PEMBROKE — The chairman of the Lumbee Tribe’s Election Board was demoted by the Tribal Council on Thursday because of an ethics violation.
Larry McNeill was stripped of his leadership title after being sanctioned for failure to report unspecified complaints to the Election Board. The vote to impose the sanctions was taken after council members met in a closed session to discuss the issue. There was no discussion before the vote was taken.
McNeill will be able to remain on the Election Board but will not be able to hold a leadership position for two years, said Carvicous Barfield, chair of the Ethics Committee. The Election Board will meet at a later date to elect new officers.
McNeill was not at Thursday’s Tribal Council meeting.
In other business, the council members approved allocating $1,100 to pay for an inauguration ceremony for newly elected council members. The ceremony is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Jan. 7 in the Tribal Council’s chamber in the Housing Complex in Pembroke.
The election took place Nov. 12. There were seven races, but only two were contested.
Shelley Strickland defeated incumbent Annie Chavis Taylor for a District 12 seat. The District 3 seat that had been occupied by Al Locklear until he resigned from the Tribal Council in December 2018 was won by Pam Hunt.
Incumbents Gerald Goolsby, District 2; Annie Taylor, District 6; Yvonne Barnes Dial, District 7; Corbin Eddings, District 8; and Ricky Burnette, District 13, were unopposed in their re-election bids.
Robbie Goins was the sole speaker during the public comment portion of Thursday’s meeting. He asked the council members to urge tribal members to post comments in opposition to a request from NC Renewable Power/Lumberton Energy LLC for an air-quality permit from the state Department of Environmental Quality. The last day to comment is Wednesday.
“The facility burns chicken waste, i.e. manure and bedding, and wood waste products to generate electricity,” Goins said. “The present facility places the Lumbee, Lumber River at risk of hazardous waste contamination from fly ash and bottom ash generated through the burning process, and stored on-site.”
Goins also urged the Tribal Council to work with the Department of Environmental Quality to set up a public hearing in Lumberton about the company’s operations. The purpose would be to get comments and testimony from county residents and experts on the potential for pollution and other damage the facility in Lumberton can cause.
According to the the Department of Environmental Quality’s website, “Persons wishing to submit written comments or request a public hearing regarding the Air Quality Title V Operation Permit are invited to do so. Requests for a public hearing must be in writing and include a statement supporting the need for such a hearing, an indication of your interest in the facility, and a brief summary of the information intended to be offered at such hearing. The public comment period begins on November 25, 2019, and will run through December 25, 2019.”
Written comments or requests for a public hearing should be postmarked no later than Wednesday and addressed to Betty Gatano, Division of Air Quality, 1641 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, North Carolina 27699-1641. Written comments also can be submitted via email at [email protected].
People submitting an emailed comment are asked to type “NCRP.19A” in the subject line.
