November 19 2013 Regular Minutes New Hanover County ABC Board
Meeting Minutes
November 19, 2013
I. Call to order
Chairman Cedric Dickerson called to order the regular meeting of the New Hanover County Alcoholic
Beverage Control Board at 8:30am on November 19, 2013 in the General Office at 523 S. 17th Street,
Wilmington, NC.
II. Roll call
Carol Martin, Board Secretary, conducted a roll call. The following Members of the Board were present:
Cedric Dickerson, Chairman
Robert W. Martenis, Vice Chairman
Thomas Wolfe, Member
Augustus C. Everett, Jr., Member
David Matthews, Member
Others in attendance were:
Dan Sykes, Chief Executive Officer
Gary Cain, Acting Assistant Chief Executive Officer
Carol Martin, Board Secretary
Wanda Copley, Legal Counsel
Colonel Arch Jones,NHC Sheriff's Department
Ashley Withers, Star News Reporter
Charles Hill, Acting Retail & LBD Operations Manager
Joseph Strampp, ABC Sales Associate
Ben Brisson, Project Superintendent, Bordeaux Construction Co., Inc.
Absent with Notice:
Avril Pinder, Ex-Officio Member
III. Conflict of Interest Reminder
Mr. Dickerson verbally confirmed that the Board members had read the following ethics reminder:
"In accordance with General Statute 18B-201, it is the duty of every Board member to avoid both
conflicts of interest and appearances of conflicts. Does any member have any known conflict of
interest or appearance of conflict with respect to any matters coming before the Board today? If
so, please identify the conflict or appearance of conflict and refrain from any undue participation
in the particular matter involved."
Let it be recorded that no conflicts were identified by any Board member regarding this Board meeting.
IV. Approval of minutes from last meeting
Mr. Dickerson presented the minutes from the Regular and Closed Session portions of the October 15, 2013
Board Meeting. Mr. Martenis made the motion to approve the minutes as written, Mr. Wolfe seconded, all
approved.
V. Approval of proposed agenda
One addition, Reallocation of Manpower, Item 3c. was added to the prepared agenda as written. Mr.
Martenis made the motion to accept the meeting agenda, Mr. Wolfe seconded, and all approved.
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VI. Service Awards & Other Recognitions
Mr. Sykes introduced Mr. Strampp to the Board. Mr. Strampp has been a part-time sales associate with the
Board for over a year and recently became full-time.
Mr. Cain introduced ABC Complex Project Superintendent Mr. Brisson of Bordeaux Construction Co., Inc.
to the Board. Mr. Dickerson requested that Mr. Brisson's contact information be given to each Board
member.
VII. Administrative Reports
a) ABC Law Enforcement Officer's Unit Monthly (ALE) Report for October was presented by Col. Jones.
Officers performed the following activities for the month of October, 2013:
*520 Store Visits
*297 Bank Deposits
*10 Change Deposits
*7 Video Investigations
*56 Charges
*10 Arrests
*Cited 14 "Underage Possession" ABC Law Violations
*Cited 29 "Unauthorized Possession" ABC Law Violations
*Cited 43 "Other Alcohol" ABC Law Violations
*Cited 2 "Manufacture/Sel1/Deliver/Trafficking" Controlled-Substance Violations
*Cited 8 "Possession" Controlled-Substance Violations
*Cited 4 "Paraphernalia" Controlled-Substance Violations
*Cited 4 "Other" Controlled-Substance Violations
*Cited 1 "DWI&Implied" Other Offense
*Cited 38 "Traffic" Other Offenses
*Cited 35 "Criminal" Other Offenses
*Cited 2 "Weapon/Assault" Other Offenses
*Assisted 1 ABC Law Agency
*Assisted 3 "Other" Agency
*Performed 10 Business Inspections
*Performed 41 Business Compliance Checks
*Completed 8 Training Hours
Col. Jones stated that for the holidays, his ABC officers will be concentrating more on security and less
on operations. He also stated that for some stores, emphasizing late night crowd control and getting
store employees to their cars may mean deferring other duties until the next morning.
b) Mr. Sykes presented the Board with Actual-to-Actual Financial Statements for October, 2012-13. He
reported that for the month, the Actual-to-Budget comparison showed that Gross Sales were less than
projected by $22k (.74%); however, actual sales were up $153k (5.59%). Income from Operations was
better than budget by $71k (18.58%), and for the year, Income from Operations exceeded budget by $227k
(13.55%). Mr. Sykes noted that Change in Net Position before Distributions exceeded budget by $229k
(13.66%).
c)Mr. Sykes briefed the Board on a few updates:
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1) Signed Real Estate/Building Committee minutes from October 16, 2013 (Re: Pre-Construction
Meeting for the new ABC Complex) and November 12, 2013 (Re: ABC Complex Work Progress update
by Project Manager) were provided to each Board member.
2) There are possible issues with the ABC Complex link to a sewer main, and a feasible solution is being
researched and will be followed up on.
3) Evergreen, LLC, the Board's Employee Classification and Compensation Study consultant, has
provided Board employees internet access to their"Job Assessment Tools (JAT)" with a specific deadline
for completion. Supervisors are required to review the information, and can make comments,but cannot
change the employee's input.
4) The Annual Board Update before the County Commissioners was presented by Mr. Dickerson on
October 21, 2013 in the Historic Courthouse at 10:00am.
5) Two (2)ABC Board New Hanover County Board of Commissioners' CONSENT AGENDA ITEMS
OF BUSINESS were approved at their November 18, 2013 9:00am meeting in the Historic Courthouse.
These were: Approval of annual $7k Merit Compensation Increase for ABC Board CEO, and Approval
for the ABC Board to Increase the Funding Amount Set Aside for Capital Improvements. [Adjusts Net
Position amount restricted for Capital Improvements from $2,555,950 to $4,500,000 (an increase of
$1,944,050) for the new ABC Complex.]
VIII. New Business
a) Mr. Sykes distributed original copies of UNC School of Government Professor of Public Law and
Government, Michael Crowell's copy written "Alcoholic Beverage Control" publication. According to the
publication, Mr. Crowell has extensive experience in ABC law. The publication succinctly outlines North
Carolina's history of alcohol control, ABC Finances, Retail Permits, etc., while citing the General Statutes
that mandate its applications. The Board asked Mr. Sykes to distribute copies to each Board beneficiary's
mayor or manager.
b) Mr. Sykes presented the Board with a spread sheet entitled "Revenues From Spirituous Liquor July 1,
2012—June 30, 2013". The ABC Commission compiles this summary spreadsheet of each and every local
ABC Board statewide on an annual basis. In addition to the financial information, the spreadsheet contains
information on bottles sold and the number of retail stores. Mr. Wolfe requested a subsequent report of
ABC Boards with comparable county populations 210k) to ours for comparison purposes for a future
meeting.
d) Mr. Sykes presented the Board with the Warehouse need of an electronic pallet jack. $15k was set aside
in the budget for the purpose, and none has been expended this fiscal year. He recommended that one pallet
jack (4,000#capacity) be purchased for an amount not to exceed a total of$5k. Mr. Martenis made the
motion to authorize the Chair/Vice Chair to purchase one electronic pallet jack for an amount not to exceed
$5k (inclusive of delivery, set-up and related sales taxes). Mr. Everett seconded the motion and all
approved.
e) Mr. Sykes presented the Board with a proposed Policy and related Agreement, "Electronic Devices &
Services— Technology Allowance Policy". His intent is to replace the former "Cell Phone Expense
Reimbursement Policy" in its entirety with this proposed policy. This new policy considers employees'
Board-related business performed on their personal electronic devices, i.e. cellphones, pads, computers,
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communications hardware, and upon valid use-substantiation compensates them a monthly allowance. Mr.
Wolfe made the motion to replace the former Cell Phone Expense Reimbursement Policy in its entirety with
the "Electronic Devices & Services— Technology Allowance Policy". Mr. Martenis seconded the motion,
and all approved.
f) Mr. Sykes proposed a"Re-Allocation of Manpower" to the Board. Many high priority and detailed items
regarding the new ABC Complex need to be sufficiently addressed. These include the furniture, new
equipment, LBD shelving, communications, surveillance, security, signage, setting-up and attending
meetings, following up with vendors, etc. Mr. Sykes proposed that Mr. Cain is willing to take care of all of
these details in order to know all about the working parts of the new building. Mr. Hill would temporarily
move into Mr. Cain's position, and Mr. Hill's Assistant Manager, Ms. Suzie Sturtz, would temporarily
move into the Store Manager's position. Mr. Sykes surmised that this re-allocation of manpower would last
about ten months, and with a 5% pay increase to each of the three employees for the duration, would cost
the Board about $2,800 monthly inclusive of additional part-time labor. After positive Board discussion,
Mr. Everett made the motion to authorize the CEO to make these proposed shifts in manpower. Mr.
Martenis seconded the motion, and all approved.
IX. Public Comments on Non-Agenda Items
No public comments were heard.
X. Adjournment
Mr. Martenis made the motion to adjourn the meeting; Mr. Everett seconded, and all approved.
Minutes submitted by: 07/1
Carol E. Martin, Secretary
Minutes approved by: .�` Date: /2-19 /3
Cedric Dickerson, Chairman
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