Hard working. Dedicated. Admirable. Respectable. The adjectives flew around the Bellaire City Council Chambers on Monday as city officials bid farewell to two long-serving members, Pat McLaughlan and Peggy Faulk.
The two term-limited council members received gifts and showers of praise for the accomplishments they’ve made during multiple terms on the council — McLaughlan served 10 years while Faulk served seven.
“Bellaire citizens have been very blessed to have two people who were willing to work the hardest they have,” said Mayor Cindy Siegel. “I too have been blessed because during this time I’ve been able to call them my friends.”
During the first council meeting in 2010, newly elected council members Corbett Parker and Andrew Friedberg will replace the pair on the city council.
“The nine years I’ve been here, we’ve always had great councils. Peggy and Pat have been integral parts of that,” said City Manager Bernie Satterwhite. “When it’s all said and done, we have a group that’s been willing to meet in the middle and work together.”
McLaughlan served from 1996 to 2000, then took a two-year break before coming back for two more terms than ran from 2002 to 2010. During his first term, he said he is most proud of helping create Bellaire’s residential sprinkler ordinance because it made residents and firemen more safe.
In later terms, McLaughlan was instrumental in bringing about the city’s ordinance mandating that new residential construction create no net increase in fill. The rule helps ensure that storm water runoff stays put on a property instead of running off to flood neighbors’ yards.
“As I look back on these past eight years, I see so many successes within the city,” McLaughlan said. “You know the agreement was not always 100 percent at the council table, but the process was good and the city is better for it.”
As Satterwhite presented McLaughlan with gifts to commemorate his time on the council, the audience laughed as he joked about the pair’s sometimes rocky relationship. Satterwhite occasionally reacted with frustration at council meetings when McLaughlan’s blunt, honest criticism seemed to strike a nerve.
“You’ve been there for us whether we wanted you there or not,” Satterwhite told the councilman. “We’ve come to know you, we’ve come to appreciate you.”
Faulk was elected to serve the remainder of Siegel’s term when she was elected mayor in 2003. Faulk served from November 2003 to January 2006 and was reelected to serve from 2006 to 2010.
“She was really strong into being a fiscal steward,” Satterwhite said. Faulk’s campaigns were based on fiscal responsibility, and she followed through on the promise. She frequently voted against city spending she viewed as unnecessary. But she would spend money on important things.
One major accomplishment was Faulk’s involvement in crafting the Rebuild Bellaire program, a $41 million bond program that is systematically rebuilding Bellaire’s street drainage infrastructure, as well as many city buildings.
“Having an engineering background, I think she was instrumental in helping us establish our priorities, especially with drainage improvements,” Siegel said.
With a shaky, emotional voice Faulk thanked other city leaders for helping the city reach its goals, and Bellaire residents for being involved in city business.
“I am very bad at goodbyes,” Faulk said. “This is not goodbye: I will still be around.”
Siegel said both McLaughlan and Faulk proved they were willing to make tough decisions for the city. Faulk stood her ground on requesting wider sidewalks for the safety of residents, even though homeowners argued against having the wide sidewalks in their yards. McLaughlan pushed for the no-net-fill ordinance even though builders argued it was an undue burden on construction.
“They’re really willing to stand up for something they think is the greater good for the whole community,” Siegel said.
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