Kinston City Council tables Down East Wood Ducks' proposal for new scoreboard
The current 12-year-old scoreboard at Historic Grainger Stadium crashed during the Down East Wood Ducks’ final home playoff game against Fayetteville in September. Submitted photo
The Kinston City Council benched the Down East Wood Ducks' request for a new state-of-the-art scoreboard at Historic Grainger Stadium on Monday evening.
By a 3-1 vote, the Council agreed to table the proposal for its Jan. 20, 2020 meeting.
Funding and availability/cost of replacement parts caused an hour-long discussion.
The 12-year-old scoreboard crashed during the Wood Ducks' home playoff game against Fayetteville in September. City Manager Tony Sears met with Daktronics on site to review the bid and installation of a new LED video display, which could cost $624,100.
Sears said that a 10-percent contingency fee of $62,000 is needed in addition to the proposal. He said the number dramatically decreases based on potential grants and funds provided by the Kinston-Lenoir County Tourism Development Authority and the Lenoir Committee of 100.
The funding would come from an interdepartmental transfer from the Electric Fund to the General Fund. The General Fund would repay the Electric Fund with a $60,000 payment for ten years to fully reimburse the Electric Fund.
That's how the current scoreboard was funded in 2007.
The Wood Ducks also asked that the City of Kinston relocate the scoreboard from right field to left field.
Council members inquired about replaceable parts and asked if the TDA and Committee of 100 had been contacted regarding funding for the new scoreboard. Sears did not have those numbers to present to the Council and added that replaceable parts can break down, which wouldn't resolve the current issue.
"We're going to have to find the parts to get the video scoreboard fixed, which is going to be an expense prior to the Council making a decision to have the [new] scoreboard here ready to go," Sears said.
Sears also said that if the city, which owns Grainger Stadium, does not fix the scoreboard, it could be in breach of its contract with the Texas Rangers, which owns the Wood Ducks.
Councilman Joseph Tyson made a motion to approve the proposal and the contingency fee to satisfy the agreement according to the contract with the Wood Ducks. His suggestion was not seconded.
"We put a lot of time into getting a baseball team in Kinston, and if we can't show approval to the owners who invested millions of dollars into this, and we lose the Wood Ducks, Kinston will never have another baseball team," Tyson said. "And you will still own Grainger Stadium. You're going to have to still pay to keep Grainger Stadium up.
"You'll own a stadium with nobody in there."
Councilwoman Kristal Suggs made a motion to table the topic for the Council's second meeting in January. Tyson vehemently opposed the recommendation, but Suggs, Mayor Pro Tem Felicia Solomon and Councilman Sammy Aiken voted in favor. Councilman Robbie Swinson was absent from the meeting.
"We want it. We love it, but how do we afford it?" Solomon said. "I feel better about having numbers to look at instead of agreeing on something tonight. This is taxpayer money. When we have these conversations about our budget and our tax base decreasing, due diligence is necessary.
Leon Steele, executive director of Pride of Kinston Downtown Revitalization, informed the Kinston City Council that this year’s Christmas Parade is Dec. 7 at 3:30 p.m.
"Sure, we can hear [the proposal] and say 'OK, yes we're going to do it.' Something like this is worth looking at if the parts are available, what are the costs of the parts, how much money are we responsible for contributing? It's just the right thing to do."
Grainger Stadium is scheduled to play host to the annual Freedom Classic in mid-February, a single-game meeting between East Carolina University and UNC Wilmington in early April and the annual National Junior Collegiate Athletic Association Region X Division II baseball tournament.
Also:
* Leon Steele, executive director of Pride of Kinston Downtown Revitalization, said the annual Christmas parade is Dec. 7. The parade begins at 3:30 p.m. outside Grainger Stadium. The second annual tree lighting ceremony is 6 p.m. at Pearson Park.
* The Council approved the North Carolina Department of Transportation's proposal to remove the stoplight on Vernon Avenue at Vernon Park Mall. The existing light has very low usage and traffic counts to necessitate a stoplight.
