SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2010
Requium for SouthPass?
It has been six long years since the City ignored the City Plan 2025 and was snookered into an another deal with developers on which the the citizens look like suckers, some of the same developers who were gifted with a $3.7 million TIF deal for a luxury hotel that morphed into a barren parking lot and who would be major campaign contributors to Dan Coody's reelection campaign. With only a City Council resolution authorizing him to negotiate, on September 7, 2004, former Mayor Dan Coody immediately signed a contract with SouthPass Development that had already been prepared and signed by John Nock. When the Council balked in November 2008, City Attorney Kit Williams told them that they had no choice but to approve the development and everything that Coody had promised. Subsequently, Coody waived some of the requirements for the developers, and the City went ahead to build infrastructure that was supposed to be a cost-share project with the developers.
All of the Planned Zoning District and permits for SouthPass were to expire on November 6, 2009, if the Phase One construction was not met. It wasn't. Neither did the developers deliver the required deeds for a 200-acre regional park and 10-acres with water tanks nor the $1 million for park development as required by the contract. All the City has gotten out of this deal has been a toxic landfill, hundreds of thousands of expense for new infrastructure, untold hours of staff time, and a well deserved repution for being a fool.
Thanks to documents released in response to a recent FOIA request, we now know even more. Two days before the permits expired, the developers requested a one-year extension until November 6, 2010. In response to the letter, the City asked for specific reasons for extending the PZD phasing deadlines and subsequent information regarding the timing of the release of the deeds required of the PZD conditions of approval. Since that time, the City has, on numerous occasions, deferred to the developers, property owners, bank representatives and/or attorneys representing the bank to allow additional time in order to negotiate the release of the deeds. It has become increasingly apparent that the lines of communication between the City and the development/ownership group have not been productive, as the City established four deadline commitments that have been extended or missed since these discussions began in November, 10 months ago.
On August 19, 2010, City Planning Director Jeremy Pate told the developers “that unless the deeds are delivered to the City of Fayetteville unencumbered, free and clear of any lien or mortgage and acceptable to the City of Fayetteville before Friday, August 27, at 12:00 pm local Fayetteville time, the request to extend the PZD approval for one year will be denied, to be effective on the same date and time.” That date has come and gone.
City Attorney Kit Williams got involved with a series of memos between John Nock and himself. It appears that the City is sitting on two sets of deeds -- one from the SouthPass developers and one from Chambers Bank pending a deed from SouthPass in lieu of foreclosure. Williams extended the deadline yet again until September 9, because he says Nock says he is trying to get other financing to save his project and cough up the additional $1 million required by the contract. If that doesn't happen, Williams says he will file the deeds from Chambers Bank, but the agreement between Williams and J. R. Meeks of Chambers Bank specifically exempting the bank from "assuming any obligations of SouthPass under any previous agreements and between the City and SouthPass." That is, the City should not count on the promised cost-share expenses and the $1 million it was supposed to get under the contract with SouthPass.
Maybe this will all be over next week, or maybe Williams will cut a new deal granting yet another extension to keep this albatross hanging around our necks for another six years. I think, as Kenny Rogers told me, you need to know when to fold'em and when to walk away. Let's cut our losses and be done with this whole mess.
On August 19, 2010, City Planning Director Jeremy Pate told the developers “that unless the deeds are delivered to the City of Fayetteville unencumbered, free and clear of any lien or mortgage and acceptable to the City of Fayetteville before Friday, August 27, at 12:00 pm local Fayetteville time, the request to extend the PZD approval for one year will be denied, to be effective on the same date and time.” That date has come and gone.
City Attorney Kit Williams got involved with a series of memos between John Nock and himself. It appears that the City is sitting on two sets of deeds -- one from the SouthPass developers and one from Chambers Bank pending a deed from SouthPass in lieu of foreclosure. Williams extended the deadline yet again until September 9, because he says Nock says he is trying to get other financing to save his project and cough up the additional $1 million required by the contract. If that doesn't happen, Williams says he will file the deeds from Chambers Bank, but the agreement between Williams and J. R. Meeks of Chambers Bank specifically exempting the bank from "assuming any obligations of SouthPass under any previous agreements and between the City and SouthPass." That is, the City should not count on the promised cost-share expenses and the $1 million it was supposed to get under the contract with SouthPass.
Maybe this will all be over next week, or maybe Williams will cut a new deal granting yet another extension to keep this albatross hanging around our necks for another six years. I think, as Kenny Rogers told me, you need to know when to fold'em and when to walk away. Let's cut our losses and be done with this whole mess.
It's time to cut another Coody albatross loose and continue to try to extricate the city from his shady deals and questionable "agreements".
Will we ever stop seeing this stuff crawling out from underneath rocks?
Hope springs eternal....
Just my opinion. To which their own everyone has the right.
When you check the Sec of State website Southpuss is not in good standing, so WHY Kit????
Coody keeps cropping up. Why do they get to keep the parking lot? We paid for it.
Assholes.
“It should have happened two years ago," Coody said Friday. Coody remains optimistic that the entire project his administration helped guide will become a reality. “If we get the 200 acres that we want, and the $1 million, and the 10-acre water tank site, that’s pretty much the icing and the cake,” Coody said. “We’ll be made whole if we get those three things.”
If Lioneld gets less than that, then the failure is on his shoulders.
Why is Williams being allowed to run UNopposed this term? He's the biggest loser to grace your city hall in my lifetime. Just about any 3rd year law student would have better sense than to be had by these 3 time losers.
Coody? Few folks are searching for the pay-off funds.
Were there any justice remaining in Fayetteville, home of the law school, a grand jury should be all over this one like a bee on clover.
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The Coody era of city government is a blur of hypnosis and fantasy that brought many gullible people to their knees.
Thanks to the few who spoke out against many of the boondogles of that period. Having been right isn't any real consolation to them. They will always grieve because they weren't listened to by the people in power.
So few really seem to care about our city.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0061747/
08-19-10 Southpass PZD Final Expiration Letter.pdf
Southpass_docs_08-27-2010.PDF
Nevertheless, we have our own local--usually un-named when the rubber hits the road--version of sovereign wealth.
I am afraid that some big people (connected with UA) are bound & determined to fund this thing into some version of their reality. And we'll be there, driving our kids to soccer practice, going to concerts, and eating at the HogRock Cafe, etc. [Not so sure about Connie's picture about folks buying er, workforce housing out there].
And so it goes.
We know that many of the major unelected forces behind the scenes are going though some serious rearrangements due to economic problems (developers, bankers, real estate players). Some have proven their incompetence and are out of the picture (we hope). The performance of others has cast serious doubts about their competence and yet they continue to receive special treatment that includes more taxpayer-funded incentives and pure give-aways.
Southpass begins to take on the qualities of a bailout.
"Coodyville, you know, right next to Bubbletown?"
Joking aside and close to being predictive, didn't Coody have grandiose plans for a HUGE bubble over downtown Fayetteville complete with a mini transportation scheme for inside the bubble?
Shirley, one of you HawgFans can remember and hopefully link it.
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In other news: Swear I didn't see this in the paper paper. But from nwaonline.com here 'tis:
[the beast goes on]
FAYETTEVILLE — Developers John Nock and Richard Alexander must pay CDI Contractors $409,344.
Washington County Circuit Court Judge Mary Ann Gunn made the final judgment in favor of the Little Rock-based contractor Tuesday. Also named in the lawsuit are East Square Development and East Square Development Co.
The suit went through arbitration in 2009 and the arbitrator awarded CDI $379,345. The court added $30,000 to the final judgment for prejudgment interest, with an annual 6 percent interest rate until the total is paid.
CDI was under contract to build the Renaissance Tower hotel at College Avenue and Mountain Street in Fayetteville. The hotel was never built and the company filed the lawsuit in May 2009 for breach of contract.
Tuesday’s filing states “nothing concerning the pending litigation will negate the finality of the award.”
The City has agreed to hold these signed deeds and not file them prior to
September9 , 2010. If SouthPassL LC obtainss ufficient funding to pay down
Chambers'B ank debt on the SouthPasps roperty,w e will file the two SouthPass
Deeds and Chambers Bank partial Mortgage Release (conveying those parcels) on
or by September9 ,2010. If SouthPasLs LC cannotc ome up with the financing,
Chambers Bank will file the Deed in Lieu of Foreclosure on the morning of
September 10, and I will immediately thereafter file the Warranty Deed from
Chambers Bank.
Today is Sept 9. Any news from City Hall or Chambers?
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Coody's done, put a fork in him.
Nocketal are done, ditto.
Massey's done, ditto.
all these assholes are done.
Good riddance.
The deadline has been, er, extended, but money like Manna will miraculously appear and milk and honey will yet appear on the pastures of Southpit, along with the usual "seepage of unknown quantities of unknown substances." (the latter is a quote from ARDEQ per 2003 response to FOI request).