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…]
Merchant Association Gives Development Chief the Business
Northampton County Economic Development Director Charles McSwain addresses Cape Charles Business Association September 11. Association president George Proto is at left. (Wave photo)
By GEORGE SOUTHERN
Cape Charles Wave
September 12, 2013
Recently hired economic development director for Northampton County Charles McSwain knew he was walking into a hornets nest when he addressed the Cape Charles Business Association meeting last night, and he came prepared with disclaimers and a philosophy of positive thinking.
But Business Association members weren’t buying it when McSwain tried to defend the County’s development plans – especially as they relate to commercial development on Route 13. Association President George Proto told McSwain, who only recently moved into the area, to “drive up Route 13 and see towns like Exmore with development on the highway. I haven’t been able to see any town not negatively impacted,” Proto said.
Deborah Bender said that highway development outside Onancock, where she once lived, “killed the town.” In the same way, on the highway outside Cape Charles, “a Rite-Aid would hurt,” she said. “And a hotel would hurt the B&Bs.”
“I like to think about this in a completely different way,” McSwain said. “Cape Charles is a very attractive place that has its own identity – not something we have to worry about dying.” He argued that commercial development on Route 13 around the Cape Charles traffic light would slow down through-traffic and “make people make that right turn.” A gas station or a motel at the intersection “would stop the high-speed traffic coming through. Once they’ve stopped, train the retailers to say something good about Cape Charles,” McSwain suggested. [Read more…]
Letters Between Business Association, Mayor Worth a Read
CAPE CHARLES WAVE
September 11, 2013
Tonight (Wednesday) the new economic development director for Northampton County, Charles McSwain, speaks to the Cape Charles Business Association. One of the issues is development on Route 13 and its effect on Cape Charles businesses. The Town of Cape Charles has some leverage because it can choose to promote commercial development on the highway or discourage it — depending on whether it agrees to facilitate sewerage for commercial properties outside town.
Two letters appear below: the first is from Cape Charles Business Association President George Proto to Mayor Dora Sullivan, and the second is the mayor’s response. Anyone interested in Route 13 commercial development might also be interested to read the letters.
Town Won’t Reveal Route 13 Monthly Sewer Rates
By GEORGE SOUTHERN
Cape Charles Wave
September 3, 2013
Two public meetings are scheduled this month to provide information about plans for mandatory sewer hookups and a nearly doubling of County land taxes in an area along Route 13 north and south of the Cape Charles traffic light and along a portion of South Bayside Road. But property owners’ burning question won’t be answered at the meeting. That is: How much will my sewer bill be?
Cape Charles residents pay a monthly charge of $60.85 for up to 2,000 gallons of sewage treatment. They also pay a separate charge for water, but at this stage only sewerage is proposed for Route 13 area customers.
The Town’s water consultant and assistant town manager, Bob Panek, has been coy about how much County customers might have to pay. “I have no idea what the rate would be,” Panek told the Cape Charles Business Association July 23.
Panek is also chairman of the Public Service Authority, the County entity that is proposing sewerage on the highway. The Town and the PSA are supposed to negotiate a sewer rate. Since Panek cannot negotiate with himself, he has turned over the calculation of a rate structure to other Town employees.
Panek told the Business Association that doing a rate analysis would be “about a day’s work.” But his estimate was optimistic. Town Council had scheduled a September 5 work session to review a proposed rate structure, but last week the work session was postponed until September 25. It seems that, without Panek’s involvement, the financial analysis will require about a month instead of about a day to accomplish. [Read more…]
Town Responds to ‘Red Tide Rising’ in Harbor
Water sample taken from Town Harbor at floating docks near discharge pipe. (Wave photo)
CAPE CHARLES WAVE
September 1, 2013
Hours after a “Gossip” item entitled RED TIDE RISING appeared August 30 in the Wave, the Town of Cape Charles issued a special edition of the Gazette to address the issue of a red liquid being discharged into the Town Harbor.
On Friday afternoon, the Town Police Department delivered copies of the Gazette to local businesses for distribution to their customers.
The Gossip item noted that “now that floating docks have been installed next to the Coast Guard Station where the yacht repair facility is being built, people can walk along the bulkhead at the water line. There they can see an underwater pipe capped at the end. If they time their visit just right, somewhat like viewing “Old Faithful” at Yellowstone National Park, they will be treated to an eruption of red liquid spewing out into the harbor. Word has it that the pipe hooks to the new sewage treatment plant, and the discharge comes when plant filters are backwashed.”
The Gazette confirmed that the discharge is from backwash, “but we want to assure you that the discolored water is from the water plant not the wastewater treatment plant.” The Gazette further noted that the Town is working with the state Department of Environmental Quality “regarding corrective measures to alleviate the discharge of the discolored water.” [Read more…]
Bing Recognizes Cape Charles Wave As Local News Source
CAPE CHARLES WAVE
August 31, 2013
Heard of Bing? It’s Microsoft’s answer to Google, albeit a very weak voice against the Google powerhouse.
A year ago in August, Google News accepted the Cape Charles Wave as a source of local information. Google News readers who search “Cape Charles” get a listing of online news from local sources. Typically, 9 out of 10 of the news articles are from the Wave.
To be accredited as a Google news source, the Wave had to demonstrate that it publishes information that would normally be found in a newspaper, such as news reports, feature stories, opinion columns, obituaries, classifieds, and letters to the editor. The Wave was also required to have a public “face” — meaning that its editors and reporters are clearly identified by name.
Now, a year later, Bing News has also accepted the Wave as a local news source. But using Bing News is trickier than using Google. First, enter bing.com/news in your browser, and then search for “Cape Charles.” Be sure to use the quotation marks – otherwise you’ll get stories about Cape Town and Prince Charles mixed in. Finally, choose the option “Past 7 days” or you might find news stories up to 10 years old.
Bing News search engine top hits for “Cape Charles” are from the Wave.
Cheriton Town Council Endorses Mandatory Sewer Hookups
To Cape Charles Treatment Plant
CAPE CHARLES WAVE
August 30, 2013
Cheriton Town Council agreed August 28 on language “supporting the PSA [Public Service Authority] to introduce sewer service from Cape Charles,” adding that “the Town of Cheriton is willing to require mandatory sewer hookups in the agreed upon sewer service area.”
Cheriton Town Council authorized Mayor Joseph Habel to send a letter to Willie Randall, chairman of Northampton County Board of Supervisors. The support for hooking up to the Cape Charles sewer treatment plant gets only a small mention in the letter, which focuses on a proposed boundary adjustment that would nearly triple Cheriton’s land area and increase seasonal population by 75 percent.
Mayor Habel’s letter states that “due to soils with severe limitations for septic drainfields in approximately 41 percent of the undeveloped area [of Cheriton], new residential development is difficult for 20,000 square-foot lots without central sewer facilities.”
“The viability of the Town of Cheriton’s central business district and existing residential development . . . will also be strengthened by provision of central sewer facilities,” he wrote. [Read more…]
County, Cheriton Urged to Rethink Cape Charles Sewerage
CAPE CHARLES WAVE
August 29, 2013
Speakers at two public meetings this week have urged officials to rethink their endorsement of extending sewage treatment to Route 13 from the Cape Charles treatment plant.
Speaking at the Northampton County Board of Supervisors meeting August 26, Supervisor Rick Hubbard said the County needs “a better understanding of what we have set in motion.”
Last night (August 28), Cape Charles resident Deborah Bender addressed Cheriton Town Council, warning them “not to get involved with the Cape Charles Wastewater Plant.” Bender is a member of the political action group CAPE-C: “Citizen Advocates Promoting Effective Change.”
SUPERVISOR HUBBARD’S LETTER TO THE COUNTY
After reflecting on our Board meeting of 13 August, I feel we may have overlooked some things or at least need a better understanding of what we have set in motion. I believe the entire Board truly believes that it is necessary to develop infrastructure in the area of the Cape Charles stop light and has no desire to harm the economic development of the town.
1) Before further engineering studies or plans are done for the project, we must have in place an acceptable, long term fixed rate cost for treatment of waste water to be used by the project.
2) We also need to be sure that the current Cape Charles treatment plant is on sound financial footing and the PSA could not be held responsible for “new” unexpected costs associated with that plant. [Read more…]
