The New Cordell City Council, after a heated display by Mayor Jerry Beech, voted to reaffirm last month’s decision to close the municipal swimming pool for the season.
The mayor told the council the city didn’t have the staff or enough disinfectant to operate the pool for the season. He also mentioned a large crack in the pool that needed repaired, and that the pool required painting. These problems persisted despite the council’s decision to move forward with preparing the pool for the 2020 season during last month’s meeting.
The tension began when the mayor accused councilmen Steve McLaughlin, Buddy Holman, and James Newman of polling, essentially coming to a decision among themselves outside of an official meeting, and unilaterally declared they would not be involved in the discussion and the vote. When Newman asked why he was being excluded from the vote, Beech responded, “we’re going to talk about that later James.”
Newman persisted, asking why the mayor declared that he and the other two councilmen were recusing themselves. Beech then got up from his seat at the front and walked toward Newman, raising his voice and declaring, “because you’re polling.”
Beech said McLaughlin called city administrator J.C. Moser and told him that McLaughlin, Holman, and Newman had already decided to open the swimming pool. Newman denied the allegation, to which Beech responded, “he said you had.”
Holman and McLaughlin both also denied any such polling had taken place.
Beech, however, provided no evidence that such polling had occurred beyond his account of Moser’s report to him of McLaughlin’s call. He then proceeded to tell Newman that his denial didn’t matter and he wouldn’t be voting on the issue.
“I didn’t do it,” Newman responded. “And I don’t like being accused of it.”
City attorney Johnny Beech joined the discussion at that point and told the mayor that his facts weren’t “ironclad” and that he’d made his point about polling.
The mayor relented, but also told council members that he would go to the district attorney with any future such allegations. The vote proceeded with all members of the council participating, and ended with a 6-2 vote (Newman and Holman dissenting) to close the pool for the year.