Celebrations were in order during the recent city commissioners meeting that took place on Tuesday, June 10, as people packed the room to offer both congratulations and goodbyes.
The meeting started with commissioners adopting Resolution No. R25-016 canvassing the returns and declaring the results of the June 7, 2025 runoff election. Mayor Pro-Tem Wendi Miller Horst presented the Certificate of Election to newly elected mayor Mike Borger, and City Secretary Barbara Stucker led him in the Oath of Office ceremony.
As Mayor Mike took his seat on the panel, he addressed the room, thanking everyone who voted and expressed his excitement and optimism for the future of Pampa.
“Thank you all for coming. This is great to see so many friends and people who care about Pampa. I just wanted to share something with you before we get started that really had an impact on me. The day of the result election, I was in my garage sitting in the sun and looking at the Word of God and talking and listening, and I look out there on my sign and it had 2025 on there. I didn’t know why they put the year on that, but I was looking at that and I just happened to be reading in Deuteronomy at that time. It was where Moses was recounting how the Israelites had the faith to leave captivity in Egypt, but once they went into the wilderness, their faith dwindled. They began to complain and grumble. When they faced the giants of the Promised Land, they said, ‘we just can’t do it,’ even after God had showed them all that He can do. He had showed them his power, and yet, they grumbled and complained and they were scared.”
“In that, God had them for 40 years wandering the wilderness. Forty years to cleanse his people, and those who didn’t have the faith in God to enter the Promised Land never got to see it. When that generation died, their children and grandchildren entered the Promised Land later. I’m sitting there thinking about that, and thinking, ‘25, what’s 40 years?’ That’s 1985-that’s when Pampa was in its glory days and we always talk about, ‘man, if we could just get back to that.’ In 1985, things began to fall apart. Oil dropped $50 a barrel, didn’t go down to 50, it dropped 50, and it threw our economic world in the panhandle into turmoil. Then two years later, Celanese had an explosion that changed our community. Just two years after that, that’s when the major oil companies started leaving town and Pampa was in an economic wilderness. But God made a way for us. We’ve languished in so many ways for 40 years, and I believe in that time that He has cleansed this town and He’s put together the people He wants to enter economic prosperity. I believe that with all my heart, and I think that’s why in January He called me to do this.”
“There were times I thought, ‘I don’t know if this is right or not,’ but it was all confirmed and it was right. I want to share that vision with all of you because I believe God is leading us out of the wilderness and into the Promised Land. Now what all that means, I don’t know yet, but I’m super excited about it. We have the greatest, high-integrity team anyone could imagine right here who are ready to lead this town. I get to be a part of it and I’m so grateful for that and I thank all of you for the opportunity. Let’s get started!”
Next on the agenda was the recognition portion where City Manager Shane Stokes recognized and honored the outgoing commission members, Paul Searl and Lance DeFever.
“Paul was elected as commissioner ward 1, and I had known Paul for at least 30 years and knew exactly what he was bringing into the commission, and he did,” Shane said. “He brought calm, level-headed, good decision maker, dedicated, and a sense of humor-that’s Paul. He brought a sense of humor like no other. We appreciate your service and everything you’ve done for the City of Pampa. Thank you so much.”
“Lance was elected mayor in 2021 coming off the heels of a global pandemic. Times were tough and times were tough for local government-with money unknown, revenues unknown, and just everything that was going on. He brought exactly what I knew he would bring also, and that was a calming, supportive, and dedicated voice and a personality to the city that we needed desperately at that time. He was a God send to us. Lance, we appreciate you more than you know. This plaque I’m going to give you reads: On May 10, 2021, newly elected mayor, Lance DeFever, received this gavel with a blessing and a charge of leadership, symbolizing his commitment to Pampa. Over the next four years, Mayor DeFever led with dedication and integrity, guiding decisions and discussions that helped shaped the community. His leadership and service time left a lasting impression with the City of Pampa that will not be forgotten.’ Mayor DeFever, thank you so much for your service and we love you and appreciate everything you’ve done for the City of Pampa.”
The entire room stood in an ovation for the departing mayor, showing their immense gratitude for his years of service to the city and lasting devotion to the community.
Before moving on to the next item on the agenda Mayor Mike and the commissioners shared a few sentimental words about Paul and Lance.
“I’ve only been able to speak to Lance on the phone, but he had such wisdom in those short conversations,” Mayor Mike said. “In his hospital room, he shared insights and things about this town that was so helpful to me. I can’t wait to talk to him more. He’s a blessing to Pampa and most of you all know that, and he’s a wise gentleman. I look forward to working with him still. And Paul-Paul and I became quick friends and Paul is just pleasure to be around. He has such a sweet spirit about him and so I look forward to future friendship time with Paul and will go to his place to get a haircut, and maybe tell a story or two in the process.”
“I would just like to say I’ve known Lance since about the early 80s and he’s been a true friend. I’m really going to miss him, but I’ll still see him. I enjoyed working with him, and Paul who sat right here next to me has been a good friend. When we all went out of town in a group, he was my Uber buddy. I’m going to miss those Uber rides! We’re going to miss you both,” said Commissioner Ward 4 Jimmy Reed.
“I met Lance when I was a very young mom at the Lions Club lunch. I was working and that man made me laugh every single meeting and he always just had the greatest outlook on life. He’s one of those people that I’ve always looked up to. Paul has always been as kind as he can be. I’ve known him pretty much my whole life. I never really got to know him, but I hope through the years that I will get to do that,” said Commissioner Ward 1 Wendi Miller Horst.
“Me and Paul were two boys from the Class of ‘78, and who thought we’d ever be sitting up here together? We’ve had a lot of interesting conversations together. Lance-it was an honor to sit next to you up here, and just like Shane said about Covid and the troubles we had going into that-it was really a blessing having you two guys up here to help us through that,” said Commissioner Ward 3 Jimmy Keough.
“I want to say to both of you, I appreciate your service to the city. Paul, I appreciate your steadfastness and firmness in who you are and what you believe and stand for, and never waiver from that. Mayor DeFever, where do I start? Your leadership will never be forgotten by me. I know there’s times you probably felt absent, but the example you set beforehand carried us through. You set the example for all of us. I hope that we continue to at least halfway follow the leadership and example you set. I appreciate you both. We love you guys and we thank you for all that you’ve done. Pampa is in a better spot, I believe, than four years ago and both of you are a huge part as to the reason why. Thank you,” said Commissioner Ward 2 Brian Doughty.
Next item on the agenda was the recognition of Dustin Miller for receiving his MPA.
“Dustin was named Assistant City Manager in October of 2023, and as soon as he was, we started talking about the Master’s in Public Administration program,” Shane said. “I told him that I felt like it would be beneficial to him as well as to the city to go through that program, so he decided to do that. It’s a program that is set up to be three years. If you’re a student, they allow you up to six years to complete it, but Dustin attacked it and completed it in about a year and a half and graduated last weekend with his Master’s degree in Public Administration. We are blessed to have Dustin here at the City of Pampa and I wanted to recognize him publicly for this. Congratulations, Dustin!”
Next was the recognition of two personnel at the Pampa Police Department presented by Chief of Police Lance Richburg.
“Each year during Peace Officer Memorial Week, which is usually the second week in May, we host what we call our Annual Awards Banquet where officers and employees who have reached certain achievements get awarded for those achievements. For example if they got their advanced or master peace officer or gotten an instructor’s certificate or things like that, we bring them up and award those accomplishments. We also have two other awards that are voted on by their peers. All of the employees within the police department, both civilian and sworn, vote on a Police Officer of the Year and Dispatcher of the Year. I request that when they put their nominations in, they write the reasons why they nominated this person. That’s probably my favorite thing in the whole year is to read what the employees say about each other. Dispatcher of the Year, there were several things said about this young lady who has not been with us very long. But one of the things that I still remember that sticks out with me is they said, ‘I wish we could clone her so every dispatcher was just like her.’ For someone so young and so new at this difficult job to get that kind of praise-it was short one vote from being unanimous from everyone in the department. She is a recent graduate of Pampa High School and we are very proud to have her with us. Our Dispatcher of the Year is Jimena Montes. She’s done a fantastic job and I’ve gotten to see her work during some pretty bad weather events, and if you’ve ever watched these young men and women during these events, it will blow your mind how much multitasking they have to do, and she is just so calm.”
“Our Officer of the Year has been with us for several years and serves as a Sargeant in our Criminal Investigations division. Again, short of just a couple of votes, it was unanimous. We are very proud and I was excited because it took me a couple of years to get him talked into applying with us several years ago, but we finally got him and he does an amazing job. Our Officer of the Year is Sargeant Jesse Parks.”
Next on the agenda was a public hearing regarding the substandard structure located at 308 N. Christy, and Code Enforcer Jeff Kennedy spoke about his findings of the structure.
“This one was different for us to go into. It slipped passed us off and on for the past couple of years. We went into it and it is pretty bad. There’s no way to secure the house anymore, the roof is collapsing in, part of it is falling apart, and it’s just totally separating. It’s in our recommendation that we go ahead and condemn the house and have it removed. We did try to contact many people, but couldn’t get ahold of anyone.”
After no one stepped forward to speak on the property, the public hearing was closed and the commissioners moved to issue a 30-day demolition order for the structure.
Next was to open a public hearing regarding the substandard structure located at 831 S. Barnes, and Jeff spoke on that structure as well.
“This house is has been the way it looks now for about 25 years. The people who are squatting there did invite me in, but they asked not to take pictures. The whole floor is caving in and the roof is coming down on the inside. After what I saw in there, we do recommend that we go ahead and condemn the property and remove it. Honestly, it is a blight on the neighborhood and there have been a lot of people out there that have asked us what we can do.”
After no one stepped forward to speak on the property, the public hearing was closed and the commissioners moved to issue a 30-day demolition order for the structure.
Next was to go over the First Quarter Financial Dashboard with Finance Director, Theresa Daniels.
Next items were to approve the minutes of the May 12, 2025 regular commission meeting and to approve the list of disbursements dated April 2025, which is available on the City of Pampa website; both were approved.
Next was to consider adopting on the first reading Resolution No. R25-017 approving the Economic Development Agreement between the PEDC and Ten 41 Uniforms and Tactical, with PEDC Director Ryan Bradley explaining what the business is.
“This is a business that will supply high-quality uniforms, gear and tactical supplies to first responders across the Texas panhandle. This includes law enforcement, fire departments, EMS and other public safety professionals who serve our communities every day. The business will be locally owned and operated here in Pampa with initially two to four employees. The EDC is offering a package of $20,000 to support the launch, and this will go toward renovations, inventory acquisition, and startup cost. The business is also contributing capital to ensure a strong foundation and investment in the business’s success. This project has been reviewed by our EDC Board of Directors and was approved and we held a public hearing on May 15 where we had no public comments or issues voiced. This was to reflect both transparency and process in what we do and is indicative of a positive response from the community. While this may be a small business, its impact is far-reaching. Not only will it create jobs, but it will supply a critical need for agencies across our region, many of which source their gear from out of town or out of state vendors. This will be able to bring this local into our community and will build a strong relationship between the people who protect and serve us. This aligns with our broad goals of supporting service-oriented businesses, revitalizing commercial spaces, and encouraging regional commerce. I appreciate your time and I’m happy to answer any questions you may have.”
Ryan was asked where the location was going to be and he said it would be within the strip that Super Rental on Banks used to sit. He also informed the commission that the owners had previously worked in the service sector and wanted to create an opportunity and were local.
The Resolution was approved.
The last item on the agenda was to consider approving an agreement with Gray County for Tax Assessment and Collection Services, which was approved.
The meeting was then adjourned and attendants were invited downstairs for a reception for Paul Searl and Lance DeFever.
