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1960-10-17 Regular Meeting Minutes of the Meeting October 3, 1960 Continued PETIT JURY (Continued) Jurors- Continued Jesse Lee Gooden 714 S. 5th St. Bryant Sneeden 1608 Church 5t. Brooks T. Williams 22 S pofford Randolph F. Crow RFD 2, Box 53 Clarlc W. Poisson 315 S. Front St. Daniel L. Thompson 720 Chestnut St. Willie Sue Johnston RFD 3, Box 600 Raymond Arms Nichol sP. O. Box 1071 Mauric e A. Pace 401 North Carolina Av.W. G. Hasha_gen 102 Brookwood L. J. Hilburn 4115 bdilshire Blvd. W. D. Wright RFD 3, Box 148 Jurors for week beqinninq November 28, 1960 - Civil F. S. Burr, Jr. J. F. Reed Coy Talent G. F. Dew, Jr. G. M. Hall R. A. Yopp, Sr. J. S. Fisher C. W. Taylor N. J. Plisco Hugh MacRae II Julius C. Ez2e11 James C. Hogan B. F. Rhodes Fred Edwards John H. Ammons R. P-: Jones C. Fred Cameron Jack B. Farrar Lowell Clark Charles H. Shotts J. L. Craighead Cornelius Spicer John A. VonOeson Fletcher L. Honeycutt Herbert Carl Prince ADJOURNMENT - . The motion unanimously adopted. 315 S. 2nd St. 5733 Oleander Dr. 1819 Castle St. 228 Lake Forest 6 Wrightsville Ave. 208 Floral Pkwy. 706 5. sth St. RFD 1, Castle Hayne 601 N. l}th St. P. o. Box 839 4 07 Oleander Dr. 1? M. Lake Village 2020 Creasy Ave. 205 Kenwood Ave. 3913 S. Front 2909 Market St. sox 765 P. o. Box 418 RFD 3, Box 620 202 S. 3rd St. 502 Bonham Ave. 51121 Walnut St. 23 Jackson Drive 1206 Cypress Dr. 523 Dock St. Wm. A. Hurst R. A. Oxendine William H. Jordan A. J. Mitchell G. R. Piner E. D. Horne Reid H. Cole R. H. Williams Bennie M. Jordan Royce Tisinger W. F. Corbett Arthur td. O1 iver F. C. Hilburn Joseph Farrow, Jr. J. L. Forhand Rhodie B. Perry Jesse Batson George Johnson H. A. Leewenberg James S. Williams Jerome W. Greer Claude T. Johnston Clarence T. Rogers William L. Rogers H. N. Vandergrift, to adjourn was made by r by Mr. Braak and , Executive -6,ecretary Wilmington, N. C. October 17, 1960 ASSEMBLY - The regular semimonthly meeting of the New Hanover County Board of Commission- ers was held on this date at 9:00 A. M. in the Commissioners Room of the Court House. The fo2lowing members were present: Ch)rrman J. M. Hall, Jr., Commissioners Peter H. ?IINl3TE? - Braak, L. E. Broadhurst, J. E. Holton, And Berry A. Williams, Bright Hill, County Auditor T. D. Love and Commissioner-Elect J. Van B. Metts INVOCATION - , Chairman Hall called the meeting to order and asked R Pastor of Pentecostal Free Will Baptist Church, to give a prayer The minutes of the meeting of October 3rd were approved as written with the - exception of next to the last word in the Paragraph headed CAP Friendship Days which was changed from "last" to "next", upon motion of Mr. Broadhurst, seconded by Mr. Braak, by a unanimous ballot. ARTIFICIAL REEF - Mr. Kennetfi M. Sprunt appeared before the Board and explained that a group of citi2ens were underwriting the construction of an artificial reef off the coast of Wrights- -? ville Beach in an effort to increase the fishing which in turn would bring more people in-, c;?yyu?U? to the county. He.thinks that it will result in advertising the activities of our county. They are planning to use scrap automobile bodies, refrigerators, stoves and any other durable waste materials that can be used in the project. They have leased a barge which will be free for use between now and the first of the year. It'will be used to convey the scrap materials out to sea and he requests the use of the County dragline for loading it on the barge. Chairman Hall commended Mr. Sprunt for the efforts being made in this direction and thought it was the least we could do to make the dragline available for use on this job. Mr. Williams offered a motion that the County furnish dragline service to load the barges when they were ready provided it was not tied up on some other project.at the time. It was seconded by Mr. Braak and unanimously endorsed by the Board. L Lll*V•Vj Y / ?vnwu?- 4 ? nv-'-`-- / CHAMBER OF COMMERCE ADVERTISING Mr. P. M. Camak, Director of the Chamber of Commerce, reminded the Board that he timidly brought up the Advertising Allocation at the last meeting. He informed the Board that the National Travel Council was having a meeting in Cincinnati next month and they would like to be able to inform them at that meeting whether or not they could par- ticipate in advertising to draw out of town and out of State people to New Hanover County and thus bring new money into the County. He advises,that this matter is being sponsored by the State Department of Conservation and Development and they are participating in an effort to lure out of State people into North Carolina. The County Auditor advised that the allocation for.1959-60 was approximately $6,500. After a brief discussion, Mr. ld'il- liams offered a motion that $6,000 be allocated from the Advertising Fund to the Chamber of Commerce with the understanding that further consideration would be given to future re- quests if emergencies arose. It was seconded by Mr. Braak and unanimously approved. Mr. Camak stressed the importance of advertising to attract tourists and referred the Board to their letter of June 30, 1960 outlining in detail their need for an advertising appro- (continued) RFD 2, Box 51 1516 Moore Plaza City 505 Wrightsville Ave. RFD 2, Box 398 4623 Long Leaf Hills RFD 2, Box 330 1811 Perry Ave. 3704 S. Front St. RFD 1, Sox 28t3, Ca tle RFD 1, City ?ayne 211 Brightwood Rd. RFD 2, Box 427 B RFD 2, City 511 N. 7th St. 1319 Orange St. 115 Castle St. RFD 2, Box 253 C 3019 Market St. 3908 Peachtree St. 4944 Wrightsville Ave. 2915 F Jefferson St. RFD 3, Box 459 10 S. Lake Village 2525 Burnett Blvd. County AtQ,orney John ? everend A. C. Wheeler, of invocation, ? ? 19 Minutes of'the Meeting October 17, 1960 Continued CHAMBER OF COMMERCE ADVERTISING - (continued) priation of not less than $6,000 for the fiscal year. He thanked the Board for their action above and observed that he probably would have to make another appeal later in the year. DRAINAGE AND ROAD PROBLEM Mr. Clifford C. Morris of 1115 S. Hawthorne Road informed the Board that they had a very trying drainage prob'lem in their neighborhood and that the culverts in the storm dra3ns were about half full of sand. He explained that the State Highway Commission, the Oleander Company and the property owners on that street had recently met together and agreed that if the property owners provided adequate drainage and renovated the road to meet the minimum specifications of the State Highway Commission, it would be accepted into the Second- ary Road System for maintenance. The necessary improvements will cost approximately $12,000. He requests that the County forces help on the drainage part of the program. The Chairman explained that if they would secure detailed specifications and grades he felt like they might be able to make some contribution along this line. Mr. Morrisssaid that Henry Von Oesen and Associates had done the original layout on this subdivision and would be able to supply proper drawings and grade levels on this project. l ? DRAINAGE - Z' Reverend Nathan L. Whitted,?,accompanied by two of his neighbors from the Rock Hill section of the County informed thiae'Board that the people living in that neighborhood were very grateful for the drainage canals recently completed but that there were two import- ant lateral ditches which were not done, one of which drains the church property and the other drains a large pond backing up on the property of Mr. Robert J. Grossnickle. The ExecutiK g Secretary explained that Reverend Whitted had discussed this matter with him and vised.,at so far as he knew all of the work contemplated in the petition and recommend- ad f?i ed by the Drainage Committee had been completed. Mr. Braak, who is familiar with the ter- -Tain in this area, observed that he thought the two laterals which Reverend Whitted referred to should be cut in order to completely drain the area. The Chairman informed Reverend Whitted that the dragline was now inactive and that if any hand ditching would help, we might be able to do that and recommended that the Ditching Supervisor check into the mat- ter and see if any relief might be provided in this manner. The delegation thanked the Commissioners for their consideration. / BELLEViJE CEMETERY Mr. R. M. Kermon informed the Board that he had a unique request to make of ? them. He stated that about a week ago a group of approximately one hundred, out of seven hundred, property or.mers of Bellevue Cemetery met for the purpose of implementing plans for perpetuating care of Bellevue Cemetery as it had been sadly neglected over a long period of years. He informed the Board that it was created by the General Assembly in 1876 and a Charter issued authorizing an active organization for the maintenance but since that time many of the families have either died out or moved away and the graves are unkempt which makes it look bad. The reactivated organization is now in the process of raising money for perpetual care. They request the County to use its prison forces for the clearing of underbrush and weeds as well as repairing the roads to make them pass- able. The Chairman reminded him that in April 1958, a similar request had been made and the Board had authorized the use of prison labor for cleaning it up with the understand- ing that the City would furnish trucks to haul off the debris but it turned out that the County did their part of the work but the City delayed the hauling of the trash until it was overgrown with new weeds and vines making it necessary for the County to send a second time to do the work over. After a discussion of this subject in which it was revealed that there seemed to have been two persons who thought they had the authority to maintain the Cemetery and,in fact, accepted funds for this purpose but that no records have been kept since 1947, therefore, no accurate accounting is available. Mr. 'Ai.lliams then offer- ?- ed a motion that the matter be referred to the County Attorney to determine if the County e,attvnl has legal authority to use prisoners for that purpose and to what, extent they might par- ticipate in such a project. It was seconded by Mr. Holton and unanimously adopted by the Board. . GRAND JURY REPORT - • ? The Chairman read the report of the Grand Jury for the October Criminal term of Court. The suggestion for a clothes washing room was discussed and since there seemed to be some misinformation on this subject, the Executive Secretary was instructed to de- termine whether or not they actually meant a clothes washing room or a clothes storage room. The recommendation of a fence was made by a previous Grznd Jury and money appropriat- ed in the Budget for this purpose, however, it is felt that this action should be delayed until the new boiler is placed and installed so that the fence will not be in the way of the workmen but it will be completed during the fiscal year. The recommendation for a sink and sterilizer for washing dishes in the hospital section of the County Home and a storage cabinet was discussed. The County Home Committee has already recommended that the large hot water tank now being used in dairy be switched to the kitchen and replace the small hot water heater which would be installed in the dairy and thus Lhe latge 'tank would furnish plenty of hot water:in the',-County"Home -.and? the amail-t.ank would•furnish plenty_for the. dairy. :.. It is .felx_ that with the' pre'sen't' plentiful -labar supply'; it would riot be:? bu"rdensome,to haye'the dishes from the' hospiita-1'-sect=ion carr'ied to the'k3"tcheri for'washing andisterilizat3on...'-The Board;-by common consent; r,eferred this problein back to' the County Home, Committee: for. handl in'gv --- " ? • - - TRASH DUMP - ?• ' The Chairman read a telegram from the Administration of the Federal Aviation Aoency calling attention to the recent accident in Boston in which the investigation re- ? vealed that it was obvious the airplane flew through a large flock of birds on the runway. Although it has not been definitely determined that the birds caused the accident, suf- ficient evidence has been revealed by the large number of dead birds that it is consider- ed a hazardous situation. He cailed attention to the necessity for action to protect air- craft operating in our airport and suggested that local Audubon Societies and Fish and Wild Life Personnel be consulted for useful information in suppressing and dangerous flocks. Mr. Westbrook, the Airport Manager, reported that seagulls had created the problem at our local airport and that so far the Federal and State Game Wardens had tried in vain to re- medy the situation but that the proximity of the County Trash Dump to the Airport provided a feeding ground for the seagulls which then used the runways as an eating place and that the smoke from the burning trash created a low ceiling at times. The Executive Secretary -A ?E ?, ?0 Minutes of the Meeting October 17, 1960 Continued TRASH DUMP - (Continued) reported that he had investigated the possibilities for moving the trash dump and recommended that the location in the rear of the Smith Builders' Supply Company on Highway 117 north be used for this purpose. He has discussed the matter with Mr. Smith who is perfectly willing to have it dumped in the old Roger Moore brickyard hole. He normally operates from 7:30 A. M. to 5:00 P. M. and on Saturdays until 12:00 noon but is willing to provide a key for use of the County operator provided he has a responsible party always in order to prevent the pilfering of his building materials which are stored in the yard. Mr. Braak informed the Board that he had made an arial investigation and found many trash dumps scattered around throuohout the County and thinks that the ordinances governing such operations should be enforced. The Chairman observed that in his opinion the operation should be moved during the winter months when the seagulls used the trash dump for feeding but that in the summer he thought that it should be continued at its pre- sent location in order to build up valuable property. After a brief discussion of the problem, Mr. Williams moved that the Board approve the transfer of the garbage disposal operation from its present location to the new location provided by Mr. Smith for the per- iod beginning October through'Nay. It was seconded by Mr. Braak with the provision that it was done without additional cost to the County. When the ballot was taken, the vote was unanimously in favor of the motion. ACL - SAL MERGER A letter was received from the Legislative Board of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen and Enginemen outlining certain alleged factors in opposition to.the requests pro- / posed by the Atiantic Coast Line Railroad Company and the Seaboa'rd Airline Railroad Company ` ,-a for'autho,rity,to merge under the Interstate Commerce Act. They suggest that after thoroughly ??? considering all of the factors outlined we might desire to petition the Interstate Commerce Commission to inte.vene in this proposal. After a brief discussion, it was decided that the matter was of such import that it deserved some study and therefore, by common consent, the Executive Secretary was instructed.to put it on the Agenda at the next meeting. CAROLINA POWER AND LIGHT RATES - A letter was received from the Carolina Power and Light Company advising that they had made a study of the service agreement now in effect at the New Hanover County Home and found that the contract is for a demand of 45KW and the County is now being billed under 2C Schedule. They are agreeable to a reduction in this contract demand from 45xw to 32KW and change the Schedule from 2C to G-23. The Chairman explained to the Board that this had been discussed rrith him and he had authorized them to make the change accordingly. By unani- mous common consent, the Board ratified the arrangements made by the Chairman above. CROP REPORTING SERVICE - A letter was received from the Director of the Farm Census advising that a change in listing of the 1961 Farm Census Reports iaould be affective the next fiscal year. Beginning ?? with 1961, the listor will record only those tracts belonging to otimers of five acres or more C?-odv.ci of land even if it is represented in more than one tract so long as the total holdings are not below',five acres.. By-common_corisent; tfie`Commissioners approved-this change and instruct- ed the Executive Secretary to refer it to the Tax Lister. BEER LICENSE - The following applications for licenses to sell alcoholic beverages were ordered referred to the Sheriff for his consideration and approval or rejection as he determines from cl?L investigation: Elbert Bailey Lanier T/A Lanier's Service Carolina'Beach, N. C. Bruno Marino Jr. . Rex Restaurant Inc. 4713 Oleander Dr., City AIRPORT DONNA. I14MAGES - The Executive Secretary reported to the Board that an invoice had been received from the supplier.of Butler Metals Company in the amount of $1231.00 Lo cover the cost of all the necessary repair parts to rebuild the main hanger at the Airport which was damaged by Hurricane Donna, Authority was given to order this material at the last meeting on October 3rd. Upon motion of Mr. Holton, seconded hy Mr. Broadhurst, the Board unanimously authorized an appropriation of $1231.00 from Unanticipated Revenue to Airport-Building Repairs to cover the cost of this invoice. SALINE WATER CONVERSION PLANT SITE - The Executive Secretary reminded the Board that he had secured their•approval by telephone for payment of $10,000.00,earmarked toward the purchase of a possibie site on which to locate the Saline Water Conversion Plant provided Wrlghtsville Beach was selected for it, to the State Department of '19ater Resources instead of direct to the property owners. The Chairman explained to the Board that the County had an option on the property and if the site was approved by the Federal government, the State would then purchase the property in behalf of the County and lease it to the Federai yovernment for.99 year,s at the rate of $1.00 per year. A letter from Colonel Harry E. Brown was reviewed outlining to tfie Federal Depart- . ,?ment of Interior some of the stipulations for the preparation of the site and the placing V?of fill material, landscaping and curbing streets and parking space, etc. He assured them that work would proceed as soon as a land-use plan is provided and pledged the cooperation of the State of Nbrth Carolina, New Hanover County and Wrightsville Beach in making it a success- ful facility. In order to ratify the agreement for the records, Mr. Williams offered a motion that the $10,000.00 pledged toward this project be paid to the State of North Carolina and that the Auditor be authorized to issue a chec}i upon request of the Chairman of the Board. It was seconded by Mr. Holton and unanimously adopted. - CITY-COUNTY PLANNING BOARD Mr. Williams requested permission from the Chairman to present the following pro- posal: New Hanover County is now entering one of the greatest periods of 3asting develop- ments and will ssve millions of dollars for its citizens by the proper location of strcets and hiyhways, school sites and recreationai areas if there is a Planning Board to screen and guide the development. He pointed out that the present Planning Board is inactive and pro- posed that it be replaced with a Joint Planning Board consisting of not less than six nor more than ten members, with the City of Wilmington and the Chairman of the Board of County Commissioners, each appointing an equal number with the details to be worked out by the Chair- man of the Board of Commissioners and the City officials with the restriction that all members of the Board appointed by the Chairman of the County Board of Commissioners to come from the unincorporated areas of the County. (cont3.nued) . ' " 6h- 611 fa 1 CITY-COUNTY PLANNING BOARD - (continued) The motion was seconded by Mr. Braak and in the discussion which followed Mr. Williams requested the County Attorney to explain the present law which now gives a County Planning Board powers to enforce ordinances passed by the County Corranissioners. The County Attorney read the General Statutes on this sub,ject which authorized the promulyating of such ordinances hy the County Commissioners. Mr. Holton reminded the Board that he had appointed the present Planning Board during his term of office as Chairman and that they had no authority to act and that was the reason for their inactivity and he did not feel thaL they should be replaced without an opportunity to serve in this capacity. He also recallec2 that he had advocated a Building Inspector ever since he was e2ected to the Board and is still of the opinion that it wou2d be good for the orderiy development of the County to have a Planning Board but he was not ready to uote on the matter at this time as the motion now stands. Mr. Broadhurst then offered a substitute motion that a decision ori this matter be deferred until our next meeting on November 7th. It was seconded by Mr. Holton and when the ballot was taken, Messrs. Braak and Williams voted against the substitute motion while Messrs. Broadhurst, Hall, and•Hoiton voted for the motion which the Chairman declared car- ried and instructed the Executive Secretary to,schedu.le this subject for discussion on the Agenda for the next meeting. COMMUNITY HOSPITAL - The second subjec,t which is of major importance to the County is the operation of the Community Hospitai and Mr. Wiiliams suggested the following basic principles be approv- ' ed: 1- That Lhe Board of County Commissioners go on record as approving the operation of the Community Hospital on a non-profit basis by a Board of Trustees of Managers; 2- That the Community Hospitai Building and equipm¢nt be leas,ed to the Boxrd of Trustees or Managers at a nominal sum with adequate provision for upkeep and assurance that,the Hospital will be ? operated according to reasonable standards for the care of patients; 3- That Defore a con- ??-czP tract is signed the advice of a recognized,Hospital authority (such as Duke Endowment) be obtained; !}- That immediate steps be taken to get such advic¢ and details with the ultimate aim of securing a Charter from the Secretary of State; 5- That after the Charter is receiv- ed and the contract signed the County will pay only for indigent patients on a per diem cost basis; 6- That some provision be included in the agreement for a rotating Board to be appoint- ed by the County Commissioners; 7- That title to the buildings and equipment be retained by the County: After a brief discussion of the proposals, Mr. Williams offered a motion that they be adopted. It was seconded by Mr. Braak for the purpose of discussion. When the ballot was taken, Massrs. Williams and Braak voted for the motion while Messrs. Broadhurst, Hall and Holton voted against the motion, therefore,,the Chairinan ruled the motion failed. ^ SCHLOSS ESTATE CORPORATION - A letter was received from S. A. Schloss, Jr. dated October 12th insisting that some action be taken relative to damages by Hurricane Donna to the valuation of lots owned by them at Wrightsville Beach, The County Attorney ruled that no legal action could be taken on this matter until the Board next convenes in their capacity of Equalization and Review. Ey common consent, the Board unanimously authorized the Executive Secretary to write Mr. SchLpss and refer him to the provisions of the General Statutes. RIVERS AND HARBORS - A letter was received from the Corps of Engineers confirming our pledge of loczl participation for the maintenance of dikes or bulkheads used as retaining of disposal.areas of spoils left as residue in the deepening of the Cape Fear River Channel in event the Con- gress authorizes the work and appropriates the funds for its accomplishment. This confirmation is written as a result of the letter dated September 20, 1960 pledging local cooperation as required on the modifications to the Wilmington Harbor Project provided the Chief of £ngineers recommends the deepening the channel in the Cape Fear River. ADJOURNMENT - , There being no further business to be brought before the Board, Mr that they adjourn. The motion was seconded by Mr. Williams and unanimoy.s.Fy X Holton moved „tod _ Secretary , Wilmington, N. C. November 7, 1960 ASSEMBLY - The regular semimonthly meeting of the New Hanover County Board of Commissioners was heid on this date in the Commissioners$ Room of the Court House at 9:00 A. M. with thc foliowing members present: Chairman J. N. Hall, Jr., Commissioners Peter H. Braak, L. E. Broadhurst, J. E. Holton, Jr. and Berry A. Williams, County Auditor T. D. Love, Commission- ers-elect J. Van B. Metts, Jr. and Ernest R. Mayhan, and County Attorney John Bright Hill. INVOCATION - Chairman Hall called the meeting to order and asked Major C. R. Collins of the Salvation P:rmy to give the invocation. MiNUTES - Upon motion of Mr. Williams, seconded by Mr. Braak, the minutes of the last meet- ing werc unanimously approved. COMMUNITY HOSPITAL - Pursuant to the action of the Board at.the meeting on October 3rd, the Finance Committee of the Community Hospital Board of Directors reported-that the total increase in salaries recommended by them and approved by the Board of Directors amounted to $8,428.00. They will meet this increase by saving $240.00 on Dr. Grayts salary and the salary of Dr. Jeanty amounting to $1,000.00. Salaries approved for new help, which was not hired untii after the f3rst quarter, amounts to a saving of $1380.00 and there is a stipend in the Bud- get availabie for use in the amount of.$!},OOO.OO'making a total approved of $6,620.00 leaving a balance of $1800.00 which they recommend be transferred from the Dietary Depart- ment Budget. After discussing the matter, Mr. Williams offered a motion that the above recommendations for salary changes and transfers as presented be approved effective as of November 1, 1960. It was seconded by Mr. Braak and unanimously adopted. ?- -A