THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, January 23, 1996 TAG: 9601230250
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY PERRY PARKS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: ELIZABETH CITY LENGTH: Medium: 71 lines
New City Manager Steven Harrell eased into the machinery of Elizabeth City government Monday, sitting in on one of the City Council's most efficient meetings in months.
Council members were unanimous in every vote during Harrell's first meeting and avoided meandering conversations on most issues.
Harrell's first official request of the council was for more time to study some matters he has inherited, such as a proposal to reduce the city's work force by 10 percent and the eight vacant positions that are dependent on that plan.
But he also played an active role in several discussions - explaining some agenda items to the council and helping Councilwoman Anita Hummer make a point to a state official.
Mayor H. Rick Gardner said after the meeting that Harrell was learning fast.
``He is doing great. He's doing an outstanding job,'' Gardner said. ``He's really getting a grasp on everything that's happening.''
Gardner said that Harrell was also keeping council members informed; lack of communication has been a sensitive issue between some council members and past managers.
A North Carolina Department of Transportation representative was on hand Monday to deliver a preliminary thoroughfare plan for Elizabeth City. The study of needed road improvements could have implications for the city well into the next century.
``This is a 25-year plan,'' said R. Van Argabright, a DOT project engineer. ``It's our first step in the planning process of getting a road built.''
The initial version of the plan will be available for public comment at a meeting 7 p.m Monday in the Pasquotank County Courthouse.
Major thoroughfares that are currently over capacity, Argabright said, are:
Road Street from U.S. Route 17 to Ehringhaus Street.
Hughes Boulevard from Church Street to Elizabeth Street, from Road Street to Barney Lane, and from Hastings Lane to Culpepper Lane.
U.S. Route 158/N.C. Route 34 for Country Club Road to the bridge across the Pasquotank River.
Water Street from Elizabeth to Fearing streets.
Other portions of Road Street, U.S. 17 and Water Street are also likely to surpass capacity in the next 25 years, Argabright said.
Proposed solutions involve a number of road improvements, including several projects already funded in the current Transportation Improvement Plan such as the proposed U.S. 17 Bypass and connector roads.
The preliminary thoroughfare plan also recommends widening Water Street downtown, which would mean eliminating parking on the street and moving three feetcloser to businesses on both sides of the street.
The council discussed Monday that it could also mean moving electrical wires underground, a long-desired aesthetic move for the roadway.
Other proposed improvements include:
Widening Hughes Boulevard to five lanes from Church Street to the southern end of the Knobbs Creek bridge.
Extending Walker Avenue to Roanoke Avenue.
Connecting Trinkaloe to Selby Road and then to Perkins Lane.
Making Main Street and Colonial Avenue one-way west of Road Street, and returning Shepard Street to a two-way.
Council members observed the 20-minute presentation from their new seating arrangement, which places Mayor Pro Tem Hummer at Gardner's immediate left and puts Zack Robertson and A.C. Robinson - longtime traders of barbs on the dais - elbow-to-elbow on Gardner's right. by CNB