Publication type: Newspaper article

The attorney for the Town of Pembroke asked the Lumbee Tribal Council to swap 12.01 acres the tribe owns for 8 acres the town owns. The town is developing a sports complex and had planned to put a walking trail on its 8 acres. The Town Council is concerned that the trail will be too close to N.C. Highway 711 for walkers to be safe. The town already owns 17 acres adjacent to the 8 acres it wants to swap with the Lumbee Tribe.

Former Tribal Administrator Ruth Dial Woods urged the Tribal Council not to vote in favor of swapping the land until the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s concerns about the price paid for the land were satisfied. The tribe paid $300,000 for land in Pembroke, although the tribe’s appraiser valued it at $150,000. HUD also had concerns about the price the tribe paid for land in Lumberton and in Hoke County. HUD gave the tribe until today to submit a comparison of the purchase price of the properties with their fair market values, as well as a justification for paying more than the appraised prices. HUD policy requires submission of these documents to HUD before purchase and waiting for HUD approval of the higher purchase price.

The Tribal Council voted to continue discussion of the proposed swap at their June 3 meeting.

Additional Subjects: Land purchases | U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

This annotation was written on June 30, 2004.

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