By John Brice
Correspondent
The LaFayette City Council met on October 10th of 2022 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 Toney B. Thomas, and Councilwoman Tammie B. Williams. Police Chief George Rampey, City Clerk Louis T. Davidson and City Attorney Joseph M. Tucker were also present. The meeting began with a prayer led by Chief Rampey and standard procedures such as roll call.
First up at the podium was Dori Harmon, owner of Harmon Insurance in LaFayette. Mrs. Harmon addressed the council regarding her concerns about the handicapped parking situation in front of her business. She described the plight of one of her employees who is a parapalegic and is often unable to park directly in front of her workplace due to parking spots being occupied by county employees from the nearby courthouse.
Harmon had previously raised the issue at the last Chambers County Commission meeting where in response Chairperson Riley referred her to the City of LaFayette who she asserted were the party responsible for code enforcement.
Councilwoman Williams expressed her own concerns that if dedicated parking spaces were assigned to each business in downtown LaFayette there may not be enough left over to meet the needs of the general public. Councilman Mangram brought up the consideration that many of the parking spots set aside for county employees are located on the opposite side of U.S. Route 431 from the courthouse and many of those workers feel uncomfortable crossing that busy road.
City Attorney Tucker recalled that previous negotiations with the county had left the matter unresolved and proposed metered parking as a possible solution. Mayor Vines shared his conclusion that a long-term arrangement was needed, the key to which was thorough research conducted by experts in the matter. The motion to investigate the matter further as well as reaffirming existing ordinances that prohibit private citizens from posting “no parking” signs was put to a vote and approved.
Next up to speak was Pamela Holloway who took the opportunity to invite the community to the Dancing for a Cure – Breast Cancer Awareness event on October 23rd at 3pm in front of her business the Blessed Body and Fitness Gym. The registration fee will be $10, the proceeds from which will go to the Breast Cancer Awareness Center and breast cancer survivors will be recognized as well. Mayor Vines thanked Mrs. Holloway for her noble efforts and shared his own experience losing his sister to the illness in 2019.
Superintendent Richard Chapman of the Water and Sewage Department reported on the details of a water leak in a city facility that was the result of a burst pipe that was successfully repaired without extensive flooding.
Councilman Mangram raised concerns he had about the field in a city park being damaged by cars driving recklessly on them and whether the gates were being locked at night. Chief Rampey responded by reassuring him that the police department was locking the gates at night and patrolling the park several times a day to discourage any vandalism.
Councilman Mangram also brought up the complaint from a local resident regarding excess amounts of water that had been flooding her property and expressed his desire to put citizens’ minds to rest that the council had thoroughly considered the matter. City Attorney Tucker clarified that the matter had been thoroughly investigated by the city and the determination had been made that this was a natural drainage problem and as such not a responsibility of the city since there was no public interest at hand.
Councilman Thomas expressed his deep gratitude to the organizers of the highly successful LaFayette Alumni Day and complimented the city’s departments and workers for their excellent job in support of that event.
City Attorney Tucker returned to the podium to provide details on upcoming changes to fuel prices and the costs that may be passed on to city residents paying their utility bills. He explained that due to issues with the energy supply at the national level that there is a near certainty that fuel costs will be increasing in the coming months, however, due to existing ordinances already on the books regarding this pricing being adjusted automatically there was no need for the council to take action on the matter.
Concluding the meeting was the approval of a cemetery deed and the council adjourned.