THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, October 22, 1994 TAG: 9410220292
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY PAUL SOUTH, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: MANTEO LENGTH: Short : 47 lines
State Sen. Marc D. Basnight challenged members of the Roanoke Island Commission on Friday to make Ice Plant Island a better place than it is now.
``This is a special place to America, and to the state of North Carolina,'' the Manteo Democrat said. ``Leave it in a position you'd like to see it in if you were doing it by yourselves. Make it better.''
The commission, charged with overseeing the development of Ice Plant Island, met for the first time Thursday and Friday. The commission was appointed by Gov. Jim Hunt, Basnight (the president pro tem of the North Carolina Senate), House Speaker Dan Blue, and other high-ranking state officials.
Island development is expected to begin in early 1995. Plans call for the construction of a theater, an interactive history exhibit and expanded facilities for the Outer Banks History Center.
The development is designed to tell the story of the Roanoke Voyages, which brought English-speaking settlers to America some 400 years ago.
``This initial meeting was very informal,'' said Commission Chairman John Wilson IV, former Manteo mayor. ``We simply wanted to set out some by-laws and make committee assignments. We'll now be able to begin work on carrying the plans for Ice Plant Island forward.''
During Friday's discussion, some committee members expressed concern over the role of the commission's Roanoke Voyages Corridor Committee, which monitors billboards, curb cuts, and above-ground power lines installed after 1982 on Roanoke Island. There were concerns over the lines of authority between the committee, the town of Manteo and Dare County.
Wilson said the only authority the committee has involves curb cuts, billboards and electric lines installed in the corridor after 1982, and nothing more.
``The same rules have been in effect since 1982, and they haven't changed. Any rumors that those rules have changed are untrue,'' Wilson said.
Construction is slated to begin on the Ice Plant Island project in January of 1995. by CNB