This evening, June 8, 2010 at 5:00 P.M., the Town of Oriental held a public hearing on the proposed budget ordinance for Fiscal Year 2010-2011.
The budget had been well prepared and explained by the recently fired Town Manager, so there were few questions until local businessman Hugh Grady asked, "How are the taxpayers going to get their $21,000 back from the attorney's fees that had no apparent purpose?"
The mayor hemmed and hawed for awhile without answering. Then Commissioner Jennifer Roe, a slight smile on her face, commented: "we saved enough on sidewalk repair to pay for the legal fees."
The irony did not pass unnoticed. It was Randy Cahoon who researched the options, sought bids and recommended the innovative approach that saved the Town a wad of money. It was just one of his many innovations for the benefit of taxpayers.
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Saturday, June 5, 2010
South Avenue Missing, Stolen or Strayed
Town property has been stolen.
Crucial pieces of the Neuse Ways Marine Railway which were left behind when Neuse Ways' lease of the Town's street end expired, have disappeared. Under the terms of the lease, the parts were the Town's property.
How did this come about? I intend to find out.
Only the Town Board has authority to dispose of Town property. If the Board acted on this matter, I totally missed it.
The parts could have been used by one of the County's museums to reconstruct a historical device used in boat maintenance and repair.
Crucial pieces of the Neuse Ways Marine Railway which were left behind when Neuse Ways' lease of the Town's street end expired, have disappeared. Under the terms of the lease, the parts were the Town's property.
How did this come about? I intend to find out.
Only the Town Board has authority to dispose of Town property. If the Board acted on this matter, I totally missed it.
The parts could have been used by one of the County's museums to reconstruct a historical device used in boat maintenance and repair.
South Avenue Street End
I thought readers might like to see the layout at the end of the Town's Right of Way on South Avenue, formerly leased by Lacy Henry and blocked off by his fence, even though the town has won its case. The pink wedge is the pavement on a lot owned by Mr. Henry, which allows access to Mr. Fulcher's property otherwise blocked by Mr. Henry's fence.
According to the lease, anything left behind when the lease expired in 1992 belongs to the Town.
As you can see, the fence intrudes more than halfway across the Town's Right of Way for Avenue A.
Friday, June 4, 2010
The Trial
`Let the jury consider their verdict,' the King said, for about the twentieth time that day.
`No, no!' said the Queen. `Sentence first--verdict afterwards.'
Alice in Wonderland
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Closed minutes - South Avenue
Just before last Tuesday's Town Board meeting, Randy Cahoon handed me an envelope containing the minutes of closed sessions of the Town Board about South Avenue. The Board had agreed to release them at their agenda meeting the previous Thursday.
Randy predicted it might be his last official act.
I plan to review and analyze the minutes in conjunction with my own notes I kept at the time. Afterwards, I will share facts and conclusions with my readers.
Randy predicted it might be his last official act.
I plan to review and analyze the minutes in conjunction with my own notes I kept at the time. Afterwards, I will share facts and conclusions with my readers.
Local Government Commission and Audit
Conspicuously absent from last Tuesday's Town Board Meeting was any discussion of the town's response to the letter from the Local Government Commission requiring correction of four control deficiencies and eight material weaknesses from the most recent audit.
A new audit is just around the bend. The LGC is unlikely to allow these dozen longstanding deficiencies to continue being swept under the rug.
A new audit is just around the bend. The LGC is unlikely to allow these dozen longstanding deficiencies to continue being swept under the rug.
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Town Board Meeting 1 June 2010: Curious Utterance
There were more than a few curious utterances during last night's Town Board meeting.
One of the most curious was Mayor Sage's explanation to Oriental resident Ron Stevens concerning the delay in removing the fence in the town's right of way at the end of South Avenue. The mayor said that Mr. Henry wants the town to remove the paving on his property at the corner of South Avenue and Avenue A and that Mr. Henry wants to remove certain pieces of the former marine railway from the town's property.
Both claims of Mr. Henry lack merit.
The reason the town has pavement on the corner of Mr. Henry's lot is that the fence Mr. Henry placed in the town's right of way otherwise blocks access by commercial vehicles to Chris Fulcher's property. Has the town consulted either Mr. Fulcher or Mr. Fulcher's attorney about this request?
As for any pieces of equipment remaining on the town's property, Mr. Henry should have removed them in 1992, when his lease to that portion of the town's right of way expired.
This is spelled out in the lease, a copy of which was mailed to Mr. Marvin Jennings, Town Manager of Oriental* by Mr. Henry's attorney, Neil B. Whitford, on September 8, 1982. Mr. Whitford's letter and the accompanying lease are included as Exhibit J to PLAINTIFF TOWN OF ORIENTAL'S MEMORANDUM OF LAW IN SUPPORT OF MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT filed by the Town Attorney, Michael Scott Davis*, December 28th, 2007.
After some whereas's, a therefore and a description of the bounds of the property, the lease goes on to say:
"The terms and conditions of the said lease are as follows:
1. Term of the lease shall commence on July 1, 1977 and shall terminate on June 30, 1992.
2. Lessee [Mr. Henry] will pay to lessor [Town of Oriental] a monthly rental in the sum of Thirty Dollars ($30.00) per month, payable on the first day of the month in advance.
3. All improvements and additions to the property made at the expense of the Lessee and any and all improvements and additions not removed by said Lessee upon expiration or termination of this lease will revert to Lessor."
In plain English, Mr. Henry should have removed his stuff on or about June 30, 1992 when the lease expired. It is now the property of the Town of Oriental.
* Some of my readers advise that I am entirely too subtle. They missed the point of the first highlighted text that the Town of Oriental had a Council-Manager form of government in place as early as 1982 and probably before that.
The second point on which I was apparently too subtle was the fact that the lease in question came from a document prepared by the Town Attorney, Scott Davis, who seems not to have remembered it in connection with his current discussions with Mr. Henry's attorney.
A third point I simply omitted from my post, but on reflection the public has a right to know. I recently raised the fence issue and Mr. Henry's deadline with Mr. Cahoon, who had (correctly in my view) taken the position that Mr. Henry must first remove the fence and then we might talk about the pavement on the corner of Mr. Henry's lot.
Judging from the mayor's explanation Tuesday night to Mr. Stevens, he (the mayor) must have overruled the Town Manager. The word "feckless" seems to apply. You can look it up.
As I understand it, Mr. Henry has been given a deadline and has missed it. The town should remove the fence forthwith and send Mr. Henry the bill.
One of the most curious was Mayor Sage's explanation to Oriental resident Ron Stevens concerning the delay in removing the fence in the town's right of way at the end of South Avenue. The mayor said that Mr. Henry wants the town to remove the paving on his property at the corner of South Avenue and Avenue A and that Mr. Henry wants to remove certain pieces of the former marine railway from the town's property.
Both claims of Mr. Henry lack merit.
The reason the town has pavement on the corner of Mr. Henry's lot is that the fence Mr. Henry placed in the town's right of way otherwise blocks access by commercial vehicles to Chris Fulcher's property. Has the town consulted either Mr. Fulcher or Mr. Fulcher's attorney about this request?
As for any pieces of equipment remaining on the town's property, Mr. Henry should have removed them in 1992, when his lease to that portion of the town's right of way expired.
This is spelled out in the lease, a copy of which was mailed to Mr. Marvin Jennings, Town Manager of Oriental* by Mr. Henry's attorney, Neil B. Whitford, on September 8, 1982. Mr. Whitford's letter and the accompanying lease are included as Exhibit J to PLAINTIFF TOWN OF ORIENTAL'S MEMORANDUM OF LAW IN SUPPORT OF MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT filed by the Town Attorney, Michael Scott Davis*, December 28th, 2007.
After some whereas's, a therefore and a description of the bounds of the property, the lease goes on to say:
"The terms and conditions of the said lease are as follows:
1. Term of the lease shall commence on July 1, 1977 and shall terminate on June 30, 1992.
2. Lessee [Mr. Henry] will pay to lessor [Town of Oriental] a monthly rental in the sum of Thirty Dollars ($30.00) per month, payable on the first day of the month in advance.
3. All improvements and additions to the property made at the expense of the Lessee and any and all improvements and additions not removed by said Lessee upon expiration or termination of this lease will revert to Lessor."
In plain English, Mr. Henry should have removed his stuff on or about June 30, 1992 when the lease expired. It is now the property of the Town of Oriental.
* Some of my readers advise that I am entirely too subtle. They missed the point of the first highlighted text that the Town of Oriental had a Council-Manager form of government in place as early as 1982 and probably before that.
The second point on which I was apparently too subtle was the fact that the lease in question came from a document prepared by the Town Attorney, Scott Davis, who seems not to have remembered it in connection with his current discussions with Mr. Henry's attorney.
A third point I simply omitted from my post, but on reflection the public has a right to know. I recently raised the fence issue and Mr. Henry's deadline with Mr. Cahoon, who had (correctly in my view) taken the position that Mr. Henry must first remove the fence and then we might talk about the pavement on the corner of Mr. Henry's lot.
Judging from the mayor's explanation Tuesday night to Mr. Stevens, he (the mayor) must have overruled the Town Manager. The word "feckless" seems to apply. You can look it up.
As I understand it, Mr. Henry has been given a deadline and has missed it. The town should remove the fence forthwith and send Mr. Henry the bill.
Town Board Meeting June 1, 2010
The word that comes immediately to mind about Tuesday night's interminable meeting of Oriental's town board is: "deplorable." Then, too, "bizarre" works.
To get a sense of the proceedings, it might help to re-read the court room scene of Alice in Wonderland.
Except unlike Alice, no one woke up at the end.
By all means, read the more detailed account on Town Dock.
To get a sense of the proceedings, it might help to re-read the court room scene of Alice in Wonderland.
Except unlike Alice, no one woke up at the end.
By all means, read the more detailed account on Town Dock.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
