Wednesday, October 4, 2000
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Wednesday, October 4, 2000 |
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Tennant: Appointment mishandled By JOHN
MUNFORD Peachtree City Councilman Dan Tennant wants to take a second look at council's decision to replace Planning Commission member Willis Granger with a new appointee. Tennant claims that politics may have played a role in the decision to pass over Granger and appoint Dennis Payton to the commission. But two of Tennant's fellow council members think council did nothing wrong in appointing Payton. Robert Brooks and Carol Fritz both said there was no effort to oust Granger and both indicated they thought the appointment was handled appropriately. Council unanimously approved the appointment (with Fritz absent) at its last meeting upon the recommendation of a three-person committee. But Tennant said Monday that he wants council to reconsider its action if that's even possible. Tennant suggested that the committee decided not to recommend Granger "for political motivations" since he was anti-density and against annexation. Payton was recommended by a three-person committee consisting of Mayor Bob Lenox, Councilwoman Annie McMenamin and City Manager Jim Basinger. The committee interviewed each candidate after receiving resumes from each person. Tennant said he would have opposed selecting Payton had he known that Granger re-applied for a second term. He requested that the matter be placed on council's agenda for Thursday's meeting so it could be discussed. "I think Mr. Granger deserves to be given another look," Tennant said, adding that Granger "has a lot of guts and is willing to stand up for what's right." Fritz, who wasn't present at the previous council meeting when the appointment was handled, said there was no conspiracy against Granger. "If I thought there was a conspiracy, I'd be in their faces about it," Fritz said. Brooks said council's goal was to choose the "most qualified" person for the appointment. If council decided to automatically reappoint Granger, that would have sent a message to citizens that their services weren't wanted, Brooks and Fritz both said. "He's not the first person who has been replaced," Brooks said, recalling that several years ago another Planning Commission member was replaced despite having one term left to serve. Brooks said he hadn't heard any negative comments on Granger's performance on the Planning Commission. "We have so many qualified people in this town," Brooks said. Brooks also pointed out that he didn't sit in on the individual interviews with the candidates. "It was one of those things where they made the recommendation and that's how I voted," Brooks said. Because so many qualified people applied, Fritz said she would have had difficulty picking someone to serve on the commission. "I just don't see this as a situation," Fritz said. "I'm comfortable with the process and comfortable with their selection. I have never met Mr. Payton, but he was their choice. "I have been looking for conspiracies here for almost three years, but there aren't any. I don't think anyone has the time to create them." Tennant blamed himself for not asking the right questions, but he also said he wasn't provided with a copy of each candidate's application. "It was my fault that I was not aware Willis had re-applied," Tennant said. "I had assumed he hadn't. I didn't ask for the information and I was not on the selection committee." Tennant said he wants council to change the appointment process so it can be held in public. "If it takes a public hearing to make appointments, so be it," Tennant said. "... It's shameful and disgraceful that things seemingly rubber stamped by council are done so routinely."
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