Lack of buy-in quells documentary participation
In its regular meeting Feb. 15, the Red Bay City Council approved paying Red Bay’s portion for participating in a Franklin County “Viewpoint with Dennis Quaid” documentary. The council approved $2,921.23 to go toward studio production.
“I think that’s a very minimal amount to be a part of this,” Fancher said. “We thought it was fair to base the fee each entity pays toward this based on population. I’m sure there will be a really large filming crew on this job.”
That now, however, looks to be a moot point.
Red Bay Mayor Charlene Fancher explained “Viewpoint” is a short-form documentary series, and Franklin County as a whole was chosen to take part.
Fancher said she met with the other mayors in Franklin County a week before the council meeting, where they reached a consensus, along with the Franklin County Commission, that either everyone is “all in” or it “isn’t a go.”
Apparently, not everyone was “all in.”
According to the Franklin County Commission, Russellville and Phil Campbell were not in favor, making the documentary a no-go. Russellville City Hall confirmed Russellville had chosen not to participate, adding it was not an item that was handled through a city council meeting.
City administrator Leah Mansell confirmed that regarding documentary participation, it “was voted on at the Feb. 21 meeting that the commission would proceed with the project if all cities and municipalities would be involved,” Mansell said. “Not all of them wanted to be involved, so the project has stopped.”
At Red Bay’s Feb. 15 meeting, Fancher said she felt the documentary would benefit Franklin County, noting it would be shown on PBS. Councilmember Jason Vinson noted Red Bay and the other municipalities would have rights to the video upon its completion to use for other marketing purposes. Fancher said the clip for the whole county would be 3-5 minutes and would include “a lot of information about each city.”
“I don’t know the decisions by the other municipalities,” Fancher added, “but (the documentary) would benefit all of us in Franklin County.”
This story is still in development. Check back with The Franklin County Times, as additional information will be reported as it becomes available.
