21st Annual Harvest Festival Hits All the Right Spots
All photos courtesy of Sunset Beach Inn and Grille.
October 5, 2013
What a beautiful day on the Shore for the 21st Annual Harvest Festival at Sunset Beach Resort — sunny and hot but not sweltering. “Things seemed to flow smoothly and people had a good time enjoying the event,” according to an organizer.
With 2,500 tickets sold at $40 far in advance, $50 beginning in September, it would be hard to imagine that anyone with a ticket stayed away.
“The new layout with the corporate tables in the center did seem to work well,” was the general opinion. But the time change (food was served at 11 a.m. instead of noon) got “lots of comment and mixed reviews.”
And for people who just won’t go home, there was the traditional “After Party” at Sunset Grille, which “did well and we had a lot fun!”
Planning Commissioners Want Hotels on the Highway
Entrance to Rittenhouse Motor Inn, the closest highway motel to Cape Charles. Planning commissioners believe that a chain motel would attract more customers.
By DORIE SOUTHERN
Cape Charles Wave
October 4, 2013
Cape Charles Planning Commissioners cast their eyes outside Town limits at their October 1 meeting, as Town Planner Robert Testerman asked for ideas about kinds of highway businesses that could benefit the Town, as well as those that could hurt it.
“Good” businesses suggested by the planning commissioners for Route 13 included chain motels, an antique center, outlet stores, fast food restaurants, adult daycare, a tutoring center, family practice, an emergency care facility, retail seafood, a veterinarian, dog grooming, and eco-tour businesses.
Businesses judged as hurting the Town included a chain drugstore and chain restaurants.
Commissioner Andy Buchholz noted, “In town there are taxes and licenses. Out of town there aren’t.”
Development outside of town was on the agenda as the result of a recent joint work session by the Town and County planning commissions. Routes into Cape Charles make up the Historic Town Entrance Corridor Overlay District, as designated in the 1991 Annexation Agreements.
Town planning commissioners agreed that Route 13 needs more motels. The existing ones (Rittenhouse Motor Inn, Peacock Inn, Shore Stay Suites, Sunset Beach Inn) are not chains, which they saw as a negative. Speaking about the nearest motel, the Rittenhouse, for example, Buchholz said, “People won’t stop there. They’ll stay at a Red Roof Inn. They will not stop unless it is a known chain.” [Read more…]
New Roots Kicks Off Fall Garden Club for Kids
Children water swiss chard and spinach at New Roots Youth Garden Fall Garden Club. (Photo: Tammy Holloway)
By TAMMY HOLLOWAY
October 3, 2013
A total of 25 kids from Cape Charles Christian, Kiptopeke, Home School, and Broadwater are participating in New Roots Youth Garden’s Fall Garden Club, a 7-week program held Thursdays from 4-5 p.m.
Club participants are planting and tending fall crops to be harvested and sold at the New Roots Farm Stand, an initiative that began during the 2013 Summer Garden Club. By creating and running a farm stand, the children learn many facets of business, including economics, handling money, sales, and customer service.
NRYG received several generous donations that made it possible to create the farm stand. The Virginia State University Farm Stand Extension donated many supplies, including a canopy tent, baskets, chalkboards, a calculator and a cash box. Also, the United Way of Virginia’s Eastern Shore selected New Roots Youth Garden as a Community Partner in 2013, allocating over $4,500 to supplement the existing program. Part of the United Way funds will be used to expand and market the farm stand, and the remaining funds will be used to perform infrastructure upgrades in the garden, such as installing a dry well, a shallow well, and a pump station. [Read more…]
TUESDAY 10/1: Planning Commission to Discuss Changing Sign Ordinance
Cape Charles Planning Commission meets 6 p.m. Tuesday, October 1, in Town Hall. [Read more…]
REVISIONIST HISTORY:
How Town Changed Its Story on Sewer Charges
New Town sewer plant was designed to double wastewater capacity, but when developers of Bay Creek refused to contribute to the cost, the capacity — but not the expense — was halved. (Wave photo)
By DORIE SOUTHERN
Cape Charles Wave
September 30, 2013
The official Cape Charles Gazette printed a September 17 statement on sewer charges by Assistant Town Manager Bob Panek contradicting earlier Town policy. Panek wrote, “. . . there has been much public commentary asserting that the reason for [the sewer charge] increase is because the developer of Bay Creek Resort & Club did not pay the Town for their share of the cost of building the new plant as required by the Annexation Agreement. This is not accurate.”
He continued: “The agreement requires the developer to pay the cost of expansion to accommodate the additional treatment demands of the annexed property beyond the limits of the Town’s current permitted capacities. The capacity of our new plant is the same as our old plant, 250,000 gallons per day.”
Therefore, Panek concluded, “The requirement for the developer to pay for a share of expansion was not triggered.” (click here to read Panek’s complete “Wastewater Treatment” statement).
Panek now contends that Bay Creek developers are not required to pay a penny of the new $19 million wastewater plant, because it is the same size as the old plant. But earlier official correspondence by Panek obtained by the Wave reveals a different story.
Key to Panek’s statement is the word “triggered,” as in “The requirement . . . to pay . . . was not triggered.” But Panek earlier had insisted just the opposite. Following a December 1, 2008, closed meeting between Town officials and Bay Creek developer Richard “Dickie” Foster, Panek sent an email to Town Council contending that “Clearly, there is no firm ‘trigger’ of ‘once the plant reaches design capacity’ as maintained by Bay Creek.”
Panek argued in the 2008 memo that “we must expend effort and resources sufficiently in advance of when the new plant must be operational.” Furthermore, he wrote Town Council, sewer expansion plans were based on Bay Creek’s own growth projections “personally approved by Mr. Foster.” [Read more…]
Town Council Mulls Fees for County Sewer Service
By DORIE SOUTHERN
Cape Charles Wave
September 27, 2013
Two days after Northampton County Board of Supervisors voted to put on hold any plans for a sewer pipeline to Cape Charles, the Cape Charles Town Council convened a work session to discuss how much to charge County customers for services the County does not appear to want.
The work session originally was scheduled for September 5, but was postponed until September 25 to occur after two meetings were held in the County, where dozens of speakers vociferously voiced their opposition to a special sewer district that would almost double their taxes plus entail an unknown monthly sewer charge.
The Town Council work session might yet have a purpose, however, since some observers have noted that even though the Board of Supervisors tabled further consideration of a special sewer district, they can easily reverse their decision following the November election.
But even after Wednesday’s work session, it’s still unclear how much County customers might have to pay Cape Charles for sewer service.
Some clarity did emerge at the work session – most importantly, recognition that treating sewage from out of town might kill any remaining hope of getting the developers of Bay Creek to contribute to the cost of future sewer expansion. Town staff was asked to seek a legal opinion on how a deal with the Public Service Authority might affect the Town’s Annexation Agreement with Bay Creek.
Councilman Mike Sullivan emphasized that he was certainly not willing to see the Town sacrifice $5 million [from Bay Creek] for plant expansion in order to get $80,000 a year from the PSA [for sewage treatment].
Among Council members, only Bay Creek resident Joan Natali was opposed to seeking legal advice on the question. “I don’t know why we need to make that decision now,” she said.
Councilman Frank Wendell suggested that the PSA should pay the cost of a legal opinion rather than the Town. [Read more…]
LETTER: Cape Charles DOES Care About Children
September 27, 2013
DEAR EDITOR,
Please print my response to the vacationer’s comment in the “Anonymous” section [click here to read “Anonymous”]:
Thank you for choosing Cape Charles as your family vacation spot. Families like yours are a vital part of this town’s economy, and I know the local businesses appreciate you choosing Cape Charles.
I understand that the Old School issue has soured a lot of people; however, I would caution people from making statements such as “I’m sad to hear that they don’t believe in investing in their youth,” when referring to this town.
Yes, the basketball nets are down, but this town has done an extraordinary job of creating other opportunities for children. Please take note of the tennis courts, skate park, soccer goals in the park, the countless programs offered year ’round by the library, as well as numerous special events throughout the year such as the upcoming Trunk or Treat, the New Roots Youth Garden, Movie Night in the Park, and the many athletic programs offered throughout the summer. [Read more…]
Town Keeps Sewer Rates Secret in Violation of State Code
CAPE CHARLES WAVE
September 25, 2013
The Town of Cape Charles has withheld from advance public view a financial analysis of sewer costs to be discussed at a work session 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, September 25, at Town Hall.
The Wave has learned that a Cape Charles police officer was instructed by Town Manager Heather Arcos to deliver information packets containing the sewer rate analysis on Sunday, September 22, to Town Council members. But as of Tuesday night, the financial analysis had not been posted on the Town website, nor had the information packet been emailed to members of the public who have requested Town mailings.
Town Clerk Libby Hume on September 20 emailed a one-page agenda for the September 25 meeting to members on the Town mailing list. The agenda may be read by clicking here.
The September 25 work session was originally scheduled for September 5, in advance of a Public Service Authority informational meeting held September 16 and a County public hearing on a proposed PSA special tax district held September 23. The intent was that the public would be told what sewer rate the Town was proposing to charge County customers. But the Town postponed any discussion of a sewer rate until after both public meetings had been held.
If the financial analysis provided to Town Council members on Sunday had been available to the public, it would have been discussed at length at Monday’s public hearing by the Northampton County Board of Supervisors. [Read more…]
