Appointing a new member was the first order of business for the Red Boiling Springs Council at their regular meeting on September 3, and there were two interested candidates present.

Voting was close and Councilman Steve Newberry passed on a motion by John Cook, seconded by Terry Newberry, to appoint Ralph Wheaton. With two no votes (Etheridge and Carver) and two yes votes (Cook and T. Newberry), the motion died. Mayor Hollis didn’t vote on that motion because it wouldn’t have made a difference, explained Recorder Coby Knight.

Willie Brown was appointed on a motion by Carver, seconded by Etheridge, by another close vote. Voting yes to Brown were Etheridge, Carver, Steve Newberry, and Mayor Kenneth Hollis; voting no were Terry Newberry and Cook.

Mayor Hollis swore the new council member in immediately after his appointment, and Brown took a seat at the council table.

The passing of a new charter for the city was tabled until next month, after Cook challenged the advice of MTAS advisor Gary Jeckles, passed on to the council by Mayor Hollis.

“Jeckles said that if we don’t adopt this one, and send another one back to the legislature later, they’ll want us to do it by referendum,” said Hollis. “It’s been approved by the state and we need to go ahead and adopt it.”

Hollis advised that the charter could be added to with ordinances.

In March, the existing council voted unanimously to ask our state representatives to ask the state legislature to approve the new charter by a private act.

In June, the city got notification that the legislature had passed the private act and sent the charter back to the city for final approval.

But three members of the present council - Willie Brown, Billy Joe Carver, and John Cook didn’t take their council seats until after that request had been made.

“I challenge Jeckles,” said Cook. “We’ve got a whole wall of forefathers here that worked on our city’s charter since 1953,” said Cook, “and I just don’t see throwing the whole thing out without reading them side by side and comparing them and having some discussion about this.”

Council members agreed to a comparison and a work session was set for September 14 at 7 p.m. to go over both charters. The council may discuss the charters at the work session, but cannot take any action on adopting or rejecting the new one until their next regular meeting in October.

The city has until December 1 to adopt the new charter as passed by the legislature, according to City Recorder Coby Knight.

Chief Terry Tuck reported back to the council with prices on new patrol cars and a plan to sell old patrol cars to help pay for them.

Two new, marked patrol cars from Alexander Ford of Murfreesboro will cost the city $24,058 each, said Tuck, and selling some of the obsolete patrol cars at auction would help to make a sizable payment on the much needed new cars.

A motion to buy the two new cars passed unanimously, as did a motion to auction off four obsolete patrol cars.