Sanitary district director
Speight resigns Leland
board seat over lawsuit
By Terry Pope
County Editor
Leland councilman Jean Speight
told town officials this week she
plans to resign from council effec
tive October 31 because she dis
agrees with legal action the town
may take against the North
Brunswick Sanitary DistrieC of
which shg-'is director, and against
the Brunswick County Board of
Commissioners.
“1 deeply regret the events that
have led to this decision,” Speight
stated in her letter presented to
Leland mayor Franky Thomas on
Thursday.
As NBSD director, Ms. Speight
has been entwined in the legal dis
pute involving the town and district
over Leland’s right to purchase
water at wholesale rates and sell it to
new customers. The council has
voted to file a lawsuit claiming dis
crimination against the district and
county commissioners after they,
I can better
serve all of north
ern Brunswick
County by continu
ing to expand (the
sanitary district)
water system and
by helping to bring
mucjy-needed sewer
to all the unincor
porated areas.’
Jean Speight
too, voted not to sell Leland water.
Ms. Speight said she has enjoyed
serving the citizens of Leland, but
says the town’s recent decision to
file a lawsuit she believes is “in the
worst possible interest of the citi
zens of the towns of Leland,
Belville, Navassa, the sanitary dis
trict and the remainder of northern
Brunswick County.”
Last month, county commission
ers voted unanimously not to sell
water to Leland because that would
affect the sanitary district system
already in place in northern
Brunswick. Leland wants to enter
the water business so it can provide
both water and sewer service to
newer developments like the 900
acre Magnolia Greens Golf
Plantation, which is also expected to
expand in the future.
After negotiations between the
district and Town of Leland failed,
mayor Thomas asked the county to
sell the town wholesale water and to
treat Leland like other towns and
industries who are county water
customers. But the NBSD bound
aries include the entire Town of
Leland and was created in 1976
before Leland was incorporated.
Lines are in place in Leland from
the $3.5 million in bonds used to
start delivering water in August,
1988, to the first 800 customers.
Today, the district has 95 miles of
lines and more than 2,100 cus
tomers. County commissioners are
afraid splitting the customer base
now at a time when northern
Brunswick is growing will hurt the
district’s ability to retire its bond
debt and result in higher rates for
customers.
At this time, when we are experi
encing growth of the greatest mag
nitude,” said Ms. Speight, “we all
need to be working together, not
fragmenting, to insure orderly and
controlled growth to insure a
smooth meshing of the old and the
new.”
Last month, amid the dispute, the
district mailed a four-page flyer to
all Leland area postal customers to
explain the disagreement between
the district and the Town of Leland.
“I sincerely thank all the citizens
who helped put me in this office and
supported me these past three
years,” said Ms. Speight, “and ask
that they understand that I feel that
in my position as director of the
North Brunswick Sanitary District
that I can better serve all of northern
Brunswick County by continuing to
expand our water system and by
helping to bring much-needed sewer
to all the unincorporated areas.”
She requested that the council
appoint former mayor Russell
Baldwin as a replacement for her
unexpired term.
Winnabow VFD
earns state grant
A state grant of $9,210 has been
awarded Winnabow Volunteer Fire
Department.
"North Carolina is fortunate to
have such a large number of dedi
cated fire and rescue volunteers, and
I am very pleased to assist their
efforts," said Jim Long, state insur
ance commissioner and fire mar
shal. "These grants help volunteer
fire personnel provide essential ser
vices to their communities by allow
ing them to spend more time train
ing in the latest fire suppression
methods, and [ess time fund-rais
ing."
The Volunteer Fire Department
Grant Fund was created by the
General Assembly in 1988 to help
volunteer units raise money for fire
fighting equipment and supplies.
The funds are matching grants; the
state matches dollar-for-dollar, up to
an approved amount, monies raised
locally to purchase necessary equip
ment. The state insurance depart
ment has distributed a total of
$26,111,056 in grant money to fire
and rescue departments across the
state. The total amount of volunteer
rescue and fire grants approved for
Brunswick County to date is
$449,053.
"The N. C. Department of Insur
ance is committed to our fire and
rescue volunteers who provide a
vital service to the people of
Brunswick County," said Long. "We
salute these volunteers for their ded
ication to protecting the lives of oth
ers. I am honored that North
Carolina is able to financially assist
local volunteer fire and rescue
departments across the state. I am
confident that this grant will
enhance operations in Brunswick
County."
County attorney Huey Marshall
advised county commissioners that
acts of discrimination would only
apply if Leland becomes a water
customer and is treated differently
from other towns with its rates or
level of service. Marshall said the
county is not compelled to sell
water to Leland but that there isn’t a
precedent of turning a town away.
Sanitary district chairman Elgie
Jones told commissioners the dis
trict’s ability to obtain grants would
be diminished if its franchise area is
fragmented.
‘These attempts at ‘cream skim
ming’ are not good public policy,”
said Jones, “and do so at the cost of
the existing customers who have
supported the system for over ten
years and continue to pay off the
debt service of which the town’s
new customers would possibly not
be paying a part of,”
1
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