COVINGTON, Ga. – An argument between members of the Covington city council saw one council member walk out of the meeting entirely before ending on a contentious note.

During the mayor's comments portion of the meeting, mayor Fleeta Baggett spoke at length on a number of topics, before reminding the council about the retreat that was taking place on Tuesday.

When bringing up the idea of a “healthy breakfast” to councilman Anthony Henderson, Henderson stated that he would not be in attendance. Councilwoman Charika Davis told the council she also would not be in attendance, too, saying that she was “ready to adjourn.”

Baggett then served a reminder to the council about expectations.

“This is a job you’re elected to do, that you’re paid to do and is your responsibility to be well-informed,” Baggett said. “And the way you’re well-informed is to participate in work sessions and retreats. And if you can’t do that, you need not hold office.”

Davis did not take too kindly to Baggett’s comments.

“And I’ve already told you once, Fleeta, I don’t work for you,” Davis said.

While Henderson and Baggett went back and forth on attendance at meetings, Davis picked up her belongings and proceeded to walk out of the meeting entirely.

As Davis exited the meeting, Henderson explained why he could not attend the retreat.

“I’m gonna have to work. I work eight-to-five. That’s how I make my living,” Henderson said. “Unfortunately, I don’t have your standard. I can’t just sit at home and make money. That’s not my life. I work for mine.”

Council member Travis Moore then attempted to mediate the situation.

“We're getting nowhere. We need to be mindful, we need to be respectful,” Moore said.

Henderson then interrupted by saying the mayor was not respectful to him.

Baggett said that the date for the retreat had been picked in advance and that the date should have been communicated for everybody.

After some more minor back-and-forth between the two, Baggett promptly adjourned the meeting without a vote.

While not proper etiquette, Robert Rules of Order states that there are three instances in which an adjournment without a vote is considered OK. One of those instances is when the agenda is completed in totality. Because mayor and council comments were the last listed item on the agenda, the agenda was technically completed.

While the back-and-forth dialogue primarily centered around retreat attendance, all council members were aware of the March 5 retreat date.

An open records request showed that council members had originally planned for the retreat to be in February. However, council member Davis and mayor pro-tem Susie Keck both said they could not attend.

The retreat was pushed back to March 5, to which everyone but Davis confirmed their attendance.

This includes Henderson, who did not attend the retreat meeting despite agreeing to do so on Jan. 16.

“I'm ok with the Retreat on March 5th & fine with having a work session before the meeting for the homeless shelter situation,” Henderson said via an email. “Also, ok with the Impact fees discussion before the February 5th meeting. Thank you!”

Furthermore, all council members were reminded of the retreat date in multiple instances by city manager Tres Thomas.

While the meeting ended on a sour note, council members were still able to conduct a number of business items earlier in the meeting without contention.

One of those items involved renaming a common street in Covington, with a portion of Usher St. NW being renamed to Bethlehem Way NW.

The renaming was done to honor Bethlehem Baptist Church and its 175-year legacy.

Newton County sheriff and member of Bethlehem Baptist Church, Ezell Brown, spoke following the resolution.

“I was astonished when I got the call that it occurred,” Brown said. “So, that tells me that y’all are about the work of the business, of the people of this community, and I thank you so much.”

Pastor Ronnie Thomas also thanked the council while shouting out the hundreds in attendance fromBethlehem Baptist Church that were there in support of the renaming.

“We just wanna say thank all of y’all for having the heart, as we are able to move forward and do ministry and allowing us to further enhance our influence in this community,” Thomas said.

Baggett shared that the church was “near and dear” to her heart and that she was happy to see the renaming occur.

A number of business items voted on and approved are as follows:

• Minutes from Feb. 19 meeting (6-0).

• A final reading of the open-container ordinance that will allow city approved stickers to be used as substitutes for city approved cups (6-0).

• A final reading of an annexation of land from Newton County to the city of Covington (6-0).

• The initiation of a text amendment in regards to regulations for food trucks (6-0).

• The initiation of a text amendment in regards to parking and loading language in residential areas (5-1; Henderson opposing).

• The approval of a final plat for Wildwood Subdivision Phase 2 (6-0).

• The awardance of a sole bid from the Arts Association of Newton County to partner with the city of Covington for the Annual Concert Series (6-0).

• The approval to purchase a new right-of-way chipper truck (6-0).

• An agreement to the statewide mutual aid and assistance agreement (6-0).

• The appointment of deputy city manager John King to represent the city of Covington at the Georgia Opioid Settlement Advisory Commission Members (GOSAC) and Regional Advisory Council (RAC) members (6-0).