East Ridge News Online covered the East Ridge Housing and Redevelopment Authority (ERHRA) from the very beginning, and I have written a number of opinion pieces concerning the board.
No one in East Ridge really seemed to care much about it … then came “the letter.”
The letter was not presented in print at the last ERHRA meeting. So, why was it sent out? No one will even claim ownership to the written ERHRA Operation Memorandum, the Map, or the infamous letter. We deserve an answer to better understand what is going on.
In the April 26 City Council meeting I asked the City Attorney after the meeting why he would not say who’s idea the ERHRA was in the first place and he said that was not the question I asked. Can someone help me remember what was my first question to the Council. I thought I called on the Attorney to tell me who’s idea was the Authority in the first place. He said I asked who put it on the agenda? Again, he said he did not know…..
You’re the City Attorney, how could you not know? It takes two council members, the mayor or the city manager to add an item to a council agenda. Who were the two people responsible for this getting on the agenda? Or maybe it was just one.
A few citizens got all over me after the meeting for implying that Attorney Litchford lied, and how dare I accuse him of it. I didn’t accuse him of lying, he just declined to answer my main question that was … “Who’s idea was this in the first place?” Litchford replied that he did not know who’s idea it was to create the ERHRA
From the Chattanoogan.com
The Mayor has a voting alliance on the council with Larry Sewell, Esther Helton and usually Brian Williams. They are the voting block that advances the mayor’s agenda. The only time they have not voted together was beer sales in the park. Lambert got to vote no because Sewell, Helton, and Williams voted in favor. That allowed the mayor to vote “No” and be safe from public scrutiny. The “yes” voters are not up for re-election this year.
If we can’t close down the Cascades and the Waverly, why are we implementing the ERHRA? Don’t tell me that the deaths, overdoses, prostitution, and rampant drug use are not a blight on our city.
Another thing that caught my attention during the April 26 meeting was listening to Councilwoman Helton say she is “tired of being treated like a dog” on Facebook/Social Media. Let me get this straight. You have issues with the voters talking about you on Facebook…Then why did you run for public office?
Council members should put the energy used to create the ERHRA to a vote to abolish or re-constitute the board’s bylaws and powers. The public outcry for intervention on the ERHRA cannot be silenced by one council meeting. It is going to take a lot of effort to rebuild trust with the East Ridge community and its citizens.
The mayor should certainly attend the May 3 public forum and listen to the people that voted for him. Or will he simply be MIA for the meeting too! Maybe I can get an answer … Who’s idea was this in the first place? It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure that one out.
I hope we have good honest people running for Mayor of East Ridge in 2018!
_ Laura Mathis
