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Haymarket fills 2 council vacancies
The Haymarket Town Council voted unanimously Monday to appoint Planning Commissioner Mary Lou Scarbrough and local volunteer Milt Kenworthy to fill its two vacancies.
Deputy clerk of the circuit court Bob FitzSimmonds swore in Kenworthy, who celebrates his 72nd birthday next Wednesday after a closed council session.
Scarborough was absent from the event and will have to be sworn in at a later date.
Both members will fill the unexpired terms of former council members Ozzie Vazquez and Sue Shuryn, which end June 30, 2010.
On the selection of Kenworthy, Mayor Pam Stutz said the council liked "his longevity in the town" and "his knowledge of the town."
"Plus the fact that ... he's been involved," she added. "He's been out volunteering for things."
Kenworthy, a town resident since 1997, has routinely worked on planning the parade route for Haymarket Day and generally contributes to other events, such guiding the crowd during the Taste of Haymarket celebration held last past weekend.
Immediately after taking the oath of office, Kenworthy, who works as a chief engineer for Lincoln Property Company, cast his first vote in favor of transferring $5,000 to pay for banners used for the holiday party held Dec. 5. The vote passed 4-0 with Council Member Bob Weir abstaining.
Though there was no discussion of it at the meeting, Weir privately had blasted a decision by town officials to pay more than the $1,800 budgeted for the holiday party without voting on it first.
The controversy stemmed from the use of extra money left over from Haymarket Day.
Stutz said in an interview last month that the town planned to use excess money from the event -- which turned out to be $1,128.76 -- along with $550 in donations to help pay for the holiday party held last Saturday evening.
While the town had the money to do it, the town charter requires the council to vote on non-budgeted large spending items.
An Oct. 30 receipt provided by Weir shows the town paid $1,494 of a $4,980 bill from a Minnesota company for 60 16x45-foot banners. Thirty read "Town of Haymarket" and 30 read "Season's Greetings."
Weir, known to be a stickler for proper procedure, also produced another receipt. This one was paid to the Haymarket company Gossom and Costello Paving Inc. on Nov. 27.
It showed show the town spent $450 for two men "removing and installing new banners plus wreath" on Nov. 24 and 25.
Town Manager Gene Swearingen is listed in the "bill to" address.
At the meeting on Monday, Council Member Susan Edwards, the event planner whose name was on the banner receipt, motioned for the council to authorize the expenditure.
Even though Kenworthy voted for that measure while Weir abstained, the two do have at least two fiscal issues in common: both oppose town spending on a trolley and both support paying retirement benefits to town police officers.
"We don't need the trolley," Kenworthy said. "You know, one trolley: what's it going to do? Take you to Gainesville, then you wait to pick up something. You wait two-and-a-half hours to circle back in or whatever? That's stupid. That's money wasted."
He added with a six-chuckle laugh, "[We] don't need to be like that. In fact, we're supposed to be a walking town."
Regarding other town issues, Kenworthy supports developer Gerry Kennedy's plan to purchase the Town Center property, bringing the Virginia Railway Express out to Haymarket, annexing all of Greenhill Crossing, and keeping the meals tax.
On the latter, he said "It's beneficial to the town" before adding with another laugh, "There's two things we're always going to have: death and taxes."
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