Town Council Plans 23% Increase in Lodging Tax
By DORIE SOUTHERN
Cape Charles Wave
March 17, 2014
Cape Charles Town Council plans to raise the town’s lodging tax by 23 percent — only four years after enacting a 50 percent increase. That will bring the total lodging tax increase over four years to 85 percent (from 2 percent to 3.7 percent). If as expected the Council votes to go ahead with the tax increase at its Thursday, March 20, meeting, the next step will be to hold a public hearing in April.
In addition to the town tax, lodgers pay 5.3 percent state tax and 2 percent county tax. A state tax increase (from 5 percent to 5.3 percent) took effect in 2013. Combining town, county, and state rates, a lodger currently pays 10.3 percent tax. During discussion at a February budget retreat, Town Council members agreed it would be a good idea to “round off” the total tax amount and so have decided on a .7 percent increase – for a total lodging tax of 11 percent.
The idea to raise the lodging tax comes at a time of record receipts due to the town’s increased popularity for vacation rentals. In 2010 the town began contributing one-third of lodging tax receipts to the Eastern Shore of Virginia Tourism Commission. The contribution to the Tourism Commission grew from under $10,000 in FY 2011 to over $16,000 in FY 2013. Now the Town Council wants to “cap” contributions to the Tourism Commission rather than continue giving a full one-third. It then wants to use the increased funds available to support tourism-related endeavors such as the website “Cape Charles By the Bay.”
Northampton County was authorized by the Town to collect the transient occupancy tax under the Annexation Agreement of 1991. The agreement was that a 2 percent tax on town lodging was to be remitted to the county on a monthly basis. At the end of each year, the county was to return the full amount plus interest to the town for 10 years. After 10 years, the county would keep the 2 percent tax for its own purposes.
At some point both the county and the town began charging lodging tax, with increases over the years until the total town/county tax rate equaled the present 5 percent. According to town code, the county is still supposed to collect the full tax monthly, and then remit the amount above 2 percent back to the town. But in 2010 the then-town treasurer stated that during her tenure she had never received a remittance from the county. Current town records also fail to indicate that any lodging tax is being returned by the county to the town. [Read more…]
An Even Odder ‘Odd Couple’ Opens 3/21 at the Palace
Christie Iversen, JP Pare, Mellissa Stein, Victor Abrahamian
March 17, 2014
Unger and Madison are at it again! Florence Unger and Olive Madison, that is, in Neil Simon’s hilarious contemporary comic classic: the female version of “The Odd Couple” coming to the Historic Palace Theatre. Performances are Friday, March 21, at 8 p.m.; Saturday, March 22 at 8 p.m.; and Sunday, March 23 at 3 p.m. Tickets are $15 adults and $5 students and are available at the box office immediately before performances.
Olive, like her original male counterpart, is divorced and living in cheerful chaos in her New York apartment. At Olive’s invitation, the suicidal Florence, newly separated from her husband, moves in and is soon finding comfort in cooking, cleaning and fussing until Olive is almost reduced to a nervous wreck. It becomes clear that the patterns of their disastrous marriages are already re-occurring.
Instead of the poker party that begins the original version, Ms. Madison has invited the girls over for an evening of Trivial Pursuit. The Pidgeon sisters have been replaced by the two Constanzuela brothers. But the hilarity remains the same. Taking the stage at the Palace Theatre for these performances are Fran Loper, Mellisa Stein, Joanne Dean, JP Pare, Christie Iversen, Victor Abrahamian, Susan Kovacs, and Sherri DeMarino.
THURSDAY 3/20: Cape Charles Christian School Open House
Learn more about Cape Charles Christian School at an Open House 6:30 p.m. Thursday, March 20. [Read more…]
FRIDAY 3/21: Arts Reception, BIG Exhibit, ‘Odd Couple’
Friday evening, March 21, Cape Charles will be filled with the arts! It begins at 5:30 p.m. with a reception at the Stage Door Gallery and preview of the summer’s 2nd Harbor for the Arts Festival. That will be followed at 6 p.m. by the opening reception for the exhibit BIG. Then, next door at 8 p.m. is the opening of the Neil Simon play, “The Odd Couple,” (female version). [Read more…]
FRIDAY 3/21: The 49th State — Myth and Reality
Science and Philosophy Seminar of the Eastern Shore of Virginia presents “The 49th State: Myth and Reality,” 12:30 p.m. Friday, March 21, in the Lecture Hall of the Eastern Shore Community College, 29300 Lankford Hwy., Melfa.
Ruta Vaskys and Martin Freed will reflect on traveling and relocating to Alaska in 1980 and their impressions of living and working there, including a recent return after a long absence. Freed and Vaskys have had careers in various fields, including business, higher education, healthcare, and authoring outdoors books.
SATURDAY 3/22: ESO Fundraiser with Pound Net at Little Italy Ristorante
POUND NET is about friendship, good times, and yep, real good music. One of the most popular events at ESO is when Allen Caison, Drury Stith, Fred Kern, and Lee Hicklin, aka POUND NET, lend their talents to a guaranteed Shore good time at Little Italy Ristorante in Nassawadox.
The band is a perennial hometown favorite, so join us for a night celebrating a variety of authentic American music including traditional bluegrass songs, country music classics, even a few traditional gospel songs. We dare you not to stomp your feet, clap your, hands, and sing along. [Read more…]
Eyre Baldwin Among Speakers at ‘Sky’s the Limit’ Tourism Workshop
The Eastern Shore of Virginia Tourism Commission (ESVATC) will host its first Tourism Summit – The Sky’s the Limit — a free afternoon workshop for Eastern Shore tourism business owners and future tourism entrepreneurs, on Tuesday, April 8, 2014, from 12:30 to 6:30 p.m., at Eastern Shore Community College. [Read more…]
EXTRA! Hundreds Turn Out Against County Zoning Plan
Portion of March 11 crowd at Northampton High auditorium (Wave photo)
By DORIE SOUTHERN
Cape Charles Wave
March 13, 2014
Over 200 persons turned out Tuesday night (March 11) at Northampton High auditorium for a combined Board of Supervisors/Planning Commission public hearing on a proposed new zoning code for Northampton County. Some 50 members of the audience rose to speak – mostly in opposition – and the meeting, which began at 7, carried on until 11 p.m.
One old-timer said the meeting reminded him of 1994, when in the same auditorium hundreds of locals gathered to protest a county-endorsed plan to build a maximum security federal prison off Bayview Road. Wednesday night’s gathering may have been the most outspoken opposition to county plans in 20 years, he said.
The heat began to rise well before public comment time began. County Economic Development Director Charles McSwain and his staff led off with an overview of the proposed zoning code, which he noted had been in the works for a very long time — three years. That led Planning Commission member Roberta Kellam to bristle, “If there is a problem with timing, perhaps you should look in the mirror.”
There was more than a hint of bad blood between the appointed Planning Commission, chaired by Martina Coker, and County staff – specifically McSwain, who only arrived a year ago but has since been the focal point for change in the county. Verbal exchanges included the following:
COKER — Why is the zoning ordinance not in accord with the Comprehensive Plan? Why has a revised Comp Plan not been released? Why has there been no public input to the Comp Plan before tonight?
McSWAIN — This was all done at the request of the Board of Supervisors.
COKER — Aquaculture could be greatly affected by the proposed changes. Have there been any studies done on what the effect might be?
McSWAIN — No specific studies have been done about that. [Read more…]
