Seems that Portsmouth is the latest city to learn that messing with churches doesn’t pay. Council wouldn’t let a church move into a vacant building and the church sued in federal court. The case was settled last week for $1.2 million cash plus 1.8 acres of publicly owned land.
Back in November, Chesapeake had a similar dispute which cost them $1.4 million.
The biggest problem in Portsmouth is that four council members made this settlement without consulting the three other members. The same four guys who voted against the church – disregarding the city attorney’s advice – made the deal. These four – Mayor James Holley, Vice Mayor Bill Moody and Councilmen Charles Whitehurst and Ray Smith – may need to go back and re-do the section on team building.
If I lived in Portsmouth, I’d be mad as hell that council made such a deal. Today’s editorial indicates that the value of the deal is about 3 cents on the real estate tax rate. How can these councils claim that they don’t have the money to reasonably reduce the real estate rate and then make deals like this? It is irresponsible.
And that church Portsmouth now owns? They may not be able to do anything with it because it may be an historic landmark!
“Now we have a lovely piece of property that obviously can’t be a church,” [Councilwoman Elizabeth] Psimas said. “I don’t know what in the world we do with it.”
VIVIAN J. PAIGE | All Politics is Local 