home

The How And Why
August 30, 2013

In late August, Town Commissioner Larry Summers proposed that Oriental take steps now to officially establish jurisdiction in the Oriental anchorage. He was asking that fellow commissioners ask the Legislature to grant that jurisdiction to Oriental. That could lead, in time, to the Town establishing a time limit on how long boats may stay at anchor.

The effort to gain control of the harbor comes as four boats now have taken up residence there. Two boats have been in the anchorage since 2013 began, a third arrived in the spring and a fourth appears to have taken up residence this summer. The space they take up is space visiting boaters can’t use. And that, say a number of residents and boaters and cruisers, will mean fewer visiting boaters to the Sailing Capital of NC.

(Update: At the September 3 meeting of the Town Board, Summers could not get another Commissioner to second his motion – even for discussion – and so, it died.)

In the spring and summer, this issue drew many Letters To The Editor. It continues to do so.

Dear Editor,

To quote Towndock.net on Tuesday, September 3:

Silence. That’s what greeted Commissioner Larry Summers a moment ago after he read his proposal that the Town ask the Legislature to give the Town jurisdiction over the waters off of Oriental. It’s the first concrete proposal before the Board that would have allowed the Town to impose a time limit for stays in the anchorage.

And now a list, in no particular order:
1. Washington – revitalized waterfront. New docks, shops, weekly events.
2. Belhaven – new harbor/downtown revitalization, long term plan.
3. Carolina Beach – New mooring field, with daily fees.
4. Beaufort – New derelict boat identification and storm removal plan.
5. Ocracoke – Coastal Showpiece. Blackbeard’s Legacy.
6. Manteo – Historic Coastal Showpiece.
7. Elizabeth City – Friendliest town on the ICW, Rose Brothers Legacy.
8. Morehead City – New town docks. Big Rock Tournament.
9. New Bern – Historic Capital, Town of Weddings.
10. Southport – Southern Gateway to the State and Bald Head Island.
11. Oriental – “Derelict Capital”?, “Walmart’s foothold”?, What should go here?

Dear Mr. Summers. Thank you for your work and efforts. I hope they are not in vain.

Dear Remainder of Town Council. Your inaction is mystifying. Is there any reasonable cause for your silence? Respectfully, you owe the town and it’s visitors an explanation.

Thanks,

Ben Matthews
Raleigh/Pecan Grove
9/6/13

(A letter from Oriental Town Board Commissioner Larry Summers – similar to one he sent to his fellow commissioners on Wednesday after Tuesday night’s meeting.)

To the Editor:

What I attempted to have passed last Tuesday night, at the Oriental Town Meeting, is a perfectly acceptable method for modifying our town charter to allow us to have some control over our harbor. What I proposed would give us the ability to have some limited control over waters out to 200 yards from our shorelines.

We can give the outline of what we desire to a legislator and he or she will send it to the Legislative Service Commission Bill Drafting Office. It goes back to the legislator and he or she will submit it. The rest is standard procedure. There is no need to spend our limited town funds to have our attorney actually write the bill.

What I proposed is exactly what the Town of Carolina Beach had submitted in 2009 and had approved in 2010. The only change that I made to it was to include anchorages in addition to mooring fields.

Even with an approved “Local Law” we would have to pass an ordinance to actually do anything allowed by the local law.

We have been studying the Harbor, that I am aware of, since the Oriental Planning Conference in 1988. There was a Comprehensive Shoreline Study in 1996, a visioning of the Future of the Harbor in 2006 and, of course, the Oriental Comprehensive Plan completed in 2012. This being the 25th Anniversary year of studying the harbor it might be a good idea to do something.

Another milestone will be reached on September 26th which is the deadline for the 2014 Boating Infrastructure Grant (BIG) applications. There is no guarantee that there will be another grant available for 2015.

Larry Summers
Town Commissioner, Oriental
9/4/13

Editor:

I would like to applaud Commissioner Summers for his attempt to rectify the ongoing harbor problem. I can only imagine his frustration with his fellow Commissioners, who, by their silence, gave tacit approval for the derelict boats in the harbor. They might as well have placed a full page ad inviting all owners of derelict boats to come to the once beautiful Oriental harbor.

E.B. Duer
Pamlico County
9/4/13

To the Editor.

I guess the town could use the Noriega tactic. Aim loudspeakers at the boats and blast them out.

Darrel Jorgensen
Black Mountain, NC
8/29/13

To the Editor:

Visited with cruising couple on a 44-foot Island Packet. They told us in June this year they sailed into Oriental Harbor with a buddy boat to do some “shopping and go out to eat.” They intended to anchor two nights. They said the harbor had three anchored boats situated so as to prevent them from anchoring. They left and went to Broad Creek and continued their cruise the following day.

Tom and Joyce Russell
Oriental
8/28/13

TownDock.net welcomes correspondence on this subject and others. Please limit your letter to 500 words. Send your letter to letters@towndock.net. No anonymous letters will be accepted. Well-made, civilly-spoken points welcomed. Please include the city & state where you live. If you cc TownDock letters you send to government officials, they may be included in the Letters column. (Such correspondence to government – town, county, state federal – is part of the public record.)