The
Morrisville & Preston
Published Moil W
ress
January 31, 19S
Special meeting called to name Cobey’s successor
A special meeting of the Morris-
ville Board of Commissioners has
been called for Thursday night to
discuss the search for a successor to
Town Manager Bill Cobey, who
has resigned the $75,000-a-year
post to become co-chairman of
Richard Petty’s campaign for Sec
retary of State.
Commissioner Phyllis Newnam,
chairman of the board’s personnel
committee, would not elaborate on
the specific purpose of the 7:30
p.m. session at Town Hall, but she
did say the committee had dis
cussed three candidates for the job
at its initial session Monday night.
Ms. Newnam had "no comment"
when asked if the committee would
recommend one of the candidates
to the full board. "If you want to
know what we’re going to do,
you’ll have to come to the meet
ing," she said.
Meeting with Ms. Newnam Mon
day night were Commissioner
Leavy Barbee, who is the other
member of the personnel com
mittee, Cobey and Mayor Margaret
Broadwell.
Since there had been no apparent
rush to name a successor since
Cobey had set March 29 as a depar
ture date, the suddenness of calling
a special board meeting fueled
speculation the committee has
settled on a recommendation. The
board’s next regularly scheduled
meeting is Feb. 12.
Mayor Broadwell accepted
Cobey’s resignation at the Jan. 22
meeting of the commissioners.
Cobey said at the time he would
extend his notice from the required
30 days because of an administra
tive staff shortage caused by the
maternity leave of Town Planer
Leisa Powell.
Cobey, who is 56 and lives in
Chapel HUl, said he had intended to
stay longer as town manager, but
said an opportunity such as helping
run Petty’s campaign doesn’t come
along twice.
"I made up my mind when I was
a young man that life is short," he
told the board. "I want to enjoy
working. It’s been a great two
years. I’ve enjoyed working indi
vidually and collectively with the
board."
Cobey has said repeatedly that his
resignation is unrelated to a clash
between the personalities and
philosophies of Mayor Broadwell,
who took office last month, and
Mayor Pro Tern Billy Sauls. He
said he was first approached about
the job in November.
"I believe the elected officials
have individually and collectively
done an outstanding job for the
citizens of Morrisville," Cobey said
in his resignation letter. "As com
missioners, you woiked well to
gether, gave clear directives to me,
provided me and other staff with
your constant trust and support, and
always acted in the best interest of
the town.”
Commissioners have been unani
mous in their praise of Cobey.
Sauls also took time at the last
board meeting to assure town em
ployees that the transition will be a
smooth one. "It will work out
okay," he said.
Ms. Newnam described Cobey as
"the best thing to have happened to
Morrisville." She said she would
miss his management style. "We all
love you a lot," she said.
Barbee cited Cobey for his "cool,
calm, sensible and intellectual
leadership."
C.T. Moore said the town man
ager could be replaced, but Cobey
couldn’t. "We’re fortunate we have
See MEETING, page 2
BILL COBEY
Morrisville parcels
bringing top prices
Proximity to
Triangle area
a major draw
By Ron Page
Drive about Morrisville and
you’ll see numerous real estate and
developer signs offering everything
from dense woods to rolling farm
land. Observers refer to the town as
a sleeper, an area on the brink of
exploding with development.
There was a time when Cary, its
neighbor to the south, was in a
similar position. In 1970, Cary had
a population of 7,000. Ten years
later it went to 27,000, doubled
again by 1990, and is expected to
swell to 85,000 residents by the
year 2000.
While Morrisville officials have
no illusion of reaching such propor
tions bec^se of the town’s limited
geogr^hic area, they do know that
location is one of the primary con
siderations of an area’s growth.
Morrisville has been described as
the heart of the Triangle, ideal for
both businesses and residents.
Dick Mazur of Apex Realty
estimated land in Morrisville has at
least doubled in value during the
past five years. A survey by The
Progress revealed that land is for
sale fcff as much as $50,000 an
acre. "It’s simply a scarcity of
land," Mazur explains. "There is no
place to go in Cary, and the majori
ty of land in Apex is residential."
Mazur feels today’s open land in
Morrisville is more v^uable for
commercial than for residential use.
"Businesses arc able to pay more
for it than residential developers,"
he adds.
But Mazur notes other enhance
ments can be factored in to
determine land values. "The town
offers convenience as to location,
paved roads, a fine Town Hall
building, Community Center, and
major connecting arteries," he says.
Lee Ventura is a broker with In-
dra Group in Durham. She
represents die owner of a 19-acre
parcel of land for sale on Church
Sti'eet at $48,000 an acre. Located
in what is called a flexible zone for
either industrial or office use, the
land’s use will determine the in
tensity of its buffer zones and set
backs. She says the recent agree
ment between Cary and Morrisville
for Cary to supply water and sewer
facilities to Morrisville is the key
diat will unlock the future.
"Like this property, none of the
land perks, which means sewers are
needed," Ms. Ventura says. "Most
of the land has limited use without
water and sewer. The town won’t
reach maximum potential for its
land until water and sewer facilities
are made available. Then, the sky’s
the limit."
She says Morrisville couldn’t be
located in a better spot in the Tri
angle—close to the Airport and Re
search Triangle Park. She feels the
town will see a spurt in the area ad
jacent to the south end of Research
Triangle Park when the latter
eventually is developed.
Research Triangle Park has about
400 acres available in Durham
County and some 2,000 acres in
Wake County yet to be developed.
Its 6,800 acres are home to more
dian 60 major research facilities
employing 34,000 people.
.ry. ^ ^
ACREAGE
osbJI available
ZONED GENERAL BUSINESS
(9t9) 781*8484
Drivint) Ranqc Fami y
737-1123
467-1882
LOT FOR SALE|
Real estate signs dotting the landscape in Morrisville hint at an active commercial market.
Herb Cunningham, broker in
charge at Tar Heel Realty in
Raleigh, is even more lavish in his
assessment of land values in town.
He has a 5 1/2-acre industrial par
cel on Church Street, which runs
north from Morrisville-Carpenter
Road, parallel to and just west of
N.C. 54. It is on the market for
$220,000.
"I would say some land in Mor
risville has doubled, possibly even
tripled in the past half-dozen
years," notes Cunningham.
"I would also say Morris
ville had a great opportunity
to lay out its master plan.
See REAL, page 2
Auction
a first
for town
By Ron Page
An auction of some 72 acres of
industrial-zoned land in Morrisville
drew prospective buyers from 13
states and Canada, but when it was
ovCT, two speculators from Raleigh
emerged with the winning top bids.
The land, located on the west side
of Church Street just south of
McCrimmon Parkway, consisted of
three continguous parcels—21.18,
28.84, and 22.38 acres each—and
while the Jan. 25 auction permitted
an overall bid on the entire tract,
the eventual purchases were for in
dividual properties.
Brachy Rogers, broker in charge
for Rogers Realty, the Mount Airy
firm which represented the seller,
said his firm has held auctions for
at least 10 southeastern states. This
was the first in Morrisville, how
ever.
The seller was R.E. "Buck"
Ward, a real estate investment
broker who lives in Myrtle Beach,
S.C. Those who bid had to submit a
$50,000 certified check to take
Top bidder on two of the tracts
was Edward White of Raleigh,
owner of a software company, and
a speculator in local land invest
ments. The 21.18 acre parcel was
purchased for $17,500 an acre,
while the 28.84 acres went for
$19,000 an acre. The third parcel
consisting of 22.38 acres went to
Algie Stevens, a real estate investor
and warehouse owner, also from
Raleigh, for $17,750 per acre.
White explained that he also
owns a parcel immediately north of
See COMMERCIAL, page 2
Lies, lies, lies
They’re all told in fun by club
at Carpenter hardware store
By Roxanne Powers
When Bryan Edwards spent three
Christmas holiday weeks in Japan
with his wife Polly, he decided to
give the employees at his country
store in Carpenter two holidays off
instead of the usual one.
Ihat was an alarming prospect
for about 30 of the morning regu
lars at Edwards Hardware and Gro
cery on N.C. 55. With the employ
ees off, they were going to miss out
on the coffee-drinking and banter
ing that goes on when they start off
their day around the table at the Ed
wards’ store.
They took their complaint to Ed-
Soe CLUB, page 2
SWAPPING NEWS—Gathered around the table Saturday morning
at Edwards Hardware and Grocery were (from left to right) Joe
Harris, Bill McLamb, Wilson Knott, Al Phillips and Bob Lucas. The
men meet each morning to drink coffee and discuss the news of
the day.
BULK RATE
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