Questioning the Bill: Roanoke Rapids says it doesn't want to pay to be rid of Parton

ROANOKE RAPIDS (AP) - City leaders in Roanoke Rapids don’t want to spend any money to part ways with performer Randy Parton after they indefinitely banned him from his namesake theater, according to documents released by the city.

City Councilman Carl Ferebee recently sent an e-mail to a Raleigh attorney hired by the city, saying that the council could pay up to $625,000 but would prefer “not to pay a dime.” Other e-mails question expenses and promotion tactics, and reflect increasing apprehension among city officials about the project.

The e-mails were among 100 messages released Tuesday as part of a public-records request. They reflect possible strategies the city could use to negotiate with Parton, whom city officials asked to leave the theater before a show Dec. 6. They said he had been drinking. Parton denied the allegation.

The attorney hired to represent the city, Johnny Loper, declined to comment when contacted by the Raleigh News & Observer. Nick Ellis, the Rocky Mount lawyer representing Parton, told the newspaper that if the city wanted to make a proposal, “their counsel needs to contact me.”