Bradfield’s Sloane and Taylor Stephens Serve as HP ‘Mayors for a Day’
The Highland Park Town Council’s Feb. 15 agenda didn’t look particularly daunting on paper, but it somehow required not one, not two, but three mayors to get through.
Nine-year-old Bradfield Elementary School fourth-graders Sloane and Taylor Stephens sat on either side of Mayor Margo Goodwin and assisted her during the meeting as “Mayors for a Day.”
“They love animals, tennis, reading, and telling jokes,” Goodwin said.
The daughters of Brad and Rachel Stephens introduced their parents and read parts of the agenda as instructed by Goodwin.
Taylor introduced the public comment period, which drew calls for more rigorous regulations and potentially a ban on holiday carriage services in the town.
“I think citizen comments make our town a stronger town as we hear about these concerns,” Goodwin said.
The girls took turns reading portions of a proclamation declaring Feb. 20 to 26 as Engineers Week in Highland Park.
Goodwin pointed out to them the women leading the town’s engineering service department – director of engineering Lori Chapin and engineering project coordinator Heather Cerda.
But Sloane and Taylor may have their sights set on higher offices (they will be eligible to run for Town Council in about a dozen years).
The sisters also read through the consent agenda with Goodwin’s assistance before the council’s unanimous approval.
“Fiscal is a difficult word,” Goodwin told the girls. “It’s short, but it’s difficult. You are doing a great job.”
Of note, the council:
- Approved a cost-sharing agreement with Dallas County for the $1.4 million rehabilitation of Abbott Avenue between Harvard Avenue and Mockingbird Lane. The county will contribute $274,531.
- Designated Preston Court and Livingston Court at Highland Park Village as fire lanes.
- And ordered the town council and mayoral election for May 7.
