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Mayor asks board members to show ‘professionalism’
By Carey King
Not in her 12 years as mayor has Brenda Oliver seen an issue keep coming up that’s as “trivial and petty” as the attention recently received by the police department’s take-home car policy.
Addressing Sylva board members Thursday night (July 1), Oliver said she’s upset that some of them have made negative comments about police operations in past months.
Since January, board members Danny Allen and Ray Lewis, both former police officers, have brought up a list of concerns about the department: complaints that officers aren’t friendly and don’t frequent area businesses, and charges that the policy of assisting county officers on calls wastes town resources. Most recently, they’ve said that allowing the chief, assistant chief and two detectives to take department cars home is a bad use of taxpayers’ money.
Oliver gave police officers – many of whom showed up in uniform at the meeting – her vote of confidence and urged town leaders to work within government structures to address their concerns.
Allen and Lewis have made few of their comments in official town meetings, choosing instead to share their criticism with constituents and the press.
Oliver said she hoped board members will show a higher “level of professionalism” in the future by discussing issues fully and directly with fellow elected officials.
Following the Public Safety Committee’s recent review of the take-home car policy, committee chairman Maurice Moody recommended to the full board that the practice stay in place. Numbers provided by Police Chief Jeff Jamison prove that take-home cars result in a “small savings” by the town, Moody said, but even more important is the knowledge that officers will be able to respond in a timely manner to emergencies.
He read a list of surrounding communities that have police departments operating under a similar policy.
“This is probably a state and national trend,” he said.
Allen said little in return, repeating his concern that the officers who take cars home live too far from town limits. Lewis said nothing.
“Let me say something to the police force,” Allen said. “Everyone may think I’m against the police force, but what I’m against is the policies and procedures. I think the whole board needs to look at it.”
Board members voted 3-2 to allow the take-home car policy to stand. Following a motion by Moody and a second from fellow Public Safety Committee member Eldridge Painter, board member Anne Cabe also voiced her approval. Allen and Lewis voted against.
Jamison thanked the mayor for her support.
“Law enforcement comes under a more powerful microscope than other (town departments), and rightly so, because we have the largest share of the budget,” he said. “We also provide one of the most important services to the town, and that’s the safety and security of its citizens.”
Some of the recent criticism the department has received was warranted, but most was undeserved, Jamison said.
“These officers serve the town of Sylva because they care about the people of Sylva. They wouldn’t do it if they didn’t, because it’s a thankless job,” he said. “The citizens of Sylva are lucky to have the people that they have.”
The fact that the department conducted 273 business checks during the past month and new community policing efforts by Assistant Chief Tammy Hooper are a good indication that officers have stepped up their interaction with citizens, Jamison said. (See related article, page 3A.)
“It’s hard to conceive that people don’t see a Sylva police car on their street at some time,” he said.
In other business July 1, Sylva board members heard that:
– Western Carolina University’s Department of Natural Resources and the Land Trust for the Little Tennessee would like to assist the town in developing plans for Pinnacle Park. The two organizations partner to promote sustainable forestry, a tree management practice that takes ecological, social and economic factors into consideration, said WCU professor Peter Bates.
“We’re trying to help people think about attitudes between 100 percent ‘tree-hugging’ and 100 percent ‘subdivision,’” said the Land Trust’s Paul Carlson.
Board members have considered helicopter logging the park, its former watershed area. Before making any decision, two or three financial and environmental estimates will be done, Oliver said.
Bates offered a team of undergraduates that would survey the forest and make recommendations. The work would cost approximately $3,000, but could possibly be funded through grants, Bates said.
– New signs will soon be installed on East Jackson Street to ban all-day parking near City Lights Bookstore and Spring Street Cafe. The businesses requested the town’s help in securing parking for their customers while the parking lot at First United Methodist Church is closed for construction, Street Committee Chairman Lewis said.
Lewis also reported that the Sunrise Park area will get a new speed bump on Henson Street near Powderhorn Drive. Resident Jack Watkins had requested that Henson Street be rerouted for 50 feet to slow traffic coming from nearby apartments, but installing a bump is more cost-effective, Lewis said.
– Improvements are continuing at Bryson Park. The parking lot and basketball court have been repaved, and town maintenance workers have built horseshoe pits, reboarded old picnic tables, added chips to both playground beds and cleaned the steps coming down from Allen Street, Public Works Director Daryl Cheatham said.
One basketball goal has already been installed, and a second one will be added in coming weeks, along with a swing set and grill, Cheatham said. Following the painting of lines on the basketball court, the area will be ready for play, he said.
– Zoning administrator Jim Aust has been enforcing the town’s sign ordinance, which bans advertising on telephone poles and public streets and sidewalks. Aust has been removing illegal signs, especially those of the “stick-in-the-ground” variety, he said.
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