The Last Hurrah (Almost)

Last night the Oriental Board of Commissioners that was elected in 2007 held its last regular session. We will meet at least one more time - November 30, to set the agenda for the new board's first meeting on December 1.

We addressed or at least discussed a number of items about which we have previously failed to reach agreement. The most significant of these:

A. Minutes of closed sessions. North Carolina General Statutes allow and in some cases require discussions to be held in closed session. The law also requires minutes to be kept. They must be made public when no longer necessary to be closed. Office personnel have found references to 33 closed sessions, going back to 2004. No one remembers any of the minutes ever having been opened. Of the 33 closed sessions, the minutes book does not contain three of them. Of the remaining thirty, signed copies have not been found for a dozen of the closed sessions. This is important, because the signed copy becomes the official record of the version of minutes adopted by the board. Plainly we need better controls.

I believe the majority, including all but two paragraphs of minutes concerning the Town's court cases should be opened to the public. We will debate this at the agenda meeting Nov. 30.

B. The Town Manager clarified the costs of hiring additional peace officers. The board agreed to continue pursuing the hire of two part-time officers. The delay in hiring one has resulted from delay in getting final approval from the state government agency he works for. The manager is optimistic this won't take much longer. Commissioner Kellam has developed a set of criteria for the other hire. We will advertise for that position. This was also a topic of discussion during the public comment period.

C. The board voted to clarify no-parking areas in front of the Treasure Company, without reducing the number of legal spaces.

D. The board voted to reduce handicap parking in front of the Baptist Church to one space.

E. The new computer for water billing arrives next week - expense to be charged to the water fund.

F. Of five items of old business I had proposed be addressed, the board only acted on one: reducing the speed limit on the portion of Midyette Street between North and Broad to 15 miles per hour.

These may seem like mundane matters, but they are the kind of things that require careful attention by the board.

Thoughts of a Lame Duck

The voters have spoken. That's what democracy is about.

Yesterday I listened to General Casey speaking at a service at Fort Hood in honor of the thirteen killed last Thursday on the base. He quoted from Isaiah 6:8: "Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I, send me."

I know no passage of scripture that more clearly and succinctly portrays the ethic of service. I have had the honor over the years of knowing many who answered the call to serve their country, their state, their community, without thought of profit or pecuniary benefit. The best of them claimed no special virtue, sought no accolades, no glory. They just did what needed to be done. I tried to follow their example.

Thoughts on Election Day

It's two o'clock in the afternoon. I set up a tent this morning outside Oriental's polling place at the fire station and have talked to many of the voters who have streamed in to the polls.

Oriental's residents care about their town, and they vote. I am proud to be one of them.

We won't know until this evening, after the polls close at 7:30, how the election came out: who among the nine candidates for town commissioner will be chosen by the voters to sit on the five-member Town Board.

However the election turns out this time, I want to thank the voters for allowing me to serve on the board. It has been a pleasure and an honor.

I also want to say I have enjoyed serving with each of the present commissioners. They are all talented, dedicated and conscientious. What a fine bunch! I am proud to have been counted in their number.

Thank you again.

David

Keeping Property Clean

Last Tuesday (Oct 27), the planning board heard complaints from citizens concerning the problem of construction debris. Our Code of General Ordinances, Chapter G - Health and Disease Protection, Article I, Section 8 - Debris from New Construction, provides that "All refuse, lumber and debris remaining both as a result of the repair of any buildings, or of the erection and completion of any new buildings, shall be removed by the property owner within ten (10) days from the completion of the aforesaid work."

The problem is, some of the "aforesaid work" is accomplished over a protracted period of time. If the work crew doesn't keep the site clean it may become not only unsightly but also a health hazard. This circumstance presently exists at a number of sites in town.

At the next Town Board meeting, I intend to introduce an amendment to our general ordinances requiring accumulated refuse, lumber and debris to be removed within ten days of creation and accumulation of the debris.

Economic Development

Economic development isn't the same as business development, though many officials conflate the two.

How to tell the difference? Business development tries to increase market share - in other words, to get a bigger slice of the pie. Economic development seeks to bake a bigger pie.

How can Oriental and Pamlico County bake a bigger pie? About half a dozen ideas come to mind. I'd be happy to share them with anyone who asks.

Campaign Heating Up

Oriental's campaign for political office is heating up.

At least six of my campaign signs have disappeared. This follows an earlier incident when one of my signs was removed from its place along Church street and later found at the entrance to Town Hall. Two anonymous calls complained that my sign was on town property. Of course, I didn't put it there. My signs are only at places where the owner requests them.

The most recent disappearance occurred this morning (Oct 23). The sign was on the property when the owner went to bed at 2:00 a.m. and had disappeared by the time he got up at 7:00.

It isn't unusual in hotly contested campaigns for signs to be stolen. Usually this is done by supporters of other candidates concerned that their candidate may not be doing well. An alternative explanation is that the thieves merely wanted a souvenir. If they had just asked, I would have been glad to provide a souvenir sign after the election.

Another possibility is that the signs are stolen by thieves concerned at my efforts to enlarge the town's police force.

Wrapping Things Up

The current Town Board has one more scheduled session before the new board is sworn in. The present board has a number of issues previously discussed that I will propose be addressed at this final meeting. Here is a partial list:

1. Act on an earlier proposal for the town to assume maintenance responsibility for the portion of North Street within town limits. This will allow us to take traffic control measures such as moving the center line stripe, establishing parking and no parking zones, and stop signs as the Town Board determines, rather than having to convince DOT. The street is in good repair, it would increase our Powell Bill funds from the state, and should generally enhance our flexibility;

2. Petition DOT for the town to take over responsibility for that portion of White Farm road that is bordered on each side by Oriental. The town should have included that section of White Farm Road in its annexation of adjacent property. This would give us control over speed limits, signage, etc. and allow us to eliminate what many residents of the area see as a hazardous situation;

3. Replace the temporary rumble strips at the north end of Midyette Street with permanent rumble strips of asphalt. Our Public Works Department knows how to make such strips. Some nearby residents report the strips seem to be doing some good. The temporary strips can be relocated to Ragan Road, where residents report cars ignore the present speed limit;

4. Reduce the Speed Limit on Midyette Street to 15 or 20 miles an hour. Residents at both ends of the street report to me that trucks pulling boats to the launch ramp at 25 mph (or greater) create a hazardous situation. In one recent incident with a bicycle, witnesses believe the truck was not exceeding the posted speed limit, but the trailer still jacknifed. I hope we can act on this;

5. At the last Town Board meeting, we discussed the possibility of removing the existing limit on location of chickens kept for personal use. I plan to introduce a motion to do that;

6. We will be required in early December to submit a report on our CAMA land use plan. This board needs to lay the foundation for that report, especially if we propose any changes.

Closed Sessions

Most meetings of the Town Board are required to be held in public. North Carolina General Statutes recognize a handful of circumstances (lawyer-client privilege, negotiating a real estate deal, etc.) where meetings may be held in closed session, and some (personnel matters) that must be held in closed session. In all cases, before going into closed session, the board must declare the reason. Minutes must be kept of closed sessions and the minutes must be opened when the matter is no longer necessary to remain closed.

I have asked that at least the closed session minutes of the past two years be reviewed, and that we take action at the next meeting of the Town Board to open all possible minutes. I would like to go as far back as possible, into the records of previous boards as well, to correct this oversight.

I have found that we were not always careful to confine our closed session discussion to the reason declared. We need to be more careful in the future. As a practical matter, I think no harm was done, though we should be somewhat embarrassed. Still, we need to make most of the minutes public, except for discussions of personnel and a few other matters, which must remain closed.

We need to be scrupulous about complying with the open meetings act.