City Council officially terminated Harry Walker from the city manager position Monday night and appointed Wayne G. "Ted" Reed as interim city manager for one year.

Reed, a former city manager from 1987-1991, will begin work for the city on Feb. 16.

Residents at the meeting applauded these decisions.

The city now has a new leader of administration. Finally.

Harry Walker, the city manager placed on paid administrative leave, reportedly approved a lease agreement for a property without City Council’s approval, officials said at a recent meeting.

Interim City Manager Kirby Hudson informed council last Monday night that Walker approved a lease with Leonard Smoker to farm the Conti property, 64 acres in the northwest corner of routes 82 and 340 in neighboring West Brandywine. Coatesville acquired it several years ago as part of a failed plan to develop a municipal golf course and training complex.

“So Mr. Walker took it upon himself to lease the property?” asked City Council President Ed Simpson.

What do you think about Walker approving this agreement without City Council's approval?

City officials recently debated whether they should reinstate a parking enforcement officer position.

During Monday night’s meeting, Interim City Manager Kirby Hudson told City Council that there have been issues with parking in the city’s central business district for the past two years. The position was eliminated in 2007 during budget cuts.

Some members of City Council said that it in addition to issuing parking tickets, the officer could address quality of life issues. Some of these issues include parking against the flow of traffic and abandoned cars, they said.

City Council made no formal decision Monday about whether to reinstate the position.

As a resident of the City of Coatesville, do you think it would be worthwhile for the city to bring back this position?

Only 54 percent of city residents were counted in the 2000 census which caused the city to lose millions in federal funding, an official from the Philadelphia Regional Census Center told City Council Monday night.

As a result, the city lost funds from 31 federal programs, according to Richard Sumter, partnership specialist for the Philadelphia Regional Census Center. Some of theses services include school lunch programs, senior citizen centers and new construction for highways and hospitals.

Sumter stressed the importance of city residents' participation in the 2010 census so that federal funds can get shifted back to the city.

City Council passed a resolution Friday night (Jan. 22) that declared last month’s special meeting void and all actions made during that meeting, including the approval of a sale agreement with Chetty Builders, also invalid.

“We want to be clear that the actions we are taking are about the meeting, not the contract,” said City Council President Ed Simpson. “We don’t need to read into anything else at this point.”

Council conducted the meeting Friday night, which was also considered a special meeting, to review the legality of last month’s special meeting. City officials called this special meeting instead of waiting until Monday’s regularly scheduled council meeting because there was a 30-day deadline to rescind the Dec. 23 meeting.

Do you think it was a good idea for the new City Council to delare last month's special meeting void?

At the Jan. 11 public meeting, City Council authorized its new solicitor to review the legitimacy of the manner in which a special meeting was called last month for the approval of a sale agreement with Chetty Builders.

The special meeting took place in the 11th hour of the former council's term. It began at about 5:30 p.m. Dec. 23 and lasted only five minutes.

“I thought the nature of the meeting was suspicious,” said City Council Vice President Karl Marking. “It feels wrong.”

Meanwhile, Chetty Builders has been under investigation for about a year for a project in Delaware. A spokesman for the Delaware Department of Justice confirmed that his agency was investigating more than 20 complaints against Chetty Builders from buyers seeking returns of deposits.

Carl Chetty said he did not inform city officials about the investigation in the neighboring state because "they are two unrelated projects."

Do you think Chetty should have shared this information with city officials before they approved the agreement of sale with him?

City Council unanimously approved a resolution Monday night that authorizes the FBI and Chester County Detectives to conduct a forensic audit of the city’s finances and realty transactions.

The purpose of the audit is to determine whether there is any evidence of obstruction of justice, misdirection of funds, willful negligence and actions of criminal intent by the city’s administration and/or council.

In the meantime, city officials said Harry Walker is still on administrative leave.

Do you think the results of this audit will be beneficial to the new City Council?

At Monday's reorganization meeting, the new City Council made two major decisions.

First, council removed Andrew Lehr as city solicitor. Second, council placed City Manager Harry Walker on administrative leave.

Councilwoman Karen Jorgenson and newly-elected Councilman Jarrell Brazzle were the only two who voted against these measures.

Do you think these decisions are a step in the right direction for the city?

On Dec. 18, the Redevelopment Authority approved a sale agreement with Chetty Builders for a proposed townhome development on the northern portion of The Flats. City Council also approved the agreement at a special meeting on Dec. 23.

Carl Chetty, the president and founder of the development company, said his company expects to move dirt on the site in the spring. "I have to say that 2010 will be the year for Coatesville," he said.

In the past, Chetty's project for a condomimum tower at Third Avenue and East Lincoln Highway turned out to be unsuccessful. Chetty did, however, have success with another project, known as Millview Apartments, located at the Route 30 Bypass and Route 82.

Do you think Chetty's upcoming project on the northern portion of The Flats will be a success?

At Monday's City Council meeting, council voted against a referendum that would allow residents to decide whether they want to eliminate the city’s paid firefighters.

Some council members said Thursday there were not enough details about the proposal to make an informed decision. Other officials noted that the city needs the paid firefighters, especially after the nationally-recognized arson crisis that plagued the city for 18 months.

City Manager Harry Walker said the city could save $600,000 with the elimination of the paid firefighters.

As a resident of the City of Coatesville, are you in favor of eliminating the paid firefighters?

In a split vote Monday night, City Council approved the final 2010 budget at $9.9 million, which includes a cut in real estate taxes.

Councilman Ed Simpson argued that the reduction was done at the expense of the city's reserve trust fund. “It’s a tax cut but you’re substantiating it at the expense of the trust fund,” he said.

In recent months, Walker requested that City Council remove $1.5 million from the reserve trust fund to balance out finances for the end of this year and beginning of 2010. Council eventually approved Walker’s request. Of that $1.5 million, $1 million was used to balance the 2009 budget; the remaining $500,000 will be used in 2010.

“In the long run, people will move here and people will hopefully see it as a trend,” Walker argued.

Do you think the tax cut is being done at the expense of the reserve trust fund?

City Manager Harry Walker is proposing a real estate tax break in 2010. He also believes the city can bring in the same amount of revenue.

Do you think this is possible?