BELHAVEN — The Belhaven Board of Aldermen approved a motion 4-2 at Monday night’s meeting to execute its claim of eminent domain over the hospital property. Vic Cox and Tony Williams were the two dissenting votes.

Mayor Adam O’Neal said $643,000 has been committed via grant and loan money to the nonprofit Pungo Medical Center — when received, the money will be turned over to the Town of Belhaven to help cover the costs of seeking eminent domain. Pantego Creek LLC manages the property at this point.

O’Neal said the money is coming from a charity out of Raleigh, but declined to give its name. He said the town expects to pay back the loan portion of the charity’s money with profits from the hospital’s operation.

Once Belhaven satisfies the requirement of obtaining the property, it can then proceed with obtaining the $6 million loan from the United States Department of Agriculture to open the facility, he said.

“We were left with no other option,” O’Neal said. “It’s time for (Pantego Creek) to step aside and give the property back to the town, so we don’t have to spend $643,000.”

At Monday’s meeting, Alderman Vic Cox expressed his concerns with proceeding with the motion until the board had an opportunity to look over the terms more thoroughly. But O’Neal vehemently denied the suggestion.

“We really can’t afford what we’re paying for this,” Cox said in a previous interview. “The majority of the citizens I’ve talked to feel that way.”

Alderman Tony Williams then asked why town attorney Wendell Hutchins was not present for the meeting, to which no one could give a definite answer.

Since the motion was passed, O’Neal said the notice of eminent domain would be given Tuesday.

“We have reached out all we can reach out,” he said. “Let’s heal the breach.”

The board’s approved motion is the next step of the Town of Belhaven’s long fight to reopen the hospital facility after Vidant Health closed Vidant Pungo Hospital in July 2014 due to deficits.

The conflict has split the town, and some residents have expressed their concerns about the money being spent on lawsuits and property maintenance, as well as the costs of defaulting on loans to reopen the hospital. Vidant is also in the process of building a multispecialty clinic in place of the hospital to help with the area’s medical needs.

North Carolina Superior Court Judge Stuart Albright threw out a lawsuit earlier this month, brought by Belhaven and the state NAACP against Vidant and Pantego Creek, but O’Neal said the town is planning to appeal the decision.

He said he doesn’t think concerns about the loans are valid, as any collateral for defaulting on a loan — whether it’s the loan from the charity in Raleigh or the USDA loan — would be the hospital property, which the town has already lost.

“It is a big step forward for the people of Belhaven,” O’Neal said.