Unadilla — UNADILLA — The gavel came down hard at Tuesday’s Council meeting here, as voices raised and tempers flared over a flooding issue in the city.

Councilman Dexter Whittaker says the problem keeps recurring because drainage ditches have not been cleared. He has asked that this problem be alleviated in previous meetings.

After this past Saturday’s rainfall, he said he received a number of phone calls from citizens complaining that they were on the verge of flooding once more.

Many of these citizens attended the meeting Tuesday hoping to voice their concerns to the council. Because they had not made a request in advance to appear on the agenda, however, they were denied the opportunity to speak.

There were a number of outbursts, causing Mayor West to bang the gavel to regain control of the meeting. The voices of Whittaker and Mayor Pro Tem Greg Speight rose over an accusation from Whittaker that race was the reason the city was not so quick to rectify the flooding situation.

“If someone stubs their toe on the white side of town,” Whittaker began before being cut off by Speight who said that he would not allow Whittaker to play the race card. Race was not a factor in the situation, Speight claimed.

Whittaker claimed that he began calling the mayor and city administrator at 7 a.m. Sunday after receiving citizen complaints about the water, but he did not receive any answers.

Citizens also complained that when they tried to contact the ESG which manages the city’s sewage system, whoever answered hung up on them.

City Administrator Perry Ivie informed everyone that the crews were doing what they could to begin solving the drainage problems.  There are a number of issues halting the process, however, he said.

“In some of the areas there are problems with private property,” said Ivie. “We have to go in and get an easement from those people before we can cut a ditch across private property.”

There is also an issue with water coming off I-75, and that requires Department of Transportation intervention.

Finally Council members decided that representatives both from the ESG and the DOT will be asked to meet with the Council so that these issues can be discussed.

Ivie brought several other matters before the board Tuesday including complaints he has been receiving from citizens regarding the strong scent of chicken manure in the city.

Ivie said he is currently checking to see if there is an ordinance in place referencing the issue of animal waste. He further stated that he has made contact with the USDA and the EPD about the situation.

“Apparently farmers use the manure as a fertilizer,” stated Ivie. “I have received over 25 calls from citizens saying that the smell is very strong and that they want us to look into it to find out if the city can control it.”

Also brought to the council’s attention was the issue of revoking an alcohol license the council granted to a new establishment at the last meeting.

According to a city ordinance, anyone applying for a license must be a resident of the county. After some investigation, Ivie said he discovered that the individual to whom the license was issued did not reside at the residence listed on the application.

Mayor West informed council members that he had spoken with the city attorney on the matter and that the attorney recommended the revocation of the license pending a hearing before the board to give the proprietor the opportunity to resolve the issue.

The revocation will apply only to the alcohol license, not the business license and the proprietor will be able to continue to work until the hearing date.

Approving the revocation of the alcohol license were Councilpersons Speight, Lewis Lockerman, John Offenberg, Clint Shugart and Meredith Lester. Whittaker abstained from voting.

Also on the agenda:

• Ivie said he is still working to have both city cemeteries mapped and surveyed so it will be clear where the plots are located.

• Board members approved the 2nd reading of both the Massage Therapy Ordinance and the Mobile Home Ordinance. They also approved the 1st reading of the Jake-Brake Ordinance.

• A 4th of July ceremony has been set for July 3. Full details will be disclosed later.

• Offenberg said he is working on a grant to help repair tennis courts around town.

The next meeting of the Unadilla City Council is scheduled for Tuesday, May13, 2010 at 6:30 p.m.