A simmering dispute between the mayor of East Ridge and a council member, may or may not be over.
Mayor Brent Lambert raised the issue at Tuesday night's called meeting to discuss repairing wooden bridges near Camp Jordan.
Was it a matter of community urgency, and just playing politics?
East Ridge residents want to know.
The mayor and council have been at odds over who can call a council meeting.
Such a meeting without Mayor Brent lambert, who was on vacation, was called August 29th.
MAYOR BRENT LAMBERT, EAST RIDGE "My interpretation is that it was inappropriately called. "
There was a called meeting Tuesday night, with the main topic being delapidated wooden bridges in the Camp Jordan area. But afterward, Lambert and council member Jim Bethune met in private.
MAYOR BRENT LAMBERT "Council member Bethune assured me that it wasn't personal ...I will take him at face value on that...and we'll just try to proceed forward."
News 12 attempted to contact Council member Bethune, and even went to his home to seek comment.
But Bethune sent word he had no comment.
Lambert says Bethune also parked in the Mayor's marked space at city hall at last week's meeting.
BRENT LAMBERT "When this particular council member asked him, hey, why are you parked in the mayor's space, he said..well, its going to be mine in two years anyway..I'm warming up."
The council unanimously decided to allow city employees to work on the bridges in the Cedar Glen neighborhood, although Lambert says the request should have come from a neighborhood association..which does not exist in Cedar Glen.
Susan Daniels led the successful fight .
SUSAN DANIELS, CEDAR GLEN NEIGHBORHOOD "That's what they agreed to last night that they were going to exempt us. They never even came back to tell us about that stipulation, they agreed to exempt Cedar Glen residents from that."
Mayor Lambert says he thinks council made the correct decision on Cedar Glen.
But he says from now one, such requests will need to come from a neighborhood association.
More drama in East Ridge Wednesday as City Manager Tim Gobble suspends City Clerk Joanne Thomas for 5 days without pay for insubordination.
Thomas reportedly refused to report to Gobble's office on September 5th to discuss a problem in her office.
