TOWN COUNCIL
Veber, Bannon Back; Bay Creekers Not Flushing Enough

Larry Veber was off Town Council only 13 days before being reappointed.

By DORIE SOUTHERN
Cape Charles Wave

July 13, 2012

Cape Charles Town Council last night appointed Larry Veber to fill the vacancy created by the death of Councilman-elect Donald Clarke last month, and also re-elected Chris Bannon as vice mayor.

Veber was an incumbent Councilman, but lost his re-election bid. His appointment to Council will last until a special election can be held.

Council is requesting the Northampton County Circuit Court to set a special election for the seat on the same day as the November 6 general election.

In other Council news, MaryAnn Roehm announced that Arts Enter has received a $50,000 “Our Town” grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. Cape Charles and Roanoke were the only grant recipients in Virginia.

Our Town grants support projects to transform communities into “lively, beautiful, and sustainable places with the arts at their core,” Roehn said.  The Our Town project will complement the Town’s Comprehensive Plan, Community Trail master plan, and the Harbor Plan.”

Other reports to Council were not so sweet. During Dave Fauber’s Public Works report, he was asked what can be done about the strong smell at the Town’s new sewage treatment plant.

“It is what it is — a sewage treatment plant,” Fauber said. “You can encapsulate it, but at some point you have to let it out into the air. To stop the smell completely is probably cost prohibitive.”

Assistant Town Manager Bob Panek said low use by the Bay Creek community is part of the problem. Sewage sits too long at the pumping station. The Town is considering pumping water into the Bay Creek sewer line to move the sewage through the pipes more quickly.

Fauber also reported that a water plant operator was laid off due to budget cuts.

Newly elected Councilman Frank Wendell distributed copies of emails obtained through the Freedom of Information Act that he said demonstrated that Town Council had long ago decided to give away the entire old Cape Charles School to a developer, even though Council had claimed that it would consider a proposal from the local residents’ group known as Old School Cape Charles.

Wendell also claimed that Council had a “double standard” because they demanded a performance bond from Old School Cape Charles, but did not require any performance bond from the developer – even though the Town’s lawyer had recommended it.