Tuesday, a historic event took place in Milton city governance. During the 4 p.m. special session, Mayor-elect Wesley Meiss put his hand on the Bible and swore to uphold the Constitution as the official Mayor of Milton following the 20-year command of Guy Thompson and the more symbolic 4-day rule of R. L. Lewis. New and returning members, Jimmy Messick, Ashley Lay, Mary Ellen Johnson, Patsy Lunsford, Alan Lowery, and Lloyd Hinote swore their oaths as well. Meiss’ first act as mayor was to reinstate Lewis to the council. The vote passed with Lewis dutifully abstaining. Meiss gave the newly sworn-in council members time to speak, each giving thanks to supporters and expressing a desire to work together as a governing body. When Meiss spoke, he mentioned the unique makeup of the new council, including the fact it is gender balanced and now has two African-American members, one being a woman. He also had something positive to say about each newly elected official.
During the first official regular session of the Milton council, returning and first time officials handled city business as usual. They waded through two main issues of Sharon Holley with the Santa Rosa Arts & Culture Foundation paying $50 every year to put on Gallery Night, and Dr. Mike Rinaldi requesting use of public property for a Halloween night concert.
After a Red Ribbon Week presentation by members of the Young Marines, a vote came up for assigning council members to various committees. Original assignments placed Mayor Meiss on the Transportation Planning Organization (TPO) and Councilman Messick on the Bay Area Resource Council (BARC). Councilwoman Marilyn Jones moved to switch Meiss and Messick.
Jones said the TPO was a brutal place to get anything done. Speaking of Messick, she said, “He has age and experience. One small step could cost thousands of dollars. It’s easy to be run over.”
Councilwoman Lay also spoke saying in the past Meiss worked against the council but did not immediately say in what way. Meiss said, “I swore on the Bible. What are your concerns?” Lay then brought up a letter Meiss wrote to Peggy Kelley, Florida Department of Transportation project manager concerning the Highway 90 study to alleviate traffic congestion. In it, he advocated inclusion of a southern alternate route south of the CSX rail line in the study. The letter was sent on September 10, the day after the council resolved to support widening Highway 90 through the downtown area with Meiss being the single dissenting vote.
Meiss said he’s already spent two years on the city council and has made trips to Chipley. He said he would represent the city as mayor. “The mayor should be on the TPO, but I will follow the will of the council,” he said.
Former Mayor Guy Thompson sat on the TPO his entire 20 years as mayor, which he said made it long enough to become tradition. Typically, he said, mayors before him sat on the TPO but sometimes a councilperson would do so. Thompson also said as far back as he can remember, he’s never seen a council deny a mayor anything. With only two “nay” votes by Alan Lowery and Patsy Lunsford, the council voted to pass Jones’ motion putting Messick on the TPO and Meiss on the BARC.
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: First city council meeting sees contention between officials