SHORE THING: My ‘Macaca’ Moment

By GEORGE SOUTHERN
Cape Charles Wave

July 11, 2012

Mention the word “Macaca,” and millions of people will vaguely recall it had something to do with a politician turning his attention toward a college student who was videotaping every word he said.

That politician was George Allen, and July 11 marks exactly 5 years and 11 months since Allen infamously nicknamed the student videographer from UVA (who is of Indian descent) “Macaca” — a kind of monkey. Commentators blame that 1-minute indiscretion for Allen’s loss to now-Senator James Webb. You can relive it here:

http://youtu.be/r90z0PMnKwI

Last night I had my own “Macaca” moment – nothing dramatic like the Allen episode, but nevertheless I felt a little like that UVA student, S.R. Sidarth, as he stood filming a speaker who suddenly directed everyone’s attention to the cameraman.

I was attending a meeting of the Cape Charles Planning Commission, and the commissioners were hearing a presentation by Echelon Resources developer J. David McCormack. As everyone in Cape Charles knows, Mayor Dora Sullivan has signed a contract to sell the old school, playground parking lot, and basketball court to Echelon Resources for the sum of $10.

Last night was the first time that a representative of Echelon Resources has spoken publicly about the deal, and I was filming it.

McCormack began by mentioning the friendship between his wife and Town Manager Heather Arcos. His wife is from Nassawadox, and “just by sheer coincidence,” McCormack said, “we realized that we had – she had a relationship with Heather.”

“That’s really as far as it goes,” McCormack concluded.

And then the presentation began – at least for several seconds — before Planning Commissioner Malcolm Hayward asked, “Are you fine with this camera?”

And then, for a few fleeting seconds it was all about George. “I’m happy to meet George . . . I got a lot of emails from George via Edwin [Gaskin, his Echelon partner] over the last couple months . . . I’m happy to hear from George, glad to meet George,” McCormack said, facing the cameraman (me).

“Whatever happens with the school at the end of the day, I’m going to still be neighbors with you all – by virtue of my relationships in town,” McCormack explained.

A lot of emails from George? OK, I admit to sending one email to co-developer Gaskin, to which I did not receive a reply. So now I know that Gaskin not only read my email but also forwarded it to his partner.

So, now that I’ve been “outed” by the developer, I’ll state for the record that I really don’t have a problem with Messrs. McCormack or Gaskin. They’re developers, and this is what they do – obtain a property for the lowest possible price, and sell it for the highest possible price. In the case of Cape Charles, their work has been masterful – not only is the purchase price $10, but the Town has also agreed to give them over $40,000 in insurance proceeds for damage to the school’s wall.

Echelon Resources didn’t strike quite as good a deal outside Danville, Virginia, where they negotiated to buy an old elementary school building for $10,000: See http://workitsova.com/2012/05/09/high-end-apartments-eyed-chatham-elementary-school/

Coincidentally, $10,000 is the amount of money that the newly formed entity Old School Cape Charles, LLC, offered the Town for our old school.

But the contract went to Echelon. And what a deal – although the Town’s attorney advised to require a performance bond and buyback provision, Echelon refused, so the Town struck that from the contract.

And there’s the matter of the water and sewer hookup fees. You probably heard that Town Council recently passed an ordinance cutting the fees by one-half for one-bedroom dwellings (which are what Echelon plans to build). But how many folks realize that the contract the Mayor has signed stipulates an ADDITIONAL 50 percent reduction just for Echelon? That’s right – 50 percent of 50 percent, or a total hookup fee reduction of 75 percent.

Because there’s no performance bond and no buyback provision, when Echelon receives the school property (and the $40,000) from the Town, they are not legally obligated to do anything they have promised to do.

I’m sure their promises were made in good faith. But if Echelon fails to obtain the required funding, they won’t be able to fulfill their promises.

They will, however, still have clear title to the school and adjacent parkland, as well as the $40,000 insurance payment.

Perhaps they could sell the property to Old School Cape Charles for $10,000?

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Comments

5 Responses to “SHORE THING: My ‘Macaca’ Moment”

  1. Bram Opstelten on July 11th, 2012 7:17 am

    George, I think you and the Cape Charles Wave are on the way to being nominated for a Pulitzer: very impressive journalism!

  2. Elizabeth Michaels on July 16th, 2012 9:44 am

    George, thanks so much for a very informative and well stated article. Why does this whole thing seem ‘shady’? Hope to see more of your articles.

  3. Jean Johnson on July 16th, 2012 3:12 pm

    The fact that out-of-town developer Echelon is receiving $40,000 cash upfront and title to the property with absolutely no performance commitment doesn’t sound like a good deal for Cape Charles. In their other projects (such as in Richmond and Danville, Echelon forms LLCs to obtain financing for the projects. If they are unable to attract the necessary investment for Cape Charles (a strong probability, IMHO), does the town get that money back?

  4. Cape Charles Wave on July 16th, 2012 5:27 pm

    GEORGE SOUTHERN RESPONDS: Jean — I’m not a lawyer, but as I wrote above, my understanding is that once the closing occurs, Echelon Resources will have title to the school, the basketball court, and the parking lot, and for their trouble they will also have a check for $40,000.

    That said, there is a clause in the contract which states: “As a material part of the consideration for Seller to convey the Property to Purchaser, Purchaser agrees to construct the Project on the terms and conditions set forth herein. Seller would not convey the Property to Purchaser in the absence of Purchaser’s agreement to strictly adhere to the conditions set forth in this Section.”

    But the contract doesn’t say what would happen if the Purchaser fails to construct the Project. Grounds for a lawsuit?

    The Cape Charles Wave will be publishing the entire contract as an attachment to a related story — look for the Tuesday, July 17 edition.

  5. Jennie Rogers on August 13th, 2012 9:53 am

    The whole thing about buying the bank for over $200,000 and then selling the old school for $10 is so bogus! That’s the Town for you! And I should know since I was once the Town Clerk and obtained a $400,000 grant for the Town for repair of the fun pier and a fishing pier and even gave my grant writing fee towards their match. All I asked for was a $3,000 raise and never got it. I barely got a thank you from the Council. And didn’t even get an invite or a write-up when the project was completed and in the news. The Town chooses to spend where, when, and on whomever they want. Very one-sided and the Town folks don’t stand a chance. If you aren’t in the clique, you might as well hang it up!