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Report: Confederate statues move in Memphis followed open meetings law

Confederate Park in Downtown Memphis, Tennessee. Jefferson Davis statue
Thomas R Machnitzki / Wikipedia

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - A Tennessee comptroller's report says Memphis officials followed state open meetings law when they sold two parks to a nonprofit, which removed three Confederate statues.

The report Wednesday also says Memphis followed municipal law by selling the parks in December to Memphis Greenspace Inc. for $1,000 apiece.

Auditors said Memphis didn't make the nonprofit submit a financial stability application. The city said it met with the group to discuss finances and cited three other property sales without applications.

Auditors suggested a city-nonprofit agreement about storing and protecting the statues of Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest, Confederate President Jefferson Davis and war correspondent and Capt. J. Harvey Mathes.

Citing pending legal challenges, auditors didn't say whether the move violated state law making it tough to remove Confederate monuments on public property.