Councilman:  gob smacked by grant award

From Columbia to Walhalla will come a multi-million dollar grant to enable the Oconee city to build a community center.  It’s seen as the vehicle for Walhalla to get a much needed recreation facility and one that will better accommodate community meetings.  But a city councilman, critical of city spending practices, said the $5.6 million grant is a surprise to him and some of his colleagues.  “I didn’t know anything about that, “ Grant Keehn told 101.7/WGOG NEWS.  Keehn, however, concedes the plan was brought up during what he called “a future dream meeting.”  And then, he said, he heard a rumor that the grant might materialize, but it still caught him off balance.  The first-term councilman has criticized the spending of public money, such as a greenway project, at a time when basic needs in some city departments go unmet.