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Councilman challenges Mayor concerning Southwest Washington redevelopment plan A councilman's struggle with the details of the multi-year Southwest Washington Redevelopment Plan, and his challenging of the mayor on parts of the plan that the councilman had agreed to, brought Monday night's meeting of the Washington City Council into a frustrating standoff. Councilman Maceo Mahoney said he was echoing some of his District 1 constituents saying, when it came to the Southwest Washington Redevelopment Plan, "we don't understand what's going on." He asked several basic questions about the three-year-old plan that Mahoney and other councilmen had been briefed on extensively, regularly, and in great detail, since the inception of the plan three years ago. Mayor Willie Burns expressed some frustration that Mahoney had not retained any of the facts that he'd been told, facts that could have answered his constituents' questions. "We've had communications with property owners on this," the Mayor said, "we've had Tony Henderson and the city administrator and myself talking one-on-one with property owners, and Tony is available to talk with anybody with a question. That's what we're paying him for - he's here to talk with folks." City Administrator Mike Eskew gave a brief status update on the ongoing Rusher Street surveys and the grant application process for the redevelopment plan. Mahoney asked, "Well, if you have property owners who don't want to go along, what happens?" The mayor, perhaps frustrated that Mahoney's question had been answered in nearly every briefing,hearing, and presentation on the plan for years, responded that the plan would be gone over again in detail at the council retreat on Wednesday. "We'll have a four-hour meeting with Christian Lentz of the RDC and he'll go over it all again," Burns said. A grassroots neighborhood improvement plan led off the evening's discussion. Councilman Pamela Eaton said that she had received a letter from the Historic South Alexander Street Association suggesting things they could do to better their own neighborhood. The group wants to pick up trash on their street, and put up signs for their association, Eaton said. "They're also concerned with the state of sidewalks and with speeding on South Alexander." The council agreed to discuss at the retreat what the city could do to support the association. Council members voted to pass a resolution in support of brownfieldsgrants for hazardous waste materials. They also passed a resolution in support of the 13th Colony Trail, a historic trail from Darien to Washington to Hart Co. The resolution enables the mayor to process Washington's application for the program. At the Mayor's time on the agenda, he again voiced his frustration over Councilman Mahoney's remarks on the redevelopment plan. "How long have we been working on this development plan?" Burns asked. "Three years, and it's been well-publicized…" At this point, Mahoney interrupted, but the Mayor insisted that it was his time to speak. When Mahoney continued to interrupt, the Mayor warned him that he was out of order, then told Washington Police Lt. Johnny Crookham to remove Mahoney. After a few awkward moments, City Attorney Steven Brown suggested that the councilman be allowed to stay and that the topic be brought up at the Wednesday retreat, and all agreed. Mayor Burns went on. "I want the general public to understand that the dialog on this plan has been going on for three years, and it's been well-publicized. The Mayor has an open door. If you have issues with the redevelopment plan, come and see me or the City Administrator and we'll work with you to the best of our ability." He pointed out that a grant of $1.3 million was about to be spent on a property in the redevelopment area. "But if you don't want to do that, if you oppose this redevelopment plan, you need to get with your council member and say that I object." In other councilmen's reports, Councilman Ed Pope Jr. said that he wanted to acknowledge the efforts of city workers to prepare the city for the recent stage start of the Tour de Georgia. "The event involved a lot of city workers working over and beyond, and I just wanted to publicly say how much we appreciated their efforts." Councilman Nathaniel Cullars, at his turn, proposed that the city hold an Employee Day picnic or other event to show appreciation for city employees. The council agreed to discuss the subject at this week's retreat.
The meeting was adjourned by vote of the council.
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