Council meeting gets heated

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March 21, 2013

Council meeting gets heated

Staff Suwannee Democrat The Suwannee Democrat Thu Mar 21, 2013, 09:23 AM EDT

Live Oak — Live Oak Mayor Sonny Nobles has accused Council President Adam Prins of intimidating city officials so he can gain control of Live Oak government, saying Prins even threatened his own personal safety in a recent conversation with the fire chief. 

Nobles, addressing the regular city council meeting Tuesday, March 12, said the council president had created an "evil atmosphere" that has city employees fearing for their jobs and subjecting to abuse anyone objecting to his conduct.

 "Mr. Prins' desire to have complete and unprecedented control and dominance of the city has become an obsession," said Nobles. "It's consumed your rational being."

 The mayor's accusatory comments were made during the council's discussion of the future of the vacant city administrator position and whether to change the title to city manager and remove the “at-will” status.  

The comments by Nobles were strongly disputed by Prins, who told Nobles he had no intention of harming him.

 Nobles distributed a written statement from Fire Chief Chad Croft recalling a conversation on Monday, March 11, the fire chief had with Prins that Croft said caused him "grave concern of not only Mayor Nobles' physical well being, but that of Mr. Prins' emotional state."

 According to Croft's statement, Prins told the fire chief he fantasized about beating up the mayor, including picturing "blood and teeth come from his face."

 Croft said the comments, which included obscene references, were made in the courtyard outside of city hall and that he would "testify under oath, subject myself to a lie detector test and or any other means that may be required to prove the validity of this statement."

 The meeting was restored before Nobles could finish his presentation and reading of the letter.

 Nobles then left the council chambers.

 When asked by phone Wednesday, March 13, if he plans to pursue the matter further, Nobles said,

 “I suspect this is not the end of the situation.” 

Croft said he issued the statement at the request of the mayor. He also confirmed to the Suwannee Democrat that he was the author of the statement. 

Prins responded that the fire chief's statement misrepresented his conversation with Croft. Two days later, in a phone message with the Suwannee Democrat, he added: "I did not say what was written. Politics in the city is at an all-time low and I would hope the city can move forward from this soon."

 The city council took no action on the city administrator talk even though it was the topic that set the stage for the mayor's comments about Prins. City Councilor Bennie Thomas questioned why the council would want to change the present system of local government because it wasn't "broke." 

City Attorney Erny Sellers told the council that if they wanted to change the city administrator to a city manager form of government the city charter would need amending, which would require a vote of the electorate.

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