It was only a question when, not if, it all came to a head. Having negotiated through to clause five, what appeared a straightforward issue concerning the Youth Advisory Board suddenly became a minefield.

At one point during the debate Cr Peter Fussell and his chair parted company as the outspoken councillor rose to make a point of order.

It would be a long time before they were reunited. Eight times Cr Fussell was asked to resume his seat. Eight times he refused.

The regulars at council meetings knew it was not out of the ordinary for Crs Fussell and Zappacosta to go head-to-head in a battle of wills like this.

Except this time Cr Fussell didn’t back down.

Unable to convince Cr Fussell he’d be more comfortable seated, Cr Zappacosta turned to Peter Brooks and asked the general manager/part-time bouncer to escort the troublesome councillor from the chamber. Mr Brooks declined.

Saying he had no other option, the Mayor adjourned the meeting for seven days, rose from his chair and strode out of the chamber to the chants of “you can’t do that” and “can you do that?”

Council staff scrambled for the nearest copy of the Local Government Act and several of the remaining nine councillors sought to install Deputy Mayor Anne Napoli in the chair and continue the meeting.

After about 30 frenzied minutes the buzz started to die down as councillors and the public resigned themselves to the fact the mayor had truly pulled up stumps.

Convinced the night was over, council watchdog Arthur Nunn, who prides himself on never missing a meeting, went home.

However, word soon spread that the mayor would resume the meeting in five minutes. It was enough to make Cr Christine Stead nearly choke on her pizza as she ran out the building to try and catch the absent Arthur. But alas, he was gone. Arthur was probably already at home drafting a letter to the Department of Local Government.

Then sure enough, as promised, Cr Zappacosta emerged from his office and took his seat in the chamber.

Calmly declaring the meeting open again, the mayor restarted the meeting with a vote on whether to restart the meeting, thus ending one of the most bizarre incidents in Griffith City Council history.