Dix park supporters, others sound off

The people on Monday's roster had signed up to speak in March but were unable to deliver their remarks because lawmakers ran out of time.

Many, like Raleigh Mayor Nancy McFarlane, urged the state to stick to a deal to turn more than 300 acres of the former Dorothea Dix Hospital campus into a park.

"I just came to say one thing, and that is honor your commitments," McFarlane said. "If the citizens of North Carolina can't trust their elected officials to keep their word, it's a sad day for our state."

Others who spoke weren't expressly opposed to the park idea but said the state was right to seek more compensation for the valuable property.

He backs a Republican bill, which has passed the state Senate, that would dissolve the current lease between the city and require a new deal to be negotiated.

Other speakers raised objections about plans to take transfer ownership of school properties statewide to county boards of county commissioners, do away with historic property tax credits and the failure to publish an biannual almanac of government leaders.