By Nicole Bowman-Layton

EDENTON — Several projects Edenton officials have been working on throughout the summer will return to the Town Council Tuesday, including a possible future home for the town’s Electric Department and continued improvements along the waterfront.

The council meets at 6 p.m. Sept. 8, at Town Hall, 504 S. Broad St.

One of the evening’s bigger discussions is likely to be a familiar one: whether to purchase land that could eventually give the Electric Department room to grow.

Town officials began publicly discussing the property this summer, when they outlined a proposal to acquire about 14 acres near Old Hertford Road. The department currently serves more than 4,300 customers in Edenton and surrounding portions of Chowan County, and officials have said it has simply outgrown its existing site.

“We’re a growing department,” Electric Department Superintendent Hunter Chamberlain told council members during a July meeting. “It seems like trucks get bigger, transformers get bigger, poles get bigger, and we’re still in the same lot that we’re from the (1940s).”

Chamberlain emphasized at the time that the town was looking at the purchase as a long-term investment. There are no immediate plans to build a new facility on the property.

The proposal discussed in July called for the town to pay $45,000 for the property and provide about $40,000 worth of in-kind electrical work on the larger farm from which the acreage would be carved.

Much of council’s concern has not been about whether the Electric Department needs more room, but how a future facility would fit into the surrounding neighborhood. Members have raised questions about traffic, access and buffers between town operations and nearby homes.

Those questions kept the council from moving forward earlier this summer. The Utilities Committee left the matter on hold in August while staff looked at alternatives.

The Utilities Committee is scheduled to take up the land acquisition again Tuesday.

Council also plans to go into closed session later in the meeting to discuss negotiations involving the acquisition of real estate. The agenda does not identify the property involved, so it is not clear whether that discussion is connected to the Electric Department proposal.

New grant sought for Edenton Harbor

Council will also consider authorizing an application to the N.C. Division of Coastal Management for a federal Boating Infrastructure Grant for the Edenton Harbor Boating Infrastructure Rehabilitation Project.

The grant program requires at least a 25% non-federal cash match. The town’s required match is currently estimated at $74,120, subject to the final project budget and grant award. If the grant is received, Edenton would be responsible for operating and maintaining the improvements and keeping the federally funded transient boating infrastructure available for its approved public use.

The proposed grant comes as other work on Edenton’s waterfront has been moving forward through Harbor Towns funding and other town initiatives.

In February, the council agreed to proceed with approximately $1.4 million in waterfront improvements tied to a separate state infrastructure grant administered through Harbor Towns. Projects discussed at that time included waterfront restroom improvements, repairs to the Penelope Barker House, waterfront lighting and a $450,000 breakwater repair project. Council approved adding the relocation of the historic home, Martinique, from northern Chowan County to the waterfront to the project in May. Council members also discussed directing available funds toward improvements for day-use boaters.

By May, Harbor Towns engineer Chris Morris, of AR Chesson, reported that structural repairs to the breakwater were expected to begin in early June. Divers had identified 12 cracked concrete piles requiring repair. Marina restroom and shower renovations had gone out for bid, while planning continued for waterfront lighting and other projects.

The town has also been looking more broadly at the waterfront’s future. A strategic planning effort called for improved waterfront access and recreational facilities and creation of a permanent working group to help move those recommendations forward.

The agenda materials for Tuesday’s meeting do not indicate whether the work proposed under the new Boating Infrastructure Grant is related to issues identified during the Harbor Towns-funded projects or represents separate infrastructure needs.

Filbert’s Creek restoration moves toward design

Council members will also consider selecting an engineering firm for the third phase of the Filbert’s Creek Restoration project.

Town staff recommends selecting L.E. Wooten & Company, doing business as The Wooten Company, and authorizing Town Manager Corey Gooden to negotiate an agreement for engineering and design services.

The town received two responses to its request for qualifications — one from The Wooten Company and another from Stream Restoration Concepts LLC.

The work would include detailed survey and design for a forebay, constructed wetland, weir and culvert and greenway improvements, along with permitting and assistance administering the grant. The proposed schedule calls for the work to be completed within approximately 10 months.

Other business

Council will also consider a Constitution Week proclamation and appointments to town boards and commissions. DeWayne Whealton is scheduled for a board and commission interview.

The meeting will include the council’s regular public comment period, with speakers limited to three minutes each, as well as the town manager’s report and items considered timely and important.