Part 2: Lloyd Kellam Remembers Cape Charles

November 30, 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.  This is Part 2 of Mr. Kellam’s reminiscences.  Click here to read Part 1.)

Anyway, where was Sample’s [Barbershop]?

[Audience member]: Near Wing Sing’s Laundry. Right in that group.

I don’t remember that. I remember apartments being over top. Anyway, to change the subject, in my time, Sample’s Barbershop was down that same street. He moved it. His son’s picture is in the paper this week, Johnny Sample. If you wonder who he is, Tommy Savage taught him all he knew about football!

When you turned the corner, there was Savage’s Drugstore and then, I can’t remember what was next to that. Was it a dress shop? OK, there was a dress shop there. Then the Palace Theatre was my first recollection, but I do remember when the Palace was built and I remember them tearing all those old buildings down. But I can’t remember who was there. I do remember Mr. Tilghman and I spent many a day in Mr. Tilghman’s place watching him fix watches. Back in those days, a watch was probably the most important thing that people had. And then there was Adam’s Quality Shop [?], Harry Rudy had a barbershop in there. And Lee Hart had a plumbing place, I forgot what it was called. And then Byrd Vick and then a Western Auto. The Radium was between Waddell’s Popcorn Shop, I called it, and Slim Colonna’s Barbershop. Then about the time I really remember, they opened up a beauty parlor upstairs and F. Winslow Toussaint’s.  F. Winslow Toussaint and he started taking pictures. In looking back on it, I think that he didn’t have a bad deal with having the Miss Virginia Pageant in the Palace Theatre, which is another story. The newspaper that had that in it had nothing in there but pictures of all those beautiful girls from F. Winslow Toussaint. They were great, he could make a local girl look like a movie star! He was good.

Mr. Sak’s was down there. Where the building burned, I can’t remember exactly what was there, but my recollection was it was a grocery store.

[Audience]: Gaskill’s Grocery Store.

Then last but not least on that corner, in my memory, is the Palm Tavern. If Cape Charles ever really does come back, I want to go in there and open up a restaurant called Peach Street Chicken! [Read more…]

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Council Workshop Tuesday on How to $pend a Million

By GEORGE SOUTHERN
Cape Charles Wave

November 29, 2013

Cape Charles Town Council is proceeding with plans to borrow an extra million dollars in the next few weeks, and members will discuss how to spend it at a workshop 6 p.m. Tuesday (December 3) at Town Hall. The problem is that the Town wants to spend closer to twice that much — an estimated $1.724 million.

Meanwhile, nobody seems sure how much money the Town already owes. The Wave reported (click here) that at the November 14 Council meeting, Councilman Frank Wendell asked Treasurer Kim Coates how much debt the Town currently owes. Coates was unable to say, but financial advisor David 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.” Town Council voted at that meeting to pay Rose $37,500 for his financial advice. Wendell says he still has not heard from Coates exactly how much money the Town owes.

In preparation for the Tuesday workshop, Coates has produced a one-page report entitled Town of Cape Charles Remaining Debt as of 11/26/2013 (click here). But the figures shown are not loan balances, but instead the remaining debt service. The only time total debt service equals loan balance is for a no-interest loan. Cape Charles is fortunate enough to have one no-interest loan with a balance of $4.7 million, but that’s a little less than half of the Town’s total debt according to estimates of Messrs. White and Rose.

The “Remaining Debt” report also omits four loans for police vehicles: a 2013 Dodge Charger, a 2013 Ford Explorer, a 2011 Dodge Charger, and a 2010 Dodge Charger. Interest rates on those loans range from a high of 6.6 percent to a low of 3.125 percent. Again, the loan balances are not known. [Read more…]

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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.

Town Council OKs $28,000 to Stop ‘Red Tide’ in Harbor

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)

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…]

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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…]

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Board Approves 1-Room Hotel Behind Kelly’s Pub

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

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…]

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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…]

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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…]

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SHORE THING: A$K the Mayor

By GEORGE SOUTHERN
Cape Charles Wave

November 14, 2013

Before I started causing trouble in Cape Charles, I was causing trouble in Northern Virginia. Over the years we lived in the City of Alexandria, the County of Arlington, the County of Fairfax, and the City of Falls Church. Each of those municipalities offers many attractions, but there is one thing none of them has that Cape Charles does have: double taxation.

That’s right. In Virginia, if you live in a city you pay city taxes; if you live in a county you pay county taxes. Only in towns is there an opportunity to pay double taxes.

There is a little town in Fairfax County with the prestigious name of Vienna. One day I called the Town of Vienna’s information officer to ask: Why does it cost the taxpayer 22 percent more to live in Vienna than just outside the town line in Fairfax County? She immediately answered: “Access — you can call the Mayor on a Sunday afternoon.”

Vienna’s real estate tax rate is 22.88 cents per hundred dollars. Cape Charles, at 27.74 cents, is 17 percent higher. So – if you see where I’m going with this – shouldn’t my mayoral access be mighty good here in Cape Charles?

I had a question for Mayor Sullivan last July. The Town Gazette had just published a “Message from the Mayor” (click here to read) stating that “the Water and Sewer Fund broke even over the last three fiscal years.” I asked the Mayor how that could be, when the 2013 budget showed that the Water and Sewer Fund required a transfer of $172,500 from the General Fund. The Mayor deigned not to answer my question. (Perhaps I should have called her on a Sunday afternoon.)

So I asked our Town Manager, Heather Arcos. To her credit, she said she would check and get back to me. The next day – well, let the emails tell the story: [Read more…]

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