1996-07-13 Special Meeting
NEW HANOVER COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS BOOK 25
SPECIAL MEETING, JULY 13, 1996PAGE 488
ASSEMBLY
The New Hanover County Board of Commissioners held a Special
Meeting on Saturday, July 13, 1996, at 8:20 A.M. in the Conference
Room of the Sheriff's Department, 20 North Fourth Street,
Wilmington, North Carolina.
Members present were: Commissioners William A. Caster;
William E. Sisson, Jr.; Vice-Chairman E. L. Mathews, Jr.; Chairman
Robert G. Greer; County Manager, Allen O'Neal; County Attorney,
Wanda M. Copley; and Clerk to the Board, Lucie F. Harrell.
Commissioner Sandra Barone was absent.
Chairman Greer called the meeting to order and reported the
purpose of the meeting was to receive an estimate of the damage
caused by Hurricane Bertha and the recovery efforts being
implemented to begin clean-up activities and receive FEMA funding
assistance.
Director of Emergency Management, Dan Summers, reported after
a quick assessment of damages, it appears that debris removal will
be a primary part of the recovery effort. Structural and business
damage should be sufficient to meet the FEMA Presidential Disaster
thresholds. The Health Department Auditorium will be used as the
Damage Assessment Office, and Mr. Lloyd Tyndall, a retired employee
of U. S. Army Corps of Engineers, will serve as the Disaster
Recovery Manager. The purpose of the office is to gather and
compile the necessary information to meet deadlines established by
state and federal agencies providing funding assistance.
An organizational meeting has been scheduled this morning with
the damage assessment teams to perform a windshield appraisal of
estimated damage to residential, commercial, institutional, and
public facilities listing the damage under one of the following
categories: major, minor, or destroyed. This information should
be collected by 12:00 Noon. A State speed team will arrive in
Wilmington at 2:00 P.M. with a 12-13 page questionnaire that must
be completed and returned to FEMA within the next 24 hours. The
team will go directly to the Damage Assessment Office and begin
contacting key officials of the municipalities about infrastructure
damage so a profile can be developed and returned to FEMA.
During the storm, three shelters were opened which housed
approximately 400 people. Currently, there are 40 beach residents
in the three shelters, and these residents will be relocated into
one shelter.
Governor Jim Hunt and the Director of FEMA, James L. Whit,
will arrive at the New Hanover International Airport at 10:30 A.M.
to fly over the area to assess the damage. Chairman Greer will
greet the Governor.
Director Summers reported that a representative from Carolina
Power & Light Company would be in the Media Center to respond to
calls. He advised that 40 crews were already in Wilmington to
assist Carolina Power & Light Company with restoring electric
power, and BellSouth had 30 crews in the area to restore telephone
service.
Chairman Greer advised that crews from Charleston, South
Carolina, arrived in the early morning hours with two front-end
loaders, dump trucks, chain saws, etc. and volunteered to begin the
clean-up work immediately. He commented on this volunteer effort
and recommended expressing appreciation to the City of Charleston
for this kind gesture.
Discussion was held on the importance of providing information
to the public about disposal of storm debris. County Manager
O'Neal reported that Ray Church, the Director of Environmental
NEW HANOVER COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS BOOK 25
SPECIAL MEETING, JULY 13, 1996PAGE 489
Management, was in the process of preparing a Press Release to
inform the citizens about the procedures to follow for removal of
storm debris. He advised that a contract had been prepared to hire
D&G Enterprises, Inc. to provide debris removal services, and he
requested authorization to negotiate the contract and approve the
associated Budget Amendment with ratification of the documents at
the July 22, 1996, meeting.
Consensus: It was the consensus of the Board to authorize the
County Manager to move forward with negotiating a contract with D&G
Enterprises, Inc. for debris removal and approve the necessary
Budget Amendment.
Director Summers reported the Emergency Operations Center
would be closed at 10:00 P.M. tonight. He recommended scheduling
a News Conference this afternoon at 4:00 P.M. in the Media Center
to update the media and public on the recovery efforts.
Consensus: It was the consensus of the Board to schedule a News
Conference at 4:00 P.M. in the Media Center to provide an update on
preliminary damage assessments, debris removal, and other recovery
efforts.
Chairman Greer reported the County had imposed a curfew
beginning July 12, 1996, from 8:00 P.M. until 5:00 A.M. July 13,
1996. He requested the Board to adopt the official proclamation
establishing the curfew for this period of time only because he
felt the curfew was no longer needed in the unincorporated County.
Consensus: It was the consensus of the Board to adopt the
supplement to the disaster proclamation establishing the curfew
beginning July 12, 1996, from 8:00 P.M. until 5:00 A.M. July 13,
1996.
A copy of the supplement is hereby incorporated as a part of
the minutes and is contained in Exhibit Book XXIII, Page 21.
County Manager O'Neal advised that some sewer telemetry
equipment had been lost on the Vision Cable tower at Sea Breeze.
Due to the need for immediate repair of the equipment, he
authorized the County Engineer to prepare a contract in the amount
of $10,000 to $15,000 for repair of the equipment.
Director Summers requested the Board to consider placing two
additional emergency antennas on the tower when repairing the
telemetry equipment. He commented on the need for these antennas
during emergencies and requested the Board to authorize placement
of the Amateur Radio Disaster Line antenna and Emergency Medical
Services Transmitter on the tower.
Consensus: It was the consensus of the Board to authorize the
installation of the two antennas as recommended by the Director of
Emergency Management.
Chairman Greer, on behalf of the Board, expressed appreciation
to Director Summers and all County employees who worked in the
Emergency Operations Center and the Media Center during the storm.
He complimented them for a job well done.
ADJOURNMENT
Chairman Greer adjourned the meeting at 9:10 A.M.
Respectfully submitted,
Lucie F. Harrell
Clerk to the Board