LUMBERTON — The Robeson County Board of Commissioners on Monday will not vote on a proposal to buy the Angel Exchange building at COMtech as a possible site for the school system’s central office, but there is likely to be a lot of conversation concerning that plan.
County Manager Ricky Harris said last week that County Attorney Patrick Pait has been involved in negotiations to buy the building, but that nothing is ready to take before the commissioners.
Five people, including Peggy Wilkins-Chavis, the chairman of the Board of Education for the Public Schools of Robeson County, are scheduled to speak on the issue when the board meets at 6 p.m. at the county’s administrative offices at 701 N. Elm St. The chairman has been adamant that the school system doesn’t want the property, and expressed that in a lengthy op-ed piece published by The Robesonian.
She told The Robesonian she spoke with board Chairman Raymond Cummings last week and made clear the system’s position.
Central office staff has been using about 9,000 square feet of the 35,000-square-foot building since soon after Hurricane Matthew drowned the old school headquarters on N.C. 72. The system is paying $9,000 a month for its use.
Three other properties appear to be in consideration for the central office, including the county administrative offices, a recently purchased 48-acre tract on N.C. 711 and a warehouse on N.C. 41.
Cummings, an employee of the school system, has pushed the purchase. He agreed to allow presentations on the issue on Monday, but the public was notified about 90 minutes before the deadline to get on the agenda to do so.
Commissioners David Edge and Tom Taylor tried to have the meeting moved to a larger venue to accommodate the possibility of an overflow crowd, but Cummings did not agree to the move. The chairman makes that call.
The commissioners voted 4-3 on Jan. 22 to buy the property, which includes the building and 29 acres of land. The property is listed at $6 million, but has a tax value of about $3.7 million. Angel Exchange LLC, which owns the building, is about $95,000 behind in property taxes, and owes about $45,000 in fees to COMtech.
Cummings said there was an urgent need so schools staff would not be evicted if the building were sold. Cummings said he has been told there is a potential buyer, but no one has been identified publicly.
Edge said he has studied the contract and it does not allow for early eviction. There is also an option to extend the lease for three months.
Edge had an excused absence for the Jan. 22 meeting. Cummings, Berlester Campbell, Jerry Stephens and Roger Oxendine voted in favor of the purchase, and Taylor, Lance Herndon and Noah Woods against. The item was not listed on that night’s agenda.
Other items on Monday’s agenda are two conditional-use permit requests. One is from Cecil Thomas Wilson, of East Howellsville Township, for the establishment of a used-car dealership and mechanic shop in a Residential Agricultural District. The other is from Terry Collins, of Shannon Township, for the establishment of a mobile home park in a Residential Agricultural District.
