The Chattanooga City Council ratified a 2018 settlement agreement Tuesday after more than two years, closing a debate around the propriety of equipment deemed surplus by the city.
The years-old debate around the manner in which unneeded LED street lights provided to the city in a contract with Chattanooga company Global Green Lighting were returned to the company was unanimously put to bed without further comment Tuesday, following a resurgence of the controversy this summer.
The company, owned by Don Lepard, was contracted under former Mayor Ron Littlefield to provide high-tech and environmentally sound street lights for the city. They were removed under current Mayor Andy Berke in 2014 due to documented technological failures.
The lights - originally valued around $5.9 million - were then placed in city storage for years until Lepard was allowed to reclaim them in 2018 as a part of a settlement with the city.
In July, Stan Sewell, the city's independent internal auditor, published a memorandum questioning the manner in which the lights were surrendered to Lepard, since the City Council never approved them as surplus, as required by the settlement agreement that allowed Lepard to reclaim the inventory.
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"The intent of the agreement was to resolve all claims by GGL against the city, as well as all potential claims by the city against GGL," Sewell wrote. "The terms stated that upon approval of the City Council and signature of the city's authorized representative, the city would transfer ownership, use and control of all GGL light fixtures currently in the possession of the city located at the Main Street warehouse and adjacent lot."
While some council members initially sought to pursue the issue further after Sewell's memorandum, the body voted 8-1 to ratify the settlement Tuesday, closing speculation about former city attorney and 2021 mayoral candidate Wade Hinton - who made the settlement but allegedly never brought it before the council for the necessary approval. Only Councilman Russell Gilbert, who is running against Hinton in the mayoral election, voted against ratifying the agreement.
Even with the settlement finally ratified, Lepard wrote a letter to the council Tuesday, chastising the city and Hinton for damage to his reputation.
"As the council prepares to act on Tuesday October 20, 2020, on a resolution that would approve the 2018 global settlement agreement between Global Green Lighting (GGL), it will bring to an end seven years of attacks against a reputation I spent decades building in Chattanooga," Lepard wrote, expressing his concerns with the resurfacing of the matter this summer and demanding an apology from the council.
"Nothing I see in the resolution addresses the fact on July 2, in a leaked Office of Internal Audit report, the city all but accused me publicly of stealing millions of dollars of city property,'" he wrote. "Within 24 hours, I had four calls from people asking me if I was selling stolen city lights. No matter what you do with this vote, I am still asking for a formal, public apology from the City Council recognizing the city removed a working LED street lighting infrastructure and request the state comptroller to conduct a true, complete government-regulated audit or a TBI investigation that exposes the people who did indeed mislead the City Council - former city attorney turned Chattanooga mayoral candidate Wade Hinton on behalf of Mayor Andy Berke."
Hinton, who has since left the city to serve as the vice president of diversity and inclusion at Unum, said he is glad to see the issue finally ratified and would use the experience to influence his role as mayor if elected.
"My job as city attorney was to represent the best interests of the city and taxpayers. The settlement we worked on with the administration saved the city future out-of-pocket expenses in exchange for equipment that for the city was obsolete," he wrote. "The transfer of the lights required City Council approval and that was clearly stated in the agreement. I was both surprised and disappointed the approval of the settlement had not taken place after I transitioned from the city. Nonetheless, I'm pleased that the City Council has taken appropriate action by ratifying the agreement.
"Chattanoogans should know that in my first 100 days as your mayor, we will review the controls and process to ensure there are proper safeguards and complete inventories of all city equipment."
Gilbert did not respond to a request for comment late Tuesday.
Contact Sarah Grace Taylor at staylor@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6416. Follow her on Twitter @_sarahgtaylor.