During his first full meeting as New Bern’s Mayor, the board of aldermen excused Jeffrey Odham from voting on a rezoning application made by McCullough Farms, LLC, a land development company, on Sept. 13, 2022. At the time he claimed that he was no longer involved with the company. Public records indicate he is still involved.
The rezoning request was added to the revised consent agenda for the BOA meeting on Aug. 15. NewBernNow.com noticed the mayor’s home address was listed as the principal office address on annual reports filed with the N.C. Secretary of State’s office. It was also listed on Craven County property and tax records.
Mayor Odham turned to social media after NBN reported on the connection and claimed it was “politically motivated.” At the same time, 2021 and 2022 annual reports were filed that changed the primary office address from his address to his lawyer’s address. The mayor’s home address remained listed on Craven County property and tax records for McCullough’s businesses, McCullough Farms and P & J of New Bern, LLCs.
Rezoning
At the Sept. 13 meeting, Matt Schelly, then interim director of Development Services, and Seth Laughlin, Land & Community Development administrator, presented the proposed rezoning of seven parcels of 413 acres of land adjacent to or in the Craeberne Forest subdivision.
Prior to the discussion, Odham turned to City Attorney M. Scott Davis and said, “At the time the applicant made the request, I was the manager.” Odham then said he was no longer associated with them.
Davis said, “There are two things we do. First thing we do is we ask you do you have an ownership interest in that entity. The second thing I do is I personally follow up with the attorney that represents that entity just to verify that there is no public official that has an interest in that entity. That’s all we can do. It’s the best we can do.”
“What Alderman Odham did in this case a number of years ago when this situation first came to pass so that he would alert me to this issue so the two of us could monitor it as the years went by in case it ever became an issue,” the city attorney said.
The city attorney said the mayor was the manager of the Craeberne Forest development at the time the (zoning) application was started, and he viewed it like “being a member of a non-profit, being a member of a church, so that there is an associational relationship even though it doesn’t exist tonight i think since it starts since there was that relationship in place when the zoning matter went to the planning and zoning board and I think it would be appropriate and fine if you wanted to excuse the mayor from voting tonight.”
The aldermen excused him from voting.
Six residents of Craeberne Forest voiced their concerns and opposition of the rezoning during a public hearing. Some of them asked the board to delay the vote until they could visit their neighborhood and see existing problems before they decided. At least ten others were in the audience but did not speak.
NewBernNow.com asked if the mayor was recused and Odham said, “I’ve been recused from the vote.”
We also asked if he should be participating in the discussion if he was recused as other elected officials across the state who have been recused from voting, left their seats and sat with the audience. They don’t participate in the discussion because it could influence the other board members.
“Some do that, but on this issue the mayor is going to chair the meeting,” Davis said.
Patrick McCullough’s daughter Brandi McCullough spoke on behalf of her father and said, “We’re just asking for rezoning. We’re not talking about streets. We’re not talking about sidewalks.” She continued, “The end goal, it’s just more of the same…copy and paste Craeberne Forest.”
“I cannot say…residential, residential, residential, enough,” she said.
The mayor led the discussion and asked questions about what was allowed and what wasn’t, among other things.
A citizen said she heard that the city would take over the streets, but if something needed to be fixed, they would build the developer.
Odham said, “I’m not familiar with that.”
Alderman Barbara Best asked the mayor, “Do you know of the time frame that possibly the Highway 43 corridor will be coming into existence?”
“I’m no longer on the MPO (Metropolitan Planning Organization). The last update we had was it was funded as far as the construction but the money for property acquisition comes out of a different fund and that’s what got put on hold a couple years ago when DOT went bankrupt. But now they are in a much more solvent position,” Mayor Odham said.
Alderman Bob Brinson made the motion to approve the rezoning and Alderman Bobby Aster seconded it. Aldermen Rick Prill and Johnnie Ray Kinsey voted for the rezoning. Aldermen Hazel Royal and Best voted against it.
Public Records Reveal
NBN submitted requests for public records months ago. While reviewing correspondence, more questions came up which led to more record requests and trips to the Craven County Register of Deeds, Tax Office and Courthouse.
Despite the mayor’s claim of no longer being involved with McCullough Farms, information from public records shows correspondence from NCDOT were sent to his home address that referenced the “declaration of taking and complaint” related to the right of way over property for construction of part of the NC 43 Connector.
Correspondence also shows Patrick McCullough had been negotiating with NCDOT for months prior to the rezoning request.
On Aug. 15, 2022, Attorney Donald Lawrence sent a letter to NCDOT that referenced an email from Dec. 19, 2021, “stating that he (McCullough) wanted Jeff Odham, his foreman, to accompany” the NCDOT appraiser. Lawrence continued, “All of my client’s property has recently been unanimously recommended to be rezoned R6 by the New Bern Planning Board and is scheduled for a September hearing before the Board of Aldermen for the adoption of this R6 zoning classification.”
The attorney wrote, “My client insists that NCDOT Cease and Desist with any condemnation filing in Superior Court and to stop this continuing violation of condemnation law and process…”
NBN has repeatedly asked the mayor for comment with no response. McCullough and the BOA have also been asked for comment.
Watch the video of the rezoning discussion, public hearing and vote here:
By Wendy Card, co-editor. Send an email with questions or comments.