Draft Minutes from OCBA Meeting 9/12

Ocracoke Civic and Business Association Minutes

September 12, 2012

The following minutes will be voted on for approval in October. 

Meeting was called to order at 7:04 p.m. by Rudy Austin.

A motion to approve the minutes of the July andAugust meeting was made by Janey Jacoby and seconded by Dick Jacoby. Motion approved and carried.

Treasurer’s report: Carol Pahl reported total assets of $89,000, which includes a balance of $367 in  the British Cemetery fund.  Accounts receivable are $5,090 from the Occupancy Tax Board.  OCBA has spent $863 for five ferry brochure racks and Village Print is still sending brochures out.  We received a $100 refund from overpayment of insurance. 

As for brochures for these racks, Rudy said the Ferry Division wants one person to deliver all the brochures. So, we’ll need a central place where everyone can take their brochures for this purpose.

A request came in for OCBA to take out an ad in the school basketball tournament program book. Darlene Styron suggested maybe OCBA would rather have a banner in the gym all the time. No action was taken on this item.

NPS Update: Kenny Ballance introduced the new head ranger, Ed Fuller, who will take Kenny’s place after his Oct. 19 retirement.

The four lifeguards at the public beach have left and he hopes they’ll return next year.  Ramp 68 is closed but will open again after the campground closes.

There were 54 turtle nests.  He also wants to do a pregnancy test on one of the mares at the pony pen.

The new superintendent of the Cape Hatteras National Seashore, Ben McKay,  will start Oct. 21.

Southpoint Road is in good shape.

The permit office is open daily from  8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.  Kenny doesn’t think the permits affected the economy and all of the permit fees go back to CHNS.  In 2013, we will see improvements done with this revenue.

The floating dock:  NPS awarded a contract to a Florida firm, which was the low bidder. 

The fire break: this is one thing Kenny wishes he could get done before he leaves, but he doubts it. The new superintendent has it on his agenda, and Kenny told the group to send messages to the new superintendent about the need for this.  Mike Murray (the former superintendent) had made a promise to do this and it wasn’t done.  Same with more parking at the lighthouse—this was something else Kenny would have liked to accomplish before he retires.

Hyde County manager: Mazie Smith reported that Hyde County approved a $2,500 matching grant to the Scenic Byways project.  

The first floor of the old courthouse in Swan Quarter has been leased to the Friends of the Historic Courthouse and has been used by tourists.  Ocracoke information is there, too.

BHM Library system: the Ocracoke Library is used a lot by tourists and she urged folks to let the commissioners know at the next meeting how important the library is.

There will be upcoming workforce development training in the county TBD.

She praised the EMS staff for all of their hard work this summer.

The county is selling off property it doesn’t use. The Flying Melon has asked to purchase one of these parcels behind their new location on The Back Road.

As for Raleigh politics, she noted that with redistricting, rural districts won’t have as much representation since representation is now based on population.  Mazie is part of a group of counties east of I-95.

Ferry tolls: we have a few more months before the subject of raising tolls on the ferries comes up again in Raleigh. Hyde is looking to retain the lobbyists Joe and Henri McClees.  

Flood plain: if all of Hyde County is deemed a flood plain, it will change everything.  This is something to watch for.

Blackbeard’s Pirate Jamboree: Connie Leinbach explained this new festival, which will be Oct. 26 and 27, with the 26 focus on Hatteras in the evening and the 27th all day on Ocracoke. 

There will be an encampment by Blackbeard’s Pirate Crew, a living history group from Hampton, Va., on the grounds of the Wahab House (Chip Stevens’ front lawn), two pirate boats arriving and firing canons, a scavenger hunt through village businesses, a vendor area at Community Square.  

The pirate walk to Springer’s Point will be on Sunday, Oct. 28.  The idea is for another event in the shoulder season,  span both islands and ramp up to a big event in 2018, the 300th anniversary of Blackbeard’s death.  Word has gotten out among the “pirate” community and many “pirates” are expected to attend.  Mazie noted that 30 members of the NC Association of Rural Planners will be on the island that weekend. 

Fourth of July: Fred Westervelt reported a snafu in logistics resulting in a delay in Donald Davis getting an amplifier for his storytelling.  After some discussion, Darlene Styron made a motion that OCBA purchase a sound system, price not to exceed $600, for general use, seconded by Carol Pahl. Motion approved and carried.  Darlene said she would tell the Davis’s about this.

Fred also declined to chair the July 4th event for 2013. So another chair will be needed.

OCBA dues:  Carol reported that Valerie Mason (Village Print) does not expect printing costs to go up next year. Dues notices will go out by the end of September and are due Nov. 1.  After some discussion, the group agreed that we can’t rely on a grant from Saltwater Connections for a suggested redesign/combining of the walking brochure and asset brochure.  Carol said the OCBA has 140 members and is healthy with the dues structure we have and made a motion to keep the 2013 membership dues the same as 2012 and the brochure the same, seconded by Linda Scarborough. Motion approved and carried.  

There was some confusion as to what Saltwater Connections’ role is and how they would control grant recipients. Saltwater Connections would like to market and connect  the coastal region but retain each area’s unique qualities.  It also was noted that these Saltwater Connection grants are not actually paying for paid staff (job creation), but are paying for contracted services. Deadline to resubmit the grant is Sept. 30.

Carol moved that OCBA withdraw its grant to Saltwater Connections for a marketing and visitor bureau director, seconded by Fred.  Motion approved and carried.

Discussion about promoting the island: Do we need a paid person for this? Could the Hyde County chamber do this for us (even though they are 23 miles across the water)?  Can we boost the OCBA to hire someone to do this, and does the community even care about this group and what it’s doing?

Candidates' night: The next meeting Oct. 10 will be a forum with all the candidates running for Hyde County commissioner.  A couple of them might not be in attendance. 

Items for a general email to the island email list:

  • Tell businesses where to take their brochures for inclusion on ferry racks
  • Someone to chair the July 4th events
  • Candidate’s night questions for the Oct. 10 meeting.

Fire Dept. Update: Ernie Doshier showed drawings of the proposed new fire house site and explained how the move to a new site came to be.  He said they will try to build the new building with as much local help as possible.  The price tag is $1.5 million for everything, which includes $250,000 worth of pre-building site work.  The group has raised $1 million.  They have all the permits except the building permit.

Meeting adjourned at 8:53 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Connie Leinbach

Acting secretary

 
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