‘Our number one goal is safety for citizens of the city’- LaFollette City Administrator Stan Foust

LAFOLLETTE, TN (WLAF)- The Harbor Church and Thrift Store controversy is out of the hands of The City of LaFollette. Fire Chief Jimmy Pack said after Monday’s workshop the situation at The Harbor is in the hands of the office of the State Fire Marshall and Codes Enforcement. State inspectors are expected in town within days.

City of LaFollette Codes Enforcement Officer Stuart Hurwitz at Monday’s workshop.
The process resulting from this December notice from the City of LaFollette has been going on for almost two months.

Monday afternoon’s City of LaFollette monthly workshop speakers were allowed three minutes to speak. When it came time for Pastor James Coffey to speak, he approached the podium and stated since he had been limited to three minutes, he would say what he had planned to say to the council on Facebook. Wayne Klein, attorney for The Harbor, stepped to the podium and told the council that he wanted to resolve the situation but felt like “the goal posts keep changing” and that they “don’t want to end up in a lawsuit”. Klein would like to see the city issue a temporary certificate of occupancy, because some of the work has been completed. City Attorney Reid Troutman told Klein that Chief Pack had concerns about the functionality of the sprinkler system. At this point, Coffey returned to the podium stating that he thought the sprinkler system was functional.

City of LaFollette Attorney Reid Troutman

City Administrator Stan Foust told the audience that the city does not want to see any church or business shut down. “Our number one goal is the safety of the citizens of the city,” said Foust.

City of LaFollette Administrator Stan Foust chaired the workshop on Monday afternoon.

Nate McCart, a group service representative with Narcotics Anonymous, spoke to the council about his desire to have a workshop to discuss outreach programs available throughout the area. McCart told the council that he was 10 months sober, and without the help of some community members, he would not have stayed sober.

Nate McCart is a group service representative with Narcotics Anonymous.

At the request of Councilman Mark Hoskins, Gary Williams with LaFollette Utilities Board was on the agenda to discuss streetlights. Hoskins expressed concern about the newly installed lights in the city being too bright in residential areas. Hoskins questioned Williams if there was any adjustment on the lights or a possible solution to the issue. Williams said he would investigate the issue.

Gary Williams and Regina Kennedy with LUB address city leaders.

The city has received four applicants for city judge. Those applicants are Kristie Anderson, Adam Bullock, Frank J. Handler Jr. and Amanda Sammons.

At next week’s regular monthly meeting, the council will vote on promoting Chris Smith to full-time Recreation Director effective Feb. 8 and transferring Clifford Gerrish from public works to the recreation department.

Chris Smith is expected to be voted in as full-time Recreation Director at next week’s regular City of LaFollette meeting.

The council will also have Resolution 2025-02 on the agenda. The resolution is to apply for a state community development block grant to be used for the ditch at Sergeant Park. A vote will be taken on Resolution 2025-03 which is to amend the 2024-25 budget. (WLAF NEWS PUBLISHED-01/28/2025-6AM-PHOTOS COURTESY OF WLAF’S CHARLIE HUTSON)

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