An official from the Greater Wilkes-Barre Chamber of Business and Industry who publicly advocated for gaming funds for the historic Irem Temple building was fired late Wednesday afternoon.
Ross Macarty, vice president of community development, real estate and special projects for the chamber, said he was fired by chamber CEO Bill Moore.
The decision to fire him came the day that the Commonwealth Financial Authority announced it awarded $12,499,058 in gaming funds to Luzerne County projects. The $2.4 million the chamber and city requested to restore the Irem Temple on North Franklin Street in Wilkes-Barre was not one of the 37 projects on the list.
Mr. Macarty said chamber officials said he was fired for being too vocal, shedding too much light on an "embarrassing issue" for the chamber.
The Greater Wilkes-Barre Development Corp., an arm of the chamber, bought the temple building in 2005 for $992,000 using a combination of federal, state and chamber funds.
The 107-year-old landmark has fallen into disrepair and now has no heat, lights or electricity. Thieves have stolen copper and brass inside.
Mr. Macarty said he was disappointed that the chamber's and city's application for gaming funds was denied and it put some chamber decision makers in an "embarrassing situation."
"Now the public knows that the chamber owns the Irem Temple and is letting it rot," he said.
Mr. Moore would not go into details about why Mr. Macarty was fired, saying he would not comment on a personnel matter.
He said the Irem Temple building is being secured nearly every day, but vandals continue to break in. It would cost about $15 million to restore the building to what it once was, he said.
"Do we have that sum? No, we don't," Mr. Moore said.
Mr. Macarty was active in advocating for $2.4 million in state gaming funds to bring the building up to code and return it to use.
He said he was told the Irem Temple was not an "agenda item" because the chamber's main focus is to get back on stable financial footing. A big project that drained the chamber's resources was the $31 million movie theater complex that opened in 2006 with public and chamber funds.
Costs for the project continue to spiral out of control, Mr. Macarty said. The investment left the South Main Street Redevelopment Group, which consists of Carlsberg Management Co. and the chamber, with about $8.5 million in bank debt. Former champion drag race and developer Joe Amato recently bought the University Corners building in downtown Wilkes-Barre, which houses Wilkes-Barre Movies 14, for about $5 million.
Mr. Moore acknowledged the chamber's financial strain is a direct result of building University Corners, and Wilkes-Barre Movies 14 has been a "huge success and puts 600,000 in the theater ever year."
Michael P. Buffer, staff writer, contributed to this report.
Contact the writer: dallabaugh@citizensvoice.com