St. James’ growth increases the demand for public services Fire fund Continued from page 1 ed to know what it would look like if we offered a letter of insurance to them,” said District 3 commissioner Leslie Collier of Long Beach. Her motion that sets up routine depart ment funding as of January 1 passed unanimously. . Otto Becker, president of St. James Fire Department Inc., said the department is looking at $100,000 needed for equipment to get started and that residents also want a first responder emergency crew as soon as possible. The department is working with county fire marshal Cecil Logan and A. C. Daniels of the Nortf^Carolina Department of Insurance to map a new district that will border with Southport, Sunset Harbor/Zion Hill and Long Beach fire department districts. “We need all the people we can get,” said Becker. “I was over whelmed by the turnout. It’s really a credit to the folks in our communi ty.” A number of veteran firefighters have already signed up, including chief Bill Schmidt, who has over 30 years experience. Becker said Joe Lane has over 25 years experience providing emergency medical ser vices. Other volunteers have signed up to go through fire and rescue training offered by the county EMS or to help operate the office. During a recent pledge drive that began October 11, the community obtained $34,000 in donations in a short period of time. The depart ment plans to purchase a pumper truck from the Northwest Volunteer Fire Department and will continue to search for a tanker and other equipment. Land for the station is being donated by St. James Development Co. The borders of the new fire district have been tentatively mapped and agreed upon by Southport. The goal is to be fully operational by late 1999. Becker said the district would reach eastward on N. C. 211 to where the current western edge of Southport’s district extends. The western district will reach to Midway Road and the southern boundary to the Intracoasial Waterway. “Whatever makes the most sense, we are willing to do,” said Becker. “We are not trying to serve other people’s turf.” The Department of Insurance requires that departments have a roster of 22 trained volunteers on hand, can move at least 1,500 gal lons of water to a blaze and operate from a heated station in order to obtain an approved classification rating. That classification can be achieved without a history of responding to emergencies for new departments that are just getting established. Under county funding policy, each of the 21 volunteer departments receive $35,000 in capital outlay funds and rescue squads $ 17,500 for operating expenses per fiscal year. St. James will receive six months of that funding Starting January 1 and become eligible for the full funding amount after July 1, 1999. County commissioners have also set aside a funds totaling $650,000 from which all departments can request as needed for emergency capital needs. An appointed fire cap ital expenditure advisory committee takes individual department requests and recommends to com missioners what items ought to be funded. Commissioners are currently studying new ways to better fund fire and rescue departments and has ordered a study through tax admin istrator Boyd Williamson’s office on the effect of funding units- by fire and.rescue districts. That report has n’t yet come back to the board. Becker said with the pledges and the county’s contribution, the department has gotten off to a good start. “With that kind of funding, we’ll get there,” said Becker. Ms. Collier’s motion also instruct ed county attorney Huey Marshall to work with the volunteers on obtain ing their letter of insurance needed to finance a new building. Preliminary discussions have already been held with architects and designers, said Becker, but mortgage companies need the letter from the county for assurance that county funds are available and that the department is officially recog m nized. In other action Monday, commis sioners also appropriated $126,775 in capital outlay needs to seven fire departments as recommended by the fire capital outlay committee. Those amounts include: ■ Bald Head Island VFD — $25,000 for construction on a new fire department building, repairs on tank truck, tires and new engine for portable pump. ■ Sunset Harbor/Zion Hill VFD - $8,000 for hose and chain saw. ■ Northwest VFD — $3,137 for ten pagers. ■ Waccamaw VFD - $6,050 for ten pagers and computer equip ment. ■ Ocean Isle Beach VFD $25,000 for construction and train ing room for new building. ■ Calabash VFD - $45,738 to purchase 75-foot aerial truck. ■ Grissettown/Longwood VFD - - $13,550 for land acquisition and concrete. Fast pace Continued from page 1 and residents are lobbying state leg islators to become the Town of St. James, which would be the 19th municipality in the county. Since the community’s initial development, E&T has served as the primary site contractor, handling about 85 percent of all heavy earth moving projects in St. James. The company was formed in 1971 by Tom Jones and was hired on by St. James developer Homer Wright, who in 1984 purchased the 6,000 acres that may one day become a town. He created it as a planned retirement community. “You have to envision a golf course being there,” said Will Jones, son of Tom Jones and a superinten dent for E&T Construction, as he drives along the unpaved roads and mapped holes that will one day be an integral part of St. James. The marina looks like a huge cement bunker for now on the banks of the waterway, but developers also have a vision for how the Brunswick Harbor Marina will complement a new phase of the community. E&T was nationally recognized recently by Construction Equipment Guide magazine for its work in handling the project, after removing 350,000 cubic yards of dirt on time despite Hurricane Bonnie's visit to the area and the remnants of another hurri cane that followed its path. “My dad spent 48 days out there, some days all by himself,” said Jones. "He took that project on, and he took it seriously.” It is Brambell's job to drive the 24 miles of paved streets in St. James daily and to oversee projects which need to be done — street repairs, mowing and now the beginnings of a new phase of development. There are townhouses under construction and new streets are being prepared, as well as the push for phase III. “I wanted to start six months ago," said Brambell. “They put us on a time frame that didn’t give us any margin for error." Then the hurricanes struck, but it didn't slow progress in St. James. “We just plugged at it every single day." said Jones. “I was excited when we first got the project. But after we got it, I was like, ‘Oh, boy!'" This weekend, St. James will bring in prospective buyers to take part in a technique developers are now using that resembles a gold rush. The first person to stake a claim on a lot has the right to pur chase it. It has worked in the past. But with marketing that occurs sometimes months in advance, employees like Brambell also gam ble with nature just like the contrac tors who pray for fair weather. Getting another phase ready means coordinating the seeding of greens and the removal of tons of dirt. Phase III includes more wooded areas of the 6,000 acres that Wright first purchased and will likely have a uniqueness of its own. There have been numerous changes Long Beach planning director Bob Grant has approved, since most of phase III is within the town’s zoning jurisdiction. Most changes involve ways to preserve the terrain and trees that developers can appreciate in person but maybe can’t see on a surveyor’s plat. Hurricanes haven’t delayed the progress, and neither has Long Beach. “We’ve done our best to leave trees standing,” said Brambell. “We’ve even redesigned areas to leave trees. Long Beach has worked very well with us on this. If you find something like a tree that you want to save, you can’t get locked into something that holds up the plan ning process. Their willingness to work with us has been very help ful.” St. James is a community that has received cooperation from Long Beach and the county but through its progress is also rapidly changing. The call for a new fire and rescue department was greeted favorably by county commissioners Monday. It remains to be seen how state leg islators will view the community’s request to become another town. But for now, progress proceeds within this golf course community one phase at a time. “So far, Mother Nature has coop erated,” said Brambell, looking over golf holes three through six of the new course at The Members Club. “It’s not as green as we had hoped, but with another week to go, if we don’t get disastrous weather we’ll be okay.” Fashion Zone Dresses • Jeans • T-Shirts Brand name Caps • Costume Jewelry Layaways Accepted Gift Certificates Available Summer Clearance Sale Tuesday - Saturday, 10-5 Cheers Plaza Unit 5E, 4647 Main St., Shallotte QBE W K » 755-5353 , mmmm wmmm 1,1.. mms1 96 Cadillac Seville SLS Northstar Engine, only 18,000 miles, loaded . ^ _ $29,595 98 Cadillac Deville Northstar engine, only 9,000 SdlM,her-$31,995 97 Buick Park Avenue 7,000 miles, leather interior, loaded 97 Buick Riviera Power sunroof, supercharge engine, 13,000 miles, AAC leather, loadecr££f 779 95 Buick LeSabre Custom, local one owner trade, loaded $11,995 $24,995 96 Bukk Park Avenue Ultra Power sunroof, leather, local one owner* 40 AAC trade, loaded * 10/77 9 97 Buick Lesabre Limited, low miles, leather interior, loaded with extras $"££ 98 Buick Park Avenue Leather interior, 13,000 miles, dual power seats, mirrors,climateAAE control ,775 I 98 Buick Skylark *12,988 97 BMW 328 Convertible 100,000 warranty, loaded, 6000 milK *39,995 94 BMW 525iA Black, power roof, leather/low miles *23,995 97 BMW Z-3 Convertible One owner, automatic, 7,000 miles, loaded^g 995 95 BMW 325 Convertible Auto, leather, local trade, loaded *27,595 95 BMW 740ia Power sunroof, low miles, up to 100 000 E»enew*39,995 96 BMW 328 Convertible Automatic, leather, low miles “e- *33,995 97 Buick LeSabre *14,988 Weekly Specials 94 Buick Century $167Mm„/*699500 $ 1000 cash down, 48 mos. 11.9 APR 97 Buick Skylark J175#0m.7*99880# $1000 cash down, 72 mos, 9.9 APR 96 Pontiac Sunfire $t790#„»V*96500# $1000 cash down, 66 mos, 9.9 APR 97 Saturn SW2 *213«mo7*12,995 $2000 cash down, 72 mos., 9.9-APR 96 Buick Century J1990°m.7*10,650 $1000 cash down, 66 mos, 9.9 APR 98 Buick Century *16,988 95 Chevy Corvette Automatic, black, low miles, "ke *23,995 97 Chevy Corvette Automatic, white, glass top, low miles, loaded + w ■ $36,995 95 Toyota Avalon XLS Local, one owner trade, leather interior, power <4Q A AC sunroof, loaded * 10/473 97 Honda Accord LX Local one owner trade, automatic, 8000 miles, 96 Honda Accord EX Local one owner trade, power 2232* $16,995 91 Cadillac Deville Local trade, leather, loaded, low miles 97 Chevy Tahoe LT 4x4, low miles, leather interior, loaded *29,995 97 Nissan Pathfinder 4x4, automatic, 4 door, low miles, l0<K'ed *19,995 97 Dodge Ram 4x4 V-8, automatic, low miles, local Err *21,995 98 Chevy S-10 Blazer 4x4, 4 door, automatic, 15,000 miles, power seat, loaded *21,995 96 Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited 4x4, black, leather, local trade, loaded $22 995 95 Buick LeSabre Limited, leather, one owner, 25,000 miles $|£ 94 Buick Century Local one owner trade, power Sga *6,995 93 Olds 88 Local trade, power seats and windows, cruise *8,995

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