Ag center named for Maxwell family
By Steve Herring
Published in News on February 19, 2016 1:46 PM
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News-Argus/CASEY MOZINGO
John Pike, representing the Maxwell family of Goldsboro Milling, addresses the Wayne County commissioners this morning.
The Maxwell family's Goldsboro Milling Co. has made a $750,000 donation toward what will be known as the Maxwell Regional Agricultural and Convention Center.
The donation was announced during Friday continuation of the Wayne County Board of Commissioners' meeting.
Speaking on behalf of the Maxwell family, John Pike thanked commissioners and the Goldsboro City Council for coming together to make the center project a reality.
"We are honored, but we are very excited at the same time," Pike said. "I think there are some great opportunities, not just to honor folks but to bring people together. I think there are going to be some aspects of this project that will come out later in the realm of maybe agriculture education that we are very excited about.
"The other thing that we are so excited about is that 2016 is a special year for Goldsboro Milling Co. It marks our 100th year anniversary. That is something to be excited about. Again, the main message this morning is to thank all of you all and the city for coming together and make this thing happen and letting us be a part of it, and we are very grateful for that."
Board members thanked the family for the donation.
Commissioner John Bell also noted that former commissioner Andy Anderson, who was in the audience, had worked on the project for a number of years.
In a prepared statement the family said, "We are pleased to be a part of it, and we feel it will be a great asset to our area. We are taking the opportunity with this donation to say thank you to all the area farming families that we have partnered with in poultry, animal and grain production since Goldsboro Milling began 100 years ago in 1916.
"The achievements that our companies have reached through the years is certainly due, in great measure, to the relationships we have with our network of growers and employees, whom we consider to be the finest in the county. It is our hope that this facility will help ensure the continued success of agriculture in this community for another 100 years and beyond."
The donation helps ensure that the project that has been talked about for more than 20 years "will happen," said commission Chairman Bill Pate, who is also chairman of the board's Agricultural Advisory Committee.
A groundbreaking could be held in early June on what is expected to be a $16 million facility on a 12-acre site on North Wayne Memorial Drive just north of Wayne Community College.
"It will still probably be December 2017 before this thing will be open," Pate said. "This is a large facility and it will take about a year and a half to build it."
Negotiations with the Maxwell family have been ongoing for several months, he said.
"I think that it (donation) will accelerate some of the funding that will come in," Pate said. "There are several groups working with the farming community out there now. I think everybody is ready to participate.
"The agri-business and farming communities are solidly behind this. It (center) is not going to possibly happen. It is going to happen."
Pate said he is always looking for state and federal money but that he didn't "have any fingers" on that yet.
Goldsboro is providing the land as part of an agreement with the county. An adjoining city-owned 6 acres remains as the site for a possible hotel and restaurant.
The proposed center will house the Cooperative Extension Service, Farm Service Agency, Natural Resources Conservation Service and Wayne County Soil and Water and have classrooms and a large lobby.
As part of the contract signed Friday, the facility will be named Maxwell Regional Agricultural and Convention Center in perpetuity.
The name applies not only to the convention center but to the entire project including any parks or farmers' markets included as part of the project.
It also calls for naming of other areas within the project "not to dilute" the significance of the Maxwell Regional Agricultural and Convention Center name.
The county will be required to give Goldsboro Milling seven days prior notice before entering into any other naming agreement. The company will be able to comment on any agreements during those seven days.
Goldsboro Milling will be able to enter naming rights agreements for other areas as well.
The design contract for the center has been awarded to HH Architecture of Raleigh -- the company that designed the initial 35 percent of the center plans.
Earlier this month commissioners awarded T.A. Loving Co. of Goldsboro the contract as construction manager at risk for the project.
A construction manager at risk provides construction management services and guarantees construction costs. The company also provides services that may include preparation and coordination of bid packages, scheduling, value engineering, evaluation, pre-construction services and construction administration.
The company also works closely with the architect.
It is expected to take 22 weeks to complete the design, six weeks for review and 70 weeks for construction.
The center's assembly hall is designed to accommodate 840 people when set up banquet style and 1,554 for assembly seating.
It also can be broken into four rooms of different sizes to accommodate crowds of 190, 210, 380 and 494 respectively.
The county has set aside $4 million for the project. It also has applied for USDA loans/grants totaling $2.6 million.
The 10-year, zero-interest loans account for $2 million of the total. The county also plans to seek federal funding as well.
Another funding source will be the revenues from the countywide 1 percent hotel occupancy tax commissioners approved last October. The tax was effective Dec. 1.
Convergent Nonprofit Solutions is conducting a fundraising campaign for the project. The county also plans to seek state and federal funding.