Also grilled about possible changes at Greenewood Center
The Jefferson city council at its May 27 meeting approved amendments to the current year fiscal budget, increasing both revenues and expenses.
Revenues are amended up by $4,379,456, with much of that coming from interest earned by investing state revolving loan funds (SRF) until the funds are actually needed to pay for the wastewater treatment plant project.
Expenditures are also amended upward $6,917,518, with $5 million of that being payments on the wastewater treatment plant.
The council approved vacating an alley to the developer of middle school project. That corrects an error made 100 years ago when an action to vacate the alley, if there was such an action, was not recorded at the courthouse.
The council also approved accepting a larger easement around a water well south of the former middle school at the corner of S. Elm St and the abandoned block of W. Monroe St. The city will move an old generator from the wastewater treatment plant to that well, providing backup power for three water wells. The Greene County Schools board has already approved the easement.
The council approved hiring Shaydon Thurman as a police officer, effective May 30. His starting salary will be $60,341 per the union contract. His salary will increase to $62,152 on July 1. With Thurman’s hiring the Jefferson PD is fully staffed with eight officers.
The council approved an amendment to the working agreement with city administrator Scott Peterson. Only Peterson’s annual salary is changed, increasing from $120,000 to $125,000.
Greene County Development Corporation board president Scott Weber updated the council on activities of that group.
Ken Paxton is no longer director of GCDC, effective May 30. Weber said the board is considering three options: joining forces with another group; joining an alliance; or conducting a national search for a new director. Weber said he has talked with several groups already. The board will meet June 3 to discuss future plans and hiring an interim director.
“We’re looking forward to a new direction, to seeing where we go from here,” Weber said. “We’ll be in contact with the city and our other major stakeholders. We do appreciate your support as we continue to work through different things. We’re looking forward to the process and coming out great on the other end.” Vision 2030 is “on hold” until the future of GCDC is determined.
Although no one spoke at the public hearing on the budget amendment, two persons, one Jefferson resident and one non-resident, took up 18 minutes during the open forum at the beginning of the meeting.
Resident Cindy Wise debated with the council the possibility of repurposing the lower level of the Greenewood Center as the clubhouse for the municipal golf course.
Wise cited her experience as a social worker serving young children as she encouraged council members to make decisions that benefit those intended to benefit. “I believe we can have good ideas but not right ideas. When we make decisions concerning peoples’ lives, we do have to speak out for the defenseless,” she said, referring to those seniors who participate in the congregate meal program.
She wanted each council person to answer how the proposed project would specifically benefit the elderly residents of Jefferson who use it as an eat-in site for congregate meals.
Council member Matt Wetrich reminded Wise that the city is having a feasibility study done to determine, in part, how the proposed project would affect residents. Wise persisted, saying that because she heard about the project, it must be far along in the planning.
Mayor Craig Berry said the feasibility study won’t be done until August, and that he and the council “are not privy to anything,”
Although the council policy limits a speaker to three minutes during the open forum, Berry allowed Wise to question council members for 14 minutes.
She was followed by Gary Goodwin who, although he owns a business located in Jefferson, is not a resident of the city. He said he listens to many people and that people are watching the council, and will pay more attention to what council members do than to what they say. “If you look at our political arena as it unfolds before us, we found out and we see that people lie… In politics they lie. They say one thing and they do something else,” he said, and then listed issues on which Republicans claim the public was lied to. He said Jefferson peaked in population in 1978, and then went on to say, “Some of you can’t tell me what a woman is. You think that men can turn into women and that men can best breastfeed. Those are your personal views. People are watching. People are listening. People will make decisions and everything is going to change. One day you’re not going to be sitting here anymore. That’s a fact.”
