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Mount Olive tables sale of Dr. Spencer E. Durante Sr. Athletic Complex amid nonprofit bid and public concern
Summary
The board tabled a $20,000 offer from ADLA, Inc. for the Dr. Spencer E. Durante Sr. Athletic Complex and will begin an upset-bid process; residents and a nonprofit attorney urged caution, citing donor investment and reversion clauses in the deed.
The Town of Mount Olive on May 4 tabled Action Memo 04-48, a $20,000 offer from ADLA, Inc. to purchase the Dr. Spencer E. Durante Sr. Athletic Complex at 612 South Breazeale Avenue, and authorized the town attorney to begin the upset-bid process if the board proceeds.
During the public forum, resident Ray McDonald Jr said private donors contributed an estimated "between $300,000.00 & $400,000.00" to create the football field and urged the board not to sell, warning it would "poison the well for future investors." Attorney Irvina Wentworth, representing ADLA, Inc., said ADLA and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes intend to bid for the property and improve it for public use; she told the board that "if ADLA, Inc ceases to exist the deed would revert to the Town of Mount Olive," and that a lease would limit the group's ability to control improvements. Wentworth also said many 501(c)(3) organizations were unaware they could submit bids.
Commissioner CJ Weaver moved to table the sale item; the motion passed 5-0. Commissioners and staff discussed the upset-bid process and whether a lease or sale better serves community control and use of the facility. Town Attorney Carroll Turner will be authorized to begin the upset-bid process if the board later proceeds with the sale. No sale occurred at the meeting; the item remains tabled for further consideration.
The board also recorded a Certificate of Appreciation to Mr. and Mrs. Timothy Dortch as a related community recognition during the same meeting.
