Newspapers / The Perquimans Weekly (Hertford, … / April 30, 2020, edition 1 / Page 2
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A2 THE PERQUIMANS WEEKLY, THURSDAY, APRIL 30,2020 WATERFRONT Continued from Al Norman abstained, which by state law a vote to abstain counts the same as a “yes” vote. Council decided unan imously that the pur chase of the property on West Grubb Street will not come from money set aside from the King Street Project. This project includes construction of a new playground and sur rounding landscaping, though the project is likely to grow over time. “The King Street Park Project is a priority for Council and we have funds in the existing budget and in next year’s budget to support it,” Hodges said after the meeting. After the decision was made to purchase the land by West Grubb Street, Jackson ad monished council for purchasing the proper ty during a pandemic when times are tough and Town Hall’s budget is projected to be lean. He compared the matter to how tone deaf Eliza beth City Council was when council members recently voted them selves a 73 percent raise in the midst of uncertain times as the effects of COVID-19 continue to shatter the economy. Jackson said the prop erty has been vacant for more than six years, so it is ludicrous to buy blighted properties that no one has expressed an interest in purchasing. On the flip side, Town Hall has submitted a re quest to the US Depart ment of Agriculture for a Rural Business Devel opment Grant to develop more detailed plans for the waterfront. The proposal includes public waterfront walk- ways, a retaining wall to address flooding, re stored wetlands, a public stage, and development of a mix of revitalized and new buildings to create amenities for cit izens and attractions for visitors. A beautifully re stored waterfront with in walking distance will contribute to the revi talization of the historic downtown. The current grant is the follow-on to a suc cessful 2018 county-led USDA grant, which be came the foundation for the current waterfront development and com munity concept plans. Allison Platt, senior urban designer and land scape architect with Rivers & Associates of Greenville, whose proj ects have included suc cessful waterfront ren ovations in New Bern and Washington, was the lead for the 2018 study and contributed to the development of the most recent USDA RBDG grant submission. Acquisition of this par cel allows the town to manage the transition of the waterfront as a single project, which is critical for dealing with flooding and related issues Town Council and the County Commis sion have endorsed res olutions of support for plans to develop Hert ford’s waterfront. If another entity pur chased the property, those plans could be in jeopardy as well as pro posals for drainage im provements planned for that low lying area. After the council meet ing, Hodges said the land purchase was to secure the land so the Town will be free to make drainage and flood protection im provements to the area as needed. He said 216 W. Grubb St. - the nar row lot between Miss ing Mill and the Feed and Seed - contains a small fresh water creek which actually begins as a spring somewhere be tween Market and Dobb streets. During storm events, the river backflows up the creek and prevents storm sewers from drain ing properly, resulting in street flooding through out Town. As the lowest point of the Grubb Street wa terfront, the Feed and Seed parking lot is like wise subject to flooding, which at times has actu ally completely covered the street with water. Moreover the park ing area is bowl-shaped which causes the ground to be soft for days after significant rainfall. Hodges said the reali ty is that while the Feed and Seed building itself is out of the lowest flood zone, the present condi tion of the land makes it unrealistic for either a manufacturing or com mercial use because a prospective buyer would be required to make these improvements be fore opening shop. “If we allow another entity to purchase the property we would like ly have to acquire much of the land later - either through purchase or a costly imminent domain legal action - just to pro tect the residences, park, and businesses that are in the area,” Hodges said. “By buying the property now we can be proactive in protecting valuable waterfront property and Town infrastructure for decades to come.” In other matters from Monday’s meeting, Jack- son apologized and ex plained the technical glitches that affected Thursday’s meeting conducted via Zoom - technical problems that other municipalities are experiencing as lead ers adjust to conducting public meetings through this format. Staff writer Miles Layton can be reached at mlayton@ncweeklies. com Historic Hertford Happenings BY LYNNE RAYMOND Historic Hertford W elcome to our column that will keep y’all informed about Historic Hertford, Inc. & Carolina Moon The ater’s activities. As I sit here today, I’m hoping that soon we will be able to be out and about. The lawns and flowers are loving the rain - me not so much! As we keep being re minded to wash our hands and stay home, we make quick grocery store trips and focus on funny videos and jokes online and what is new on Netflix. We’ve run out of Netflix we haven’t watch so on to HULU! MAY CALENDAR Below are some oppor tunities to become involved in and things to do! It continues to be diffi cult to plan for the next few months, but we still try to look forward at the Caroli na Moon Theater. Our first play, when we are able to perform, will be “Love Letters.” This is a two-person play that has been on Broadway per formed by many famous “couples.” So, our “famous” couple will be Tom Lough lin and Lynne Raymond! The play is tentatively planned for July but, of course, watch for news as we move through the next months. Carolina Moon Theater also has plans to do “Mid summer Night’s Dream,” a well-known Shakespeare play, in August. More on that will be in our upcom ing newsletters. We still have plans for “The Red Velvet Cake War,” written by Jones, Hope, and Wooten, to be performed at the Carolina Moon Theater, 110 W. Academy Street, on October 16 & 17 at 7 p.m. and October 18 at 4 p.m' Tickets will go on sale at Carolina Trophy & online at carolinamoontheater. org starting September 7th. Please mark your calendar & plan on coming. Get them early because this is sure to be a sold-out performance! Tickets are $18. If you need more information, visit our website at carolinamoont- heater.org. The “Daylily Banners” have been cleaned and are ready to be hung around town. Volunteers are needed to water the plants around town. You can volunteer to do this and still keep social distancing. Do you have 30 minutes to help water anytime, any day?? If so email us at office@historichertfordinc. org. You can also email us if you are interested in joining the Downtown Beautifica tion Committee and help make our downtown area beautiful. Maybe you have some new ideas that could be implemented! Carolina Moon Theater will soon launch a new web- site! We hope you will find it easier to use to order tickets & see what is going on at the theater. If you are interested in helping with publicity for the theater, we NEED YOU! If you have not yet joined HHI as a member, we hope you will do so now! You can mail your check to HHI at 110 W. Academy Street, Hertford, NC 27944. HHI was not eligible for any gov ernment funding because PHOTO BY KYLE JONES During a windstorm last week, an old tree succumbed to the elements in downtown Hertford. we have no paid staff. You will soon be able to make your donation online so keep checking our website. Unfortunately, the May 31st “Songs of Celebration” concert that was to be per formed by the Albemarle Community Orchestra has been cancelled. The Or chestra hopes to re-sched ule this performance in the Fall. We will keep you posted! Did Know You That... You might wonder why my little logo for this month is a tree - or maybe not! Here is the answer. I have just heard that one of the beau tiful trees on the Perqui mans County Courthouse lawn has been taken down! The tree was severely damaged during the recent windstorms and the Coun ty Manager, Frank Heath, brought in an arborist to look at it It was determined that the core of the tree was rotting from the inside and so this very hard decision was made to protect the Courthouse and for safety reasons. The tree was a water oak tree and it is believed that it was planted after Hurricane Hazel in 1954. We will miss you “old friend” as the Courthouse takes on a new look. Check out our website at historichertfordinc.org or carolinamoontheater.org for more details! Follow us on Facebook! ABC BOARD Continued from Al job building the business and generating revenue - if I recall correctly our store is actually the third highest grossing store in our region.” Terms of two members of the ABC Board expire in August: Chairman Michael Hare and Joseph Hofler. Board member Todd Til ley’s term expires in Octo ber 2022. “When Council increased the ABC Board size from 3 to 5 it provided the oppor tunity for more input while still allowing existing mem bers to maintain the major ity vote. The move made sense to me as a low-impact way to put any real or per ceived issues to rest,” Hodg es said. Brown said as mayor, she is trying to work with the coun cil through a “prepared and informed decision making process” but this last minute decision to appoint new mem bers to the ABC Board runs counter to that approach. “The proper way would have been to present the council with a proposal as to why there was a need to increase the ABC Board and allow the ABC Chair to come to a Town Council meeting and comment,” she said. “If the council then de cided to add another seat(s) there would have been the opportunity to consider who could bring the most value to the ABC Board. The Town Manager was appoint ed the ex-officio of the ABC Board, therefore providing a Hertford Town Council presence.” Brown said the manner in which this appointment pro cess was undertaken makes her uncomfortable. “The fact that the current ABC General Manager (Don Keaton) is planning to retire and the ABC Board is about to replace him made me very uncomfortable with the hurried way in which this was presented and exe cuted,” she said. Brown said she has seen no evidence of transparency lacking in the existing ABC Board’s operations. Hodges said current and previous council members and town officials have at times felt communication between the ABC Board and Town was not as timely or transparent as it could or should have been. As to Jackson’s appoint ment, Hodges said Jackson is knowledgeable about the ABC Board’s operations and finances. “Councilman Jackson has already been studying the nearly 1,000-page ABC Laws and Rules book along with our previous audits and budgets for some time and I believe he will be a well-informed vote on the Board,” he said. “My vote was an act of faith in his ability to engage with his new colleagues on the ABC Board in a respectful and value-added way even in times of disagreement. I know he understands the significance of the trust Council has placed in him by supporting his appoint ment and I’m committed to providing accountabil ity for he and all the oth er members of the ABC Board as needed. I believe we will see our ABC Store continue to grow and prosper moving forward.” Perquimans Weekly reached out to Jackson for comment, but he did not re spond. Brown offered praise for the operations and deci sions of the Board that are carried out by three knowl edgeable individuals with legal, financial, and munici pal government experience; Todd W. Tilley, Perquimans County Clerk of Superior Court; Joseph Hoffler, Per ¬ quimans County Commis sioner, Retired Air Force Lieutenant Colonel, MBA; and Michael Hare, a promi nent banker. She said there is a part-time employee, who happens to be an ac tive law enforcement, who can provide security and the ABC Board is currently in the process of hiring a new General Manager to replace the retiring Manager. Two years ago, the pres ent ABC Board members, signed for a $169,000, 10- year loan with the Hertford Saving Bank to renovate the ABC store, which is not their building. Brown said taking these actions shows how committed the ABC Board is to success. “This reflects sincerity to their appointment, plus it has increased the monthly sales, thus revenues for the Town of Hertford,” Brown said. Miles Layton can be reached at mlayton@ ncweeklies.com Law Enforcement Log Perquimans Sheriffs arrests between April 9 and Apirl 23: ■ William Ward of Bosely Road, Sun bury, was arrested April 9 and charged with driving under the influence. Bond was set at $1,000 secured. ■ John White of Wynne Fork Road, Hertford, was arrested April 12 and charged with communicating threats. Bond was set at $1,000 unsecured. ■ Timothy Corprew of Wynne Fork Road, Hertford, was arrested April 12 and charged with assault by pointing a gun. Bond was set at $1,000 unsecured. ■ David Owens of Belvidere Road, Belvidere, was arrested April 13 and charged with violation of a court order. Bond was set at $50,000 secured. ■ Martin Hassell of Beech Street Hertford, was arrested April 18 and charged with assault with a deadly weapon. Bond was set at $3,000 secured. ■ Cody McCotter of Belvidere Road, Belvidere, was arrested April 21 and charged with simple physical assault. Bond was set at $500 secured. Obituary Policy For information on sub mitting obituaries or death notices Monday through Friday, 8:30 am to 5 p.m, call 252-32&-9505 or email obits@apgenc.com and specify that you are inter ested in obituary information for The Perquimans Weekly. On weekends and holidays, email obits@apgenc.com We do not accept notices by fax. Obituaries must be received, processed and approved by noon on Tuesday to appear in print in the Thursday edition Death notices are $25 and can include the name and age of the decedent; funeral and visitation or viewing infor mation; and the name of the funeral home. REQUEST FOR BIDS The Town of Hertford are accepting contract bid proposals for mowing Cedarwood and Roadside cemeteries, Missing Mill and Tree Memorial Parks and right-of-way on Service Road 1420. Bid proposals can be mailed to: Town of Hertford PO Box 32 Hertford, NC 27944, delivered to the drop-box at the Municipal Building located at 114W. Grubb Street Hertford, NC or email at townclerk@townofhertfordnc.com. Questions and detail contract information can be obtained by calling (252) 426-5311 or at www.townofhertfordnc.com Bids will be accepted until 5:00pm May 15,2020. Now Is The Time To Check Your Current Insurance Coverages. PARRISH INSURANCE Commercial - Home - Auto I can provide you with Homeowners coverage that includes wind/hail in one policy to save money. CONTACT ME TODAY! 252-333-9476 Robert@parrishinsure.com THE ;rquimans EEKEY (USPS428-080) Published Each Thursday A publication of Adams Publishing Group Established 1934 111 W. Market St., Hertford, NC 27944 Robin L. Quillon Publisher Miles Layton Editor Bev Alexander. Advertising Representative Phone 252426-5728 ■ Fax 2524264625 Email: mlayton@ncweeklies.com Subscription Rate Home delivery. $35 + tax per year Information For subscription questions, delivery issues, classified ads, legal notices, and obituaries, please call Customer Care at 252-329-9505 POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Perquimans Weekly, Hertford, NC 27944
The Perquimans Weekly (Hertford, N.C.)
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April 30, 2020, edition 1
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