Greensboro’s City Council met for its second May meeting on Tuesday, the night of the 28th. The council voted unanimously to approve payment of $13,612.00 in bi-monthly bills.
The council heard a sixmonth financial report. Thus far, the city has collected $613,528.00 in revenue up and over its expenses, said City Clerk Lorrie Cook, placing the city in a good financial position for the time being.
“Everything is on target,” she said.
The council voted to spend $18,000 per vehicle to purchase police cars from the City of Hoover.
Police Chief Willie Lewis said Hoover had picked out its four best surplus cars for the city, but was still waiting on one of the four to be turned in and retired from duty. The city voted to purchase the three that were available that night.
Lewis said the cars would come fully equipped, and would only need to have the City of Greensboro’s police striping applied before being brought into service.
The council gave its preliminary approval to an ordinance granting right-of-way to Yellowhammer Networks, LLC, which is building out broadband infrastructure in the west central Alabama region. Mayor J.B. Washington said he had spoken with leaders in Selma, and that they had had a good experience with the business. He said the city’s attorney had reviewed the proposed ordinance and made some changes, and that it was ready to be reviewed by the council.
Cook said the council could pass the ordinance at its next meeting if the members approved.
Councilmembers voted to place the ordinance on the next meeting’s agenda.
Pride Forney, who was representing the nonprofit HERO., was on the agenda to speak about the organization’s plans for its real estate. HERO had acquired over a dozen Greensboro commercial and residential properties over the years before financial difficulties have led the board to attempt to exit its real estate holdings.
Forney showed the council a video about HERO’s efforts to sell some of its Main Street properties which are in the greatest need of repair. The old Western Auto building, which most recently housed Stonefruit Woodworks, is in the worst shape, said Forney. “We might lose it before we can sell it,” she said.
She said the owners of the neighboring property had planned to spend over $300,000.00 on its conservation and renovation, but that water is coming onto their building due to the decaying back wall of the other one. “Clyde Fields came and made an estimate of $120,000.00 to do a new room and repair the whole back on that building,” she said. She said there are also three houses in the Yerby Branch neighborhood that HERO cannot rent in their current state because of damage and other potential hazards.
Forney said that HERO would have the money to make those repairs if it could sell several other buildings it owns on Market Street and North Street. Puddle Jumpers Daycare, she said, had expressed interest in buying their building and expanding. She said Project Horseshoe Farm was interested in purchasing the rest of the HERO property in that area.
There is disagreement over who owns that property, which the council has discussed in previous meetings. The property, which includes several buildings, was conveyed to HERO with the understanding that they would use it in the public interest, and the agreement contained language wherein under certain circumstances ownership of the property cold revert to the city.
Forney said the council could grant HERO permission to sell the buildings.
“Literally all we need is the okay and we’re ready to go. We’ve got people ready to buy them, we’ve got people ready to work on them,” she said.
Cook said the ownership issued had not yet been settled.
“What is there to settle?” Forney asked. Forney said there was a grant through ADECA through the Community Development Block Grant program to build the building that became Puddle Jumpers and to restore what is now known as the Bunkhouse in 1997. “That was not deeded to y’all.”
“The deed was in the city’s name,” said Cook.
“And y’all deeded it in 2014,” said Forney.
Forney said it took her nine months to gain a meeting with Alabama Dept. of Economic and Community Affairs director Kenneth Boswell, and that he told her HERO had been released from that agreement and had owned the building outright since 2008.
“HUD holds it for five years after completion. We’re completely out of it. We’re done,” she said. She addressed what she said was the misconception that the deed’s reversionary clause might have been triggered: “HERO has never closed down. They’ve never closed. They’ve not had an executive director since [the previous director] left. They are trying to pay their debt, trying to get these buildings cleared. It was deeded to us as grantees and the grantor is the city.”
“What I’m asking is, what is there to determine about ownership?”
“I think in the email [the city attorney] was pretty clear,” said Cook.
“We are not questioning ownership. We’re clear that the city of Greensboro holds the key to give permission to HERO,” said Forney.
“So, if the council wants to make an informed decision, you need to meet with your attorney,” said Cook.
“Can the public know of that [meeting]?” said Forney.
“Not if it deals with a transfer of property,” said Cook.
“We really don’t understand why they’re being prevented from moving forward with this,” said Forney.
“What you’re saying is we shouldn’t make a decision tonight until we’ve talked to our attorney,” said Councilmember Lewis.
“Why isn’t she here?” asked Forney.
Cook said the attorney had not planned to be at that meeting, and that she did not know Forney would be on the agenda until the Friday before the meeting, and so there had not been time to arrange for that.
“We’ll set a workshop and if [the city attorney] can make that date, we’ll have it. If not, then we’ll set another date,” said Washington.
