“I made a motion that was seconded in the past that we empower city staff to pursue funding for the event center with the latest New Market Tax Credits and EB-5 funding, so I expect that action along with discussion will take place at the meeting,” Councilman Reuben Blackwell said. “I certainly hope that the majority of the council feels this project is sound enough and fiscally feasible to begin to look seriously at our funding options for it.” (Source: Read more)
Whether it’s in Nash or Edgecombe County, it is not feasible to do this. And, speaking of location, why is this such a big secret? What is the City Council not telling us? Is someone benefiting from the sale of land for this event center on the City Council?
This Monday! May 12, 2014 @ 7:00PM Rocky Mount City Council Meeting.
Consideration of Authorizing the City Manager to Move Forward with Securing Funds (including, but not limited to EB-5 and New Market Tax Credits) for the Funding of a Downtown Event Center.
Event Center Public Forum April 21, 2014 - Video on WHIG-TV - The video begins with the presentation by the city and consultants and public comment begins at the 1:11:00 portion.
http://youtu.be/pwL0RGPEUno
They always said location matter when you are building real estate, is this true? In case of the Event Center where is the location downtown for this money pit? Monday evening at 6:00PM - the Rocky Mount-Government Offices will have a Public Presentation and Public Comments gathering at the City Council Chambers of the City Hall Building.
however another citizen has voice there concerns.
from Speak up,
I have attended several meetings regarding funding for the event center and they keep saying the location will be downtown.
Where downtown?
At none of these meetings have we been told where which raises the question if the don’t know where then that means they must not have purchased any land.
How much is the land going to cost for building the event center with a sufficient size parking lot?
Is the event center going to be located right downtown so that people could exit the center and walk downtown to where all the money was invested for streetscape?
If the event center is not going to be located downtown so that people can walk there then I don’t see how the event center is going to help all of the effort that was put into streetscape and trying to revitalize downtown.
My concern right now before I can throw any support behind funding for the building is to know the location and what it is going to cost the city to get the land.
When is the city council going to give us information on that part of this investment in our community?
Does this person have a valid point, yes they do. Will they Buy the land at current market prices or will they take the land via Eminent Domain?
The word on the Street is,
The word on the street is the location is the current location of the old RM Wilson School building and Gym, currently a senior housing center on Marigold Street and Hill Street.
If this the location, that means they would have to tear down an senior citizen housing center? Would the Council will make like older for these seniors, yes they would..
another comment,
It is very unlikely that a special hearing, other than those required by law, would be held if it weren't for public pressure. I commend all those speaking out against such issues. Now it's time to pressure the City Council to put the issue to a referendum. Let the people decide! After all, it's our money they will be taking to spend on this perpetual expense. Some people seem to forget that the City Council has rammed things down our unwilling throats before with "for show" public hearings. Glad to see the Community Council getting some credit but let's not forget that there are a great number of individuals who share a strong opposition to this endeavor.
side note, the area around the Post Office, the city have been taken land in that area for sometime now.. via liens from having homes torn down.. just check the records at the city code enforcement office…
The City of Rocky Mount will host a public meeting on the proposed Downtown Event Center.The meeting, scheduled for Mon., April 21, 2014 at 6 p.m., will include a formal presentation on the Event Center and information on potential funding scenarios.
"Representatives from Davenport & Co., the City's financial advisor, and AECOM, the company hired to perform the market feasibility study, will be on hand to provide information and answer questions regarding the proposed Event Center," says David Combs, Rocky Mount mayor. Davenport & Co. determined four possible funding options for an Event Center.
Bridget Chisholm, a principal with the firm Building Wealth & Communities, will provide details on one possible funding source, new market tax credits.
During the forum, attendees may ask questions and offer comments.
The public meeting will be held in the George P. Dudley City Council Chamber, located on the third floor of the Frederick E. Turnage Municipal Building
Proposed Event Center Public Meeting Monday, April 21st at 6:00PM - Announced today by City of Rocky Mount Mayor David Combs at The Rocky Mount Area Chamber of Commerce Economic Summit.
The estimated price tag for a downtown event center has increased by $4.8 million over initial estimates in a draft report from the city’s financial adviser to Rocky Mount city staff.
In a prior report, the Chicago-based consulting firm AECOM Technical Services estimated the total costs for a 5,000-seat downtown event center would be $37.2 million.
But in a draft report submitted to city staff on March 12, the city’s financial adviser Davenport & Co. states that another $4.8 million would need to be spent on land, working capital, general contractor fees and contingency and project management costs.
Rocky Mount City Manager Charles Penny met with staff last week to discuss Davenport’s report, which outlined five different possible funding scenarios, including one that involved foreign investment in the project. (Source: Read more)
Event Center Financing Options - Prepared by Davenport & Co.
Todays Meeting Synopsis:
* Property Tax Increase from 7.5% to 15.5%(Scenario Dependent)
* Decision Sooner than later to Meet September Deadline
* Trust City Council and Staff - Per City Council Comments
http://www.rockymountnc.gov/documents/Event%20Center%20Financing%20Presentation.pdf
It would seem that a local citizen is calling for the Telegram to do a full in-depth investigate in to who owns the property that is being considered for the Event Center.
However, this isn’t new. There are a few groups who are doing that very thing. One group is searching into who on the City Council might own property or buying property in the said area.
As to date , according to the City Council no location has been picked.
One group think they have found a few areas that the Center could be built, click here to see them. The surveyor stated there was 5 places where this center could be built..
So back to the question at hand who owns the land? Where will it be built?
This person hit the nail on the head,
I hate to disappoint you, but many of us naysayers are tired of paying for buildings and other objects in hopes that it will attract businesses and industries.
No buildings are going to help the situation until utilities, crime, taxes and race relations decrease. Why should we pay for something that may take 10 or more years to profit just so we can say we have an event center?
There continues to be all this controversy in the paper about this new project they are wanting to do in Rocky Mount in reference to the event center and the money it is going to cost.
Rocky Mount needs more shelters for the homeless.
We have a lot of people who are homeless.
The city should realign its focus to help the people in our community and not place any additional expenses on an event center that is not going to be used.
So doe this person have a point? Does Rocky Mount need more shelters to help end the homeless issue in our city.
How about taking that money and use it to get more large industries to set up shop in our city. Over the last few decades RMT has lost many large companies, Hardees Corp offices, Fast Food Merchandising and Barcalounger Manufacturing Company.
One of the main reason why they left Rocky Mount was the high cost of Utilities..
It seem the only business that are setting up shop in RMT these day are gas stations and fast-food shops.
In the city's proposal, they stated the surveyor noted 5 places where the event center could be built, but gave US no indication of what area.
A small community is searching these locations out, they think they might have found three location so far.
Do you know of two more location??
in a comment left on a story on Dailyhaymaker, a commenter levy the following,
Andre Knight continues use racist tactics to intimidate anyone who opposes him much the same way Barber does. Rumors are that Knight and a partner are buying up properties where the proposed “event center” will be built. He also does not live in the ward that he represents. This was brought to light a few years ago and even though it was proven that he did not live in his “bachelor pad” nothing was ever done to remove him. He and his cronies are the main reason Rocky Mount will never recover and grow no matter how much money they throw away down town. Who wants to go any where down there if you have to fear for your life every time you get out of your car.
If this is true then there is clear conflict of interest here.
A new group called the Community Council has formed in Rocky Mount, which is focusing on the City’s plan to build a Event Center somewhere downtown. The group recently held it first (no media allowed) meeting this pass Wednesday (2/5) at the Braswell Library.
The topic was the Event Center cost and taxes.
Residents questioning the wisdom of building an event center in Rocky Mount are raising concerns that city officials will have to raise property taxes to cover its costs.
They said they are worried that possible other funding sources identified by a consulting firm would not generate anywhere near enough dollars to cover the annual debt and operating costs of the center.
And they said some of the potential funding options outlined in a report to the city by AECOM Technical Services out of Chicago aren’t feasible, or would require approvals from elected officials that aren’t likely. (Source: Read more)
A local Citizen had this to say,
meeting at the Library on Wednesday. Skip Carney secretary of the group was on FM 99.3 Thursday morning and he said the media was not invited. I called in and said although the media was not invited they could have attended. However anyone, don't have to be media, can record meetings held in a public facility and they are backed by The Open Meetings Law Statue.
I find it quite interesting this paper and WHIG-TV has not reported on the Wednesday's meeting. So what is going on? Is the group receiving special privilege? I know they can get it from WHIG-TV, but is it the case with this paper?
Since The Community Council said they wanted to educate the citizens, why did they not invite the media? Well my ignant opinion is they didn't want to expose who attended the meeting and didn't want to share what they talked about. SMDH!
He is correct members of media could have attended and took notes the old school way, pad and pen. After all the meeting was open to the public. I guess today media don’t know how to do it “old school”, they are lost without their digital records and video cameras.
Now another person is also correct in there assessment of the Event Center,
If the event center is such a great idea, why hasn’t some private investor built one in Rocky Mount?
After all, we do have U.S. 64 and I-95.
Obviously it is not a good investment so there is not one private investor interested.
Why build an event center here?
So, is the Event Center a great ideal or just a waste of time and money?
I hardly ever agree with the Civitas Group, but in this case I do.
from Civitas,
A previous Civitas blog post reported that Rocky Mount City Councilman and Witness Wednesday arrestee Andre Knight made comments which could easily be interpreted as calling a community leader a racist. This happened when that community leader was presenting a petition for the City of Rocky Mount to have a public hearing on whether or not the city should build a proposed Event Center downtown. Wait a minute there is more to the story.
In the meeting, which took place Jan. 13, there was a proposal put forth to approve $67,430 to include a study that would be run by Visions Inc. Senator Angela Bryant (D- Nash) runs this organization, and Rocky Mount City Councilman Lamont Wiggins is on the board. The Rocky Mount Telegram reported that “(t)he intent of the plan was to assist the city in recognizing the importance of a diverse workforce reflective of the community as much as possible allowing the city to better understand and respond to citizens,” said Assistant City Manager Ann Wall in a memorandum to City Manager Charles Penny. “The intent of the plan was also to establish a workplace which values employees and encourages their development.” The study was approved that night, since September of 2012 the City of Rocky Mount will have spent $413,220 just on studies for the City and for building of the proposed $43.6 million Event Center. Citizens in the community are beginning to become upset that the city is spending the taxpayers’ money not only to help a local Senator and City Councilman but to also build an Event Center that is of questionable value.
Another thing to look at about the Visions study that was approved was the fact that it passed the City Council with a voice vote. Some said “Aye”, no one said “No”, and no one recused themselves. If LaMont Wiggins is on the board for Visions Inc. wouldn’t it be a conflict of interest for him to vote on the approval of the study?
The City Council going by Civitas Is creating revenue from themselves and to hell with the Citizens of Rocky Mount.
In the Video Knight claims that Daughtridge’s biggest complaint is where the center will be built. Yet I have been told no location has be decide or approve yet. I guess once again the citizens of RMT will be the last to know.
Many of the citizens of RMT are upset about this spending for studies after studies for an Event Center which may or may not be in the best interest of the City. The group doing the studies have a clear cut conflict of interest, since one of it board members is also on the City Council.
Is this citizen correct,
justelladatruth says:
If you have to have that many "studies" done to see if it makes sense to go with the "event center" it's probably not a good idea. These people are just lining their pockets with money. They know exactly what they're doing. Somebody needs to stand up to these crooks and stop this crap. It's nothing but BS politics. The money put into the "event center" will never be recouped. Do the math! There is no way Rocky Mount will ever get a return on this. People on the board should not have any personal interest in these decisions. Andre Knight is the biggest racist around, so both black & white need to look at the whole picture here.
Via the Rocky Mount Government FB page.
Question asked,
When will the next community Meeting concern the Event Center be held?
Answer,
No community meeting has been scheduled. The next step will be the presentation of a financial plan in March. An agenda will be posted on the City's website closer to that date.
So does this mean that the community of Rocky Mount will or will not get it’s chance to air their opinion on this project.
From Rocky Mount Telegram,
One Citizen had this to say,
There should be a referendum for every taxpayer to have a vote before any decision is made on spending $40 million of our hard earned money.
If the citizens vote in majority for the event center, then build it. If we vote against the event center, then this should be the decision made by the council.
We are supposed to live in a democratic society with leaders voting on the will of the people, not dictating to us their wishes.
Does this person have point, Yes he does, the propose Event Center should be voted on by the citizens of Rocky Mount, since it would mean that the City would have to buy the property that would be need or use eminent domain to require that land that would be need.
