A2 THE PERQUIMANS WEEKLY, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 8,2020
POLICY
Continued from Al
to televise the meetings, the
process remains ongoing.
Other problems associated
with the website are part of
these discussions.
Jackson provided history
of what’s been going with
these matters so as to pro
vide context to council for
these matters moving for
ward. He then attempted to
cite the town’s charter as he
took aim at procedures re
garding decision making as
it relates to these issues.
Brown responded by
saying, “Excuse me Coun
cilman Jackson, no dis
respect. We just finished
talking about streaming and
training. We have complet
ed rules of procedure. It is
now town council concern
(portion of the agenda) and
Mayor Pro-tem Hodges has
the floor.”
Jackson resumed speak
ing again as to meeting pro
cedures and motions, but
Brown cut him off.
“We’re not going to fili
buster this meeting,” she
said. “This meeting was
moving along.”
Brown asked if the Town
Attorney Ben Gallop if Jack-
son was on point with re
gard to the subject matter.
Gallop answered that
the mayor has the power to
move the meeting along.
Brown, Jackson and Gal
lop went back and forth for
a few minutes longer about
the meeting’s procedures.
Brown said as she is the
person officiating the meet
ing, Jackson can not go
back to matters that have
already been discussed or
else the meeting would go
on and on - “We’ve got a lot
more work to do.”
Council resumed their
discussion as was published
in the agenda.
When it was Jackson’s
time to speak, he talked
about need for paperwork
ongoing investigations and
expenditures. Jackson then
said staff, that he didn’t
name, are grumbling about
the work load, council and
performing public docu
ment requests that he said
does no good for Hertford.
Jackson then said, “I
don’t know what my future
is on Town Council. I’m just
being as honest as I can be.
But what I would tell you
guys is that everybody up
here took a vow that said
they are going to do what’s
in the best interest of Hert
ford. What I have seen, the
attacks in the newspaper, is
that if you ask the current
person what is our travel
policy, this council to me
seems like it is only attack
ing one person.”
Jackson continued by
saying the current travel
policy was adopted in 1991
- when he was in fourth
grade. He briefly discussed
the history of the travel bud
get before moving onto how
the town spends money for
attorney fees.
Jackson then told council
that by restricting the bank
cards to just the mayor and
mayor pro-tem instead of
everyone serving on coun
cil, that council was break
ing the law - right of access;
everyone should have equal
access to those funds. He
questioned how transparent
does it look that only two
councilors can go to the
bank, review bank records.
Jackson then took aim
at the mayor and mayor
pro-fem’s powers, essential
ly making a separation of
powers argument capped
off by saying the mayor is a
figure head, much like the
queen of England.
Jackson said he could air
out dirty laundry as part of
this new council's learn
ing curve. Instead, Jack-
son took aim at council for
pursuing changes to the
travel policy before circling
around to how staff have to
drop what they are doing to
fulfill the many requests for
public documents from pri
vate citizens and the news
paper. And as to Jackson’s
Texas trip, he relayed that
he was appointed to three
national positions with the
National Black Black Cau
cus of Local Elected Offi
cials.
As to Monday’s meeting,
Jackson said, “I didn’t come
out here to bust anybody’s
chops, be a problem or plan
to say anything. I came here
to talk about what’s in the
best interest of Hertford.”
Jackson then reversed
course.
“When we are talking
about transparency, unity
and togetherness - doing
all these type of things -
how much do you believe in
that,” he said. “Any citizen
has the right to go into that
office and say, ‘I want to see
the travel policy. I want to
see how much this person
travels.’”
Jackson then held up
three forms he said were
needed to be filled-out for
travel.
He then asked how
changing the travel poli
cy from what is needed in
these forms is in the best
interest of Hertford.
During Jackson’s long
speech, Brown remained
patient.
“We hear you and appre
ciate...” she said.
He interjected, “But
you’re being disrespectful.
Absolutely.”
Jackson stopped talking.
Brown then addressed
Jackson’s concerns one by
one.
Regarding the purchase
of furniture for the may
or’s office, Brown said she
wanted to set the proper
professional environment
by setting up her office to
receive citizens, potential
new residents, businesses
and inspire youth through
example - presentation is a
part of communication. She
said her work environment
is conducive to her produc
tivity.
Brown said when she
tried to purchase the furni
ture in mid November after
the election, Jackson, who
was then mayor pro-tem
instructed Town Manager
Pam Hurdle to stop the fur
niture requisitions. Horace
Reid, who was mayor, had
to intercede so as the pur
chase would be complete,
she said.
As Brown provided coun
cil with a list and descrip
tion of items purchased, she
said $1,399 expenditure in
furniture was paid through
the council’s budget - not
a cost overrun. Citing the
town’s charter, Brown said
because the expenditure
was under a $2,000, a bud
get amendment seeking
council’s approval was not
required.
“This is all above board,”
she said.
Norman said Brown
made the request to pur
chase the furniture before
she was ever sworn-in as
mayor.
“You had no right,” he
said.
Norman said the budget
is not set up in a way that
allows the mayor to pur
chase items without council
approval just because the
costs are under $2,000.
“Anything spent out of
the council budget, requires
council consent,” he said.
Norman said by spending
money set aside by council
in this manner, the purchase
circumvented council’s au
thority. He then noted even
though this purchase took
place before council had
enacted a moratorium on
spending, other purchases
were still being made.
Norman said the mora
torium affected his travel
plans to meeting with Na
tional Black Caucus leaders
in Washington, DC.
He noted that every time
the Town Manager wanted
to stop spending from hap
pening, she did not ask for
council’s consent.
Norman then addressed
requests for records, be it
from councilors or the pub
lic, by saying its the Town’s
job to provide such informa
tion no matter what.
Jackson then said the
purchases were not made
by council, but by the may
or who is not a member of
council.
Brown said, “We’re not
going to nitpick these
books. We’re not going to
have this. We’re going to
See POLICY, A3
ZONING
Continued from Al
with the individuals in the
community that have busi
nesses which have not been
in compliance and would
have to get re-certified.
Contrary to what they
said in the Planning Board,
they are not grandfathered
in because it was never le
gal. The only way you can
be grandfathered in is if you
were originally legal and it
changes. But if you were
doing something illegal and
it changes, that’s not grand
fathered in.
I think that if we decide
as a board to go with this,
that we also think about
what we’re going to do
about the businesses that
we have who would have to
go through the permitting
process all over again.”
Norman said the munic
ipality has a responsibility
to get businesses that are
not in compliance to close
those gaps so as to be com
pliant with code.
Mayor Pro-tem Ashley
Hodges asked the Town
Manager Pam Hurdle why
these changes are being
considered now.
Hurdle responded that
present ordinances are
vague, so the amendments
are more descriptive. Hur-
die said she consulted with
the Town’s attorney, local
government experts and a
zoning guru to craft a more
thorough ordinance. She
said while the changes are
not necessarily redundant,
the changes are clear.
Hodges said businesses
have been operating with
the existing code for de
cades, so what is it that
these changes enable?
Hurdle said when some
one applied for a home
occupation permit, she did
some research into the mat
ter to discover that prece
dent and the law were at
loggerheads, opposed to
each other. Though the per
mit applicant’s neighbor had
been granted a similar per
mit by the Planning Board,
his business did not qualify
for a conditional use permit
because it was not allowed
by the ordinance.
Because of this, Hurdle
sought to draft changes to
close loopholes, improve
the zoning ordinance in sev
eral areas.
“We are just trying to
make it so that it is under
standable to everyone,” she
said. “A lot of people call
and ask us questions about
our zoning because it is so
complex, very complex.”
Formerly a member of
the Planning/Zoning Board,
Hodges said the code needs
work so as to be more clear
and that by approving the
text amendments, it would
also remove the discre
tion of the Planning/Zoning
Board might otherwise have.
“I don’t feel really comfort
able with it as it is,” he said.
“We’ve got our attorney say
ing he wouldn’t have written
it this way. I don’t know how
wild I am about voting to ap
prove it this way.”
Concluding discussion
before calling for a vote,
Mayor Earnell Brown cut to
the quick of the issue.
“My opinion is that the ad
justments to the text of this
ordinance was to derived
based on accommodating
a questionable conditional
use permit,” she said. “I’m in
agreement that the citizens
should know about the type
of business that’s going to
be coming into their neigh
borhood. There’s two things
for me - we’re making an
adjustment to a document
that would accommodate
a business coming in ver
sus these are the rules and
regardless of what the busi
ness is, they meet them or
they don’t. If I’m saying this
correctly - we don’t change
our rules to accommodate,
but we do develop rules for
the entire town and organi
zation.”
HUMC
Continued from Al
Sunday. Most times, there
around 100 worshippers
on a Sunday morning for a
congregation with at least
175 souls. Sunday school
starts at 9a.m. and there
are after church gatherings
and of course coffee is a
staple.
HUMC is actively in
volved “Open Door” Min
istries which is a feeding
ministry in our community.
HUMC hosts and partici
pates in “The Lord’s Table”
which is a cooperative min
istry that serves a free lunch
on Wednesday’s at 12 p.m.
After Sunday’s service,
Tyson shared a Bible verse
that best describes HUMC.
“I would like to think
it is the words of Jesus
in Mark 12: 30 - 31: ‘Love
the Lord your God with
all your heart and with all
your soul and with all your
mind and with all your
strength.’ The second is
this: ‘Love your neighbor
as yourself.’ There is no
commandment greater
than these,”’ he said to the
Perquimans Weekly.
HUMC is the fifth Meth
odist Church in Perquimans
County and the first Meth
odist Church in Hertford
beginning in 1822. It began
as The Methodist Episco
pal Church in the United
States which was organized
in 1784 and was part of the
Wesleyan movement in
America.
“I have only been here
since July of 2019 but
what stands out to me in
this short period of time is
what I would call, adaptive
grace,’” Tyson said. “This
church has had a pres
ence in this community
for almost 200 years which
means it has seen a lot of
change. And through the
years it has adapted with
grace in order to share the
good news of Jesus Christ
and live into God’s call to
be the hands, feet and voice
of Christ in the world in
which we live.”
Worth noting, anyone in
terested in not only an amaz
ing history about the church
but Perquimans Coun
ty should click this link:
https://nccumc.org/history/
files/Hertford-UMC-History.
pdf
Much like the Perquim
ans Weekly and the Chowan
Herald, there is a married
couple leading the con
gregations at HUMC and
Edenton United Methodist
Church.
Last summer, Tyson and
his wife Valerie were ap
pointed to their respective
churches. Prior to Hertford
and Edenton, the couple
served as associate pastors
at Fuquay-Varina UMC.
Valerie Tyson grew up in
Fairfield across the Albe
marle Sound and her hus
band Gene grew up down
south, Richmond County,
so they know about small
town life in eastern North
Carolina.
“In a small town, you
know the people and their
stories. There is a genuine
sense of community,” Val
erie Tyson said during a pre
vious interview published in
the Chowan Herald.
Staff writer Miles Lay-
ton can be reached at mlay-
ton@ncweeldies. com
BABY
Continued from Al
“She called me again,
and told me this time is
was for real, so I came
down as fast as I could,”
Jacob Byrum said.
Peggy Byrum is excited
about the latest addition
to her family.
“He’s great,” she said,
as Grayson slept on his
mother’s chest. “He’s got
good parents, so I know
he’ll be well taken care of.
All the family — parents,
siblings, in-laws, out-laws
and everything — they’ll
definitely spoil him.”
For Milton and Theresa
Howard, Grayson is their
first great-grandchild. Af
ter leaving the hospital,
Hope and Grayson will
live with them in Eliza
beth City.
“He’s great,” Theresa
Howard said of Grayson.
“I’m thankful everything
went well and I’m glad
he’s healthy. Since he was
born after his due date,
we started to worry a bit,
but I’m glad it all worked
out. He’s precious and
he’s definitely going to be
spoiled.”
Grayson was delivered
by obstetrician Dr. Bora
Duruman, with Vidant
Woman’s Care in Edenton.
Hope Howard noted that
another child was born
at Vidant Chowan Hospi
tal 8 to 10 minutes after
Grayson.
As the first baby of the
new year born at Vidant
Chowan, the family was
presented a gift basket
filled with baby products
and gift certificates from
the hospital and Eden
ton businesses. Present
ing the basket was Brian
White, director of strate
gic operations at Vidant
Chowan and Bertie hos
pitals.
Contact Nicole Bow
man-Layton at nlayton@
ncweeklies. com.
LAYTON
Continued from Al
River, a cadaver dog would
be called out to assist
searchers. Dogs can detect
a body that is underwater.
Many years ago, I wrote
about was the search for a
7-year-old girl, who disap
peared in November of 1982.
State police received a
tip about where the girl’s
remains may have been
located, so a forensic
anthropologist and dozens
of law enforcement agents
aided by cadaver dogs
searched a two-acre site.
Sadly, the girl’s body was
not recovered, so the case
remained unsolved.
On a brighter note, I re
ceived a warm welcome at
Hertford United Method
ist Church on Sunday. Pas
tor Gene Tyson provided a
top notch sermon. I grew
up in a Methodist Church
where many generations
of my family worshiped
and are buried within the
hollowed grounds of a
cemetery that dates back to
the early 1800s. Attending
Sunday’s service brought
back many memories.
Per Caitlin VanHorn,
Hertford United Methodist
Church runs a Children
and youth group Sunday’s
at 10 a.m. for children’s
church, as well as providing
nursery services during ser
vice. Ages are pre-K12 for
children’s church. Church
also runs monthly specials
events that vary depending
on the month.
Church’s next event will
be in Februaiy for Youth
which is a spaghetti supper
and play Feb. 16 at 5 p.m.
The Church will also host
Discovery Kids Club Every
other Wednesday (January
8th and 22nd) this month.
Welcome Hertford
Baptist Church's new
pastor Dario Ruvarac to our
community. Last Sunday
was Ruvarac’s first week-
end as pastor of the church
that was established within
Hertford in the mid 1850s.
■ Newspaper news - so
that other people have a
chance to chime in by writ
ing letters to the editor, the
newspaper is limiting folks
to one letter per month. As
I recently explained to one
of our newspaper’s avid
readers, I’m a firm believ
er in never censoring the
marketplace of ideas, even
the batshcrazy ones.
By allowing ideas of
stripes and colors to be
shared, the better ones
emerge as reasonable peo
ple come to conclude that
some writers are... while
others (Federalist letters)
can inspire the creation a
nation.
Let other folks have a
chance to call Trump a
moron or give the president
the praise he deserves.
Maximum word length...
eh...Gettysburg Address
was 272 words long, so let’s
round up to 300 words.
However, if folks want
to write something longer
that touches on more local
affairs, let me know - we
can work something out.
And the newspaper has
a drone, so this technology
is going to be fun learning
how to use.
Gabriel’s Men will
meet on Jan 14 at 7 p.m. at
Hertford Baptist Church,
124 Market St., Hertford.
All men are welcome,
especially tenors. Group
will be learning sacred and
patriotic songs for presen
tation to the general public
in Chowan, Perquimans,
and Pasquotank counties at
selected dates throughout
the new year. Please join
us and help us sing to the
glory of God.
How about some Hol
iday Island Yacht Club
news for January:
Jan. 18: Breakfast 8:30-
10 a.m. menu: scrambled
eggs, sausage patties, pan
cakes, grits, coffee, orange
juice
Later Jan. 18: Spaghetti
5 p.m. spaghetti, salad bar,
bread, homemade dessert,
complimentary bottle of
wine per table. For informa
tion call 426-8518.
Please continue to send
tips and news items to
inlayton@ncweeklies.com.
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