Parksley Town Office, Railway Museum To Undergo Repairs

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By Carol Vaughn —

Parksley’s town office and DMV services will move into temporary quarters while repairs are made to the building. The Eastern Shore Railway Museum, which is housed in the same building, will temporarily move some items into the rail station.
The Parksley Town Council voted Monday to rent a trailer, at a cost of around $22,000 for the six-month minimum, to use for town and DMV services while the building is being repaired.
The trailer will be in the parking lot near the building.
“We are going to do the job ourselves,” said Councilman Henry Nicholson. He asked for volunteers to help with the project.
A recent evaluation of the town office building’s foundation, done by a private company, revealed it was in poor condition.
“We need to put the building back the way it is. It is a railroad town. It is a railroad building and we have to think about the railroad museum that is inside of there,” Nicholson said during a discussion at the July Town Council meeting.

Water Valve Replacement

An iron valve, installed in 1938, which is part of the town water system, has been leaking, according to Nicholson. A local water and sewer service company is designing a new valve to replace it.
The town will notify residents when the installation is going to happen. Town water will have to be shut off during the installation, which requires draining the water tower. Nicholson said the installation will take place at night.
A smoke test to detect problem areas in the sewer system was to take place this week.
“Hopefully, it will go smoothly and we will find out where our intrusion is,” Nicholson said.

LOVEworks Sign

Parksley was awarded a $1,500 grant to have a LOVE sign in town. The sign will have a design unique to the town.
Mayor Frank Russell said the decision as to where to locate the sign has not yet been made.
Chincoteague, Cape Charles, and Onancock have similar signs, which are among more than 275 LOVE signs around Virginia.
Visitors often like to take photos posing with the signs.
The LOVEworks program is a state-wide branding initiative designed to promote travel in Virginia and strengthen awareness of the “Virginia is for Lovers” message.

Other Actions

The council voted to stop charging the Railway Museum for town services including water and trash pickup.
Russell reported the town has collected more than $6,200 in delinquent taxes this month.
Additionally, several houses in town have been listed for sale “for well over $300,000,” he said.
Councilman Dan Matthews said a grant-funded downtown revitalization project now will include improvements to only one alleyway, rather than two. The alleyway next to the Club Car Cafe will be improved with new lighting and plantings, among other improvements.
Work on facade improvements for 19 properties should start in early October, he said.

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