Smithfield’s Town Council, on Feb. 4, narrowly defeated a proposal to partially forgive the debt the Smithfield Recreation Association owes the town.

Councilman Steve Bowman proposed using a portion of the interest earned on former Smithfield Foods Chairman Joseph Luter III’s conditional $6 million donation during the six months it sat in the town’s bank account.

Luter offered the money last year for the beautification of town-owned right-of-way fronting the Grange at 10Main mixed-use subdivision his son, Joseph Luter IV, is developing at the western edge of the town’s historic district, conditioned on the town matching the amount dollar for dollar and moving its farmers market to the Grange. Then-Mayor Bowman had facilitated the transfer of funds during a May visit with Luter III at his Palm Beach, Florida, home, but after months of Town Council inaction on the offer, Luter IV asked – and the town agreed in November – to return the money.

During those six months, the money earned roughly $130,000 in interest. Bowman had in December proposed using that money to write off the $120,000 remainder of the debt the SRA owes as its share of the $4 million Joseph Luter Jr. Sports Complex the town built in 2018, which is named for Luter III’s father.

The SRA, in addition to leasing the Luter Sports Complex for $25,000 annually, owns and maintains the 55-year-old, 6.3-acre Beale Park at the corner of Moonfield and Barcroft drives. It had planned to sell Beale for $300,000 in 2018 to meet its financial obligation toward the construction of the Luter Sports Complex, but after receiving pushback from its membership, renegotiated with the town to make the $300,000 payment in annual installments over 10 years.

Bowman brought up the SRA’s debt again at the council’s Feb. 4 meeting, this time proposing to use $60,000 to cancel two of the remaining four $30,000 annual payments the SRA owes, but his motion failed 4-3 when it drew only his own, Mayor Mike Smith’s and Vice Mayor Bill Harris’ votes. Council members Mary Ellen Bebermeyer, Jeff Brooks, Valerie Butler and Darren Cutler voted in opposition.

“I’m not in favor of the request for various reasons, and it has nothing to do with supporting young people because I’m an advocate for young people and I do support them, but I don’t feel it’s the best use of funds,” Butler said.

Butler said it would be fairer to divide the money equally between the SRA, which runs baseball and softball programs for children ages 5-16, and Smithfield Packers Youth Sports, which runs football, track and cheerleading programs for ages 5-14.

“When you look at the participants on both sports culturally, and I didn’t want to get into this portion of the conversation, traditionally football has been a Black sport; baseball has been a white sport, but I will tell you socially, economically, you’re dealing with two groups of people that financially … they’re different,” Butler said.

Bowman countered that when he coached for SRA, “it was not a segregated group of kids.”

He noted the town had supported the football program last year by using just over $600,000 of its federal COVID-19 relief money to build a second concession stand and restroom facility near the Luter Sports Complex’s football field. The SRA, under its agreement with the town, has first right of refusal to use the circa-2018 concession stand located closer to Luter’s baseball and softball fields.

It’s not the first time Butler has drawn attention to a racial economic disparity among town residents. At a Jan. 27 council meeting, in response to a citizen’s comment, she remarked that 31% of the town’s African American population lives at or below the federal poverty line, a statistic repeated in the town’s 2022 comprehensive plan.

Butler’s concerns prompted Bebermeyer to suggest alternative uses for the interest, including potentially increasing the amount the town contributes annually to the Western Tidewater Free Clinic or the Isle of Wight Christian Outreach Program, or using the money to defray the cost of a recommended increase in the town’s water and sewer rates for residents.

“We have a lot of things that money could be spent on, and $60,000 is a lot of money for one entity,” Bebermeyer said.

Harris, who seconded Bowman’s motion to forgive half of SRA’s debt, described the organization as working “with their hands tied behind their back” to maintain Beale Park due to the annual debt payments. Harris said forgiving the debt would allow SRA to make needed upgrades to Beale Park.

Rachael Klopfer, a member of the Save Beale Park committee that fundraises for the annual debt payment and Beale’s maintenance, said in an earlier Smithfield Times interview that improvements needed at Beale include expanding and upgrading field space to allow more children to participate and investing in long-term maintenance.

“I’m struck by the fact that SRA contributes $25,000 a year through their lease agreements while the Smithfield Packers youth football group, over the past seven years, the most they have paid is $3,775,” Harris said.

Butler said Harris’ comparison was not “apples to apples” since the town’s contracts with each youth group were independently negotiated and agreed to by the respective organizations.

Cutler, who prior to the 4-3 vote urged against making a “divisive decision,” had proposed a substitute motion to table the matter and refer it to the council’s Parks and Recreation Committee, but that motion failed when Bowman, Brooks, Harris and Smith voted against it.