By Jim Tuttle
Smithfield Times Staff writer
The Isle of Wight Board of Supervisors has put off payment of a nearly $360,000 reimbursement to Smithfield for the Pinewood Heights relocation project.
The money is needed to help five property owners close and move on to their next location.
Smithfield Treasurer Ellen Minga said she sent the county a bill in December 2009 for reimbursable expenses, in accordance with a memorandum of understanding established between the town and the county in 2007.
Members of the Board of Supervisor’s finance committee directed county staff to wait on making the payment, while looking into the county’s actual commitment.
In the MOU, Isle of Wight agreed to contribute $750,000 money or in-kind services toward Phase I of the Pinewood project. The county has donated a piece of property on James Street in Smithfield for the eventual construction of relocation housing by Habitat for Humanity.
The county has also contributed about $5,500 toward the relocation of one family from Pinewood Heights to Booker T. Estates, according to project planner Brian Reagan.
The bill for nearly $360,000 is for the county’s portion of project expenses already incurred by the town, mostly over the past year, Minga said. So far, 15 properties have been purchased, and 10 people have been relocated.
“It is my understanding that they would like to discuss the invoice at the (town and county) Intergovernmental Meeting on March 16,” Minga wrote in an e-mail.
“At this time, I don’t know what their concerns are, so I really don’t have any additional information to add.”
Phone calls to Isle of Wight Budget and Finance Director Ron Reck and to Board of Supervisors Chairman Phillip Bradshaw were not returned.
Community Block Development funding expected from the state has not yet been released to the town either, Minga said.
Town staff had hoped to use the funds from the state and county toward the purchase of more Pinewood Heights properties in the immediate future.
“We have five property owners who are ready to close,” Smithfield Town Manager Peter Stephenson told the Town Council during a recent meeting.
In order to keep the project moving forward, at least three of the five properties will be purchased “by the end of the month” using a $500,000 line of credit available to the town, Minga said.
“Hopefully, in the meantime, we’ll get some feedback from the state and the county.”
IW slow to pay on Pinewood Heights
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