After a deadlocked vote earlier this month, the Chattanooga City Council will revisit a proposed management contract for the Tennessee riverfront.
Mayor Andy Berke's office has proposed taking the management contract away from Friends of the Festival, which has overseen the 21st Century Waterfront for 12 years. The organization's latest contract expired in December; the city is currently managing the waterfront. The administration has recommended signing a contract with Chattanooga Presents!, even though owner Carla Pritchard's offer of $70,000 a year is $15,000 more than what Friends of the Festival would charge.
During a meeting Feb. 5, four council members voted to accept the contract and four voted against it. District 5 Councilwoman Carol Berz abstained from the vote.
But during a planning meeting Tuesday, Berz asked to revisit the issue. The council agreed to put the item on an agenda at the Feb. 26 meeting.
Berz told the Times Free Press on Wednesday she hasn't decided how she will vote yet. She said she abstained from the vote last week after other members of the council raised questions about the process of awarding this particular contract to Chattanooga Presents! She believed the council should have delayed the item to gather more information.
"I don't do lock-step, knee-jerk votes," she said.
Last week, District 1 Councilman Chip Henderson objected to River City Co. CEO Kim White's presence on the city's advisory committee for the contract. He didn't think community members were allowed to give input on those decisions. District 9 Councilwoman Demetrus Coonrod actually asked for community members to go on those boards last year, Henderson said, but a city official told the council at the time that this was not their policy. (The city's policy has since changed.)
In addition, White was listed as one of Pritchard's references in her application for the contract.
"I was getting texts; people were telling me, 'This just doesn't smell right. It doesn't feel right,'" Henderson said Wednesday. "I was getting all this cloud of doubt on this process. That was my concern."
He added: "I'm not sure that [White] can offer an unbiased recommendation. To me, I don't feel like we followed our own policy."
In addition to Henderson and Coonrod, District 4 Councilman Darrin Ledford and District 3 Councilman Ken Smith voted against the contract. On the other side, District 7 Councilman Erskine Oglesby Jr., District 8 Councilman Anthony Byrd, District 5 Councilman Russell Gilbert Sr. and District 2 Councilman Jerry Mitchell voted to approve.
Henderson said Wednesday he didn't plan to change his vote. After the meeting last week, White told the Times Free Press she was surprised she had become the center of controversy on this issue.
"I didn't know I was a reference, but we would expect to be for all companies working downtown," she said. "The riverfront has been the focus of our community for 30 years and it made sense to be a part of the advisory committee, because we are interested in all development and animation downtown."
Chip Baker, executive director of Friends of the Festival, said last week that he would like to continue his relationship with the city. His company puts on the Riverbend Festival, while Chattanooga Presents! oversees the Nightfall concert series, Pops on the River and 3 Sisters.
If the votes from last week remain steady, Berz's choice will swing the decision on one side or the other. She said she now believes the city administration followed the proper steps before making its contract recommendation. She said she has heard speculation around town about whether she had an ulterior motive for delaying her vote.
"This has gotten to be silly," she said. "Just because somebody wants to get all the facts before they vote? Think about that. This has turned into 'Saturday Night Live.' What's the deal? I simply said I need more information. You would think that's what people wanted me to do."
Contact staff writer Tyler Jett at 423-757-6476 or tjett@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @LetsJett.