The meeting, which lasted more than three hours Tuesday, included several tense exchanges among commissioners, a closed-door discussion about City Manager Joe Bippus, and an emergency management briefing featuring city officials, first responders, and representatives from the American Red Cross and Samaritan's Purse.
Commissioners had two board appointments on the agenda originally; however, they removed them before the meeting started due to an inconsistency between state and local laws. “In a recent review of our appointment process, I discovered inconsistencies between state law, charter information published on the city’s website, and certain board bylaws," Mayor Angel Johnston said. "As a result, some past appointments under both current and prior leadership may not fully align with our governing requirements. So [City Attorney] TJ Reed and I spent some time on the phone today and I’m recommending that we temporarily pause new appointments while staff conducts a comprehensive review."
Three Rivers Mayor Angel Johnston cited specific examples of language from the city code that she said was troubling. “Of the prohibited things that you can and cannot do, homosexual and other deviant behaviors. Now that bothers me to my core. I don’t believe that homosexuality is deviant, and I hope that nobody in this room does either,” Johnston said, reading from the ordinance.
Commissioner Stanfill and First District Commissioner Pat Dane were both nominated for the role. Dane, who has been on the commission since 2017, was contrasted with Stanfill, who has been on the commission for just over a month. The vote went as follows: For Stanfill: Commissioners Lucas Allen, Anthony Stanfill, Carolyn McNary, and Mayor Angel Johnston. For Dane: Commissioners Steven Haigh, Torrey Brown, and Pat Dane.
Commissioner Carolyn McNary was unanimously appointed to the role in November but has since declined the position due to other obligations. The commission will try again to elect a mayor pro-tem at its December 16 meeting. McNary agreed to continue serving in the position until then.
The commission held its annual organizational meeting, and a regular business meeting previously scheduled for Monday, November 10 that was rescheduled due to election results not yet being fully certified.
Citywide, 6,292 registered voters reside in Three Rivers, and 1,231 cast ballots, for an overall turnout of 19.56%. Turnout was slightly higher in Precinct 1 (24.17%) than in Precinct 2 (15.97%). Across both precincts, voters 60 and older had the highest participation rate at 37.19%, continuing a trend of strong turnout among older residents. In contrast, representing the lower end, voters ages 22–30 had a participation rate of 7.32%, while voters ages 18–21 participated at a similarly low rate of 6.74%.
During the organizational meeting, the newly sworn-in Three Rivers City Commission will elect a mayor pro tem, who serves in the mayor’s absence. The commission will also review parliamentary procedure, approve commission and administrative guidelines, set the 2026 meeting schedule, and approve the 2026 holiday schedule for full-time, non-union staff.
Representatives from Confluence were present at the meeting and said other cannabis companies that are not vertically integrated — that is, not growing and selling their own products — are struggling. They emphasized that Confluence is locally owned and operated, and that six of their employees have purchased homes in Three Rivers.
Co-organizer Dan Moyle said the challenge now is to translate a two-hour rally into sustained civic habits such as checking in on neighbors, showing up at meetings, supporting local service organizations, and making time for conversations across differences. “I can’t fix Washington, D.C., but I can help in my community,” he said. “Love thy neighbor — it’s pretty simple.”
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