Stonecrest City Council approves Stonecrest Development Authority board, stalls on selecting interim City Manager

The Stonecrest City Council unanimously voted on Monday, Feb. 22, to confirm a resolution to appoint the following citizens to serve as board members of the Stonecrest Development Authority:

Belinda Hull

Dr. Cynthia Elliott

Julius Lee

Shirley Shatteen

Nathan Alexander

Jeff Dickerson

Michelle Emanuel

Andrew Wells

Councilman Jimmy Clanton-Ex–Officio

Mayor Jason Lary—Ex-Officio

The council spent several minutes discussing the expiration of the appointments and how each of the appointments should be staggered for the four-year terms, according to the city’s charter. Members who were already serving will complete their terms in 2023, while others will serve until 2025. New appointments were made due to resignations, and people who were ineligible to serve because they moved out of the city or were not re-appointed.

The exact terms for each board member and the districts they represent will be published upon the mayor’s signature to the resolution.

In other action, the City Council also voted 4-2 against selecting an interim City Manager on Feb. 22, with some council members stating they wanted more time to look over the four people the mayor had suggested for the position.

The mayor and City Councilman Jimmy Clanton voted to approve the position on Feb. 22.  The council, however, went into executive session to discuss the matter after four councilmembers voted to hold off on deciding at Tuesday’s meeting.   

The council and mayor have been trying for months to select a city manager but so far, have not reached an agreement. Deputy City Manager Plez Joyner has been overseeing the city.

City Attorney Winston Denmark said the mayor has the power to appoint while the council has the authority to confirm or not.

Denmark said the city’s charter doesn’t speak to what should be done if the mayor and council does not reach an agreement.