NC senators push forward to cancel Dix deal

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A North Carolina Senate panel wants a 3-month-old deal to lease grounds of the now-closed Dorothea Dix mental hospital to the city of Raleigh torn up and renegotiated at a higher price.

The divided Senate Appropriations Committee voted Thursday for a bill canceling the 75-year agreement approved in December and finalized by Democratic Gov. Beverly Perdue just before she left office. The city wants to turn the land into a park.

Republican legislative leaders complained lease terms were not good for the state, generating only $68 million. The bill keeps part of the land for state employees to work.

Senate Democrats and a park booster told Republicans pushing the change that people won't trust the state anymore when entering contracts. The bill now goes to the full Senate.