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Larry DiRe named Cape Charles Interim Town Manager…what’s next?

June 17, 2018 by 9 Comments

Town Planner Larry DiRe has assumed duties as interim town manager. DiRe replaces Assistant Town Manager Bob Panek who resigned last week. DiRe brings a wealth of urban planning and government experience, as well as an intimate knowledge of the town code. Mr. DiRe has been instrumental in rewriting town ordinances in order to make them more efficient and applicable to the town’s current standing.

DiRe was the first choice to replace former town manager Brent Manuel on an interim basis after Manuel’s resignation, however town code was written so that only the assistant town manager could fill that role.

Mr. DiRe has already proven to be an asset in the role. A major sticking point for the Main Street Community Enhancement Board was the language in the memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the town. An MOU is a nonbinding agreement between two or more parties outlining the terms and details of an understanding, including each parties’ requirements and responsibilities. An MOU is often the first stage in the formation of a formal contract.

The Community Enhancement Board(CEB) took issue with language that stated the money received from the town ($151,950) was a grant, where the board believed it should be changed to ‘funded’, arguing that the town was funding the project, not providing a grant. This is critical as the CEB is in the process of becoming its own 501c non-profit organization, and being able to show commitment and funding is part of it, as well being recognized as legitimate Virginia Main Street project. Chairman Andy Buchholz and Bob Panek went head to head over this, but as interim town manager, there was no budging. This led to animosity and a situation that was toxic and degenerating.

The situation became so bad that CEB Program Manager Michelle Gorman, who has dual reporting to the CEB board and the town manager, resigned. Gorman found she could not function under the leadership decisions being made by Mr. Panek and tendered her resignation. However, when Panek resigned, Gorman went back to the board and asked if could rescind her resignation. The CEB board voted to bring her back.

As for the MOU, CEB Chairman Buchholz told the Mirror that working with DiRe, they are in the process of getting the language to more accurately reflect the direction the organization is trying to go.

The future is still unwritten

In off the record conversations with a member of town council, the Mirror asked just what the big issue with Mr. Panek was. In our opinion, the health club debacle wasn’t really a big deal. The Mirror has since confirmed that Mr. Panek used his own money to pay Bay Creek Health Club, so a slap on the wrist and serious sit-down may have been sufficient. The Mirror was told that the issue really came down to a serious disconnect between the town manager and council. Town Council is not only responsible for the well-being of the town and its residents, but also for its staff. Decisions about the well-being of the staff are made by the council, not the town manager. Also, the town manager serves at the pleasure of town council. Mr. Panek was allowed to put the health club offer on the agenda, but the council rejected it for purely fiscal reasons. Going forward with it after the fact was not taken well. The fact that Mr. Panek was not allowed to give a 30-day notice speaks to the town council’s displeasure.

More importantly, many sense that the town is on the verge of really going to the next level. There are so many positive indicators. The town is about to hire a new town manager, and it is important that they be able to come into a fresh, non-toxic environment. With a new mayor and several new members elected to town council, for the first time in years, people are looking at what’s been going on historically in Cape Charles with a critical eye towards cutting dead wood on staff and doing away with the subterfuge and backroom meddling and undermining that has damaged several careers here, most notably former town manager Brent Manuel.

When pressed about what Mr. Panek’s role would be in the future, the answer is “don’t know”. The statement from the town is that Mr. Panek is still on staff and will be managing capital projects, presumably as a consultant working at 10% of the projects he manages. What that means is still unclear, but given his experience with the multi-use trail, which is beginning Phase III, with more phases to come, using his expertise on that project, at least on an interim basis, might make sense.

Tim’s Place in Cape Charles is Now Open

June 17, 2018 by 5 Comments

In Cape Charles, a stroll up and down Mason Avenue will bring you in contact with businesses that are either trying too hard to be Shore or are grappling with being a business on the Shore. At Tim’s Place, the latest eatery to enter the Cape Charles culinary scene, as soon as you walk through the door, you feel like you are finally back home on the real Shore.

Smitty’s Granddad’s outboard (Mirror Photo)

The place is light and airy, with a real sense of beachy Shore casual. There’s a reason for this. The two buildings that make up the bistro and convenience store have long been in the family of owner William “Smitty” Smith for many years.

Inside, the walls are decorated with vintage photographs and postcards of old Cape Charles which came from Smith’s grandmother’s scrapbooks. Near the office is the restored outboard engine that belonged to Smitty’s granddad, a motor that powered them up and around the creeks when Smitty was a youngster.

“My family has been working around this block for many, many years…Tim’s is actually where my dad kept his shop,” Smitty told the Mirror. “For me, it was really neat to be able to go through my grandmother’s albums and find all these old pictures we have on the wall…it brings back lots of memories.”

It is nice to finally see a business with real ties to the community, to our history.

The ambiance is important, but none of that matters if the cuisine doesn’t hit the mark. Tim’s Place is right on point.

Many of us have been enjoying chef Tim Abraham’s cooking for thirty years or more and were thrilled to hear he was bringing his style to Cape Charles.

From breakfast to a late dinner (they are open 7-9), everything on the menu is absolutely delicious. While so many places try to raise short order fare to a higher level (and higher prices), Tim’s wants to bring it back down to earth.

Tim’s offers a wide range of breakfast options at very affordable prices. From sandwiches to entrees, there is something for everyone, even us Scrapple aficionados. My favorite is the Country Breakfast, with two eggs, bacon, sausage, ham or scrapple, three pancakes, homefries and grits for only $6.99—no better way to get ready for a day on the water.

For lunch, the sky is the limit at Tim’s Place. The sandwich menu had everything from crab cakes, to grilled cheese, flounder, reubans, fresh oyster, pulled pork, ham and cheese—you name it. The sandwiches will run you around six bucks, but you can get an all-beef hot dog for just $1.99.

Tim and Smitty hanging out on the retro seats from the old laundromat. We’ve all sat on them one time or another (Mirror Photo)

Nobody rocks a sub like Tim’s. A 12” sub will run you around eight dollars, the best deal in town. The Philly cheesesteak is brilliant, but if you really want to throw down, the bacon cheddar or Memphis barbecue will win you over for sure.

Tim’s is also the place if you really like to do fries. If you like cheese, chili cheese or gravy fries, they have just what you need.

The dinner options have something for everyone. I love my baskets, and they have butterfly shrimp, scallops, clam strips or good old fish and chips. If you are a chicken wing or nugget person, Tim’s will set you up. The baskets are a great deal, 6 to 10 bucks.

If you really want a sit-down meal, the dinner menu offers scallops, crab cakes, softshell crabs, fried flounder and oysters, veal cutlet, chicken fried steak and a delectable seafood platter. Most entrees run about fifteen bucks, the most expensive is the massive seafood platter for only $21.

Tim’s rocks and rolls fried chicken too (best in town), and for the hungry family or picnic, the Family Meal will set you up with 8 pieces, 4 rolls and 2 large sides, or 16 pieces, 8 rolls, and 2 sides.

Occupying the corner of Peach and Mason Avenue, we hardily recommend Tim’s Place, a real piece of the Shore right here in downtown Cape Charles.

The philosophy of Tim’s Place (Mirror Photo)

An enlarged postcard from Smitty’s grandmother’s album (Mirror Photo)

The open, airy and laidback Shore feel of Tim’s (Mirror Photo)

Cape Charles Distillery Opens in Our Quaint Little Town

June 17, 2018 by 3 Comments

Special to the Mirror by Susan M. Bauer

The Cape Charles business district continues to expand along the Strawberry Street corridor and welcomes its newest addition, the Cape Charles Distillery.

Owner Bill Duncan learned to make moonshine from his grandfather (Photo credit Susan M. Bauer)

Alaskans, from the town of Homer, first coined the phrase, calling themselves “a quaint little drinking village, with a fishing problem.” Many around Cape Charles have adopted the slogan as their own. There is no question we townspeople like to drink. Many will applaud the fact that the recent surge in development around town includes the addition of three new businesses that all feature alcoholic beverages. The Cape Charles Distillery joins Buskey Cider and the Cape Charles Brewery in providing artisanal, craft-made libations.

The owner, Bill Duncan, came by his craft in the most authentic way. As a child, in the mountains of Georgia, he helped his grandfather make moonshine. Bill describes his job as maintaining the map where the moonshine was buried. Some of the locations were conveniently “forgotten” until Bill and his buddies could dig them up later.

Bill’s tasting room is located at 12 Strawberry Street. The thoughtful decor includes velvet couches, a chalkboard wall, illustrating the distilling process, and a custom made bar, generously sized enough to serve a crowd of whiskey drinkers. Because my summer evenings usually involve my neighbor’s screened porch, and a chilled New Zealand Sav Blanc from the Gull Hummock, I brought along an experienced bourbon drinker for the tasting.

Cape Charles Distillery is located at 12 Strawberry Street (Photo credit Susan M. Bauer)

For an $8.00 charge, a tasting flight includes a sample of each of the six liquors that Cape Charles Distillery offers. All of our drinks were served “neat” – without ice or mixers – so that we could fully experience the flavor profile of each. We started with the flagship bourbon, aged 3 and a half years in charred American Oak barrels. My friend declared it an excellent bourbon with a nice finish, and an easy “burn.” The bourbon was followed by a peppery rye whiskey and a smooth wheat whiskey. The wheat whiskey was soft and floral, the perfect gateway whiskey for a neophyte like me. Next up was a maple whiskey.

Cape Charles Distillery offers not just whiskey, but also vodka.

Annually, the distillery purchases 500 gallons of Amish maple syrup, to make their fragrant, slightly sweet, maple whiskey. There is definitely a bread pudding with whiskey sauce in my future that is going to feature this whiskey. The final whiskey was an apple moonshine. Hands down, my favorite of the flight. Several women, who were tasting along with us, agreed wholeheartedly. Bill’s moonshine is not the “white lightning” version of prohibition days. It’s an apple based mash, loaded with cinnamon and autumn spices. Fragrant on the nose, and delicious going down, this 40 proof concoction was declared potentially dangerous by everyone at the bar.

Did I mention Bill also creates a vodka? Woo Woo vodka proclaims on its label that it “captures the spirit of the Eastern Shore in every bottle.” The label was inspired by Joe Coccaro’s totally fictional book of the same name that features almost every eclectic character in the town of Cape Charles, but of course bearing no actual resemblance to any real person, or so the disclaimer says. I do appreciate a fine vodka, and this is one of the best I have ever tasted. Distilled 9 times, this vodka is clean, crisp and smooth. I tasted 5 whiskeys but brought home the vodka.

The Cape Charles Distillery is open every day, except Tuesday. Allow yourself plenty of time if you plan to visit. Bill is passionate about his craft, and his easygoing Eastern Shore demeanor and excellent storytelling will keep you occupied for a while.

Three Ways to Celebrate National Pollinator Week

June 17, 2018 by Leave a Comment

Eleven years ago the U.S. Senate’s unanimous approval and designation of a week in June as “National Pollinator Week” marked a necessary step toward addressing the urgent issue of declining pollinator populations. Pollinator Week has now grown into an international celebration of the valuable ecosystem services provided by bees, birds, butterflies, bats and beetles.

The Pollinator Partnership is proud to announce that June 18-24, 2018 has been designated National Pollinator Week.

Vegetables Love Flowers w. Lisa Ziegler

Thu, June 21, 4:00 – 6:00 PM
Eastern Shore Community College 29300 Lankford Highway, Melfa, VA 23410
Details and Registration: https://tinyurl.com/y7a5pnk9

Bats and Butterflies: How to Attract and Provide Habitat for These Important Pollinators
Friday, June 22 2:00-4:00 PM
Barrier Islands Center, 7295 Young Street, Machipongo, VA 23405
Details and Registration: https://tinyurl.com/y997urfz

For the Bees: Backyard Pollinator Habitat Walk
Thursday, June 21, 10:00 am – 12 pm. Rain date: Friday, June 22
Holly Point Farm, Belle Haven
Register by email at director@veslt.org or call (757) 442-5885
Click Here for Full Details

These events are presented in recognition of National Pollinator Week by the Eastern Shore Watersheds Roundtable which is funded by the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) and managed by the ES RC&D. For more information about the ES RC&D visit www.esrcd.org. For more information about this event, contact Josephine Mooney at 757-710-7266.

Cape Charles 2018 Budget: $8,136,653

June 17, 2018 by Leave a Comment

The 2018 budget for the Town of Cape Charles is in the books. With many positive indicators, including increased revenue from meals, sales, and transient occupancy taxes, as well fees from construction-related activities, the town budget for this fiscal year is $8,136,653.

Rates for water are $30.61 per month, wastewater $63.07 per month, and trash collection remains at $14.64 per month.

Below is the complete budget breakdown supplied by the town:

VDOT to hold Public Hearing for Food Lion Intersection

June 17, 2018 by 3 Comments

The intersection at the Food Lion on Route 13 (Lankford Highway) is the most dangerous in Northampton County. While VDOT has been dragging its feet for over tens before addressing the dangers, that section of roadway may finally be gaining more traction and visibility. While VDOT has addressed the intersection with a set of sub-par designs, Granville Hogg, RH Meyers and David Boyd have worked to be sure that, if they are going to do it, they need to do it right.

“I am sorry for any inconvenience the changes to this intersection/crossing cause to anyone because of me but I care infinitely more about the safety of the citizens of Northampton County and this is a very treacherous crossing and it needs to be closed or significantly changed before someone is killed.” – Supervisor John Coker

In response to public outcry, the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) invites the public to learn about planned safety improvements along Route 13 (Lankford Highway) in Accomack County and provide feedback on the projects. VDOT will host a public hearing on Monday, June 18 as follows:

Design Public Hearing:

Monday, June 18, 2018, 4-7 p.m.

Arcadia High School

8210 Lankford Highway

Oak Hall, VA 23416

One project will focus on planned improvements at the intersection of Lankford Highway and Route 695 (New Temperanceville Road). The other project will focus on planned improvements at Lankford Highway and Route 175 (Chincoteague Road).

The purpose of the hearing is to give citizens an opportunity to review proposed improvements, meet with VDOT representatives and provide input. The meeting will be held in an open-house format with no formal presentation given.

Citizens may provide written and oral comments at the meeting or submit them by June 28, 2018 to Ms. Nancy Marshall, VDOT Project Manager, 1700 North Main Street, Suffolk, VA 23434. They may also e-mail them to Nancy.Marshall@vdot.virginia.gov or call 757-925-2500 (TTY/TDD users dial 711).

$Millions in grants coming to the Shore

June 17, 2018 by 4 Comments

VIRGINIA BEACH — U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine on Wednesday announced $55.985 million in new federal funding for communities in Hampton Roads, Richmond, and on the Eastern Shore for water infrastructure improvements.

$1.75 million for Waterway on the Coast of Virginia (90-mile channel from the MD-VA line in Chincoteague Bay to the Chesapeake Bay) – This funding supports maintenance dredging to provide vessels a protected 90-mile north-south route connecting Eastern Shore harbors to one another and to the Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic Ocean.
$250,000 for Chincoteague Inlet – This funding supports maintenance dredging to remove shoals in the inlet and surveys to monitor and report channel conditions to users, and to coordinate with the Coast Guard on buoys and channel markers.

The funding is awarded through the Army Corps of Engineers’ “Work Plan,” a source of funds provided by Congress for the Corps to allocate to ongoing projects, according to a news release from Kaine’s office.

“From dredging and beach replenishment to cleaner rivers to new oyster habitats to new infrastructure for the Port of Virginia, these investments will help us protect coastal communities and the environment while growing the regional tourism and port commerce economies,” the senators said in a joint news release.

Teachers to get raise from County Budget

June 17, 2018 by Leave a Comment

Northampton County has completed this fiscal year’s budget. The $28,134,646 was passed at Tuesday night’s meeting of the Board of Supervisors.

As part of the budget, Northampton County teachers will be getting a raise after all.

Getting to this point has been frustrating for Chairman Murray and the Board of Supervisors. Since January, the board has been trying to get fiscal information from the School Board as to their “basis” for this current fiscal year.

During the last budget work session, Chairman Murray questioned school administration over the lack of transparency in the finances of the school district. Murray, who is a former school board member reminded the schools that the Board of Supervisors gave every dime they could. He also noted that the school board currently has a surplus, which could be used for teacher raises.

The Board, after pulling teeth for several months, finally received the financial information from Superintendent Eddie Lawrence.

With several unfilled teacher positions, the ending balance of the Northampton County School system is approximately $705,000 under the $9 million budget.

The School Board had requested an additional $474,700, however, the BOS had agreed to fund the school system at about half of that requested amount. The Board of Supervisors directed the School Board to give the school system teachers and staff raises in the amount of an additional $200,000 from their fund balance.

The remainder will be placed in the Capital Improvement Fund for building and equipment repair/replacement.

Supervisor Duer warned that this could be a funding issue for next year. That is, where the county would get the additional $200,000 to give to the school system next year?

Public Hearing for County Comprehensive Plan Canceled

June 17, 2018 by Leave a Comment

Ken Dufty made a request to cancel the July 11, 2018, Planning Commission public hearing in a letter sent to the Board of Supervisors. At last Tuesday’s meeting, Chairman Murray informed the record that that the July 11, 2018, Public Hearing has been canceled. No reason was given. Below is Dufty’s letter outlining the reasoning for holding off on the meeting:

Dear Chairman Murray and Northampton County Supervisors:

We recently learned that a public hearing is being tentatively scheduled for July 11, 2018, at the Machipongo Middle School to receive input into the new proposed Northampton County Comprehensive Plan. My wife and I are asking that this hearing is canceled and that this attempt to subvert our near unanimous county’s vision, goals and hopes for Northampton County’s fiscal, environmental and recreational future as memorialized in our 2009 Comprehensive Plan by a minority of special interests be rejected out-of-hand by your Board.

As you know, Virginia Code 15.2-2223 requires that every municipality located in this great Commonwealth prepare and adopt a Comprehensive Plan to guide future development and land use within its territory. It also requires that a Comprehensive Plan be updated every 5 years to include traffic, population, land use, and other demographic information that may or may not have been forecast in a previous iteration of the original plan.

Our 2009 Comprehensive Plan was written with broad public input which included work shops, focus groups, town hall meetings, distribution of over 1200 in depth written survey forms, involvement by town governments and community groups, and many other opportunities for public input and comment. Indeed, it has been reported that Mike Chandler, the Commonwealth’s most esteemed expert on community planning and the instructor of the Virginia Planning Commission school, has characterized our 2009 Comprehensive Plan as one of the best and most inclusive planning documents he has ever reviewed. In short, that 2009 Comp Plan captured the vast majority of our citizenry’s hopes, desires and goals for the future of our county on every level.

In contrast, the draft 2018 Comprehensive Plan that was written by arbitrarily selected authors and limited public input is on its face and in its core a complete reversal of the visions that were penned into our 2009 Comprehensive Plan. Rather than inviting the same broad participation by the thousands who took part in the drafting of the ministerial 2009 Comp Plan, this arbitrary NEW Comprehensive Plan cloaked as a mere “update” calls for changes to our land use laws and community visions that were explicitly rejected by the majority of residents over a decade ago, and there is no empirical evidence that supports the contention that our views and goals in that regard have changed in a manner that reflects those now being promoted by this small handful of authors in the current draft.

To wit, the new draft Comp Plan suggests that Hamlets be eliminated and be renamed “villages”, which doubles the density (number of houses) and allows commercial, industrial, and institutional uses in these small developed districts. Note that my wife and I purchased a house in a Hamlet in 2010 BECAUSE of the Hamlet zoning and restrictions, and would not have made this investment in this small community IF it was designated as a Village, as the NEW draft allows. Commissioner Mike Ward at a Planning Commission meeting earlier this year which I attended justified the elimination of Hamlets in Northampton County by convincing his fellow Commissioners that there are no Hamlets in Virginia, and his statement served as a basis for the Commission to make that recommendation to your Board. In fact, there are scores if not hundreds of Hamlets throughout the Commonwealth, so this recommendation is arbitrary and capricious and cannot stand a judicial test.

Also, the NEW draft plan calls for floating districts called Planned Development Areas or PUD’s, an allowance that would run diametrically opposed to the goals of the 2009 Comprehensive Plan which called for future development to be encouraged around the town centers where infrastructure such as sewer, water, fire and police services are readily available without burdening our county’s coffers by forcing expansion of these services at the expense of the taxpayers. Again, there is no empirical data or substance to call for these floating districts that can include commercial, institutional, industrial, recreational, and residential expansion in areas far from community services, and allowing these districts could not only destroy this county’s rural nature, but could send tax rates spiraling upward at a time when this Board is working very hard to hold the fiscal line in that regard. In short, while this recommendation to add Planned Development Areas or Planned Unit Development zones may serve the real estate and developer’s interest, it runs directly counter to the well conceived 2009 Comprehensive Plan and does so with no basis in fact, law, reason, or evidentiary support. In short, it is a classic and undeniable example of an arbitrary and capricious act and one that threatens Town Edge Districts in a manner that these towns cannot afford or have requested. Note that these districts were added to the Draft Plan after Commissioner Ward seemed to argue that the Virginia Code required that counties add these districts, an argument that is again specious and ill-informed as the code allows them but does not require them.

In another arbitrary and capricious act recommended by the Comp Plan Advisory Committee (established in 2012 to rewrite our 2009 Comp Plan and including Chairman Bill Parr, Pat Coady, and Bill Payne as members) as well as an arbitrarily selected “stakeholder group” from which this writer was barred, the NEW draft plan eliminates waterfront villages, calls for the creation of communities far from established services, and does not protect our sole source aquifer’s recharge area known as the “spine” and the Route 13 corridor-a priority established by the large number of residents, business owners and officials when drafting our 2009 Comp Plan.

Most of the unilateral changes contained in the NEW proposed draft plan, which never should have gotten this far in its arbitrary iteration, appear to be the will and desire of a small handful of private interests who want to sell more real estate to those who may not so share in maintaining the rural nature of our county, a trait that indeed makes it so attractive to the higher end investors who seek to escape the busy, congested, and highly developed areas that are expanding furiously while simultaneously driving real estate taxes skyward due to the increased drain on community services. However, as is the common theme of this request, there is no empirical data or evidentiary basis to support these unilateral changes to our 2009 Comp Plan. There are no expert opinions. There are no written surveys indicating that the majority of residents want the changes these private interests promote, aside from a weak push-poll-like phone survey that was funded by the National Association of Realtors, oft erroneously cited by the Planning Commission as “proof” that the masses desire to reject our 2009 Comp Plan’s visions and goals.

In closing, we are asking you to cancel the public hearing on the draft 2018 Comprehensive Plan for the reasons stated above and to remand this issue to the Planning Commission instructing them to merely update our 2009 Comprehensive Plan with the demographic, transportation, economic, and growth trends that are part of the mandated 5 year update of Comprehensive Plan as envisioned by code. Comprehensive Plans such as our all-inclusive 2009 iteration are not meant to be rewritten every 5 years, but merely require that it be updated. It is absolutely incredible that anyone would think that an entire county’s visions and goals as established in such a monumental visioning undertaking as evidenced from 2006-2009 in this county has changed unless there is an overwhelming outcry from the majority that would support that effort. Absent that demand, there is simply no reason to put our residents through another trying and controversial time like we experienced during the contest over the 2014-15 attempt by the same small band of private interests who now are presenting that they know more about what we want and hope for this county than we, the majority, know.

Thank you for your attention to this matter. Please place these comments into the public record. We trust you will do the right thing and grant this request.

Riverside Shore Job Fair on June 25

June 17, 2018 by Leave a Comment

Riverside Shore Job Fair on June 25

Onancock, VA – Riverside Shore Home Health and Hospice will hold a job fair on Monday June 25 from 5-7pm in the Oyster Room at the Onley Town Center at 25020 Shore Parkway in Onley.

Career opportunities are available for Hospice social workers and Home Health nurses, physical therapists, physical therapy assistants, and speech language pathologists.

Learn more about working for Riverside at riversideonline.com/shore/jobs or email sarah.faircloth@rivhs.com for more information.