. TG: Can you speak a little bit about what your mother did? BW: My mother grew up in a family of eight in the Austin area. She attended business school in Austin and in later years served as my father’s office manager in his medical practice. TG: And what about your educational background, can you talk about that? BW: My formal education started at Texas Lutheran University in Seguin, Texas, where I played college basketball and started work on my degree. After my freshman year, I was drafted into the United States Army where I served my country for two years. During that time, I married my childhood sweetheart and we had a daughter and son. Following my military obligation and now with a young family, my traditional college days came to an end. I enrolled into Southwest Texas State University in San Marcos, known today as Texas State University, receiving both a bachelor’s and master’s degree. TG: Would you like to talk about your time in the military? BW: Well, the majority of my military service was spent at Fort Riley, Kansas. Where I was a member of the First Infantry Division. While in the military in Kansas, I played semi-professional baseball for the Junction City Jayhawks, who were a member of the Central Kansas Baseball League. TG: That’s pretty cool! What position did you play? BW: I was a second baseman and a relief pitcher. TG: Do you have anything else you would like to talk about for your childhood or teenage years? BW: I had a good childhood. You have heard that old saying, some people are born with a silver spoon. I wouldn’t say I had a silver spoon but I had a good childhood. My parents provided very well for both my brother and me. The thought occurred to me that College Station/Bryan in 2007-10, was so much like Austin back in the 1940s and 1950s. It was certainly smaller, and a major difference was that Austin was the seat of state government. The biggest economic engine in both cities was education. I can remember, we were happy with Christmas break or Summer break, because you knew that the traffic in Austin would be less than it had been. TG: What did you want to do when you grew up? BW: You know, Tiffany, that’s a great question. You’ve heard the old saying, “ship without a rudder?” I was probably a kid without a rudder. I more or less lived in for the today. Even though it was never spoken, I felt sure that my parents would have been proud if both of their sons became physicians. That being said, however, my parents encouraged both of us to pursue a career that was honorable, ethnical, and moral in nature. I knew I wanted to do something in sports, but I wasn’t sure what? It was not until I finished my military service and had the responsibility of a family that that I knew, I had to settle down and get focused. That’s when I decided to go into education and become a teacher/coach, hopefully to end up a principal or superintendent. In those days, the pathway for a person desiring to be in school administration was through coaching, followed by being a principal and ultimately a superintendent of schools. My goal was to become a principal in a small independent school district. To start on that pathway, I became a high school coach at Manor High School in Manor, Texas. Following one year in Manor, I went into the Austin Independent School District, where I became a freshman coach at University High. I served in that capacity for two years through 1964. TG: Did you coach baseball or what kind of coach were you? BW: Interestingly, I never coached baseball. I coached football and basketball at Manor. At University High, I coached football, basketball, and track. I’ll share a funny story related to my first year at University High. I had been a student at University High and now a teacher and a coach. One afternoon I needed to see someone in the office, as I was walking down the hallway, from the gym to the office, I heard this stern voice say young man, “do you have a permit to be in the hall?” I recognized the voice immediately, I turned around and said, “Mrs. Parker, I don’t need a permit to be in the hall.” We both got a good laugh out of that, as she had been my science teacher when I was a student there. TG: That’s funny. TG: You had mentioned that you moved to College Station in 2001. Is that correct? BW: Yes. TG: Can you talk little about the years leading up to that, before we start talking about your time in College Station. BW: I coached for a total of three years. I realized for me to provide for my family, I probably was going to have to move passed coaching and move into another line of work. My father shared with me one day his admiration for individuals who represented pharmaceutical companies. They played a major role in his practice of medicine and he held them in the highest esteem. I asked him to be on the lookout for a company who he had a great deal of respect for and was looking for a new representative. That opportunity came shortly thereafter and in a few months I left my position as a coach in Austin and became a pharmaceutical representative in San Antonio, Texas, I did that for six years. I represented a pharmaceutical company called AH Robins out of Richmond, Virginia. Those six years ultimately led to what was to become my life-long career. During my time with Robins I commuted to Texas State in San Marcos and completed by Masters in Secondary School Administration. One day in the spring of 1970 I received a phone call from a physician friend asking if I would be interested in being considered as the Assistant Executive Director of the Bexar County Medical Society. The Society was a 3500 member organization representing the physicians of San Antonio and the County. I discussed the possibility with my wife and we both agreed that the traveling I had to do with Robins was becoming unacceptable with a young family and a change was in order. That conversation with my physician friend was the beginning of a 27 year career in association management. By that time my wife and I had our second child; a boy so we were busy raising a family and learning all about a new job. We moved from San Antonio 13 miles north into southern Comal County and began enjoying country living. I had a 23 mile commute each day to the Society offices. I continued with the Society for 20 years becoming executive director in 1980. My family and I lived in unincorporated Comal County and was part of a home owners association in the area. As vice-president of the HOA, we learned of a move by San Antonio to bring our area into their extra territorial jurisdiction. The residents of the association elected to not let that happen so we incorporated in 1972 and became Garden Ridge, Texas. I became the first Mayor Pro Tem and served in that capacity for the next 9 years. When the mayor resigned in midterm I became mayor to finish out his term. Due to my work load at the Society I decided not to run for re-election. In 1999, my wife and I moved to Austin when I became the executive director of the 7,000 member Texas Dental Association and served in that capacity for 5 years. By this time our children had both graduated from A&M and had families of their own. Following my time at the TDA I became executive director of the National Association of Medical Staff Services also headquartered in Austin where I served for two years before retiring. During my time with the NAMSS we built in Sun City, Georgetown; thoroughly enjoying our time in that community. When the traffic in and around Austin became unbearable we began looking for a location away from the busy city. We both loved Aggie sports so College Station was the logical destination. We moved from Georgetown to College Station in July of 2001 and immediately fell in love with the city. During our time in Georgetown, and continuing on my political journey, I was appointed to the Parks and Recreation Board for the City where I served two years as a member and two years as the chair. When we arrived in College Station, one of the first things we did was to join Peace Lutheran Church and was surprised to learn the current mayor and two councilmembers were already members of the church. Shortly after our arrival, and after becoming good friends with Ron Silvia, I was asked to serve on the Planning and Zoning Commission. I accepted and my political journey continued. When my three year term on the Commission was completed, Ron suggested I consider a run for council. Even though I didn’t have the necessary experience I agreed to give it a try. Luck was with me and I was unopposed in my bid for council. I had served two of my three year term when I was approached to run for mayor. I agreed, won, and served the citizens of College Station for three years. During those years, the City completed development of the City Cemetery/Aggie Field of Honor, partnered with the City of Bryan to open the Twin Oaks Landfill, resolved an unpleasant legal issue with Weingarten Real Estate of Houston, opened several fire stations and grew as a city in a managed, organized manner. TG: Were you initially ever interested in public service? Or did it kind of just come upon the situation? BW: Jokingly I say it must have been in my DNA. Anyone familiar with Austin, will know that there’s a Ben White Blvd in south Austin. That was named after my grandfather. My grandfather was an absolutely fascinating individual; a true blue-collar politician. His power base were the city employees and other blue-collar workers in the community. For many years, he served as superintendent of Walker’s Austex Chili Company. When he decided to retire, he went to his three sons, one of whom was my father, asking for their help. He asked that they financially support him in a bid for the Austin City Council. They agreed to do so with the comment that win, lose, or draw, he would be on his own from that point forward. My grandfather thought that was a fair deal so he entered the race. At the time, he was 65 years old. He won his first election and continued winning until he was 81 years old. For 16 years, he served the citizens of Austin. Then at age 81, he retired having never been defeated. The city wanted to name something to honor him and desired to rename an existing street in south Austin. He said, “No I won’t allow that because I have friends, who have businesses up-and-down that street and they would incur costs for changing stationaries, business cards, etc.” He told the City that if in the future they wanted to name a street after him, he would have no problem. A few years later, they named a newly developed street, Ben White Boulevard. Ben White has evolved into six lane expressway, running east and west in south Austin. I have enjoyed my political involvement much like my grandfather enjoyed his. TG: I want to transition to your time on the council and then maybe more focus on the mayor, since you were a former mayor for longer than the council. To start us off, can you take us through a day, kind of a day in the life of being Mayor? Or council if you would rather do that? BW: My two years on council were an eye opener to the governance of College Station. The first several months following my election to council were spent in becoming knowledgeable in the inner workings of the city. Working with city management, with the rank and file staff members, and the many publics that interfaced on a daily basis with the city were important to learn. The learning curve had to be swift as the challenges were many. We were a growing community that needed to be managed. My desire both during my council days as well as my time as mayor was to make the citizens stake holders in their city. I spent many hours meeting with citizen groups, one-on-one sessions, and at neighborhood gatherings attempting to engage my fellow citizens in the process of managing a city. A funny story I remember when I was mayor concerned a letter to the editor complaining that I was turning the mayor’s office into a full-time job due to the amount of time I was spending at city hall. It never occurred to me that my time at city hall would be offensive to someone. You just live and learn. Concerned over the complaint, I spoke with the City staff to determine if my presence at City Hall was troublesome to them. They were unanimous in their answer that my time at City Hall was welcomed. I have a strong opinion that a person elected to public office is obligated to not only attend the by-monthly meetings of council, but also to be a representative of the city at the many functions that were held throughout the community. Some councilmembers didn’t always agree with my opinion and I can remember having to call a councilman into my office for a session regarding this issue. He came in as a friend and left as a friend and we ended the session on the same page. He saw the need to become more involved. I felt it important to learn from others thus my membership in the Texas Municipal League, the National League of Cities, and the Conference of Mayors. Following a day of informative sessions, the mayors would adjourn often for an adult beverage and sharing. I would always sit with mayors with cities the size of College Station. It was amazing what I learned and the ideas I would bring back to share with City Staff. Shortly after I became mayor, a situation occurred that I felt the need to consult with the cities former mayors. I asked our City Manager if there was a committee of former mayors; there was not. With that knowledge in mind and when I became a former mayor I organized a committee of former mayors. That committee continues to meet until this day. The former mayors feel strongly that a healthy community is a community that has a good balance of neighborhood quality and well managed development. TG: Another question to follow up about your political experience. Was your experience with the City of College Station similar to that of Garden Ridge? BW: Garden Ridge was a different situation. As a newly incorporated community, we had expected growing pains. The council felt we should impose a property tax immediately. We sought advice from other cities that had been recently incorporated, Windcrest, Texas, is a bedroom City of San Antonio that had been incorporated for about 15 years. By utilizing their citizens as volunteers, they were able to maintain their city needs without taxation for almost 13 years. Garden Ridge then made the decision to emulate Windcrest in growing our city. When streets needed to be resurfaced, we had a workday, and all the citizens got the job done. The men always did the heavy lifting and the women would provide picnic meals. A wonderful benefit of this time together was that our citizens became stakeholders. It was truly their city. The great ending to this story is that Garden Ridge didn’t have to impose a tax for 12 years following incorporation. TG: Did the experience in Garden Ridge help at all during your time here? BW: Very much so, Tiffany. I learned as an elected official in Garden Ridge that my obligation as a councilmen was to ensure the health, safety, and welfare of the citizens. That mandate applies to any size community that an elected official serves. TG: Did you have any specific goals when you ran for council/mayor in College Station? And then you can also talk that with Garden Ridge. BW: When I was first elected to the Garden Ridge City Council our goal for many years was to grow the city. We were very much a volunteer, hands-on community. When I became Mayor of Garden Ridge, we were still in a growing mode and as such, our goals had not changed from the first day I had served on Council. But when my wife and I moved to College Station, I noticed the similarities between Austin and College Station with regards to their poor highway system. I felt that our community needed a loop system. Austin, and my grandfather, were not foresighted enough to see that need, so they didn’t have a thoroughfare surrounding the city. They now have some interconnectivity, but as far as a loop is concerned they still don’t have an adequate system. And after living in San Antonio for 26 years, I saw the value of their loop system. When I became involved here in College Station, I represented the city on the Metropolitan Planning Organization. I lobbied for a long range plan to include a loop system around College Station and Bryan. Finally that plan was put on their long-range agenda for the MPO and I am led to believe it remains there today. Following a 28 year career as an Association Executive in the health field, I saw the tremendous benefit of a city having a convention center for associations to bring their annual meetings to the city. My simple logic was what could be better than having an association’s membership come to your city, sleep in your beds, eat your foods, shop in your malls, and then return home leaving their dollars behind. From my time in San Antonio, I saw the results of a city desiring to become a destination city. In talking with many association executives friends that are former A&M students, I knew there were groups in the state that would love to bring their annual meetings to our city. I also saw the need to annex all or a portion of the Wellborn community. Given the fact that the city was growing south and southwest, it made sense to me to bring those citizens into our city and begin to provide them with city services. It was not a popular position and I was criticized by many people living in the Wellborn community. Several other goals I had was to bring to completion the landfill we now know as Twin Oaks. This was a join project with the City of Bryan and not without sensitive moments with the leadership of both cities. The project was not completed during my time in office and for that I am sorry. The new city cemetery and the Aggie Field of Honor was completed during my time in office, dedicated and will become a must see for our visitors to College Station and particularly our Aggie visitors. After seeing the numbers in a report from our police department, I was of the opinion that the city needed red light cameras. My colleagues on council agreed and that project was approved and implemented. We saw a reduction in traffic accidents, however, the city was bombarded with citizen complaints. The city was accused of creating another taxation without representation program. As a result of citizen uproar, there was an item on the May ballot to remove these cameras. The red light camera project was discontinued. TG: What changes occurred during your ten year with the City? I know you moved in 2001. BW: I would say in two words: massive growth. When I took office in 2007, the city’s population was in the mid-90s. Let’s say 95,000-97,000. Growth in the city had already begun and would not stop for many years. I found it interesting when I would be approached by a citizen asking, “What can you do to stop this growth?” My response was, “Nothing, but what we can do is manage the growth. We can work with our neighborhoods, our developers, and our economic development people in an effort to steer that growth in a positive, sustained and well thought out manner.” I always kept my grandfather and his time on the Austin City Council in mind when I had these discussion with my friends in the community. My grandfather and his colleagues knowingly promoted Austin’s growth back in the 40s, 50s, and 60s by their decisions. The Councils that followed in the 70s and 80s worked to suppressed growth. Austin has been paying for those decisions for years. The challenge to our city is to keep the growth plan on track given the council make up each year. One good example was the discussion for the need for a new City Hall. Lengthy discussions were heard on the subject of a City Hall with no results due to the frequent change of priorities from one council to the next. Another indicator of our growth was the increase in the number of restaurants that came to town during my time in office. When my daughter was a freshman at A&M in 1975, you could pick from maybe six or seven restaurants. Now there is an unlimited number of restaurants to choose from. TG: Do you think city politics has changed much since you were mayor? BW: Changed only in the sense that there are different priorities, different goals, different players, different needs and so on; both from elected and staff. With any council there are alliances and allegiances that come and go. It is human nature to promote your desires and interest in a given situation. I worked hard to leave my agendas and desires at the door when doing the business of the city. I encouraged my colleagues to do the same. When thinking of change from then to now, that would be the main change that comes to mind. Today, sadly, many elected and appointed representatives for the city bring their biases to the table and expect others to support them. On another issue, it was not unusual to have a colleague that would vote in such a way that would not offend. I was of the opinion an elected official was not elected to make everyone happy, it’s not a popularity contest. Certainly, I didn’t vote to anger people, but I attempted to cast my vote in what would be in the best interest of the city. TG: Thank you. I want to shift a little bit. Can you talk about your relationship or the city’s relationship during your time with the City of Bryan? BW: I found the relationship between the Bryan and College like the Tale of Two Cities. The relationship between the staffs of the two cities was great. Cooperation between police, fire, EMS, public works, parks and recreation, etc was impressive. It was not unusual for Bryan Fire to respond to a call in the norther part of College Station and vice versa. Automobile accidents on the bypass/HWY 6 near the city limits were often worked by police from both cities. During my time, the city was involved in the development of a new landfill. The issue became extremely volatile with the councils of both cities meeting regularly over several years to settle the many deep rooted issues brought forth by both parties. Legal meditators were retained to help resolve the standoff. I’m sure friendships were challenged along the way. It was hard to blame either side since we all wanted what was best for our community. Everyone around the table were competitors and wanted their city’s to be in control. What should have been friendly competition ended with feelings being tested. At the end of the day, the lawsuit was settled and the details agreed to by both parties. The city’s relationship with the county had always been good and was certainly good during my time as mayor. The county judge, Randy Sims, and I served on the board of the Brazos Valley Council of Government (BVCG) and became good friends. It was a relationship where I could pick up the phone and ask him a question and he could do the same with me. Of interest was a phone call I received from our City Manager stating that he and I had been invited to meet with the Mayor and City Manager of Navasota. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss our growth south and their growth north. We talked about city limits, school districts, economic development and in general issues of importance to both cities as we grew together. Several days after that meeting I called Judge Sims to brief him on the meeting and share what the Navosotta officials were planning for northern Grimes County. We also had a great working relationship with the College Station Independent School District’s Board of Trustees. We met at least twice yearly and agreed to always keep each other briefed on plans effecting both organizations. My relationship with A&M was special. I was mayor during the end of Bob Gates as President and Bowen Loftin’s tenure as A&M president. President Gates approach to working with the city was pretty much an arms lengths policy. We won’t bother you, if you won’t bother us. Conversely, President Loftin felt it important to keep in close communications with the city and to meet frequently. If he was unable to attend one of our schedule meetings, he always sent a representative. TG: Can you talk a little bit more about the land field issue. Why they suing the city because they wanted control of that or what was the situation? BW: Well, it was a controlled issue between the two cities. For many years, Bryan had utilized College Station’s landfield. When the decision was made to create a new land field, it was agreed that the two cities would work together, but then an issue developed of who would be the controlling entity. And there lay the problem. TG: That’s helpful. What about the relationship, you talked some about the Bryan and College Station during your time. What was the relationship of College Station and Texas A&M? BW: During my time, I thought it was very good. We would have periodic meetings with their leadership. I always attempted to attend. Generally, they consisted of the City Manager, the President of A&M, his Chief of Staff, maybe our attorney, and other key officials. We tried to keep each other briefed and on the same page. We agreed to work hard to not let either party get blindsided on a particular issue. We did have a misunderstanding regarding a Convention Center. Since it appeared that the City was not going to move forward with the development of the Convention Center, the University indicated they would build one for use by the community. Our concern with a Convention Center operated by the university was one of priority. If the City was going to encourage associations to bring their conventions to College Station, we had to be assured that the dates selected for the associations convention would not be overridden by the desire of A&M to utilize the center for their use on those dates. A&M Athletics and the City of College Station was always big for our community. When a sports team from A&M won a national championship or some other championship they were invited to City Hall to be recognized for their efforts. I would drive to Easterwood Airport and welcome the team in my role as mayor of the city. Those efforts were appreciated by the university. TG: I guess on the same lines of question that I just asked. What was the relationship with Brazos County? BW: Again as I mentioned earlier, our relationship with the county was good. The County Judge and I represented our communities on the BVCG. I was welcomed in his office at any time as was he in mine. Even though I don’t think the county and city staff’s interfaced that often, when the occasion did arise there were not problem. TG: Can you recall any social issues that you or the city faced during your time as Mayor or on City Council? BW: Well, I wouldn’t call this a social issue, it was very interesting how this project developed and is what it is today. I received a call one day from Mayor Silvia asking if I would accompany him to a meeting with a group of former students to discuss a topic relative to the building of a new city cemetery. At that time in the city’s history, the well-established city cemetery was near capacity and the need for a new cemetery was a high priority on the city’s to-do list. The city had been researching suitable land and had identified 50 acres south on Wellborn Rd that would be ideal for the new cemetery. Well, the former students had something else in mind and wanted to share their idea with city officials. Apparently, there were several university towns throughout America that had city cemeteries with dedicated acres for alumni and friends of the university. We met with the former student group and learned that they had done their homework and they were proposing an Aggie Field of Honor as part of the new city cemetery. Their plans were fascinating, well thought-out and certainly outside the box. The problem surfaced when they said that they didn’t want the new cemetery south of town but rather close proximity to Kyle Field so that those buried in the Field of Honor could see Kyle Field. That initial visit resulted in months of discussion, debate, public hearings, and some comic relief during many of the meetings. At the end of the day, and after a heated debate, the council narrowly approved the expenditure of 9MM dollars for the purchase of land just across HWY 60 from Easterwood Airport as a site of the College Station cemetery and Aggie Field of Honor. My vote was one of those supporting the project. It is my firm belief that in years to come, that Aggie Field of Honor will become a destination for tourists to our city much like the Bush Library, Bonfire Memorial, and many other locations in College Station. TG: Did A&M help pay for that or did they raise funds, help raise funds for that, or how did that process go about? BW: A&M did not provide funds for the cemetery but they did through the Association of Former Students help promote the project with ads in their magazines. Speaking of Aggie funds, I’m reminded of an interesting event that took place with an Aggie official. Our City Manager received a call from the Athletic Director (AD) at A&M asking for a meeting with the mayor. Arrangement were made for lunch at a local restaurant with the mayor and city manager and the athletic director and his assistant. Following some pleasantries and a nice lunch, the AD shared his reason for the meeting. He requested city funding to help A&M build a new track facility. The amount requested was in the millions of dollars, his request resulted in the pros and cons of using taxpayer dollars to fund such a project. We left the luncheon as friends but he still didn’t understand why the City wouldn’t partner with A&M for a much needed track facility. TG: Do you think that happens often in College Station between the University or other entities? BW: He let me know that at several of his previous stops as Athletic Director, the City’s had done that. I said, “All I can say is good for them. That’s great. We’re just not in the position to deal with that right here. We’ll have to support the university in other ways.” As stated earlier, I feel strongly that the citizens of a city should be stakeholders in their community. That being said, and given the rapid growth during my time in office, I felt the need to engage the community to get a sense of where they wanted their city to go. To that end, the Council along with City staff organized, planned, and convened an event promoted as Citizens Congress. The Congress was held at the Hilton Hotel with a large number of College Station residents in attendance. Following a State of the City address by the mayor and members of the City management team, the attendees were given the opportunity to share their thoughts and insights as to how the City should manage the tremendous growth occurring at the time. During this growth period there appeared to be an ongoing conflict between the City and the development community over city codes, working relationships with city staff, and any number of other issues. I sat down with the City Manager and the Director of Planning and Zoning and did a ‘Think Tank’ on how to resolve the problem. My goal was to create an opportunity for the two parties to sit down and talk out their differences with the hope of resolving any problems that might exist. Staff agreed and the Mayor’s Committee on Development Relations was established. Representing the City was the mayor, one councilperson and three staff members. On the development side were four developers selected by their group. We met on a regular basis to discuss our differences with the best of the City always in mind. I was sorry to hear after I left office that the Committee was discontinued. Another activity I started to engage the citizens in wasan effort to keep them briefed and to get feedback on how the City was doing regarding the management of our growth was Coffee With the Mayor. Coffee with the Mayor was an idea I had gotten while attending a Conference of Mayors session and brought the idea home to give it a try. We started Coffee with the Mayor and in a short period of time it became very successful. Once a month in the City’s conference center we would have coffee and donuts with the staff sending out a city-wide invitation. I would start the session with a welcome and brief remarks on the state of the city. Each month I would invite a different member from the City’s Management Team to brief the folks on activities within their department; people like police, fire, public works, parks and rec, etc. Again, I don’t think the activities was continued after I left office. In my mind legacy and accomplishments are often one in the same. As mentioned earlier, the new City cemetery and Aggie Field of Honor was a major accomplishment for our community. In years to come and when the trees and grounds have had the opportunity to mature the Aggie Field of Honor will truly become a destination for tourists coming to College Station. I’m sure it sounds strange to hear a former mayor say a city cemetery ranks high as a legacy, but the City cemetery and Aggie Field of Honor indeed rank very high on my list of accomplishments during my watch. Again, as mentioned earlier, the process of developing a new land fill started on my watch but was completed and dedicated after I left office. What made this project interesting was the circumstances surrounding the project. With Bryan, College Station, and the County of Grimes involved there was many moving parts that had to be addressed. There was major conflict between the two cities resulting in the need for a mediator having to become involved in order to resolve the many issues that came to light. The Fire Station #3 project was completed during my watch and represented a much needed fire protection presents in the south part of our city. Even though before my time as mayor but during my time on council Fire Station #5 went on line providing much needed service to the southeast portion of College Station. Fire Station #5 even won a national recognition for its design. Certainly not in the legacy category, my attempt to bring high speed rail service to the area did not materialize. I represented the City on a state-wide committee to explore, develop, and manage the concept of high speed rail in the State of Texas. We held many town hall meetings and think tank sessions throughout the state and by the time I left office the concept was beginning to take shape. With the growth of Texas, citizens were beginning to understand the need to establish another mode of travel other than the highway system. It was my strong opinion high speed rail was the answer. TG: It seems that the area is more central now with the growth and the development. BW: Yes, very much so. TG: So to continue on that conversation you had mentioned about accomplishments and legacy. I want to ask you a question about a challenges. Um, did you experience any challenges while you were in office? I know you had mentioned the Landfield suit and items such as that. But were there any other challenges that come to mind in your tenure? BW: I would say the main challenge faced by College Station during my time as mayor was the need to manage the growth of the City. The City was growing at an alarming rate resulting in tremendous strain on our ability to keep up with infrastructure, police and fire services, capital projects, and other much needed services. One of those needs was a new city hall. At the time, many of the administrative services were housed all over the city. We were renting space in various locations which made for a less than adequate management situation. There was discussion regarding the need for a new city hall where all the departments could be under one roof. Site visits were made to various communities to look at their administrative arrangements all with the intent of moving a new city hall project forward. I was critical at what I saw as a lack of pride on the part of our citizens in not wanting a new City Hall that we could be proud of when visitors came to College Station. Staff salaries and benefits were another issue that required constant monitoring by senior management. It became obvious the City was losing key employees, especially police, to other communities due to low pay and a less competitive benefit package. At the direction of Council, the management team conducted studies in an effort to make our compensation package more competitive. Of course, as you know, to accomplish that goal would require lengthy discussions on the part of the Council to identify additional sources of revenue. TG: Thank you. Is there anything you would like to add on how you interacted with, perhaps employees or the public in your tenure in office? BW: I felt very strongly that interaction with staff was very important but not to the point where I could be accused of micromanaging. As mentioned earlier, I spent time in my office at City Hall most every day but always made sure I didn’t interfere with the daily activities of staff. Yes, I was in daily contact with City Manager Glenn Brown and our working relationship for those three years resulted in us becoming good friends. In addition to a great city manager, I was blessed with great department heads: police, fire, public works, parks and recreation, and many others. One of the things the majority of College Station citizens don’t realize is the number of city staffers that not only have college degrees but have advanced degrees. The educational level of our staff is remarkable. Something we all should be proud of. TG: So I was going to ask you a little bit on some reflections on certain major events that took place. And I know during your tenure was then the Great Recession of 2008. I know the City wasn’t staffed properly. Can provide reactions to anything that happened during that time? BW: Yes ma’am I can. I would say I might be repeating myself in some of the answers. In reflecting on major events during my time as a councilmen and mayor, I would have to name the following accomplishments: completion and dedication of the College Station Cemetery/Aggie Field of Honor, completion and dedication of Fire Stations #3 and 5, finalizing the work on the Twin Oaks Landfill, resolving the legal conflicts with the City of Bryan, financial difficulties relating to the Arts Council, lawsuit against the City regarding proposed site for a new Wal-Mart, ongoing discussions regarding a new city hall, welcoming the new Scott and White Hospital to south College Station. One event I was particularly proud of was that during the downturn of the economy, both nationally and locally, the City did not have to lay any employee off during that period. I am proud of that. The senior management elected not to fill the position when a person retired or resigned. Whereas, you wouldn’t call ‘tighten the purse strings’ an event that is exactly what the City did during the three years I served as mayor. Again, I was proud of staff as they continued to give 100% in spite of limited financial resources. TG: I recall you mentioned that you moved to here to College Station in 2001, um, I have a question, can you talk about a memory you might have pertaining to 9/11? Um your personal story of what was happening during that time? Your reactions perhaps? BW: I wasn’t involved with the City on September 11, 2001. My wife and I had recently moved to College Station and were busy settling into our new home in Pebble Creek. On the 11th I was finishing a round of golf, and had returned home to the news from my wife that New York had been attacked. Needless to say, we stayed near the television for the remainder of that day and for days to come. I had enrolled and had been accepted to graduate school at Texas A&M and the thought occurred to me whether this event in New York would alter my plan in becoming a student again. The 9/11 tragedy brought back memories of President Kennedy’s assassination. I was in my second year of coaching in Austin and had playground duty on that day. As the news spread the atmosphere on the playground total changed from doing teenage stuff to an eerie quietness; it was surreal. TG: Is there any other national or actually state-wide events that – you know aside for Kennedy’s is national, but it also happened in the state. Is there anything else within your lifespan that you want to address? BW: I like to tell a story that people have found most interesting. I was married for 53 years to a wonderful, loving, Christian wife whom I married while I was in the military and she was still in high school. We had two wonderful children and life was good. We were blessed. She passed away in 2009 during the time I was serving as mayor of College Station. Some months later I was representing the City as a Board member of the Brazos Valley Council of Governments and before one of our meetings was sharing with a group of mayors details of a program I had started called “Coffee with the Mayor’s.” When I was finished a lady came up to me and said she overheard parts of my conversation and wondered if I could send her details. She was the mayor of Bedias, Texas. I told her “of course,” and that I would have the city secretary provide her with the information. Several days later it occurred to me that rather than have the City send the information that I should take it to her personally. I really think God was talking to me. We met for lunch at Fish Daddy’s where I was to share with her details of my Coffee with the Mayor program and learned during that visit she had lost her husband of 40 years several years before. As they say, “the rest is history.” We were married a year later. We had fun discussing the problems faced by Bedias, a village of 500, as compared to College Station and their population of 100,000 plus citizens. My time as mayor of Garden Ridge helped me share with my wife situations that we encountered that she was now facing in her smaller community. TG: Are there any additional reflections, about your time as Mayor or on the City Council or living in College Station that you would like to address now? BW: The number of friends, and some enemies, you make during the time in elected office always impressed me. Even today I meet folks in the grocery store or at a ball game who come up to me and thank me for my service or some might ask if I plan on running again. My answer is always “No.” I’m proud of our city and the citizen that live here. The citizens of College Station are unbelievable in giving of their time and resources. They are truly happy to be living in the community and desire to maintain the high standard of living we have all become accustomed too. For a city our size, the quality and availability of our medical facilities are amazing. TG: Do you currently participate in service opportunities? BW: I’m blessed with good health and the many opportunities for involvement in the community. After I left the mayor’s office I established a committee of former College Station mayors and serve as the chair of that group. For years we met monthly but now we are meeting on an as needed basis. I devote four hours each week volunteering at Baylor Scott and White Hospital thoroughly enjoying the interaction and friendships I have made over the years. Several years after leaving the mayor’s office I was approached by the College Station Police Department asking if I and a retired police lieutenant would establish a volunteer program within the department. The program would be to encourage citizens to volunteer their time doing task within the department that were currently being done by uniformed officers. We now have five plus years of experience and by all accounts the program has been extremely successful. We introduced an internship program with Texas A&M University, Blinn College, Sam Houston State University and Prairie View A&M University to utilize their students needing an internship program. That program has also been successful. Given my career in health care association management, and after my wife and I moved to College Station in 2001, I was pleased to have the opportunity of leading the Brazos Valley Parkinson Association. My intent was to be involved with the group for several years and then to move to other opportunities. Some 17 years later I have now turned the leadership role over to another person. TG: What do you hope to accomplish in the future? BW: I firmly believe the former mayors have a viable role to play in moving our community forward in the years to come. Ensuring a balance between our neighborhoods and the development community is important in maintaining the healthy environment for a community on the move. The former mayors can use their influence through education, research, support, and encouragement to ensure our city council is made up of citizens that support the values important to a growing city. As well as the council I want to see the make-up of the planning and zoning commission become more neighborhood friendly and balanced between development and neighborhoods. TG: Last question to wrap up the interview. Do you have advice for those are interested in public service? BW: You know Public service to me, is as American as Mon, baseball and apple pie. When my wife and I moved to College Station in 2001 I was interested in learning more about the city. The advice I received was to enroll in Citizens University. It was a 13 week course learning the inner workings of the City. For a person wanting to learn about their city, it was priceless. During the course I learned of the Police and Fire academies. I attended both of those; again priceless. Are those three opportunities mandatory to serve on the city council? No, but they are extremely helpful in obtaining insight into the workings of a city. Serving on a city committee, board, or commission is also important in preparing for service as an elected official. Since the incorporation of College Station in 1938 members of the city council serve without compensation. The fact our elected officials served without pay was always of interest to my mayor colleagues whenever we were at our national conferences throughout the United States. TG: Do you have any other things you’d like to add? BW: I would like to complete this interview by thanking the Citizens of College Station for giving me the opportunity to serve my community both as a councilmen and mayor. It was an experience of a lifetime and I sincerely hope the City is better off today than when I became involved in 2005. College Station is a community of outstanding, caring, giving people who want nothing more than a quiet, peaceful place to raise their families. The relationship between the City and the University is healthy as is the bond between Bryan and College Station. Like any family we will have differences of opinion from time to time, but it is refreshing to know those differences can be resolved in a friendly, congenially manner. Thanks to the City for giving me this opportunity to share my thoughts and memories of my time of service to the community. It was an experience I will not forget. Thank you. TG: I want to thank you for your time and contribution, and dedication to the City of College Station. And we greatly appreciate this, and I will let you know when we have this finally transcribed. BW: Thank you very much, I appreciate it.