Rick Patrick
rick@greenepublishing.com
During the regular meeting of the Greenville Town Council on Monday, Dec. 15, Greenville Town Attorney John Reid informed the Town Council that former Greenville employee Julie Inglett had filed a lawsuit against the town. In her lawsuit, Inglett claims that ”despite her stellar work performance during her employment with [the Town of Greenville], [she] was subjected to disparate treatment, different terms and conditions of employment and held to a different standard because of her race, gender and because she reported [the Town of Greenville’s] unlawful employment activities and was subject to retaliation thereafter.” Inglett further claims that her treatment and retaliation against her came at the hands of “specifically, but not limited to Interim Town Manager Ed Dean, African American male and Vice Mayor Robin Housh, Caucasian female.” Inglett also claims her “freedom of association rights were denied based on her continued relationship with former Town Manager Lee Jones and Council Member Brittni Brown. Inglett is seeking a settlement, to include attorneys fees, totaling over $100,000. Inglett, through her attorney is demanding a jury trial. The projected trial date is May of 2027.
The council voted to approve a letter of intent for the lease of space on the town’s water tower for cell phone antennas with Landmark Dividend. There were changes that the council members requested to be made to the agreement, such as stating that the town will not be liable for consulting fees if the final lease agreement does not go through. Also requested by the town was a change to the agreement that stated if Landmark received lower payments from the cell phone companies using the antennas, the payments to the Town of Greenville would be lowered. However, if Landmark received an increase in payments, those increases would not be reflected in the payments received by the town. The council approved the letter of intent on a 4-1 vote, with council member Chiquila Pleas casting the dissenting vote.
The council approved a resolution to accept a line of credit from Capital City Bank in the amount of $750,000. This is to cover the expense of equipment and other expenses related to the town’s “Pure Water, Bright Future: Greenville’s Energy-Efficient Path to Safe and Sustainable Water” project. The project will be funded through a United States Department of Agriculture grant. However the grant is a reimbursable grant, meaning the town must firs pay for the expenses and then be reimbursed from the grant funds. The local will be repaid from the grant, once the grant funds are received. The interest rate on the loan is a fixed 5.75 percent rate.
There were issues with the town’s agreement to purchase the property where Greenville Elementary School once stood. The agreement with the Madison County School District would place restrictions on the use of the property that Mayor Ryan Kornegay felt needed to be negotiated. The Madison County School Board has pushed the final settlement date back to February of next year in order to come to an agreement on these issues.
The next regular meeting of the Greenville Town Council is scheduled to take place on Monday, Jan. 12, at 6 p.m. The meeting will take place at the Greenville Senior-Youth Center, located at 152 SW Onslow St., in Greenville.