THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, March 16, 1995 TAG: 9503160403
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY MASON PETERS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: WILLIAMSTON LENGTH: Medium: 64 lines
The March meeting of the Northeast North Carolina Economic Development Commission was an official bust Wednesday night, lacking a quorum, but discussion of an aviary for a rare bird made for a lively evening.
Nine members are needed for a quorum. So when only seven pump-primers showed, there was a lot of talk about rare birds and zoos but nothing legally binding.
``We have some budget items what must be addressed, so there'll be a special meeting next Wednesday evening, March 22, in the Sound View restaurant in Washington County,'' said chairman Andrew Allen. The Plymouth businessman seemed both miffed and embarrassed by the no-shows Wednesday.
Since it was established two years ago, the 17-member commission has been trying to find good use for more than $2 million in pump-priming money authorized by the General Assembly.
Although nothing was official, the developers who were present Wednesday found plenty to talk about.
Bunny Sanders, director of the tourist division of the commission, told the group there was a request for $15,000 to help start a rare-bird aviary on Elizabeth City's waterfront.
She said two bird fanciers in Scotland Neck in Halifax County were currently operating ``a breeding farm for exotic and rare waterfowl for zoos all over the world.''
The Scotland Neck couple has expressed interest in creating aviaries for municipal waterfronts, including Elizabeth City, Sanders said. The commission, she said, should also consider a study directed at building a state-operated zoo as a tourist attraction in northeastern North Carolina. The only other zoo in the state is in Asheboro, she said, and is ``a great distance from this region.''
Not everyone agreed.
``These requests are beginning to mushroom and I don't think we should ever do anything until we know exactly what a project is going to cost,'' said Commissioner Mary Lilley, director of the Williamston Chamber of Commerce and a frequent guardian of the group's expenditures.
``I don't think we should help a county with any project unless the county or the community will support it themselves,'' said Dallas Taylor, an Ahoskie banker.
The commission heard Henry Luke, a community-planning expert from Jacksonville, Fla., discuss a development proposal he hopes the commission will accept.
Luke, who has done work for several major cities, including Norfolk, Richmond, Raleigh and Charlotte, said he charges from ``$35,000 to $200,000'' to survey an area and come up with ideas.
When Allen polled the commission members present, they all said Luke's plans appeared to be useful.
``It's exactly the sort of thing we have to do,'' said Allen.
In a financial report for the past six months, Sidward M. Boyce Jr., a Wachovia banker in Elizabeth City, said the commission had earned $9,649 in interest since the startup deposit from the state for northeastern pump-priming.
Total expenditures so far have been $302,010 and there was $1,365,833 in the commission's account as of Feb. 28, Boyce said. by CNB