Holden Beach Board OKs
BY DOUG RUTTER
Holden Bcach Commissioners ap
proved u lunuSCuping plan for town
hall last week, but still haven't de
cided where to house the police de
partment.
Commissioners unanimously ac
cepted a beautification committee
proposal at their meeting last Wed
nesday to dress up the west and
north sides of town hall with planus
and walkways.
The supplies and labor will cost
less than 55, (XX), said Beautification
Committee Chairperson Margaret
Vasco.
She said the shrubs need to be
planted before March 3 1 . Plans also
call for a ramp at the meeting icom
door to make it accessible to the
handicapped.
On a 3-2 vote, commissioners
agreed to have a gutter installed on
the west side of the town hall roof so
rainwater wouldn't harm the new
plants.
Commissioners Gay Atkins and
David Sandifcr voted against the
idea, which was proposed by the
bcautification committee.
Sandifer said he wanted to know
the cost of the project and where the
money would come from in the
town budget before approving it.
Ms. Atkins said she thought ths
board should agree on an overall
plan for the town hall complcx be
fore putting up a gutter on one side
of the town hall.
Commissioners toured the com
plex grounds during their meeting
last week, but came to no conclusion
about where to put the policc depart
ment.
The force currently works out of
the bottom floor of a house the town
owns at the northwest comer of
Davis Street.
The town board that left officc in
December had planned to renovate
the old public works parage and use
it for the police department.
But the new board, which features
four new faces, hasn't decided
whether to follow those plans or
leave the police department in the
house.
Bids received for the garage reno
vation were about twice as much as
what the town had expected. Instead
of S30.000, renovating the garage as
planned would cost the town about
S60,0(X).
If the town board decides to leave
the police department where it is.
Building Inspector Dwight Carroll
said the house would have to be
brought up to current standards.
Carroll said the state has already
given Holdcn Beach two extensions
so the police can use the house on a
temporary basis.
In a related matter, earlier plans to
replace the underground gasoline
storage tank with an above-ground
model are on hold.
The town has removal the old
tank and is presently buying gas at
local scrvicc stations.
Commissioners indicated last
week that they might like to keep it
that way to save the town money on
the new tank and insurance.
Street Lights Coming
Brunswick Elcctric Membership
Corp. has agreed to set up two types
of street lights on Holdcn Beach so
residents can choose the one they
like best.
Town Manager Gary Parker said
two "metro" and two "decora" lights
will be erected on poles near the 100
block of Ocean Boulevard West,
with a 400-foot separation between
the two types of lights.
Older Adult Programs
Face State Changes
BY TKRRY POPE
Services for Brunswick County's
older adults will undergo state-man
dated changes this year, leaving lo
cal officials wondering about the
outcome.
Affected July 1 arc two programs
in Brunswick County's Department
of Social Services and two in the
Brunswick County Health Depart
ment. DSS must give up control of
its in-home health care and adult day
carc programs for the elderly.
"There's a possibility of good and
bad," said Brunswick County DSS
Director Jamie Orrock. "You don't
know how it will impact"
County commissioners must des
ignate a local agcncy to develop a
plan for older adult services for
1992-93. That agcncy will coordi
nate programs through the N.C.
Department of Human Resources'
Division of Aging.
The state is not asking for cuts in
older adult programs, just that one
agcncy serve as coordinator in each
county under the direction of local
boards of commissioners.
The goal is for county commis
sioners to become muie involved in
planning the types of services to
provide for the elderly. The state
plan was outlined in March 1991 by
the Division of Aging in a publica
tion tided, "North Carolina Aging
Services Plan: A Guide for Suc
cessful Aging in the 1990s."
The county can either keep its
present Department of Older Adults,
now headed by Ronnie Robinson,
and have it implement programs for
the elderly, or it can choose a private
agcncy. A decision is expcctcd by
March, in time to prepare the coun
ty's 1992-93 fiscal year budget.
"What our commissioners choose
to do, I do not know at this point,"
said Orrock, who said he will meet
this week with County Manager
David Clcgg to review the changes.
Orrock said state officials arc also
slow in delivering the news.
"We're not getting much informa
tion out of the Division of Social
Services," he said.
What Orrock docs know is that
his department will lose its $30,000
in-home care for the elderly pro
gram and its S8.000 in-home adult
day carc program to another agency.
Those provide in-home health carc
for patients who arc perhaps steps
away from being placcid into a nurs
ing home.
The county's Department of
Older Adults oversees the congre
gate meals programs at senior citi
zens centers in Shallottc, Lcland,
Soulhport and Oak Island. Meals are
served five days a week at all but
Oak Island, where meals arc served
once a week. The department also
coordinates home-delivered meals
and senior transportation programs.
The health department helps DSS
with its Community Alternative Pro
gram (CAP) and Personal Care Ser
vice programs by providing nursing
assistance. The current ongoing
caseload in CAP is 26 patients and
14 for Personal Care Services, said
Health Director Michacl Rhodes.
"It docs allow your county com
missioners to become more involved
in selecting the types of services for
the elderly in the county," said
Orrock. "TTial can be based on what
the community believes is needed."
The state's Aging Services Plan
details a 10-ycar vision for develop
ing "county-based programs on ag
ing, strengthening services for the
impaired and improving services
that maintain the health and inde
pendence of all older adults."
The shift is aimed at improving
state, area agency and county plan
ning for a growing older population
in North Carolina. According to
statistics, the state's older population
is expected to increase at twice the
national rate during the 1990s as
more and more retirees settle here.
The study also noted that per
capita spending for in-home services
across the state in 1990 for persons
65 or older was unevenly distributed
by countics, from a low of S7.77 to a
high of S392.
In-home services, transportation
and housing emerged as the most
important issues facing the aging in
North Carolina in a 1990 survey of
all 100 countics, the study indicated.
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Convenient to
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Landscaping Plan
A majority of the lown commis
sioners arc in favor of renting street
iigiits from the iocal utility. Parker
said placing them at each intersec
tion and spacing them every 500 feet
would cost about 530,000 per year.
Town officials asked for the free
sample lights on Ocean Boulevard
so residents can see them operating
and decide which type they want to
have on the island.
The board's next workshop will
Ik held Monday. Feb. 17, instead of
the regular Feb. 19 date. Several
commissioners will be attending a
class for newly-elected officials in
Chapel Hill on the 19th.
Other Business
In other business last week, com
missioners:
?Took no action after meeting for
about one hour in executive session
to discuss legal and personnel mat
ters.
?Did not discuss a proposal that
would allow the building inspector
and lown manager to interpret
rooms on house plans as bedrooms
if they can reasonably be expected
to he used as bedrooms. Gil Bass,
Sandifcr and Ms. Atkins volcd
against a motion by Sid Swarts to
bring Uk issue oil tbc tabic.
?Heard from Allan Damcron that
Brunswick County Travel Package
will be asking the town to contribute
money to help fund an upcoming
meeting of the N.C. Board of
Transportation in Brunswick
County. Damcron said he would
come back to the board s(x>n with a
specific request.
?Asked Parker to get bids from
companies interested in handling the
town's trash pickup and removal.
Board members want proposals for
multi-year contracts and curbsidc re
cycling included with the bids. The
town's contract with its current
hauler. Chambers, expires March 3 1 .
?Briefly discusscd delays with the
underground utilities project. Parker
said he expects work crews to return
no sooner than March, and possibly
as late as September.
?Appointed Commissioner Jim
Foumier as Holden Beach's repre
sentative on the Water Quality Task
Force.
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