THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, September 14, 1996 TAG: 9609140243
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY PAUL SOUTH, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: MANTEO LENGTH: 69 lines
A newspaper publisher's upset bid on a controversial 5.2-acre tract of land in downtown Manteo has been given provisional approval by the town's governing board by a 4-2 margin.
Commissioners Bill Buell, Curtis Creech, Melvin Jackson and Stuart Wescott voted for the $183,800 bid submitted by Coastland Times owner Francis Meekins of Mateo.
Meekins' offer did not disclose plans for the use of the property.
Commissioners Dellerva Collins and Edward Etheridge voted against the bid at the Thursday night meeting.
Meekins' offer was selected over another bid of $183,800 by a group of prominent Manteo residents known as ``Save Our Town.''
Now, other parties that may be interested in the land behind Chesley Mall have 10 working days following publication of the provisional acceptance to make counter offers for the land. That 10-day period begins next Thursday when the provisional acceptance is advertised.
Commissioners who backed Meekins' proposal said the key factor was that unlike the ``Save Our Town'' proposal, his offer was unconditional.
``As mayor, I don't have a vote, but if I did, I would have supported the Meekins bid,'' Mayor Lee Tugwell said. ``I think from a business standpoint, it's better to accept a bid without conditions than an identical offer with conditions.''
Meekins' offer bettered a $175,000 bid by Hubquarter Partnership of Wilson. Last week, Clyde W. Harris of Hubquarter said his firm - a development concern - was uncertain of its next move. Hubquarter had proposed moderate-income apartments as a possible use for the tract.
Tugwell said the town had discussed the matter with the Chapel Hill-based North Carolina Institute of Government.
``We had some conversations with the Institute of Government, and how to evaluate the bids - what factors we could use in evaluating the bids, and which ones we couldn't,'' Tugwell said. ``Generally, when you have two bids, and one is higher than the other, the higher offer is accepted. But if you have identical bids, and one has conditions and the other doesn't, then you can use that factor in making a decision.''
Creech, who made the motion to accept the Meekins bid, agreed with Tugwell.
``I wanted to accept the Meekins bid because it was contingency-free,'' Creech said. ``The offer from `Save Our Town' was almost identical to the Hubquarter Partnership offer because it was full of conditions. My position is that the Meekins offer was best because he was writing us a check contingency-free. There is less chance of the sale falling through.''
Collins, an outspoken opponent of the land sale, reiterated her argument that Manteo should keep the property. Despite failing twice in efforts to stop the sale, she said she will continue the fight.
``I just feel like we need to hold on to the land until we decide exactly what can be done with it. I feel we can get more money for the property.''
The upset bid period on the Meekins proposal ends Sept. 30, because next Thursday is the earliest the provisional acceptance of that offer can be advertised, Creech said.
``Our regular meeting is Oct. 2,'' he said. ``I expect we'll wait until then to consider any bids that come in.''
Meanwhile, a member of Save Our Town said the group is not sure of its future actions.
``I'm not disappointed,'' said Manteo businessman H.A. Creef, a former commissioner. ``I think they accepted the better bid. That's the way it goes. Have you ever been to an auction? Well, that was what this is like. But we sure got a lot of people interested.''
Creef added, ``There's still 10 days for an upset bid. I think there will be other bids. This is too nice a piece of property as far as what it is and where it is, along with the amenities that go with it - water, sewer, curbs - to not draw some interest.'' by CNB