WINTON – The cancellation of a public hearing for the second time in as many meetings drew the ire of Hertford County Commissioner Dupont Davis here last week.

For the second time in the past two weeks, the board was to hold a public hearing to close out the 2004 scattered site Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program in Hertford County.

Also for the second time in as many attempts, the board was told there were still loose ends to tie up and the public hearing was cancelled. Each of those public hearings was properly advertised, meaning the county will have to pay those costs for a third time.

Davis, who serves on the Mid-East Commission Board, was visibly agitated by yet another delay. He said the cancellation of the public hearing was unacceptable and leveled his criticism at McDavid and Associates, who contracted the work through the Mid-East Commission.

Davis said in a telephone interview Monday that he was frustrated with the entire project, saying there had been several times in the process where he and fellow board members had to fight for the best interest of the citizens.

“Contractors have bid low and then come back with a bunch of change orders that in the end made them no longer the low bidder on the project,” Davis said. “I’ve made it clear that my recommendation to the Mid-East Commission is that we will not use them (McDavid and Associates) anymore.”

The board must close out the 2004 project before the county will be in a position to seek a new round of funding to provide better living conditions for more citizens. They have attempted to do that on several occasions, but have always been delayed.

Davis said that will no longer be the case.

“We’re going to close it out at the next meeting one way or the other,” he insisted.

Davis said if the Mid-East Commission were to insist on using McDavid and Associates, he would recommend the county have someone else oversee the project.

In other business, the board:

* agreed to declare and sell surplus property;

* adopted a resolution in support of limited herring harvest limits;

* reappointed Davis and Dr. Claude Odom to the Mid-East board; and

* approved readvertising of upset bids for two properties.