THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, December 13, 1994 TAG: 9412130270
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY PAUL SOUTH, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: KILL DEVIL HILLS LENGTH: Medium: 71 lines
After a feister-than-usual meeting of the Board of Commissioners, Mayor Pro Tem Duncan Wright said Monday that it's time to end ``good old boy politics.''
Wright made the remark after a 3-2 vote by the commissioners that would require the owners of a local restaurant to pay a $10,050 impact fee, as provided under town regulations, for expanding a business that would increase demands on the water system.
Mayor Terry Gray had asked the commission to approve a site plan for an expansion of 67 seats at the Western Sizzlin' on Croatan Highway, but to postpone action on the impact fee requirement.
``This is a unique situation,'' Gray said. ``I think we should postpone implementation of the fee, until we get a chance to study the fee schedule.''
Wright objected and with two others successfully insisted that the impact fee be a condition for approval of the request by restaurant owner John Woolard Jr.
``What's good for the goose is good for the gander,'' Wright said. ``He is increasing the impact on the system. If we're not going to charge an impact fee here, then we ought to refund it to everybody else we've charged.''
Wright and Commissioners E.M. ``Coy'' Harbeson and Bill Morris voted for the site plan and the impact fee. Gray and Commissioner Lurana Cowan voted against the measure.
After the vote, Wright said, ``I want to apologize to the people of Kill Devil Hills. In the past, I've voted the way other people told me to vote, and not with my heart. But from now on, I'm going to stand on my own two feet, and vote for what I feel is right. From now on, good-old-boy politics is over in Kill Devil Hills.''
Wright, 32, in his first term on the commission, would not elaborate on who ``other people'' were. He said he spoke out as a matter of conscience.
Wright, who grew up in Virginia but has lived here more than a decade, said he has no plans at this point to run for mayor of this beachfront community.
``Nobody's asked me to run for mayor,'' he said. ``I haven't even thought about it. It's a big responsibility. I'm still new at this. I've made some mistakes, but everybody's going to make those. I'm going to be my own man from now on.''
In other action, the commission unanimously approved a site plan for a 30,000-pound propane gas storage facility on West Lake Drive, despite protests from area residents. The proposal must now be approved by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Local restaurateur R.V. Owens III, a member of the State Board of Transportation, owns the site.
``I don't want to live that close to a big stick of dynamite,'' said area resident Fred Castellow. ``If something were to happen, a lot of this town would be missing.''
Castellow, as well as Harbeson, expressed concern that the public was not informed about the proposed site plan.
However, Kill Devil Hills Fire Chief Doug Penland said the facility would not be a danger to the surrounding area, unless fire came from an outside source.
``You could throw a match into the tank, but because the material is so dense, it wouldn't catch fire,'' Penland said. ``The only time you would have a problem is when fire impinges from an outside source.''
The site is zoned for light industrial activity, which permits the storage facility. Similar facilities exist in Wanchese and in Currituck County.
The commission also approved site plans for a two-phase expansion of retail and parking space at Nags Head Hammocks, as well as a site plan for ``Da-Kine'' Hawaiian Kitchen.
The commission will not meet on Dec. 28 because of the Christmas holiday. by CNB