Questions about plans to transfer city property to a private real estate company resulted in Union City Council voting to delay the issue Tuesday.

Council tabled second reading of an ordinance transferring a .33 acre strip of land in Monarch to J.O.C. Real Estate, LLC. The property, located next to Kirby’s Cake Shoppe, was deeded to the city in 1908 for a street that was never opened. No one knew the street — designated on the property plat as Aetna Street — was owned by the city until recently.

When council approved first reading of the ordinance in February, Carlisle Oxner III, president of J.O.C. Real Estate, said the land would be sold to a developer who would build a Dollar General store.

Mayor Pro Tem Keith Henderson said council voted to table the ordinance to give it more time to consider information presented Tuesday. He said council would review the matter and determine how to best dispose of the property.

“We have to look at economic development and make sure we’re doing the right thing,” he said. “We’ve given property to companies like LSP in the past, but we need to look at whether or not we can give this to the developer or sell it.”

Three people asked council to delay action on the ordinance.

Sarah Fant Jones told council that the land was part of 589 acres her grandfather acquired. While he kept some of the land for himself, the rest was placed under a company he organized, the John A. Fant Estate Co. She said the Aetna Street parcel, which was later deeded to the city, was part of the land her grandfather placed under his company.

While she is delighted that the land would be used for a new Dollar General and hopes that more new companies will follow in its wake, Miss Jones questioned whether transferring the property to J.O.C. Real Estate was in the best interests of the city. Miss Jones asked whether it would be better if the city sold the property instead. She asked council to consider the matter further and determine the city’s best course of action.

Everett Leigh also welcomed Dollar General, saying he was glad to see such development occurring in Monarch. However, he pointed out that over the past year the city has experienced problems with issues of credibility and integrity. While he feels everything is probably on the up and up, he said the proposed transfer still doesn’t look right. He also called on council to delay second reading, saying that where public property is concerned public scrutiny and public bids are required.

David Fant also called for the city to table the ordinance. He said that giving property to a private citizen is not the same as giving it as a part of an incentive package to company bringing hundreds of jobs to the community. He said he felt the city was setting the wrong precedent by giving a private citizen public property for free when that citizen is going to profit from it. Instead, he said, the city should be the one to profit.