Newspapers / The Perquimans Weekly (Hertford, … / July 9, 1998, edition 1 / Page 1
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July Pi The Perquimans W 1 - nc 'Ui ' ACi, ff ’0/09/,555 .coo.vrv LI- 5.: *0.0 V . _ -i- ^ R A Y ^ ST tf. •’’c ;C £7 >44 Vol. 66, No. 28 The only newspaper for and about Perquimans County people Hertford, North Carolina 27944 DOT set to upgrade Holiday Island roads By SUSAN R. HARRIS Editor Driving through Holiday Island should soon be a less bone-jarring experience. According to Stan Busteed, a Holiday Island resident who lobbied long and hard for improved roads in the subdivi sion, the state Department of Transportation has "pretty vvell assured us that the roads will be taken over." Busteed said last week that work,could begin in August on road .improvement. Twenty- five roads in Holiday Island are scheduled to be taken into the, state highway system. I^egearch on the right-of-ways has been done, he said. . Prpnerty owners in Holiday Island raised $10,000 in match ing funds through an offer made to them by Perquimans County with input from the statje. The county will match the $10,000 property owner contribution if funds expected to come through the Board of Transportation are not avail able. Busteed said those roads that can be patched will remain hard-surfaced. The ones that are beyond economi cal repair will become gravel roads, he said. The blacktop will be taken off and the base belaid with gravel and sand. The work is scheduled to be performed by DOT crews. After being brought up to state standards, the roads will be accepted into the state’s sec ondary road program and- maintained by the state. In .addition, Busteed said he hopes the roads that will become gravel streets with the improvements will go on the priority list to be paved when the next DOT plan is complet ed. . “HTl be years I’m sure,” Busteed said, before all the roads in the subdivision are paved. The commissioners dis cussed the plan proposed by the state in regular session in April, and authorized County Manager Paul Gregory to pur sue the DOT proposal with the Holiday Island Property Owners Association. A letter was sent on April 7 to the Association by the Gregory outlining the plan. Gregory said it was up tg the property owners to decide how to collect the residents’ share of the funds. In July 1997, Busteed asked the county to use its statuatory powers to assess and collect funds from subdivision resi dents to improve the neighbor hood’s roads. ■ Busteed said then that the roads were in extremely poor condition, and that he and a group of other residents want ed the roads brought up to state standard so they could be accepted into the state’s sec ondary road system. Busteed’s plan called for paving the roads to meet minimum state standards. .•None of the county commis sioners except Bert Hayes indicated any willingness to explore the county’s participa tion in assessing and collect ing funds for road improve ments. HtV 1 I l;.- By SUSAN R. HARRIS Editor The Hertford Historic District should be included in the National Register of Historic Places by mid- September. That’s what Scott Powers of the North Carolina Department of Archives and History told those at an open meeting held recently to dis cuss the inclusion of the dis trict on the national register. Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Sandra Smith said the inclusion of the district on the national regis ter will have a positive impact on the town. She said property owners in the district will qualify for tax credits for reno vations to qualifying proper ties as of Jan. 1, 1999 and that the designation should increase the flow of tourists to the community. With those tourists come dollars spent with local businesses, she said. The district is bounded on the east and north by the Perquimans River, on the west by West Academy and Hyde Park streets and on the south by Dobbs Street. Smith said there are 223 contributing properties located in the dis trict and 63 non-contributing properties. National Register designa tion does not take rights away from property owners. Smith said. Those who own property within the district will not be restricted in any way, she said. There are, however, guide lines to follow for those who wish to.benefit from the tax credits. Smith said owners of residential properties may apply for a 30 percent state tax credit on qualifying renova tions. Owners of income-pro ducing properties can apply for 20- percent state and 20 per cent federal tax credits on qualifying renovations. The Department of Archives and History will assist property owners desiring to seek the tax credits through the Greenville office, she said. Front Street homeowners Derrick and Melanie James did not wait until the new year to pursue information regard ing renovations and tax cred its. Melanie James said she and her husband are in the process of renovating their home and called Reed Thomas in Greenville for information. “They’re (Archives and History) extremely good to work with,” James said. “They make lots of good recommen dations. They’re not difficult at all.” James said she was able to fill out the tax credit applica- jS{S»7‘ Diamond ANNIVERSARY Gene Boyce of Hertford Savings Bank presents a one- quarter carot diamond to Thomas Sharp. Sharp was the lucky customer who won the diamond Hertford Savings gave away during its 75h anniversary celebration last month. Holiday Island considers incorporating PHOTO BY SUSAN HARRIS Front Street residents Melanie and Derrick James are renovating their home and plan to take advantage of the state tax credits that will be available to them when the Hertford Historic District is placed on the National Register of Historic. Hertford to be on National Register soon tion in layman’s terms and submitted hand-sketched drawings for the renovations. James said included among the guidelines for receiving residential tax credits are that homeowners must spend at least $25,000 on renovations which do not include addi tions, but do include installa tion of heating and air condi tioning, upgrading wiring and plumbing, repairing plaster, painting, flooring and other improvements. The tax credits come off taxes owed over a 5-10 year period, James said. While there are guidelines that must be met, James said she found them to be reason able, adding that the staff at Archives and History has made good suggestions on how to maintain the historic integrity of her home while making it convenient. James said she would not have been supportive of a his toric district that included restrictions, but believes national register designation will have a positive affect on Hertford. “They have no control over anything you do unless you want the tax credits,” she said. James said she believes the tax credits have the potential to encourage people to buy or renovate properties in the dis trict. By SUSAN R. HARRIS Editor Holiday Island could become Perquimans County’s third incorporated municipali ty if a move by some residents is successful. According to subdivision resident Pat Phillips, a group of citizens in Holiday Island formed a task force to study pros and cons of incorporating the subdivision to form a municipality. Phillips is a member of that group. Phillips said there are con cerns in the subdivision that can best be addressed through a municipal government with elected officials, a town clerk and taxing power. The main advantage of incorporating, Phillips said, would be that Holiday Island could qualify for state and possibly federal grants to help improve the community. PoweU Bill funds, monies set aside by the state for municipalities to use for road repair, could help Holiday Island, Phillips said. From the research done by the municipality study group, Phillips said Holiday Island could receive $80,000 in Powell Bill funds. Phillips said only the resi dential area, not the camping sections, is being considered for incorporation. In order to become a town, residents must present a peti tion signed by 15 percent of the 385 registered voters in Holiday Island to the General Assembly. Phillips said Bill Culpepper (Dem-Chowan) has agreed to introduce legislation on the group’s behalf should they be able to get the required signatures. The legislature would then pass a bill allowing Holiday Island to incorporate upon approval by referendum. In addition, a proposed bud get, charter and map designat ing the area to be incorporated would have to be submitted. Ken Ries, a member of the Holiday Island Property Owners Association (HIPOA) Board of Governors and a resi dent of Holiday Island, said there would be several advan tages to incorporation. HIPOA lacks the power to raise money, Ries said. The only funds HIPOA can collect come from the $36 per year assessment to maintain com mon property stipulated in the property deeds in the subdivi sion. The residents do not have a good track record of paying assessments, as evi denced by four judgements issued in district court recent ly against property owners failing to pay the assessments. In addition, the assessments are not sufficient to maintain common property in the com munity, which include a pool, clubhouse, marina, tennis courts, park, pier, bulkhead and public safety building. Both Phillips and Ries said some of these facilities are in dire need of improvement. HIPOA would continue to own the subdivision’s common property even if Holiday Island becomes a municipali ty. Ries said perhaps some agreement could be drafted between the proposed munici pal government and HIPOA to allow for the lease or transfer of the common properties to the municipality. This would allow tax monies to be used for improvements. Another advantage Ries cited for incorporating is that the streets in the subdivision which do not meet state stan dards could be maintained by the municipality. Ries said the town could also offer garbage collection, law enforcment and ordi nances specific to the subdivi sion. An example of an ordi nance that might help the sub- division would be those that help to enforce the restrictive covenants. Ries said at present the only way to enforce covenants dealing with junk cars and the like is for one res ident to take another resident to court. With town ordi nances, the governing body would be responsible for that action, Ries said. Ries also said there are dis advantages to incorporating. Incorpprating would add another layer of government and more taxes. He said some people also believe it would be difficult to get qualified candi dates for the town council because of the small full-time population, but Ries does not think that would be a problem. One of the biggest argu ments against incorporation is that many property owners will not get to vote on the issue, according to Stan Busteed, a resident who oppos es incorporating. Busteed said that under state law, only a very small number of residents can make the decision on incorporation for a large number of lot own ers. That’s because only those residents who are registered voters in Perquimans County could vote in the referendum. But a great number of Holiday Island property owmers live out of state, Busteed said, and therefore cannot be registered voters here. Busteed said he does not think it is fair that all property owners will not have a voice in the referendum. There are 1,947 lots in the Holiday Island subdivision, 1,283 in the residential area and 664 in the camping sec tions, according to Ries. Busteed said that 735 of the residential lots are dormant, mainly because the lots no longer qualify for septic tank permits under today’s statutes. Some of the lots are owned by individuals, others by Coastland Corporation, the original developers, or their successors, Ries said. Busteed said the default rate on the undevelopable lots is already high, and that a municipality probably would not collect taxes on those lots. Foreclosing on the lots would only mean the municipality would own lots which they could not sell, Busteed said. “I don’t think a municipal government can solve these problems,” Busteed said. Ries said that at a HIPOA meeting held Saturday to address other issues, those opposed to incorporation were collecting signatures on peti tions. He said there were many signatures on the petitions, but not necessarily those of registered voters. Some were property owners who do not live in the subdivision, he said. “We feel that of the regis tered voters that are here, the majority will approve incorpo ration,” he said.
The Perquimans Weekly (Hertford, N.C.)
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July 9, 1998, edition 1
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