Midway City Council’s Monday work session came to an abrupt halt and was adjourned about two minutes into the proceedings because the agenda was not approved.

All four council members were present when Mayor Dr. Clemontine Washington called the meeting to order at 9 a.m. After a moment of silence and the Pledge of Allegiance, Councilman Levern Clancy made a motion to approve the proposed agenda.

When none of the other council members in attendance — Melice Hamilton, Curtes Roberts and Terrence Doyle — seconded the motion, Washington gaveled the meeting to a close at 9:02 and said, "If we do not have an agenda, we cannot have a meeting."

Mayor Pro Tempore Roberts said, "We are not doing our jobs here. We ran for election and the people chose us to conduct the city’s business … the agenda is a little thing. We should approve it and get on with our work."

When Doyle offered to give his reasons for not supporting the agenda adoption, Roberts said, "No, I don’t even want to hear it."

The proposed, unapproved agenda included renovations to city hall, revisions to the utility ordinance, discussion of the water agreement with the Liberty County Development Authority and the regular quarterly budget review.

Two of these items, the LCDA water-sharing agreement and the revision of the utility ordinance, appeared on the proposed agenda for the March 28 work session, which also was abruptly adjourned for lack of an approved agenda.

At that meeting, Roberts moved to accept the agenda but neither Doyle nor Hamilton seconded his motion. The meeting ended as Clancy, who had sent word he would be late, was en route and LCDA representatives arrived at the meeting.

The authority and Midway share water and sewer service under agreements that reportedly never have been written down over the years and have been interpreted differently by succeeding city administrations.

"We both owe each other money," Washington said, and she wants to total up the claims on both sides so a general settlement can be made.

The minutes from the council’s Feb. 28 and March 28 work sessions remain unapproved; they were scheduled to be adopted at Monday’s session.

The next regular Midway City Council meeting is set for 6 p.m. Monday, May 9. The regular schedule for Midway’s council calls for a formal meeting at 6 p.m. on the second Monday of each month and an informal work session at 9 a.m. on each fourth Monday.