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By JAY CONLEY
The foundation has reduced its debt from $ 5.6 million to $3.8 million, but foundation President William McIntosh said efforts to work out a payment plan with the memorial's largest creditor, Coleman-Adams Construction of Forest, had reached a stalemate. A Bedford County Circuit Court judge granted Coleman-Adams a $1.67 million partial summary judgment in August. The construction company was seeking $2.1 million it claimed it was owed for building the $25 million memorial. Richard Maxwell, the foundation's attorney, said the August judgment can't be enforced because of the protection provided under Chapter 11 bankruptcy. He said the foundation now has 120 days to file a plan to repay its creditors. Coleman-Adams resident Cliff Coleman said the D-Day foundation's actions dumbfounded him. "We were still in discussions as of this morning," Coleman said. "We had not gotten to gridlock. We told them it would be very bad for the project and dishonorable to those who the memorial is dedicated to to declare bankruptcy." McIntosh said the foundation will seek to create a plan to "clear reputably and quickly its debt." Coleman said that's what he's been trying to achieve over the past year. The memorial opened last year with President Bush leading the dedication ceremony. Roanoke architect Byron Dickson filed suit against the foundation in April for $867,000 for his work in designing the memorial. The foundation also is trying to repay $750,000 of a $1.2 million loan it acquired in April 2001 from the Bank of the James. Federal prosecutors have charged the foundation's former president, Richard Burrow, with wire fraud, mail fraud, bank fraud and loan application fraud in connection with that loan and $6.5 million he acquired in state matching funds. Burrow resigned shortly after the memorial opened. A few months after Burrow's resignation, McIntosh announced that the foundation was $5 million in debt. McIntosh also said that $2 million that was restricted for future projects had been spent improperly. McIntosh did not directly link Burrow to the foundation's financial problems, but he did say they resulted as a "consequence of the leadership of this organization." Burrow has denied any wrongdoing and has pleaded not guilty to the charges. His trial is scheduled for Dec. 9. McIntosh said Friday the foundation hopes the bankruptcy court will grant the foundation's request that it not have to pay interest on its debts. The interest now is more than $20,000 per month combined on the amounts owed to Coleman-Adams and Dickson and about $7,000 per month on the bank loan. Donations to the memorial should not be used "to underwrite litigation or pay interest," McIntosh said. Coleman's attorney, Brett Marston, said Coleman wasn't willing to change the finance terms for the interest payments. "We offered to do it in such a way that they would have little, if any, success in getting better terms from any bank anywhere," Marston said, adding that Coleman-Adams had stood by its commitment to build the memorial even though it wasn't paid regularly during construction. "It fulfilled its contract and now the foundation should do likewise," Marston said. He said Coleman-Adams had offered to complete the remaining work at no cost if the foundation would pay off the owed amount to the construction company. Peter Viemeister, the foundation board's chairman, said the board agonized for months over the decision to file for bankruptcy protection but unanimously agreed to do so in order to keep the World War II memorial open and prevent its assets from possibly being liquidated by the Coleman-Adams judgment. "It's here and it's going to be here, and it's going to be open," he said. Contacted at his Roanoke architecture firm, Dickson said he had heard rumors for weeks that the foundation would seek Chapter 11 protection. He speculated he would not be paid what he thinks he is rightfully owed. "I'm not really sure what happens to us, but they don't walk away from the obligation," he said. Foundation officials did hold out a glimmer of hope Friday that federal funds could help pay off the foundation's debt. Board members Thomas Mann and Thomas Murray, instructors at Lynchburg College, said U.S. Sens. John Warner and George Allen have been lobbied for support in recent weeks. "They've all said, 'We'll do whatever we can, when we can do it,'" Murray said.
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