Commissioners: No 1 percent tax, no ag center or sports complex
By Steve Herring
Published in News on July 22, 2015 1:46 PM
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News-Argus/STEVE HERRING
Jimmy Weldin, foreground, and Drew Mercer with B.R. Kornegay, wrap up a survey this morning of the site of the proposed $16 million Wayne County Regional Agricultural and Convention Center.
The Goldsboro sports complex and the Wayne County Regional Agricultural and Convention Center will not be built if the General Assembly fails to adopt a countywide one percent hotel occupancy tax.
Wayne County commissioners Tuesday morning raised that alarm in a resolution to state Sens. Louis Pate of Mount Olive and Don Davis of Snow Hill imploring them to move the tax bill through the Senate before the session ends -- possibly by the end of the week.
Uncertainty over the bill's fate also prompted a split board vote to delay allocating money for several projects. The money might be needed instead for the agriculture center, some commissioners said.
The tax bill was sent to the Senate Tuesday afternoon after passing its third reading on the House floor earlier in the day.
It is not listed on the Senate's published agenda for today.
"As you all recall, the agreement between Goldsboro and Wayne County conditioned everything going forward on the passage of a one-percent hotel/motel tax -- the proceeds of which would be used, originally, either for construction or operations and marketing of a regional agricultural and convention center," Wayne County Manager George Wood said.
Time is quickly running out, Commissioner Joe Daughtery said.
"I think we are all aware of the fact that the Senate is winding down and actually those committees are going to basically disband, from my information, as of Thursday," he said. "In order for this bill to proceed with the Senate, it has to be passed by those committees and then move on to the Senate floor.
"I urge us to adopt (the resolution), and quickly send it by email as rapidly as possible to our senators and to ask them to move, what is our word, expeditiously on this because we only have a few days to get this bill passed."
For the first time in the discussion about the hotel tax, the resolution mentions that Mount Olive officials support the bill. The town has the only hotel in the county outside of Goldsboro.
The bill has not been discussed in open session by the Mount Olive Town Board and the addition comes just a week after Mount Olive Sleep Inn owners Stephanie Kornegay and her brother, Kevin, voiced opposition to the tax.
The tax bill originally would have increased Goldsboro's hotel occupancy tax from 5 to 6 percent as part of the deal to provide city funding for the county's proposed $16 million agriculture/convention center.
But the decision was made to switch to a countywide tax since the original proposal was out of compliance with state travel and tourism guidelines.
As part of the agreement, the city will give the county 12 acres of land on North Wayne Memorial Drive on which to build the center.
In exchange for the county increasing the size of the assembly area, the city agreed to ask for the occupancy tax increase and to provide 33 percent of the additional revenues for the first 20 years for the center and 25 percent thereafter.
That money would be used by the county to help fund the center and its operations.
The county would also loan Goldsboro $3 million at 1.5 percent interest over 15 years for the sports complex.
Commissioners delayed allocating the $1,554,352.10 remaining in a loan from the former Eastern Region.
Wood recommended:
* $45,000, Pikeville utilities project.
* $966,000, agricultural and convention center construction.
* $40,000, Mount Olive railroad crossing project.
* $49,352.10, county website update.
* $420,000, construction contract for Spring Creek Middle School sewer pump station.
* $34,000, Mount Olive Airport road relocation project.
"Mount Olive had requested up to $100,000 for its airport project, but we are not in a position to fully fund it," Wood said. "But, we can afford the $34,000. It was originally slated for the Agricultural and Convention Center project."
Commissioner Ed Cromartie said he, Daughtery and Commissioner Joe Gurley had met with Mayor Ray McDonald Sr., Town Manager Charles Brown and town Commissioner Joe Scott.
Cromartie said the meeting had allowed the county and town to reach resolution on disputed utility costs associated with the new Steele Memorial Library.
"Out of that same meeting, if not an outright agreement, but an inference (was made) that there were some needs Mount Olive had relating to their airport that we would support and that is how it made it on to this document today," Cromartie said. "I don't think that at the last minute we should communicate to them, now that we have changed our minds."
Commissioner John Bell made a motion to fund the projects as recommended by Wood.
"As we discussed earlier this morning about this, let's just be honest," Commissioner Bill Pate said. "We met yesterday (Monday) in Raleigh with the senators talking about the hotel and motel tax. It is not clear at this point that that will happen. I don't have anything against any of these projects. But the dollars that we have from the Eastern Region need to be used for county projects that we need.
"(The senators) are going to have to do something this week because the committees will be going home. Any of these that, in my opinion, that do not absolutely necessary need to be funded today, I would like to make a motion that they be moved to our next meeting for consideration."
Pate said he meant his comments as an amendment to Bell's motion and to fund only the items Wood said were necessary and to delay the others until the next board meeting.
"The two that we really need are the $420,000 for the Spring Creek Middle School pump station and then the $49,352.10 on the county website update because we have entered into contracts on both of those, and I need to be in a position to pay those," Wood said.
Cromartie questioned how the board could make such a decision without first talking to the municipalities that might have been counting on the funding.
Also, the county already has allocated money ($4 million) for the agriculture center, he said.
The amendment was approved 5-2 with Bell and Cromartie voting no. The amended motion was approved 5-2 with Bell and Cromartie voting no.