Officials Storting To Work Early
On Brunswick
County Budget
BY RAHN ADAMS
If department heads and commissioners stick to
Interim County Manager David Clegg's schedule,
Brunswick County's new budget will be in the bag by
June 4 ? but Clegg says he would settle for June 18,
which would still be two weeks under the wire.
With a 3 1/2-weck head start on budget work this
year, departmental budget requests arc due on Clegg's
desk Monday. "I was really concerned that we get start
cd early," the interim manager said Friday. "I think it
should be a very methodical process, and we have some
highly significant issues that must be resolved in this
butfgeL"
Commissioners themselves got on the budget band
wagon Monday as they began talks regarding capital
projects facing the county (see related story). Clcgg
noted that four of the county's most pressing capital
needs are water system expansion, construction of a 91 1
communications centcr, and the addition of more office
space and maintenance facilities at the county govern
ment complex.
While the commissioners decide which capital pro
jects to pursue, Clegg continues to work on proposals
involving county operational costs. "I am sure people
will just have the breath knocked out of them when they
see my budget," he predicted, "because it will be a real
istic view of Brunswick County operations . . . I'm not
going to play palty-cakc with the budget"
Although he won't have an idea of next year's pro
posed tax rate until later in the budget process, Clegg
added that he hopes to provide commissioners with the
information they need to adopt a viable budget without
them having to meet with the county's more than 30 de
partment heads individually, as was done last year.
Last May and June, the county board bogged down in
(See BUDGET, Page 2-A)
THE
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^Twenty-eighth Year, Number 17 ???? the brunswick beacon Shallotte, North Carolina, Thursday, March 8, 1990
25C Per Copy
36 Pages, 3 Sections, Plus Insert
STAFF mo TO Br KAHH ADAMS
BRUNSWICK COUNTY OFFICIAIJi tour the county complex grounds Monday afternoon to look at possible building sites. Pictured
(from left ) are Clerk to the Board Regina Alexander, Commissioner Gene Pinkerton, Commissioner Grace Beasley, Interim County
Manager David Clegg, County Engineer Robert Tucker, Commissioner Kelly Holden and Commissioner Frankie Rabon.
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Proposed Capita! Improvement Plan
BY RAHN' ADAMS
Brunswick County Commission
ers went shopping for building sites
at the county complex Monday af
ternoon, but they were only brows
ing ? or "brainstorming." as Cnair
man Gene Pinkerton put
During the 2 1/2-hour work ses
sion, which included an impromptu
tour of the complex grounds, the
five commissioners discussed, in
general, more than 10 proposed
capital improvement projects that
"are mandated either by the people
or by the state," Pinkerton said.
Friday, the board will meet in re
cessed session with Edward Regan,
executive director of the N.C. Asso
ciation of County Commissioners,
and Raleigh attorney A.P. Carlton to
talk about financing options avail
able to the county. The meeting be
gins Friday at 1 p.m. in the Admin
istration Building.
The project that drew the most
board discussion Monday was the
proposed construction of a facility
to house the county's 911 emergen
cy telephone systera, which is ex
pected to be in operation by January
1992, and eventually a county
emergency medical service as well.
Other projects included water
system expansion, landfill improve
ments and construction of a new
courthouse, new office space for
several county departments and a
scwci SySiCili fuf uiC COunty CCui
plex. Pinkerton also said buildings
at the complex will need up to SI. 5
million in roofing work within the
nexi two 10 three years.
"Out of 12 or 14 projects, which
ones are you serious about?" the
chairman asked at the outset of the
work session. He added that he has
trouble prioritizing the projects be
cause he feels all of them are "im
mediate needs" that must be ad
dressed.
A telephone company official
said in late January that the county
would have to pick a location for
the 911 communications center
within "several months." Interim
County Manager David Clegg com
mented Monday, "I just know we've
got a deadline, and it's got to be
housed."
In budget talks last spring, com
missioners initially decided to lo
cate the 911 center in the old Agri
cultural Extension Service/ Bruns
wick Community College building
in Supply. The facility now houses
the Volunteer and Information
Center, Aging/Older Adults and
Clean County.
However, Pinkerton said Monday
he is embarrassed about the Supply
building's appearance and that the
departments must keep their offices
there due to lack of sufficient space
at the complex. He also noted that
the county eventually will need a
paid EMS and a facility that would
be large enough to house the ambu
lance service, 911 and emergency
moTia^Criivut.
The board learned Monday that
the county-owned Red and White
Building in Bolivia Plaza Shopping
Center apparently is not a viabie op
tion to house 91 1, as has been previ
ously suggested. Pinkerton said the
building is in such bad shape that
"all you have are two or three ma
sonry walls...It's looking like we
don't have a lot of value in that
building."
The county purchased the Bolivia
Plaza property for 575,000 in early
1988. Pinkerton said Monday that
repairs to the structure's roof alone
would cost an estimated 548,000.
The building's electrical system,
heating and air conditioning system,
and plumbing also are in disrepair,
he added.
Though they made no decision,
commissioners discussed the possi
bilities of constructing a metal
911/EMS building ? similar to Dare
County's EMS facility ? either on
the Red and White Buiiding site or
off U.S. 17 just south of the main
complex grounds. According to
Pinkerton, simply clearing the Red
and White Buiiding site would cost
528,000.
Concerning a proposed new
courthouse, Clegg reminded the
commissioners that the 13ih Judi
cial District will be assigned a sec
ond resident superior court judge
next year, probably increasing the
number of court sessions that will
be held in Bolivia. Clegg said court
officials already have discussed
moving some civil court sessions
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UUVK IU u?v v/iu vvsuiity tUUl UIUU^C III
Southport and holding court in the
Public Assembly Building.
'They haven't put any pressure
on us," Pinkerton said of the N.C.
Administrative Office of the Courts,
"but I can see it coming."
However, the N.C. Department of
Environment, Health and Natural
Resources has put pressure on the
county to conect problems with op
erauon of the complex's sewer sys
tem ? the same problems that the
county spent $160,000 to try to cor
rect two years ago.
Fined S2.355 in January for im
proper maintenance and operation
of the system, the county settled
with the state earlier this month for
less than the amount of the fine.
The county also agreed to build a
new sewer system, Clegg told the
Beacon Tuesday.
The sewer project is being head
ed up by County Engineer Robert
Tucker. Clegg said topographic sur
veys and some land clearing have
been done on property toward the
rear of the complex to help officials
determine what type of system to
install. He indicated that no cost es
timate has been made for the pro
ject, and no funds have been allo
cated yet.
Commissioners Monday also dis
cussed constructing new office and
maintenance space for the recre
ation and water departments in a
building similar to one built in
house last year for the operations
services and landfill departments.
Cum uf uic uuiiunig w<u about
$48,000 for materials alone or an
estimated $64,000 including county
labor.
Shallotte Woman Killed
In Weekend Auto Mishap
A local woman was killed in a
single-car accident late Friday near
Shallotte.
Paula Melzer Reeves, 26, of
Shallotte, was pronounced dead at
the scene of the 10:45 p.m. wreck
four miles south of Shallotte on
N.C. 179, according to Highway
Patrol spokesperson Ruby Oakley
and Brunswick County Coroner
Greg White.
Ms. Reeves' death was the sec
ond fatality this year on Brunswick
County roadways. Ms. Oakley said
five traffic deaths had occurred in
the county by this same time last
year.
The fatal wreck occurred when
Ms. Reeves' 1989 Ford ran off the
right side of N.C. 179 and over
turned, throwing the driver from the
vehicle. A passenger ? Jessie
Thomas Reeves, 35, also of Shal
lottc ? was not injured.
Jessie Reeves told Trooper B.L.
Wilkes that an unidentified vehicle
had forced the Reeves car off the
road, Ms. Oakley said. She added
that the accident was not alcohol re
lated and that the Reeves auto ap
parcnUy was traveling 55 mph when
the wreck h^pened.
Wilkes e amated damage to the
car at $6,(X *). No charges were Hied
in connection with the accident.
In another local wreck, four
South Brunswick Middle School
students were slightly injured in a
school bus accident Monday on
N.C. 87 about 2.5 miles northeast of
Bolivia. Thirty-three children were
(See SHALLOTTE, Page 2-A)
Developers Scale
Down River
Marina Plans
BY DOUG RUTTER
The future of a controversial pro
posal to construct a marina in the
resource-rich waters of Lock wood
Folly River is once again in the
hands of the state Division of
Coastal Management
Developers of the Lock wood
Folly golf community near Holder.
Beach have submitted a new permit
application and scaled-down set of
plans for a marina that has been on
the drawing board for nearly two
years.
"They made it a whole lot small
er than it was," said Jim Hcrstinc,
chief of the Division of Coastal
Management's Wilmington office.
"It's a very, very scaled down pro
ject."
Channel Side Corp. submitted its
original permit application in April
1988 with plans to build a private
50-slip marina and dry storage area
near some of the richest shellfish
beds in iiic lower Lockwood Foiiy
Rivci.
Hcrstinc said the location of the
proposed Genoa Point Roat Basin
hasn't changcd, but the developers
have reduced plans to include 26
slips, one boat ramp and no dry
storage area.
The original plans were strongly
opposed by local shell fishermen
who have depended on oysters and
clams in Lockwood Folly River for
their livelihood. They argued that
construction of the marina would
result in more pollution in the river,
which is frequently closed to shell
fishing because of unsafe levels of
fecal coliform bacteria.
"I'm still against it," Annie Smi
giel, president of the local preserva
tion group Save Our Shellfish, said
Tuesday when told about the new
plans. "We've got enough pollution
in the Lockwood Folly River now
without adding any more to it."
Three Channel Side officials
could not be reached for comment
Tuesday afternoon, but they have
said all along they are just as con
cerned about the environment as the
fishermen.
Hcrstinc, who rcccivcd ihc major
CAMA permit application and new
plans last month, said a decision on
whether to grant the permit will
probably be made before the end of
April. Under slate permit guide
lines, he said the latest a decision
could be made is July.
Before a final decision is made,
however, 14 state and federal agen
cies will have the opportunity to re
view and comment on the new per
mit application.
When the original application
was reviewed, the state Division of
Marine Fisheries was the only agen
cy to oppose the marina, although
other groups had concerns about po
tential environmental impacts.
The old CAMA permit applica
tion had been on "administrative
hold" since September 1988 pend
ing submission of sewage treatment
plans.
According to a form submitted
with the new permit application de
scribing the proposed marina, there
arc no plans for wastewater treat
ment facilities. There would be no
toilets, showers or "pump-out" fa
cilities for docked boats.
The form also stales that the
depth of the marina channel will in
crease from the boat ramp to the
channel entrance and there will be
no constrictions at the channel's
mouth. These two factors are ex
pected to promote flushing of the
boat basin and reduce negative ef
fects on water quality.
To create the upland boat basin,
approximately 2,500 cubic yards of
material would have to excavated.
None of the work would require ex
cavation of wetlands, the form
states.
Natural vegetative buffers, seed
ing, mulching and silt fencing
would be used to control erosion.
Water runoff would be directed
through vegetative filters prior to
entering any surface waters. Also,
no boats longer than 21 feet would
be allowed and there would be no
fuel facilities.
State Plans Oyster Relay
The first oyster relay in Brans
wick County waters since 1988 will
begin later this month in the Shal
lotte River.
"We're back in the relay busi
ness," Rich Carpenter, regional di
rector of the state Division of
Marine Fisheries, said Tuesday.
The oyster relay has tentatively
been scheduled for March 20
through 23 and Aprii 3 tnrougn 6 in
the lower section of Shallotte River,
said Carpenter.
Under the program, the state pays
fishermen SI per bushel to move
oysters from polluted areas closed
to shellfishing to clean waters
where the oysters cleanse them
selves and become safe for harvest
ing.
Carpenter said oysters will be
moved from an area in Shallotte
River where oyster growth has been
"stunted" downstream to an area
known as "Tile Swash," winch iiC
described as "a real good growing
area."
(See OYSTER RELAY, Page 2-A)
Commissioners Pick New Brunswick ABC Chairman
BY RAHN ADAMS
Long Beach resident Joyce Vereen went to
Monday night's county commissioners meeting
simply hoping to be appointed to the Brunswick
County Alcoholic Beverage Control board and
left as the three-member panel's new chairman.
Mrs. Vereen, wife of Long Beach Mayor
Johnny Vereen, was appointed to complete the
three-year term of former ABC Chairman
Wilbcr Rabon, who resigned his three-week-old
post Feb. 23.
Nominated by Commission Chairman Gene
Pinkerton, Mrs. Vereen was elected on a 3-2
vote along party lines. Republican Commis
sioners Pinkerton, Frankie Rabon and Kelly
Holden supported Mrs. Vereen 's nomination.
Democrat* Grace Beasley and Benny Ludlum
supported Navassa Mayor Louis "Bobby"
Brown, who was nominated by Ms. Beasley.
Mrs. Vereen, who is employed as office
manager for a Long Beach cable television of
ficc, was then elected ABC chairman by accla
mation. Ludlum nominated her for the chair
manship.
"It's a litlle frightening," Mrs. Vereen said
afterwards of her new role as head of the county
ABC board, "but with the people on there, I
think we can do a good job for Brunswick
County." Other board members are John
Ramsey, also of Long Beach, and Raymond
Babson of Ash.
The board is charged with administering
Brunswick County's ABC system and opening
a county ABC store. A successful countywide
alcohol referendum last November cleared the
way for the county system. The board members
are expected to attend training classes soon in
Raleigh.
Commissioners named Rabon, Ramsey and
Babson to the ABC board Feb. 5, appointing
them to three-, two- and one-year terms, respec
tively. Rabon, a Winnabow resident who is an
older brother of Commissioner Frankic Rabon,
resigned in a Feb. 23 letter that county officials
received Feb. 26.
"It is with deep regret that I must decline
this appointment," Rabon wrote. "My present
commitments to my family and the responsibili
ties of my job are the primary factors in my de
cision." Rabon, a former county commissioner
and school board member, is employed as chief
purchasing agent for Federal Paper Board
Company in Riegelwood.
Commissioners almost adjourned Monday's
meeting without filling the vacancy. Ludlum,
who said he had earlier asked for the appoint
ment to be added to the meeting agenda,
stopped board members as they voted on
Commissioner Rabon 's motion to adjourn.
Ms. Beasley immediately nominated Brown
after Ludlum chided the board for attempting to
delay the appointment. Ludlum commented, "I
feel like we're dragging our feet, and we need
to get on with it."