TOWN OF HOLLY RIDGE
COUNCIL RETREAT
March 15, 2008
The Holly Ridge Town Council met at the Holly Ridge Police Department, 313 Sound Road, Saturday, March 15, 2008
for a retreat at 9:00 am.
Mayor Padgett called the meeting to order at 9:10 am and welcomed everyone to the retreat.
Councilmembers present were: Councilwoman Bragg, Councilman Wright, Councilman Summerlin, Councilman Edwards
and Mayor Pro-Tem Hines. Staff present were: Tony Fann, Town Manager, Brenda Padgett, Town Clerk, Kathy
Sandlin, Finance Officer, Lora Marshburn, Planning and Zoning, Larry Willaford, Building Inspector, John Maiorano,
Police Chief, and Bill Maiorano, Maintenance Supervisor. Others present were: Jim Allen, Swansboro Councilmember
and member of the ONWASA Board, Frank Sanders and David Walker with ONWASA, William Arnold and Brandon
Longo with Holly Ridge Fire Department, Suzy Ulbrich, Daily News, Lee Padrick and Terry Bainer, Division of Community
Assistance, Danny Baysden, Margarite Farley, Joe Ramirez, and Lionel Midgett.
Round Table Discussion
Manager Fann said that Industrial Paving would be in Town Thursday or Friday to finish the remaining street paving. He
said the Park Grant has been submitted and the Town should hear something on that in May. He said that next month
the town would begin working on the budget for the next fiscal year.
Councilwoman Bragg asked if the department items had to be broken down and Manager Fann said it was a good way
for each department to keep track of how much money is in each account.
Councilman Wright asked where the new community building would be located and Manager Fann stated over where the
basketball court is. Mayor Pro-Tem Hines said that he was thinking the back of the park would be the better location.
Councilman Wright asked if there would be a parking lot also and Manager Fann said a parking lot was not included in
the grant application. It was stated that Mr. Herschell Brown would be the contractor that would do the construction on
the building.
Councilwoman Bragg asked if a mid year review of the budget would be beneficial. Chief Maiorano stated that some of
the items budgeted for may not be purchased or paid for until September or later in the year. Manager Fann stated that
some of the line items may appear to have a large amount remaining but the money may be allocated for expenditure
but hasn’t been paid for but was budgeted for. Chief Maiorano stated that he has just made expenditure for a computer
for the Police Department. Manager Fann said that the departments are always looking for ways to save money and
gave the example of needing a couple of tires for one of the Town vehicles and found out they could get the tires from a
contractor at a cheaper price than Maxton could sell his for, so they were delivered to Town Hall and then taken to
Maxton for him to put the tires on. Councilwoman Bragg stated that with Maxton doing services for the Town, it might be
good to sit down with him and negotiate a cost that would be comparable to other contractors and that would keep the
business within the Town. Councilman Edwards said that there is mechanic who has just opened a new business in
Town and maybe his prices and services should be checked out and give him some of the Town’s business.
Councilwoman Bragg asked Mayor Padgett to relay to the Council the recent news of the upcoming layoffs at ConAgra
Foods. Mayor Padgett said that they had lost one of their contracts and are going to have to lay off twenty seven
employees by March 31st. The plant is not planning to shut down, and the layoff is supposed to be temporary.
Chief Maiorano invited everyone to go check out the firing range. He said the PD had received 1,300 ft of boards, Ricky
Maready donated the poles and the concrete company is going to donate the concrete.
Break
David Walker – ONWASA Update
Mr. David Walker and Mr. Frank Sanders from ONWASA were present to give an update on current projects. Mr.
Walker introduced Mr. Frank Sanders who is the Director of Operations and Mr. Jim Allen who is the ONWASA chairman
and is a member of the Swansboro Town Council.
Some of the things that ONWASA has done in Holly Ridge since they took over the system are:
~ Replaced all the water meters with ARM meters that can be read by
computer or radio scan.
~ Implemented a valve replacement program to replace or install new valves.
Once this is done, it will prevent having to shut down the entire Town when
there is a breakage.
~ ONWASA board has approved some waterline extensions and
the majority of these extensions are in the Town or in the Holly Ridge
area. These extensions are a 3.3 million dollar program. Mayor
Pro-Tem Hines asked what the projected time frame is for the water
line extension is and Mr. Sanders stated that it would be in the next
fiscal year which begins in July. Mr. Walker stated that ONWASA is
considering purchasing a two acre tract of land from Dr. Morgan to
place an elevated tank there.
~ In regards to sewer, ONWASA authorized a bond sale in which
11 million dollars was for the purpose of land for expansion of a land
application site.
Mr. Sanders gave an update on the progress of the sewer expansion. He said that some of the developers in the area
have permits for package plants to go in their developments. He said that about 6 months ago ONWASA held a meeting
and invited the developers to attend. He said they asked the developers what they thought about ONWASA putting in a
centralized plant in another location, which would remove the facility from their property, and there would be a cost to
the developer. He said they already were planning to build capacity for the rest of Holly Ridge, so the reclaimed water
from the ponds would be piped into the centralized plant and then come back to the Town’s ponds. Mr. Sanders stated
that they did receive good feedback from the developers on this idea. He said they met with the general staff that
reviews these applications for the state and presented them with the idea of regionalization and reuse plans. He said in
reference to regionalization or centralizing their answer was they didn’t care that much about it, and on the reuse or
reclaimed water they said it was pretty good but they would have to see when everything is put together. Their next step
was to talk with Robin Smith who is an attorney with DWQ and told her about the concept and she liked the idea. They
went back again and met with the group that didn’t like the idea to begin with, but now had a different approach to the
idea. Mr. Sanders said that a developer can pay for the express review and possibly have a permit within 3 months and
they don’t have to do an environmental assessment and can go up to 1 million gallons per day. A municipality can use
the express review but can only go to 100,000 gallons per day. That puts the waiting period 3 – 6 months just to do the
environmental assessment and another 3 – 6 months to get a permit. The developer in 3 months has a permit and the
municipality is waiting for a 6 to 12 months period to get a permit. He said the concept they gave DWQ and they agreed
to this, was that whenever they do an environmental assessment, they want to do it for the entire area. He said things
are looking good right now.
Mayor Pro-Tem Hines asked if after the environmental assessment is done, will the developers be ready to say go
ahead? Mr. Sanders said that it is a long term, looking at the year 2010. Mayor Pro-Tem Hines also asked about North
Topsail Beach Utilities. Mr. Walker said that they have run into some problems with expansion. ONWASA helped
negotiate the SOC they signed for expansion, but they missed all the dates in the SOC that they signed two years ago.
He said ONWASA had expressed an interest in buying the entire operation. He said it is a private business and cannot
be forced to sell or cannot be condemned for take over. He said they have closed their field office and there was talk of
layoffs. He said that NTBU is trying to purchase the Mimosa Bay facility for expansion.
Break
Lee Padrick – Division of Community Assistance – Update on the Comprehensive Growth Plan
Mr. Padrick gave an update on the Comprehensive Growth Plan for the Town. He said the plan is addressing goals and
strategies on the following issues:
Economic Development
Natural, cultural, and recreational resources
Utilities and community facilities
Transportation
Housing
Land use
Leadership
Mr. Padrick said the proposed schedule for the completion of the plan is:
March 18 – Finish goals and strategies
April 15 - Review draft, recommend to Town Council
May Town Board reviews document
June Public hearing; consider adoption
One of the requirements to complete the update was to hold a public information meeting, which was done several
months ago. A questionnaire was given to the public with questions response for the following:
Economic development
• Food stores, more small business growth, fast food, better housing, industry, drug store, dollar store, another
bank.
Agricultural, natural, recreational and cultural resources
• Never take away nature, parks, walking and riding trails, preserve farmland, promote Camp Davis, fountain in
park, bike path to beach, tourism, gardens, waterslides, bowling.
Utilities and community facilities
• More fire protection – full time paid firefighters and EMT’s
• Increase of sewer availability
• Water
Transportation
• Public transportation needed
• Street improvements
• Sidewalks and bike lanes
• Pedestrian crossing at Hwy 17
Housing
• Not enough middle class housing that is affordable
• There is adequate housing, but too expensive
• Less trailers
• Don’t want to turn into a big beach town
Land Use
• Holly Ridge needs to grow more
• Could use more parks
• No proper planning to facilitate growth
• Sidewalks need to be required
• More areas to walk and ride bikes
• Should be uniform
• Code enforcement within the town of holly ridge
Leadership
• More communication needed between the town officials and the community
• Prioritize growth with sewer
• Hard to get people involved
• Small town politics with leadership operating on the “that’s the way we have always done it mentality”
• Leadership has improved but needs to improve more
William Arnold – Chief, Holly Ridge Fire Department
Chief William Arnold introduced Brandon Longo who has been recently promoted from Captain to Assistant Chief. He
also has acquired Officer 1, Inspector 1 and Instructor 1. Chief Arnold showed slides of various house fires that the
department responded to in the area. He said that their goal was to present an assessment of the department related
to the fire, rescue and first responder and fire prevention services. The objective is to inform the council of the past and
present call volumes, certification status, and provide information on their 3 – 5 year plan. He talked about hydrant
color coding for the fire hydrants in town. He said they do not do the black ones any longer. He said there are no dead
hydrants in Holly Ridge. He said they do a pre plan where the department goes in a business and takes photos of what
is on the shelves and any fuel tanks that are on the property, in case of emergencies. Chief Arnold stated the
department had recently replaced the 96 vehicle that the town had donated. He said the chief’s vehicle is probably
good for another 3 – 5 years and the only problem they have with it is the tires don’t last very long. He said the Fire
Department appreciates all the donated vehicles that the Town has given them in the past. He said the 1984 pumper
truck needs to be replaced as soon as possible because it doesn’t pass the annual pump test any longer. He said that
the current career service that the town provides Monday through Sunday 9 am to 5 pm, which is 2 firefighters at $11.50
per hour. He said the shift captains have to work no less than 6 days a month but as of right now they are working 9 –
10 days a month. He said that he and Brandon fill in whenever someone needs to be off. Mayor Pro-Tem Hines asked
how many people in Holly Ridge who are volunteers and Chief Arnold said there are 2 and there are 3in the district. To
cover 2 people seven days a week, it takes 16 part time people. He said after 5:00 pm, the volunteers cover the best
they can. Councilman Wright asked if the department had a procedure for recruiting volunteers and Mayor Pro-Tem
Hines said it was a county wide problem with getting volunteers. Chief Arnold said they have run ads in the paper, gone
door to door, and placed place mats on tables in restaurants with ads. The county has even done billboards.
Break
Harry Smith – Onslow County Tax Office
Harry Smith from the Onslow County Tax Office gave a report on the tax collection percentages. He said that the
percentage for tax collection for the year 97 was a collection percentage of about 94% and then dropped down to 90%
about the time that Thorn Apple Valley (Bacon Plant) closed. He said that last fiscal year it was 96.5% at
the end of June. He said that Holly Ridge in the overall county percentage runs along with the other towns except for
Swansboro and North Topsail who runs a little above in percentages. Mr. Smith said that the updated real estate figure
for this year is $287,000,000 which is up from last year’s figure of $278,000,000. He said that there will be another
evaluation in 4 years in 2010. He said that what will probably happen is that the higher value properties that aren’t
moving now that there has been a decline in market value, there will probably be a decrease in the assessed values if
the trend continues. He said that beginning in July, the tax office will be going to a new computer system with the
assessments and the collections will follow in the fall. He said the website will display some additional changes that will
hopefully be easier to read. Mr. Smith said that he would like to see the Council take another look at the Interlocal
Agreement that was presented last year and the Council at that time did not vote to participate in. This agreement
would allow the tax office to administer business audits more equitably and efficiently. He said he thought it was
important to do the personal property business audits because there was no way to verify that the business owner is
reporting everything. He said the reason the tax office decided to use an outside company was because they have
resources to do it more efficiently and the county doesn’t have the staff to go out onsite to do the audits. He said that
another change in 2010-2011 will affect everyone in that a bill for vehicle taxes will be sent from the Department of
Revenue listing the tax amount and the registration, this will be sent back to Raleigh with payment and then the money
will be distributed to the county.
Lunch Break
Joe Ramirez, Marine Corps Liaison for Camp Lejeune
Mr. Ramirez gave an update on the Marine Corps Base population increase. He said that approximately 10,000 marines
will be coming to the Camp Lejeune, Cherry Point, and New River. He said that over the past few years, Camp
Pendleton, the west coast training base, has reduced its ability to train marines, so Camp Lejeune has acquired more
marines for training. He said that a lot of the increase has already taken place and more will come, most likely by 2010.
Mr. Ramirez said that around 9,900 personnel will come to Camp Lejeune, Cherry Point and New River. 7,700 for
Lejeune and 1,400 to New River and Cherry Point. Cherry Point has already received 700 plus marines, 900 have
arrived at Stones Bay. Mr. Ramirez stated that will be approximately 1,300 new civil service employees that will also be
hired to expand the infrastructures. Most of this type of work is done by civilians. The government has been authorized
240 new civil servants per year through 2011. For the fiscal year 2008, authorization has been given to hire 194 of
those 240 and they are in the process of hiring those now. He said that there would be a need for more schools in the
area for the dependant children that will come with the personnel. He said that the infrastructure will have to be
expanded to accommodate the personnel. They have recently completed construction of 4,300 on base family homes
and they are capped and cannot build any more. He said this will house approximately 25% of the personnel and the
other 75% will have to find housing off base. He said that the base has received 52 million for temporary structures for
the marines who have already arrived. They have received funding to expand the visitors center checkpoint and will
increase the check in lanes from 2 to 6 and they will be manned by civilians instead of marine personnel. In the Tarawa
Terrace, Midway Park area, there will be new housing built, 2 additional child care development centers and 2 additional
elementary schools. They have requested funds for 2 more additional elementary schools but they don’t know if that
has been approved. Mayor Pro-Tem Hines asked if there was anything to the rumor that Parris Island would locate in
Holly Ridge and Mr. Ramirez said there hasn’t been anything presented or discussed at the present time on this issue.
Councilman Edwards asked if Homeland Security would be located at Camp Davis and Mr. Ramirez said that as of now,
there are no plans to add anything at this location.
Lionel Midgett – Chairman of Onslow County Board of Commissioners – Future of Onslow County
Lionel Midgett said that Mr. Ramirez covered much of the growth issues with the increase at the Marine Corps base. He
said the county has hired Jim Reichert, who is experienced in economic development and hopefully he will help bring
good things to the county. He said that with the growth in the county, the schools, road services, housing, water and
sewer services, will be impacted greatly. He said that he has concerns about the possibility of developers overcharging
for housing in the area. The school system recently gave a presentation showing their needs for the anticipated
growth. They are estimating that they will need around 130 million dollars more for construction for the next 2 – 3
years. He said they are utilizing small trailers for temporary buildings. He said that the health department is currently
utilizing a building that was built in 1946 with no additional expansion. The DSS and Health will be impacted by the influx
of the Marines. He said a common question is why doesn’t the marine corps families use the base facilities and the
answer is because some of them are live-ins and are not eligible for base health care, lack of transportation and
possibly the location of their residence from the health facility. Chairman Midgett talked briefly about the Sales Tax
Distribution which has become a hot topic once again. He said he doesn’t know how the City of
Jacksonville’s problem will be solved. They want to have the sales tax monies distributed per capita vs. the ad valorem
distribution. He said that the growth is coming to the area and that by the year 2025 there will be approximately
300,000 people in Onslow County. The Council thanked Chairman Midgett for attending the retreat.
Adjournment of Meeting
Mayor Padgett adjourned the retreat at 2:00 pm.
________________________ ____________________________
Mayor Elmer Padgett Brenda Padgett, CMC