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August 2024 Town Board Meeting
Elections not changed, Board of Adjustment up in the air
August 16, 2024

T
uesday night’s meeting started out with all chairs filled, and a few residents standing. After the announcement that moving the year of the local elections was tabled, residents began trickling out.

But Commissioners, and the Public, had more to say on the matter.

Present at the meeting were Mayor Sally Belangia, Commissioners Allen Price, Charlie Overcash, Frank Roe, Breena Litzenberger, and Bonnie Crosser. Also in attendance: Town Manager Diane Miller, Deputy Finance Officer Lisa Millington, and Officer Nic Blayney. Former Deputy Finance Officer Tammy Cox, still with the Town on contract, was also present.

Agenda Reduction
Commissioner Frank Roe had added several extra items to the monthly agenda, including moving local elections to even years. Before the meeting began, Roe spoke with Commissioners Charlie Overcash and Breena Litzenberger about revising it.

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Commissioners at Tuesday night’s Town Board meeting.
They reached an agreement, and after Mayor Belangia called the meeting to order, Commissioner Breena Litzenberger made a motion to amend the agenda.

Two items – a budget amendment and an ordinance revision – were moved to the Consent Agenda. Four items – an adjustment to the Town’s overtime policy and discussions on the Green Waste Dumpster, possible cardboard pickup, and allowing alcohol on town property at events – were moved off the agenda, to be taken up at a later workshop.

The last item – moving municipal elections to even years – was tabled.

All Commissioners approved the changes.

Moving Elections – Extending the Term
Though now off the agenda, the public and Commissioners spoke about the local elections during designated comment periods.

Pamlico County municipal elections are currently held every 2 years, in odd numbered years. The current Board was elected in November 2023, to serve a two year term beginning January 2024.

Over the years, different Town Boards have discussed moving elections. With each discussion, Commissioners have acknowledged that one Board may end up serving a three year term during the transition period. Most recently, the topic was brought up during the Manager’s Report at the February 2024 Town Meeting, as information for Commissioners.

Comments from the Public:
“The item I wanted to talk about was tabled, but I’m here and it’s now,” said Carol Small during Public Comments. “I think you should stick with what you have and not try to extend the term of the current Commissioners.” Small said she had an issue with one Commissioner that she would not bring up, but “it cost the town a lot of money and I want to see that it doesn’t happen again.”

Roger Huth spoke next, referencing statements made indicating the move was not about extending Commissioners’ terms by a year. “This is disingenuous at best, dishonest at worst, because in effect that’s exactly what it is.” There was only one way to accomplish the move, said Huth: extend terms by one year or reduce by one year.

Commissioners extending their own term by a year “is a pretty clear conflict of interest, something that board members of any ethical organization must always avoid even the appearance of.” Huth advocated leaving the decision to the public, and not to Commissioners.

Former Commissioner David White was next. “You signed up for two years and that is what you should do,” he said. “At times, this Board is a dysfunctional Board. I don’t see a lot of trust and confidence with each other. Y’all don’t work well together. Why would we want to extend you another year?”

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Carol Small at the podium.

Commissioner Comments: Commissioner Roe said, “I’m the one that dreamed up let’s go to even year elections.” Roe said he’d read in the Sun Journal there was a trend to move that way because of early and absentee voting. “And I resent anyone saying there were some nefarious things.” He believed in early and absentee voting, said Roe and the information was not presented that way.

“It was my idea. It was nobody else’s idea.”

Manager Miller followed up on his comment with additional information. The issue was discussed at a County Leadership meeting, she said, raised because all of Craven County moved to even year elections except Vanceboro.

“Vanceboro ended up shouldering the burden for the entire odd year election by themselves,” said Miller. “So their cost was much more than it had ever been.”

Miller added that Oriental had stopped paying for early and absentee voting in municipal elections. They were the only town in Pamlico County doing so, and it added about $4,000 to the cost. “Two cycles ago we chose not to do that anymore, and our bill for this last election was $755.”

“As you sit right now, without making any changes, as long as everybody else stays on the odd years, we’re good,” said Town Manager Miller.

Any change in election year would require a local bill in the form of a resolution to the State Legislature, she said.

Commissioner Litzenberger asked if it could be put to the public as a ballot measure. Miller said no – “that’s a Board vote.” Miller said if the vote to change was not unanimous, per Town Attorney Scott Davis, “there’s a 50/50 chance the General Assembly won’t take it up.”

Litzenberger asked if they could specify the next Board of Commissioners to be the Board to serve three years, Commissioners Roe and Crosser spoke over her saying, “No, no, you can’t do that.”

But Commissioners can. Attorney Davis told Miller Commissioners could specify it in the resolution they sent to the General Assembly.

Commissioner Roe said, “We’ve tabled this Mayor,” and moved to end the conversation.

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Jennifer Palikowski speaks during public comments.

“Look at it all”
Commissioner Crosser asked to add a final comment. She said in 2021 “we had 120 people turn out for that election. That was COVID. There was problems.”

In 2019, she continued, “we did pay over $4,000. We had a good turnout because we did offer the services that everyone wanted. “You have to be careful on which year you pull to justify,” she said. “It’s better to look at it all.”

If you do look at it all, Oriental has had a high turnout if one simple thing was true: there were more candidates than seats.

Here are the number of voters by election year (with no early or absentee voting in 2021 and 2023):

2023: 447 (6 candidates)
2021: 184 (5 candidates for 5 seats, plus COVID)
2019: 202 (Effectively 5 candidates. There were 6, but one moved away before the election.)
2017: 359 (7 candidates)
2015: 342 (7 candidates)
2013: 385 (11 candidates)
2011: 428 (7 candidates)
2009: 443 (9 candidates)
2007: 412 (6 candidates)
2005: 457 (12 candidates for town board, and 2 candidates for mayor)

Two Candidates, No Appointments
Janice Cox, a member of the Board of Adjustment, is resigning her position. The Board of Adjustment is quasi-judicial and meets to hear appeals, variances, and questions involving interpretations of the GMO. They are the only Board whose judgements may supplant those made by the Board of Commissioners.

In 2022, when the Board of Adjustment appointment process was discussed, Town Manager Miller said, “This is a Board whose appointments are really important, because it goes from them to Superior Court.” Their judgements can be recalled.

Two candidates applied for the position: Jennifer Roe and Roger Huth. Roe is the wife of sitting Commissioner Frank Roe.

Public Comments on Conflict of Interest
Jennifer Pawlikowski and Jennifer Roe both spoke on the appointments during public comments.

Pawlikowski questioned why, if Commissioners had agreed before that the appointment of a spouse creates a conflict of interest, it was happening again. She said the Town’s legal counsel said “a Board member may vote to appoint his or her spouse, but it’s not the best look.” She asked that Commissioner Roe be excused from the vote, saying, “why we would open ourselves up to negative perceptions and possible expensive legal battles?”

Jennifer Roe said “there are no lawful rules against a spouse sitting on a committee, a volunteer committee at that, nor are there rules or regulations or policies to accommodate that.” She outlined her experiences as a one-term Town Commissioner, eight years on the Pamlico County Board of Elections, and her duties there. If the Board did not choose her, she said, “I would hope that you would still reach out and look for applicants, more applicants to choose from.”

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Jennifer Roe lists her qualifications.

Applying in October 2022
Roe applied for the same position in October 2022. Similarly, her husband was a Commissioner (serving his first term) and there was a second applicant: Chris Moffatt.

During discussions, Commissioners David White, Charlie Overcash, and Allen Price agreed Roe was qualified to hold the position. However, Overcash said “the relationship between Frank and Jennifer Roe could give the appearance that might open us up to questions,” per the October 2022 meeting minutes.

Moffatt was appointed to the Board in a 4-0 vote, with Commissioner Roe recusing himself. He did not cast a vote for either candidate.

Applying in August 2024
This time around, Roger Huth was the second applicant. He was vetted by Board Chair Joe Valinoti. Huth did not speak for himself, but his application lists his qualifications as “37 years of experience conducting investigations relating to allegations of violations of policy and law as well as evaluating potential exceptions, mitigating circumstances and providing recommendations for corrective or other action.”

Mayor Belangia explained Commissioners would have to nominate a candidate and then make a motion to vote. Commissioner Litzenberger nominated Roger Huth. The vote failed 3-2 with Price, Roe and Crosser against, Overcash and Litzenberger for. There was no discussion on Huth’s qualifications, no reason given for the votes against.

Commissioner Price nominated Jennifer Roe. Commissioner Frank Roe asked to be recused from that vote.

Commissioners Overcash said Roe was “eminently qualified” but parroted his earlier point from 2022. “We cannot have any appearance of a conflict of interest,” he said, “This is when you have to think smart, and not what you’d like.”

Litzenberger seconded Overcash’s assessment of Jennifer Roe’s qualifications. “The spouse sitting on the Board of Adjustment would be deciding whether their spouse [on the Board of Commissioners] decided the matter correctly,” she said. Litzenberger argued the appointment opened the Town up to liability.

There was no further discussion.

Price and Crosser voted for Roe, while Litzenberger and Overcash voted against. Commissioner Roe did not vote. With the tie vote, Mayor Belangia was the tie-breaker. “I feel the same way as Overcash and Litzenberger,” she said, and voted against.

The position remains open.

Short Term Rentals and the Special Use Process
Commissioners set public hearings for two short term rentals. Both are on Mildred Street. Hearings for both are set for the September 3 Town Board Meeting.

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Former Commissioner David White during public comments.

Special Use Permit Process
Commissioners are discussing the process for the Special Use Permit (SUP) that allows short term rentals and other ‘special uses’ for town buildings. Under the current process, the applicant of the SUP does not have to show evidence why the permit should be granted. Instead – if the special use is not wanted – neighboring property owners must produce evidence against that use.

All most all of North Carolina does it the other way – putting the burden on applicants instead of neighbors.

With businesses like the Brewery and several restaurants (which have SUP permits) this has not been a problem. Those are also located in mixed-use (commercial and residential) areas. However, the rise of short term rentals (granted by SUP) in residential neighborhoods has highlighted the problem.

The SUP process is laid out in the Town’s Growth Management Ordinance, and directed by NC General Statute. There are seven requirements to grant an SUP. If all requirements are met, then the SUP is granted.

“You can’t have a vote that says, ‘well, I protest vote and don’t want it,’” said former Commissioner David White during public comment. “If it meets all the conditions, the board has to vote for it. Otherwise, you’re gonna get taken to court. If it gets overruled, we’ll have an expensive legal process.”

He asked Commissioners to go ahead and change the process. “You’ve had a draft [ordinance] since December that the lawyer wrote. It’s now eight months and it’s still a draft.”

Who Makes the Decision
Currently, the Planning Board makes a recommendation and Commissioners decide on the SUP process. Some municipalities, like New Bern, have shifted SUP decision making to other Boards. Among other things, it relieves elected officials of having to deny permits.

“I heard that the Board is also considering shifting the SUP process to either the Planning Board or the Board of Adjustments,” said White.

“These boards are volunteer boards. They were not elected by the people. You all were elected by the people. You need to make the decision on the issue.”

Commissioners asked to meet with the Town Attorney to get clarification on what is considered evidence for granting or denying an SUP. No hearing was set for the change.

Parks & Recreation: Unlimited Members
The Parks & Recreation Board is working to revise Chapter N of Oriental’s General Ordinances (covering the Parks & Recreation Board) to apply for grants.

The first change before the Board of Commissioners is to the number of committee members, from 5 to “the number of people it takes to get the job done.”

Commissioner Overcash asked about term limits, Commissioner Crosser replied, “until they decide they don’t want to be on the Board.” Overcash said he preferred term limits for members. Crosser said to hold off on striking out term limits until the final revision of Chapter N was complete and ready to go before Commissioners.

Commissioners agreed to the change and four new members were immediately appointed to the board without discussion: Barbara Miller, Steve Price, Alice Flanagan, and Denise Hayward.

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The Pamlico County Arts Council pirates accept their proclamation from Mayor Belangia.
Manager’s Report & Other Information
  • Green Waste Dumpster donation: David Smith and Margaret Carman wrote a joint letter to the Mayor advising the Town to keep the dumpsters, and that it was far better than burning it. They asked Commissioners to invite the Coastal Environmental Partnership to present their free educational program, and donated $680 “to sponsor four dumpster pickups.”
  • Cease and Desist order: Owners of 620 Windward Drive finally signed for a Cease and Desist order for using their R1 home as a short-term rental (not allowed in R1 areas). As they continue to use it as a short-term rental, the town’s Attorney can begin injunction proceedings.
  • TextMyGov: Oriental has begun a new system that allows residents to get Town alerts on their phone, and to report issues (like potholes) to the town. Over 100 residents have signed up.
  • Notice of Violation: August’s water bills included a notice of violation – this is not a new violation, per Manager Miller. A water sample glass was broken by the testing lab in October. This notice is to fulfill compliance requirements.
  • PCAC Pirates Month: Mayor Sally Belangia presented a proclamation to the Pamlico County Arts Council establishing August as Pamlico County Arts Council Pirates Month.
  • Meeting Minutes: Commissioners approved the new style of meeting minutes with the list of the actions taken at the end of the minutes.
  • Town’s New Pickup Truck: A new pickup truck was ordered for Public Works months ago and they have still not received it. Manager Miller said there was an immediate factory recall on all new ford pickup trucks, and the truck is waiting for the part.
  • Keep White Farm Road at 35 mph: Rick Edwards said he’d heard people in his community talking about raising the speed limit on White Farm Rd to 45 mph. He asked that it remain at 35 mph for safety as vehicles are speeding there anyway.

Dates to Know
The next Town Board Meeting will be Tuesday, September 3 at 6p.

Related Information

Posted Friday August 16, 2024 by Allison DeWeese


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