You could see that Jami McLaughlin, Vikki Andrews, Mark Yarboro and Nathan Cuffee were there Tuesday with receptive ears to learn more about this 30-day moratorium for construction of a downtown Crown Event Center.
McLaughlin is chair of the 9-member Cumberland County Civic Commission, which includes Ken Burns, Raqi Barnett, Peter Pappas, McBryde Grannis, Joe Quigg II, Andrews, Yarboro and Cuffee.
“The board on the fifth of March approved time to allow a scope of the project,” Assistant County Manager Brian Haney told the commission about the Cumberland Board of County Commissioners’ 6-0 decision to suspend construction of the Event Center.
A matter, Haney said, of county commissioners doing their “due diligence” regarding the $145 million commitment to replace the aging Crown Complex theatre and its arena, circa 1968, along U.S. Business 301.
A groundbreaking was held Oct. 25 to build the Event Center in what once was the parking lot of the Judge E. Maurice Braswell Cumberland County Courthouse along Gillespie Street, Russell Street and Otis F. Jones Parkway. The Event Center is scheduled to open in spring of 2027.
“They said just a pause,” McLaughlin queried Haney.
Freshman County Commissioner Pavan Patel would take the conversation held at the Crown Coliseum boardroom from there.
‘Before we spend $145 million’
“It’s a lot of money for our community,” said the 34-year-old commissioner, who joined with County Commissioners Chair Kirk deViere, Vice Chair Veronica Jones, Glenn Adams, Marshall Faircloth and Henry Tyson in voting for the moratorium. Commissioner Jeannette Council was absent for the vote.
“Before we spend $145 million,” Patel said, “we just want some outside eyes on it.”
Scott Flowers, 47, with the Hutchins Law Firm in the city, will be those outside eyes, according to deViere, and Flowers is scheduled to report to county commissioners by week’s end about the project that includes a red flag, deViere has said, about a $1.9 million architect cost.
Faircloth confirmed to The Kirby File the architect fee is part of the reason for the suspension.
EwingCole is the architectural firm for the project. The Kirby File reached out to EwingCole at its Raleigh office this week. EwingCole did not respond.
What else, Andrews was an inquiring mind.
“Was there a trigger?” Andrews wanted to know.
What, she wanted to know, precipitated the delay.
Patel echoed what Haney told the Civic Center board: that the moratorium is just about being assured the Event Center project is moving along properly, i.e. crossing the t’s and dotting the i’s.
“Once you break ground,” he told Andrews, “it’s kind of hard to stop the train.”.
Patel said the 30-day delay is just a matter of county commissioners exercising due diligence.
“Sounds like it won’t be built,” Andrews said.
Patel countered the suggestion.
“It was a step to do the right thing,” he said.
To the Civic Center board’s credit, some members were engaged in just how county commissioners will proceed once deViere, Jones, Adams, Faircloth, Council, Tyson and Patel hear from Scott Flowers.
“After the 30-day pause, with the cost of lumber and metal, is there a mechanism to address that?” Mark Yarboro asked Patel.
Patel said the county commissioners will assess contracts with construction vendors.
“We’re trying to see where our liabilities lie,” he said.
It’s all a matter, Patel said, of “clean eyes” reviewing and assessing the project.
Civic Center Board Vice Chair Nathan Cuffee wanted to know if the moratorium would delay moving forward with building the Event Center.
“If we need to make adjustments,” Patel said, “we want to do it accordingly.”
Epilogue
Your guess would be about as good as mine about this Crown Event Center we thought was a done deal and coming downtown. It’s like wondering if Cooper Flagg will lead Duke to the college men’s basketball title, when rain will wash away the spring pollen or just what happened to the missing retired Green Beret soldier more than two months ago from his Butler Nursery Road home in Gray’s Creek.
We just don’t know.
County Commissioner Chair Kirk deViere has said once the county hears from the Hutchens Law Firm, he will be transparent about how the Crown Event Center will play out for our downtown.
A community, like the Cumberland County Civic Commission, has questions about the Crown Event Center.
We should have answers on Thursday, because time is of the essence.
(Editor’s note: Jami McLaughlin is also a freelance writer for CityView. She was not involved in the reporting or editing of this column).
Bill Kirby Jr. can be reached at billkirby49@gmail.com or 910-624-1961.
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