When Commissioner Tommie Postell asked the commission to accept a resolution hashed out by commissioners during a recent closed session, Langstaff suggested that the wording of the resolution left some question as to the intent of the pay stipulation. He called for a straight 4 percent increase in Lott’s contract that was not tied to cost-of-living adjustments.
Postell, whose proposal had offered a provision that called for a cost-of-living increase not to exceed 5 percent of Lott’s salary, objected.
“That’s not we agreed to; I don’t know where this 4 percent is coming from,” he said.
When Langstaff said he’d talked with Lott about the wording of the contract and had asked City Attorney Nathan Davis to draw up a separate proposal, Postell angrily said that the resolution that had been presented was the one that he’d offered a motion for approval.
“I don’t think what’s been proposed is what Mr. Lott wants or what is in the best interest of the city,” Langstaff said. “The commission failed to ask Mr. Lott his intent (in putting together a contract proposal) and to negotiate with him.”
Adams banged his gavel and said, “The problem, Bob, is that you discussed this matter with (Lott) and you discussed it with Nathan, but you didn’t discuss it with the others on this board.”
“I thought you’d discussed it; that’s your job,” Langstaff replied. “You hadn’t done your job.”
“But that’s not your job,” Adams responded.
“It is if you don’t do it,” Langstaff said before he was cut off by Postell, who called for a vote. The measure passed 4-3.
“The problem is that one commissioner took action on this without the knowledge of others on the board,” Adams said after the meeting. “We’d formed a committee that came up with this proposal, and it had been discussed in closed session. And regardless, a commissioner does not have the authority to take a matter like this into his own hands.”
Langstaff said he wanted to make sure there was no confusion about the wording of the agreement.
“The way the proposal read was that Mr. Lott would get an increase in addition to the cost-of-living adjustment,” Langstaff said. “That was not the intent of his proposal.”
Lott, meanwhile, said he was happy to have the matter behind him.
“This agreement is about 99 percent of what I proposed, so I’m happy,” he said. “There are things that we’ve started that I want to complete, and this agreement will allow me to do that for two more years with two more automatic one-year options.
“I like my job and I love the people I’ve met here. I’m ready to move forward.”
Lott’s current salary package calls for $138,000 in base pay.
In other action at the meeting, the commission agreed to modify the language of its 1,000-foot proximity ordinance so that bars and nightclubs would be allowed to locate within 1,000 feet of restaurants with existing alcohol licenses. Immediately afterward, commissioners OK’d a liquor license request by Mike Rodefer, who plans to open Mugsy’s bar and grill in the Archwood Plaza.
Commissioners also agreed to liquor licenses for The Chop Shop and T&J Convenience store; one-day licenses for a fundraiser benefiting the Albany Humane Society and a Lee County Chamber of Commerce banquet; and alcohol license transfers at the End Zone Grill & Bar, Lucky Spot No. 2, MK Food Mart and Picnic Pizza.
Commissioners OK’d a plan to move forward with traffic signal and street improvements at Nottingham Way and Ledo Road, approved a rezoning request that will allow for the construction of a 70- to 80-room motel at the southeast intersection of Nottingham and Ledo (with a condition that the owner leave a 40-foot buffer at the east end of the property), adopted a code of conduct and ethics for city employees and established a bicycle route to connect the Rails to Trails rail bed to the Flint RiverQuarium.
The commission approved a recommendation from the Historic Preservation commission to demolish substandard apartments at 403-414 Whitney Ave. and at 314 Westbrook Ave. and approve new construction on the property; offered a resolution supporting the four-laning of State Highway 133; and voted to accept grants for improvements on taxiways at the Southwest Georgia Regional Airport.