Tl I
ill
w
Twenty-sixth Year, Number
WATER SYSTEM DIRECTOR KEN
(right) accepts a check Friday from 1
resident Chester Parrish for the first
County R<
Of Water
BY RAHN ADAMS
Chester Parrish of Brunswick
Shores is on a first-name basis with
the Brunswick County Water
System's office staff now, ever since
he started calling them at least once
a week to find out when he could tap
on to new water lines in the county's
first special assessment district
But this week he didn't have to call.
On Friday morning, Parrish and at
least 11 of his neighbors were the first
property owners to sign up as water
customers in SAD 2. The district,
which is located between Brick Landing
Plantation and Bent Tree Plantation,
also consists of Shangrila,
Long Acres and Stanley Campground.
"We're real glad at finally being
able to get some decent water to
drink and not have to haul our drinking
water," Parrish said after paying
his tap-on fee at the water system office
in Bolivia.
He said residents in his
neighborhood have hauled water
from the county pumping station on
N.C. 179 for the past two years, just to
have good, clean water to drink and
use for other household purposes.
Before that, they drove to Shallotte to
pick up water, he said.
"It's the greatest thing that's happened
in that area," added Guinn
Hutchinson, president of the
Shangrila Property Owners' Association.
"It's been needed for some
time."
Water System Director Kenneth
Hewett said Friday that the first
water taps in SAD 2 will be done in
about two weeks, depending on his
two tapping crews' work loads. Ordinarily,
the water system adds from
25 to SO new customers each month.
At least 75 new customers are expected
"right quick" due to completion
of SAD 2, Hewett said. He noted
that the district currently contains
189 potential customers.
John Harvey, who serves as the
Brunswick County Utility Operations
Board's administrative staff, was
ChciDDe
_ s_ ,
BY RAHN ADAMS
After a 90-minute discussion of how
Brunswick County is attempting to
collect delinquent property taxes,
Commissioner Chris Chappcll last
week said he intends to request
changes in the county's handling of
tax foreclosures.
Although he did not specify the suggestions
he intends to make later this
year, Cliappell said he feels the county's
current foreclosure process is
"v.tc.Io" and should bs hsndlcd by
the county's legal staff rather than
by an outside attorney.
The commissioner said he "will be
V|
'
if m
HOAG & SONS BOOK BIND
1
SPRIN6P0RT MI 4928/
Hi
NETH HEWETT Assessment Distr
3 runs wick Shores residents Guinn Hu
tap-on in Special Marvin Stanley, Lj
eady For D
' Customers
almost as elated as the new water
customers in SAD 2 last week.
"I am beseiged daily?and so is the
water department?by people saying,
'Please, when can I get on (the
water system),'" Harvey said. "It is
with relief and pride that we're in a
position to take customers with some
of this work."
Since January 1937, Harvey has
helped guide the eight-member utility
board through the sometimes complicated
special assessment district
process. Some 100 SADs were identified
by the county in a February
1986 study. Of that number, six are in
various stages of completion?whether
under actual construction,
under contract or on the drawing
board. The UOB will soon begin
preliminary work on eight more
districts.
Recount End
BY SUSAN USHER
Correction during the official canvass
last Thurs- _
day of an 80-vote rfT "
reporting error flRy .& ?
during the May 3 K
primary ruled jKadtrtteBtl
out a runoff between
District 1 Rqk
school board can- I
didate Gary God- gfl I
win of Ash and in- r
cumbent Doug Godwin
Baxley of Tarheeland Acres.
That leaves just one second
primary scheduled on May 31 by the
Brunswick County Board of Elections.
Last Thursday Brunswick
County Board of Education Chairman
James Forstner formally filed
for a runoff for the District 3 seat
with retired educator Jonathan
Hankins of Southport.
>11 To Seek (
making recommendations in
November," at the expiration of a
contract with the county's current
torcciosure attorney, Thomas Heller
of Yaupon Beach, who has handled
county tax foreclosures since 1984.
County tax officials estimated that
the foreclosure attorney has collected
about $500,000 in revenue for
the county since 1984 and has received
about $100,000 for his services.
ChappelPs announcement came
last Thursdsy night sftsr cominissioners
met in Bolivia with Tax Administrator
Boyd Williamson and
Tax Collector Nancy Moore, in a cont
mwi
i
orth Carolino
k fV' iv
irTir ' y \ T|
*K?y> ^ilai
B
B3>
g?|aaH^n|i mmrnsm
let 2. Also pictured are SAD 2
tchlnson, Vernon Edney, Jim Ward,
iwrence Scott and Virginia Scott.
_l '
eiuge
in SAD
The process itself involves public
hearings to determine if property
owners want county water. If so,
plans and specifications are
developed, contracts are awarded
and construction is done. Finally,
county commissioners?with more
public input?use the total cost of the
project to determine property
owners' assessments.
Initial estimates were that property
owners in SAD 2 could expect
assessments of $4.50 to $6 per frontage
foot. However, final construction
costs are expected to exceed the
original contract price of more than
$192,000. Harvey said Friday he could
not estimate the assessment rate due
to anticipated changes in the contract
price.
Harvey and Hewett said that refin(See
WATER, Page2-A)
FORSTNER FILE
s Possibility <
The winner of that run-off will face
Republican Bob Slockett in
November.
Unofficial returns of last Tuesday's
primary, showed Godwin, a
Democrat, wiin i,43i votes, io Barley's
2,781. A third candidate, C.C.
Russ, had 1,410. That gave Baxley
just under 50 percent of the vote?a
plurality, but not a majority, and
gave Godwin the right to call for a
run-off on May 31.
However, the canvass Thursday
morning uncovered a mistake in Ash
precinct, where Board of Elections
Supervisor Lynda Britt said Godwin
was first reported as having 87 votes
when in fact he had seven votes.
Britt said the error occurred in
reading the print-out from the voting
machine at Ash, with a slashed zero
misread as an eight. Inexperience
may have been the cause, she added,
since four of five workers at the
Ihanges In
tinuation of the board's regular May
2 meeting. Frankie Rabon was the
only commissioner absent from last
Thursday's session.
Back Taxes Billed
Noting that he has received
"numerous calls" about property tax
discoveries, some of them dating
back 10 years, Chappell asked
Williamson and Ms. Moore to outline
a recent change in their
department's method of collecting
^olinnimnt
UVUII\|UV.IIk MIAV.O.
Williamson explained that approximately
12,000 delinquent tax notices
were mailed to Brunswick County
irvM
i, Thursday, May 12, 1988
Varnum V
Of Propos
BY DOUG RUTTER
Varnamtown residents this week
unanimously approved a charter and
elected officials who will lead the
community if it is incorporated iaier
this year.
About 60 residents of the small
fishing community gathered Tuesday
evening at Gospel Center Baptist
Church to take the next step toward
incorporation of their area later this
year.
Those present elected a mayor and
board of aldermen who will serve the
town from the time of its incorporation
until the general election in
November 1989.
Rev. Tracie Varnum was elected to
the mayor's seat while Ennis Swain,
Roger Robinson, Marion Davis, John
Dawson and Ada McDonald were
elected to the board of aldermen by
secret baiioi. Swain, chairman of the
incorporation committee, received
the highest number of votes of the
aldermen and will serve as mayor
pro tern.
Rev. Varnum was one of ttiree persons
nominated for the mayor's seat,
while a total of 11 persons were
nominated for aldermen.
The nomination and nlnntmn nf
town officials followed approval of
the proposed town charter, which
was developed by the incorporation
committee after it had examined the
charters of other local
municipalities.
Key items included in the proposed
charter are the name of the town, its
boundaries, the structure of the
governing board and the system of
town elections.
The charter and names of elected
officials will be forwarded to State
Rep. E. David Redwinc, who plans to
take the request for incorporation to
the General Assembly next month.
Before the community can become a
town, however, Redwine said he will
require a referendum of voters in the
area to be incorporated.
Swain stressed Tuesday night that
approval of the proposed charter and
election of officers is not the iast step
in incorporation.
Referring to a community meeting
held March 21, he said, "(Redwine)
assured us that night that it would
S FOR RUNOFF
Of Boxley-Got
precinct were new.
The 80-vote reduction in Godwin's
total changed the odds, giving Baxley
a clear majority. In the November
general election, Baxley will be running
against Republican Diane
Grissett for the District 1 seat. She is
a 28-year-old housewife from Grissettown.
Up until learning the results of the
official recount this weekend, Godwin
had been debating his options
and was leaning toward not calling
for a run-off, he said, in the interest
of maintaining party unity.
"I had been talking with the party
chairman and other party supporters
and probably what I would have done
is not call for a run-off," he said.
"They felt it would work in the best
interest of the party not to call one."
However, Godwin said he was
' upset' at having not been formally
notified of the canvass results by the
County's Fc
property owners in March, after the
department's computer was
reprogrammed to bill for unpaid
taxes since 1978.
According to tax department
statistics, the notices represented
more than $2.6 million in delinquent
taxes. Of that amount, unpaid taxes
for years prior to 1987 accounted for
more than $1.4 million.
"These are taxes we never had
been able to collect before," William...
tITUU i. 1U. f|Mt
ouii Luiuiiiviiicu. iiiu u me iiioi
time we've had the capability to do
itHe
added that the department's
KAO
25c Per Copy
/ould Be Fii
orl \//irM<N?v
V Ul I l<UI I
come back for your approval."
Alderman-elect Davis who also
serves on the incorporation committee,
said he had been informed by the
iocai representative that a referendum
on incorporation would probably
be held later this year, before
the November election.
According to the charter, the boundaries
approved at a previous community
meeting will serve as boundaries
for the Town of Varnamtown.
The southern border of town will
run along the northern property line
of the newly-developed golf course
community Lockwood Folly. On the
east, the town will border the
Lockwood Folly River.
The western border will primarily
run along Stone Chimney Road (S.R.
1119) from the Stanbury Creek bridge
south to the intersection with Sabbath
Home Road (S.R. 1120). The
proposed town limits will also include
about 16 lots west of Stone Chimney
Road and south of Sabbath Home
Road.
On the north, the town boundary
will run along northern lot lines of
piuyciuca iwaicu nurui oi varnamtown
Road.
The charter also calls for the five
aldermen to be elected to terms of
four years each, while the non-voting
mayor will be elected to a two-year
term.
All seats will be up for election next
November. At that time, the two
aldermen receiving the highest
number of votes will serve four-year
terms while the other three aldermen
will serve for two years.
In 1991, three aldermen seats will
then be up for election and the winners
of those seats will serve for four
years. Under this system, aldermen
seats will be staggered and the entire
board will not be up for election
every four years.
Like other local towns, elections
will be non-partisan and held on a
plurality basis with the highest votegetters
earning seats. The mayor and
aldermen will also be elected at
large.
The charter requires anyone seeking
election to file with the town clerk
at least 45 riavs hefnrp f hp n<?vt oior?_
tion and pay a $5 fee which will be put
dwin Runoff
Brunswick County Board of Elections.
In future, he suggested,
regardless of whether the results affect
the outcome of their particular
race, all candidates should be
notified of the official counts "for the
record's sake."
While Baxley knew of the canvass
results last Thursday night, Godwin
said a friend told him the results at
church Sunday. Neither had been
notified by the elections board.
While his campaign in this election
has ended, Godwin said he would consider
running for office again in the
future. "There's a possibility,
hopefully," he added.
No other count changes affected
candidate's status. However, correction
of an adding error showed
Democratic Clerk of Court candidate
Diana Morgan with 3,611 votes rather
than 3,341.
>reclosure f
former computer system listed only
current taxes, and that property
owners had to ask clerks to manually
search tax files to find unpaid tax
bills from previous years.
This year Brunswick County collected
almost $532,000 in taxes
through April, which was a $222,000
increase from the same period last
year. Williamson and Ms. Moore attributed
the majority of that increase
to the 10-year billing.
m.a ?~w a?<Ai?ln aaIaIa^ a..? ?Ua? in
lilt. MIA UlllblOU pvuuvu UUV UIOV ill
September county commissioners
will be asked to "write off" more
than $08,000 in unpaid taxes from
*
J
??????
Oil
IV
40 Pages
rst Mayor
ltown
into the general fund of the town and
used to finance elections.
According to the charter, town
taxes will not exceed 10 cents per $100
of property valuation. James Calian,
the only member of the incorporation
committee not elected to the board of
aldermen, said the approximate property
valuation of the area to be incorporated
is $8,229,800.
"This is a safety precaution so it
can't be blown out without us voting
on it," said Calian.
An amendment of the charter proposed
by the incorporation committee
will allow town board members
and the mayor to collect a small
salary provided it is approved by at
least 60 percent of the town's eligible
voters present at a town meeting.
The board must give residents 30
duvs notion hpfnrn hnlHincr n unto r?r?n_
cerning the salary ot town officials.
Prior to this week's election of
town officers, alderman-elect Davis
urged residents to nominate and vote
for those people who will lead the
town responsibly and are willing to
work.
"The people that you elect to your
council tonight are going to control
the destiny of Vamamtown," he said.
Following his election as mayor,
Rev. Varnum offered a brief victory
speech to his supporters, saying,
"This is the first election I ever won.
Thank you and God bless you all."
Sholiofte
Police Chief
Resigns
BY DOUG RUTTER
Shallotte Mayor Jerry Jones said
the town board of aldermen will take
lis ume to select a qualified replacement
following last week's resignat
ion of Police Chief Don Stovsil.
In his letter of resignation, accepted
by the
town board at I
last Wednesday's
meeting, Stovall I
cited personal I
reasons for ieaving
the depart- nSjrEBQ
ment effective
Jones said the
police chief in- swr?n
formed him of his intentions to resign
last Wednesday afternoon, just hours
before the meeting. He said Stovall
had given him no indication before
that time that he was considering
leaving the department.
Both Jones and Stovall said the
resignation was unrelated to an apparent
personnel problem within the
department.
However, Stovall's resignation
followed three consecutive meetings
during which the board met in executive
session to discuss a personnel
problem within the police depart
ment.
On March 16, the board met behind
closed doors for more than two hours
before authorizing its personnel committee,
consisting of David Gause
and Sarah Tripp, to work with Stovall
to resolve an unspecified problem
within the department.
(See SHALLOTTE, Page 2-A)
3rocess
1978. Slate law requires that property
tax records be maintained for 10
years.
Problems Noted
Williamson and Ms. Moore also
emphasized that tax foreclosures are
not being done for years prior to 1981,
mainly due to record-keeping problems
in 1978 and 1979.
The county's eight-year property
revaluation in 1978 caused tax bills to
be sent out several months late.
Seme confusion occurred because
many property owners actually paid
their taxes and were given handwrit(See
CHAPPELL, Page 2-A)
*