Friday, May 24, 2002
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Friday, May 24, 2002 |
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PTC Council considering removal of city attorney, withholding funds to Development Authority By JOHN
MUNFORD
The formal investigation into the Peachtree City Council "bogus contract" scandal has hardly begun. But already, Peachtree City council members are considering the possibility of asking City Attorney Rick Lindsey to resign or removing him from the position because of his role in the contract negotiations. Another potential council move would be to withhold payments of hotel-motel tax funds to the Development Authority that are required by the contract until the matter can be resolved in court. Those suggestions were brought forth by City Councilman Murray Weed in a memo to Mayor Steve Brown last week. At a special called meeting Wednesday night, council voted 4-0 to hire Winston Denmark of David Couch and Associates as a special attorney to investigate the matter. "In any case based upon the facts that have turned up it does seem to me that the City Attorney's trustworthiness may unfortunately be suspect," Weed wrote in the memo. Weed told The Citizen Wednesday that his recommendations are only to be considered if the special counsel hired by the city determines there was any form of wrongdoing or neglect in the way the contracts were approved. The contracts specify exactly how much of the city's hotel-motel tax revenues will be diverted to the city's development and airport authorities so they can operate the tennis center, amphitheater and airport. Two current city councilmen claim the contracts signed by former mayor Bob Lenox are not the same ones council approved allowing him to sign at its June 7 meeting. Steve Rapson and Dan Tennant say the contracts signed by Lenox had a major change: language was taken out that allowed the city to reduce the funding amount "at its sole discretion." In its place is language that requires the authorities to agree with the city before the funding is reduced. Lenox contends that change was already in the contract that council voted on in its June 7 meeting. Lindsey says the change was e-mailed to all council members the day before the council meeting. Rapson contends that change was not in the version of the contract that council voted on at the meeting. Brown has told The Citizen that he wants to cut the hotel-motel tax funds used for the tennis center so they can be used on other projects.
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