DALTON, Ga. — Last week, members of the Dalton City Council discussed the possibility of a developer building a hotel next to the Dalton Convention Center in a work session open to the public and the media.

On Monday, they discussed the same topic in an executive session closed to the public and the media for almost an hour before their regular meeting. They were joined by Mike Kinsey, chairman of the convention center authority board, and Margaret Thigpen, executive director of the convention center.

The decision to go into executive session left at least one Dalton resident baffled.

“We know what they were going to talk about,” said Ed Painter. “We know the site of the property. We know it involves possibly leasing land at the trade center. I don’t understand why they have to go into executive session to discuss this.”

Last week, Mayor Dennis Mock told council members he had been in talks with a Ringgold developer for a hotel on land near the center on Dug Gap Mountain. Mock told members of the City Council about the talks during a work session on Wednesday. He would not disclose the developer’s name.

According to Georgia Code Section 50-14-2, legitimate reasons for an executive session include discussing pending litigation, personnel and the purchase, disposal or leasing of government property. Elected officials may go into executive session to discuss those matters, but they are not required to.

On the work session agenda, the reason for the executive session was listed as “real estate.”

City Attorney Gandi Vaughn said council members could go into executive session because they were “going to discuss their options in regard to potentially bringing in a hotel to the property and their options how they can move forward on that.”

Council members did not answer Painter’s question about why they went into executive session when he asked it during the public comment session of the meeting. But after the meeting, they offered different responses.

“I feel like it was necessary in case sensitive information came up like the developer’s name, to protect any negotiations,” said Tyree Goodlett.

Council member Denise Wood said it was necessary to go into executive session to protect privileged communication from the city attorney.

“Most of the meeting was our city attorney relaying to us and to the trade center board chairman and executive director what our options are,” she said. “We still don’t have all the answers. We are trying to find out what can and can’t be done. We are trying to find out who owns what and who is going to have to be involved in this.”

The convention center receives funding from both the city and Whitfield County governments. An independent authority oversees operations of the facility with members of the authority appointed by both the Whitfield County Board of Commissioners and the City Council. The land upon which the convention center is located and the land immediately around it is deeded to the City of Dalton Building Authority.

Council member Gary Crews said the topics council members discussed were “appropriate for executive session.”

What topics?

“Some real estate issues,” he said, declining a request to elaborate on that.

Council member Annalee Harlan said it is “customary to go into executive session when discussing real estate.”

“But I would be interested to find out what other communities do, what their customary practices are to place these types of discussions in executive session,” she added.

Vaughn said plans now call for setting up a committee that will include members of the City Council, county commissioners and members of the convention center board.

“This proposal initially came to the city, but I think we have gathered enough information to take the next step, which would be to involve the other players,” he said.

During their meeting, the City Council members voted 4-0 to:

• Set the 2019 property tax rate at 2.482 mills, down from 2.505 in 2018. The new property tax rate is the rollback rate, which offsets an increase in revenue that would have occurred due to growth in the tax digest if the rate had not been changed.

The new rate will bring in about $9 million at a 100% collection rate.

• Accept a property donation from KEB Group of two wooded parcels next to the west parking lot of City Hall and the site of a former tanning studio at the corner of Waugh Street and Thornton Avenue.

• Approve the Fire Department taking part in the Georgia state fuel card program. The program allows government employees to buy fuel at a discount of up to 15%. Fire Chief Todd Pangle said it will be used when firefighters have to travel out of town for training.

• Reappoint Scott DeLay to the Dalton-Whitfield Planning Commission for a four-year term that expires in 2023.

Mock typically votes only in the event of a tie.

Staff writer Chris Whitfield contributed to this story.