City of Memphis
Parting Memphis City Council members from left, Alan Crone, Wanda Halbert, Myron Lowery, Jim Strickland, Bill Boyd, Harold Collins.
Last night’s was the final Memphis City Council meeting for 2015.
It was the last meeting for members Myron Lowery, Harold Collins, Mayor-Elect Jim Strickland, Wanda Halbert, Alan Crone, and Bill Boyd.
New council members Frank Colvett Jr., Patrice Robinson, Jamita Swearengen, Martavius Jones, Phillip Spinosa Jr., Worth Morgan, and Berlin Boyd, will start work in January. Berlin won an election bid in October but has been serving on the council for the past few months, filing a seat left vacant by now Tennessee State Senator Lee Harris.
The council did get a lot done (and left some stuff undone). Here’s a roundup:
• New seats at the Liberty Bowl: The council approved $4.8 million for new, premium seats at the Liberty Bowl. The money will be paid back by the University of Memphis. See our story here.
• Midtown Market project: A city council committee liked the idea of borrowing $4 million from the feds to help build the $43.5 million project at Union and McLean. But the full council decided to punt the final vote on it for two weeks. See our stories here and here.
• Parking fees: Parking in parts of Downtown could cost you 25 cents more.
The council decided not to expand the area for higher parking rates Downtown but liked a move to raise rates in the Entertainment District, the Central Business District, and the Medical District from $1 per hour to $1.25.
However, the council did not take final vote on the move. They’ll leave that for the new council in January. See our story here.