Citation issued after incident between council woman, mayor
Lake Santeetlah – It was only a matter of time before the countless accusations, passive-aggressive comments and overall tension in the room led to the proceedings spiraling out of control.
Over the last few years, harmony is not a word that has been characterized as synonymous with the Town of Lake Santeetlah. Residents and council members often bicker during the monthly gatherings, whether public comment is open or not (over the last two years, the council has elected to allow two public comment sessions to try and curb the frustration: one near the beginning of a meeting and one after business has been conducted).
There has arguably been no other time in the municipality’s 34-year existence that the council itself has been so publicly divided. Both minor and major legal decisions about the town have been left floundering over the last eight months because of the extended absence of council member Ralph Mitchell.
Mitchell, 93, was a frequent visitor to Lake Santeetlah Town Hall when virtual meetings were still in existence, as he would use the technology at the building to attend Zoom meetings – his last such instance coming in October. Shortly thereafter, Mitchell fell ill while visiting family in Ohio for Thanksgiving and did not return after the holidays as expected. The council was even unable to come to terms on voting to approve his temporary medical-leave request, which was submitted in January.
Mitchell was back for the June 8 meeting – his return warmly received by the majority of those in attendance. Now back to full strength, the council had a majority for another lingering issue: the need to appoint two alternates to the town’s planning board.
When the contentious topic was reached on the agenda, Mayor Connie Gross made a motion for Jack Gross to receive one of the two alternate seats. As expected, her husband received the nod, 3-2.
Prior to his appointment, council member Diana Simon – seated directly to Mayor Gross’ right – expressed her desire to nominate Ralph Strunk, a resident who has shown great interest in filling the role.
Following Jack’s appointment, Mayor Gross attempted to make another motion for Alan Davidson’s name to be considered. Davidson’s residency has been questioned over recent months, but paperwork provided at the meeting showed he owns property within the town.
Simon attempted to interject, shouting, “No!” but Mayor Gross continued her motion. It was at this point that Simon slapped the mayor on the upper portion of her right arm.
“I had a motion first!” Simon shouted at the mayor.
The initial chuckle in the room quickly turned into amazement over the proceedings.
“Keep your hands off of me,” Mayor Gross replied.
“Why do you ignore me?” Simon countered.
“Don’t you ever put your hands on me again,” Mayor Gross said.
Simon turned back to the room and made her motion for Strunk, which died after failing to receive a second. Mayor Gross then repeated her pitch for Davidson, which successfully passed 3-2.
Oddly enough, the meeting continued for 42 more minutes as if nothing occurred. Shortly after the conclusion, Mayor Gross filed an incident report with the Graham County Sheriff’s Office.
Obtained by The Graham Star, the report shows a citation for simple assault was issued to Simon by Sgt. David Moore. Moore said in the filing that he reviewed the video of The Star’s Facebook livestream to confirm Mayor Gross’ recollection of the events. Simon was served the citation later that night and has to appear in court Monday, July 17.
A request for comment from Simon by The Star was not received by Wednesday’s press deadline.
A higher-quality version of the meeting – in its entirety – is available for free viewing now at grahamstar.com. The incident occurs around the 43-minute mark.
Budget affirmed
Before the confrontation, the council approved the 2023-24 budget, 3-2.
Of note, finance officer Tina Emerson estimated a decrease in the millage rate from 0.00296 to 0.00209, noting that Graham County had not informed the town on a finalized number just yet.
However, the split in revenue was bumped from 70/30 to 80/20, which allowed Lake Santeetlah to anticipate an additional $37,000 in revenue.
Emerson later appropriated 15 percent of the total ad valorem tax collected by the town to be placed inside a capital reserve fund, to pay for future paving costs;
* The budget was approved before the Simon/Gross incident, but Simon questioned the mayor’s meeting fee to $1,200 for the year.
Gross quickly noted that she did not want the fee, which was confirmed by Emerson.
Simon said she would like to see some of the fee applied instead to the town’s $2,400 contribution (doubled from last year) to the Nantahala Regional Library system, while also asking system director Franklin Shook – who attended the meeting virtually – to ramp up the number of programs offered at the Graham County Public Library;
* The budget included a $6,000 line item for paying a zoning administrator. Lake Santeetlah is the only municipality in the county that has zoning – mainly to curb spacious homes that could obscure neighboring views of the lake.
Zoning has been a hot-button topic for the town lately, with several residents wanting to see a full-time administrator brought aboard. Emerson had estimated a $50,000-$60,000 salary expenditure for a well-qualified candidate.