At Monday night’s Henderson City Council meeting, downtown businessman Doug Marshall of Woodcrafts and Coin Supplies requested permission to use a nearby city parking lot at the corner of Garnett and Orange streets for an auction Sunday, Oct. 2, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Although City Manager Eric Williams granted permission to the business last year for a similar purpose, he said he brought the matter before the council this year because the auction was scheduled for a Sunday and might interfere with parking at First Baptist Church. Williams was concerned about setting a precedent regarding the use of city property on Sunday.
Council member Elissa Yount began by asking whether the auction would be loud. Marshall said it was going to be a small auction, although he would have an auctioneer.
“I do have a problem with it being held on a Sunday,” council member Mary Emma Evans said. She later exhorted the council to “remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy.”
Mayor Clem Seifert asked what time Marshall intended to have people attend the auction. Marshall said they would be there around 9 or 10 a.m.
Further along in the debate, council member John Wester asked whether the auction could be moved to 1 p.m. Marshall said he had to have time to set up the event.
Evans pointed out that not all churches get out by 1 p.m. Some churches, she said, do not finish until 4 p.m.
Council member Mike Rainey suggested that there might be an alternative site to hold the auction. He said he did not like the event outside church on Sunday.
After a motion to deny consent to the use of the property on Sunday, Seifert pointed out that the city had a function on Sunday on city property.
The council voted to deny the use of the property for an auction on Sunday. Seifert then asked the council to give Williams the authority to approve the use of the property, provided the event was scheduled for a Saturday. The council agreed.
In a later public comment, Oxford Road resident Lewis Edwards said he was troubled by the council’s rejection of the use request. He pointed out that West End Baptist Church is near two businesses that operate on Sunday, and he said he was troubled by the council being arbitrary about who does business on Sunday.