February 15,
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,P. AN3 COUNTY LIBRARY
'lie V ACAOrSY ST
HESTFjRO NC 27944
The Perquimans Weekly
350
Vol. 64, No. 7
The only newspaper for and about Perquimans County people
Hertford, North Carolina 27944
Valentine’s Day/Ready for Cupid
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PHOTO BY SUSAN HARRIS
The annual day of love, Valentine’s Day, is the biggest day of
the year for florists. Designers work many hours preparing
beautiful arrangements for the deliverers to carry to special
people. At Mary’s in Winfall, owner Mary Sheldon already
had a table full of silk arrangements ready on Monday. In
addition, she had tied hundreds of yards of bows to place in
the fresh flowers to be designed and delivered Wednesday.
Sheldon also had chocolates and stuffed animals for sale.
Funds flushed out for sewer system
Yates collects 90
percent of sewer
cost from grants
By SUSAN R. HARRIS
Editor
Most folks don’t even think
about flushing a toilet. For at
least three families in Winfall,
there isn’t a toilet to flush.
And for some others there, a
visit from the health depart
ment could put an end to the
flushing.
It’s these septic system
problems and their deterimen-
tal affect on the town’s surface
water and residents’ quality of
life that prompted Mayor Fred
Yates to continue the mission
his wife, former Winfall Town
Councilwoman Shirley Yates,
started in 1988 - to construct a
town sewer system in Winfall.
It will cost approximately
$4.2 million to build a sewer
system in the town. Yates’ cru
sade has led him to grants
totalling $3.75 million. He
anticipates that the town
would have to borrow an addi
tional $438,000 from RECD, for
merly FmHA, to build the sys
tem. Hook-ups, costing about
$100-$125 per customer, should
cover the rest of the $4.2 mil
lion.
RECD has already given its
preliminary blessing to the
project, declaring the town to
be in sound financial condi
tion. The town could borrow
the funds at a 5 percent rate to
be repaid over a 38-year term.
Yates said the final paper
work is in
progress to
allow Winfall
residents to
vote on the
issue during
the May 7 pri
mary election.
If all the Is can
be dotted and
Ts crossed on
schedule, the
town will have
on May 7.
“This is the last go-round to
get this type of opportunity
with these grant funds,” Yates
said. “This is it. Grant money
is being cut.”
The base monthly rate for
sewer service would be $10 per
month. This rate would apply
to those customers who use
2,000 gallons of water per
month or less. The rate would
rise by $3.50 for every 1,000
gallons of water used over the
2,000 base. The rate would
apply to the approximately 305
residential and business cus
tomers in the town.
“We’ve gotten it (monthly
rate) as low as we can go,”
Yates said.
Winfall would need to gen
erate about $7,500 in revenue
“This is the last go round
to get this type of oppor
tunity with these grant
funds. This is it. Grant
money is being cut.”
Fred Yates
Winfall Mayor
a referendum
each month to cover the cost of
the payment to RECD and sys
tem maintenance, Yates said.
The largest sewer fees
would be paid by the school
system. Both Perquimans
Middle and
Central
schools
would be
affected by
the new sys-
t e m .
Although the
school sys
tem was
mandated by
the state to
install new wastewater treat
ment plants at both schools
over the last five years, Yates
said if the town constructs a
sewer system, both schools
must tie in at an estimated
cost of $800 per month based
on the amount of water used
by the schools.
If voters approve system
construction in May, its esti
mated completion date would
be December 1997.
There are many positives to
installing a sewer system in
Winfall, Yates said. It would
help alleviate surface water
contamination resulting from
substandard systems in place
now, which would cut the cost
of treating the town’s drinking
water. It would allow owners
of homes with no septic sys
tems or substandard systems
County to purchase share of Intercounty Water System
Perquimans will
gain 265 new
water customers
By SUSAN R. HARRIS
Editor
Perquimans County should
have 265 new water customers
by June.
The b oard of county com
missioners in both
Perquimans and Pasquotank
counties have approved an
agreement with the
Intercounty Water System to
take over the system.
Perquimans will get 265 cus
tomers; Pasquotank, 199. The
figures are based on customer
residency.
Under the terms of the con
tract, the counties will assume
their proportional share of
Intercounty’s loans.
Pasquotank will pay off its
share, $98,482. Perquimans
will assume RECD, formerly
FmHA, loans totalling
$130,080, with annual pay
ments of $13,516. The bulk of
the money was borrowed at 5
percent, with $35,540 at 6 per
cent. Collections will cover the
loan payment. County
Manager Paul Gregory said.
Gregory said the water depart
ment expects to collect at least
$20,000 per year in revenues
from the additional customers.
Perquimans County will get
the plant, wells, tank and land
surrounding those facilities.
Gregory said the plant needs
major renovations and the
county will not use
Intercounty facilities. The
Woodville Puritan Club will
get the office building and 1.5
acres surrounding it. The
county will have to lay 450-500
feet of pipe to connect to the
system.
Gregory responded to com
missioners’ concerns about
having enough water to serve
County van
use policy
questioned
access to sewer. At present,
owners of many of those prop
erties cannot install or
upgrade outdated systems
because the lots do not meet
state guidelines. It could also
result in development that
would increase the town’s tax
base.
According to Yates, there
are private property owners
who have indicated a desire to
develop property in Winfall. In
some cases, the property will
not perk and cannot be deveh
oped. With a sewer system,
houses can be constructed,
which would add not only
water and sewer customers,
but tax payers.
Yates has put his funds
search on hold for the
moment. At this point, more
grant money would mean a
deduction in the amount
RECD is willing to lend the
town. If the referendum is
approved, Yates said he will
continue to look for more
funds after all paperwork is
complete. Any funds he could
obtain at that point could be
used to lower the amount of
money the town has to borrow.
Whatever the outcome of
the referendum, Yates said he
will have fulfilled his promise
of allowing the people of
Winfall to decide for them
selves whether or not they
want to construct a sewer sys
tem.
Yates wants
Learning Center
approved for use
By SUSAN R. HARRIS
Editor
The county’s recreation van
policy will be reviewed
because Winfall Mayor Fred
Yates questioned its interpre
tation by County Manager
Paul Gregory.
Yates appeared before coun
ty commissioners to allow the
van’s use by the Perquimans
Resource Center for its
Community Based
Alternatives Program. Yates’
request for the Center to use
the van to take at-risk youth to
a basketball game at Elizabeth
City State University was
denied by Gregory. Gregory
said he was following the
county’s policy with his
action. The policy allows use
of the van only by county agen
cies, Gregory said.
But Yates disagreed with
Gregory’s decision. He said the
county’s support of a
Community Based
Alternatives Grant received
by the Resource Center to help
fund the at-risk program put
the program under county gov
ernment activities.
“This is your program,”
Yates said. “You told the state
that you would do that (sup
port the program),” Yates said.
Yates said the Perquimans
County Learning Center, of
County van use policy
1. All drivers must be
21 years old or older,
have a good driving
record and be approved
by the County Manager.
A copy of their drivers
license will be main
tained in a file at the
Recreation Department.
2. The van may be
used for all Recreational
and Senior Citizen
Programs/Activities
coordinated through the
Recreation Director and
Senior Citizen
Coordinator.
3. The van may be
used for all County
Government Programs
when used to transport
Perquimans County
Citizens.
4. AH other Recreational
/ Senior Citizen Programs
and Activities must pay
for the gasoline used.
The van gas tank will be
full when the group
receives it ahd must be
full when returned.
which the Resources Center is
a branch, is administering the
grant for the county.
Gregory countered that the
county is the agency through
which the funds are disbursed
from the state. The program is
Please see Van, page 9
Sheriff says no to
regional drug task force
By SUSAN R. HARRIS
Editor
Sheriff David Lane followed
the lead of his predecessor
when he asked the county
board of commissioners not to
approve joining a regional
drug task force.
“That’s just two-year, cheap
law enforcement,” Lane said.
The sheriff said while a
drug task force is a good law
enforcement tool, working on
a two-year grant proposal is
not long enough.
“It needs to be at least five
years. Two years is a waste of
time,” Lane said. “You’re just
getting started and you quit.”
Law enforcement officials
from the northeast region
have met to prepare a grant
proposal to submit to the state
to fund a drug task force. The
proposal calls for the state to
fund 75 percent of the task
force, with the local agencies
chipping in 25 percent. That
would cost Perquimans about
$12,000 the first year and $9,000
the second. But without more
state funds, the local govern
ment cost would jump to
around $34,000 the third year.
Lane said he would not willing
to take that money out of his
budget in the third year if
additional grant funds from
the state could not he obtained.
He said that if the task force
were forced to close down after
two years, officers would be
left unemployed and equip
ment doled out piece by piece.
Such was the fate of the now-
defunct Northeast Regional
Drug Task Force.
Former sheriff Joe Lothian,
after assisting with much of
the initial organization work
for what was to become the
Northeast Regional Drug Task
Foce, opted not to join that
unit.
The commissioners backed
Lane’s decision.
the customers during peak
periods. He said the Winfall
plant has never run at full
capacity. Doing so could pro
vide additional water. Also,
Gregory said since Holiday
Island residents have been on
individual meters, the subdivi
sion has drastically cut its
water consumption, meaning
the Bethel plant has been able
to catch up and cut off.
The county manager said
the 265 customers will not
require the water department
to add additional employees.
The watef department comput
er system can also handle the
additional customers.
Outside
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