RIDGEWAY– After Ridgeway Town Administrator David Hudspeth cashed in 10 Pig on the Ridge CDs in January, prior to their maturity, and deposited that cash into the Town’s General Fund, Town Councilwoman Angela Harrison made a motion at the Feb. 26 meeting that could eventually strip the Pig on the Ridge steering committee of its ability to determine to which charities the festival’s proceeds are given in the future.
In addition, an item on the March 8 agenda would, if passed, establish financial procedures for the administration of the POR and other festivals.
The motion came out of an agenda item Harrison asked to have placed on the docket: “Consideration of education grant opportunities for Ridgeway students in District No. 1, Ridgeway.”
These grant opportunities could be funded, Harrison announced, with profits from Pig on the Ridge and other Ridgeway festivals.
“Let’s have a charitable purpose of how we can use it [POR profits.] I’ve looked into what we can do…I’m looking at scholarships and ways to give back to our kids. I think it is really important that we use some of our festival revenues…and put it into an educational grant,” Harrison said.
Before making her motion, “To meet with community and school leaders and partners to develop a budget for an education grant for the whole community,” Harrison unleashed 20 minutes of rapid-fire criticism of the popular barbecue festival that was created 19 years ago by four Ridgeway men: Town Councilman Don Prioleau, former Ridgeway Mayor Rufus Jones, Tom Connor and local Pit Master J. W. Joye. Some years before his death, Joye stepped down and was replaced by Henry Dixon. Prioleau, Jones, Connor and Dixon comprise the POR steering committee and oversee the planning, marketing and management of the festival, the largest barbecue festival in the state for 15 years. The event is manned by a volunteer army comprised primarily of residents from the community.
Talking rapidly as she handed out multiple rounds of documents to Council members in dramatic fashion, Harrison took the POR organizers to the woodshed before zeroing in on the agenda item that could eventually transfer control of the POR funds from the steering committee to the community/school committee overseeing education grant opportunities.
Harrison first lambasted the POR for its out-of-date filing status with the Secretary of State’s office, saying that POR should be in a category for charitable organizations that take in more than $20,000 in sponsor and vendor fees, which the POR does. In that category, the POR would be required to list revenues, expenses and a statement of its charitable purpose with the Secretary of State, not just the Town government. Instead, the festival’s status remains as it was originally filed with the Secretary of State…as an ‘exempt’ charity that brings in less than $7,500 annually.
“So, the information at the Secretary of State’s office is not correct and we need to have it fixed,” Harrison said.
Harrison presented no proof, however, that the POR steering committee had made any missteps in reporting revenues and expenses to the Town’s auditor or to Town Hall, which, Prioleau said, has always handled the POR funds. Nor was any proof presented that the POR steering committee had mishandled any of the POR funds in any way.
Following the Council meeting, Prioleau told The Voice that the failure to update the Secretary of State filing was an unintentional oversight. According to the Secretary of State’s office, that correction can be made by Town Hall in May when the filing is due to be renewed.
“All this show tonight wasn’t necessary to get a new form filled out,” Prioleau said.
Next, Harrison said she had “recently sat down and traced the expenditures and revenues from the POR festival and realized that it’s not really giving back to our community as much as it could.”
She was critical that some of the profits from each POR festival were held in a CD for use as seed money for the next POR festival. Prioleau said the CDs were also used to make large purchases for the town that would exceed the profits from a single year, such as a town clock.
When Prioleau tried to speak, explaining how ex-Ridgeway Mayor Gene Wilson had helped the POR get organized during its first year and how decisions were made early on to set aside seed money for each successive year’s POR festival, Harrison interrupted him.
“I’m trying to give you the whole picture,” Prioleau explained to Harrison.
“I know the whole picture,” Harrison shot back, with a laugh.
“I listened to you, now…,” Prioleau said before he was again interrupted.
“Ok, the whole picture,” Harrison said.
“After the last POR festival, I passed out checks for $300 each to 21 or 22 churches and Geiger Elementary. We’ve donated a lot of money to the community over the years – over $10,000 to renovate the Century House, over $10,000 for a special piece of fire department equipment that we had to save a couple of years for, money to Hurricane victims and to flood victims through the Red Cross, and more,” Prioleau said. “The money in the CDs is just to be sure we have money for the next festival. Now, if you have questions,” Prioleau said, “you need to come to the table and sit down and see what we need to do, but if we’re going to have the festival year after year, either the Town will have to fund it or…”
“The Town is funding it!” Harrison interrupted again.
As Prioleau tried to talk, Harrison continued to talk over him.
“The Town has been funding it,” Harrison said. “You can’t say the Town has not been funding it. It’s been funded by the Town!”
Prioleau again asked Harrison to let him finish.
“Pig on the Ridge has never been in the red, not even the first year…” Prioleau said before being interrupted again.
“I’m not saying you were,” she said.
“You’re saying the Town is funding Pig on the Ridge,” Cookendorfer interjected and was joined by Prioleau as they emphasized in unison, “but that’s money raised by Pig on the Ridge that the Town is paying out.”
“I totally understand that,” Harrison said, before changing the subject and repeating, again, that the POR was not filed properly with the Secretary of State.
“If you’re saying Pig on the Ridge money is not spent properly…,” Prioleau said.
“You didn’t file it properly, Donald, is all I’m saying,” Harrison said, all the while filming Prioleau and Cookendorfer on Facebook Live with her phone throughout the meeting.
Cookendorfer told Harrison that she was painting only half the picture.
“Really?” Harrison asked with a smile and began talking over Cookendorfer again.
“I am asking to be able to talk without being interrupted,” Cookendorfer said.
“It’s all right here,” Harrison continued, ignoring Cookendorfer’s plea.
“Can you stop interrupting?” Cookendorfer asked.
Mayor Charlene Herring, who had been hesitant to gavel Harrison’s repeated interruptions, instructed Cookendorfer to go ahead and vote on the motion and ask his questions later.
Cookendorfer insisted he should be allowed to ask questions about the paperwork Harrison handed out since she had not shared it prior to the meeting.
Asked later by The Voice if she had spoken to Cookendorfer, Prioleau or the other members of the POR steering committee about the Secretary of State information prior to the meeting, Harrison said she had not.
At Councilman Doug Porter’s suggestion, Herring allowed Cookendorfer to finish asking questions.
Finally, Harrison segued into a several-minute soliloquy, elaborating on her stated motion and her plans for the education grant committee.
The vote on the motion passed 3-2 with Herring, Harrison and Porter voting for and Prioleau and Cookendorfer voting against.
Story updated 3/8/18 at 10:00 to correct Town Council’s meeting date, which is March 8.