ELIZABETHTOWN — Commissioners on Monday night approved spending money to help the census committee and leaned toward contributing a share toward a grant request for the Regional Waccamaw River Watershed Study.
Greg Elkins, director of the Planning Department, had given the five Republicans and four Democrats a funding request plan of the Complete Count committee at the previous Wednesday’s annual retreat. That total of $10,750 included several giveaways, items that Commissioner Charles Ray Peterson wanted removed from the proposal.
In the discussion, vote and aftermath of a decision to allot $5,800, Elkins’ committee has money to do as they please but it is generally intended to be for post office box postcards, costs to mail them, copies of fact sheets, roadside signs similar to real estate and political advertising, and billboards.
“They need more money,” Dr. Ophelia Munn-Goins said after a 7-2 vote in which she and Arthur Bullock opposed. “Your return on investment will be greater if you put more into it.”
Elkins told the group the majority of ideas being implemented are similar to surrounding counties. Some of those counties, however, have access to more resources, such as larger radio markets for example.
He said the committee would have a presence at upcoming events such as the Kelly Spring Fest and the Bladenboro Spring Fling. March 29, a Sunday, is a date the committee hopes to blanket the community through its churches with information ahead of Census Day on April 1.
Bladen County is home to more than 200 houses of worship.
There are several segments of note, but County Manager Greg Martin and Elkins emphasized that this year’s count can be done on the internet and by phone. There’ll be some snail mail, but not to everyone.
No mail is being sent to post office box addresses, only to home — or 911 — addresses.
Bullock reiterated a point he made in an earlier meeting about the cost the county loses for each person not counted.
No action was taken on money toward the flooding problem, other than requesting an answer on in-kind money. Commissioners seemed to signal they would join three other counties in North and South Carolina supporting a resolution to study why the area floods so much. The hope is it will lead to a solution.
Danielle Darkangelo, of Cape Fear Resource Conservation and Development, joined a presentation by Dean Morris, the county’s director of Soil & Water Conservation. While the Waccamaw River doesn’t run through Bladen County, a portion of its nearly 900 square miles does drain into that river basin running to the Atlantic Ocean via Horry County, South Carolina.
There, Morris explained, waterways are clogged and backing up the basin during heavy rain even to Bladen County some 40-plus miles away.
“Even though the Waccamaw is not in our county, some of our water goes there,” Morris said. “It’s full.”
Darkangelo and Morris said the cost of the study is $415,000. Funding through the Economic Development Administration requires a match, and four counties are expected to pony up $20,750 each. Darkangelo said Columbus County had already given approval; Brunswick was expected to render an OK as well. There was no mention of Horry and its status for approval.
The minimum cost associated with making changes to help the flooding start at about $500 million and go into the billions.
In a matter that punctuated the county manager’s report, the board failed to meet the state Department of Transportation’s benchmark of unanimity in consideration of naming N.C. 87 bridges north of Dublin for Ron Allen. He was a firefighter for the Tar Heel Volunteer Fire Department. The votes that defeated the request were cast by Michael Cogdell and Bullock.
In last year’s April 15 meeting, the same board members voted 9-0 to name a stretch of N.C. 87 for Allen. The DOT advised that names of fallen first responders can only go on structures, which necessitated the need to vote for a new resolution.
Due to the national convention of county commissioners that begins Feb. 29, the board will meet on the second and fourth Mondays in March.