Firm That Sued County Still In Running For Water Project
BY ERIC CARLSON
County Commissioners Chairman Don Warren says
he would still consider hiring Houston and Associates to
design the county's next big water project despite the
engineering firm's continued effort to obtain $346,202
more than a jury awarded it in a successful breach of
contract suit against the county last year.
In an interview Tuesday, Warren said he was unaware
that the Shallotte engineering firm was fined $2.(HX) and
reprimanded by the N.C. State Board of Registration for
Professional Land Engineers and Surveyors last spring
for "misrepresenting the qualifications of a non-regis
tered employee and principal of the firm."
Houston and Associates also was fined S5(K) for "is
suing a brochure which included within a professional
corporation an entity not allowed" under the provisions
of North Carolina law. according to the state licensing
board's May and November news bulletins.
"I was not aware of that." Warren said in an interview
Tuesday. "We will have to consider it now that I am
aware of it."
Houston and Associates is one of six engineering
firms being considered for design work on a $2.6 mil
lion project that will extend water service to the Shell
mm
Point. Civietown. Sunset Harbor and Mt. Misery Road
areas.
It will he the county's largest capital improvements
project since the S6.5 million Shallotte Point water pro
ject in 1991. for which Houston and Associates was
hired to do the design work. In August of thai year, the
hoard of commissioners voted to fire the company, al
leging that Houston and Associates had fallen seriously
behind schedule.
In a November 1992 civil trial, a jury decided that the
county was wrong when it terminated the contract. It
awarded Houston and Associates S50.(KH) in damages.
The company appealed the award to the N.C. Court of
Appeals, claiming that Brunswick County owes Houston
and Associates $396,202 plus legal fees. The appeal is
still pending.
Warren said that while the ongoing court action
"gives me some problems." it would not cause him to
drop Houston and Associates from consideration on the
new contract.
Warren also said he "wouldn't tie together" the con
tract award and the civil action.
"I'm not interested in making any deals," he said.
Design proposals from Houston and Associates and
Five Administrators' Positions Are
Eliminated In Schools' Restructuring
(Continued From Page 1-A)
education as the system continues
implementing Tech Prep, a coopera
tive program that affects students in
grades eight through their second
year of community college training.
Also, Steve Skillman will contin
ue to oversee the schools' cultural
arts program while teaching hand.
His title will be changed from super
visor to coordinator, his five-class
teaching schedule reduced to three
classes to make the job a more even
50-50 split between administration
and instruction, and his contract
shortened from 12 to 11 months.
Calhoun said he anticipates filling
all five new positions from within
the county system, at an estimated
cost of $232,639.
He plans to establish two new 12
month administrative positions, hir
ing directors of elementary (grades
pre-kindergarten through 5) and sec
ondary (grades 6-12) education.
These two people would assist him
in developing and implementing
curriculum and instructional ser
vices, help implement site-based
management concepts and carry out
other assigned responsibilities. In
addition to their regular salaries they
would receive extra duty pay equal
to that earned by the director of ex
ceptional children's programs, and
the established local supplement.
Three teachers with at least five
years' experience (minimum of two
in the county system) will lie placed
on special assignment for up to three
years as school improvement spe
cialists. similar to the "lead teach
ers" recommended by a countywide
committee last year. They will work
11 -month contracts and be paid
teachers' salaries plus assistant prin
cipals' supplements.
Spending "80 percent" of their
time in the schools, their role will he
to help principals and teachers de
velop and implement school im
provement plans and help teachers
analyze test results and select suit
able teaching strategies for each
child.
"It has great promise," said Cal
houn. "Every school may eventually
have a position like this."
Principals have too much to do.
he said, as they are expected to be
instructional leaders as well as man
agers and administrators. "I think
they need more help."
"We need more experience in
school improvement planning and
more help for principals and teach
ers in doing it. and I think teachers
are the best people to help teachers."
The plan also calls for extending
assistant principals' contracts from
11 months to 12 months to help
meet administrative needs of the
system.
CP&L Says Mine Would Jeopardize
Brunswick Nuclear Facility Safety
(Continued From Page 1-A)
Martin Marietta's mining operation
could pose to the continued opera
tion ot the plant. He points out that
the NRC has licensed the plant to
operate based on "certain analyzed
conditions" including ground water
quality and the availability of power
lines connecting the plant to the rest
of the CP&L transmission grid.
"Should these pre-existing condi
tions or assumptions be changed, the
continued operation of Brunswick
Nuclear Plant could be required to
be reevaluated by the NRC,"
Cavanaugh said.
Local opponents of the proposed
mine applauded CP&L's action, call
ing it a "vindication" and "valida
tion" of their concerns about the
quarry's effect on neighboring prop
erties.
"When I read the letter, it looked
like something I could have written
myself," said Bob Quinn, a co
founder of the Brunswick Mining
Awareness Committee. "Their engi
neers raised the same concerns we
had. It adds another source for the
same information and identifies the
same environmental and economic
Special Meeting Called
The Brunswick County Commissioners will hold a special meeting
Thursday, Dec. 16, at 5:45 p.m. in the board's chambers to consider an
ordinance aimed at regulating the proposed Martin Marietta limestone
mine near Southport, Chairman Don Warren said Tuesday evening.
Warren refused to give any details on what the board plans to do,
saying only that a notice sent to the Beacon at about 5 p.m. "tells every
thing there is to know."
The notice said the board will meet to consider "enactment of an or
dinance prohibiting acts or conditions detrimental to the health, welfare,
safety and peace and dignity of Brunswick County and its citizens."
At the board's last regular meeting. Commissioner Wayland Vereen
said he planned to work with County Attorney Mike Ramos to draft an
ordinance aimed at stopping the Martin Marietta mining project.
Vereen could not be reached for comment Tuesday evening.
However, Warren confirmed that the special meeting was called to con
sider Vereen's proposal.
and social and physical problems we
have been presenting all along.
"It also focuses the spotlight on
who has the ability to do something
about this and raises the question of
why aren't they doing it?," Quinn
said.
"It points out the nonsense of the
Economic Development Commis
sion calling this a good thing. It
Seasonal Weather Expected
South Brunswick Islands resi
dents can expect near normal tem
peratures and precipitation over the
next few days.
Shallotte Point meteorologist
Jackson Canady said Tuesday he
expects temperatures to average
from the upper 30s at night into the
upper 50s during the daytime, with
about one-half inch of rainfall.
For the period Dec. 7 through
13, he recorded a high of 67 degrees
on Dec. 10 and a low of 25 degrees
on Dec. 13.
He recorded a daily average
temperature of 46 degrees, about 2
degrees below average, based on a
daily average high of 58 degrees
and a nightly average low of 35 de
grees.
Canady measured forty-three
hundredths inch of rainfall.
shows how 'vrong (Brunswick
County Planning Director) John
Harvey was when he said that state
regulations would protect us from
this.
"The only thing that can protect
us is ourselves and our county offi
cials," Quinn said. "The county
commissioners ought to have the
will to make things happen. So far, I
haven't seen it."
Late Tuesday afternoon, the coun
ty commissioners announced that a
special meeting will he held Thurs
day, Dec. 16, at 5:45 p.m. in the
board's chambers for the purpose of
considering an ordinance aimed at
regulating mining operations in
Brunswick County.
The Brunswick County Planning
Board was scheduled Wednesday (
Dec. 15) to consider an amendment
to the county zoning ordinance that
would prohibit mining.
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the other five engineering firms were reviewed by a
committee comprised of County Manager VVyman
Yelton, County Engineer Robert Tucker and Utilities
Operations Director Jerry Webb.
"We collectively met as a committee on Oct. 28 to re
view our independent analysis of the proposals," Tucker
said in a memo included in the commissioners Nov. 15
agenda packet. "It was collectively agreed that the firm
Camp. Dresser and McKee had submitted the most re
sponsive proposal and that a recommendation would be
made to the board of commissioners. ..to negotiate a con
tract for these services."
After Tucker made his recommendation to the board,
Watren asked that a decision be deferred to give the
commissioners time to review all the proposals. He also
asked Tucker if CDM had "met the deadline" on their
last contract with the county.
"Yes, they did," Tucker said.
It was CDM that took over the Shallotte Point water
project after Houston and Associates was fired. Tucker
was one of the many county officials called upon to tes
tify in the resulting lawsuit.
Warren also asked Tucker how many of the applying
firms were based in Brunswick County. Tucker said only
one of the other five. Andrew and Kuske Consulting
Engineers, has an office in the county. Camp, Dresser
and McKee is based in Raleigh.
Although local ties will he a factor in his decision.
Warren said he will consider all the applicants equally.
Warren said he has heard that the City of Wilmington
recently "got into a squabble" with CDM over its cost
estimate for design services. He has asked Yelton to
look into the matter.
"I have some doubts in my mind about getting in
volved with them (CDM)," Warren said.
Tucker said in an interview Tuesday that after re
viewing all six proposals, the committee found CDM's
to be "clearly above and beyond" the rest.
"It is my opinion that, based on the presentations of
the firms capabilities to complete the project. Camp
Dresser and McKee 's far exceeded the others," Tucker
said.
The other engineering firms that applied were McKim
and Creed of Wilmington, the Woolen Company of
Raleigh, and Boney and Associates of Rateigh.
Warren said he expects the commissioners to consider
awarding the engineering contract at the board's next
meeting Dec. 20.
STAFF PHOTO BY ERIC CARLSON
Solid Green Dancers
West Brunswick High School's dance team, attired in Trojan green sequined dresses and caps, smile
for the crowd during the annual Shallotte Christmas parade Dec. 2. Pictured (from left) are Rachel
Pearce, Nancy Smith and Erin Kedn ine.
Longwood Man Is Shot Near 'The Shed'
A 38-year-old Longwood man
was taken to New Hanover Regional
Medical Center in serious condition
Tuesday night after being shot down
in the road during an argument with
an 18-year-old, a Brunswick County
sheriff's detective said.
The victim. William Anthony
Stevenson, was hit in the upper leg
with what appeared to be a 9mm
handgun bullet, according to Det.
John Ingram, who is investigating
the incident.
"It looked like it might have hit
an artery," Ingram said. "He had lost
a lot of blood."
At press time Tuesday, Ingram
was interviewing Alfred Lamont
Butler, 18, of Longwood, who al
legedly turned himself in after the
shooting. He is expected to be
charged in the assault, which oc
curred at about 6:45.
Ingram said the two men appar
ently got into an argument in the
middle of the road near "the shed,"
an abandoned tractor dealership in
Longwood known for open-air drug
activity.
The detective would not speculate
as to whether the shooting might
have been drug-related.
Agency Turns Down Towns' Sewer Grant;
Other Funds Remain Options, Officials Say
(Continued From Page 1-A)
Council about two years ago to dis
cuss sewer funding said Tuesday he
is certain he told council at that time
about the executive order which
states that federal funds cannot be
used to encourage flood plain devel
opment.
Ronnie Pope, who did not attend
Tuesday's meeting, said the order
has been in effect for several years.
He said he could not recall the date
of his 1991 meeting at Sunset
Beach.
Engineers Joe Tombro and Jim
Billups last week delivered to the
towns a draft facilities plan outlining
the current and future need for cen
tral sewer service and the proposed
means of funding construction and
servicing the system's debt.
Sunset Beach Towri Council has
scheduled a special meeting for Dec.
28 at 7 p.m. in the town hall to dis
cuss that document. At that meeting,
the engineers are expected to present
revised funding options in light of
Tuesday's news.
The Calabash Board of Com
missioners was scheduled to meet
Wednesday night (Dec. 15) and to
hear a report from the engineers.
Tombro and Billups had not re
turned from Raleigh by the Beacon's
press time Tuesday night and could
not be reached for comment.
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