Shoreujok
November 2005 • Vol. 2, No. 5 A Shoreline Community, Pine Knoll Shores, N.C.
The
Town Hall 247-4353
CERT is Growing
New members of the Bogue Banks Community Emergency Response Team, headquartered
in Pine Knoll Shores, learning the basics of using a fire extinguisher and first aid.
Tape at 11:00!
By the time you read this the people of Pine
Knoll Shores will have already voted or will
be just about to vote in the Nov. 8 municipal
election. As a monthly publication with
relatively long lead times for printing and
distribution, The Shoreline does not have the
luxury of yelling “hold the presses” in order to
bring you news as it happens. As it happens in
this case, our November issue, printed a week
or so earlier, will be reaching our readers right
Page 9
Is It Gone Yet?
By Mayor Joan Lamson
around Election Day.
So, those of you who live here year round
or visit frequently will have to rely on other
local media for up-to-the-minute reports on
election results. For those of you who will
not be hereabouts on Election Day and do not
have access to local media The Shoreline will
carry a full account of the Election Results
in our December issue. Hope you all voted
wherever you are.
The Shoreline Staff
Of all of the problems to face the Town of
Pine Knoll Shores in the last two years, the
question of debris pick up after Hurricane
Ophelia has been the worst. If we measured
citizen concern (AKA dismay, unhappiness,
unrest, irritation, anger, hostility) by number of
phone calls, emails, personal visits to the office,
word-on-the-street, home phone calls, home
emails, threats to life and limb, I expect we
would find that H. Ophelia debris far exceeded
any issue this town has ever experienced.
Let us look first at standard operating
procedure as practiced over time and as called
out in our Emergency Preparedness Plan.
Well before hurricane season starts, we solicit
bids for various contracts to be in place if
needed. One contract (Phase I) is for the first
72 hours after a storm. This means that the
streets get cleared for access by emergency
vehicles. No debris is removed in this phase.
Another is for removal of vegetative debris
and another is for removal of construction and
demolition materials (C & D) (Phase II.) Due
to the ever-changing regulatory environment
of governmental agencies, the Town of Pine
Knoll Shores has also contracted with a
FEMA consultant for the last several years.
This consultant helps select and qualifies
the field of potential contractors, prepares
the bid packages, checks references and so
forth. These bids are presented to the Board
of Commissioners by mid springtime with a
recommendation from our Emergency Services
Director. As “keepers of the public purse” in
Pine Knoll Shores, it is essential that we follow
FEMA guidelines and regulations so that IF
we are declared a “state of disaster” after a
storm or some other horrendous event that we
will qualify for FEMA reimbursement. The
Town does have a reserve of funds, but that
allows us to cover the immediate payment of
expenses related to the storm. These monies
need to be replaced, if possible, to keep the
town in a healthy financial state. And that
requires us to choose the bid of best value to
the town. In the past, this has meant the “lowest
qualified bid.” Our early estimate of the cost
of the Phase II contract was $200,000. That
equals approximately a four-cent tax increase
for one year.
So, what was so different about this one?
First of all, H. Ophelia was acutely stubborn.
Thirty hours or more of relentless wind
and rain caused far more damage than past
hurricanes of categories 2 or 3. The direction
of the storm, coming from the sound side,
tore up docks, piers, steps, marinas, porches,
etc. like we have not seen before. Many of us
were too complacent, thinking that this was
“only” a category 1.1 think we have learned
respect for the fury of a hurricane no matter
its category.
Secondly, the storm occurred on Wednesday,
September 14. Contractors were called the next
day and the Phase I contract was completed
within a few hours. Our FEMA consultant
and the Phase II contractor could not get here
until September 20, due to the other storm
damaged towns with which they had contracts.
This did not appear to be a problem given
the amount of debris citizens were going to
have to move from back yards to the street
rights-of-way. All parties agreed that one
crew would probably be enough, but little
did we know about how much debris there
actually was. The other factor was that much
of their equipment was in Wilmington and in
Mississippi. (Rumors flew back and forth about
where their equipment was... it was where they
said it was.) September 21 was the start date
of removal. On September 22, it was obvious
that the need was underestimated and a second
crew was called in to start on September 24
and a third crew to begin on September 27.
On September 26, the second crew “quit” due
to county landfill operation procedures. On
September 27 a new second crew arrived and
Continued on Page 3
Standard
Pre-Sort
Permit #22
Morehead City, NC 28557
Deadline for November issue is Wednesday, Oct. 19. Deadline for December issue is Wednesday, Nov. /7 Articles always welcome!