July 2005 The Shoreline Pag#3
Commissioners Adopt Budget,
Conditional Use Ordinance
By Bill White
Mayor Tops With Classmates
The Town Commissioners, at their
egular monthly meeting June 14,
jnanimously adopted a $4,308,050
judget for the fiscal year beginning July
1 following a public hearing that
produced no comments or questions from
;he audience. The budget does not call
For any change in the municipal tax rate,
which will remain at 18 cents per hundred
iollars of property valuation.
The unanimous vote came after two
proposals to amend line items in the
budget were rejected by 3 to 2 votes,
with Mayor Joan Lamson casting the tie-
breaking and deciding vote in each case.
The proposals were put forth by
Commissioner Larry La Brie. In the first
one. La Brie proposed that the $12,000
line item for The Shoreline be reduced to
R2,000 and that the $10,000 difference
je put into the contingency fund for
possible use to cover future unanticipated
jxpenses. He suggested that money could
36 saved in connection with The
shoreline by not mailing the newsletter
o Pine Knoll Shores addresses and
■everting to the original system of
lelivering copies in town by leaving
hem in front of homes and condos.
In opposing the proposal,
Commissioner Jim Hunter pointed out
hat the hand delivery system had
produced a wave of complaints from residents
concerned for many reasons about large
numbers of papers lying uncollected on lawns
and in driveways. He held that the system of
mailing The Shoreline has effectively
eliminated the complaints, adding that the
newsletter has been well received by the
community since publication was resumed
after residents had indicated their desire to
bring it back. Hunter was joined in opposing
the amendment by Commissioner Bill
Ashland, who echoed Hunter’s comments and
praised the efforts of the volunteers who are
producing the newsletter.
La Brie was joined in supporting the
amendment by Commissioner Bob Danehy,
who also expressed concern about future
additional expenses, including funding three
additional fire and EMS personnel who he
said are critically needed. He voiced the
opinion that making The Shoreline available
on-line might be a cost-effective option that
could be explored.
The second amendment proposed by La
Brie concerned the budget provision to make
funds available to make the position of
receptionist/office assistant at Town Hall a
full-time rather than a part-time post. La Brie
indicated that he felt the need to make the
position full-time had yet to be justified. He
said that the questions of funding both the
full-time position and The Shoreline could be
revisited after more time had
passed and more information
became available.
Hunter once again
opposed the proposal,
maintaining that when no
one is manning the lobby
desk citizens walking into
Town Hall are greeted by an
empty desk and a sign that
instructs them to ring a bell
to summon assistance. That
means, he said, that someone
in a back office has to drop
whatever they are doing to
go to assist the waiting
public. It would be better, he
argued, if a friendly face and
a warm welcome were
always on hand, as they are
now part of the time.
Continued to page 4
“They Like You! ” With those words Brooks
Raiford, executive director of Leadership North
Carolina, presented to Pine Knoll Shores Mayor
Joan Lamson the coveted Stanley Frank Class
Award.
The occasion was the annual meeting and
12“' graduation ceremony
of Leadership North
Carolina (LNC) held June
10 in Greensboro. LNC is
the state’s premier
leadership program for
current and emerging
leaders. Each year it
gathers a class of
individuals who have
demonstrated
commitment to
community and
professional leadership
activities with the aim of
broadening their
understanding of and
involvement in issues and
opportunities facing the
state.
Participants take part in six monthly, two-
day sessions held in various parts of the state and
focusing on issues in the areas of government,
education, economic development, health and
human services, and the environment. On the
afternoon of the final session in Greensboro the
48 members of this year’s class took part in a
forum with the four living former chief justices
of the North Carolina Supreme Court.
Pine Knoll Shores has a new Director of
Emergency Services for the second time in little
more than a month. The position became vacant
again in mid-June with the resignation of Reed
Jarvis, who had been named to
the post in May.
Jarvis, who lives in the Down
East Carteret County community
of Atlantic, indicated he thought
the long commute between
Atlantic and PKS would not be a
drawback to his service here. But
a few weeks on the job convinced
him that he could not do the
position justice if he was not here
a good part of the time. He noted
that living so far away meant that
he was not able to join the
response when many
emergencies occurred,
PKS, he said in submitting his resignation,
would be better served by a Director of
Emergency Services who would be in a better
position to monitor day-to-day operations.
The award presented to Mayor Lamson is
named for Stanley Frank, a Greensboro
businessman who was among the earliest
supporters of Leadership North Carolina and
remains one of its biggest boosters. The Frank
Award is coveted because it comes as a result of
written nominations
submitted by members
of the class.
Before presenting
Mayor Lamson with the
Waterford eagle
emblematic of the
award, Raiford read
excerpts from the
submissions of a few of
the classmates who
nominated the mayor
for the honor.
Said one: “Joan
often added a
perspective that others
in the class had not
thought of. Her
comments had our full
attention; when Joan Lamson talked, people
listened.” Added another: “Joan is an engaging
person interested in everything and everyone
around her and is an asset to North Carolina.”
The mayor’s coveted Waterford eagle now
occupies a prominent spot on the shelves behind
her Town Hall desk. She has yet to figure out
how to display the North Carolina Flag flown in
her honor over the dome of the State Capitol
building on June 10.
Jarvis told officials he felt PKS had just such
a candidate in the person of Bill Matthias, who
has been serving the Town as a full-time fireman/
EMT since January. Jarvis recommended
Matthias for the post and the
mayor and commissioners,
while expressing regret at
Jarvis’ decision to leave,
heartily agreed with his
recommendation. Matthias was
named as the new director as of
June 21.
A 24-year veteran of the
Marine Corps, Matthias worked
as a paid fireman in Jacksonville
before joining the PKS Fire
Department. He also served for
a number of years as a volunteer
firefighter in Swansboro,
giving up that duty on June 20 in order to devote
full-time to his new post in PKS.
Matthias lives in Hubert with his wife, April.
They have three children, Billy, Jacelyn and
Noelle.
TKe Srar Team
Real Estatg^Si3ecialists
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252-247-7620,
If you are fonsidering
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Mayor Lamson with her coveted
Waterford eagle.
Emergency Services Director
Steps Down; Matthias Named
Bill Matthias