By Staff
Preliminary plats for residential developments approved
By MIKE VOSS, Contributing Editor
A construction contract and a construction-management contract for the Patrick Cochran Memorial Skatepark were approved Monday night by the Washington City Council.
The council voted unanimously to award a construction contract not to exceed $210,000 to California Skateparks and a $7,000 contract for skatepark-construction management to Wally Hollyday.
Cochran was a Washington resident and skateboarder who was killed in an automobile collision on Aug. 30, 2003. Plans call for the skatepark to be built next to the Bobby Andrews Recreation Center on East Seventh Street. His parents, William and Cindy Cochran, attended the council’s meeting.
Mayor Judy Meier Jennette said the awarding of the contracts is a milestone for the skatepark project.
The Washington Optimist Club and a group of volunteers have raised about $110,000 to help pay for the 8,000-square-foot park. The city has committed $85,000 to the project. Beaufort County has appropriated $20,000.
Hollyday designed the skatepark and produced construction documents for the project. He was paid $21,000 to do that work.
In other business, the council approved the preliminary subdivision plat for Bridge Harbor, a residential development proposed for the former Waters Oil Co. site on the south side of the U.S. Highway 17 bridge across the Pamlico River. The land, about 5.89 acres, was purchased by Bridge Harbor, LLC for development.
The developers want to build two eight-story buildings that would house a total of 42 condominiums. The proposal also includes a clubhouse, pool and 204 parking spaces. A parking garage would occupy the first level of each building.
The council also approved the preliminary subdivision plat for the Quail Meadows residential development.
The project calls for single-family houses in the 51-lot subdivision. The property, about 24 acres, is about 1,000 feet east of the intersection of Market Street Extension and Dan Taylor Road.
The council denied a request by Wayne Huggins to change the zoning classification of 7.78 acres from R-15S (single-family residential) to RA-20S (residential-agricultural). The property is at the corner of Whichard’s Beach Road and Old Fort Shores.
Tommy Harris, who owns the land, wanted the change so he could put a campground for camper trailers on the land. The campground would have served long-term campers, not overnight campers, he said.
Several nearby landowners opposed that proposal, saying they want the neighborhood to remain residential in nature. They also said that changing the zoning classification would allow uses such as hog farms and animal feed lots on the land. Those uses would not be compatible with residential use, they said.
Council members Mickey Gahagan and Archie Jennings will meet with Greenville City Council members Mildred Council and Ray Craft at 6 p.m. Monday when the Washington-Greenville joint issues committee convenes at the Skills Center at the Beaufort County Industrial Park.
During a joint meeting of the Washington and Greenville councils on Oct. 23, 2006, the two bodies created the committee to discuss issues of mutual concern.
Issues to be discussed Monday include the following:
For additional coverage of the council’s meeting, including information about the city’s electric rates, see future editions of the Daily News.