Sadly, there are only a handful of us working to expose the corruption that is taking place in the name of economic development and the local media refuses to tell the true story. For example, on Project Haystack, the planned 2000 acre industrial park to be located at the site of the old Guilford County Prison Farm on the far eastern edge of the county and being pushed by local and state governments right up to North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory himself, Roch Smith jr writes after having read the Timmons Study:
"Those estimations are just not there. Not in the source to which they are attributed. Take a look at the study for yourself. There is nothing that relates to job projections or that estimates investment. The study evaluates available infrastructure; roads, broadband, electricity, etc. It does not make any economic projections and mentions nothing about jobs or private investment."
And yet as Roch so aptly pointed out in his post the local media repeatedly reported thousands of jobs and $Billions of Dollars would come to us if Project Haystack is built.
Might I remind you that when Roch ran for Mayor of Greensboro in 2001 he was also opposed to the $130 Million Dollar FedEx Incentive package that promised 1500 new jobs. Turns out Roch was right as all these years later FedEx still only employs the same number of people (250) locally as it did then. A figure backed up by none other than the Greensboro Economic Development Alliance, aka the economic "gurus".
The City of Greensboro paid $48,000 to the Timmons Group for the Project Haystack Study and got nothing but a bad sales pitch. The City's own Project Haystack Study which was said to cost $53,000 was no better. Go ahead, read either of them for yourself and you'll see there's nothing there to back up their claims. Clarification: "There was one $53,000 contract. It went to Timmons. From it, $48,000 was allocated to the Haystack site evaluation -- the rest for charettes, etc. There was no $53,000 city study."
And it's not just Project Haystack. Third party consultants hired by the City of Greensboro determined that Kaplan and Kern's downtown hotel studies were filled with inaccuracies and yet the City Council Agenda for their next meeting includes a decision for $1.98 million in incentives to be given to hotel builders Randal Kaplan, Greg Dillon and good ol' Uncle Milton Kern. And of course Councilman Zack Matheny is pushing the incentive package full speed ahead. Why is Councilman Matheny bringing the proposal before Council when we know the studies are inaccurate?
Is $3 Million in secret payments to the Koury Corporation economic development too?
In the 2014 State of the City Report the news was almost all bad. Want to know why? One word, corruption. Even the State of The City Report contained few hard facts, mostly opinion and conjecture like:
" The ongoing efforts to build the Tanger Performing Arts Center and related hotel development may well remedy this problem."
A performing arts center no one wants and for which the Community Foundation of Greater Greensboro has never proven they have their part of the funding. Show us the money!
Greensboro is in crisis:
"Recently, the ten county area around us has been designated the second hungriest area in the nation. East Greensboro remains a hopeless food desert. I typically buy my groceries on the edge of that desert rather than consort with those who are doing better at more expensive stores.
I cannot say that I have ever gone without a meal, but I still feel more comfortable around those who rely upon public assistance. I like to think that were Jesus alive, this is where He would be found. I also know there are many in Greensboro who are offended by the sight of the poor. No matter how well off we become, I will always seek out the company of the poor rather than consort with those who are discomforted by them.
I believe that to have seen the legacy of poverty in my family, even if I haven’t experienced it personally, is a blessing in a sense and something that I never want to forget. I never feel at home among the country club set, and yet I am able to empathize with them on some level.
What I have no sympathy for, however, is the popular belief that the poor are responsible for their plight. Sure, there are those whose choices perpetuate their status, just as those with wealth squander their advantages. But what I have witnessed more often are good people broken by lack of opportunities. I’m sure there is an aspect of tribalism which prevents some people, even me, from being more than they could have become, but generally speaking, we all benefit from advantages. The most cruel aspect of this truism is the denial of parental nurturing to children because of dire prospects."
And yet those who control our future hang on to the same failed strategies they've used in the past while pointing their fingers at each other, the pots calling the kettles black.
You see, economic development isn't just about selling real estate, building roads and erecting cookie cutter developments. Economic development is making decisions about people's lives for many generations to come. Regretfully, our current crop of "leaders" and economic development "gurus" can only see the next deal and dream up the lies they have to tell to make it happen. They tell you they want to help East Greensboro but do they tell you the truth that it was deliberate decisions made by people like them who made East Greensboro poor?
"This lively community began to wind down in the late 1950s and 1960s when, under the guise of "urban renewal," thousands of people and more than 80 businesses (many minority-owned) were displaced. Most of those businesses never reestablished.
Decline and disinvestment took a toll on the neighborhood -- and its residents. When the City designated the East Market Street Corridor for revitalization in 1998, it had to win the trust of residents. The City worked to involve as many residents as possible in the planning process to give people a voice and a role in their neighborhood's future. The City authorized the East Market Street Development Corporation (EMSDC) to serve as "lead agent" in implementing improvement ideas in the neighborhood. Before StreetscapeEMSCD, the City's planning team, and the community worked together to create a development plan for East Market Street. The City adopted the East Market Street Redevelopment Plan in June 1998 and earmarked $1 million for improvements in the neighborhood. Since then, the East Market Street Corridor has seen more than $150 million in new private and public investment."
As for winning the trust of residents and that $150 million in new private and public investment? Here's how the City of Greensboro replied to my concerns about those incentives:
"We apologize that your request has taken so long to complete. We have requested several departments to review your request to see if they had any information pertaining to your request. Unfortunately, the City has not measured the economic impact directly attributable to the East Market Street streetscape project."
Could their response have been any more damning. Its as if they really don't care at all as long as the facade remains shiny.
Please, no matter where you live, use whatever you have at your disposal to forward this post to all who will read it no matter where they live. Only by changing one city at a time can we change the world and with your help we can force Greensboro, North Carolina to mend its ways and become a beacon for cities everywhere.
After all, we're not the only city with a corrupt and inept government.
Please continue reading Incentives In Greensboro: Part 21 Faking The Numbers.
