RECAP from Magnolia's October City Council Meeting

Introduction to the Meeting

Magnolia City Council met Tuesday, Oct. 13, at City Hall. Mayor Christopher Blair presided, with four council members on the dais: Caleb Small, Geoff Beyer, Brandon Jacobs and Raymond Gaskin III. The fifth chair was empty, after Buck Perino tendered his resignation.

The Quick Highlights

• --Perino's resignation was accepted, and council opened applications for his seat. However, the mayor said the city would wait to fill it until residents can vote on a replacement.

• --Council ordered a six-month review of the general fund, including utility fund transfers back to 2017.

• --This was the last public meeting for Interim City Secretary Kandice Garrett. Tiffany White started as city secretary.

• --The ethics committee resolution passed. Beyer voted no, as he did in July.

• --Council voted 3–1 to send a complaint about the EDC and CDC director to both boards. Jacobs, the CDC board president, voted no.

Perino's Resignation Was Accepted, and the Mayor Said the Seat Will Wait for an Election

Council accepted Perino's resignation as mayor pro tem and from Position 2, and opened applications to fill the seat by appointment.

Two residents asked that voters, not a council appointment, decide who replaces him. Mayor Blair said the city would wait to fill the seat until residents can vote on a replacement.

That leaves council free to appoint someone, even as the mayor says it won't.

Council Ordered a Six-Month Review of the General Fund

Councilman Gaskin's item starts a six-month review of the general fund, including money moved from the water and wastewater funds since 2017. He called those transfers "taking money from your savings to your checking account and just kicking the can down the road."

Gaskin first proposed a $200,000 cap. "If you say start with 200, it's probably going to cost 200," Jacobs said. City Administrator Bob Harvey estimated $75,000 to $100,000, compared with $24,000 to $35,000 for a regular annual audit.

City Attorney Leonard Schneider advised against any cap, since professional services are picked on qualifications, not price. So, the motion that passed 4–0 has no dollar figure; staff will start the review through the city's procurement process.

Rezoning Topics Pushed to Future Meetings

The Pinemoor Rezoning Was Pushed to November After a Resident Challenged It

The item would rezone 60.05 acres at the northeast corner of Mill Creek Road and FM 1488 from rural to semi-urban residential for the Pinemoor development. Planning and Zoning recommended approval in September.

A resident questioned whether the land should have been replatted instead and who actually owns it. Staff said the recorded plat follows city and state rules and was checked against a title report. Smith Douglas Homes, which is developing the land, said it completed environmental and wetlands studies.

Council voted 3–1 to defer it to November and have staff re-examine the documents. Jacobs voted no.

Magnolia Square Was Pushed to December, and Four Conveyances Were Pulled

Blair said the city and the Magnolia Square developer "are not in agreeance yet." The development agreement needs a new public hearing and moves to December. Four MUD conveyance items for Mill Creek Estates and Escondido were pulled for more documentation.

The Ethics Committee Resolution Passed, With Beyer Voting No Again

Resolution R-2026-020 formally creates the temporary ethics policy advisory committee council approved July 14, when Beyer was also the only no vote. The committee gets 90 days to deliver a proposed policy. Blair said applications are on the city's website, and members must be city residents. No members have been named yet.

Dock Line emailed Beyer on Oct. 14 asking about his vote. He had not responded by the time this recap went out.

That's two no votes on the ethics committee, and Beyer hasn't answered Dock Line's questions about either one. That doesn't explain why he voted no; it leaves residents without his reasoning.

Council Sent a Complaint About the EDC Director to the 4A and 4B Boards; Jacobs Was the Lone No

To set the context: in late August, Gaskin asked Rachel Steele, executive director of both the Magnolia Economic Development Corporation (4A) and the Community Development Corporation (4B), for detailed 2025 financial records. He said Steele told him she was waiting on the EDC's attorney, and that his follow-up went unanswered.

The EDC and CDC are separate nonprofit corporations, each with its own board and its own share of city sales tax: a half-cent for the EDC and a quarter-cent for the CDC. Officials often call them 4A and 4B, after the sections of state law they were created under. Notably, the two corporations share one executive director, Steele.

Gaskin brought the item to council Tuesday. Two EDC board members, Skip Colvin and board president Taylor Booker, were there for it.

Colvin opened by telling council, "We appreciate the opportunity to address this."

He said the EDC treated the request as a formal public information request covering more than 240 items. Answering it, he said, meant hiring a CPA firm to prepare reviewed financial statements for the EDC and answer each of Gaskin's questions in a formal, public response. The EDC board approved that work, up to $15,000, on Oct. 8.

Colvin said EDC board members met with Blair, Gaskin and city staff on Oct. 6 and handed over documents there. "We didn't ghost anybody," he said.

Tuesday's motion covers both boards, the EDC and the CDC. Only the EDC side spoke to council.

Blair turned to Jacobs, who is a council member and president of the CDC. He said the EDC board had already hired a CPA, then added, "4B, we haven't gotten anything," and asked whether the CDC would open its books or bring in a CPA as well. Jacobs didn't answer from the dais.

To be clear, the motion refers the executive director's handling of the request to both boards (EDC & CDC) as a formal ethics complaint. Each board decides whether the corporations' shared ethics policy applies and whether it was violated, then reports back to council.

"Sorry, folks, but if you don't respond to me, you're in violation of my trust," Gaskin said.

The motion passed 3–1, with Jacobs voting no. He said the city is entitled to the records, but that asking for "200 plus documents and expecting them tomorrow when somebody turns on their laptop" isn't reasonable. Dock Line emailed Jacobs on Oct. 14, including a question about what steps the CDC has taken. He had not responded by the time this recap went out.

This is an ongoing story, and Dock Line will cover it in more depth.

Everything Else Mentioned During the Night

• The consent agenda, including five sets of minutes and two Town of Melton Addition plats.

• A corrected legal description for the BCS Magnolia Chapter 380 agreement; the terms don't change.

• Consent to annex 59.459 acres into MUD No. 201, which stays outside city limits.

• Magnolia's vote for Willis Public Works Director Robert Byerly for the SJRA groundwater contract review committee.

• City Administrator Bob Harvey said Tiffany White, formerly of the Lone Star Groundwater Conservation District, started as city secretary the day before the meeting.

Topics to Keep on Your Radar

• --Pinemoor returns in November; Magnolia Square in December.

• --The review's cost won't be known until firms respond to the city's request for qualifications.

• --The city hasn't said yet how to apply for Position 2.

• --The EDC and CDC boards owe council a written report, with no deadline set. Both boards next meet Nov. 12 at City Hall.

Sources

• --City of Magnolia, Regular City Council Meeting Agenda, Oct. 13, 2026

• --City of Magnolia, 4A Corporation (Magnolia Economic Development Corporation)

• --City of Magnolia, 4B Corporation (Magnolia Community Development Corporation)

• --Dock Line Magazine, The Larger Debate for the Future of Magnolia TX; Recap of July's City Council Meeting