Cabin now belongs to the city, councilman says

By failing to remove the mayor’s cabin from city property, that cabin now belongs to Westminster, according to a city councilman.  During last night’s meeting, Councilman Doug Williams pronounced the Chauga River-front cabin now belonging to the city.  Williams said, however, he had no idea what to do with the cabin.  There were some indications last night that Williams and his colleagues, at least for now, may let the cabin sit.  Mayor Brian Ramey said he had removed personal items from the cabin, but would not incur the $35 thousand dollar cost of having it removed.  Ramey gave a detailed history of how the cabin was located on land-locked property which included research to indicate that he had been led to believe that he had the OK of four members of a previous city council to place it there.  The mayor’s account elicited empathy from several in last night’s packed meeting room including public session comments from Rusty Cater, Herron Cobb, and Woody Sanders.  For years, dating back to before he was elected mayor, Ramey has tried unsuccessfully to buy the property on which his cabin sits.  Complicating a potential sale of the property is an easement that the city gave an environmental group for conservation purposes.