New AD, coach
South athletics have new look
Natural causes
It was old age that did whak
Hospital sale
NHRMC to buy county faCmv
Phone 910-457-4568/Fax 910-457-9427/e-mail pilot@southport.net
Volume 67, Number 39
Published every Wednesday in Southport, NC
County
tax rate
is same
By Terry Pope
County Editor
It will be business as usual for the
next 12 months if a proposed $97.1
million county budget is adopted
next month.
In fact. Brunswick County man
ager Jim Varner labels it a “continu
ation” budget with little expansion.
Just two new full-time employees
and the same funding levels as last
year for most departments are
included.
“This is the third budget that I
have had the opportunity to prepare
for Brunswick County,” said Varner,
“and I can assure you that the task
does not become easier through rep
etition.”
The ad valorem tax rate will
remain the same at 68.5 cents per
$100 of property valuation, under
the proposal, and the schools will
receive a three-percent increase in
funding but still about $750,000
short of what was requested. A pub
lic hearing has been scheduled
Tuesday, June 9, at 7 p.m. in the
public assembly building at the
Brunswick County Government
Center.
The Brunswick County Board of
Commissioners must adopt the bud
get before July 1 and has set work
shops to finalize the document at 3
p.m. on three consecutive days,
June 10-12.
The total amount requested from
department heads, schools &nd com
munity college was $111.6 million,
which represents $15.1 ^nillion
more than last year’s budget. With
new homes and businesses built in
the county that add about $150 mil
lion to $200 million to the tax base
annually, more tax dollars are usual
ly generated to expand programs
and keep the tax rate steady.
“This year, as we all know, things
are different,” said Varner.
While the tax base has continued
to grow, the difference is that some
public utility companies have
received a fourth-year adjustment to
their taxable values to equalize rates
in the midst of an eight-year revalu
ation cycle. It means Carolina
Power and Light Co.’s Brunswick
Nuclear Plant will be assessed at
77.8 percent of market value and
will reduce its annual tax payment
by about $1.5 million.
Overall, the county can expect an
estimated $222-million tax valua
tion reduction for public utilities.
County commissioners have set in
motion the process of conducting a
more frequent revaluation to ease
the adjustments starting next year.
The total budget, including all
funds, is up from $96.4 million in
1997-98 to $97.1 million for 1998
99. Approximately half of the rev
enues will come from property
taxes on an anticipated $6.1-billion
valuation. New revenues that will
be reflected in the budget for the
first time include tipping fees at the
county construction demolition and
yard debris landfill near Supply
effective July 1, water availability
See County tax, page 8
GATOR GAMES
Photo by Jim Harper
Athletes with experience ranging from 55 to 92 years participated in the Gator Senior Gaines across
the county last week. They were hoping to qualify for the September North Carolina Senior Games
in Raleigh, and the possibility of playing in the 1999 Nationals in Orlando.
Racism again charged
Aldermen delay action
on developers’ appeals
By Richard Nubel
Municipal Editor
A proposed subdivision ordinance amendment which
may allow aggrieved land developers to present
appeals of planning board decisions to the city’s board
of aldermen was returned Thursday night to the plan
ning board for additional comment.
But, River Drive property owner Ron Thompson
again rose to charge racism in the city’s dealings with
him.
The planning board will once again review a pro
posed subdivision ordinance amendment which will
allow potential subdividers to appeal preliminary sub
division rulings of the planning board to the board of
aldermen. The only avenue of appeal now available to
subdividers is to sue the city in Superior Court.
Thompson, owner of 106 River Drive, gave rise to
the proposed amendment when he appeared before
aldermen in February to rebut the six reasons on which
planning board members had denied his proposed sub
division preliminary plat. He proposes to create five
lots on the one parcel he owns extending from River
Drive to the Cape Fear River.
Although the ordinance allowing the board to hear
his appeal was not adopted by aldermen Thursday,
Thompson insisted on addressing the board anyway,
along the way demanding aldermen Paul Fisher and
Meezie Childs "recuse” themselves from discussions
of his proposal, calling a comment by mayor Bill
Crowe racist,-and accusing code enforcement officer
Wayne Strickland of “snatching” a book from
See Appeals, page 9
1
Town budget
plan suggests
three-cent hike
By Richard Nubel
Municipal Editor
Calling a municipal budget a
“road map or guide for the upcom
ing year...,” Long Beach town man
ager Jerry Walters late last week dis
tributed a proposed budget for fiscal
year 1998-99 calling for hikes in
both property taxes and service fees.
The manager’s budget proposal
calls for a three-cent increase in the
ad valorem tax rate charged proper
ty owners and a $1.37 monthly
increase in residential solid waste
fees. The budget proposal also
anticipates an unknown increase in
water rates next year, reflecting the
town’s belief Brunswick County
will raise its wholesale water rate.
Walters said the proposed increase
in the municipal property tax rate
from 39 cents to 42 cents per $100
valuation reflects community
demand for additional and better
services. The proposed tax rate has
been based on an estimated town
wide property valuation of nearly
$484 million — over $10 million
more than last year’s estimated total
valuation.
“Our community is growing, with
out question; however, the demand
‘Our community
is growing, without
question; however,
the demand for ser
vices continues at a
rate that is greater
than what pure res
idential growth can
accommodate by*
itself on an annual
basis.’
Jerry Walters
Town manager
for services continues at a rate that
is greater than what pure residential
growth can accommodate by itself
on an annual basis,” Walters said in
See Beach plan, page 6
Public favoris
town purchase
of ‘The Point’
By Richard Nubel
Municipal Editor
Citizen direction to Long Beach
Town Council was clear Tuesday
night: Yes, the town should use
grant funds to buy some 30 acres of
land on “The Point” as a preserva
tion measure; No, the town should
not build elaborate amenities on that
land or provide extensive paved
parking facilities.
That message was sent at a public
hearing on a proposal to submit a
grant application to N. C. Division
of Coastal Management for funds to
purchase the 30 acres bordering
Lockwood Folly Inlet at the termi
nus of Kings Lynn Drive.
In other business brought before
council Tuesday night, staff was
authorized- to take whatever steps
are necessary to contract with an
Ocean Isle Beach firm which will
issue CAMA minor permits on the
state’s behalf. The town itself used
to serve as CAMA local permitting
officer, but halted the practice when
state reimbursements for local
CAMA permitting fell below costs
of issuing permits and making
inspections.
Also, council approved a resolu
tion to county conmssioners, asking
Brunswick County to consult with
the town before seeking local legis
lation relative to fire and rescue dis
tricts. Town manager Jerry Walters
warned Brunswick County was
embarking on a course of action
which could limit municipalities'
ability to provide local funds for
emergency services.
‘The Point’
While most residents addressing
council favored purchase of the land
with grant funds, many opposed
construction of restrooms, parking
areas, bathhouses, and other elabo
See ‘Point’, page 6
Caswell annex?
By Richard Nubel
Municipal Editor
Will Caswell Beach catch annexation fever?
Now that neighboring Oak Island town Yaupon Beach has announced its
resolution of intent to annex 483 mainland acres to facilitate its own
growth and development, there are some who believe Caswell Beach
should be staking out its own claim in areas adjacent to Long Beach Road.
“Apparently the state wants existing towns to expand in this way," plan
ning board member Michael Kemp told Caswell Beach commissioners
Thursday. "I'd like to see Caswell Beach get involved in this." He said
See Annex, page 8 »
What’s inside
Police report 6
Obituaries 9
Business 13
District Court 14
Calendar 2B
Church 5B
TV schedule 8B
Schools 10B
Notices 11B
NASCAR _ 4C
Classifieds 9C
County land use plan update
Growth issues at hand
By Terry Pope
County Editor
Brunswick County is starting to
feel the effects of nearly three
decades of rapid growth, and that
growth is more often felt on county
roadways, said r'lt*nn Harbeck, con
sultant who has drafted the county’s
land use plan update.
During peak summer months,
county roads become overloaded
and clogged with congestion. A
good land use plan can remedy the
situation and serve as a planning
tool as the county approaches the
year 2000 and a projected popula
tion increase of more than 30 per
cent.
The final draft of the long-awaited
land use plan was approved by the
Brunswick County Planning Board
last month and reviewed Monday by
See Land use, page 8