Town hall move not likely until January
By Bonnie Edwards
Published in News on December 12, 2005 1:48 PM
SEVEN SPRINGS -- There will be no decision this month about when to move Town Hall off a hill above town.
A Christmas party will replace the regular meeting of the Seven Springs Town Board this month, so no decision on the move is expected until January.
The town has been operating in a modular unit as a temporary town hall since the floods from Hurricane Floyd in 1999. The town has since bought the former Seven Springs Baptist Church, which was also flooded, to house a new town hall and library.
Renovations are complete, and the new town hall passed inspection in October, town commissioner Danny Carter said.
In September 2004, town commissioner Elizabeth Quinn told the other board members renovations were going to have to be finished before icy weather arrived. The narrow Church Street on the other side of N.C. 55 goes up a steep hill to the current Town Hall. She said it's treacherous during the winter..
Ms. Quinn said last week the town also is waiting for a new special-order door to arrive for the back entrance of the building. The size was unusual, forcing the wait.
"We were hoping to have it before Christmas," she said.
There were other delays that forced a later-than-expected date for the move-in, Ms. Quinn said.
The church purchase took almost a year, she said. The state had to approved the deal.
"I didn't realize there was so much red tape involved," she said. "It's too close to Christmas now. We won't be able to move until after Christmas."
Newly elected mayor Jewel Kilpatrick said she cannot make any decisions on a move-in date until she is sworn into office in January.
Mrs. Kilpatrick resigned as mayor in August 2004 but was re-elected in November as a write-in candidate.
Current mayor Emma Ward, who takes back her old seat on the town board in January, could not be reached for comment.