The feud in Elizabethtown grows hot and heavy

ELIZABETHTOWN –

Community in Crisis

In the Feb. 18 edition of the Bladen Journal, I wrote an editorial praising our town but also issuing a statement of fact and a challenge.

Those statements and the sentiments of this newspaper haven’t changed.

“There are some squabbles. Some going on right now, and though the powers that be think that it’s a well-hidden secret… it’s not. In small towns, secrets really don’t exist for long. In fact, at times, the infighting reminds me of seventh grade homeroom. We have the power to grow as we develop the power to mature. And sometimes that comes from compromise and working together for a common good. I “challenge” the county now as it faces “challenges” going forward to find common ground. To find a same page. In unity there can be great growth and the combined forces of differing factions can take us up to the next plateau. It’s where we all desire to go. To our leaders and those we’ve elected to lead – take us there.”

At this point, there have been far too many rumors running rampant and life-long friends have been “frosty” at best to one another in coffee shops, on main street and in places we shop and worship.

The fight between the Bladen County Commissioners and the Town of Elizabethtown has gotten out of hand. I know that I am not “revealing” anything that is not already known. Many of the facts, however have been hidden from view – leaving the collateral damage in the form of the general public, to speculate, to panic and speak about things where all the information is not readily available.

After speaking to and listening to both sides of the issues, I can also reveal that there are problems that have seemingly become insurmountable. After sleepless nights as to how to proceed as the “Fourth estate,” we have asked both sides to be accountable for what has transpired.

Within the next few weeks and perhaps months there will be more information that will go forth to the public. Because they have been asking. Due to the Freedom of Information Act and the exhaustive documentation I have been given, I feel it prudent to start with this week’s opening round. I entitle it – “In their own words” and am including a press release from Bladen County and Bladen’s Bloomin’, a press release from the Town of Elizabethtown garnered from an article about the feud (https://businessnc.com/bladen-group-buys-four-planes-amid-town-county-rancor/) and a letter from the Southeast Economic Development Commission that shows the scope has now gone beyond our borders.

From Bladen County and Bladen’s Bloomin’:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELASE March 29, 2025 Bladen’s Bloomin’ Agri-Industrial, Inc. (BBAI), is a non-profit revolving loan and real estate development corporation whose mission is to create jobs, tax base and business opportunities in Bladen County. BBAI has worked with Bladen County and County municipalities to develop dozens of commercial and industrial projects in our community. BBAI board members volunteer and do not make a penny off of any project the group undertakes. All revenue generated from BBAI projects are reinvested in Bladen County to help create new business and job opportunities. This release of information is intended to point out both blatantly false claims and misleading information provided in the release from the Town of Elizabethtown dated March 28, 2025. Background: A Partnership in Conflict The town states that “there has never been a Master Development Agreement giving Bladen’s Bloomin’ exclusive development right to the park.” BBAI and Bladen County have never claimed to have exclusive development rights and have never wanted exclusive development rights. Our hope has always been that the park would eventually develop on its own with industries buying land and developing their own facilities. There would be no park without BBAI’s efforts. The non-profit has had a hand in every project in the Industrial Park. Also in this section, the Town says “In most cases, the Town pays for land acquisition and installs water, sewer, and roads before conveying improved property to Bladen’s Bloomin’ at no cost, through a Joint Development Agreement tied to job creation”. This is blatantly false. BBAI has purchased every lot it has developed in the Elizabethtown Park previous to the Cape Fear Valley Heath Care facility and the daycare facility. These are the only two projects that acquired land from Joint Development Agreements. The vast majority of the road, water and sewer infrastructure in the Elizabethtown Industrial Park was paid for by grants secured with projects developed by BBAI or NCDOT. The Town claims it “receives limited utility revenue and minimal tax benefit”. The primary reason the Town receives less revenue than the County is due to the town administration’s own ineptitude. In October 2022, BBAI approved applying for voluntary annexation of the remaining land that BBAI owned in the industrial park and several other BBAI owned properties. This would have resulted in an approximately $60,000 additional tax revenue per year for the Town. The Town never followed through with the annexation request. Finally in this section, the Town release conveys that BBAI’s facilities are “constructed with State and Federal funding”. Of course, BBAI pursues State and federal grants to help fund projects to benefit our community. We would be foolish to not do so. However, the vast majority of BBAI’s investments have been funded through its own rent revenue, investments by Bladen County, 0% interest loans from Four County EMC and commercial financing. Live Work Play Workforce Housing Project at Risk BBAI and Bladen County were excited to be a part of the initial live, work, play project which covered the span of 33-acres and included a balanced mix of commercial properties and houses for sale. The intended outcome of the “live” portion was always to stimulate the limited housing market in Bladen County and give our citizens the opportunity to build wealth through home ownership. It was intended that the homes would be “market rate.” This is a stark difference from what the project has become at the behest of the Town of Elizabethtown, which has become 300-500 “low-to-moderate income” rental homes. The term “low-to-moderate income” was never mentioned until recently. If Firstfloor Energy Positive, LLC group was the ONLY DEVELOPER to respond to the Town of Elizabethtown’s solicitation for developers, where was that solicited and why was only one developer interested in a $90 Million project? Additionally, if only one developer responded why was there not a re-advertisement per usual protocol? The Town states there were no criticisms or concerns pertaining to the project at the numerous public hearings throughout the years. They are correct in stating that criticism and concerns were not brought to the public hearings as the litany of critiques and concerns were communicated directly to the Town administration and Town Council members on multiple occasions. It was never the intention to undermine the Town in the public, the hope was that BBAI, Bladen County, and local business leaders’ concerns would not fall on deaf ears. Also, in this section of the Town Press Release the Town claims “studies support this,” the study the Town refers to is grossly inaccurate listing major employers as “Accent Dying, Harriet and Henderson Yarns, Squires Timber, and Elizabethtown-Lumberton Power;” all of which have been closed for over a decade. The study also claims that “despite multiple attempts, we were unable to receive a response from area economic development representatives regarding the current status of the local economy.” The study was solicited by the town administration. The Town administration has the County economic development address, emails, office phone, and cell phone numbers. There is no record of Bowen National Research attempting to contact the economic development office. It appears the town administration was more focused on getting the results they wanted, i.e. demand for rental homes, rather than the truth from County officials. The Town got one thing right when they directly quoted “No longer will these homes be available for Bladen County residents to purchase and own part of the American dream. Instead, they will be for rent…Bladen County refuses to release any funding to the Town of Elizabethtown because we believe this arrangement is not in the best interest of the citizens of our County and is seriously flawed.” With pride, the County and BBAI stand by this sentiment. The County or BBAI have never asserted that the workforce housing project would be Section 8 housing. We are curious as to what these rental rates will be? The numbers previously presented were rather high. We understand that many citizens are struggling with saving down payments, however we are acutely aware that high rents will further put these citizens in the hole. We can appreciate the emphasis on the project being called “Live, Work, Play” given that the entirety of the Industrial Park will be consumed by rental housing should the Town of Elizabethtown proceed with their current footprint, effectively removing the “work” portion of the project as well as infringing on the operations of the current businesses in the park. We are at a loss as to why the Town of Elizabethtown would turn our only viable industrial park into a sprawling suburb. It is apparent the Town has forgotten the critical “work” component of the project. The Town claimed that we “successfully advocated for the $15 million dollars in funding – $10 million for water/sewer infrastructure and $5 million for roads – intended for the Town and its Live Work Play project.” This is blatantly false. The funds were always intended to go to Bladen County as can be found in House Bill 259 Section 12.2. (e) #16 “Fifteen million dollars ($15,000,000) to Bladen County, Five million dollars ($5,000,000) of this allocation shall be used for water or wastewater projects related to the Live, Work, Play Project.” Thus, the entirety of the $15 million was not intended for the Live, Work, Play project. Also, the Town’s press release indicated that the County refused to release the funds. They failed to mention that the funds are reimbursable, meaning funds must first be approved by the appropriate State agency, expended on approved expenditures, and then the funds may be reimbursed by the State. It is not permissible for the County to “release the funds” to the Town. In fact, the entire $15 million dollars remains at the State level. The County and BBAI are excited to pursue a for-sale housing development at White Lake. The water and sewer infrastructure for this project will be funded out of the County’s discretionary portion of the $15 million mentioned above. BBAI and the County look forward to sharing more details about this project and including the citizens throughout the process. The Town indicates that they “already signed a long-term lease agreement with a nonprofit to manage the Live Work Play housing development and designated Firstfloor Energy Positive, LLC as its sole developer.” It is important to mention that the ground lease mentioned is a 90- year lease with a 90-year option for $1.00/year. This is the same land the Town refused to sell to BBAI for approximately $9,000/acre. Furthermore, this statement is very misleading as it fails to acknowledge that NC Sustainable Futures refuses to sign the ground lease due to the unfair nature of the agreement and lack of support by the community. The fact is although NC Sustainable Futures is a party to the lease, its members never saw the lease prior to it being presented to the Town Council for a vote. In other words, they had no idea what they were proposing in their own agreement to lease the land in the Industrial Park. The County has asked for documentation of the $50 million in financing secured by Firstfloor Energy Positive for almost two years. The documentation has not been provided to date. Additionally, the County never declined the offer for a Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT), the truth is that both Town and County officials on multiple occasions emphatically asserted that they would not support a property tax-free development. We think our citizens would love to know how to get their taxes adjusted in such a manner. Corporate Airpark and Aerospace Projects Impacted The Town claims “the Town’s efforts to construct a manufacturing facility with a $4 million dollar State grant were unexpectedly derailed when the funding, originally intended for the Town, was redirected to Bladen’s Bloomin’ without the knowledge or consent of the Town or the airport”. This is blatantly false. The Town acknowledges in its own Vulcanair press release and several other documents that the $4 million State appropriation was given to BBAI who was investing an additional $3 million to fund the construction of an aircraft manufacturing facility. The Town claims BBAI then attempted to negotiate a lease and investment deal directly with Vulcanair, causing the company to pause its relocation and explore options in Florida. This is blatantly false. BBAI never attempted to negotiate a lease and investment deal with Vulcanair without the knowledge of the Town. When the Town failed to put together a financing package themselves, BBAI was asked to take another look at the project; however, the Town administration derailed the project by refusing to advertise the project as agreed to with Town officials. EDA and Incubator Projects The Town claims “In reality the grant was insufficient to cover the required design and management costs.” Although this is true, it is extremely misleading in that Town Manager, Dane Rideout committed the Town to administering the grant and paying for engineering out of Town funds. When the Town could not afford the administration of the grant and engineering for the project, Rideout falsely accused SEDC Director, Pam Bostic of removing the financial requests for engineering and administration from the application. Rideout made this claim to his board members and put the false claim in writing to County officials. SEDC has engaged its own attorney to dispute these claims. Town officials have acknowledged the blatantly false accusation, however Rideout and the board have thus far refused to officially retract his claims. The Town also conveys in this section that they built the roads with “internal funds”. The only reason the Town had to use internal funds was because they refused over $600,000 in federal funds intended to pay for the roads. The Town states that they have “transferred the medical building lot at no cost to Bladen’s Bloomin’, and the Town intends to transfer the correct daycare parcel to Bladen’s Bloomin’ at no cost and has invested additional resources to prepare and correct the Joint Development Agreement documentation – costs borne by Elizabethtown’s taxpayers.” Actually, the truth is that the Town advertised a public hearing to transfer both lots, held the public hearing to transfer both lots, and voted to approve the transfer of both lots. On December 5, 2022, Howell Clark made a motion seconded by Paula Greene to convey the parcels and the motion carried unanimously; however, whether by mistake or purposely the daycare lot description was removed from the agreement before the conveyance was signed. BBAI and County officials wonder why. The Town absolutely caused BBAI to lose a $1.4 million Golden LEAF grant. The Town claims that flawed budget estimates were the reason they could not secure the funds to meet their commitments to install roads, water, sewer and aprons because they had completed only 30% of the design stage. However, in a meeting months earlier with the Town, County and BBAI officials, Town Planner, Rusty Worley and Manager Rideout assured the room full of officials that construction of the infrastructure would start within two weeks. How could that possibly be true if design was only 30% complete? County officials voiced their skepticism of the town administration claims at this meeting. The Town also claimed that two other issues made the project ineligible for State funding, “First, Golden LEAF grant restrictions prohibit using funds to construct a facility for a pre-identified or “specified” tenant. Second, NCDOT Economic Development Program guidelines require clear evidence of job creation to justify State infrastructure funding.” The Town administration knew these rules when they committed the Town for installing the infrastructure. Ineptitude in handling grants by Town administrators does not negate their responsibility for fulfilling their commitments, which cost BBAI the $1.4 million grant. Former Anthem Building Project Blocked The Town claims “A defense contracting project that would have created 55 jobs was also disrupted when Bladen’s Bloomin’ abruptly pulled out of a sale agreement with the Town for the former Anthem Building, despite a $2.2 million CDBG grant secured by the Town.” Either this claim is blatantly false or Town officials lied to BBAI concerning this grant and project. The Town administration vehemently professed on multiple occasions that there was absolutely no client for the building. Their story now or their story then may certainly be true, however both are not. They also claimed that BBAI sought the transfer of all Town property in the park to BBAI and attempted to burden the Town with further infrastructure responsibilities. This statement is extremely misleading, the County and BBAI offered to compensate the Town 50% more than they paid to secure the land and offered millions of dollars in funds to expand Town infrastructure. Current Status and Path Forward The Town claims, “We have not engaged in any negative campaign, media or otherwise, against other parties.” The evidence says otherwise. If Town elected officials stand behind this claim, then they consider Town Manager Dane Rideout and Town Planner Rusty Worley disseminating blatantly false information about former County Manager Greg Martin, current County Manager Charles Peterson, the Bladen County Board of Commissioners, BBAI Executive Director Chuck Heustess, BBAI Board of Directors and SEDC officials ethical — we disagree. If they consider, Manager Rideout profanely berating County officials to be professional — we disagree. If Town elected officials consider Town Planner, Rusty Worley falsely informing BBAI and DeVane Builders on multiple occasions that engineering for their road, water, and sewer LWP project was underway prompting BBAI to build almost $4 million in healthcare and daycare facilities — we vehemently disagree. If the Town Board considers Town Manager Rideout assuring BBAI and the County in writing that the Town secured the funding to build the Vulcanair facility through CDBG and Division of Aviation funds and then two days later acknowledging that they have not even applied for the grants acceptable — then, we vehemently disagree. In an effort to promote transparency, Bladen County and BBAI are currently planning a public hearing, site to be determined based off of public interest. The purpose of the hearing will be to share the documentation supporting our claims. The public and Elizabethtown Town Council Members are encouraged to attend.

From the Town of Elizabethtown:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 28, 2025 Town of Elizabethtown Addresses Misinformation, Funding Losses, and Economic Development Elizabethtown, NC — The Town of Elizabethtown is issuing this statement to inform residents, stakeholders, and state partners, of its position on matters involving current major economic development initiatives. Because of continued threats of litigation to the Town over the last ten months, our attorneys have requested that we exercise restraint in our public comments, but the Town feels compelled to share with its citizens, whose interests are foremost, facts involving the Town’s position relative to differences currently existing between the Town, Bladen’s Bloomin’ Agri-Industrial, and County of Bladen. These divergent viewpoints have resulted in misinformation, competition for funding, and threats of litigation that jeopardize more than $21 million in critical economic investments within the Elizabethtown Industrial Park. These actions put projects including workforce housing, aerospace manufacturing, and defense contracting jobs at risk. Background: A Partnership in Conflict The Town of Elizabethtown and Ben Greene shared a shared vision for economic growth near the airport, formalized in a land agreement to support development, resulting in the creation of the Elizabethtown Industrial Park. The Town of Elizabethtown is the legally governing body responsible for the Curtis L. Brown, Jr. Airport and owns a majority of the undeveloped property within the Industrial Park. Currently, there are approximately 185 undeveloped acres owned by the Town and 89 undeveloped acres owned by Bladen’s Bloomin’ within the Industrial Park. Elizabethtown Industrial Park remains the county’s primary industrial hub, with infrastructure fully developed and maintained by the Town. There has never been a Master Development Agreement giving Bladen’s Bloomin’ exclusive development rights to the park, but the Town has worked cooperatively with Bladen’s Bloomin’ to transfer land for economic development and job creation using Joint Development Agreements, on a lot-by-lot basis. This development model has resulted in financial disparity to the Town, in that the Town bears responsibility for the expense of land acquisition, utility infrastructure, roads, and maintenance of the Industrial Park, including Greene’s Lake. In most cases, the Town pays for land acquisition and installs water, sewer, and roads before conveying improved property to Bladen’s Bloomin’ at no cost, through a Joint Development Agreement tied to job creation. While this model was intended to encourage industrial and economic growth, the financial returns have largely benefited Bladen’s Bloomin’, which collects rental income, while the Town receives limited utility revenue and minimal tax benefit. Specifically, Bladen County collects $126,000 annually in tax revenue from Industrial Park tenants, while the Town collects only $24,000. It is unknown exactly how much rent revenue Bladen’s Bloomin’ receives from facilities constructed with state and federal funding, but it is reasonable to assume that revenue may exceed the tax revenue collected by both Town and County. The Town wants to see the park continue to grow, but the Town needs the freedom to generate greater revenue from the property it owns in order to offset the ever-rising expenses of the Industrial Park. Live Work Play Workforce Housing Project at Risk One of the Town’s most critical initiatives, the Live Work Play project, aims to address our region’s severe workforce housing shortage by building energy-efficient rental homes for low-to-moderateincome residents. “Workforce housing” was the #1 need identified by the County’s most recent strategic plan. The Town was and is trying to address this need. Approximately three years ago, the Town, County, and Bladen’s Bloomin’ had a shared vision for the Live Work Play Project. In furtherance of this vision, the Town of Elizabethtown solicited interested developers. The Raleigh-based Firstfloor Energy Positive, LLC group was the ONLY DEVELOPER to respond, and over the course of this association, the developer has expended more than $2.5M on engineering and development plans. At the numerous public hearings the Elizabethtown Town Board held regarding the project, over a matter of years, not one single speaker appeared to express any criticism or concerns. The project is entirely located on Town of Elizabethtown land and supported by public infrastructure, making it inappropriate to use the land to construct private “for sale” housing as preferred by Bladen’s Bloomin’ and the County. The Town never opposed “for-sale” housing, but had to pursue the option of rental property when our attorneys advised “for-sale” housing could not be legally offered. The Town did not “nix” the option of “for-sale” housing – it is simply not a permitted way to develop the land without going through a competitive bid process, which is both unworkable and unfeasible for this type of development. Legal counsel for the County and Bladen’s Bloomin’ told the Town they would provide a “roadmap” as to how “for-sale” homes could be constructed on Elizabethtown property but now refuse to share this “proprietary” information with the Town. The Town believes to achieve and sustain residential and industrial growth, we need more adequate rental housing, and studies support this. It is worthwhile and informative to note that the County and Bladen’s Bloomin’ continued to insist that lots be sold in the Elizabethtown Industrial Park by a private developer. In fact, a press release was issued by the County stating in part as follows: “No longer will these homes be available for Bladen County residents to purchase and own a part of the American dream. Instead, they will be for rent…Bladen County refuses to release any funding to the Town of Elizabethtown because we believe this arrangement is not in the best interest of the citizens of our county and is seriously flawed.” Let’s be clear about two things. First, this workforce housing project IS NOT, nor has it ever been Section 8 housing. The purpose is to provide safe, attractive and affordable workforce housing in the Elizabethtown Industrial Park. This addresses a great need for our County and Town, and we continue to work diligently to address this goal. Second, it’s called Live Work Play for a reason. We are at a loss to understand why the County and Bladen’s Bloomin’ are so opposed to rental housing. Many people in today’s economy are unable to pay a down payment in order to purchase a new home. The concept of Live Work Play was and is to provide affordable, energy efficient housing to people in close proximity to their jobs. We firmly believe that this development is in the best interest of the citizens of our County and Town. The Town hired a lobbyist to assist with sourcing funding, and in meeting cooperatively with the Town, Bladen’s Bloomin’, and County representatives, as well as State legislators, the parties successfully advocated for $15 million dollars in funding – $10 million for water/sewer infrastructure and $5 million for roads – intended for the Town and its Live Work Play project. However, when the budget was finalized, the funding was assigned to Bladen County, which has since refused to release the funds. Instead, both the County and Bladen’s Bloomin’ are attempting to use the funds for a private for-sale housing development in White Lake, and/or other projects elsewhere in the county. The Town submitted a formal request to the state for a technical correction to restore the Live Work Play project funding for its original, intended purpose. However, divergent views from Bladen’s Bloomin’ and County leaders stymied the project, and legislators have expressed frustration that the local parties cannot resolve this issue between themselves, fueling discussions among lawmakers about redirecting the $15 million dollars in funding to hurricane relief efforts in western North Carolina. If this diversion occurs, coupled with other budgetary changes stemming from the same differences, Elizabethtown could lose more than $21.2 million in promised state and federal funding. Elizabethtown is currently constructing a corporate air park to house Vulcanair, a general aviation manufacturer, and Sovereign Aerospace, along with other aerospace concerns, that could create as many as 155 high-paying jobs, but the scarcity of housing – for rent and for sale – threatens to stifle the fledgling industry. This aviation industry could be life-changing for our area. The Town has already signed a long-term lease agreement with a nonprofit to manage the Live Work Play housing development and designated Firstfloor Energy Positive, LLC as its sole developer. As stated above, Firstfloor was the only developer to submit a bid for the project, and no local developers expressed interest or submitted proposals. Firstfloor has invested more than $2.5 million into the project, has secured over $50 million in financing and is assuming full financial risk. As part of the agreement, the nonprofit will make Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) to the Town to help offset the loss of property tax revenue and has extended the same offer to Bladen County – an offer the County has declined. The estimated annual revenue loss to the Town if the project fails exceeds $300,000, and the broader impact could derail other critical initiatives tied to the Town’s long-term economic development strategy. Corporate Airpark and Aerospace Projects Impacted The Curtis L. Brown Jr. Airpark is home to two major aerospace projects – Sovereign Aerospace and Vulcanair – North America – which are expected to create over 155 jobs. However, the Town’s efforts to construct a manufacturing facility with a $4 million dollar state grant were unexpectedly derailed when the funding, originally intended for the Town, was redirected to Bladen’s Bloomin’ without the knowledge or consent of the Town or the airport. Despite joint appeals by the Town and NCDOT’s Division of Aviation, the technical correction passed. Bladen’s Bloomin’ then attempted to negotiate a lease and investment deal directly with Vulcanair, causing the company to pause its relocation and explore options in Florida. Vulcanair has since reengaged in negotiations with the Town, and the Town has secured $4.4 million in new vertical construction funding and $6.8 million for site prep, thanks to intervention by state partners. EDA and Incubator Projects Bladen’s Bloomin’ continues to criticize the Town for a terminated EDA grant intended to support infrastructure around the LWP commercial zone. In reality, the grant was insufficient to cover the required design and management costs. The Town is now working with Golden Leaf to use remaining funds on a smaller-scale infrastructure plan. Bladen’s Bloomin’ also claims the Town failed to support road access to its daycare and medical buildings. The Town used internal funds to build the roads and upon commencement of road construction was met with claims from Bladen’s Bloomin’ that the roads were being built on Bladen’s Bloomin’ property and demanding that road construction stop. The Town had to expend money on surveying to establish that these claims were baseless – which they were, the road was exactly where it should be, and not on Bladen’s Bloomin’ property – and the costs of the surveying, road construction, etc. was in excess of $55,000 in taxpayer funds. Bladen’s Bloomin’ had ordered a survey expanding two of its lots by more than 100 feet each in depth without Town agreement, and the Town did not include those areas in the transfers. The Town has transferred the medical building lot at no cost to Bladen’s Bloomin’, and the Town intends to transfer the correct daycare parcel to Bladen’s Bloomin’ at no cost and has invested additional resources to prepare and correct the Joint Development Agreement documentation – costs borne by Elizabethtown’s taxpayers. The Town is also falsely accused of causing Bladen’s Bloomin’ to lose a $1.4 million Golden LEAF grant for an aviation incubator hangar. At the time of the application, the airpark project was only at the 30% design stage, and the proposed incubator hangar appeared feasible within the available state infrastructure funding. However, once the airpark design was finalized at 100%, the projected infrastructure costs skyrocketed – from $2.5 million to $14.9 million – due to a wide range of construction-related challenges, including strict FAA requirements and unforeseen site complications. Specifically, the infrastructure and site work required for the hangar site alone exceeded $8.7 million – well before a single dollar would go toward constructing the $1.4 million hangar itself. In addition to the dramatic cost increase, two other issues made the project ineligible for state funding: First, Golden LEAF grant restrictions prohibit using funds to construct a facility for a pre-identified or “specified” tenant. Second, NCDOT Economic Development Program guidelines require clear evidence of job creation to justify state infrastructure funding. The proposed hangar did not meet this threshold, as no jobs were directly tied to the project. It’s also important to note that the Town made good faith efforts to preserve the grant by offering an alternative site for the hangar on the opposite side of the airport. Unfortunately, Golden LEAF denied the request, as the grant was awarded for a specific location and could not be transferred. In summary, the loss of the grant was not due to any inaction or failure by the Town, but rather a combination of escalating infrastructure costs, regulatory conflicts, and grant restrictions that made the project financially and legally unviable. Former Anthem Building Project Blocked A defense contracting project that would have created 55 jobs was also disrupted when Bladen’s Bloomin’ abruptly pulled out of a sale agreement with the Town for the former Anthem Building, despite a $2.2 million CDBG grant secured by the Town. Bladen’s Bloomin’ later introduced demands through a “performance agreement” seeking transfer of all Town property in the Industrial Park to Bladen’s Bloomin’ and burdening the Town with further infrastructure responsibilities which the Town declined. As a result, the grant was rescinded and the project stalled. Current Status and Path Forward Despite repeated mediation attempts, no resolution has been reached. The Town of Elizabethtown remains under threat of litigation, but no lawsuit has actually been filed in regard to the issues presented in this release. We believe we have acted legally and ethically, that litigation of this nature will have no winners, and that such action will hurt all parties’ abilities to secure future funding. We have not engaged in any negative campaign, media or otherwise, against other parties. The Town remains willing to work cooperatively in a manner that is fair and equitable to our citizens, but we have an important interest in the development of our own property which best serves the Town’s economic future. We are very proud of our board and feel we have worked in a professional and timely manner as we have sought to do what, we feel, is in the best interests of the Town of Elizabethtown and its citizens. We continue to seek a peaceful and fair solution for the Town and for the County going forward.

From the Southeastern Economic Development Commission:

Dear Mr. Rideout, Mayor Campbell and Town Council Members: (Dated March 10, 2025)

I am writing to each of you, in your representative capacities as officials of the Town of Elizabethtown, on behalf of Pamela H. Bostic, Executive Director, and the Board of Directors of the Southeastern Economic Development Commission (SEDC). It has come to our attention that Mr. Rideout, in his capacity as town manager of the Town of Elizabethtown, has made certain false and defamatory statements about the Executive Director specifically and overall, about the Commission itself, regarding the Town of Elizabethtown’s EDA Grant and concerning the reasons why the Town of Elizabethtown did not have the required funds to execute the EDA’s grant to complete the infrastructure for the Live Work Play Project.

I direct you specifically to email and verbal statements made by Mr. Rideout to Bladen County Administration and to the Elizabethtown Town Council, said statements blaming SEDC, or, as Mr. Rideout’s email states “SEDC (Pam Bostic)”, for the Town’s failure to have funds necessary to complete the required engineering for this project. It was made clear by Mr. Rideout on behalf of the Town that the Town would not include engineering services in the revised project costs in the third application because the project timeline was becoming an issue for the project beneficiaries.

Based upon the representation, SEDC understood that the Town wanted to complete the project’s design work and would pay for engineering services outside the EDA scope of work to move forward with a firm to complete the design work while awaiting notification from EDA as to the status of the application, a process that was expected to take six to nine months. Mr. Rideout was aware that the Town could not move forward with design work or other engineering services until a grant award was received if the engineering costs were included in the application budget. In addition, it was also noted that the Town would not be required to commit funds as a local match with the reduced request to EDA for the third application, thereby saving the Town from the requirement of the previously anticipated local match.

Reviews of the various emails back and forth between the relevant parties, specifically Mr., Rideout and Pam Bostic, reveal that “the owner’s Costs in the PER are additional engineering fees that will be paid by the Town—Separate from the EDA budget.” When EDA questioned why there were no grant administration costs included in the EDA budget, Mr. Rideout responded and made it clear that “the Town will administer the grant and have (sic) the capacity to do so.” Only much later did Mr. Rideout mention that the Town would “struggle significantly to pay for an A&E firm out of pocket for the project for a project this costly and it should have been included in both budgets”, in spite of the fact that Mr. Rideout previously advocated for moving forward while the application was pending with design and engineering, which could not have been done had those costs been included in the application, and despite the fact that local match would no longer be required.

SEDC completed this third application based upon the 12/22/22 PER, and a copy of the entire application was provided to both Mr. Rideout and Chuck Heustess for review. The county’s economic developer, Chuck Heustess, received all information related to the application, including a complete copy, as it was being developed and reviewed and participated in all project and post-award meetings with the Town. Mr. Rideout knew that Mr. Heustess was copied on correspondence regarding the application. The county was not provided with any additional information from SEDC’s files. Clarification was provided to Mr. Rideout concerning the fact that the Town would administer the grant and that if the engineering costs were included in the proposed budget, no engineering work would be able to proceed while the application was pending, which Mr. Rideout wanted to avoid in order to save time.

Contrary to Mr. Rideout’s statements to the Town Council and to the County, SEDC did NOT “cut out” the engineering services to design and manage the project. There was never $275,000.00 in engineering services to design and manage the project included in the PER Project Costs Estimate & Budget for either scope of work. The Town’s engineering firm, at Mr. Rideout’s direction, prepared the PER, and Mr. Rideout then provided it to SEDC. Obviously, SEDC reasonably relied on that information and used those numbers provided in the PER to complete the subsequent application forms.

Even after the 11/23 TEAMS meeting, in which EDA advised Mr. Rideout and the Town to provide a written request to modify the budget to cover A/E fees, Mr. Rideout failed to adequately do so, and EDA denied the Town’s request because it was unable to grant the request without hard numbers. A comparison of the revised PER Project Cost Estimate & Budget with the EDA Budget Information Form for the third application reveals that the only difference was $30,400.00 (owner’s cost). The only amount for engineering included in the PER Budget was $71,000.00, which remained in the application and the additional $15,000.00 for Permit Fees, which also remained in the application.

It is clear that Mr. Rideout’s statement that SEDC “cut out” the engineering services money to design and manage the project is incorrect and false. Any shortfall is not due to the SEDC. Please note that Mr. Rideout should recall his statement via email that “the Town will administer the grant and have (sic) the capacity to do so.” Mr. Rideout subsequently reviewed the third application and gave the go-ahead approval for submission. Pursuant to EDA requirements, the Authorized Organization Representative must submit the application to EDA, and that was Mr. Rideout. The Town (by Mr. Rideout, as Town Manager), and not SEDC, submitted the application via the grants.gov site.

After WithersRavenel developed the first grant application, for which the Town paid WithersRavenel, and which also did not include the subject funding that Mr. Rideout accused SEDC and Mrs. Bostic of “cutting out”, SEDC prepared two additional EDA applications at no cost to the Town. The Town received these services at no cost thanks to the member county assessments paid to SEDC. SEDC relies on its results for its member counties and others to continue to receive the assessments and in order to continue to exist and operate. For those reasons, it is imperative that SEDC not allow itself to be the victim of slanderous nor defamatory statements concerning its work, at the risk of jeopardizing its reputation and indeed, its continued existence.

Pursuant to the above paragraph, it is necessary for Mr. Rideout to issue an apology to Pamela H. Bostic, Executive Director, and to the Southeastern Economic Development Commission as a whole, including, specifically, its Board of Directors. Specifically, Mr. Rideout’s statement that SEDC “cut out the Engineering Services money to design and manage the project’, causing a $275,000.00 shortfall, must be retracted by Mr. Rideout to all those whom Mr. Rideout made the statement in order to set the record straight and protect the record and reputation of both Pamela H. Bostic and SEDC. Documentation of Mr. Rideout’s retraction and apology must be submitted to SEDC for dissemination to its board. Back on September 19, 2024, in a phone call, Mr. Rideout stated that he would correct his previous statement, but to this point, SEDC has received no evidence that he has, in fact, done so.

Please know that SEDC is prepared to initiate legal action to force Mr. Rideout, as Town Manager, and on behalf of the Town of Elizabethtown, to do so, and in such an action, will seek an award for damages to its reputation, as its very continued existence depends on its efficiency and reliability in assisting in the procurement of grants for local government entities. For that reason, SEDC cannot afford to allow this action to occur without resistance. We would seek, in legal action, a public apology for Mr. Rideout’s false statements concerning SEDC, as well as damages. I trust that you will see the prudence in immediately seeing to compliance with our request, as you risk incurring substantial additional costs in the form of legal fees, court costs, and a potential award for damages should SEDC be forced to initiate litigation in this matter.

At this point, if Mr. Rideout retracts his statements and apologizes to Ms. Bostic and SEDC, and communicates that to the Elizabethtown Town Council, to the Bladen County Manager and Board of Commissioners, and to Ms. Bostic and SEDC’s Board of Directors, this matter will be considered to be closed, and SEDC will continue supporting the Town with the EDA project as needed and which has already been offered in Ms. Bostic’s previous email to Mr. Rideout.

I will await your response. Please note that we must hear from you as to your position within thirty days of the date of this letter. Your lack of response within that period of time will be deemed to be a refusal and will be considered by SEDC in determining its next course of action, litigation.