Mayor Keith Gaskin on Wednesday called out Lowndes County Board of Supervisors President Trip Hairston for supposedly engaging in the type of city-county bickering that “hurts citizens” and “holds the community back.”
During Gaskin’s regular twice-monthly press conference at City Hall, he broached a pending city council decision on whether to allow AT&T to build a 5G cellular tower on county-owned property at Moore Creek. For the better part of 14 minutes, Gaskin took aim at Hairston allegedly telling the Rotary Club of Columbus last week, “the council would probably deny it, and one of the reasons they would deny it is because the county wants it.”
Though Gaskin did not attend the Dec. 11 Rotary meeting where Hairston spoke, he said he was “told by more than one person” that Hairston said it.
“He said something very similar to that in conversations I’ve had with him, too,” Gaskin said.
“We’ve got to stop that kind of talk,” he added. “… I’m sure decisions have been made like that in the past. … That’s why the citizens of Lowndes County and Columbus suffer.”
Hairston, speaking Wednesday to The Dispatch, doesn’t remember saying that. If he did, he said, he meant it as a “lighthearted joke” and in no way as a shot at the city.
“I certainly don’t believe the city council would vote against (the tower) simply because the county wants it,” Hairston said.
AT&T approached the county in November 2021 and proposed building the cellular tower on the undeveloped property at Moore Creek, just north of the Roger Short Soccer Complex. County supervisors in July approved a lease with AT&T for the property for $1,600 per month. The five-year lease is renewable for up to 30 years, but Hairston said it came with the understanding that AT&T would have to go through the city’s permitting process to build the tower.
The planning commission denied the company’s request Dec. 10, but the council has the final say. It is set to hear the matter at its Jan. 21 meeting at the Municipal Complex.
Hairston said at Rotary he believed the council would likely follow the planning commission’s recommendation. He also said the tower had become a “political lightning rod” because of the public’s reaction to it.
The supervisors, Hairston said Wednesday, felt improved cellular service would outweigh any negatives that came with the tower, mainly because there are already more than 20 cellular towers or emitters installed across the city. But they did not foresee the project becoming so unpopular with the public.
“I think because it was on county property, there was just more scrutiny that went into it,” Hairston said.
A growing chorus of citizens voiced concern about the prospect of an “unsightly” tower being placed at such a prominent location. Some even worry about the health effects of 5G radiation.
Gaskin said he supports what AT&T is trying to do, but he questions if the company did enough due diligence on alternate locations. For example, planning commission chair Kevin Stafford suggested instead of building a tower, AT&T could negotiate with Columbus Light and Water to install an emitter on a water tower off Highland Circle, about two-fifths of a mile east of the Moore Creek property.
In any case, Gaskin said it is wrong to assume the council has made up its mind. What’s more, he believes the county should have involved the city in these discussions at the start of the process, not the end.
“We need to work together on these things, communicate better and not publicly turn it into political issues when really you have no evidence that’s where it is,” he said.
Otherwise, it’s just the “same old song” of the public perception that the county and city are at odds, Gaskin said.
“Sometimes I don’t say things like that when I’d like to because I don’t want to say something that would make the relationship worse,” Gaskin said, turning back to Hairston’s alleged comment. “That’s why I’m really trying hard not to do that. … We all just need to be more careful how we word things.”
Hairston did not seem to think Gaskin did a good job avoiding the pitfall.
“He spent the first half running me down, and the second half he was trying to remind everybody that he wasn’t running me down,” Hairston said of Gaskin’s remarks at the press conference. “… He’s trying to say that people shouldn’t say things about other public officials in the county or city, yet he spent 14 minutes doing the same thing that he’s telling us not to … and really scrutinizing a joke I said, if I even said it.
“I don’t care that he calls me out,” he later added.
Gaskin at least offered that he might be mistaken about Hairston’s comments.
“Trip, if you didn’t say it, I owe you lunch,” he said. “But I was told you did. We’ve had this conversation too.”
Zack Plair is the managing editor for The Dispatch.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 47 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 47 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
