Ashley Hunter
Greene Publishing, Inc.
During the Lee Town Council's regular meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 6, tempers quickly flared as citizens came forward to bring items of concern to the council.
After opening with prayer, the pledge and the amending of the agenda, the council welcomed Betty Blair to the podium to speak.
Blair began with a word of appreciation to Town Manager John Anderson, Councilwoman Diane Beck and Mayor Eddie Bell for their cooperation in allowing her to speak with the council about the subject of Ben Blair Park, a recreation area that had been made on a parcel of property the town had purchased from her and that had been placed in honor of Blair's husband.
Blair spoke highly of the previous town staff and their dedication to keep the Town of Lee pristine. “They kept this city top-notch,” said Blair. “They kept that park top-notch.”
According to Blair, after the hiring of new staff and management within town government, the park and the town started to "go downhill.”
For a period of time, Blair was traveling back and forth to Panama City to take care of a family member, and she was unable to keep tabs on the condition of the park, but she had noted, during her absence, that many within the Lee community had left calls informing her of the park's poor upkeep and condition.
Blair had recently returned home to Lee after the death of her family member, and visited the park, only to find herself saddened by its condition. Blair had obtained photographic evidence of the disaster that Blair Park had fallen into and provided the photographs to the councilpersons.
According to Blair, the trash barrels at Blair Park had become full and stunk; the grass had not been mowed in a long time; the signs around the park had become sun bleached and unreadable; and a wood pile was stashed to the back of the park.
“It is the biggest mess; you can't even imagine the mess,” said Blair, adding that she has spoken to town staff before about the mess at Blair Park, and had only received excuses instead of answers.
During the Sept. 6 meeting, Blair requested definite answers on when the Town of Lee planned to clean up Blair Park and keep it in shape.
“When are you going to start taking care of [Blair Park]?” asked Blair. “That sign that is out there on Hwy 90, says 'Little But Proud'...Shouldn't you be more proud of your town, [rather] than the mess that you've let it get into?”
Town Manager John Anderson addressed Blair's accusations and concerns, saying that while the park has recently fallen into poor condition, it has not been two years, as Blair claimed, since it was last maintained and that much of the recent damage and debris around the town, including Blair Park, is the result of the recent hurricane that came through earlier this month.
“[The park] was not pristine,” agreed Anderson. “But it was certainly not in the condition it is now.”
While Blair continued to insist that the park had not been maintained within the last two years, Anderson did agree to do what could be done to bring the park back to a more presentable condition. “We are going to do what we can,” said Anderson. “We want it looking back how it should look.”
Mayor Eddie Bell also responded, saying that the grass around the playground area has not been that tall for very long.
The suggestion was voiced from the audience that town staff needed to look into getting prison work crews from the Madison Correctional Institution to help take care of the upkeep that the town is requiring. The problem with that suggestion, according to town staff, is that both of the town employees are not currently certified to oversee work crews and getting the certification has proved problematic.
“We are going to get some help,” said Anderson, and Bell insisted that Lee council members and staff will take steps towards getting the condition of the park and town resolved, even if it meant hiring a part-time employee to help distribute the workload during the busier months of the year.
Next in citizen participation, Donna and Pete Muller came to address a matter of concern for them regarding Lee employee Aaron Beck.
The Mullers accused the Town of Lee for having employee favoritism towards Beck, who is the son of Lee Councilwoman and Lee Volunteer Fire Department Chief Diane Beck.
The Mullers accused Beck of arriving to work late, leaving early, taking numerous days off, using town equipment to mow grass on private property, drinking alcoholic beverages on town property, and had been found sleeping on the job.
According to the Mullers, Beck had faced very little repercussions for the actions they accused him of, while the Lee Public Works Director, Hakili Washington, had been penalized for two weeks after being accused of tailgating while driving a town vehicle.
“Do we have a double standard [here in Lee], or is it because [Washington] is black?” accused Donna Muller before going on to read the dictionary definition of nepotism and accusing the Town of Lee of being guilty of favoritism towards a councilwoman's son.
According to Pete Muller, the town was “run” by Councilwoman Beck, and that it was because of her influence throughout the town that Aaron Beck had not been penalized or fired.
Councilwoman Beck argued that statement, saying that the fire department and the Town of Lee are completely separate and that the department actually pays the town rent for the use of the town's building.
Following the accusations placed against himself and Councilwoman Beck, Aaron Beck was invited to speak on his own behalf by Mayor Eddie Bell.
“I get told that I don't work hard, and I do work hard,” said Beck. “Nobody ever talks about how I'm the only person in the town cutting grass in half of the town and how I go home burnt because I've been out in the direct sunlight all day long.” Beck added that while he loves his job, the complaints and ridicule he receives on a regular basis has begun to wear at him.
Beck also stated that it was false to say that only Washington had faced repercussions, as Beck himself had been written up numerous times due to accusations that had been placed by citizens.
The reason that he had not been penalized to the extent that Washington had been, was due to a lack of evidence presented by accusers. “Even without evidence, I have taken my write-ups and dealt with the ridicule,” said Beck.
Pete Muller spoke up, saying that Beck should have never been hired by the town, as his mother was on the council.
At this point, Anderson interjected, saying that he does not plan to inflict restrictions or fire workers based on unproven remarks and that Beck being hired had nothing to do with Councilwoman Beck. The reason Beck was hired was because he was one of the few job applicants who did not have a criminal history. “[Hiring Beck] was my decision,” said Anderson.
After numerous back-and-forth argument between council members, Beck and the Mullers, both Beck and the Mullers left the meeting early, leaving the council members to decide how the handle to topics placed before them.
The council members reached an agreement that town staff need to become better equipped with dealing with future problems and that a system needs to be in place so that the employees have a structured chain of command and daily schedules.
“You have to be able to justify what your people are doing when problems like this arise,” said Councilwoman Shirley vonRoden.
Both Town Manager John Anderson and Public Works Director Hakili Washington agreed to look into putting into place a work schedule and enforcing chain-of-command within the town staff.
Council members also instructed the town manager to gather price estimates for hiring a contractor to handle the mess at Blair Park.
After Anderson discussed the damage of Hurricane Hermine on the Town of Lee, provided a update to the treatment of Lake Brittany and the status of the online bill payment that the town will be installing for their utility clients, the meeting was wrapped up after paying bills.
The next Lee Town Council meeting will be held on Tuesday, Oct. 4 at 7 p.m. at Lee Town Hall.