Soccer success
South hooters me 3-0, while
Cougar gridders pick up win over
4A New Hanover - 1C
September 199^/50cents
volume 69, Number 2 Phone 910457-4568/Fax 91(M57-9427/e-inail pilot@southport. . Published e *ry \ /ednesday- in Southport, N.C.
Fire fee
districts
okayed
By Tfeny Pope
Staff Writer
Two fire departments have become
the first in line for fee districts, where
property owners will pay annual
assessments to better fund volunteer
units. . '
Boards of directors at the Boiling
Spring Lakes and Sunset Harbor-Zion
Hill volunteer departments gained
approval of the Brunswick County
Board of Commissioners Tuesday
night to establish fire fee districts as
allowed under special legislation
adopted by the N. C. General
Assembly in July.
That legislation was sought by com
missioners as a means to boost funding
for the county’s volunteer departments
rather than allocate funds from general
. tax revenues. The votes taken by
Boiling Spring Lakes and Sunset
Harbor-Zion Hill boards of directors
were unanimous. Only a two-thirds
majority of tfie board must agree to
petition county commissioners, or res
idents can request a district after
obtaining the signatures of at least 15
percent of residents in a service area.
County attorney Huey Marshall said
the petitions will be given county tax
supervisor Boyd Williamson this
(Wednesday) morning so his office can
start mapping district boundaries for
the two departments. A public hearing
must be held for each so residents have
a say in which fire tax district they pre
fer to be placed. In some areas of the
county, fire service districts actually
overlap, so commissioners must draw
specific boundaries with the help of
county fire marshal Cecil Logan.
“Their service districts may overlap,
but their tax districts will not,”
Marshall explained. “You can only be
assessed in one district. With the pub
lic hearing process, I suspect you will
hear from people at that time. The ulti
mate creator is the board of commis
sioners.”
House Bill 651, ratified by the
General Assembly on July 19, gives
Brunswick County the authority to
establish fire district fees tied to insur
See Districts, page 7
TUNNEL VISION
Photo by Jim Harper
This won’t work. But kids figure all sorts of things out on their own, and these got along okay, too. They were
having a good time at Middleton Park on Saturday as Oak Island got a reprieve after a week of worry over
whether Dennis would return. More on Middleton Park recreation, and arts and crafts doings, in the
Neighbors section.
Photo by Jim Harper
The week between Hurricane Dennis I and Dennis-that-did-not-retum brought
fall-like weather to the community, and spawned autumnal sunsets on Oak
Island.
Wetlands permit request may bog down
Island shopping site considered
By Richard Nubel
Staff Writer
While those involved say the project remains
highly speculative, a South Carolina developer has
proposed to fill Oak Island wetlands to make way
for construction of a Food Lion grocery store and
Kerr Drugs pharmacy.
A U. S. Army Corps of Engineers public notice
says Block 5A Long Beach Properties has filed a
permit request to discharge fill material into 3.95
acres of wetlands on a 12-acre tract between SE 61st
and SE 59th streets adjacent to the Atlantic Ocean.
The area identified by the Aiken, S. C„ firm lies in
the Turtle Creek residential development between
Oak Island Drive and the oceanfront. but is zoned
for commercial use, Oak Island town planner Don
Eggert said.
‘The wetlands to be impacted by the proposed
work are freshwater maritime shrub swamp, grad
ing into maritime wet grassland,” the Craps of
Engineers’ public notice says. “They occupy the
zone between the primary beach dunes and upland
maritime forest. Functions of these wetlands include
groundwater purification and recharge, flood and
storm surge abatement, shoreline protection, sedi
merit retention and wildlife habitat." -
In addition to filling nearly four acres of the fresh
water wetlands, now a familiar summertime hang
out for alligators, heron and ibis, the developer has
proposed to flood an additional acre for construction
of a stormwater retention pond. In all, 4.95 acres of
the total seven acres of wetlands on the parcel will
be impacted by the development project, the federal
permit application says.
Oak Island attorney Tom Heller said he represents
a potential buyer of the property from Block 5A
Long Beach Properties. Sale of the property, he said.
See Wetlands, page 8
Oak Island bridge
Fed agencies
urged to drop
study request
By Richard Nubel
Staff Writer
Seventh District U. S. Congressman
Mike McIntyre has asked two federal
regulatory agencies to withdraw their
requests for additional study and let the
second bridge to Oak Island project go
forward immediately:
“The facts are clear,” McIntyre said
this week. “Oak Island and die resi
* dents of this fine community need a
second bridge. As Brunswick County is
the second- fastest-growing county in
the state, a new bridge wjll not only
relieve the growing traffic demands,
but also serve as an important emer
gency evacuation route in case of firture
hurricanes. I am urging officials of the
EPA (U. S. Environmental Protection
Agency) and FWS (U. S. Fish and
Wildlife Service) to work with local
and state officials to move ahead with
construction of this important project.”
McIntyre said he made diose points
in letters recently to EPA administrator
Carol Browner and* FWS director
» laiiue <JAarYk.' lUe congress
' man said he is awaiting their replies.
Though an original project schedule
called for con
struction of a sec
ond bridge to
Oak Island to
begin in 1999,
work on siting
the bridge was
halted early this
year when EPA
and FWS raised
objections to all
three proposed
McIntyre
roadway routes that would have linked
a western Oak Island bridge to N. C.
211 near Midway Road.
The two federal regulatory agencies
said a direct roadway corridor between
a proposed new bridge at Middleton
Street and the Midway Road area on N.
C. 211 would promote excessive sec
‘Fish and Wildlife
and EPA trying to
come up with new
routes for the road is
clearly not in the
scope of responsibili
ty of either agency.’
Joan Altman
Oak Island co-mayor
ondary development and would be
detrimental to the area lying between
N. C. 211 and the Intracoastal
Waterway.
Oak Island and M. C. Department of
"Viuivsporv avion, wnv^nvi Wucc
corridor route alternatives which most
directly link a Middleton Street bridge
with the Midway Road area are the
least costly alternatives and will impaejt
the environment least. They contend
secondary development is occurring,
now. without a roadway corridor.
Additional secondary development of
the area, mostly residential and recre
ational, is planned by landowners and is
inevitable, they say.
But, with their objections earlier this
year. EPA and PA'S demanded DOT
reexamine three roadway alternatives
which would route Oak Island traffic
west, down Sunset Harbor Road. The
federal agencies say improvement of
that already developed roadway would
impact the environment less severely.
Oak Island and DOT officials say trans
portation needs - which include better
See Corridor, page 3
Caswell hears
merger option
By Richard Nubel
Staff Writer
A first public discussion of the possible
consolidation of the towns of Caswell
Beach and Oak Island will focus on finan
cial considerations, Caswell Beach mayor
Joe O'Brien said.
A presentation aimed at comparing costs
of services homeowners would experience
as residents of Oak Island to costs as resi
dents of Caswell Beach will be presented
at the first in a planned series of public
consolidation discussions Thursday even
See Merger, page 12
By Diana D’Abruzzo
Staff Writer
After two community leaders turned down the job of
piloting Brunswick County Schools’ push for an $83.5
million bond referendum, a local school supporter has
stepped forward to lead the effort
Cynthia Tart, executive director of Communities In
Schools of Brunswick County, has accepted the position
of steering committee chairman.
“We are excited Ms. Tart accepted this position,” said
Joyce Parker Hewett, chairman of the Brunswick
County Board of Education. “It makes so much sense
given the strong link with her work between the schools
and the community. “
“Ms. Tart is keenly aware of the critical need for com
munity support and resources in order for our public
schools to be successful in educating our children,”
Hewett said.
The board, of education will meet at 5 p.m. today
(Wednesday) in a called meeting to discuss the bond ref
erendum.
Tart said the facilities improvement plan, which calls
for more than $80 million in school renovations and
additions, is crucial to school system success.
“It is my belief that every citizen has a duty to con
tribute to" the success of the bond referendum for the sake
of our future and the future of our children,” Tart said.
“The referendum will decide whether we have function
See School bond, page 7
This week, The State Port
Pilot launches Go, a page
devoted to student
inspired writing, artwork
and opinions gathered /
from schools across
Brunswick County. Go /■
will be a regular fea- /
ture in the Pilot and
can be found on the W
back of the M
Neighbors section.
'itiuUi