Knoxville contractor appears before council, again, wanting to be paid

LAFOLLETTE, TN (WLAF) – The LaFollette City council discussed multiple items at Monday’s workshop, including fire department promotions, upcoming fireworks shows and an alleged unpaid bill. 

First discussed was the appointment of Jay Willoughby to the LaFollette Utility Board. Willoughby has been on the board and is interested in serving again. Council members will vote on the appointment at next week’s meeting.

Council members also briefly discussed the Celebrate Campbell County Fireworks Show, which has been set for Friday, June 4. There will be two shows in LaFollette, one on Depot Street and one at Woodson’s Mall(there are four other venues for fireworks that night; Caryville, Jacksboro, Jellico and Springs Dock).

It was announced the Fourth of July Fireworks show in LaFollette will be on Friday, July 2. 

Also set for next week’s agenda is the approval to promote several firefighters effective June 5. These include Steve Hales to full time firefighter II/AEMT at a salary of $32,605.47, Dewayne Seiber to full time firefighter II/EMR at a salary of $32,105.47, Michael Walker to full time firefighter AEMT at a salary of $32,605.47,  Nathaniel Vannorstran to full time entry level firefighter at a salary of $30,650.94 and the promotion of Dusty Davis from Lieutenant to Captain at a salary of $37,498.96.    

Several ordinances will be discussed and voted on at next Tuesday’s meeting, including the first reading of a new brush removal ordinance. “What we’re wanting to do is incorporate some of the things other municipalities do into our ordinance,” said City Administrator Stan Foust. According to Foust, the large stuff is taxing on the equipment, and the county won’t accept it at the dump. Because of this, limits will be placed on diameter and length of brush pieces that are accepted. These have not been determined yet.

Foust told council members that he had looked at ordinances from five other municipalities, and that he would highlight several changes to be voted on at the meeting. One of these changes would be that if a “commercial contractor cuts it, they have to take it off.” “Time to update and add some of this to our ordinance,” said City Attorney Reid Troutman. 

Amending the zoning ordinance to R1, which defines single-family residences, is also on the agenda. “We’ve had a problem with Airbnb in the area(Airbnb rents out people’s homes to people who are looking for accommodations in a particular locale). It will define what a single residence is,” Foust told the council. Another ordinance added to the agenda deals with adopting the City of LaFollette’s short term rental policy. Next week will be the first reading of it as well.   

The workshop closed with a 30-minute discussion between the mayor, council members and Knoxville construction contractor James Emmert regarding an alleged unpaid bill. Emmert is a contractor who claims he did work for the city from flood damage two years ago following the historic June 2019 flood. However, the work was done on property the city doesn’t own, and allegedly authorized by former City Administrator Jimmy Jeffries without the mayor’s knowledge. Emmert told council members he “just wanted to be paid the $2,800 for the work he did.” Emmert has made several trips to speak before council since 2019. Related story and video.

According to Emmert, he did flood damage assessment and work on a church and on the women’s shelter, neither of which is owned by the city. He said he was directed to these places by Jeffries. “I know why I haven’t been paid; when you run someone the wrong way. They sent us a check for what they wanted to and that was Jimmy Jeffries,” Emmert said, referring to a $400 check that Jeffries sent him. The check had been signed by vice mayor Lonnie “Hot Rod” Wilson.

“Jimmy Jeffries said he figured two hours of work is what it was worth and sent me a check for $400,” Emmert said. Emmert also said that Jeffries had told him to “not let Mrs. Thompson(former council member Ann Thompson) or the mayor know about the work.”

Council man Wayne Kitts said the work had been done on property that didn’t even belong to the city.  Emmert said he had been directed to do the work by LaFollette’s city administrator. “This has drug on for over two years. Would you accept a check for $2,800? I apologize, this council apologizes, but would you accept a check and let’s move on,” Mayor Stanfield asked, saying it would be put to a vote at next week’s meeting.   

“We’ve beat this to death. We will put it on the agenda and if it passes great, if not you do what you’ve got to do,” Foust told Emmert. (WLAF NEWS PUBLISHED – 05/25/2021-6AM)