BY STEFANIE BOWMANN, Eastern Shore Post
The Cape Charles Town Council voted unanimously on Thursday, Nov. 7, to petition the Northampton County Circuit Court to fill a town council seat that was vacated this summer.
Councilman Andrew Follmer resigned effective Aug. 31, with four months left in his term.
The town council had the option to act within 45 days to appoint someone to complete the term.
However, with the general election roughly two months away, the council members opted instead to wait until after the election and request the court to make the appointment.
They decided to ask the court to appoint the Cape Charles Town Council candidate who received the most votes in the general election and who was not an incumbent council member.
That candidate is Tara Ashworth, who received 367 votes.
Town Manager John Hozey said Ashworth likely would be administered the oath of office in about a week or two, which will allow her to participate in the regular town council meeting on Thursday, Dec. 19.
Ashworth will complete Follmer’s term and then remain on the town council for the four-year term that begins Jan. 1, 2025.
Three seats on the six-member council were up for grabs this year.
Councilman Andy Buchholz was the only town council member who ran for re-election. He received 456 votes, the most of all nine candidates.
Councilman and Vice Mayor Steve Bennett did not run for re-election. His seat will be filled by Clayton Newman, who received 279 votes.
“We had a lot of great candidates running,” Buchholz said. “There were about five of them ganged together. It was very close.”
He congratulated the winning candidates and said, “well done, for the other guys that ran a hard campaign.”
Buchholz invited them to “jump right in” if seats become available on other local boards or commissions.
The Cape Charles Town Council also voted unanimously to award a contract of approximately $168,000 to Bay Coastal Contracting, of Berlin, Md., to complete the third phase of the inner harbor bulkhead rehabilitation project.
The third phase of the project includes the installation of 35 king piles and 240 feet of wale, or horizontal supports.
The purpose of the project is to replace structural elements that have deteriorated over the last 20 years due to boats docking aside the bulkhead.
The rehabilitation measures will extend the service life of the bulkhead to 50 years, according to the town manager’s report.
Hozey noted that 75% of the project cost, or about $126,000, will be funded by a Virginia Port Authority grant.
The town had about $221,500 budgeted for the project in fiscal year 2025.
Bay Coastal Contracting submitted the low bid, which was the only bid within the budgeted amount.
The remaining bids ranged from about $229,500 to more than $297,000.
