County Supervisors Repeal Mid-Year Property Tax, Approve EMS Land Purchase

By WAYNE CREED
Cape Charles Wave

May 4, 2015

When the Northampton Board of Supervisors met April 26, at the top of the agenda was repealing the semi-annual property tax. With immediate consensus, the motion to remove was approved unanimously.

When the topic turned to the fate of the former middle school in Machipongo, and whether to renovate part of it to house Northampton Emergency Medical Service, battle lines were quickly drawn, with historical and cultural preservationists Oliver Bennett and Larry Trala on one side and fiscal pragmatists Granville Hogg and Larry Lemond on the other. Rick Hubbard was caught squarely in the middle.

Engineers from DJG were on hand to answer questions from the Board. DJG had provided the initial estimate for the county last year; that estimate, for a full restoration/renovation, was over $5 million. Supervisor Bennett asked the architect, Donald Booth, what the figure would be if they just focused on a phased approach, possibly looking at just the auditorium and cafeteria as a starting point for the new home of EMS. Booth agreed that breaking the project into phases, using efficient zoned heating and cooling, would be less painful, and in the ball park of $1.4 million to renovate a new space. More efficient, zoned HVAC would also take a big bite out of yearly operating costs by focusing heating and cooling when and where needed.

“We look at costs,” said Bennett. “But the auditorium and cafeteria are not in as bad a shape as many people perceive it to be. We already own the property. It has historic value to many. We’re always talking about this or that that has historic value. Those who are against it, well, some don’t have a relationship with that school that goes back 50 years, and may not understand the historic value. We need to look at the whole picture — we can’t just take away, but we need to leave a piece of our history. I’m not talking about spending too much, but reasonable spending.”

Lemond countered, “I’m not in favor of putting one penny into that old building — we could tear down all of it, except maybe the gymnasium.”

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Lemond then asked the engineers how they would rate the overall state of the structures, especially the gymnasium. Architect Booth responded that overall, the gym was sound. It would require some minor roof repairs and remediation of some moisture damage. He also recommended replacing the old boiler with a more efficient system, which in the long run would save on operating costs.

“Is there someone, some private group that could take it over?” asked Supervisor Hubbard, referring to groups such as Friends of the Onancock School, which assumed operation of that building.

“We say we’re big on historic, yet while we bend over backwards to save other things, we just want to tear this down,” said Benett. “Save as much as possible. I taught there for 23 years; I am not in favor of tearing it down. We leave nothing? Children, our grandchildren — we need to continue our history.”

“But we need to do something about EMS now,” countered Hubbard. “It would be nice if we could rank structures. I worry we don’t have the funds.”

When asked about a way forward, Booth recommended at the least to seal and limit moisture coming into the building. That would also mitigate mold. “You need to identify what is the greatest need, and break it down to its smallest components. Focus on making HVAC more efficient,” he said.

The Board also raised concerns over asbestos, but it was noted that the majority of asbestos had been abated in 1993, with the exception of only a few hard tiles that still existed in some areas of the campus.

“I don’t have anything against the school,” said Hogg. “But it would be less expensive to the county to build the EMS building new. Let’s get the EMS building going.”

Hubbard added, “Let’s look at the short and medium answer, in the most economical terms. Do we in general need to scale back what we’re doing? The population is decreasing.”

“Perhaps this is a good opportunity to save the school,” added Larry Trala. “It has historic, cultural value; as part of our history it is significant. If we get the EMS in there, it would be money well spent.”

“I just don’t see spending money on that old facility,” said LeMond. “Move the EMS. I’m not saying tear it down, but let’s move on.”

Trala countered, “I feel we should move EMS [into the school] at [a cost of] $1.5 million.”

“Another thing, why are we maintaining Indian Head [Parks and Recreation facilities], and the old gym? Why don’t we just build a new gym at Indian Head?” suggested Hogg.

Hubbard, in an attempt to place some form of ranking on the competing arguments, questioned Administrator Katie Nunez about the USDA loan, of which the county still has obligations. “Explain the USDA. If we purchase and build the EMS on the Drummond Property, would that be an appropriate, approved project?”

“The USDA’s position has not changed,” said Nunez. “We have to present it to them. It is all taxpayer money; we have to pay it back to the USDA — $600,000.”

After discussion a motion was made by LeMond to move forward on purchasing the Drummond property to house the new EMS facility. The county would explore whether this project would appease the USDA and satisfy the county’s debt, but would move forward either way. The motion passed 3-2, with Bennett and Trala against, Hogg and LeMond for. Chairman Hubbard broke the tie, voting yes along with Hogg and LeMond.

“Leaving the school out, there is no clear direction here,” said Bennett.

Also on the table was also a revision of the Tourism Grant program. The Board wanted to alter the process of providing tourism grants. The source of the funds is the county’s transient occupancy tax on tourist accommodations, which funds the Eastern Shore of Virginia Tourism Commission. This year funding is expected to be $40,500. The Board created the Tourism Grant Committee to allocate these funds, which in the past have focused on infrastructure. The Supervisors debated also funding tourism-related events such as the upcoming Tall Ships, or the discontinued Harvest Festival.

“I’m for it,” said Supervisor Hogg. “But if we had ways to promote, not just the shore, but particularly Northampton County. In Washington DC, the state of Louisiana has an event every year, meant to promote their seafood industry. They have it at Union Station, and it’s supported by the governor, and the seafood industry. How do we get to that step?”

“Well, the governor is supporting the Oyster Trail,” responded LeMond.

Oliver Bennett addressed the board, “We have over $43,000. Can we have more initiatives for the whole county? Not something like this that is just for a few people. The B&Bs and kayak folks make out, but very little of that filters down [to the people]. I would be more in favor if more people can take part. A few people prosper while everyone else just looks on. I’d like to see it incorporate more people, instead of the same ones over and over.”

The Board approved the motion with the stipulation that no more than 30 percent of the funds will be given to any one entity.
With a Port Authority grant of $90,000 available to the county, the Board voted to move ahead with dredging the harbor at Willis Wharf. The entire cost of the work is $180,000, but with the Port Authority grant, and the reallocation of $30,000 that was previously earmarked for the boat ramp at Morley’s Wharf, as well as another $35,000 from the Harbor Fund, the consensus was to move ahead with the work at Willis Wharf.

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One Response to “County Supervisors Repeal Mid-Year Property Tax, Approve EMS Land Purchase”

  1. Stephen K. Fox on May 5th, 2015 4:45 pm

    With respect to the future of the old Northampton County High School building at Machipongo, I do not know of any private group willing to undertake ownership/maintenance of the facility. The building has significant sentimental value for many who received public education there; however, it should re-purposed for other public uses, e.g., the EMS Service and other uses, but its continued deterioration serves no purpose to preserve sentimental value. The gymnasium is at ground level and could be used as garage for EMS equipment if properly modified. Recognizing that control of the facility was not part of its mission, Northampton County High School Alumni Association Foundation, working with Heritage Resources, took steps to erect a monumental plaque at the site as a reminder of its place in history, an era forgotten by many.