First Comment provided by Rev. Dante Murphy:
April 21, 2021 at 8:46 PM
Mr. Williams,
Please double check your information. North Shelby School is displayed on the church’s website and the transaction may have been completed. The $27,500 should have covered the cost of the building. I personally offered to buy the building for much less than $27,500 due to the severe damage to the building. I anticipated having to pay millions in renovations.
Again, please verify your information in all fairness to the church.
Rev. Dante’ Murphy
Answer by Robert A. Williams:
Thank you, Rev. Murphy for your recommendation to double check my information regarding the sale of the “Old” North Shelby School and whether or not the transaction has actually been completed.
First of all, Rev. Murphy, I believe you know that I have personally attended most (90%) of the Cleveland County School Board meetings for the past 8+ years. Myself and others provided the first video recordings of the School Board meetings until CCS began to video record and broadcast these meetings themselves. Any meeting that I did not personally attend, I watched the video. So basically, I have watched 100% of the school board meeting for 8+ years. I have also read every official “minutes” of every school board meeting and have often reported on what the official minutes left out. In other words, I have paid attention to what the School Board has done in the public part of their business meetings. And what they have NOT done as well. Not to mention hundreds of confidential source reports that I have personally checked out as best as I could. Often having to keep quite about what I was told to protect my sources.
Rev. Murphy, you are correct when you say that Mt. Calvary Baptist Church has posted on their internet website Home Page a composite of aerial pictures that shows Mt. Calvary Baptist Church on the left and the old North Shelby School on the right. You are also correct that that picture would project some sense of Mt. Calvary Church actually owning the old North Shelby School. But there has been no mention at any school board meeting or anywhere else, like CCS Budget records, that show that Mt. Calvary has paid the remaining $523,500.00 owed to Cleveland County Schools for that property.
There is more:
The Cleveland County GIS system shows that the old North Shelby School located at 1205 Northside Drive in Shelby is actually owned by the Shelby Administrative Unit located at 400 W. Marion Street. 400 W Marion Street is the address of the Cleveland County Schools Central Offices and the present owner of the old North Shelby School, is listed is the Shelby Administrative Unit is the school’s owner designation for the Shelby School District prior to the school merger 20 years ago.
There is more.
The GIS and Property Card for the old North Shelby School located at 1205 Northside in Shelby, parcel Number 21493 was appraised in 2021 at $1,232,495.00 total property tax value. The school is located on 24.13 acres and the building all by itself is appraised at $1,102,878.00. The Deed Owner of this old North Shelby School is Shelby Administrative Unit as last noted in 1999-pre merger.
There is more:
A check on the Cleveland County GIS for Mt. Calvary Baptist Church as a property owner shows the Church has a main property surrounded by 10 or more properties that have been acquired. All those many additional property listings have as the registered owner “Mt. Calvary Baptist Church.” Which indicates that Mt. Calvary Baptist Church immediately puts the property in the Church’s name.
Rev. Murphy, I consider this a triple-check that Mt. Calvary Baptist Church is NOT the “official” owner of the old North School Property and the ownership claimed 15 months after the Cleveland County School Board accepted Mt. Calvary’s offer to purchase the school is still pending upon Mt. Calvary paying the remainder of their $550,000.00 offer.
It is also totally obvious that the Cleveland County School Board in January of 2020 accepted an offer from Mt. Calvary Baptist Church that was much less than half the appraised value. This further indicates that the “Old” school board 2020 candidates for re-election; Richard Hooker, Shearra Miller and Roger Harris did indeed cut an illegal pay for play election scheme with Mt. Calvary’s Senior Pastor Rev. Dr. M. Lamont Littlejohn to turn out the black Democrat vote for them. But that scheme failed when Littlejohn failed to turn out enough votes and Hooker, Miller and Harris were soundly defeated by a wide margin.
Also, since the January 2020 sale of the old North Shelby School, through the 2020 school board elections and until now, 15 months later, the old North Shelby School Property has stood empty and been severely vandalized. The once valued $1.2 million property is now worth much less. But, according to North Carolina law, Mt. Calvary Baptist Church is still on the hook for the remainder of their $550,000.00 offer, which is $523,500.00. And that $523,500.00 is sorely needed by CCS to pay for other things that taxpayers would have to pay additional taxes to make up this shortfall.
That is why I am pushing Mt. Calvary to complete the bargain that they made or I will have a lawsuit against them to pay up. AND, we will finally FIND OUT THE TRUTH OF THIS MATTER. The truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Perhaps some will end up with prison sentences for any wrongdoing that they have done.
Also, Rev. Murphy, I have copied Mt. Calvary Baptist Church as well as Pastor Littlejohn about this matter. They are certainly free to produce any receipts documents that they might have that show they have paid their debts in full on the sale of the old North Shelby School. So far, they have chosen to remain silent.
April 21, 2021 at 10:36 PM
Mr. Williams,
My apologies extended. Looking back on my notes you appear to be right on your figure of just over a half million dollars for the purchase price of the Old North Shelby School.
I still advise you to make sure that the money owed is still outstanding. I cannot see the current board allowing this outstanding debt to exist so long.
Rev. Dante’ Murphy
Answer by Robert A. Williams:
The offer proposed and accepted by the School Board in January of 2020 was for Mt. Calvary Baptist Church to pay Cleveland County Schools $550,000.00 for the old North Shelby School. The legally required deposit to purchase surplus government property is $27,500.00. Then, by law, there is a requirement for the CCS to advertise the transaction for an upset bid and nobody submitted an upset bid. Therefore Mt. Calvary owes CCS the remaining $523,500.00 to complete the transaction. If Mt. Calvary defaults and does not complete the transaction, North Carolina law allows CCS to resale the property and if any new bids are less than the $550,000,00 offered by Mt. Calvary, Mt, Calvary is liable to CCS for the difference.
Please note that I have information that indicates Mt. Calvary has resources to settle this debt of $523,500.00 without further ado. Only pride stands in their way. I have no sympathy for Mt. Calvary Baptist Church and the failed plantation politics wheeling and dealing that they gotten themselves into.