CEIDC Approves “Project Atticus” After Lengthy Meeting
By Greg Ritchie
Messenger Reporter
CROCKETT – Although there are still no concrete details revealed to the public, the mysterious “Project Atticus” was approved after a lengthy and contentious CEIDC (Crockett Economic and Industrial Development) meeting Monday, Aug. 5. The project is said to generate over 100 good-paying jobs in a lucrative field over the next five years.
A previous meeting to discuss the issue had to be postponed, after three Crockett City Council members did not attend the meeting, putting the entire project at risk. The meeting, scheduled for 5 p.m., has never been approved to be live-streamed, leading to some confusion among residents, interested in seeing the proceedings. There was a scheduled executive session – a closed door portion of the meeting with no public allowed – to discuss the issue, which quickly generated into a heated debate between members of the city and the council, the rumblings of which could be heard through the closed door to council chambers.
While nothing specific could be heard, it was clear not all in attendance were in agreement, with the executive session lasting well past the 6 p.m. city council meeting start time, causing that livestream to be delayed. The CEIDC meeting officially ended only at 7:22.
In all, the meeting could be considered a success, approving the city to move forward with a proposal to the mystery company, who – if all goes well – could be holding a job fair as soon as September or November. CEIDC also approved a budget for the corporation and appointed a secretary/treasurer, although neither vote was simple nor straight forward.
Precinct Five Councilman and Mayor Pro Tem Mike Marsh was unable to attend the meeting, leading to Crockett Mayor Dr. Ianthia Fisher breaking any ties in voting for the various items on the agenda.
Nominating and appointing someone to serve as CEIDC secretary/treasurer was one of the items scrapped at the last meeting, with Precinct Three Councilwoman NaTrenia Hicks surprising attendees by nominating Precinct One Councilman Dennis Ivey to the post. Ivey himself seemed most surprised of all, and it is unclear if Ivey expected to receive the nomination. Ivey was not available for comment after the meeting, but sources have confirmed he has accepted the position and is preparing for it.
What seemed odd to many, was that although she nominated Ivey, she did not vote for him when the matter came up for a vote, leaving Ivey himself, Precinct Four Councilman Elbert Johnson and Fisher to make the nomination official.
In another surprising turn, CEIDC Executive Director presented the official CEIDC budget, with Fisher thanking him for working with the city to get the budget right.
Gentry noted expenses would not increase, telling the board, “with an invoice of $1,122,000 and total expenses of $1,100,000. The line items in the budget are pretty much standard, which we’ve seen for the last five years. We are adjusting our budget to reflect a contingency of $618,000 for unknown projects which may come about next year.”
The minutes for several previous meetings needed to be approved, with Hicks protesting, arguing some of the minutes went back to April, before she was even elected. She asked how she could approve the minutes of meetings she was not present to hear?
Fisher explained they were just the minutes of the meetings, and not necessarily an approval of any actions taken at those meetings. Hicks asked aloud why minutes from an April meeting were coming up for approval in early August?
“CEIDC had not secretary or treasurer doing the work and I’ve done it all myself, answered Crockett City Administrator John Angerstein. “And it’s taken a while to get all this stuff to council.”
The minutes were approved 3-2, with Hicks and Jones voting no.
Greg Ritchie can be reached at [email protected]
