A FIRST FOR COUNTY
Brunswick Makes State's
Top 7 0 List For 1991 Travel Income
BY SUSAN USHER
Tourists spent nearly S123 million here in
19^1, putting Brunswick County in North
Carolina's top 10 in travel-related expendi
tures.
I Tie information was released by the N.C.
Division ol Travel and Tourism and includ
ed in an articic in the February issue of
North Carolina magazine. It comes from the
U.S. Travel Data Center, an arm of the U.S.
Commerce Department.
According to the federal report, the state's
share of travel-related expenditures in the
Southeast is up after a steady decline over
the previous six years. The increase is about
a quarter of a percentage point from 1990, to
slightly more than 10 percent
Travel and tourism is North Carolina's
second-largest industry and Brunswick
County's largest, Annette Odom of the
South Brunswick Islands Chamber of
Commerce told chamber members at a leg
islative update last Thursday night.
The federal center estimates that tourist
outlays of S 122.61 million created 2,680
travel and tourism related jobs in Brunswick
County, said Odom. "It has a tremendous
impact on our area."
Chamber members reminded Reps. David
Rcdwine and Dewey Hill of the importance
of tourism to the area and to the state as a
whole and urged greater spending for mar
keting and promotion. In addition to a major
marketing program unveiled in 1992, Red
wine said Gov. Jim Hunt has proposed an
increase of more than SI million for travel
and tourism in his budget. One audience
member termed the increase "a mere daip in
the bucket" compared to what other states in
the region are spending.
Top 1 0 Counties,
Travelers' Dollars
(In Millions)
1. Mecklenburg $1,515
2. Wake 783
3. Guilford .. 452
4. Forsyth 292
5. Buncombe 269
6. Dare 239
7. Durham 219
8. Cumberland 177
9. Carteret 138
10. Brunswick 123
The Travel Data Center shows that travel
related expenditures in the state grew about
5 percent in 1991, crossing the S7 billion
mark for the first time. The report states
North Carolina's travel and tourism industry
generates a payroll of about S2.1 billion,
employs almost 149,000 people and pays
more than $451 million in state and local
taxes.
In addition to Brunswick, the other top 10
countics arc as follows, followed by estimat
ed tourist ouday and jobs created:
Mecklenburg, SI,5 billion. 33,440 jobs;
Wake, S783 million, 18,130 jobs; Guilford.
S452 million, 9,800 jobs; Forsyth, S292 mil
lion, 5,610 jobs; Buncombe, S269 million,
6,740 jobs; Dare, S239 million, 6.790 jobs;
Durham, S219 million, 5,630 jobs; Cumber
land, S177 million, 3,790 jobs; and Carteret,
SI38 million, 3,240 jobs.
North Carolina ranks fourth in tourism in
a region which also includes Alabama, Flor
ida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, South
Carolina and Virginia. Florida is first, fol
lowed by Georgia and Virginia.
Odom said that future figures relating to
Brunswick County should be more accurate
than in die past, as a result of efforts by the
chamber. The agency that compiles the data
is looking at new ways of calculation. For
instance, proximity to a major airport and
being considered a major destination is cur
rently a factor, as arc the number of hotel
and motel room registrations, neither of
which applies directly to Brunswick County.
For future reporting, she said Brunswick
County businesses will be allowed to couni
cottagc and condominium rentals as individ
ual units, which should make a significant
difference, she predicted.
Williamson May Be Appointee
To State Transportation Board
Ocean Isle Developer Odell Williamson said he expects to hear by
the end of this week whether he has been appointed by Gov. Jim Hunt
to a scat on the N.C. Transportation Board.
Williamson, a staunch supporter through the
governor's successful 1976 and 1980 campaigns,
served on Hunt's state campaign finance committee
during the past election. Both Williamson and his
wife Virginia contributed the legal maximum of
S8,(XX)each to the 1992 campaign.
"I feel like 1 could do him a good job,"
Williamson said in a telephone interview Monday.
"I'd like to have it."
Hunt, during his second term as governor, ap
pointed Williamson to the state's Economic WILLIAMSON
Development Board. Williamson joked that as a representative on that
panel, "1 was probably his cheapest employee," never having accepted
per diem pay or sought travel reimbursement.
Williamson was the original developer of Ocean Isle Beach, having
bought almost all the island in 1953. He has served six terms in the
N.C. House of Representatives and has been Occan Isle Bcach's mayor.
He currently serves as the town's utilities and streets commission.
In 1991, Williamson was listed as Brunswick County's sixth high
est taxpayer, with properties in his name valued at nearly S28 million.
Williamson said he believes the state's most pressing transportation
need at present is "protecting its investment" through highway repairs.
"All you have to do to see what I mean is ride (N.C.) 179 from Ocean
Isle to Seaside and see how many potholes there arc."
The Division 3 DOT Board scat represents New Hanover, Bruns
wick, Duplin, Pender, Onslow and Sampson counties. An at-largc scat
is also available.
Calabash Split Issue Seems
Destined For Legislature
(Continued From Page 1-A)
first term in the legislature and said
he is better known by longtime
Brunswick County residents because
he owned a local grocery store for
many years.
Redwine said he has been hearing
from people on both sides of the is
sue, "but 1 haven't kept a running
count of who said what."
"1 think it's safe to say that a ma
jority of folks in Carolina Shores do
not want the split, but District I is a
mixed bag. People in District 1 who
have said they want a split have not
said cxactly what direction they
wan? to take," he added.
"They want to get away from
wliat they feel like is people treating
them unfairly, that they're getting
nothing from their lax dollars.
There's a perception that natives
can't gel along with non-natives."
Redwinc said that split or no split,
it would benefit people in both areas
to learn to get along. "We as legisla
tors are jumped on to immediately
fix problems, when sometimes only
those involved can do that. We just
pass legislation?cold, cut and
dried. There's lots more going on
than just the legal aspcct of this."
Soles said despite his determina
tion to introduce the break-up bill, "I
would personally like to sec them
come to an agreement to remain one
town."
He added, "I'm just trying to give
them the opportunity to sec how
they like living apart."
Normal Temps, Rain Forecast
Near normal temperatures and above average rainfall arc in the forecast
for the next fe m days.
Shallotte Point meteorologist Jackson Canady said Tuesday he expects
temperatures to range from the upper 30s at night to ilie upper 5()s during
the daytime, with about three-fourths inch of rainfall.
He recorded an "about normal" daily average temperature of 48 degrees
lor the period Feb. 16 through 22, combining a daily average high of 60 de
grees and an average nightly low of 37 degrees. The high for the period
was 79 degrees on Feb. 22, contrasting sharply with the low of 25 degrees
recorded Feb. 19.
He recorded 37-hundredths of an inch of rainfall.
I 1
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Sen/ices Jeopardized By Openings: Director
(Continued From Page 1-A)
spect.
"For many, ihe alternative is a
nursing home, which is more expen
sive. It's not good economically or
morally," he said.
Another precarious situation ex
ists in the area of child protective
services, where Orrock said half the
six-member staff positions remain
vacant. State law requires that all re
ports of child abuse or neglect must
be investigated within 24 or 48
hours, depending on severity.
Last month the department inves
tigated 63 reports, he said. Each in
vestigation involves several visits
with the family and interviews with
teachers, doctors and counselors.
Workers arc required to update each
child's case files and must spend
one week out of every six on 24
hour call.
"This is creating a situation where
we may not be able to respond in
time," Orrock said. "As a result, a
child could undergo further harm.
That would not only be a tragedy for
the child, but the county could be
held civilly liable. Once that hap
pens, everybody will be sorry."
Staffing dcficicncics in the
Medicaid program have contributed
to delays in applications that result
ed in DSS being fined S.MX) by state
regulators since December, Orrock
said. The department is required to
proccss at least 85 percent of all
Medicaid applications within 60 or
90 days or it faces a S50 per week
fine.
Between November and January,
Medicaid eases increased by 126 ap
plicants, Orrock said. During that
period, the department has operated
with two fewer income maintenance
caseworkers. For the first time in
years, Brunswick DSS dropped be
low the required processing rate and
was fined.
If a Medicaid agency fails to meet
the minimum requirements twice in
one quarter, it must develop an ap
proved plan to correct the deficien
cies. Subsequent violations can lead
to stricter levels of enforcement in
cluding state takeover of the pro
gram.
"We were already carrying more
caseload per worker than was rec
ommended in tile last state study
done in the late 70s," Orrock said.
"As a result, clients have to wait
longer. After an hour or two, they
get frustrated and agitated and they
take their hostility out on workers.
That puts more stress on people who
arc already maxed out."
Orrock feels the problems arc on
ly going to get worse. He worries
that a false perception that DSS is
overstaffed will make it tougher for
him to get approval lor additional
positions he feels will be needed in
the upcoming budget.
"I'm in a double dilemma," he
said. "If they don't believe I need
what I have now, it's going to be a
real challenge to convince the board
of commissioners that I need more."
Food stamp cases have increased
by 168 recipients in the past three
months with about 20 percent of
county residents receiving some as
sistance, he said. The Aid to
Families Willi Dependent Children
(AFDC) program has added 140
new cases since June.
With no new industries moving
into Brunswick County, Orrock docs
not expect much improvement in the
local employment or income out
look. Summer tourism will bring
some additional jobs, but most will
pay low wages. Consequently, many
workers will remain on food stamps
and their funding levels will have to
be continually adjusted as weekly
paychecks fluctuate.
"Thai makes more work for the
caseworkers than if their clicnts
stayed on unemployment and made
the same thing every week," he said.
"Right now they're managing. Six
months from now, I don't know."
Calling the county manager "a
man of his word," Orrock said he
believes Clcgg is "accepting a
charge from the board of commis
sioners to do a deliberate and thor
ough examination" of county per
sonnel needs. He said he would not
like to be the one to decide what po
sitions arc "essential" to county gov
ernment.
"How would I decide which client
is more important than the other?"
Orrock said. "Is it better to provide
protection to a child or to help an el
derly person or to pay a fine or to
delay a person's application for
AFDC? I can't make those deci
sions. There's one supreme being
that docs that.
"If we're not going to provide
services, 1 don't know why we ex
ist."
Calabash Nixes Commission For
Negotiator
BY ERIC CARLSON
The Calabash Board of Com
missioners Tuesday refused to ap
prove a negotiating contract with a
Raleigh accountant who was ac
cused of overcharging the town for
an earlier study.
Jack Brady, former president of
the Carolina Shores Property
Owners Association, told the board
that nearly all the information con
tained in a recent rate-base analysis
of the Carolina Blythe sewage treat
ment company was pulled directly
from reports available from the N.C.
Public Utilities Commission.
Calabash and Sunset Beach joint
ly paid Raleigh Accountant George
Dennis S9,(XK) for the study at the
request of Powell Associates, engi
neering consultants for the two
towns' proposed sewerage project.
The engineers said the report was
needed to establish how much a pri
vate utility might pay for Carolina
Blythe, the sewage treatment com
pany that currently serves Carolina
Shores and other areas near the
town. The purchase of the sewer
plant and distribution system is the
cornerstone for the first phase of the
joint sewer system project.
"Every item in the Dennis report
came direcUy from the PUC report,"
Brady told the board. "A third-grade
math student could have done this
report."
Brady said the report's last 36
pages of schedules outlining the as
sets and expenses of Carolina Blythe
arc derived directly from the PUC
document using standard deprecia
tion schedules. He said the work
could easily have been done on a
home computer in "maybe 16
hours" at a maximum cost of
Contractor Gets Deadline,
Punchlist From BCC Board
(Continued From Page 1-A)
steel fireproofing and repair of dam
aged areas of fireproofing; exterior
insulation and finish system; con
struction of ticket booths; broom
clcan the interior, remove debris
surrounding building; grading to
stop ponding of water; sidewalks
and base for parking and roadway
and proceed with asphalt; hanging
of remaining doors; roofing, flash
ing and coping; and at least 30 per
cent of interior painting; and all
items on punch lists for inspections
performed to date; and installation
of ceiling gypsum board as soon as
above-ceiling inspection is per
formed.
Both Reaves and Michael Sapp,
auditorium manager, said Tuesday
that they have seen increased activi
ty at the construction site over the
past several weeks. This week work
ers have been pouring sidewalks and
building the framework for ticket
booths, among other things.
"Work is progressing," said Sapp.
"It's looking better and belter every
day."
While he has no doubt the audito
rium will be completed for PCC's
graduation on Aug. 19, Sapp is not
as optimistic about it being ready for
a May 10 concert by the North
Carolina Symphony.
"We haven't canceled it," he said,
"but 1 don't see it happening."
S2,000.
In a Nov. 4 letter to Powell
Associates, Dennis said he was
billing the towns for 120 hours work
at S75 per hour to prepare the study.
"I'm not an accountant, but I've
been in business before. And if my
accountant gave me this report and
charged me S9,(X)0, I'd lire him,"
Brady said. "I certainly wouldn't
pay him for another study."
Two weeks ago, at the request of
Powell and Associates, the board
agreed in a split vote to pay Dennis
SI,500, with Sunset Beach paying a
like amount, to establish an asking
price for Carolina Blythc.
Dennis also wants the board to
agree to pay him a commission of
three percent of the difference be
tween the final negotiated purchase
price and Carolina Blythe's initial
asking price of $4.5 million.
But the board Tuesday refused to
authorize Dennis to negotiate a pur
chase or to approve his requested
commission.
"Everybody on God's green earth
knows that company is not worth
S4.5 million," said Commissioner
George Anderson. "The motion we
passed at the last meeting authorized
the expenditure of $1,500, not his
commission."
Hank Mattutat, chairman of the
Calabash Citizens' Advisory Com
mittee, said the town may need
Dennis's expertise as a negotiator.
But he scoffed at the idea of using
the $4.5 million figure as the basis
for his commission.
"You have a pic-in-thc sky figure
of $4.5 million and a rate-base study
that says the company is worth $1.5
million to a private utility," Mattutat
said. "But the word is out that
Carolina Blythc previously offered
to sell to another utility company for
S2.5 million. So the starting figure
should be somewhere between SI.5
million and S2.5 million."
Consultants say Carolina Blythe
would not be worth as much to a pri
vate utility as it would to a public
entity such as joint sewer authority
formed by Calabash and Sunset
Beach. Under public ownership, the
authority would not have to pay tax
es or make a profiL
The board agreed to have Town
Attorney Mike Ramos re-write the
contract with Dennis, deleting his
authorization to negotiate and the
suggested commission agreement.
In other business the board:
?Directed Calabash Building
Inspector Edward Schaack to inform
businesses that the town will begin
enforcing existing regulations that
require the screening of all dump
sters starting June 1. Under the law,
the containers arc required to be
screened on three sides to a height at
least one foot above the top of the
container. The open side is not to be
visible from the street. Schaack
asked the board for guidance after
he received a complaint from a
property owner about an unscreened
dumpster.
?Opened three bids for the curb
side pickup of yard debris and the
hauling of debris away from the
town's collection center. The
Greenkceper Co. was low bidder at
S2.39 per cubic yard.
?Opened three bids for clearing
drainage ditches in the town. The
low bidder was T.B. Powell at S3.75
per linear foot.
?Scheduled a public hearing on
modifications to section 8 and sec
tion 15 of the town's zoning ordi
nance for March 23 at 6:30 p.m.
little type
BIG RESULTS
Use the
whether you're
buying or selling.
THE BRUNSWICK&BEACON
754-6890
THE BRUNSWICK&fEACON
Established Nov. 1,1962
Telephone 754-6X90
Published Every Thursday
At 4709 Main Street
Shallotte, N.C. 28459
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IN BRUNSWICK COUNTY
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Six Months S5.55
ELSEWHERE IN
NORTH CAROLINA
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Six Months S7.90
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One Year $15.95
Six Months $8.35
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