Van Alstyne City Hall entrance, photo by Mary Jane Farmer

By Mary Jane Farmer, Van Alstyne News, Scene In Town

Facing a shorter-than-usual meeting agenda and with two council members not in attendance, the Van Alstyne City Council got quite a lot accomplished at Tuesday night’s regular council meeting. The meeting began at 6:30 p.m. at City Hall, with council members Katrina Arsenault, Lee Thomas, Ryan Neal, (creating a quorum) and Mayor Jim Atchison in attendance. Absent were Bruce Dawsey and Marla Butler.

After spending about 40 minutes in executive session with financial advisors from Hilltop Securities, the Council returned to open meetings without making any motions regarding their subjects discussed. These were, according to the agenda, future options for road improvements, park land, and a municipal building.

Consent agenda

CORRECTION: Council also approved a resolution creation to allow for a public hearing for May 11, at the regular City Council meeting, to discuss the annexation of land on the northwest corner of State Highway 5 and Spence Road, commonly called the Spence tract, not for the land on east FM121 at Lincoln Park which has already been annexed into the city.

voluntary/requested annexation of more than 34 acres of land into the city. These two new additions are at East FM 121 and North Lincoln Park Road, and at East FM 121 and about 1500 feet east of Ballpark Way. (Atchison said that land was annexed at the March meeting.)

Regular Agenda

Pacheco Koch Consulting Engineers, Inc., which has been working with the city for a while on plans for the new Central Social District Park, gave an informational presentation to the Council about the various areas of the park. Later, they approved budget increase of $390,000 to build this park, bring the total to $4,421,000. City Manager Lane Jones said, after the meeting, that this additional funding is “to  bridge the gap between the original estimate to build the park and actual cost determined by totaling bids for the individual elements.”

And even later on, the Council approved a Community Development Corporation budget amendment in which Executive Director Rodney Williams said the $100,000 adjustment will go toward the CSD (downtown) park.

After the meeting, Williams said that this was not an increase in the yearly budget, but rather simply adjustments — less spent here and there to arrive at the $100,000. He also said it is meant for lesser-or non-funded items, such as tables and benches for public use.

The Council approved appointments to the Architectural Review Panel for Maria Hickson-Grimmett, Dusty Williams, and Jim DuBois, and then made volunteer Dee Greve a member of the EDC and CDC boards of directors.

The Council allotted the best bid submitted to work on paving and utilities improvement on Marshall Drive from Hopson to Henry Hynds (U.S. 75 service road.)

And lastly, the Council, acting on information provided by the city’s attorney, declined to re-declare a local state of disaster because of COVID-19 virus outbreak.

All votes were unanimous.

During the period between March 27 and mid-April, Van Alstyne police officers made five arrests, all of which were for either illegal drugs or alcohol abuse; answered 517 calls for service, took 18 police reports and 10 offense reports.

During this same time frame, the Grayson County District Attorney’s Office investigated a theft and arrested the Van Alstyne suspect.

That arrest, according to Grayson County Jail Records, was made on April 5 and was a state jail felony charge of theft between $2,500-$30,000. According to documentation supplied by the D.A.’s office, the offense happened on May 8, 2020. The suspect is accused to taking metal building materials without the owner’s consent.

The suspect posted $7,500 in surety bonds for his release after his book-in April 5.

Police also located a Van Alstyne youth who had been reported as missing and returned him to his home. Police Sergeant Steve Hayslip said they received the call on March 27, with the reporting party saying the teen had run away. Immediately, they entered all the information about him in both the state and national databases and began an intensive search based upon multiple leads they were given, and which included help from other law enforcement agencies. They located the runaway on April 1, unharmed.

Arrests

April 2 — A Van Alstyne woman, age 61, went to jail on a charge of driving while intoxicated. This happened about 1:30 a.m. when officers made contact with a suspicious vehicle in the 100 block of Jefferson. They determined the driver was intoxicated and made the arrest. Bail was set at $1,500, which she posted in surety bonds later the same day.

April 7 — A McKinney man, age 50, was jailed on a charge of possession of a controlled substance. His bail of $10,000 was paid in surety bonds and he was released on April 9. The arresting officer made a traffic stop on U.S. Highway 75, and soon discovered the man was in possession of methamphetamine in an amount of between 1-4 grams.

April 7 — That same day, officers jailed an Anna resident, age 46, on a charge of possession of controlled substance between 1-4 grams. Hayslip reported that this happened on U.S. 75, also after making a traffic stop, and that the drug found on him was also meth, between 1-4 grams. Bail was set in this instance at $10,000 and the suspected posted that on Feb. 9.

April 9 —  At about 11:30 a.m., officers responded to a reckless driver call on U.S. 75. The caller told dispatch that he/she had seen the vehicle being driven erratically, weaving in and out of its lane of travel, and constantly changing speeds. Police located the car and stopped the driver. They discovered the driver was intoxicated.

April 12 — It was a reckless driver call that led police to locate the vehicle after it stopped and parked vehicle. Upon contact, they arrested the driver on a charge of not having a valid driver’s license and his passenger for public intoxication. The two suspects were from Dallas and Richardson. The driver laid out his jail fine of $214, and the passenger paid her fine of $292 for her release.

Other

A two-vehicle wreck in the Industrial Park happened on April 10, and Van Alstyne EMS transported both drivers to Baylor Scott & White in McKinney for treatment of minor injuries, Hayslip said.

There were also several other wrecks during this time frame, but none with major injuries, Hayslip added.

Police talked with juveniles who were seen and called as running with a possible long gun (rifle or shotgun). They determined the gun was an air soft gun, described online as “replica toy guns used in airsoft sports.”

Van Alstyne Police answered 449 calls for service during the weeks between March 13 and March 26. Of these, 15 resulted in police reports, nine in offense reports, four in arrests. Two of those arrests were for assault charges, one for public intoxication, the fourth was for drug possession, reported Police Sgt. Steve Hayslip. They also investigated four vehicle crashes, including one that resulted in minor injuries.

Arrests

March 13 — About 10:45 p.m., officers were dispatched to Waverly, the scene of a domestic disturbance between boyfriend and girlfriend, Hayslip said. The investigation determined that the female, age 38, had assaulted the male, but that he did not require or declined medical attention. The suspect went to Grayson County Jail on a charge of assault causing bodily injury-family violence. A magistrate set bail at $2,500, payable in surety bonds, which the suspect paid and gained her release the next day.

March 17—In the early morning hours, at about 2:30 a.m., officers were sent to what Hayslip described as a suspicious circumstance at a convenience store on the west side of U.S. 75. The reporting party said that a man had come inside asking where he could purchase narcotics, and that the female inside their vehicle appeared to have been assaulted.

Upon arrival, police determined that the suspect had, in fact, assaulted his spouse and caused injuries which required medical attention. Van Alstyne EMS took her a local hospital for medical attention. Police placed the suspect under arrest and transported him to Grayson County Jail.

The suspect, a Whitesboro man, age unknown, was jailed on Van Alstyne PD’s charge of assault causing bodily injury-family violence. Law enforcement also served him with an outstanding warrant, issued in Denton County for burglary of a building. Total bail was set at $7,500 on the two charges. The suspect has since been transferred back to the Denton County Jail.

March 21— About 3:45 a.m., officers were called to a disturbance on U.S. 75 just south of Van Alstyne Parkway. They learned, upon arrival, that no physical altercation had occurred, but then determined that a passenger in the vehicle was intoxicated. They jailed the passenger, a Dallas man, on a charge of public intoxication. Once bail was set at the jail at $292, the suspect paid it in cash for his release.

March 26— About 1:45 a.m. Friday, a Van Alstyne police officer stopped a vehicle on U.S. 75 because of speeding. During the course of the traffic stop, Hayslip reported, The officer discovered that the passenger, a Bedford man, age unknown, was in possession of methamphetamine. The officer placed the suspect under arrest on a charge of possession of controlled substance less than 1 gram. Bail was set at $5,000, payable by surety bond, and the suspect was able to pay that and obtain his freedom.

Reports compiled by Mary Jane Farmer for Van Alstyne News/Scene In Town

Van Alstyne Police answered 366 calls for service in the two-week period ending March 13, according to Police Sgt. Steven Hayslip. These resulted in 11 police reports, seven offense reports, and four arrests, as of Saturday, March 13.

There was also one additional  arrest made late in the day Saturday, after this information was provided to this reporter. Those details will be forthcoming, but jail records show it was a 38-year-old Van Alstyne woman charged with one count of assault causing bodily injury-family violence. Sunday morning, jail records show, the suspect had been released on $2,500 bail payable in surety bonds.

March 5 arrest — A 22-year-old Van Alstyne woman went to jail after being involved in a one-vehicle car crash. The driver had struck a street sign while going east on Van Alstyne Parkway. Hayslip said she was arrested on a charge of driving while intoxicated. Bail was set at $1,500, payable with a surety bond, which was posted and she was freed later the same day.

March 7 arrest — Police were called to a residence for assistance and arrested a 30-year-old resident on a charge of assault causing bodily injury-family violence. The victim suffered apparent minor injuries, Hayslip said. The suspect posted bail of $2,500 in surety bond with conditions on March 8 for her release.

March 11 arrest— A Van Alstyne man, age 21, went to jail on a charge of interference with emergency call for assistance. Hayslip said they received a call from the intended victim’s dad, whom she had been able to call before dialing 911. At that time, the perpetrator had taken the person’s phone, which prevented the intended victim from calling for help. Police got there and found she had not been assaulted. The suspect also had a charge set against him by Sherman PD for failure to maintain financial responsibility (no insurance). On the first charge, bail was set at $2,500, surety bond with special conditions, and the magistrate set a personal recognizance bond on the second charge. The suspect was freed on March 12.

Four accidents during this time period included a major one with passengers sent to area hospitals.

This was on March 3, at the Farmington/Blythe Road and U.S. 75 service road. Hayslip reported that one vehicle was going south on the service road and failed to stop at the intersection, which is controlled by a stop sign for north/south traffic. It collided with a vehicle going east in the intersection. One vehicle was totaled and the other received major damage, the sergeant said. One driver was from Denison, the other a Van Alstyne resident.

March 4, there was another wreck at the same intersection. This time, both cars were moving northward on the service road when the front car began to turn left onto Blythe. The car behind him began to pass the front car and collided with it on the driver’s side. Minor damage only to both vehicles.

The third wreck investigated was on March 11, and in this instance, Hayslip said, the driver backed into a gas meter. There were no injuries here.