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March 11, 2010

GBC Councilman wants to look closely at new city hall proposal

Art Lawler Staff writer The Athens Review

Athens — GUN BARREL CITY — Councilman Marvin Pace wants the city council to take a look at reconfiguring current  plans for a new city hall at a former bank across the street from the present location.

Pace wants to make a study to see if the municipal court, currently located next to the police station, could be moved into the soon-to-be-expanded city hall.

That space, he said, could be used to expand the police department which everyone on council agreed was way too crowded with office files and lack of space for files and interrogations.

Pace, who has been working with all the department heads at city hall to learn more about the inner-workings of the city, wants to go back one more time, and nail down the specifics for such a change.

But when the matter came to a vote, Councilman Curtis Webster voted against  Pace and Melvyn Hayes, saying simply, “I wanted to be on that committee.”

Webster admitted Wednesday that it might have seemed childish for him to protest the selections, but he explained his reasoning.

“I know construction, and I know renovation,” Webster said. “Since I’ve been a developer of shopping centers and office buildings, this would have been a good position for me to sit on that committee.”

Councilman Kevin Banghart suggested putting Webster on the committee, also. But, Councilman Marty Goss said quickly, “We can’t have three council members on the committee.”

Goss and Webster have sparred verbally in recent weeks, also.

Webster said he felt he should have been picked for the committee, noting he has been on the council for nearly a year, and is the only councilman during that time not to have been put on a committee. 

Some of the others, he said, have been selected to two or more committees.

Webster has been at odds with the majority three times recently on votes, and he’s wondering if that might be one of the reasons why.

In recent weeks, Webster said he voted his conscience in recent votes, opposing the purchase of 92-acres of land for the city, a proposal approved by a 4-1 vote.

Webster also voted earlier against increasing club hours that would have extended alcohol sales, again voting in the minority.

Finally, on Tuesday, he cast his third vote against the grain of the council by voicing the opinion that he should have been selected to the committee.

“I guess  they think I’m not a team player,” Webster said. “But I will always vote my conscience.”

Councilmen Melvyn Hayes and Councilman Marvin Pace have different ideas about how to get more room for the police department.

Tuesday night, Hayes favored building on the south end of the current facility, making room for a courtroom and offices to the south end of the police department.

Pace wants to reconfigure the soon-to-be expanded city hall to make room for a municipal court, thereby freeing up space needed out at the police department.

Mayor Eaton suggested the two could work together, and report their progress to the council at the next regularly-scheduled meeting in two weeks.

That’s when Webster made his objections known to the council.

The Gun Barrel City Council also voted Tuesday night:

• to approve a resolution exempting available public employers under federal wage and hour laws for employees working in positions of law enforcement activities.

In effect, the new scheduling will put patrol officers on duty for 12-hour days for four days, while allowing  each officer to get every other weekend off. 

Officers in the back of the room came to support the change and it passed unanimously.

• to accept a report from City Manager Gerry Boren on a P&Z recommendation regarding the change of land use in the G. Martinez Survey, located near Legendary Lane, belonging to Lucille Parker from High Density Residential to General Business District B-2.

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