UPDATE: You can hear ALGOP Chairman Bill Armistead discussing this article on the Matt Murphy Show on 100 WAPI this morning by clicking HERE. The portion of the interview discussing the potential new ALGOP HQ begins approximately 9 minutes in.

Multiple ALGOP executive committee members have reached out to Yellowhammer this week expressing concerns over the process the ALGOP has followed in purchasing a new headquarters on Lorna Road in Hoover. ALGOP Chairman Bill Armistead recently proposed the following plan to the ALGOP Steering Committee:

• A group of investors would buy an office building and lease it to ALGOP for a period of 5 years with the monthly payments only being the cost of the interest on the loan.
• When the 5-year period comes to a close, ALGOP would have the OPTION to buy the property or walk away.

 
Armistead had appointed a committee months ago to look into buying a property but never called a meeting of the committee or included them in the process. This was the first property they had been shown. Still, at first blush, many on the Steering Committee felt this was a good deal. However, more details began to emerge that have left a cloud of uncertainty hanging over this weekend’s ALGOP Executive Committee meeting.

• Armistead sprung a last minute change on some of the Steering Committee members when he informed them that the deal was amended so that the ALGOP would be REQUIRED to buy the property at the end of the 5 year lease period. This was a deal breaker for some on the committee but the deal was hammered through on a conference call with 13 ya votes, 1 nay vote, and 1 abstention. Only after the vote did many members become aware of the changes to the deal.

 
Additionally,

• The property is purportedly being purchased for well over $100,000 more than its county appraised value (2011 appraisal can be seen below). While these appraisals, which are used to assess property taxes, are usually less than a property’s actual value, this falls well outside of the typical margin.
• ALGOP Chairman Bill Armistead’s nephew is the Party’s real estate agent on the deal. Many on the executive committee were upset that this was not fully disclosed.
• The total sum of the deal is purported to be almost half-a-million dollars which includes a large sum of money for purchases including furniture and a flag pole.

 
Concerned members of the Executive Committee were quick to say that they felt the purchase of a property was a good idea for the Party but that their qualms were with the process that was followed. Chairman Armistead will likely be sharing these plans with the ALGOP Executive Committee during their meeting Saturday. But he is expected to be presenting it as a done-deal as opposed to opening up the almost half-million-dollar purchase to discussion.

One Executive Committee member summed up their exasperation by saying, “If the Party is going to spend almost $500,000, shouldn’t members of the committee see the contract? Shouldn’t an appraisal be done? Shouldn’t any family members that will be profiting be disclosed? The process has totally broken down and the concept of transparency has been totally abandoned.”

It will be interesting to see how everything plays out. Will the plan change between now and the time when Chairman Armistead presents it Saturday to the Executive Committee? Either way, an eventful weekend awaits the GOP faithful in Montgomery.

Pictures of the potential new ALGOP Headquarters

Location of the potential new ALGOP Headquarters at the corner of Lorna Road and Woodmeadow Drive in Hoover.

Jefferson County tax assessor information for the property (click the picture to enlarge).

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