Holden Beach Property Owners Association

TOWN OF HOLDEN BEACH

BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS’ REGULAR MEETING

HOLDEN BEACH TOWN HALL – PUBLIC ASSEMBLY

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2019 – 7:00 P.M.

1.    Invocation

2.    Call to Order/ Welcome

3.    Pledge of Allegiance

4.    Agenda Approval  Changed Item #13, Ordinance 19-18 to $30,000.00.  Agenda approved as amended.

5.    Approval of Minutes  Four typos and small changes made.  Approved all as amended.

a.     Minutes of the Special Meeting of October 11, 2019

b.     Minutes of the Special Meeting of October 15, 2019

c.     Minutes of the Regular Meeting of October 15, 2019

d.     Minutes of the Special Meeting of October 29, 2019

6.    Public Comments on Agenda Items None

7.    Presentation of a Smart Rural Community Award to the Town of Holden Beach – Victoria Bellamy, ATMC Marketing & Public Relations Coordinator (Town Manager Hewett)  Town presented with Smart Rural Community Award for installing fiber optics on the island.

8.    Presentation of Fiscal Year 2018 – 2019 Audit Results – Jay Sharpe, Rives and Associates (Town Manager Hewett) Audit Committee recommended Approval of Audit.  BOC voted unanimously to approve.

9.    Discussion and Possible Action to Permit a Request for a Banner, to Allow Vendors and for One Free Beer Ticket at Run Holden Beach, David Hutnik (Assistant Town Manager Ferguson) Approved unanimously.

10. Police Report – Chief Jeremy Dixon  Not a lot going on crime-wise.  They are taking the down time to do in-service training.

11. Discussion and Possible Direction on a Proposed Policy Regarding Board of Commissioners’ Requests for Opinion and/ or Recommendations to Advisory Boards or Committees – Commissioner Kwiatkowski  No action was taken, it will be brought to the next meeting.  This would be a Board Policy or Directive.

12. Discussion and Possible Direction on a More Formal Procedure for the Board of Commissioners’ Requests for Actions to the Town Manager or Town Attorney– Commissioner Kwiatkowski  No action taken.

13. Discussion and Possible Action on Cost Sharing Request Made by Brunswick County for the Dredging of the Lockwood Folly Inlet – Assistant Town Manager Ferguson

a.     Ordinance 19-18, An Ordinance Amending Ordinance 19-10, The Revenues and Appropriations Ordinance for Fiscal Year 2019 – 2020 (Amendment No. 6)  Increased amount to $30,000 to cover additional surveys that need to be done for Hurricane Dorian damage reimbursement.  Passed unanimously.

14. Discussion and Possible Action to Recommend Remedial Policies or Procedures with Respect to Obstruction, Interference or Non-Cooperation in Connection with Audits, Investigations or Reviews of the Town’s Financial Affairs – Commissioner Freer  Moved to December agenda.

15. Town Manager’s Report Regarding the Lockwood Folly Bend Widener and Crossing Dredging Project, the contract was awarded but there is no schedule yet.  The Sand Search is on schedule, the hydro and borings are complete, next is an archeological survey with multi-beam and a 500m check for hard bottom.  The targeted area is SSE of the Lockwood Folly Inlet.  The Florence/Michael FEMA Beach Reimbursement Projects have cleared Environmental Review and are now in the Office of Legislative Affairs pending awarding. We have had the initial scoping meetings with FEMA and Dept. of Public Safety for Dorian.  Our losses were ~$4.6M and that information has been added to the FEMA portal.  Officials have complimented how accomplished the Town is at working through FEMA for damage reimbursement.  Sewer Lift Station #3 repairs are out to bid, construction is planned to start March 23 and end December 2020.  The Town is sponsoring several upcoming activities, pre-register for all by calling the Town.  The Turkey Trot will be at 8am on Thanksgiving, the Tree Lighting will be December 6, Sandy Paws Dog Parade will be December 7 and the Holiday Luncheon will be December 20.

16. Mayor’s Comments:  Thanked everyone for coming and wished a happy Thanksgiving, he expects lots of people to be here for the holiday.

17. Board of Commissioners’ Comments  Mayor Pro Tem Fletcher: Thanked everyone for attending and wished everyone a good Thanksgiving and safe holiday.  Commissioner Sullivan: Thanked everyone for attending and wished everyone a good Thanksgiving and commented on the large voter turn out.  Commissioner Kwiatkowski: Thanked everyone for attending and wished everyone a good Thanksgiving.  She is enjoying the peace and quiet of the beach.  Commissioner Butler: Thanked everyone for attending and suggested bringing a friend next time.  He encouraged everyone to remember those less fortunate. Commissioner Freer: Thanked everyone for attending and wished everyone a good Thanksgiving.

18. Public Comments on General Items None

19. Adjournment at 8:02pm (new record?)

Holden Beach Property Owners

Thanksgiving Meeting

November 23, 2019  at 10:00 a.m.

Holden Beach Town Hall in the Public Assembly Room

We are looking forward to hearing from Mayor Alan Holden, Town Manager David Hewett, and Police Chief Jeremy Dixon

We will also be approving the budget for the upcoming year.

The Town of Holden Beach Board of Commissioners will meet Tuesday, November 19 for their regular monthly meeting. Highlights include a presentation of the 2018-19 Audit, discussion about serving runners a beer at Run Holden Beach, and dredging the Lockwood Folly Inlet. The agenda is below. Click here for the meeting packet.

Congratulations to our newly elected Mayor and Board of Commissioners.  These individuals will take the Oath of Office at the December 17 meeting.

Mayor

• Alan Holden – 241 votes

Commissioners

• Gerald Brown – 246 votes*
• Woody Tyner – 230 votes*
• Brian Murdock – 225 votes*
• Mike Sullivan – 182 votes
• Pat Kwiatkowski – 168 votes

*The three Commissioners receiving the most votes will serve four-year terms, and the remaining two will serve two-year terms.  Staggered four-year terms for Commissioners were approved by referendum in 2017 to go into effect with this election.  The Mayor will serve for two years.

The Town of Holden Beach Board of Commissioners met Tuesday, October 29 for a Special Meeting.  The Town Attorney reported on his investigations of Mayor Holden’s allegations of Fraud and Professional Misconduct by the Town’s outside Auditor.  The allegations were made at the October BOC meeting where he asked that the information be entered into the minutes and provided to the Commissioners.  He also repeated the allegations at HBPOA’s Candidates’ Night.   After investigation, the allegations were determined to be false.  According to the Town Attorney, “There has been no finding that we have come across of any ‘guilt of fraud’ against Rives & Associates by PCTel or otherwise.”  The Board of Commissioners will discuss the issue further at their November Regular Meeting, however, due to the Town’s potential liability for defamation, slander, and libel, the Town Attorney read a statement explaining his findings and recommended that the BOC not discuss it further outside of closed session.

For more information:

Transcript of the Town Attorney’s Oral Report

Response from Auditor’s Attorney

Response from the Auditor

You can listen to the meeting here

Click here for the meeting packet which contains the meeting agenda, the original anonymous letter, the letter from Commissioners Freer and Butler to the Town Attorney outlining their concerns, and documentation from the NC CPA Board.

The Town of Holden Beach Board of Commissioners will meet Tuesday, October 29 at 10:00am for a Special Meeting.  Highlights include hearing a report from the Town Attorney regarding Mayor Holden’s allegations of Fraud and Professional Misconduct by the Town’s outside Auditor and possible further action.  There is also an agenda item to ask the Audit Committee to review the issue and make recommendations.  The agenda is below.  Click here for the meeting packet.

FREE PANCAKES!

Annual Membership Appreciation Breakfast

Saturday, October 26th

7:00 A.M. until 10:30 A.M.

HBPOA invites our members to attend the Annual Holden Beach Chapel Pancake Breakfast on Saturday, October 26, from 7:00 am until 10:30 am at the Holden Beach Chapel.  Breakfast will include pancakes, sausage, bacon, coffee, and orange juice.

Each HBPOA member household that has paid their 2019 membership dues will receive two free tickets at the breakfast. Additional tickets are available for purchase at the door for $7 each. You can also take this opportunity to join HBPOA or renew your membership. We will have a table set up and you can check your membership status.

This is our Annual Member Appreciation Breakfast.  We work in conjunction with the Men’s Fellowship at the Chapel by using this event and their time and talents in the kitchen to show our appreciation to our membership.  Proceeds are used to purchase Thanksgiving turkeys for those less fortunate.

The Festival by the Sea is also this weekend.  Stop by our booth to see the survey results and Candidates Night responses.  For the full schedule of events click here. We look forward to seeing you on Saturday, October 26th!

HBPOA hosted Candidates’ Night October 18.  Thank you to all who attended and sent or asked questions.  This year we added a new segment called the Lightning Round and asked all the candidates yes/no questions where they raised their hands if they agreed.  The results are posted in the chart below.  You can watch a video of the Lightning Round here.  If you have suggestions for HBPOA for the 2021 Candidates’ Night please send them to us and don’t forget to vote on November 5th!

Survey Results

Meet the Candidates Reminder and

Board of Commissioners’ Meeting 

October 2019

You can view the results of the 2019 Community Survey by clicking here.  The survey is still open, these are the results as of October 16. We have had excellent participation.  Over 400 people have taken the survey so far.  We appreciate everyone who took the time to share their thoughts.

This election season we again asked the candidates questions about issues facing the Town of Holden Beach.  They have responded and the results are available here. 

Remember, Meet the Candidates Night is this Friday at 7:00pm at Town Hall.  You may ask the candidates your questions.  We will have hard copies of the survey results and the candidates’ responses on hand.

The Town of Holden Beach Board of Commissioners met Tuesday, October 15 for their regular monthly meeting.  Click here for the meeting summary. The audio of the meeting is available here on the Town’s website.

Take the Survey!

Let your voice be heard by taking the survey.  Visit our website’s survey page and enter the password from the mailed HBPOA newsletter.  If you don’t have the newsletter, email us at [email protected] with your beach address and we will email the password to you.  The survey is quick, anonymous, and covers the issues that impact property owners.  The results will be distributed to the Candidates as well as posted on our website.

The Town of Holden Beach Board of Commissioners will meet on Tuesday, October 15 for their regular monthly meeting.  Highlights include the presentation of the annual Beach Monitoring Report, possible approval of the draft Land Use Plan update, possible approval of the Ocean Front and Inlets Management Plan and possible action and budget change on the Classification and Pay Study.    The agenda is below.  Click here for the meeting packet.