The South Iredell Community Development Corporation (SICDC) plans to pay off its debt to the Town of Mooresville by June 30.
In an e-mail to the Report on Tuesday, Mayor Bill Thunberg – who has sat on the SICDC board the past two years while the SICDC defaulted on its annual payment to the town – stated that the debt was discussed during the SICDC’s annual meeting in February. “I think the SICDC was planning to payoff the entire debt before fiscal yearend,” Thunberg wrote in the e-mail.
The SICDC still owes the town $388,263 – down from nearly $850,000 in 2002 – in accrued interest from loans of public money made to it between 1989 and 1994. An agreement forged between the SICDC and the Town of Mooresville in 2002 stipulates that the SICDC will pay the town 10 percent of its outstanding balance each year and half of all proceeds from land sales in the Mooresville Business Park on Mazeppa Road until the debt is paid in full.
The SICDC did not make its scheduled $38,826 payment in February 2007 and has not yet made a payment in 2008. The organization has also not paid the town any portion of the $1 million it made earlier this year from two land sales in the Mooresville Business Park.
Thunberg signed release deeds on those two parcels when the SICDC sold them, meaning the town cannot foreclose on those specific properties and sell them to secure the money owed by the SICDC in the event that the SICDC refuses to pay the town.
According to Thunberg, however, that won’t be an issue since the SICDC plans to pay its debt to the town, in full, within the next few months.
But that doesn’t explain why the SICDC violated its agreement with the town by not making an annual payment on the balance since 2006. And perhaps even more disturbing is that the SICDC has apparently been discussing its delinquency – and how it plans to rectify it – at least since February, while the mayor (also a member of the SICDC) has kept town commissioners and his constituents in the dark about it.
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6 comments:
With this slimmy Mayor, I have to see it to beleive it. We'll see!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The jury is still out on Bill Thunberg. I would like to know what type of official action was taken at the specific meeting to which he refers - the annual meeting of the SICDC in February. If there was a good faith intent to pay off this rather substantial debt, the minutes should reflect it, thereby corroborating the mayor's account. If the minutes do not reflect such intent, then the mayor's comments may be viewed with suspicion and lead to further erosion of the public's trust.
Night Owl
I think all of the officers on the SICDC Board should be held accountable--- the minutes will reflect any intentional default,but these folks are knowledgeable enough about business to know what the payment schedule was from its past setup, so any excuse of oversight or we didn't whatever isn't plausable. The treasurer knew what was supposed to be paid, so was the treasurer directed to withhold or incompetent? I hope Jamie Gatton looks at the past several years(5) minutes to see how the payment was approved--because it was, in new or old business, motioned and voted to direct the treasurer.I think these folks are getting a pass on their legal obligations, and to me it looks like Jamie Justice turning the water back on for a $200,000.00 customer.(Contrary to the ToM interest) But the most disturbing thing, is that "Slick Willie" Thunberg has the power to release ToM forclosure /interest leverage with just a signature. I think the ToM should amend the charter to require any release of ToM financial interest require a Commission vote to approve a release, then direct the mayor and town manager to sign a release for that item.(Most businesses require two(2) signatures on checks over $2000.00 and to convey interest/title, the President and Secretary of a Corporation have to sign a closing statement/contract)I also would like to know if the ToM commissioners knew about the default--Why the mayor never told them about it if they didn't know? Where was the ToM financial person--Setzer--how long has she been receiving the checks from the SICDC and did she wonder -where are they this year(07) and did she alert anyone? There are alot of questions that need answers, who knew, when they knew, and why they didn't act? Criminal or incompetent? you decide--
I just read the latest blog entry "SICDC satisfied debt to town." Boy does the mayor look foolish now. He's the one who should have wanted IMMEDIATE payment, instead he's himhawing something about June 30. At the same time, SICDC has broken its legs paying this debt off already, as well they should have. Good for them. Shame on the mayor. He's totally out of touch...He's history, he just doesn't know it yet.
In the prior post, serious allegations were made about a town employee, and I am not currently aware of any factual basis for the allegations.
If the poster would like to provide me with evidence to substantiate his/her allegations, I would be interested in receiving it and, if confirmed, would be willing to re-post the comment in its entirety.
You can provide me with evidence by posting it here anonymously or by sending an e-mail to me at jgatton@windstream.net. By the end of this week, I intend to have a P.O. Box and will post that address on the Report's main page. People at that point will be able to anonymously send me documentation, evidence and tips.
Meanwhile, I am not able to edit a portion of a comment, so I must remove it in its entirety first. Then, if there’s a portion of the comment that is unaffected by the allegations, I will re-post the remainder of the statement in a subsequent comment post. In this case, I cannot do that because the entire comment is affected by the allegation.
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