by Blake Proctor
With a bang of his gavel, Mayor Rufus Duckworth called the March 8th Commission meeting to order. All Board members were present, except Commissioner Stephanie Thurman, who had been quarantined. Commissioner Greg Sykes provided the invocation, and all stood for the Pledge of Allegiance.
The Mayor opened a public hearing on a proposed rezoning of property at 424 S. Ash Street from R-15 Residential to R-15 Mobile Home Residential. There were no comments and the public hearing was closed.
Ricky Walters, Chairman of the Bladenboro Historical Society, stepped to the podium to inform the Commission of the dire current financial straits the Society was in: Due to the Xi Jinpingfluenza pandemic, the Society’s major revenue source – room rentals – had plummeted these past twelve months.
He was appearing to ask for financial assistance from the Town. While no help could be provided at this time, it could be discussed during budget meetings. Commissioners Sykes, Sarah Benson, John Bowen, and Jeff Atkinson each pledged $300 from their discretionary accounts towards the Society’s monetary shortfall.
The consent agenda was quickly dispatched by unanimous vote. There was no old business to be considered, and the Board rolled up its sleeves to dig into a large agenda of new business.
The first order of new business was to dispense with the rezoning question from the public hearing. Since the Planning Board, on a 5 – 1 vote, had recommended approval of this request at its March 1st meeting, the Commission followed suit and unanimously approved the zoning change.
Each Commissioner has $800 in discretionary funds in the annual budget; the Mayor had asked that his entire $800 be given to Boost-the-Boro for their public-spirited use. The Board approved this request.
One of the Town’s Police vehicles – on which the Town was still paying – had recently hit a deer and was totaled. The Chief requested direction, and the Commission approved having the insurance company pay off the automobile; any additional follow up decisions will be considered at a later date.
Continuing dealing with vehicle problems, the Board heard that one of the Public Works trucks had a blown engine. The Town had gotten an estimate for the Board’s consideration from Roberts Muffler to replace the engine; however, the matter was tabled until additional quotes could be received.
Commissioner Atkinson brought up for discussion, the Town’s participation in the Urban Archery Season for North Carolina municipalities. To take part, towns must submit by each April 1st, an annual letter of desire to participate and a map defining the area included in the season. As it is so late in the application process, the Board decided to table this item until next year.
Finally getting into the meaty items of the evening, the Commission first considered the award of the bid for the New Main Street demolition project, consisting of the removal of six structures on the west side of S. Main Street between W. Railroad Street and Diamond Dave’s restaurant, one structure on W. Railroad Street.
Eight contractors submitted bids ranging from $109,350 to $218, 375, with an average of $160,500. On a motion by Commissioner Atkinson and a second by Commissioner Benson, the contract to demolish those buildings was awarded on a unanimous vote to Hickman Utilities of Bladenboro for $109,350.
Now that the McLean Park softball field has been laid out, the immediate need is for fencing. Three contractors submitted bids on erecting that fence; those bids ranged from $42,000 to $68,000.
Commissioner Benson moved to award the contract to P&W Fence Company from Bladenboro, the low bidder; the motion was seconded by Commissioner Sykes and passed unanimously.
The agenda discussion items wound down with a request by Commissioner Lisa Levy to discuss multiple problems at Wateree Park. The park’s condition has deteriorated dramaically over the last several years since Hurricanes Matthew and Florence hit, and has not improved. The Board tabled this matter for a more in-depth discussion during the budgeting process over the next few months.
In his Administrator’s Report, Town Administrator Oryan Lowry advised the Commission that Bladenboro is one of 184 towns and counties throughout the state whose utility systems have been designated as “distressed” by the Local Government Commission (LGC) and the NC Water Infrastructure Authority (NCWIA).
There are five areas of system evaluation – demographics, environmental compliance, infrastructure condition, utility rates, and overall financial condition; values range from 4, the best, to 21, the worst, and any municipal system rated 9 or higher is designated as “Distressed.”
In Bladen County, Bladenboro and Dublin, having both water and sewer systems, scored 9s, marginally distressed; East Arcadia, which provides only water, scored a 13,quite a bit worse than the other two Bladen systems on the list, but much better than many other water-only systems across the state.
The 2020 statute mandating these evaluations tentatively leavs open avenues for financial assistance to upgrade community water and wastewater systems that are designated as distressed under these criteria.
The Commission entered closed session for personnel at 6:40pm, exiting at 6:50pm; there was no action taken, and the meeting immediately adjourned.
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