CHARLOTTE — Right now, two North American River Otters are seemingly having a good time swimming around in a tub in Mecklenburg County. But their home was never supposed to be this small pool.
In fact, their future habitat is waiting for them and is currently going unused in the new Discovery Place Nature Museum in Freedom Park.
“They are cute, they’re fun, they are charismatic, they are cheeky,” Chief Science Officer Lisa Hoopes said. “We are very much looking forward to having these two male otters come in and occupy this fantastic habitat that’s been built specifically for them.”
When and if that ever happens is up to the Mecklenburg County Commission. In a fiery meeting Tuesday night, commissioners weighed whether to hold Discovery Place in default for being unable to repay a $14.6 million loan provided to build the new museum. Commissioners could also allow Discovery Place to open its doors and work out a repayment plan.
Chief Science Officer Lisa Hoopes, who was unable to talk about loan specifics, gave Channel 9 a tour of the state-of-the-art museum. It is pretty much ready to go.
“What people should expect from this nature museum is a real connection to the outdoors, and that’s why we designed it to get the Charlotte community excited about connecting with nature and really the animals that live within their communities,” she said.
The museum will allow families to get up close and personal with fish, reptiles, amphibians, and insects native to the Piedmont with exhibits targeted to children and event space for adults.
But there’s a chance none of this will happen.
If Mecklenburg County declares the museum to be in default and takes over the space, the county will either have to spend millions each year to operate it or significantly scale it back. That could mean turning the bottom level into office space for Park and Recreation employees and converting animal areas into storage.
Hoopes hopes it doesn’t come to that and said Discovery Place has the ability to get the museum going right away.
“We have the expertise, we have the scientists, the animal care staff, and really the educators ready to go,” she said. “We will make this a really fantastic experience for the community. We’re ready to roll anytime.”
Former County Manager speaks out
At Tuesday night’s meeting, county commissioners claimed they were unaware they approved a $14.6 million dollar loan for the museum. The county attorney and county manager told them the contracts were executed lawfully. But commissioners voted for the county attorney to research whether anything was done illegally or against county policy.
In a phone call with Channel 9, Diorio said commissioners should have done their research and known what they were voting on.
“The expectation is that they’re going to read what’s in the consent agenda and they’re going to read all the documents, and they’re going to understand what they’re voting on,” she said.
Diorio said the loan was offered because commissioners wanted the museum to be built, but the museum needed cash to do so. She said any notion that commissioners were in the dark about the loan isn’t true.
She said a small group met with the former Discovery Place CEO, and the former CEO asked for the loan to be forgiven. She said Commissioner George Dunlap was part of the group. Dunlap did not return an email from Channel 9.
Diorio also said she was opposed to providing any additional funding to Discovery Place and only did so at the direction of commissioners.
“They knew that there was a loan in place. So I don’t know sort of where the disconnect is between what happened then and where we are now, but from my perspective, I feel like it was it was clear that we were going to make the loan,” Diorio said. “Otherwise, we wouldn’t have been able to move forward with the project.”
Loan approval
It wasn’t exactly a packed crowd when Mecklenburg County Commissioners approved the $14.6 million loan to Discovery Place. The loan was approved January 17, 2024, at the end of a more than 3-hour meeting. Video shows no one in the crowd except county staff.
The item was on the consent agenda. It was called “Capital Project Ordinance Amendment- Park and Recreation.” The item was pulled for discussion by Commissioners Elaine Powell and Susan Rodriguez McDowell.
Commissioner Powell reiterated her opposition to providing additional funding for Discovery Place. She questioned how the county would pay for the $10 million they approved to cover cost overruns. Diorio said PAYGO.
The $14.6 million loan did not come up, but it was publicly available. It remains on the website. No commissioners apparently saw it.
Next steps
Chair Mark Jerrell said he will create a committee with commissioners to come up with recommendations for the county manager.
The county manager will then present them to Discovery Place and bring back their reaction before any decision on default is made.
A spokesperson for Mecklenburg County did not provide the names of the members of the committee or say whether its meetings will be public.