THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, October 10, 1995 TAG: 9510100255
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY PAUL SOUTH, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: KILL DEVIL HILLS LENGTH: Medium: 57 lines
Commissioners of this north beach community voted unanimously Monday to terminate negotiations with an Asheville developer who proposed a link between the Ocean Acres wastewater treatment plant and a private sewage facility he owns.
C. Wayne Kinzer, owner of Outer Banks Beach Club, and its parent company, Peppertree Resorts, had been in negotiations for 21 months with the Run Hill Working Group.
The group is an ad hoc panel made up of representatives of Kill Devil Hills, the Dare County Board of Education and The Nature Conservancy. Last May, Kinzer offered the Ocean Acres proposal to the town.
One goal of the Run Hill group is to eliminate pollution flowing into Buzzard's Bay. The town's rejection of Kinzer's proposal will not end efforts to stop the pollution, the group's mediator said Monday.
``We've been pursuing several parallel courses in an effort to reach the third objective of getting that discharge out of the sound. Mr. Kinzer's proposal was one of those,'' said Engineer George Wood, facilitator for the Run Hill panel. ``We'll continue to review other options. I don't think it's going to have any effect on those efforts.''
Engineers are reviewing proposals to determine which would most efficiently eliminate pollution from the sound, Wood said.
Eliminating discharge, along with protecting the environmentally sensitive Run Hill area, and providing property for a new high school are the Run Hill group's priorities.
The Kill Devil Hills governing board held a public meeting in May to update citizens on the Kinzer negotiations. At the time, officials said they wanted to give the proposal further study.
Monday, however Kill Devil HillsCommissioner E.M. ``Coy'' Harbeson said Kinzer's plan was not the town's best option.
``I voted for the resolution because I don't feel the proposal is in the best interest of the citizens of Ocean Acres,'' Harbeson said. He has acted as the liaison between the town and Ocean Acres residents.
Under Kinzer's proposal:
Kill Devil Hills would have constructed a forced main line linking Ocean Acres facility with the Outer Banks Beach Club plant.
Existing customers of the Ocean Acres facility would have been connected to the new system at no cost. The Outer Banks Beach Club would also guarantee adequate capacity for Ocean Acres residents to tie on to the system three to six months after it goes on line.
The Outer Banks Beach Club would maintain property next to the facility for future expansion.
Kill Devil Hills would grant to the OBBC the franchise to provide wastewater treatment service in the town. by CNB