Souring Economy A Stumbling Block For Sports Complex

ABINGDON, Va. – It may sound like just more of the same: the Washington County Board of Supervisors and the Abingdon Town Council are having a joint meeting on a proposed sports complex.

But this time, elected officials are approaching the issue with a different tone: it might not – they say now it probably won’t – happen as it’s been envisioned up to this point.

Until now, the rhetoric has been positive, with hopes that a deal could be worked out between the council and the board, which have been at odds for months over details of the project.

Some folks on both sides are still optimistic, but now the plan has a new wrinkle: the faltering economy.

The two bodies have a joint meeting scheduled for 6 p.m. Tuesday at the county administration building to discuss current economic conditions and other issues surrounding the complex.

“None of the board members have really come out and told me that they want to see it fold, but I have felt all along … for the last few months, few meetings, that the enthusiasm for this complex has waned a lot,” said Supervisor Odell Owens.

“I really don’t know, but I have a feeling that it’s not going to go,” he continued. “In view of the economic conditions, I’m not sure this is the best time to go forward with it anyway.”

Supervisor Tom Taylor said he hasn’t heard a lot from board members in favor of killing the project, assuming that the issues with the town are resolved, “but economic times have changed since we started on the project.”

“Given the current situation, we might not have anybody that would buy the bonds, and that certainly would be a reason not to go forward with it,” Taylor continued.

Some members of the Abingdon Town Council echoed that concern in interviews Thursday.

“I’m somewhat optimistic, but to continue to delay this thing says nothing but it’s going to be killed,” said Town Councilman Jason Berry. “Just reading the way people act, they seem to want the thing to be killed, which I think is unfortunate. … The more people delay, the more it seems like they’re trying to find a way to kill it.”

Berry said he believes the board and the council should go forward with the $2.37 million purchase of land for the project – and, if necessary, put off construction, which has an estimated cost of at least $6 million, until economic conditions improve.

One of the supervisors said the county is looking at another piece of property that may become a new sports complex site if the partnership with the town falls through.

Berry said he was surprised when the Town Council didn’t vote on the agreement that had been worked out with county officials, and he said Town Manager Greg Kelly and Vice Mayor Ed Morgan would be the ones to answer questions about what happened.

Kelly did not return calls seeking comment Thursday and Friday; Morgan declined to comment beyond the contents of the motion he made Monday to request the upcoming joint meeting, when he said he hopes a decision would be reached one way or the other during Tuesday’s meeting.

In a letter to County Administrator Mark Reeter, Kelly wrote that he wanted a closed meeting to discuss financing and details of the project.

“If they [attorneys] conclude we can, I would recommend that we conduct the discussions of the issues in closed session and hopefully come out of the closed
session prepared to make a unified motion and/or resolution that will finally determine whether or not both bodies are prepared to move forward with the complex,” he wrote.

Reeter said Friday that as far as he knows the meeting will be held in open session, and the five supervisors reached by phone Thursday and Friday all said they believe it should be open.

“As far as I’m concerned, the things that need to be discussed we can discuss in open session,” said Supervisor Dulcie Mumpower.

“I don’t think I’m going to vote for an executive session for it,” said Supervisor Odell Owens. “I think the public needs to know what we’re doing.”

Since details of the project came up for discussion, the Town Council has held almost all its meetings behind closed doors. The supervisors have openly discussed the issue each time.

“I don’t know how the meeting will turn out, but the economy is certainly an issue in everything that’s going on in the world right now,” said Town Councilwoman Cathy Lowe.

“I’m actually not too worried about criticism if we all agree that we’re doing the right thing for the right reason, but we’ve got some more issues to hammer out and some decisions to make,” Lowe said. “I don’t want to second-guess what might happen because it might not.”

Jack McCrady said he thinks the project – at least in its current form – will die Tuesday night.

“We have to seriously look at the future, and we haven’t heard what’s going to be happening at the state level when they review their income sources, which will flow down to us, and there’s certain services that we’ve got to provide for,” McCrady said.

“We’ve got to educate our children. We’ve got to supply water. … And if there’s not enough [money] to go around, you have to say what is prioritized. ... A possible sports complex might move down a tier or two until better times.”

Chairman Kenneth Reynolds said he doesn’t see any issues on the list the county and town can’t agree on, and he hopes the project will move forward.

Mayor Lois Humphreys, asked whether she believes it will progress, said she wants to hear what the county has to offer, and what the supervisors think about what the town will offer at the meeting. She would not discuss specifics.

“You’ll just have to wait and see,” she said.

While overall comments were negative about the likelihood of the project going forward immediately as envisioned, most of the town and county officials said they weren’t ready to predict what will happen at the joint meeting Tuesday.

“With everything that’s happened along the way, I absolutely could not speculate at this point whether it will happen or not,” Mumpower said of the sports complex project.

“I would be hopeful that we could work things out, but we’ll just have to wait until we have the meeting and see what happens.”

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