Voting Glitch Raises Questions In County Commission

Not actual vote results, Photo by Jeff Depew

Jefferson County Finance Office and Jefferson County Mayor’s Office will not be relocating to another downtown Dandridge location according to a tie vote of County Commissioners that defeated a motion that would have purchased the proposed new location for up to $1 million dollars plus associated costs. The motion was tied to the sale of the current Finance Office and the use of the funds from that sale to renovate the current Jefferson County Clerk’s Office. It also included the caveat that the roof on the new location be in good shape. While the motion passed the Budget Committee with three members voting in dissent, it struggled on the full Commission floor. Three County Commission Members were absent from vote ( Lowe, Solomon and Dockery) leaving the body with an even number present.

Physical Facilities Director for Jefferson County, David Longmire, informed the Commission that the elevator in the new location was not ADA compliant and that the seller was willing to take $75,000 from the asking price to accommodate that upgrade. Questions about the life span of the HVAC units and ongoing questions about the condition of the roof were part of the discussion of the motion. The final vote was recorded as 9-9 with Commissioners Kesterson, Douglas, Patterson, Bales, Blevins, Eslinger, Scarlett, Walker and Carmichael voting against the purchase. Though the vote count was recorded by the County Clerk, individual votes were not presented to the public. A glitch in the remote voting system resulted in a delayed public viewing and by the time the vote record was displayed three Commissioners had turned off their voting devise resulting in no vote showing for those Commissioners. Because a motion to adjourn was made directly after the building relocation vote another roll call vote ( for clarity and public presentation) could not be taken. Commissioner Phagan requested that the building purchase be an agenda item at the next voting meeting, which will not happen until September as the County Commission has no meeting scheduled in the month of August.

In other business, the Commission approved a partial land swap with the Town of Dandridge that would result in a 50/50 partnership with the Town and County on property located at the Field of Dreams. According to Road Superintendent Charles Tipton, the partnership is in the best interest of both the County and Town. A handful of general housekeeping items were approved, as well as zoning requests and the issue of slaughter houses in the County.

Source: K. Depew, News Director