Another Addition to the Robbie's Recusals from Greensboro City Council Meeting for May 21, 2013

Here is another addition to Robbie's Recusals from Greensboro City Council for May 21, 2013

for this agenda item from our dear friend Richie Rich Roy Carroll

Ordinance in the amount of $225,000 amending the General Fund budget for the pass-through of a Guilford County Economic Development Incentive Grant to Park View Development LLC.

Mayor of Greensboro with another Conflict of Interest Incentive Grant in Greensboro

 

 

On the agenda for the City of Greensboro for January 15, 2013 is this:

33. Resolution authorizing Economic Development Incentive Grant for 102 North Elm Street Associates, LLC D/B/A The Southeastern Building not to exceed $238,422.

Well as you can see from the above pictures, look at who is the leasing agent for the building, none other than the Mayor of Greensboro Robbie Perkins . Hopefully we will see the Mayor who has done plenty in the past recuse himself again because of a conflict of interest.

Here is a link to the Business Journal article on this agenda item HERE

and also some more reporting from a article in 2011 HERE

If some believe Roy has more than 600 acres in the 9,000, should Robbie have voted?

MINUTES OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF GREENSBORO, N. C. REGULAR MEETING
21 FEBRUARY 2012

43-12 RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING DISTRIBUTION FROM THE CITY AND COUNTY TRUST FUND
FOR FOREST OAKS ESTATES, LYNWOOD LAKES SUBDIVISION,
AND THE EASTERN AREA SEWER PLAN

WHEREAS, on January 17, 2012 the City of Greensboro, by resolution,
the City Council approved funding the Forest Oaks Estates in the amount of $2,043,084.00
and committed the remaining funds of the CCTF to the improvements of the Eastern Area Sewer Plan
provided that and contingent upon ...(3) County agreeing to commit the remaining funds
in the CCTF to the Eastern Area Sewer Plan...

WHEREAS, the County, by resolution, has offered to fund the Eastern Area Sewer Plan
provided the City agrees to jointly fund the water and sewer extension
to Forest Oaks Estates and Lynwood Lakes Subdivision;

Mayor Perkins Reversal of Recusal on Penthouse Neighbor RIchie Rich Roy Carroll

With this post on Triadwatch last week titled "Greensboro Mayor Perkins Recuses in '09 But Votes in '12 on Richie Rich Roy's Center Pointe"

We see from today in the Greensboro News and Record Inside Scoop this post titled "On Second Look, Mayor Will Have To recuse Himself from Vote"

Then we have the interim City Attorney Waterman say this in his opinion of the recusal of Mayor Perkins from the Park View Development vote:

Ordinance Amending the General Fund On April 3
rd the City Council also amended the City’s general fund budget to disburse economic development grant funds awarded by Guilford County to Park View Development, L.L.C. The item passed 9-0. Mayor Perkins is the listing agent for certain property owned by Park View Development, L.L.C. However, Mayor Perkins is not a member, manager or owner of Park View Development, L.L.C. As such, he does not receive any of the economic development grant funds designated for Park View Development, L.L.C. During the meeting Mayor Perkins confirmed that he would not receive any of the economic development grant funds awarded by Guilford County. Based on those facts I opined that Mayor Perkins did not have an impermissible conflict of interest in amending the City’s general fund budget to disburse economic development funds to Park View, L.L.C.

However, financial interests can be beneficial or detrimental. Upon further reflection, it can reasonably be argued that Mayor Perkins was subjected to a potential financial detriment, e.g. the potential loss of his real estate listings with Park View Development, L.L.C. As such, I am revising my prior opinion to reflect that Mayor Perkins appears to have an impermissible conflict of interest in this matter. While the item passed unanimously, I am recommending that: (1) on April 16th the City Council votes to excuse Mayor Perkins from this item; and (2) the remaining disinterested Councilmembers vote on the amendment to the general fund budget.

The analysis of a Councilmember’s potential conflicts of interest is very fact-specific and nuanced. Determinations should not be made spontaneously. Accordingly, I am respectfully requesting that Councilmembers discuss any potential conflicts of interest with the City Attorney well before the item is being considered at a Council meeting. I apologize for any inconvenience to Council resulting from my earlier opinion. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or concerns about this matter.


As you see from the above memo to Greensboro City Council members we see that the Interim Attorney wants any conflicts that need to be addressed before the council meeting happens. Well ,let me give you another conflict between Mayor Perkins and  Richie Rich Roy Carroll . It so happens at this past Greensboro City Council meeting we had this passed with a unaminous vote.:

12. Resolution calling a public hearing for April 16, 2012 to consider requests from developers for public participation in corporate parks in or near the City of Greensboro in accordance with the Urban Development Investment Guidelines

One of the request is to give a grant to Roy Carroll for land in unincorporated Guilford County  for over  $5,360,766 for a BS shovel ready project . Let us remember as to who should pay for water and sewer like this youtube video shows you,






It is also intersting to see Roy Carroll talking about his project off of Horse Pen Creek Road from the above video and to see how a few years later look and see who's for sale sign is on the property below

None other than the Mayor of Greensboro is selling property for Roy Carroll off of Horse Pen Creek Road at Jessup Grove Road next to Hayleigh Village Apartments. This ruling by the interim attorney and a complete reversal from what he had to say at council meeting will make for a interesting April 16, 2012 Greensboro City Council meeting because as we know developer Roy Carroll has a bunch of land in Eastern Guilford County and i am sure not all of the property will be used for a business park but will be a mixed use development and knowing as we see from the above and also the mayor is the leasing agent for Roy Carroll at Center Pointe it will be very hard for the Mayor NOT to recuse himself from the shovel ready economic bond money they want for the property in eastern Guilford County to give to Richie Rich Roy Carroll.

It is great to see 2 local bloggers on triadwatch making a difference in local politics without the help of even being on the local aggregator.

Greensboro Mayor Robbie Perkins Recuses in '09 but Votes in '12 on Richie Rich Roy's Center Pointe

Here we go again where back in 2011 we had  Greensboro City Councilman Zack Matheny recuse himself from voting on the white street landfill because of a conflict with one of the companies in D.H. Griffin then months later vote to award a contract to D.H. Griffin at the Greensboro Coliseum with a post titled "Greensboro Councilman Zack Matheny Did Not Recuse Himself on DH Griffin Item at Council Meeting" which happened back in December of '11.

Now we have the Mayor of Greensboro Robbie Perkins who is doing the same thing as what Councilman Zack Matheny did last year where they have selected understanding of what a recusal is and also with a very competent Greensboro City Attorney back in 2009 in Terry Wood said to then councilman Robbie Perkins "yes" you do have a conflict of interest and need to abstain from the vote as you see from video below


here is from minutes from the agenda back in '09:

Mayor Johnson introduced a resolution authorizing an encroachment agreement with Park View Development

LLC into the City’s right-of-way and sidewalk easement adjacent and contiguous to Center Pointe along Friendly

Avenue. City Manager Johnson indicated that the resolution was required due to a change in corporate name.

Councilmember Perkins indicated a conflict of interest and his desire to abstain from voting. Councilmember Bellamy-

Small moved to excuse Councilmember Perkins from voting on the item. Councilmember Matheny seconded the

motion which was adopted by voice vote of Council. Councilmember Bellamy-Small moved adoption of the

resolution. The motion was seconded by Councilmember Matheny; the resolution was adopted on the following roll

call vote: Ayes: Barber, Bellamy-Small, Groat, Johnson, Matheny, Rakestraw, Wade and Wells. Noes: None.

Abstention: Perkins.
So as you can see then councilman Robbie Perkins was a abstention from the vote.

We also wrote a post back on February 19, 2009 and here is a part of that post

"The Greensboro City Council needed to vote again on Roy Carroll's building encroaching into the sidewalk in downtown Greensboro because Roy Carroll renamed the project Park View Development. The funny aspect was to hear Robbie Perkins actually ask the city attorney Terry Wood since my company is the leasing agent for this project and he said ," Does that constitute a conflict of interest" . Well Robbie Perkins I would hope so, good lord did you take a class at Fuqua called the art of no conflicts in local government."

To see the above post which was titled "Robbie Perkins with 4 Conflicts of Interest and Had Partner in Over Development Crime Matheny on 2 of them", CLICKHERE 

Now let's go to the April 3, 2012 Greensboro City Council meeting where this item came up in front of council
26. Ordinance in the amount of $218,714 amending the Fiscal Year 11-12 General Fund Budget for the appropriation of a pass through economic development grant from Guilford County to Park View Development, LLC.





In the above video you will see the Mayor ask City Attorney Waterman about the conflict and he says you can vote on this item. You will then see George Hartzman ask if the Mayor is the leasing agent for the bottom floor of  Center Pointe and you need to recuse yourself and explains why he needs to do so. Spot on from George Hartzman on this point.

How can you have a conflict in '09 then now on top of being local developer Roy Carroll's personal leasing agent you actually now live in Center Pointe then not recuse yourself from this vote at the April 3, 2012 Greensboro City Council meeting?


I would suggest that this agenda item be revoted like Zack Matheny had to do and seeing that mayor Perkins does have a conflict of interest and in the future when we see any item come in front of Greensboro City Council from local developer Richie Rich Roy Carroll than we also need to see Mayor Perkins recuse himself from these items like we will see at the next council meeting where this will be on agenda:

 12. Resolution calling a public hearing for April 16, 2012 to consider requests from developers for public participation in corporate parks in or near the City of Greensboro in accordance with the Urban Development Investment Guidelines

Local developer Richie Rich Roy Carroll wants over $5 million in economic bond money for his property in eastern unincorporated Guilford County not City of Greensboro . Why should Mayor Perkins recuse himself from this vote is because as we see from Richie Rich Roy Carroll's  property off of Horse Pen Creek Road in Greensboro  it is not that the Mayor needs to recuse while the property is in the zoning phase of coming in front of council it is that after the fact you will see Mayor Perkins signs litter the property from Richie Rich Roy Carroll because the Mayor is his personal leasing agent and am sure not all of this property in Eastern Guilford County will be a business park but will need to be leased by Mayor Perkins company NAI Piedmont.

Kieth Brown "Mayor Perkins Recusals Part #1 and Past Problems with the New GTCC Water and Sewer off of Highway 68"

"Greensboro City Council Meeting December 13, 2011

34. Resolution approving bid in the amount of $1,966,989.17 and authorizing Contract No. 2009-021 with J. R. Lynch & Sons, Inc. for the Greensboro Technical Community College (GTCC) General Water and Sewer Project. (Council District: n/a) (roll call vote) (Attachment #34 to Councilmembers)

Water & Sewer 

The property that Mayor Perkins owns in front of the new GTCC buildings off of Highway 68 North is titled leabourne 68 llc .

In the video above we have the mayor saying "I own property that could be effected by this item". 

Water & Sewer for Robbie's newly zoned property?

No Mayor Perkins you own property that is directly in front of the said property that is getting water and sewer so in reality your "could be" should have said "will be" effected and am sure that when you bought the property knowing full and well that this property was right in the way of providing water and sewer to the GTCC campus.

Here is what was written a few years ago about this same property and remember that Councilman Zack Matheny recused himself from this vote but at the December 13, 2011 vote on this item he did not recuse himself like he did in past on this issue.

Highway 68 North + Anonymous Investors + Plus Zack and Robbie= Ethical Problems

Also Jordan Green from Yes! Weekly also had a post titled Highway 68 Shopping Center Receives Approval

in this article Jordan writes this:

"commercial and residential future of the NC Highway 68 corridor

near the new GTCC aviation campus took shape on Sept. 10
when the Guilford Planning Board unanimously approved a request
by a group of anonymous investors.

The decision rezones 51 acres
from allow a shopping center and housing development
to be built on what is presently a combination of woodland and pasture.

The request was opposed by about a dozen neighboring residents
who lamented that the rural character of their community would be lost,
and that they were being out-maneuvered by powerful developers
with the deep pockets to secure expensive legal help.

“This feels a lot like land speculation,” said Mary Fabrizio, an opponent from nearby Colfax.

“It stinks because two of the investors are sitting on the Greensboro City Council.”

At-large Councilman Robbie Perkins and District 3 Councilman Zack Matheny
have abstained from a city council vote on the project
because of conflicts of interest.

Derek Allen, the lawyer with Brooks Pierce law firm
who argued the case before the planning board,
said that the two councilmen “had interest in groups that had interest in that property.”

The limited liability company interested in developing the property,
which is currently owned by WA Kennedy Jr.,
was organized in June by Jennifer C. Noble, a lawyer with Brooks Pierce.

The company’s registered agent is Stanhope Johnson,
a partner with NAI Piedmont Triad,
a commercial real estate company headed by Perkins."

It would be great for the citizens to know just who are these anonymous investors and to have Greensboro City Councilman Zack Matheny and Mayor Perkins come clean on this whole situation that he was a part of in regards to the land speculation game they both played off of Highway 68 .

Will we see any reporting from the local and weekly papers in regards to this situation or is it ok for sitting councilmembers to have anonymous investors for the public to not know about,  especially when we are talking about taxpayers monies going into building the infrastructure like water and sewer."

Keith Brown AKA Triad Watch 

Mayor Perkins Recusals Part #1 and Past Problems with the New GTCC Water and Sewer off of Highway 68

Greensboro City Council Meeting December 13, 2011

34. Resolution approving bid in the amount of $1,966,989.17 and authorizing Contract No. 2009-021 with J. R. Lynch & Sons, Inc. for the Greensboro Technical Community College (GTCC) General Water and Sewer Project. (Council District: n/a) (roll call vote) (Attachment #34 to Councilmembers)


The property that Mayor Perkins owns in front of the new GTCC buildings off of Highway 68 North is titled leabourne 68 llc . In the video above we have the mayor saying "I own property that could be effected by this item".  No Mayor Perkinsyou own property that is directly in front of the said property that is getting water and sewer so in reality your "could be" should have said" will be" effected and am sure that when you bought the property knowing full and well that this property was right in the way of providing water and sewer to the GTCC campus.

Here is what was written a few years ago about this same property and remember that Councilman Zack Matheny recused himself from this vote but at the December 13, 2011 vote on this item he did not recuse himself like he did in past on this issue.

Highway 68 North + Anonymous Investors + Plus Zack and Robbie= Ethical Problems

Also Jordan Green from Yes! Weekly also had a post titled Highway 68 Shopping Center Receives Approval

in this article Jordan writes this

"commercial and residential future of the NC Highway 68 corridor near the new GTCC aviation campus took shape on Sept. 10 when the Guilford Planning Board unanimously approved a request by a group of anonymous investors. The decision rezones 51 acres from allow a shopping center and housing development to be built on what is presently a combination of woodland and pasture.

The request was opposed by about a dozen neighboring residents who lamented that the rural character of their community would be lost, and that they were being out-maneuvered by powerful developers with the deep pockets to secure expensive legal help. “This feels a lot like land speculation,” said Mary Fabrizio, an opponent from nearby Colfax. “It stinks because two of the investors are sitting on the Greensboro City Council.”

At-large Councilman Robbie Perkins and District 3 Councilman Zack Matheny have abstained from a city council vote on the project because of conflicts of interest.

Derek Allen, the lawyer with Brooks Pierce law firm who argued the case before the planning board, said that the two councilmen “had interest in groups that had interest in that property.”

The limited liability company interested in developing the property, which is currently owned by WA Kennedy Jr., was organized in June by Jennifer C. Noble, a lawyer with Brooks Pierce. The company’s registered agent is Stanhope Johnson, a partner with NAI Piedmont Triad, a commercial real estate company headed by Perkins.   "   
It would be great for the citizens to know just who are these anonymous investors and to have Greensboro City Councilman Zack Matheny and Mayor Perkins come clean on this whole situation that he was a part of in regards to the land speculation game they both played off of Highway 68 .

Will we see any reporting from the local and weekly papers in regards to this situation or is it ok for sitting councilmembers to have anonymous investors for the public to not know about,  especially when we are talking about taxpayers monies going into building the infrastructure like water and sewer.

Second Opinion from Law Firm in Regards to Conflict of Interest for Greensboro Councilman Perkins and Matheny

Where is the public disclosure "on the record of the Council"?

Why would the city attorney provide such a small snapshot
of the financial relationship between Perkins, Carrison and Griffin?


Doesn't it seem bizarre that the total benefit of all the potential and prior sales
isn't included?


Could Robbie "be personally at risk financially if his vote displeases his" employee
if Mr. Carrison has "multiple signs for D.H. Griffin"?


Is this why Rita Danish left?


If not, why?


How much could Mr. Carrison make on the listed properties?


Where are "all material facts"
disclosed by Robbie Perkins on the landfill contract?


How many properties does Mr. Carrison have listed for D.H. Griffin?


If Zack "might reasonably be concerned" about a vote against D.H. Griffin,
why wouldn't Robbie be concerned for the same reasons,
if Mr. Carrison could easily walk with all the D.H. Griffin listings?


Could Robbie "be personally at risk financially if his vote displeases his" employee
if Mr. Carrison has "multiple signs for D.H. Griffin"?


How much future income does Robbie stand to lose,
if Mr. Carrison were to become upset with Robbie's vote
and leave the company?

Opinion Letter on Greensboro Councilman Zack Matheny and Robbie Perkins


The above scribd document is the second opinion along with the one she received from the UNC School of Government in regards to the conflicts of interest for the white street landfill request for proposal to councilman Robbie Perkins and Zack Matheny. If this is the case and this second opinion is there for all to see then Councilman Zack Matheny needs to start voting on this issue and not play cards with Councilwomen Nancy Vaughan out in the lobby.

The City of Greensboro, City Council and Robbie Perkins'
very serious conflict of interest issue: Is this why Rita Danish left?

Fec - "some mind-warping logic" on Robbie Perkins and the White Street Landfill

Greensboro News & Record Editorial:
Going, going, gone: On firing city attorney Rita Danish

Rita Danish Linkfest

An unanswered Information Request
and the ETHICAL RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE GOVERNING BODY
OF THE CITY OF GREENSBORO

It Looks Official Maybe, Robbie Perkins for Mayor of Greensboro, Dump The Developer!

The last post on tuesday had the Carolina Peacemaker with a article titled "Did the Carolina Peacemaker Endorse Robbie Perkins for Mayor", CLICKHERE .

Then Guarino had a post titled "Robbie Perkins Watch: Positioning to Become the African-American Candidate for Mayor", CLICKHERE  with a whole section at Guarino's blog related to post on Robbie Perkins CLICKHERE

Then we see a new article in the Rhino Times  titled "Perkins Kinda Sorta Running for Mayor", CLICKHERE 

here is a part of the article

"Perkins said the fact that he wanted to be mayor "shouldn't be a shock or news to anybody."

He said that to run for mayor next year, "A lot of things have to fall into place, but I don't see anything that will change that plan or goal." Perkins is the president of NAI Piedmont Triad, a commercial real estate firm.


A photo of Perkins was on the front page of the July 1 issue of the Carolina Peacemaker last week, with an article that quotes Perkins as answering the question about running for mayor by saying, "It's the next logical step." Robbie Perkins On July 6, Perkins said, "Well, it is the next logical step."

Triadwatch has a whole section just for Robbie Perkins recusals on council CLICKHERE with another section titled Robbie Perkins CLICKHERE.

It will be interesting to see if current Mayor Bill Knight will seek reelection again like he said in the Rhino article he has only been in office 7 months but in a position of mayor you need to be in campaign mode each and every day.

 Having a developer as mayor of a major city like Greensboro brings on plenty of conflicts especially with the close relationship of Robbie Perkins and local developer Roy Carroll who himself got in a huge ethical problem with lending his plane to the former Mayor of Greensboro in Yvonne Johnson, here is a post at ROCH 101 with a title "On Behalf of myself and the other misguided morons in Greensboro, I apologize to the Community Foundation of Greensboro", CLICKHERE . Plenty of ethical issues with that one and we also have Robbie Perkins texting Roy Carroll in China during a City Council meeting.

We also have to total influence of a lobbyist group on everything in Greensboro which is the Triad Real Estate and Building Industry Coalition (TREBIC) who as a group with Robbie Perkins company NAI Piedmont Triad tried to deny the citizens of Greensboro the right to a Protest Petition in the zoning process. He did vote to allow this bill to go through but TREBIC fought till the end for not allowing the citizens of Greensboro this state law which was available to every single municipality in this state except Greensboro.  Here is a link to everything in regards to the protest petition for greensboro but want to link you to what was written in yes weekly in a post here is the link CLICKHERE   with a title" People Power and Protest Petitions ". There is a lot to ponder but more post in future

Another Episode of Robbie's Recusals from Greensboro City Council Meetings

During the Greensboro City Council meeting on April 20, 2010 Greensboro City Council member Robbie Perkins added another recusal to his resume. Video below.

REGULAR MEETING


TUESDAY

APRIL 20, 2010

5:30 P.M.

COUNCIL CHAMBER
21. Resolution approving the proposed amendments to the Neighborhood Stabilization Program Plan, Target Area and Budget for submittal to the North Carolina Division of Community Assistance. (Council District: all) (roll call vote) (Attachment #21 to Councilmembers)


22. Resolution approving allocation of Neighborhood Stabilization Program funds for support of a Permanent Supportive Housing Project recommended by the Community Resource Board and authorizing the City Manager to execute loan documentation. (Council District: 3) (roll call vote) (Attachment #22 to Councilmembers)


Robbie Perkins says in the video that one of our real estate brokers found this piece of land for Mr. Levy and his group and have a direct financial interest and need to abstain. Just a few questions in just how did your real estate broker find this property? Was there any inside maneuvering for this property?

This concludes another episode of Robbies Recusals

HAT TIP Piedmont Publius CLICKHERE

Here is what Piedmont Publius had to say about this

"The item was to allocate Neighborhood Stabilization funds for a public housing project to be located near the corner of N. Elm and Pisgah Church Road. The city housing planner told the council that the 20-unit project had a total cost of $2 million, $800,000 of which would be provided by the city.



Before the discussion, council member Robbie Perkins said he had to abstain from the discussion and the vote because one of his brokers found the property for the developer an thusd he had a “direct financial interest.”


I’m not sure who’s providing Perkins’ brokering fee, but an average citizen would look at this and say a public official is profiting from a project that is receiving taxpayer funds. That never looks good.


By the way, the item passed with an 8-0 vote with practically no discussion or debate, something I like to call a ‘City Council special.’"

TO BE CONTINUED

Elm Street and Cornwallis Rezoning is a Complete Mess, Dump 2-21 of Greensboro Code of Ordinance

UPDATE UPDATE: This rezoning case has been postponed till February 2, 2010 Greensboro City Council meeting for a full advertised agenda item.

The Greensboro City Council on today's agenda #8 which is the rezoning request for 2207-2209 North Elm Street and 106-108 West Cornwallis Drive . Let's take a look at a little background on this rezoning case . Below is from the council agenda with attachments.

Following a public hearing on October 12, 2009 the Zoning Commission's recommendation was for approval by a 4-3 vote. 2 residents spoke in favor and 4 spoke in opposition to this approval.Pursuant to the public hearing on November 17, 2009 this request was denied by a vote of 3 in favor of and 4 against (a valid PROTEST PETITION had been filed for this request). On December 15, 2009 a reconsideration motion for this request was approved by the City Council and therefore the City Council will conduct another public hearing on January 5, 2010 to reconsider this request. New public notifications will be made prior to this new hearing.


Let's take a look at how this action came about during the last council meeting on November 17, 2009 here is some of the minutes from the meeting. Now look at what happened at the end of this where Greensboro City Council member Zack Matheny  changed his vote after a recess of council, slick move for your golfing buddy.

Councilmember Wade moved adoption of the ordinance and stated that the Greensboro City Council believes that its action to approve the zoning amendment, located north of West Cornwallis Drive and west of North Elm Street from RS-12 to CD-RM-12 to be consistent with the adopted Connections 2025 Comprehensive Plan and considers the action taken to be reasonable and in the public interest for the following reasons: it promotes compact development, it promotes mixed income neighborhoods (Policy 6A.2); it promotes new patterns and intensities of use to increase economic competitiveness and enhance quality of life in urban areas (Policy 4C). The motion was seconded by Councilmember Barber; the ordinance was adopted on the following roll call vote: Ayes: Barber, Groat, Matheny and Wade. Noes: Bellamy-Small, Johnson, and Wells.



(A copy of Mr. Stratton‘s handout is marked Exhibit R-21 and is referenced herein and made a part of these minutes.)


……..


Mayor Johnson declared a recess at 9:44 p.m.


……..


Council reconvened at 10:03 p.m. with all members in attendance except Councilmembers Rakestraw and Wade.


……..


Upon reconvening, Councilmember Matheny stated that after he had spoken with the City Attorney and City Clerk, that he wished to change his vote on Item #12 to a ―No‖ vote. Upon no objections from Council, Mayor Johnson stated that the ordinance rezoning classification from RS-12 (Residential-Single Family) to CD-RM-12 (Conditional District-Residential Multi-Family property located at 2207-2209 North Elm Street and 106-108 West Cornwallis Drive, generally described as north of West Cornwallis Drive and west of North Elm Street had failed. City Attorney Wood stated that the item would not come back before Council.

Somehow there is a ordinance where you as a council member can bring up a vote previously denied by council. There is also another Greensboro ordinance where if you don't get 6 votes then it automatically comes in front of council again at the next council meeting to cast another vote. These 2 ordinances need to get more scrutiny where now the citizens have the right to Protest Petitions.If i were a neighborhood who went in front of council and the rezoning case got denied but now we have a councilman change his vote then get it resubmitted close to a month and a half later, not fair and not right.Could be a great challenge in a court setting.

More background on this rezoning case can be found on a post during the November council meeting from the birthplace of triadwatch in "protest petition for greensboro" web site with a title "Greensboro City Council Member Zack Matheny has a Golfing Buddy, Campaign Donor and Rezoning case with Protest Petition", CLICKHERE  .

Just found the ordinance that needs to be taken out of the books for good . Here is the Greensboro City Code of Ordinance in administration under article 2 City Council,

Sec. 2-21. Reconsideration of matters previously acted upon.



(a) The city council may reconsider any matter previously acted upon by it subject to the conditions set forth herein. A motion for reconsideration shall be made and acted upon no later than the day of the second regular meeting following the meeting at which such matter was previously considered. In the discretion of the city council, either at the same meeting in which the matter was favorably reconsidered or at any meeting thereafter, the city council shall finally dispose of the matter by taking another vote thereon.


(b) In the event that there are not a sufficient number of councilmen present at the meeting as required by applicable provisions of law to act favorably on a motion to reconsider any matter arising under the provisions of this section, then the matter shall be reconsidered not later than the day of the next regular meeting at which a sufficient number of councilmen are present to act favorably on such motion to reconsider any matter.


(c) Notwithstanding subsections (a) and (b), any ordinance which received five (5) affirmative votes upon first reading shall automatically be carried over to the next regular meeting of the city council following the meeting upon which such ordinance was first voted upon and shall be subject to a second reading with a subsequent vote to be taken thereon. In the discretion of the city council, either at the same meeting in which there is a second reading or at any meeting thereafter, the city council shall finally dispose of the matter by taking another vote thereon.


(Code 1961, § 2-6; Ord. No. 04-08, § 1, 1-6-04)

This ordinance given to the Greensboro City Council should be thrown out and given a proper burial. Now with the right of citizens all over Greensboro to have the right to a Protest Petition then both the 5 vote rule for a second vote and also this maneuver that Zack Matheny did at the November meeting should be done away with . For example you are making the citizens who are fighting these rezoning cases come back again and again on the same matters it is not fair and right to make these citizens all over the city come back again and again. Vote these rezoning cases up or down and move on .

The rezoning case on Elm and Cornwallis which will have Greensboro City Council member Robbie Perkins recuse himself again because he has a 12% stake in the property and now with a new council we will have Mayor Pro Tem Nancy Vaughan also have to recuse herself on this case as well because her husband State Senator Don Vaughan is a lawyer for a group of citizens who needed representation in front of council on this issue. This case has it all then you add Protest Petition to the mix and they still need 6 out of 7 votes for this case to pass council.

Here is a case in point about this whole reconsideration of a rezoning case. The citizens filed a proper Protest Petition back in November on the Elm and Cornwallis case and looking at the new agenda item here is what was stated" (A VALID PROTEST PETITION WAS RECEIVED BY THE CLERK AND DELIVERED TO PLANNING ON 11.11.09 AT 11:48 A.M., AN ADDITIONAL PROTEST PETITION WAS RECEIVED BY THE CLERK AND DELIVERED TO PLANNING ON 12.28.09 AT 12:58 P.M. – SUFFICIENCY HAS NOT YET BEEN DETERMINED)". Why would they need another filing of a Protest Petition? This is time wasted and should have never had to happen. Just like this case to begin with it was voted down back in November and should not be brought back in front of council for a year.

The city attorney Terry Wood gave John Stratton a out back in november where he could have postponed this case till the december meeting where a new council could have seen this case along with the new conditions put on the property. Now we have a case where it was brought up in front of council and now they are going to have to redo the whole case in front of council again. They could have just delayed this till December but didn't want to see how the new council will vote and now with another recusal in this case it will still take 6 out of 7 votes for this rezoning case to pass with a valid Protest Petition as a part of the process.

It is real tough to understand this whole case from the beginning but it has been a real mess from day one. To sum it up in a nutshell it is time to take a closer look at the ordinance called reconsideration of matters previously acted upon section 2-21 of the municode of greensboro.

It will be interesting to see this rezoning case play out and to see if it passes council in a early vote on a controversial zoning case.

Greensboro City Council Member Robbie Perkins Text Messages to Developer Roy Carroll During Council Meeting, Any Ethical Questions?

Perkins Texts



Above you will see the text messages from Greensboro City Council member Robbie Perkins to local developer Roy Carroll. During this last council meeting on December 15, 2009 it was discovered that Robbie Perkins was texting back and forth to Roy Carroll about a situation involving a court case which is totally a separate issue and a condemnation of Kotis properties to put in water and sewer to Roy Carroll's property off of horse pen creek road.

The first issue that needs to be addressed is should council members be text messaging during council meetings? The answer should be NO because the council members need to be concentrating on who is speaking to them and the case in front of them and not text messaging their friends or in Robbie Perkins case your TREBIC which stands for the Triad Real Estate and Building Industry Coalition buddy.

The second issue is to see if Greensboro City Council member Robbie Perkins is also Roy Carroll's leasing agent for this property off of horse pen creek road? If Yes ,then the councilman needs to recuse himself from yet another case that comes in front of the City of Greensboro. Here is a post from the past where both Robbie Perkins and Roy Carroll are tied together CLICKHERE on the center city pointe in downtown Greensboro.

To understand the above text messages in the first text message it talks about a person by the name of winfree, that happens to be Kotis Properties lawyer in Chick Winfree. The third text says that is has been tabled till January 5, 2010.In the fourth text it states that "Al" has been giving me the play by play. Al is probably, Al Leonard who is Vice President Carroll Commercial Construction Company and Carrolland Company.And the last text seems like Robbie Perkins saying to Roy Carroll to go toe to toe with Kotis Properties. The "Terry" in the last text is Greensboro City Attorney Terry Wood.

A lot of this came out in front because we had a airplane incident over the summer where local developer Roy Carroll wanted to fly the Mayor of Greensboro and chairman of Guilford County Board of Commissioners Skip Alston to Washington D.C. , well some of us including this blog wanted to say that this was completely unethical for this to happen CLICKHERE for that post on July 10,2009 titled "Greensboro City Attorney Advised That Trip To D.C. Raises Ethical Concerns for Mayor of Greensboro and County Chairman. Then
on July 16, 2009 we have this post CLICKHERE titled "Roy Carroll's Company + City of Greensboro are Defendents in a Court Case As We Speak, Any Ethical Questions Now?. Now we fast forward to the end of year where the city now wants to condemn Kotis Properties for water and sewer to Roy Carroll's companies and we have a sitting Greensboro Council member text messaging the president of the company while the council meeting is going on. Amazing.

Hopefully the Mayor of Greensboro Bill Knight will make sure that all council members turn off their cell phones and not look down at their blackberry's of I phones during council meetings.

We also need to let the court case run it's course on this issue because it seems that the city attorney Terry Wood has sided with Roy Carroll on this issue and the reserve strip is acceptable but to Kotis Properties it is not but we see that Greensboro City Council Member Robbie Perkins has advised Roy Carroll that "Terry was forthright, you and marty should go toe to toe on Jan 5".

If you want to see the court case of Kotis VS. City of Greensboro & Horse Pen Creek Village CLICKHERE plenty of tidbits in that court case.

UPDATE: more post on this issue
Joe Guarino has more CLICKHERE part #2 and CLICKHERE part #1
Roch101 CLICKHERE
Questions for Greensboro CLICKHERE

Amanda Lehmert from the Greensboro News & Record has a update with a quote from Greensboro City Council member Robbie Perkins CLICKHERE

Greensboro City Council Member Robbie Perkins Recuses Himself Again and Again

Greensboro City Council member Robbie Perkins recuses himself from matters coming in front of council.Time to document just how often this happens.

On the agenda for 11-17-2009 Robbie Perkins recused himself from this case in front of council.

41. Resolution authorizing City Participation in Upsized Water & Sewer Lines for Brittway II Investments, LLC not to exceed $418,406. (roll call vote) (Attachment #41 to Councilmembers

Who is Britway II Investments? It looks like the manager is Al Leonard COO who is also with surprise surprise Carroll Companies .If you want to see some history of local developer Roy Carroll and Greensboro City Council member Robbie Perkins CLICKHERE

Also on 11-17-2009 Robbie Perkins has to recuse himself from these items as well on the agenda because he owns 12.5% of the houses.

11. Ordinance amending Chapter 30, Section 30-1-10, Relation to the Comprehensive Plan, to consider an amendment to the Connections 2025 Comprehensive Plan Generalized Future Land Use Map (Figure 4-2) from the Low Residential and Mixed Use Commercial land use classifications to the Moderate Residential land use classification for property located in the northwest quadrant of the intersection of W. Cornwallis Road and N. Elm Street. (Attachment #11 (CP-09-02) to Councilmembers) (roll call vote) (THIS ITEM WAS CONTINUED FROM THE NOVEMBER 10TH MEETING OF COUNCIL WITHOUT FURTHER ADVERTISING)

12. Ordinance rezoning classification from RS-12 (Residential-Single Family) to CD-RM-12 (Conditional District-Residential Multi-Family property located at 2207-2209 North Elm Street and 106-108 West Cornwallis Drive, generally described as north of West Cornwallis Drive and west of North Elm Street. (Attachment #12 (PL(Z)09-14) to Councilmembers) (roll call vote) (THIS ITEM WAS CONTINUED FROM THE NOVEMBER 10TH MEETING OF COUNCIL WITHOUT FURTHER ADVERTISING) (A VALID PROTEST PETITION WAS RECEIVED BY THE CLERK AND DELIVERED TO PLANNING ON 11.11.09 AT 11:48 A.M.)

Robbie Perkins 4 Conflicts of Interest and had Partner in Over Development Crime Matheny on 2 of Them

Robbie Perkins had to abstain from 4 items on the agenda for the Greensboro City Council on Tuesday February 17, 2009 with one being a story that has been reported before on Triadwatch CLICKHERE with the title"Greensboro City Council Member Robbie Perkins and local developer are Ethically Challenged", where Robbie Perkins is the leasing agent for Center Pointe, see picture above.

The Greensboro City Council needed to vote again on Roy Carroll's building encroaching into the sidewalk in downtown Greensboro because Roy Carroll renamed the project Park View Development. The funny aspect was to hear Robbie Perkins actually ask the city attorney Terry Wood since my company is the leasing agent for this project and he said ," Does that constitute a conflict of interest" . Well Robbie Perkins I would hope so, good lord did you take a class at Fuqua called the art of no conflicts in local government.

There was also a piece of property off of old randleman road that wants to be annexed into the city of Greensboro with a rezoning case to come up next month, here is what the councilman had to say.

"My real estate company has a listing on this property and I think it is under contract and have a direct financial interest and need to abstain. "Then Councilwomen Groat wanted to know about this property because there was a person who is none to happy with this case coming up in front of council. Will keep you informed on this rezoning next month.

Then at the end of the council meeting the city of Greensboro had 2 resolution's to have an agreement with Guilford County to add sewer and water to the Northwest campus for GTCC. This agreement's would cost the city of Greensboro $2,083,534 with the county picking up $2,825,397.

Then come to find out they are bringing water and sewer to a part of the city where it looks like Robbie Perkins and partner in over development crime Councilman Zack Matheny had to abstain from the vote because of financial ties to land speculation done by both Robbie Perkins and Zack Matheny which has been reported before on Triadwatch CLICKHERE with the title "Highway 68 North + Anonymous Investors +Zack and Robbie = Ethical Problems".

Councilman Zack Matheny contemplated for about 20 seconds because he is not a part of this development company anymore but who knows what you were a part of to begin with.It is time for Zack MAtheny to come clean on his ties to this development company you were a part of last year. This is the kind of cozy relationship's between developers and city council members that needs to be transparent for all to know and see.

These items and plenty other conflicts of interest need to stop and the only way to do that is to vote these ethically challenged city councilmen out of office come fall.There could be a recurring theme come fall where the citizens can get their council back and have a

"DUMP THE DEVELOPER PARTY ON ELECTION DAY"

with a trifecta of developers on council to vote out of office in Perkins, Matheny and Groat.