Windsor, DMV work out snags

Published 12:00 am Friday, January 12, 2007

WINDSOR – The closure of the Windsor location of the North Carolina Driver’s License Office has hit a few snags.

Thursday morning in a meeting of the Windsor Board of Commissioners, Town Administrator Alan Castelloe informed the town there had been a misunderstanding between town officials and the Department of Motor Vehicles.

“They were under the understanding we could provide electricity, but we can’t,” Castelloe said.

He said the town had merely approved the mobile DMV Office using town property behind the current Town Hall for their twice a month visits to town.

He said the DMV had agreed to pay for the infrastructure needed to have electricity, but wanted the town to pay for the electricity.

“We have never given electricity,” Mayor Bob Spivey said.

Castelloe said he informed the DMV they could use the parking space, but everything else was their own responsibility and that he was simply bringing their request before the board.

The board debated the idea for a few moments before Commissioner Bob Brown said, “It sounds like our answer is no.”

Spivey said he would like to work with the county officials as the service was being provided to all of Bertie County and not just Windsor citizens to see if the county board would pay for the electricity.

“They (DMV) have the option not to come,” Spivey reminded the board.

The commissioners gave Spivey unanimous consent to follow up with the county on the idea.

Thursday afternoon, Marge Howell, a spokesperson for the Division of Motor Vehicles, confirmed the Windsor office was still open and would remain so until the mobile unit situation could be resolved.

Howell said the DMV was planning to have the mobile unit in place in two weeks to a month.