JULY 23, 2009 ISSUE
DBDA Contract with Town Extended Six Months
Council Reverses Previous Decision
In a reversal of decisions and expressed intentions, the Boone Town Council on July 16 voted to extend a town contract with the Downtown Boone Development Association (DBDA) for another six months. The contract designates the DBDA as the administrator of Municipal Service District tax funds.
The Municipal Service District (MSD) is located in the downtown area, and the town collects taxes from MSD property owners. At the recommendation and motion of Mayor Pro Tem Lynne Mason, the council voted 3-1 to rescind a previous decision to accept new proposals for use of the tax money. Pepin voted against the motion, arguing that the town should entertain other ideas.
“[The motion] doesn’t allow for additional alternatives and exploration,” Pepin said. “We need more competition in our contracts.”
In voting to negotiate an extended DBDA contract, the council voted unanimously to release six months of MSD revenues to the DBDA. The previous contract expired June 30. The council also voted to review the DBDA’s compliance with a list of recommendations at the end of the six months and to hold a meeting with MSD stakeholders.
The DBDA was established in the 1990s as a nonprofit to contract with the town to put MSD funds to use in promoting the economic development of the MSD and to participate in the Main Street Program, a project of the N.C. Department of Commerce that provides assistance to small towns to promote downtown revitalization.
During a June 9 budget workshop, the town council voted unanimously to restrict expenditures of the MSD tax revenues to a ratio of 15 percent administrative expenses and 85 percent non-administrative expenses—a move that would have made it very challenging to continue DBDA operations, Executive Director Tuesdae Rice has said.
At a June 16 public hearing on the town budget, council members expressed concerns about the DBDA’s compliance with its contract with the town and with its own bylaws. After discussions with town attorney Sam Furgiuele and Jim Byrne, special assistant to the town manager, several council members indicated that they did not believe the DBDA contract should be renewed. During that meeting, Mason said she did not feel comfortable entering a contract with the DBDA until issues were resolved.
“I want to see the MSD money spent according to state law and what the stakeholders want,” she said at the time.
But after meeting with Mast General Store owner John Cooper, a founder of the DBDA and past board member, on June 29, Mason drafted a statement of recommendations for the DBDA in order for the organization to continue as the designated administrator of MSD funds. The statement said that if the DBDA complies with the recommendations, council members would “look favorably” on the DBDA continuing the contract without the 85/15 formula for expenses.
Mason’s recommendations to the DBDA include adherence to its own bylaws, including holding an annual membership meeting and electing board members at that meeting; compliance with state laws regarding MSD spending; developing measurable goals for the four tenets of the Main Street Program; and providing a semi-annual report to the town, among others.
Mason also said the DBDA Board of Directors needs to reevaluate the number of positions needed for the Main Street Program, develop clear job descriptions and conduct an annual performance review on the director.
“What I heard loud and clear from John Cooper was that the DBDA wants to be in a position to continue doing this,” Mason said in a previous interview. “If they can address accountability [issues], I’m willing to look at their continuing with the program.”
At the July 16 meeting, Dempsey Wilcox made a presentation to the town council on behalf of the DBDA. Wilcox is a DBDA board member and a former town council member. The presentation addressed council concerns and described steps the DBDA is taking to comply with Mason’s recommendations. It also included a report to be submitted to the state office of the Main Street Program. The report for fiscal year 2008-09 shows that 28 improvement and construction projects totaling $15.6 million came to downtown during that period. It also reports a net gain of 11 new businesses and 45 new jobs.
“We’ve had a lot of money invested in downtown Boone despite the economy,” Wilcox said.
The presentation also compared the DBDA’s income and spending with four other towns in the state. The four listed towns each allocated a significant portion of funding to their downtown development organizations above and beyond MSD revenues, which the Town of Boone does not do, Wilcox said. In addition, all four towns had staffs of at least two full-time employees, with more money allocated for salaries than Boone.
“It turns out, we spend less on staffing than other towns,” Wilcox said, adding that salaries account for 33 percent of the DBDA’s budget.
“I sense a renewed excitement,” Mason said at the conclusion of the presentation. “This looks like a really good step toward getting people re-involved in the process.”
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