Despite public outcry, NC county will buy ex-senator’s horse farm for over $1 million
For $1.25 million, Onslow County on North Carolina’s coast is getting nearly 155 acres of land complete with a horse farm, wedding venue, ponds stocked with fish, rental cabins and plenty of room for trails for joggers, bikers and horses.
The man getting that money from taxpayers is a powerful politician.
Some in the community say that raises red flags — in addition to complaints that the county isn’t able to properly maintain its existing parks and beach access points, even without taking on this new expense.
Former state Sen. Harry Brown, who is also the past president of the Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce, owns the farm. He retired from politics last year, choosing not to run for reelection in 2020. But for the last decade he had been one of the most powerful people in the state. He was a top state budget writer as well as the Senate majority leader — just a step removed from Senate leader Phil Berger.
In March he approached his hometown Onslow County commissioners with a proposal to sell his farm, officials announced previously. A few weeks later, on Monday, they closed the deal. Brown is a Republican, as are all seven of the commissioners. They voted 5-2 to approve the sale.
“I have visited every park that we have in Onslow County,” said Commissioner Walter Scott, who voted against it. “We are not adequately funding the repairs and upkeep of what we’ve got.”
But Commissioner Mark Price, who voted for it, said the county often gets criticized for not doing enough to improve people’s quality of life. Adding opportunities for outdoor recreation — not just walking and biking but horseback riding, fishing, canoeing, concerts and more — is exactly what this is meant to do, he said.
“I think if this sale was not connected to the name of Harry Brown, it would not have garnered the opposition,” Price said.
Around a dozen people attended a public hearing at 11 a.m. Monday to speak about the sale, none in support. In an interview afterward, Brown said he never imagined the deal would be controversial.
He said if he had sold the land to a developer he probably could’ve made double what the county just paid him.
“I was going to just sell it, to be honest,” Brown said. “But I offered them a deal that was for much less than what it was worth, to do a favor. ... Because here in Onslow County we don’t have enough parks, to be quite honest.”
However, some at Monday’s meeting questioned whether the county government should be competing with private businesses — namely horse boarding farms and wedding venues, both of which are on Brown’s land and which the county continues to keep operating.
The deal “could potentially be a death knell for my client’s business and other businesses similarly situated in the county,” said Jay Salsman, a lawyer for the Rustic Barn at Half Moon, a local wedding venue.
“It goes against our fundamental values and beliefs as Republicans,” said Commissioner Robin Knapp, who joined Scott in voting against the deal. “...We need to eliminate that perception that we are in competition with private industry.”
Knapp also criticized his fellow commissioner Royce Bennett, a Realtor who has business dealings with Brown, for not recusing himself. Bennett had the county attorney confirm that it was not mandatory for him to recuse himself, then voted in favor of the purchase.
According to a review of Onslow County tax records, the property is worth approximately what the county paid for it. But Bennett said a private appraiser recently valued the land higher, at over $2 million.
“Sometimes I think maybe Harry regrets that he offered to sell it to us for $1.25 million,” he said.
After the commissioners voted to buy the property, they also voted to ban alcohol from being served at events on site. In addition to being in keeping with county policy for other parks, they said it also signaled their desire not to compete with other wedding venues in the area, since many weddings do serve alcohol.
“This is going to let these businesses know we are not in competition with them,” Commissioner Tim Foster said.
Around a dozen people came to the commissioners’ meeting Monday to speak about the deal. No one supported it.
“To continue with this purchase would be like you, the commissioners, are not listening to the citizens of this county but to the owners of the farm, the Browns,” said Debbie Woleslagle, a local homeowner.
The North Topsail Beach mayor and other town officials attended the meeting, opposed to county leaders spending this money when a county-owned parking lot and concession stand at the beach in their town has remained half-destroyed and unusable for nearly three years, due to damage from Hurricane Florence in 2018.
The money is coming from a special fund meant to be used on tourism-generating projects.
“A horse farm is not going to add significantly to tourism in the county,” North Topsail Beach Alderman Mike Benson told the commissioners. “The economic return from North Topsail Beach is over $25 million a year to the county. .... Why can’t you support one of the big economic drivers in your county?”
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