Crossville City Council discussed a conflict between the city and the city’s former municipal advisor during a Tuesday work session.
Council Member James Mayberry said Advisor Larry Kidwell is owed one percent commission which is an estimated $400,000 for all bond closings that he has assisted the city with. Mayberry said he believed Kidwell was a big reason why the Rec Center is becoming a reality and that he should be paid his one percent commission.
“Therefore I think it’s time the city lives up to its end of the contract and notifies the trustee to pay Mr. Kidwell his one percent,” Mayberry said. “And I don’t really like representing a city who won’t honor their end of the contract.”
City Attorney Randy York said the Sports Authority and the city were blindsided by Kidwell when he submitted a request to be paid $400,000 from the city. York said he reminded Kidwell several times that he had a duty to let the city know what he was charging for his services and that Kidwell never responded. York said the bonds for the rec center were under the Sports Authority and not the city and that Kidwell has already been fully compensated for his services.
“The bond was not issued in the City of Crossville it was issued in the name of the sports authority,” York said. “That’s where we are and he has been paid in full by the Sports Authority.”
As for the future, Crossville Mayor RJ Crawford said City Manager Valerie Hale and York are responsible for contract negotiations with Kidwell and that those negotiations fell through. York said negotiations fell through due to Kidwell wanting to increase his commission from one percent to two percent.
” He (Kidwell) was saying I’ve worked all this time and I have never had a pay increase,” York said. “I sent to him one that was at 1.25 percent for three years, no automatic renewal clause, provisions about what happens upon death or liability and he didn’t like that and he chose not to do it. So Mrs. Hale sent him a letter and said look at this point your contract expires in November (2024) and if you want to renew it or if you want to bring it to city council please let me know and I will put it on the agenda. Nothing was ever heard.”
Crawford said he has asked several other mayors in the Upper Cumberland about municipal advisors and that most of them did not have a designated municipal advisor. Crawford said he would like to explore the route of not having a designated municipal advisor.
“What they do is what we are trying to do is when we go to get bonds, send out an RFQ to whoever is interested in being a bond manager or bond advisor would then submit to kind of create a competitive bid which would allow for us to be able to get the best and most cost-effective rates,” Crawford said.
Kidwell is currently under contract with the Sports Authority as he signed a contract this past July.
The council will further discuss the conflict at next week’s Council Meeting.