Conflict at the Council Meeting

Marla Jones, Managing Editor

FORT PAYNE, Ala.--(Full video on Southern Torch Facebook) The Fort Payne City Council held their regularly scheduled meeting on April 5.

At the beginning of the meeting, Councilmember John Smith objected to the agenda.

“Mr. President, I object to the agenda as presented. I asked for a couple of articles to be on here and they are not on here.

You sent me an email that the Mayor was covering this in his report and it's not on here either.”

The items that Councilmember Smith wanted to be placed on the agenda were the purchase of a piece of property and the “Click, Fix” app for citizens to report problems of concern. “I didn't ask for it to be put on the report, I asked for it to be put on the Agenda. So if someone will meet me after the meeting, we will see what the secret is to getting something on the agenda.”

Fort Payne City Attorney Rocky Watson advised that the procedure to purchase property would be to get a Broker's Price Opinion, and then place it on the agenda.

Mayor Brian Baine stated that on the City of Fort Payne’s newly unveiled website, there was a place at the bottom, for citizens to report problems or concerns. The Council asked if they could be added to the thread, to make sure that citizens' concerns and problems were addressed and properly handled.

The Fort Payne City Council acknowledged that a class action complaint was filed in Circuit Court last week, seeking injunctive relief to stop the $3.1 million deal with Marathon Realty. The Council advised that the claim has been forwarded to the City’s insurance carrier.

Allen Dodd of Scruggs, Dodd and Brisendine, Attorneys, P.A., attempted to address the Council as they considered passing three resolutions regarding financial matters relating to Marathon Realty.

Dodd stated that he tried to be put on the agenda.

“Mr. Dodd, you have filed a lawsuit against the City. This is the City government and these are who you have sued. If you talk directly to these people without permission from opposing counsel, you are in violation of the Alabama Rules of Professional Conduct, and I will report you,” stated Fort Payne City Attorney, Rocky Watson.

“Mr. Watson, I believe if you read those rules, the privilege does not obtain nor do the rules obtain to members of a public body but if you are telling me, I can't,” asked Dodd. To which Watson replied, “I’m telling you that you can not.” Attorney Dodd then left the meeting.

Pertaining to Marathon Realty (Food City) The Council passed the following:

Resolutions 2022-17 authorizing financial matters relating to Marathon Realty (Food City) project.
Resolution 2022-18 authorized the issuance of Indebtedness Series 2022-A as it relates to the Marathon Realty (Food City) project.
Resolution 2022-19 authorized the City’s participation in a retail Memorandum of Understanding with Marathon Realty (Food City).

In a 3-2 vote, the Council voted to purchase the old Gas House property for $750,000, with Councilmembers John Smith and Phillip Smith objecting to the purchase. The Smiths questioned how the City would pay for the purchase. The purchase was approved with the financing options to be tabled until the next Council meeting.

Emily McCamy of the DeKalb County Council on Aging gave an update on the activities of the Agency and how its programs had helped the citizens of Fort Payne.

Brandt Middlebrooks was announced as the new Fort Payne Parks and Recreation Director.

Mayor Brian Baine presented an update on the many projects that the city currently has.

The Fort Payne Police Department has completed the mold removal and the demo will begin next week.
A Steering Committee is being organized to make the Comprehensive Master Plan for the City. A timeline will be completed to carry projects from the start to finish.
The piping is put in at the Fort Payne Sports Complex to help with the drainage issue and a catch basin will be installed in the coming weeks.
The old hospital demolition project is near completion. Bricks from the hospital can be purchased for a donation of any size to Patriot’s Park.
Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT) will have money approved to acquire ROWS for the intersection of Airport Road and Jordan Road. Construction is expected to begin by May 2023.
Announced that the City Treasurer job would be posted in the next coming weeks as Trisha Clinton-Dunne is positioning to a new role in Human Resources.

In other business, the Council: