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