Randolph County Megasite Con Update

"Randolph County to add more land to megasite to attract auto manufacturer

Randolph County is taking steps to buy a second batch of properties in the proposed Greensboro-Randolph Megasite that regional leaders hope will attract an automobile manufacturer.

As Mike Barber is a direct beneficiary of Bryan Foundation money

via First Tee of the Triad,

through which he pads his income along with Greensboro taxpayer support 

Mike Barber had a conflict of interest

and should not have voted on Jim Melvin's Megasite project.

...The county commissioners will hold a public hearing on June 1 to consider their second purchase, which will likely be similar to the earlier deal, according to Darrell Frye, board chairman.

No mention by the News and Record

of a certified ready to go site about 10 miles away 

from the Randolph site

that would cost Greensboro taxpayers nothing.

...The county is working with the nonprofit Greensboro-Randolph Megasite Foundation, which owns or has options to purchase more than 1,300 acres in what officials hope will be part of an 1,800-acre site.

Greensboro City Manager Jim Westmoreland

colluding with Sam Simpson and Bonnie Renfro

on Nancy Vaughan's Megasite talking points

Randolph County has agreed to spend up to $10 million to buy a portion of the site to show it is serious about owning a stake in the project, Frye said.

...The project’s scope has always been planned for multiple owners, not just Randolph.

Who are the potential multiple owners?

Public utilities and other groups will likely buy portions of the site.

What other "groups"?

If the Randolph commissioners approve a purchase on June 1, they would probably have 90 days or more to raise the money and complete the transactions as they did for the most recent purchase, Frye explained.

Richard M. Barron

Why would John Hammer write "Mayor Nancy Vaughan had said 

that Melvin didn’t have any personal investment in the area

that it was all Bryan Foundation money.",

if the News & Record's Richard Barron

reported the opposite?

Melvin said funding, for now, 
is coming by way of the Bryan Foundation and private monies.

Richard Barron

What does "private monies" mean?

Jim Melvin led a Piedmont Triad Partnership committee, 

who's former CEO is under investigation 

for financial irregularities

which previously managed efforts to secure land for the site

and was working to raise funds for additional land acquisitions.

Said former PTP CEO

was going to go into the development business with Sam Simpson

the broker for the Randolph properties

and perhaps properties along the route 

the water and sewer will take down through Guilford County.

"May 1, 2015; Commissioners to hear megasite updates

Randolph County commissioners will get an update on land purchases for the proposed industrial megasite near Liberty during Monday’s regular meeting.

The board has also been asked to appoint a member to the newly formed Greensboro-Randolph Megasite Foundation board.

"Sam" Simpson Commercial

1401 Sunset Drive, Suite B Greensboro, NC 27408

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Mayor - Nancy Vaughan

902 Sunset Dr., Greensboro, NC 27408

...The request was made by Jim Melvin, Bryan Foundation president, the organization that has helped to fund the proposed industrial megasite project from Greensboro.

Is Robert E. Long, Jr. involved,

as he owns Greensboro's Granville Capital, Inc.,

and serves on the national First Tee Board of Directors

along with the Wyndam's Mark Brazil,

who may also be involved

in angling to get $22.5 million from the City of Greensboro

for water and sewer down 421, which they can profit from 

which Mike Barber, who's in Jim Melvin's pocket

already voted for an RFP for?

The foundation was formed Feb. 11.

The board will consist of five members — three appointed by the Bryan Foundation, one appointed by the Greensboro City Council and one appointed by the Randolph County commissioners.

Who would be stupid or corrupted enough

to give Jim Melvin's Bryan Foundation 

a majority of the votes on a board set up by Melvin 

to take from Greensboro and Randolph County taxpayers?

The foundation’s purpose is to continue assembling a tract of land in Randolph County, through the acquisition of properties by entering into options and contracts to purchase properties, to attract advanced manufacturers to a megasite of 1,300 acres or more.

Compare Sam Simpson 

and Zack Matheny's current exploits 

to; 12/31/13; "Robbie Perkin's 9,000 acres, 

Project Haystack, "Incentives" and the Rhino Times"

According to the foundation bylaws, the foundation will also promote the construction of water-sewer lines to the project; seek funding from a variety of sources to buy land; and develop the property and market it.

No mention of Triad First Capital.

Piedmont's Triad Partnership's Triad First Capital 

has disappeared; Jim Melvin, Sam Simpson, David Powell etc...

...The Bryan Foundation bylaws allow it to only provide funding to nonprofit organizations. The creation of the megasite foundation will allow the Bryan Foundation to continue providing land acquisition funding for this project.

It appears that the mayor of Greensboro

misled Greensboro's City Council

as to who was funding the land purchases

before the vote on utilities for the site.

It appears that Greensboro's City Council 

was not in possession of who's "private monies" 

are involved in the Randolph project before the vote.

The creation of the foundation does not impact properties purchased by Randolph County, according to officials. The 12 parcels consisting of approximately 255.13 acres will remain owned by and under the control of Randolph County.

During Monday’s meeting, County Attorney Ben Morgan is also expected to give an update on the megasite land purchases.

http://courier-tribune.com/news/local/commissioners-hear-megasite-updates#sthash.u5d7y1LV.dpuf

Randolph County now owns 255.13 of about 1,350 acres

with more that needs purchased.

Sam Simpson made bank last time.

If 255 acres is worth about $4.2 million, 

there are another 1,095 acres PTP controls.

255 is about 19% of 1,350.

If the 255 acres was about $4.2 million,

each acre went for about $16,471 a piece.

1,095 x $16,471 = $18,035,745 more

for what the PTP currently controls

and more for what isn't under contract.

Commissioners schedule three public hearings

The hearings will be held on Monday, June 1.

...discussion of the purchase of additional property for the megasite public hearing is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.

http://courier-tribune.com/news/local/commissioners-schedule-three-public-hearings#sthash.lBCqfkiE.dpuf
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Ex-PTP CEO David Powell 
cooperating with economic group on financial questions
without any investigation by Randolph County executives
or elected officials

Comments have been disabled.


http://www.news-record.com/business/ex-ceo-cooperating-with-economic-group-on-financial-questions/article_5c4279c2-e473-11e4-9e2d-0fe7c9b10bce.html
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Who would be stupid enough to spend $22.5 million to get water and sewer to a Megasite, about 10 miles away from another that already has it?

http://greensboroperformingarts.blogspot.com/2015/02/who-would-be-stupid-enough-to-spend-225.html

WTF Jim Melvin, Jon Bell, Mark Brazil, Kevin Carter, Pat Danahey, Don Flow, Kelly King, Nido Qubein, Tim Rice, Kelly Stanhope and Robert Long?

http://greensboroperformingarts.blogspot.com/2015/01/wtf-jim-melvin.html

"Melvin said [Megasite] funding, for now, is coming by way of the Bryan Foundation and private monies."

http://greensboroperformingarts.blogspot.com/2015/03/melvin-said-megasite-funding-for-now-is.html

Conflict of Interest Watch; "Next stage of megasite effort will be 'a different conversation'

http://greensboroperformingarts.blogspot.com/2015/03/conflict-of-interest-watch-next-stage.html

Zack Matheny and Mike Barber need to recuse themselves from the Megasite Water and Sewer vote

http://greensboroperformingarts.blogspot.com/2015/03/zack-matheny-and-mike-barber-need-to.html

Inappropriate Lobbying; "Making Connections Around The Table with Ed Kitchen & Jim Westmoreland"

http://greensboroperformingarts.blogspot.com/2015/04/inappropriate-lobbying-making.html

Minutes from the "Public Hearing and Consideration of Purchase of Real Estate in Conjunction with the proposed Greensboro-Liberty Mega Site"

http://greensboroperformingarts.blogspot.com/2015/03/minutes-from-public-hearing-and.html

Randolph County As A Developer

http://greensboroperformingarts.blogspot.com/2015/04/randolph-county-as-developer.html

How To Stop The Greensboro-Randolph Megasite Dead In Its Tracks And Stop Greensboro's Annexation of the 421 Corridor

http://greensboroperformingarts.blogspot.com/2015/04/how-to-stop-greensboro-randolph.html

Alan Ferguson On Last Night's Greensboro City Council Meeting

http://greensboroperformingarts.blogspot.com/2015/03/alan-ferguson-on-last-nights-greensboro.html

Greensboro "Found" $2.2 Million To Give To Rich Developers

http://greensboroperformingarts.blogspot.com/2015/02/greensboro-found-22-million-to-give-to.html

Randolph County Approves Greensboro-Randolph Megasite

http://greensboroperformingarts.blogspot.com/2015/02/randolph-county-approves-greensboro.html

Fair Is Fair

I realize the City of Greensboro has budget needs but with the City preparing to spend $60 Million Dollars on a downtown performing arts center it seems odd that the City would feel the need to charge "convenience fees" when in fact the cost of electronic transactions are lower. Or double billing for water deposits.

Speaking of GPAC, still no word from Walker Sanders on if the Community Foundation has actually raised those matching funds but that's okay as he won't be able to keep that scam up very much longer.

Did you know that up until this week the City of Greensboro did not have the right to look into the books of groups like Action Greensboro even though Action Greensboro and the rest of the Greensboro Partnership non profits have received $Millions in City funding. You can thank your's truly and Real Progress for Greensboro for bringing the Sanders-Lomax Scandal to the attention of the City of Greensboro and saving you $Millions in years to come. What will become of the $Millions that have already been embezzled is anyone's guess. And why hasn't Dabney Sanders released those meeting minutes? You reckon it requires a month or so to manufacture meeting minutes?

Methinks we need to push for an end to all public funding for the Greensboro Partnership and all its members. And why is the City subsidizing multiple foundations worth over $100 Million each.

So far the Food Truck Program that was fought by Downtown Greensboro Incorporated (another Greensboro Partnership member company) has been an overwhelming success and no downtown restaurants have gone out of business. I know people who have traveled from the burbs to downtown for lunch every day since the trial began. Word is, it has attracted more people to downtown. Imagine that?

Anyway, those are my thoughts on this weeks letter from the City Manager. Time to feed the chickens. And coffee, I need coffee!

PS. Please, click here to show your support! Thank you!

Billy Wins Again, Greensboro Wins Again!

The Rhino doesn't know the back story and odds are the City Manager and City Council will never admit it but in Alex Jakubsen's, City Is Reverse Robin Hood you will find the most recent results of my efforts through e-mails and direct conversations with City Government. Don't be surprised if the Walker-Lomax Scandal pops back up as well as Dabney Sanders still hasn't responded to Roch's request for Action Greensboro meeting minutes.

It was Billy's angry e-mails that made City Manager Denise Turner Roth aware of the audit problems and my discussion with Councilmember Nancy Vaughan that turned on the light concerning pass-through companies like the example cited in the Rhino:

"A prime example of this is the path money takes from the City of Greensboro to maintain Center City Park. Center City Park is managed by Action Greensboro but maintained by Downtown Greensboro Inc. (DGI). However, the $350,000 the city gives annually for the maintenance of Center City Park is given to Center City Park, LLC, of which Action Greensboro is the sole member.

Of that money $150,000 is appropriated from the Downtown Business Improvement District tax fund, which is administrated by DGI. DGI also maintains Center City Park for Action Greensboro. The $150,000 is allocated for "extraordinary expenses," like repair of the fountains. But it is yearly funding, and any funds left over from such expenses each year are used for normal park expenses.

Councilmember Trudy Wade pointed out that most of Center City Park is owned by the Joseph M. Bryan Foundation. When that claim was disputed by several councilmembers, Wade pointed out that the Bryan Foundation lists Center City Park as an asset on its federal income tax returns.

While Center City Park is managed by Action Greensboro, it is owned by Greensboro Renaissance LLC and CFREMR Real Estate Holding I LLC. Greensboro Renaissance is wholly owned by the Bryan Foundation, and CFREMR Real Estate Holding I is wholly owned by the Community Foundation of Greater Greensboro.

The Bryan Foundation has about $100 million in assets, and the Community Foundation of Greater Greensboro has $110 million in assets. So taxpayers of Greensboro are paying to maintain the property of two foundations whose combined wealth is over $200 million."

No, I'm not running for office, I'm fighting for the city where I was born and raised, a city that has been robbed of vast fortunes by a few puppet masters at the top who lack real vision and think only of fattening their own wallets. It's the work of private citizens, members of Real Progress For Greensboro, a citizens group open to every Greensboro resident with no fees, that is and will return Greensboro to the hands of the working class and away from those who would build monuments to themselves at our expense. Join us for our first public meeting, The Gathering of the Trolls on October 29th where the Mayor, City Council and Media will be in attendance and we unveil a real Greensboro Economic Development Plan that will help the poor, stimulate the economy and save the taxpayers money.

Crime, A Growing Concern For The Downtown Greenway

As if the recent Action Greensboro, Community Foundation Walker-Lomax Scandal wasn't enough of a concern for Greensboro's ongoing Downtown Greenway project, Allen Johnson and Doug Clark, Editors of the Greensboro News & Record have been going out of their way of late to warn us of the dangers faced by downtown trail users just an hour away in Durham, North Carolina.

And as if to add insult to injury, the Greensboro Police Department now reports that downtown Greensboro has the highest rates of criminal homicide, forcible rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny and auto theft in the entire city.

It would appear that our "leaders" inability to see beyond the tall buildings has once again impaired their judgement. That, or all those late night parties with Uncle Milton. I tried to tell you that shit he peddles is bad for you but nobody listens to Billy 'till everything goes to pot then you want me to clean up the mess. Well screw that!

Prior to 2007, downtown was one of Greensboro's safer neighborhoods. Then neighborhoods like my own, tired of 30 plus years of living in frontier justice, decided to rise up and demand Greensboro make our neighborhood safe. I'm happy to say that according to that very same GPD map I linked to above my northeast Greensboro neighborhood is now on par with New Irving Park. I'm also happy to say that I played a roll in making that happen.

Now, what to do? Will GPD resort to moving officers from neighborhoods like mine to patrol the Downtown Greenway? Not if they don't want a bloody citizens uprising on their hands, they won't. Actually having cops around for the last 5 years has been very comforting and not having had to shoot at anything other than paper for 5 years has taken a load of stress off of myself and others but if you think for one moment that northeast Greensboro or any of the other once deserving but deprived neighborhood will stand for such things so that Greensboro's elites can have their playthings... Are you really that dumb?

Forget building performing arts centers for $60 Million, if it were me in charge I'd be hiring, training and equipping cops ASAP!

Then there's the actual patrolling of the greenway. Police cars won't fit on greenways. Bicycles fit but bicycles can be slow in an emergency. Motorcycles fit but Greensboro has very few motorcycles and as one who has ridden motorcycles for 40 years I can tell you the types of motorcycles currently used by GPD, while great for their intended use, are ill equipped for use on walking trails. Are the foundations and non profits going to buy motorcycles with some of that taxpayer money given to them by the City of Greensboro to build the Downtown $6 Million Per Mile Trail?

Short sighted buffoons.

The Real Story Behind Love Greensboro?

I read about Love Greensboro in the News & Record this morning and minutes after commenting there I get an e-mail:

"Billy, I was going to e-mail you about this the other day. A friend of mine started a "Buy Local Love Greensboro" (www.facebook.com/BuyLocalLoveGreensboro)campaign like 8 months ago. Just a woman who loves the community and is trying to do something positive. She is not a business owner. She has paid for posters and everything out of her own pocket.

So anyway, here's the scoop as I've heard from 2 different people.

Lee Comer started this because she had it out with Triad Local First. IMO, that group is a joke. I went to some of their meetings. The leaders are just plain rude unless you are a friend of theirs. They hired an Executive Director within the past 6 months. She left recently; she didn't like the way the Board wanted things done. Basically running a non-profit as a for-profit enterprise. At least to my knowledge, TLF doesn't ask for hand-outs; the business owner members support the group through their annual membership fee (starts at $150 I believe).

Okay, on to my friend and the "BLLG" Facebook page. Lee was begging her to take down her page at the meeting last week. She believes that they will not get additional funding if "BLLG" keeps active.

My friend said that Bryan & Weaver (the funding organizations) are forcing Lee to make up with Triad Local First "in the name of funding." WTF???

My friend said they "stole" this idea from Asheville, which runs their program with all volunteers and no funding for the Love Asheville campaign. Not sure how true that is, but I know my friend met with or spoke to some people in Asheville.

Perhaps Lee started "Love Greensboro" to pay for the renovations/expansion of the Iron Hen???? I'm sorry, but when a business owner starts an initiative like this, there has to be something in it for them. In this case, money and publicity for her business. As a catering business, I'm sure she'll benefit from the publicity, provide the catering for organization functions, etc."

Anything to it? Are Greensboro foundations paying for "grassroots" efforts that Asheville gets for free? Did my predictions come true again?

Put Up Or Shut Up

With the news today that a ticket tax is not going to be considered by the State Assembly before next year at the earliest and GPAC2012's recognition that Greensboro tax payers are not going to support a bond referendum and that city leaders are scared to institute COPs (Certificates of Participation) it is now apparent that no matter where the PAC is to be built, Mayor "Marionette" Perkins and his happy band of downtown developers are going to have to look elsewhere for money to fill their building addictions. So what are their options?

They could start robbing banks or mugging little old ladies but I doubt they have the stomach for doing time in anything less than luxury prisons so I suspect we can rule that one out.

Bake sales? Hey, it worked for Martin Eakes when he built the Self-Help Credit Union... Yeah, I doubt Robbie knows how to bake too.

You reckon Robbie Perkins and Roy Carroll have $70 Million Dollars between them? What if we throw in Skip Alston and Milton Kern? Ross Harris? Nah, me neither.

How about... No, probably not.

So how do we go about paying for a Greensboro Performing Arts Center? Why not the good old fashion American way?

In the City of Detroit there are 49 performing arts centers. Most were built not by taxpayers but by non profit foundations itching to put their names on public buildings.

In Cleveland, Ohio there are at least 10 performing arts centers, many of them built by non profit foundations.

Los Angeles, California has at least 10 PACs and several of those were built by non profit foundations.

Even the John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Arlington, Virginia was built by non profits. As a matter of fact: one of the non profit foundations that pitched in to build support the Kennedy Center was (drum-roll please) The Community Foundation of Greater Greensboro. That's right, according to Federal Tax returns CCFG donated to a performing arts center in another city in another state.

So to GPAC2012, the Community Foundation of Greater Greensboro, the Bryan Foundation and the other local non profits who want to build a Greensboro Performing Arts Center, I say build it the good old fashioned American way and pay for it with your foundation dollars just like non profit foundations all across America have built performing arts centers for over a century.

You see, unlike here in Greensboro where non profit managers look for ways to spend the public trust, in real world class cities, the non profit foundations spend to build the public trust.

Update: It has been pointed out to me that the Kennedy Center is located in Washington, DC and not in Arlington, Virginia but Federal Tax Filings for CCFG indicate donations to the John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Arlington, Virginia. Perhaps the Kennedy Center maintains an office in Arlington?

Continue to article #110 Spag To The Rescue.