The ongoing desire for a community swimming pool, the upgrading of the city's fire protection rating, and a public request for a councilman to step down from a committee assignment were the hot topics for Monday night's regular July meeting of the Washington City Council.

A very large crowd which filled the meeting room at the Edward B. Pope Center first heard from Washington Fire Chief Alan Poss, who proudly announced that, after decades of hard work on the part of city leaders and firefighters, the city's Insurance Services Office (ISO) fire protection rating has been upgraded to one of the best in the nation.

The improved fire protection rating, which was raised from a 4 to a 3, not only lowers the cost of homeowners insurance, Poss said, it makes the city far more attractive to potential businesses by lowering the cost of commercial and business insurance. (See separate story on this page)

Washington businessman Steve DeShazo rose to address Mayor Willie E. Burns, council members, and the public on the subject of Councilman Nathaniel Cullars' position on the council's Police Committee.

After quoting Martin Luther King's 1963 statement that "We will have to repent in this generation not merely for the hateful words and actions of the bad people, but the appalling silence of the good people," DeShazo asked Cullars to step down from the Police Committee, which oversees the Washington Police Department, until the drug trafficking charges against his son, Nathaniel Cullars Jr., are adjudicated.

DeShazo said that "a significant conflict of interest exists in any continuation of Councilman Cullars holding this appointed position."

In order to eliminate this conflict, DeShazo asked Cullars, "Will you voluntarily remove yourself from the Police Committee, and the mayor appoint Councilman Avery to the position?"

"Absolutely not," Cullars replied. DeShazo then asked the mayor to remove Cullars temporarily and until the case was settled. Mayor Burns refused, saying, "I stand by my decision to leave Mr. Cullars where he is, as long as Mr. Cullars can recluse his self from his son's case, there is not a conflict. And I stand by that."

DeShazo then asked the opinion of each council member on the subject. Council member Ray Hardy said, "I've had my concerns about it, and I've talked with the city attorney about it, and he's answered some of my questions. While I'm not one hundred percent comfortable with it, I'm okay with it for right now."

Councilman Maceo Mahoney, said that things should stay the way they are. "Councilman Cullars is doing a great job."

Councilman Pamela Eaton said that this was "a very difficult situation." She said that as the other Police Committee member, she had not seen Cullars do any wrong on the committee. She did feel, however, that his committee position was a conflict of interest, and that "in due time the mayor will have to do something about it."

Saying that he could only address what he would do in that situation, Councilman G. L. Avery said, "The mayor appointed him, so it is up to the mayor to remove him if it becomes necessary; or if the mayor thinks he's doing a good job, it's the mayor's prerogative to allow him to stay there. I personally would step aside, but I cannot say to him that he should or should not step aside."

Mayor Burns commented that City Attorney Barry Fleming "has been by my side" during the controversy. "This has a process, and to make a hasty decision, that's not your mayor. And he [Fleming] advised me that as long as we recluse him [Cullars] from issues involving his son's case, we're fine, and I'm going to stand by that."

Later in the meeting, Cullars said that he represented District 1, and asked his constituents in the audience if they wanted him to resign. At least three people said, "No."

"And another thing," he said. "My son is 31 years old, and he don't stay with me. And I'm a man, and if I think I'm going to interfere with anything the police are doing, I'm pretty sure I would step aside. Other than that, I'm going to continue to serve on the Police Committee, and continue to serve on the county comm - the city council. I will be running again next year. I'm not going anywhere."

The controversial need for a cityfunded swimming pool arose again. Retired educator Eddie Finnell asked the council's support for building a swimming pool in the community. "I know you're doing a feasibility study on it now, and our children in Wilkes County need a swimming pool. Right now, our children are going to Lincolnton, or to Crawfordville, or to somebody's pool where they can swim. We are progressive in Washington, Georgia. It shouldn't be that we're going somewhere else. If anything, other people should be coming here."

He said the situation was worse now than in his childhood in the 1950s. To loud applause, he urged the council to "do the right thing for our children here in Washington."

At Mayor Burns' urging, City Administrator Mike Eskew reported on the feasibility study he conducted and provided to council members. The mayor is prepared, he said, to act on one of the study's recommendations and appoint a swimming pool committee to "help us make decisions to arrive at the decision on whether to proceed" with the pool.

His research had found a pool designer's checklist of decisions that a city needed to make in building a pool, and the committee would use this information and other data to make recommendations to the city.

The committee consists of council members Avery and Eaton, Parks and Recreation director Pete Gartrell, citizens Eddie Finnell and Sparky Newsome, and representing the city, Eskew and City Clerk Debbie Danner.

Discussion ensued as to the type of pool, indoor or outdoor, and possible sources of funding for a pool facility. The feasibility study showed that an indoor pool would cost $3-4 million, and an outdoor pool is far less. "We could write the check for an outdoor pool right now," Burns said.

"I just want to go on record saying if we've got three or four million dollars we can 'write a check' for," Ray Hardy said, "we ought to be lowering water rates, and electric rates..." He was drowned out by applause.

Hardy also pointed out that the $50,000 needed to re-pave city tennis courts, discussed earlier in the meeting, may not be a good use of money since a Parks and Rec-sponsored tennis tournament last year drew only five local players.

Mayor Burns said that the cleanup and restoration of the tennis courts was necessary because they had become "blighted areas." He said he would encourage programs that would increase use of the courts. "I might even take up tennis myself."

In other council business, Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Donna Hardy reported that the Fourth of July crowds were very large and that merchants had a great day. She thanked Washington Police, and Washington city workers who had The Square clean by early the next morning.

Payroll Development Authority Director David Jenkins reported that the movie "Deception" would begin filming in Washington in August, and that some streets would be closed to through traffic. He also said that representatives from the Georgia Department of Community Affairs had been in town, looking at downtown designs and signs for the five city gateways.

He also said that he would be reporting Chief Poss' good news about the city's upgraded fire protection rating to state authorities. "This is a huge thing for economic development," he said.

In other business, Mayor Burns appointed Charles Jackson to the Planning Commission, Cassandra Jackson and Rev. Gail Seibert to the Library Board, and Anne Stewart to the Housing Board. The council voted their approval.

The council also approved the continuation of an economic development rider on the electric rate for industrial users. They also approved the use of The Square in August 5 for the Tiger Lift-a-Thon.

Finally, council member Cullars requested an Executive Session for personnel. The council did not concur, and the meeting was adjourned.