Mr.
Groes, myself, and Dr. Tate are here. So we just hope to have a very informative night,
taking questions, having some good productive dialogue.
So hopefully we'll have some good
productive dialogue tonight. And if there's not anything that throughout the year we've
We'll take your questions, and we've got some county staff here, hopefully some subject matter experts that can help us along the way.
So we'll hit this kick-off.
If anybody's got any questions or concerns, we'll start, and just hand the microphone around.
We'll take questions as best we can.
Yes, ma'am, we won't have to sign up tonight.
You can feel free to stand up.
We'll get you a mic, and you can talk.
Absolutely.
Welcome.
Let's roll.
Well, the folks at whom I think the folks who might need to hear what you're
going to ask because they may have the same question. Okay. Well, they probably
they probably don't but just the same. Well, fire away. Good evening everyone. My
name is Regina Fennell. I live at 815 Ridgewood Avenue, Burgall, North Carolina.
And I missed the June whatever date it was. County Commissioners meet me
because I had a speech that I need to give but I'll end up giving it at the
next one, even though it's past information, it's all about the property taxes for me.
I stopped in the other day and they gave me some kind of thing called, some called change
value delta.
He explained to me what that was.
I am now waiting to hear when do I go before the Board of Adjustments?
I mean, the review board, I'm waiting, I received an email from them and this
is my question.
This is just one of many.
And I'm going to sit down and give somebody else a chance.
Why is it that I'm getting emails from the county,
but I can't get a written response like this?
I don't sometimes don't have access to a printer.
So now I got to run around, take my email,
and run it over here and print it off to have a hard copy.
So that's why is it that they're doing that instead
of just giving me a hard copy of, hey,
we received your appeal and dah, dah, dah, dah.
It had all these numbers on it,
something about Delta change and all this foolishness.
So I went up the other day to try to figure it out
because I said, I've been out of state
and I'm just now back in.
So that's one of my questions.
If someone can just answer that question for me,
why is it, how come they're not giving it to us
in a hard snail meal, as they call it, instead of email?
Yes, ma'am.
First off, were they able to help you
and assist you any today when you went up there?
He gave me the definition of the delta change, wait, what, I'm so sorry.
I'm sorry, take your time.
I got to roll down here.
He gave me the definition of a value change delta in that email.
He said it was the difference between the appraised value and the requested value.
And so then I asked him, okay, I said, example, because I can't use mine because I don't know what mine is.
I mean other than what he told me and I said well let me use my sister as an
example you said that her home was valued at $98,000 I said it is a 28 and a half
year old double-wide mobile home on its last leg and you're telling me it's
valued at $98,000 it's in a floodplain it's in the AE floodplain it needs
in major repairs and you're still comparing it
to one of these houses down the street
or are you comparing it to the mobile home
over yonder on Antoinette Drive?
So which one?
Because that's the only comparable thing
that's 28 years of all age and falling down.
And he just told me she has to wait for an answer.
They got some kind of miniature.
You send an appeal in, it goes to them.
They'll look it over and they will decide if it's going to the review board.
That's not the information that we were given right here.
We were told to appeal and if we didn't like what was happening, then we're going to the review board.
How come they've now put something in the middle of them and the review board?
Okay. I don't know if Mr. Manager can speak to that.
Do we have anybody from the tax office here?
No, they went home.
Got idea five o'clock as I was there about two minutes to five. I got you. That's all right. They're there to help you
I will say one thing about the floodplain that does significantly impact
Evaluation of the property if it's in a floodplain and they will correct that if if they haven't noted it, but mr. Manager, please
Yes, ma'am. So the the middle step where we do the the staff review of the appeal
That is to yes, ma'am. I'm sorry. I thought you were asking me to hold on
So you submit your appeal and our staff look it over and we work it.
And what that does is we sit here and say we agree with your appeal or staff don't agree with your appeal.
And if we do a bunch of work and we come to a consensus and we agree yes, this is a fair value,
then it doesn't have to go to the Board of ENR.
Whereas if we do the work and we still disagree at the end of us looking at your appeal,
then it goes to the Board of ENR.
It's meant to reduce their caseload
when we can't handle it administratively,
but if you don't agree with the staff's decision,
it will always go to the Board of ENR.
Okay.
Based on what Mr. Burton just said,
the Commissioner Burton just said is that,
and I already noticed, I've done,
I've y'all seen me many times before here
since this stuff set off.
I've been doing all kind of research.
I probably can do better than what they're doing,
but I'm not going to,
But I have done all kind of research.
I've been all in the law books.
I've been doing this, that none.
Because the flood zone impacts that value.
But for whatever reason, they reduced her taxes by $2,000.
It went from $98 to $96 in a flood plain.
And I didn't understand that there.
And so she took that letter that they gave her,
which I didn't get the letter.
I got an email and said, if you agree with this,
please submit this to us within 30 days.
When I got back from Colorado Springs,
I immediately turned it into them,
and I said, I want a copy of it
because she's disagreeing with this issue.
She's in a flood plain,
so why are you only reducing it by $2,000?
I can't believe that there, you know.
So they would have to look at the specific property,
and I don't know the details of the property,
so I don't know.
The Zoom AE, it encompasses all of the western part of the city limits up until you get to
that
street.
I can't remember the street, but anyway, half of the park, what we call it the park, half
of the park is under a flood plain.
Even those new houses that they just built over on Hay Street, they're on a flood plain,
but they're raised up on these cement things.
It's two or three, double-wide, excuse me,
two or three stick-built homes that are for sale over there.
They're under the flood plain.
They're under that same flood zone that's over there
in the city, and we all know anytime heavy rain comes,
satchel, Fremont, all of those streets over in there,
Antenek, Durham Village, all that stuff floods out,
And that's how close it is that she is to Burgall Creek.
She's just that close to it.
And I said, I'm fighting for her, but I'm fighting for me also.
But with me, mine is simple.
Mine is I'm a septic tank lot inside of the town of Burgall.
That immediately knocks off some stuff.
I have a .21 acreage.
And it's own a septic tank system.
There's not much you can do with that other than now
you want to put me on the sewage.
And someone wants it.
Then I got to go in my backyard and dig up the whole backyard in the sewer system and
the accepted tank system to get whatever they need to get out of it.
But it's not worth $35,000.
It went from 10,031 up to 35,000 in some odd dollars.
I thank you all very much for reducing my mobile home.
I try to get a lot of people here to understand
that if I did not own the land, but I own that mobile home
and I've been doing that there since 2017
and I was lied to by the tax office because they told me
because my name was on that deed along with my siblings
things that I had to have my mobile home dedicated as real estate.
The law came into effect and said, no, in 2017, that's 15 years after this 2002 memorandum
went out to the tax assessors, managers office telling them, we understand that this, and
I quote, that there are going to be many mobile homes, whether single-wide or double-wide,
that's going to be impacted where you have them designated as real estate they
should be turned into personal that was back in 2002 my home went in place in
2000 two years after that they still kept me as real estate until all this
foolishness here now transpired when this stuff transpired I did a little
digging and I wouldn't a dug if they hadn't said my my home or 25 year old
mobile home was worth $121,000 comparing it to the new mobile homes.
I have the old type mobile home, and I didn't understand it.
So I blame the county.
I don't blame the commissioners, but I do.
Because you all approved, whoever it was back then,
you approved the schedule of values.
And the schedule of values went against the statues.
because it stated, and I can stand up, North Carolina General Statue, I think is, oh Lord,
273.13 that you had to meet four criteria for it to be considered real estate, and your
schedule of values as of this time, and I didn't bring it, and I'm sorry because I can tell you
what pages on and everything under manufactured homes stated that all mobile homes will
be considered real estate. That is a that is against the law. That's against state
status and you all, whoever it was, you signed off on that saying that that was
true, but that's not true because the statute say something totally different.
I said I did a lot of research and I just been upset about that. I've been
very upset and I'm sorry that it is coming out wrong, but I know that you
all know what I'm talking about. And for a lot of the residents who
didn't get a chance to appeal yet, I plead them to appeal, especially if they own the
land and not the mobile home or vice versa, so we can get these classifications corrected.
And then they can ask for what the statute says, we can ask for refunds.
And that's another question.
How do I get my refund for all of this miscalculation?
Because the statute said if there's a clerical error, which it is, I want my refund.
I can't get 28 and 25 years worth, but I would like to get my three years worth of refund because I have been overtaxed.
And that is General Statue 381, I think, dash 15.
It says that there, and that's the law.
And I didn't write that.
That is the law.
So how do I go about requesting my refund?
So everybody else would know, too.
Yes ma'am. What I would recommend before you leave tonight is give your name and contact information to the manager and staff
so they can help you navigate that process to make sure that you get anything that's entitled to you.
If you've been overtaxed, you need a refund.
We just asked for, and I think it's a systematic problem here.
I agree.
Systematic means I'm asking you all to investigate it.
You need to investigate how many mobile homes are actually personal property
and they've been overtaxed all these years.
There are some stipulations.
They're calling and asking me to help them,
and I have.
I've given them the statues.
I don't know what they've done with that information,
but I'm hoping that they go forward to let you all know,
hey, you've been doing us wrong
and all we are looking for is transparency
and fairness, truth and honesty.
That's all we're looking for.
Well, thank you for your diligence.
Yes, ma'am.
Thank you for bringing that down our attention again.
Yes.
Okay, we
can do that before not staying right. Yes ma'am, do you feel free? Okay, I'm with
her on the taxes. No, we have appeal diaries. We appeal diaries, I think, just since we
got it. And we went out and talked to them. They came out to our house and looked around.
They come up with another figure. We appealed that. And we have not heard back from them.
have talked to them several times on the phone and they have not gotten back to us with something
definite. They said they're still working on it because they're working on the neighborhood
in a general, you know, the whole neighborhood area. So that's why they claim they are not
putting a figure in concrete more or less yet because they're working on the whole
neighborhood in the whole capacity. I don't know if that's fair or not, we'll
weigh it out when they get through with it. But I am with you on what you're
saying. A lot of people don't understand. And like I've talked to you guys before,
there are people out there. She does have email, but there are people out
there that she can probably vouch for that does not do email let alone being
able to pull it up or print it and they need as she says the whole snail mail now
I'm not taking snail mail because that's what I did for living either but I'm just
saying what I know what I saw out there because I know at first hand they
need to get it in their hand and as the old saying goes it didn't happen
unless you got it in black and white on paper.
Thank you.
Anyone else?
Yeah, use the microphone
so folks at home can hear you.
I'm sorry. I'm just on the road tonight and I apologize.
That's all right. We're a whole church. Go right ahead. We knew we were having a town
meeting. Staff knew what some of the questions were going to be. Why did we not mandate
that they show up your mandate. They show up to the Christmas party. So why are they not here? This
is more than a Christmas party. This is people livelihoods. I understand that we did the 2026
tax values are going to be seen values as last year. But what happens when next year come around?
I pray for you. You don't have to pray for me. You have to pray for yourself.
And I pray for you all because this is the reason why he's not
he's not avenged for God
But when the hurricane start coming through here, and they start blowing paper people houses off of the beach and everything else
Your tax your tax value ain't gonna mean a thing to them. No, ma'am
You're not gonna have a tax base. I agree with you and he's no respecter of persons either
And that's fine, but my thing again is why it's not the
someone represented here from the tax office, not Mr. Saul who represents the
tax office and everything else under him, but how come there isn't anyone here?
Yeah, I understand. I think he gave you an adequate answer that helped navigate
through your problem tomorrow. I don't think even the tax assessor would be
able to give you a definitive answer on what you asked tonight. But the
fellow that gave me the the delta the value change delta he was very
knowledgeable so he would have been able to explain some things when I started
talking about this here value change delta nobody here unless you all been
over there and talking with them you probably don't have a clue that that's
on that their email that they're sending out and I tried to ask them what
what in the world is that that's why I said he explained it to me if
everybody were to get in line behind me the line would have been wrapped
They'll be still be in line right now, trying to get them to explain stuff.
So if they do it in this setting right here, it's all done at one time.
So the good thing is this is the first of two town halls and it's going Thursday night.
So I think the manager's got your message clear.
And we'll have some folks to address your questions Thursday night.
I'm not going to Hamsteed.
For the folks at home and the folks who are going to watch us on YouTube in perpetuity.
Okay.
Well, I have to look at it after the fact because I'm not going to Hamsteed.
that's that's too far to be driving fit to some yes ma'am round trip and gas is
going up so yes ma'am understand that's a burden on again on taxpayers who have
to go over there and I know there isn't anyone here tonight that's that talking
about something else I know I'm on the tax and they're not here and I would
pray that they would have been here and the people that's listening to me on
television. We need to give them people their water. They need their water. You
give them their water. I can give you a story. I grew up here in Bergau and I'm
not ashamed of how I grew up. We grew up pumping and fetching water out the
ground from a pump in my neighbor's yard because we didn't have a pump.
They had to pump. That was the neighborhood pump and that water was
good, fresh and good, clean. But now you're talking about people out here in the western
part of the county. They can't even get good water. Something is wrong with that. If you
walk and buy two or three hundred thousand dollar fleets of trucks and cars for the
police department, everybody seems to have their own vehicle. I can't even afford to
get my car fixed because I'm on a fixed income, but yet I'm looking at them in
$80,000 trucks. Why do they need an $80,000 truck? What was wrong with them getting going
up there and getting a $35,000 truck? What's wrong? $80,000? You all don't know how to
spend money. Let me handle it for a month. I would cut everybody off. They'd be mad
at me. They'd be so glad when I left Friday on day 31 because they wouldn't be able
to have anything but what was needed. We have to live when we're on a budget.
Why can't you all live within your budget?
I'm not just talking about you all, county manager.
I don't know how you all are doing your budget.
I saw the 300 or whatever it's going to be, and I understand that.
But I'm upset about something else, so I'm trying not to let that come in,
and I apologize that I sound like I'm bouncing off the wall because I am.
I'm trying to get all these questions out
in the budget, and I wasn't.
I think I might have been here, and I may not have been here,
but I was so excited to go to Colorado Springs.
You all talked about nonprofits,
and they were gonna get a certain amount.
Are you all able to tell me what that amount was?
Was it $50,000?
I remember giving them.
I'm not sure if it's 50 or 70.
It's one of those amounts.
But let me finish though,
then you can answer the question.
I voted the Ford Pantry.
Ford Pantries are donations from me.
I mean, I go there,
But still, I give donations anyway.
You give donations, you give donations, you give donations.
Now we got this line around the box, around the block,
where I needed food today, and they ran out.
And if they'd have had that money
that you all were supposed to be giving to them,
they could stretch it a little further
to get stuff from the food bank
to try to fill in the gap for the Penn and County
citizens.
For instance, $50,000 and however many nonprofits that we have, you've probably given them $1,000, maybe $2,500 apiece.
That's not enough. I am a recipient of food stamps, and I'm going to stand before you and tell you, I'm a recipient of food stamps.
Thank God for them. What I do get, it helps me get my food in the household.
but there are so many people around here that receive food stamps and they still
have to get in the food line and when they get in that line and
grab their food I'm sorry it's gone and you still got this long line back here
wanting food what can we as Pender County do to help those families if you're
only giving fifty thousand dollars to there's probably four or five food
banks in town that's not enough for them what can we do to modify that's the word
I won't modify the budget to include giving them two or three hundred thousand
dollars you can buy eighty thousand dollar truck you can buy a hundred
thousand dollar dump truck or whatever it is so why can't you give something
that's gonna keep people alive that trucking I can kill this for the
department and their trucks, their trucks don't mean a thing. They ain't but
them sitting in their trucks speeding and doing all the other kind of stuff.
Sometimes I just want to just call it in but I don't and maybe I should but I'm
looking out for the people now. That's who I am. What can we do to help those
nonprofits who have not just only food pantries, clothing, all those other
necessities that these poor folks need around here? Why can't we modify the
budget. Can it be modified to to increase that? Find out what each one really
needs and give them at least 75% of what they're asking for. You can't give
100% but at least 75%. So what we did with
The budget was we did set $50,000 aside for the nonprofits. However, since then, through
working with Representative Smith and Senator Jackson's office in Raleigh, we were able
to get some additional state funding into the county, and so all of the nonprofits who
requested money this year received their full ask, or will be receiving their full
We repeat that one more time, because I'm most certainly going to let Sandy Harris, Appender
County Christian Services, know that I told her something about that, but I couldn't confirm
it for her.
You're seeing it now.
Yes, ma'am.
We've received.
What was the percent we quit?
She does.
Yes, she does.
But yes, they have any, all of our nonprofits received the request that they made to the
commissioners.
That's a life-saving tool for them, that food.
They need those. Otherwise we're going to have people out here homeless people on the streets and I'm being honest because that's the next thing. What happened with housing? How come we can't have more?
Section eight vouchers going out there.
To those families that on a five or six year waiting list, they're waiting for decent housing and they can't get decent housing. And I know that the city don't want people to put up a tent city.
Because they told me, and nobody here representing the town of Bergall either, and I apologized to them.
But you told me that there was an ordinance that said, when I put my tent up in my yard,
I'm not fitting to live in my tent, but it's about homelessness.
My tent doesn't have nothing to do with homelessness, but I fall under that ordinance.
It can only stay up there so many days and you got to take it down.
That's wrong.
So you have homeless people because I know where they live in that.
Some of them are right down there on Ridgid Avenue they and I'm I'm hoping that they're not staying inside of that
They're the storage units to the last few weeks because it's been hard as five
They're in there. They're probably dead as dope nails and nobody don't even realize it, but they're renting
Rental units and that is their house that rental unit is where they're at
They go to the
Scotsman to get water go get water to take baths and all that other stuff
We need to help all of these poor folks around here.
You can't just take the money and give it to folks that don't need it.
Let me put it that way.
I'm just...
We understand.
Yes ma'am.
Sure.
Please do.
And let's talk a little bit about the section 8 housing.
I think that's a bigger systemic problem than just a localized county issue.
I think Ms. Blair is going to lay it out for you.
Yes.
So I don't want to speak too out of turn, but we do have,
we have both section eight housing vouchers
as well as project based housing vouchers.
And the section eight housing vouchers,
we actually have more than we can give out
because we don't have places to home folks.
Our housing department has done several public events
trying to get additional landlords
to become part of the program.
But even if we were to give out the vouchers, we don't have anywhere to place people at the moment.
So the need really is not for more vouchers because we have them.
It's for more landlords to become a part of the program.
My understanding is actually pretty easy to become a part of the program.
You know, you get your rent checked every month from our office.
And so the issue is really just having more places to put the folks that would maintain those vouchers.
We
haven't built any housing for the folks that can fall under Section 8.
I am a tax credit expert because I was in for 25 years and I had to step away from it.
So I know what you're talking about, because Section 8 vouchers can go into tax credit
properties.
So if you all get together with your people up there in Raleigh, and let's put some housing
down here, tax credit property, or allow them to come in, whoever might be stopping
or whatever, all this 1,000 and 1,040 houses going into Rocky Point, and 135 going over
here and be facing all those ones down there on Henry Brown out that way to jail
houses a new detention center there's some kind of houses going out there
those are not affordable housing the poorest folks can't get into these
brand new houses those houses are designed for mirror
and upper class
families our lower class families still need housing too it's not just
systemic I understand that but I'm talking about what can we in Pender County do about
our housing crisis because I'm gonna call it that because you said there's landlords
are not accepting and I know why they're not accepting I was a landlord but I was tax
credit I couldn't turn them away otherwise I can turn them away if I got a bad a bad
bad bad with um background check on them other than that they were in like fleeing
if that's if that's the terminology but outside of that we couldn't turn them
away because if we did North Carolina house and finance would be on our butts
so we had to allow them in so if we build you get the right property manager in
place they're gonna have to be a one like ours I did not play and anybody
that knows me I started off at Ashley Ridge I don't know how it is over
there now, but it was never the way I ran it with her.
That was me. That's how I ran it.
We didn't put up with drugs. I didn't put up with this. I didn't put it. I put them out.
I didn't care about the children on one hand, because you didn't care about your child
and you did this and you knew it was against the rules. And this rules say you got to
get out.
I had to turn a blind eye to it. I just couldn't. I had to. I'm so sorry, baby.
but your your mama and you got to move you know that's just it so please try
to get more house additional housing if there's funds available please please
please please for the low-income families I know that if you get the right
manager in place they're not going to tear it up I can guarantee you because
I used to manage Kerry Chapel Village in Henderson 54 houses low-income families
three and four bedrooms they would tell you they probably was Regina was back
because I ran it like a again with iron fist we you couldn't tell the difference
between the property owner who was paying you know they own their home and the
next door neighbor which was under tax credit you couldn't tell the difference
because that neighborhood it blended in it blended in maybe we need to get
up with some property managers, management companies, and then see what kind of grants
can be offered to them so they can put more house in here.
We got Cooper's Point here,
West Side has been here so long, I mean, I don't even know
how old it is.
Ashley Ridge?
So would you favor the county government like partnering with developers to bring
low cost, lower income homes and developments into the county?
I would would be for that's credit
Even section eight along those steps as long as they are accepting of the section eight voucher
Because we got to reduce a five six years seven year waiting list. We have to it's just too much
I mean, I know somebody right now. They have moved into a trailer
I'm not a little camper because they have no way else to go
It's be it's this best there than being on the streets
It's been talked about. I've supported it, but I got hammered for supporting it because
they said...
Who hammered you?
So I've got a few other stuff for them now.
Well, they say I'm the developer's commissioner. So, you know, I'm all for the developer.
And I'm all for people who need a house. That's what I'm for.
But we have...
Including my youngest daughter that can't afford to live in the county.
Yeah.
But we have so much vacant land out there that the county owns... just develop it.
You already own it. We already own it. My tax dollars is paying for land out there, and it's just sitting there
So why can't it be developed to put houses? I mean you as again you finna put unless it was the information was wrong
You finna put over 1,000
Homes down there in Rocky Point
That has to do with Pender County
I don't know if it's off of 210 or 133, but there's two developments going down there
One of them is over a thousand. The other one I think might be three or four hundred. I don't know
So we're branching out. We're gonna be
In coaching Wilmington after a while, you're not gonna know the difference between
Pendant County and New Hanover County other than the Capefield River Bridge
That's the only thing that's gonna that you're gonna know the difference
That's gonna be the line because it's gonna be houses galore
That's just not it's just not fair to us
And I'm gonna clue me because I am not considered low income and again
I'm not shame of it, but I still would like to make sure that people are treated fair
We have housing for them. We need they've got to have housing, you know, it's too hard outside
There's nowhere for them to go right now
But inside a Walmart and hanging out in there until the heat goes on in at 10 o'clock
They get kicked out and down on the streets and it's still hot at night
It's hot at night
It's so humid 10 o'clock at night and they have nowhere to go
But to that tent that the town of Burgall don't want them to to put up. I understand ma'am. Yes ma'am
I agree with most everything you say
All right
Anybody else any questions?
Yeah, I was shocked to hear about the rental fee hit rental buildings that she said people were living in
That believe my mind really hurt
there needs to be a study also done on how
these people got there like that because that needs also be fixed because God
knows we don't want a place looking like tense like she said tense all over the
place like California we do not want it looking like that we don't know
people out on the street it hurts breaks your heart but we also need to
study is how people got to that point and helped rectify that too. Not only do they
need homes, they need something to pull them out of that slump wherever they got
there and I don't know if that's the right word that might be not good word
for it but because they may have gotten there with of no fault of their
own is is the way the system who knows it could have been medically pulled them
down but it does break your heart to know you got people in your county out
there when she said living in rental buildings I asked the first time I
ever heard that yeah it happens more than you know and that just broke my
heart to hear that so that needs to be some studying done on how they got to
that point and try to rectify that, too?
Well, so we're seeing locally, nationally,
there's what's been going on.
So there's a lot of the communities
that are dealing with a large amount of folks
that have had substance abuse problems,
folks that have had psychological problems,
medical problems, where they've not been allowed to work,
hadn't been able to work.
Behavioral hospitals are at max capacity
and those folks unfortunately end up on our streets and it's sad
it's gotten to
be a way to figure that out I mean those that are drug abuse people know if
you have to take whatever money they do get and just not let them get it and
just pals them and make sure they eat now and and make sure you don't get the
whole their money to get the drugs whatever it takes to take care of them
look out at them and get them fed unfortunately a lot of folks used to
see this stuff on the news, but now they're seeing it in their own communities and it's
that big of a widespread problem in the country. I see it every day in things that I do. I
see it a lot and it's eye-opening.
It just seems like there's a way these people
could cook and everything else for themselves and clean or if somebody could take their
money and oversee it and make sure that they've got a roof over their head and
housing fair to know and not let them have the money to abuse with drugs and
all.
Yes sir.
I'm she brought up a water issue. Water issue is a it's not just a
West issue it's an issue in the East. I'm fortunate myself that I was able to
afford a water softening system in my home. You know I'm a native North
Carolinian. You know Wake County lived in Wake County and moved to
Pender County in 2020. You do talk about, you know, developers and the requirements of developers.
I mean, I'm certain developers have to pay fees in order to build. I have been in the construction
industry for about 40 years and not necessarily develop. I mean, I've been involved with development,
not developing myself, but is there not something that could be
When you have a developer come in that wants to build 1,000 homes, then you allow that, but
you take 100 of those homes and make those affordable housing and make that a requirement
for Pender County. I'm not certain that may be against state law. Most developers are
there to make money. I hate to say it, but if you saw your home being built, you probably
wouldn't want to live in it, because you just would not be surprised at the corners
that are taken sometimes, you know, I see a lot of DR Horton homes going up in
Fender County and they call themselves America's Builder, you know, let's be
real about what they're building, you know, and so much like you, Mr. Burton,
I have a daughter and her and her husband had to move outside of Fender
County in order to find a home that they could afford and they still had
to stretch a budget in order, you know, to afford a home, but I do think
there's something to be done with the developers that are in this
county building to make it a requirement. You know, I do know when working in Wake County
that in lieu of a lot of towns in the county and lieu of fees would require road improvements
to be done, not necessarily in front of that development, but in certain sites. They would
say, you know, in lieu of paying a fee, we need you to go five miles down this road
and we need something done on this road. And they were doing that. I saw it and
and I've seen it for years and years and so.
You're spot on.
There are developers that come to some of us,
come to planning board members
and folks that wanna give incentives
to be able to partner and get along with their communities
where they're gonna build.
There are builders out there that do that,
developers that do that.
And for your water question,
coming into a new community,
those builders do pay for all of that infrastructure
to be put in. They do curb and gutter, pavement, do all that stuff and then at
the end of it a lot of times it's turned over, but they do. I think one of the
shock to me when I moved from Wake County to Pender County is that when I paid
my county taxes I was paying for water, I was paying for sewer, I was paying for
trash pickup and I move here and all that's privatized. You know I do pay
Pender County water and then I have a sprinkler system that I have to pay
as well, if I don't want that sprinkler system on,
I have to pay an enormous fee to get it cut off.
And that used to not be the case,
but they increased that.
So I don't have to use it,
but I still have to pay an administration fee
each month, you know, $32.50,
if I even don't turn my sprinkler system on.
But I will say that a lot of things
that are privatized in Pender County,
and most counties are not,
and they're included in your taxes.
And so I was really shocked as I was paying my taxes and realized, you know, a trash pickup
was something that was not included in other things.
That's good.
I hope Wake County is very populated and, you know, we're dealing with spreading taxes
to a little over 70,000 folks versus, let's say, New Hanover County.
They're spreading taxes out around 280,000 folks.
So that's why when you see our rates a little higher than some counties, that's
why.
But I agree with everything you say.
I mean, I would love, and I know Commissioner Springer and Commissioner Groves,
we would love to have a county-wide water and sewer system.
Development growth could be controlled a little better then,
but a lot of folks don't understand, and we have conversations all the time about it,
there's folks that partake of Pima County Utilities water, they pay for the water.
folks that have a private home, well, they don't.
It's a separate fund.
Those funds have to be used strictly for the water or the utilities.
Hopefully, one of these days, and I think there's some conversations going on with county staff
and with some commissioners to generate a plan to look into the future
where we can modernize and move forward with our utilities,
water sewer and everything hopefully to have a better outcome for everyone in
the future I
hope that helped a little bit remember
those picture pump days I'm
not quite that old but I remember them at grandma's house I'm that old and I'm
glad that the Lord allowed me to be 62 men I look at but I'm 62 and I'm so glad
of it but I'm catching you that's okay I don't never want you to catch me you
know what that means don't you?
But this is a safety issue and I don't know if
you're the ones who I need to address this with or whether it's Mr. Sawyer,
probably Mr. Sawyer. I attended the town of Burgall monthly commissioners
meeting and there was something that was said about Bluebird Festival, other
festivals on the courthouse square. You see it threw me and it probably threw a
lot of people. I had no idea that the town of Burgall is not responsible for the
upkeep of the courthouse lawn. There's potholes out there. People are falling
and getting hurt. My understanding is that they brought it to somebody's
attention and they just sweep it under the rug and there's one particular
gentleman that has fallen twice. He was a vet, I'm not going to say no names, and he has no legs,
and he's in a wheelchair, and he has fallen twice. He stumbles around a lot anyway about like me,
but today I'm having a good day, but he has fallen twice. There's been people that have
twisted their ankles. I need to know when are you going to please, I'm begging you just like
at the meeting, that they're going to be contacting somebody. I hope they've already
done it. But I'm glad this meeting is in now. I'm seeing it publicly. Please send
someone to canvass the courthouse square and fill in those potholes because I'm
only just going to be honest with you. If there's an event out there and even
though I have issues with my balance and I fall, you all are looking for a
lawsuit. I'm not talking about just for me. The person that twisted their
anchor I'm surprised that they've not already done but
I think that they want
to just settle down and let it go and it's for to be addressed and they
addressed it and I'm just addressing it now who is responsible for having the
maintenance go out there not just hit it with the lawnmower and the weed either
but actually now walking they go hold identified fill it put some grass seed on
it and keep on going I don't know who that person would be because I don't
I don't want me or my grandchild, children, to fall and get hurt because if I fall I won't be able to get up and I'm being honest with you.
Yes ma'am. So that is a county responsibility. We maintain the courthouse and the courthouse square.
The town of Burgall has let us know about that condition down there.
They sent us a letter, a couple last week perhaps, our Parks and Recreation Director
who's actually overseas, that space has already walked it with Town and Burgos staff
and they've marked the areas and they're developing a plan not just to go fix it,
but how to try to fix it a little more permanently as well, so maybe it doesn't happen again.
Thank you for that because I was just shocked at what they said at that meeting, especially
when they said they brought it to the county's attention a long time ago.
So now we're reacting because somebody is falling, somebody doesn't hurt their legs.
I believe that there may be some kind of legal action if somebody falls again.
And that's just, just tell them about the safety.
That's it.
Thank you.
Anybody else?
We do have an attendance Chairman Hall
with the Board of Education back in the back right back there.
He's taking the meeting in and we appreciate him coming.
Appreciate his input and his involvement in the community.
We do.
I would like to say we got a great relationship
with the Board of Education
and we look forward to the future
of doing a lot of good things with them.
So with that being said if there's nothing else, I don't think we had. Oh, sure
Miss for now, thank you for coming tonight. I know you but you don't know me
Yeah, I work for Burger Hall police department
But anyway, I'm gonna come see you
Are you listening? I'm gonna come see you
Everybody in this room knows I've been fighting for water for three years three and a half years
years, but you're exactly right. We can buy F-250s, diesels, and drive them to counties
over to go home. That's a lot of money. Figure it up a year, we could probably put you down
a well if you needed one or somebody else. But anyway, I did talk with David Rouser's
office. And he told me the same thing. His office told me the same thing that
Carson told me two months ago. If the county would put together a plan and
submit it, we might can get some federal money, but we have to put together a
plan. And I am asking the manager a second time to start a plan.
And when
When I talk with someone, Rouser or whoever, I send an email to every commissioner.
I don't go out there in secret and try to have a meeting and try to pat myself on the back.
That's not what I do.
That's not what I'm about.
I'm just like you, Ms. Fanel.
I was raised up very poor, very poor.
We had a pump also at one house.
But anyway, we all made it. We always have food on the table.
And I want to speak to the gentleman talking about house building.
You're exactly right. My dad was a master carpenter.
And I'm in the third house that I built with my own hands.
The houses they're building now, they're terrible.
And they're paying double the premium what they're worth.
but I can't fix that the county can't fix it you know the person buying the
house has got to fix that I
just want to say one more thing about the water I'm
challenging this management up in the county to put together a plan so that
we can get all these people water all across the county we
appreciate
everybody's input and we have some good productive conversations miss
now thank you for coming. A couple of things that you brought to our attention I didn't know about.
I didn't know there was potholes or holes in the courthouse square so we need to get that tank
here up. I do know there's always towns deal with uneven pavement and stuff like that that
happens you know you got big oak trees with roots and that happens but thank you for bringing
that to our attention and hopefully you'll get some of your tax questions and get that
That situation rectified may be starting tomorrow, and I'm sure the manager has heard you clearly
on a lot of your concerns, and you just don't speak for yourself.
I know you're speaking for your neighbors too, but we appreciate it, and so with that
being said, Thursday night, for those folks at home or anybody in the audience that wants
to come over to Hampstead, we'll split this up east and west, so if you want to
come over and we'll have some conversation over there.
So with that being said, I'm sure the staff will hang around a few minutes if you've got anything you want to touch base with them.
But thanks everybody for coming.