Ocean Isle Pushes For
East End Renourishment
Ocean Isle Beach put another 3 cents of its property
tax rate (down to 17 cents per $100 after .revaluation) in
to a bcach renourishment hope chest in 1994.
Late in the year town commissioners asked the U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers to take a second look at pro
posals km beach stabilization that didn't include much
help for the east end of the island. They also asked the
planning board to consider a proposal for temporary
"parking" of erosion-endangered homes that owners
wanted to relocate elsewhere on the island.
The hope chest money, now approaching $500,000,
will help pay for a 50-year berm and dune beach renour
ishment project being developed with the corps.
Town leaders had been eyeing the project as i
a means of building up and protecting the dwin- | jf *
uuug tuu %j i uic iMdiiu, uui inc nrM option
the corps recommended would stop short of that
goal because of a declining cost-benefit ratio.
The corps raised property owners' concerns
when it suggested a project running only from
Winnabow to Duncside, with it paying 65 per
cent of the cost and the town and other Darties
the remaining 35 percent of the $10.2 million estimated
pricetag.
At the town's request, the corps is re-examining op
tions to see if more can be done to protect the east end
without substantially increasing Ocean Isle's share of
the cost. Mayor Betty Williamson expected to hold a
public workshop on the corps' revamped proposals in
early 1995.
Ocean Isle marked progress on several fronts during
the year, including completion of its east-end sewer pro
ject and subsequent reduction in sewer bills, 100 percent
collection of 1993 taxes, its first major paving project in
years and new street signs. Water rates went up to reflect
the higher cost of buying water from Brunswick County,
and the town began looking at the need for a new elevat
ed tank for more water storage to meet seasonal peak de
mand and firefighting needs and began planning a town
hall addition to house the police department.
Ai i'nc urging of Commissioner K.en Proctor, the
town's board of commissioners agreed to begin holding
a quarterly evening meeting to become more accessible
to working residents of the town. On Labor Day the first
worksession drew approximately 20 residents, a larger
attendance than is usual at the board's second Tuesday
morning meetings.
Fellow commissioners were less receptive to
1 Proctor's efforts to revitalize the town's nearly
| inactive planning and zoning board. Proctor re
signed trom the planning Doara ancr election
as commissioner in fall 1993 and immediately
began pushing for expanded membership and
better guidelines for the panel. Commissioners
voted 3-2 instead to give the three town and
two extraterritorial area members equal pow
ers. and aDoointed the mayor's son as one of
the ETA representatives. Giving ETA members the right
to vote on all matters coming before the planning board,
not just ETA matters, other commissioners suggested,
would be an incentive to attend meetings. Any three
would make a quorum.
The planning board took on a new look in 1994, as
planning Board Chairman DeCarol Williamson, no
longer a permanent town resident, and members Bill
Bullington and Judy McHenry resigned. Later in the
year, architect Joe Johnson stepped down after establish
ing permanent residency at Sunset Beach. Community
members rallied in support of their volunteer fire depart
ment after Chief David Harrell and others asked for
more money and manpower to support fire, emergency
BEACH EROSION CONTINUES to threaten homes on Ocean Isle's east end. Some, like the cottage
above, have survived a series of storms, while others are newly endangered.
first responder and water rescue services. Attendance at
the annual meeting of the OIB Fire Protection Asso
ciation reached an all-time high, the department scaled
an agreement with Shallotte Volunteer Rescue Squad ex
pected to result in stationing of an ambulance at Ocean
Isle full-time in the future, and the town agreed to enroll
firefighters' in a state retirement fund as a means of
helping attract more members. The department was
working to achievc a better rating, which would result in
lower fire insurance premiums
Fire department members were on the scene of a
Nov. 16 electrical accident at 155 East Second Street in
minutes. Vinyl siding installer James "Frank" Braswell
Jr., 58, of Conway. S.C, died of cardiac anest from elec
trical shock after an extension ladder fell against an
overhead power transmission line. Co-worker Bobby
Sweat, also of Conway, S.C., was transported by air to
the Jaycees Burn Center, UNC Hospitals. Chapel Hill,
where his condition was reported in late December as
"fair".
A popular visitors' attraction, the Museum of
Coastal Carolina found itself not entirely welcome in its
predominantly residential neighborhood.
Early in the year the town agreed to block through
traffic on East Third Street, the unpaved connector be
tween the causeway and laurinburg Street, in response
to complaints about museum-related traffic and dust In
December, a proposal to expand the museum by adding
a 150-scat auditorium met with neighbors' opposition
and the town Board of Adjustment's rejection, mainly
because of parking, stormwatcr and traffic related prob
lems.
WILL HIRE TOWN MANAGER
Sewer Service Was Major Issue For Calabash Board Of Commissioners
BY ERIC CARLSON
The question of sewer service
dominated discussion by the Cala
bash Board of Commissioners in
1994, with Carolina Shores residents
encouraging the town to purchase
the existing sewage treatment sys
tem that serves their development.
Meanwhile, the town's hired engi
neers moved ahead with design
work on a regional sewerage system
to be jointly administered by repre
sentatives from Calabash, Sunset
Beach and the county on the South
Brunswick Water and Sewer Aut
hority.
In early January 1994 the town
agreed to pursue an alternate plan for
funding a downtown sewage- toUtc
tion system after the Farmers Home
Administration rejected Calabash's
application for $10 million in grants
and loans. The board voted to allo
cate $100,000 for engineering plan
ning and $50,000 for preliminary
work on a sewage treatment plant
"while additional funding is secured
and the project scope defined."
The following month, the Lower
Cape Fear Water and Sewer
Authority discussed the idea of "get
ting into the sewer business" by pur
chasing the Carolina Blythe Utility
Co. that serves Carolina Shores and
some other areas of the town. The
LCFWSA, which provides Bruns
wick County with its raw water, lat
er decided against buying Carolina
Blythe.
At the commissioners' March
meeting, petitions purportedly
signed by 652 Calabash residents
were presented in opposition j?
to the town's ongoing plans I
to join Sunset Beach in Build
ing the regional sewer sys
tem. Residents of Carolina
Shores, where the petitions
were circulated by its proper
ty owners association, urged
the hoard to "explore thor
oughly" the feasibility of purchasing
Carolina Blythe Utility Co.
Later that month, the commis
sioners agreed to notify CBU owner
Billy Burnett that the town "intends"
to purchase his company for his ask
ing price of S4.5 million. Burnett
had refused to give the town infor
mation it wanted to consider the pro
posed purchase unless Calabash
gave him a letter of intent. Town
Attorney Michael Ramos advised
the commissioners that the letter as
drafted would not be legally bind
ing.
In May, commissioners who want
the town to buy Carolina Blythe
took advantage of an absence on the
board to approve spending S4.5 mil
lion for the company. Commissioner
Edward Schaack. a supporter of the
regional sewerage system effort,
was in Texas when a special meeting
was called to consider the purchase.
1 Upon his return, Schaack
;* i v-f I said he was "highly upset"
with the board's handling
of such an important deci
sion, which commissioner
l Keith Hardee labelled
"dirty politics."
Taking time off from
sewage considerations, the
commissioners in June unveiled ?
proposed budget that would have in
creased Calabash property taxes by
nearly 35 percent. A crowd of about
250 residents packed a public hear
ing at which the spending package
was loudly criticized. Voters asked
the commissioners to dip into the
town's savings to lessen the need for
higher taxes. The commissioners
eventually adopted a budget that re
duced the tax rate by a penny.
Carolina Blythe Utilities Co.
owner Billy Burnett gave the town
an ultimatum in July, saying he
Offered Through BCC, Two Advanced
Life Support Classes Start In January
An intermediate course for emer
gency medical technicians with ba
sic certification is one of several ad
vanced life support classes offered
in early 1995 through the Brunswick
Community College Continuing
Education Department.
Two class in EMT-Deflbrillation
also are planned, one in January and
one in February.
The EMT-Intermediate course
will be offered starting Tuesday, Jan.
3, at the Brunswick County Emer
gency Services Center at Bolivia.
Participants will learn advanced
cmcigency tare proccuuies such as
assessment and management of
emergencies under the direction of a
physician. The program includes
clinical, lecture, practice instruction
and field internship. Students pay a
$15 fee for supplies, registration
fees and must purchase a textbook.
The first EMT-Defibrillation class
begins Jan. 4 and ends Jan. 30,
meeting Monday and Wednesday
evenings at the Calabash Volunteer
Emergency Medical Services Head
quarters. The 21 hours of instruction
will cover general patient assess
ment and initial patient manage
ment, including biad and epineph
rine administration.
The second EMT-Defibrillation
class begins Feb. 1 and ends Feb. 27
and will meet Mondays and Wed
nesdays at the Leland Volunteer
Rescue Squad Building. One Friday
night class is scheduled.
Both EMT-Defibrillation classes
will use the textbook "Early Defib
rillation" by Robert J. Huszar, avail
able at the Brunswick Community
College bookstore after Jan. 1.
Registration for all classes will
take place at the first class meeting.
For details on fees, insurance and
other information contact Brunswick
County Assistant Emergency Med
ical Services Director Eddie Brown,
910-253-5383.
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" See the man with the red socks on!" , in. to* Ar</*j I
would begin looking for other buy
ers for his company if the town did
not commit to the purchase within
60 days. The commissioners agreed
to inform Burnett that the town
could not meet his demand without
first obtaining the necessary regula
tory approvals for the purchase, a
process that was sure to extend far
beyond his deadline
The board voted unanimously in
August to begin the search for a
town administrator. The cut-off for
applications passed Dec. 15 and the
board is expected to begin inter
viewing potential candidates for the
job in January.
Before deciding if they should
push ahead with the purchase of
Carolina Blythe Utility Co., the
Calabash commissioners last month
agreed to hold a non-binding refer
endum on whether to buy up all
stock in the sewerage treatment
r
company. Ballots were mailed to
registered voters along with a letter
advising that the fledgling South
Brunswick Water and Sewer
Authority would be "the likely pur
chaser" of CBU if the town failed to
buy it. In response to questions
about the claim, the authority hoard
voted unanimously to re-state its po
sition that it has no intention of ac
quiring Carolina Blythe. Of the 954
ballots cast in the straw vote, 749
registered support for the purchase
by Calabash.
Forecasting Gets Boost
From New Radar System
Ijocal weather forecasting capa- feeds information continuously to
bilities received a boost in
the fall when a powerful new
NLXRAD (Next Generation
Radar > antcnaa went into op
eration. its gcodesic c.lomc
visible off N.C. 130 west of
Shallotte.
Sensitive enough to de
tect sea breezes or wisps of
2ZHnna^?N*'""'
*? "1 ??
Hanover
Weather
office at New
International
Airport ?n Wilmington.
The new system marks an
expansion of the
Wilmington office and its
role in forecasting coastal
weather for portions of
smoke from wildfire, the antenna North Carolina and South Carolina.
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