The chairman of the Columbus-Lowndes Convention and Visitors Bureau board of directors got a new gavel Monday evening. And he needed it.
George Swales used the gift at least three times to call the meeting back to order when it degenerated into name-calling and accusations among the nine-person board.
Ironically, the bulk of the fractious meeting dealt with whether and how much to give the Dream 365 committee to conduct the annual January event honoring Martin Luther King Jr., a man who advocated peace and harmony.
Personal attacks came to the fore as members needed five motions to determine a grant amount for the event.
Learnard Dickerson, co-coordinator for the event, got caught in the crossfire of a board that is trying to establish fiscal integrity while fighting over past grievances.
“For the spirit of the community, we’d like to put attention on the event,” he said, after the final vote yielded $15,000 for the five-day event. The money will come, he added.
Dickerson requested $27,500 for Dream 365 and presented a total economic impact analysis that projects the event will bring 5,650 people and $212,325.50 to the city.
The CVB has sponsored the event at levels of $8,500 in 2008, $12,500 in 2009 and 2010, and $15,000 in 2011, member Harvey Myrick said.
The request came amid the CVB’s efforts to maintain a balanced budget while also revising grant request guidelines.
“This board’s in a pickle,” Myrick said, adding that Dickerson’s organization is the guinea pig in the process.
CVB Treasurer Bart Wise called for a conservative approach to the grants during his report. Last year’s grant budget was $135,000. This year’s budget is $100,000. He added the board has already spent $25,000 of that paying out requests approved during the 2011 fiscal year.
“We can’t print the money,” board Vice President Mark Castleberry said.
Board member Rissa Lawrence moved to give Dream 365 organizers $8,000.
Wise said, “We have to get back on sound footing. Right now, we do not have enough cash on hand to pay one month’s expenses.”
Board member Nadia Dale said it is premature to cut Dream 365 funding without knowing what final revenues may be.
The motion failed on a 6-3 vote.
The next motion was to award $15,000 to the event. It failed 6-3. A third motion to approve $18,000 failed by a 5-4 vote. A fourth motion to award $20,000 failed by a 6-3 vote.
Board member Whirllie Byrd said the votes showed the malice of board members toward the event.
Swales banged his new gavel for the first time and said Byrd was out of order.
Castleberry and board member Bernard Buckhalter got into a loud discussion about Byrd’s comment. Castleberry said Byrd has called him a racist. Buckhalter shot back that Byrd is entitled to her opinion.
Swales rapped the gavel a second time and called the meeting back to order.
Buckhalter said, “I told you this day was coming.” He accused some members of doing “whatever you had to do to get (the Link) funded.” The $199,000 in the CVB budget dedicated to the Columbus-Lowndes Development Link is hurting the CVB’s ability to support community events, he added.
Wise ticked off several grant requests that had been denied.
Board member Dewitt Hicks called for a return to civility and said the board needed to find a number to fund Dream 365.
Upon a fifth motion to award $15,000, the request passed by a 5-3-1 vote. Hicks, Byrd, Dale, Swales and Myrick voted for. Castleberry, Lawrence and Wise voted against. Buckhalter abstained.
When asked to explain his abstention, Buckhalter told members he thought the amount should be more, but he didn’t want to risk it not being funded.
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