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1996-10-03 Work Session NEW HANOVER COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS WORK SESSION, OCTOBER 3, 1996 BOOK 25 PAGE 623 ASSEMBLY The New Hanover County Board of Commissioners held a Work Session on Thursday, October 3, 1996, at 10:00 A.M. in the Conference Room of the New Hanover County Administration Building, 320 Chestnut Street, Wilmington, North Carolina. Members present were: Commissioners William E. Sisson, Jr.; Vice-Chairman E. L. Manager, Allen O'Neal; County Attorney, Wanda Clerk to the Board, Teresa P. Elmore. William A. Caster; Mathews, Jr.; County M. Copley; and Deputy Chairman Robert G. Greer and Commissioner Sandra Barone were absent. Vice-Chairman Mathews called the meeting to order and reported the purpose of the Work Session was to hear a presentation on problems being experienced by Keep America Beautiful and the Environmental Enforcement Unit of the Sheriff's Department concerning illegal dumping and other environmental concerns of the community. County Manager O'Neal reported Sheriff McQueen was unable to attend the meeting because of a commitment in Greensboro, NC; however, he expressed his support for the operation of the Environmental Enforcement Unit. Captain James Smyre of the Patrol Division was present to represent the Sheriff. Mrs. Nancy Pritchett, Director of Keep America Beautiful, explained the process of handling complaints concerning litter and illegal dumping. Upon receiving a complaint, a visual inspection of a site occurs, notification of the violation is then mailed to the legal owner of the property giving a 30 day notice to correct the violation. Most of the time the warning letter is effective. If the violation is not heeded upon, the deputies visit the site to discuss the problem with the owner. However, if a complaint involves the health of the community, the deputies are called to respond immediately to the property owner. More often, the Deputies receive complaints first and respond accordingly. Deputy John Murray, of the Environmental Enforcement Unit, presented slides showing problem areas of the county. Rather than take discarded items to the County's landfill facility on Highway 421 North, many people dump trash and household items in wooded areas of the County to avoid the tipping fee or the inconvenience of traveling across town. Slides of roofing shingles, appliances, furniture, carpet, tires, and yard debris were shown scattered behind several residential neighborhoods, such as River Oaks, Arrowhead, Beau Rivage, and Lansdowne. Deputy Murray explained that at one time, the courts allowed evidence found in the rubbish pile to be used in issuing a warrant; however, the District Attorney's Office requires an individual to be caught in the act or an eye witness of the dumping before a case can be brought to court. wi th the time involved in handling complaints and enforcing the County ordinances, the deputies have been unable to spend time on catching the violators. Deputy Murray noted more complaints of illegal dumping have been reported since the recent hurricanes. A woman at Carolina Beach complained of someone dumping roofing shingles on top of her furniture debris placed along the road for the Corps of Engineers to pick up. The woman was concerned the Corps would not pick up her debris because of the shingles. Deputy Murray addressed several becoming a health and safety concern. structures and inoperable vehicles neighborhoods. The Environmental enforcement of these violations, but other problems which are Abandoned and deteriorated are cluttering residential Unit is limited in the Zoning Enforcement can cite NEW HANOVER COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS WORK SESSION, OCTOBER 3, 1996 BOOK 25 PAGE 624 owners for inoperable vehicles. Currently, there are no regulations that require abandoned and dilapidated structures to be demolished and removed. Deputy Murray suggested the County, by placing a lien on the property, could pay for the removal of such deteriorated structures. However, he was unsure whether the Fire Marshall, Health Department, Sheriff's Department, or Zoning Enforcement should enforce the health and safety violations. Deputy Murray showed additional slides of health and safety concerns, such as: deteriorated mobile homes abandoned in wooded areas, inhabited structures that were dilapidated with no electricity or running water, and partially burned homes that were abandoned in residential neighborhoods. The Health Department and the Fire Services Administrator were unable to enforce any regulations at these sites because the violations occurred on private property. Commissioner Sisson remarked the City continues to have problems with abandoned and dilapidated structures even with a minimum housing code. The owner of an old abandoned house behind Arby's Restaurant on Oleander Drive had been cited several times for fire code violations. However, the fine is paid and nothing else is done. After noticing a rat problem, Commissioner Sisson purchased rat bait from the Health Department in order to exterminate the rats. Recently, the owner has been cited for having a dumpster too close to a restaurant. Deputy Murray told of a woman who called the Health Department concerned about a man raising rats near a mobile home park in the Castle Hayne area. The only solution Vector Control or Environmental Health offered was to sell rat bait. A video of the tremendous health concern was shown, revealing several hundred rats in breeding cages. Although the man cooperated and removed the rats, some of the rats had escaped. He placed poison in open areas to kill the remaining rats which was a significant danger to the children and pets in the nearby mobile home park. Since the man was conducting a commercial business in a residentially zoned area, Zoning Enforcement was able to force the man to suspend the rat breeding operation. Additionally, the man was charged with violating three county ordinances: harboring of dead animals, failure to dispose of dead animals in the correct manner, and overgrowth of weeds. However, he felt the lower fines were ineffective in keeping people from violating the county ordinances; and he suggested increasing the fines. Captain Smyre reported on the terrified residents in the mobile home park who had a difficult time getting rid of the large rats found in their homes. Commissioner Sisson questioned why the District Attorney's Office had changed the policy on prosecuting the violators of illegal dumping. Deputy Murray responded that environmental crimes were not a high priority in the courts since there were so many serious crlmes. pictures or an eye witness account must be given as evidence before a judge will allow the case in court. The unit is unable to spend time looking for illegal dumpers because of handling so many complaints. Since the Commissioners approved another position for the unit, the situation has become worse because of the increased population. In further discussion, concern was expressed for persons who dump household garbage into privately-owned dumpsters. Deputy Murray suggested mounting surveillance equipment in those areas to catch the violators. The owners of these properties are the persons who become financially responsible for cleaning up debris left by illegal dumpers. NEW HANOVER COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS WORK SESSION, OCTOBER 3, 1996 BOOK 25 PAGE 625 Captain Smyre commented that in the past, if mail was found in the trash, the information could be used as evidence in court. The Sheriff's Department could serve warrants on that evidence with an almost 100% conviction rate. However, the District Attorney's office no longer allows that information as evidence. Mrs. pritchett reported on some short-term solutions to the environmental problems. 1. Owners will be notified of a program in which they can have a junk car towed away at no charge, if the proceeds are donated to Special Olympics or the Kidney Foundation. 2. Keep America Beautiful will print signs similar to the ones used in pitt County that read "Illegal dumping can result in 3 years in jail, confiscation of vehicles, and civil penalties up to $400 - 3 times the cost of cleanup." The Environmental Enforcement Unit will distribute the signs. Mrs. pritchett commented that posted signs have been used in the past and have been a deterrent until the recent hurricanes. For long-term goals, Mrs. pritchett suggested the following: 1. Increase fines. In Texas, littering decreased because of the strongly enforced fine of $1000. Currently, the County's fines are $50 - $100. 2. Establish a mlnlmum housing code. The code used by the City of Wilmington and other areas may be too extensive and restrictive for the poorer residents of New Hanover County. The main need for a code is to be able to demolish uninhabitable dwellings like those shown in the slide presentation. The courts would have to authorize the tax liens and demolitions. The County would have to fund the initial cost of demolition or clean up of an illegal dump site when the owner has not cleaned the property. 3. Establish direct communications, such as voice mail or a pager system, between Keep America Beautiful and the Environmental Enforcement Unit. 4. Re-activate a program to pick up metal appliances one Saturday a month using community service workers and a County truck and driver. The program was helpful for residents who did not have the means to haul old appliances. This type of program needs to be re- activated until the County implements curb-side service similar to the City. 5. Establish an environmental court similar to the system developed in Memphis, Tennessee. All cases involving environmental crimes go before the same judge on a scheduled routine. The judge is able to focus totally on the environmental crimes and the same penalty is given for similar crimes. 6. Purchase surveillance equipment for the Environmental Enforcement Unit to use at dumpsters where violations occur most frequently. Mrs. pritchett suggested creating a task force to study these long-term recommendations. A video was shown on the environmental court program developed in 1983 for Memphis, Tennessee. The special court was formed as a solution to environmental issues that had no priority in the regular court system. A single judge is able to focus on environmental violations of health, housing, fire codes, building codes, and zoning codes. Fines were increased from a maximum of $50 to a continuing fine of $50 per day until compliance. However, the environmental court assured compliance to environmental law NEW HANOVER COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS WORK SESSION, OCTOBER 3, 1996 BOOK 25 PAGE 626 instead of just assessing fines. The environmental court jurisdiction included the entire county by creating a county-wide court of civil and criminal jurisdiction with injunctive authority. The video pointed out that Keep America Beautiful, Inc. has established a national network for twenty-five environmental court systems. Annual meetings of the judges will dispense information and assist in establishing new courts. The American Bar Association has recognized environmental courts as "courts in special ties" and has an environmental court committee in their association. The environmental courts serve in partnership with governments, communities and the judiciary, to make communities cleaner and safer. In discussion after viewing the video, County Attorney Copley advised the Board that the judges and the district attorney's office should be consulted before proceeding with the idea of an environmental court. However, the chief justice of the State courts can appoint or allow a special court for a specific purpose. A task force of community representatives should be established to study the issues. An Environmental "E" Team should be formed between the Health Department, Fire Marshall and Zoning Enforcement to reinforce each other on environmental regulations. County Attorney Copley advised the Board that fines could be increased because of legislation enacted several years ago that allowed the County to adopt ordinances with fines greater than $50.00. In further discussion, County Attorney Copley advised the Board that a minimum housing code may need to be implemented since the County is more urbanized. If a house fire occurs and is uninhabitable, the owner can be required to board up the house or have the house demolished. A task force should consider whether all or parts of a draft minimum housing code should be implemented, as well as other options that the County should enforce. In conclusion, County Manager O'Neal reiterated the need to proceed with a task force to approach the judges for their support. The initial task force should include: Mrs. Pritchett, Keep America Beautiful; Deputy Murray and another representative from the Sheriff's Department; the public at-large; a County Commissioner; a judge; and representatives from the County Manager's Office and the District Attorney's Office. Eventually, the task force will need input from the Environmental Health Department and Zoning Enforcement. The proposed task force and a plan of attack can be presented at the Regular Meeting of October 21, 1996. He estimated a month or two would be needed to study the issues and to determine how an environmental court could be structured within the court system. He expressed concern about the over-loaded schedule of the courts being able to handle a special court and suggested that a representative from the Clerk of Court's office be included in the process. Commissioner Caster inquired as to whether community serVlce workers and prisoners could be used in cleaning up the illegal dumps rather than leaving the debris on site. Cleaning the illegal dump sites would be a productive use of community service workers for the citizens of the county. County Manager O'Neal responded the judges have been receptive to other requests during the past years. The courts may be able to develop a mechanism to address this situation, but there may be some difficulty because of the structured sentencing laws. Mrs. pritchett responded Keep America Beautiful has used the community service workers to collect roadside litter; however, the workers were not allowed on private property where most illegal dump sites were located. NEW HANOVER COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS WORK SESSION, OCTOBER 3, 1996 BOOK 25 PAGE 627 In further response, Captain Smyre explained at least two guards must accompany the prisoners. Also, the County must place a lien on the property and due process must be followed before inmates can be allowed on private property. ADJOURNMENT Vice-Chairman Mathews commented the Board needs to address the litter problem and environmental concerns of the County and will consider options at the Regular Meeting of October 21, 1996. He expressed appreciation to Mrs. Pritchett, Captain Smyre, Deputy Murray and Deputy Taft for the informative presentation. The meeting was adjourned at 11:30 A.M. Respectfully submitted, Teresa P. Elmore Deputy Clerk to the Board