The Odessa City Council voted 6-1 to remove Kris Crow as the chairman of the Odessa Development Corporation Tuesday night after he was accused of prohibiting an attorney hired by the ODC from talking to Mayor Javier Joven and city staff about using ODC money to address the city’s failing infrastructure.
In a telephone conversation following the meeting, Crow admitted he asked attorney Jeff Moore to restrict his conversations to himself and Tom Manskey, director of economic development for the Odessa Chamber of Commerce, but said it was because Moore was being “weaponized.”
As for his removal, Crow said he always knew he served at the pleasure of the council. He emailed Joven and council members Denise Swanner and Mark Matta immediately following the meeting, which he watched from Grand Prairie while tending to his daughter, who was recently in a car wreck.
“I emailed all three of them and said, ‘Hey thank you for the opportunity to serve. I’ve enjoyed my time on the ODC board and as I consider all three of us friends and I would still love an opportunity to sit down with all three of you. I am not trying to change your minds. I just think we need to talk,’” Crow said.
Since at least June 2022, Odessa City Councilmember Steve Thompson has been suggesting that city sales tax money collected by the ODC could be used to fix city roads and water infrastructure, but several of his fellow council members and their appointees on the ODC board did not believe it would be legally feasible to do so.
After two water line breaks resulted in city residents losing their water completely, Thompson again brought up the possibility of using ODC money to float revenue bonds, pointing out that there’s $80 million-$90 million sitting unallocated in the bank.
On Tuesday night, Joven said the council placed the ODC leadership on its agenda because of recent developments he thought city residents should be aware of.
Joven said he has been trying to organize a meeting with ODC attorney Jeff Moore, Crow, City Manager John Beckmeyer, himself and City Attorney Dan Jones to talk about ODC funds and infrastructure for weeks but has not been able to because of Crow.
“I was told in person and then later though an email, but in person I was told, ‘No. That lawyer is mine. He works for the ODC, not the city. You are not to call. The city manager is not to call. The city attorney is not to call and Mr. Thompson is not to call and no one from the city council,’” Joven said.
However, Joven said everyone on the ODC is appointed by a city council member and therefore their attorney also works for the city.
“The accountability begins and ends with the city council,” Joven said.
Joven also alleged that despite the fact a 2003 Texas Attorney General’s opinion states it would have been OK for economic development money to be used for the new sports complex, the ODC forced the city to create a light industrial district. He claimed Crow told him the ODC shouldn’t be thought of as a “piggy bank” by the council.
Councilmember Mark Matta said he wanted to know if it’s true Crow threatened to fire Moore if he communicated with city staff, attorney or council members.
He also wanted to know if the ODC money can be used or not because he’s heard yes and he’s heard no.
The ODC was formed in 1997 when voters agreed one quarter of the 1 cent sales tax going to the Ector County Hospital District should be redirected toward economic development.
Matta said the law reads that economic development corporations can use Type A revenue “to fund land, buildings, equipment, facilities expenditures, targeted infrastructure and improvements for projects, including infrastructure improvements that promote or develop new or expanded business enterprises.”
“Next question, why would you not allow us to have a joint meeting so we can discuss it and come up with a solution?” Matta said.
Thompson also hammered home the idea that the ODC answers to the council and that is why he was not pleased when Crow and his fellow ODC board members hired an attorney to represent the board.
Thompson also said he has serious concerns about Moore because he believes Moore tells whomever he’s speaking with whatever he believes they want to hear.
ODC Vice Chairman Jeff Russell defended Crow’s actions, stating every time Moore spoke with anyone other than himself or Crow, it bred “this nest of confusion.”
“You talk about openness and transparency and all. I mean, it was just becoming a confusing mess,” Russell said.
Russell and then later, Crow, said the ODC pays for Moore’s services, not the city.
Moore was hired because former City Attorney Natasha Brooks was “totally incompetent,” Russell said. Joven, who was among those who voted to fire Brooks in December 2022, said that was “uncalled for.”
Councilmember Denise Swanner at one point read the agreement between Moore and the ODC.
“It says, ‘We understand as attorneys for ODC that our present relationship is to represent and provide legal council to the city of Odessa and the city attorney on as needed basis.’ So that gives us the authority to speak to Jeff Moore anytime this council would like,” Swanner said.
Russell raised Beckmeyer’s ire when he began to describe an ODC meeting where the board tried to discuss taking $18 million originally intended for the Nacero natural gas project and putting it toward infrastructure.
Russell said Beckmeyer interrupted them to say they couldn’t do that.
“Now we’re confused. Mr. Beckmeyer has apparently been talking to Dan (Jones) or to Jeff Moore, whoever it was and now we’re confused. Come to find out, Mr. Beckmeyer was exactly 100% wrong. Just like he was 100% wrong when he cornered me after a city council meeting and said, ‘Hey, you guys can help fund the sports complex,’” Russell said.
“I’m going to stop you here,” Beckmeyer interrupted.
“Did you not? Did we not have that conversation?” Russell said. “You said, you said…”
“I’m going to stop you here. You were wrong…” Beckmeyer said.
Russell said Moore told the board they could use the Nacero money, but Beckmeyer insisted Moore told him just the opposite the day before that meeting.
Russell, Beckmeyer and Joven then began talking over each other about what Moore may or may not have said and about a July 12 memo written by Moore to the ODC that wasn’t shared with Beckmeyer, the city council or anyone on city staff.
Russell said he and Crow thought it best to discuss the July 12 memo at an ODC meeting before bringing it to the council.
“I can read you the memorandum. It’s very simple and very clear. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to read what he wrote to us in a memorandum to the board,” Russell said.
He then read the memo, which essentially said ODC money can be used under specific circumstances, but not when the infrastructure is in residential areas because it wouldn’t promote new or expanded business development. In other areas, funds can be expended based on what percentage of the area is residential or business.
Russell insisted that it “kills” him so much money is just sitting in ODC accounts and the board has been working for months trying to figure out how to help the city with its infrastructure needs.
“I think the notion that we’ve been trying to hang on to the money and keep it in our coffers couldn’t be further from the truth,” he said.
Russell and Crow both said members of the ODC weren’t available for a June 23 meeting suggested by City Secretary Norma Aguilar and they never heard back with other suggested dates. When asked during the meeting why the ODC couldn’t call a special joint meeting with the City Council, Russell responded, “I’ll just speak for me. I’m getting tired of having our head bashed about with this idea and that idea. ‘No, you can’t do that.’ I mean, we were trying to get our ducks in a row before we brought this forward. Mr. Moore laid out three possible options…ODC wanted to get their hands wrapped around it so that we can present a real plan to city council so that we didn’t get into this endless back and forth of ‘Yes, you can. No, you can’t.’”
During his phone interview, Crow said he was absolutely not opposed to a meeting.
“I would love to (meet). Remember, who was the guy who wanted the City Council, and the county commissioners and economic development all in the same room and orchestrated it? I did,” Crow said. “You know what I mean? So I love it. I think it’s a great idea. If everybody’s in the same room can’t nobody have, ‘He said. He said. She said.’ I’ve reached out to the mayor, to Denise Swanner and Mark Matta multiple times over the last two weeks leaving voicemail messages and text messages…I’ve tried to communicate multiple times, multiple ways. Crickets.”
Crow said he believes Thompson, Beckmeyer and others have been asking Moore questions in a way that guarantees they’ll get the answers they want, but the ODC has a fiduciary responsibility.
“I’ve always said the ODC is not a piggy bank for the city. Here’s the deal. The city has ultimate say so on the grants that ODC gifts. OK. But why have the ODC board if they have complete autonomous control? Why did the legislature set up economic development the way that it did? Because they wanted checks and balances,” Crow said.
Following the meeting, Matta and Thompson said they believe Joven, Jones and Beckmeyer will request another meeting with Moore and Russell.
“Our next steps are to keep working with the ODC. We still need to come to an agreement on what we can do as far as spending ODC funds for infrastructure,” Matta said. “Secondly we have to come up with a replacement for Chris Crow. We have quite a few candidates that we’re thinking about right now and we’re in the vetting process and we want to make sure that we pick somebody who is going to do us a good job there.”
Matta, who made the motion to remove Crow, said he didn’t ask to remove Russell because it was Crow who placed the restrictions on Moore.
“And personally, for me, I didn’t want to do it because I didn’t want it to look like it was retaliatory on my part because he did pick up a packet to run against me (in the November election),” Matta said.
The last thing they wanted to do was to remove an ODC member because they appreciate how hard the board works, but Crow was an impediment, Matta said.
“I think we’re moving on the right track. This council is unified and working together to find a solution to fix the infrastructure. Unfortunately, this was a painful step, but it was a necessary step to move forward with this.”
Asked if he intends to run for city council in November, Crow said he’s thought about it.
“I have considered it, but I don’t know. I think I can do more for the city by not being on council and just holding council to task. You know, I do a lot of research as you’ve seen. I mean, I look at the bylaws, I look at the city codes and you know, I just want them to follow the rules. How crazy is that?”
Crow again insisted he congratulated Gilbert Vasquez on becoming a Republican during a recent council meeting because he just thinks it’s wrong the council member and hundreds of other Democrats voted in the Republican primary in March, which ousted Crow’s wife, Tisha, from her seat as Ector County GOP chair.
Councilmember Chris Hanie voted against removing Crow from his position, noting he wasn’t there to defend himself and Russell couldn’t answer all of the council’s questions.
In other matters, the council voted unanimously to award a contract to Hydromax to assess and maintain the city’s water valves. According to materials provided to the city, three companies submitted bids and city staff is recommending Hydromax. The city has budgeted more than $533,000 for the project, but estimate it will actually cost $1 million.
The council also voted to hire a grant writer.
