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GREENSBORO — City and county leaders were advised to not take a plane ride to Washington this week because legal staff worried it might violate North Carolina law, City Attorney Terry Wood said.

The trip to advocate for a South Elm redevelopment project was to be taken on a private plane that developer Roy Carroll donated to the Community Foundation of Greater Greensboro. 

Wood said the trip, which was delayed by the foundation, might have violated a North Carolina law that regulates gifts from contractors.

The foundation is baffled as to how the flight could have been construed as a gift, spokeswoman Lynn Wooten  said.

Carroll offered to let the foundation use the plane before it was clear who might travel to Washington on the trip, Wooten said.

“We had a board member who graciously offered his services,” Wooten said. “He is not in any way involved in this project. He has nothing to gain from it.”

Greensboro Mayor Yvonne Johnson , Guilford County commissioners chairman Melvin “Skip” Alston , Assistant City Manager Andy Scott  and Carroll were among the representatives planning to make the trip on behalf of the foundation, which is proposing part of the downtown development.

A Tennessee consultant hopes to build a $75 million hotel on the property owned by the Greensboro Redevelopment Commission at South Elm and Lee streets. The Community Foundation formed Gate City Co. to propose a school district administration building and other uses for a nearby space.

The delegation from Greensboro hoped to meet with elected leaders in Washington to lobby for federal stimulus funds to build a schools office that would accommodate 500 employees currently stationed across the county.

Local officials caught flak from residents after it was revealed that they would accept a free ride from the Community Foundation via Carroll, who has received economic incentives from the city.

Johnson said she was comfortable  making the trip after she learned  Carroll has no financial stake in the project.

“I guess that’s why you have lawyers. You try to listen to them,” she said. “You don’t want people to have any question in their minds whether you are doing what is right or ethical.”

Wood said he discussed the issue with the county attorney and the UNC School of Government.

Although legal opinions about whether the trip would violate the law vary, Wood said it was his opinion that City Council members and county commissioners, as government representatives with contracting authority, should not go on the flight.

“It’s not just something that doesn’t look good,” Wood said. “They cannot accept gifts of anything other than a nominal value from persons that either have a contract with the city or county.”

The statute makes it a crime for a contractor to give a gift or favor and for a public servant to accept any gift or favor.

“It is a misdemeanor, but it is a right severe misdemeanor,” Wood said.

Wooten said the foundation has been transparent about the trip and delayed it when concerns arose.

“We didn’t want to do anything at all that could even appear to be inappropriate,” Wooten said. “This project is too important to get bogged down in a distraction like this.”

Johnson said Walker Sanders, president of the Community Foundation, is working to reschedule the trip.
 

Contact Amanda Lehmert at 373-7075 or amanda.lehmert@news-record.com