Tammy Colvin, administrative assistant to the city manager of Dayton, was moved up as interim city manager at Monday night's Dayton City Council meeting.
Mayor Hurley Marsh told the audience that current city manager Tommy Solomon would be out for a while on medical leave and that “We need someone in charge to keep the day to day operations going.”
On a motion by Vice Mayor Steve Randolph and a second by Councilman Bobby Doss, Ms.
Colvin was moved to city manager temporarily.
“When Tommy is able to come back, she will go back to her current position. She is very capable of doing the job, said Mayor Marsh.
Council members echoed the same remarks with Vice Mayor Randolph stating that “Tammy has the full support of the council to do the job and carry on.”
Ms. Colvin has been working for the city of Dayton for 42 years.
Discussion on the city’s purchase of the Able property started off the night with City Attorney Susan Arnold pointing out several things in the contract that she says needs to be discussed before entering into the agreement.
“We have a small difference in the acreage of the property. When the city went to look at purchasing it several years ago it was 89.93 acres. Now they are saying it is 83.74. We need to have the property surveyed to get an accurate accounting of the property, “said Ms. Arnold.
She also advised the council that they need to decide who is going to pay for the survey and several other items such as closing costs, title insurance, and certificate of public necessity. She further stated to the council that they need to keep in mind that if they are going through some of the processing with the state and other agencies that they need to have an extension of the closing date.
“We really need to get a site development dngineer contracted to assess the property to see what parts can be developed for,” continued Ms. Arnold.
Vice Mayor Randolph made a motion with a second by Councilman Caleb Yawn that the expense of the survey and title insurance should be paid for by the seller and that the closing costs be split between the seller and the city of Dayton and Rhea County.
Mr. Randolph wanted it changed in the contract that monies from the city of Dayton and Rhea County be refunded if the seller defaults on the property or its not suitable for use.
John Bamber addressed the commission about the status of getting a vocational school at the site.
“I talked with the governor (Governor Lee) at the opening in Cleveland and they are coming close to announcing,” he said. He further said that the other parts of the property could be used for sports fields and a running track. TheTennessee Department of Environment and Conservation has a 50/50 grant that would go toward the sports fields and a walking track.
“This grant would have to be applied for in 30 days by the 15th of February,” said Mr. Bamber.
Ms. Arnold further went to stress the need of a site engineer to determine the usage of the property.
Several other items on the night's agenda were moved to be discussed and worked upon during a workshop to be announced. Consideration of a contract with Upland Design for work at Gabbert Field, work on Pendergrass Park, a retaining wall at the Walking Track, consideration of Pickleball Court Sponsorships, and consideration of a boat slip agreement.
Attorney Arnold was asked by the Council to do research on the sponsorships at the Pickleball Court. She stated to the Council that even though the comptroller's office says ask the State Auditor, MTAS (University of Tennessee Municipal Technical Advisory Service) "says that we shouldn’t do it, because you can't use public property for advertising." Vice Mayor Randolph said they need a definite answer before the Council makes a decision.
On the boat slip agreement, Councilman Billy Graham pointed out that currently at the boat dock there weren’t that many boats but a lot of pontoon boats. He suggested that since pontoon boats take up a little more room in a slip that the monthly price for docking them would go to $85 and $75 for regular boats. It was moved to the workshop for further discussion.
On a motion by Councilman Yawn and a second by Vice Mayor Randolph, Council approved emergency repairs to the gymnasium of Rhea County Community Center (Rc3). Cindy Horton, executive director of RC3, said that during the freeze at Christmas the pipes burst and it flooded the gym floor.
David Webb with the city said that he had inspected the damage and already talked to the city’s insurance adjuster and the repairs will be covered minus a $1,000 deductible.