Jackson Free Press

Jackson Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr.'s last Jackson City Council meeting was a mixed bag Tuesday night at City Hall.

City Council President Tony Yarber (Ward 6) and Mayor-elect Chokwe Lumumba (Ward 2) were notably absent, leaving Council Vice President Charles Tillman (Ward 5) in charge of the proceedings.

After passing a resolution honoring Ward 4 Councilman Frank Bluntson, who was also at his final meeting of an eight-year stint on the council, the council got to taking care of the city's business.

Well, sort of.

The first few items on the agenda included the purchasing of 12-month supplies of several chemicals to treat Jackson's water supply. Tillman said he was placing the agenda items into committee "so that the new administration could take a look at it."

This drew a quick reaction from Johnson, who said the city needed the chemicals, because its previous 12-month supply would run out at the end of the week.

Bluntson asked why a city with 175,000 residents would wait until a week before supplies ran out to order an entire year's supply.

Johnson didn't answer but, after hearing from Public Works Director Dan Gaillet and deputy-attorney Monica Joyner, the council voted to approve the purchase of six different chemicals from six different companies. The purchase of hydrated lime from Cheney Lime and Company was approved 5-0, while the purchase of five other chemicals was approved 4-1, with LaRita Cooper-Stokes (Ward 3) voting in opposition.

Tillman sent Johnson's proposal to appoint J. Patrick Harkins as Ward 7's representative on the school board back to committee. He also sent four authorizations pertaining to the city's consent decree from the United States Environmental Protection Agency back to committee. The debate over whether to shelve these issues went on for about 30 minutes before Cooper-Stokes suggested the council had wasted enough time and needed to move on. Tillman agreed.

At the end of the meeting, the city council honored Johnson with a resolution commending him for his three terms of service as Jackson's mayor. He and Tillman stood at the podium and shook hands.

Parham Bridges Park Could Get a Facelift

Memorandums of understanding became another contentious issue in Tuesday's meeting. Under an MOU, which is basically a bilateral agreement between the city and a private entity, the city agrees to be supportive of a project.

At issue is Parham Bridges Park, which has already raised $210,000 towards renovations and new construction to expand the Parham Bridges Tennis Center.

On Tuesday night, Ward 1 Councilman Quentin Whitwell became increasingly agitated when he couldn't get an agenda item added supporting the Parham Bridges project. When the council approved an MOU to help renovate Thalia Mara Hall with the group Friends of Thalia Mara Hall, Whitwell tried to attach an amendment for the park, which he said has similar needs.

Thalia Mara Hall is in need of renovations before it can host the International Ballet Competition next July, and the MOU with the city states the city will pay for some renovations if the private group can't raise enough money in time. Whitwell proposed Parham Bridges Park get the same deal.

"I had intended to wait on the new administration," Whitwell said Wednesday. "I'm looking forward to working with Mr. Lumumba. I just saw us passing similar measures last night and thought we could act on it them. It was frustrating."

Whitwell is asking the city to support the Parham Bridges Catch 22 Foundation, which has already put together $210,000. The foundation received $100,000 from the state during the last legislative session, got a $50,000 donation from the park's namesake, Parham Bridges, $10,000 from a local health-care company and a pledge of up to $50,000 from the United States Tennis Association.

"We've got $210,000 already lined up," Whitwell said. "The first phase of this project will cost around $250,000, and we're holding a couple more fundraisers coming up, so I was hoping the city would show these investors that this project is going to happen. I hope that when I get a chance to sit down with mayor-elect Lumumba that he'll be willing to work with us on this project."

The project includes adding four additional tennis courts, and putting roofs over the four existing courts closest to the pro shop. Whitwell said the outgoing administration had agreed to take the old precinct 4 substation on the Old Canton Road side of the park and create another entrance there, where the four new courts would be located.

Whitwell said a similar facility in Mobile, Ala. drew 98,000 visitors for tennis tournaments in 2011 alone, and generated $60.8 million in local revenues, $4.2 million in tax revenues, $9.8 million in lodging and $4.4 million for the local restaurant industry.