By Joy Warren
The White Lake Town Board met in regular session Tuesday evening. Mayor Womble received correspondence from Tom Keith asking the Town to contribute funds to cover a reasonable portion of the legal fees ($5,595.80) for his attorney Poyner & Spruill Law Firm to craft the easement for the multi-use path that would fulfill both the Keith family’s requirements and the specifications needed to qualify for the PARTF grant. Part of the expense was necessary to benefit the Keith family, but part of the cost was necessary to tailor the easement to the grant. The Board approved reimbursement of half of the remaining bill of $4095.80 to Mr. Keith.
Mr. Keith also requested the Board recommend that the Planning Board study the idea of changing the zoning around the corner of Highway 53 and 701 to provide commercial use near the area that is currently used by business – White Lake Water Park, Strickland’s Golf Cart Sales and Minute Man Food Mart. The road frontage from Turtle Cove to Waterford Estates is zoned business and is 200 foot deep in the area Mr. Keith addressed in his letter. Board to advise Mr. Keith that he can go before the Planning and Zoning Board with any proposed projects.
Police Chief Bruce Smith asked the Board to approve the DCI Servicing Agreement Between Bladen County Sheriff’s Office and White Lake Police Department that outlines the responsibilities of each agency in regards to record transactions to the Division of Criminal Information (DCI); the verification, validation and “hit” confirmation of such transaction; and the use of information obtained from a Division of Criminal Information terminal through this agency. The agreement was approved as presented.
BB&T currently provides the Town’s banking services for the Consolidated and Powell Fund checking accounts. The contract term has expired and needs to be renegotiated. The Town has been with BB&T for several years and has an excellent working relationship with their associates, unfortunately, their service fees have increased dramatically over the past three years. There have been several changes in the local banking industry since the last request for proposals (RFP) were obtained; therefore, in an effort to ensure the Town receives the best services and costs, RFP’s were sent to all six banks in Elizabethtown. BB&T, First Bank and First South Bank submitted proposals. First Bank, who also provides services to the Town of Dublin, The Town of Bladenboro and the County of Bladen, appears to be the most advantageous to the Town. The Board approved using First Bank and approved the consolidation of the two accounts to further save money on fees.
Town resident, Pat Cain, was contacted by mail on two different occasions asking for her cooperation in pruning the cedar tree that is obstructing the view of the stop sign and oncoming traffic at the corner of Alexander St. and White Lake Dr. As of this writing, Ms. Cain has not taken any action to resolve this matter. The Public Works Department recently made an effort to trim the tree and was stopped by Ms. Cain. According to Attorney Kim Hibbard with the North Carolina League of Municipalities, there is an affirmative duty placed on the town to keep streets free of unnecessary obstructions. Because of the duty under the statute and the risk of failing to take action, staff requested the Board’s direction on this matter. Board suggested sending a letter to let her know the limbs overhanging on Town sidewalk will be trimmed.
Mayer Womble updated the Board on SB 369 Sales Tax Fairness Act sponsored by Senators Brow, Jackson and Clark. If passed into law as written, this bill could cause cities a statewide loss of nearly $120 million. The bill converts the locally levied sales tax to a state sales tax and distributes it on a per capita basis instead of ad valorem around the state. Much of the loss could likely be attributed to the absence of any hold harmless payment from counties once the bill is fully implemented. That payment from counties to cities is made so that cities receive revenues equivalent to which they have received under Article 44 sales tax, which was converted to a state sales tax in exchange for the state assuming Medicaid funding responsibilities. However, the amount of that payment is calculated based on articles of local sales tax that are repealed by SB 369, leaving no basis for calculating an amount of those payments once the bill is implemented. Additionally, some cities would be hurt by the bill’s mandate that counties distribute sales taxes to the cities within their borders on a per capita basis. The Town currently receives its sales taxes under the ad valorem distribution method (per the NC Office of State Planning, the Town of White Lake’s population is 838). According to the North Carolina League of Municipalities, under the proposed bill, the projected impact of SB 369 Sales Tax Fairness Act for the Town of White Lake would be $102,906.68. Mayor Womble contacted Senator Bill Rabon and Representative William Brisson to voice the Town’s opposition on the bill. A resolution opposing the bill was adopted by the Board and a copy of the resolution will be forwarded to Senator Rabon and Representative Brisson.
In other business, the Board approved Tax Release(s) ($687.79) & Refund(s) ($280.53); accepted Benson Air’s estimate to install an energy efficient heat pump at the Police Department; approved Budget Amendment #2015-06 and #2015-07 as presented; and approved Sidewalk Enhancement Capital Project (Phase 2) Ordinance Amendment #40-11-2011-04 ($32,110.30).
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