While no objections were raised this morning on a proposed social district in Weldon, residents did have questions for town officials during a public hearing.

Most of the questions concerned the boundaries of the district and the hours proposed for the trial run of the program, should the Weldon Town Board of Commissioners pass the measure. The program would allow people who buy alcoholic beverages to walk out with them and explore areas clearly designated as part of the district.

“This is not a done deal,” said town Commissioner Doris Garner. “If it means going back to the table, tweaking some hours, tweaking some routes, whatever we have to do to bring that happy medium for you, for our businesses, for tourism, and for the dollars, we will do this.”

(It is expected a vote on the matter will come at the town board’s May 25 meeting.)

One of the concerns raised was about the proposed hours of operation, tentatively set for Thursday through Sunday from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. “It’s not fallen on deaf ears,” Garner said. “I always use me as an example. You won’t see me walking by a church parking lot at 12:30 p.m. when church adjourns with a cup in my hand. If you’re really uncomfortable with it and we need to look at tweaking hours—this is not set in stone. This is why we have this, so that we can hear your thoughts.”

Garner said the board wants to hear all sides. “Those who want it, we’re going to get it to you. Those who have reservations, we’re going to make it comfortable for you even if it means just doing special events and a test cycle. There are so many ways we can tweak this.”

Town Manager Montre Freeman said there will have to be a soft opening to see how it plays out. The town has already been in contact with GFL about trash collection and new trash bins that will be needed should the program be approved. “The soft opening will allow us to see what we think actually works.”

Alice Joyner Irby, a founder of Weldon in Action, said, “I’ve probably been an observer of this town longer than anybody else. I was born here and grew up here. I was born in the '30s so I’ve watched it prosper. I’ve enjoyed its prosperity. I benefited from its education.” She said, however, “I have also watched it decline. We’ve got to get the energy back. We have to get the places back. We have to have places that people can come to. I urge you to move forward with this in whatever fashion.”

Halifax County Commissioner Gary Redding, who is also an instructor at Halifax Community College—the site of the hearing—said his students are working on grant proposals. They identify abandoned properties and buildings in Halifax and Northampton counties and develop ideas to renovate them for new purposes. “I think it would be a great idea to partner not only with Weldon City Schools but also Halifax Community College to receive feedback from the young people.”

Students are paying attention, he said. “They see open spaces that have dilapidated housing. They want to see a medical facility in Weldon. They want to see a recreation center with a pool because a lot of our young people are graduating without knowing how to swim. They want to see young people creating murals around Weldon because a lot of them are artistic. They want to see a place where teens can come and do talent shows or share their poetry.”

Redding said that feedback would help them be a part of the process and encourage them to see Weldon as a place to come back to—not only to establish themselves and their families, but to establish their professions as well.

Andy Whitby, who has been working on reviving downtown Weldon for the last 30 years, said he constantly talks about doing things to build its economy “so that these businesses can be successful, so that they can pay their bills, and pay their rent. Every building in downtown Weldon that can be occupied is occupied.”

Some of the buildings that are not occupied need more than a million dollars in investment, he said. “I see this as an opportunity to build the economy. It gives us the opportunity to have something that will help attract businesses and developers.”