Seadrift council member announces resignation, hires new public works director

During a special workshop held Thursday afternoon, Nov. 6, at Seadrift City Hall, councilman Paul Gonzales announced his resignation from Seadrift City Council. Later, council members also voted to appoint a new city public works director.

In a letter read by Seadrift Mayor Pro Tem and fellow council member Alysa Jarvis, Gonzales stated that he had submitted his letter of resignation as of Oct. 23. In his letter, he went on to thank several Seadrift city staff members.

“It is with a heavy heart that I resign from the elected position the citizens of Seadrift voted for. I have been struggling with this decision to resign from council for several months. My work schedule has changed, and council has a full plate of items that need immediate attention,” Gonzales said. “I want to thank the current and former city hall staff, the waste management department and the hard-working men in public works. You have made my experience challenging while also rewarding to work with all the professionalism you bring to the city.”

Having ran for a council seat in 2024, Gonzales spent time on the council as the alderman responsible for oversight of the city’s police department and, later, the parks and recreation department.

“I also want to thank our city attorney, Paul McKnight. You are a tireless advocate for our city and provide legal counsel beyond what I expected. Your opinion papers were clearly outlined and defined with supporting facts that could not be refuted or challenged. Thank you for your hard work on behalf of the city. I would also like to thank the council members for all your hard work,” Gonzales said. “We have faced the challenges of addressing budget issues, public works, water issues, mayor resignations, and council member and employee resignations while conducting day-to-day business without the city collapsing due to resignations. I thank all of you for your hard work and commitment to the city of Seadrift.”

The letter became effective eight days after the receipt of the letter, according to Jarvis. She continued, stating that because there are two vacancies on the council, none of those vacancies could be filled by appointment, nor special election, and would be filled by the upcoming general election in May.

“This is going to be our council until then, unless somebody else leaves,” Jarvis said. “I want to thank alderman Gonzales for his hard work on council. You spurred a lot of action with our murals and police department and had a lot of things done in our public works and getting our generators going. You took that by the horns and got that done.”

Following the announcement of Gonzales’s resignation and executive session, council voted unanimously to hire Eric Kuykendahl as the new public works director for the city of Seadrift.

Seadrift City Council meetings are held at 6:30 p.m. at Seadrift City Hall on the second Tuesday of every month. For more information or to see upcoming agendas, visit seadrifttx.org.