A member of Habersham County’s Development Authority faced criticism during the board’s monthly meeting on Thursday, Feb. 13. It follows an incident in January when a city clerk accused Mike Franklin of making disparaging remarks about low-income housing and Baldwin’s city leadership.
Franklin, a board member and the former lead pastor at The Torch church in Demorest denied the allegations, saying his comments were taken out of context. He has since apologized.
The remarks raised concerns about the development authority’s attitude toward Baldwin. City leaders who attended Thursday’s meeting sought to clear up those concerns. However, they left with few answers as Chairman Jim Butterworth abruptly ended an interview with Now Habersham and refused further comment as the board moved into executive session.
Alleged encounter
The nature of Franklin’s visit to Baldwin City Hall involved a request for a demolition permit on a building off Willingham Avenue. The process for that permit was initiated on Jan. 17, according to city documents obtained by Now Habersham. City officials say Franklin entered City Hall that same day.
According to a statement by Baldwin City Clerk Erin Gathercoal, Franklin inquired about the potential cost of demolition on the structure before he stated his position as a development authority board member and proceeded in what city officials describe as a “tirade.”
Baldwin spokesperson John Dills is said to have been present during the interaction, and Dills also provided a statement that appears to align with Gathercoal’s.
City officials say Franklin “inexplicably” in frustration first referenced plans of a now-aborted development proposed in 2018 that never came to fruition, then he allegedly went on to denigrate the city and those of lower income brackets.
“I found the entire experience incredibly aggressive, unprofessional, and insulting. For him to announce, unprompted, that he (serves on) the development authority, despite not being there for development authority business, and then to proceed to berate me…was unacceptable.” – Erin Gathercoal, Baldwin City Clerk
“I asked him if he had met with our chief administrative officer or public works director to discuss development options,” Gathercoal states in her report. “(Franklin) said there was no point…that all ‘we’ wanted to do was provide housing to people, so Baldwin doesn’t ‘catch every poor person in Habersham County’ and become ‘nothing but Title 8 housing.’”
City Clerk calls Franklin’s alleged behavior ‘unacceptable’
Gathercoal’s statement goes on to say that Franklin mentioned a “water war” in Baldwin that “goes back several years,” and that Franklin was “condescending” about how Gathercoal “knew nothing about it.” Gathercoal states that Franklin then mentioned the city of Baldwin’s engineering and water/sewer consultant EMI and its president by name.
“(Franklin) also stated that ‘Baldwin wants to control the water for the entire county, and we’re not going to allow it,’” Gathercoal’s statement reads. “…as long as Fletcher Holliday is your engineer, we won’t participate (or) develop in Baldwin.”
Despite “multiple” recommendations to consult city staff familiar with issues of development in Baldwin,
Franklin allegedly waved off the suggestions and, according to Gathercoal, stated “Baldwin’s going to be Baldwin” in a negative context.
Gathercoal contends in her statement that Franklin continued in this manner for around 15-20 minutes.
“I found the entire experience incredibly aggressive, unprofessional, and insulting,” Gathercoal states. “For him to announce, unprompted, that he (serves on) the development authority, despite not being there for development authority business, and then to proceed to berate me…was unacceptable.”
City responds
Emails obtained by Now Habersham indicate Baldwin’s Chief Administrative Officer Emily Woodmaster attempted to reconcile the issue, if Franklin agreed to meet with city officials to discuss the incident, citing what she describes as “an erosion of trust” between the two entities. In the emails, Franklin apologizes and states that he “mishandled appropriate communication,” emphasizing his commitment to the “betterment” of the county.
At Thursday’s meeting, Woodmaster read a prepared statement that sought to address Franklin’s alleged comments.
“Addressing the Title 8 comment (by Franklin) is concerning for many reasons (and) for every resident of Habersham County,” Woodmaster said. “(Franklin) is appointed to the board to encourage strategic economic development and to increase our workforce, yet he refers to Baldwin as a place to catch poor people … (Franklin) has ostracized the people of Baldwin based on either their nationality, their immigration status or their income levels. As a representative of Habersham County residents and their interests, this is problematic.”
Woodmaster’s statement went on to say the alleged remarks by Franklin, an active board member who allegedly “advocates to avoid development” in Baldwin, negatively impacts future growth, commercial development and public perception. “My concern is that this board may make decisions – based on the falsehoods stated about Baldwin – that are categorically false,” Woodmaster said.
Franklin responds
Following Woodmaster’s public statement, Butterworth said he’d tried to facilitate a meeting between Baldwin, Franklin and development authority members since the incident in January. Franklin then spoke to city officials during the meeting.
“There are several key elements to that conversation (with Gathercoal) that aren’t there,” Franklin said Thursday. “…what I said was that I don’t want to see anything where we would limit the kinds of housing such as Title 8…obviously, that wasn’t heard. I assume that’s all my fault, and not anyone else’s. That’s why I apologize, because (I’m) responsible – not just for what (I) say – but how it’s heard. And I’m not going to tell you that they heard it…the context was, ‘How do we use stuff effectively?’”
Minutes later, Baldwin Mayor Stephanie Almagno, who said there had been “multiple attempts” to meet with Franklin and board members since January, stated her belief the situation had only “escalated” following the encounter with Franklin.
“May I ask who has escalated it?” Franklin asked.
But Butterworth interjected and allowed Almagno to continue.
“If there are concerns with the city, we would love to invite you to come join us…our city has changed a bit,” Almagno said. “I know the council has changed dramatically. We would invite (the development authority) to be a partner with the city, as you say you would like to.”
Claims of ‘borderline extortion’
Following the meeting, Franklin told Now Habersham the encounter with Gathercoal was a “misinterpretation,” reiterating that his words were taken out of context.
That interview abruptly ended as development authority members went into executive session. Butterworth, who said he “had no further comments,” did not clarify whether Franklin’s alleged remarks reflect the board’s collective sentiment or positions on issues of growth in Baldwin or low-income housing.
After the meeting, Baldwin city officials indicated the issue didn’t quite seem resolved.
“To disparage a local business (EMI) is unbelievably frustrating,” Almagno said. “I believe EMI is owed an apology.”
Councilwoman Alice Venter, who also was present during Thursday’s meeting, called Franklin’s statements on EMI “borderline extortion.”
“To tell the city, as long as we have a particular engineer, the development authority isn’t going to do anything for Baldwin – that’s extortion, it just doesn’t involve money,” Venter said.
