THURSDAY 5/23: Town Council Reviews Harbor Budget
Cape Charles Town Council will conduct a budget work session 6 p.m. Thursday, May 23.
[Read more...]
New Historic Review Board Meets for First Time Today
CAPE CHARLES WAVE
May 21, 2013
The newly reconstituted Cape Charles Historic District Review Board will meet 4:30 p.m. today (May 21) at Town Hall.
All but one member of the previous Board resigned after Town Council overruled the Board’s decision not to grant a permanent occupancy permit to Hotel Cape Charles.
The new board is composed of:
John Caton (replacing Dianne Davis)
Ted Warner (replacing Bob Sellers)
Joe Fehrer (replacing Russ Dunton)
David Gay (replacing Jan Neville)
Terry Strub
Terry Stub is the sole remaining member of the former Board, to which she had only recently been appointed..
All members of the Board reside in the Historic District with the exception of John Caton, who lives in Bay Creek’s golf community. [Read more...]
Town Planner Bonadeo Retiring; Replacement Appointed
Town Planner Tom Bonadeo’s last day is May 28. (Wave photo)
CAPE CHARLES WAVE
May 20, 2013
Cape Charles Town Planner Tom Bonadeo had planned to retire November 1, but recently moved up the date. His last day of work now will be Tuesday, May 28.
Town Manager Heather Arcos has announced that Robert Testerman will become the new Town Planner as of Friday, May 31.
Testerman is the Land Use Planner for Accomack County, where he has worked for six years. He is a 2006 graduate of Virginia Tech.
Arcos said that three candidates were interviewed for the Town Planner position.
One of Bonadeo’s final projects is to set limits on residential occupancy in the Harbor District. He has urged the Cape Charles Planning Commission to recommend that density be calculated according to a formula known as Floor Area Ratio (FAR). [Read more...]
THURSDAY 5/16: Public Hearing on Waste Management and Town Council Meeting
Cape Charles Town Council will hold a public hearing 6 p.m. Thursday, May 16, at St. Charles Parrish Hall. The regular Town Council meeting will immediately follow. [Read more...]
Sewer Costs Push New Town Water Bills to $100
By DORIE SOUTHERN
Cape Charles Wave
May 10, 2013
The Town of Cape Charles has the most modern sewage treatment plant on the Eastern Shore.
It is also the most expensive.
Town Manager Heather Arcos broke the news at a Town Council budget work session last night: Now that the new plant is in operation, the cost for sewage treatment is skyrocketing, and the minimum monthly sewer charge of $35.45 could increase to $64.44.
That would be an increase of 82 percent in one year.
Town Council didn’t like that number, and decided to defer some improvements and maintenance to cut costs by $85,000. Purchase of a grinder will be postponed, as will manhole repairs and engineering studies for pump stations.
Council also axed a $10,000 request from Chairman Bob Panek to fund his Public Service Authority that hopes to provide sewerage to properties on Highway 13 and the road to Cheriton.
Even with the cuts, sewer bills are still expected to increase by $18, which is a 51 percent increase over current rates.
The reason for the huge increase is because the Town borrowed $5 million for the new treatment plant and is required to pay down the loan by $289,000 every year for 20 years. [Read more...]
THURSDAY 5/9: Town Council Reviews Water, Sewer Rates
Cape Charles Town Council will conduct a budget work session 5 p.m. Thursday, May 9. [Read more...]
PLANNING COMMISSION: ‘Drastic’ Flood Zone Reduction?
CAPE CHARLES WAVE
May 7, 2013
Cape Charles Town Planner Tom Bonadeo has informed the Planning Commission that new Flood Insurance Rate Maps “have changed drastically by reducing the AE flood zone.”
The AE flood zone is the area for which flood insurance may be required. “The change is so drastic we need to be sure that there is not a mistake,” Bonadeo wrote.
The maps will be released May 21, and a 90-day comment period will follow. The new maps do not take effect until August 2014.
The Planning Commission will meet 6 p.m. Tuesday, May 7, at Town Hall.
The meeting will begin with a public hearing for a conditional use permit at 712 Randolph Avenue (Mosher Rehabilitation building) to allow an apartment over existing commercial space.
The Town information packet for the meeting may be read at http://www.capecharles.org/documents/20130507PCAgendaPkt.pdf
Bonadeo has also reported that: [Read more...]
Town Council Fails to Trim Budget, Favors Borrowing
By DORIE SOUTHERN
Cape Charles Wave
May 3, 2013
Last week Cape Charles Town Council instructed Town Manager Heather Arcos and Treasurer Kim Coates to sharpen their pencils and come back this week with a proposed budget that would not increase taxes.
The marching orders were to cut 2 percent from staff budgets across the board.
But at last night’s budget work session, Treasurer Coates presented only two options: 1) raise taxes to fund a higher budget, or 2) keep taxes at last year’s level but borrow money to make up the difference.
Given those choices, Council tentatively agreed to a budget exceeding the “equalized rate” by $77,844.
Town staff did make some cuts to reach even that figure, most significantly scrapping a proposed 1 percent cost of living allowance increase. Originally, Town staff had recommended a 3 percent COLA.
Additional savings are proposed to come from eliminating Town contributions to most community-funded activities, including the Tall Ships Festival, the Birding and Wildlife Festival, the Shore Soccer League, Star Transport, and the new Cape Charles by the Bay tourism website.
Left in the budget was $10,000 for July 4th fireworks. [Read more...]
