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Town of Coats commissioners authorize publication of notice for proposed property exchange
Summary
At a special Oct. 24 meeting, the Town of Coats Board of Commissioners unanimously authorized the town manager to publish the 10‑day public notice required under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 160A‑271 for a proposed purchase and exchange of town property. Final action on any exchange will be taken at a subsequent regular meeting.
The Town of Coats Board of Commissioners on Oct. 24 unanimously authorized Town Manager Nick Holcomb to publish the 10‑day public notice required by state law for a proposed purchase and exchange of town property.
The special session, called because Mayor Chris Coats and Mayor Pro‑Tem Jerry Beasley were absent, opened with the board appointing Commissioner Allen Mosby to preside. Mosby called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m.
Town Manager Nick Holcomb told the board the special meeting was needed to clear up confusion from the prior meeting, when the board had discussed the exchange in closed session. Holcomb said the prior motion appeared to have been intended to let the manager negotiate, but not necessarily to proceed with publishing the statutorily required notice; he told the board “it was best to present the Board with the actual notice that would run in the paper to satisfy the State law.”
Town Attorney Al Bain read N.C. Gen. Stat. § 160A‑271 aloud and summarized its requirements, including that a municipality must give 10 days' public notice describing the properties and the consideration changing hands before adopting a resolution to exchange property. Quoting the statute, Bain said, “A city may exchange any real or personal property belonging to the city for other real or personal property by private negotiation if the city receives a full and fair consideration in exchange for its property.”
Commissioner Marc Powell moved and Commissioner Kelvin Gilbert seconded a resolution authorizing Holcomb to publish the required notice; the motion passed 4‑0. The board did not take final action on any exchange at the special meeting. According to the attorney’s reading of the statute, any formal authorization to complete an exchange must be adopted at a regular meeting after the notice period.
The meeting adjourned at 6:17 p.m. Motion to adjourn was made by Commissioner Kelvin Gilbert, seconded by Commissioner Shirley Allen, and approved 4‑0.
What happens next: The manager will publish the 10‑day notice describing the properties and consideration, and the board may consider adoption of any resolution authorizing the exchange at its next regular meeting.
