Another Norris water commissioner quits
City Council plans to take over
Margueritte Wilson, the third of the three allied members of the Norris Water Commission, resigned from the board last Friday, four days after the other two had submitted their resignations.
Wilson sent her resignation by email to City Manager Adam Ledford, while the other two, Chairman Richard Dyer and Vice-Chair Sue Hill, sent their resignations by email to Mayor Chris Mitchell on Monday.
A fourth member of the five-member commission, Alex North, resigned from the board in early April for personal reasons, and was not involved in any of the controversy that led to Dyer, Hill and Wilson quitting.
Wilson’s resignation leaves only one member still on the board: city Councilwoman Loretta Painter, who represents the council on the commission. The commission oversees the city’s water and sewer utilities.
The City Council was to meet in a special session Tuesday evening (May 2), during which the council was expected to appoint itself to serve as the Water Commission board, at least temporarily. (Results of that meeting were not available before press time.)
Last week’s three resignations came in the wake of Painter’s move during the April 19 Water Commission meeting calling for Dyer to resign.
Painter’s request was in response to a profane slur Dyer made against Norris resident Joe Feeman during the March 28 commission meeting. Some observers viewed Dyer’s comment as part of a longstanding feud the three commissioners had maintained against the Watershed Board during their terms on the commission.
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.”
But he did so just five days later, right after Hill submitted her resignation.
Robin Sain, a member of the Watershed Board, told Dyer during the April 19 Water Commission meeting: “I have never heard Joe Feeman call you anything negative.”
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 had acknowledged during the April 19 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.
The council last night (May 2) was also scheduled to consider an ordinance that would permanently designate the five-member City Council to serve as the Water Commission.
The Norris Water Commission has been criticized as ineffective and derelict in its duties recently as a result of a lack of long-term maintenance on the sewer system, which has resulted in fines and mandates for improvements by state environmentaal regulators.
