Business wants to open Internet gaming here
Application targets
Edenton Village
By RITCHIE E. STARNES
Editor
Internet gaming could
soon be coming to Edenton.
On May 15, a company
submitted an application
for a business privilege li
cense to open an Internet
sweepstakes cafe in the
Edenton Village Shopping
Center as early as July 1.
Edenton officials initially
denied the application be
Airport
eyes
fielding
solar farm
Duke Energy to
conduct study
By REBECCA BUNCH
Staff Writer
The Edenton Town
Council could decide at its
July 10 monthly meeting
whether to approve a plan
that would allow the town
to lease 35 acres of land
for a proposed new solar
farm at the Northeastern
Regional Airport.
t The lease agreement
would require that the de
veloper, Duke Energy Re
newables, pay the cost of a
required feasibility study,
one of three that would
be required for the proj
ect. The other two stud
ies would be a system im
pact study and a facilities
study.
The feasibility study
would identify the- esti
mated cost to upgrade the
town’s electrical distribu
tion system, a necessity of
the project.
Town Manager Anne
Marie Knighton said that,
“a very preliminary cost
of upgrades appears to be
in the neighborhood of
$400,000 to $500,000.”
Knighton noted that the
town would not fund any
required upgrades to its
system, “An agreement
(with Duke) will be nec
essary ensuring that the
developer will pay for the
upgrades,” she said.
The Utilities Commit
tee referred the proposal
to the full council for its
consideration and a vote
during the council’s com
mittee meetings night on
June 25.
The town is negotiating
with the Ohio-based firm
to lease a 35-acre tract
at the airport on Sound
side Road. Terms of the
proposed lease include a
$350 per acre yearly fee
that would be paid to the.
airport for 15 years. After
that, the lease payment
amount would increase to
$450 per acre per year for
the next 15 years.
Town Manager Anne
Marie Knighton said that
Duke Energy Renewables
has agreed to reimburse
the town up to $10,000 to
fund a necessary intercon
nection feasibility study
that is necessary.
See FARM, 3A
,
89076"44813
©2009 The Chowan Herald
v All Rights Reserved
cause the town’s Unified De
velopment Ordinance does
not allow such a business,
said Anne Marie Knighton,
town manager.
She informed the appli
cant, Richard Chapman
of Past Times of RP, LLC,
of the town’s position in a
May 30 letter with an op
tion that he could petition
the Town Council to amend
its UDO. A text amendment
would be required to add
Internet cafes to the table
of uses to be permitted as
use by right or by a special
use permit.
Lighthouse loses
renovation funds
Money to offset Medicaid shortfall
State guts
$92M fund
By RITCHIE E. STARNES
Editor
A budget shortfall led
state legislatures last
week to cut the $455,000
designated to renovate
the interior of the 1886
Roanoke River Light
house.
After recently mov
ing the Lighthouse back
over a watery home
overlooking Edenton
Bay and in anticipation
of becoming the town’s
latest tourist attrac
tion, state lawmakers
siphoned $92 million
out of the Repairs and
Renovation Fund to off
set the shortfall in Med
icaid. Proceeds for the
Lighthouse renovation
were coming from Re
pairs and Renovation.
Timing of the loss
funds couldn’t have
come at a worse time.
Plans called for the
renovations to be com
pleted before Edenton
launches its 300th an
niversary celebration
in November and in
time for fall when holi
day visitors embark on
tours.
“We were all fat and
happy that it (Light
house) was going to be
ready by October 15,”
said Anne Marie Knigh
ton, town manager.
Just days before
learning of the fund
ing loss, the N.C. Divi
sion of Coastal Man
agement announced a
$125,000 grant approval
for the building of an
access system that
would bridge visitors
Sweepstakes video games
offer players a chance to
win prizes based on the
purchase of phone or Inter
net time.
Less than a week later
Knighton received a letter
from an. attorney repre
senting Chapman whereby
it was argued that the town
has the obligation to amend
its zoning to accommodate
a legal business.
“What the Town has
done is, in effect, create an
absolute ban or moratori
um on all Internet cafes by
refusing to issue privilege
PHOTO BY MARK RIDLEY
The 1886 Roanoke River Lighthouse hovers over its new site, perched on pilings and
above the waters of Edenton Bay.
from land to the Light
house, Knighton said.
That grant calls for a 10
percent match, whereby
renovation funds were
also going to cover the
balance.
licenses on the basis that
the current Unified Devel
opment Ordinance does not
list Internet cafes in its ta
ble of uses. This the Town
of Edenton cannot do,” at-,
torney Seth R. Cohen wrote
on June 4.
Cohen added that based
on the town’s current zon
ing omissions, Chapman
could legally open his busi
ness anywhere he chooses.
Knighton has since been
investigating appropri
ate conditions for Internet
See INTERNET, 4A
If there is any money
leftover from assisting
Medicaid, proceeds will
be returned to Repairs
and Renovations and
pooled for high-priority
projects, Knighton said.
State legislature honors Edenton’s founding
SUBMITTED PHOTO
EdentonTown Manager Anne Marie Knighton, (l-r) and Councilman Bob Quinn
and Melanie Soles, chief deputy assistant secretary N.C. Department of Cul
tural Resources, stand inside the General Assembly with a copy of a resolution
passed by the Legislative honoring the town’s upcoming 300th anniversary.
DAILY ADVANCE FILE PHOTO
Carla Corbett plays a game called Caribbean Crumble at Triple
Internet Cafe in Elizabeth City, January 2011.
' The Lighthouse remains
a top priority among the
N.C. Department of Cul
tural Resources.
“Competition will
See LIGHTHOUSE, 3A
Resolution kick starts
300th anniversary
By RITCHIE E. STARNES
Editor
Edenton’s impending 300th>an
niversary celebration got a jump
start last Wednesday when the
N.C. General Assembly passed a
joint resolution recognizing the
town’s founding and significance
in state history.
Only four months away from
launching a yearlong anniver
sary celebrating the town’s 1712
founding, Edenton received a leg
islative endorsement for its his
torical contributions toward the
state's early development.
Counelman Bob Quinn, who
‘Big
brother’
could be
watching
Police chief wants
video surveillance
By REBECCA BUNCH
Staff Writer
Town officials will be
considering a plan devel
oped by the police depart
ment that would allow
video surveillance at five
pockets of town.
Edenton Police Chief
JayForten
b e r y
briefed
town lead
ers on the
proposed
new sys
tem at the
June 25
commit
tees meeting night. At the
conclusion of the briefing
the Public Works Commit
tee recommended that the
matter be placed on the
agenda for the council’s
July 10 monthly meeting.
Initially the proposal
would consist of the pur
chase and installation of
five Wildfire Connections
cameras by Albemarle
Sound and Security in
Edenton, as well as a net
work video recorder that
would be provided to the
police department free of
charge.
Cost per camera, in
cluding installation, is ex
pected to be approximately
$2,749.20 plus tax.
Fortenbery said that
while the system would
help officers testifying in
j court by providing clear
I visual images of those
! committing illegal acts, its
main purpose would be to
help prevent crime.
“They (cameras) act
as a deterrent to crime,”
Fortenbery said, although
See ‘BIG BROTHER’, 3A
Fortenbery
along with Town Manager Anne
Marie Knighton, rushed to Ra
leigh Wednesday morning for the
reading of the resolution on the
House floor. Quinn, who is among
those spearheading the 300th an
niversary celebration, said the
recognition signals the event’s
significance to a broader audi
ence than just those in Edenton.
“It authenticates the real mean
ing of the event,” Quinn said. “It
endorses what we’re intending to
do. Edenton is being recognized
as an exceptional place and the
seed for our state government."
State Rep. Tim Spear, D-Wash
ington, introduced the resolution
that was read aloud in the House's
chamber where Quinn and
w See F0UN0IN*, 3A r