September 9, 1996 - 4:00 PM - County Board of Commissioners Meeting Minutes (Emergency)

September 9, 1996The Johnston County Board of Commissioners met in called emergency session on Monday,September 9, 1996, at 400 pm in the Commissioners Room, Johnston County Courthouse Annex,Smithfield, North Carolina, with the following membersPresent Norman C Denning, Chairman, John M Booker, Vice Chairman, Jerry F Wood, DDS,Cecil M Massengill, Eleanor N Creech and Cookie PopeAbsent James W CashAlso Present Richard B Self, County Manager, and Patricia B Baker, Deputy Clerk to the BoardThe Chairman called the meeting to order and the following business was transacted1 Hurricane Fran - Update on CountyCounty Manager, Richard B Self, announced that on Friday, September 6, 1996, at 330 am,the Chairman proclaimed a local state of emergency for Johnston County and ordered the CountysEmergency Operation Plan be executed Late on Thursday, September 5, 1996 and during the early hoursof Friday, September 6, 1996, Johnston County suffered extensive damage from Hurricane Fran TheCounty immediately began using every resource available to help citizens that were effected by the stormThis emergency meeting has been called to provide the Commissioners with up -to -dateinformation concerning the storm damage, and to consider several emergency measures that need to beaddressed Notice of this meeting was duly posted on the Countys bulletin boards as required by law, andevery effort was made to notify Board members and the press2 Report From Dewayne West - Emergency Operation CenterDewayne West, Emergency Management Director, reported the hurricane caused generaldestruction all over the county County officials flew over approximately one -tenth of the County onSaturday, October 7th, and documented the following devastation• 1,300 homes damaged• Three to five million dollars damage to schools Every school in County has somedamage• Extensive loss to tobacco and livestock• High water and flooding with several rural bridges under water, also log jams underriver bridges•75 timber loss• 90 crop loss• 13,000 CP L customers without powerMr West stated that recovery is slow due to the many trees and power lines that are downthroughout the County Additional resources have been requested, including National Guardsman, Armypersonnel, forestry personnel, inmates and volunteers Damage assessment continues by County personnelHe noted the Federal Emergency Management Agency FEMA has issued a 72 hour temporary rulingdeclaring the County a disaster, and it is anticipated that this will be followed by a formal Presidentialdeclaration3 Policy Prohibiting Price Gouging Following Hurricane FranDewayne West reported there have been reports of price gouging since the storm In order toprotect the citizens of Johnston County from being taken advantage of, he asked the Board to considera policy prohibiting price gougingFollowing discussion, Commissioner Eleanor N Creech moved the Board adopt the followingresolution Commissioner Cookie Pope seconded the motion, which carried by unanimous vote405POLICY PROHIBITING PRICE GOUGING FOLLOWING HURRICANE FRANWHEREAS, a state of emergency was declared in Johnston County, NC on September 6,1996;andWHEREAS certain merchants are now taking advantage ofthe emergency by increasing pricesfor essential goods - called Price GougingNOW, THEREFORE, the Johnston County Board of Commissioners hereby prohibits anymerchant selling any goods or providing any services within the unincorporated area of Johnston County,N C from raising prices above the pre- disaster pre September 6, 1996 levies Sales of goods orservices at a price above pre- disaster level shall only be permissible if merchants can document in writingthe purchase of these goods at increased costFURTHER, that violation of the provisions of this policy known as Policy Prohibiting PriceGouging is punishable by a fine of up to 20000 per incident and thirty days in jail, and each sale shallconstitute a separate offenseAdopted this the 9th day of September, 19964 Debris - Landfill Tipping Fees Inspection Fees for Building RepairDewayne West stated that at this point, debris removal is one of the main concerns, and thankedthe County for extending the hours at the LandfillChairman Norman Denning noted that it will take a long time to clean up the County from thisstorm, and introduced the question of individuals burning some ofthe debris A discussion followed aboutwhat the state law allows and does not allow concerning burning of trashFollowing discussion, Commissioner Cookie Pope moved the County wave the Landfill tippingfee for debris, and also waive the building inspection fees for homes damaged by the hurricane, with theunderstanding the Board will review the need for continuing this measure at their next regular meetingCommissioner Jerry F Wood seconded the motion, which carried by unanimous vote5 Unappropriated Funds - Debris RemovalCounty Manager, Richard B Self, informed the board that emergency funds used during the 72hour Disaster Declaration will be refunded by FEMA This will also include payment for volunteer hoursFollowing discussion, Commissioner Jerry F Wood moved the Board authorize County Manager,Richard B Self, to use unappropriated fund balance for emergency measures caused by Hurricane FranCommissioner Cecil M Massengill seconded the motion, which carried by unanimous voteThere being no further business, Commissioner John M Booker moved the Board adjournCommissioner Cookie Pope seconded the motion, which carried by unanimous voteNorman C Denning, ChairmanPatricia B Baker, Deputy ClerkJoyce K Ennis, ClerkDetailsAnnotationsEntry PropertiesModified11192013 35543 PMCreated442003 84709 AMTemplateMinutesFieldsMinutes - TypeEmergencyMinutes - Date991996Book20