Monday, June 21st turned out to be "Shocking Monday" at Jellico City Hall.
During a meeting of the Utilities Board, Utilities Director Mrs. Cheryl Tidwell, resigned from that position effective July 2nd.
Following that meeting, a budget hearing involving four councilmen and the City Administrator resulted in Administrator Mike Jones also resigning his position effective July 2nd.
In a letter to the members of the Utilities Board, Tidwell stated that she would accept a position at another location. She also emphasized that she had always given 100 percent effort to the job and has put the welfare of the utilities and the city of Jellico above all other job interests. And she agreed to start the advertising of the position in a search for a replacement.
Jones stated his intention to resign during the budget hearing and followed with a letter dated June 21st in which he cited "numerous factors" but listed the primary reason as "a perceived lack of confidence from a portion of the Council."
I regret both resignations. I have known Mrs. Cheryl Williamson Tidwell for her entire life and I had her as a student for several years including her four years of high school. She was a fine student, an outstanding school citizen and a graduate of whom I was extremely proud.
After I assumed the postion of Mayor, I had to call on her many, many times and she always responded with everything needed to accomplish whatever I requested. I became more and more impressed with the vast amount of knowledge that she had acquired and demonstrated in the postition of Director of Utilities. Officials of the Tennessee Valley Authority also complimented her on the manner in which she dealt with a multitude of problems - many of which involved issues far above the day to day operations. And her competency continued to grow with each passing year.
Her salary was one of the lowest anywhere for individuals holding comparable positions and that fact was made clear to me by outside agencies. However I never heard her comment on that fact.
She is going to be very difficult to replace and the present salary will almost certainly have to be increased substantially before anyone can be hired. I feel that her resignation is a loss to the Utilities and the city of Jellico and I believe that future months and years will bear me out in that opinion.
Mr. Mike Jones had only been with us for the past five months but he had demonstrated his willingness to work. A serious minded person, he eventually convinced many city employees that he would try to improve their working conditions including eventually obtaining some badly needed benefits such as retirement. He had worked long and hard on the budget among his accomplishments during his five months on the job.
He expressed no bitterness in his letter of resignation to me and stated, "I will never forget the good times or the many friendships that I have developed during my brief tenure and simply want to thank you and the City Council for the opportunity to serve Jellico's citizens."
I certainly wish Mr. Jones well in whatever plans he may have for the future.
If we have had a success story during the past 15 months, then certainly our new building has to be one. We initially had problems with poor soil and I could not obtain funds to complete the exterior of the building, etc. And those problems prompted statements against spending any more money on that building. But myself and some councilmen stuck to our guns and insisted upon its completion.
And that insistence is now paying big dividends. Mrs. Dorothy Potter, Librarian, told me that she had 134 children enrolled in the "Childrens' Reading Program" as of June 18th with more coming in virtually every day. In fact, she is having to again rearrange her schedule to provide services for all of the interested children and parents.
Furthermore, she has far more adults visiting the Library than ever before and the adult readers are now checking out hardback books rather than softbacks. It is fast becoming a busy place.
The Library has had visitors from a variety of out-of-town locations including a lady from as far away as San Diego, California. And remarkably, some local residents visiting the Library say that they have never before been aware that Jellico even had a Library.
And would anyone insist that the building has not added greatly to the appearance of our downtown?
That truly constitutes a success story and I want to thank everyone, including the Jellico Community Hospital and the private contributors, who advocated and worked for its completion.
Since I have been Mayor, I have worked very hard to maintain communication among city councilmen, city officials, city employees and all of our citizens. That is one of the reasons why I take the time to write this column each week and to do a weekly radio program on WJJT 1540 (Thursday, 1:05 PM).
I also asked the City Recorder to prepare mailboxes for each member of Council, which she did. And I continuously make copies concerning virtually every item of city business that crosses my desk and place those copies in the mailboxes.
When dealing with the large majority of issues, councilmen are given ample time to read and digest the information well in advance of Council meetings.
At our regular monthly meeting of the Council on June 17th, we discussed the problems involved with the rejection of the final draft of plans for the waste water treatment facility. And councilmen were brought up to date with the actions being taken by our Utilities Department and Barge Wagner engineers to solve those problems.
The matching funds ($45,000.00) required from the city were approved and the "Jellico Trail System Project" was accepted. Hopefully we can now get some badly needed work done on our sidewalks although the grant will specify where and how the money is to be spent. (A proposal had been presented to the Council in May to name a street in memory of Mr. Jake McClary but no appropriate unnamed street could be located. City Administrator Mike Jones proposed naming all or part of the trail in honor of Mr. McClary but received no motion to that effect).
Approval was granted to apply for a grant to construct a visitor center based upon approval of an 80-20 match with the match being supplied in kind (material and labor) and with no city funds. (The old City Hall would be torn down and replaced with a one story building that would incorporate some materials from the old City Hall). The in-kind match would require approval of the State Commissioner of Transportation.
The Mayor and Council voted to purchase three used automobiles from the State of Tennessee for use by the Police Department that is soon to be expanded. (Three new officers will be added to the force and paid through a "Cops" grant that is being made available to municipalities). I am especially hopeful that those officers will be able to spend part of their time checking public buildings, public housing and other similar areas. Our present force is limited in manpower and cannot devote sufficient time to all those areas.
Jamie Dugger had not yet reached a decision as to the relocation of "Jamie's Curtains and Decor" at the time of our meeting. But I did present a proposed legal agreement for the use of our city owned building if Jellico is chosen as the site.
Terms of the proposed agreement are very liberal. It is my feeling and the feeling of the Council that we need the jobs and we do not need that building standing empty and in a deteriorating condition. And we would want to give the factory a chance to get established and operating successfully as quickly as possible.
The Council agreed to accept a proposal that I have worked out with Norfolk Southern Railway to "swap" approximately 1.3 acres of railroad property near Veterans Park Annex in return for the closing of a railway crossing at milepost 65-C (McComb Street). The property is not being used for any purpose at the present time and the crossing is very seldom if ever used. A second crossing on Commerce Street allows for very easy access to the affected area.
I am also working to obtain some property for the city that is being offered for sale by the county for taxes. The property would be of no appparent use to anyone and no one has indicated a desire to purchase. (It does border some existing city property and we would hope to build it up above the flood level and utilize the property for a parking lot or some other purpose).
Johnny Ivey, Captain of the Jellico Rescue Squad, addressed the Council and requested permission to negotiate the possibility of the squad's using the caboose in Veterans Park. The use would be contingent upon several factors including the amount of renovation needed, availability of water and sewer, etc. The permission was granted.
Several items had been deferred from the May meeting including requests from Mr. Bill Wheeler and Mr. John Tramell for corrective action toward problems those residents are experiencing with water runoff. No action was taken on either request.
Prior to the meeting, Charles Bruce, Jr.submitted a letter of resignation from our Recycle Collection Program and the Council voted to accept his request effective July 17, 1999. Councilman Bill Barton will need to develop future plans for the program before that date.
Although our new charter virtually eliminated councilmen serving as department heads, the former City Administrator had stated that he wanted to work with members of Council and we were continuing with that system at his discretion. (Only the Council position on the Utilities Board is still left under the appointing authority of the mayor without the approval of the position by the City Administrator).
I informed the Council that I will evaluate the current department appointments during the next year (the second year of our tenure in office) and make any changes at that time that I feel are needed - providing that any new City Administrator is agreeable to that arrangement.
The Jellico Tourism Commission is still seeking antique and old cars/trucks/tractors, etc. for display in Veterans Park on July 2nd and 3rd. Some have indicated the possibility of bringing such vehicles but more are needed.
Anyone interested in displaying a vehicle is again reminded to contact Mrs. Joann Watts at 784-3275 as soon as possible.
Radio station WJJT 1540 has asked me to announce that the station will also sponsor some gospel groups on Saturday, July 3rd at the Jellico Motel (adjoining field). Starting time is 9:00 AM. Eight groups and two individuals are expected to participate.
The passing of Mr. Hoyt Morton brought back a lot of fond memories to many of his former students and co-workers. Mr. Morton had a tremendous influence on countless young lives and he always worked toward the betterment of our community. He for many years was "Mr. Jellico High School" and not only headed that institution, but he was considered something of an "institution" himself.
I talked to several former students and most mentioned his booming voice in the hall that used to strike fear into the hearts of all of us who were late to class.
When I was a sophomore and the New York Yankees and Brooklyn Dodgers were having those great World Series, Alex Abrams and I conspired to slip a portable radio into the classroom and listen to the game. Mr. Morton caught me in the process and ordered me into his office. He "punished" me by making me sit in the office - with the radio on and the game coming in loud and clear of course.
The story is told that at a meeting in Nashville in the early days of sound amplification, Mr. Morton made the convention officials turn on the public addresss system, "Because I want these people to hear me". And I promise that they heard him!!!
He was truly a unique individual and he will be missed by a lot of folks.
I had an opportunity to talk to John Morton while in Jellico for his father's burial and he informed me that he gets this column each week in Florida by e-mail. And according to John, he now knows more about what is taking place in Jellico City Government than he ever did while he lived here.
Final Note:
Several weeks ago I mentioned the fact that I could not get a motion before the Council to add the awnings, metal lettering, bulletin board, etc. to the new building. Since that time, a $ 5,000.00 grant for the purchase of trees was offered to the city of Jellico to include a "soft match" of $ 5,000.00 which could be supplied through labor and equipment. No money would have been required from the city for us to receive the $ 5,000.00.
Councilman Jimmy Dobson made a motion to file an application for the grant but that motion died for the lack of a second. (Councilmen Allen McClary and Alvin Evans were absent and Jerry Neal said later that he did not hear the motion placed before the Council).
After word spread around town about the Council's action (or lack of action), I was asked several times what any members of Council could possibly have against trees. I did not have an answer any more than I had one when the request for the awnings, etc. was refused.
But the Council's failure to help with the exterior of the new buildings did not stop the progress there and the failure to approve a request for the tree grant will not stop the plantings either. Business owners and residents are still continuing to plant trees and I have scheduled the dates of October 25-30 for our second annual fall "Plant Flowering Trees Week" in Jellico. I have already had citizens to tell me that they plan to do plantings at that time.
But I feel confident that $ 5,000.00 worth of free trees would surely have been welcomed by most of our citizens. And it certainly would have helped in our drive to eventually sponsor a "Spring Festival" to attract visitors to Jellico.
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