Countless emails and phone calls in support of keeping The Smithfield Times on the iconic Main Street site it has occupied for a century are deeply appreciated.

In the interest of full transparency, here are the remarks I made to the Town Council at its committee meetings last month:

Members of Town Council, I come before you today to humbly ask that you preserve important history and ensure the vibrancy of the performing arts downtown by working with me to keep The Smithfield Times on the site it has occupied for a century.

Selling the property at 228 Main St. to The Smithfield Times is the right decision for taxpayers, who would get market value for property they have owned for the past four years and a nice return on that investment they made in 2020.

It is the right decision for the Historic District, which is blessed to be home of two iconic businesses that have operated continuously on the same site with the same name for a century or more — The Smithfield Times and Smithfield Inn. As custodians of Smithfield’s Historic District, it could be argued that one of your highest obligations is to history itself.

It is the right decision for the community, which would be assured — in a way that no legal easement can ever guarantee — that Times Square, recently rebranded Main Street Square, remains family-friendly, non-commercial community space for many years to come.

The Times birthed that community gathering place nearly four decades ago under the ownership of John Edwards and has continued, in partnership with the town, to be its caretaker for the past five years. The Times and Times Square are inseparable. The newspaper office is the headquarters of the Downtown Smithfield Summer Concert Series, which will wrap up its 38th season this Friday, a successful partnership between the Isle of Wight Arts League, the Times and the town.

Concert performers and organizers use our office to change in and out of their performance clothes, for restroom facilities, for air-conditioned breaks from the summer heat and to take cover during the pop-up thunderstorms that are quite common. Other community groups holding events in Times Square routinely use our office. The Christmas Parade judges come inside our office to confer and make decisions on winning floats and bands. The Woman’s Club of Smithfield uses our office to stage and organize the delicious homemade cookies served on the night of the Christmas Tree Lighting. 

And then there’s Halloween night and Safe Trick-or-Treating, long organized and hosted by The Smithfield Times. I often hear visitors compare Smithfield to a 21st century Mayberry or a Norman Rockwell painting. Halloween evening, with hundreds of costumed children and their parents coming downtown for Times-sponsored festivities, and the 13 Friday evenings that we host summer concerts are a slice of Americana that other towns envy. I know because they tell me.

It’s important for me to say to you and to the community that there is zero conflict between me and Jay Hassell, who also seeks to purchase the building. To give you an idea of what a class act Jay Hassell is, he called me a few days before your recent deadline for bids on the Times building and said to me, “Steve, if you’re going to submit a bid, I won’t.” It was an incredible, but not surprising, gesture from one who knew of my desire to own the building and keep the Times office where it has been for a century. Pure class. I thanked him profusely but told him that he absolutely should submit a bid, among other reasons being that the Town Council would have a quality alternative should it decide, for whatever reason, that the Times must go.

As I believe most of you know, my sealed bid arrived after the 3 p.m. deadline, but before the 4 p.m. bid opening, on July 31 due to a family emergency that occurred literally while I was en route to hand-deliver a bid. Had you received a bid in excess of appraised value from a reputable party, I would not be sitting before you today. But because you presumably will not accept either bid as presented, I am here today to confirm an offer of appraised value that I first made 18 months ago, in February 2023. That offer was reconfirmed this past February. It stands today with no contingencies, as well as a commitment to close within 30 days of its acceptance. 

In short, I urge you to make what I believe to be the right decision for taxpayers, for the Historic District and for the community. Keep a century-old business home and protect the special traditions of Times Square. 

Since I made those remarks, the town’s intentions have been shrouded in secrecy, but here are known new developments:

• A public hearing on the sale of the property is scheduled for the Town Council’s next monthly meeting at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 2 (being held on a Wednesday instead of the normal first Tuesday of the month due to National Night Out festivities on Oct. 1).
• Town Manager Michael Stallings told me that the town is negotiating a contract with another entity. A draft copy of that contract won’t be made public until a week before the public hearing. 
• Town officials say they won’t tell taxpayers before the hearing what the property appraised for in the spring. To inform my offer of appraised value, I had two certified appraisers do informal valuations for me. One calculated $450,000, the other $460,000. That apparently will be your best frame of reference when the town divulges the proposed sale price.

Steve Stewart is publisher of The Smithfield Times. His email address is steve.stewart@smithfieldtimes.com.