Fire Damage Restoration in Forest Hill, TX

Elite Level Fire Damage Restoration in Forest Hill, TX

Fire damage to your home is one of the most traumatizing, frightening tragedies a person can experience. This is especially true in apartment buildings and multifamily homes, where dozens if not hundreds of families are affected by fire and smoke damage. When a fire rips through an apartment building, the property damage can be catastrophic. But the damage caused by fires doesn't end once the flames have been extinguished. Victims are left wondering what happens next now that their belongings are destroyed. When will they have a roof over their again?

In these circumstances, prompt, purpose-driven fire damage restoration is key to reducing victims' financial and emotional strain.

The National Fire Protection Association states that a structure fire is reported every 65 seconds. When the fire alarm sounds, emergency responders answer the call for help with decisive action. But once the smoke clears, Atlas National Renovations' team of fire restoration experts step in to give hope to property managers, apartment tenants, and commercial property owners.

With decades of combined experience in disaster recovery, ANR understands the complexities associated with commercial and apartment building fires. We have helped the top multifamily groups in Texas recover their tenants' homes and belongings with care and compassion. If you're a property manager and you're still reeling from a fire disaster, know that we're here to help you too.

At Atlas National Renovations, our expert project managers and technicians play key roles in complicated fire restoration projects. We specialize in restoring Class A, B, and C properties like apartment complexes, high-rise buildings, multifamily buildings, mixed-use developments, large commercial properties, and more.

Restoration Services

Elite Level Fire Damage Restoration in Forest Hill, TX
Fire Damage Restoration for Apartment Buildings in Forest Hill, TX
Our Fire Damage Restoration Process
Tips for Preventing Apartment Fires
Trustworthy Fire Damage Restoration for Businesses in Forest Hill, TX
Discover the Atlas DifferenceDiscover the Top Restoration in Forest Hill, TX

Service Areas

If you're looking for a top-tier fire damage restoration company in Forest Hill, look no further than ANR. We're the top pick when it comes to large, detailed fire restoration projects because we:

Are a Trusted Partner in Restoration and Disaster Recovery
Adhere to OSHA Standards and State & Federal Regulations
Use the Latest Equipment & Remediation Techniques
Offer Innovative Solutions to Detailed Problems

Provide Seasoned Project Managers for Each Fire Restoration Project
Give Clients Clear and Consistent Communication
Work with Insurance Companies
Have a Knowledgeable & Courteous Leadership Team

Fire Damage Restoration for Apartment Buildings in Forest Hill, TX

Owners and managers of apartment complexes know that the safety of their tenants is a major responsibility. Unfortunately, nobody can completely control when apartment fires occur. Fires in apartments and multifamily buildings may start small, but they spread quickly, often destroying several living spaces. These frightening fires destroy prized heirlooms, important documents, and can even be fatal. However, the work is only beginning once the fire is put out and lives are saved.

In the aftermath of a disaster, figuring out the next steps is hard. During this difficult time, it's important to be prepared. As a property manager or owner, having a fire damage restoration company on your checklist of resources is crucial.

Unlike residential fires, apartment and multifamily building fires add several more layers of complexity and stress. In these situations, you deserve a restoration partner that you can trust without question, and that company is Atlas National Renovations.

With years of experience guiding our technicians and project managers, the ANS team responds quickly to your fire damage emergency. Using advanced protocols and state-of-the-art restoration equipment, we get to work quickly to repair and restore your commercial property to its pre-loss condition. While restoring your property, we always keep your tenant's care and comfort in mind.

Our fire restoration services in Forest Hill are comprehensive and include the following:

Rapid Mobilization and Response
Overall Catastrophe Management
Emergency Board-Up Services
Debris Removal and Disposal
Apartment Content Inventory and Cleaning
Soot and Smoke Removal Services

Water Extraction
Deodorization
HVAC Cleaning and Decontamination
Shoring Installment to Secure Buildings
Interior & Exterior Renovations

Our Fire Damage Restoration Process

It's imperative to have someone with knowledge and experience on your side during a fire crisis.

When you call ANS, our fire restoration experts can help walk you through the steps you need to take once a fire occurs. This allows us to quickly gain control of the restoration project on your behalf. Once we have inspected your property, we'll provide a detailed report and scope of work for your fire damage restoration project.

ANS repairs all property damage caused by soot, smoke, and fire. Our IICRC-certified fire restoration teams construct the best plan to quickly get your building back to its pre-loss condition.

Because every property is different, each fire restoration project for apartment buildings is too. However, every fire disaster will have a similar process and will often include:

Contact ANS

Your fire restoration process begins when you call our headquarters. Our specialist will ask you a series of questions about the fire event that occurred. That way, we can arrive on-site with the proper resources and equipment.

Fire Damage Assessment
and Inspection

Our fire damage restoration team will carefully inspect the entirety of your apartment complex, from building to building and room to room. We do so to determine the extent of your apartment's fire, smoke, and soot damage. This step is crucial to developing a comprehensive restoration plan.

Board-Up Services

First responders like firefighters must break windows and cut holes in roofs to slow fire growth and save lives. Once the fire is out, our team can get to work, boarding up holes and constructing temporary fencing around the property.

Water Removal

If there is water damage associated with your apartment fire, we'll remove most of the water immediately. From there, we use air movers and dehumidifiers to help complete the drying process.

Smoke and Soot Removal

Within minutes of a fire, walls, electronics, and other surfaces are covered in soot. Smoke and ash continue to cause damage to every inch of your apartment building. That's why ANS uses specialized equipment to remediate smoke damage and remove odors. This process is often labor-intensive and can take time, especially for large fire damage restoration needs.

Cleaning and Sanitizing

Using a variety of restoration and cleaning techniques, our team will help clean restorable items and sanitize units for safety.

Restoration

Getting your apartment buildings to their pre-fire conditions is our ultimate goal. Depending on the size and scope of the fire restoration job, minor repairs like painting, drywall replacement, and new carpet installation might be needed. You might also need major structural renovations like re-siding, re-roofing, new window installation, floor replacement, and more.

Tips for Preventing Apartment Fires

If you're a property manager or own multifamily residential buildings, the thought of an apartment fire is terrifying. What starts as a small fire can quickly turn into a catastrophic event, with your entire complex up in flames. However, one of the best ways of preventing these fires is to know more about them.

Share these tips with tenants to help prevent deadly apartment fires:

Turn Off Heat Sources

Data shows that a large number of apartment fires begin with cooking. Often, these fires are caused by the ignition of common items like rags, curtains, wallpapers, and bags. Encourage tenants to keep their kitchens and cooking areas clear of combustibles. Never leave a stove unattended for long, and don't leave burners on by themselves. Unintentional mishaps like leaving heat sources on are common causes of fires that can be prevented with a little forethought.

Electrical Safety

Like heat sources, electrical malfunctions are also common causes of fires in apartment complexes. It's hard to prevent all electrical malfunctions, but you can tell tenants to avoid bad habits. Tips include never using extension cords as permanent solutions and never using a cable if the third prong is missing.

Appliance Safety

Appliances are a part of everyone's lives. They're also standard equipment in most apartment units. But if tenants don't take proper precautions, these useful tools can spark deadly fires.

Tips for Preventing Apartment Fires

No matter how large or small, fires are nightmare scenarios for entrepreneurs with commercial properties. Fire damage can completely ruin storefronts and offices, leaving charred remains and burned-up files before firefighters arrive. To make matters worse, soot and smoke damage ruin your businesses' furniture, HVAC system, carpet, walls, and windows.

To eliminate health hazards and restore your business to its pre-fire condition, you need to bring in a team of professionals with years of experience in fire damage remediation. At ANR, we use commercial-grade equipment and cutting-edge tools to clean up the aftermath of your fire and rebuild your property. That way, you can get back to running your business and providing for your family.

Share these tips with tenants to help prevent deadly apartment fires:

Remove Smoke and Fire Damage

One of the most common causes of large commercial loss stems from smoke and fire damage. Of course, these disasters cause injuries and fatalities. But they also generate tremendous amounts of damage, rot, mold, and harm to structures. Not to mention the devastation that fire damage has to the appearance and livability of the facility. Fire damage restoration companies restore - and also prevent - the root cause of the fire. Electrical outlets, wires, and other fire-prone items will all be addressed to prevent a subsequent disaster.

Highly Skilled

The best fire damage restoration professionals are highly-trained, exceptionally skilled, and properly equipped to deal with every aspect of a commercial fire. From handling major renovations to taking care of the lingering effects of smoke damage, pro fire restoration companies take care of it for you. Hiring ANR means you'll be working with technicians who have the knowledge, tools, and materials to get the job done right the first time.

Insurance Claims

Multifamily Home Renovations Forest Hill, TX

When you start the claim process with your businesses' insurance company, they'll ask whether you've hired a fire damage restoration company. That's because companies like Atlas prevent further damage from occurring and calculate an estimate of your total loss. You can submit this estimate to your insurance company, which may then provide you with resources to complete your company's disaster recovery mt-md-1

Discover the
Atlas Difference

Fire damage restoration is a crucial, complex process that professionals must perform. With decades of expertise, unmatched restoration quality, and the scalability for any job, Atlas National Renovations is well-equipped to be your single source for commercial fire damage restoration in Forest Hill, TX. We are specially equipped to make difficult restoration projects easy for owners.

When a fire disaster strikes, you need a timely response from a trustworthy team of experts. Don't settle for a mediocre fire restoration partner. Choose ANR to get the job done right the first time. Contact our office today to learn more about our fire restoration services in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex.

Free Consultation

Se espera un fuerte sistema de tormentas y tiempo severo en Dallas – Fort Worth y el norte de Texas

DALLAS, Texas. – Comienza el mes de marzo y trae posibilidad de tiempo severo y tormentas para este jueves 2 de marzo en el norte de Texas.Sin embargo, desde este miércoles tuvimos dos avisos por tormentas severas para Tarrant y el sur del condado Dallas. Además el Servicio Nacional de Meteorología emitió una Vigilancia por Tormentas Severas para varios condados del norte de Texas que expiró a las 10:10 am.En Tarrant, ciudades como Arlington, Burleson, Forest Hill y ...

DALLAS, Texas. – Comienza el mes de marzo y trae posibilidad de tiempo severo y tormentas para este jueves 2 de marzo en el norte de Texas.

Sin embargo, desde este miércoles tuvimos dos avisos por tormentas severas para Tarrant y el sur del condado Dallas. Además el Servicio Nacional de Meteorología emitió una Vigilancia por Tormentas Severas para varios condados del norte de Texas que expiró a las 10:10 am.

En Tarrant, ciudades como Arlington, Burleson, Forest Hill y Mansfield reportaron granizo del tamaño hasta de una pelota de golf.

Nuestra meteoróloga Nelly Carreño indicó que será un sistema que pasará relativamente rápido sobre el norte de Texas, pero trae consigo riesgo moderado de lluvias intensas, granizo y tornados. Además, un riesgo alto de fuertes vientos.

La escala del tiempo severo se mide del 1 al 5, siendo este último el máximo en su intensidad, y Dallas y Fort Worth están ubicados en el riesgo 2.

“Estamos dentro de un riesgo de 2 o 3 en una escala de 5, principalmente por fuertes vientos, granizo grande y no descartamos la posibilidad de tornado o cualquier modalidad de tiempo severo”, dijo Ángela del Río, experta en el tiempo.

Planifica tu lugar seguro

La meteoróloga Nelly Carreño resalta que debemos buscar un lugar céntrico dentro de nuestros hogares, lejos de las ventanas en caso de tornados.

Las personas que viven en casas móviles o rodantes deben buscar otra opción, es peligroso quedarse dentro de este tipo de viviendas en tiempo severo. Puedes acudir con tus vecinos.

El sistema llega después de las 4:00 pm y sí el riesgo más grande es de granizo grande, vientos de hasta 60 millas por hora y la posibilidad de tornados.

“El riesgo de inundaciones es mínimo, pero no se descarta, especialmente en áreas propensas a acumulación de agua”, pronostica Ángela del Río, experta en el tiempo.

Te recomendamos descargar la aplicación de Noticias 23 para recibir las alertas del tiempo.

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Parts of TxDOT’s billion-dollar Southeast Connector delayed as project is hit by inflation

FOREST HILL — Behind the busy southeast intersection of Loop 820, Interstate 20 and U.S. 287 lives Carla Hernandez, one of the many residents in the area who navigate the web of highways on a regular basis.Although Hernandez moved there in June 2022, she has already seen how chaotic this intersection can become and looks forward to the completion of the Southeast Connector project, the Texas Department of Transportation’s ...

Although Hernandez moved there in June 2022, she has already seen how chaotic this intersection can become and looks forward to the completion of the Southeast Connector project, the Texas Department of Transportation’s largest investment in highway infrastructure in Fort Worth.

“Around five o’clock, it is very hectic,” said Hernandez, 30. “Even sometimes on the weekend, around the split to I-20 and I-820.”

Increased traffic demands and population growth have forced TxDOT to revisit the major highway completed in the 1970s to increase safety and mobility in congested parts of southeast Fort Worth. But the expensive and ambitious project — a $1.6 billion price tag over 11 miles — has been marred with funding hurdles, forcing some parts of the project to be deferred until money is available.

“Because of inflation, supply chain issues, things of that nature, all of the bids came in higher than what TxDOT has allocated,” said Jay Proskovec, public information manager for South-Point Constructors, the engineering firm behind the project.

The project, which broke ground in November 2022, is expected to officially start construction in early March and be completed in 2027.

Not everyone agrees that the connector needs a makeover. One watchdog group calls it a “boondoggle” and Arlington resident Shelley Ames finds it “completely unnecessary.”

“We’ve got four lanes on both sides that are never jammed unless there’s a traffic accident. If there’s an accident, it’s going to be jammed no matter what,” said Ames, a mother of four.

The Southeast Connector touches four communities — Fort Worth, Arlington, Kennedale and Forest Hill — and includes portions of I-20, Loop 820, U.S. 287 and Spur 303 (Rosedale Street).

Since the completion of southeast Loop 820 in the ‘70s, the highway has remained at four to eight lanes despite a significant increase in traffic. During that time, traffic has increased from less than 10,000 vehicles per day to over 200,000 vehicles per day at some locations of 820, said Michael Peters, public information officer for TxDOT’s Fort Worth office.

“With the increase in population during that time, these roadways can no longer accommodate this area’s growing traffic demand,” he said in an email.

Texas A&M’s Texas Transportation Institute released data in 2022 on the state’s most congested highways and ranked the eastbound I-20 segment between U.S. 287 and Texas 360 among the most congested freeways.

Based on growth projections, redesign for the connector gained traction in 2016, and identified a need for more lanes, from four to five on each side. Some exit ramps will be relocated from left to right and extended to improve safety and allow for more space to brake. Turn lanes will be added along some frontage roads.

“Frankly, the design of the roadway just really no longer stands up to the modern-day standards,” Proskovec said.

The $1.6 billion Southeast Connector is funded by the Texas Clear Lanes initiative, which uses a combination of federal and state funds to help TxDOT address congestion priorities with local officials. Funding does not include money from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

However, rising costs and inflation have forced TxDOT and South-Point Constructors to prioritize certain aspects of the project. At this time, only 11 of the originally planned 16 miles will be worked on with an estimated completion date of 2027. If the tabled highway segments are added back on the timeline, the completion date could shift, Proskovec said.

To complete all 16 miles as one project, it would require $2.4 million, South-Point Constructors told the Fort Worth Mobility: Infrastructure and Transportation committee on Jan. 10.

Sections of the project that will be paused include I-820 between Ramey Avenue and Brentwood Stair Road, US 287 between Village Creek Road and Bishop Street, and I-20 between Little Road and Park Springs Road.

Ames, whose backyard opens up to I-20 and the exit ramp at Kelley Elliot Road, is also concerned about increased noise pollution and safety.

“There’s been cars in the ditch behind our house,” Ames said. “You get us too much closer to the freeway and we’re gonna start having cars in our backyards. This is a neighborhood with lots of kids. What happens if a car plows through my backyard and my kids are outside?

While the Southeast Connector faces funding setbacks, the project has also come under scrutiny from some watchdog organizations. The U.S. Public Interest Research Group and Frontier Group designated the project as one of the country’s most wasteful highway proposals in a 2020 annual report.

The report described the project as pointless with the appearance of having value — a “boondoggle.”

The project will also result in 23 residential and 19 commercial displacements and cut down about 15 acres of trees, which has raised concerns from neighbors.

TxDOT had no comment related to the watchdog report and instead noted the transformative impact the Southeast Connector project will have on a growing region in need.

“Traffic volumes on the facilities included within this project continue to increase as a result of this growth. Due to these considerations, the project has had the support of these cities, Tarrant County and the North Central Texas Council of Governments throughout its development,” TxDOT’s Peters said in an email statement.

TxDOT has said in the past it would compensate those forced to move because of the connector.

For opposed residents like Ames, this project is just “a huge waste of taxpayer funds.”

“If we were doing construction in our own house and I was budgeting for a new kitchen but the prices went up and I discovered that I won’t be able to afford half of my cabinets, I wouldn’t just go ahead and start the project anyways,” she said. “That doesn’t seem like an intelligent thing to do.”

Sandra Sadek is a Report for America corps member, covering growth for the Fort Worth Report. You can contact her at sandra.sadek@fortworthreport.org or follow her on Twitter at @ssadek19.

At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.

Forest Hill council member’s suit alleges that others on council want to silence her

Forest Hill council member Beckie Duncan Hayes, who was suspended in November for failing to get a permit for repairs at her home, is suing four council members and the city, alleging that they are trying to silence her and to have her serve as little of her term as possible.Hayes filed her lawsuit in Tarrant County district court late Thursday afternoon. Council members Malinda Miller, Racquel Belle, Carlie Jones and Ozell Birks were named in the suit. Mayor Clara Faulkner and council members Sonja Coleman are not being sued.T...

Hayes filed her lawsuit in Tarrant County district court late Thursday afternoon. Council members Malinda Miller, Racquel Belle, Carlie Jones and Ozell Birks were named in the suit. Mayor Clara Faulkner and council members Sonja Coleman are not being sued.

The suit alleges that the four council members who voted to suspend Hayes violated her right to due process and are acting outside of their authority as elected officials.

“The divisions on the Forest Hill city council have a long history, but the current actions taken against Beckie Hayes are unprecedented in their level of pettiness, and go beyond any rational grounds for discipline of a council member,” according to the lawsuit.

Interim city manager Venus Wehle did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment Monday morning.

Hayes was suspended until March 17 following a lengthy hearing that lasted until after midnight on Nov. 17. While she is on suspension, Hayes will not have access to her city-issued cell phone and email and must communicate with the interim city manager regarding her mail.

During the Nov. 16 hearing, Frank Hill, an attorney representing Hayes, admonished the council, saying that the charges were unclear and “constitutionally vague.”

“My point again is not to be threatening but to alert you that you are about to embark on an unlawful constitutional proceeding without sufficient clarity of the charges and without clarity in the ordinances as to what she has allegedly done,” Hill said during the hearing.

According to the suit, Hayes hired a contractor in April to repair damage to her home from February’s winter storm.

An underground pipe burst, sending sewage into Hayes’ home. Because the break was close to the line that the city would be responsible for, Hayes contacted city employees, who came out and inspected the damage, and knew that repairs were needed, according to court documents.

Hayes also hired a foundation contractor, Cory Gray, who told her the repairs were cosmetic and that she did not have to have a permit. Gray was hired in April and finished the work in May.

Hayes also contacted the city to make sure that she didn’t need a permit for the repairs, and was told that she did not need one, according to the lawsuit.

Besides the foundation repairs, other work was underway at her home. Tommy Thompson, Forest Hill’s chief code enforcement officer, drove past the home daily, but said he did not see anything that required a permit.

However, in June, former city manager Sheyi Ipaye told Hayes that a neighbor complained that she didn’t have a permit for the work at her home. When Hayes asked who complained, the suit stated, Ipaye did not tell her.

Hayes asked her contractor to submit the permit paperwork, which was done in September.

“At no time did Ms. Hayes claim that as a city council member she didn’t need a permit, nor did she ever attempt to avoid complying with city policies and ordinances,” according to court documents.

Hayes also alleged that when a male council member was suspended for misusing his city credit card, he was told he could not vote or sit on the dais at meetings.

Hayes is requesting a hearing seeking a temporary injunction against the council members, and to be reinstated to her council seat.

North Texas mayor quits after accusation of using city money to see Michelle Obama

Mayor Lyndia Thomas and Mayor Pro Tem Beckie Hayes, who also resigned, allegedly asked for reimbursement from the city for $545 tickets to Michelle Obama’s recent event in DallasFOREST HILL, Texas — This story has been updated to clarify the name of the mayor of Forest Hill. 10:01 p.m. Wednesday Dec. 16 UPDATE:After the meeting where Forest Hill City Council accepted the resignations, Hayes and Thomas defended their actions to reporters and explained why they decided to resign....

Mayor Lyndia Thomas and Mayor Pro Tem Beckie Hayes, who also resigned, allegedly asked for reimbursement from the city for $545 tickets to Michelle Obama’s recent event in Dallas

FOREST HILL, Texas — This story has been updated to clarify the name of the mayor of Forest Hill.

10:01 p.m. Wednesday Dec. 16 UPDATE:

After the meeting where Forest Hill City Council accepted the resignations, Hayes and Thomas defended their actions to reporters and explained why they decided to resign.

"I will not leave my fate in the hands of other individuals," said Hayes. "I am a woman of integrity, and the allegations, they have no substance. They are false."

Hayes acknowledged that she purchased two $540 tickets for the Michelle Obama event for herself and the mayor and filed for reimbursement from the city's public relations fund. The expense was approved by the city manager, and Hayes received a check. She later paid back the money when there was criticism, but she said they had done nothing wrong.

"It doesn't specify what we can do and where we can go," she said. "But it's set aside for us to go and learn and get involved."

The expenditures were brought to light by a citizen's audit committee, which also flagged other expenses that they said were questionable, either lacking in documentation or approval from council.

"[The Obama event] had nothing to do with city business at all," said former councilmember Michielle Benson. "Public relations is supposed to make our city shine. That is not it."

"I feel like they took my money!" said Leslie Jasperson, a Forest Hill resident who served on the committee.

Jasperson has an accounting certification and was prepared to present evidence she collected at the meeting, but that proved unnecessary following the resignations.

Both Hayes and Thomas said they are being targeted for political reasons, and they both said they will now run for city council again. The next election will be in May.

"We don't get a salary, but we are entitled to be reimbursed for our expenses," Thomas said. "We are not trying to hide anything."

EARLIER:

The mayor and mayor pro tem of Forest Hill have resigned suddenly, ahead of public hearings on their alleged misuse of funds.

Mayor Lyndia Thomas and Mayor Pro Tem Beckie Hayes allegedly asked for reimbursement from the city for $545 tickets to Michelle Obama’s recent event in Dallas. A citizens committee apparently discovered that and other questionable expenses in an audit.

Hayes told Channel 8 she tendered her resignation because she did not want to leave her fate in the hands of others.

The city council is set to meet shortly, and other council members said they will continue to discuss ways to hold the officials accountable.

This is a breaking news story and will be updated.

Forest Hill mayor and mayor pro tem resign over allegations they billed city for Obama event tickets

The Forest Hill City Council is in turmoil after its mayor and mayor pro tem resigned this week following accusations of misuse of city funds to attend a Michelle Obama event.Mayor Lyndia Thomas and Mayor Pro Tem Beckie Duncan Hayes stepped down Wednesday afternoon, just hours before public council hearings on the matter were to take place.The two were accused of using city money to cover, among other expenses, tickets to attend a "conversation" with Michelle Obama, a Dec. 17 event held in conjunction with the former ...

The Forest Hill City Council is in turmoil after its mayor and mayor pro tem resigned this week following accusations of misuse of city funds to attend a Michelle Obama event.

Mayor Lyndia Thomas and Mayor Pro Tem Beckie Duncan Hayes stepped down Wednesday afternoon, just hours before public council hearings on the matter were to take place.

The two were accused of using city money to cover, among other expenses, tickets to attend a "conversation" with Michelle Obama, a Dec. 17 event held in conjunction with the former first lady's recent book tour. The tickets cost $545 each.

"They were ripping us off," Leslie Jasperson, a longtime Forest Hill resident who decided to check up on how city officials spend tax money, told KXAS-TV (NBC5).

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Through open record requests, Jasperson uncovered a check for $1,091.92.

But Thomas defended the Obama expense.

"We don't get paid a salary," she told NBC5. "But ... we are entitled to be reimbursed for our expenses."

City Manager Sheyi Ipaye approved reimbursement for the tickets, Hayes said. The money came from a $10,000 public relations fund that allows council members to attend events for educational purposes, she said.

"It doesn't specify what we can do and where we can go. But it's set aside for us to go and learn," Hayes said of the fund.

Jasperson told NBC5 that she doesn't buy it.

"It's not PR," she said. "What are they going to learn from Michelle Obama that they are going to bring back the city? I mean, really."

Thomas and Hayes received a letter notifying them of violations Jan. 8, though no details were provided, Hayes said.

Hayes said she reimbursed the city for her ticket after the allegations were raised. She said that she and Thomas resigned in order to avoid suspension but that they left under duress and "were not going to put our fate in [the council's] hands."

On Tuesday, Thomas and Hayes asked for a 90-day extension before their public hearing in order to prepare, but the council voted to deny the request.

The officials were elected two years ago, with Thomas defeating current council member Gerald Joubert by a single vote.

Thomas and Hayes filed to run for re-election on Wednesday, the first day to give notice.

"I'm expecting to win," Hayes told NBC5. The election is in May.

Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Clara Faulkner is acting mayor, NBC5 reported.

"I am astonished," Faulkner said. "The city is moving forward. We will continue to move forward. We can only go up."

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