HomeMy WebLinkAboutC.054.93011_0543IREDELL COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
SPECIAL MEETING MINUTES
JANUARY 25, 2005
The Iredell County Board of Commissioners met for a Special Meeting on
Tuesday, January 25, 2005, at 7:00 p.m., in the Iredell County Government Center
(Commissioners' Meeting Room), 200 South Center Street, Statesville, NC.
Present were:
Chairman Sara Haire Tice
Vice Chairman Godfrey Williams
Steve D. Johnson
Marvin Norman
Ken Robertson
Staff present: County Manager Joel Mashburn, County Attorney Bill Pope,
Finance Director Susan Blumenstein, and Clerk to the Board Jean Moore.
CALL TO ORDER by Chairman Tice.
INVOCATION by Commissioner Robertson.
Chairman Tice declared the meeting to be in a public hearing.
(Approximately 75 — 100 people attended the meeting.)
REQUEST FROM THE FORT DOBBS ALLIANCE FOR A $45,000 DONATION
TO BE USED FOR AN OPTION ON 16 ACRES OF PROPERTY
Chandler Bryan (proponent), the Chairman of the Fort Dobbs Alliance, gave a
brief overview of the French & Indian War. He said Fort Dobbs was an important site
during the war, and the Alliance wanted to purchase seven adjacent lots (lot #s 24
through 28 along with 33 & 34 towards the back of the property) or 16 acres. He said a
property option had been obtained; however, it was dependent upon a $400,000 grant
from the state. Bryan said that if the grant wasn't awarded, Chuck Nantz, the owner of
the property had been approached about the Alliance just purchasing lots 33 & 34 for a
buffer or green space to protect the site. He asked for the public discussion to be
limited solely to the "green space" (lots 33 & 34), and he said there were no plans to
erect any buildings on this property. Brian said there was an urgency in the $45,000
request, due to the grant application needing to be in Raleigh by January 28, 2005. He
said that since the owner was willing to limit the transaction to only the two lots, if
necessary, the 545,000 would not be lost.
Steve Tate (opponent): Mentioned he had lived in the Fort Dobbs area for about
20 years, and he didn't think a traffic study had been developed for the project. He said
the Fort Dobbs property deed from the Hatchett family to the Daughters of the
American Revolution (DAR) contained a revert clause stipulating that if the property
happened to be removed from the DAR organization, it would revert to the Hatchett
heirs.
Micki Earp (proponent): Mentioned she lived out of the county, but she taught
at Scotts School. She then introduced two of her students who made the following
remarks:
Cassidy Eudy said she represented the student body at Scotts Elementary
School. She said the students thought the fort should be developed to its fullest and
brought to a more historic and accurate condition.
Rose Bonnano, another student of Mrs. Earp, said she felt the land held
archaeological evidence. She said it would be sad if a housing development were built
upon the land.