By Hannah Caudell
Former Tallulah Falls councilman Mike Urpschot has officially submitted his resignation letter.
Tallulah Falls Mayor Mike Early asked to amend the agenda during Wednesday night’s special-called meeting to accept Urpschot’s resignation at the beginning of the town’s new business agenda.
Urpschot was arrested Aug. 10, when Rabun County deputies responded to a hit-and-run incident at 135 Main St. Urpschot was responsible, and was arrested for failure to report the collision with an unattended vehicle, as well as having expired tags.
Now, Urpschot has officially submitted his resignation, which was effective Wednesday night.
In his resignation letter read by Early, Urpschot wrote he wanted to step away to focus his attention on personal and health issues.
“Please understand that I love this town and the community so much, which is why I ran for office,” Urpschot wrote in his letter. “I simply wanted to give back some of what I had received. My hope is that there will be a day that I may return stronger and more beneficial to the family we call Tallulah Falls.”
He ended his letter by asking that his resignation be effective on Wednesday.
Following executive session, Early and council presented a prepared statement regarding Urpschot’s resignation, thanking Urpschot for his service on council and writing that they will support his decision to focus on his health.
“We wish him a swift recovery and we’ll help him in any way that we can,” the prepared statement ended.
Early declined to comment any further on Urpschot’s resignation Wednesday night, except to say that he had received the letter the day prior on Tuesday, Sept. 8.
Council unanimously approved Urpschot’s replacement on council Wednesday night, as well. Carl Seamon, a former Tallulah Falls mayor and councilman, will serve the remainder of Urpschot's term — about one year — until the town can officially elect someone for the seat.
In other business, council motioned to accept the millage rollback rate of 5.843 essentially to avoid the public hearing process and thus complicated meeting scheduling. Council also approved an intergovernmental agreement with Habersham County for the radio system subject to attorney approval, and also approved moving a planning and zoning application forward for a text amendment to the short-term vacation rental ordinance.