Olde Towne Crier May 2008

Olde Towne Crier

Code Enforcement

We have invited Michael Zehner, from the Town of Belville (371-2456), Planner/Code Enforcement to attend our meeting on June 3 which will be at Stuart Smith’s home at 10076 SOTW at 7 p.m. Please attend if you have questions for him. You can also call him with any relevant Code Enforcement/Animal Control issues that Olde Towne homeowners are concerned with, and need attention.

Annual Meeting & BBQ

The Olde Towne Community Association Annual Meeting was held on April 26, 2008. We had a wonderful sunny day and we all enjoyed our beautiful park the wonderful food (burgers, ‘dogs’ chicken and BBQ and some scrumptious desserts) and we all left very full. About 33 adults and 3 children attended. Stuart presented Matt Knotts with a plaque in appreciation of all his work in the park. New officers of the OTCA board were announced as follows: Denny Kern-President, Joe Breault-Vice President, Bobbi Figzpatrick-Secretary, Bev Farrington-Treasurer. Our thanks to Joe Breault and Jonas Williams for cooking the burgers and chicken, and for Pat Ashburner and Mary Breault for organizing and setting up, and everyone else that lent at hand. Also thanks to Bev Farrington for taking and posting pictures for everyone to see on the OTCA blogspot

http://oldetownenc28451.blogspot.com. The pictures are fabulous! Also check out her pictures of the painted pipes.

Dues

Dues for the OTCA for 2008 are now due. Dues are only $24 Please support your community by joining our association and getting involved. Fill out the enclosed membership information and leave it with your check in the OTCA mailbox or give it to any committee member. If you can’t seem to get out of the house, call our new president, Denny at 383-0559 and he will come by and pick up your check. Unsure if you should join? Read the enclosed “Why Join our Association”, written by our Vice President, Joe Breault who is heading our new membership drive.

OTCA Meeting

June 3, 2008
7 p.m.

at Stuart Smith’s home

10076 SOTW

We hope to have Michael Zehner from the Town of Leland

in attendance

We hope to see you there!

Welcome Newcomers

If you have just moved to Olde Towne please call Patricia Ashburner at 383-0632 and let her know you’re here, or stop by at our next association meeting. We’d love to meet you and welcome you to our community.

Yard Sale

Don’t forget we have our annual Yard Sale in September. This is a community-wide event and is usually well attended. As you start your Spring cleaning, put aside anything you think you could sell at the yard sale – don’t forget one man’s trash is another’s treasure, so get a few dollars out of your junk, make room for some new stuff, and help your association as well.

Olde Towne Info

Bev Farrington is looking for information about the history of Olde Towne. If you, or anyone you know, has any information about the history of Olde Towne, or have any old photographs, she would love to hear from you. Call Bev for more specifics 371-3990

Future OTCA Events

Yard Sale: September TBD

Lobster Feast: TBD
Children’s Halloween Party: October 20

Oyster Roast: November 10

Children’s Christmas Party: December 15

CARPENTRY HOME REPAIRS & MAINTENANCE
INTERIOR & EXTERIOR

Kitchens, baths, tile work, painting,

wallpaper, roofing, siding

ALL JOBS — SMALL OR LARGE
JONAS WILLIAMS 371-0328
10061 N. Olde Towne Wynd

SWART LAWN SERVICE

Over 20 years experience

Call Charles
for a free estimate

371-6083

Call Stuart Smith (371-9555) Free Daylilies

Olde Towne Community Association Membership

Directory Update

Please fill out the following information. Information requested is used to update the directory and

contact you regarding events in the neighborhood. If you are providing your email address, please indicate if you wish to receive your Crier via email. Updated directories will be delivered when

available to all members after they pay their 2008 dues of $24.00

Name:_________________________ Name: ________________________

Employer:___________________________ Employer:____________________________

Address: _____________________________________________________________________

Phone:________________ E-mail address ________________________ Email Crier: Y N

First Names of Children and ages (we like this info for planning activities – please indicate if
you don’t want this information in the directory) ______________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________

Trained babysitter available to babysit in Olde Towne

Name___________________ Age ____ (will be published in the directory)




I have enclosed my $24.00 dues check payable to OTCA.

Please return this form to the Olde Towne mailbox located at the front mall entrance or to any officer.
Call Denny Kern if you would like the check picked up. Call Joe Breault if you need any further information regarding membership benefits or would like to know ways to get involved in your community.

Why join the Community Association (OTCA)?

A community is made up of neighbors. Nothing promotes friendship better than the opportunity to share good times and laughter together. Among other things, our Association does just that….it provides an opportunity, or excuse if you will, to get out of our houses and enjoy the company of others.

In past issues of the “Crier” we have spoken about some of the other things the Association has done and is doing on our behalf. From maintaining the beauty of the entrance of our development to improvements to our community park, from addressing issues of concern before our Belville officials to striving for acceptance of our roads and improving our safety, and much more. We are currently building a new tree-house/fort complete with slide, a glider for mothers with little ones, a Baby’s swing and even “Monkey Bars” next to the existing swing set.

Following are a few of the Associations sponsored events:

In case you missed it, our children had a “BALL” at our community Easter Party. Everything from sack races to egg-and-spoon races, from pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey to Egg coloring, from a visit by a 300 lb Easter Bunny to the Egg hunt, was enjoyed by all.

On April 26^th we hosted our annual B-B-Q. Everything from grilled chicken to pulled pork B-B-Q, from “Joes Famous Steak Burgers” to hot dogs with all the fixins’ and all the soft drinks, are provided by the Association.

In the fall we organize and advertise our neighborhood Yard sale. This is a fund raising event for the OTCA (you pay a percentage of your sales) and is a great way to clear out some of your ‘stuff’.

In September we host a Halloween Party for the young and young-at-heart in the park.

In October we will have fresh lobsters flown in from Maine for our “Down-East Feast-Surf and Turf” extravaganza, a members-only event and tickets must be purchased in advance.

In December we sponsor a “Progressive Dinner” which everyone enjoyed so much last year and we also have a kid’s Christmas party in the park – Santa visits and hands out gifts. We play games and have a wonderful time.

So if you enjoy good times, laughter, meeting new people and welcoming old friends, then join NOW. You’ve got nothing to lose and everything to gain by doing so. If you have any questions, call me, or better yet, join us at one of our monthly meetings. Joe Breault, 383.3664.

Mark McAllistar –Responses to Questions about Belville

Mark McAllistar Belville Commissioner, met with Olde Towne Community Association on March 12, 2008. Below is a summary of the responses from Mark.

1. Was Ms. Tracie Davis hired as our City Planner/Administrator? Answer: On September 11, 2006, Ms. Tracie Davis was hired as the Town Administrator. After the Town of Belville conducted the Charette in February of 2007, it became clear that the Town needed both an Administrator and a Planning Director given the amount of work needed to accomplish the goals of the Vision 2020 plan. Michael Zehner was hired under a two-year contract. The need for a planning director will be reevaluated at the end of his contract. The scope and the direction of the town’s land use have broadened to the extent that requires more than one professional staff member that possess municipal planning experience.

2. Do we need all of our town employees when we really only receive limited services? Answer: All current employees are necessary for the current day-to-day operations of the town. All positions are evaluated during each budget cycle in efforts to meet needs of the community.

3. How did we move our town office without a public meeting? Answer: The Town of Belville did not move without a public meeting. The BOC discussed moving Town Hall into Belville at the budget workshop on Saturday, May 19, 2007. Staff submitted the budget with said change for BOC and public review on May 29, 2007 and the BOC approved the budget with monies appropriated to move Town Hall back to Belville during the budget public hearing on June 11, 2007 (see exhibit 5). The monies appropriated can be found in the Budget in the Department of General Administration, line item, 10-4120-0412 Rent of Office for 54,000. This provided in the budget workbooks provided to the public. Additionally, the budget is published on the Towns web site.

4. Do we need an attorney when we could really use only a staff consultant for services rendered? Answer: Yes, no one at the staff level has a law degree.

5. Do we have our town attorney on a $5,000 a month retainer? Answer: The Town Attorney has an annual contract for 60K. This is the first year the town has utilized a contract with Mr. James Eldridge. To date this method has saved the town approximately 20K.

6. Do we have a litter control plan? If yes, what is it? Answer: The Town of Belville does not currently own or maintain any right-of-way beyond the pavement of several streets within the Olde Towne Subdivision. The Town has not received any complaints or requests to clean up litter upon right-of-ways currently under their ownership or maintenance until this request. Private right-of-ways and public streets under the maintenance and ownership of DOT would be the responsibility of those entities to maintain. If a complaint for litter within a NCDOT ROW was received, a request would be made to NCDOT to clean up the area; if a complaint for litter within a private right-of-way were received a warning would be issued to the entity required to maintain such ROW. This item was discussed at the 2008 BOC retreat and staff is currently working on alternatives for the Board to consider.

7. Do we have any sign repair control at this time? Answer: Yes, however, current staff member is out on sick leave. Planning Director Michael Zehner will perform an inventory and rating of all street signs within the Town. Based on such findings an action plan and procedure for replacing such signs will be conducted by the end of the current budget year.

8. The street sign at the entrance of Olde Towne at Hwy 133 needs to be replaced. Is there a time frame on when this will be accomplished? Answer: ASAP

9. We have ATV’s/Quads using our streets, what should a homeowner do about the noise, speeding and disrespect for street laws? Answer: This is a traffic/criminal enforcement matter and should be referred to the Brunswick County Sheriff (911).

10. Do we have a Belville Beautification Control Plan? Answer: The text amendments adopted in November 2007, specifically the creation of the Downtown and Blackwell Road Overlay Districts, work to achieve the improved streetscape appearance identified in the Vision 2020 Plan.

11. Do we have an animal control plan for Belville? Answer: Yes, we have a mutual aide contract with the Town of Leland as well as the Town of Belville Animal Control Ordinance.

12. Where are we at on our Belville Entrance Project Plan? Answer: To the best of my knowledge, we do not have a project/plan titled “Belville Entrance Project”. If this refers to the entrance signage on 133, Michael Zehner recently met with NCDOT to discuss constructing a new sign in the ROW and will be working to present a proposal to the BOC in the coming months. Ultimately, such a proposal will need to receive approval by the NCDOT in the form of a ROW encroachment permit. There is 3000K appropriated in this fiscal year to improve the Welcome Sign. This item was discussed at the 2008 BOC retreat and staff is currently working on alternatives for the Board to consider.

13. Do we have a Public Works Department? Answer: No, however, staff has prepared an RFP for General ROW Maintenance.

14. Where are all our tools being stored which were at the old town hall? Answer: The tools are located in the storage unit leased in February of 2007.

15. Does Belville have a 2008 wind storm clean-up plan? If yes, what is it? Answer: Yes.

16. Does Belville have communications equipment to use in case of an emergency with our county and state emergency response teams? Answer: Yes, cell phone and landlines, moreover, Randy Thompson has promised to provide the Town with a free radio. All town staff has passed 100, 200, 700 National Incident Management System (NIMS) courses. This provides a standard communication system between the Town, County, State, and Federal Agencies. Additionally, the Town can receive monies for disaster related events now that all members of staff have successfully completed the NIMS training.

17. Are there any 2008 Hurricane Brochures? If yes, where can we pick them up? Answer: The new brochures from Brunswick County will be ready in four weeks. Citizens can pick them up at Town Hall once they are ready (see exhibit 11 for our current information).