Kazee will fill judge's seat
Oneida attorney and former city alderman Philip Kazee has been named to fill the city judge’s seat vacated due to the recent death of Harold Jeffers.
Kazee was chosen by a unanimous vote of the Board of Mayor and Aldermen at Thursday’s regular monthly meeting, upon the recommendation of City Police Chief Mike Cross.
Mayor Jack E. Lay called for the police chief’s recommendation after annoucing that three capable attorneys had applied for the position. The other two under consideration for the post were Lori Phillips and Howard Ellis.
Mayor Lay pointed out that the town’s police department works more closely with the city judge than does the administration, adding that he felt that the board needed a recommendation before choosing from among the “three excellent attorneys.”
Chief Cross, after praising the late Harold Jeffers who “occupied a special place in my heart,” said he had labored over his decision. He said he had known and had a good working relationship with Kazee during his tenure as an alderman and that he knew Kazee knew a lot about the judicial system.
Alderman Sharon Miller made the motion to hire Kazee to fill the vacancy and it carried by an all-aye vote with Aldereman Jeff Tibbals absent.
The board opened and discussed bids for a ton truck and a police cruiser, before voting to take the bids under study before awarding them.
Ray Viles Ford of Clinton, Ted Russell Ford of Knoxville, Lance Cunningham Ford of Knoxville, and Jerry Duncan Ford of Wartburg all submitted bids.
The dump trunk bids range from $31,483 to $38,544, while the police cruiser bids range from $21,919 to $23,325. Because different criteria was listed in the various bids, Mayor Lay suggested that the board take time to study its options and award the bid at next month’s meeting.
After Mayor Lay had read aloud a “memo from the Planning Commission” concerning upkeep of property within the corporate limites, Vice Mayor Cecil Anderson proposed giving persons with junk automobiles in their yards 60 days to get rid of them.
That motion was put on hold after a lengthy discussion, during which Mayor Lay asked City Attorney Mark Blakley to research the ordinance and bring back a recommendation to the board at its next meeting to let them know what authority they have and what action can be taken.
Alderman David Lowe spoke up early on in the discussion to say that a lot of those automobiles are “the pride and joy” of their owners. Lowe later asked Andersonn if that the city-wide clean up of old autos would also apply to local businesses. Mayor Lay answered the latter by saying that body shops and such are exempt from the ordinance.
In other business:
• Mayor Lay announced that the final inspection had been made for the first phase of the Bear Creek Recreation Park development, and the town is now clear to proceed with seeking state grant funds for a second phase of development;
• The mayor also announced that the April meeting of the board would be held on April 24 instead of April 17 due to conflicts in his and Board of Aldermen’s schedules; and,
• The mayor announced that fuel costs for the Town of Oneida’s various departments have increased 35% over this point in last year’s budget.