Kill Devil Hills commissioners held a public meeting (not the more official public hearing) at Ramada Inn Wednesday night to get questions and comments on a proposal to enter into a public/private partnership with Aqua America, a company that owns and operates wastewater treatment plants.

The company would buy the facilities of  Outer Banks Beach Club (OBBC) from Eddie Goodrich at a cost of $700,115 for the treatment plant and $865,550 for the 20-lift station collection system. It would donate the collection system to the town after it is repaired and upgraded and the town would then be responsible for maintaining this part of the system. Aqua American has set a budget of  $115,000 per year for capital improvements. Steep rate increases are being considered over the 20-year period. The town owns and operates the Ocean Acres system already and has made extensive repairs which the users are paying for.

The town would be responsible for the collection system, a usually pricey item, and would determine where and how many new users would be added. It would set the rates, therefore would not be subject to rate regulation by the state utilities commission. If the plant needs to be enlarged, the town owns property next to it that could be used.

Currently, Ocean Acres customers pay $17.70 for 1,000 gallons, OBBC users pay $10.69. Rates are forecast to rise steadily over the 20-year period to $20 per 1,000 gallons. 

Residents at the meeting were concerned about costs to them, since their costs have already increased considerably over the years, as well as  how soon the repairs will be made,

As to how soon the facility would be updated, especially the problem lift stations, Mayor Ray Sturza told the group it would be as soon as possible after the contract is signed, if the deal goes through.

One speaker said he thought the capital improvements budget would be inadequate. He thought it would cost three times that to operate the plant. Ocean Acres residents said they thought they should not have to pay any part of what it cost to repair the OBBC system since they are paying for a recent upgrade to their wastewater system.

The board will continue to negotiate the details with Aqua America, Sturza said.

Kill Devil Hills Police Department has released its crime blotter for October as follows:

Arrests

* Felony Death by Motor Vehicle: Luis A. Rodriguez, 44, of Colington, was charged with felony death by motor vehicle, felony serious injury by motor vehicle, and DWI, stemming from a collision at US 158 and Ocean Bay Blvd. on October 5. The Department is asking any witnesses who have not already done so, to come forward and provide statements for the investigation.

* Tampering with Motor Vehicle: Marlon Antonio Reyes-Valladares and three minors were detained after an attempt to break into vehicles in the parking lot of the Travelodge Motel was discovered. Reyes-Valladares was arrested and the minors were referred to juvenile authorities.

Larceny: Carolyn E. Gilbert, 18, of Kill Devil Hills, and Taylor Beasley, 18, of Kitty Hawk were charged with larceny from the Kill Devil Hills K-Mart. They were released at the scene.
Crimes Under Investigation
(Tips can be reported to Kill Devil Hills PD or Crime Line)

Larceny of Firearm: A High Point 9MM SN: P1329043 pistol was reported stolen from a vehicle in the 200 block of Quail Lane at the end of September. The slide is blued steel and the frame is black polymer. The victim’s passport and his USCG MMC vessel pilot’s license were also stolen.
Breaking and Entering with Larceny: On October 10, 2011, a Toshiba 645 laptop computer was stolen from the foreman’s office at the Lowe’s construction project in Kill Devil Hills.

Felony Larceny: On October 15, 2011 a storage locker underneath the Outer Banks Beach Club condos was broken into and $1500 of fishing equipment was stolen. Among the stolen items were a St. Croix fishing rod, a Calcutta reel, and a Shumano Strata reel.

Stolen Laptop/Mail Fraud: On October 14, 2011, the delivery of a laptop computer to a private residence in the 300 block of Pinegrove Trail was intercepted, signed for, and stolen. The computer is an HP laptop, 17 inch screen model # HPDV9000 and is valued at just under $1000.

Burglary: On October 13, 2011 a residence damaged by Hurricane Irene in the 1700 block of Bay Drive was broken into. Several items were stolen including $100 in quarters, a gold bracelet, and gold cuff links with a turtle design.

Following a death last week at a flashing red light at the Colington Road intersection with U.S. 159, Kill Devil Hills commissioners Monday night approved a traffic signal policy calling on the department of transportation to have someone on the Outer Banks who can reset a traffic signal or to provide the police department with a key to the control box to an officer can reset it. It also called for the police to give traffic control at an intersection priority when the traffic signal is not working or has been set to flash in an emergency or for electrical work there and to stay there unless there is a more pressing emergency elsewhere. It also asked NCDOT to lower the speed limit from 50 mph to 35 mph on U.S. 158 through Kill Devil Hills and from the Colington intersection west to Baum Bay on Colington Road. It also called for N.C. Dominion Power to coordinate with DOT to change a signal back to its normal cycle from flashing red after it completes any work it is doing in the vicinity. 

The accident last week  which claimed the life of a young man occurred when the light at the Colington intersection was flashing red after the power company had just finished electrical work at the intersection. The closest person who could reset the light was in Edenton, and it took about four hours to get that person to the Outer Banks.

Com. Paul Buske noted that there were underlying issues, including alcohol and speed. He said police need to do more about the driving impaired problem, perhaps instituting check-points to catch drunk drivers. Noting that the town will have some funds for the one-cent tax increase for this fiscal year, he asked his fellow commissioners if they had any objection to “throwing some money at the problem” to devote more police time on the alcohol issue. There was a consensus of agreement on this.

Com. Jeff Finch said the town had repeatedly asked DOT to lower the speed limit on U.S. 158 but this had always “ fallen on deaf ears.”

Sturza said a new traffic commissioner has recently been appointed and has emailed him, offering assistance. He suggested the new commissioner be invited to come to the Outer Banks and look at the intersection and perhaps speak to the board. Sturza will make this request. Sturza also noted in the resolution that 32,000 vehicles pass through the intersection per day, and Buske called the intersection “the worst in the state.”

In other business, after a public hearing at which only a representative of the applicant spoke, the board turned down a request from a business owner to change off-street parking rules to reduce parking stall widths from 10 feet to nine feet and modify drive aisle widths to accommodate angled parking. The town planning board had recommended that the board turn it down.

His attorney told the board that many other towns and cities nationally and internationally had done this and that it increased parking efficiencies and reduced impervious coverage as well as reduced off-street overflow parking. The cost to business owners is $1,500-$2,000 per space, including maintenance, he said.

Buske said the Outer Banks is home to many large trucks and other vehicles, more so than other places, and he did not think smaller parking spaces would work here. The vote against it was unanimous.

After public hearings to add veterinary clinic as a conditional use in the commercial zone and to add wind turbines and meteorological towers to the government and institutional zone, both measures were unanimously approved. No one spoke at either hearing.

Sheila Davies also spoke on the Missions of Mercy Partnership and the annual free dental clinic and the University Health System/Duke Endowment Telepshchiatry Project (see the Oct. 3 meeting of Dare County Board of Commissioners under “County Board” category at the right). The free dental clinic is set for Oct. 27 and 28 and attracts many people, most of whom have to wait hours in line. They usually begin gathering before dawn. 

The next regular meeting of the KDH board is set for Monday, Nov. 14, at 7 p.m.

Aqua America representatives gave a presentation to the Kill Devil Hills Board of Commissioners at their meeting Monday night on itsproposed partnership with the town to buy a large wastewater treatment plant , a proposal first broached publicly in a board meeting last April which sparked a period of  ”due diligence” in which both sides investigated the issue.

Aqua America, a water/wastewater company, proposes to purchase the plant from the current owner and make upgrades to it amounting to $700,115. They would also purchase the collection system and replace or repair 20 lift stations. These replacements and repairs would cost the company $865,550. The collection system would then be turned over (donated) to the town.

A resident, Mike Lowak, spoke to the board during the first public comment period, questioning whether the distribution lines which the town would own would become a costly upkeep problem. He also questioned whether it was appropriate to use tax money to enhance commercial endeavors and pointed out that with the town being the only customer of the new entity, the rates could be unregulated. He said he was afraid the plan would lead to higher utility costs for businesses which would trickle down to customers. The town’s engineer said he had no problems with the plan, so far.

Company representatives agreed that the rates could be unregulated since the town would be responsible for them but said the town could structure the payments as it saw fit and the town’s costs would be set by contract. The town would also be able to buy out the company at a later date, most likely in 20 years. The current water rate at the plant under discussion is $8.28 per 1,000 gallons of water, with the rate less for larger users, and the rate the town charges at the only plant it operates is $17.70. Aqua America proposes that the rate per thousand gallons start at $10.69 the first year, increasing year-over-year to $11.29, $12.20, $13.19, and in year five, $13.89.

Key partnership components, according to information provided in a hand-out available at the town hall, include town ownership of a centralized sewer with the town owning and maintaining the collection system and controlling plant expansion. With a flexible  long-term contract, the town would have a buy-out option. The town would manage development, with sales of future capacity residing with the town and decisions on whether and where to extend pipes residing with the town. The town would set rates and provide customer service and billing. Aqua’s price to the town would be fixed in the contract and would be subject to pre-negotiated inflation and future investment terms. Aqua would be responsible for compliance with environmental regulations for the plant and disposal system. The contract would include all initial upgrades and ongoing operation and maintenance costs as well as repayment of money owed to the town water fund for previous operation of the Ocean Acres system. The contract is modeled at zero growth.

The benefits to the town include no initial investment required to gain control of sewer service, the plan leads to town ownership of a centralized sewer system and allows the town to manage the system around public versus market-driven priorities. It provides the town with a tool to protect the environment and gives it the ability to replace aging septic systems. 

Mayor Ray Sturza mentioned a recent article in the Raleigh News and Observer in which Aqua America was called “a rate machine,” and Aqua representatives pointed to the town’s ability to set and structure rates. This appears to be one of the most troublesome parts of the plan, since the town would be able to use the wide latitude given to municipalities to set rates without state regulation, but a private company would be in charge of a large part of the costs which would be paid through water rates.

Sturza also pointed to what he termed a “bias” on the part of the current owner in favor of larger users, since the price goes down as more water is used. He said the town’s ability to affect that is one of the pluses to this proposed public/private partnership.

Asked “What’s in it for Aqua America?” a company representative replied that it is a chance for the company to do something new. It was unclear how this partnership is new, since the company has previously partnered with four other towns in water/wastewater projects. Representatives also admitted that the company will make a profit. 

Sturza promised there would be no “lame duck” action taken on the proposal, saying at first  that a public meeting to receive comment on it should be held in December, more than a month past the elections that will change the make-up of the board, at least somewhat. Com. Bob Peele is not running, but Com. Jeffrey Finch is. Three new faces on the Kill Devil Hills political scene are runnig for the two seats, and Sturza is being challenged by Sheila Davies. Town manager Debora Diaz reminded him how difficult it is to get people out during the holidays, and Nov. 1 or 2 was decided on.

If you know of someone – a Kill Devil Hills employee, neighbor, friend or anyone else – who has been especially helpful during the hurricane emergency, let Mary Quidley, Kill Devil Hills town clerk, know at 449-5302 or by email to mary@kdhnc.com, or visit the town’s website, www.kdhnc.com to submit a nomination for the Top Flight Good Neighbor Award.

All nominees will be honored at the Nov. 14 board of commissioners meeting with a certificate of appreciation and refreshments.

Meeting Monday, Sept. 12, for their first and only time this month, Kill Devil Hills commissioners passed a new noise ordinance and several planning motions.

Noise became an issue at an earlier meeting when a resident who lives in a commercial zone behind McDonald’s complained of the noise private trucks made when servicing the eatery early in the morning. Judge Robert Trivette had determined that the town’s previous ordinance was too vague to be enforced. Attorney Katy Harrell presented an amendment to the noise section of the town ordinance to set 65 decibels as the noise limit in residential areas. Com. Paul Buske noted that 65 decibels was about what was registered by Harrell or himself speaking at the meeting loudly enough for the audience to hear clearly. His research had indicated that a motorcycle would register about 100 decibels, and he said a band playing outside next to a residential area would surely register more than 65.

Frank Gajar, owner of the Port o’ Call Restaurant, which frequently has bands playing outside and which is located near several rental houses, was concerned that his business would be adversely affected if the ordinance was passed as presented. He also questioned why residences should be given precedence over businesses in planning issues.

Harrell noted that Nags Head had a similar ordinance, and cities in the Triangle area had even more restrictive rules. As the discussion continued, Harrell said the problem seemed to be what is fair in areas when business and residences intersect.  Mayor Ray Sturza suggested the issue be postponed to give the town time to take measurements in various places. Eventually the board voted to institute the ordinance change for residential areas only and to research the other issue.

The board also voted to reconfigure Porthole Court in the area where the new Lowe’s store is being built, closing off its entrance to U.S. 158. Residents had been notified and there were no objections, according to town manager Debra Diaz. Several residents spoke during the public comment period in support of the change.

In other planning issues, the board voted to set a public hearing for Oct. 10 on a change in the off-street parking and loading ordinance to reduce parking stall width from 10 feet to nine feet and modify drive aisle widths to establish an intermediate width to accommodate angled parking (the planning board recommended denial of this) and to set an Oct. 10 putlic hearing on a request to add veterinary clinic to the conditional uses in the commercial zone. The same date was approved for a public hearing on a request from Dare County schools to add wind turbine and meteorological towers to the government and institutional zone.

Alyssa Hanson of Outer Banks Children’s Museum gave a presentation on that group, first thanking the board for their $700 donation last year for one of the exhibits at the museum. She noted that the museum is a hands-on experience for young children and that visitation had been very good, especially from tourists who logged 1,409 visits during the June through August period. The entrance fees are $5 per person with yearly fees ranging from $45 to $300 per family per year. They operate on a yearly budget of $65,000 and occupy a 1,300 square foot space. They hope to increase in size eventually, she said.

During the public comment period, a resident complained abot the high definition service from Charter Cable and another again asked about the status of the proposal to sell a treatment plant to Aqua America.

The next meeting will be Oct. 10 at 7 p.m.

Kill Devil Hills Police Department has issued the incident report for August:

Arrests – Assault on a Female, Aug. 16, David Webester, 23, of Kill Devil Hills was arrested on this charge at a residence on Memorial Blvd.; Gregory Graham, 53, of KDH, was arrested on this charge at a residence on VeeLee Dr.; Elias Jaramille, 26, of Dixon, N.M., was arrested on a charge of assaulting a female on N. Virginia Dare Trail on Aug. 8. In addition, he was charged with possession of stolen property. 

Assault with a deadly weapon – Aug. 9, Mark Karrasch, 52, of Wheeling, W. Va., was charged with assaulting another man with a metal rod. He was also charged with assault inflicting serious injuries.

Multiple motor vehicle break-ins – Garrett White, 18, of Kill Devil Hills, was charged with multiple counts of motor vehicle B&E.

Crimes under investigation – Vandalism, Aug. 16, two residences in close proximity to each other, one on  New Bern Ave. and one on East Durham St., were broken into. Personal property and the physical structures of the homes were vandalized. The amount of property damage was in excess of $6,000.

Business B&E – An Aug. 14, The Pearl Restaurant was forcibly entered and several hundred dollars worth of alcohol was stolen. Most of the stolen property was recovered, stashed nearby.