By Terry Witt – Spotlight Senior Reporter
Bronson’s new town manager bucked her own bosses Monday night after the Town Council voted 4-0 to send a letter to the Levy County Commission expressing its interest in purchasing the former Bronson High School gym.
Mayor Beatrice Roberts told Town Manager Susan Beaudet to prepare the letter for Tuesday morning and she would drop by the office to sign it, but Beaudet had other ideas.
Beaudet said she was on the county commission agenda Tuesday morning and she wanted to wait to find out if commissioners really wanted a letter signed by the mayor or if a letter she wrote to the commission would suffice.
“Let’s see what happens at the meeting tomorrow because I’m on the agenda for tomorrow’s meeting. If they still want something signed by you…,” Beaudet said she would return to draft the letter.
Beaudet isn’t on the county commission agenda.
County Coordinator Wilbur Dean has asked the board to discuss the March 2 letter Beaudet sent to the board. The item is listed as an agenda item being brought forward by Dean for board discussion, not Beaudet.
Beaudet’s vaguely worded letter to Dean said “the town council expressed the possibility of purchasing the H.A. White Gymnasium from Levy County” at a Feb. 1 board meeting.
She said she has made contact with Dean three times about purchasing the gym.
County Commission Chairman John Meeks told Beaudet at the previous board meeting he would need something more than a letter from the town manager. He wanted the town council to send a formal letter expressing an interest in purchasing the gym. He wanted a formal letter signed by the mayor and approved by the council.
The town council did exactly what Meeks requested at Monday’s board meeting, but Beaudet is apparently hoping her letter is enough.
“It is my understanding that the current lease is nearing expiration,” she said in her letter to Dean. “The Town of Bronson has expressed an interest and authorized me, as Town Manager, to inquire about purchasing the gymnasium to serve as a community center for youth activities. If the county is interested in proceeding, we would need to know the associated cost of purchasing the gymnasium and leasing the football field accordingly.
“Should you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me at 352-486-2354, extension 224 at your earliest convenience. I look forward to working with you in the future.”
Manager Running Council?
Beaudet was accused Monday night of running the council rather than the other way around. The council was reminded it had voted 4-0 to send a letter to the county commission expressing an interest in buying the gymnasium. It was an order, not a request.
Councilman Jason Hunt’s motion to send the letter was quickly and unanimously approved by the board.
“I would like to send a letter from the mayor to the county commissioners inquiring about the purchase of the gym,” Hunt said in his motion. “If that’s what they want done, with her (Roberts) signature on the paper, that’s the way we’ll do it.”
Roberts directed Beaudet to prepare the letter and the mayor would drop by in the morning to sign it.
Beaudet agreed to write the letter but then pivoted to say she wanted to attend the county commission meeting in the morning first to see if they still wanted Roberts’ signature.
Spotlight Founder Linda Cooper confirmed that Meeks wanted the town council to send a letter expressing an interest in purchasing the gymnasium, “not administrator to administrator.”
Private Decision
Cooper also scorched the council for allowing Beaudet to meet privately with Roberts to end public discussion of agenda items by members of the audience until the end of council meetings. The new policy was announced by Roberts at Monday’s meeting.
Beaudet said she was trying to save time and make the meetings go faster by delaying public discussion of agenda items until the end of the meeting. She said similar rules of procedure are used by other councils and commissions. Roberts said she would operate under the new rule for this meeting to see how well it worked.
But Roberts opened her remarks about closing down public comment on agenda items until late in the meeting by saying, “There’s a new sheriff in town.”
Skimpy Agenda
Cooper noted that Spotlight had received the bare agenda from Beaudet and her deputy clerk, Wendy Maragh, without any supporting documents, which was another new procedure. Spotlight normally gets the agenda and supporting documents by email ahead of meetings. The town no longer posts agendas and supporting documents on its website due to requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act and the emails are a way of knowing what the agenda says in advance of the board meeting.
Maragh said she was told by someone to email Spotlight only the face sheet of the agenda and nothing more. She didn’t reveal who told her to shut down Spotlight’s access to supporting documents that are a public record under the state’s Sunshine Law.
She provided a Spotlight reporter with a paper version of the agenda package and supporting documents before the meeting, but the documents were randomly stacked in a heap.
Cooper demanded to know what was going on.
“For us not to be discussing things after every item (on the agenda) is a crying shame. This is by far the worst meeting I have ever attended. This is like a dictatorship, and you need to change your organizational chart to show that citizens are at the top, not the manager or the council,” she said. “People who are paying the bills have the right to say something. What you did tonight is egregious and just pitiful.”
Replacing Berlon Weeks
Cooper went on the say the council had no right to throw out a sitting councilman, Berlon Weeks, who was duly elected by the citizens of Bronson.
“And you want to replace him is another crying shame, and place a name in a hat. That’s pitiful,” she said.
Cooper was referring to Councilman Aaron Edmondson’s motion to accept applications from Bronson residents for Weeks’ position on the council and then have someone randomly draw a name from a hat. The person lucky enough to have their name drawn will sit on the council.
His motion passed 3-1 but City Attorney Steven Warm said only qualified citizens of Bronson could be considered for the position. Roberts said she wants candidates for the job to attend the April 5 meeting when the issue will be discussed. April 5 is the next council meeting.
The person appointed to replace Weeks won’t serve long. The appointed replacement will serve about five months and must qualify in July to run in September.
Williston attorney Norm Fugate was taking notes on everything that was being said about Berlon Weeks. His son Blake Fugate is representing Weeks in a lawsuit against the city.
Hunt voted against the motion to replace Weeks, saying he is concerned about the consequences of appointing someone and then having to remove them from office if Weeks wins his pending lawsuit against the council.
The council’s liability insurer has hired attorney Susan Erdelyi of Tallahassee to represent Roberts, Councilman Robert Partin, Hunt, Edmondson, former deputy clerk Melisa Thompson, and Warm, all of whom are defendants in the lawsuit.
Warm recommended at Monday’s meeting that the council go forward with replacing Weeks. He said the council is shorthanded without him and he feels it is imperative to fill the position.
Weeks filed suit against the town contesting his removal from office by the town council. He said it was an illegal act that was based on a resignation he never made at a city council meeting.
The council voted 3-1 to remove him in 2020, saying their interpretation of his words was that he had indeed resigned.
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Town of Bronson Regular Meeting March 15, 2021; Posted March 15, 2021
