By John Brice
Correspondent
The LaFayette City Council met on Monday, February 12th of 2024 at the Chambers County Farmers Federation Agricultural Center at the ALFA building in LaFayette. In attendance were Mayor Kenneth Vines, Councilman Terry G. Mangram, Councilman David Ennis, Councilman Toney B. Thomas, Councilman Michael C. Ellis and Councilwoman Tammie B. Williams. Police Chief George Rampey, Fire Chief James Doody, City Clerk Louis T. Davidson, City Attorney Joseph M. Tucker, Street, Sanitation and Cemetery Superintendent George Green, Wastewater Plant Superintendent Alan Gleaton and Electric Superintendent Chris Sanders were also present. The meeting began with an invocation led by Chief Rampey and standard procedures such as roll call as well as approval of the minutes from the previous meeting.
First up on the agenda was UNITE founder Dr. Travis “Tee” Smith with a discussion of community concerns regarding the city’s partnership with the Chambers County Board of Education. Dr. Smith took to the podium to revisit what he characterized as an unfortunate incident which occurred on October 10th of 2023 in which Mayor Vines entered into what Smith described as an unconstitutional memorandum of understanding with the Chambers County Board of Education without conferring with and gaining approval from the city council. Peaceful protests which harken back to the civil rights movement were effectively made illegal by this MOU according to Smith, who likened its chilling effect to the oppression suffered during the Jim Crow era.
Reciting an enumerated list of perceived mistreatment of the LaFayette community by CCSD Superintendent Casey Chambley, Smith inquired as to why the city would seek to bolster his ego by entering into this MOU when he had made flimsy excuses in the past for being unable to meet with them and failing to consider a requested donation to the city of the vacated J.P. Powell Middle School building when he had previously donated a school building to the City of Five Points. Smith urged the city to rescind the MOU and provide an explanation to the community as to why it was ever entered into in the first place.
City Attorney Tucker advised the council not to comment on the matter due to threatened litigation by Dr. Smith regardless of the veracity of statements made at the meeting. Councilwoman Williams responded by stating that she had been at the protest in question along with Councilman Thomas in which there were no threats made against the CCSD BOE. Williams remarked that if public officials do not possess a thick enough skin to withstand criticism then they do not belong in politics. Describing a status quo in which she feels that certain colleagues in city hall have repeatedly failed to inform her and the council of critical matters such as this MOU, Williams insisted that she be kept apprised of such pressing situations with the failure to do so amounting to a lack of respect for her office and the constituents whom she represents.
Councilman Ennis remarked that he had been left out of the loop as well and made a motion to suspend the meeting’s rules so that the council could consider rescinding the MOU. Councilman Mangram asked why the council should take on the burden of rescinding the MOU when they had never voted for it to begin with. At that point there was a unanimous roll call vote in favor of suspending the rules which then was followed by a motion to rescind the MOU by Councilman Ellis which was seconded by Councilman Thomas. There was then a roll call vote which was unanimous in requesting that Mayor Vines rescind the MOU.
Councilwoman Williams then asked when Mayor Vines would rescind the MOU which led her to make a motion to rescind it immediately with Councilman Thomas seconding it. Following that was a roll call vote requesting that the mayor rescind the MOU immediately which passed with all in favor except for Councilman Ennis who voted no by explaining that he would prefer that the council look at the MOU and come up with modified language to make it acceptable without completely rescinding it.
Next up was Clerk Davidson with an announcement of a Historic Preservation Board Meeting on Thursday, February 15th at 5:30pm.
Following that was Chief Rampey coming to the podium for a discussion regarding Resolution No. 2024-12-02-01 to declare LaFayette Police Department equipment as surplus. Rampey noted that the LPD has been attempting to calculate the total number of firearms that they want to trade in while working with Newman’s Farm Supply to get their guns replaced along with holsters. Councilman Ellis asked for confirmation that these were the city owned glock pistols and how old they were. Rampey confirmed that they were city owned and estimated that they have had them for roughly seven years since before he became chief and assured the council that Mr. Newman had given the LPD a nearly even swap and worked well with the city to get them replacements at a good cost. Without possessing all of the hard numbers to confirm the details of the resolution before voting on it, Councilman Ennis made a motion to declare the equipment surplus now and work out the details later which was approved with a roll call vote.
Allen Tucker from Harmon Engineering & Contracting Co., Inc. took to the podium next to provide details Resolution No. 2024-12-02-02 Handy Cemetery Project Expansion Final Pay Request and Resolution No. 2024-12-02-03 2020 Street Improvements Pay Request which were both approved with unanimous roll call votes.
Chambers County Development Authority Executive Director Chris Busby was next up at the podium with a discussion on Resolution No. 2024-12-02-04 Project Halloween which entails a proposed establishment of a new hardwood sawmill near the intersection of Highway 50 and Martin Luther King Drive. On behalf of the timber company proposing the new facility which is projected to employ twenty-five personnel plus administrative staff, Busby requested abatements from the city of sales and ad valorem taxes which were approved by a roll call vote.
Reaching the final agenda items, ten cemetery deeds were approved as a single motion.