Council meeting not so special


The Henderson City Council’s special meeting was canceled on account of miscommunication Thursday evening.

The council and Mayor Clem Seifert planned the meeting eight days earlier to deal with the city’s group health insurance policy and a couple of matters from the mayor. But the council resolved the insurance issues last week, and when the meeting notice went out this week, it said the called session would deal with a personnel matter.

Thursday, Seifert said there was an e-mail misunderstanding. He had wished only to add his items to the health insurance meeting. Now that the health insurance meeting was not necessary, his matters could wait until the next regular City Council meeting, set for June 27.

The mayor did steer the conversation briefly to a lobbying effort in Washington before the gathering became the latest budget session of the Finance and Intergovernmental Relations Committee.

Congressman G.K. Butterfield’s office let Seifert know that $3 million was available from the federal government. The funds would have to be used on a 4-H project.

The mayor thought the money was a grant, but Henderson’s lobbying firm, The Ferguson Group, reviewed the legislation and determined that $2 million of the total would be a low-interest, long-term loan.

“I don’t believe the city is in a position take on a $2 million loan, even if the loan is a 1 percent loan for 40 years,” Seifert said.

The assembled council members agreed. And it turns out that Warren County previously turned down the funds.

“It sounded like it was too good to be true,” Seifert said. “It was.”

Written by Brad Breece