PKA News
By Gail Halada
The PKA Homeowner Association Manual describes responsibilities for wa
terways as follows; The director is responsible for all maintenance to association
marinas: Brock Basin, Hall Haven and the boat ramp at Davis Landing from the
bulkhead outward toward the water. Requests for maintenance or major additions
to the mooring basins from the harbormaster will be routed through the water
ways director for consideration and prior approval. The waterways director will
also be responsible for maintenance of channel markers, bulkheads, dredging and
the removal of obstructions in the water (with notification of property owners in
some cases).
Interview with Scott McMillan - Director of Waterways
Q. How long have you been overseeing the PKA waterways?
A. I have been Director of Waterways for two years.
Q. Who is your assistant?
A. Doug Browne has been my assistant.
Q. In maintaining our PKA waterways, how do you go about doing repairs?
A. Most everything has to be accessed by boat.
Q. How many volunteers do you have to help?
A. Depending on the situation, I seek help when needed.
Q. What is the most common repair?
A. We find that repairing the channel markers as they age quickly due to their
environment as a real challenge.
Q. When a hurricane/storm hits, what do you do first? Then what?
A. There is not a lot of pre-storm prep we can do with the water, but after the
storm, we scout the waterways for debris that may hinder navigation.
Q. How do you maintain the bulkheads?
A. Owners maintain their bulkheads. If a wall is falling and the owners have not
noticed, we contact the towns building inspector, and he notifies the owner.
Q. How do you go about replacing channel markers?
A. We have extra markers, and if one is damaged beyond repair, we just replace
it. We are fortunate to have members with boats who are willing to assist.
Q. What is the most challenging part of your j ob?
A. We want all members who want to use the waterways to have a pleasant expe
rience. So keeping the waterways navigable and well marked is a priority.
Q. Any other comments?
A. We plan on installing reflective tape to the markers this year to help all navi
gating our channels.
Scott does a good job as director of waterways. If you wish to add your name to
his volunteer list, call him at 725-1356.
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fflPivorS Mem
By Ken Jones
It has always been my contention that the best government is the government
that is closest to the people. Some might argue that the best government is no
government. But, back to my initial statement. The reason I say this is because
I believe the people should be able to reach out and touch the people who
represent them.
Last month, I talked about the importance of two-way communication. I
would like to give you an example. In Pine Knoll Shores, we have open board
meetings so residents can be aware of what decisions are being made. We also
have many special meetings that are not necessarily board meetings. Right now,
your board and 1 are planning for the upcoming fiscal year. By state statute, we
must have a balanced budget passed by the end of June. The next fiscal year,
2012-2013, starts July I.
As I write, we are in the fairly early stages of the budget process, but I feel
confident here in April saying the tax rate will stay the same. That said, with
inflation and the ever changing economic and political climate, we have some
tough decisions to make.
The Mimosa Bridge will be completed, but we have many other things going
on, and some things had to be cut from the budget. Some of our streets will be
repaved the same time Salter Path Road is getting paved. We will continue to try
to get the North Carolina Department of Transportation to approve our side
walk plan, and we will do a reduced project for safety and connectivity. We will
continue to build the best police force for our safety and security Our force, led
by Chief Lorrie Lepore, will continue its work to become CALEA certified. We
want the best for our town, and this will help set the bar high.
Along with our General Fund operating budget, we will be investing in capital
projects. These are unusually large or not common purchases. Some examples
are computer equipment, software changes, vehicle and equipment replace
ments and plans.
Aside from our annual budget, we have two kinds of reserve funds: desig
nated and undesignated. The designated reserves are funds set aside for specific
items and projects. We had a designated reserve for the Mimosa Bridge. We
also have designated reserves for streets, buildings, vehicles and emergency ve
hicles. We do this because, for example, a new fire truck costs around $500,000.
We don’t have the annual budget for that kind of outlay, and this gives us a way
to put some savings aside for those major purchases.
The undesignated reserve is comprised of money that basically can be used
to operate the town, but we need to keep it at a certain level in case of an emer
gency, such as a storm or fire.
Outside of the day-to-day General Fund, your town also has a Water Fund to
operate and maintain our water system. This past year, we did a lot to improve
the water fund and the infrastructure. We installed new water mains on Pine-
wood, Knollwoood and Bay streets. We also had some pipes put in to equalize
the water pressure in the system so we will have more equal pressure and fewer
breaks.
To maintain our beach in great shape, we keep this area separate because it is
taxed separately. This budget is where we fund such projects as the town wide
sand fence project, the beach accesses and our rainy-day fund for beach renour
ishment.
As you can see, we have a fairly complicated job and process. The main point
is that it is fair and efficient for the best operation for the least number of tax
dollars. Please attend one of the town budget briefings we present before the
- budget is voted on. We want to communicate with you about your tax dollars
j because we are close enough for you to reach out and touch us.
12 The Shoreline I May 2012