Newspapers / The Brunswick Beacon (Shallotte, … / Feb. 14, 1985, edition 1 / Page 3
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Commi ! BY SUSAN USHER Brunswick County commissioner* began grappling last week with a touchy question held at bay for some time by their predecessors because they saw no clearcut solution: how to equitably support fire and rescue service in the county. After meeting twice with Brunswick County Emergency Management Director Cecil Logan, COuiiuuiiiuiicia uuiiipucu iuui un live options last Tuesday night to share with the public before going any further into the subject. They will go on the road with their ideas in future weeks as each meets with fire and rescue units within their district, a plan first mentioned by Commissioner Herman Love. The five basic options range from a 11 total county takeover of emergency services to 2) complete withdrawal of county support. or 3) continuing as-is with equal funding for each department regardless of the number of units per electoral district. Both the extremes may be unrealistic, and the current method doesn't enjoy widespread popularity among commissioners or emergency volunteers. But commissioners said they hope the public either come up with a better idea or react to one of several compromises in between the County, Q< New Wate BY SL'SAN USHER Ocean Isle Beach will be allowed to temporarily continue using its own water system under a county water service contract approved last week by the Brunswick County Board of Cunuiiissioners. Chris Chappell, cliairman of the board, said he thinks the contract is mutually beneficial. "It can be beneficial for both parties," he said. "This was the last rCUUejCW. Uu- county to lake. need te neil .vut'.r. chpcc*. Ofchn fsle Beach to?and hatefully it will?use our water. I expect it to be used during off-season." In turn the county can rely on ucean isie tor backup water for itz customers in case of a "catastrophic failure" of part of its system, for example, if the line across 1-ockwood Folly River were to break. The previous board of commissioners had rejected in mid-July 1984 a similarly amended contract that proposed to allow Ocean Isle the right to use its own system "at its discretion." At that time. Ocean Isle Beach Water Commissioner said the county man i unaerstanu me town s position. "We want to have county water and they ncetj us us a customer, bid they're going to have to do better than that," he had told The Beacon. "It can't be all one way." He said the town needed control of its valve, especially during construction of the town's new high-rise bridge, when he said Ocean Isle vrculd have to rt?!y on its islsnd for water. Williamson said he would want Ocean Isle to sign a county water agreement only if it could retain the right to use its water anytime it chooses?such as after the tourists have left and winter demand is low, or at such time as the county could supply all the town's seasonally fluctuating water demand. He said he didn't want the town to have to buy county water in the winter while having to maintain its half-million dollar investment ui 14 wells as backup for the county. Using the town's own well when it chooses was not an option in the standard contract offered to all three towns approximately one year ago and accepted by the towns of Shallotte and Sunset Beach. The other (trims aereea to shut an thru system and buy only county water, but to maintain the systems so that they could be used for backup to the count) supply at least until the iianzaiss: !;^r-= f~ tht MilsiO water plant are completed Corr^hissiurjers approved the latest version unanimously about 11 p.m. last Tuesday night It had already been signed by Ocean Isle Beach Mayor IaL)ar? Bullington. Because ;! had been agreed by the towns during earlier water contract negotiations with the county that they would all "be fed from the same spoon" as requested by Ocean Isle Beast ? !? fommisskoner Odeil issionen two extremes?none of which had the unreserved support of the full board last week. "There's got to be a better way than what we have today," Chairman Chris Chappell insisted, with general agreement. Based on his past experience on the amount of political pressure voters can exert nn candidates. Chappell. who is serving a four-year term, urghnurH tn ant Ivfnrp tho filinp period for county commissioner opens in January. Otherwise, he warned, the issue could become a political hoi potato as it did in 1984. The middle-ground proposals? 4) To give each district an equal amount of money and then determine within the district how the money is to be disbursed. One variation calls for distributing 75 percent equally among all departments within the district then allocating the remainding 25 percent on the basis of need and priorities, perhaps by the district's representative acting as fire commissioner or by a district panel. A possible use, for instance, might be purchase of a ladder truck in an area where high-rise development i? strong. 5)Fund the districts at a rate set by the commissioners for one year, then let each district determine for itself whether it needs or wants to tax itself "Qnn Icl^ Mi ?r Service A Williamson, the amended contract has also been offered to the town of Shallotte. Town aldermen discussed the contract briefly last Wednesday night and expect to take it up again at "It says we ran rut our pumps back on," Mayor Bcamon Hcwett lulu the ijuuid. lite It-'MUllK (JIUIIipiUU /\1UII 11 Uli I Paul Wayne Reeves to reply, "I guess we can mix water," a reference to a previous county But Hewctt warned that townspeople have become accustomed to the quality of water provided by the county, which has a lower rust content. Shallotte had projected fiscal year 1984-?j water usage at 31 million gallons. In seven months' time it has used 21 million and has a new yearlong projection of 36 million gallons. Usage averaged three million gallons in July, August and September, December; 3.5 million in October and 2.25 million in November. "Our good friends to the south negotiated this contract. That's what brought it about," Hewett said. "It's something to think about," he advised the five aldermen. "Talk tc your neighbors, talk to your friends.' He said he thinks the town will bt expected to sign the new contract even if it chooses not to cut on il pumps The new contract would not apply to Sunset Beach, since later in its negotiations the county bought th? Sunset Reach system to avoid havin* to build a parallel transmission man through the town. Under the amended contracl Ocean Isle will not be charged a tap on fee. The county retains the right durinf periods of peak usage to cut bad delivery to the town and call upon tlx i ETTi C BIlfED U li s h ll r.: 5 ls? 7i Water Purifii Sales I a Q A u tXAAJVTU Tc+U* Duu/U%A \ Hwy. 17 Sevtk, littk I f OWNER: W.J. ( centered on financing, commissioners also touched on related issues ranging from demands on units to what can be expected of a volunteer group in terms of accountability when it receives county support. Commissioner Grace Beasley advocated greater "checks and balances," with units operating under a general set of policies or objectives developed by the commissioners. Commissioners discussed, favorably, the idea of establishing either a countywide commission or district fire and rescue advisory committees that include not only fire and rescue volunteers, but members egotiate agreement town to activate its own water system in order to furnish water on demand to the town's customers. And, upon the county's request, Ori?an Islo u-ill iiflivnto itv svulnni nn to full capacity to furnish water to its own customers until such time as the county completes construction of the transmission lines along U.S. 17 and N.C. 87 and they are in use. In the event of "catastrophic failure of part of its water system," the county could also call on Ocean Isle to activate it system to fpll capacity to furnish water ncf oniy to its customers but to other county customers as well. That provision is no! tied to completion of the transmission iincs on U.S. 17 and N.C. 87. i While the county water plant on ; N.C. 211 is CApecicu iu ue uiact! iu capacity during the peak of the summer 1985 season, the county still is i seeking additional water customers to help cover debt retirement costs I on Phase II of the system, which it must begin paying In 1986. i , THE BRimiCK&KACON Established Nov. 1, 1962 Telephone 754 6690 ? Published Every Thursday t AtMainStreot s Shollotte. N C. 28459 SUBSCRIPTION RATES SN BRUNSWICK COUNTY One Year $5.23 l Six Months $3 14 ' lUIWHISI !H M08TH CAROLINA I One Year $7.32 Six Months $4 18 ilSIWHH! IN U.S.A. t One Year $10.00 Six Months if-,.00 , Second class postage paid ot ' the Post Office in Shallotte. N C. 28459. USPS 777 780 lATED mCTSIIEBC ? m o?m wt* > CBMiHee v i cation Systems ? Service Distilled Water 50C a gallon (w/container) r iiMnnftv Liiiuum fntr, Phone (403)249 2354 Sonny) Bellomy, Jr. LSST FIRE, RESC > Grapplf at a higher or lower rate based on what it needs or can afford. This idea, which forces citizens to directly share responsibility for the services, inel with the warmest across-the-board reception of any proposed. One variation calls for commissioners to establish service districts and them retain the responsibility of setting the tax rate for each district, hased perhaDs on public hearings. Ane.?Vin^ ,,..11fn- k.. flietmnt niiuiuci Ldu.') iv/i ui^iiiLruj-uisii iti referenda on formation of special tax districts. Logan said he supported the idea of each district determining its own tax. Side Issues While most of their discussion IUE OPTIONS 3 With T< of the local business community as t well. e Logan said the average fire department has an annual operating budget l< of about $27,000, excluding other s items such as liability insurance. a Between the rising cost of equip- 1 ment, problems in staffing squads c during the daytime and increasingly c demanding certification and education requirements, indicated both I />e;m and Countv Manager Billv : Carter, a nationwide transition has t begun away from volunteer provision \ of fire and rescue services toward professional, paid units. Carter j predicted a similar trend in I Brunswick County based or. changes statewide and the county's increas- i ingly urban profile. Already, Logan said, local rescue squads are discuss- . ing the need for hired day help. i But both Carter and Ixigan stress- , ed the high quality and dedication of local volunteers. "In an emergency they're the bestworking people 1 have ever seen in my life," said !.ogan. Carter added, "You can't beat 'em." Just as commissioners haven't agreed, the volunteers have divided among themselves over previous county attempts to arrive at a fair and equitable means of supporting the units. They also have been unable to come up with a workable solution of their own. Past Proposals t-? rtvviwua twiiini miivciip, ptupuoam have considered?without satisfaction?factors and combinations of factors such as housing counts, permanent and seasonal population figures, square mileage and units per district. While each district has imnrn*. imately the same number of voters, the number of housing units, tolui population and size vary considerably, as do the number of fire and rescue units serving each district. Commissioners' decisions in previous years iu giant additional funds to l-cland, the sole provider located in District 5. met with strong opposition from other departments. I.ast year each unit was to get $10,000. But commissioners ended up allocating (.eland Kirc, (.eland MBHlflB | -|| y EWMML ??Ml m mr mtm ^w 1 | for 'most t> So now's the time ? new one like this j> surprise you ond i 9 Chnllnti Y. S9F H W I Marine | Supplie MAIN STREET. SHAILOTT THE BRUNSWICK BEACON, Thu yuchy' tcscue anil Tri-Beach VFD $10,000 \ ach in additional funds. f Iceland Fire and Rescue are the on- 1 y units now in District 5, for in- I tance, while lour lire departments ind two rescue squads call District 1 loine. Supply VFD's rated service listrict straddles three electoral listricts. Issue 'Emotional* Of the options discussed Monday, ill generally accented the idea of leting each district decide how much it ,vould spend on fire and rescue. Beasley, Kubon, Poole and 1 ,ove ilso liked other variations of districtjased distribution, while Cliappell mid he liked their idea but that "it :an't work that way" because L'olunteers eel emotional ahonl the concept of equality. He said it boiled down to each unit wanting the same amount of money as every other. "You have to do it direct?to the departments," he said. He also said the decision on how to fund couldn't bo made by the fire and rescue commission, which by charter is composed of volunteers themselves, but must be "dictated" by the county commissioners. "It has been nothing but emotional since I've been here and before." he explained, stressing again the need for action before the start of filing season. "If you don't do it this year, you will set no policy." Whatever system they choose, cautioned County Manager Hilly Carter, the commissioners must "be consistent; don't let it break down." Commissioner Beaslcy also broached the problem of volunteer rescue units providing nonemergency transport that pubs a strain on- their ability to meet emergency needs. Some county units have restricted themselves to emergency culls only, she said. Possibly charging for rescue service as a way to recoup partial ex pori from both iaikmh and Cornir.i.'; Liability AlotiK with the question of uccuunUihility, a question of liability arose. County Attorney David Clcqq said tbi! county presently may be v\\\\\\\YS<\U WW M. UUa'il fn ? ? ? v1v ii s h < r anything c to Trade-in ThaT oid be beauty! Don't be bash ;nv vps! You'll net , t? galvanize< f fik \\ haul your 1 . a good se V S-* 4*^ % a E. 7S4 6962^, 2V. ^ I A ] rsdav, February 14, 1985?Page 3-A jbiect r vulnerable to lawsuits stemming rom incidents involving fire and rescue units, though it has little con:rol of their operations. ill funding them, lie continued, "we're tacitly approving everything lhav rlrv " Typical suits being filed more and more frequently statewide relate to malpractice or delaved response. Other Interviews Commissioners concluded their series of interviews with department heads Monday night, meeting with Management Support Supervisor Julie Wallace, Tax Administrator Boyd Williamson, Building and ( rounds Superintendent K.C. Dixon. Veteran's Service Officer Jess Parker and Housekeeping Director Kllcuisc Kuss. On Monday they will arrange a time to meet with both Mrs. Huss and County Manager Hilly Carter concerning a letter appraising her performance. They voted to spend Jl.auu irom contingency to join New 1 ionover and Columbus counties in co-hosting a shriinperoo for legislators and Council of State members in linleigh in late April. The session will provide a chance to meet and lobby with legislators. The amount paid by each county was hascd 011 population, with Brunswick contributing the least. Carter said. In earlier sessions they Clarified and modified then new residency policy to reunite, effective immediately, that all new county employees mast establish local residency within the eunnt> h> lie. end of their first six-months, the tvpieal length o( of probation t hose employees who presently live outside will In- allowed to continue doiui! so Ity County Manager Hilly Carter's estimate, nine persons will tie a! fectod. A majority of memhers agreed it isn't fair to make tlie re(|iiirement retroactive, though it nuiy he lenal. Agreed to put a letter in his personnel file reenoni/ine I'laiinnn: !!ircrtor John Hsrvv'* administrative abilities while Servian as Assisiani i'onnty Manager and reassured him that his reassiKiimeiit to planniun only was not a demotion, but rather a sett I an of priorities. sflft ? >f value! ? iqt ana moror xor a fui. . .Frank might ^ _i 1/ _ji ffj u tuir-uu/usririij j Cox trailer to new rig Frank has lection , ?^ M kf?* J w--' *y *\ ,
The Brunswick Beacon (Shallotte, N.C.)
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Feb. 14, 1985, edition 1
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