Shouting match erupts at Gainesville City Council

GAINESVILLE - That contentious zoning amendment out on Browns Bridge Road at McEver Road grew more contentious and divisive than ever Tuesday night at the Gainesville City Council meeting.

Council heard from pleading homeowners from Seasons on Lanier, whose attorney accused them of "contract zoning," illegal under Georgia law.

In the end the vote, the final vote this time on second reading, was 3-2, with Mayor Myrtle Figueras, Mayor Pro tem Ruth Bruner and Danny Dunagan voting in favor; Councilmen George Wangemann and Bob Hamrick were opposed to the amendment to permit a RaceTrac filling station to locate on the Seasons commercial segment.

Council voted yes 3-2 early last month when the amendment came up for first reading; they tied 2-2 May 20 and declared it a denial, but the developer's attorney, Wes Robinson, argued that under the city charter a tie is indecisive, so Figueras put it back on the voting agenda for Tuesday's voting session.

That set the stage for frayed tempers and tension among council members that led Figueras to shout down Wangemann and the angry Seasons residents at one point.

Figueras accused Wangemann of making an attack when he said "if something does not feel good, don't do it," in response to Bruner's comment that she was not making a "feel good" decision on the amendment.

The mayor cut off further comment from Wangemann, saying, "Mr. Wangemann is not acting like a human being."

That drew angry shouts from the homeowners; "I will not listen to this," Figueras shouted back. "If you're not going to act like you're in order you may leave!"

Wangemann then asked and got permission to read a letter sent to him by Seasons Homeowner Association President John Snyder.

In the letter, the Seasons residents petitioned the U.S. Bankruptcy Court to stop the sale of the Seasons property, alleging the bankruptcy administrator offered the city an illegal concession to get the zoning amendment approved.

That concession, defined as illegal contract zoning, was the offer of $225,000 to, as Wangemann put it, "sweeten the deal."

That brought a heated reply from Dunagan, who made the motion to pass the amendment.

"First of all, we never knew that was coming," Dunagan said. "I don't have a problem with them taking that off."

Dunagan added, "That $225,000 was going into that development for infrastructure. We never knew about it until it was given to us, so I'm asking for them to take that $225,000 off."

Dunagan said the money was never a condition for council passage, and he called for the vote.

Dunagan amended his motion on a request from Hamrick that fuel and service deliveries to the filling station should occur between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. since the station would operate 24 hours.

GARBAGE COLLECTION HIKE

Gainesville City Council gave first reading approval to raising city garbage collection fees, but one council member was not happy with it.

The yes vote was 4-1. The no vote came from Councilman Bob Hamrick, who said the $2.20 hike would hit needy Gainesville residents hardest.

"Adding additional solid waste collection fees in my opinion would create stress in one of the most economically challenging times we've faced in recent years," Hamrick said.

Hamrick wants to offset the $160,000 fee increase impact with an audit of commercial solid waste franchises and a reduction on money transfers to agencies and departments.