Comments on: OLD SCHOOL DEVELOPER South Virginia Town in Water Feud with Echelon Partner

By: David Gay

David Gay — Fri, 07 Sep 2012 13:34:35 +0000

I agree with Billy Coleman, Mayor of Blackstone, VA. The WAVE is an exceptional addition to Cape Charles. I start my day reading the WAVE and getting caught up on all the local Cape Charles news. For this weekender it is a great way to stay connected to the town my wife and I love.

Thank you for staying with the Echelon story. This issue has high interest among property owners in the Historic District. After reading all the comments on this subject I still can’t figure out why the Town Council gave Echelon such an incredibly sweet deal without any performance requirements. Maybe the answer will be revealed in the court case. Eventualy the truth will be known. Keep up the good work!

By: Billy Coleburn

Billy Coleburn — Thu, 06 Sep 2012 20:40:59 +0000

I’m the Mayor of Blackstone, and yes my family and I run the local newspaper. We aggressively report what happens in local government, and that upsets some people from time to time, including apparently Dave McCormack. We are a HARD-HITTING local newspaper, and we applaud the Cape Charles Wave for its reporting on this issue. We’ve been called a lot of things, but a “fluff piece” is a first. Gotta laugh! Our paper photographed and wrote about Mr. McCormack’s impressive Mayton Transfer Lofts in Old Town Petersburg. The tap fee controversy here in Blackstone is most unfortunate but it is, nonetheless, newsworthy–particularly after it has been discussed, ahem, PUBLICLY during COUNCIL MEETINGS. We’d love to have Mr. McCormack join us. 3rd Monday of each month, Dave!

By: Bob Panek

Bob Panek — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 12:29:21 +0000

I need to correct a statement made by Mr. Creed in his comment. Echelon provided a ten year financial pro forma to the Town.

By: Wayne Creed

Wayne Creed — Tue, 04 Sep 2012 13:52:25 +0000

I now understand why the developer refused to supply a Pro Forma to the Town. That kind of data would have allowed us to accurately model the projected net revenues and eventual cash flows the old school project might generate. Given what we have learned in Blackstone, it would have been rather embarrassing to have this sort of thing exposed just as you are courting prospective partners on the Eastern Shore. There have been numerous red flags popping up around the Echelon group, such as the Ginter Place bankruptcy in Richmond (http://www2.timesdispatch.com/business/2009/apr/22/b-gint22_20090421-213618-ar-45710/). Now that the Blackstone incident has finally exposed their financial situation, I have to agree with Mr. McCormack, this is “really, really scary”.

By: Deborah Bender

Deborah Bender — Tue, 04 Sep 2012 08:48:58 +0000

It seems to me that our little Town Council should have known more about J. David McCormack & Edwin Gaskin BEFORE they climbed into bed with them! I spoke at a Town Council meeting about my concerns, but nobody would listen. There is a saying, “All that glitters isn’t gold.” I think our mayor, both town managers, and Council have been played by professionals too. Greed has taken this town down before and greed is knocking on the door again. Maybe this will be a wake-up call, but this time it might be too late. NO PERFORMANCE BOND AND NO BUY-BACK OPTION? Smart, Mayor Sullivan — REAL SMART!