The Shadow
“Beliefs don’t change facts. Facts, if you’re reasonable, should change your beliefs.”
I stumbled across this quote from British actor and comedian Ricky Gervais the other day, and it got me thinking about our current societal situation where folks are more likely to trust information that aligns with their pre-existing beliefs, rather than verified facts.
Turns out, it’s called a “confirmation bias”, which leads people to favor, seek out, and give more weight to evidence that confirms their beliefs while dismissing or undervaluing information that contradicts their worldview. It is a natural tendency to want to maintain and avoid the discomfort of your brain short-circuiting when new facts challenge one’s beliefs.
How does this apply to the Alleghany Highlands?
There’s no doubt our city officials genuinely believe they are acting in the best interests of their communities. However, complications arise when the conviction of doing good starts to negate and overlook the adherence to required procedures and compliance that benefit a select few instead of the community. Herein lies the problem when ‘beliefs’ override facts.
Let’s take for example “Project Sparkle, or the 410 Main St Property project. The belief is that the city is implementing a wonderful economic development plan. And we all agree that it’s a fabulous, much-needed idea.
However, this story caught The Shadow’s attention due to local business owners questioning the fact of why a $577K building wasn’t being offered to them. Although the city made informal inquiries to some business owners and held a general public presentation, it was not a formal Public Hearing as required by municipal regulations. The process appeared to show favoritism, particularly since the Grantees hadn’t previously contributed to economic development in the area, and the monthly city council reports went from the Covington-Alleghany Industrial Development Authority (IDA) having professional help with establishing the project’s direction, to a formal Option Agreement with a developer for $10.
Can the IDA do this? Yes.
Up to this point and per their Charter, the IDA was able to direct and award this city asset without any public hearings or requests for proposals, if it was intended for economic development and community benefit. Seems like a good way to move assets quietly out the back door without any oversight, but it is what it is.
However, a year later, the Option Agreement was quietly changed to a “Performance Agreement with a Gift of Deed” and the Grantee was switched to a completely different company. The City also became the Primary lead in the project as reflected in the IDA board meeting minutes; “WHEREAS, the Council of the City has proposed to enter into a performance agreement with Mountain Hospitality [Services], LLC and the Authority pursuant to which the City, with the assistance of the Authority, will undertake the abovementioned Local Grant in support of the Company…”
If Project Sparkle, aka 410 Main St Project is now governed and managed by the City with the assistance of the IDA, then as stipulated by the VA code, municipalities can sell or dispose property as long as “the governing body has held a public hearing concerning such disposal.”
And if you’ve been following along dear Shadowers, remember the question, “What does the “formerly known as” wordage mean in the Performance Agreement?” We all know the fact that DNA Holdings LLC did not change its name to Mountain Hospitality Services LLC, and it is concerning that any attorney would agree to allow a false statement to be used in an official legal document.
Could it be that these were deliberate choices of words and the strategic swap in legal documents was aimed at connecting the Option Agreement with the Performance Agreement for another reason? Might this move be considered an attempt to sidestep the need for a fresh Public Hearing, as mandated by Virginia law? In other words, was there an underlying belief by our government officials that Mountain Hospitality Services was inherently the right choice for the project, so there was no need to follow the required procedural facts and offer this deal publicly to others?
So now an even bigger question remains. If the city has failed to adhere to Virginia law regarding the proper disposal of assets, does this render the entire Performance Agreement invalid?
In other Covington News, you’ve probably noticed the beautiful murals being done by the talented artist Cheyenne Renee. The Virginian Review has been getting a lot of comments on how wonderful they are. Other artists wanted to know how they could become involved or if there was a Request for Proposals they missed. We reached out to City Manager Allen Dressler for clarification, to which he replied, “Interested artists can contact me at (540) 965-6300 ext 7. The recent murals were done by a young local artist and the cost was well within our small purchase procurement so no need for RFP. I hope to color up Covington a little more so interested artists can contact me and most likely I will have a sit down with all interested and develop a mural team.”
The Shadow has been getting heat from folks for playing favorites… “Why aren’t you covering other municipalities other than Covington? We’ve got issues too!”
Clifton Forge, Come on down!
It seems Clifton has been busy as beavers fixing and repairing several outstanding issues. First off, Town Manager Unroe stated that they’ve hired a new Town Attorney, Michael Lockaby from Spilman Thomas and Battle in Roanoke. Attorney Lockaby will fill the vacant seat left by the former attorney Jared Jenkins who was placed on unpaid leave due to legal misconduct allegations.
We also asked Unroe about the water plant issues and he reported they now have two Class 1 operators at the water plant, putting the plant into compliance. Previously the town’s plant had been out of compliance due to an operator retirement and the overall difficulty in getting and keeping Class 1 operators. Clifton residents must feel better that the water is being actively and properly managed.
However, it seems the back story here is one of Clifton’s Class 1 operators moved to Covington’s water plant, which caused Clifton’s water plant to go out of compliance, but put Covington’s plant back in compliance. But now the word is the Operator missed Clifton Forge so much that he decided to take his old job back in Clifton Forge, leaving Covington’s water plant out of compliance. Mayor Sibold from Covington stated that yes they were now looking for a new Class 1 operator, but they were still within compliance as they hired an engineering firm to temporarily fulfill the vacancies.
Lots of springtime activities abound in the Alleghany Highlands over the weekend. Shadower Martha H.R. summed it up nicely; “Fantastic day in our area. Covington Moose breakfast was fantastic as always and the visit with the Easter Bunny and, Spring Market at Good News was wonderful, so many great vendors, and the Covington Parks and Recreation Easter Egg Hunt was terrific as it always is. Heard breakfast with the Easter Bunny at Cliffview was great and Mt Carmel’s Easter Egg Hunt was fun. Also told by many Olde Town Covington’s Tea at the Market was a big success. I hate I didn’t make it to Clifton Forge today but I heard it was a big success with lots of great food, entertainment, and of course the Shriners Donuts.”
I’m out of time and out of coffee, but never out of hope that facts will always appeal to the reasonable members of our community, illuminating the path forward and allowing for an updating of our beliefs that are in synchronicity with fact.
