County to eye flood maps
By Steve Herring
Published in News on March 11, 2013 1:46 PM
Wayne County commissioners' brief agenda for Tuesday includes two items pertaining to the county's flood ordinance and maps.
The session will start at 8 a.m. with an agenda briefing followed by the official session at 9 a.m. Both will be held in the commissioners' meeting room on the fourth floor of the county courthouse annex.
A public hearing will be held at 9:15 a.m. on proposed updates to several county flood insurance maps.
The streams that would be affected are Aycock Swamp, Turner Swamp, Contentnea Creek, Watery Branch, Nahunta Swamp, Button Branch and Bear Creek.
Greene County, which borders the northeastern part of Wayne County, recently changed its flood maps for those same areas. County Planner Connie Price told commissioners last month that flooding did not stop on just one side of a stream and that was why Wayne County needed to update its maps for those areas, too.
Commissioners also will be asked to schedule a public hearing for April 2 at 9:15 a.m. on a proposed wording change to the county's flood ordinance.
The change would add wording to include the use of digital data. It also recognizes the 2013 agreement between the state and the Federal Emergency Management Agency that addressed flood hazard areas.
It would also allow future revisions to the county's flood insurance study and flood insurance rate maps to be adopted by reference if the changes do not change the flood hazard data for the area under the county's jurisdiction.
Also on the agenda, the Wayne County Board of Elections is asking commissioners for an additional $79,450 to help cover a projected revenue shortfall in salaries and benefits for department employees.
In a letter to commissioners, Elections Chairman Joe Lofton thanked the board for its support last fall when three slots were filled in the Board of Elections. Those offices were director, deputy director and elections technician.
Thanks to the previous board, the county had been able to offer competitive salaries, Lofton said in a letter to commissioners
"At the time the office vacancies were filled, it was determined that the adopted department budget would not be able to support the changes in salary through the budget year," Lofton wrote. "We respectfully ask that the Board of Commissioners approve an addition to our current budget to adequately cover the cost of salaries and related items through the remainder of the budget year."
The board also will consider approval of five resolutions, two of which deal with gun ownership.
One of the two asks the N.C. General Assembly to pass legislation exempting gun ownership information from public record laws. The second resolution calls on commissioners to support the U.S. and state constitutions concerning a person's right to bear arms.
The third resolution would form a Veterans Services Advisory Board that would work with the county's Veterans Services Office.
The fourth resolution would declare March as Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month.
The final resolution would give Hale Artificier Inc. permission to have a pyrotechnics display at Lane Tree Convention Center. The display would be part of a pyrotechnics school of instruction to be held March 23-24.
In other business:
The board will consider approval of the Sade Paul Ray Jr. minor subdivision. Ray is the owner/developer of the three lots on the south side of 1205 South Bentonville Road in Grantham Township near the Johnston County line.
Commissioners are scheduled to attend at luncheon briefing at 11:30 a.m. with the Wayne County Historical Society. The meeting will be held at the Wayne County Museum, 116 N. William St.
The public comment portion of the meeting starts at 10 a.m. People may speak for four minutes on any topic.