“That’s the county’s order and we are going to let them enforce it,” Mayor Richard Newton told The Texan. “We’ll refer anyone to the county if they have questions about it.”
He participated in a conference call with Whitley and other mayors on Wednesday afternoon, but said Whitley didn’t have any specifics yet.
When asked why he is choosing not to enforce the order, Newton said, “We make decisions based on certain principles. We believe that business owners are best positioned to make decisions for their business and their customers, as are individuals.”
“The government can’t protect us; we must protect ourselves by following the safety guidelines that have been recommended.”
Newton said he also keeps an eye on the case numbers for his city as well as the hospital capacity. Colleyville currently has about 15 active cases, Newton said.
He believes that Tarrant County is well-positioned with plenty of available hospital beds right now.
In his press conference Thursday morning, Whitley said the county has over 1,800 currently available hospital beds.
“I encourage people to follow the safety protocols as I do myself,” Newton said. “I have a lot of faith and confidence in our individuals and businesses. They’ve done a great job.”
Colleyville is holding its annual Independence Day celebration as usual this weekend with a few adjustments. It has been moved from the Colleyville Center to the 40-acre city park to “allow for plenty of room to spread out.”
With 700 parking lot spaces and large baseball fields for people to use, Newton said that residents and guests can come enjoy the food trucks, music, and fireworks.
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Kim Roberts
Kim Roberts is a regional reporter for the Texan in the DFW metroplex area where she has lived for over twenty years. She has a Juris Doctor from Baylor University Law School and a Bachelor's in government from Angelo State University. In her free time, Kim home schools her daughter and coaches high school extemporaneous speaking and apologetics. She has been happily married to her husband for 23 years, has three wonderful children, and two dogs.