Land battle stalls college plan

        An ongoing battle over a parcel of land could cause Orange County to miss out on a satellite campus for Durham Technical Community College.

The heirs to Marvin Glenn and Doris Huckabee, who currently own the land south of Hillsborough, have been unable to come to terms on the price of the property with the Trump Group, a Florida-based developer hired by the Orange County Board of Commissioners to acquire it.

At its Jan. 10 meeting, the Hillsborough Town Board heard a request from the Trump Group to exercise eminent domain, a policy in which the town can seize a piece of property for public use without the landowner’s consent.

The town board decided Monday not to use its eminent domain rights yet.

“We just felt like it was important for them to work it out instead of us,” Hillsborough Mayor Joe Phelps said.

But the board did decide to prepare for the required 30-day waiting period for initiating the eminent domain process, so it could start that process at the Feb. 28 meeting if needed.

“Any time during that period, the board can decide to pull out,” Town Manager Eric Peterson said during a joint meeting between the commissioners and the board Thursday. “But you’ve got to start that 30 days to get the process moving.”

The land in question is not for the campus itself but for an access road to the campus from N.C. 86. The land for the campus must be purchased by the county before April 15.

Members on both sides of the land dispute have accused the other of excessive greed, a disagreement that could ultimately lead Durham Tech to look elsewhere.

“Both parties are still at a gridlock,” Peterson said at Thursday’s meeting. “Each party thinks that the other one is being completely unreasonable.”

The standoff hasn’t had any effect on Durham Tech’s progress as of yet.

“We still think that the land will close by April 15,” said Barbara Baker, dean of student services at Durham Tech. “We are currently reviewing proposals from designers and architects for the proposed campus. We’re getting the steps done.”

Commissioners Chairman Moses Carey Jr. said he sees many opportunities in bringing a satellite campus to the county.

“It’s a key positive for the economy and county as a whole,” he said. “Our job training needs are being met in Durham County. We thought they should be trained closer to home.”

Baker said she was excited as well, saying the new campus would provide computer lab space and much-needed additional classrooms for the county.

Baker said the college still plans on opening the site in fall 2007.

Phelps said that although the standoff has not adversely affected Hillsborough’s plans thus far, it could turn away the college.

“The county has to spend the money by a certain amount of time, and if they don’t, there is a possibility that the college won’t come.”

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