EXTRA: Town Requesting $320,000 Grant for South Port

CAPE CHARLES WAVE

February 28, 2014

Cape Charles Town Council is holding a special meeting at 5:30 p.m. (Friday) at short notice in order to file a $320,250 grant application for South Port Investors, developers of the yacht center next to the Coast Guard station.

The urgency is because South Port only learned Wednesday evening that Northampton County would not sponsor them. Instead, the grant application needs to be made by the Town of Cape Charles. The application deadline is tomorrow, March 1.

The “Aid to Local Ports” application lays out $427,000 to be spent on the dock and site of Cape Charles Yacht Center. South Port is required to pay 25 percent of that cost and hopes to see the rest funded by the Virginia Port Authority.

The scope of work includes:

— Site prep: 100 feet of steel sheet piling at the ship offloading site at a cost of $160,000.

— Dock/attenuator: A 235-foot floating dock/wave attenuator would extend off the existing dock into the harbor and be a structural component of the ship slip. South Port Chief Financial Officer Dan Brown noted in the application that the dock/attenuator would also help protect the town’s boat ramp and gas dock from wind and wave action.

— Lot stabilization: An offloading apron and access area would be built, requiring “extensive excavating, grading, stone, and concrete work.”

The meeting at Town Hall provides for public comments. CLICK HERE for more details on the application.