June 10, 2003
Agenda
June 10, 2003
Minutes
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Action Agenda
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MINUTES OF THE
REGULAR SCHEDULED MEETING
a. Resolution Authorizing Execution of CAMA Planning Grant Agreement b. Budget Amendment – FY 02-03 Final Adjustments c. Budget Amendment – Beach Nourishment Bond Anticipation Notes d. Resolution Authorizing Application for NC DOT Sidewalk Funds e. Resolution Authorizing contract with Bell and Company CPAs for Annual Audit Services f. Resolution Accepting Water Resources Development Grant for Bogue Sound Drive Channel Dredging g. Resolution Accepting Parks and Recreation Trust Fund Grant for Emerald Isle Woods h. Resolution Authorizing Award of Hurricane Debris Removal Contract Commissioner Farmer made a motion for approval of the Consent Agenda with the removal of items (d), (f) and (g). The board voted unanimously, 5-0. Motion carried. PUBLIC COMMENT Ms. Barb Dohlen, 10705 Coast Guard Road, mentioned that there were pamphlets on the back table concerning the Coastal Dunes and Vegetation workshop, Preserving the Habitat & Way of Life on June 13 and also available at the Parks & Recreation department. She also wanted to mention that they were going to be able to get the Disaster Mitigation trailer from The American Red Cross. It will be parked at the Library and people can learn Disaster Mitigation Construction techniques, Safe Rooms During Disaster and inspect Wind Resistant home materials. In addition, this year the workshop will be having new guest speakers and has been updated in light of beach renourishment. She thanked Alesia Sanderson and Peggy Brown for their support and hard work. She added that this year they will video the workshop and have this information available so people will know what to do after a storm. Commissioner McElraft said she wanted to let people know something she found out while walking with Jim Taylor, Building Inspector. It is so important to revegetate the dunes, sand fencing, fertilizer and anything to get vegetation. It is her understanding that before the beach nourishment project on the second phase there will be a flyover from CAMA. They will establish the first line of vegetation. If that first line of vegetation is not visible and holding the sand then the first line of vegetation will be further back and a lot of homes will be unbuildable even after nourishment. She felt it very important to stress that fact to oceanfront property owners and maybe have something in the newspapers and Island Review to remind people that it is so important to plant the dunes and as soon as possible. She said there is a little over a year before they establish the first line of vegetation. Elsie Roberts, Island Cat Allies, gave an update on their projects. Their mission is to humanely control the feral cat population through trap, neuter, return. She said they had operated on 72 cats in four months, 45 being female, which figures out to about 315 kittens they won’t be having. Only one cat so far has tested positively to disease. They’ve also trapped injured cats and handfed orphaned cats which were not on their list. They have had good luck in the past with their fundraisers and donations but at this time they were tapped out and wanted to ask if the Town would consider a grant for Island Cat Allies. Mark Brennesholtz, 9322 Ocean Drive, wanted to add to the comments about the vegetation line. His neighbor across the street who is oceanfront has planted beach grass down toward the ocean on the front side of his dune. That beach grass has grown out another 20 feet. He’s going to have to build a boardwalk over his new dune now to get down to the beach due to the incredible sand accumulation. Just in the last 18 months the dunes have grown dramatically so the beach vegetation really has a tremendous impact. Frank Ragsdale, 119 Deer Horn Drive, said he was there to talk about the deplorable conditions that exist along Deer Horn Drive, Doe and Fawn and also in Sea Dunes. He stated he only officially represented himself but unofficially represented a contingent of other property owners and residents. Mr. Ragsdale then gave an official statement with anecdotal comments – “It is the principal responsibility of government at all levels to protect the health, safety and welfare of all citizens. These are very broad and sweeping responsibilities that require constant effort on the part of those elected to office and to be sure that those who are elected rise to the level of their responsibilities. Eternal vigilance is demanded on the part of citizens. When citizens determine to the best of their belief and knowledge that government at any level is failing to provide the required protections and that government is in fact regulating in capacities that function to the detriment of and, denial of their rights, the First Amendment to the Constitution allows for citizens to petition those governmental bodies for redress of grievances. As a property owner on Deer Horn Drive in the Town of Emerald Isle, I submit the following list of grievances against the Town and demand that the Town immediately undertake action to design to remedy deplorable and unsafe conditions. Through imprudent zoning and development practices, the Town has allowed development throughout a basin known as Long Pond. In earlier times this pond as it was called shown on various topographical maps as a low drainage area extended through a portion of the Island south of and perhaps slightly west of Coast Guard Road. This development has from time to time forced large amounts of water formerly environmentally absorbed to collect in the streets of Deer Horn Dunes into the yards and beneath houses constructed along those streets. As late as 10 days ago water reached a depth of 10 inches in the street on Deer Horn Drive and 13.5 inches in the yards just off of the street. The current flooding conditions have existed for approximately for five weeks. The flood has extended across yards, under houses, overturned trash receptacles, inundated septic fields and covered areas under which are located electrical wiring and terminals which are labeled with caution markers. As it covers a broad section of the paved thoroughfare it presents a potentially lethal hazard to motorists. This afternoon a car traveling down Deer Horn struck a pump which the Town has somehow belatedly placed there, breaking the pump, spinning it across the street. Numerous calls were made to the Town to assist and only late in the day did someone arrive to help relieve the situation. One of our neighbors Mr. Perry had to go out in the street and get the tongue of the trailer and pull it out of the way so that the thoroughfare could remain open. Based on testing of the waters pulled from previous floods of shorter duration, it may be concluded that a high level of fecal coli form exists in the flooded area presenting a direct threat to the health of all with whom it comes in contact. These waters are considered by the State of North Carolina to be so dangerous that if they are pumped into the ocean they would present a threat to the safety of recreational swimmers. It is a little puzzling why the Town and the State will allow these conditions to exist under our houses and in our yards but yet we cannot pump it into the ocean where it will be quickly dissipated. We are by no means interested in doing anything else that is environmentally unsound but we have a health and safety consideration that has to be addressed tonight. This large impediment of stagnant and fetid waters presents a fertile breeding ground for mosquitoes with warnings from health officials that all levels of government concerning the expanding threat of West Nile virus that the health and safety that everyone who lives in or visits Emerald Isle is being jeopardized. Repeated requests to the Town from residents and property owners in Deer Horn Dunes for a speedy and permanent remedy to this continuing and worsening problem have fallen on mostly deaf ears. Only occasionally, after prolonged and difficult discussions with Town Officials pumps have been connected to remove small amounts of water. As of this date we know of no immediate permanent solution provided by the Town to remedy the difficulties incurred in damages suffered by residents of Deer Horn Dunes. We are aware that a plan exists to place pumps in our neighborhoods by June of 2005, which is 24 more months. This plan takes far too much time to implement and provides no immediate solution for the deplorable and unhealthy conditions directly threatening the citizens, property owners and visitors to Emerald Isle. I therefore as a citizen of North Carolina and a property owner and taxpayer in Emerald Isle demand that this council exercise your authority to develop and implement all plans and procedures required to remove all contaminated water from the streets of Deer Horn Dunes and surrounding private property. I additionally demand that the removal commence immediately and that your directives for removal remain in force until a permanent pumping system is activated. As you are responsible for the protection of the public’s health and safety and welfare I submit to you that you can do no less”. Mr. Ragsdale went on to add that he didn’t think they would come back to the Town with another request. Alternatives were being explored that could turn out to be very expensive to everyone. Commissioner McElraft said that she would like to see this group of neighbors meet with DWQ. She thought it was a very pertinent statement that he had made and she felt that they need to hear from the citizens that are sitting and waiting for that stormwater park. Mr. Ragsdale said that those citizens were here. He also added that they had been to the State and back and forth with Town officials and engaged in a process of delay. The Town has said that you are not allowed to pump water because of a 14 inch regulation by the State of North Carolina. After conversations with a state official with the North Carolina Division of Water Quality he found that there is no regulation that prevents pumping until water reaches 14 inches. This is a policy decision and the policy was an opinion on the regulation. The regulation nowhere mentions 14 inches. Mr. Ragsdale asked how an opinion can be rendered on a policy where the verbiage on the policy doesn’t exist in the regulation. It is a continuation of this process of obfuscation. Mr. Ragsdale wanted to know what was going to be done and felt that continued discussions were pointless. Mr. Rush commented at that time that it was disappointing to hear a lot of these comments here tonight without knowing the full story. He felt personally offended that the accusations are made that the Town staff was less than cooperative on this matter. Mr. Rush said that he had spent many hours meeting with the neighbors in that area and that there were a lot of Town employees that work hard in this Town that put in their hours on the weekend after hours to try and solve this problem. Mr. Rush said that the solution unfortunately eludes all of us at this moment. Mr. Rush said that the water had not been 13.5 inches. At one point in time it did approach 12 inches and they made the decision prematurely against the advice of the State and pumped that water to the beach because they recognized that there was a problem in that area. Town employees were called in on a Sunday afternoon to come and help. No one on the Town staff or on the elected board has caused this problem and they have limitations as did everyone in the room. The Town has done everything they could to solve this problem and he was happy to report that most of the water was gone if not all of it by the end of the day today. Mr. Rush stated that they must adhere to the State’s ruling. The decision was made to pump to the beach at that time. They monitored the situation every day a week prior to that multiple times trying to pump to other areas in Town that they could pump the water to. The last thing the Town wanted to do was transfer the problem from one neighborhood to another. Mr. Rush wanted to make sure that the Board and the audience was aware that all of us would love to have this problem solved immediately and regretted that they were in this situation. However, there are limits to what could be done and he felt they had gone above and beyond within those limits trying to solve this problem. He felt it was disappointing to have that kind of attack on the employees who are so dedicated to try and solve these problems. Mr. Ragsdale responded that he was not attacking Mr. Rush or employees. He said in his conversations with Mr. Rush he was told if Mr. Rush or the Town turned on the pumps that the State was going to cite the Town for violating the 14 inch regulation. That has proven not to be the case according to Mr. Ragsdale. It was only after a neighbor in a discussion with one of the Commissioners mentioned that the neighborhood was considering hiring an attorney that the pumps suddenly arrived on Sunday afternoon. He stated that this situation has been going on for years. They are told they have to wait two more years. Mr. Ragsdale said that these are perhaps the strongest words that anyone has issued. We’re doing it this time publicly so that there is a public record of it. He stated that they had made attempts year after year and that nothing has changed it has simply gotten worse. Mayor Schools interjected at that point that this issue would not be resolved tonight. He felt that the comments would be well taken by the Board and they would be looking into it.Mayor Schools said that obviously this was a very important issue and general time for public comment is limited to five minutes. We went over five minutes because he didn’t want to cut it off. He asked for other public comments to please limit their time to no more than five minutes. Mildred Perry, 123 Deer Horn Drive, asked that everyone take a ride through there in the morning and look at what they have to look at when they come here. She said they pay their taxes like everyone else. She thanked Mr. Rush for coming over the day before. She said the water had stood off and on but they called Town Hall on Friday before Memorial Day weekend no one came. She called and talked to Mr. Rush on the Tuesday after Memorial Day and no one came. It was the following Sunday, the water was 13 to 15 inches deep at that time because she put on knee high boots and went out and measured it. She felt like the Town could do something about the traffic situation in there. Cars come through so fast that they splatter water on decks. Cars get stranded in the water from driving so fast. Gina Lambert, 121 Deer Horn Drive, has a vacation home here and she said she thanked Mr. Rush for coming to their home after work Monday and talking to them. Ms. Lambert said that Ms. Perry had found out from Mr. Beck in Wilmington that they could pump into the back of the dunes as much as you wanted. Ms. Lambert said she then called Mr. Rush and asked if they could pump from Deer Horn Drive into the dunes and so he came out after work and checked and said he didn’t see a place off of Deer Horn to pump it to. She said first thing this morning there was a pump on Deer Horn and it was being pumped from Deer Horn to Doe Drive into the dunes off of Doe. She felt like there should never be any water standing in Deer Horn Dunes because they can pump into the back of those dunes off of Doe Drive until a permanent solution is ready. She also requested that the Town spray for mosquitoes. She encouraged those residents that were not permanent residents to do what was needed to be able to vote in Emerald Isle. Commissioner Marks said that she lived in Sea Dunes and had been over to Deer Horn Dunes almost every day in the last two weeks and it was serious. She said that the problem comes from the fact that houses were built in low lying areas and you are basically seeing the height of the water table here on the Island. It is not a case that you can pump through here to two or three lots down. It has to be pumped to the north side of Coast Guard Road to get it out of the big basin that goes from east of Coast Guard Road all the way out to Point Emerald Villas. She said that until that is done the Town’s hands were tied. This Board has already made arrangements and has purchased the stormwater park and is in the process of getting permits so that they can pump to the north side of Coast Guard Road. She felt if they had not built in those low lying areas in small lakes they wouldn’t be having these problems. Ms. Lambert asked if this meant they could not pump into the dunes. Commissioner Marks said that the Town did not own the dunes. The area down by Doe, the Town does have a right-of-way but they had to stop pumping there when the emergency access to the beach became too deep to get out to the access. Mr. Rush said that about six months ago they pumped to the dune trough down at the Point where there are several rows of dunes there. That is completely acceptable as far as the State is concerned. He said he would like to have that option available on Deer Horn Drive, however, there is only one row of dunes, not several rows. There is a low depression right next to the emergency vehicle ramp that the Doe Drive pump typically discharges to. Once we solved the problem at Doe Drive we started pumping from Deer Horn Drive over to that low spot on Doe Drive and will make use of that when they can but have had to intermittently turn that off because we have flooded that area and had to let it soak in more and begin pumping again. He hopes to find a better solution to the problem. Commissioner Farmer commented that she thought that Mr. Rush had tried to run piping under Coast Guard Road to pump to the 40 acres now to get some of the stormwater out. She said if that would help she thought the Town should do it. Mr. Rush said unfortunately the project is probably close to two years from being completed. Mr. Rush has asked Artie Dunn to investigate installing conduit under Coast Guard Road to run temporary hose through there in these kind of situations. He said Mr. Dunn just today had tried a new system relaying water from Deer Horn Drive over to Sea Dunes over to Conch and ultimately into a culvert at Ocean Oaks. Commissioner Farmer encouraged Mr. Rush to have Artie Dunn get going on having something under Coast Guard Road. She also wanted to clarify that a comment had been made that after someone threatened a lawsuit to a Commissioner the pumps miraculously appeared. She said she was the Commissioner who was down there at 8:30 that morning saw how deep the water was and called Mr. Rush at home and asked him to please get a pump down there and it had nothing to do with any threatened lawsuit. Ed Dowling, 404 Cape Emerald Court, wanted to speak on behalf of the Board of Commissioners and especially the employees of Public Works. When the water floods where you live it is pumped under the Coast Guard Road through a conduit and goes into the ponds where he lives in Cape Emerald. The Town was very vigilant. Mr. Dowling said that the Town Manager came down numerous times as did Public Works to look at the ponds. The ponds in Cape Emerald will only accommodate so much water. If it exceeds it there’s one conduit that goes into the sound. You can wash out that piece of ground. If too much water is put into that pond there is a law suit pending there where there are two homes. He said the Town has pumped the maximum amount of water. He personally doesn’t like it but he’s quiet about it because he knows what the situation is over there. Commissioner Farmer said that the comment had been made that the 14 inch rule didn’t exist but she said that it existed enough that they slapped a notice of violation on the Town five years ago and threatened a substantial fine for pumping ahead of that 14 inches. A solution is needed to keep everyone as dry as possible. The only solution is to get the water out of the trough and that means the stormwater project. That being two years down the road she felt if they can get some of that water over into that land now and try to at least lessen the problem they should do so. RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING APPLICATION FOR NC DOT SIDEWALK FUNDS Commissioner Farmer said she wanted to be sure that on the sidewalk fund grant that they weren’t specifying exactly where this sidewalk was going to go and that the funds weren’t contingent on putting it in an exact location. Mr. Rush said that the stated plan according to the correspondence sent, showed the intent in putting together this grant application. Mr. Rush said that the DOT was flexible in the exact segments that they do complete as evidenced by the last project. The reason those segments were selected was they already had the designs done and the bids in hand and it would be easy and cost effective to move forward with that. Those were the segments suggested and if the Board would like to look at other segments that are maybe higher priority they could do that and the grant request could reflect that.Commissioner Farmer said she was fine with Live Oak to the Community Center. She had trouble with the other section and her concern was if they would be bound to doing that other section because of how they asked for grant funding then she thought they needed to think about changing that if the Board was interested. If the DOT will be flexible and it’s not a problem and they are sure, then the grant request is okay the way it is. Mr. Rush felt that he could structure a flexible grant request to include a wide area of sidewalk. Mr. Rush said what he envisioned was making a generic request for basically the whole commercial district and then as funds come in allocate that money the way the board deems it at that time. He would ask for the same amount of money which is $33,000.00 to be matched through Powell Bill funds. He felt everyone was in agreement on the Live Oak Drive to the Community Center. He also understood that they were comfortable with the stretch from Eagles to Bogue Inlet Drive and if the driveway situation can’t be resolved then they can look at another section of the business area. Commissioner McElraft requested that when they start the rest of the sidewalks that the Town does a stormwater plan like they require everyone else to do. It was brought up at one of their meetings that they did not do a stormwater plan for all of the impervious surfaces that they have done. Commissioner Eckhardt made the motion for approval of Resolution Authorizing Application for NC DOT Sidewalk Funds. The Board voted unanimously 5-0. Motion carried. RESOLUTION ACCEPTING WATER RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT GRANT FOR BOGUE SOUND DRIVE CHANNEL DREDGING Commissioner Farmer said she thought it was wonderful that the Town got this $24,000 grant to dredge the channel entrance for the people on Bogue Sound Drive. She would like to see the Town do this more often where they are partnering with neighborhoods on some of the grant money. She said that Mr. Rush had indicated in the background material that each canal front property owner would be assessed $100 to make up the local match. She thought that this really is a neighborhood access. It is her understanding that the neighbors who live in this neighborhood are not particularly thrilled with it being opened up to have anyone come in with boats to launch and then parking on the street. So as long as it is remaining a neighborhood project then neighborhood funds are appropriate. Mr. Rush clarified for the board that if they do assess the property owners, there will be a formal assessment process which will include notification and opportunity for the public to address the board. Tom Hoover, 5314 Bogue Sound Drive, expressed his thanks to Frank Rush and Rhonda Ferebee for their help with this project and the CAMA process.Commissioner Farmer made the motion to approve Resolution Accepting Water Resources Development Grant for Bogue Sound Drive Channel Dredging. The board voted unanimously 5-0. Motion Carried. RESOLUTION ACCEPTING PARKS AND RECREATION TRUST FUND GRANT FOR EMERALD ISLE WOODS Commissioner Farmer felt that this issue should not be on a consent agenda but should be open to public comment. Mr. Rush gave a brief explanation describing the grant application. The grant funds will be matched with $250,000 from the Town to provide a total of $500,000 to construct various park improvements including an access road, bathhouse, trails, walkways and other park amenities. This grant does not include any water access structures, however, they have discussed applying for CAMA grant funds for that in the future. If the board accepts the grant they would solicit the assistance of a qualified engineering or park development firm to help with park development in the next few months. The grant agreement does require the Town to show measurable progress within the next six months and also that the park improvements need to be completed by June 30, 2005. Upon submission of the grant agreement the State will remit $250,000 to the Town. The $250,000 local match is envisioned to be folded into the installment financing agreement for the Coast Guard Stormwater project. That project is on schedule to be completed by June 30, 2005. He added that he expects to award a construction contract and issue the debt for that project around August or September 2004.Mr. Rush also pointed out that the grant agreement does require a commitment to use that property for a park for twenty-five years. He added that one of the consequences of not fulfilling that commitment is that it may disqualify the Town for any future parks and recreation trust fund grants. Commissioner McElraft asked if the twenty-five year commitment pertained not to the land but to using the land as a park for that period of time. Commissioner Messer stated that he is interested in stormwater. The reason he voted against the park was that it was purchased without the necessary permits that were going to be needed.Commissioner McElraft echoed Commissioner Messer’s comment and added that a solution is needed for the stormwater problems. She said that she still had a problem with spending another $250,000 of the Town’s money and $250,000 of the State’s money on a piece of land that they don’t know will be permitted yet. She asked what happened if the permit is not done for stormwater and you cannot pump stormwater there. She said that they would have to give back the Clean Water Trust money if they could not fulfill obligations to pump stormwater there. She said if the Town accepts the grant funds and has a park that they’ve guaranteed for twenty-five years, the land could not be sold. She thought that they had done a wonderful job on the grant, and was all for a park, but felt that it was a gamble since we don’t know that the site it will be permitted for stormwater. Commissioner Marks said she felt sure that the Clean Water Management Trust Fund would not have given a grant if they thought that the Town would not get the permits for the stormwater piping. She said that Moffatt & Nichol said that this was the only tract on the island large enough to accept this stormwater. She felt they have an obligation to protect the people in this stormwater trough. Commissioner Farmer commented that all the agencies know that we have no other alternatives. They are well aware of our problems. She said she was not concerned about permitting but what she was concerned with is that she doesn’t think we are moving fast enough on the permitting. She was pleased to see the update on the report from Moffatt & Nichol today but would like to see them moving faster.Commissioner Eckhardt said he wasn’t sure how much a gamble this was. He noted that last month we added $271,000 onto the EIS study at the Pointe to move the channel. He felt that this was a good move. Commissioner McElraft stated that the funding for the Pointe is for permitting. She said no sand had been bought yet and until we got the permits we weren’t going to buy any sand. Commissioner Messer added that if the permits were here he could support it but they are not here. Mayor Schools asked Mr. Rush if work would start on this project before permits were issued. Mr. Rush responded by saying that in all likelihood we would start work. He said that the engineering work would be started prior to having permits in hand. He didn’t think we would have permits for the stormwater project within six months. He wasn’t sure if actual construction work would begin prior to having the permits. Mayor Schools asked if someone could make a motion to pass the resolution accepting parks grant with the condition that no work be started until after permits were in hand. Mr. Rush said that is something they could approach them with but as it stands now they are looking for some progress within the first six months. He added that he didn’t know if we would have permits in a year and it may take longer than that. Commissioner Farmer felt that the taxpayers are paying for this land. She felt that just as we should be pumping stormwater to it now or if we can get the pipes under Coast Guard Road that people should be using it. Commissioner McElraft said she was worried about the twenty-five year commitment. She asked Mr. Rush what did happen if they did not get permitted. Mr. Rush felt that the board was headed for a very difficult decision. He said that in terms of receiving the permits, the standard we needed to meet to satisfy the Clean Water Management Trust Fund is a very low standard. Essentially, Moffatt & Nichol had preliminarily designed the stormwater program to handle about 43 million gallons of stormwater runoff. In order to satisfy the Clean Water Management Trust Fund we only have to handle one-fourth of that amount, maybe 11-12 million gallons of stormwater runoff. The standard for living up to our end of the agreement is lower than what Moffatt & Nichol has outlined for the Town. He said that perhaps we would receive a permit for 12 million gallons of stormwater runoff. We would have then met our obligation to the Clean Water Management Trust Fund and it would then be up to the Board of Commissioners to decide if that meets our obligation to the taxpayers in Emerald Isle. He added that if we do not get a permit for 12 million gallons of stormwater runoff pumped to that site that we would then have to enter negations with the Clean Water Management Trust Fund and see exactly what they would accept or not accept. Mr. Rush said that he felt confident that based on the work they had done so far with the permitting agencies that we would receive a permit at least to meet the Clean Water Management Trust Fund standards. Commissioner Farmer said she thought if we have trouble with permitting then our problems were going to be minimal with the State compared to what they will be with people living in the trough. She said that there is no other place to put this stormwater and we have an obligation to see that we get the permits. She felt that if times got tough she expected everyone there tonight to be going to the State and telling them as well. Commissioner McElraft asked where the funds would come from to put the pipes under the road to pump over to the 40 acres. Mr. Rush said there are no funds in the budget for that. He said he has asked Artie Dunn to investigate a low cost alternative to simply run a conduit under Coast Guard Road or it may even involve making a small cut in Coast Guard Road just on a temporary basis to run a hose through the conduit if there is another situation like we had in the last couple of weeks. He added that if it is a significant expenditure it will have to come before the board. If it can be handled within the Public Work’s budget then they will go ahead and do the work. Commissioner McElraft said that she still could not support taking $250,000 that could possibly be used for the people that are drowning in there for a park that hopefully could be built later. She felt it was too much money taken out of the Town and out of taxpayer’s pocket.Commissioner Messer asked Mr. Rush if the water could be pumped across Coast Guard Road. He said if there are problems with the State to pump it to the beach would there be problems also with pumping it over there. Mr. Rush said that was a question that had not been fully explored yet. He felt that they are pumping to some other low areas that are away from the beach and away from the sound and he would hope they would allow the pumping. Commissioner Farmer noted that they had allowed pumping on the north side of Coast Guard Road from the south side before. She said a wetlands in Spinnakers Landing was used. Commissioner Farmer made the motion to approve the Resolution Accepting Parks and Recreation Trust Fund Grant for Emerald Isle Woods. Board voted 3-2, Marks, Farmer, Eckhardt For, Messer and McElraft opposed. Motion Carried. FY 2003-2004 BUDGET ORDINANCE Mr. Rush in his summary stated that the Budget Ordinance he presented was balanced with a 17.5 cent general fund tax rate. This is a decrease of 1 cent from the current 18.5 cent tax rate. In order to achieve that reduction the board discussed eliminating 1 cent of the tax rate that had been previously earmarked to go toward Beach Nourishment Reserve Fund. That has been eliminated – approximately $138,000. There will be no contribution to the Beach Nourishment Reserve Fund with this budget. That is what enabled us to get to the 17.5 cent tax rate. The board did also make several other adjustments to the budget, most notably eliminating the reliance on $50,000 of our General Fund Balance to fund the Community Center repairs next year. The Board has given direction to maintain funding for the Community Center next year. Also, $22,000 was cut from the available money for salary adjustments, $10,000 was eliminated for the personnel study and there were another $11,500 of miscellaneous expenditure deductions coming from each department in Town. The total budget for the General Fund including the Budget Ordinance is $6,156,172. There is a $5 increase in the annual solid waste fee resulting in an increase to $135 from $130. There are a few minor fee adjustments for the usage of the Parks and Recreation Community Center and also minor adjustment for building permits that are included in the fee schedule which is also presented for consideration in conjunction with the Budget Ordinance.Mayor Schools said they had already had a Public Hearing on the budget but asked if there were any comments from the public. Robert Isenhour, 313 Channel Drive, complemented Mr. Rush on the job that he had done on the budget with the 17.5 cent. He was concerned, however, about removing the 1 cent from the General Fund tax rate. The reason primarily is the cost of the dredging that is to be done in Bogue Inlet. He said we didn’t know what the cost of that dredging is going to be yet. He said a lot of money had been spent on studies. What if more studies are needed or we run into tires or turtles and the downtime cost of that? Also, would there be a mitigation cost with Bear Island earlier? He felt that it was easier to do nothing and leave the tax rate as it is today than it is to put the 1 cent back next year. If they ended up with a surplus then the Town could pay off the bonds. That would be a real tax cut. Commissioner McElraft mentioned what a fantastic job the Island Cat Allies have done to reduce the feral cat population here in Emerald Isle. She said that the Town donates $1,000 to OWLS for the wildlife rescue and she would hope that they could find $1,000 in the treasury to help the Island Cat Allies. If this could be found in the budget while keeping the 17.5 cent she would love it if her fellow commissioners could agree to this. Commissioner Marks said that if she had cats she would support OWLS and Island Cat Allies from her own private funds. Mr. Rush said he felt that if the board decided to donate the $1,000 to Island Cat Allies that they could identify another place to make that reduction and certainly not tie that to the 17.5 cent budget. Mayor Schools said that Commissioner McElraft liked the budget the way it is but would like to think that another $1,000 could be worked in for the Island Cat Allies regardless of the 17.5 cent tax rate. Commissioner Eckhardt felt that the program was a community program and not just for individuals and he would support it. Commissioner Farmer supported this as well.Mr. Rush then said he would like to have the board consider the Budget Ordinance as presented and a budget amendment could be brought to the board in July to appropriate $1,000 to Island Cat Allies after identifying where it should come from. Commissioner Messer had one more comment – he said that he agreed in the workshop to support the one-cent reduction only for the one year. He would not support the permanent reduction of the one-cent because we would need it before finished. Commissioner Eckhardt asked if that one-cent that was eliminated for one year was tied to the budget or was that a separate board decision. He’d like to have that as a separate board decision rather than tying it to the budget. Mr. Rush said that it was not tied to the budget in any way. It would be the board’s decision next year at budget time and all subsequent budget years whether or not to make the one-cent reduction permanent or one time only. Commissioner Eckhardt said he supported the one-cent for the life of the project, in other words eliminating it because even without the one-cent the contingency that we would be building is four times as much as the contingency originally talked about. Commissioner Farmer made the motion that the tax rate be decreased by one-cent to 17.5 cent and remove permanently the one-cent beach renourishment tax. Mr. Rush said that he would defer to Mr. Taylor on this, but he thought that legally the board is considering the Budget Ordinance only, and the Budget Ordinance only establishes the tax rate for one year. He thought you could not link those in one motion you would have to take one vote on the budget and then you can certainly make a policy statement that you or the board intends for it to remain permanent but it would not be binding on this board or any other board because the board has the sole power to set the tax rate at whatever level it chooses each year. Town Attorney Derek Taylor confirmed that Mr. Rush was correct. Mr. Taylor stated that what the board was doing tonight was voting on a Budget Ordinance which sets the tax rate for this year to meet these budget requirements and they will review that or revisit that in next years budget.Commissioner Farmer said that the Town has had a beach renourishment tax of one-cent since 1998 or 1999. She asked Mr. Taylor if what he was saying was that the board could not remove that one-cent tax? Mr. Taylor answered that they could, each budget year as they did this year. Mr. Rush added that they could have removed it in 2000 or they could have removed the whole 48 cents if they liked. It is an annual decision made by the board on what the tax rate is. Mr. Taylor said that the board has effectively removed it if they pass this ordinance. They would have to reinstate it next year for it to take effect again. By killing it this year it is gone until they bring it back. Mr. Rush said the bottom line is that the board sets the tax rate as high or as low as they want each year. Commissioner Farmer said that to end a project with $2.4 million surplus in beach renourishment was excessive. She felt that $1.1 million left over in the beach renourishment account should be more than ample. If not ample then there should be board discussion again with public input to decide whether they need to raise the tax again. Commissioner McElraft asked how was it that the Town was so far off on this budget? Mr. Rush said that as always they go into budget projections with a conservative nature. The reason they are projecting this surplus now is for a couple of reasons - one, they got a much better interest rate on the bonds than anticipated. They were looking at 6% and they got a 2.79% rate on bonds, and they were conservative in their estimates for the special tax districts. It’s a projection at this time. Mr. Rush said that the board had several options available to them. Commissioner McElraft commented that during the referendum there was a promise to everyone that if they spent 3 cents and voted the referendum in that they would have 4 cents in return in sales tax revenue. That revenue has come back into this Town. She added that we have 4 cents extra this year in the treasury because of beach nourishment tax districts. Commissioner Farmer amended her previous motion to read as motion to Adopt FY 2003-2004 Budget Ordinance including the fee schedule. Board voted unanimously 5-0. Motion carried. NC 58 COMMITTEE FINAL RECOMMENDATIONS REPORT Mr. Rush introduced Ed Johnson, Chairman of the NC 58 Committee. The NC 58 Committee had requested that their final recommendations report be made available to the public. The report had been posted on the Town website, and the Committee had also requested that a public hearing be held on the report for input from the community. Mr. Johnson said he had hoped that the public had a chance to see two very non-controversial suggestions by the Advisory Committees. The NC 58 Committee has recommended that the Board establish two new committees – a Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee and a Community Appearance Committee. They are hopeful that these two committees will serve the purpose of making Emerald Isle a more attractive, more resident and visitor friendly place to be. a. Public Hearing Motion was made by Commissioner Eckhardt to open the Public Hearing. Board voted unanimously 5-0. Motion carried. Ronnie Watson, 9102 Coast Guard Road, wanted to make sure that the Appearance Committee was not another committee that someone would have to go through before they had to go through the Planning Board, and that this was strictly an advisory committee. He said the Planning Board was doing their job, and the Town Board was doing their job, and he hoped they were not creating more government. Mr. Watson said he had served on the Highway 58 Committee and he made the point several times that you didn’t need to create more government. Mark Brennesholtz, 9322 Ocean Drive, stated that he absolutely supported Ronnie Watson’s comments. Commissioner McElraft made the motion to close the Public Hearing. The board voted unanimously 5-0. Motion carried.Commissioner Farmer noted that Mark Brennesholtz was also on the Committee and it was a wonderful committee to serve on and a great group of people. She absolutely supports setting up the two committees and agrees with Mark that the intent is not adding bureaucracy on top of the boards that we already have. b. Adoption of Final Recommendations Report Motion was made by Commissioner Farmer to adopt the Final Recommendations Report. The board voted unanimously 5-0. Motion carried. Mayor Schools thanked everyone who served on the NC 58 Committee. Commissioner Farmer made the comment to Mr. Rush that the sidewalks looked great. c. Creation of Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee The Bicycle and Pedestrian Committee shall serve at the pleasure of the Emerald Isle Town Board of Commissioners. It shall consist of 7 members with the following representation:
Terms shall be 2 years. 3 members shall have an initial term of 1 year. The Director of Parks and Recreation shall serve as staff to this committee. Mr. Rush stated that this was the recommended make-up of the committee and that the board at its discretion could make adjustments. Commissioner Marks made a motion to formally establish the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee. The board voted unanimously 5-0. Motion carried. d. Creation of Community Appearance Committee The Community Appearance Committee serves at the pleasure of the Town Board. It shall have 7 members with the following representation.
Terms shall be for 2 years with 3 initial members appointed for terms of 1 year. The Planning Director shall serve as staff to the Emerald Isle Community Appearance Committee. Mr. Rush noted again that this was the recommended make-up of the committee and that the board at its discretion could make adjustments. Commissioner Farmer commented that she would like to have Mr. Rush approach the Emerald Isle Garden Club and see if they could have one of their members represented on this committee. Commissioner Farmer made a motion to formally establish the Community Appearance Committee. The board voted unanimously 5-0. Motion carried. Mayor Schools made the comment at that time that the Town is now looking for a Planning Board Member and a Board of Adjustment Member. The deadline for interested applicants is June 30, 2003. AMENDMENT TO MUNICIPAL SERVICE DISTRICT BOUNDARIES According to Mr. Rush the boundaries of the Primary Benefit district were drawn in such a manner that large, deep oceanfront parcels were split between the Primary Benefit district and the Secondary Benefit district. This was done in order to provide an equitable taxing scheme for large, deep oceanfront parcels relative to typical single-family lots on the oceanfront. The rationale for splitting these parcels between the two districts was derived from the County Tax Office’s methodology for assigning tax values to large, deep oceanfront parcels. The county Tax Office assigns oceanfront rates to the oceanfront portion of these parcels, and non-oceanfront rates to the balance of these parcels that are located farther inland. When the original district boundaries were drawn, the Bogue Inlet Pier parcel was not split, even though the County assigns split values. In order to be consistent with the other large, deep oceanfront parcels, staff recommends that the Board now amend the boundaries of the two districts to make Bogue Inlet Pier consistent with other similar parcels. Essentially, the non-oceanfront valued portion of this parcel would be moved from the Primary Benefit District to the Secondary Benefit District. a. Public Hearing Mr. Rush said that there is a Public Hearing required for this and it has been advertised and the owner of the parcel has been notified of the Public Hearing. He also pointed out that this will result in an annual savings of $2,800 for the owner of this parcel. Commissioner Messer made the motion to open the Public Hearing. The board voted unanimously 5-0. Motion carried. There were no comments.Commissioner Farmer made the motion to close the Public Hearing. The board voted unanimously 5-0. Motion carried. b. Resolution Amending the Boundaries of the Primary and Secondary Benefit DistrictsCommissioner McElraft made the motion to adopt the Resolution Amending the Boundaries of the Primary Benefit Municipal Service District and the Secondary Benefit Municipal Service District. The board voted unanimously 5-0. Motion carried. ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 19 – ZONING – DUNES AND VEGETATION Mr. Michael Harvey, Planning Consultant, made the presentation of the Ordinance Amending Chapter 19 – Zoning – Dunes and Vegetation to the Board. He stated that at the June 3rd meeting the major components of the proposed new draft of the ordinance were reviewed with the Board. Mr. Harvey discussed the changes as shown in the following Comparison of Existing Ordinance vs. June 10, 2003 Proposed Ordinance:COMPARISON CHART INSERTED IN MINUTES The following significant changes have been made to the June 3 version, as suggested by various Board members:
Mr. Harvey said that this marks what has been a lot of detailed examination by Board members and Planning Board members and he would be glad to answer any questions. a. Public Hearing Commissioner Farmer made a motion to open the Public Hearing. The Board voted unanimously 5-0. Motion carried. Jim Heatherly, 8512 Woodcliff Road, stated there were a number of things he objected to in this Ordinance. He said that the permit application requires that he have a topographical survey. He said this was an expense with no guarantee that the permit will be authorized. He felt this was taking away the right of the use of his property. He said he couldn’t do anything to enhance the value of his property without having a topo. He also stated that he didn’t need a bureaucrat telling him where he could put his house. He questioned the portion of the ordinance that discusses the determination of the most suitable building site.Mr. Harvey, stated that ultimately as long as the individual comes and meets the requirements of this Ordinance, as well as the Zoning Ordinance, there is not the authority in this Ordinance to designate that an area where an owner has selected to locate a house as being unsuitable. Mr. Heatherly also wanted to know what the rights of the Dunes and Vegetation Officer were to access his property. He said that if he didn’t invite him, he was trespassing. Attorney Derek Taylor stated that there is Statutory Authority for inspections to be done that the State of North Carolina has provided. They will generally give notice but they do have a right by North Carolina Statute to be on his property for inspections purposes. Mr. Taylor said his recommendation as an Attorney is they would give notice, and also if the owner doesn’t voluntarily allow the Officer on their property, they would go through a legal process to get there. Mr. Heatherly then asked who determined the intent of someone to kill a tree by trimming. Mr. Rush said it would ultimately be the judgment of the Dunes and Vegetation Protection Officer. Mr. Heatherly also stated that he thought it was wrong, and he believed, against the Constitution, to require that a building permit be issued prior to the owner being able to use his property in any way. Ronnie Watson, 9102 Coast Guard Road, stated that he had a real problem with the Town requiring a person that has owned a lot for twenty years and wants to clean his lot up and put a septic tank on it to have a building permit. He also questioned the permit requirement for cutting a tree that is bigger than 3” in diameter and 36” tall. Carol Angus, Planning Director, clarified that if you have, for example, a twenty-foot tree, measure the tree from the ground up 36”. At that point, if the tree is 3” in diameter, a permit would be required to cut it down. However, there would be no permit fee. Mr. Watson said he had a problem with having someone come out to tell him whether he can take a tree out on an already developed lot.John McLean, said that every month he conducted safety classes at the water company and they have a problem with Yucca’s, Spanish bayonet plants. He asked if there was an exemption for utility people trying to read meters to cut away this type of plant. Mr. Harvey said that this would probably fall under nuisance. Nuisance vegetation is allowed to be removed no matter what. Mr. McLean said that they send out letters each month requesting that people trim their trees. Commissioner Farmer stated that you don’t need a permit to trim anything. Mr. McLean said they just need to be able to get to the meter and if it takes cutting a tree, he didn’t want their people to be restricted from cutting a tree down. Mr. Harvey noted that there was an exemption already in the Ordinance allowing the cutting of brush or vegetation by a registered land surveyor or engineer for the purpose of completing survey work on a parcel of property. He said that they could extend that to include utility personnel needing to read meters. Commissioner Farmer said that she had no problem with that, but if it would keep the Ordinance from being voted on tonight, then she would like for that to be added at a later time. Attorney Derek Taylor asked if there wasn’t already in the Ordinance now the ability to remove shrubs. Mr. Harvey said that was correct. It seemed to Mr. Taylor from what he had read in the Ordinance that this might be considered a shrub and could actually be moved. Mr. Harvey felt that there was enough exemption in the Ordinance to allow for it but there is a specific concern to modify this to include utility workers. He said that the spirit of the Ordinance was to allow individuals that have to access the lot to provide a service are exempted, especially if that impedes their ability to perform that service. Mr. Rush said that they did add the language ‘the normal maintenance of any lot or parcel including, but not limited to, lawn maintenance, the relocation, removal and/or replacement of shrubs, and the cutting and/or removal of nuisance vegetation. He added that he would consider a Yucca to be a shrub. Clint Routson, 9721 Green Glen Road, said that a lot of work had been put into this and he felt it was much better than the original draft. He said that he had a problem with two things, the first being the exemptions under 19-335 with respect to paragraph 6 dealing with cutting of vegetation to allow for the evaluation of a parcel for wastewater system purposes. He agreed that some cutting may be needed for the evaluation but there may also need to be some small modification to the lot in order to get the permit. The Health Department will come out and say if you do x or y we will issue the permit but you will not get a permit. He requested that there be language added at the end to say - ‘and modifications necessary to obtain a waste water system permit’. His second concern was the same mentioned earlier. He referenced 19-334 1(g) which specifically prohibits getting a dunes and vegetation permit unless you are building a house on your property. He felt that this was a violation of the equal protection clause. He said that you distinguish him from his neighbor just because his neighbor has a house on his property. His neighbor can cut trees down but he can’t. If he owns the lot and has purchased it, why could he not put a septic system on it or do other things that would benefit and increase the value. He felt most property owners do not do things that are going to decrease the value of their property. He requested the board’s consideration of diluting that provision to allow someone to get a permit even though they don’t have a building permit. Billy Farrington, 8108 Sound Drive, said that he did not agree with the requirement of not being able to grade your lot until you get a building permit. He felt that this was too restrictive. Mayor Schools asked what other areas in the State were doing as it pertained to that one item. Mr. Harvey said that the only other example he could of that had a similar regulation concerning development of property was the Town of Nags Head. They have an environmental district where you are only allowed to develop in that environmental district if you have submitted a building permit that is approved by the town. That is within an identified maritime forest area. It is a special district where this restriction exists. Mr. Harvey added that one-quarter of Nags Head is maritime forest.Commissioner McElraft asked about the person who owns two lots. They have their home on one and they’d like to clear their other lot, saving their 35-55% vegetation, keep the trees, but with this ordinance they can’t clear but 500 feet to get rid of snakes, put swing sets. They can’t use this property. She also asked what about parks. She mentioned an area where a developer had planned doing a park. There would be no building there so how would he get a dunes and vegetation permit without getting a building permit. Mr. Harvey in addressing this question said that the ordinance allows for an exemption for the clearing of 500 square feet of property for incidental use of that undeveloped property. The ordinance allows for the clearing of nuisance vegetation. What the ordinance says with respect to the installation of a septic system is that you cannot do that unless you have applied for a building permit with the Town of Emerald Isle. The development of a park, if it’s allowed in a particular zoning district, and it didn’t have buildings, you’d basically have to have, as this ordinance is written, a plan submitted designating what physical improvements to the lot would be installed. Once they applied for that then they would be issued their dunes and vegetation permit. Commissioner McElraft asked what if there would be no structures, just natural trails. Mr. Harvey responded by saying that as long as there was structure on the property you would still have to designate the location of natural trails as he interpreted the ordinance as they were directed to write it. If it is natural and you’re just delineating the trails and removing vegetation as long as it’s consistent with the exemption you could remove vegetation without a permit. If you are removing vegetation greater than what is allowed under the current ordinance from the exemption purposes then you must get a permit. Commissioner McElraft pointed out that if you are going to have trails, you are going to be removing trees greater than 3”, and you can’t do this without getting a building permit according to this ordinance. Mr. Harvey said that is correct you would have to get a permit. Mr. Harvey said you would have to submit a plan delineating the natural trail if your intention was to remove trees greater than the exemption allowed under this ordinance. He agreed that the ordinance did say that you could not get a dunes and vegetation permit unless you get a building permit first. Mr. Harvey said that town staff could interpret this ordinance to fit those different criteria and perspectives and that as long as a plan has been submitted and properly documented that a dunes and vegetation permit could be issued. He added building permits are only issued for structures. Mr. Rush said another option was to make a specific exemption for a nature park. Mr. Harvey said that what this ordinance forbids you from doing is installing a septic tank essentially before a building permit is applied for. Mr. Harvey said that you can have the site evaluated for septic ability and be issued a permit without clearing anything. This ordinance exempts some of the minor modification work that may need to be done. Commissioner Messer made a motion to close the Public Hearing. The board voted unanimously. Motion carried. Commissioner Messer said he still had a problem with not allowing an individual to improve their lot until they get a permit. Commissioner McElraft asked Jim Taylor, Building Inspector, about section 19-338 (2) Estuary Lots. She understood that at the present time CAMA will allow you to take trees down on a sound front lot, not to take the roots out, but to take trees down. Mr. Taylor said that this was correct. He said that you could remove vegetation in the required buffer zone. There must be no land disturbance and you must leave the root system of any vegetation that you would remove as far as CAMA regulations. Commissioner McElraft said that this ordinance then is going above CAMA. This would prevent anyone from cutting trees down for a view on a soundfront lot that they bought for a view. Mr. Taylor said for tree removal yes, he believed there was some language that would allow pruning and some removal of undesirable vegetation, but the remainder of the vegetation would have to stay in accordance with the ordinance. Commissioner Farmer added except for the vegetation that falls under a walkway. Mr. Taylor said that was correct. He said there were exceptions for water dependant structures and the removal of vegetation to allow that activity.Commissioner McElraft was concerned about those who had paid a lot of money for their soundfront view. We are telling them they have to save their 35% vegetation and then we are telling them where that has to be, and now it will have to be in front of them where their view is. She felt that pruning within the 30 foot setback when you have a thickly vegetated lot is impossible. She was concerned that the town was going above CAMA regulations. Bob McGinnis, 3602 Emerald Drive, asked to comment – he said he had a problem with being told he couldn’t remove a 4” tree from his own property. He objected to being told what he could not do on his own property. Mayor Schools said that the 4” rule had been effect for 10-20 years. He said that the board is now considering changing from 4” to 3”. Mr. McGinnis asked if this ordinance had ever been enforced and citation issued to an individual that had cut a tree that was 4” in diameter. He disagreed with this resolution. Commissioner Marks remarked to Mr. McGinnis that much of the reason for the flooding in the Deer Horn area today was caused by the clear cutting of lots. Commissioner McElraft brought up questions concerning an owner not being able to remove trees, such as palm trees, from the designated disturbed area, trees that had been planted but that they would now like to move or relocate. She said that she could vote for this ordinance if it were not for a couple of things. One is going above CAMA on soundfront lots and the second is not being able to clear your lot until you get a building permit. She noted that the Planning Board did not have that in their last draft, that this was added on. Commissioner Farmer said that at least one member of the Planning Board felt that that would make a significant difference in terms of keeping vegetation on lots. That there were a number of lots cleared with no intent of building on them in the near future at all. If the vegetation is important why is it being removed for no good reason. Mayor Schools said that in the area where he previously lived, which was a very wooded area, he was told that you need to cut limbs back or cut trees down so that they were not so close to the house because of bug problems. He asked if there was anything in the ordinance that addressed this.Mr. Harvey said nothing in the ordinance would prevent pruning. As far as cutting trees he said, then you’re back to pruning, applying for a permit, or if it poses a safety hazard under the exemption. Commissioner Eckhardt mentioned that at the hearing on the 3rd , in his own mind he questioned the building permit requirement before a lot is cleared or before a septic tank is put on it. What he came back to is no legitimate reason to clear a lot without a building permit or without knowing what you’re going to put on the lot. He felt there was no legitimate reason to install septic unless you knew what you were going to build. Commissioner McElraft said that septic tank permits are issued for five years. If someone got one three years ago, they have two years left to get that septic tank in the ground. We’re not going to allow them to do this now if they decide they don’t want to build right now. When you get a septic tank permit you know how many bedrooms they’re going to allow or how many bedrooms you want and that’s what you apply for. They won’t always give you what you want. It’s all left up to the Health Department. Commissioner Marks said that they were talking earlier about speculative lots where somebody wanted to clear a lot for sale for marketing purposes, not to build their own house. That is the main objection, that they go in and clear a lot, take the trees down and hope that someone will buy this bare lot. Meanwhile, the stormwater problems are increased by the vegetation being removed. Commissioner McElraft said that when we allow them to remove that vegetation, we only allow them to remove what is legal. They have to leave every bit of vegetation on there that they were going to leave if they had a house with impervious surfaces. There wouldn’t be any more stormwater problems there than if a house were on it. Most citizens plant more trees on their lot than they ever had to begin with. She said the way the town lost vegetation to begin with was not from developers or development, but was from the hurricanes. Commissioner Farmer made a motion to approve the Ordinance Amending Chapter 19- Zoning – Dunes and Vegetation.Commissioner Farmer commented on the Town Manager’s concerns about the commercial natural area being calculated differently than the residential, said that she did think this is something they need to look at but doesn’t want to hold up this ordinance tonight. She requested that the commercial issue go back to the Planning Board to get their ideas and recommendations. Mr. Rush said that the recommendation came from the Planning Board to keep the commercial exactly as it is written, it was his concern and concern at the staff level that the methodology was little different. Commissioner McElraft made an amended motion to delete (g) in Section 19- 334 and in Section 19-338 under Estuary Lots the wording to say – (removal of any vegetation within the estuarine setback as defined by the North Carolina Division of Coastal Management). Mayor Schools asked if there was any discussion. Mr. Harvey wanted to point out that under Section 19-335, if the motion was to delete the requirement outlined under (g) then there is a statement (Nothing in this article shall be construed to allow for the installation of a wastewater system on an undeveloped lot unless a building permit has first been obtained from the Town of Emerald Isle Planning and Inspections Department). That is Section 19-335 (10). Commissioner McElraft in amending the wording from her previous motion, made the motion to delete 19-335(10), delete 19-334 (g) and under Section 19-338(2) under Estuary Lots to say – “the removal of any vegetation within the estuarine setback area as defined by the North Carolina Division of Coastal Management should follow the CAMA guidelines”. Mayor Schools asked if there was any discussion. Commissioner McElraft thanked everyone for all the work and effort that went into this ordinance. Mayor Schools then asked for a vote on Commissioner McElraft’s amended motion.Board voted 3-2 on Commissioner McElraft’s amended motion. Commissioner Marks, Eckhardt, Farmer opposed, Commissioners Messer and McElraft for. Motion failed. Mayor Schools then asked for a vote on the original motion to adopt the Ordinance Amending Chapter 19 – Zoning- Dunes and Vegetation. Board voted 3-2 on motion to adopt the Ordinance Amending Chapter 19-Zoning-Dunes and Vegetation. Commissioner Eckhardt, Farmer, Marks for, Commissioners Messer and McElraft opposed. Motion carried. Attorney Taylor said that this was a situation that would require another vote at the next meeting to make this official since it did not pass by the super majority necessary tonight. ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 6-BUILDINGS AND BUILDING REGULATION-TO ADOPT THE NC BUILDING CODES, NC RESIDENTIAL BUILDING CODE, AND RELEVANT APPENDICES Jim Taylor, Building Inspector, addressed the board to explain the adoption of the International Model Code that occurred at the State level. He stated that previously our existing building code was based on two model codes, the Standard Building Code for commercial, and the CABO Code for one and two family and attached townhouses with North Carolina amendments. We also had the SBCCI, the IBC, BOCA and a couple more code making entities. All these entities converged and created one model which was the International Code. In 1999 the State of North Carolina Building Code Council chose to adopt the International new model code with North Carolina revisions and amendments. This made North Carolina their own specific code using the International model.According to Mr. Taylor, the State has already adopted the new North Carolina Building Code and the North Carolina Residential Code and their relevant appendices. The State did make mandatory effective date of these new codes January of 2003. Mr. Taylor stated that the language before the Board tonight was to locally adopt these new Building Codes and relevant appendices. Mr. Taylor stated that it was mandatory for the Board to adopt the Building Code and he also stated that the recommended appendices to the Code must be locally adopted. a. Public HearingCommissioner McElraft made a motion to open the Public Hearing. The Board voted unanimously 5-0. Motion carried. There were no comments.Commissioner McElraft made a motion to close the Public Hearing. The Board voted unanimously 5-0. Motion carried. b. Consideration of Ordinance Commission Farmer made a motion to adopt the NC Building Codes, NC Residential Building Code, and Relevant Appendices. The Board voted unanimously 5-0. Motion carried. FINAL PLAT- SUNSET HARBOR #7 Carol Angus, Planning Director, presented the information for Sunset Harbor #7. She stated that this is the last of the seven units. The condominiums are located between Island Harbor Marina and Emerald Plantation on Bogue Sound. She said that the Planning Board had been through the process with this project. The technical review found no issues and it was voted at the May Planning Board meeting to recommend that it be passed to the Town Board. Ms. Angus noted that she had the letter on file from the engineer that it has been substantially completed. Commissioner McElraft made a motion to approve the Final Plat of Sunset Harbor #7. The Board voted unanimously 5-0. Motion carried. COMMERCIAL REVIEW – BLUEWATER ASSOCIATES Carol Angus, Planning Director, presented the information concerning the commercial review for Bluewater Associates. She stated that Bluewater Associates had come to see her a few months ago concerning a commercial review project that involved 997 square feet of commercial space. The permit was issued. Due to Bluewater Associate’s own constraints within the building afterward, the upstairs portion of the building was finished off as heated space and they were occupying it. She noted that our Fire Inspector, Dean Griffin, had entered the establishment and discovered it was open and asked Ms. Angus if she was aware of this. The Inspections Department was not aware of this and Ms. Angus contacted the owners. She said that they immediately began the process to bring everything into conformance. She said that one of the biggest issues was that when the original permit was written the 1 ½” stormwater was still in force. When this expansion was discovered the 2” stormwater had been adopted. As a result of that, a new engineered stormwater plan was required and this took some time. This new stormwater system has been installed. Ms. Angus said that at this time Fire Personnel had determined everything was in compliance. The Building Inspector had also checked that everything was now in compliance. She noted that they were double charged for their fees because of beginning work prior to permits. Commissioner Farmer complemented Ms. Angus on the commercial checklist and commended the Fire Department for noticing and making the Inspections Department aware of this situation. Commissioner McElraft made a motion to approve the commercial plans for the Bluewater Associates building expansion. The Board voted unanimously 5-0. Motion carried. WASTE INDUSTRIES CONTRACT AMENDMENT The Town Manager distributed to the Board a revised contract amendment for Waste Industries. In summary the contract calls for a 3.1% increase in solid waste fees for FY 03-04. Also, the Town agreed to pay Waste Industries a lump sum payment of $9,689.00 to eliminate the yard waste services. The Contractor will continue to provide this service until September 1, 2003. Mayor Schools noted that this item had been resolved but asked if there was any discussion. There was no discussion. Commissioner Messer made a motion to approve the Waste Industries Contract Amendment. The Board voted unanimously 5-0. Motion carried. COMMENTS FROM TOWN CLERK, TOWN ATTORNEY, AND TOWN MANAGER Mr. Rush said that they had hired a new Planning Director, Kevin Reed. He should be starting on July 7th. He also mentioned that there was a Project Delivery Team meeting for the Bogue Inlet project the next day, June 11, 2003. Also mentioned was a meeting at 8:00 the following morning with the Attorney who would represent the homeowners at the Pointe in their request for a variance from the CRC to keep the sandbags for a longer period of time. COMMENTS FROM BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS AND MAYOR Commissioner Marks commented that it was nice to see the new waste collection system working and how it had improved the appearance of the Town. Commissioner Eckhardt asked what was decided about John McLean’s concern about yucca. Attorney Taylor stated that the Board generally described a yucca plant as a shrub and they can interpret thereby. ADJOURNCommissioner Farmer made a motion to adjourn. The Board voted unanimously 5-0. Meeting was adjourned at 10:30 P.M. Respectfully submitted,
Rhonda C. Ferebee |