Residents may give opinion on hotel deal
GREENSBORO — When the Guilford County commissioners meet Thursday, will they address the hotel-sized elephant in the room?
The meeting will be the commissioners’ first since controversy began around a proposed luxury hotel, the millions in federal stimulus funding it is seeking and Melvin “Skip” Alston — the board’s chairman who brokered the deal.
Alston has been accused of politically threatening rival developers and members of the Greensboro City Council over the deal. Last week, he apologized to the council members — including Mayor Bill Knight — for saying a recall election might be held if they reconsidered the hotel’s financing approval.
Alston has yet to address the matter with his fellow commissioners.
Alston, who has refused to disclose how much he stands to make on the deal, said he won’t discuss the hotel deal any further — at the meeting or otherwise.
“I’m not talking about the hotel any more, period,” Alston said. “That’s all in the hands of the developers now.”
A few members of the Guilford County Board of Commissioners said the hotel is likely to come up at the meeting, one way or another.
“I’ve had a number of telephone calls about this,” said Commissioner Paul Gibson , a frequent critic of Alston’s leadership. “I wouldn’t be surprised if we got some speakers from the floor on it.”
Board rules prevent residents from speaking at the meeting on any item on the commissioners’ agenda. Since the hotel project and the recovery zone bonds that may fund it don’t appear on an early draft of that agenda, speakers will be free to have their say during the meeting.
Gibson said he doesn’t plan on bringing the hotel project up at the meeting .
“I think he stepped over the line,” Gibson said of Alston. “I’ve made my feelings clear on the subject. But he’s not going to resign and he’s not going to step down as chairman, so what more can you say about it?”
Commissioner Billy Yow has sparred with Alston for years. Last week, he called for Alston to resign the chairmanship because of his actions on the hotel deal. Yow said he’s gotten a number of calls from angry constituents, but he doesn’t expect the commissioners will take any action against Alston.
“There’s not enough spine on the board for anyone to do or say anything, even if they think he was wrong,” Yow said.
Alston recused himself from the vote on the bonds — all that was legally required by statutes on conflicts of interest. Yow agrees that Alston broke no laws but said there should be a higher standard for public officials.
“It’s about how he represents the board when he’s serving his business interests, when he’s making these threats, when he’s serving his own agenda,” Yow said.
Commissioner Linda Shaw said she believes Alston’s apology was sincere and there’s no more to be said. That sentiment was echoed by commissioners Bruce Davis, John Parks and Carolyn Coleman this week.
“It doesn’t look like legally he did anything wrong, so we should move on to other things,” Shaw said. “As far as I’m concerned, it’s over. I’d just like for everyone to get along.”
Contact Joe Killian at 373-7023 or joe.killian@news-record.com
Accompanying Photos
Photo Caption: This parking deck is part of the property being considered for a new luxury hotel in downtown Greensboro.
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