Keeping score
What impact will Brunswick’s
$83.5-million school bond issue
have on athletic facilities? 1 Cja^Yi
Deceinbei;!, 1999/^0 cents
Published every Wednesday in Southport, N. G.
Winnabow
golf course
plan heard
By Terry Pope
Staff Writer
The Brunswick County Planning
Board will resume a public hearing
tonight (Wednesday) on a 1,226-acre
golf course subdivision proposed for
the rural Winnabow community.
A hearing that began November 17
Was cut short by the sudden death of
Winnabow resident John Troy Lewis
Sr., who collapsed and died of an
apparent heart attack after he addressed
the board and spoke in favor of the pro
ject The board recessed the meeting
until December 1, at 7 p.m.
The hearing will continue in com
mission chambers in the public assem
bly building at the county government
center near Bolivia. Before the hearing
was halted two weeks ago, some resi
dents spoke in favor of the project
while others were opposed. They
expressed concerns about traffic and
environmental damage to surrounding
creeks and streams.
Bluegreen Golf Clubs Inc. has
applied to rezone the large tract owned
by International Paper Realty Corp. of
Georgetown, S. C., from rural to R
7500, for medium-density residential.
The company plans to file for a
planned unit development (PUD) that
will allow it to turn the timber tract into
a golf course and residential subdivi
sion bordering Rice’s Creek.
Not everyone who wanted to speak
at the hearing had done so before it was
recessed two weeks ago. Representa
tives of Bluegreen Golf Clubs did not
have a chance to respond to concerns
raised by residents and had not formal
ly addressed the board before the hear
ing was recessed.
Planners will resume the hearing and
vote on whether to recommend ap
proval or denial of the rezoning request
to county commissioners, who "have
the final say. Commissioners must hold
a second public hearing before they
vote on the matter.
The large tract extends from U. S. 17,
just south of the N. C. 87 intersection at
Bell Swamp, to Governor’s Road.
Although no preliminary plats have
been filed with the county planning
See Project, page 14
OH, CHRISTMAS TREE
MZ
ife W'
Photo by Jim Harper
Southport’s Christinas tree appeared in its usual place over Thanksgiving, but not in its usual way, and Lew
Cabral and Elton Jackson found themselves Monday decorating a living tree provided by an anonymous
donor. The official lighting at the foot of Howe Street will be at 6 pan. Friday.
Sinai change forgiven, but not Mg bucks
By Terry Pope
Staff Writer
Some Brunswick County taxpayers are getting a
break.
That is, if they owe $2.50 or less.
A resolution adopted by the Brunswick County
Board of Commissioners directs county tax supervisor
Boyd Williamson’s office to not send bills when a per
son owes $2.50 or less in property taxes. It takes at
least $2.50 just to print, address and mail a bill to
someone with a relatively small amount due.
Under state law, governing bodies which tax prop
erty owners and collect their own taxes can direct
assessors or collectors not to collect anything when the
taxes and fees total no more than $5. Brunswick
County has opted not to go that high, but to instead set
the minimum at $2.50.
That policy also will apply to accounts for munici
palities or sanitary districts which contract with the
county tax department to collect their taxes due. When
a bill is $2.50 or less, a record is kept and a report is
given to commissioners at the time the bill is settled or
excused.
The new policy starts immediately and applies to fis
cal year 1999-2000.
While tax collectors aren’t worried about small stuff,
they are aggressively collecting the $3.53 million in
back taxes that residents owe dating back to 1988.
County tax personnel can seek ways to force pay
ment of delinquent accounts dating back ten years —
See County tax, page 10
Continued from page 1
Oak Island
Annexation
plan moves
past N.C. 211
By Richard Nubel
Staff Writer
“Welcome to Lowe’s of Oak Island."
“The Hampton Inn of Oak Island
welcomes you."
might hear these, or similar,
words uttered frequently as soon as
March, 2001, if the Town of Oak Island
stays on schedule to complete the
annexation of 255 acres in the Long
Beach Road corridor and on N. C. 211.
‘Total- tax base value of the annexa
tion area is $35,708,815," said Nancy
Wilson, assistant to the Oak Island
town manager. “Based on the current
Oak Island tax rate of 34 cents per $ 1 (X)
valuation, anticipated revenues from
the annexation area are $ 121,410."
Town council Monday night voted
unanimously to adopt a resolution of
intent to annex what is essentially the
remaining commercial lots on either
side of Long Beach Road, from, the
town’s present corporate limits at Fish
Factory Road to N. C 21 1. The annex
ation territory extends east and west
along N . C . 211 from the site of the new
Hampton Inn on the south side of N. C.
‘We know we
will be heard, but
will you be listen
Rosetta Short
Oak Island resident
211 to Jones' shopping center on the
north side of the highway.
Ms. Wilson said the territory pro
posed for annexation contains 93 com
mercial, 11 residential and two industri
al properties.
In addition to Lowe’s and the
Hampton Inn. now berth under con
struction, significant commercial prop
erties that will become part of Oak
Island include those in Live Oak
Village Shopping Center and Riven
Ruii Shopping Center.
This new annexation proposal of
See Annexation, page 7
North Brunswick
Student charged
with starting fire
By Diana D’Abruzzo
Staff Writer ^ \, .
A North Brunswick High School student was jailed Tuesday morning under
$500,000 bond, charged with breaking into his school and setting the library afire.
David Leon McKoy Jr., 17, of Northwest was apprehended as he left North
Brunswick High School around 3:30 a.m. carrying a computer laser printer, said
Leland police chief Brian Bamhardt.
McKoy, a senior at North Brunswick, was charged with felony burning of a
school house, breaking and entering, larceny, possession of burglary tools and
injury to personal property, Bamhardt said.
Fire damage was minimal, estimated at $5,000, and the school was opened for
classes later that morning, Bamhardt said.
Police were alerted to the break-in when the silent burglar alarm was activated,
Bamhardt said. Within five minutes, Leland police Sgt. Roger Greenwood was on
the scene and noticed lights on in the library. Moments later, McKoy emerged from
the school.
“The officer confronted him and told him to put his hands in the air," Bamhardt
See School fire, page 9
Stairs step
up interest
■ r
Oceanfront owners at odds to
; figure out just how to rebuild
gf fmm fhptr hmnvc tn Hv
staircases from their homes to the
beachfront in compliance with „ ;
Oak Island’s new guidelines can
take a deep breath.
Help is on the way.
Monday night, town council
authorized building inspector .
Oavid Clemmons to visit each
staircase job site to assist home
1 owners in their efforts to place ,
staircases. Co-mayor Joan
f ^hman said inspections officials
where staircases may land. ;
The direction to Qemmons
and the inspections department is
l a signal of some flexibility on the
i : town’s part The budding inspeo
See Dunes, page 14 ,
Fund balance
Money in the bank
helps with recovery
By Richard Nubel
Staff Writer
Oak Island could not have begun to deal
with the estimated $5 million in public
costs associated with Hurricane Floyd
mitigation had the town not had a solid
unappropriated general fund balance,
town manager Jerry Walters said Tuesday.
When Hurricane Floyd devastated the
town’s oceanfront, Oak Island had to
reach deeply into its unappropriated cash
on hand to foot die cost of clean-up and
security and berm reconstruction. Federal
officials are traditionally slow to reim
burse towns for the cost of hurricane mit
igation.
“We are still out-of-pocket a consider
able amount today,” Walters said. “We’ve
See Recovery, page 6
“We are still going
to be dealing with it
for a considerable
amount of time, but
in lesser degrees
than when we were
involved in debris
removal and sand
management’
Jerry Walters
Long Beach manager
Photo by Jim Harper
The autumn storms provided challenges in depth for Oak Island’s public works department While cleanup
and repair mnfinnpH last week on the oceanfront other town workers were installing storm drains where
heavy rains had created a flooding problem on 47th Street NE.