August 18,1999
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THE STATE PORT
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Phone 910-457-4568/Fax 910-457-9427/e-mail pilot@southport.net
Volume 68, Number 52
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Long-term need
County adopts
regional plans
for wastewater
By Terry Pope
Staff Writer
The blueprint that has been successful
in northern Brunswick County will be
usea to develop re
gional sewer projects
for the Southport-Oak
Island and Holden
Beach-Shallotte com
munities as quickly as
possible.
At a special meeting
Wednesday, the Bruns
wick County Board of
Commissioners for
mally adopted a plan to
provide countywide
sewer service over the
next 20 years.
The plan calls for
construction of three
iegioriai sewer treatment plants in tnree
phases, including one already planned
for northern Brunswick County. The
plan was drafted by HDR Engineering
Inc. of the Carolina;, outside consul
tants hired by the county.
I tie count jt ■ Vvill .serve- a*.. lead agency
for projects involving any town or com
The south
eastern end
is busting at
the seams,
and they
need it now.’
munity which wants to join the two
other regional efforts in the southeast
and southwest.
A similar plan between the towns of
Leland and Navqssa, North Brunswick
sanitary District, de
velopers of Magnolia
Greens Golf Plantation
and Brunswick Coun
ty gained the favor of
state officials, who
recently awarded the
project $12 million in
Clean Water Bond
grants. The northern
project is estimated to
cost $27 million and
will be paid for by user
fees.
“What we need to do
is to get busy and get
in the position to get
some grant money so we can get some
help,” said District 5 commissioner Bill
Sue of Leland. “If we have to go out
and borrow a lot of money, there are
going to be some very expensive sewer
bills.”
The southeast regional project will
See Sewer, page 6
Bald Head parking
lot thieves nabbed
By Richard Nubel
Staff Writer
Seventy-five Warrants charging three men with a rash of auto thefts and
break-ins at Bald Head Island’s Indigo Plantation parking facilities were
drawn by Southport police Tuesday.
One man was arrested early Tuesday afternoon and police were to begin
searching for the other suspects that night
Police investigators say all of the charges — 33 of them alleging felonies —
were drawn in connection with activities at Indigo Plantation Parking Lot D
late on the night of August 10 or in the early morning hours of August 11.
Two cars—both Jeep Grand Cherokee sports utility vehicles valued at over
$20,000 each—were allegedly stolen from the parking lot that night or morn
ing.
In all, 12 more vehicles were entered and about $300 worth of personal
property was taken from them.
An estimated $4,000 damage was done to the vehicles that were victimized,
mostly to doors and ignition systems. It appears that once those responsible
gained entry to the vehicles, they attempted to bypass ignition locks to start
them and move them.
Law enforcement officers recovered two cars taken from Indigo Plantation
Lot D that night. In or near the city, Southport police recovered a 1997 Jeep
Grand Cherokee valued at $20,000 and belonging to a Jamesville, Md., cou
See Bald Head, page 10
LINEMEN FOR THE CITY
Photo by Jim Harper
Workers from CP&L, including Brunswick plant boss Jack Keenan (background), turned out last week to
repair Fourth of July vandalism of the lighting on the Riverwalk marsh-crossing and lookout. The power com
pany and Brunswick staff provided lighting for the structure last winter.
Minority objections
City backs off on design
By Richard Nubel
Staff Writer
Facing a contentious City Hall meet
ing room, packed with an unusually
large number of African-American res
idents of the city’s periphery, aldermen
Thursday night again took no action on
a proposed ordinance which aims to
make commercial development in the
city and its extraterritorial planning
jurisdiction more attractive.
Aldermen tabled action on the pro
posed Commercial Nonresidential
Design Guidelines (CNDG) ordinance
when presented with a petition bearing
the signatures of 171 property owners
who oppose the measure. Two residents
of the city's extraterritorial planning
jurisdiction (ETJ) were added to a task
force charged with development of the
ordinance. Alderman Meezie Childs
said yet another draft of the document
will be brought back to aldermen.
Property owners living just outside
See Design, page 16
‘I am on property
my family has
owned for genera
tions....’
Betty Cowan
CJv , .
W ■
Caswell
to weigh
merger
By Richard Nubel
Staff Writer
Members of the area's delegation to
the N. C. General Assembly will be
told Caswell Beach opposes the pro
posed secession of Oak Island Beach
Villas in order to join the Town of Oak
Island.
But, Caswell Beach commissioners
Thursday set September 9 as the date
for the first in a series of public infor
mation meetings the town will hold on
pros and cons of the consolidation of
Caswell Beach and the Town of Oak
island.
The Town of
Oak Island was
created July 1 by
the consolidation
of Yaupon Beach
and Long Beach.
Caswell Beach
was not involved
Pros,
cons
Sept. 9
in discussions mat ieci to inai consoli
dation.
In calling for consideration of con
• solidation. mayor Joe O'Brien said
Caswell Beach officials had never fore
closed on the idea.
“Since the very beginning of the
whole thing, we always had the option
ers) agreed starting September 9 to
have a senes of meeting to explore the
issue.”
This recent drive to consider consoli
dation of Caswell Beach and Oak
. Island was spurred in July when direc
tors of the Oak Island Beach Villas
(OIBV) Owners' Association said they
found Caswell Beach unwilling to con
sider the issue. OIBV association direc
tors said the larger Town of Oak Island
would best serve the future of villas
owners. As Caswell Beach had no
interest in consolidation, the villas
would seek “deannexation" from the
town to be annexed by Oak Island.
Last week, OIBV directors formally
presented a request for annexation to
Oak Island Town Council. Oak Island
co-mayors Joan Altman and Dot Kelly
were authorized to conduct "conversa
tions" with OIBV and Caswell Beach
officials.
O'Brien Thursday repeated a posi
tion he had taken earlier this month:
The issues of OIBV's proposed seces
sion and consolidation of Caswell
Beach and Oak Island should be con
sidered separately.
“I'd like to keep them essentially sep
arate,” mayor O'Brien told fellow
commissioners and about 20 residents
gathered for the board's regular August
meeting. "We think we are opposed to
the deannexation of the villas; consoli
See Caswell, page 13
Voters to decide $97.5 million bonds November 2
Few attend public hearing
to voice either pro or con
By Diana D’Abruzzo
Staff Writer
Showing photographs of rotted ceil
ing tiles in out-of-date buildings, offi
cials with Brunswick County Schools
told their side of the story:
Facilities are too old, too small, too
behind the times.
Then a handful of Brunswick County
residents said their peace:
Taxes are already too high, the wish
list of school needs is too long.
Monday night’s public hearing before
county commissioners brought out
those in favor of the $97.5-million bond
package — school and community col
t lege officials and a couple residents —
and those who expressed concern with
high costs.
“The public and your good offices
need to know much more about the
ramifications of this proposal in terms
of its impact on the county tax burden,”
said Southport resident Bob Quinn. “A
crash sales promotion to run the refer
endum during low-turnout elections
would short-change the public and the
education system.”
During a presentation on the condi
tion of schools at the beginning of the
hearing, Clarence Willie, assistant
superintendent of Brunswick County
Schools, said the average adequacy raP
ing of the 14 schools in the county is 74
See Public, page 8
Photo by Terry Pope
Brunswick County resident Joe Pasulka speaks out against the $975
million bond referendum request at the public hearing .Monday night
County officials already
talking about ‘what if...?’
By Terry Pope
Staff Writer
County officials already are looking
ahead, asking themselves what happens
should the $83.5-million school bond
referendum fail in November.
Commissioners say they would
search for other ways to pay for new
schools and major renovations — but it
won’t be easy. Financing and a pay-as
you-go method using ad valorem tax
revenues would be more expensive for
the public.
“Should this amount not pass, they
are going to have to come back to the
county commissioners,” explained
Brunswick County Board of Commis
sioners chairman JoAnn Bellamy
Simmons on Monday while lobbying
to sliee the amount requested on the
ballot. Unsuccessful, she made the vote
unanimous to seek the full amount
school board members had asked for.
“if it doesn't pass, where are you
going to get the money?” Ms. Sim
mons asked.
Commissioners held a lengthy dis
cussion on what to do before approving
a bond order for $97.5 million — $83.5
million for county schools and another
$14 HfillionHir Brunswick Community
College. They also set the referendum
date: Tuesday, November 2. The items
will appear as two separate issues on
See Bond vote, page 12