by Geoff Fox
The Town of Hancock has finally ended ownership of the yellow warehouse on Main Street that has housed the town’s Public Works Department. Town crews are currently clearing equipment out.
Mayor Roland Lanehart said the Public Works and inmates are moving things out.
Councilman David Kerns added crews are busy making sure everything is out before the new owner, Bruno Reich, takes ownership.
Some things have been moved to the wellhouse and into a sea container, he added.
The town is currently using the white shed across from AC&T.
The sale of building went through at a price of $350,000.
Reich previously told town officials he would like to develop a multi-story retail and restaurant complex in the old warehouse space.
New public works
Town Manager Michael Faith also handed town officials requests for proposals to review for a new Public Works building. The proposals were for professional architectural engineering design services.
Once someone is chosen, there will be more votes and decisions officials would have to make for the building.
Faith said the town won’t hire someone and turn them loose to hire whomever they want. Town officials will be involved in all those decisions.
There will be multiple steps before anything really happens and it could take months, he said.
Kerns said the RFP for the site plan would take six months, which goes through the state and county.
Once the site plan is finished, Kerns said the town could reach out to Sen. Mike McKay to help push the project through faster.
Once it’s constructed, the new Public Works building will be beside the town’s wellhouse. The town owns six acres in that area.
Faith said he wanted town officials to read over the RFP draft and get back to him any suggestions and any additions that might need to be added.
MOU for road salt
Town officials also agreed to extend the memorandum of understanding with the State Highway Administration to get road salt for winter street maintenance. The agreement must be done every so many years.
The MOU would be the same as last year and would run the town $92.91 per ton of salt.
Kerns suggested the town not store the salt in town this year. He said it would be an extra five miles down the interstate to get it, but the town doesn’t have a place to store it right now.
Councilman Josh McCusker, who works for the SHA and removed himself from voting on the subject, said the salt has to be covered when storing it or it would be a “big blob” as the salt does freeze.
SHA creek restoration
The town also entered an MOU with the SHA regarding a program it’s been involved with for some time, the Little Tonoloway Creek restoration.
Faith said the SHA has been working on that area of Kirkwood Park for over 10 years and the MOU is set to expire this year.
He added it was suggested to be renewed for two successive five-year periods.
This comes at no cost to the town as the SHA pays for everything being done at the site.
The SHA is improving the stream, Faith said, and protecting it from erosion and “all kinds of different things.”
