WINTON – In what has been a three-month process, it appears the final approval will come soon in regards to renaming a Hertford County road.

During Monday’s Hertford County Board of Commissioners meeting, the county’s elected leaders, following a brief discussion period, approved a motion to conduct a public hearing at their next scheduled gathering for the purpose of receiving input on changing Beer Garden Road to Tower Road.

Beer Garden Road (SR 1185) is located just on the outskirts of Murfreesboro. Those road signs have been the popular targets of souvenir hunters who are apparently intrigued by the road’s unique name.

In an effort to save the county an approximate $100 per sign each time one turns up missing, the Commissioners, during their October meeting, launched a discussion concerning their options to change the road’s name. That discussion – one that centered around having the county’s Rural Addressing Director, Rose Stephenson, solicit ideas of a new name from residents living along Beer Garden Road – carried over to the November meeting. There, the suggestion was to change the name to Tower Road.

It was at the November meeting where Stephenson was urged to finalize the name change by contacting the NC Department of Transportation and the Murfreesboro Fire Department (since the homes on that road are within the town’s fire district). On Monday, Stephenson said neither NC DOT nor the Murfreesboro Fire Department objected to changing the name to Tower Road.

&uot;The final step now in this process is for you to authorize a public hearing (in regard to the proposed name change),&uot; said Charles &uot;Chuck&uot; Revelle, attorney for the Board of Commissioners.

&uot;If the necessary people have been contacted and it’s okay with them, then why do we need to hold a public hearing,&uot; inquired Board Chairman DuPont Davis.

&uot;The state statute requires one in this situation,&uot; answered Revelle.

Commissioner John Pierce offered a motion, which passed, of a 7:30 p.m. public hearing on the proposed road name change at the next scheduled Commissioners meeting (Monday, Dec. 20).

If the measure is approved, there will be no cost incurred by those living on the current Beer Garden Road. In addition, county officials will be responsible for notifying the Hertford County Tax Office of the new addresses.