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3. What issue do you think is most overlooked?

Allen Price: (Candidate chose to make no response to this question.)

Larry Summers: I think our roads need a lot of work. The Powell Bill money that is supposed to keep our roads up is insufficient to adequately maintain them, particularly with our contracting out repairs. We also need more sidewalks.

Barbara Venturi: Developers have annexed many neighborhoods into Oriental to get the smaller lot sizes than the county allows and more density that access to town water and sewer provide. This way they maximize their housing sites. Not one PUBLIC park or recreation site, boat launch, tennis court, or other public feature or facility has been provided to the town as part of these developments. There has been a lot of work done to try to build a bike/pedestrian path between the Village and the Dolphin Point sections of town. It’s easy to see why people from White Farm want to come to the Village where there are shops, parks, a public tennis court (soon to include Pickle Ball lines), playgrounds, beautiful places to sit and enjoy river views, etc. But, to make a case for the people of the Village to ride out to Dolphin is a harder sell. There is not one piece of public space there. Not even a place install a bench or a water fountain if anyone from the village were to wander out there.

Most communities have a “Recreation Fee” that developers include with their permit applications. It can be based on land value, land size, and other factors, but every time a development comes into town, that development should provide something, however small, for public use. Such a thing has never been asked or required of developers here before. I know some will say it’s bad for business, but if you look into the value throughout the country that is near or adjacent to parks and nature access, it would more than pay for itself. At least the town should consider such things, even just a bike path through each community, maybe in place before the next development rush.

David White: The term “overlooked” is a bit harsh, and while we have not overlooked the items mentioned below, additional consideration needs to be directed towards them. The first is our Water Plant. The Water Advisory Board, Town Manager Diane Miller, and Town staff have done outstanding jobs addressing our aging Plant and it is operating with greater efficiency, but additional resources will need to be directed there. Second is our roads. While we have seen an upturn in new home construction, the large trucks that bring in the building materials have taken a toll on the roads. Addressing this issue over the long term will take additional planning and financial resources.

Sandy Winfrey: Before my time on the board, I would’ve had a hundred (wrong) answers to this question. In most situations, the process to actually get results takes so long that it eventually appears that things are being overlooked, which is not the case.

Gwendolyn Gibbs: Road maintenance, appropriate and legal signage.

Charlie Overcash: Many issues are not overlooked, they just have to be completed in an order of relevance and manpower. There is a misconception in town of what we can or cannot do. Come to town meetings and learn more about what is going on with different boards and town management. The budget is open
to anyone who wants to see it.

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4. What asset does Oriental have that deserves more attention?

Larry Summers: Our waters, harbors and boats (both recreational and commercial) are our most important assets. We need to stay active trying to preserve them in the best condition possible. Having commercial and recreational boats in one location is becoming more and more unique in modern coastal areas.

Barbara Venturi: Beauty. I do think that a large part of Oriental’s charm is its inveterate quirkiness. I’m not talking about creating a “Stepford” town. Creativity, whimsy and playfulness are a large part of what makes here special. And then there are Dragons! But, we could go a tad farther and look like how proud we are to be here.
We could do a lot to make the community more attractive. We already do a lot. The Tree Board celebrated planting its 1,000th three this year and planted a tree in honor of Madeline Sutter, the first resident to take on making Oriental a “Tree City”.

In Question 2, I wrote about sustainability, which right now is mostly maintaining property values. Well, attractiveness is a big part of that. I think the town should look at opportunities to help businesses and residents find ways and some of the means to improve the overall look and attractiveness of the town, businesses and residential properties. Some simple things, like planting hedges, trees, and shrubs for screening things that aren’t that attractive, for example.
Bob Maxbauer once proposed a “Pride in Oriental” campaign based on a community effort he observed (I think somewhere in Texas). We never talked it all through at the time, but in the village, especially with businesses, we should do all we can to put our best foot forward. Maybe a tad more attention to the details, curb appeal, and our Pride in Oriental.

David White: Our Water Plant mentioned above is one such asset. Another asset that needs additional attention is our waterfront area. We are fortunate to live in a beautiful setting on the Neuse River and the improvement of our waterfront vistas only draws more visitors that bring revenue to our local businesses. We have started new work around the Harbor with the construction of restrooms and pump out facilities on Town Dock 2 property, which will be very positive for the Town, but additional work needs to be done. Just as we are investing in our facilities, other entities like River Dunes and small waterfront Towns on the ICW (Belhaven, Southport, New Bern, etc.) are also doing the same. The more we can improve our waterfront assets, the better it will be for all.

Sandy Winfrey: Waterfronts.

Gwendolyn Gibbs: Waterfront development that incorporates public and possibly commercial usage.

Charlie Overcash: Our waterfront.

Allen Price: A friend talked to me about the Recreation Park out by the fire station and suggested that it deserved more attention. I rode out to the park and saw about 50 cars and more children than I could count. I came away absolutely agreeing with her. We need to spruce it up and provide more permanent facilities than the Port-o-Johns provide. This park is a wonderful piece of property for our youth and town, and they deserve better. Should we also add a dog park?

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Posted Monday October 26, 2015 by Melinda Penkava