“I am just shocked that we are here, but it is part of the business; I wasn’t expecting it,” Radford said after addressing the council and thanking his staff for their support. “I was called in to ask to resign, and I did.”
Radford said he was told May 13 that city staff was going in a different direction and that the option to submitting his resignation was termination.
When asked about the chain of events that led to Radford submitting his resignation on May 14, City Manager Julie Oakley said she had no comment.
“I cannot comment on personnel matters,” she said.
Prior to council voting to accept his resignation and approving a separation agreement, Radford addressed the council and group of about 50 people who gathered in council chambers.
“I’d like to thank first and foremost the men and women of the police department,” he said. “Our accolades are numerous; our rewards are numerous and our respect is plentiful. In a time when law enforcement is no longer seen that way in many communities, this is not one of those.”
Those in attendance gave him a standing ovation as he left the council chambers after his remarks, and new Lakeway Mayor Tom Kilgore had to gavel the meeting to order after several in attendance spoke out from their seats to urge the council to not accept Radford’s resignation.
After the council meeting, Oakley told Community Impact Newspaper the process for finding a replacement for Radford is in its early stages, and no time frame or specific criteria for finding a replacement has been set. Daily operations of the police department are under the direction of Capt. David Crowder, she said.
Radford has been police chief of Lakeway since 2009, and his resignation will become official on June 7.
In other business, council voted to accept the final plat for 11.03 acres of parkland in the Lakeway Highlands subdivision.
Although the park is named Rough Hollow Community Park in current city documents, Bill Hayes, chief operating officer of Legend Communities and representative of the developer of the tract of land, told council the park can be renamed whenever it is officially dedicated to the city. Hayes said the site will be graded and leveled sometime before early 2022.
The future park is east of Crosswind Drive and west of Tomichi Trail, adjacent to Rough Hollow Elementary School, according to city documents.
Also, after officially taking over leadership of the council, Kilgore and council members voted to name Louis Mastrangelo mayor pro tem.
