In The Basket Wastepaper baskets at the county complex should be emptier this week, as employees start changing disposal habits. A new "desktop" recycling program Is expected to help reduce the amount of paper bound for the county landfill. The story's on Page 12-A. Take County Crown West Brunswick High School's Lady Trojans powered past the South Brunswick Cougars Friday 48-29 to claim the county girls' basketball championship before heading Into Waccamaw Conference tourney action. For the full story, turn to Page 8-B. THE L.... binder .'1 . Nominations Due Any business that's a year old and has less than 100 employees could be eligible for a 1989 Small Business Award this May. But nominations must be submitted to the BCC Small Business Center no later than April 1. Business news Is on Page 9-C. BEACON 1*enty:e,flhth Year? Number 16 Shalfotte, North Carolina, Thursday, March 1, 1990 25* Per Copy 34 Pages, 3 Sections, Plus Insert NEW ESTIMATES DOUBLE THE ORIGINAI BCC Board Sends Auditorium Plans Back To Drawing Board BY SUSAN USHER Construction of an auditorium on the Brunswick Community College campus received yet another set back last week, with news that ini tial cost estimates for the project were apparently way out of line. As a result, the project is headed back to the design table. After getting new estimates by two parties, college trustees last Wednesday night voted to hire Boney & Associates of Wilmington as architects for the project should they agree to certain conditions, said Ben DeBlois, vice president for auiTiifiiSu alive ScfViCcs. These include redesign of the au ditorium to fall within a $3.2 mil lion maximum budget, while deliv ering a 1 ,500- seat facility that com plements existing buildings on cam pus, and is of similar quality to an uuio facility designed by the film, Kenan Auditorium on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. It is also expected to meet the basic design standards agreed on by a community advisory committee involved in planning of the facility. The offer to hire came at the rec ommendation of the board's build ing and grounds committee, which had met several times in preparation for the board meeting. The motion was approved by the board with on ly a brief explanation and no discus sion. Four of 12 trustees were ab sent; Eugene Hewett, Shirley Bab son, Tommy Bradsher and Commis sioner Benny Ludlum. The board also agreed to lease the old school cafeteria building at its South port campus to a South port group that offers recreauon to local youths on Saturday morning, dis cussed progress of a planned dual enrollment program with the Bruns wick County Schools and decided to host Department of Community College officials to discuss the local need for a turf management curricu lum program at the college. BCC had turned to Boney & Associates for assistance with the auditorium following the death last Septembe. of project architect "No one knows why there is such a vast difference in figures." ? Ben DeBlois, BCC Vice President On new auditorium cost estimate James Pittman. The college had chosen Pittman as architect after he left J.G. Architects to form his own business. Before working with Johnson, Pittman had worked with Boney & Associates for many years, DeBlois said, which is why the college sought out that firm in complete his project. DeBlois described the current negotiations as an attempt by the college to control three major vari ables ? size, cost and quality ? to come up with the best facility possi ble. "We don't know if we can achieve all the variables," he said. Should Boney & Associates decide they cannot meet the conditions of the contract, DeBlois said trustees would then take another look, at those three factors. Pittman had first estimated the project cost at an estimated $2.8 million. Before agreeing to take on the project, Boney & Associates last month asked tn obtain an up-to-date cost figure for the iv*o-ycai-uiu pro ject At that lime it was estimating that the project could be let for bid in fall 1990, and occupied in the winter of 1991-92. Funds to build the auditorium come from proceeds of an $8 mil lion bond sale approved by county voters. Trustees broke ground for the project last fall as part of BCC's 10th anniversary celebration. The project had already experienced a slight delay after trustees decided on a change of locations on campus. During thai same time period, two other events relating to the auditori um occurred: the death of the pro ject architect, and the naming of the auditorium for benefactor Odel! Williamson. He had endowed a trust fund to pay the salary of an audito rium manager. Harris & Associates of Columbia, S.C., put the cost in the range of S6 million, including $500,000 to cov er any design changes the college might approve during the pre-con struction phase, DeBlois said. "That figure surprised us Quite a bit. uic vice president indicated. In fact, it prompted the college to have the plans reviewed by a third party, the state Office of Construc tion. That estimate came in at $5 million to S5.4 million, said De Blois. "No one knows why there is such a vast difference in figures," he con tinued, though there are several the ories being advanced. "It can't be explained by inflation alone ... No one really knows." It appears the first estimate was based on a building with 29,000 square footage. But the final plans were for a structure with approxi mately 45,000 square feeL In any case, DeBIois said BCC's trustees are committed to building a facility in keeping with the major recommendations of the auditorium advisory committee, which included representatives of all the major arts organizations in the county and oth ers. It will be, he pledged, "a quality auditorium we can be proud of and i hat the citizens o? this county can have available in a timeiy manner. The trustees take that charge very seriously." The project acoustical consultant had described the planned facility as the "best on the East Coast, . . ." DeBIois recalled, noting ihst while the new facility may not merit that distinction, it could be the best audi torium in the state. Smiling mischievously, he added, "I know it will be the best in Bruns wick County." STAPT moro IY IAHN ADAMS THIS IS THE VIEW from one of 42 sites that are inventoried in Brunswick County's first shoreline access plan. A right-of-way pull-off and trash receptacle are located at this site on N.C. 179 within the Sunset Beach town limits. Commissioners To Consider Pursuing State Shoreline Access Grant Funds BY RAHN ADAMS How Brunswick County will implement its new shoreline access plan will be for county commission ers alone to decide, as the county planning board last week made no recommendations concerning specific accc ? piujccis for wmcn tne county should seek state grants funding. Proposed pre-applications for Coastal Area Management Act (CAMA) access grants are expected to be considered by commissioners at their March 5 meeting in Bolivia. The county has until March 30 to apply for the access grants. The planning board briefly discussed the CAMA grant program at its regular monthly meeting last Wednesday. The hour-long meeting was attended by planning board members Ed Gore, Thomas Dixie and Alan Holden. The three members voted unanimously to recom mend that the county file pre-applications for grants subject to the commissioners' selection of individual projects to pursue. According to Planning Director John Harvey, the N.C. Division of Coastal Management must approve any pre-applications be fore actual grant applications would be allowed. Harvey told planning board members that a copy of the county's first shoreline access plan ? a $7,800 state- and locally-funded document prepared by Wilmington landscape architect Howard Capps ? has been submitted to Coastal Management for review. Although the state's review of the plan will not be cuinpicicu fut ai iuui iwu uiuiiua, Cuasuii Manage ment officials indicated that the study as it now stands is sufficient to be used in the current grant application process, Harvey said. Recommended Sites While 14 sites throughout Brunswick County are listed as recommended access areas, the study in cludes schematic plans and cost estimates for only four sites ? the county's four existing N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission boat ramps ? because county officials have not indicated yet if they would favor construction of any access areas that require land acquisition. The wildlife ramps axe located at Pireway on the Waccamaw River; at Sunset Harbor on the Lockwood Folly River; and in the Southport area on the Carolina Power & Light Company canal and on Rice's Creek. The access plan recommends the addition of gaze bos at all four sites; picnic tables at all sites but Rice's Creek; and Ashing piers at all sites but Sunset Harbor. Estimated improvement costs range from $11,700 at Sunset Harbor to 520,450 at Pireway. Boat access facilities are suggested for nine of the remaining 10 recommended sites, which include: ? Bonaparte Landing off N.C. 179 between Sunset Beach and Calabash, boating access. ?Cape Fear River east of N.C. 133 (N.C. Department of Transportation property), visual (sight seeing) access. ? Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) in the old N.C. 179 right-of-way (mainland) after construction of the new Sunset Beach Bridge, visual, fishing and possible boating access. ? ICW at Summer Place Drive in the Holden Beach area, boating access. ? ICW at Bricklanding Road, gazebo, picnic ta bles, benches and boating access. ? ICW at Old Bridge Road under the Oak Island Bridge, picnic area and gazebo, with boating and pos sibly fishing access. ? Shallotte River at Middle Dam Road, boating, pedestrian and visual access. ? Lockwood Folly River at N.C. 211 bridge, gazebo, picnic shelter, nature trails and boating ac cess. (See COMMISSIONERS, Page 2-A) Clegg Wearing Two More Hats in Department Head Mystery BY KAHN ADAMS David Clcgg ? county attorney and interim county manager ? got to try on the hats of two more depart ment heads last week, as the acting building inspections director was away on a three-week medical leave of absence and the county purchas ing agent was away on a three-day job suspension. Clcgg, who has headed county administration since the Dec. 4 fir ing of County Manager John T. Smith, would not -comment specifi rotlu ?K!n ? ? am tKo okoan^oo of J MtlO TV wn. was M?V w* acting Inspections Director Julius 1""\ "D u/4rl%i" f amic on/4 Dnrr?Kno!n ? v* 4/uuu; uvma uiiu a utviiuouig Agent Billy Ingram. Instead, the interim manager re ferred questions to Personnel Of ficer Deborah Bowling, who would say only that Lewis requested and was granted a medical leave of ab sence Feb. 15 through March 9, and thai Ingram was suspended by Clegg Feb. 19 thiough 21 for rea sons involving "personal conduct" Neither Clegg nor Ms. Bowling would disclose Lewis' apparent medical problem. Lewis could not be reached at home. A receptionist in the building inspections depart ment said Tuesday that the acting director was "out of town." Ingram, who returned to work last Thursday, also refused to ex plain the reasons behind his suspen sion. "This time I just can't com ment on it" he said Tuesday According to the county person nel policy, an employee may be sus pended without pay for causes relat INGRAM LEWIS ed to personal conduct "in order to avoid undue disruption of work, to rav\tivAn<< Ar rv?v> M?V kltUV^ V? W? p? W perty, or for other serious reasons." Ingram, however, sr. nunvvv i, uavid said Monday that the test was post poned because Lewis was "under going treatment" Clegg told the Beacon Monday that the permanent building inspec tions director position will not be advertised and filled until the theft investigation concludes. He added that he is "overseeing the day-to day operation" of the building in spections department in Lewis' ab sence. Both Clegg and Davis noted that a confession is the only admissible "evidence" that can be drawn from a polygraph test and used in a crimi nal prosecution. The sheriff said none of the six individuals tested so far had confessed to taking the money. However, Clegg stated that re sults of the polygraph tests "could certainly be taken into considera tion" by him in handling the matter administratively. When asked if In gram's suspension last week was re lated to the investigation, Clegg said, "I'd rather not comment." Southport Businesswoman Accused Of Embezzlement BY RAHN ADAMS When Olivia Costango went to court last Wednesday, the South port businesswoman apparently thought she was in Bolivia only to serve as an alternate juror in a murder case. While at the courthouse, however, she was charged with embezzling more than $4,400 from the South port revitalization group she served as treasurer. Costango, 41, owner of the South port advertising firm Costanzo Ventures, was arrested last Wednes day by South port Police Chief Rob ert Gray on nine counts of embez zlement, according to arrest war nuns on file in Uie Brunswick County Cleric of Court's office. Gray told the Beacon that he dis cussed the arrest with Superior Court Judge Giles R. Clark before having Ms. Costango go to the Brunswick County Sheriff's Depart ment, where the warrants were served. Empaneled Tuesday as an alternate juror, she did not continue hearing testimony in the murder tri al after her arrest last Wednesday. Ms. Costango was released from custody last Wednesday after post ing a $10,000 secured bond. In a first court appearance Monday, her trial date was set for March 8, ac cording to the clerk of court's of fice. While the police chief would not comment on details of the case. Gray said the "improprieties" with which Ms. Costango is charged were reported to him Feb. 2 by rep resentatives of South port' AN CHOR revitalization group. He in dicated that the matter earlier had been discussed by the full AN CHOR board. The charges allege that Ms. Cos tango embezzled $4,462.94 in AN CHOR funds between July 1988 and September 1989. The largest single amount allegedly taken was $1,000 on June 6, 1989. Four of the alleged offenses occurred on Sept. 19, 1989, and involved $1,496.31. In addition to ANCHOR offi cials, the arrest warrants listed "wit nesses" including Susan Rose of Wilmington Printing Company, Dick Rothfuss of Wilmington's Custom Specialties, Diane Mc Keithan of the Southport State Port Pilot newspaper and Cathy New of Wilmington. Gray would not explain the busi nesses' connections to the case. However, court documents on file at the clerk of court's office indicate that at least one witness, Ms. New, filed a small claims action aeainst Ms. Costango last June to recover $210 for unpaid typesetting ser vices ? the same amount listed in the embezzlement charge which names Ms. New as a witness. The small claims action was dismissed last year at the plaintiff's request Other records at the county court (Sec BUSINESSWOMAN, Page 2-A)