PTI Library
p. ‘0. Box 185
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The Pamlico News
15' Per Copy
(USPS 782-460)
VoL12,No.6
Serving Pamlico County And Richland Township
Thursday, February 8,1979
I
The Bluffs Bond
Renegotiated
By
Planning Board
The bonds for The Bluffs
subdivision were renegotiated
at the January 29 meeting of the
Palmico County Planning
Board.
Two bonds had been acquired
for the subdivision, one for
$126,000 and one for $5,000.
Previously, the amount of $2,000
per lot was paid into an escrow
account at the time each lot was
sold.
Day, representative of The
Bluffs, said that he had received
two bids for paving the entire
road system at the subdivision
and informed the board that
$2,000 per lot would not be
sufficient to cover the bond for
the road system. There are
presently 43 lots that have not
been conveyed which would
make a total of $86,000 for the
bond. The bids for paving ran up
to $128,900.
Day added that there are
additional lots at The Bluffs, but
that the remainder of the land
has not been surveyed for lots
and he said that he did not know
when the surveying would take
place.
Day said that he would like to
combine the $126,000 bond and
the $5,000 bond together, to
which Gene Broughton, Sub
dividion Administrator, said, “I
don’t think you could please the
county any more.”
Day said that there should be
$8,000 already in the escrow
account. Broughton said that he
thought there was only $6,000 in
the account.
The State, according to Day,
will not take the rpad system at
The Bluffs into their system
when the roads are paved. He
said that from the information
he has gathered, the State will
not take the roads in until there
is one house every 520 feet or .10
of a mile.
Broughton asked if there will
be a Homeowners Association
at The Bluffs in the case that the
State will not take them in.
Broughton said that the
association would be respon
sible for maintenance and
upkeep of the roads after a
certain percentage of the lots in
the subdivision are sold. Day
said that the homeowners in the
subdivision will have to start
the association.
The board approved
modifying the existing $126,000
bond for paving so that $2,800
per lot will be put into an escrow
account at the time each lot is
sold. Day said that he wished
the money to go into an interest
drawing account. Board at
torney, Jim Ragan, said that the
modification of the bond would
essentially cancel the $5,000
bond thus making only one
bond.
Day also received final plat
approval for lots 21-29 at The
Bluffs.
Surface Treatment
Recommended
Garvin Hardison received
preliminary plat approval for
section 2 of Indian Trace.
Hardison said that the bond
for the first section has not been
released as of yet and that he
wishes tp put up the same bond
and pay into the account as the
lots are sold.
Hardison told the board that
asphalt paving is quite ex
pensive and he has spent some
time trying to find some
alternative to asphalt paving.
He said that a DOT official
recommended surface treat
ment as an alternative.
Hardison said that surface
treatment is a third less ex
pensive than asphalt. He said
that surface treatment packs
better and does not crack as
easily. He said that the road
from Oriental to Pamlico is
surface treatment.
The board gave preliminary
plat approval to Indian Trace.
Definition May Be Changed
Hardison said that he would
like to see the wilderness areas
changed. He said that under the
present rules, it is required that
anything under 10 acres has to
go to improved roads. He stated
that he would like to see this cut
down to five acres because
individuals who are buying this
much land normally are not
concerned about the roads.
Gordon Keller added that
people can afford five acres
when they cannot afford 10
acres. Said Keller, “It seems to
me that just selling five acre lots
makes a lot of sense especially
in a County like this.”
Jim Ragan said that the
board had planned to discuss
the definition of subdivision and
exceptions to the subdivision
regulations or those people who
do not have to come before the ■
Planning Board. Ragan said'
that perhaps the board should
have a public hearing, although
this is not legally required,
because definition of sub
division affects a lot of people.
Ragan said that the board has
been thinking of rewriting the
definition of subdivision
although Pamlico County
modified the State definition in
1977, it was modified so that it
“doesn’t have any teeth in it.”
CAMA County
Ross Boyer, County Coor
dinator, said, “As you know,
we’re a CAMA County.” Boyer
added that because of this,
Late Happenings
The Pamlico County Board of Commissioners in their
Monday (february 5th) meeting decided to move all ac
counting funtions to the budget and finance office. The
decision stemmed from A. M. Pullen k Company’s, the
county auditor, recommendation that the health department
bookkeeping system and all county bookkeeping systems be
placed in a central location or the budget and finance office.
According to Bill Rice, County Finance Officer, the
transfer will not require additional staff in the finance
department. Also, Rice said this transfer wil) enable line
items to be set up in a health department budget.
Because of the transfer, Charles McCotter Jr. will no
longer be designated'as Deputy Finance Officer. The Board
also closed the Health Department and Mosquito Control
phaofcina acCOUOtS.
“ * ‘ * will be effective March 1, 1979.
m
Reg Piland
Piland Named
County Agent
Pamlico County has a new but
familiar county extension
agent replacing Jim Rea who
retired December 31, 1978.
Reg Piland, who has been
serving as assistant county
agent for Pamlico County, will
assume the duties of county
agent on March 1, 1979.
Piland was born in Smith
field, where his father served as
county agent for 9 years. In 1960
Piland’s father was transferred
to Raleigh to take the position of
District agent. Piland
graduated from Needham
Broughton High School in
Raleigh.
Currently, he is working
towards a Master’s Degree at
(North Carolina State University
with a major in Adult Education
and a minor in agronmy.
Piland and his wife, Diane,
reside in Oriental. They have
one child, Emily, age two, and
are expecting another child in
the very near future.
Prior to his present position
as assistant county agent,
Piland worked with the Wildlife
Commission for 3 years. He has
been the county’s assistant
agent for the past 4 years.
Piland hopes to set up an
Extension Advisory Council
which will look at the needs of
the county in terms of extension
services. The council will be
Pamlico County is eligible for
CAMA planning money.
Pamlico County has been
awarded grant money, one of
the purposes of which, was to
look at subdivision and
zoning regulations. Boyer said
that the regulations could be
rewritten or amended to meet
Pamlico County’s needs. The
planning assistance would be
composed of one person from
each of the four major areas of
extension services: agriculture
and natural resources, home
economics, 4-H, and community
resource development. These
individuals will receive input
from lay paople who are
currently involved in thes^,
areas. The council will con
tribute to the planning, im
plementation and evaluation of
the county extension programs
and services.
Of his future plans for the
Extension Service as county
agent, Piland said, “I plan to
continue along the same lines
that the Extension Service has
been known for in the county.
This includes variety of tests, soil
testing, tillage tests, herbicide
comparisons, and potato pest
alert programs. Some
programs will be developed in
integrated pest management
whereby we will be utilizing
field scouts.” He added, “New
emphasis will be placed on
horticultural crops. Alter
natives must be looked at which
offer higher profit per acre. We
intend to look for an assistant
agent with horticultural
training.”
“I believe in the Extension
philosophy, that is, getting the
technology on the farms,”
stated Piland.
pursued through the Planning
and Technical Assistance
branch in Washington, N. C.
Other Business
In other business the board:
Denied final plat approval for
Pierce’s Creek addition 3,
contingent on future im
provements.
Gave preliminary plat ap
proval for Pleasant Acres.
Aurora Citizens
“Biting The Bullet”
Approximately 15 citizens of Aurora attended the
January 30 meeting of the town board and voiced
concern about the roads and the general shape of the
area around South Village.
The Town has been doing water and sewer work in
the area. One citizen present said that the work was
supposed to be completed last August and added that
residents of the area are “biting the bullet” because of
the poor condition of the roads and yards.
Board member Joe Galloway said that he had talked
with the contractors and they hoped to be finished with
the area sometime this week. Town Administrator
Marvin Jennings said that the main holdup is getting
power to the lift station and that when this is ac
complished, the sewer lines will be ready.
A second concern of the South Village residents was
what condition the roads will be left in when the
contractors pull out. The group wished to know if the
Town had any control over how the contractors leave
the final shape of the roads and yards.
The town board does have the authority to withhold
final payment to the contractors if the roads and yards
are not satisfactorily restored.
One citizen remarked that the town board has the
responsibility to maintain the streets so that they are
useable. Mayor Grace Bonner responded, “No one has
complained about them (the roads) more than me.”
One Aurora resident said that South Village is one of
the, most growing area of Aurora and that, “We’ve
beeakind of taking second place out there,” He added
that with the poor drainage and the poor condition of
the streets, people “may look elsewhere to build.”
Board member Joe Paul said that if the town begins
to’take care of the roads, the contractor cannot be held
liable for the streets if something happens. He also
said that it is difficult to get a crown on the streets
because the pipes are along one side of the road.
Board member Malcolm Rowe said that the con
tractors will hold a final inspection with the board
before the end of the project and that any complaints
will be settled by the final inspection.
Priority List
Paving of the area was questioned by citizens at
tending the meeting . Mayor Bonner told them that in
order to have the roads paved in the area, the
residents have to petition the town for paving. The
streets are then put on a priority list. She said that 75%
of the residents in the area must sign the petition in
favor of the paving.
Last year, said one of the citizens, there was a
signed petition for paving the roads, but since that
time approximately half of the land has changed
hands. He wished to know if the petition was still valid.
T. R. Thompson, attorney for the board, said that the
petition is still good even though some of the property
has changed hands.
Joe Paul said that Aurora is a small town “both
geographically and economically” which operates on
a low tax rate and that the town could raise taxes and
begin paving the needed areas immediately but the
board has decided against this procedure.
Paul said that actually the town board is “not ac
customed” to having citizen participation and added
that when a big decision comes up the board members
are the ones that have to decide because the board
received little or no input from the citizens of Aurora.
He said that in any case, there are still residents of
Aurora who complain to him that the town board made
a bad decision.
Said Paul, “Aurora is handicapped. As long as
residents aren’t willing to do their part as citizens, it’s
never going to grow.” Paul added, “Let’s not point the
finger but let’s all do something together.”
The Aurora Town Board had many citizens attend the
January 30th board meeting becuase of the delay in water
and sewer construction work.
Aurora Discusses Community Center
Bruce Berhinger, Aurora
Community Development
Coordinator, asked the town
board to approve a contract
with an architect for the
CommunityCenter at the
January 30 town board meeting.
The funds for the center are
available from a non-match
grant which the Town of Aurora
received from HUD. The
contract with the architect is for
$19,000 which would cover the
general activities that would be
required of the architect. The
terms of the contract are such
that the town will hold ap
proximately $2,000 until the job
is completed. This is almost
10% of the total contract
amount rather than the usual
5%.
The town board has
previously considered
renovating the Rutledce
House for the center, although
two of the board members have
expressed disapproval of this
idea. In the initial HUD CD
grant, the town received funds
to renovate the Rutledge House.
If the house is not utilized, the
town will be compelled to
renegotiate with HUD. This
could result in the town having
to return the funds allocated for
the Community Center.
A citizen present at the
meeting asked whether the
work would have to be put out
on bids. Mayer Bonner an
swered that the town is con
sidering the possibility of acting
as general contractor but that
there will be certain things that
will have to be put out for bids.
One citizen said that instead
of renovating the house, that a
metal building could be obtained
much cheaper and it will not
“cost you a cent for an ar
chitect.”
The center, once completed,
will house many different types
of service agencies. According
to Mayor Bonner, the architect
is needed because, whatever
building is used as the Com
munity Center, the building
must meet the various agen
cies’ specifications and
requirements.
The estimated cost to
renovate the Rutledge House
was $214,000. This $214,000 is not
town tax money, rather it is
HUD Community Develop
ment Block Grant money and
does not cost the town anything.
Citizens expressed concern
over the maintenance and
upkeep of the building Once it is
complete. According to Mayor
Bonner, the various agencies
that participate in using the
building will each pay a portion
of the maintenance cost. She
said that before the Rutledge
House deteriorated so quickly,
that the house was accepted by
the State Archives for
nomination to the National
Registry. If the house was on
the Registry, the town would
receive funds to maintain it.
Board member Joe Paul said
that any residents of Aurora are
confused about what the
building will be used for. He
added that the center will not be
used exclusively for the various
town civic agencies or a place
for the young people to meet.
According to Mayor Bonner,
the building will house many of
the agencies which do not have
a place to set up in Aurora and
because of this, many services
available in other Beaufort
County areas are difficult to
obtain in Aurora.
Mayor Bonner stated that the
Daycare Center, which is
presently located in the con
demned school building, will
have space provided for them
which they will maintain at
their own expense.
There will be a senior citizen
program which will offer a
lunch program 5 days a week
and also will offer programs of
recreation and learning.
Previously the Beaufort County
Council on Aging has not had
any space available in which to
begin a senior citizen program.
Through Tideland Mental
Health, there will be programs
for the handicapped offered.
Presently the handicapped
individuals have to be bussed to a
place which could provide
recVeation for them.
There will also be a large public
room in the center for meeting
places for various civic and
town organizations.
, “Sore Thumb”
As the citizens present were
airing their gripes, rote citizen
(con't on page two)