A pretty snazzy place to have a meeting

Posted By katie allison granju

In looking thru the listed receipts and charges in Mayor Ragsdale’s response to the p-card audit, this one caught my eye:

Charge #71 - 12/18/06 - Palm Restaurant - $143.16 - Dinner meeting with Chuck Welch, Mike Arms, Grant Rosenberg And Mark Jones regarding healthcare conference and BEP funding in Nashville.

Chuck Welch is Knox County’s paid lobbyist. The other folks at this dinner meeting, including the Mayor, were Knox County employees.

The Palm, in case you’ve never been (I haven’t), is perhaps Nashville’s fanciest steakhouse. The review of the place in the New York Times reads:

Currently the “in” place to see and to be seen. The Palm is an upscale enclave, located within the cushy confines of the Hilton Suites downtown. Conspicuous consumption is a hallmark here, where a 36 oz New York strip for two comes with a $60 price tag.


So basically, if I am reading this right, the Mayor and several paid employees of Knox County - while in Nashville on county business - held their work meeting at The Palm. I think a case could reasonably be made that sometimes county officials need to take business leaders they’re courting, or other potential sources of revenue for the county out for fine dining in order to recruit them. But is that what was happening here?

And the very next charge on the list seems to detail the same sort of meeting:

Charge #72 - 1/3/07 - Regas $112.34
Receipt attached
Lunch meeting with Charles Davenport, Gary Mahoney, and Alfred Bales with Knox County Trustees Office regarding sales tax and collection.

Mar 20th, 2008

One Comment to 'A pretty snazzy place to have a meeting'

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  1. Missybw said,

    Man, I love The Palm, good government, and I’m currently still “looking for work”. I am so qualified to work for Knox County! Hey Raggie, you still need an assistant? I’m better at photoshop so the receipts will be much more authentic looking! Have your people call my people, let’s talk! Over a Gigi salad would be even better, right? Cyabai!

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