Orange City Council Tuesday unanimously agreed to buy the First Financial Bank building, 812 16th Street. The bank building will be turned into city hall. Last week, Stephen Lee of First Financial said the bank will buy a vacant lot, currently owned by the Stark Foundation, to build a new building.
Several residents asked for the council to keep city hall in the downtown area. One resident asked to form a citizens advisory committee and ask for input.
The purchase of the building became public on Thursday when the city council agenda was posted.
When the issue came for a vote, At-Large Councilor Bill Mello wanted to discuss the purchase in public. City Manager Shawn Oubre said the purchase could be discussed in closed-door executive session. Mayor Jimmy Sims took a vote on who wanted the discussion private. Although the individual votes could not be heard, a request from the audience was made. Mello was the only one wanting a public discussion.
Voting to keep the discussion private were Sims, District 1 Councilor Pat Pullen, District 2 Councilor Wayne Guidry, District 3 Councilor Essie Bellfield, District 4 Councilor Mary McKenna and At-Large Councilor Larry Spears.
About 30 people attending to the meeting had to leave the council chambers while the council discussed the purchase. The council reconvened in public and took the unanimous vote. No one on the council said a word except to say the city would have a detailed media statement in the afternoon, but a statement was not sent out by the end of the business day.
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