[VAcourier] New Lexington - MOC Article

Thu Apr 5 00:35:26 EDT 2007

Mimi Elrod's latest rant below

The News-Gazette
http://www.thenews-gazette.com/
Localities To Vote On MOC
Council Members Express Concerns About Proposal
BY ED SMITH

A proposal to entice the Museum of the Confederacy from Richmond to 
Courthouse Square in Lexington hinges on votes set to take place next 
week by the Rockbridge County Board of Supervisors and Lexington City 
Council.

A group composed mostly of members of the Rockbridge Area Tourism Board 
is preparing a proposal that will be presented to both governing
bodies. If affIrmative votes by both governing bodies are attained, the 
proposal will then be sent to the MOC board, which has set April 15 as a
deadline for receiving proposals for the relocation of the museum.

The local proposal is to include having the county donate the 
courthouse, the old jail, the bank building and lawyer's row building to 
the MOC. A limited liability corporation, would be formed to take 
possession of the buildings during renovation and construction of the 
museum facilities. The LLC is needed in order to qualify for tax credits 
for the renovation of historic structures.

City Council is to be asked to' grant tax exempt status to the museum.   
Also under the proposal, the upper two floors of the bank building would 
be sold to a private developer to build condominiums, which would be 
sold and returned to the tax rolls.

Tourism Board President Brian Shaw, who's been serving as the spokesman 
for the local MOC initiative, said Tuesday, "Tax breaks and incentives
are a big part of any economic development package. It's not out of the 
ordinary when localities are trying to attract industry, or in this case
a tourism attraction."  When the subject of luring the MOC here with 
such incentives has come up at recent meetings, the idea has been
mostly embraced by the Board of Supervisors while City Council has been 
more circumspect in its views about the proposal.

"Tourism is industry," commented Supervisor Mack Smith last week. "[The 
MOC] would enhance what we already have going for us."
At a meeting last week of City Council's social and economic services 
committee, a couple of members expressed concerns about certain aspects
of the forthcoming proposal.  Councilman Tim Golden objected to the 
possibility of private entities profiting from what's intended to be a 
public enterprise.
He said he has a problem with a private LLC being formed that would be 
granted tax breaks as well as the notion of selling off a portion of the 
bank building for the
development of condominiums.

Councilwoman Mimi Elrod brought up the issues of a new name for the MOC 
and the prospect of Confederate flags flying outside the museum. She
said she wants assurances that "Confederacy" would be dropped from the 
name, as was earlier suggested by MOC Executive Director and President
Waite Rawls would happen with a relocation of the museum.

She also asked about a statement made by Rawls at a recent public 
informational meeting in which he said three national flags of the 
Confederacy would be displayed in front. of the museum alongside U.S. 
and Virginia flags. Two of the three national flags have the familiar 
bars and stars in the upper left comer where the field of blue and the 
50 stars is displayed on the U.S. flag. Elrod recalled that Mayor John 
Knapp had said previously no Confederate flags would fly on Main Street 
in Lexington.  Elrod and Ron Smith cast the dissenting votes when City 
Council approved by a 4-2 margin last month a motion to continue 
discussions with the
MOC. The Board of Supervisors approved a similar motion earlier that 
same week by a unanimous vote.

Addressing Golden's concerns Tuesday, Shaw emphasized that the LLC must 
be formed in order for the project to qualify for the tax credits.  "It 
exists only to [help] fund this project. It goes away after five 
years."  The proceeds from a private developer's purchase of the upper 
two floors of the bank building would go toward the museum construction 
project,  Shaw explained. It's true that the developer would expect to 
make a profit through the sale of the condominiums, he said, but the
developer would also be assuming the risk when making the purchase of 
the property. The end result, he added, is that a portion of the 
Courthouse Square property would be back on the city's tax rolls.

As for the name of the museum, that's a decision for the MOC Board to 
make, said Shaw. The proposal being put together here will not include a
name change as a condition.  The proposal also won't address the flag 
issue.  Shaw pointed out that the addition of Confederate flags to the 
Courthouse
Square property would be an exterior change and thus subject to the 
review and approval of the city's Architectural Review Board and City
Council. That control won't be lost if the museum relocates here.

The Board' of Supervisors discussed the MOC proposal at a retreat on 
March 20 and again at the Board's regular meeting last week.  Smith said 
it's important that any proposal brought back to the supervisors have 
realistic projections of tax revenues generated by tourists visiting the 
museum that would show how long it would take before the county recoups 
its investment of a donation of approximately $2 million worth of buildings.

The supervisors opened up the discussion to the public at last week's 
meeting, prompting two individuals to speak in favor of the county 
seeking the museum.
"We do not have flat land for industries," remarked Lannie Ballard.   
"This area is more conducive to tourism. I feel strongly the county
should pursue the museum."  W.B. "Doc" Wilmore commented, "If we let 
half-a-billion dollars in artifacts [said to be held by the museum] get 
away, shame on us."

"Supervisor Maynard Reynolds said he'd like to get input from the public 
on how much of an investment the county should make. "Is the sky the
limit?" he asked.  Looking ahead to the presentation he'll be making to 
the supervisors next Monday, April 9, and to City Council the following 
Thursday, April '12, Shaw said Tuesday, "It comes down to preserving 
Courthouse Square and economic development.  That's what this is all about.
"
Staff writer Roberta Anderson contributed information to this story.

Copyright Notice in accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, any 
copyrighted material published herein is distributed under fair use without
profit or payment to those who are interested in receiving the provided 
information for non-profit research and educational purposes only.
[Reference: http://www.law.cornell.edu/17/107.shtml]

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