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Untangling the twists behind a proposal to leverage the PWC for 30 years

Fayetteville Councilwoman Tisha Waddell resigned abruptly in November, alleging that Mayor Mitch Colvin withheld information from the council in an attempt to bring in a private equity firm to operate the PWC.

Resigned from the City Council in November, leaving a five-page letter containing allegations against Mayor Mitch Colvin and others.

Mayor Mitch Colvin

Tisha Waddell accuses him of withholding information about the Bernhard Capital proposal to operate the PWC from her and the Fayetteville City Council. Colvin calls her allegations baseless.

Steve Benjamin

The former South Carolina mayor was working with Bernhard Capital Partners and joined Jonathan Charleston's law firm.

Jonathan Charleston

The city bond attorney who held a fundraiser for Mayor Mitch Colvin at his home. The guests included representatives from Bernhard Capital Partners. Charleston tried to garner support for the Bernhard deal.

Randy Gregory

The Fayetteville lawyer says former Sen. Tony Rand told him on his deathbed to promise him that he would see the Bernhard deal through.

The resignation letter

In mid-November of 2021, Tisha Waddell had become so frustrated with what she calls a lack of transparency and a failure to follow policies and protocol that she resigned abruptly from the Fayetteville City Council. In her wake, she left a five-page resignation letter containing broad and unspecific allegations, many pertaining to Mayor Mitch Colvin and the proposed deal with Bernhard Capital Partners.

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Note to the mayor

At the end of a heavily redacted document dated May 15, 2020, from Jeffrey Jenkins to Mayor Mitch Colvin titled “City of Fayetteville - Proposal for a Concession Agreement,” Jenkins wrote by hand: “Mayor Colvin, 11 copies of this proposal are within the envelopes. Let’s get to work.” (Page 7)

View this set of documents

How much the proposed deal was worth

Bernhard’s proposed agreement with the city and the PWC would provide upfront money and benefits totaling more than $750 million to have Bernhard operate and maintain the PWC for 30 years and to pay off PWC's debt. The money would be used to repair the city’s ailing infrastructure. (Page 13)

View this set of documents

Part 2

Waddell says she’ll apologize if her allegations prove unfounded

Former Councilwoman Tisha Waddell alleges that Mayor Mitch Colvin and city bond attorney Jonathan Charleston privately pushed for a concession agreement with Bernhard Capital Partners. She says the council should have been more involved.

Updated: Lawyer calls Waddell’s Dismas Charities allegations untrue

When she resigned from the City Council last November, Tisha Waddell alleged that Fayetteville lawyer Jonathan Charleston held private discussions with at least two council members in an effort to garner their support of a special-use permit for a proposed halfway house.

Confusion reigns in city’s handling of Waddell allegations

The city’s handling of former Councilwoman Tisha Waddell’s allegations of corruption and secrecy in local government has taken yet another turn: The city’s Ethics Commission may not have the authority to investigate the complaints.

City Council turns Waddell allegations over to Ethics Commission

The Fayetteville City Council voted unanimously Monday night to have the Fayetteville Ethics Commission investigate allegations of a lack of transparency against Mayor Mitch Colvin and other council members regarding a proposed takeover last year of the Fayetteville PWC.

Bill Kirby Jr.: Residents weigh in on City Council decision

Angie Amaro might give some thought to having her staff call for some overtime hours a couple of weeks from now at the Cumberland County Board of Elections office on Fountainhead Lane when election filing resumes for city, county, state and federal elections.

City Council decides against independent investigation of Waddell allegations

The Fayetteville City Council voted 5-4 at a Monday night work session not to pursue an independent investigation into allegations made by a former councilwoman regarding Mayor Mitch Colvin and others.

Council to discuss possibility of independent probe into Waddell allegations

The Fayetteville City Council on Monday is scheduled to discuss whether an independent investigation is warranted into allegations against the mayor and others made by Councilwoman Tisha Waddell when she resigned in November.

Audit Committee to request council investigate Waddell allegations

The Fayetteville Audit Committee plans to ask the City Council for an independent investigation into allegations made by former Councilwoman Tisha Waddell in her five-page resignation letter in November.