Thomasville Mayor Greg Hobbs (far right) speaks during discussion at Wednesday’s city council meeting. Also pictured are, from left, Assistant Thomasville Utilities Superintendent Chris White, Council member Jay Flowers and Council member Terry Scott.

THOMASVILLE, Ga. — The ongoing and controversial plans for South Pinetree Boulevard are on hold — for now.

After two contentious discussions at a Wednesday Thomasville City Council workshop and a subsequent regular council meeting, three council members voted to temporarily cease activity on the stretch.

At a council workshop, Council member Jay Flowers, in reference to Pinetree, said, “I would like to take the heat off a little bit.”

He proposed a July 23 workshop for public input.

“I think it needs to stay where it is right now,” said Council member Terry Scott.

Flowers said he had never seen the three-lane plan, as described by Mayor Greg Hobbs and previously approved by the council in a 3-2 vote.

Council member Todd Mobley spoke in favor of a suspension of activity until a plan is available.

In October, the council accepted South Pinetree rights-of-way previously belonging to Thomas County government. Thomas County commissioners had employed the Falcon engineering firm to develop a Pinetree plan when rights-of-way were in county jurisdiction.

Tim Sanders pointed out that a previous city council approved acceptance of rights-of-way, and this council, which has two new members, is not bound by a previous council’s action.

“Do we have the Falcon plan?” Mobley asked Sanders. 

“Not to my knowledge,” the city attorney responded.

“The next time we voted was to accept the plan from Thomas County,” Mayor Greg Hobbs said.

“That’s not true,” said Geoffery Young, who was seated in the audience.

Chris White, Thomasville Utilities assistant superintendent, interjected that the Falcon plan was two lanes.

Young asked who from the council attended a May 25 meeting with Falcon and what was discussed.

“It’s time for people to start talking,” Young told the council.

Hobbs said he and Council member David Hufstetler looked at the Falcon plan at the Thomas County Courthouse. Hobbs added that for more than two council members to have attended the viewing would have constituted a quorum of the council.

“You need to be very careful,” Young told the mayor.

On Thursday, Young told the Times-Enterprise, “The citizens of Thomasville are blatantly being told untruths by members of the city council, and that is unacceptable. I would say to all members of the city council, (Mayor) Hobbs, (Council member) Scott and (Council member) Hufstetler in particular, ‘trust is on rent’ and ‘that rent comes due every day.’ ” 

Young said it is “a great honor to be elected and a greater honor still to be a member of the city council in one of the finest towns in our nation — Thomasville, Georgia, United States of America. I urge them to govern well, value your city employees, respect the city charter, pay the rent, deserve the trust. Thus far, they are well in arrears on all counts. What a mess.”

At a subsequent regular council meeting Wednesday, Flowers proposed “drawing back” from the three-lane plan approved in May and conducting a listening session for public input. Flowers pointed out that Hobbs and Hufstetler did not attend an April Pinetree listening session.

Flowers made a motion to accept a resolution to change Pinetree’s status from three-laning to neutral.

Mobley asked if the motion could be changed to suspending activity, to which Flowers agreed. Mobley provided the second to Flowers’ motion.

The motion was changed to suspend Pinetree activity until the council sees all Falcon plans as a group.

“We can have Falcon give us what they have,” Mobley told fellow council members.

Hobbs stressed that the pending vote was not to rescind the May Pinetree vote, but to halt activity for now.

Flowers, Mobley and Scott voted in favor of the motion. Hobbs and Hufstetler did not vote. The mayor is not required to vote except to break or make a tie vote, according to the city charter.

“The motion and the explanation were confusing at best,” Hufstetler said Thursday on why he did not vote. “Further, I thought the entire public discussion put the council at risk due to very real pending, costly litigation. The plaintiffs, whoever they are, had their attorney present, who was most assuredly hoping for council to say/do anything to bolster his clients’ claims.

“My strong opinion is council, in the name of protecting the city as a whole, which is council’s sworn duty, would have been better served by not discussing the issue in public at this time. Quite frankly, I was surprised Council member Flowers was willing to take what I deem an unnecessary risk.”

Senior reporter Patti Dozier can be reached at (229) 226-2400, ext. 1820