Eureka to sell land - Wayne-Wilson News Leader, Fremont, NC

The board is examining the possibility of dividing the acre-sized lot on Red Hill Road where the water tower once stood and putting it up for bid as two lots.

The question on Tuesday night, however, was if the board wanted to sell the lot immediately or if they wanted to wait a few years for the land to increase in value before selling.

Commissioner Myrtie Sauls told the board she felt the town should go ahead and sell the land, because the money they gained in the sale would put a dent in the $124,801 the town owes to Fremont for sewer bills.

Mayor Steve Howell, however, said he wanted the board to think about holding on to the land for a few years. He explained that the benefit of waiting a few years to sell the land could mean an increase of several thousand dollars more that the town could use to pay their debt.

Commissioner Billy Martin added that if the board split the .92 acres into two lots, they could charge a higher overall price, gaining a little more profit.

Mayor Howell said he liked that idea, but noted that the town would have to pay for surveying fees and fees for drawing up a deed for the two lots.

“We need to weigh the cost, see how much the current price would earn in interest per year, and see how that compares to how much the land cost could increase,” he said. “The price of land is never going to go down, it’s always going to increase.”

He added that the land was due for another tax valuation in two years, which would increase the minimum the town would ask for the land.

Commissioner Sauls said she’d go with what the majority of the board wanted to do, but explained her position on the matter.

“The way I see it, we’re throwing money at an open space when we need money to pay a bill,” she said. “We have money in the general fund that’s earning a good interest rate that we’re going to have to take out and pay the bill with if we wait on the land.”

Commissioner Martin moved that the board table the decision on bidding until they could research the official prices for surveying the land, dividing the tract, and drawing deeds. The board agreed with his motion.

The board also discussed spending some of their state-provided Powell Bill money. Several of the commissioners noted that the town had been saving the money to do repairs to town streets and sidewalks after the sewer repairs were finished, and said that the money needed to be spent before June or they would lose it.

Commissioner Martin reported that, after a discussion at last month’s meeting, he had taken bids for paving several streets in town, but had only received two bids. He said he felt that the board should wait for a third bid before making a decision.

Mayor Howell agreed, saying that if there was a huge discrepancy between the two bids, that would cause an issue of credibility and the town would need a third bid to show where the average cost would be.

Commissioner Sauls said she agreed, but the town needed to act before the next meeting if they wanted to have paving done by June. They agreed to hold a special session for the decision as soon as a third bid is received.

Mayor Howell also proposed spending some of the money on sidewalk projects, including tiling and bridging several ditches in the town’s right of way near local churches.

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Issue of 7 February 2008

Wayne Wilson News Leader
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Fremont, NC 27830
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