Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page. It is also available as plain text as well as XML.

Controversial foui By EDITH McNEILL Ass. News Editor Since its beginning in 1965, the Carolina Research and Development Foundation, a non-profit land buying and callltlff AAi*vwi*nf i/?n SAl. IIP/*' - ? L- ? A -? - * OVUIH5 vui pvi anun amuuifu Willi UOV/, lias UWII U L'eiUtiT 01 controversy. -In 1973 Atty. Gen. Daniel R. McLeod decided it was illegal for USC to loan money from its athletic funds to the foundation. -In 1975 the Lutheran Synod sued the foundation and was awarded $117,000 because the foundation didn't pay the full, appraised amount for the Lutheran Center located at the intersection of Pickens and Pendleton streets. _Tn 1Q7A u/hoalap Uill * i >viv, mivvit.1 mil Itoiucmo wcic UJJ ill dl lllb UtXJUUbL' they said they were being forced from their homes by the foundation. In a March 2 meeting of the executive committee of the USC Board of Trustees, it was argued that the foundation has extended its powers too far. Michael J. Mungo, Board of Trustees member, said the foundation is "getting into all kinds of areas that are not necessarily in the interest of USC." The foundation also has broad powers to lease, mortgage, rent, and manage property for the university. The foun elation was formed in 1965 in order to buy and hold property until the university can buy it. The university needis legislative approval for all property it buys and during this process prices of land can go up. CR&DF buys land for the university to eliminate this possibility. Since its beginning the foundation has done more than eight million dollars worth of business. Some of that property is not being nresentlv used bv the universitv BUT MUNGO said at the meeting, "We won't need property for 5 or 10 years." The board decided at that meeting to issue "cease and desist" order to the foundation, to have them stop buying property. However, this order does not include selling or holding property for USC. "We were concerned that they had continued buying up in the Wheeler Hill area," T. Eston Marchant, Board of v. ' -. ^K, '*. v*i?k\\w> :A , ' |^.'?$ 4jff^\\x^?^ ^MB EL / ? ?^K^BL>jf> M i iP?ft?'' ( By Jfl | Game Senate to ask studei or the for whole new election ssr U1U ou declai court irregi "H< idation ordered to i Trustees chairman, said. The university doesn't need to expand anymore, Marchant said. Members of the foundation "should have a very good idea of what they should buy and what they shouldn't buy because several of the members are employed by the university," Marchant said. Four of the members of CR&DF are employed by the university. President William H. Patterson; Harold Brunton. Vice-President of Operations- r Wniinro Mar?in Vice-President of Development and Douglas Fitzgerald of the Operational Maintenance Center. The six other members of CR&DF are David W. Robinson, attorney and foundation president; William R. Bruce of Siebels and Bruce; F. Lipscomb of the S.C. Arts Commission; John L.M. Robias, President of Palmetto Life Insurance Co., Dr. William Weston Jr. and Arthur M. Williams of SCE&G. THE FOUNDATION was directed by the Board of Trustees to buy property in the area which is bounded uAimuiuiy oy me Mciviasier music scnool on the north, the Capstone area on the east, near the Coliseum on the west, and near Heyward Street to the south. All of this area was chosen and was planned according to a "20-year plan" which extends from 1965 to 1985. Douglas Fitzgerald, asst secretary-treasurer for the foundation said the foundation is directed by the Board of Trustees to buy all property in this area for a reasonable price when it becomes available. Marchant said the foundation is not required to have direct approval by the board for each piece of property they buy. Therefore, a definite purpose is not always in mind for each piece of property when it is bought. The foundation gets the funds it needs to buy land basically from bank loans. In 1965, when CR&DF was first initiated and the 20-year plan was first instituted, an area for fraternity houses was designated for a two-block area of Wheeler Hill. (This was before the foundation had begun buying the property in the Wheeler Hill area.) It was found later, however, after most of the property 1 .Ui At., e A _ ... nau uuen uuugui, mat me traierumes actually could not afford to build houses in the area. "When we bought the msgsggg/gjmgtH^ it 1^ ^^**"**!9MHMB0VVSflHflHBHHHfllBflHHHHflHHMB^ pjy" JpSS\ S^'^/>?jHrV ^SBHL; '/f^c- >M;iv ? S> J^E?:-fe^^t?^^V^c--- ? ?10. flSlBKttn7* ^^SP^WBSk ?1ifHH ^WWBap.. 'y1^ f ^ _n? n_ r *.* | m % kN EASTERLING solidate all the comply cock Staff Writer elections and go strai supreme court instead siuaeni senate aeciaea the campus court," saic esday to petition either the A1 ford, who wrote the r it government campus court petition. t supreme court for an order vould declare the entire 1977 The resolution states I election process null and have been official comp on violations of the el ranging from infrac appeal by the Elections taining to filing, to vo nission on the run-off elec- The resolution also sj win De neara weanesaay oy legruy 01 ine eiiurt ipreme court. The run-off was elections has been sei red invalid by the campus substantially questione last week because of "Even if the Supr llarities in voting procedures. overturns the decisi campus court and lets DPEFULLY WE can con- be valid, they will stilU stop buying land property we assumed that the fraternities would be interested in the property there," Fitzgerald said. IT IS STILL undecided what will be done with that and other property the university still owns in the Wheeler Hill area. It was thought last August that the property would be commercialized and a movie theatre would be built. Other ideas for the property included townhouses and public hnucincy 44 44 11 *?* - . . ivtgvi uiu oaiu, imncvci, uicii everyming except the use of the land for fraternities were rumors." The university has decided that it won't need the land and it is now under study by the Columbia Planning Commission. But in the process several Wheeler Hill residents on Wheat Street were moved from their homes. Also, in January, the foundation bought the Antioch Baptist Church, which is located in the Wheeler Hill area. The Rev. J.P. Neal of the church, said, "It's unfortunate, but we were too small to fight the purchases and most of the people in the area did not own their property so they didn't have any say so." Tllli" I'nuwnATinv 1 -' ' ..... . uwiis several pieces 01 property on Green Street, several lots on Pendleton and Henderson streets, as well as about half of the Wheeler Hill area. One of the foundation's main possessions is Senate Plaza, an apartment building on Senate Street. The foundation bought Senate Plaza in 1970 and the university still holds it. Fitzgerald said the property was bought because it was in the USC area and it was being _er 1 -a - ? - ouereu ai a gooa price. However, no plans have been made to use the building. The foundation does have the power to hold property for the university. In the past two years the foundation has divested itself of several pieces of property. Several pieces near Gibbes Court were sold because the Board of Trustees decided the property wasn't needed anymore since a companion dorm to Capstone would not be built. The board of Trustee's "cease and desist" order will hold until June when three new members will be put on CR&DF. "We're going to meet again to reevaluate CR&DF before we decide anything definite," said Marchant. Sun and baseball The warm weather brought out the best in all kinds of people this weekend. Saturday, lovers of baseball and the ? sun came out to Hex Enright Athletic center to get a tan and to watch the Gamecocks beat Georgia Southern. yrafoagg? tints on the our resolution," Alford said. "But ight to the nothing will be heard until Wedof through nesday." I Sen. Barry The campus court declared the esolution to run-off election invalid because of such alleged incidents as noli workers looking into voting that "there machines while students were ilaints aired voting and names of students, who ection laws say they did not vote, crossed off :tions per- the election roster. In election ter fraud." procedures, a student's name is ays the in- crossed off the sheet when he votes. | j SG 1977 Also, incidents of unattended riously and polls were alleged. (| iftrl AnnrtmSsat/kxAx I"1? ' UlVVilUll VUllllllldOIUIlCI UUIIII eme Court Kapinos, said problems with the on of the election stemmed from the the run-off senate's extension of the filing date j lavetohear from March 24 to March 27.