The madness that seems to cloud the Blue Ridge City Council once again got the best of a scheduled meeting Tuesday, November 24.
The meeting was to be the first of many to come regular meetings on the fourth Tuesday of the month.
Councilwoman Rhonda Haight made the suggestion to begin having two regular meetings each month, the second and fourth Tuesdays, during an October meeting, which carried.
As there has been no “final reading” on the matter, a meeting was not able to be performed as it “was not called in advance like a special called meeting,” Assistant City Clerk Christina Mortimer said in a “corrected” cancellation notice.
However, in an email dated Thursday, November 19, Mortimer claimed City Attorney James Balli had advised the council to conduct the November 24 meeting as “this takes effect from your vote.”
After several attempts, Balli was unreachable by phone or email to confirm or refute the statements regarding the meeting.
In the original cancellation notice, it stated that the meeting was canceled as “there is no business to discuss currently.” But some agenda items to have been voted on included the second reading for Occupational Tax Certificate Ordinance Amendment, lowering the speed limit in front of the courthouse, playground purchase and installation and the Special Event Ordinance, among others.
The 2020 Millage Rate Ordinance’s second reading, a 2021 budget resolution, a charter change, a meeting ordinance, and updating the meeting rules and procedures were on the agenda for a special called meeting Monday, November 30, as of Wednesday, November 25.
Originally, the rezoning of the 14-acre parcel along Appalachian Highway was to be voted on November 30, but an updated agenda, which lists 18 separate items did not include that vote.