Fountain's future still adrift. Legal documents are posted in this article. | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Publisher's Note: This article originally appeared in the Beaufort Observer.

    We, and other local media outlets, have reported that Fountain Powerboats has closed shop. That appears to be confirmed by a simple observation of but six vehicles in the company's employee parking lot on October 17, 2011. Calls from us to John Walker, Operations Manager, in returning earlier contacts via email, again went unreturned.

    Mr. Walker, in Feedback comments to earlier articles in the Observer, in addition to criticizing what he characterized as "poor journalism," said on October 11, 2011 that: "Liberty still operates the facility in Washington and people were at work today."

    Governor Perdue announced November 22, 2010 that Fountain, owned then by Liberty Associates, LLC, would receive a One N. C. Fund grant for $150,000 to create 411 "new jobs" in Beaufort County. Mr. Walker, in his comments, declared that Fountain/Liberty never received any of the money. This was apparently true because Fountain never created the jobs. We offered Mr. Walker equal space here to explain his story about what is going on with Fountain. He has never, to date, responded to that offer.

    Now we learn that while some "people were at work today (October 11)" as Mr. Walker claimed, he was not entirely forthright. According to court filings, most of Fountain's employees were told on October 7 not to report back to work until further notice. In fact, those filings indicate that Mr. Walker himself had resigned from his position as production manager at the time he wrote the comment that there were "...people at work today..." and Liberty still operated the facility. See Page 15 of the Complaint.

    Our offer to Mr. Walker still stands. We will provide him equal space here to explain his story about what is going on with Fountain.

    Meanwhile, in the public interest we have secured copies of the legal filings and are making them available below. For those who do not want to wade through all of the legalese, the Complaint and the Motion to appoint a receiver, we think are the most significant to the employees and interested individuals in Beaufort County: Complaint

    The Complaint alleges that Fountain is in default of it loans from First Capital (FCC), totaling over $61 million, that Fountain shut down the plant on October 7, certain Fountain principals engaged in "self dealing" including one entity leasing facilities to another entity for $74,000 per month (see Page 16 of the Complaint) and that Fountain failed to pay FCC for receipts from four boats and receipts for service and parts, totaling $947,129 (see page 17-18).

    Fountain's motion to move from Beaufort Superior Court to N. C. Business Court.

    Fountain's amended motion to move to Business Court.

    Order assigning case to N. C. Business Court.

    Motion to appoint a receiver. Presumably, the appointment of a receiver might allow the business to continue to function while the legal matters are settled. Sources tell us that it is highly likely a receiver will be appointed, but whether the receiver will start the business back up would probably depend on the financial viability of doing so. There are rumors--and we emphasize that we cannot confirm them--that Reggie Fountain is interested in taking over the business again.

    Motion for expedited discovery.

    Commentary

    Fountain, owned by whatever legal entities, has been a major part of Beaufort County for years. It has, and still does either positively or negatively, impact many families in our community. Fountain, including under its Liberty owners, was quick to tout its receptiveness to applying for tax funds to help it "create jobs." Fountain and the Economic Development Commission have, in the past, talked about its economic impact on the community. And while Fountain now is a privately owned company we think the company has a duty and obligation to its employees, vendors and even the public in general to fairly disclose what is going on.

    Mr. Walker obviously does not understand this. He wanted to focus on whether the One N. C. Fund grant was actually paid. That is beside the point. The point is that the community has a vested interest, cultivated and encouraged by Fountain itself over the years, in what is happening with Fountain. Mr. Walker and others responsible for Fountain should have been, and hopefully those who are involved going forward will be more transparent with the employees, vendors and people of Beaufort County than Mr. Walker has been. This community has supported Fountain and it deserves better.