THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, August 9, 1996 TAG: 9608090496
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY PAUL SOUTH, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: MANTEO LENGTH: 69 lines
The cost just went up for most owners of undeveloped property who want sewer service for a new house in this Roanoke Island community .
By a 5-1 vote Wednesday night, the Manteo Board of Commissioners changed the billing system from a flat $1,100 for all houses to a fee of $8 per gallon of expected daily use based on standards set by the state Department of Environmental Management.
Under the new fee structure, it will cost $960 for a one-bedroom home to tie into the system, $1,920 for a two-bedroom home, and $2,880 for a three-bedroom house.
``This is a more equitable structure,'' Mayor Lee Tugwell said. ``At least this way, you're determining connection fees based on what capacity people will use. I've got two unimproved lots myself, and it's going to cost me money if I decide to build.''
Commissioner Curtis Creech said that while the rates are higher, they are still less expensive than other Dare County communities.
``This is going to affect people who have vacant lots,'' Creech said. ``But this is still a good deal. It's cheaper than any other town.''
Commissioner Dellerva Collins opposed the increase.
``It's a mighty big jump,'' she said.
However, other incorporated towns in Dare County do not have sewage treatment systems. Residents rely instead on septic tanks.
The towns do charge impact fees to builders of new homes. In Kill Devil Hills, that fee is at least $3,600. That rate could go higher depending on the size of the house and other factors.
In Nags Head, builders of new homes on unimproved lots must pay a $3,000 utility-impact fee.
Residents of other municipalities such as Kitty Hawk and Southern Shores who want to tie on to the county water system must pay a $2,500 impact fee.
New revenues generated from the Manteo increase will go to improvements to water and sewer lines in the town.
In other business, the town may sell a 5.1-acre tract of surplus land behind Chesley Mall. Two bids for the property have been received. However, commissioners instructed Town Manager Kermit Skinner to negotiate with the real estate firms.
Creech, a real estate appraiser, said he was asked by the board at its budget workshop last spring to determine whether anyone was interested in buying the land.
Under the method being used to solicit bids, if the town gives provisional acceptance to one of the offers, it must be advertised. From that point, Town Attorney Dan Merrell said, other interested parties have 10 days to make offers for the tract.
Also, since there has been no provisional acceptance at this point, Merrell said, other bids can be submitted. Creech said the sale of the property would boost the town's tax base and could provide other economic benefits for Manteo.
``Over the last six years, we've lost $100,000 in property tax revenue on that property,'' Creech said. ``I think that property is suitable to be a shopping center or some other type of business. We want to use property at its highest and best use. Right now, we're using this at its lowest and worst use.''
Collins, however, urged commissioners to hold onto the property, because it represents ``money in the bank'' for the town.
She also dismissed Creech's claim that the additional revenue would mean lower taxes for Manteo residents. ``That will never happen,'' she said.
Also, the town unanimously approved a resolution offered by Commissioner Edward Etheridge, condemning the recent outbreak of church burnings throughout the nation.
``I think this goes hand in hand with all the other things like the pipe bomb in Atlanta and the TWA flight,'' Etheridge said. ``It's all in the same vein.'' by CNB