1957-10-21 Regular Meetingr, 18 €?
E'dilmington, N. C. October 18, 1957•
An emergent meeting o£ the Bowrd .;as held this day, Friday October 18, 1957 at 9:00 A. P:?. with the folloming members
orosent:J. M. I6-11,Jr., Chairman and Commissioners Ernest R. Mayhan, L. E. Broadhurst, James E. FIolton,Jr., Berry A.
P:illiams, and T. D. Love, Covnty Auditor, aci;ing'Secretary.
5ir. Yall opened the meeting steting that the purpose of same r,as to discuss the matter of Beach orosion, and to det-
erc,ine i£ anything could be dane about it. L7r. R. F. P,ieior, representing the SEtiCBA spoico saying that there mas a
chanco to get some funds from the State of North Carolina to help in protecting our local strande from storms such
as has been recently encountered, stating that tP,ese emergency funds r,ere on hand to protect the Highrray System.of
the 5tata. He asked that the County Commissioners pay for a survey along the Beach front of the unincorporated areas
of the County, 1.1r. Yenry Von Oesen,'local 0onsulting Engineer, spoke of rrhat is being done and stated that the pres-
ent plan rras only of a temporary nature and tr,at sooner or later a long developement prggram must be tcilcen under Con-
sideration. He further stated that the U. S. Engineers r:ould probably be out Fiith definite recommendations during
t?ie coming summer and that their report rwould beavery inclusive one. "''
Mr. Thos. R. Orrell, property acrner in the Yure Beach section outlined a tremendous amount of money is being spent in the Nera Englend area, but none dorm here and he recommended that the County help to pay for a survey made by fts.
Von Oesen. P;;r, von Oesen said the cost of the survey -faould run from $150,00 to $200,00.
The matter was discussed and a£ter discussion, Lir. Holton made a notion i7hich c,as soconded by I„r. Y{illiams that the
G??a ' County appropriate an amount not to ex_ceed 0250,00 for the survey to Ue made of the'unincorporated areas and that
the $250.00 be taken fron the Emergency Fund, and used for this service. The motior_ras carried unanirously and it
xas understood thzt the County rroufid rer.der all assistance possibl.e for available labor and any equipment that the
County might 1iave.
? O6tr. R. F. B?e?er brought up the question of abating taxes on parkiag lots operated by the Town of l:rightsville Beach
on lots ovr_ed by individuals. Ee was inforned tnat this could not be done.
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r. H o c de a motion for the meeting to adi ourn and the notion res seconded en? the meeting r;as adjourned.
T,D,Love-Acting Secretary
19i1mington, N. C. OctoUer 21, 1957.
Tlie rogul.zr rJeekly meeting of the Board was held this day . t 10:00 o'clock A.M. Present:Chairman J. M. Fia11, Jr.,
and Cou7missioners, Ernest R. I:`ayhan, L. E. Broadhurst, Jas. E. Iiolton,Jr., and Berry A Ffilliams and County Atty.,
John B. Hill and County Auditor, T. D. Love.
The meeting tiras openod rrith prayer by Dr. B. Frank Hall, PEStor of Pearsa11'Memorial Presbyteri.4n Church.
Upon motion of t7r. Pi1li.ams, seconded by P.tr. Broadhurst the ninutes of the P.teeting of October 14, 1957 saore ep-
proved. Each of the Com.r.tissioners raving been previously been mailed a copy. ? Tne Chairman then explained to i:hose delegations preseilt that they hnd been invited to express thei; vierisof
,-?-? the problens of taxation facing the County in connection ;;ith the Squalization or Revaluation Program nori in
? w process. :°:as it better to place real property on the tax books at a high valuztion, and then adjust thc tax rate
^'?^a so that the amount of Revenue rrill be only sufficient to operata the County Government, resulting in a lorrered
` rate OR if lorrer realty valuations and a higher corresponding tax rate is better for all concerned. He then asY.ed
?- the folloning delegations, representinu the organizations present, to esppess themselves on the subject. P.ir. Chas.
Fd. Earrington, Tax Sttl_dv Commission of the Greator Chamber of Commerce. tvir, John H. Pox, President ofnthe Greater
Chamber of Commerce. Ivlayor J. E. L. }:ade of the C14v of F';ilmingten. 1:1r. R. T. Burney, Councilman. City of Wilmington.
Mayor Glenn M. ?eker of the Tor.n of Carolina Beach. Alderman Ricnard F. f.Seier of the Trn•m of Y'riehtsville Beach.
A. I¢1. Roland, 5uperintendent of Nel^ Hanover County Schools, Board of Educztion.Fresidont Q. B. Snipes L'dilminaton
Realtv Board. I!iana?Fer J. A. Benson oF the Tocrn of i?rightsville Beach. lianacer J. R. Benson the City of 17ilmington.
L? . M . Camak, ielanager the Greater Chamber of Conmerce'for tder Iianover County. A. E. Jones, Rep:esenting the Chamber
f Commerce. And others too numerous to mentior_.
BI;. Chas. 1.1. Harri;:gton expressed the opinion of his Tac Study Committee to the effect that all the Reval•aation
figures should be lmown before any ettempt was made to set a valuaihion percentage or tax rate. John H. Fox raised
the question of the fixed amounts of .05¢ for i7ilmington College and .20¢ for Teachers Supplements. Only sufficient
amounts to meet the needs r!ould be levied whatPVer the valuntions or tax rates tiras ea:plained by County Attorney John
Bright Hill, Larr alloHS Commissioners to le1ry up to but not {;o excoed the fixed amourits voted by the peoplo. Glenn
M. Tucker of Carolina Beach remarked that they did not think the Revaluation Progrem should be usod to raise additional
Revenue but only for Equtilization purposes. Chairman He.ll reiterated that it was the avomed purpose of the Commission
Thon the program vas initiated to oqualize the valuations of properties and not seek revenue for possible frivilous
spending. Richard F. n?9eier, said that he did not thinlc anything should be done to retard the grorrth o£ the County. Dr.
B. P:anl: Hall rer,arked that it really made little differonce aince it t;ould operate in inverse ratio. R. T. Burney,
thought we should have some real values before wo begin to talk generalities. A. E. Jones, explained thcat the valuations
and rates set rrould effect iridustry coming to this County. He also thought r:e should crnit until value§ established.
?iargrove Bellamy explained basis on which Bonds svere evaluated and that total italues vs Bonded Debt vras the criteria
regardless of p of valuations or tax rate. Coramissioner J. E. Holton, suggested that it r:as time to give consideration
to Personal Property values aswell as Real. Mayor J. E. L. Ylade said the5* came to listen. 14r. T. D. Love County
Ruditor; explained that reason for needing a decision AI077 vras to get the mechanics of the job done by January 1, 1958,
and be i.n Dosition to inform the Tax Payer just what their values viere clhen they listed. Richard A. Sheva in his re-
marks seemed':to advocate LIX`: valuations and HiGIi rate rather than the reverse. The Delegations were thanked for com.ing
andthen retired from the Board RQom.
A7r. Henry von Oesen, presented his recommendations for the unincorporated areas which is to be correleted vrith those
cleims of the severzl municipalities to be taY.en before Governor Nodges durino the reek. fie reported that the minimum
repairs 170ll1CI cest about $5,000 to prevent immediate preperty loss. Freer.ian Beach ebout $600; Fort Fisher r1,200; and
Giilmington Beach $750 to do an immadiate temporery repazr job. Labor from County Home could be used in the removal and
*esetting of the Sand Fences. This is badly needed in several places. rie also recommended that orgaa.i.c grewth be used
at some poir.ts iu the rehabilitation process. Contract price of necessarp heavy equipment rould approximate 02,800. By
using the County Labor tho cost ti^rould be loss than $2,500, undor the contract labor price. T'r.e tecommendations for a
pereG:nent repair.job crould entail an outlay of ??`,70,C00 ar.d could be dene in a year or More vrithout too much demago if
the temporary reap?rs are made nm°:.
The permanent program recommended rizs an additional groin at Freeme,n Beach, 500 to 800 Peet beyond the Carolina Headh
line to halt the erosion. Five (5) groin at :^ilmington Beach end £ive (5) at Fort Fisher with the County underwriting
the Fr.oaman Leach;_project but 5tate to participate in beth of the others.*There are some three vrasq and only three ivays
to ma.intain our beach proper+ies accordine to i:''x. von Oesen: 1. Prevant it in the first place. 2. Rofill after it'has
been arrested or 3. Replenish £rom time to time ss it erodes.
Invita.tion from the United E?nd o£ IQew Nanovor County,Inc to attend a Y.ickof£ meeting of the Residential Division at
??v? 8:00 o'clock tonight at Company I Armory, 2815 South Front St. and an invitation from the President of the City-County
LGreater Chanber of Conmerce to atten3 a U. S. 74 Meeting October 22, 1957 at Lumbert•on, N. G. for the urnOso o£ forming
? a united front all along the I?igh«uy in an effort te secure a four (4) lane road to Chariotts from the Co,sst at ;•
. rilmi.ngton.
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IN91
-b,eeting October 21, 3.957 - Continu.ed
A letter of appreciation to the Bourd for past coogeration and assistance , from Major Ydilliam E. Smith, Infuntry
Unit Pdvisor, U. S. Army Advisor Group (USAR) N. C. Filod for inferm:.tion. ?
A letter listing the employees worlcing in Cjass "D" Ye10g1'2y7-h of°ices of the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Comnany,
`• 4nho are entitlel under the law to be exenpted from Jury duty, receivad and filed.
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A 1etter from ivIr. :'v. J. Farrovr, tTice President of the V?inter Park Fire Department,Inc., requcsting an audir:nee
the Board of CoLUity Commissioners, regarding Fire Protection rendere3 in certain areas of the County, rras roceived
and considered. The Executive Secretary vras instructed to invite the 'iTinter Park Uolunteer Fire Department psrsonnel
rTith the Inspection Coramittee of the Volunteer Fire Departmonts of the County, and any others interosted, from any of
the Volunteer Fire Departments in the County. F. letter tiva.s sent to each of the^+, .. ?
ecognition o£ the valuable service rendered this County bs f:e-. F. L. Hartley, Inspector, for the Ya.rtford Steaa
I?oiler Inspection and Insurance Co., in securing the boiler from Fort Bragg, was acknoiuledged and ha 1^as s?ncerely
thanYed and the Board vzs cordially grateful to him for the service.
1It was suggested by the Chairman that each member go by Commvnity Hospital and look at the installation of the nerr Ve-P,'
(used) boiler being made and appraise himself of the *ecommended necessity,of a new stoker, as Io4r. Moore, rrho is nrn•a
king the boiler ineta114ti_on recommends a differont typo from the one ti^hich had been formerly used on the boiler
?,ince it e:as not an automatic one wnd vrould require more attention; the original vrhich was removed from the cld 100 r,
: horse por,er• is too small to feed the lArge?boiler. The Chairc?an recommended t'iat a neo? one recommended by hir.r^.oore,
`be instslled. Several of the C=edby agreed that we should rely on erpert opinion for this type action. ?
UN,oon motion of IRr,,? Holton, secMathan, the Board adjourned by unanimous consent.
7z v ,/ r/I i-i7r??ovr v
.G,tiouck - Executivo Secretary
Wilmington, N. C. October 28, 1957
The regular weekly meeting of the Board was held this day at 10:00 A. M. in the Commissioners Room at,the County
Courthouse in New Hanover County. Present: Chairman J. M. Hall, Jr., Commissioners Ernest R. N?ayhan, L. E.•Broadhiarst,
- James E. Holton,Jr, and Berry A. Williams; County Attorney John Bright Hill and County Auditor, T. D. Love. The meeting
was called to order by Chairman Pro Tem Mayhan since Mr. Hall was detained for a few minutes unavoidably.
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The meeting was opened by an Invocation of the Reveredd Dr. W. D. Morris, Pastor of Temple Haptist Church.
Upon motion of Mr. Williams, seconded by Mr. Holton, the minutes of the meeting on October 21, 1957 were approved.
A copy having previously been mailed to each member of the Board for Study.
Mr. P. M. Camak, Manager of the Greater City-County CHAMBER BF COA9IERCE, presented the minutes of a meeting held on
October 22, 1957 at Lumberton with representation from the Cities and Towns along Highway 74 between the Port City ,hz-"O-%
of Wilmington on the Coast to Charlotte, a large distribution point. The FAST-WFST HIGHWAY DEVE[,OPMENT ASSOCIATION c ?•,•
was formed for the purpose of promoting a four-lane divided highway from the coast to the piedmont section of the
state. Ae, representing the Association, requests the Board to pass a resolution endorsing the plan or a petition _i
supporting-it, addressed to the N. C. State Highway Commission, on or before November 4, 1957, at which time they
will present a brochure prepared by the East-West Iiighway Development Associttion to the Highway Commission. Upon
motion of Mr. Holton, seconded by Mr. Williqms, the Board unanimously adopted the idea to be drawn by the Dcecutive
Secretary of the Commissioners and the Manager of the Chamber of Commerce jointly, in the form of a petition.
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P9r, IIbert A. Brown, representing the•ilinter Park Baptist Church, presented a Petition to the Board of County Com- 0,
missioners to close that portion of 47th street (formerly Imown as Second Street) lying between Park Avenue and the
Wrightsville Avenue, Upon motion of Mr. Holton, seconded by Mr. Broadhvrst, the Board approved referring it to the
County Attorney, John Bright Hill, for proper notice and publication as required by Law. It is to be heard 12/2/57.
The proposed repairs to the Aevator•at Community Hospital were discussed and upon motion o£ Ns. Williams, seconded -?'
by Mr. Holton, it was referred to Mr. Mayhan for investigation and recommendation at the next Board meeting.(Mr. Snow,w6?*
representing the Otis ELevator Co., and who actually services this equipment, came in af£er the meeting and explained ,
to Messrs Hall, Mayhan and Broadhurst about the elevator etc. After considering the pro and con facts they decided to
authorize replacement of the cable only at this time. This action to be brought up at a later Board meeting for official
ratification and approval.) . • ?
Aclmowledgement by the State Highway Commission District'F.hgineer, of the Petition dated October 1, 1957 for including ?
Wood Dale Drive in the State System was filed for information. .
A letter from Mr. C. T. Burke, Postmaster, suggesting a joint Planning Board for the future naming of Stxeets or Roads
in the County, to prevent duplication of'names resulting in confusion of mail as well as deliveries of other materials, ?
was.discussed.and.sil Commissioners agreed that it was a pertinent suggestion. Upon motion of Mr. Williams, seconded by
Mr, Hall (who had not as yet assumed the Chairmanship for today's meeting), the Dcecutive Secretary was instructed to
secure a list of all SLreet and Road names from the State Highway Department of New Hanover County; the Post Office Dept.
and catalog or compile.a list, and that the Realty Board be advised that the approval of•the Commisaioners is required
in naming streets in.any.future developments. • ??j
After the above action Mr. Hall assumed the direction of the Board as Chairman. At the request•of Mr. W. J. Farro?w,e"Vice
President of the Winter Park Volunteer Fire Department,Inc.; New Hanover Rural Firemens Asuociation and the Volunteer
Firemens Inspection Cormnittee, along with representatives from the following Rural Volunteer Fire Departments; Castle '
Hayne, Nyrtle Grove, Ogden, Seagate, South Wilmington, Winter Park and Wrightsboro; met with the Board to primarily dis-
cuss the Contracts recently mailed to eafh of them outlining the-provisions for obtain ng'County aid, but more especially,
as it applied to the Winter Park Volunteer Fire Department,Inc., Mr. Oliver Carter, was introduced by Mr. Farrow, as
spokesman for the Ldinter Park Volunteer Fire Depattment,Inc., he outlined in detail the many nwnerous reasons that their
group did not feel favorably toward some o£ the provisions of the new contract,and in particular, the area assigned to
them by the Inspection Committee. He made it clear•that he was not speaking in a professional capacity but as a property
owner in the 3urisdiction of the.Winter Park Volunteer Fire Department,Inc. He also cleared any doubt as to the wisdom
of an Inspection Committee, in fact they thought it was a good idea BUT also thought each Rural Fire Department should
have representation on the Committee. Mr. E. B: Wright, Secretary of the New Hanover Rural Firemens Association, and a1
member of the Wrightsboro Volunteer Fire Department, then spoke for that group and had the Reaolutions and Provisiona
of the original agreement in 1952 covering the appointment of inembers of the $nspection°Committee, read. Mr. H. H: Hall
'Chairman of the Inspection Committee, and a member•of•the Ogden Volunteer Fire Department, then spoke for'that group, an4
termed some of the arguments "double-talk". Finally, after many expressions from those present Mr. Holton made the fol-
'lowing motion "That, since the Commisaioners approved the Inspection Committee and the Contracts under the'impression
that all Departments were agreeable to the arrangements and the contracts were favorably approved; all forner'actions
taken with reference to this subject be recinded; b=arrange for each Volunteer Fire Department to have representation
on the Ingpection Committee; c=a member of the Board of County Commissioners should be on the Inspection Committee, ex=
Officio - no vote;.d=a meeting.be held with the new Inspection Committee with all Departments represented and report back to the Board of County Commissioners within two weeks." This motion was seconded bv Mr. Broadhurst and unanimously
carried.
Mr. Richard A. Shew appeared before the Board and suggested a Resolution Commending the present members of the State
. Ports Authority, for their untiring efforts to develop our ports and their spleddid 3ob done. Upon motion of Mr. Broad-
hurst, seconded by Mr. Mayhan, the Board instructed the County Attorney with Mr. Shew to draft such a commendation and
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