June 6, 1995 - 7:30 PM - County Board of Commissioners Meeting Minutes (Special)

June 6, 1995The Johnston County Board of Commissioners met in special session Tuesday, June6,1995, at 7 30 oclock pm in the Old Superior Court Room, Johnston County Courthouse,Smithfield, North Carolina, with the following membersPresent Norman C Denning, Chairman, Dr John M Booker, Vice Chairman,James W Cash, Jerry F Wood, DDS, Cecil M Massengill, Eleanor NCreech and Cookie PopeAbsent NoneAlso Present Richard B Self, County Manager, and Joyce H Ennis, Clerk to the BoardThe Chairman called the meeting to order1 Public Hearing Mocassin Creek Drainage DistrictThe Chairman opened the public hearing and invited anyone who wished toaddress the Board on the creation of a taxing district for the Moccasin Creek DrainageDistrict Chairman Denning stressed that the meeting was to address the proposedboundaries of such a district, should one be formedBruce Radford, Manager of Town of Selma, stated the Town Council studied theproposed boundaries and passed a resolution of inclusion to the district He noted thatbecause the Council feels this is a town problem, the Council has agreed to pay any tax onbehalf of their citizensChester Wilkins, Mayor of Pine Level, stated the Pine Level Commissioners havealso adopted a resolution of inclusion of the district He noted only a part of the the citylimits will be in the proposed boundaries, and his council voted to let those taxpayersinvolved pay the taxKenneth York, District Soil Conservationist and government representative for theMocassm Creek Drainage Board, stated he wouldbe gladto ask the US Natural ResourcesConservation engineering staff to do a field check if there were any questions concerningthe proposed boundaries He noted the district was originally constructed to providedrainage, not flood control The original 144 landowners were assessed different rates,depending on the benefits they received from the channel Now, the land has beensubdivided into over 1600 parcels, and the same 144 landowners are the only onesassessed This is an effort to create a new service district, which would evenly distributethe cost of continued maintenanceFrankie Garner, commissioner from the Town of Pine Level, asked that a memberof his Board be appointed to any future committee formed for the districtElton Evans stated his mothers property is located at the end of the district Herproperty stands in water because the ditch does not extend as far as Holts Pond Hestressed that if the ditch can not be extended to the pond, she will receive no benefitCommissioner John M Booker noted he and Commissioner Jerry F Wood have metwith the Drainage Board and feel the first issue should be to decide if a new district is tobe formed and determine the correct boundaries so all landowners in the area would betaxed equally The second priority is the problem at Holts Pond This is a difficult issuebecause of the government regulations concerning wetlands, and the cost involvedMr York explained the ideal situation would be to extend the channel to the pond,however since this is wetlands, there is little that can be done The original ditch stoppedat a bridge, which no longer exists There is a two-foot elevation between the stoppingpoint and the pond He and Commissioner John Booker have met with the Corps ofEngineers to discuss the problem One suggestion would be to remove all vegitation andkeep it clear so some of the water can wash through to the pond This52would help some Under current regulations, when wetlands are disturbed, approval fromthe Corps of Engineers is required and three acres must be put back for every one acredestroyedRichard Braswell stated he lives at the end of the district and gets no benefit fromthe drainage ditch He would be in favor of the project if the channel could be opened sohis property would drainTeeny Bizzell stated that if a district is formed, a ceiling should be placed on theamount of taxes that couldbe levied and automobiles shouldbe exempt He recommendeda five-cent limitThe Board explained any discussion on tax rates is premature because the booksfrom the existing District must be audited and outstanding debt taken into considerationBarry Godwin from the Town of Pine Level questioned how Selmas citizens wouldbe taxed if the Town pays their portion, and what would happen if the Town decided notto do this in the futureCommissioner Booker explained that Selma residents would be taxed based ontheir property value, the same as all others As long as the Town pays, the propertieswould be set up similar to escrow accounts If Selma were to stop paying this, thenproperty owners would be billed the same as everyone elseRoy Worrells and Keith Edwards questioned how the District would work BerniceCreech opposed any additional taxes for this purposeSteve Bizzell noted he has looked at several maps which differ He recommendedthe original map be usedCounty Manager, Richard Self, explained the Countys GIS Mapping Departmentcreated a map using the original meets and bounds as set out in the original documentsHe suggested those present look at the map to see if they had any questions Severalproperty owners studied the map and a few adjustments were notedFollowing further discussion, the Board stated that letters would be mailed to eachproperty owner in the district indicating when the next meeting would be heldChairman Denning thanked everyone for coming He stated if a new district iscreated, a commission would be formed to oversee the project and recommend a tax rateto the Commissioners He suggested the commission consist of at least five members withtwo of the appointees being representatives from Selma and Pine Level The County wouldoversee the financial records and do the yearly auditsCommissioner Jerry F Wood pointed out the County has never had an active partin the existing Mocassin Creek Drainage District The district has been operated by theMocassm Creek Drainage Board with the assistance of the Clerk of Superior Court Allbooks have been kept by the Drainage Board The only participation by the County hasbeen to donate funds from time to time The new district would, however, be set up withthe County Commissioners as the ultimate authority over an appointed district boardThere being no further comments, Chairman Denning closed the public hearingUpon a motion by Commissioner Jerry F Wood, seconded by Commissioner James WCash and carried by unanimous vote, the Board adjourned special sessionNorman C Denning, ChairmanJoyce H Ennis, ClerkDetailsAnnotationsEntry PropertiesModified11192013 21215 PMCreated4142003 103915 AMTemplateMinutesFieldsMinutes - TypeSpecialMinutes - Date661995Book20