2024-02-01 Agenda Review
NEW HANOVER COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS BOOK 36
FEBRUARY 1, 2024 AGENDA REVIEW MEETING PAGE 113
ASSEMBLY
The New Hanover County Board of Commissioners met on February 1, 2024 at 4:04 p.m. for Agenda Review
in Conference Rooms 138-139 at the New Hanover County Government Center, 230 Government Center Drive,
Wilmington, North Carolina.
Members present: Chair Bill Rivenbark; Vice-Chair LeAnn Pierce; Commissioner Jonathan Barfield, Jr.;
Commissioner Dane Scalise; and Commissioner Rob Zapple.
Staff present: County Manager Chris Coudriet; Clerk to the Board Kymberleigh G. Crowell; and County
Attorney K. Jordan Smith.
Chair Rivenbark called the Agenda Review meeting to order and announced that the purpose of the meeting
is to review and discuss the agenda items for the February 5, 2024 Regular Meeting.
Consent Agenda Item #3: Approval to Request Grant Funds from N.C. Governor's Highway Safety
Program Regional Forensic Laboratory. First Lieutenant Lauren Carroll with the Sheriff’s Office responded to
questions stating that the lab is fully functional. The grant continues the program for blood alcohol testing. Test
results come back in less than 30 days from the County’s lab versus the 90 days it would take at the state lab.
Consent Agenda Item #4: Approval of Order for Advertisement of 2023 Unpaid Tax Liens on Real Property.
Tax Administrator Allison Snell responded to questions, stating that the 2023 unpaid tax liens will be advertised at
the end of March or early April in the Star News and that she will provide a copy of the list to the Board.
Consent Agenda Item #5: Approval of December 2023 Tax Collection Reports. Ms. Snell addressed
questions, stating that there is no concern about the lower debt service collection. The tax rate for debt service
dropped from the previous year, but the County has collected a higher percentage compared to last year.
Regular Agenda Item #7: Consideration of Temporary Waiver of Hourly Fees in the New Hanover County
Parking Deck. Chief Facilities Officer Sara Warmuth addressed questions stating that discussions about the proposal
have not been held with the City of Wilmington. However, extensive conversations have taken place with parking
pass holders, Parking Deck Manager Ashley Westbrook, and staff using the parking deck. Ms. Westbrook confirmed
that the staff receives a flat rate compensation, not based on usage. Discussion ensued regarding how the proposal
will work with monthly contract holders. The County deck offers 566 spaces for monthly and hourly parking,
excluding 54 spaces reserved for library patrons, free for two hours during library visits. Out of the 566 spaces, 300
are designated in the parking system for monthly and hotel parkers, with the remaining 266 for hourly parkers. The
policy is to mark the parking deck as “Full” once 266 hourly tickets are issued, preventing the scenario where monthly
parkers find no available spaces due to an increase in hourly parking. Commissioner Scalise stated the idea is to
incentivize public visits downtown during the bridge closure to support local businesses. Regarding parking deck
usage for Project Grace, Ms. Warmuth explained there are approximately 14 spaces reserved where parking is free
for library patrons and a construction lie-down area for the construction site. Additionally, staff do issue temporary
parking passes to some construction workers on a first-come, first-served basis, which impacts the monthly parking
allocation. The construction team will be advised against utilizing the free voucher. She also explained that if a
monthly parking passholder cancels their parking pass, they are removed from the 300 monthly parking pool, and
the odds of not getting a space increase if they are with the hourly/free pool. There is currently a waitlist for monthly
passes, and those who cancel their monthly parking are moved to the waitlist when requesting a new monthly pass.
Ms. Westbrook confirmed there has been a recent increase in the flow of the parking deck. Commissioner Barfield
expressed concerns regarding how this will affect the budget. Commissioner Scalise thanked staff for their analysis.
Regular Agenda Item #8: Consideration of a Resolution Regarding the Planned Closure of the Career
Readiness Academy at Mosley School and the Potential Formation of a Newcomer School. Commissioner Scalise
stated that on Monday he intends to make a motion to adopt the resolution. He believes closing a school for kids
with special needs is deeply insulting and expressed concerns about discussions to replace it. He understands that
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the school representatives visited Guilford County on November 17, and it was announced after Thanksgiving that
Mosley would be shut down. He believes the intent was to move the newcomer school forward. Chair Rivenbark
stated that the resolution will only tell the Board of Education (BOE) how the County Commissioners feel about
closing Mosley School and opening a newcomer school. Commissioner Scalise added that he believes the resolution
sends a message to the BOE as it begins its budget discussions that it will need to prioritize taking care of special
needs students and that the Board will look favorably on the propositions to take care of kids with special needs.
Regular Agenda Item #9: Rezoning Request (Z23-23) – Request by Cindee Wolf with Design Solutions,
applicant to rezone 9 parcels totaling approximately 7.28 acres of land located at the 7600 block of Carolina Beach
Road between North and South Seabreeze Roads from R-15, Residential to (CZD) CB, Community Business for a
commercial business park consisting of 28,300 maximum square feet of general retail, restaurant, convenience
store with fuel pumps, and other limited uses. Planning and Land Use Director Rebekah Roth responded to
questions by explaining that the staff base recommendations on an application’s alignment with the 2016
Comprehensive Land Use Plan standards and technical review. Staff do not receive public comments until after a
matter is advertised, and typically finalize recommendations prior to any public comment being received. The
Planning Board is recommending approval with additional conditions. The subject property is the former location of
Pelicans Snowballs, and the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) will prohibit another direct
access to Carolina Beach Road. She believes the commercial node is likely the main traffic generator for this project.
NEW HANOVER COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS BOOK 36
FEBRUARY 1, 2024 AGENDA REVIEW MEETING PAGE 114
Discussion ensued about the nearest commercial node, the benefits of a commercial node, and traffic concerns. Ms.
Roth stated that an updated list of excluded uses will be provided to the Board by Monday. Regarding temporary
uses, she explained the County allows temporary uses for debris staging and temporary housing and believes that
both are applied countywide in the event of a natural disaster. Further discussion ensued about the potential for a
brewery or sit-down restaurant. The brewery was excluded because of it being in a residential area but the
restaurant is an allowed use. Ms. Roth stated that bike and pedestrian easements are requested on both sides of
Carolina Beach Road with rezonings. She noted that the strip mall will be located on the northeast corner of the site
where the medical office is located and except for the gas station, the concept plan allows for small modifications.
Regular Agenda Item #10: Rezoning Request (Z23-24) – Request by Cindee Wolf with Design Solutions,
applicant to rezone approximately 0.44 acres zoned B-2, Regional Business located at 1132 Seabreeze Road to
(CZD) R-7, Residential for a maximum of two single-family detached residential dwelling units. Ms. Roth,
addressing questions, stated that staff does not concur with the Planning Board’s recommendation due to the site’s
location in a flood-prone area. County Manager Coudriet stated that the administration recommends approval
because the proposed development is suitable for the area and will not create more challenges for the community.
Ms. Roth stated the site currently lacks water or sewer services, and staff are awaiting Environmental Health’s
determination on whether a septic could be placed on the property. County Attorney Smith stated that the fourth
condition alerts future owners of the residential properties that adjacent properties developed as a business will
need a variance because of the setbacks with the property being zoned residential. A brief discussion ensued
regarding the differences in setbacks for residential and commercial zoning. Ms. Roth stated that she will alert the
applicant to be prepared to speak on the water and septic issues at the public hearing.
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business, Chair Rivenbark adjourned the meeting at 5:05 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Kymberleigh G. Crowell
Clerk to the Board
Please note that the above minutes are not a verbatim record of the New Hanover County Board of Commissioners meeting. The entire proceedings
are available online at www.nhcgov.com.