THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Tuesday, April 4, 1995                 TAG: 9504040335
SECTION: LOCAL                    PAGE: B5   EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA 
TYPE: Local Briefs 
DATELINE: MANTEO                             LENGTH: Short :   38 lines

$50 TO RECONNECT WATER

The Dare County Board of Commissioners will meet April 27 with members of the Chesapeake City Council to discuss needed improvements to U.S. 168, and a variety of other issues, including the Lake Gaston Pipeline.

Dare County spokesman Charles Hartig said the meeting is set for 5 p.m. in Chesapeake, at a site yet to be determined.

In other business at the regular commission meeting Monday, the board unanimously approved a $50 reconnection fee to re-establish service interrupted for non-payment.

Bob Oreskovich, director of the Dare County Water Department, told commissioners the higher fees will lead to a reduction in delinquent accounts, and bring the fee structure in line with fees charged by the towns of Kill Devil Hills, Nags Head and Manteo, as well as the cape Hatteras Water Association.

Dare County currently has more than 300 bills that were unpaid as of Feb. 3. The bills, plus past due penalties, would total more than $28,000. In the past there has been no reconnect fee. A 10 percent penalty is charged for late payment.

The panel also enacted a tougher policy for bounced checks. Currently, the county levies a $15 service charge for a returned check. Under the new policy, customers who bounce a check will be required to make future payments in cash.

The commission also approved $1.29 million in construction contracts for the Fessenden Center on Hatteras Island. Eastern Construction of Greenville will serve as general contractor for the project. by CNB