Chapter 29: Chapter 29
“This is ridiculous!” Mayor Jenkins said from his seat in the middle of the panel, three council members on either side of him. “It’s too late in the season for us to begin to plan new Christmas activities for this year. If we want to look at doing something next year, that’s different. But there’s simply no way we can get everything you’re proposing done at this late date!”
Brady, who was seated at a table off to the side of the council, opened his mouth to disagree, but before he could do so, Martha Davis spoke up. “With all due respect, Mr. Mayor, I disagree. It is clear that the people of Holiday Hills want these events--this Christmas. Each time they’ve been asked to donate, to participate, to do whatever the city needs to have done in order to make sure the events are a success, they have rallied behind the idea. I absolutely believe we can successfully pull off the few events on this list in the next few weeks and we’ll have a stellar turnout.” Martha nodded in confidence, and Brady smiled at her, glad she’d been the one to respond to Mayor Jenkins’s refusal to budge.
The meeting was open to the public, and even though they hadn’t given the town much notice, the room was packed so that they’d had to bring in more chairs, and even then, there were people standing in the back. The overwhelming majority of people wanted to move forward with Brady’s plans. There were a couple of people who’d come to say they thought it was a waste of time and money, but once Brady had laid out his plan, which would only cost the city a couple of thousand dollars, which he swore would be recouped through increased tax revenue from people spending money in town, particularly people from the surrounding area, even those people had changed their minds.
At the moment, Jenkins was the only one there who was against moving forward with the plans. Even Bob, whom Brady had feared would vote against the proposal, had given his support, gaining a cheer from his family, including his grandchildren, who were seated in the gallery with his wife and their parents.
Jenkins shook his head. “Where are all of these people going to park?” he demanded. “I’ve been asking for a parking garage for months, and now, we have the opportunity to put one in, and you want to spend money on Christmas activities instead. If we had a premier parking garage in the downtown area, people from the surrounding towns would be more likely to come and shop here.”
“That doesn’t even make any sense,” Harry snarled. “People don’t choose their location for shopping based on whether or not there’s a parking garage!”
“I am in the process of completing an evaluation on the viability of a parking garage,” Brady said, his voice calm. “I will have that report for you next week. If the report shows that it is worth the city’s time and money to invest in a parking garage, then we can move forward on getting bids for that in the first of the year.” Brady hoped that Jenkins would take that to mean his father’s company would get the bid, though he would not guarantee that, despite the fact that it had always happened that way in the past.
“Do you think that your report will show there is a need for the garage?” Jenkins asked, practically daring Brady to disagree with him.
“While I won’t comment until after I have all of the information in front of me,” Brady said, looking him in the eyes, “I think you’ve made some valid points.” The groans behind him from the crowd had to be ignored. It was clear no one else wanted a parking garage, not when there were so many other city services that needed sound investing.
“Tonight, we have called this special session just to vote on whether or not to move forward with the Christmas events as they’ve been suggested by Councilwoman Davis,” Ruth said. “She is asking that we schedule the Christmas tree lighting for this Saturday night, December 11 and the craft fair for the next Saturday, December 18. Additionally, she is asking that whomever is available bring Christmas decorations and meet in the downtown area this Saturday, December 11 at ten in the morning to decorate public areas, including the lampposts, public buildings, the Christmas tree, and the park. All of the plans have been laid out by the committee Brady has put together, headed by one of our most distinguished citizens, Mrs. Doris Snow. With a proposed budget of $1835 for electricity, additional supplies, and extra security for the craft fair, as well as a few other additional expenditures, the Christmas events fall well into our budget for recreation, which currently has a balance of $4,067 for the remainder of the year with nothing scheduled except for the parade, which has already been accounted for and will take place Friday, December 24. Therefore, we have the money to move forward. Mr. Mayor, we appreciate your input, but we do not need your support in order to approve the proposal.”
Mr. Jenkins narrowed his eyes but said nothing.
“I move that we vote on this matter immediately.” Kent proposed. Stanley nodded in agreement. He hadn’t even touched his phone for the entire meeting, which spoke volumes to Brady.
“I second that motion,” Martha agreed.
“All in favor?” Kent asked.
All six board members raised their hand.
“And opposed? Of course, that’s no one. Very well, Mr. Rogers, let’s have a Christmas party.” Kent said with a twinkle in his eye.
With a wide smile, Brady replied, “Thank you council members. I am certain this year’s Christmas activities will be a huge success.”
The room erupted in cheers, and when the board moved to end the meeting, chatter broke out everywhere, especially near Doris where a huge crowd of people gathered to ask her what they could do to help. Brady felt bad about overwhelming her, but then, she seemed to be handling it all very well. “Just bring your Christmas ornaments, and meet me downtown on Saturday! Anyone and everyone is welcome to help.”
Brady rose, intending to catch up with Noelle and see how her day had gone. He’d been so busy, he hadn’t had a chance to talk to her again. He had no idea if she’d posted pictures of Pooch, if he’d been adopted, or how the kittens had been. But before he could get too far, Mayor Jenkins was next to him, glaring. In a low voice, he said, “You’d better get me that parking garage,” and then turned and walked away.
Raising an eyebrow, Brady watched him storm out the door, wondering if he was hoping to get re-elected, acting like that in front of all of these people.
A few others came over to talk to him, to shake his hand and congratulate him on coming up with such a good plan. “I can’t take the credit,” he kept saying. “Doris and Noelle have put in an extensive amount of work. It’s really those ladies who should be congratulated.”
Finally, the crowd broke, and he was able to maneuver his way over to where Doris was sitting, where Noelle had been for the meeting. But she wasn’t there. He looked around, not seeing her anywhere. Doris, who was still sitting, tugged on his sleeve. “She just left,” she said.
“Thanks,” Brady replied with a nod and headed out the door, hoping he would see her.
When he walked out into a lightly falling snow, tugging his coat on, he saw Noelle and stopped, a smile on his face. She was leaning against his truck. “Wanna go grab dinner?” she asked him.
“Yes, yes, I do,” Brady replied.
Noelle chuckled, and Brady headed over, watching his step on the ice, and opened the door for her, so happy she’d asked. This day was turning out pretty good. He’d had the inspection on his house earlier that day and was told everything was in great shape for the age of the house. The proposal had passed, and Noelle wanted to have dinner with him. Now, if she just told him Pooch was still available, it would be a perfect day.