The Washington City Council voted to shift the city's property and liability insurance to a local company in Monday night's meeting and also discussed several ongoing issues of importance to the community.

Led by Mayor Willie E. Burns, councilmen Ray Hardy, Edward Pope II, Rev. G.L. Avery, Maceo Mahoney, Nathaniel Cullars, and Pamela L.G. Eaton, met with City Administrator Mike Eskew, City Clerk Debbie Danner, and City Attorney Barry Fleming and a full house of interested citizens.

Taking the bulk of the evening, representatives from the two bidders on the city's property and liability coverage discussed their bids with council members and the public. George Van Leuven represented GIRMA, the Georgia Interlocal Risk Management Agency, an intergovernmental risk-sharing fund that has insured the city in recent years; and Deanne Crook, owner of Griggs-Ficklin Insurance, and F. Lewis Marshall, president of The Governmental Insurance Source, LLC, represented Trident Insurance Services.

The bids for property and liability coverage for all city vehicles, employees, and buildings had been opened, and City Attorney Fleming told the council that he had examined both bids, and gave the relative merits on each policy as he saw it.

Trident, from the local provider, was better in some areas, Fleming said, but he saw differences in liability limits and deductibles that led him to recommend GIRMA, despite the fact that it was high bidder by some $12,000.

Marshall, of Governmental Insurance Source, addressed the council on what he said were innate inequities between the two insurance providers. Trident is an insurance company, and GIRMA is an association pool offering coverage to its members. "Look out for 'joint and several liability,'" he said. "If GIRMA's pool gets in trouble, the members will be asked to pay the difference."

For GIRMA, Van Leuven accused Trident of "low-ball prices," saying, "they don't offer the same coverages we do."

The council reviewed the amounts paid to GIRMA for property and li- ability, which was $156,000 in 2006.

Eaton suggested the issue be tabled so the council members could compare specifications and make a better comparison.

Marshall objected to that, saying that the bids were open. "We know each other's rates now, you can't put it out again. You've got a problem."

Councilman Cullars ended the impasse by moving to accept the lowest bid. The council voted in favor of the motion, with Avery voting in opposition and Eaton abstaining.

In the ongoing issue of renaming Whitehall Street in honor of Martin Luther King Jr., City Attorney Fleming reviewed Councilman Cullars' request for a review of the minutes of city council proceedings in which the decisions were made first to change the name, then to rescind that change.

Fleming said that at the October 9, 2000, regular meeting, the city council voted to change the name of Whitehall Street to honor Martin Luther King Jr. At a public hearing in January 2001, however, the council voted to rescind the change. The issue was reviewed at the February 12, 2001 city council meeting.

The legal question for the city attorney, Fleming said, was whether the council could properly take that action at a hearing rather than a regular council meeting. His answer was, he said, "I would advise not to, but they were legal in doing so."

Saying that his review of state law showed no clear prohibition against the action, Fleming said, "You can, but you probably shouldn't."

Avery brought up concerns that his constituents had over the recent open house for the Southwest Washington Redevelopment Plan. "People want to know exactly how this will impact them, and what happens if they choose not to participate," he said. The meeting was designed to survey the opinions of the residents of the area about the need for redevelopment, he said, but people want to know.

The Mayor said that he was very pleased at the turnout of citizens at the open house, but that the RDC's Christian Lentz "missed an opportunity to talk to everybody and tell them what was going on."

Burns stressed that the decisions on what actions would be taken in the redevelopment would be made at the council table.

"Plans are being developed, but you council members will make all the decisions on how to implement it," Eskew said.

The council passed two resolutions Monday night. It approved Eskew's recommendation to include HUD in the affordable communities program, and authorized the sending of the city's joint solid waste management update plan to the state.

Citizen Norris Ware rose to report a problem with city crews working at East Street, saying the crew removed a culvert, but put up no cones, had no supervisor on site, and were working near a gas line.

Washington-Wilkes Tourism Director Ashley Barnett started the meeting with a report on the increase in spring tourism. Thanks to "a media blitz" in Augusta on TV and in the newspaper during Masters week, nearly every room was filled in hotels, motels, and bed and breakfast inns, and restaurants saw extra business every night from returning Masters attendees.

Barnett also set up a booth at the I-20 Georgia State Visitors Center Friday to point visitors toward Washington.

In addition to other items, Barnett announced that Mayfest was slated for May 12, and anyone wanting to be a vendor should contact M.V. Booker.

Payroll Development Authority Director David Jenkins reported that the PDA is working with two new employers with a potential of some 50 jobs, and that there are seven other "hot prospects" looking at coming to Wilkes County.

Eaton invited everyone present to the next meeting of the Downtown Development Authority Thursday, April 19 at 8:30 a.m. at Farmers State Bank.

She was a judge, she said, at the recent fifth annual cheerleading competition at the Washington- Wilkes Parks and Recreation Center. "Kids came from several counties around, and I was absolutely amazed at how good they were. Pete Gartrell does a wonderful job at Parks and Rec, and we need to support him."

Avery, at his turn, asked if the police were going to give extra coverage to keep the Mayfest party from coming down the side streets off Whitehall. "We can't let it spill over into peoples' yards, so they're afraid to come out of their homes."

Washington Police Assistant Chief Theodosia Glenn said, "We are going to control traffic and keep everybody safe."