Jonathan Morris
♦Recently, The Salisbury Post printed a front page story proclaiming “Central office can proceed despite contamination, assessment says”. It did not take long for the usual commenters to weigh in with one perennial County commissioner wannabe quipping: “Oh goody! Now what excuse will the commissioners come up with now? More lawsuits on the way?”
Reading beyond the article’s headline, the article revealed the go ahead to “proceed” was the conclusion of the city of Salisbury’s hired geologist who made a Limited Site Assessment. It was not a letter from NC DENR giving the green-light to construction. The next step, according to my brother Jeff Morris, an attorney, is a comprehensive environmental assessment, after which NC DENR could require further action, or could issue a “No Further Action Necessary” letter (NFA). An NFA letter would permit construction to begin at 329 S. Main. If not the Central Office — some other building. But if groundwater concentrations of two contaminants — benzene and methyl tertiary-butylether, or MTBE — are found to be above state allowable levels, this might spell trouble for Central Office. Could they build the structure with a ventilation system underneath to prevent the leaching of toxic vapors from making the staff working in that building sick? Money can fix that problem, and Salisbury has pledged its determination towards making sure the Central Office gets built in Downtown Salisbury. So money is no object. Or is it?
My brother Jeff’s response to the “commenter” on that article was telling. I’m going to briefly discuss the money question based on Jeff’s response, and our conversation this afternoon. If Salisbury intends to get a loan for the current estimate of $10 million dollars for this project to be built on infill, the city will have to obtain approval for that loan from a division of the NC Treasurer’s office called the “Local Government Commission,” who makes a recommendation. A “thumbs-up” is required for a loan, unless the city elects to use their reserve funds to build the project, and seeks reimbursement. Might be tough with all the millions Fibrant has siphoned from the reserves without paying a cent back.
It is likely to pose a challenge for the City of Salisbury to find a lender willing to hand over 10 million dollars for a project proposed to be built on a site where testing has confirmed the water table is contaminated by the presence of benzene and MTBE. The reason: it is still unknown whether those groundwater contaminants are confined solely to the property at 329 S. Main or whether groundwater contamination may have migrated off site, to neighboring properties. And if indeed contamination has migrated to neighboring properties–whoa! Those neighboring property owners would be looking for the current owner of 329 S. Main to ante up for a toxic waste cleanup of the groundwater beneath their properties. Right now, we know that the City of Salisbury is the owner of 329 S. Main St. But even if the county commissioners were willing to assume ownership of the site — and the associated legal liability for off-site contamination that may follow the chain of title—from what money bin would the construction loan come? I am not a banker. There’s nothing stuffed in my mattress. Yet, it seems like an ill-conceived plan to still consider a project on which no reputable financial lending institution would lend the 10 million dollars for the growing price tag of the Taj Mahal. This 9th wonder of the world already costs nearly half a million for it’s oft-erased architectural prints.
As I suggested a few weeks ago in my letter-to-the-Editor of the Rowan Free Press, the City of Salisbury may not go beyond “considering” a loan to the Rowan-Salisbury School System for the Downtown Central Office. The Local Government Commission (LGC) is unlikely to approve the application for such a loan, especially since the city is not a stakeholder in the county school system. Yoo-hoo! I believe that despite the 3-2 vote against even financing $6 million for a scaled down the Taj Mahal on South Main, the school board will once again attempt to hot potato the package back onto the County Commissioners’ table, who will once more give a hearty 3 to 2 thumbs down on this over-priced taxpayer waste.
I could repeat my rationale for the commissioners once again deep-sixing the Taj Mahal on South Main, but you can read my letter for the well-reasoned details. The whole argument made by the school board for the millions on that location won’t hold water, especially when high school students at South Rowan High School are going home with no textbooks for math and language arts (due to a stockpiled purchase of Ipads which are not being used in lieu of textbooks). Accolades and awards are given to the same administration responsible for poor school performance on the NC ABC Report Card. Our less than prestigious RSSS ranks 113th out of 115 public school systems statewide. That is 3 from the very rock bottom in a state whose public education system ranks 3 from bottom in the USA. Not too freaking hot!
I suppose the school board looks forward to a brass plaque on their new Taj Mahal, as they pat themselves on the back and reassure each other that, at least for now, they’re still no worse off than Mississippi. One more sound reason their mediocrity should not be rewarded with a Taj Mahal by the commissioners. Maybe our esteemed school board should consider jiffy-welding a row of those swanky trailers, like the kind they cram our school kids in, for the New Central Office and plant them out by the Webb Road Flea Market. There, the top school administrators could spend their half-hour lunch break, power shopping and dinning to their heart’s delight. Bet they could get a blank brass plaque out at the flea market for cheap and trophies too!
Read Jonathan Morris’ letter to the editor on the Central Office here.
Original art in the featured image by sundeip arora at sxc.hu.
