Two Norris water commissioners resign after flap over name-calling
Richard Dyer, left, chairman of the Norris Water Commission, and Sue Hill, vice-chair, are shown here during a February meeting of the commission. Both resigned from the Water Commission on Monday, April 24. (photo:G Chambers Williams III )
Resigning were Chairman Richard Dyer and Vice-Chair Sue Hill. A third member of the commission, Alex North, resigned from the board earlier this month.
That leaves just two members on the five-member commission: Margueritte Wilson and city Councilwoman Loretta Painter, who represents the council on the commission.
The commission oversees the city’s water and sewer utilities.
Ledford confirmed the resignations and shared the emails with The Courier News on Tuesday morning, and said there most likely will be an emergency meeting of the City Council at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 2, to deal with the lack of a quorum that now exists on the Water Commission.
The two resignations came in the wake of Painter’s move during last Wednesday’s (April 19) commission meeting calling for Dyer to resign. Her request was in response to a profane slur Dyer made against Norris resident Joe Feeman during a March 28 commission meeting.
Feeman is a retired TVA forester who serves as a volunteer advisor to the Norris Municipal Watershed Board, and also is chairman of the Norris Planning Commission.
Dyer, who has held several elected and appointed positions in Norris government including mayor and councilman, said publicly of Feeman during the March meeting: “This man is a bastard.”
The comment came during an expletive-laced tirade Dyer made accusing Feeman and the Watershed Board of not cooperating with the Water Commission in oversight of the spring in the watershed that supplies drinking water to city residents.
The watershed is a 2,300-acre wooded area deeded to the city by the Tennessee Valley Authority, and is open to the public for multiple uses. It is bordered by Norris Dam State Park, TVA, and private property, and is adjacent to the city of Norris.
During the most-recent Water Commission meeting, Painter asked for Dyer’s resignation at the beginning of the meeting, citing the comment Dyer had made about Feeman at the previous meeting.
In an email to Norris City Manager Adam Ledford, which Ledford shared with Water Commission members, Painter said, referring to the March 28 meeting:
“ … Richard (Dyer) said of Joe Feeman, ‘This man is a bastard.’
“I do not think it is appropriate at a public meeting for any member of any board to call someone a bastard.”
She added, “Richard, as a member of the NWC, I am asking you to resign from the Norris Water Commission immediately.”
Dyer said at that time in response to Painter that he was sorry that he made the remark, but added, “I will not resign [from the Water Commission] of my own accord.”
Robin Sain, a member of the Watershed Board who was present during last week’s Water Commission meeting, said to Dyer:
“I have never heard Joe Feeman call you anything negative.”
Norris Mayor Chris Mitchell, who also was present at the April 19 meeting, said in the meeting that he had not yet listened to the recording of the March 28 meeting and had not heard the comment.
But he did suggest that it’s not appropriate for city board and commission members to speak in anger and make slurs against others, calling such behavior poor leadership.
Painter said later that she planned to bring the issue to the attention of the City Council at its next regular meeting, May 8.
Dyer acknowledged during last week’s meeting that the council would have the authority to remove him from the Water Commission. All members of the commission are appointed by the City Council and serve at the council’s pleasure.