Commissioners accept termination of Woodmen agreement

Photo by Linda Whittington

Lenoir County Commissioners accepted the termination of the Woodmen Community Center agreement, Tuesday, in a four to two vote.

County Commissioner J Mac Daughety said the commissioner's unanimously agreed to get out of the original Woodmen agreement.

“Our disagreement was on how to get out of the agreement,” Daughety said.

Daughety and Commissioner Eric Rouse both voted not against getting out, but wanting the county to have a signed agreement in place with NC Parks and Recreation to allow the transfer of the PARTF Grant of $350,000.00 from Lenoir County to City of Kinston as part of the agreement.

“My concerns were to not sign until an agreement was put in writing about the PARTF grant before we gave up all our rights in the withdrawal agreement,” Daughety said. “I hope this doesn't come back to bite us in the end to the tune of $350,000.”

Daughety said another reason he voted no was due to not being reimbursed or refunded the $5,000 the county gave for the initial startup or the PARTF Grant of $350,000.00. Daughety wants to make sure that there is no recourse on the taxpayers.

“When you have a deal this large you want to make sure you get it right,” Daughety said.

Overall commissioners say they are happy the county is out of the agreement and out of the middle.

“It’s good to get out and let them (the city) work things out,” Daughety said.”I think they can make it sustainable and it's a wonderful facility.”

Monday evening, the Kinston City Council approved the donation of the Woodmen of the World facility. The council approved the donation after a four to one vote in favor. Mayor Pro Tem Felicia Solomon voted no to the offer of the donation.