2016 Guilford Heart Ball raises nearly $230,000 for heart disease and stroke research & prevention education

Dr. Daniel Bensimhon & Dr. Peter Van Trigt receive the LeBauer Visionary Award

"Over 300 community and business leaders attended the American Heart Association’s 2016 Guilford Heart Ball on Saturday evening, raising nearly $230,000 for heart disease and stroke research and prevention education. This black-tie affair included a silent auction, gourmet dinner, live auction, DJ and dancing.

Courtesy of Crumley Roberts Attorneys at Law, the American Heart Association’s Guilford County Life is Why Sponsor, nearly 100 new sports balls were donated and then presented at the 2016 Guilford Heart Ball with the “Bring a Ball to the Ball” program. Kimberly Roberts, Vice President of Cultural Development and Wellness at Crumley Roberts, presented the balls at the Guilford Heart Ball that will be donated to schools throughout Greater Guilford County to help children get active in order to live more heart-healthy lives.

"Crumley Roberts and The Crumley Roberts Kids Zone© remain committed to the safety and wellness of children in the communities we serve and beyond.  The ‘Bring a Ball to the Ball’ event helps provide some of the tools children need to remain active and healthy.  We are very grateful to the American Heart Association for its continuing efforts to help individuals of all ages live longer and healthier lives,” says Roberts.

Cone Health Heart and Vascular Center and the AHA recognized Dr. Daniel Bensimhon and Dr. Peter Van Trigt as the winners of the 2^nd Annual LeBauer Visionary Award at the 2016 Guilford Heart Ball.

“It was an honor to accept the 2016 LeBauer Visionary Award on behalf of the entire ventricular assist device (VAD) team at Cone Health. Vision requires both imagination and knowledge; it was not difficult to imagine beginning a successful VAD program at Cone Health with all of the exceptionally trained, committed medical personnel we have in our Heart Center,” shares Dr. Van Trigt. “The VAD program has been successful because we started the program for the right reason–patient centered care for those heart failure patients without other options. We also used a team approach from the very beginning, which I firmly believe improves outcomes.”

“Receiving an award like this from colleagues who are providing the highest quality cardiac care on a daily basis at Cone is a very humbling experience,” says Dr. Bensimhon. “But to be able to share the award with a surgeon of Dr. Van Trigt's caliber and vision has made it one of the most special moments of my career and makes me want to work even harder to push the window of cardiac care for our community.”

Cone Health and the AHA established the LeBauer Visionary Award last year, recognizing those individuals who have made a significant contribution to improving the cardiovascular health of our community and region, through exceptional patient care, innovative research and treatments, and active participation and contributions toward community health care causes. 

Nominations were made by the Cone Health Heart and Vascular Center physicians and clinical leadership.  A panel of heart and vascular experts, Cone Health leadership, and AHA leadership and volunteers reviewed the nominations and selected the finalists. 

Dr. Daniel R. Bensimhon is a cardiologist at Cone Health Medical Group HeartCare, and Dr. Peter Van Trigt is a Cardiothoracic Surgeon for Cone Health Medical Group – Triad Cardiac and Thoracic Surgeons. Together, Bensimhon and Van Trigt were recognized for revolutionizing care in Greensboro by developing an innovative, top performing and lifesaving left ventricular assist device (LVAD) program.

Dr. James Allred and Dr. Clarence Owen were also honored as finalists for the 2016 LeBauer Visionary Award. Dr. James Allred is an electrophysiologist at Cone Health Medical Group HeartCare who was recognized for his innovative work with leadless pacing technology.

Dr. Clarence Owen is a cardiothoracic surgeon for Cone Health Medical Group – Triad Cardiac and Thoracic Surgeons who was recognized for his groundbreaking work with mitral valve repair and being pivotal in the development of the transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) Program.

The award is named in honor of Sidney LeBauer, the first AHA Heart Gala Community Chair, and Joseph LeBauer, one of the founding cardiologists of what is now Cone Health Medical Group HeartCare, a team of over 30 cardiologists serving the Triad region.

Heart disease and stroke are the No. 1 and No. 5 killers of both men and women in the United States. Diseases of the Heart are the 2^nd leading causes of death and stroke is the 3rd leading cause of death in Guilford County. However, 80% of heart disease and stroke-related illnesses are preventable with managed risk factors and heart-healthy lifestyle changes.

Attached Photo Details: Photos Courtesy of Aesthetic Images Photography

AT LEFT - Chris & Kimberly Roberts during the silent auction.

AT RIGHT - Roy Carroll, Vanessa Carroll, Jenni Newkirk & Ryan Newkirk.

AT LEFT - Lee Schloss Lifestyle Change Champion – highlighted during the night.

AT RIGHT - Ruth Heyd & Kimberly Roberts Bring a Ball to the Ball – presentation with Crumley Roberts during the program.

      AT LEFT - Ron Black  - Co-chair.

AT RIGHT - Ryan Newkirk, LeKeshia Franklin, Dr. Bensimhon & Dr. Van Trigt – Receiving 2016 LeBauer Visionary Award.

- A Press Release

Rhino Times to return before city council primary

After a 5-month hiatus, the Rhino Times will return on Oct. 3, according to the paper's Twitter account.

With a new office a few blocks away from its old downtown location and new ownership, the Rhino Times plans to print its first issue since announcing its closing at the end of April the Thursday before the Greensboro City Council primary election.

A screenshot from the paper's Twitter page

We heard a rumor last week that there would be two issues before the primary, but that appears to have either changed or have been inaccurate. 

There's a lot to speculate about regarding potential conflicts between developer Roy Carroll, who bought the paper, and Editor John Hammer. Carroll is tied into plenty of issues a solid, local paper would need to cover: He said he's planning to build a hotel downtown, donated to the  planned Tanger Center for the Performing Arts downtown, pushed strongly for a stricter noise ordinance and has received money from the city in the past. Carroll's positions may clash with Hammer's explicitly conservative editorial stance (which regularly co-mingles with his news coverage). 

Maybe it's convenient, then, that the latest round of noise ordinance revisions is on track for approval Tuesday before the Rhino puts out its first new issue.

Performing arts center exceeds private fundraising goal

The proposed downtown Greensboro performing arts center took a step closer to fruition today with the announcement that private fundraising has exceeded the $20 million goal. The threshold has now been upped to $30 million, all of this shortly before council considers spending millions extra on the project to purchase land for the GPAC rather than using city-owned property nearby. Council will discuss the item on Tuesday.

Here's the full press release that includes the names of private donors supporting the arts center:

"The Community Foundation of Greater Greensboro is pleased to announce that it now has pledges totaling $20.747 million from 68 individuals, families, foundations and businesses for the proposed downtown performing arts center.

“The response to this effort has been incredible,” said Kathy Manning, a Greensboro attorney who has spearheaded the fundraising efforts. “Even though our fundraising to date has been focused on major donors, we’ve been amazed by the number of individuals who have taken the initiative to contact us to make pledges. We look forward to broadening our campaign efforts in the fall.”

In light of the fundraising success, the decision has been made to increase the fundraising goal to $30 million. This will enable the private sector to be full partners with the public sector and will provide enough funds to build a truly first-rate performing arts center.

“We are, simply, overwhelmed by this unprecedented fundraising success for a vital economic driver for Greensboro,” said Walker Sanders, president of The Community Foundation. “Our entire community should be grateful for the pledges of our generous donors.”

The following list represents all donors who have made pledges to date:

• Anonymous (3)
• Lindsey and Frank Auman
• Caroline and Jim Barber
• Bell Foundation
• Denny Kelly and Lou Bouvier
• Louise and Jim Brady
• Cooper Brantley
• Nancy and Frank Brenner
• Suejette and David Brown
• Joe Bryan, Jr.
• The Joseph M. Bryan Foundation of Greater Greensboro
• The Hon. Frank and Frances Bullock
• Lisa and Willie Bullock
• Linda and Jim Carlisle
• Vanessa and Roy Carroll
• Linda and Bill Cary
• The Cemala Foundation
• CityView Apartments
• Irene and Irv Cohen
• Cole Family Foundation
• Elizabeth W. “Betty” Cone
• Cone Mills Charitable Fund
• Pat and Pete Cross
• Dr. Gary and Ellen Fischer
• Eva Jane Gorrell
• Nancy and Bernie Gutterman
• Pam and Steve Hassenfelt
• Donna and Robert Hodgman
• Sara S. and George W. House
• Jill Wilson and Marc Isaacson
• Tobee and Leonard Kaplan
• Kathy Manning and Randall Kaplan
• Milton Kern
• Dr. Eugene S. and Gail M. LeBauer
• Dr. Joe LeBauer
• Dr. Sam and Joan LeBauer
• Laurie and Oliver Lloyd
• Kathryn and Bobby Long
• Lorillard, Inc.
• Trude and Tom McCarty
• Susan and Mackey McDonald
• Madeline and Everette Mills
• Morrisette Paper Co.
• Susan and Joseph Nehmen
• NewBridge Bank
• Donna and Bob Newton
• Susan Petty
• Gloria and Reid Phillips
• Phillips Foundation
• Jane and Royce Reynolds
• Emilie and Arthur Samet
• Sylvia and Norman Samet
• Dabney and Walker Sanders
• Sara Lee and Paul Saperstein
• Cindi and Jim Schrum
• Joy and Steve Shavitz
• Pam and David Sprinkle
• Tannenbaum-Sternberger Foundation
• Toleo Foundation
• VF Corporation
• Leslye and Marshall Tuck
• Dr. Robert and Kim Wainer
• Sarah and Jack Warmath
• Rochelle Weiner
• Judy and Len White
• Sally and Ed Winslow

The cost of the center, as proposed last year by a task force created by The Community Foundation on the city’s behalf, was estimated at $60 million. Originally, the Foundation committed to helping raise $20 million in private donations, and the city approved $20 million in user fees. The city is now contemplating the purchase of land for the project which would involve additional user fees.

The fundraising team is committed to continuing its efforts to ensure this project is completed in a way that honors the work of the task force’s recommendations. An important component of those recommendations includes the implementation of an arts stabilization fund.

“We want to make sure that the type of $60 million facility recommended by the task force, with the input of nationally recognized consultants, is realized,” added Gordon Soenksen, chief development officer at The Community Foundation. “So, we aren’t quite done, and we look forward to connecting additional supporters throughout the community with this important project for Greensboro’s future.”"

BREAKING: Greene Street to close rooftop dance floor

Though noise complaints come in from all over the city, the discussion about Greensboro's noise ordinance — which is back on the agenda for the city council's June 18 meeting — always seems to return to two downtown titans: Greene Street night club and developer Roy Carroll. Council has resurrected the noise ordinance debate from last year, but this time it will likely be a lot less controversial for one major reason; Greene Street is closing its rooftop dance floor.

In its place, there will be a rooftop grill akin to downtown businesses like M'Couls and Fisher's, owner Kenny Efird said today. The grill will be open for lunch and at night, Efird said, and they plan to launch it in the fall. It's not official yet — designs are still being drawn — but Greene Street owners are working with an architect and started talking to other downtown grill owners.

"We haven’t pulled the trigger on any plans or submitted it to the city or anything," Efird said. "We’ll change everything. We had to go that direction because we knew it was coming sooner or later."

Everything inside the building — the dance floor, concerts, etc — will stay the same, but the rooftop dance floor will  be closed when construction begins.

"I think that will fit our rooftop better," Efird said, adding that it will allow them to be open on days the venue is currently closed. "I don’t want to irritate people that live around me. This grill plan will work for everyone."

The city is currently taking legal action against Greene Street after it received three citations for violating the existing noise ordinance. Greene Street is counter-claiming against the city over the ordinance and its uneven enforcement, Greene Street's lawyer Norman Klick said. 

Greensboro to revisit noise ordinance

SynerG, Action Greensboro's young professionals' organization, held a meeting yesterday to discuss the noise ordinance and issues with its first year of implementation. Councilwoman Nancy Hoffmann (above), City Manager Denise Turner Roth and Police Attorney Jim Clark explained what the city has done and outlined why council will revisit the issue at its June 18 meeting. 

Though the ordinance is citywide, discussions yesterday (and last year when the ordinance was revised) focused on the battle between downtown clubs — namely Greene Street — and downtown residents — namely Roy Carroll and the inhabitants of his Center Pointe condos. 

Kurt Collins, below left, said yesterday that he moved out of downtown because of excessive noise. Clark said that during the noise ordinance debacle last year the city mostly heard from club owners and their supporters but that residents remained mostly silent on the issue. That has changed in the past year, he said, as more downtown residents have contacted the city. 

The number of noise complaints in Greensboro has dropped from 5,195 to 4,726 since the ordinance's implementation, but the number of citations has almost doubled even though the city delayed enforcement during an initial trial period. The number of citations to nightclubs only rose slightly, from eight to 12, though Greene Street was cited three times.

We will have more detailed reporting on the noise ordinance coming soon. Stay posted!

Noise ordinance discussion postponed, Hoffmann explains

A proposed change to Greensboro's noise ordinance that would make the decibel levels lower (and thereby stricter) was removed from city council's agenda last night after it met with opposition from some members prior to the meeting. District 4 Councilwoman Nancy Hoffmann, who had suggested a decreased threshold from 75 to 65 decibels after 11 p.m., said she asked for the item to be pulled but said it may still need to be revisited.

"I think that it’s an issue that we need to reconsider but we may need a little time to work through that," Hoffmann said, adding that some council members liked the ordinance as is while others may be open to revisiting it. "The police chief now is actually looking at some better or more sensitive equipment that can be used."

 Changes to the city's noise ordinance early last year were controversial and was met with fierce opposition from club owners, patrons and other residents. The ordinance affects the city as a whole but the discussion was focused on a rift between downtown clubs and residents, with developer Roy Carroll as the face of those pushing for a stricter ordinance. Carroll, who built Center Pointe on North Elm Street and lives in the building, later said he would back candidates that supported his point of view in the fall 2013 city council elections.

Hoffmann said the issue had been framed as a battle between Carroll — who leaned heavily on the police department and city council before it was put on council's agenda — and Greene Street Club, but that she had received calls from residents throughout the city, including in her district. One even complained about noise from the Greensboro Coliseum, she said, which is exempt from the ordinance. Hoffmann, whose district does not include downtown, said she has heard from several downtown residents who are still unsatisfied with the ordinance.

"In terms of the downtown business area, you have a number of constituencies," Hoffmann said. "What you’re always trying to do is to get to the center so that no group or no constituency is unfavorably or negatively impacted. There’s always lots to learn, you’re always trying to get to the best possible situation and solution to an issue or problem. I think that’s where we hope to get to at some point in time."

Hoffmann said there may be ongoing antagonism between Center Pointe and Greene Street, but said the current ordinance has a decibel threshold that is higher than Greensboro's peer cities, such as Greenville, SC or Raleigh, and that the current method of measuring noise may not adequately address the booming bass tones in some music. Hoffmann said the ordinance may be addressed in the coming months.

No complaints on noise ordinance, police say

Along with several graphs supplied to council, Police Chief Ken Miller said there haven't been any complaints with the new noise ordinance. Council instructed the police to monitor the implementation of the ordinance for 60 days without issuing fines and to report back. The new noise ordinance went into effect July 15, and according to Miller, only three of the 54 tickets issued during the 60 days were to entertainment venues, the anticipated target of most complaints. Here is some of the content of his report to council in today's IFYI report. I assume the "female resident" lives in Center Pointe, since residents there (namely developer Roy Carroll and Teresa Yon) were behind the complaints aimed at Greene Street Club which is specifically named.

Center Pointe's comical mistake

While it is likely an accident, it's hard not to laugh at the most glaring error in the downtown map provided on Center Pointe's website: Greene Street simply doesn't exist. The map has a handful of mistakes, but considering the problem some Center Pointe residents, most notably developer and resident Roy Carroll, have with Greene Street Club around the noise ordinance, I burst out laughing when I saw Eugene Street had been moved a block east and replaced the entire street.

Council to consider funding shovel ready industrial sites

In a letter earlier today (March 30) to interim Greensboro City Manager Denise Turner Roth, Assistant City Manager Andy Scott outlined three proposals submitted to the city for financial assistance from private developers.

"We have received three proposals for assistance in developing shovel ready industrial sites," he wrote. "Council will call a public hearing at its meeting on April 3, 2012. The sites will be considered and an award made at the April 16, 2012, Council meeting. Over the next three weeks, City staff will evaluate the proposals based on "

The first and largest request for funds listed is from the Carroll Companies for Birch Creek Business Park, costing $5,360,766. Simpson Schulman & Beard submitted one for Rock Creek Center costing $1,615,00 and the third came from Samet Corporation for $2.5 million for Triad Business Park.

At a special council meeting March 27, Scott told council there were four new sites the city could look at for shovel ready development, naming the three listed above as week as 310 acres at Reedy Fork Ranch. It is unclear why only three sites are included in his letter.

Scott's letter was included in the city's IFYI report released this afternoon.

Emails show source of noise complaint

Through a public information request, YES! Weekly obtained 1727 pages of emails to and from city staff — including Chief Ken Miller, Greensboro City Council members and various city employees — related to noise complaints or the ordinance since the current council took office at the end of 2011. Here are some of the more telling emails, to accompany our print article in this week's issue about Roy Carroll's influence on the noise ordinance. I apologize for the small print size and formatting issues — we'll try to upload the documents using Scribd so it's more reasonable, but it may take a few days.

Developers kill enforceable standards in downtown Greensboro design regs

Developer Roy Carroll (standing) was joined by Cemala Foundation Executive Director Susan Schwartz and Downtown Greensboro Inc. President Ed Wolverton at a press conference yesterday.

A downtown Greensboro advocacy group and a group of developers led by Roy Carroll unveiled the new Downtown Design Manual yesterday. The purpose of the effort is to create a regulatory framework to encourage developers to design new buildings that enhance downtown’s pedestrian appeal, improve public space and retain historical character.

The final draft scuttles a former proposal to create enforceable standards and to give city staff or council the power to turn down non-compatible projects. Larger North Carolina cities such as Charlotte and Raleigh use downtown design standards, but after the dust settled in the public process, Greensboro has opted for non-enforceable guidelines.

The citizen steering committee that proposed a standards-oriented regulatory structure included developers, preservationists, architects, property and business owners, along with representatives of nonprofits such as Action Greensboro and Grassroots Productions. Property owners cried foul when the initial manual was presented last summer, and a group of opponents was brought into a new stakeholders group, including developers Carroll, Seth Coker and Michael Schiftan, along with real estate lawyer Henry Isaacson, to revamp the manual.

The original steering committee included Al Leonard, who is a vice president of Carroll’s company. Carroll has received economic development incentives from the city of Greensboro for the CenterPoint high-rise that looms over Center City Park, and has been a generous contributor to the political campaigns of several city council members. The new stakeholders group, with Carroll the most prominent presence, did not include any preservationists.

“We thought initially from the get-go that — there were standards and there were guidelines — everything needed to be switched from standards to guidelines,” Carroll said at a press conference yesterday. “Of course, the proponents thought everything should be standards…. At the end of the day, we were able to get a compromise that everything should be switched to guidelines.”

The new plan, which will require city council approval, calls for council to appoint members of the property owners stakeholders group to a Property Owners Review Team, or PORT. Under the plan, a developer would submit a new project to city staff. The project would be scored using a point system and if it met or exceeded 75 percent of the guidelines, it would be placed on a fast track towards approval. If the project fell short, it would be routed onto a detour through a scheduled meeting with the PORT, which might recommend ways to meet the guidelines or determine that the project merited completion even if it didn’t meet the guidelines.

PORT would then make a nonbinding recommendation for or against approval. In no case would any action by PORT or a developers’ failure to meet guidelines prevent a project from being built. Proponents of the current plan, including Downtown Greensboro Inc. President Ed Wolverton, say the fact that PORT’s recommendation would accompany a project should it go before council for other approvals such as street closings, would provide incentive to the developer to meet the guidelines.

In contrast, Charlotte and Raleigh’s downtown design is governed by a set of enforceable standards.

“I think the group really honed in on Charlotte and Raleigh,” Wolverton said. “Charlotte is actually integrated into their zoning code. While there’s fewer guidelines that they have, it is a standard-oriented approach. You have to do this stuff in order to do any development downtown. Raleigh is much broader…. If you’re developing a building over 10,000 square feet, you have to go to city council to get permission. And that seemed a little much, too.”

The Greensboro developers and downtown property owners who wrote the design manual chafed at such regulations as their peers in Charlotte and Raleigh are subject to. Carroll said yesterday that he didn’t wish to reopen an argument about whether enforceable design standards would enhance the value of property and provide a greater long-term return on investments, in addition to improving the downtown area for those who dine at its restaurants, shop its stores and work in its offices.

“If parking had to be in front in order to get a grocery store downtown, in my eyes at least that would merit looking at parking downtown, whereas the guidelines say that we encourage parking to be in the rear of buildings,” Carroll said. “So the PORT committee will have the leeway to look at the various benefits to the community. Then they’ll make a recommendation.”

Among the guidelines are suggestions about orienting building entrances towards the street; tucking parking lots behind buildings; designing buildings that complement the height, scale and massing of surrounding structures; adding landscaping; screening loading areas, HVAC equipment and other unsightly components; and articulating outside wall with interesting details such as murals.

The city will hold a public meeting to allow residents to review the changes to the design manual at the Greensboro Cultural Center’s Board Room on May 25 at 6 p.m. Mike Kirkman, the city’s comprehensive planning director, said the plan will then come before the planning board. The earliest that it’s likely to be considered by city council, he said, would be in August.

“The question I had to ask myself and others was, ‘Why do we need anything at all?’” Carroll said. “I like a plan. And I think we have a plan here that’s better than nothing, much better than nothing. It gives guidance to good, pedestrian development, and it encourages good development in our downtown. But at the end of the day it is the property owner’s decision on what to do, which way to go with their plans.”

City has received no incentive request from Carroll

In order to qualify for the $1.1 million incentive approved by the Greensboro City Council in 2006, developer Roy Carroll must show that his company invested $35 million in the Center Pointe project before Dec. 31, 2008.

John Shoffner, the city's economic development manager, said the city has yet to receive a performance letter from Carroll. The city's contract with Carroll's company stipulates that once the developer proves that the investment has been made, the incentive will be paid out in five consecutive payments with the final payment made no later than Dec. 31, 2014. That means that to be on track to receive the full amount of the incentive, Carroll will have to submit the first request before the end of this year.

I chatted with Carroll during the last city council meeting on Jan. 5, but he declined to discuss the incentive agreement. I've also submitted a request for information to his spokeswoman, and am waiting for a response.

Construction took place in 2007 and 2008, and Center Pointe received its certificate of occupancy in 2009.

Shoffner told me that if Center Pointe didn't reach its $35 million investment target until 2009 or 2010, "then it would require city council action to waive that part of the requirement" for Carroll to receive any part of the incentive grant, but I admit I remain confused on how the city would verify that the money was spent by Dec. 31, 2008.

No action on road required of developer Roy Carroll

Last August, spokeswoman Gillean Smith said developer Roy Carroll might complete the unfinished Winding Creek Drive in 2010 "when demand for lots increases in the area."

She added, "We are highly motivated to make this connection because it makes economic sense to open up another marketing window for the company. And it helps people. It's a win-win situation. We are not uncaring. As far as the exact date, it's not tomorrow. The economy right now does play a factor. Are we going to wait 10 years?"

Carroll is responsible for completing the road as part of the Bennington Village subdivision that one of his companies built. The incomplete road cuts off the adjacent Wood Creek subdivision, which is being built by DR Horton. The unfinished state of the road adds two to three minutes for emergency responders from a new city fire station on Mount Hope Church Road.

"Three minutes may not sound like a lot," resident Jason Jordan told YES! Weekly in August, "but when someone is having a heart attack and needs a defibrillator or someone is drowning in our pool and choking on water, three minutes is a lifetime. Roy Carroll made a promise to complete that road, and I think he needs to get it done."

Then-Mayor Yvonne Johnson indicated at the time that the project was a matter of urgency for the council.

"To a person, we would be asking him to get it done," she said at the time. "I appreciate Roy. I like Roy. I want him to get this done."

Of course, Johnson is in no longer in any position to exert pressure on Carroll, one of her political benefactors, to get the job done. She was defeated by Bill Knight in her mayoral race last year.

The latest update — shocked! shocked! shocked! — is that absolutely nothing has been done.

Council puts off decision to condemn Kotis property

The Greensboro City Council voted unanimously tonight to table two items instituting condemnation proceedings against Kotis Properties for the purpose of installing a sewer line until June or until Kotis, rival developer Roy E. Carroll II and the city can settle a lawsuit revolving around Kotis' access to a road being built by Carroll. City Manager Rashad Young said the city received waivers from both developers.

Previously, Kotis Properties had offered to give the city the land for the sewer line in exchange for the city mandating that Carroll give Kotis right-of-way access to the planned Jessup Grove Road Extension.

Decision on sewer line mired in perceived political conflicts of interest

Land clearing was underway for Roy E. Carroll II's Horse Pen Creek Village, a planned retail and apartment complex in a newly annexed section of northwest Greensboro, last summer.

The city of Greensboro could be faced with a second lawsuit from a Greensboro developer if it proceeds with condemnation proceedings to install sewer lines from a property in a newly annexed area of the city’s northwest fringe.

Kotis Properties has rejected the city’s offer of $37,750 for the land, and the company’s lawyer is trying to leverage the dispute into action by the city to force an adjacent developer, Roy E. Carroll II to allow it more access to a planned road that bisects the two properties. During a city council meeting on Dec. 15, Kotis properties lawyer Charles Winfree said his client would give the property needed for the sewer line to the city free of charge if the city took action to open up access to the planned Jessup Grove Road extension. City Attorney Terry Wood responded at that time by saying that the city does not have authority to take property from Carroll’s company, Horsepen Village Commercial LLC.

Asked if Kotis Properties might file a second lawsuit if the city proceeds with condemnation, Winfree said on Tuesday: “That’s conceivable. We could.”

Much of the sewer line would serve Kotis Property’s land, Winfree acknowledged, but he said a small portion of Carroll’s property would also benefit. The city is required by state law to extend the sewer services to properties within two years of annexation. That deadline is approaching in about six months.

“I don’t think we’re inclined to require the city to pay us a bunch of money when there’s a better solution — make this part of the right of way,” Winfree said. “We won’t voluntarily consent to the condemnation if the city won’t enforce its ordinance.”

Kotis Properties contends that a 4-by-709 foot strip separating the planned road from property it owns, constitutes an illegal reserve strip, commonly known as a “spite strip,” and violates the city ordinance 30-6-13.3(E), which holds that “reserve strips adjoining street rights-of-way for the purpose of preventing access to adjacent property shall not be permitted under any condition.”

Kotis' property is zoned for office park.



The city’s technical review committee, made up of staff from different departments, approved a plan submitted by Carroll in April that allows Kotis to access the road at the end of the 709-foot strip. Winfree said his client objects to Carroll controlling where it accesses the road, and believes it would make more sense for Kotis to have access across from two curb cuts on Carroll’s side of the road. The two curb cuts for Carroll’s proposed Horse Pen Creek Village come before motorists would reach Kotis’ drive point after turning onto the new road from Horse Pen Creek Road.

Kotis Properties sued Carroll’s company and the city over the placement of the strip in June. The city responded by citing a Massachusetts court ruling that where proposed reserve strips “merely prevent partial access,” they are not at variance with the ordinance.

The court opinion in Johnson v. Foreman that is cited by the city suggests that regulation of roadway intersections entails both a concern for the interests of the public that will use the roads, along with a concern for balancing the rights of property owners. The court opinion states that the Massachusetts regulation

... was intended to promote free, efficient and safe movement of vehicular traffic within the subdivision, and to promote vehicular traffic between subdivision roads and adjoining streets and properties. This regulation targets the practice of placing thin ‘spite’ or ‘reserve’ strips of land at the ends or edges of subdivision roads to frustrate their use by abutting landowners

.

Winfree said the current street alignment is impractical.

“If this stands, you could end up with a cul-de-sac within feet of the road,” he said. “In addition to being a complete waste of asphalt, it creates a lot of unnecessary driving and confusion.”

Gillean Smith, a spokeswoman for Carroll, said her client could not comment because the lawsuit remains unresolved.

Political considerations

The revelation that at-large Councilman Robbie Perkins exchanged text messages with Carroll using his Blackberry during Winfree’s appearance before city council on Dec. 15 has created a flurry of indignation on the Greensboro blogosphere. At the end of the exchange, Perkins expressed the opinion that Wood was “forthright” in his opinion that the city could not intervene to give Kotis additional access to the planned road, and suggested that Carroll “go toe to toe” with Marty Kotis, the president of Kotis Properties, at the next council meeting.

Kotis Properties’ lawsuit against the city and Horse Pen Commercial LLC broadly alleges that Carroll exercised improper influence over the city staff and city council in obtaining approval for the site plan.

Perkins recused himself from voting on the rezoning of the property for the future Horse Pen Creek Village in April 2008 “due to a financial conflict of interest,” according to minutes from the city council meeting.

Perkins' real estate company, NAI Piedmont Triad, is currently marketing commercial properties in Carroll’s Center Pointe high-rise in downtown Greensboro.

“I can’t speak for any other council member, but I did not make any contact with staff on Carroll’s behalf,” Perkins said in a recent interview. “That’s between the developers, their engineers and the staff. I’m not even privy to what they’re submitting to the city.”

Winfree indicated that he will be looking for evidence that Perkins was improperly involved in the technical review committee’s decision.

“He has a financial interest in this project, which is why he recused himself from the zoning case,” Winfree said. “That doesn’t prove he did intervene, but it proves he has a motive to intervene. We thought this approval was the result of improper influence over staff or city council.”

Also creating the possible perception of conflict of interest is the fact that employees of Kotis Properties poured thousands of dollars into the campaigns of members of the sitting council during the recent election. Five council members, including Perkins, Mayor Pro Tem Nancy Vaughan, District 2 Councilman Jim Kee, District 3 Councilman Zack Matheny and District 4 Councilwoman Mary Rakestraw, received campaign contributions ranging from $250 to $2,500 from Kotis Properties employees.

Carroll and his wife, who contributed $6,965 to city council candidates during the 2007 election cycle through their North Carolinians for Leadership in Government PAC, made a comparatively modest outlay in this year’s election. The couple contributed a combined $350 to Perkins’ campaign.

George Hartzman, an unsuccessful candidate for the District 3 seat, said every one of the council members who accepted contributions from Kotis Properties was aware of the company’s lawsuit against the city, because Hartzman requested a copy of the city’s response, and city staff provided the document to all candidates.

Hartzman described the dispute between Kotis Properties and Carroll as “a nitpick between two very powerful people who have basically funded in part the political campaigns of many of the people sitting on the city council.”

Despite a possible perception of conflict of interest, those who accepted contributions from employees of Kotis Properties will be required by law to vote on the proposed condemnation.

“According to the letter of the law if they received campaign contributions the law does not find a direct financial connection,” Hartzman said. “I totally disagree with that. Whoever receives the most money generally wins. That’s a financial interest because their salary is tied to the campaign contributions. It’s not illegal, but I think it’s wrong.”

Winfree said his client’s campaign contributions are insignificant compared to the money at stake in Perkins’ business dealings with Carroll.

“I don’t think the Kotises give expecting any favor on any particular issue, but I expect their contributions are small potatoes compared to the commissions that Mr. Perkins earns in marketing Mr. Carroll’s properties.”