Edenton Township

The Edenton Town Council will hold a Special Called Joint Electronic Meeting along with the Chowan
County Board of Commissioners & the Perquimans County Board of Commissioners on Wednesday, April
21, 2021 at 4:00 pm.

The meeting will be held remotely hosted by WebEx. The Edenton Town Council will gather at the Town Council Chambers 504 South Broad Street, Edenton, the Chowan County Board of Commissioners will gather at the Chowan County Public Safety Center, 305 West Freemason St., Edenton. The Perquimans County Board of Commissioners will join individually.

The purpose of the remote/electronic meeting is to allow the three Boards to meet jointly and allow for proper social distancing due to COVID-19.

Seating will be available at the Chowan County and Town of Edenton locations and is limited. There is no public comment session for this meeting. The Special Called Joint Meeting is to receive a report on the Preliminary Regionalization Feasibility Study that looked at long-term Regional Water Supply and Treatment Options for Chowan County, Perquimans County, and the Town of Edenton and consider next steps.

Information to view the meeting electronically:
Join from the meeting link:
https://chowancounty.my.webex.com/chowancounty.my/j.php?MTID=m6d881e17e776f730a1dc52e01ca13933
Join by dialing in: 1-408-418-9388

Based on the latest meetings and recent recommendation by the Chowan County School Board of Education, has formally recommended that the county commissions should use a USDA loan of $35 million dollars to fund Phase 2 of the proposed $50 million dollars high-school construction project. Keep in mind that the Edenton Gazette reported earlier that a Dallas high school renovated an older school in support of 2,000 students for $46 million dollars.

As the county prepares to assume new debt which needs to be repaid by the taxpayers until 2053, there remain many questions concerning this project, which have not been answered. Why does it cost Chowan County $50 million dollars for a declining student body of 600 high school students? What does the cost of renovating the high school cost over tearing it down and building a new high school when the cost of materials is sky high due to the pandemic?

Did the North Carolina state legislature understand that an administrative word change in lottery grant funding language would be interpreted by construction firms and/or boards that grants could ONLY be used for new school construction and used as a basis to only look at new construction for the high school? A well-architected renovation could be seen as new school construction if that was the end goal of the renovation.

Chowan County, known as the “cradle of the colony” today relies on tourism and travelers to generate over $24 million dollars worth of impact in 2019, with dedicated agencies working to present Edenton and Chowan County such as VisitEdenton.com, Destination Downtown, Edenton Chowan Partnership, and other aligned organizations and groups.

The Edenton town council wants and needs to hear from you concerning support of Airbnb and Vrbo rentals in Edenton without overly restrictive policies or acting as a proxy to existing HOAs and areas which already have restrictive covenants such as for the Cotton Mill Village or the Historic District.

In North Carolina’s constitution, Article 5 Section 4, sets limitations upon the increase of local government debt and provides clear guidance concerning the need by the majority of qualified voters to approve such actions, while also providing for qualifying exemptions.

It is not clear how or even if the county can take on $35 Million of new debt without voter input, however this is an area that would benefit by more clarity and voter input should the county pursue a USDA loan to fund the Phase 2 of the High School Project, considering that last referendum was voted down. Details on the past votes are below.

One can assert that if the county reduces its debt this should enable the county to address other areas that have been in need for many years, including facilities such as the Northern Recreation Center, the county courthouse or other facilities under county management, before taking on new debt that would be paid by county tax payers for many years in the future.

The foundation of cooking great barbecue, or any protein for that matter, is the ability to cook to perfect moisture and tenderness.  Moisture and tenderness are very much related.  Cook your protein too long and you’ll cause all of the intermuscular fat and collagen to evaporate, resulting in dry meat.  Undercooked proteins are unsafe to eat and can be tough and dry because those same fats and collagens haven’t had time to properly break down.