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In regards to a recent controversial post advertising a sale of an inventory of décor items of the Manchester Coffee County Conference Center, Mayor Joey Hobbs addressed some of the concerns voiced across social media. 

“I would like to address some of the concerns expressed to me regarding the Conference Center Inventory Sale. When the city took control on July 1st of the operations, it was expressed to the PBA board that the city would like for operations to continue as normal for 90-120 days in order to facilitate the transition. Instead, the PBA board resigned en masse,” Hobbs said.

Hobbs also said that the city told the center’s employees to reapply with the city for their current positions, and only two of the employees did so and were immediately re-hired by the city.

“When the city took over the operations, there was no inventory provided by departing staff. This inventory has to be done. It took an entire week of 8-10 hour days to pull out and sort all of the decor, flowers, vases, linens, etc. The amount of items on hand is staggering, and it became obvious that some of it has never been used and a lot has not been used in a very long time. It is all currently being inventoried by a Conference Center employee and a member of the City Finance Dept.,” Hobbs said. 

Hobbs said that items are not needed due to the changing the model of the center.

“The old model was obviously not sustainable,” Hobbs said.     

“As for the pricing of the items, an app was used,” Hobbs said. “Photos were uploaded and the app provided retail, yard sale, good price, fair price, and get it gone price. We used the lower end prices provided. This took all the subjectivity and guess work out of the pricing but helps to ensure we get a fair price. All of the money is going to pay conference center bills. Every single day since the city has taken over, we receive another Past Due invoice from various vendors.”

Moving forward, the conference center will continue to be used as event space with tables, chairs, and linens available for use at the standard rate for the area. Hobbs said events are still happening at this time.

“With this new industry standard model, locally owned catering companies, party supply rental companies, floral shops, and everyone else who works in this space will benefit. Not only that, the customer will benefit by being able to choose from a wide range of options and price points from local business owners who are deeply motivated to provide the best customer service and prices,” Hobbs said.  

“In closing, I would like to reassure everyone that I did not make this decision alone or in a vacuum. I and other city employees visited area event spaces that are profitable. I spoke to directors in event spaces. I educated myself on the best path forward and determined that this was it. Hope you come out Saturday and find some bargains,” Hobbs concluded.

Not addressed in the announcement were several bigger issues regarding the creation of a new city department, along with the hiring of personnel to oversee the center’s operations.

During the July 1 Board of Mayor and Aldermen, each of the job descriptions for positions within the conference center failed to pass the board.

Hobbs said that the umbrella of the (vacant) Manchester PBA transitional arrangement could be used to hire employees, and that the new Tourism Department would come before BOMA in the coming months.