UNAPPROVED
MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING
OF THE EMERALD ISLE
BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2002
7:00 PM - EMERALD ISLE TOWN HALL                         Mayor Schools called the meeting to order at 7:00 P.M.  Those present were Mayor Schools, Commissioners McElraft, Marks, Messer, Farmer and Eckhardt.  Staff members present were Town Manager Frank Rush, Assistant Manager/Finance Officer Georgia Overman, Town Attorney Derek Taylor, Town Clerk Carolyn Custy, Inspections Department Head Carol Angus, Parks & Recreation Director Alesia Sanderson.

After roll call, everyone recited the Pledge of Allegiance.

            Frank Rush, Town Manager mentioned there was no action required on Item 13a Resolution Certifying Referendum Results. 

      Commissioner Farmer made a motion to remove 13a under Staggered Terms, Resolution Certifying Referendum Results.

      Commissioner McElraft commented she thought it was important to leave that in for historical records as was the beach referendum results.  She read the following:

      RESOLUTION CERTIFYING REFERENDUM RESULTS

Whereas, a group of Emerald Isle citizens initiated a petition to amend the Town’s charter to implement staggered terms for the Board of Commissioners, and

Whereas, said petition was validated by the Town Clerk as meeting the requirements of NCGS 160A-104, and the Board of Commissioners scheduled a referendum on the November 5 ballot, and

Whereas, the voters of Emerald Isle exercised their right to vote in the November 5 election on this matter, and

Whereas, the Carteret County Board of Elections canvassed the results of the referendum on November 8, 2002,

Now, therefore be it resolved by the Emerald Isle Board of Commissioners that the results of the November 5 referendum on staggered terms for the Emerald Isle Board of Commissioners are certified as follows:

            Commissioner Farmer said, “I have no problem putting that language in the other Resolution.  My problem is I cannot certify elections results.  The Board of Elections does that.  The board goes by what the Board of Elections does.  As for the bond referendum, it is my understanding that was legally required.  I am not comfortable certifying elections results.  It is not the town commissioner’s job.  I do not have any problem with any of the language being put in”.

            Commissioner McElraft argued,  “There is nothing actually saying the board is certifying if they have already been certified.  This accepts it into the minutes for reference”.  She asked that this be verbatim.

            Mayor Schools reminded the board there was a motion on the floor that the Agenda be adopted without the Resolution Certifying Referendum Results.

            The board voted with a split vote, 3-2.  Voting for the approval of the agenda with the removal of 13a. were Commissioners Farmer, Eckhardt and Marks.  Voting against approval was Commissioners McElraft and Messer.

PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENTS                                       

Mayor Schools announced The Island Cats Allies Yard Sale November 16^th   at the Emerald Isle Baptist Church parking lot beginning at 8:00 A.M. and a baked goods, rummage sale for Chuck Clehane who is a part-time dispatcher that has been  recently diagnosed with terminal cancer.  The sale will be at Blue Heron Park on Saturday, November 23^rd starting at 7:00 A.M. 

There is no exact date for the next two functions yet, the starting ceremonies for the Beach Nourishment Project and the Coast Guard Road.  The Beach Nourishment ceremony will probably be during the first week of December, and the Coast Guard Road Park ceremony will probably be during the second week of December.

There will be a blood drive at the Community Center December 6^th and everyone was encouraged to participate.  The time frame will be 2:00 P.M. until 7:00 P.M.

November 18th and 19th, the North Carolina Shore & Beach Preservation Association will hold its 2002 annual conference at the Sheraton in Atlantic Beach.  Congressman Walter B. Jones will deliver the keynote address on the 19^th.

CONSENT AGENDA

a.      Minutes of Regular Meeting – October 8, 2002

b.      Tax Refunds / Releases

c.      Budget Amendments – Storm Water Fund / CG Rd Storm Water Project

Commissioner Eckhardt made a motion that the Consent Agenda be approved and the board voted unanimously, 5-0.  Motion carried.

PUBLIC COMMENT

            Mr. George Kuhorn , 7223 Canal Drive, commented on the signs of the politicians.  He has had enough as he has three newspapers come to his house, he has a radio, and he watches TV every evening like everyone else.  He thinks by the time he had done all of that he had picked his candidates.  He thinks there is a problem with the signs.  He knows what Pine Knoll Shores does about theirs and he thinks the Town of Emerald Isle could probably do the same thing.  He asked that the board look into and see if we can clean up the town.  The signs went up in August and today he came into town hall and complained that there were signs still up and he was told that the politicians had until Thursday to take them down.  Most are down now because they were taken down by the Inspections Department.  He does not think it is right to spend that kind of money on its staff to pull that kind of duty.  Those people are responsible for that stuff.  They put them up and they should take them down.

            Mr. Kuhorn also related there are people in town who have businesses who are required to have one sign of certain dimensions and the politicians have no restrictions.  They can put up numerous ones the size of 4x8 and you can go down the road and there are 5 of them – all the same person’s name.  He hoped the board would look into this problem and possibly adopt what has been done down in Pine Knoll Shores because it is a pleasure to go through that town during election time and not see all of that clutter.

            Commissioner Farmer commented that Mr. Kuhorn has brought up a good point.  She would like to see the board consider that but is not sure how they would go about doing that.

PRESENTATION – NC SHORE AND BEACH PRESERVATION ASSOCIATION

            Commissioner McElraft introduced Mayor Harry Simmons who is in his 3^rd year of his 1^st term as Mayor of the Town of Caswell Beach in Brunswick County.  He is a graduate of the Kenan-Flagler Business School at UNC-Chapel Hill and is a life-long North Carolinian.  His family comes from Carteret County with his late dad having been born and raised on a farm in Newport.  His mom, a retired public school teacher, still lives part-time in her ancestral home in Sea Level.

            Mayor Simmons is currently serving at the executive director of North Carolina Shore and Preservation Association, is a member of the Board of Directors of the North Carolina League of Municipalities, serves on the National League of Cities Energy, Environment and Natural Resources Policy Committee and is on the boards of both the American Shore and Beach Preservation Association and the American Coastal Coalition.

      He continues to work in the music industry, both as a concert promoter and artist manager, the latter a role which he has had the honor of working with such artists as R.E.M. and Hootie & The Blowfish.  He may be the only North Carolina Mayor eligible to vote for the prestigious Grammy awards.

            Mayor Simmons talked about the North Carolina Shore and Beach Preservation Association, which is a State-wide non-profit organization whose principal mission is to aid in the conservation, restoration and preservation of North Carolina’s public beaches.  This is a private organization governored by a diverse Board of Directors, which counts State and Local Officials, engineers, economists, geologists and other scientist among its members.    Commissioner McElraft as well as property owner Charles Vinson are members of this Board.  They broadcast all issues on each side of an issue whether they like what the people say or not.  In the past year, meetings have been held in Raleigh with Legislators from both coastal and upstate districts and have also contacted Senator John Edwards, Congressman Mike McIntyre and Walter Jones, seeking their support in changes in the federal law that is penalizing North Carolinians for having had the good sense to make our ocean front development less dense and our oceanfront setbacks wider.  The NCSBPA also seeks legislature to acquire beach quality sand from federally authorized navigation projects to be placed back on the adjacent beaches.   

      Mayor Simmons testified on behalf of the American Shore and Beach before the House Subcommittee on Water Resources.  The points that were made were quite well received and he looks forward to working with the next Congress to make those changes into law to help better restore and preserve beaches and public parks.

            Meetings have been held at the Jarrett House with L&B Associate Director Dr. Marcus Peacock to discuss allowing recreation benefits to be more fully used to justify federal restoration projects.  The value of the public beaches to the monthly and weekly and daily visitors should be just as important as the value of those same regions to the property owners of the towns and counties adjacent to them.

      The fourth annual conference takes place next week at the Sheraton in Atlantic Beach.  Walter Jones will give the keynote address on Tuesday at the luncheon and will discuss projects and Legislation of interest to folks here on Bogue Banks.  As usual with Congressman Jones, he will allow questions from the audience.  One of the highlights of the 2002 conference will be a panel entitled “Biological Impact of Beach Nourishment, what we know and what we need to know”.  Mayor Simmons gave a list of those that would be on the panel.  A feature on this panel will most likely be a discussion on how do we resist the urge to make premature statements about the success or failure of the biological beach restoration project before the mandated recovery time has been allowed, all the needed data has been collected, the fact that basic results has been scientifically processed with proper documentation and finally all the conclusions have been peer reviewed and substantiated by a group of confident experts.  Audience participation will be encouraged.

            A new joint initiative will be announced pertaining to public access of the ocean beach.  It will be funded and overseen by NCSBPA in corporation with the NC Division of Coastal Management.  Details will be provided at the conference as well next week.

            A meeting was held at the Emerald Isle Town Hall last June and attendees learned how the beach and dune system work together with plants to form and protect the islands.  Protecting plants that form and stabilize the dune is critical in beach preservation. He said he is pleased to partner with the Town of Emerald Isle and others who are working proactively to restore and preserve North Carolina’s treasures, the public beaches. 

       Mayor Schools and Commissioner McElraft thanked Mayor Simmons for his input.

FY 2001-2002 AUDIT REPORT

a.      Presentation of Audit Report

b.      Management Response to Audit Report                                   

c.      Resolution Establishing Audit Committee                

d.      Appointment of Audit Committee Members                  

Joy Bell of Bell and Company CPAs came forward to give the annual audit report.  She performed the audit for the Town of Emerald Isle for the year ended June 30 2002.  She referred to the Independent Auditors Report, which is the only part of the financial statement that belongs to Bell and Company.  The balance of the financial statements belong to the Town of Emerald Isle. Once again this year a clean opinion was issued on the report, which is an unqualified opinion.  Two items were noted during the audit but those were not material enough to qualify the opinion.  These will be discussed later on in the report.  Mrs. Bell read the last paragraph of the statement, which reads “Our audit was performed for the purpose of forming our opinion on the general purpose financial statements of the Town of Emerald Isle taken as a whole.  The combining and individual funds financial statements and schedules as well as the accompanying schedules of expenditures of Federal and State awards as required by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget Circular A-133, Audits of State, Local Governments and non-profit organizations and the State Single Implementation Act are presented for the purposes of additional analysis and are not a required part of the financial statement.  Such information has been  subjected to the auditing procedures applied in the audit of the general purpose financial statements and, in our opinion, is fairly stated, in all material respects, in relation to the general purpose financial statements taken as a whole”.

            Mrs. Bell highlighted Page 1 of the report, which is a synopsis of the assets and liabilities of the town broken down between the individual fund types that we have.  We have General Fund types with General Fund, Special Revenue Fund and Capital Project Fund, a Fiduciary Fund Type Trust and Agency Fund and there are two account groups, a general fixed asset account group and a general long-term debt account group.  In the general fund the total assets were $1,831,652 with liabilities of approximately $141,000 leaving the town with a Fund Balance of $1,691,000.  In the Special Revenue Fund there is Cash of $21,807 with no liabilities.  The Capital Project Fund in total, the assets are $302,353 with liabilities of approximately $53,000 leaving them with a Fund Balance of $249,000.  The General Fixed Assets increased materially from $7,280,000 to $10,953,000, which is a result of the purchase of the property of for the storm water project, $3.4 million.  The general long-term debt increased from $746,000 to $1,243,000, which is a result of the financing associated with the purchase of that land for the project. 

            Mrs. Bell continued to page 3, the profit and loss of the Town, the revenues and expenditures of the town.  The General Fund had revenues of $4,759,000, the Capital Projects Fund had revenues of $2,688,000 with the Special Revenue Fund having revenues of $15,600.  The expenditures of the Town for the General Fund was $4,844,000, the Special Revenue Fund expenditures $1,800 and Capital Projects expenditures were $3,786,000.  The $3,786,000 does include the $3.4 million that was spent on the purchase of the property. 

            Added to the revenues this year were two installment purchases, one was $231,795 added to the General Fund Debt, the Capital Projects Fund added another $500,000 installment purchase also related to the storm water project.  The General Fund transferred $385,000 out of it’s undesignated fund balance to the Capital Projects Fund for this past fiscal year.

            Page 14 contains the paragraph Bell & Company is required to report in the notes of the financial statement anytime there is a violation of General Statutes. In the first instance there is technically not a violation but there is a notable disclosure.  It is a deficit fund balance of individual funds.  There are three funds, the beach nourishment Eastern phase, the beach nourishment Western phase and the Coast Guard Road Storm water project fund, which were set up as Project Ordinances.  When a fund is set up in a project ordinance, that means it is an ongoing fund.  It is budgeted at the initial point of setup and that budget continues until that fund has performed the activity it was instituted to perform and you are done.  With the General Fund it is budgeted on an annual basis.  Because those three funds were budgeted as a project ordinance money was actually spent within those projects before there were any revenues.  The revenues for two of the funds were the General Obligation Bonds that were sold in October just recently.  The revenues were budgeted they just were not received before June 30, 2002 and that is what created those deficit fund balances.

            There were two instances where there was an excess of expenditures over appropriations.  That means the Board budgeted a certain amount to be spent in a particular department and that department ended up over expending its budget.  That also was a notable disclosure. In the instance of the Public Works Department, that was actually an audit adjustment that was made that created that fund to be over expended.  In the normal realm of things that particular department would not have been over expended under normal operations.  What happened was last year there was a refund of tipping fees that actually was for the prior year.  It got booked for the prior year and then it got received in the following year and credited against tipping fees and that resulted in an over expenditure.  Mrs. Bell ended up reversing that during the audit process.

            In the debt service department there was an over expenditure because of a refinancing in May 2002.  The interest for those installment purchases was not due to be paid until July 2002, which would have been in this fiscal year.  Because of the refinancing we were required to pay the interest off early and that interest did not get budgeted because it was not a normal procedure.  It would normally have been budgeted in July 2002 but because of the refinancing it was prepaid in essence.

            Page 16 contains the changes in the town’s general fixed assets.  There was an increase in land and buildings $3.5 million, $200,000 was retired and the ending balance in general fixed assets was $10,953,000.

            Page 22 contains the summary of changes in long-term debt.  It shows the beginning balance, the additions that were done during the year of $1.273 million and the reductions of $776,000.  A net increase in the general long-term debt of approximately $500,000. 

            Page 27 shows what was budgeted as amended compared to what was actually received in revenues or expended as expenditures and we show the variances.  If you compare to prior year, it is noted that under the unrestricted intergovernmental revenue, the total budget was $146,000.  Received was $169,000 but this is compared to $258,000 from the prior year.  This is the result of the State tax cuts because most of your State funding will show up in the unrestricted intergovernmental revenue section.

            Pages 35 and 36 shows the individual funds that relate back to the balance sheet that was reviewed at the very beginning.  These are the individual Capital Project Funds that you have.  Five new Capital Projects were added this year, the NC Hwy 58 sidewalk project fund, which did not have any activity during the past fiscal year, the beach nourishment Eastern phase, the beach nourishment Western phase, the beach nourishment Eastern and Western phase monitoring and the Coast Guard Storm water project fund.   On pages 37 and 38 shows the actual revenue and expenditure activity of the individual funds.  The total in the far right hand column relate back to the original exhibit that was reviewed earlier.

            Page 55 contains the analysis of the current tax levy.  It shows the total property valuation after adjustments for additions, discoveries and releases.  It shows the property excluding the registered motor vehicle and the registered motor vehicle.  The important point on this page is the current levy correction percentage.  The registered motor vehicle, which is not controlled by the Town, the collection, is controlled by Carteret County, the collection rate is 88.89%.  The collection rate for property except for motor vehicles, which would be the real property, is 99.72%.  The average of those two comes to 99.41%, which is a great collection percentage. On page 54 there is an allowance for uncollectable accounts.  That amount is basically allowing for motor vehicles taxes that will not be collected by the County.  It is not in relationship to the real property that the town collects.  The last three years that Bell and Company are required to disclose, 92-93,93-94,94-95 years there is actually a 0 uncollected balance on those years.  Carteret County takes the position that with motor vehicles they do not attempt to collect or even leave on their books any motor vehicles that have been on their books over 3 years.  The $8,000 relates to the past three years of motor vehicle taxes that might have to be written off.

            The final section is the compliance section.  This section is related to the town’s adherence to grant requirements.  Bell & Company reports on the internal controls of the town and they make sure any requirements the town has related to any grants that have been received, that the town has adhered to those requirements.  On page 61 show the State grants received by the Town of Emerald Isle during the fiscal year June 30, 2002.  There were no non- adherences to the actual requirement of these particular grants, however as it relates to internal control  there is still the two findings that were discussed earlier in the financial statement.  There is the budget problem and the segregation of duties because the Town of Emerald Isle is a small town with very limited staff and it is not quite possible to get everyone to performing a separate function. 

            Mrs. Bell commented Bell and Company appreciates all the cooperation from the staff, Misty and Carolyn.  They are really great to work with.  If you ask them for something they will come across.

            Mr. Rush commented that both of the infractions are relative minor and the town is taking steps to correct them.  Mr. Rush also expressed to the Board and the audience that the Town has a clean audit report and is in excellent financial shape.

            Mrs. Georgia Overman, Assistant Town Manager/ Finance Officer stated that steps are being taken to correct the minor deficiencies noted.  Mrs. Bell will be doing the bank reconciliations and Ms. Overman will do the quarterly payroll reports in order to further segregate duties.  Since Ms. Overman writes account payable checks, good internal controls require that another person perform the bank reconciliations.  As for the adjustments, they will be made earlier in the year and not at the end of the year.

            Ms. Overman commented on the Resolution to establish an audit committee.  Mrs. Bell has also recommended this.  (Copy is attached at the end of these Minutes).  It has been suggested that the Mayor and two members of the Board be placed on this committee so Mr. Rush and Ms. Overman and these three members can review the town’s financial situation at least twice a year.

            Mayor Schools asked for a motion to accept the audit.

            Commissioner McElraft made a motion to accept the Audit for the Town of Emerald Isle.

            Commissioner Farmer commented the budget was tight this year and that Mr. Rush, Ms. Overman and Mrs. Custy do a wonderful job.

            Mayor Schools commented on the good financial stability of the Town and used the 2.8% interest rate on the bonds as an example.  

            Mayor Schools called for a vote to accept the Audit.  The board voted unanimously with a vote of 5-0.  Motion carried.

      Commissioner Marks made a motion to accept the Resolution establishing an Audit Committee and the board voted unanimously with a vote of 5-0.  Motion carried.

            Commissioner Farmer made a motion to appoint Dick Eckhardt and Floyd Messer to the Audit Committee.   The Board voted unanimously, with a vote of 5-0.  Motion carried.

PRESENTATION – ISLAND CAT ALLIES

For a cat to qualify for Cat-Kind, the veterinarian has to go to the colony and see them on site because it should be known that no pets are involved.  The second thing is it encourages vets to come on board.  The cats must have a monitoring caretaker year around.  If the colony is on land owned by another person, it should be made sure the landowner has given permission for the vet and those taking care of the cats to be there.  The neutering takes care of most of the objectionable things like fighting all night long, spraying Mr. Roberts’ porch, etc.  This program is cost effective because of the volunteers.  You are not pouring taxpayer money into just killing these cats.        

Mrs. Roberts said their goal is to do at least 150 cats the first year on Emerald Isle.  She said better trapping techniques are to be used.  They are having a fundraiser next weekend. They have a non-profit ID number and a bank account at BB&T where the bank is managing their finances for free.  She asked for support from the community and moral support as well as financial.  She also asked for volunteers.

EASTERN PHASE BEACH NOURISHMENT PROJECT                     

      a.            Resolution Authorizing Amendment to Contract with Coastal Science & Engineering (CSE) for Construction Administration services and Turtle Trawling Activities

      b.      Capital Project Ordinance Amendment

The resolution authorizes amendments to the contract with CSE in Construction Administration services and Turtle Trawling Activity.  The Town received a comprehensive proposal from CSE in April 2002 for 9 separate tasks associated with the beach nourishment project, including geotechnical services, permit coordination, detailed design, bid coordination, and construction administration services.  The total not-to-exceed cost associated with the comprehensive proposal for all of these services was $497,220, payable on a time and expense basis.  The Board authorized only the first 7 of the 9 tasks included in the April proposal at a total cost of $274,104 (which included everything except for construction administration services), with the intent of awarding another contract for tasks 8 and 9 (construction administration services) after the project progressed to the construction phase.  We are now set to embark on the construction phase, and separate authorization is required from the Town Board for tasks 8 and 9.  The Board is asked to authorize these services, at a total cost not-to-exceed $223,116

            There were concerns expressed by two commissioners about sediment monitoring activity during construction and a contract amendment has been included to more specifically illustrate what these sediment monitoring activities will be.

            Mr. Tom White in coming up with the different pieces of this amendment in terms of the turtle trawling, one goal was putting everything thing Mr. White could think of that the town might want.  He wanted to have the language in place so if the town decides they are going to do something like send a dive team down to check digging depths, Mr. Rush can quickly do that.   If there is turtle situation where a turtle has been taken and there is a need for the turtle trawler as quickly as possible, then Mr. Rush would be able to initial something and get the trawler in. The only part Mr. Rush will initial right now is the first item which is to get them on contract and let them know they are going to be here sometime in March. 

            Mr. Jarrett indicated he had given the board some different options on how they want to manage the turtle trawling.  He would like to hear that they are all on the same sheet of music for how they are going to do that. His understanding is based on messages that went back to Mr. Rush from the commissioners was they didn’t want it to be just “on call”.  If it turned out there was a turtle take and you needed them, then they are to be called in because if they are not on contract you do not know for sure that they are going to show up.  Mr. Jarrett believes what has been decided is the town wants them on contract to have some sort of guaranteed minimum in the contract so that the contract is a purchase order with money on it otherwise, there is no contract that take purchase orders.  He suggested that they do a purchase order for the mobilization and demobilization and one day of standby and they would know for sure they were going to get $3,900 for that. 

            Mr. White believes the way CSE wants to do it, is get them on contract with that guaranteed minimum, give them an estimated arrival date and once we get near that gate, CSE will keep an eye on the temperatures and the arrival date may be revised.  It can be decided, up until the time they are called and told to get up here, that CSE can decide “no we are not going to have them” and that is a possibility the project can be done before the temperatures come up. 

            Commissioner Farmer remarked she is fine with that.  The goal is to have them here so we are not wasting time should a turtle be taken. 

            Commissioner McElraft asked about if the temperatures went way down after they were used only a couple of days and then sent home, if the town had to pay them again to demobilize and mobilize again for that part?  Mr. White's answer was “yes”.  Mr. Jarrett said it would be March and the temperatures would not stay down very long.  It would be down about 8 days and then come back up again.  For CSE to recommend sending them home, the dredger would have to be very close to finishing up.

            Commissioner Eckhardt asked about the amount to keep them here?  Mr. Jarrett replied to have them sitting by the dock, it is $3550 divided by two.  This is their 24-hour rate.  If they sit at the dock you pay them half of that.

            Mayor Schools asked for a motion to approve the Resolution.

            Mr. Rush reminded the board that all three-contract amendments are included in that Resolution.  If there were any questions about any other items such as quality monitoring he and Mr. White would try to answer those.  They have, in the revised version, outlined exactly what CSE will be doing concerning the monitoring, they will be taking grab samples every 300 feet on the beach, they will be analyzing those samples within two or three days and compiling those reports and send them to the town.  There will also be a weekly report that will go to the Corps of Engineers and Division of Coastal Management. 

            Mr. Rush said a budget had been established for services and the town will only be paying for services it actually uses as part of the contract.

            Commissioner McElraft made a motion to accept the revised  Resolution dated 11/12/02 Authorizing the Amendments to Contract of Coastal Science and Engineering (CSE) for construction and administrative services and turtle trawling activities and the board voted unanimously with a vote of 5-0.  Motion carried.

            A resident asked, now that the Resolution has been adopted, for those who only have the information they get from the media or from the Town’s website, if information on what the level of sediments show, or whatever is to be accessible and if you get the monitoring reports that say the material does not meet whatever those standards are, what happens? 

            Both Mayor Schools and Commissioner Farmer said the dredge would move to another site.  Mr. Rush replied the permits specified including the hopper dredge, there is a target shell content of 35%.  If a cutter head is used there is a target shell content of 42%.  The project will actually will be using both types of equipment, however in the case of the cutter head dredge the contractor, Weeks Marine, will utilize an area that will achieve that 35% goal based on the core samplings that were taken in that area.

            Mr. White commented that a meeting was held with the permitting agencies this morning and to get all of their concerns straight before construction is started.  Next week they are going to have a meeting with the contractor and go over the details and procedures.  Mr. Rush said he expects the Cutter head dredge to arrive somewhere around December 1^st and be here for a two to three week period and then return early in January with a Hopper dredge to continue the project.  Mr. Rush said if it continues to remain economical for them to keep the cutter head dredge, there is a possibility of keeping it here longer.  Of course they would have to be restricted to the 4 foot area outside the area where the town applied for a 6 foot cut.

            Commissioner McElraft made a motion to approve the Capital Project Ordinance and the board voted unanimously with a vote of 5-0.  Motion carried.

            Commissioner Marks commented that there were articles in the paper to the effect the board is not going to go on with the nourishment.  She feels it has been seen tonight that they have every intention in honoring nourishment.  She urged people to read the Island Review, Mr. Rush’s column, and what takes place at board meetings.  Don’t believe everything that is read in the newspapers.

ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 19 – ZONING – REGARDING BUILDING HEIGHTS IN RESIDENTIAL ZONES (2^ND READING)

            This is the second reading of an ordinance amending the zoning ordinance regarding building heights in residential zones.  This ordinance amendment was approved by a 3-2 vote at the October 8 meeting.  Because the ordinance amendment did not receive the required 4-1 super-majority vote on its first reading, it has been scheduled for the second reading.   A simple 3-2 majority vote on the second reading would officially approve the ordinance amendment.

Also a “revised proposal” to amend this ordinance is also attached for the Board’s consideration in an attempt to address the concerns raised by the two dissenting votes at the October 8 meeting.  The revised proposal adds additional language that restricts the use of an attic story to one and two-family dwellings only, whereas the ordinance approved by a 3-2 vote on October 8 would allow any structure, including multi-family residential properties and the limited types of commercial structures that are allowed in residential zones to utilize an attic story.  Planning Board Chairman Art Daniel brought forth the revised proposal, and presented it to the Planning Board at its October 28 meeting.  The Planning Board concurred with the revised proposal. 

            Commissioner Farmer made a motion to approve the revised version dated 11-12-02 of the Ordinance Amending Chapter 19 – Zoning – Regarding Building Heights in Residential Zones.

            Commissioner Farmer thanked Mr. Daniel for his work on this amendment handling her concerns, which was that this added story be allowed only in single family, and duplexes which was the initial intent two years ago.

            The board voted unanimously, with a vote of 5-0, to approve the revised version of the Ordinance Amending Chapter 19 – Zoning – Regarding Building Heights in Residential Zones.  Motion carried.

STAGGERED TERMS

a.      Resolution Certifying Referendum Results (REMOVED AT BEGINNING OF MEETING)

b.      Ordinance Amending Town Charter to Provide for

Staggered Terms

            The attached ordinance formally amends two sections of the Town Charter to implement staggered terms.  According to State law, the Board of Commissioners must adopt an ordinance implementing staggered terms if the voters approve a referendum on the matter.  No public hearing or advance notice is required to adopt such an ordinance, since the public has already been granted the most conclusive form of public participation. 

The staggered terms will be effective in the 2003 municipal election.  The two candidates receiving the most votes will be elected to 4-year terms, while the three candidates receiving the next highest number of votes will be elected to serve 2-year terms.  In the 2005 election, three seats will be open, and the two candidates receiving the most votes will be elected to 4-year terms, while the candidate receiving the next highest number of votes will be elected to serve a 2-year term.  The 2005 scenario will then repeat itself every two years.  The Mayor will continue to be elected every two years.

ORDINANCE AMENDING TOWN CHARTER TO PROVIDE FOR STAGGERED TERMS

1. Section 3.3 Terms; qualifications; vacancies. is rewritten to read:

(a)  The mayor shall serve for a term of two (2) years, beginning the day and hour of the organizational meeting following his / her election, as established by ordinance in accordance with this Charter; provided, he / she shall serve until his / her successor is elected and qualifies.

(b)  The members of the board of commissioners shall serve staggered terms.  The two candidates who receive the largest number of votes cast in an election shall serve for terms of four (4) years, and the candidate(s) receiving the next largest number(s) of votes cast shall serve for term(s) of two (2) years, beginning the day and hour of the organizational meeting following their elections, as established by ordinance in accordance with this Charter; provided they shall serve until their successors are elected and qualify.

(c)   No person shall be eligible to be a candidate or be elected as mayor or as a member of the board of commissioners or to serve in such capacity, unless he is a qualified voter of the town.

(d)  In the event a vacancy occurs in the office of mayor or commissioner, the board shall by majority vote appoint some qualified person to fill the same for the remainder of the unexpired term.

2. Section 4.1 Regular municipal elections. is rewritten to read:

Regular municipal elections shall be held biennially in odd-numbered years on the day set by general law for municipal elections.  In each election, the candidate for mayor who receives the largest number of votes cast for mayor shall be declared elected for a term of two (2) years.  The two candidates who receive the largest number of votes cast in an election shall be declared elected for terms of four (4) years, and the candidate(s) receiving the next largest number(s) of votes cast shall be declared elected for term(s) of two (2) years. 

DULY ADOPTED THIS _________ day of  _____________, 2002 by a vote of

Commissioner(s)___________________­________________________ voting for,

Commission­er(s) _______________________________ voting against and Commissioner(s)________________________________ absent.

Carolyn K. Custy, Certified Municipal Clerk

Commissioner McElraft made a motion to approve revised version dated 11-12-02 of the Ordinance Amending the Town Charter to provide for staggered terms and the board voted unanimously.  Motion Carried.

RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING AWARD OF DESIGN CONTRACT – NC 58 SIDEWALK PROJECT

EDA-Morehead is an experienced architectural / engineering firm, with four offices in North Carolina.  The Morehead City office will handle the NC 58 sidewalk project, and Frank Janer, P.E., will be the project manager.  EDA-Morehead, and Mr. Janer specifically, were involved in the recent construction of sidewalks along NC 58 in Atlantic Beach that have been well received.

The Emerald Isle sidewalk project involves the construction of approximately 1,200 linear feet of sidewalk along the north side of NC 58 from the Eagles store eastward to Live Oak Street.  If funds permit, the sidewalk may be extended to the Town Hall complex at Leisure Lane.  The Town’s NC 58 Committee has had several discussions about the project, and their input will be incorporated into the design of the project.  It is hoped that the design phase will be complete by early 2003.  The final design would then be presented to the NC 58 Committee and the Board of Commissioners before bids are requested for the project.  There will be some disruption to the community during construction, and we need to schedule this to limit the impact on our local merchants. 

The project has a total budget of $60,000, with $30,000 funded by a grant from the NC Department of Transportation, and $30,000 by the Town (from Powell Bill reserves).  The Board approved a capital project ordinance for this project earlier this year, and allocated $4,000 for design services, and $5,000 for a contingency.  If the Board approves the attached resolution, Mr. Rush will administratively approve a budget amendment to transfer $2,000 from the contingency line to the design line to allocate a total of $6,000 for this purpose. 

            Commissioner Marks made a motion to approve the Resolution Authorizing award of the Design Contract – NC Hwy 59 Sidewalk Project and the board voted unanimously, with a vote of 5-0.  Motion carried.

COMMUNITY CENTER REPAIRS

a.      Resolution Authorizing Award of Design Contract

b.      Budget Amendments – Capital Reserve Fund / Parks

and Recreation Department

      Ms. Alesia Sanderson explained that this resolution is for the community center repairs.  They are moving forward on getting bids to do the sheetrocking, painting and insulation replacements that was caused by the flood itself and will be reimbursed by the insurance company.  Additional damage was found to the exterior walls and to some of the support structures underneath the windows but not to the building itself.  The Gym has no damage because it is metal all the way down.  The smaller portion of the building has the 8 foot wood that is going to have to be removed and replaced.  She would like to determine exactly what has to be done and do it correctly all at one time.  She would like to get EDA from Morehead City to assist in doing this.  If she can proceed with EDA from Morehead and get a detailed budget analysis of what it need, then consider it in the 02-03 budget would be the best course of action to take.  It is not going to get any worst and is not going to get any better.

      Commissioner Farmer made a motion to approve the Resolution Authorizing the Award of Design Contract to EDA of Morehead City.  The board voted unanimously.  Motion carried.

      Commissioner McElraft made a motion to adopt a Budget Amendment to the Capital Reserve Fund Budget Amendment for the Fiscal Year Beginning July 1, 2002 and ending June 30, 2003 and to Contracted Services Parks and Recreation.  The board voted unanimously.  Motion carried.

DISCUSSION – ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 5 – BEACH AND SHORE REGULATIONS – REGARDING HORSES ON THE BEACH

            An ordinance amending Chapter 5 – Beach and Shore Regulations – regarding horses on the beach.  The primary intent of the attached ordinance amendment is to make the Town’s regulations regarding horses on the beach consistent with other town ordinances governing motor vehicles on the beach and removal of dog feces.  The language in the ordinance amendment would only allow horses on the beach during the period from September 30 until March 31, or the Thursday before Easter weekend, whichever comes first, which is the time period that motor vehicles are allowed.  The ordinance amendment also requires horse riders to remove horse feces from the beach strand and deposit said feces in a sanitary container.  Essentially, the ordinance amendment extends our “pooper-scooper” law to horses also.

The ordinance amendment also converts a violation of this ordinance to a civil violation, which is consistent with our recent trend to utilize civil violations where practical.  Finally, the ordinance amendment formalizes some of the current practices in place regarding horses on the beach, including the designated access locations, a requirement for horses to stay off the dunes, a requirement for responsible riding on the beach, etc. 

            Commissioner McElraft commented instead of having them take a shovel with them while on the beach, there is a thing called a leather diaper, which is only about $20 to $30.  The town needs to require horses to have these when on the beach.  Police could patrol and see that this is done.

            Mr. Rush said the intent is so people would pick up horse “packages” on the beach.  Mr. Cochran said he does not see any problem with anything the board is asking because he thinks most horse owners should be responsible for what is going on out there. The only thing he sees is there is no check in or check out policy with horses.  You are not going to be able to enforce anything unless there is a check in – check out policy.  To take the diaper a step closer, the dispatcher would know what location they are in when they check in.  The owners should be just as responsible as dog owners.

            A resident brought up the fact that maybe not just dogs and horses on the beach be covered under this ordinance but all animals.  She ran into some people over the weekend that had a pet goat on the beach.  There should be broader language that incorporates whatever animal that happens to be on the beach.

            Commissioner Marks remarked that permits were required on vehicles for the beach and maybe the idea of requiring permits for horses or other animals on the beach and she agrees there should be some kind of control.

            Mr. Rush said if the board was interested in implementing this, it probably could not be implemented until next year.  You would have to educate people who are going to be coming down and that is hard to do.  It should be put in one of the brochures or get access to all facilities around here who have a tendency of boarding horses on the weekend.

            Another suggestion by Commissioner McElraft was place a sign at the beach access that tell people they must check in because of new rules and regulations.

            Mr. Rush was instructed to come up with a revised ordinance on this issue.

APPOINTMENTS                                             

a.      Planning Board

b.      Board of Adjustment

            Because of a vacancy on the Planning Board the board appointed a new member to fill that spot. A vacancy has been presented by the resignation of Richard Brauns.  This position needs to be filled.

            Commissioner Eckhardt  made a nomination and a motion to appoint Pam Minnick to the Planning Board.  The board voted unanimously.  Motion carried.

            Commissioner Farmer made a motion to move John McEnaney to the Board of Adjustment as a full member and move Kathy Koren up to 1^st alternate.  The board voted unanimously.  Motion carried.

COMMENTS FROM TOWN CLERK, TOWN ATTORNEY, AND TOWN MANAGER

      There were no comments from the Town Clerk and Town Attorney.

            Mr. Rush said he would need some feedback from the board on this issue.  Donald Jordan is in the process of constructing a parking lot behind his business.  His conversation with Mr. Jordan and John McLean has been very positive and they are very interested in the towns sidewalk project.  A drawing includes new sidewalks from Highway 58 back northward on Bogue Inlet Drive up to the new driveway and new parking lot and there may be a possibility of taking it further up Bogue Inlet Drive.  It does eliminate all perpendicular parking spaces.  The most significant feature is there are two curb cuts indicated there for vehicles to come in.  Two of the spaces there are handicapped.  Mr. Rush prefers not to have the curb cut close to the intersection on Bogue Inlet Drive and Highway 58.  He just wanted to make the board aware of this issue and he is still attempting to work with Mr. Jordan to come up with an alternative solution. 

            Mr. Rush feels this is a timely opportunity since the Highway 58 committee has been talking about sidewalks in their meetings.  Discussion was held on the curb cuts, the way the handicapped spaces would require the vehicles back in and pull out.  Commissioner Farmer had problems with the first curb cut. The town has too many problems where curb cuts are too close to the intersections.  A general discussion pursued on this issue.

            Mr. Rush estimated it would cost about $16,000 to put the sidewalks in.  Commissioner Farmer asked if the town was doing this for everyone along Highway 58?  Mr. Rush is hopeful that this project will be very well received within the community and town and he hopes that other businesses will approach the town to do the same thing as funds permits.  Mr. Rush envisions the town paying for this as part of the overall sidewalk plan. It is all within the right of way and an legitimate town expense because it would serve other members of the community.  Mr. Jordan would benefit from it being there by making it easier for his patrons to get from the parking lot up to the front of his building.

            Mr. Rush said the only reason he has mentioned this tonight is because another opportunity might not come by.

COMMENTS FROM BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS AND MAYOR

Commissioner Farmer wished everyone Happy Thanksgiving. 

Commissioner Marks commented on the political signs.  She wants someone to look into this issue and maybe come up with some options to see what they can and cannot do.

            Mr. Rush said he would come up with some guidelines before the elections so everyone would know what the rules are.

            Commissioner Eckhardt made a motion to adjourn and the board voted unanimously.  Motion carried.

Respectfully submitted,

Carolyn K. Custy
Certified Municipal Clerk