By Miles Layton

EDENTON — The Chowan County Board of Commissioners moved through a brisk agenda Monday, approving the purchase of a replacement animal shelter van, a discounted radio sale to the Edenton Police Department, and repairs to the Boys and Girls Club facility — while also fielding public comment on opioid settlement funds, the senior center’s future, and the fate of a Confederate monument.

The photo is of Michael Dean, commander of the Sons of Confederate Veterans Edenton Bell Battery, who makes his pitch to save the Confederate Memorial — which is still in a closet at the Chowan County Detention Center after being taken down around midnight on Labor Day weekend.

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Bear Strike Totals Animal Shelter Van; Replacement Approved

Commissioners approved the purchase of a replacement van for the county animal shelter after the previous vehicle was totaled in a nighttime collision with a bear several months ago.

County Manager Kevin Howard said the former shelter director had been transporting an injured animal to a veterinarian in Bertie County and struck the bear on the return trip after dark.

“I think the bear actually ran off,” Howard said, “but anyway, it totaled the van.”

The total purchase price for the replacement van is $24,124.15. The county received $10,000 in insurance proceeds from the totaled vehicle, reducing the net cost to $14,124.15. Howard noted that Gates and Perquimans counties — which share the animal shelter through an interlocal agreement — will reimburse two-thirds of the total purchase price, further limiting Chowan’s out-of-pocket expense. Funds will come from capital outlay in the current budget year.

Fun fact — the Albemarle-Pamilco Peninsula has the highest black bear densities in the world! The peninsula also contains the largest wetland complex in the State and the largest pocosin swamp in the world. In addition, much of this area is incorporated into two large refuges (Alligator NWR and Pocosin Lakes NWR), totaling well over 200,000 acres! 

National Bear Festival will be held June 5-7 in Plymouth — come on out!

Arts Council seeks return of historical displays ahead of 50th anniversary gala

Kim Asack, gallery operations manager for the Chowan Arts Council, appeared before the board to request the return of historical photographs and framed newspaper articles that have been in storage at the Swain Center.

“We’re having a fiftieth gala, and we would like to be on public display for the public to pay homage to the people that set this up a long time ago,” Asack said.

Asack said the collection includes newspaper articles, framed items, photographs, and programs from productions staged at the Swain Center, but that she was unsure of the full scope of what remained in storage.

“I don’t know exactly what is in storage,” she said. “I don’t know how it ended up being locked up at some point, but we would like those things back and stored in our facility, and we can make them for public appearance so we can pay homage to who started this.”

The Chowan Arts Council is the original owner of both displays, which were installed in the hallways of the Swain Center. The board voted to approve the return of the materials without discussion.

Sheriff Sells Surplus Radios to Town Police

The board unanimously approved the surplus sale of 20 Harris mobile in-car radios to the Edenton Police Department at $100 apiece, for a total of $2,000.

Sheriff Edward Basnight told commissioners the radios had been pulled from county patrol vehicles after performing poorly in the county’s rural terrain and were otherwise sitting unused.

“They’re not worth anything to us on a trade-in value — that’s why we didn’t trade them in at the time,” Basnight said. “We just happened to have them sitting back in the communication room collecting dust.”

Basnight said he reached out to Edenton Police Chief Lupone after learning the department needed in-car radios, and that the two agencies settled on the $100-per-unit figure.

“They did great in town, didn’t do too great out in the rural areas,” the sheriff said of the radios. “That’s what hand-me-down clothes do too — they still work good.”

Boys and Girls Club to Receive Post-School Painting, Repairs

The board approved a $21,114.10 contract to paint and repair the Boys and Girls Club building, which served as a temporary school facility during the transition to John R. Hoke High School.

Howard told commissioners the county had agreed at the outset of the arrangement to restore the building to its prior condition after students vacated the space. The project covers drywall repairs and painting of the first floor.

“We agreed we would paint it back up to what it was before,” Howard said. “So, to go in and make repairs with sheetrock and then paint — that’s what we agreed to do.”

Howard said the work must be completed during a narrow window between the end of the school year and the beginning of summer programming at the Boys and Girls Club. Commissioners asked whether a second estimate had been obtained; Howard said staff was still seeking one, but did not expect to find a lower bid given the scope of the project.

Funding will come from renovation money set aside specifically for the building, Howard said. One commissioner noted that the cooperation between the school system and the Boys and Girls Club had served the community well during the high school’s construction.

Public Comment: Monument, Opioid Funds, Senior Center

The meeting’s public comment period drew several speakers on issues ranging from opioid settlement spending to the future of the county senior center.

Michael Dean, commander of the Sons of Confederate Veterans Edenton Bell Battery, told the board that a compromise had been reached that would result in the SCV dropping its lawsuit against the town of Edenton — contingent on the county taking action on where a Confederate monument will be placed. Dean said member polling and an informal online survey of Edenton-area residents both pointed to the old courthouse green as the preferred location. See our previous story here.

“The prominent choice was the old Courthouse Green,” Dean said, adding that an unofficial poll returned results of 30 to 1 in favor of that site. “It is historically correct, it will stop the veterans’ objections from putting it behind the new courthouse on the hill, and it’s insulated from Broad Street so that downtown merchants will appreciate it.”

Kristy LaLonde pressed commissioners for clarity on how $30,000 in opioid settlement funds had been reported as allocated to a local treatment provider — a vote she said she could not find in the meeting minutes or recall from attending the referenced meeting.

“I respectfully request clarification: Did that vote occur, and if so, at which meeting and under what agenda item?” LaLonde said. “If $30,000 was allocated, which organization is receiving those funds, and how will those funds directly benefit Chowan County residents?”

LaLonde opposed a proposal to combine Chowan County’s opioid settlement funds with Pasquotank County’s for services at the Albemarle District Jail.

“Chowan County has limited funds, and they should be focused on our community,” she said. “If we direct funds outside the county, we remove any incentive for providers to establish services here.”

Howard responded that the board had voted in January to direct $30,000 in EMS funding — not opioid dollars — and that no funds had been allocated to any outside organization.

Kathleen MiGlorie urged the board to provide more specific details about the county’s plan for the senior center as discussions continue about potentially leasing the facility to the town of Edenton.

“The seniors depend on this center as a lifeline,” MiGlorie said. “Please provide more granularity about the planning around what that looks like — a really specific and transparent plan, so we know what will happen to our seniors who really depend on it.”

Howard said the county’s attorneys are currently working on a lease agreement and that the county has no intention of relinquishing control in a way that would threaten the continued operations of the senior center.