By Rebecca J. Barnabi, Reporter
From The Caroline Progress
Port Royal Town Council held three public hearings at its regular meeting last Tuesday.
The council received no public comment on the sign ordinance proposal, increasing water fees by $5.00 per month and changing the election date for council members from the second Tuesday in May to the second Tuesday in November.
Following the public hearings, the council unanimously approved, with slight changes, the sign ordinance, as well as increasing water fees and changing the election date.
In other business, the council discussed the annual tree lighting to take place on Friday, December 16 this year at 6 p.m. A float carrying carolers, a fire truck and perhaps a hayride are also ideas for the evening’s events. Council member Oliver Fortune will perform the opening prayer.
Council member Bill Wick reported that a member of the Friends of the Rappahannock met with Mayor Nancy Long, and a work session will be scheduled in December between Long, Wick and council member Jim Heimbach to discuss improvements to the King Street river front.
According to Heimbach, two grants are available to the project: $3,000 to the Town for a 120-square-foot reconstruction of the pier and $2,300 to the Port Royal Ruritans for a bench to be placed on King Street and two spring rides for toddlers in the playground.
"The Rappahannock River is obviously important to Caroline County, but it's important to Port Royal," said Heimbach. He added that the only public access to the "iconic river" is at King Street. The pier at Buster's Restaurant is private property. "The access belongs to the whole county," said Heimbach.
Wick also discussed with other council members that Heimbach mentioned months ago the fact that the town is putting out more money than it takes in. Many areas of the town need repair, also, such as streets and sidewalks. Heimbach and Wick are working together on bringing an annual music festival to Port Royal to be held on the town green.
"It is obvious that we need to develop some sort of revenue coming in," said Wick. At last week's meeting, Wick and Heimbach requested the support of the council to move forward with appointing a working committee and getting town residents involved in the planning stage.
Wick said that the earliest a festival could be held would be in spring 2013. Port Royal's music festival would be for less than 8 hours so as not to require permission from the Caroline County Board of Supervisors.
Heimbach said that the intention is to hold the festival at the same time each year. Long mentioned that the Town of Bowling Green's Harvest Festival is in the fall each year, so Port Royal should choose another time of year. Heimbach said he did not think the festival could be organized well enough for April 2012.
Council member Bill Henderson questioned how much advertising for the music festival would cost the town. Wick suggested that grant money and business sponsors could be found to pay the cost of advertising. Henderson also expressed concern about traffic.
Long pointed out that a working committee on the music festival and at least a year's time are necessary in order to resolve issues such as traffic. She added that Bowling Green's Harvest Festival started out small, taking up only two blocks, and now stretches up and down Main Street each year. "I think funding is the key," said Henderson. "If you get funding, then you can do it." "It certainly doesn’t hurt to look for a way to make some income for this town," said Long.
Council member Monica Chenault said that the working committee for the festival would also be an opportunity to discover other fundraising options for Port Royal. After a motion by Wick and second by Chenault, the council unanimously approved pursuing the idea. The council also unanimously approved a request to give $50 Christmas bonuses to each town staff member.
Port Royal Town Council will not hold a December meeting. Their next regular meeting will be held Tuesday, January 17, 2012.