The demolition of Belhaven’s hospital continues to be a sore spot for county officials.

During Monday’s meeting of the Beaufort County Board of Commissioners the issue was again on the agenda, as Commissioner Hood Richardson made a motion that county building inspector supervisors should be required to obtain the minimum level of licensing for building inspections. However, the request for a motion quickly moved into Richardson accusing county officials of collusion in the demolition of Belhaven’s hospital last December.

Richardson said the events leading up to its demolition, including an inspection made by a county employee, amounted to collusion on the part of building owners Pantego Creek LLC and county officials, as he claimed was proven by a North Carolina Department of Insurance investigation finding that a county inspector had acted beyond his certification. The inspector, Brandon Hayes, was asked by Pantego Creek LLC managers to inspect the building and write a “notice of defects” letter. The letter was later submitted as evidence in a court hearing.

“This board has refused to take a position on whether what county officials did was right or admonish them in any way,” Richardson said.

After Richardson’s statements, county Manager Brian Alligood took to the podium to dispel what he said was misinformation about Hayes’ and county’s roles in Pantego Creek’s actions, as well as the results of the DOI’s investigation into a complaint filed by Belhaven Alderman Greg Sattherwaite after demolition.

“Our staff has conducted itself with integrity,” Alligood said.

Alligood said that while the investigation is not concluded, of the 17 allegations made in the complaint, none were found to be true by investigators. Instead, there is a disagreement about the interpretation of state statute: DOI believes Hayes acted outside of his authority when he wrote the requested notice of defects for the owners of the hospital property, Alligood said. Alligood and county inspectors disagree with the assessment. The state has offered to settle the case, suggesting that Hayes retake a class and go ahead and get his building standard inspection Level 3 certification, which would allow him to inspect buildings of any size, according to Alligood.

“If you did wrong, and we know you did wrong, the state is not going to settle,” Alligood said. “The state has said there’s a difference of opinion.”

Richardson also claimed that Hayes’ notice of defects letter was a deciding factor in Superior Court Judge Gregory P. McGuire’s decision to lift the temporary restraining order preventing the hospital’s demolition and, though requested, the county had no reason to do an inspection.

“This is nothing to do with the county doing its jobs,” Alligood said with regard to the court hearing. “We simply did a notice of defects to the owners of that building.”

Richardson continued to refer to the events surrounding demolition as “corrupt behavior.”

“Beaufort County did a political favor for the people who wanted to tear down the hospital,” Richardson said. “We’re going to see how this plays out. There’s more to this than I am telling you here today.”

Commissioner Ron Buzzeo said he’d read the transcript of the court hearing and said evidence did not revolve around Hayes’ notice of defects at all; McGuire instead focused on the 2 1/2 years in which those attempting to reopen the facility did not obtain funding and did not fulfill requirements that would have led to a $6 million USDA loan.

“This is a classic example of fake news,” Buzzeo said of Richardson’s accusations. He later complimented Alligood’s defense of county employees.

Commissioner Ed Booth took a softer approach to the issue.

“There’s two things that continue to divide us as a county. One is the river; the other is that hospital,” Booth said. “We need to move on and start the healing process. We can’t save the hospital now. Let’s move on.”

The building’s owners — 92 members of Pantego Creek LLC — voted to demolish the building in November 2016, as the hospital had structurally deteriorated in the 2 1/2 years since Vidant Health closed the facility, citing ongoing financial losses in the millions. The group seeking to reopen the hospital failed to bring together management companies and resources for funding. Attempts to obtain the property by eminent domain and outright purchase were also unsuccessful.