On December 6, 2011, County Manager David Dear would strike a deal with Roger Holland’s entity, known as Project Cirrus, and this group would be tasked with the demolition and renovation of the property that was awarded to them. In return, Project Cirrus would eventually become a 65,000-square-foot building that would house a data center.
As you can see in these pictures, dated September 11, 2015, there is still much work to be done on this property. It is an eyesore, to say the least. The weeds and other undergrowth are taking over the place. The fence is nearly covered in the same. There are also piles of rubble in several places. Why are these people getting a pass on the lack of upkeep on this property?
Maybe it’s because these folks have been too busy with the brewery and all. They took some of the old wood from this mill, refurbished it, and used it at this new brewery in town. Remember when these people went to the City Manager, Rick Howell, and to the City Council members at a meeting, and requested that an alleyway be closed so that they could have tables outside the brewery? And the city paid for this work. How many other businesses could waltz into the city council meetings and get this sort of deal? This, too, is another phase of Project Cirrus. Yep, tear down a mill, take the lumber, leave the place looking like an urban ghost town, and now concentrate on a brewery, and getting money from the city to help you along. Now, it’s been established that both the county and the city have “invested” the money of taxpayers once again.
Now, here comes the kicker. This brewery is owned by these three guys: Roger Holland and fellow architect Greg Melton and former county manager David Dear, who is now working for the Cleveland County Economic Development Partnership as a Special Projects director. Dear also owns the building that houses the brewery. Actually, the building is listed as being owned by Phoenix Hudson. The public records from the GIS list the property owner’s address, as the home address of David Dear.
What has been established thus far is:
On December 20, 2014, The Cleveland County commissioners agreed to the extension sought by Roger Holland and Dover Technology Group in regard to the incentive contract.
David Dear is a partner with Roger Holland in the Newgrass Brewery.
Roger Holland sent a letter to David Dear, dated January 6, 2015, seeking an extension with the deal on the Doran Mill property.
Paperwork was filed with the NC Secretary of State on February 4, 2015, at 9:32 AM for the Newgrass Brewing Company.
It is logical to state that David Dear and Roger Holland were already partners in the Newgrass Brewery venture, back less than a month, prior to this filing.
So, would that not be a form of collusion, as Holland wrote a letter to his business partner, asking for an extension?
David Dear, also a part of Hudson Phoenix, owned the building where the brewery would be.
So, it looks as though the extension that Holland had requested was to give them time to repurpose the wood from the mill to their new brewery. This would take away the time needed to finish this mill project in order to get the brewery ready to open. I suppose this was one of those “Special Projects” Dear was heading up as well. It was certainly a convenience that Dear had this building for the brewery, and the Hudson Phoenix, LLC. As you will see, if you haven’t seen already, there is a pattern to these particular groups of people and the outcome is usually the same.
