City Council members gave remarks following a recent Local Government Commission meeting at which the city of Rocky Mount was a topic of discussion.
That commission meeting, held June 4 in Raleigh, included the subjects of a City Council vote in December to purchase 336 acres of land in Nash County for economic development purposes as well as a City Council vote in January seeking the commission’s approval of bank financing. The city is seeking approval for a loan to be able to build a new Fire Station No. 2 just southwest of downtown.
The commission voted to place the city’s pending application for financing on its July 9 meeting agenda. The commission assists local governments in North Carolina in decision-making involving large financing projects.
N.C. Treasurer Dale Folwell, who doubles as the commission’s chairman, has made clear he is concerned that the terms of the financing for the land acquisition in Nash County were structured in such a way that the financing does not have to come before the Local Government Commission for approval.
The commission’s discussion came up at the City Council’s regular meeting Monday evening. Near the end of the council meeting, Mayor Sandy Roberson provided council members the chance to make closing remarks.
Councilman Andre Knight, speaking via teleconferencing, said he was concerned about false assumptions that the council members put a casino ahead of constituents. The land the city purchased had been the site of a possible casino.
Knight made clear that he believed the purchase of the land was good for the city’s economic development.
Councilman Reuben Blackwell said that he believed the council has been working hard, especially in the last several months, to create a spirit of mutual support and prioritization of what it is going to take to grow Rocky Mount wisely and well.
“It doesn’t mean we always agree about everything, but it does mean that we try to work together in as much a congenial atmosphere as we can,” Blackwell said.
Blackwell also pointed out that he and fellow council members cannot decide if there is ever going to be a casino in Nash County.
“That’s beyond us,” Blackwell said.
“That’s right,” Roberson said.
Blackwell noted that the decision to allow more casinos to be built in North Carolina is up to the N.C. General Assembly.
Blackwell also expressed appreciation to N.C. Auditor Jessica Holmes, who serves on the Local Government Commission, and other members of the commission for trying to keep the conversation of Rocky Mount’s request for approval to obtain a loan focused on the need for the city to replace the No. 2 Fire Station.
The plan is for the replacement station to be at the site of the former one at West Raleigh Boulevard and South Grace Street.
Blackwell added that he feels strongly about the need to prioritize economic development in every sector of the city.
“And that means more than talking about it,” he said. “It means taking action and putting money towards those areas that we feel are high priority — and especially those that have not enjoyed development.”
Councilman Tom Harris said that the municipality’s financial position is strong.
“And I just wanted to let everybody know that we seriously take into consideration the financial obligations of this city,” Harris said. “But in order for us to continue to grow, we have got to do some things in order to bring in additional sources of revenue.”
Harris said that is the primary reason he voted for the municipality to purchase the more than 300 acres of land.
The commission’s vote June 4 included requiring Roberson, the city manager, the city’s finance officer and the city’s third-party financial advisor to be at the July 9 commission meeting.
The commission’s vote also included possibly modifying debt financing on the city’s purchase of the land in Nash County.
In a press release issued the day before the Local Government Commission’s June 4 meeting, Folwell offered an analogy to explain the concerns that the commission’s staff had expressed to him. Folwell said the city’s actions would be like applying for a mortgage loan to purchase a home and then financing an expensive car prior to receiving the mortgage loan approval.
Folwell called it “an unwise financial decision by the loan applicant that adversely affects the applicant’s credit.”
Board members at the June 4 meeting argued that the item before the commission was in regards to the loan to replace the fire station and not the city’s decision to purchase land for economic development, but Folwell argued that the two items were inseparable.
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