Smyrna’s four newest elected officials took their seats Tuesday night during a swearing-in ceremony at .
But before Mayor Max Bacon, all seven council members and other city officials took the oath of office from Superior Court Judge Adele Grubbs, three of the four outgoing council members said their final goodbyes.
Said outgoing Councilman Jimmy Smith of Ward 5, “To the four new council members, tonight is about you. The next meeting and the meetings thereafter are about the city. You were elected by your ward that you support and serve the entire city, so the best of luck to you.’’
Taking the oath of office for the first time on Tuesday evening were council members Andrea Blustein, Ward 2; Corkey Welch, Ward 4; Susan Wilkinson, Ward 5; and Ron Fennel, Ward 7.
“I want to do the very best for you,’’ Blustein said to her Ward 2 constituents. “Don’t be a stranger. If you call, I’m going to answer it. It may not be in five minutes, but you will hear from me before the day is out if at all possible.”
The four newcomers were joined by returning council members Melleny Pritchett, Ward 1; Teri Anulewicz, Ward 3; and Wade Lnenicka, Ward 6. And of course, Bacon, who was first sworn into office in 1985, again took the oath as his mother, Mrs. Arthur T. Bacon, held the Bible during his swearing in.
“I want to thank the citizens of Smyrna for the 76 percent vote I received in this last election,’’ Bacon said. “I’m very proud and honored and very humbled to return as mayor. I look forward to this new council moving forward as the old council did so much to make our city a better city.
“I’m going to have a positive influence, and a positive movement on this city and we’re going to make this city even greater than it is.”
Everyone who was sworn in Tuesday was joined either by family members, friends, or a combination of both during the process.
“This is a tremendous honor to have been asked to do this tonight,’’ said Grubbs before the ceremony began. “This is a great city and I really respect every one of them.’’
In addition to the mayor and council, those also taking the oath Tuesday included, City Attorney Scott Cochran; City Administrator Eric Taylor; City Clerk Susan Hiott; Traffic Court Judge Alton Curtis; Environmental Court Judge Joel Pugh; Traffic Court Solicitor Bill Morse; and Environmental Court Solicitor Tim Williams.
Councilwoman Pritchett was also named Mayor Pro Tempore. “I promise to do the very best job I can to keep you all informed on everything that’s going on and have your back Mayor when you’re out of town,’’ she said.
In addition, Bacon assigned the 2012 committee responsibilities to the council. Anulewicz will serve as chairperson for Finance and Administration/Purchasing/Telecommunications/Annexation/Economic Development and Redevelopment with Bluststein and Fennel serving as members.
Lnenicka will chair Human Resources/Court Services with Anulewicz and Pritchett as members. Welch will serve as chairperson for Public Works/Keep Smyrna Beautiful/Historical Review with Blustein and Wilkinson as members.
Blustein will be the chairperson for Community Development /Alcohol Beverage License with Pritchett and Lnenicka as members. Parks and Recreation/Library /Cemetery/Community Culture/Veterans Memorial will be chaired by Wilkinson with members Welch and Lnenicka.
Police, 911, Fire will be chaired by Fennel with members Wilkinson and Welch. And the Vision/Education Committee will be chaired by Pritchett with members Anulewicz and Fennel.
The mayor and council, along with the city administrator, attorney and clerk, are scheduled to take a team-building retreat to the Athens area this coming weekend.
On the consent agenda, the council did approve the Professional Services Agreement between Croy Engineering, LLC and the city for Smyrna’s 2011 SPLOST program management. This did not sit well with citizen Mary Kirkendoll, who voiced her disappointment during the citizen input portion of the meeting.
“Where’s the uproar of the $43 million SPLOST,’’ Kirkendoll said. “The 2005 SPLOST check registry…should be available on the city’s website for everyone to see where our money is being wasted. Croy Engineering received $1.2 million to manage the 2005 SPLOST project. Each check written must be approved by Croy Engineering.
“An additional approximately $17 million in checks were written to Croy Engineering on various projects in the SPLOST. Eighteen million out of 43 to Croy Engineering is almost half of the SPLOST funds. All citizens should demand to know why their contract as program manager was renewed again tonight.”
I guess it's all in the family...
I am curious to know if what Mr. Dow stated above is true? Did MB actually make that statement during a council meeting about a citizen of Smyrna? That doesn't bode well for any of us if it's true. Wouldn't that be considered slander, if in fact MB did say that while at the microphone? Will the meeting be rebroadcast tomorrow nite and would we be able to see this comment occur then?
The mayor did make that statement about a citizen during the meeting. But that wasn't as bad as when he had her arrested (for no reason) at the city's only town hall meeting during his reign. In the past other council members have been known to personally attack citizens during meetings. It's not called slander in Smyrna. It's just business as usual. The council meetings are aired on Channel 23 on the following Thursday nights.
He spoke with me directly and told me he's been on the council for 24 years already. I find this "changing of the guard" to be very curious, especially now, and with MB's choice to replace WL as well. Experience and leadership were two buzzwords thrown around quite a bit during the election season..next to MB himself, no one on the council has more hands on experience than WL. I wonder what prompted this sudden, unexpected change?
Our council members and most certainly our mayor are and should be held to a higher code of conduct than your average Joe, and most certainly while they are acting in an official capacity. If the comment was in fact made, and I'll watch the rebroadcast tonite to see for myself, then Mayor Bacon owes nothing less than a formal, public apology to the person whom he slandered.
As far as Croy’s re-appointment, it is what it is. I guess some just get mesmerized by pretty drawings and really don’t care to ensure the plans are thoroughly thought out or that the projects stay as close to on schedule as possible (See pedestrian bridge that was supposed to have been completed back in November). They say: “But there was a revenue shortfall” or “But there were increases in costs of materials” or “The project was changed in scope midway through” or state that some don’t know what they’re talking about because they haven’t seen those same pretty drawings. Hey we’ll just give Croy a pass on their poor planning and the city a pass on their lack of oversight, because it’s what we do. But I digress. And I had to laugh at comment concerning the “competitive” bidding process Croy went through. Bet it’s the same “competitive” process Atlanta is using to award airport contracts.