Planning Commission Endorses Bank Building Purchase
By DORIE SOUTHERN
Cape Charles Wave
September 6, 2012
The Cape Charles Planning Commission voted September 4 to advise Town Council that the proposed relocation of the Town library to the former Bank of America building would be in compliance with the Town’s Comprehensive Plan.
The Planning Commission action is in response to charges that moving the library to the commercial district violates the Comprehensive Plan. Former town manager Timothy Krawczel wrote in an August 3 op-ed column in the Wave that the Town Council violated Virginia State Code when it voted to buy the bank building without consulting the Planning Commission. He further noted that the Comprehensive Plan ”recognizes Mason Avenue as the center of retail activity,” and that “turning the most prominent commercial building on the street into public space . . . not only removes the property from the tax rolls, it eliminates the building as a possible site for a future bank or commercial center.”
Town Planner Tom Bonadeo in his staff report pointed out that the Comprehensive Plan includes relocating the library to a larger space, as well as acquiring “strategic undeveloped properties.” The bank building purchase would be in accord with these goals, as well as providing increased parking for the commercial district and overflow offices for Town officials on the third floor of the building, he said.
Bonadeo conceded that the Town’s purchase of the bank building would cause a loss of real estate and business tax revenue – especially since banks pay a higher tax than regular businesses. But he said that conversion of the old school into apartments would somewhat offset the loss of the bank building tax.
Planning Commission member Joan Natali, who also sits on Town Council, said she found nothing about the bank purchase contrary to the Comprehensive Plan, and made a motion to that effect. The motion passed unanimously.
OTHER PLANNING COMMISSION NEWS [Read more…]
FRIDAY 9/7: Hunger Games Is First ArtsEnter Film of Season
ArtsEnter resumes its monthly film screenings Friday, September 7, at the Palace Theater with the showing of Hunger Games. The public is invited to arrive at 7:30 for snacks and cocktails preceding the 8 p.m. film. A $10 donation is suggested.
Hunger Games synopsis: Every year in the ruins of what was once North America, the evil Capital of the nation of Panem forces each of its twelve districts to send a teenage boy and girl to compete in the Hunger Games. A twisted punishment for a past uprising and an ongoing government intimidation tactic, The Hunger Games are a nationally televised event in which “Tributes” must fight with one another until one survivor remains. Pitted against highly-trained Tributes who have prepared for these Games their entire lives, Katniss is forced to rely upon her sharp instincts as well as the mentorship of drunken former victor Haymitch Abernathy. If she’s ever to return home to District 12, Katniss must make impossible choices in the arena that weigh survival against humanity and life against love.
Cape Charles Scenes: Plein Air Artists Compete Outdoors
Susan Check and Jenny Windsor of Virginia Beach set up easels in the shade at the harbor to paint the concrete plant. (Wave photos)
BY KAREN JOLLY DAVIS
Cape Charles Wave
September 5, 2012
Twenty painters scattered around Cape Charles over Labor Day weekend to create quick — and beautiful — works of art. Then they gathered at the Stage Door Gallery for their paintings to be judged and awarded prizes.
“On a day that’s not brutally hot, it’s just pleasant to be outside,” said Susan Check. She and Jenny Windsor, both from Virginia Beach, had set up their easels in the small gazebo on the town harbor. They wanted to paint in the shade, and were fascinated by the view that combined boats and a concrete plant.
“We do quite a few plein air events,” said Windsor. “It makes you make decisions fast. It pushes you.”
This weekend’s painting flurry was the fifth plein air happening organized by Arts Enter. The artists scattered all over town, and produced multiple canvases.
Sunday evening, the artists gathered with their paintings to display their work at the Stage Door Gallery and be judged by Irene Ritter, a stone sculptor, former deputy mayor of Nashville, Tennessee, and former editor of Nashville Magazine. Ritter has been friends with gallery manager Ellen Moore for 40 years, and stayed with her during the event.
Artists, art lovers and potential buyers milled around the gallery as Ritter scrutinized each piece. Then someone rang the big iron bell and the crowd hushed. [Read more…]
OLD SCHOOL DEVELOPER
South Virginia Town in Water Feud with Echelon Partner
Front page of Blackstone, VA, weekly Courier Record newspaper. The photo caption reads: “Developer On The Clock — Tenants in the new Blackstone Lofts luxury apartments on Lunenburg Avenue have been hoping that Town Council and developer Dave McCormack of Petersburg can resolve a dispute over $38,000 in unpaid water and sewer tap fees. Officials ‘upped the ante’ this past Monday night, giving McCormack 30 days (until Sept 27) to pay tap fees, or water will be shut off to the 25-unit building.”
By GEORGE SOUTHERN
Cape Charles Wave
September 4, 2012
Blackstone VA Town Council is threatening to turn off water to the tenants of newly developed Blackstone Lofts luxury apartments if the developer does not pay $38,000 in hookup fees by September 27.
The developer is J. David McCormack, who also is a partner with Edwin Gaskin at Echelon Resources, Inc. Echelon has a contract with the Town of Cape Charles to convert the old school at Central Park into an apartment building.
According to Blackstone Town Council minutes, the council voted March 26 to give McCormack 30 days to pay the tap fee.
McCormack told the Wave Monday night that “We were told there were no tap fees — then they initiated the tap fees. We’re negotiating it.”
McCormack noted that unlike in Cape Charles, where the Town owns the old school property, the old tobacco warehouse he converted in Blackstone was “a private deal.”
“We got taken by surprise — we’re still going to pay. That’s the way I am,” McCormack said.
[Read more…]
LETTER: Bring Back the Harbor Parties — Everyone Benefits
September 3, 2012
DEAR EDITOR,
I must agree with George’s opinion column (although I heard it is more fun to disagree with him): the Harbor is the only logical spot for a Cape Charles sunset party — unless Bay Creek is willing to offer one of its lovely waterfront sites. Whining that George is not nice to our generous Northampton Chamber of Commerce by raising this issue is circumventing the reality: the alternatives suck in many ways.
Cape Charles is resonating with justifications for moving the Harbor Party to the streets of Cape Charles:
— Food vendors unhappy with the competition from the Shanty;
— The Shanty perceiving the police line as an impediment to restaurant access; and
— Music in one venue interfering with music in the other.
And yet, the reality is that both food vendors and the Shanty would benefit from the synergy created by positioning the event in the proximity of the restaurant.
Research has repeatedly determined that a physical concentration of competing vendors results in higher foot traffic and greater sales for all, compared to alternative positioning. [Read more…]
SUNDAY 9/2: Labor Day Weekend Picnic in the Park
This year’s Labor Day Weekend Picnic in the Park is Sunday, September 2, from 5-10 p.m. Read feature store here: http://capecharleswave.com/2012/08/picnic-in-the-park-this-years-celebration-includes-music-film/
SEPTEMBER 1-2: Paint Cape Charles Plein Air Event
PAINT CAPE CHARLES, the seventh annual plein air event, will be September 1 and 2.
Artists are invited to participate in this event sponsored by The Stage Door Gallery, 301 Mason Avenue.
On September 2 at 5 p.m., Irene Ritter, artist and sculptor from Nashville, will award over over $1000 in cash and gift certificates to the winning artists.
Registration forms are available in the gallery or at www.stagedoorgallery.com or by contacting Ellen Moore , gallery manager, at 757.331.3669.
WEDNESDAY 9/5: Mothers of Preschoolers Meeting
Mothers of Preschoolers (MOPS) will meet at Cape Charles Baptist Church Wednesday, September 5, from 7-9 p.m. Childcare will not provided at this meeting. If you are a mom with children under the age of 5, come join us for a time of support, discussion, guest speakers, and friendship. No mother should mother alone. If you have any questions call Katie Nelson at 331-1984, Michele Lewis at 607-6054, or Jenn Philpot at 678-7671.
