EDENTON — Town and Chowan County officials are scheduled to meet next month with representatives of the owners of the Hotel Hinton to discuss the company’s next steps to starting long-delayed renovations to the property.
Edenton Town Manager Corey Gooden told Town Council last week the town had had two meetings with representatives of SAGA Construction and development, the estate development company that purchased the Hotel Hinton property years ago with the intent of developing it into a tourist hotel.
“We have had some discussions around some updated plans that are more in line for some of the things that the town has been very interested in,” he said. “We do have a meeting scheduled with the county. We have a solidified date, either June 10th or June 12th of of next month, where those representatives (of SAGA) will be here, I think.”
Gooden said he sees progress in getting SAGA to realize the town expects action on the delayed renovation project. Many town officials and residents have described the long-vacant hotel as an eyesore and crime haven.
“They’ve really heard some of the concerns that we’ve had, and you had a signed application in the month of June from them with those plans to start that formal (renovation) process,” he said.
He also said SAGA has been approached about the possibility of selling the Hotel Hinton property. A number of residents have called for SAGA to sell the property to another company with an interest in making renovations to it now.
“We have asked (the) question, ‘would you entertain selling?’ And at this point, we really have not (gotten) a solid answer on that,” he said.
Gooden also advised Town Council that repaving work on Granville Street, originally scheduled for April, was delayed but still in progress. He said contractors decided to begin their work in the Riverton area and will move to Granville Street after that project is completed.
The town’s public works department had torn up the length of the road, which takes much of the traffic burden off Broad Street, working to repair aged drain pipes across Granville Street in more than a dozen places over several blocks. Town workers could cover the work and patch the asphalt enough that traveling the roadway is passable but still bumpy, shunting much of the traffic onto Broad Street.
Gooden assured councilors that contractors will let his office know in time to notify residents along the heavily traveled downtown street before the repaving work is to be done.
Town Councilman Elton Bond also expressed concerns about the maintenance of Vine Oak Cemetery near Granville Street, particularly before Mother’s Day when he said he visited his mother’s grave.
“We have a lot of people visiting the cemetery,” he said. “It was really a disgrace for the town of Edenton because you had tall grass and bushes and things. My Mom was buried at Vine Oak.”
He contrasted the maintenance at Vine Oak with maintenance at another town cemetery.
”When I went to visit Beaver Hill to spend some time with my father because that’s where he’s buried, it was cut neat,” he said.
Gooden said cemetery maintenance is performed by contractors who set the maintenance schedule. He assured Bond that the town will ensure proper maintenance is performed before significant events like Mother’s Day in the future.
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