Has the Greensboro City Council already approved the bond package for a new downtown hotel?
Probably so.
That possibility has Councilmembers confused and scrambling for answers over the long weekend.
Mayor Bill Knight told me this afternoon, "It would appear that the City Council is not required to take any further action. I didn't know it at the time, but in December we approved the allocation of financing. If what I'm told is correct, this is out of the hands of the Greensboro City Council. I was under the impression that we were only putting our name in line for the availability of money, but as I understand it right now, we are done."
The actual bond authorization would come from the North Carolina Local Government Commission, which will make its decision in May.
Look at page 30 of the Council minutes from 12/15/09.
"Mayor Knight introduced a resolution designating project specific allocation of the Recovery Zone Facility and Economic Development Bonds authorized for the City of Greensboro by the US Treasury...The motion was seconded by Councilmember Perkins and adopted on the following roll call vote: Ayes: Bellamy-Small, Kee, Knight, Matheny, Perkins, Rakestraw, Thompson, Vaughan and Wade. Noes: None."
Apparently, that resolution sealed the deal at GSO's end, and the process is now moving forward.
Knight will meet with the City Manager and City Attorney on Tuesday morning to figure out precisely what has happened and where we go from here. A special information session on the project will precede Tuesday's Council meeting.
On the question of who bears the risk in any bond deal, Mayor Knight says the answer is the people who buy and hold the bonds.
I caught up with Robbie Perkins this afternoon. He said of the confusion over the approval process, "I would imagine that there will be some Councmembers who will be livid if we don't get another shot at this."
Perkins also thinks the hotel, given its extraordinary financing, has a better chance at success than many people believe, and that it could be the catalyst of additional and beneficial downtown development.
Is that what Jim Melvin texted to Perkins for him to say?
Nothing worse than a kept man.
Posted by: Spag | Jan 17, 2010 at 03:32 PM
The submitted deal was for the Ole Asheboro location.
Posted by: Fec | Jan 17, 2010 at 03:46 PM
The minutes also say this:
Andy Scott, Acting Assistant Manager of Economic Development, spoke to the item as part of the Recovery and Stimulus allocations; that the item consisted of procedural matter to meet an arbitrary deadline to register for funding; that the state was attempting to tally up project allocations; and that three projects met project minimum requirements and would be brought back to Council in January 2010 for final approval. Additional discussion emphasized project registration guidelines and the transferability of funds between the City and Guilford County.
I have never known Andy not to know exactly what he's talking about. Has the mayor talked with him?
Posted by: David Wharton | Jan 17, 2010 at 03:55 PM
Mayor Knight told me he spent hours getting up to speed on this issue in recent days, including calls to experts in Raleigh. It would be odd if he has not spoken with his own staff.
The news comes as surprise to those who voted in December. One supposes it comes as a surprise to staff as well.
Posted by: Ed Cone | Jan 17, 2010 at 05:24 PM
folks this is the new mayor and new council we elected. When you elect people with very little experience in government, things like this happen. Just maybe some of the veterans who supported the project knew what they were voting on ;) I guess if there is no revote on the issue, this hotel project is moving forward.
Posted by: Tim | Jan 17, 2010 at 05:44 PM
Or maybe somebody from another city, forewarned, jumped in and grabbed all of ours.
Posted by: Fec | Jan 17, 2010 at 05:49 PM
Folks, this is just the kind of whoring you would expect from kept men who are sent out to do the bidding of more powerful men who want business as usual when it comes to fleecing the public for personal gain. When you elect people who aren't bought and paid for, this kind of backlash is to be expected.
Posted by: Spag | Jan 17, 2010 at 07:22 PM