The Covington City Council broached a list of discussion topics during its called work session Tuesday night that lasted nearly four hours.

Discussion topics included initiating a tree inventory, organizing annual employee training sessions, allotting Special Purpose Local Options Sales Tax (SPLOST) monies, redesigning city logos and more.

Several of the discussed items were added to next week’s agenda for the regularly scheduled council meeting. No action was taken at the work session.

One item said to be added to the city’s agenda for a vote on Monday was the ban on vinyl siding, which was proposed to the council in September by the city’s planning and zoning department. The council previously tabled the discussion, but Councilman Chris Smith said he has received numerous phone calls from vinyl representatives since.

One of the representatives reaching out to him was the Vinyl Siding Institute (VSI) from Washington D.C. According to its website, VSI is the trade association for manufacturers of vinyl and other polymeric siding and suppliers to the industry. The purpose of VSI is to further the development and growth of the vinyl siding industry.

The association reportedly told Smith it would be attending the council's Nov. 21 council meeting to appeal the city’s decision to ban vinyl siding. The only action the council has taken on the vinyl siding ban so far was to table it.

Councilwoman Hawnethia Williams said the vinyl controversy was not the kind of publicity she wanted for the city.

Mayor Ronnie Johnston recommended the council challenge the city's planning and zoning department to provide evidence on the city’s need for the proposed ban.

The council is set to meet Monday, Nov. 7 at 6 p.m. for its regularly scheduled meeting.