Tempers flare at Camden Council meeting
What started as a routine City Council meeting became a hotbed of tension as the issue of the City of Camden’s contract with the Ouachita Partnership for Economic Development came to the forefront of Tuesday night’s Board of Alderman meeting.
Alderman L.E. Lindsey introduced a resolution to amend the agenda at the end of the new business portion of the evening.
“I’ve got a copy of the contract and last year’s contract that’s virtually the same other than a change of address,” Lindsey said. “I think it’s time we get on with the Economic Development Business”
He then presented the City Council with a contract from OPED.
“When I kind of heard the rumors about the meetings that were going in the city to fund an economic development, I asked Mr. Frey to look at the contract and I tried to add some addendums to the contract to make it more Camden. And he was going to give me the opportunity to offer an alternative to the contract,” Mayor Julian Lott said.
Lott said that wasn’t convinced that all “the good things that were happening at Highland Industrial Park were because of OPED, and I know we give them credit for all the good that’s happened out there.”
Lott suggest that the amount provided from the city be cut from $150,000 to $75,000. Lott said the decrease would help “wean” OPED off the assistance of the city. He also suggested that the other $75,000 in the city budget reserved for economic development be used for an unnamed consulting form.
Alderman Terrie Smith said “I’m for OPED. I think they did a good job. When I mention Camden the first thing people say to me is ‘Military defense.’ You have people on the board that work out there that live in Camden. I think some people tried to do their own thing with the hemp debacle, that turned out terrible. We know what they can do.”
Lott asked Smith if he believed OPED was the reason the defense industry at Highland Industrial Park was expanding. Smith replied that he didn’t believe it was the whole reason, but that OPED played a part in it.
Lindsey said, “I’ll say this as nicely as I think I can. Mr. Mayor ever since you ran for the job it’s been very obvious from your speeches and the things you brought up that you want to get rid of OPED’s funding and you wanted to control that money. It’s me reading between the lines. I’ve heard you suggest a pantyhose factory, a wine and cheese shop, the hemp thing and then we had the Westlake Property. We had the subdivisions that were going to be put in. I’m saying I have much more faith in what OPED is doing, not that’s it perfect, not that it couldn’t be done better. But I have more faith in where that’s going than where you are going.”
Alderman Marvin Moore said, “This didn’t start last year. I’ve been on this board a while, you’ve been on this board a while. They (OPED) originally started out at $300,000, and that went on for a long time. I’m just saying I haven’t seen the results of the investment. When you put something into something you expect to get something out of it.”
OPED president Jim Golden stood up and addressed the council and was silenced by the mayor, but later spoke during a re allotment of time for audience participation saying “I want to apologize for my behavior a while ago, but I love Camden. I get excited about Camden. I just can’t understand about how someone can be so adamant about how this isn’t the way it is. Cause I can’t tell you the way it is. The truth of any matter is somewhere in between. I can tell you this, if it weren’t for those industries out there that we talked about, Camden would be about 5,000 people. Probably wouldn’t have a Ford place. You can go out there in the morning and it’s an endless line of cars coming from Camden. You go out there at night and it’s an endless line of cars coming back to Camden.”
“I respect our mayor, but he and I have different opinions. Like I say, the truth is somewhere in the center. But I do know the state of Arkansas likes to work with OPED, and I don’t make a dime off of it. OPED costs me. I’d be better off getting off of it,” Golden continued.
Golden also said the entire time he had been on the board OPED had not turned down any project involving the city of Camden.
The resolution was tabled until next month’s meeting with a 4-4 vote and the tie being broken by the mayor.
Lindsey also asked Lott about his use of a vehicle purchased by the city council in January with a bid awarding the purchase of two 2020 Police Package SUV’s from Jim Golden Ford. The price was $80,696.
Lindsey said a constituent asked him about an Expedition parked at City Hall being driven by the mayor.
Aregood said, “We approved two police cars last month that the mayor has deemed one of those is for him.”
Lott warned Aregood against putting words in his mouth.
“If you hear me say something you can say what I said. When you don’t hear me say something you don’t have to give me the words,” Lott said.
“Here’s what I’m suggesting you do now. We have another vehicle here at city hall. You are absolutely correct, but we’ve always had vehicles. Is there something wrong with my having a vehicle? Or is there something wrong with the person who saw? I was driving a vehicle before. I pay a price. Every month they take money out of my paycheck to drive the car that I drive,” Lott said. “So, now if they have a problem with the mayor driving a car and they didn’t have a problem with any other mayor driving a vehicle — why would it be so different? What’s so different about this mayor?”
Aregood said, “What’s wrong with that one (the previous car), that you have to take the brand new one that we approved for police officers. To me that seems a little shady. We voted for two new police cars thinking they were going to go to patrol officers. And the brand new one went to the mayor and his old car went to police officers. Is that what happened?”
The mayor affirmed that was indeed what had happened.
“I get to driver a car and I pay to drive a vehicle. They take money out of my check every pay period. It can’t be so wrong for me to drive …What makes me so different … I don’t know. No one will tell me the real difference. I just don’t get it what makes me so different that I can’t have anything that a previous mayor had. I can’t do anything,” Lott said. “And those of you, I’m being subpoenaed for things, I’m being FOIAd for things. I can’t make a move in this city and everyone wants me to believe that it’s something else, but the only thing I see real different about me, some people are not necessarily racists but they’re segregationists and they want me to stay in my place. I was elected for my position and I plan to be the best mayor I can possibly be … Hold all of us accountable. This color is not changing. It’s not going away. You will have a black mayor until my term is up.”