County Halts Support of PSA Highway Sewer Project
County Board Room was nearly full for Monday night’s public hearing. “Usually only about five people show up for County meetings,” observed Supervisor Larry LeMond. (Wave photo)
By GEORGE SOUTHERN
Cape Charles Wave
September 24, 2013
After hearing an hour of public opposition Monday night to creating a special sewer tax district, Northampton County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to table the issue. “We heard you, we listened, there will be no action on this plan until we get a better understanding of what to do,” announced BOS Chairman Willie Randall.
Some 20 speakers addressed the Supervisors, only one of whom was in favor of the plan to tax and charge commercial property owners to pipe sewage to the Cape Charles treatment plant.
Randall also had a message for persons unhappy with Public Service Authority Chairman Bob Panek, who masterminded the sewer scheme. “The Board of Supervisors does not appoint town representatives to the PSA,” Randall clarified. “Folks not happy need to talk to their town council.”
Randall also stressed that the PSA is “an independent body – the only power we have over the PSA is funding, and they’re not going to be funded.”
Randall seemed unaware that the Board of Supervisors had already funded the PSA to the tune of $130,000. Informed of this by a reporter, he insisted that the money had come from a grant, not from the County budget. But when a reporter from the Eastern Shore News repeated the question, he turned to County Administrator Katie Nunez and asked, “That was grant money, right?”
“No,” Nunez responded – “that’s County money.”
As the Wave reported earlier, PSA members voted unanimously September 16 to approve a $70,000 contract with the engineering firm Hurt & Proffitt to begin surveying the sewer project. A Hurt & Proffitt survey team has been observed working in the vicinity this past week.
Among the speakers at the public hearing in Eastville was the new CEO for A&N Electric Cooperative Dodd Obenshain, who complained that two of the 68 properties included in the proposed special tax district belong to ANEC and are used for substations. “We have no need for water or sewer for a substation,” Obenshain said, requesting that the ANEC properties be exempted from the special district to avoid paying a higher tax. [Read more…]
CLARIFICATION:
Some New Bayshore Concrete Jobs Depend on Winning Bids
CAPE CHARLES WAVE
September 23, 2013
Following the Wave’s report September 21 that Bayshore Concrete Products would be hiring 300-400 workers, Bayshore treasurer John Chandler has requested a clarification. The 300-400 worker figure would be the total number of employees at Bayshore, and is dependent on winning bids.
Chandler said that Bayshore Concrete has won contracts for the Great Egg Harbor Bridge in New Jersey and the Bayonne Bridge between Bayonne, NJ, and Staten Island, NY. These contracts will bring 100 new jobs to the area, he said.
Chandler said that bids are still out for the Tappan Zee Bridge project. If Bayshore wins the contract to make spans for the Tapan Zee Bridge, 50-100 more workers could be hired.
Chandler clarified that gearing up for the Great Egg Harbor and Bayonne projects will be done through “trickle hiring of 10 to 20 people at a time” as the project progresses. Those projects are expected to keep employee levels up for two years.
Bayshore has requested permits from the Army Corps of Engineers to construct new piers to accept larger barges, allowing Bayshore to bid jobs for larger concrete products. The request, made last May, has not yet been approved.
MONDAY: Public Hearing on Mandatory County Sewer Tax
Phil Richardson, who runs a tire service on South Bayside Road outside Cheriton, has threatened to close his business if the County doubles his taxes and charges a monthly sewer fee. (Wave photo)
CAPE CHARLES WAVE
September 23, 2013
Northampton County Board of Supervisors meets 7 p.m. Monday, September 23, at the County board room in Eastville to hear public comment on a special sewer tax district for commercial properties near the Cape Charles/Cheriton Route 13 traffic light. (Click here to view a map of affected properties.) Residents may take the floor to express their opinions on the issue.
As reported in the Wave last week (click here for story), people turned out in force at a September 16 informational meeting on the proposed sewer district held by the Eastern Shore Public Service Authority. Although every member of the public who spoke was opposed to the proposal, immediately following the meeting PSA members voted unanimously to approve a $70,000 contract with the engineering firm Hurt & Profitt to begin surveying the sewer project. A Hurt & Profitt survey team has been observed working in the vicinity this past week.
The PSA received $130,000 from the County this year before any public hearing was held. Members of the Northampton County Planning Commission have stated that they were not consulted and were not aware of what the PSA was doing.
The Board of Supervisors has already included 25 percent of the cost of the sewer project in this year’s County budget, which means that all County property owners will pay a share. That includes property owners in the Town of Cape Charles as well as Exmore and everywhere else. [Read more…]
Tour Showcases Beach Club, Future Yacht Center
In this view of Cape Charles Town Harbor, the new Yacht Center will utilize the rectangular cutout at middle back of photo.
CAPE CHARLES WAVE
September 21, 2013
New Northampton County development was showcased to County and town officials yesterday in an all-day tour that began at the new Bay Creek Beach Club.
Although there is not yet a great deal to see, the tour also took local officials to the site of the Cape Charles Yacht Center next to the Coast Guard Station.
The tour was organized by Eyre Baldwin, a partner in ESLAND (Eastern Shore Land Company), as well as being chief developer of the yacht center.
According to an ESLAND press release, the yacht center will be a mega-yacht destination along the East Coast. It will be accessed via the Town Harbor, which features an 18-foot deep channel for easy access. The full-service shipyard will be able to accommodate boats of “all sizes,” including mega-yachts.
Baldwin said the Yacht Center will attract visitors to the Town and will help to continue the revitalization of the area’s economy. “This development will bring new business opportunities such as restaurants, hotels and marine industries,” he said.
Officials visited the Beach Club and Fitness Center at Bay Creek, opening later this year as a members-only facility. The 19,000-square-foot complex includes a fitness center, a 2,800-square-foot members’ lounge with fireplace and large-screen TV, and two outdoor pools with a splash zone and aquatic play area for kids.
The members-only Bay Creek Beach Club and Fitness Center is planned to open in December.
COMMENTARY: Support PSA for a Cleaner Eastern Shore
By WAYNE CREED
September 21, 2013
Assistant Town Manager Bob Panek received a universally chilly reception September 16 at the Cheriton Fire Hall when he explained plans to use the Town’s wastewater plant as the southern node of a semi-regional wastewater system. But when so many people around here agree with each other, it should raise a giant red flag that something is wrong.
I agree that at the current time, Cape Charles should not engage with the Public Service Authority to run pipe out to the newly created Economic Tax Zone along Route 13 — but for different reasons than have been voiced by others.
A major red herring is that supplying wastewater treatment to Route 13 and Cheriton would somehow cause economic stress to Cape Charles businesses. There is a notion that a Rite-Aid or CVS may open to compete with Rayfield’s, yet in this economic climate, chain stores tend to stick to locations that minimize risk. Even with peak summer traffic, there doesn’t appear that there are the demographics to support a chain like that, and companies like CVS only survive if they can subsume and assimilate. That is, it would only be viable if they could assume Rayfield’s base — a difficult task that may seem too risky after a thorough cost-benefit analysis. [Read more…]
EDITORIAL: Don’t Subsidize the County
A CAPE CHARLES WAVE EDITORIAL
September 19, 2013
Two weeks ago today, Cape Charles Town Council was supposed to discuss a proposed rate structure for commercial sewer customers on Route 13 and around Cheriton. Assistant Town Manager Bob Panek earlier said that determining a sewer rate would be “about a day’s work.” But no rate has yet been proposed, and Council’s work session was cancelled. It’s now clear that the sewer charge won’t be based on engineering calculations — it will be a political decision.
Cape Charles residents and businesses pay a minimum monthly sewer charge of $61. But County Administrator Katie Nunez doesn’t want commercial customers outside the Town to pay any more than an “affordable” rate of $45. Town officials bought into Mr. Panek’s reasoning that any additional sewer income would be “gravy,” since most of the costs of running the treatment plant are fixed, and not dependent on how much sewage is treated. So they initially were amenable to the $45 charge.
But try telling anyone who sells hamburgers in Cape Charles that they have to pay full rate to support the fixed costs of the sewer plant, while McDonald’s and Hardee’s will get a lower rate. It’s a politically indefensible argument, so it’s not surprising that Town officials now are scared to propose any rate. As a result, the public hearing set for Monday, September 23, at the County board room in Eastville will be almost farcical, since nobody knows what the rate will be.
It doesn’t take a month or even a day to calculate a rate structure for County sewer customers, because the calculation has already been done. If Town customers pay $61 a month, then County customers should pay $61 a month. Any less, and the Town is rewarding and encouraging businesses outside Town limits. Any more – well, forget that argument, because no County customer would tolerate a rate above $61 – even though Town Council member Joan Natali has publicly suggested that the Town could “make a profit” on providing sewer service to the County. [Read more…]
PSA Sewer Meeting: Hot Time in Cheriton Fire Hall
PSA Chairman Bob Panek, who also is assistant town manager for Cape Charles, spoke to a crowd of 100 at Monday night’s meeting. (Wave photo)
By GEORGE SOUTHERN
Cape Charles Wave
September 17, 2013
Nearly 100 people turned out Monday night to hear and question plans by the Eastern Shore Public Service Authority to pipe sewage from commercial properties near Route 13 to the Cape Charles treatment plant.
PSA Chairman Bob Panek, who also is assistant town manager for Cape Charles, found himself in hostile territory: not a single speaker during the meeting supported the sewer expansion. The reason was clear: cost – initially $1.8 million, which could balloon to $12 million in a later phase encompassing Cheriton and surrounding areas.
The PSA is recommending mandatory sewer service for 70 commercial properties with a total tax value of $18 million. The project would cost $1.8 million, or 10 percent of the total value of the properties. The $1.8 million would be borrowed with an annual debt service of $124,000 for 20 years.
Northampton County Board of Supervisors has already voted to pay 25 percent of the debt service from the County’s general fund, meaning that all county taxpayers will pay a share. The remaining 75 percent would come from a special tax district encompassing the 70 commercial properties, where property taxes will nearly double.
Panek said the PSA is acting on the basis of a July 2012 survey of the 64 commercial property owners affected. There were only 10 responses to the survey: 5 “yes,” 4 “maybe,” and 1 “no.” Panek said that although survey response was “thin,” those who responded “positively” (meaning “yes” or “maybe”) own about a third of the total assessed $18 million.
Of the 70 parcels included in the special tax district, most are vacant, meaning they presently have no need for sewage treatment. The two big users are McDonald’s and Hardee’s, Panek said.
Public Service Authority members at the meeting had their backs to the wall, literally and figuratively. From left: J.T. Holland, Garrett Dunham, Taylor Dukes, Chairman Bob Panek, Carl Harris, Sean Ingram, John Reiter. (Wave photo)
Questions and answers at the meeting included the following (names of speakers appear when known): [Read more…]
Meeting Monday Night on Special Sewer Tax District
Areas in purple are planned to become a special tax district with sewerage supplied by Town of Cape Charles.
CAPE CHARLES WAVE
September 16, 2013
Northampton County Supervisors have set two public meetings about expanding sewer service. An “informal public information meeting” is scheduled for 7 p.m. tonight (Monday) at the Cheriton Fire House. A week later, a formal public hearing is planned for 7 p.m. Monday, September 23, in the County Administration Building board room.
Below is a letter mailed to property owners. The entire mailing may be read by clicking here. [Read more…]
