Building and Grounds meeting centers on J’s Restaurant lease

The County Executive cannot operate a business at county-owned Three Star Mall.

That’s what county attorney Robert Bratcher said during a county Building and Grounds Committee meeting today in which a new lease for J’s Restaurant was discussed.

Bratcher said it would present a conflict for J’s Restaurant to continue to operate at the mall should Junior Petit win the election in August and become Warren County’s next County Executive.

“It would be an absolute conflict of interest,” said Bratcher, who quoted TCA code 12-4-101, which is Tennessee’s general law that prohibits public officials from having a personal financial interest in contracts they oversee.

Petit countered that J’s Restaurant is a corporation and all he owns is the contents inside the business. Therefore, he doesn’tbelieve serving as County Executive would be a direct conflict.

“I disagree,” said Bratcher. “You would still have oversight over the contract. You would have to be completely divested from the business, along with all your family members.”

Petit said should he win the election in August, county government would certainly come first. Nevertheless, he wants to negotiate a new five-year lease with the county with his current lease expiring in just days on June 30.

“Five years is what I always do,” said Petit.

Building and Grounds Committee chair Michael Bell asked Petit if he would consider a short-term option until after the election.

“We could do a month-to-month lease, then meet back here Aug. 10 and renegotiate when we know exactly what’s happened,” said Bell.

Petit said he is not interested.

Petit says he currently pays the county $3,199 a month in rent and wants that rate lowered because his total sales have plummeted some $230,000 over the past year as the mall has lost tenants.

Committee member Tommy Savage said, “Anybody who wants to sign a five-year lease in this day and time, I say let’s do it.”

It’s not that simple, however, because Petit wants to pay less in rent. Another factor is that any lease over 364 days must be approved by the full Warren County Commission.

The Building and Grounds Committee voted unanimously to send the terms of the J’s Restaurant lease agreement to Finance Department director Justin Cotten so he could negotiate a new deal. The lease would include the provision that J’s would not be penalized for breaking the lease should Petit win the election and the restaurant be forced to close.

Once an agreement is reached by both parties, it will have to gain approval from the full County Commission.

Building and Grounds Committee members present were Michael Bell, Scott Kelly, Chris Rippy, and Tommy Savage.