FLEMINGTON — The two newest members of Flemington City Council — and the new mayor — took their seats Tuesday afternoon.
The newcomers and the four returning members of council took their oaths of office on the steps of Flemington City Hall in front of a large crowd before commencing the first council meeting of 2026.
Incoming Mayor Tim Byler, lead pastor of Connection Church, offered an invocation before taking his oath.
“Father, we thank You for the opportunity that we have to be here, for this great city that You have allowed us to reside in and work in,” he said. “We pray Your blessing be upon us, on our endeavors here, upon the leaders helping to govern, on our residents, on our businesses. We thank You that You are giving us the ability to flourish in our city. We pray Your hand be upon us and Your guidance be around us and that we keep our minds on You and what You have for this place.”
Taking their seats on the council for the first time were Paul Martin and Manish Patel, joining returning council members Rene Harwell, Larry Logan, Hasit Patel and Leigh Smiley. Council members also chose to keep Harwell in her post as mayor pro tem.
Council members delved into what they want the city to look like in a rezoning request debate. The estate of Otto Dykes requested rezoning 2.57 acres from R-20, a residential zoning, to a commercial zoning.
There is an agreement to recombine some of that property, about .23 acres, with the adjacent property, which is zoned C-2. Liberty Consolidated Planning Commission executive director Jeff Ricketson said C-2 zoning restricts commercial activity to the inside of a building while C-3 allows for other uses, such as outdoor sales. The planning commission recommended the .23 acre parcel be rezoned C-2 to be consistent with the existing zoning.
“C-2 allows only indoor uses. That’s the main difference,” Ricketson said. “C-2 and C-3 allow for a full gamut of retail uses.”
He added the property previously had utility trailers for sale and had been grandfathered in. But what will go there next raised concern among some council members.
“We need to know what they are planning on building there,” Hasit Patel said. “We have the overlay district and we need to see what’s coming in that corridor. We need to understand how we build the city out and that’s the whole reason for the overlay district. When we have too many of the same type of businesses, it becomes difficult. I don’t want a city where we have buildings that are closed.”
Harwell noted the reason the city adopted an overlay district was because of the city’s small footprint and the desire to manage it.
“We’re not trying to inhibit growth,” she said. “We’re trying to manage it for a very small area.”
But even rezoning to C-2 or C-3 couldn’t prevent another gas station or an auto parts store, Ricketson reminded council members. Council members eventually voted to rezone the tract as C-2.
Council members also discussed how to address the number of homeless people in the city, some of whom have taken up residence in the woods off Wallace Martin Drive. Mayor Byler said often a shopping cart on its side is a sign for an entrance to a homeless camp.
