By: Joy Warren
Mr. Robin Summerlin appeared before the Board as an out-of-town business person. He asked the Board to consider placing the sale of malt beverage (“beer”) on the March 15, 2016 Presidential primary ballot. Per Cynthia Shaw, Director of Bladen County Board of Elections, ABC Commission Attorney Renee Cowick verified the Town is eligible to hold a malt beverage and/or unfortified wine election. General Statute 18B-601(c)(1) requires that a written request from the city governing body be submitted to the Board of Elections to have the request placed on the ballot. Commissioner Tim Blount opened the discussion, stating that he has had several business owners approach him about placing the election on the ballot. He stated it had been about 10 years since the sale of beer in White Lake was on the Town election ballot. Blount’s contention is that it “would bring White Lake into the 21st Century” by allowing placing on the ballot. It was noted that previous votes for county-wide sale was defeated. The commissioners unanimously approved placing the sale of malt beverage on the March 15, 2016 Presidential primary ballot.
Mrs. Cathy Kinlaw of White Lake presented a copy of her newly published book “A Historical Tour of the Nation’s Safest Beach”, a companion book for the DVD “White Lake Remembering the Nation’s Safest Beach produced by her son, Robert Kinlaw, in 2014 to the Town.
Sergeant Mike Salmon, White Lake Police Department, requested that the Board to authorize the department to submit an application for the Local Law Enforcement Block Grant on the Town’s behalf to replace outdated equipment. If awarded, the funds would be received in October of the 2016/17 Fiscal Year. The mission of the Criminal Justice Improvement Committee is to encourage proactive and innovative programming and methodologies that improve the criminal justice system. Desired improvements include reducing and discouraging violent crime and associated problems, enhancing all aspects of criminal justice processing to include the incarceration and treatment of offenders and advancing justice system operations. There are several grant opportunities offered by the Criminal Justice Improvement Committee with one of those being Local Law Enforcement Block Grants. Funds for the grant are for one year, have no required local match and can be used for the purchase of equipment and/or overtime resources with a minimum of $3,000 and a cap of $24,500 in federal funds per agency. First priority in the 2016 grant cycle will be given to agencies that did not receive Local Law Enforcement Block Grant funding from GCC in 2015 or did not receive a direct allocation from BJA under JAG Formula Grant in 2015.
Mayor Womble noted some structural problems with the building that houses the medial clinic. As per the contract, Southeastern Medical ~ White Lake is responsible for all repairs to the building. Southeastern Medical Center ~ White Lake previously replaced the floor tile in several rooms due to the tile cracking ($912.00). The floor in the hallway and other areas in the building are also cracking and need to be replaced. Christy Sasser with Southeastern Medical Center ~ White Lake contacted the Town for assistance in determining what is causing the tile to crack. Terry McMillian, McMillian Maintenance went under the building and determined the original part of the structure needs more floor joists and support beams. The medical office is certified by the Joint Commission and is due for their two-year inspection at any time which creates urgency in getting the repairs completed as soon as possible. In an effort to accommodate the medical center’s inspection deadline, proposals from Mr. McMillian, McMillian Maintenance, $9000.00 and Do Right Carpet & Flooring, Inc. $2627.00 are provided for the Board’s consideration. Mr. McMillian has been working with the Town to replace rotten boards on the municipal buildings and will adjust his schedule to do the repairs during the weekend while the medical office is closed. It is Mayor Womble’s opinion that the Town should be responsible for structural damages and asked the Board to consider approving the proposals as presented.
Town Clerk Brenda Clark has served on the NC League Risk Management Board of Trustees since her appointment in 2004. Ms. Clark’s term will expire in January, 2016. Bob Haynes, Associate Director of the RMS Board has expressed his wishes for Brenda to be reappointed for another three year term. Staff asked the Board to recommend that Ms. Clark be reappointed to the RMS Board of Trustees for a three-year term. The recommendation was approved a submitted.
In administrative matters, Council approved Utility releases ($898.52) and Tax releases ($14,640.83); and approved FY Budget Ordinance Amendment #2016-03 as presented.
Mayor Womble announced that the Town of White Lake was the recipient of the Southeastern Health 2015 Regional Community Award for establishing the first medical center in White Lake.
Eddie Madden, Project Manager for the Town’s Parks and Recreation Trust Fund (PARTF) grant announced that the Town did not receive the grant based on geographic distribution of the grants of only one per county. The Town of Elizabethtown was awarded a grant. Madden encouraged the board to resubmit the grant in April 2016 as the PARTF board was very favorable toward the project. Council did approve to resubmit the grant in April.
The Town of White Lake offices and facilities will be closed on Wednesday, November 11 for Veteran’s Day, Thursday, November 26th and Friday, November 27th for the Thanksgiving holidays. The public works on-call person will be available in case of water/sewer emergencies. The meeting was adjourned until November 17th at 6:00 p.m. at which time the Commissioners will meet to conduct personnel policy and salary reviews for the upcoming fiscal year.
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