By By GREG KATSKI
Community Editor
BELHAVEN — The Belhaven Town Council voted unanimously to table a resolution in support of renaming the local Boy Scout hut Monday night at the Belhaven Civic Center.
The motion to table the resolution, which supports renaming the hut in memory of former Boy Scout Troop 80 Scoutmaster Seth David Latham, was made by Councilman Mac Pigott.
Pigott addressed members of Troop 80 in the audience, saying, “This has nothing to do with (you).” Asked for further explanation following the council meeting, Pigott said he had no comment.
Mayor Adam O’Neal was visibly upset with the council’s decision.
“This is a surprise to me. I’m embarrassed for the council,” he said.
The resolution was placed on the council’s agenda by O’Neal. The agenda states that “this item be placed on the agenda due to the dedication that Mr. Seth David Latham had to scouting and the remodeling of the Scout Hut at 245 Haslin Street.”
The scout hut is owned by the county, but leased to Troop 80. Therefore, a resolution of support must be passed by the town council before a resolution renaming the hut can go before the Beaufort County Board of Commissioners for approval.
Councilman Steve Carawan said he voted to table the resolution to discuss the renaming in detail.
“I didn’t know the county owned the building,” he told O’Neal.
O’Neal said he hoped the council would approve the resolution after some discussion.
“This is a situation where the town council has backed off of naming something,” he said.
The mayor said that Latham deserves the notoriety considering the work he put into the local Boy Scout chapter before cancer took his life last year.
In other news, the council voted to adopt ordinances for the replacement of the Water Street bridge and the sewer force main bypass/in-flow and infiltration rehabilitation project.
With the adoption of the ordinances, Finance Officer Kyle Dehaven has been directed to proceed with the projects within the terms of the budgets.
The town is expected to be reimbursed with matching grants from the Rural Center and U.S. Department of Agriculture for the rehabilitation project, which will cost a total of $2,830,895 million.
O’Neal said the town is having problems with landowners in the trajectory of the sewer bypass.
“But it won’t affect the grant or cost of the project,” he said.
The Federal Highway Administration will provide 80 percent of funding for the Water Street bridge replacement project through its bridge-replacement program. The town will contribute 20 percent, or $400,000, to the project, which will be done by the N.C. Department of Transportation.
Code Enforcement Officer Marty Overholt provided an update on the remodeling of the Belhaven Fire Station.
“There have been some fairly significant changes since two weeks ago,” he said.
Overholt said the station’s bathrooms have been plumbed and the showers are close to being ready.
“I encourage you to drop by,” Overholt said, addressing the council.
In his report, Town Manager Guinn Leverett said Battalina Creek’s two original contractors are under bond and ready to start work on houses in the development.
“Completion by the end of the summer is highly likely,” he said.