THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, October 2, 1996 TAG: 9610020593
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY PAUL SOUTH, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: MANTEO LENGTH: 50 lines
Three new offers for a controversial tract of land in this Roanoke Island community will be considered by the town's board of commissioners at a regular meeting at 7:30 tonight.
The counter offers - or ``upset bids'' - were submitted Monday afternoon by a Wilson developer, a Kitty Hawk developer and a group of Manteo residents.
New offers had to be higher than an earlier bid of $183,000 by newspaper publisher Francis Meekins.
Supporters of the sale of the land say the revenue is needed to fund capital projects. Opponents argue the proposed sale was handled improperly, and that the town should hold on to the property.
Hubquarter Partnership of Wilson submitted a $201,000 bid for the 5.2-acre tract of land behind Chesley Mall. Hubquarter wants to build a 100-unit apartment complex on the property.
Hubquarter ignited the bidding war with a $175,000 bid earlier in the summer. Meekins' upset offer overturned that bid.
The Manteo group, known as ``Save Our Town,'' offered $200,001. Former mayors John Wilson and Mollie Fearing, former commissioners Edward Greene and H.A. Creef, and real estate and radio executive Jennifer Frost make up the group. They submitted an unsuccessful upset bid last month, losing to Meekins.
A newcomer to the bidding is FDR Properties of Kitty Hawk. General partner Billy Roughton bid $194,200.
Under the bidding procedure being used by the town, the commissioners can either grant a provisional acceptance of one of the bids, or reject all of them.
If a provisional acceptance is granted, then the approval must be advertised. Interested parties then have 10 business days to make upset bids for the land.
Town Manager Kermit Skinner said Tuesday he is not surprised at the interest in the property.
``Early on in the process, the board was criticized for not advertising the sale of the property to give everyone a fair chance,'' Skinner said. ``But with the upset bid procedure we've used, the board knew that it would accomplish just that, giving everyone a chance. The upset bid process was designed to help generate this kind of interest. I don't think that this will be the last round.''
Skinner said development of the property would be subject to approval by the town planning board and the board of commissioners.
In other town business, Skinner said it will be at least another month before a successor is named for retiring Police Chief James Ray Flowers.
``We've had about 100 applicants,'' Skinner said, `` . . . from throughout the state and as far away as New York and Florida.'' by CNB