Sunday, February 10, 2008

Land left to the County?

Recently the County Attorney informed the County Commissioner's that a lady had passed away and bequeathed the county 50 acres of land. Some 2000 feet of this land abutts Brices Creek, a beautiful deep water creek which empties into the Trent River about 1 mile from downtown New Bern. Richard Dobbs Speight is burried on this proprty. He was one of the origional signersof the United States Constitution and served as governor of North Carolina. This is truely one of the nicest pieces of land in Craven County and immediately I and other citizens started dreaming of ways the county could best utilize this gem. The will states that the land could not be sold and must be used as a park and kept in its natural state. The owner wanted the land to be enjoyed by all the citizens of Craven County and not just those wealthy enough to buy waterfront property. What a wonderful and thoughtful lady she must have been. Although there are complications in the will that could result in someone else obtaining ownership to the property, I am hoping the county is able to resolve this issue quickly. With the current shortage of public access to to water this land is needed for the enjoyment of all.