Jackson Free Press

The city got stuck with a $200,000 bill for demolishing the Town Creek Apartments and runs the risk of further mass expenditures unless it follows federal procedures in demolishing buildings, Council President Ben Allen said in a special City Council meeting Monday.

Allen said that when the Melton administration determined that the Town Creek Apartments had to be demolished as soon as possible, it tried to shift funds around in order to skirt federal guidelines. The idea was that the city would skip the environmental evaluation required in order to draw on some of the city's $500,000 of Community Development Block Grant money earmarked for demolition. Instead, the city would pay for the demolition by borrowing money from the Public Works Department, specifically the re-surfacing fund.

"We had to do it quickly," Leo Stevens, development assistance manager of federal program management, told the council. "Had we had the time, we would have taken the $200,000 directly out of the CDBG demolition fund."

Mayor Frank Melton took office determined to demolish the Town Creek Apartments as soon as possible, and he bragged about tearing them down quickly in an interview with JFP Editor-in-Chief Donna Ladd on April 5, 2006.

"Town Creek Apartments are on the ground now," Melton said. "That started five years ago, and I was able to get that done in 30, 40 days, to get it out of this community. They're gone; that's history."

The Melton administration had hoped CDBG would pay for the demolition later, and then the city could shift that money back to the re-surfacing fund. The problem, Stevens explained, was that HUD considers re-surfacing to be maintenance, making it ineligible for CDBG money.

The result is that the city was stuck with the entire $200,000 bill, which severely strained the Public Works budget.

"Some public works staff got worked over the coals because of a waterline leak in my ward," Allen said, "but they couldn't do anything about it because there was no money left in their budget."

Allen said he was bringing the issue to council's attention because he had been told that soon they would be asked to vote on another set of large demolitions, and he wanted them to know of potential complications when they voted rather than "six to eight months down the road."

Jackson Walker, an attorney with the city's legal department, confirmed that the administration planned to place some major demolitions before council in eight days, though he did not provide specifics.

Councilwoman Margaret Barrett-Simon expressed outrage that the Melton administration had shuffled funds from one department to another without council approval.

"If we're moving hundreds of thousands of dollars from department to department, it seems to me we should have passed a budget amendment," Barrett-Simon said. "I question the legality of doing that without (City Council's) approval. Why do we spend so much time working out a budget if we're just going to ignore it later?"

Chief Administration Officer Robert Walker told council that he believed they had approved all shifts of funds between departments. "The only truly major shift we had was when we moved community improvement and code enforcement to the police department, which this body approved. Other changes were approved by you in the budget revisions," Walker said.

Allen said he'd had calls from staff in the Department of Public Works who felt they were being pressured to bend the rules. "We have to back up our staff," he said. "They're put in a very tough position here. They're told they have to come up with the money (for a demolition) somehow. I've had some panicked staff call me—I won't say who—but they feel like they're being compromised."

Councilman Marshand Crisler said he wanted demolitions of large complexes presented to council separately from house demolitions so they wouldn't inadvertently pass an expensive demolition as part of a large slate of house demolitions.

Under questioning from Councilman Charles Tillman, Rick Hill, who will soon take over as chief financial officer from Peyton Prospere, said that the city's own demolition fund was only $280,000, most of which would be consumed by a single demolition on the order of the Town Creek Apartments.

"It sounds good in the press to say we're going to go tear these places down, but we have to do it the right way," Allen said. "We have a new lady (Trudy Fisher) at (the Department of Environmental Quality) that's as tough as a 2-bit steak. … Before we vote on these demolitions, I want to make sure we really know what we're voting for."

At the end of the meeting, Allen told Walker that the administration should expect a confirmation vote on Interim Fire Chief Todd Chandler in the new year. Chandler has served as interim chief for a year and a half, and Melton has twice withdrawn his nomination when it was clear that City Council would vote to reject him.

"We've confirmed every department head but one," Allen said, "and that's the fire chief. We need resolution to this situation. I've talked to Frank (Melton) about this 10 times, and you can try to talk to him. We're not going to vote on this until the new year, but this council is determined to have this hearing."

Allen also said, for the benefit of the press, that City Council had already had many conversations with Walker and City Attorney Sarah O'Reilly-Evans about her contract. They would address it further in the new year, he said.

Chief of Staff Marcus Ward told council that the U.S. Senate had delayed voting on nine of 11 appropriations bills in deference to the new Democratic leadership that would take control in January. He assured council that because of the close working relationship between Sen. Thad Cochran and Sen. Robert Byrd, the city and the state's appropriations were unlikely to be reduced.

Councilman Frank Bluntson, who announced Sunday that he has a growth on his pancreas, said his doctors were trying to determine when he should have surgery at University of Mississippi Medical Center. "I know this is a critical thing because of where it's located. I don't know if it's malignant or benign, but I sure could use your prayers," Bluntson said, struggling with tears.

All the council members present, including Barrett-Simon, Crisler, Allen and Tillman, offered Bluntson their support and prayers.

Leo Stevens' title has been corrected since this story was first posted.

Previous Comments

ID

124791

Comment

“Some public works staff got worked over the coals because of a waterline leak in my ward,” Allen said, “but they couldn’t do anything about it because there was no money left in their budget.” Allen said he was bringing the issue to council’s attention because he had been told that soon they would be asked to vote on another set of large demolitions, and he wanted them to know of potential complications when they voted rather than “six to eight months down the road.” Wow, no mention about how the council, especially those that blindly support(ed) Melton just feel into a trance and allowed this to happen. Now after the fact we get statements like this: Allen also said, for the benefit of the press, that City Council had already had many conversations with Walker and City Attorney Sarah O’Reilly-Evans about her contract. They would address it further in the new year, he said. Not much of this is much of a surprise to those that actually paid attention to what Frank was about when he ran and won. Somebody is going to have to take the blame for these inane decisions and lack of oversight (and foresight) to see that our City is run properly. Even some council members said that Frank as mayor would be different - even outside the box - when it came to managing the City. “If we’re moving hundreds of thousands of dollars from department to department, it seems to me we should have passed a budget amendment,” Barrett-Simon said. “I question the legality of doing that without (City Council’s) approval. Why do we spend so much time working out a budget if we’re just going to ignore it later?” And this is a surprise? Anyone gone to get a car tag lately? Just saying... Finally.... and now we are concerned? “It sounds good in the press to say we’re going to go tear these places down, but we have to do it the right way,” Allen said. “We have a new lady (Trudy Fisher) at (the Department of Environmental Quality) that’s as tough as a 2-bit steak. … Before we vote on these demolitions, I want to make sure we really know what we’re voting for.” Cue up the video of Frank riding in the bulldozer tearing up houses! Fight! Frank! Fight!

Author

pikersam

Date

2006-12-11T21:31:54-06:00

ID

124792

Comment

*sigh* Too bad Jackson likes Frank. He's destroyed the town I was born in.

Author

Ironghost

Date

2006-12-11T21:34:59-06:00

ID

124793

Comment

Iron, he's only demolished a couple of places. Buck up.

Author

Brian C Johnson

Date

2006-12-11T22:18:42-06:00

ID

124794

Comment

I was speaking not of those buildings, but of the once nice place I lived.

Author

Ironghost

Date

2006-12-11T22:22:57-06:00

ID

124795

Comment

Besides, another six months and it's probable that Frank will have resigned anyway. I don't see him weathering the next round of prosecutions; he got lucky last time. Cheers, TH

Author

Tom Head

Date

2006-12-11T22:23:33-06:00

ID

124796

Comment

I was only trying to be funny, Iron. If Melton does leave office this year, even the budgetary damage will be limited. If it's three more years, I'm going to start digging a bomb shelter in the back yard. I was looking for an excuse anyway.

Author

Brian C Johnson

Date

2006-12-11T22:30:13-06:00

ID

124797

Comment

Agreed, the city just can't survive much more of this level of incompetency. There are a whole bunch of people who need to be lined up and kicked sharply in the a$$ for not questioning Above-the-Law Man more early on. It's as if this man cast a spell on a good segment of this city. Note to citizenry: Yelling about "thugs" doesn't mean someone has any frackin' idea how to be mayor, or fight crime. As we can now well see.

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2006-12-11T23:02:37-06:00

ID

124798

Comment

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: We need to make DAMNED sure that whoever is running gives us a serious plan for accomplishing goals; one with monetary requirements. Also, the TEAM he or she chooses to bring into key positions should be known at the beginning of the campaign. VOTERS need to be educated to this way of looking at their proposed Mayor. It is a powerful office and one that should be held in honor. The feduciary responsibilities are huge BOTH to the Administration and to the Council.

Author

ChrisCavanaugh

Date

2006-12-11T23:23:42-06:00

ID

124799

Comment

My, my, my. This man Melton is going to bankrupt the City yet. Too bad Allen didn't question things before as he is now when the horse is already out of the barn. Melton and the Council should follow the law with respect to demolishing houses or apartments simply because it is the law and NOT because a DEQ official is *tough as a 2-bit steak*. Hell, just do the right (and LEGAL) thing because it's the right AND legal thing to do. Period.

Author

Kacy

Date

2006-12-11T23:48:40-06:00

ID

124800

Comment

Allen said that when the Melton administration determined that the Town Creek Apartments had to be demolished as soon as possible, it tried to shift funds around in order to skirt federal guidelines. The idea was that the city would skip the environmental evaluation required in order to draw on some of the city’s $500,000 of Community Development Block Grant money earmarked for demolition. Instead, the city would pay for the demolition by borrowing money from the Public Works Department, specifically the re-surfacing fund. Sigh. Borrowing funds from one department, particularly water/sewer money, to another isn't a *new* City practice, but not for an expediture this large, and certainly not to circumvent Federal restrictions for building demolition. And usually the Council is kept in the loop when funds are shifted so that they can be accounted for later. Incredible.

Author

Jeff Lucas

Date

2006-12-12T09:41:03-06:00

ID

124801

Comment

Quick question that I haven't seen posed here yet, but, wasn't Frank "teed off" that the water main on Old Canton Road has not been fixed yet? And that he was going to have people fired because he gave them 17 months to fix it? But then he takes away money to fix an emergency problem (water main spewing water) to put on a "problem" that would still be there and isn't such an "emergency?" I am at a loss.

Author

LawClerk

Date

2006-12-12T10:14:53-06:00

ID

124802

Comment

That would be how people who don't know how to manage - manage. Good observation LawClerk!

Author

pikersam

Date

2006-12-12T10:16:52-06:00

ID

124803

Comment

Well, my guess would be that he jumped out in front first last week when he knew was about to do down in order to muddy the waters, so to speak, and to deflect attention from his own screw-ups. That's his modus operandi, you know—blame other people for anything and everything.

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2006-12-12T10:34:51-06:00

ID

124804

Comment

All, look at the difference between Brian's story above and the Ledger's follow-up story today on Demolition-Gate. And it looks like they're burying this story down low, to boot.

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2006-12-12T10:40:26-06:00

ID

124805

Comment

This is the first mention of the water main break on Old Canton. Does anyone know the details? Why is it not being fixed? How much it is costing the city to have beautiful blue water cascading out of the ground every day? I know it goes over a gas line but what happens when this city faces a real emergencey?

Author

colby

Date

2006-12-12T10:42:45-06:00

ID

124806

Comment

If it costs so much to demolish this housing, I wonder how much it would cost to repair it and rent it out? Wouldn't it make sense to repair the housing rather than just completely destroy it? Are we really to that point that we have a glut of low rent housing that we can demolish it? And why is the water still running on Old Canton? I think I'm going to drive by just to check, but it'll probably be a waste of my gas.

Author

LawClerk

Date

2006-12-12T10:53:23-06:00

ID

124807

Comment

I've said this in previous blogs, and I will repeat it again......Frank needs to go! I understand that the main premise of this article is concerning the Town Creek Apt's and only at the end did it mention the situation with the Fire Dept.'s Fire Chief STILL being unconfirmed.....however, as proud as Frank apparently is,.....will he still be after the first of the year! MANY of the senior fire firefighters, according to my source, have either resigned, are actively LOOKING for other jobs, or have already TAKEN other jobs! A firefighter friend of our family told me recently about a senior fireman who is leaving at the end of this month. Don't hold it against me, I'm trying to recall all the facts...but the fireman apparently was one of the ones who was suspended on the first ammendment issue a few months back and reportedly was planning on remaining with the JFD for another few years. HOWEVER, due to the issue of being suspended, while he was not working he began looking for another job! Our friend said that he has been offered a very lucrative salaried position as a fire chief in Alaska (of all places) and is retiring after 25 years with Jackson at the end of this year, and he and his family are moving. Obviously I support this firefighter and wish him good luck, HOWEVER, what pi$$e$ me off is that all the money that has been invested in HIM for training and education is now going to be benefitting another STATE! Frank needs to get off his a$$ and find a fire chief who CAN do the job and provide the leadership that apparently is missing in this dept. so WE stop losing the senior members of our dept. The last thing we need in Jackson is a dept. of firefighters being run by newer firemen. Not that they are not adequately trained and able to do the job, but reality IS - a department NEEDS it's senior people since they have usually encountered all the different scenario's and/or situations that could come up, where some of those newer ones, haven't.!

Author

Katie D

Date

2006-12-12T11:05:28-06:00

ID

124808

Comment

Original C-L story about the broken 48" water line. The gist of the controversy is that funds which would ordinary be reserved in the water/sewer fund to make such a repair were redirected to towards the demoliton of the Town Creek Apts.

Author

Jeff Lucas

Date

2006-12-12T11:35:39-06:00

ID

124809

Comment

I might be wrong but if I have leaking pipes in my house let alone a water heater that has busted, I would be fixing those MAJOR problems first before doing an expensive research study on what colors I want to paint my shutters and then spending an incredible amount of $$$ to paint them. Then again, thats just me.

Author

colby

Date

2006-12-12T12:23:45-06:00

ID

124810

Comment

And the City sat back and watched him tear down the Johnson Administration. We keep blogging about what the City needs and for the most part, they are things that we once had or were in the process of getting. The City is operating on automatic pilot with some of the residuals from the Johnson Administration. This can't last forever! The federal grants writer resigned. I wonder why? Did anyone really believe that fm could run the City with "MYSELF AND ONE OTHER PERSON." This is a MESS and it will take years for this City to regroup. The Council needs a strong leader. They make entirely too many mistakes and work on issues post fact. Everything seems to be hind-sight. It doesn't make sense to close the barn after the horses are out.

Author

justjess

Date

2006-12-12T12:36:10-06:00

ID

124811

Comment

Thing is he has capable people associated with him like Heidel and Sergeant. All he has to do is get out of the way and let them work.

Author

Kingfish

Date

2006-12-12T12:39:04-06:00

ID

124812

Comment

Frank doesn't work like that. It's his way or the highway. It doesn't sound like Heidel's been allowed to do much, and Sergeant... what's she in charge of? Anyone seen anything about her?

Author

Ironghost

Date

2006-12-12T12:48:24-06:00

ID

124813

Comment

I know that she was comissioned to write the "City Plan." The first draft, I understand, Melton didn't like and tore up. The second one was without any numerical attachments and really just much to do about nothing. What exactly is Jane Sargents claim to fame and my question follows Ironghost: What is she in charge of. It was blogged some months ago that Jane Sargent was working full time in Arkansas. Has anyone checked this information. If true, how much time would she really have to be effective on this City's payroll?

Author

justjess

Date

2006-12-12T13:27:09-06:00

ID

124814

Comment

She seems to be on the roll at MC in the International Office under "Educational Leadership". So... I dunno if she's on Jackson's payroll.

Author

Ironghost

Date

2006-12-12T14:39:49-06:00

ID

124815

Comment

King, being a successful mayor obviously requires more than letting other capable people do their work. Leaders are more than mascots. Mr. Allen says that public works employees got "worked over the coals" by Melton or some surrogate over the leaking water pipe on Old Canton, even though their budget was depleted by the Town Creek demolition until October. That demolition was not an emergency--it was essentially a political gesture. Allen said that staff had been calling him, and I think City Council members are getting many calls from city staff. I am glad that someone commented on the fire chief confirmation, because I was afraid it would get buried. It has now been a year and a half that Jackson has had a very controversial--that is to say, controversial among firefighters--fire chief, Todd Chandler. State law requires City Council to confirm all department directors, including the chief of police and the fire chief. For various reasons, a majority of City Council members have signaled their intention to vote against Chandler. Melton has twice put Chandler's confirmation on the agenda and twice withdrawn it. So Chandler has served as an interim fire chief so long it makes a mockery of the term "interim." The parallel with the Bush administration's maneuver on UN ambassador John Bolton is striking. Both in Jackson and in Washington, these moves signal an arrogance from the executive branch of government, a disdain for separation of powers. If the City Council, or the Senate, absolutely will not confirm your choice for an important position, then past a certain point you must pick a different person. You must compromise. Confirmation by the Senate was not put into the Constitution by accident, nor emulated here in Mississippi by accident. City Council has dithered over this confirmation for far too long. I will not pretend to much objectivity when it comes to fundamental rules of democracy. Melton should have put Chandler up for a vote 15 months ago. When he didn't, City Council should have voted on him anyway, up or down.

Author

Brian C Johnson

Date

2006-12-12T21:49:18-06:00

ID

124816

Comment

I never said otherwise Brian. If you read my post word for word, I am pretty clear that the mayor must lead. having said that, part of leadership is also letting the good people you hired do their jobs and trusting in their abilities. Its one thing Reagan was good at and Clinton didn't become successful until he learned that lesson after a year or two (really when Panetta/Cutler came in and imposed some order and structure). If Ladd/Stauffer started micromanaging every aspect of your job every day, I bet you wouldn't write at the JFP for much longer after it started.

Author

Kingfish

Date

2006-12-13T01:10:23-06:00

ID

124817

Comment

Today the Ledge edit-boyz are weighing in on this story (broken by Brian Johnson on Monday). Can anyone else tell what that awful sentence I've bolded means??? Maybe a little shuffling of funds can be expected in a city from time to time. But for it to be found that $200,000 was taken by the mayor to use to raze buildings from the street resurfacing fund is sure to jar pothole-weary citizens. When Town Creek Apartments was razed in March, $200,000 was taken from the street budget because Mayor Frank Melton wanted it done immediately. No one writes this badly. Also count the passives in just the part I quoted there: I see five. No wonder the rest of the country thinks Mississippi is illiterate.

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2006-12-13T10:57:56-06:00

ID

124818

Comment

Nice reporting. Thanks.

Author

Niles Hooper

Date

2006-12-13T11:21:43-06:00

ID

124819

Comment

I get the prize! It means that the Ledge edit-boyz are just plain simple copycats. And, they are smart enough not to put Brian-Johnson's name on or near the article. There was a kid in my grade school who would actually copy the person's name from the paper he was stealing all of his answers from. (Probably needed Special Ed and a ride on the Short Bus). It also means that the JFP ROCKS!

Author

justjess

Date

2006-12-13T16:46:59-06:00

ID

124820

Comment

This is one heck of a sentence. Let's look at it again: But for it to be found that $200,000 was taken by the mayor to use to raze buildings from the street resurfacing fund is sure to jar pothole-weary citizens. For it to be found. To use to raze. Sure to jar pothole-weary citizens. I guess that last phrase is an attempt to be cute. Let's do the re-write: Pothole-weary citizens are sure to be jarred when they discover that the mayor used $200,000 from the re-surfacing fund to raze buildings. It's still a lame sentence, but at least now it doesn't read like it was translated from Latin. All it really says is: We think people will be outraged when they learn about this funds transfer. Thanks for the insight, Goliath. If they weren't so busy stumbling over all those passive clauses ("for it to be found" is a such a damned strange way of putting things), they might have realized that their editorial says nothing interesting at all. (Note that Kathleen Baydala did cover the meeting, so they don't need to give me any credit.)

Author

Brian C Johnson

Date

2006-12-13T17:44:46-06:00

ID

124821

Comment

She covered it, but her story the day after yours barely told the story. It's intriguing to compare the two. It's like y'all were at two different meetings.

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2006-12-13T18:33:30-06:00

ID

124822

Comment

I think Brian's story is a lot better, but not necessarily because of what he chose to cover as opposed to Ms. Baydala. What is so often and unfortunately lacking in the CL's reporting is the basic information about the events they chose to cover. Tell me what happened. Who said it, when was it said, who was there? Say it in plain english if possible. The passive voice is loved by me; however, upset readers are those who may (or may not) have to struggle sentences which are constructed like this one. Pot-hole Weary am I? Sounds like yoda on acid.

Author

Niles Hooper

Date

2006-12-14T14:50:11-06:00

ID

124823

Comment

Frank Melton is incompetent in many ways. I cite his lack of using reasoning to fix problems, his hunger for power, his lack of people skills, his dream to be a police cheif and not the mayor, and his lack of charisma and charm as reasons this city has not progressed even further in his term. Harvey wasn't the best, but he did want to be the mayor. If Harvey would have let Frank be Cheif of Police Harvey would have his job, but Frank isn't a certified police officer. If Harvey would have had a little more charisma he would still be mayor. I wish these people (his supporters and suburban watchers) would stop fooling theirselves and face the facts. Frank Melton is incompetent, and this beautiful diamond in the rough, the city of Jackson, cannot afford to deal with his antics for more than two terms. Without Harvey's momentum, this city would be sinking.

Author

optimisticaboutNewJackCity

Date

2006-12-15T16:36:50-06:00