City for Sale: Lowest Bid Accepted

At the last board meeting, there was an attempt to sell the old Lumberton Hospital for $500. Earlier in the meeting, a bid for $93,645.00 to supply sewer lines to the residents of Lower Airport Road was rejected because they wanted another evaluation but the board was ready to give away the hospital and all the land attached for a measly $500. Kind of like renting an entire airport for $350/month. The vote was tied but if confessed shoplifter Jay McGraw was at the meeting, I'm almost certain he would have voted to give away the hospital. It seems that a steal of a deal was averted by the absense of the actual thief. Now the citizens are aware of the underhanded deal, they can get in on the next bidding process but I'm concerned about the integrity of the bidding process. Bids are supposed to be opened in the board room but last night, the bid was opened prior to the meeting. Now it's an uncertainty if anyone other than Mr. John Delk can actually purchase the property since it seems that the deck is stacked in his favor.

Thankfully, the property will have to be advertised again before they can take new bids. I will monitor the papers and let EVERYONE know when and how to bid. This board has been in place for 2 years, its time out for these egregious mistakes. Months ago, the boa4d spot zoned some land for a business proposal but the business owner never came before the board and the board disbanded the planning and zoning committee. According to Mayor Winston, the business owner was going to open his business in the spot where the insurance building used to be and there was a promise of at least eight jobs. Well, nothing was ever opened there and the spot is back on the market at a higher price due to the zoning change. How convient. At the last meeting, a Mr. Charles Cameron was supposed to present a business project for property near the interstate. Unfortunately, he was a no show.

It's time for these elected officials to make decisions like business people instead of trying to help out a buddy. In order for Lumberton to thrive, it needs money. Was nothing learned from the sale of the Movie Star property for $75,000? The owners turned around and sold the property for over a million dollars. From this point forward, anyone proposing a business venture in Lumberton need to come before the board, present a business proposal that includes the type of business they're opening, how many employees they will have, their projected profits, etc. The p.an should also include a clause stipulating that if an x number of employees are not hired from Lumberton and they don't maintain tneir business for x amount of time, they forfeit any money invested and the property reverts back to the City of Lumberton. But these questions would be answered if there was a planning and zoning committee. Makes you wonder why they wanted the planning and zoning committee disbanded. If those elected to represent Lumberton don't think enough of Lumberton to demand the best then it's time to get those that will. Someone told me that as you get older you learn something. I was told that the decisons made by our board members can't be blamed on their age; they're making these decisions because they don't care about the city they're suppose to love. Don't believe me just watch!