City OKs sports complex agreement
By Ethan Smith
Published in News on November 17, 2015 1:46 PM
The Goldsboro City Council voted unanimously Monday night to approve the city's signing of the P4 Initiative Multi-Sports Complex lease agreement that will see up to eight multi-use sports fields built off Oak Forest Road.
The council voted to do so without having a finalized copy of the lease agreement in hand, instead choosing to base its vote on the draft given to them at the first council meeting in October.
But, before the lease is finalized, Air Force officials still must provide their signatures on the document, which could take about 60 days, Assistant City Manager Randy Guthrie said.
Before voting, several council members raised questions about voting on the lease agreement before the city had a final copy.
"Wouldn't it be more appropriate to work out the agreement between the Air Force (and the city) before we move to approve this?" District 3 council member William Goodman asked.
City Manager Scott Stevens said that while the lease was not final before being presented to council for approval, the final copy -- whenever it is provided to the city -- would be "very similar" to the October draft version.
"The lease negotiation has been going hard since May, so we have been back and forth, we've met in person. The lease that we provided to you would be very similar to that (finalized) lease, council member Goodman, in terms of its term and what's required in the lease," Stevens said. "We've gotten better on the days worth of usage, we've gotten the terms at least where they have told us they could get to with what we're offering in terms of compensation. I think there will be some minor wordsmithing, but the general terms of the lease are what we presented to you in the draft in October."
Guthrie told the council during its 5 p.m. work session that under the current terms of the lease, 20 years is the maximum time able to be allotted by the Air Force for the agreement and that the city would get up to 90 out of 104 weekend days per year for tournaments.
"We have agreed to allow (Seymour Johnson Air Force Base) to use the fields for youth league pay and rec league that's currently being used on what they call the clinic fields out there, and we would give them utilization of a portion of the complex for about 40 hours a month for fitness usage by the military, as well as some special events they would ask for," Guthrie said.
To lay out a "joint-use schedule" for the complex, the 4th Force Support Squadron Commander will be required to meet with the city's Parks and Recreation Director Scott Barnard twice per year to form a schedule that forecasts what the fields will be used for for 18 months.
"We will meet twice annually with a base representative to work on an 18-month forward looking schedule that will project any events with dates and times," Barnard said. "Their time demand will be an off-time for Goldsboro athletics, because their demand for field space, for the most part, is going to be weekdays in the morning before they would be doing some of their other responsibilities."
Under the current language of the draft lease agreement, the life of the lease is for 20 years from the date it is signed by all parties involved and can only be extended in 10-year increments.
The initial construction calls for six natural grass fields and two artificial turf fields, all built to the size of a tournament regulation soccer field.
The city would be solely responsible for the cost of construction, installing utilities, maintenance of the complex and, when the lease expires, the demolition of the sports complex. Initial construction costs are estimated to be between $6 million and $8 million and, if all the fields are eventually converted to artificial turf as intended, could reach $12 million.
Under the terms of the lease, the city would also be required to build, and be held responsible for the cost and construction of a 2,500-square-foot addition to the SJAFB gym, which is expected to cost $600,000 and must be completed within two years of the lease being signed.
The city would be required to set aside funding for the demolition of the complex with no later than one year remaining on the lease agreement.
There is also a section of the lease agreement, according to the draft, that states the city will be solely responsible for any liabilities, losses, suits, claims, demands, judgments, fines, damages, penalties, costs and expenses arising from any damage or destruction caused to the property, and the death or injury of any person during the development, use, occupancy or maintenance of the complex.
This means the federal government is protected from any lawsuits or costs associated with the use of the sports complex that might arise from personal injury or death on the property, as well as any property damages or destruction caused to the complex.
If any property damage or destruction is caused to the complex, the city will have 180 days, or six months, to repair the damage or destruction of the property to the state it was in before the damage occurred. Should the repairs to the property that arise from any damage or destruction of the property be expected to take longer than 12 months, either party is allowed to terminate the lease.
There is also a clause that allows the government to keep the sports complex for itself at the termination of the lease, but will be required to provide notice to the city one-year in advance if it wishes to do so.
In the event of a dispute between the city and the Air Force regarding the complex, a mediator can be used to resolve the issue, But, according to section 12.08 of the agreement, the deputy assistant secretary of the Air Force will have the authority to issue a written, final decision for any disputes that may happen.
Mayor Pro-Tem Chuck Allen made the motion to approve the lease agreement's signing, with the caveat that Guthrie continue to work with the Air Force to make the terms more beneficial to the city.
"I think we are where we are, and we can't do a lot, but anything you (Guthrie) can do (to make the lease more favorable to the city) I would like you to keep trying to do," Allen said.