By Nathan Prewett, For the Tribune
PINSON, Ala.–Pinson Councilor Robbie Roberts was sworn in as the city’s new mayor on Thursday, Oct. 3, following the passing of Joe Cochran, on Sept. 20.
A memorial for Joe Cochran at the seat that he formerly had as mayor. Photo by Nathan Prewett.
The regular meeting began with a memorial for Cochran in which all members of the council gave their comments.
“He is greatly missed,” said Councilor Clinteshia Irvin. “A wonderful visionary. I don’t think I–nobody can fill those shoes, I don’t think. I miss him, I really do.”
“I’m going to miss a very good friend and a very good mentor,” said Councilor Brad Walker. “Thank you, Joe.”
Councilor John Churchwell recounted when he first met with Cochran in 2003 as he was umpiring a softball game. Cochran had been running for the council when they met at the game.
“I’ll never forget it,” he said. “Like I say, I was umpiring. We finished in the inning. It went a little longer, and Joe came out on the field and stopped the game so we could get interviews. And that’s just Joe. And it worked, and we had been friends ever since.”
“I will always remember and admire Joe’s love for the schools and sports and what he could do for children,” said Councilor Glenda Kirkland. “He was always–any child could walk up to him and ask for something and Joe would do everything he could.”
Afterwards, Roberts addressed comments that were made at a contentious meeting on Sept 19 in which the council was divided over Cochran’s performance as he continued to deal with ALS. That night Cochran was absent and little was known about his condition worsening, Roberts said.
“On behalf of the council I want to say that at the last meeting, which was quite frankly not our finest hour, it wasn’t my finest hour, we did not know that Joe was as sick–of course, we knew about his illness–but we did not know that his end was very, very close,” he said.
He momentarily added, “We would never have had the discussions we had had we known this because it wasn’t fair. It was not respectable to the gentleman.”
He then emotionally shared a text that Cochran had sent after Roberts’ father passed away.
“Although we have disagreements, we need to come together in prayer for Robbie and his family,” he had written.
City employees Marie Turner, Bob Jones and Eric Winfrey, and City Attorney Shane Black later added their thoughts.
With the position of mayor absent, Black outlined the policy of filling in the unexpired term either from within the council or outside of it. Kirkland made a motion to nominate Roberts, who was appointed after a 3-2 vote, with Irvin and Walker opposing.
Roberts was sworn in shortly afterwards in the presence of his family–his wife Gina and their daughters Emily and Natalie.
“I’m very honored to have the position and to continue on,” Roberts later commented to the Tribune. “I want to be able to continue the things that Joe got started and be able to hopefully continue to make Pinson a great place to live in. It’s a lot of responsibility but I’m glad to be able to take it on.”
Later in the meeting Roberts gave an update on the situation brought up at the last meeting on the fall baseball program in which the liaisons voiced their concerns about it not being able to be held. After discussing it with them he said that a resolution was worked out to allow it to go forward.
During public comments several spoke, with one being Dana Henry, who is Cochran’s sister-in-law. She admonished Roberts for the last meeting, calling his comments “vile”. Natalie Roberts later spoke and defended him.
Last to speak was Irvin, addressing her own comments at the Sept. 19 meeting when she confronted Roberts about his attitude regarding Cochran’s performance as mayor. She said that she had talked with Roberts before the Oct. 3 meeting but wanted to speak about it publicly.
“I apologize for not going to him personally,” Irvin said. “But I stand by what I said.”
She momentarily added, “This will not be the first time somebody’s been upset by what I say. That’s a part of us living, and so while we say things that hurt–I won’t say hurt others–they don’t feel comfortable sometimes they have to be said. And so I look forward to us moving forward. I think we’re going to do great things. In the words of Joe, ‘Sometimes you’ve got to cause a little chaos to make progress.’”
In other business the council:
- Approved the annexation of 6582 Davison Road,
- Passed an ordinance separating the office of city clerk and city treasurer,
- Passed a resolution updating the position of revenue clerk from non-exempt to exempt,
- Heard from Gerolyn Woodruff, who introduced herself as the new Rudd Middle School principal,
- Approved authorizing the council to look for vendors for payroll outsourcing and
- Delayed a public hearing concerning the condition of the building on 4310 Main Street.
Pinson City Council meets on the first and third Thursdays of every month at City Hall on 4410 Main Street. Live-streamed meetings can be seen on the city’s Facebook page.
Nathan Prewett can be reached at nthomasp6@gmail.com.
