PEMBROKE — In a move that sparked lengthy discussion of parliamentary procedure and cries of protest from the audience, the Lumbee Tribal Council failed Thursday to override the veto of the council’s defunding of a housing project in Prospect.
The override failed in a 13 to 6 vote because 14 voters were needed.
The vote was an attempt to override tribal Chairman Harvey Godwin’s veto of the vote in August to deny funding to the Dream Catcher project. Speaker Ricky Burnett, who cast one of the no votes, said 14 yes votes were needed to defeat the veto. It was a point of parliamentary procedure that was contested after the vote.
Also voting no were Larry Chavis, Alvin Mercer, Dewey McNeill, Frank Cooper and Terry Hunt.
Godwin posted a video on YouTube on Oct. 5 explaining his veto. In the video he championed the benefits the tribe’s members would realize from the project, particularly low-income and elderly members.
“I believe in the Dream Catcher project,” Godwin said.
Dream Catcher is a $10 million project that calls for the construction of 15 low-income houses in Prospect as well as 35 others in two other communities, Raynham and Union Chapel. The land in those communities is already owened by the tribe, purchased previously with federal HUD dollars.
It sparked opposition from residents in tribal District 5, in which Prospect is located, on the day the defunding vote was taken during the Aug. 19 council meeting. Voices were raised in opposition again on Thursday.
Jennings Bullard spoke about the drainage problems the project could cause and how the construction could clog a neighboring canal. He called it another example of people not learning from past storms.
“If you take from nature, nature will take it back,” he said.
Eddie Moore, a farmer in District 5, also spoke against the project.
“I’m a farmer, and there are some people who think that because I’m a farmer I don’t know much,” he said.
But one thing he said he knows is that the people of Prospect, and District 5, don’t want the project. Moore urged the council members to move it to a district that wants it.
“Why would a government want to move housing into an area that doesn’t want it?” he said.
He called Dream Catcher a divisive issue and told the council members they could vote to plant seeds of unity or division.
Council member Jarrod Lowery favored overriding the veto. He spoke of how his grandparents used to speak about how politicians at all levels of government don’t listen to the people.
“I’m just asking that we listen to the people,” Lowery said.
Council member Wendy Moore-Graham represents Prospect. She said self-determination of the people is at the core of the tribe’s constitution and government, and the power rests with the people.
“Please do what is best for the people of District 5,” she said.
After the vote was taken, the council members debated the definition of “seated members” in Robert’s Rules of Order, the guidelines for parliamentary procedure. The question was did it mean the total number of members on a voting governing body or the number of people present. Also debated was if 13 yes votes by members present were enough to override the veto.
The debate included calls to two lawyers. Both confirmed that the 13 votes were not enough to override Godwin’s veto.
People in the audience who opposed construction of the project spoke out, saying the vote wasn’t right and calling it a sham. Voices became so loud at one point two tribal security personnel, a Pembroke police officer and a Robeson County sheriff’s deputy came in the chamber to calm the situation.
In other business, the council approved a resolution to keep funding tribal operations in the current fiscal year at fiscal year 2018-19 levels. The resolution was necessary because the 2019-20 budget has yet to come out of the Finance Committee. The current fiscal year began on Oct. 1.
Four people were honored Thursday night. Among them was Tawanda Hunt, who on Oct. 3 took what council member Sharon Hunt called “heroic action” to ensure the safety of the 17 students on her bus after it was rear-ended by a car and burst into flames. The 27-year county employee was presented a resolution calling her a Valiant Protector of Children.
Reggie Brewer was proclaimed a Cultural Ambassador for the Lumbee Tribe for his work with seven Boys and Girls clubs.
Angelina Hunt, who recently was crowned Miss Indian Senior Citizen by the North Carolina Indian Senior Citizens Coalition, was proclaimed an ambassador for the Lumbee Tribe and all tribes in North Carolina.
Also honored was Dr. Connie Locklear.
