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1953-04-20 Regular MeetingWi]mington, N. C., April 20, 1953. The regular weekly neetirg of the Board was held this day at 10:00 o'cloci: A. 1;. Present: R. T. Hori;on, Chairnan and Cormnissioners Claud 0'Shields, Thurston C. Davis, Hal. J. LAVe, Raiford Trask and County Attorney P9arsden BeJ.lamy. 'i'he meeting was opened with prayer by the Reverend Mr. J. C. Searcy, Pastor of Tabernacle Baptist Church. Copi_es of the minutes of the meet=ng of April 13, 1953, were previously iurnishea each member of the Boar4, and upon motion of Mr. Davis, s econded by Mr. O'ShieldsJ were approved, hir. Louis T. 19oore, Chairman of tlie Nev1 Hanover Histori.cal Commssion appeared to urge the installation of ' the plaoue to the late fiugh Tr,acRae at the parl; which bears his name at,Winter Park, which has been 3elayed • i???7 for some time. Mr. Y•;oore iae s assured by the Chairman triat the d e]ay taas necessary on account of topograph- ical arrangement of the area, study of landscaping in accor3ance with the ideas o£ the MacRae fanily, and the insta].lation wou.13 be made ae soon as practical, h1r, irioore £urther call.ed attention to the "Vanished" or lost "Confederate 5hipyard" marker on the iaater front at 'the G?zstom House. The Chairman thaniced Mr. Moore for his interest and efforts in these matters. A letter was received from Air. L. E. Whit£ie].3, State Highway Division Ehgineer, awvising puting of US 421 has been changel to follow the Negro Head Road £rom its.junction with NC 210 South to US 74 and 76 at Wil- mington, and that the routing of US 74 has been extended from the intersection of tdarlcet and 1.7th Streets tc follow US 17 and the necaly constructed road from US 17 to WriEhtsville. The routiriE oi US 76 will remaih the same. Messrs Harry DeHart, T. D. Love, Joe Crarner and others appeared to object to the change feeling it would not be jvstified to talce traf£ic off a£oux'-lane highi-ray, and it tirould be detriinental to Uusiness interests. ? A4r, Trask suggeste3 the old route via ?auls Place be designLte3 as L,?_lA. After further discussion, Mr. Davis moved an3 it was seconded by Pir. Love and carried, to request the State FIighway and rublic 'viorks Commission to leave US 74 and 76, as presently shown iaithout change, and that the routing of highway from the intersection of 17th and i5arket Streets over US 17 and the newly constructe3 road froM IIS 17 to 'vlrightsville be designated as alternate 74A, and the Negro Hea3 Road from its junction with TdC 210 Soutn to US 74 and 76 at YJilmington be shoi•m as /+27A, and that 421 continue over the old route via Pau).s Place. A request o£ b;r, W. H. Selly, Rte. 2, Box 162 to have the lead ditches in the I,(yrtle Grove School and Blaney I?PtN PS.nerls Store area cleane3 out to rel-ieve a bad drainage cor.3ition there taas referred to the Chairman for investiCation. Bias for furnishing a dragline with bucket havir.g been advertised to be received at this meeting and inad- vertently provision for tra3e-in allowance £or the old dragline was omitte3 from the advertisement, open- ing of the bids was postpone3 until. Fri3ay morning Anril 24, to give H. B. Cwsley and Son of Charlotte, N. C., opgortunity to o£fer a tra3e-in allotaance to complete their bid. Dr, Fred H. Coleman, Coroner,. appeared to report on his previous requect fo.r increased fees or mote pay com- mensurate with the time and work necessary to perform his du_ties as coroner, and said he iaas told by Reore= C,,,,,;gq?sentative A3dison fievrlett, Jr., last week, that it was too late at tiiis present terzn of the Legislature to ?- amend the Act for increased fees or salary. In view of that, Dr. Coleman indicated he iaould resign from the office. Dir. Trask asked that he hold over until next meeting Nay 4th2 to see what would be the outcome of a State-t•ride Coroners Bill said to Ue pending in the Legislature that may take care of the situation, wh_ch tiras agreed. ? Instructions were given to acknowledge with thanks, the prornpt reply and consideration given by Mr, L. B. ,&Z4d.6p4m itfield, 5tate Highway Division E4lgineer, to'our request for a progress report on the Northeast Cape Fear River Bridge lighting, and concernir.g our r(quest £or the i.nsta7.lation o£ traffic signals at WrigntsvilLe Sound and replacement of traific signals at the US 74 and 76 and 4linter ?ark Road Crossings intersection. A letter was received from the New Hanover County ABC B ard in reply to ovs letter of April 14.tn request- Uing that steps be taken to have Disti]_lers discontimie &e.advertising of whiskey in our newspapersT•.advis- ing that unuer the law they have no poiaer to act until they have received instructions from and apnroval of the State Board. Instructions were therefore given to forwar3 a copy of our correspondence in the matter to the State Alcoholic Beverage Control Board to see what can be done about it. A request receivex from the Boar3 of E3ucation that the County Comnissi.oneLStake such stegs necessary to ?? ,,L,close that part of Peachtree Avenue at Winter Park which is within the boundaries o£ the pronerty of the l•linter ?ark School, stating thisaction is necessary in or3er to p!'oVi3e a s afe olayground situation for the Pupils of Winter'Park Sehool, was referre3 to the County Attorney £or opinion andreport back,at the next meeting. " A request of the PJew iianover County 3oard of Fducation 3ated April 18, 1953, that of the bond total of -;f-6N4'v}2,9°3,000.00 authorized by the Bond Election o£ May 31, 1952, that the second million dollars be marketed for the fiscal year 1952-1953; also, that these bon.'.s be marketed in time te have the money available by Ju13r 15, 1953, was upon motion of Mr. Davis, seconded by Mr. 0'Shie].ds, anprove3, and the County Attorney was authorized to employ the services of Messrs. Reed, Hoyt and WashUurn, tlew York Attorneys to assist'in the prepar.ation o£ things necessary lea3ing through the success£ul marketing of the sai3 bonds. Upon motion of I+ir. Davis, seconded by N,r. Love, the Board endorsed a Bill introduced oy the Honorable 03e11 PkY? 7illiams? Representative from Brunswick County, that would give the State Highway and PuUlic Works Commis- ?w "sion authority to acquire e;uirnnent to keep inlets along our coast open that have Ueen closed'by erosion to provide access to the ocean for our fishermen £or a better livelihood. A letter was received from Addison Hewlett, Jr. Representative, to the effect he wil7. do what he can to se-• cure passage of a bill intro3uced by the Honorable Roy C. Coates of 7ohnson County to create the position of Supervisor of Alcoholic E3ucation in the State School System. 5 A copy of a letter written by FlriE9itsboro Volw7teer Fire Department to Mr. J. L. Morson, State Highway Road- way P1ann5.ng Ehgi.neer, requesting large scale maps of Neia Hanover County for use in setting up areas £or Rural Volunteer Fire Departments, was received. `I C,,3C_Pdo objections were indicated by the Boer3 to the following applications for 5tate Permit to s ell Beer: - -3? ? James Airson, 2715 Sou.th Frnnt Street -Letl;a Rongotes "Park Avenue Grill° 1906 So th Front Street -Mrs, Catherine Vo11ie, "Borr and Arrow Grill° 802 South Front Street _?MXA report of Airport Receipts for April 10, 13 and 15th were received and file3. . _0Ca4A report o£ the Housing Authority o£ the City o£ Wilminglon was received and filed. Various requests for abatements t,o correct errors and double charges in tax lists were received and referred ??ax to the Chairman and County Auditor wi.th power to act. \ ??5 vll? / I 416 Meeting of April 20, 1953 - Continued _2 The Chairman announced that a meeting o£ intereste:i citizens wou].d Ue held at Oak Grove Church 8 P. M.0 lbesday 21st to discuss fire protection. ? Told the Board Hardtitare Dealers asked the Commissioners to support a Bill to ban air rifles. No action was taken, ? A request to have CaM7 Wright on Greenville Sound cleaned off for Girl Scouts, rfay 15th was approved. ``,,,,??The use of the Court Room, Grand Jury Room and Jurors Rest Room requested by the American T?egion Aux- `,'11?1`N' fillary for Jtu1e lOth throu? 13th was granted. ? The Chairman announca3 that the summer hours for County IDnployes 9:30 A.M. to L?:30 P.M,, will be nut in ? Gv ef£ect hfonday morni.na April 27th, 1953 through Septenber 27, 1953. Upon motion of D's. Davis, seconde5 b; ifir, 0'Shiel3s, County Bills No. 3197 through 3289 were approved for payment, . An offer of Casey LiLunber Company to purchase 30 033 pine trees left in Castle Hayne and Rock Quarry at a P? price o£ $300,00 and land at airport, (Trian gle between two roads) was approved, providel no cypress -? trees are cut or inclu.ded,in the sa.le. , Upon motion of hir. Davis, a recess was taken until regular meeting 10:00 o'clock A. bi,, May 4th, 1953. , i?Tyl? /? 34t ? - Clerk ? Wilmington, N. C.i May 4, 1953. li The regtlar weekly meeting of the Board was held this day at 10:00 o'clock A.M. Present: R. T. Horton, Chairman and Comuiissioners Claud 0'Shields, Thurston C. D2,vis, Hal J. Love, Raiford Trask and County Attorney i?ars3en Bellamy. The meeting was opened with grayer by the P.everend Yir. Alexander Ndller, Pastor of St. Pauls Episcopal Church. Nr. A1ton A. Lennon, President of the Local Bar Association appeared with approximately thirty members of the Local Bar Association to protest the use of a 1•iicrofilm Recor3er on trial in the Register of Deeas Office for recording documents to replace the present method of recoraing by typewriter, and further pro- tested the schedule of sumn:er working hours £or County employes, and presented the following resolution a3o;?te3 by the Har Association: " A motion was made by James B. Swails that the Bar Association go on record as opposing the use ? of a photostit machine ior the recording of papers in the Register of Deeds Office of New Hanover County, and that all members of the Neur H_i,nover County Bar Association be constituted a s a committee to appear be- fore the Board of Commissioners of Nea Hunover County at their meeting to be held on N,ondap, May 4) 1953, to voice the protest of this Association against the use of a photostat machine for recording purposes in the Register of Deeds Office of Nei•r Hanover County. " A motion was made by Solomon B. Sternberger that the New Hanover County Bar Association go on recor3 as recommending to the fioar.d of County Commissioners o£ New Hanover County that the County Offices and the consoliciated City-County Tax 0£fice shoul3 be open on week days between the hours of 9:00 A.M. and '5:00 P.M,., and shoul3 be open on Saturdays between the hours o£ 9:00 A.M. and 12:00 A.N." Attorneys .James B. Swails, Woo3us Kel.lum, Dudley Humphrey, W. B. Campbell, and Alton A. Lennon spoke in opposition to the use of the Microfi]m Recor3er stating in part; " that the reoord is Poor, wi11 be a step backwards, not permanent and cannot compare with'the olct system. Eye-strain, imperfect, illegible record. EScpenses wou1.3 run high and record e:cposed to light would deteriorate rapidly, and a sked that it be abondoned in the interest of space, economy and eye-strain, and continue the use of the present type- writing system " The matter o£ sw,.mer working hours £or County employes was then discussed by Attorneys Aaron Gold- ? bergj John Bright Hill, Alton A. Lennon, George Rountree, Solomon B. Sternberger} R. I. Mintz and Woodus Ke11um, all were of the opini.on that the Register o£ lleeds, Clerk of Superior Court and Tax Of£icea should G,,,,?? ``be hept open at least three hours on Saturdays - 9:00 A.M. to 12:00 A.I.I. for the convenience o£ the public, _ ?+1'especially those who have no other time to attend to business in the Court House during the week 3ays with- q?? out losing time o£f. This shoul3 be 'taken carr o£, they said' by Department Heads staggering their work- ?yr ing hours £or employes, • The Register of Deeds stated that situation could be han3led in his office by himself and one clerk on Satur3ays. . The Clerk of Court said the 5=day work week proved to be good in his Department for efficiency and __6? economy. All clerks were up on their work better. The County Auditor said, "As to the early hours, as you 1:now, I was out of tokm all last week and have not yet had time to observe the ef£ect of the early hours in the office. As to the 5-day week, i.t fias definitely inereased the efficiency of the office because the eraployes have ha3 more continuous working hours, applied themselves and moral has been higher because of the Satur3ay off. There has been some one in the office practical.ly every Saturday, even though the doors were closed. We have ha3 no complaint from the public." At this point, Mr. Black, Register of Deeds, asked to show a comroittee of the Bar Association what can be done with the Microfilming Machine. I4r. Lennon said he thought microfilming was to be use3 only to preserve recotds, but use the o13 way for recording . ' Nir. Horton felt the photostat copy could be read equally as good as the originalj would cut the cost of overall pro3uction by anproximately 50%. or 67¢ against $1,20 per sheet. At the conclusion of the discussion it was agreed, upon motion bf Mr. Davis, seconded by Mr. 0'Shiel3s, j ther a sideation of the matters with conlrhth? view s o£ 18eaching e some t satiefBo? dy n olution aof the same, f?No fur- v? ther acti.on was taken. e P .?wr.. ?