Saying a proposed change to the port authority code to make way for City Manager Paul Sparks to become its full-time head was intended more for discussion than action, city councilman Al &uot;Minnow&uot; Brooks, who originally asked that the issue be put on the agenda, withdrew the resolution Monday.

The proposal had been questioned over the last week by local developer Tom Leland, among others. Leland said the move would give Sparks too much power over economic development.

After Brooks withdrew the item from the agenda, Leland’s lawyer, Jerome Rice, asked if the city would be considering the motion again. Council members replied that the city had made the decision to withdraw it from the agenda, but did not say whether it would be brought up again.

Brooks said that though some speculation has been raised, that the issue of moving Sparks to the position of port authority director was in no way a method of removing him as city manager. He continued that the council wouldn’t propose giving him a salary of $97,000 and put him in charge of the port authority if they didn’t have trust in him being a good manager.

In a press release from Mayor Jean Eaton, she said the resolution &uot;may well be in the best interests of the city to do so at some future date.&uot;