By Tiffany Flournoy
CULLEN, La. — A Town of Cullen council meeting was canceled just minutes before it was set to begin Tuesday, marking the second last-minute cancellation of a scheduled meeting in just over a week and renewing questions about transparency, public notice and decision-making inside Town Hall and the legalities surrounding them.
The town’s regular April meeting, originally scheduled for April 27, had been rescheduled for Tuesday, May 5. Both meetings were ultimately called off shortly before they were set to take place, and no official public explanation has been provided.
Residents who gathered at Town Hall Tuesday said they received no advance notice the meeting would not take place. Instead, they said Mayor Terry Hoof stepped outside shortly before 6 p.m. and informed those present it was canceled.
Webster Parish sheriff’s deputies were present outside Town Hall in marked units after being requested by the mayor in advance of the meeting. Sheriff Jason Parker said the request was made Friday ahead of Tuesday’s meeting to assist in maintaining order if necessary.
Accounts from town leadership offer limited insight into the cancellations. Alderwoman Bianchi Veal said Hoof said the April 27 meeting was canceled due to “unforeseen” circumstances and that the May 5 meeting was rescheduled because town attorneys wanted to be present.
Hoof could be heard outside Town Hall telling deputies and others that, under the advice of town attorneys, “they prefer that we reschedule it so they can be here,” referring to the attorneys.
Veal told the Webster Parish Journal, “This one was unethically canceled minutes before 6 p.m. due to lawyers wanting to attend, is what he told me. It sounds fishy on all ends. Then, while people were gathered outside Town Hall, the mayor said his life had been threatened. The truth is still a question.”
The April 27 meeting was also called off the same day it was scheduled, shortly before it was set to begin.
Earlier that day — ahead of the April 27 meeting — a confrontation involving the town clerk and a resident unfolded outside the back side of Town Hall, as seen in a video circulating on social media. The footage shows the clerk exiting the building and moving toward a vehicle where the resident was seated. No physical contact is visible, but the exchange appears heated, with raised voices and profanity audible.
Whether that incident is connected to the cancellation remains unclear, and town officials have not addressed it publicly.
Agenda changes further add to uncertainty. The April 27 agenda listed 14 items, including a proposed change in the town’s banking institution to JPMorgan Chase and an ordinance related to a land sale — neither of which appeared on the May 5 agenda.
No details about the proposed bank change were included on the agenda, including which accounts would be affected or where the town’s funds are currently held. The agendas also made no mention of mid-April changes to the town’s water policy, including reconnect fees and revised payment hours.
The pattern of last-minute cancellations, shifting agendas and limited public explanation has left some residents questioning how and when key decisions are being made and the legalities surrounding them.
A recall petition targeting the mayor and alderwomen Floydean White and Yolanda Castleman, which began more than a month ago, remains in motion throughout the small town of fewer than 800 residents as organizers say it continues to gain traction.
A request for comment and information regarding Tuesday’s canceled meeting was sent to Town of Cullen attorney Amberlee Nix of Bradley Murchison, and Mayor Terry Hoof was also sought for comment; no response had been received from either as of Wednesday’s publication deadline.