Cloverdale council hires town marshal

CLOVERDALE -- The Cloverdale Town Council officially welcomed its new town marshal during its monthly meeting on Tuesday evening.

The council hired Michael Clark, who has already begun taking over for Interim Town Marshal Charlie Hallam, who had filling the position following the resignation of Jon Chadd back in November.

Chadd's resignation came after months of disagreement with the Cloverdale Town Council regarding financing and the police department. He was the Cloverdale Town Marshal for more than three years.

Clark comes to Cloverdale after 27 years at the Galveston Police Department. He is hoping that as he starts his new position in Cloverdale that he can help mend the relationship between the department and the community.

"From what I'm seeing we have a pretty good department here," said Clark. "I would really like to see a good relationship between the police and the citizens of Cloverdale."

Clark originally hails from Missouri, but moved up to Glaveston because he had family in the area.

He started at the police department in Galveston as a reserve officer and his worked his way up to police chief.

"I like the area, I wanted a change of pace," said Clark. "I figured if I'm going to collect a paycheck from a community, I should probably live in that community. I'm very proactive. I get called out at all hours of the night. It's easier to do if I'm living here."

Clark was offered a tentative officer for the town marshal position during a special meeting on May 20, pending that he passed a psychological and physical evaluation.

Unlike former Town Marshal Chadd, Clark has been hired on full-time. His official start date was Monday.

"Right at this moment it's going to take some time to see where we are at," said Clark. "I've heard some very positive things from the citizens. I've heard a few negative things."

Clark noted that he already has a few ideas on how he plans on improving the town. However, he plans on getting a better idea of what the town has to offer and what programs are already in place within the next few weeks.