Loading...
1958-10-06 Regular Meeting Minutes of the Meeting September 29, 1958 ADJOURNMENT - Upon motion of Mr. Holton, seconded by Mr. Mayhan, the Board unanimously voted itself adjourned. . : - •. W. G. Houck, Executive Secretary Wilmington, N.C. Octbber 6, 195$ ASSENiBLY - ? The regular weekly meeting of the New Hanover County Board of Commissioners was held this day in the Commissioners+ Rdom of the Court House at 9:30 A. M. PRESENT: Chairman J. M. Hall, Jr., Commissioners L. E. Broadhurst, J. E. Holton, Jr., Ernest R. Mayhan and Berry A. Williams, Commissioner-Elect Peter H. Braak, County Auditor T. D. Love, and County Attorney John Bright Hill. _ INVOCATION - Chairman Hall called the meeting to order and asked Reverend J. Ray Butler, Pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church, to invoke the Divine Presence through prayer. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES - The minutes of th`e meeting of 5eptember 22 and September 29, not having been previously approved, were upon motion of Mr. Holton, seconded by Mr. Mayhan and unani- mously adopted with the following corrections in the minutes of September 29th: In the paragraph headed "County Dragline", the motion by Mr. Williams should read as follows; "That an advisory drainage committee be appointed to work out recommendations for a long range program to be presented to the Board for their determination of the schedule of priority and that the Executive Secretary be charged with the responsibility,of carrging out the program in accordance with the established policy of the Board and, further, that the Executive Secretary be authorized to employ Ray Mitchell as an operator of the drag- line on the basis of a 40 hour work week at the rate of $2,00 per hour." Mr. Holton se- conded the motion which was adopted by the Board but Mr. Broadhurst voted "NO". The se- cond correction in the minutes was under the paragraph entitled "Advertising Allotment" in which "the County Attorney was requested to investigate the legality of making the advertising allotment to the Chamber of Commerce and report back to the Board," instead of "No action was taken". TAX BOOKS - The County Auditor submitted the 195$ Tax Books together with the necessary --T-,ry orders required by Statute reflecting a_total valuation of $143,775,066.00 on which the tax amounts to ?1,690,139.43. The Tax Collector's report of Insolvent Taxes of 1957-5$ Fiscal Year was accepted at the meeting on September 22nd and the report on the 1957-5$ taxes was submitted and accepted on September 29th and upon motion of Mr. Holton, second- ed by Mr. Williams, the Tax Report was accepted and approved unanimously authorizing the Chairman anri the Clerk to sign the orders and turn the books over to Tax,Collector Sam W. Johnson. AIRPORT HURRICANE DANAGE - - Mr. John A. Westbrook, Airport Manager, informed the Board he had received two bid's covering the damage to the hanger occupied by the Pennington Flying Service, the lowest of which was $5,000 and that the insurance adjuster had already approved-it. He was very anxious to have the work done immediately because further damage amounting aAA? to $500 had already incurred because of the original impairment to the roof,allowing the elements to enter the building. DZr. Broadhurst offered a motion that since the,ad- juster had approved the low bid, it would serve the best interest of the County, the Board approve the immediate repairs. There being no second to this motion, the Chairman declared it dead and Mr: Holton offered a motion that recognizing the emergency condi- tion due to Hurricane Helene, that A4anager J. A. V7estbrook be authorized to secure three bids and enter into a contract for repairing the damage after it had been approved by the County Attorney. It was seconded by Mr. Williams and unanimously approved, EMERGENCY AMBULANCE SERVICE - ?...? Pursuant to'order of the Board at their meeting on September 29th, the Chair- man explained to those present that the purpose of the request for the different depart- ments to meet was to discuss and formulate a program that would insure the continuance of emergency service by the Cape Fear Ambulance Company. He was of the opinion that it ? would be detrimental to the betterment and progress of a county this size to be without ambulance service and in his opinion it .oaould save the taxpayers money although he did not like the use of the word ";subsidy", he did feel that some guarantee might be worked out whereby the indigent calls might be borne by the County. , N1r. Donald L. Christian, president of the Cape Fear Ambulance Company,'stated that it woul.d require approximately $15,000 annual supplement to continue.to render the public service which they were now doing because the equipment was_depreciating and the cost of upkeep was increasing. Their greatest unpaid expense developed iahere they were called to the scene of accidents to find their services not needed and in cases where patients were carried to the hospital on an emergency, basis with injuries not sufficient for hospitalization and'in cases where they sued for the ambulance cost and the patient preferred serving'a thirty day prison sentence to paying the Court cost which included their ambulance fee. The Chairman then recognized•Mayor J.E. L. wade who informed the Bca rd that the matter had been presented to the City Council and discussed thoroughly with the result that the City Attorney ruled that there was no legal way for them to contribute to such an emergency service and that while the Council had not approved the program as yet, he was of the opinion that they/would go along with the Police Department using their emergency station wagons which wete equipped to render that service and that he definitely considered it a responsibility of the Niunicipal Government within the corporate limits. F' 312 ? Minutes of the D4eeting October 6, 195$ Continued EMERGENCY AMBULANCE SERVICE - . Mr. J. R. Benson, City Manager, was recognized and'made it clear that he was not speaking for the City Council but that he had made a survey through the League of Municipal Governments and found that there was no;.record of any City subsidizing a ser- vice rendered by private firms, funeral homes or hospitals but that the,general policy was found in some areas that the emergency ambulance service was rendered by police de- partments, fire departments and Sheriffs' offices. Chief of Police John J. Padrick was recognized and stated that they had equig- ped two station wagons with the necessary stretchers,et cetera,to render emergency ser- vice within the City and that each of his men were well trained in first aid and of£ered the services of his first aid instructors in event they decided to set up their emergency program. Mr. Emory N. Grubbs, Director of James Walker Memorial Hospital, said that while he could not speak for the Board of Directors he did not think that ambulance ser- vice was a true hospital function and that he knew of no hospital that furnished such service. In his opinion, ambulance personnel would be of little service in a hospital set-up in trying to function in two capacities. Mr. John w. Poole, of the Cape Fear'Amulance Co., said that the'£irst five days o£ October they had made 14 trips in their ambulances and beeri paid for only three tr.ips.out.of the £ourteen. • ` Sheriff-Elect Marion W. Nillis told the Board that his department could handle the.emerger.cy service within the confines of the County outside the City limits in event that proper equipment was furnished him. Sergeant A. H. Clark, of the State Highway Patrol, stated that from their angle it would not be wise to restrnct emergency service to County lines because accidents happen in different pa•rts of surrounding count-ies and most of them were brought to the Wil- mington hospitals, however, Brunswick and Pender counties furnished emergency service., Sometimes it was such an emergency that in order to save lives the quickest possible ser- vice must be rendered. Mr. Holton observed that he had heard many fantastic charges made about the cost o£ ambulance service but he was of the opinion that there should be published rates based on mileage and the number of people and services rendered rather than on a flat fee and he questioned whether the County could pay for even strictly emergency service or guarantee the bills on it. Mr. Williams suggested that a solution might be worked out if two of the cars on order for.the Sheri£f's Department were changed from their present speci£ications to . station wagons which could be equipped for emergency service, and'of course, pay whatever additional cost the change in cars would require and let the Sheriff?s Department handle the emergency service within New Hanover County. Mr. Christian, after consulting with Mr. Poole, informed the Board that they ? would continue their regular house call service indefinitely 2nd'would gb along with con- tinuing the emergency service for two weeks or until midnight, October 20, providing the County would guarantee payment for the Welfare patients not admitted to hospitals and pay for those who preferred a sentence in Recorders' Court to the County Farm to paying their ambulance fee. Mr. Broadhurst then offered a motion that a caucus be arranged with the Commiss- ?. ioners between now and October 20th in an effort to worTc out a practical emergency ambu- lance plan so that the service might be continued. This motion was seconded'by Mr. Williams and unanimously adopted. DISASTER - SMALL FARMS Mr. L. W. Latham, Chairman of the Agricultural Committee of the Chamber of Com- merce, was recognized and questioned the Board relative to whether or not any emergency action had been taken by them to spearhead an effort to have New Hanover County declared a disaster area for small farmers by the Department of•Agriculture. He recognized that the area had been declared a disaster area £or small businesses but that this did not in- clude the small farmers and he suggested that•the County Farm Agent and Agricultural Stabil- ization and Conservation office be urged to spearhead a concerted ef£ort with the adjoin- ing Counties to New Hanover to have this action taken. Mr. Holton moved, seconded by Mr. Nayhan,that the New Hanover County Farm Agent be requested to take immediate action through the proper channels for this movement which was unanimously approved. AIRPORT - Pursuant to instr.uctions to the manager of the Airport and the County Attorney • at the recessed meeting on October•lst, the County Attorney reported that he and the attor= ney for the land owners were at present in the process of draH*ing the proper contracts but that a few details were still to be worked out, however, it was being expedited as promptly as possible. The Board, by common consent, authorized the County Attorney to increase the of£er on the pruchase to $1,000 an acre and reduce proportionately the price offered on the easements. CHRISTMAS GIFTS - PUBLIC ?AIELFARE Mrs. Helen B. Sneeden, Superintendent of Public Welfare, informed the Board that she had a request from State Hospital at Goldsboro as to whether or not the Board orould contribute anything toward the Christmas Gifts usually given for the New Hanover County in- ? mates. After considering the request, Mr. Holton moved that $125.00 be appropriated from the Advertising Fund for this purpose and that it be administered by Mrs. Sneeden and the Executive Secretary on a pro rata basis based on the number of New Hanover County residents at each of the same institutions that similar money was allocated in 1957. Mr. Broadhurst seconded this motion and it was unanimously adopted. , 61 313 ' Minutes of the Meeting October 6, 1958 Continued' HURRICANE DAMAGE - I The Executive Secretary was authorized to repor"t damages to the Insurance Carriers covering all County property such as the Airport, the County Home and Farm, Community Hospital, Court House and the Public Health Building in order that adjustors might exp'edite the settlements as soon as possible, r CAP APPROPRIATION - ? An invoice was received £rom the Cape Fear Club amounting to $311.95 cover- .?- ing the entertainment in connection with the air show held during the CAP Friendship Days in which the County was to share on a 1/3 basis, therefore, Mr. Broadhurst offer- ed a motion that $104.00 be appropriated from the Advertising Fund to cover this ex- pense. The motion was seconded by Mr. Mayhan and unanimously adopted. BLANKET BOND Tax Collector Sam W. Johnson submitted a Public Employees Faithful Perform- ance Blanket Position Bond amounting to $5,000 and upon motion of Nr. Broadhurst, second- ed by Mr. Mayhan, the Bond was accepted provided it met the approval of the County Attor- ney who ruled that he would approve it immediately as to form. The motion was adopted. GHAND JURY REPORT - The report of the Grano Jury £or the September 195$ Criminal Term was received and showed that 136 witnesses had been examined resulting in 126 true bills and that all reports and 6Varrants of the Justices of the Peace were checked and found in order. The report was ordered filed. , VETERANS SERVICE OFFF.7CCCE - The regular monthly report submitted by the Veterans Service Office revealed tYa t awards amounting to $4,46$.95 w.ere made during the current monthg It was ordered filed for information. ' • COMMUNITY HOSPITAL DIRECTOR - ` Pursuant to the action taken on September 22 relative to the appointment of ? Mr, Rutherford Leonard to the Board of Directors of Community Hospital replacing.Dr.,M. N. Leary, resigned, Mr.`tidilliams observed that the Board had voted to appoint a Board of T'rustees to replace the Board of Directors and give them full authority to operate the hospital as a non-profit institution and he was of the opinion that the Board of Trustees should be appointed. The Chairman remarked that he was now in the process of securing information covering the cost of the indigent on a per diem basis. Mr.,Holton remarked that if a change was made in that direction he was convinced if would cost the the County more money to care for its indigents than on the present basis. The appoint- ment of the Director was delayed for further study. DITCHING REQUEST = A letter was received from Nrs. Maude P. Martin renewing her request of Septem- ber $th for some use of the prison labor in having some pipe installed in front of'her home at 116 Channel Drive on Harbor Island. As explained to Mrs. Martin at the time of her original request that since the streets were o-Aned by the Shore Acre Development Com- pany, a private corporation, and they collected fees for the use of those streets and sidewalks from the property owners, it was their responsibility to maintain them in a satisfactory manner and that her request differed from the average citizens for the use ? " o£ laying pipe in that the Shore Acre,Development Company in recognizing their responsi- 6f? ? bility for the maintenance of the street furnished the pipe and not the property owner ? as in the usual case 5f this sort of assistance. In order to expedite the handling of this request the Chairman appointed a committee of Messrs, Williams, Chairman, Broad- hurst and Mayhan to investigate and report back to the Board at next Monday's meeting. TAX ABATEMENT - • Mr. Charles L. Justice, llg Vance Street, appeared before the Board and stated that he had been penalized on his 195$ City property taxes because he failed to list them in January. He explained that all of his life he had lived in the County outside of the City limits and had only listed County property but since last year he had pur- --rel chased property inside the City and did not know that he woul`d have to list them in Wil- mington Township in addition to his Masonboro Township listing, The County Auditor ex- plained what had happened and after instructing Mr. Justice in the proper procedure for listing his taxes he recommended that the penalty be abated. Mr. Holton, therefore, offered the motion, which was seconded by A4r. Broadhurst, and unanimously adopted. ADJOURNNiENT - There being no further business presented to the Board, the Chairman declared the meeting adjourned. ' ,? I W.?G. Houk,UExecutive,Secretary Wilmington, N.C. October 13, 195$ ASSEMSLY - The regular weekly meeting of the New Hanover County Board of Commissioners was held this day in the Commissionerst Room of the Court House at 9:30 A. M. PRESENT: "Chairman J. M. Hall, Jr., Commissioners L. E. Broadhurst, Ernest R. Niayhan, •J.•E.• Holton, Jr. and Berry A. Williams; and County Attorney John Bright Hill. .County Audi- tor T. D. Love was not present for the meeting since he vras out of the city on vacation. INVOCATION - Chairman Hall called the meeting to order and asked Reverend W. V: Ra.ridolph, Pastor oE Middle Sound Christian Advent Church, to open the meeting with a prayer for guidance.