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Council approves $25,000 transfer to DDA amid concerns about board stability and oversight
Summary
The council voted 6–0 to transfer a budgeted $25,000 to the Downtown Development Authority and discussed appointing Terry Parsons (sole applicant) to a vacant DDA seat; several council members urged caution because the DDA has had recent resignations, while others said the transfer was already budgeted and appropriate.
Council reviewed two linked downtown-development items: the appointment of Terry Parsons as the sole applicant for a vacant DDA seat and a $25,000 transfer to the Downtown Development Authority (DDA). Danny Roberts explained the $25,000 had been budgeted but was placed in the wrong account and needed a technical transfer to be spent by the DDA.
Council members expressed divided views about moving the funds while the DDA is "in flux" after recent resignations. One council member said the authority had no immediate plans to spend the money and recommended waiting until the DDA reorganized; another argued the DDA should not be micromanaged and that the budgeted funds were already intended for the authority. "They're going to get that money," a council member said, "but just...I don't see why we're trying to keep them on a leash."
After discussion about phased transfers and the possibility of authorizing city manager discretion for smaller transfers, Councilmember Brandon and others said they supported showing the DDA the council’s backing. A motion to transfer $25,000 to the DDA passed on a voice vote recorded as six to zero.
Roberts said if the council placed the appointment on the consent agenda, Mr. Parsons would be sworn in Thursday; council members agreed to proceed with the appointment process. Several public commenters later raised transparency concerns about the DDA and related committees, arguing that repeated procedural errors and interpersonal pressure had eroded trust; the council responded to those comments and urged civility.
