South Avenue: What Has The Town Of Oriental Bought?

At meetings in June, Town Board members informed the public that the property offered by Mr. Fulcher in return for the Town closing certain public rights of way "now belong to us."

It's true. Even though the closings of Avenue A and South Avenue are under challenge in the courts, the Town has moved ahead with the deal. In late May, the transfer of property from one of Mr. Fulcher's Companies, Fulcher Point, LLC, was recorded at the Pamlico County Register of Deeds.

What did the Town get?

The deed itself is a "non- warranty deed." In other words, a quit claim deed. That means that whatever interest Mr. Fulcher may have in the property (if any) now belongs to the Town. No guarantees.

The property belongs to the municipal corporation, governed by the Board of Commissioners, in fee simple.

Can they sell it? Yes. All it takes is three votes on the Board and public notice.

Unlike Lou-Mac Park, there are no deed restrictions.

Is it dedicated to the public? No.

Can the Board dedicate it to the public? No. At the hearing of March 4 before Judge Alford, the Town's attorneys presented no case law supporting the contention that the Town can sell or trade a public right of way for something of value. But they made a very strong case, citing a case from the Town of Valdese in the 1980's, that future boards cannot be prevented from selling real property they own in fee simple. Nothing this Board does now can prevent any future Board from doing whatever they want with the land. There is no protection for the property as a public access point to the water, other than the will of the Board.

By the way, the Town Attorney told the Board at the public hearing on July 3, 2012 that there was no case law supporting what they were doing. "And we don't have any case law," he said, "that tells us what the magic recipe is." That should have set off alarm bells.

Is the property contaminated? Yes.

Fuel Tanks that subsequently spilled on Town's new property
(click photo to enlarge)

Some years ago, tanks containing 20,000 gallons of diesel fuel spilled its entire contents onto the property. There is no record that the contamination was ever cleaned up.


Are there other problems with the deal? Yes. Too numerous to mention.

Was the land swap lawful? The court case is going forward to the North Carolina Court of Appeals. They will have the final say.

Was the land swap wise? You decide.

More background here.