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Oriental’s Town Board on Tuesday night took steps toward getting a CAMA grant to build a small boat dock at the end of Hodges Street. The Board could also be seeking grant money to dredge the Duck Pond and to acquire land near it.

CAMA’s Water Access grants pay for 3/4ths of the costs of the projects, with the town required to pay one quarter. The proposed Hodges Street pier is expected to cost $16,000, of which the CAMA grant would cover $12,000.

End of Hodges Street where asphalt now gives way to grass and brush.

Town Commissioner Dave Cox, who first broached the idea, says the pier on Smith Creek would be a place for small boats to dock — both the power vessels that launch at the Wildlife Ramp and the cruising sailboats whose masts can clear the Oriental bridge.

He says the new dock — approximately 100 feet long and at least 6-feet wide — could be built within the year, if the CAMA money comes through.

The land in question, is part of the 40-foot wide right of way — and waterfront — that the town controls.

Establishing Turf
Cox sees a dock at Hodges Street as part of a bigger effort to “firm up the Town’s control over the street ends.” Some commissioners have drawn parallels to the legal fight the town is currently in with a man who claims the end of South Avenue on the Oriental harborfront.

The land in question, is part of the 40-foot wide right of way — and waterfront — that the town controls.

The Town Board voted to send CAMA a preliminary application for the pier. The deadline for those applications is February 29th.

Duck Pond Dredging and Land Acquisition
The Town Board may also be applying for some of that same grant money to make improvements — and acquisitions — on the Duck Pond. First though, the board voted to set up a Duck Pond Subcommittee which will look at what the costs might be to dredge the upper and lower Duck Ponds. (Mayor Bill Sage’s Wife, Dee told the board she has regularly seen oily substances flowing from three aging pipes in to the Duck Pond.)

Also being considered is the purchase of the land along the Factory Street side of the Duck Pond, and potentially, the 3 lots and one house just across Factory Street. No price has been stated for the 22 foot wide strip along the Duck Pond. The three lots across the street have been offered to the town for $325,000.

Land on both sides of Factory Street that’s being considered.

Commissioner Kathy Kellam noted that with CAMA grants and other grants, the town could acquire the land for far less than that. Estimates of the town’s burden ranged from $16,000 to $40,000.

The Duck Pond Subcommittee is to report back to the Town Board and a special Town Board meeting may have to be called in order of the Town Board to give the go-ahead for the application in advance of the February 29 deadline.

The vote to proceed with seeking the CAMA grant money was 4-1 with commissioners Cox, Kellam, Nancy Inger and Sherrill Styron in favor and Commissioner Candy Bohmert opposed.

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The Duck Pond Subcommittee meets Monday February 11 at 3:30pm at Town Hall. Like all meetings, it is open to the public.

Posted Wednesday February 6, 2008 by Melinda Penkava

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