Call this moratorium on construction of a downtown Crown Event Center for what it is – a prudent exercise in sound financial stewardship on the part of the Cumberland County Board of Commissioners.
Commission Chair Kirk deViere stopped short of saying what specifically was the reason for the suspension when announcing on March 5 that that he, Vice Chair Veronica Jones and fellow commissioners Glenn Adams, Marshall Faircloth, Pavan Patel and Henry Tyson voted to put the project on hold for 30 days while a third-party lawyer can review and access the construction process.
“We want to ensure that every part of this contract, every part of this project is properly done, and it’s efficient, and all aspects are accountable, and we’re getting the best use of taxpayer dollars,” deViere, 54, told CityView after commissioners met for about 70 minutes in closed session at the Judge E. Maurice Braswell Cumberland County Courthouse.
Commissioner Jeannette Council was absent from the meeting and did not vote.
Scott Flowers of the Hutchens Law Firm has been hired to conduct the review of the project, according to deViere.
Freshman Commissioner Henry Tyson sent up something of a red flag on March 5, when he told CityView that once Flowers reports on the independent review findings, commissioners will have four options for consideration – continue with the $145 million construction of the Event Center; postpone construction; look for another location; or abandon the project.
The plan is to replace the aging Crown Complex theatre and arena, circa 1968, on U.S. Business 301.
“I did not rank my response in likelihood of outcome,” Tyson, 40, said Wednesday. “I only answered his (CityView Senior Reporter Paul Woolverton) question about what actions the board can take as a result of the review.”
DeViere also on Wednesday clarified Tyson’s comment.
“I read them as a simple summary of the potential outcomes,” deViere said, “not a direction of the board.”
Patel agrees with deViere.
“As to Commissioner Tyson’s points, without speaking for him, I believe he was simply stating the four outcomes of the project,” said Patel, 34, also a freshman commissioner along with Tyson and deViere. “I do not believe these are equally weighted outcomes.”
Due Diligence
Tyson, Patel, deViere, Jones, Adams and Faircloth agree the moratorium is about commissioners trying to do their due diligence on behalf of the county.
“This will allow us time to engage an independent third-party counsel, Hutchen Law Firm, to conduct a comprehensive review of the project’s progress, evaluate all aspects of the current work and address any concerns that may exist,” said deViere, a former member of the N.C. Senate representing Cumberland County.
The moratorium is one with a timely purpose.
“As you can imagine, coming onto a new board and serving the public, it is imperative that we put the public trust and manage tax dollars wisely,” Tyson said Wednesday. “Even though this project was started by a previous board, the new board members have been asked to vote to approve the rest of the funding for the project. Making sure that public money is being spent and administered wisely is not only prudent but necessary.”
Tyson says he looks forward to the results of the independent review by Flowers, and Tyson says he will reserve further judgment on the Event Center project until hearing from the law firm’s lawyer.
“The project originally began in 2014, over a decade ago, and we as a community have seen the ‘shifts’ regarding the cost increases, the redesign to bring the cost back in line to the budgeted $144.5 million and scope of the programming of the space,” Patel said. “Our county has multiple high-budget projects, including the maintenance and upgrades of our school system and development of water infrastructure for access to safe drinking water.
“I want to make sure that we are wise stewards of our community’s funds, and that we measure twice and cut once.
“To the extent that we have brought in independent counsel to review the project, I would like to review the findings prior to commenting further,” Patel said. “I do not want to create unnecessary speculations without the proper facts.”
‘Dedicated to completing this project’
County Manager Clarence Grier said in a March 5 news release he believes the Crown Event Center will become a reality downtown in what once was a parking lot for the Cumberland County Maurice Braswell Courthouse and the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office along Gillespie Street, Russell Street and Otis F. Jones Parkway.
“We are fully dedicated to completing this project within the original timeline and will ensure that all necessary steps are taken to avoid delays,” Grier said. “Transparency and public trust are at the core of everything we do, and this 30-day pause is a responsible, proactive approach to ensure we deliver a project the community can be proud of.”
The county manager and county attorney, deViere says, have been “in the loop from day one, as I understand it” and are being vigilant.
“The county attorney has engaged the Hutchens Firm with a range of hourly rates from $100 – $350 depending on staff level working on the engagement,” deViere said about Rick Moorefield. “The county attorney will manage and oversee this engagement and provide the commissioners with updates.”
DeViere says that once commissioners hear from Scott Flowers on April 3, he will be upfront and completely transparent with the community about the project and how the commissioners will proceed.
Frustrations along the way
The Event Center has been a work in progress and seen its share of bumps in the road. There was an initial price tag of $131.7 million, and then commissioners learned in January of 2024 from Matt DeSilver, an area manager for MBP Carolinas, the project manager for the county, that the cost would be $163.5 million.
It was based, DeSilver said at the time, on escalating materials to build the center, and did not sit well with Adams or former commissioner Jimmy Keefe.
“I’ve been working on this for 10 years, and I’m ready to walk away, I’m so disappointed right now,” Keefe said.
Commissioners Adams, Keefe, former Commissioner Toni Stewart, Council, former Commissioner Michael Boose, Jones and Faircloth were not going for a $32 million jump, and said $145 million would be the limit or else.
Architects agreed to reduce the original size of the Event Center, and ground was broken in late October for construction to begin.
But everything stopped on March 5.
Architect fees at least one issue
“I made a motion to suspend all work on the Cumberland County Crown Event project for no more than 30 days for the following reasons and purpose: for reviewing and also investigating the scope schedule and the financial budget for this particular Cumberland County Crown event project,” Veronica Jones, the commission vice chair, said this week.
Commissioners are holding their cards close to the vest, but deViere did reveal more about the reason for the 30-day suspension.
“As part of this engagement with Hutchens Law Firm, we asked them to investigate the claim of Ewing Cole (the architect) for additional architect’s fees for the project of $1.9M,” he said in an email.
Commissioner Faircloth did confirm Thursday the additional architect fee is part of the reason for the board’s decision.
“That’s not precisely it,” Faircloth, 76, said, but “there is a $1.9 million issue. There is some dispute. We could have an issue and that’s the reason we did it in closed session, because we really don’t know until the attorney looks into it. We have a 30-day window where we can just pause the whole project with no questions asked. We just need to know some basic lines before we go forward.”
All seven commissioners were offered an opportunity by CityView to comment on the status of the project in the wake of the moratorium.
Epilogue
For now, until Scott Flowers weighs in, that’s where the Crown Event Center stands – in limbo.
It’s a dirt parcel waiting for a $145 million building.
It’s up to what Scott Flowers has to say, and then it’s up to what Kirk deViere, Veronica Jones, Glenn Adams, Jeannette Council, Marshall Faircloth, Pavan Patel and Henry Tyson decide.
Bill Kirby Jr. can be reached at billkirby49@gmail.com or 910-624-1961
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Perhaps support the Cape Fear Regional Theatre.
Much more safe, walkable , and in an established neighborhood.
With ASOM, Segra, and the stalled development on the attached parking garage… time to punt from downtown.