Sea Breeze Apartments Rise Again One Year After Sandy
CAPE CHARLES WAVE
November 27, 2013
More than a year after Hurricane Sandy washed out the foundation on a section of Sea Breeze Apartments on Washington Avenue, the condemnation signs have been removed, and units are being readied for re-occupancy.
The owner has constructed a sea wall out back and fortified the foundation. When the storm took out the foundation, it left the air conditioning units hanging from their wires, high but not dry, as shown below.
As shown in the top photo, all-new heating/AC units have been installed, but they are sitting directly on the ground, much like the old units.
In this October 2012 photo, an A&N Electric lineman prepares to remove exposed utility lines behind Sea Breeze Apartments after Hurricane Sandy washed out the foundation. The Town condemned the building, and it has sat vacant ever since. (Wave photos)
Town Council OKs $28,000 to Stop ‘Red Tide’ in Harbor
Water sample taken from Town Harbor at floating docks near discharge pipe. (Wave photo)
By DORIE SOUTHERN
Cape Charles Wave
November 25, 2013
Cape Charles is “under the gun” to stop pumping untreated backwash directly into the Town Harbor.
Public Works Director Dave Fauber told Town Council November 21 that the Virginia DEQ (Department of Environmental Quality) has ordered Cape Charles to cease discharging excessive amounts of iron- and manganese-laden water into the Chesapeake Bay. The Wave first reported the “red tide” in August after a resident observed the discharge and expressed concern.
Ironically, the Town only began the unlawful discharge after completion of the new $19 million sewer treatment plant. Previously, backwash was directed into the old treatment plant’s polishing pond.
But, “when the new wastewater treatment plant was built and the old polishing pond demolished, the discharge from the water treatment plant backwash was sent directly into the harbor,” Fauber said. Council approved his recommendation to expand a backwash vault at a cost of approximately $28,000 to allow metal solids to settle before the water is discharged into the Bay. [Read more…]
ORAL HISTORY:
Lloyd Kellam Recalls Growing Up in Cape Charles (Pt. 1)
Lloyd Kellam remembers “the way we were” in Cape Charles. (Photo: Connie Morrison, Eastern Shore News)
November 23, 2013
(EDITOR’S NOTE: The Cape Charles Historical Society has for more than a decade been recording oral histories of the area’s earlier days. In 2002, as one in a series of lectures sponsored by the Cape Charles Library entitled “The Way We Were,” Cape Charles native Lloyd Kellam shared the following account. In 2012, funded by a grant by the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities, the recording, along with 14 others, was transcribed. The Historical Society has now made it available for readers of the Wave. All the transcriptions are also available for reading at the Museum. In Part 1 below, Mr. Kellam recalls the German P.O.W. camp in Oyster, as well as the day a Cape Charles policeman accidentally shot and killed Mrs. Barban. Mr. Kellam, now 79, is a long-time pharmacist who reopened his Shore Pharmacy this year in Exmore.)
My name is Lloyd Kellam. And those of you who lived here knew me before as “Brother.” Some guys in here knew me as “Sly.” Those were some of my nicknames. Everybody here during that time had a nickname, and I mean everybody! I can’t think of some people’s real names!
But anyway, it’s hard to do this, but it’s easy. One of the reasons is that I’ve had this love affair with Cape Charles all my life. And I just can’t seem to shake it, it’s like a good woman, I guess. But my thoughts of Cape Charles are maybe not the same as yours because you’re going to see my memories through a child’s eyes. I think my thoughts begin when my father went in business downtown and stopped when I went to college. Daddy opened his business in Cape Charles downtown in 1938. We had an apartment over the store. A lot of things I’m going to tell you, you’ll have to visualize. We had an apartment and when we were in the living room we looked out and saw the ferry traffic. We saw the steamers. We saw the ferries’ comings and goings. [Read more…]
OLD SCHOOL: Messages From and To the Mayor
(EDITOR’S NOTE: Below is a message from Mayor Sullivan reprinted from the November 20 Town Gazette. It is followed by a message to the mayor from Old School Cape Charles.)
November 21, 2013
MESSAGE FROM THE MAYOR
I am pleased to report that the Supreme Court of Virginia has rejected both petitions for appeal of the decisions rendered by the Northampton Circuit Court filed by Old School Cape Charles, et al. We are looking forward to the developer now moving ahead with the historic rehabilitation of the former school property into an asset that contributes to our economy.
I am hopeful that we can continue to move forward in improving our Town.
Thank you,
DORA SULLIVAN
MESSAGE TO THE MAYOR FROM OLD SCHOOL CAPE CHARLES
The wheels of justice grind slowly, and Old School Cape Charles LLC has not given up the fight to save Central Park property from the hands of a developer who would turn the largest public building in town into an apartment house.
Old School Cape Charles still has the option of requesting the Supreme Court to review the decision of the Writ Panel that rejected our appeals. The question of “standing” looms large in the rejection. Circuit Court Judge Revell Lewis ruled that a community group formed for the sole purpose of saving a public asset does not have standing to question the decision of Town Council. Judge Lewis also decided that he did not have jurisdiction over the case involving the sale. So Old School Cape Charles plans to ask the Supreme Court to review the decision of the panel.
Then there is the question of the Town staff’s ignoring Historic District Guidelines which state that a parking lot should not be allowed in front of the building. Madame Mayor, you have refused to identify the front of the building, but we believe that the Virginia Department of Historic Resources will be able to locate the front even without your assistance. [Read more…]
Board Approves 1-Room Hotel Behind Kelly’s Pub
Renovations to #1 Pine Street have been approved for conversion into a 1-room hotel.
CORRECTION: This story was updated at 4 p.m. to correct information on the property owner. The owner is Beach Town LLC, and the managing member and principal is Bill Parr of Parr Properties.
By DORIE SOUTHERN
Cape Charles Wave
November 20, 2013
Cape Charles Historic District Review Board approved plans yesterday to remodel the building at 1 Pine Street into a one-room hotel.
The south wall of the building is also the back wall of Kelly’s Gingernut Pub. Bill Parr of Parr Properties told the Board that the one-story building will become a one-room hotel along with an office that might later be converted to a second hotel room. The application for renovations was filed in the name of Beach Town LLC, with Parr being the managing member and principal.
The historic old storefront has been in disrepair for decades. Local architect Leon Parham has completed the design, and Parr said he wants to start construction as soon as possible. The first step is to remove a Town dumpster beside the building in order to repair the wall. [Read more…]
$1,600 Raised for Trailer Park Kitties and Their Kin
ESSO volunteer Sandy Mayer holds a trailer park kitten during last Sunday’s fundraiser at Chesapeake Bay View B&B. (Wave photo)
By DORIE SOUTHERN
Cape Charles Wave
November 19, 2013
Three local cat lovers have formed a new spay/neuter organization after a previous service lost its non-profit status. ESSO, short for Eastern Shore Spay Organization, aims to humanely control the Cape Charles cat population.
Sharyl Cline, Pete Bauman, and Sandy Mayer are well known to residents of the Historic District for their cat rescue efforts. Now they are formalizing their work with a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization. And fortunately for the group (and the Town), Mayer’s husband, “Dr. Hank,” has the financial expertise to file the required paperwork.
An ESSO benefit at the Mayers’ Bed & Breakfast, Chesapeake Bay View, raised $1,600 last Sunday to help folks with cats in need of fixing. The first project is the area around the old trailer park on Madison Avenue. Although most of the trailers were removed earlier this year, the trailer cats stayed behind.
Cline said the trio use a method called TNR — trap, neuter, and return. The adult trailer park cats are what Cline calls “hard strays.” “I don’t like to use the term feral cats, but rather hard strays. Hard strays are cats that will only come to someone who feeds them,” she said. [Read more…]
Town Council OKs New Loan, May Borrow Another Million
By DORIE SOUTHERN
Cape Charles Wave
November 18, 2013
Cape Charles Town Council voted November 14 to refinance two loans for $1.215 million at a variable interest rate and begin preparations to borrow $1 million more. Borrowing additional money requires a public hearing, scheduled for December 5.
Richmond financial advisor David Rose of Davenport & Company urged Council to take advantage of historically low interest rates with a 20-year loan from PNC Bank. The interest rate would be 2.65 percent for 10 years and then change to whatever the market rate is in 2024.
Rose claimed the PNC loan did not have a variable rate because the interest rate would only change once. But according to Wikipedia, “variable rate” refers to any type of loan “that does not have a fixed rate of interest over the life of the instrument.” (Click for definition.) Rose’s fee to the Town for arranging the new loan is $37,500.
Councilman Frank Wendell asked Treasurer Kim Coates how much debt the Town currently has. Coates was unable to say, but Rose thought it was around $8 million or $9 million. After consulting with bond counsel Kevin White, he revised that estimate to “about $10 million.” [Read more…]
LETTER: Variable-Rate Financing Reckless, Irresponsible
November 16, 2013
(EDITOR’S NOTE: The following letter from Jack Forgosh was read by the Town Clerk at a special meeting of Town Council November 14. Town Council subsequently voted to accept the recommendation of financial advisor Davenport & Company to borrow $1.215 million at a variable interest rate. Mr. Forgosh has given permission to reprint his letter in the Wave.)
DEAR MAYOR SULLIVAN AND COUNCIL MEMBERS,
I just learned of your intention to refinance a municipal loan based upon the recommendation of David Rose at Davenport & Company.
I am a seasonal resident of Cape Charles and I hope to become a full time resident in a few more years. While I am not privy to all of the details of our financing, I can tell you with a very high level of confidence that the fixed rate available to the Council and our residents is at historic lows. I understand the appeal of lowering monthly payments by extending the duration of this loan; however, the risks of a rate increase after 10 years outweighs the short-term savings on our principal and interest payments.
The primary saving is not the difference between a 2.65 percent rate and a 3.1 percent rate but rather from the time extension from a 15-year loan via Sun Trust to a 20-year loan via PNC.
The probability that loan rates [in 10 years] will be higher than the current 2.65 percent is a probability approaching 100 percent. There is also a reasonably high probability that interest rates for this loan, 10 years from now, could easily be reset in the 6-10 percent range. Nobody truly knows where rates will be 10 years from now; however, this Council has the opportunity to refinance the debt of Cape Charles at these historic low rates. [Read more…]
