Socialsim in Southern Shores

I had been trying to ignore this story but when this email came charging Southern Shores Mayor Don Smith with being a socialist I decided to share it.
You can read a whole lot more about this issue in the excellent coverage in the Southern Shores Times.

Please Help Save Our Volunteer Fire Department

The Southern Shores Volunteer Fire Department is a non-profit corporation that has served the Town of Southern Shores and Martin's Point for nearly 30 years. On January 20^th, The Southern Shores Town Council, in a political dispute about control and power, gave the Fire Department an ultimatum to sign an unbalanced and unfair contract or risk being taken over by the Town.

The Mayor says that this is about fiscal conservatism and lower taxes.

That's Not True! The current structure provides the most cost effective Fire Department in the Outer Banks. This year alone, Southern Shores Volunteer Firefighters contributed more than 15,000 hours of their time to provide=2 0Fire and Rescue services that would cost millions without them.

The Mayor says that the Fire Department is demanding a 69% increase in funding for next year.

Not Even Close! The Fire Department has not submitted a budget request since it is not yet even due! He dishonestly made his numbers up to take control of the Fire Department. The Southern Shores portion of the Fire Department budget for the fiscal year 2008-2009 is only 16% higher than it was in FY 1997-1998. During that same 11-year period the Town Budget has grown by 76%!

The Mayor says that the Town has negotiated in good faith with the Fire Department.

Wrong! Despite numerous documented attempts by the Fire Department, the Town has refused to negotiate a contract.

The Mayor says that the Fire Department has spent a lot of money without consulting the Town.

Incorrect! The Fire Department has p rojected its capital needs for years and has informed the Town of major items for more than 5 years. Last year, the Fire Department presented a 5-year strategic plan with expected dates for capital expenses and has kept that schedule. The Town, however, does not have a plan.

The Mayor refers to the Fire Department as "Formerly Volunteer."

That's Just Deceptive! Last year, in response to the increasing administrative workload of running a Fire Department while meeting new requirements and regulations, the Volunteer Membership of the Fire Department voted by an overwhelming majority of 85% to hire a paid Fire Chief. They also chose to hire the existing Chief, who had been elected by the majority of the members 4 years in a row. Except for the Chief and a part time Administrative Assistant, all of the 60 members of the Fire Department, including the Board of Directors are Volunteers.

Why Would the Mayor Tell You Things That Are Not True?

He wants control. He even wants to control the tax rate and spending of tax money raised from Martin's Point so that he can shift costs.

He wants to control the assets of the Fire Department to help balance a Town Budget that is out of control. He and other Council members were elected after promising Capital Improvements and Lower Taxes.

Have your taxes gone down? No!

Have the Streets and Canals been fixed? No!

Have Services been cut? Yes! Lifeguards, Chipping, Public Works, Codes & Police among others.

Yet Town administrative salaries have gone up sharply and the Formerly Volunteer Mayor and Council receive monthly stipends.

The Mayor is simply not as good as his word.

What do they call it when Government takes over private companies? Socialism!

Please help us stop this dishonest attempt to socialize our Volunteer Fire Department. We need your help to prevent the loss of our Volunteers. We need you to help prevent unnecessary increases in your property insurance and the cost of your Fire Rescue services.

Please act today an d call or email the following Council Members and tell them to:

"Stop Trying to Ruin Our Volunteer Fire Department and Leave Martin's Point's Money Alone"

Don Smith- 252-261-4093 donmsm@embarqmail.com

Jody Hess- 252-261-0102 
cedjhess@embarqmail.com

Brian McDonald- 252-255-5118 
bmsstc@charter.net

Jim Pfizenmayer - 252-261-0643 
jrp2008@charter.net

Kevin Stroud- 252-261-8464
obxkps@embarqmail.com

Sponsored by Southern Shores Taxpayers for Honesty in Government

Ciao

WWBS? /WWYS? (What Will Barack Say?)/(What Would You Say?)

What would you say to the country, to the world, if it was you standing on the Capital steps at noon Tues. Everyone is watching, waiting to hear your message. Even your 10 year old daughter knows it better be good. I have been thinking about this question reading a couple of other pretty good speeches our presidents have given in times of crisis. Lincoln's second inaugural address, short but a powerful call for peace:

With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation's wounds; to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan--to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace, among ourselves, and with all nations.

FDR's 1931 inaugural speech which opens with the famous 'nothing to fear but fear itself' line is a powerful rebuke of greed and a call for compassion. It resonates today with an almost Nostradamus like prescience

....we face our common difficulties. They concern, thank God, only material things. Values have shrunken to fantastic levels; taxes have risen; our ability to pay has fallen; government of all kinds is faced by serious curtailment of income; the means of exchange are frozen in the currents of trade; the withered leaves of industrial enterprise lie on every side; farmers find no markets for their produce; the savings of many years in thousands of families are gone. More important, a host of unemployed citizens face the grim problem of existence, and an equally great number toil with little return. Only a foolish optimist can deny the dark realities of the moment.

Many have mentioned JFK's call to service and sacrifice. Kennedy's speech was not one about economic challenge, in fact he faced a country flush with power and plenty. It was a speech about finding a path to peace in the world and as such it also has lessons for next inaugural address. We all know its' message to America but read on and see what Kennedy call on the world to do:

And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country.

My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.

Finally, whether you are citizens of America or citizens of the world, ask of us the same high standards of strength and sacrifice which we ask of you. With a good conscience our only sure reward, with history the final judge of our deeds, let us go forth to lead the land we love, asking His blessing and His help, but knowing that here on earth God's work must truly be our own.

Certainly both by calendar and circumstance we should also consider Martin Luther King's famous "dream" speech . Just before King begins the Dream section of his sermon he speaks directly the crowd about the conditions that the faced at home:

I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cells. And some of you have come from areas where your quest -- quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive. Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to South Carolina, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed.

The new President must at some point address just this issue. He must acknowledge that the country has changed, dramatically changed in the last 65 years and that we should be proud of just how far we have come. He must also make it clear that we still have many problems facing us. Problems that are as troubling as the ones that brought MLK to DC so long ago. Problems of economic, racial and social justice that divide us just as segregation split us in King's time. He must tell us that we cannot progress as a nation unless we put the same effort forth and make the same progress on the issues that divide us now as we did about civil rights in the last 40 years.
Like Roosevelt Obama must focus us on the path forward. He must force us to accept that many of our most pressing problems were not done to us but created by us as individuals and as a country. To make progress we must accept personal responsibility for our actions; in many cases our greed; that has led us into economic collapse. He should tell us there is a price that we must pay as individuals, the government will not make everyone whole. He must also call on us as a country to must make sure that no individual, no family, pays too high a price. That, as a country, we support those who most need our help.
Like Kennedy he must assure the world that we remain both defenders of justice and strong allies against our mutual enemies. But he must go further and define a new role for the US as a partner in the battle against hunger, hatred and injustice wherever they exist. Obama must make it clear that our strength comes both from our commitment to justice and or commitment to cooperation. Likewise, he must tell the country that we are weakest when are forced to make war and must make war only when we are given no choice.
Finally, like Lincoln he must reassure us that if we work together as a nation, if we put hate and greed aside, if we put conscience and country ahead of personal contentment then we can be assured that our lives, our children's lives and the lives of their children will be as blessed as the lives that we have lived and more so. Finally the new President must say that only by working for common interests and can we be assured that government of the people, by the people for the people shall not perish from this earth. ¹
Ciao
¹ - I didn't write that last part. It was the last line of another pretty good little speech.
Note:It is really nice to come to this point in our history and to be writing and thinking about the future and not about the past. It didn't have to be that way. For a long time I thought my last post before the inauguration would be about the sins of the last 8 years and not the path we must walk forward. As a country we are incredibly fortunate.

A new Layout

There is a new layout or maybe I should say a new Lay out. Russ Lay is now blogging about life and times of the Outer Banks. Russ has a long history of service to the town of Nags Head and the community. I expect he will have a unique point of view and style.

Welcome Russ, it was getting lonely out here.

Who Knew? Mid County Bridge Contract awarded

Here is one that seems to have slipped by me and I suspect a lot of other people. A Spanish firm - part of a major multi-national corp. has been awarded a $700 million dollar contract for the Mid-County bridge linking mainland Currituck County and the barrier island community of Corrolla.

Grupo ACS chosen by the state of North Carolina to develop its first infrastructure concession

ACS will design and execute the project for the construction and operation of an 11 kilometre bridge worth 700 million dollars

This is the fourth concession project won this year by Iridium in the United States and Canada
Madrid, December 18, 2008. The consortium headed by ACS Infrastructure Development, the US affiliate of the concession developer Iridium, and Dragados has been chosen as a partner by the North Carolina Turnpike Authority (NCTA) to prepare and develop the project for the construction and operation of an 11 kilometre bridge in that state located in eastern USA.
The project, worth 700 million dollars, will consist of the construction of a long bridge going over swamplands and will connect the NC 12 state highway with US interstate 158. Besides building the accesses and turnkey facilities for the bridge, Dragados will be in charge of making improvements along four miles of the NC 12 south of the bridge to facilitate emergency evacuations in the event of hurricanes.

ACS is based in Madrid Spain but apparently is building a US presence.
More when it comes to me. Get ready to take down those blue ribbons or whatever color they were.

Ciao

Noise about Noise, Dare County style

Monday night the Dare County Planning Board will consider one of the worst ordinances I have had the displeasure of reading. The change would allow “ The operation of any recreational motorized vehicle including motorcycles, go-karts, all-terrain vehicles, dune buggies, or other similar motorized vehicles” during daylight hours on any lot in unincorporated Dare County. Further it would allow the use to generate noise at a volume the EPA says may cause hearing damage with extended exposure. The Planning Board will consider the ordinance without every having been exposed to level of noise they are considering. What's more the ordinance probably won't solve the very problem it was created to solve.
The draft rule stems from a neighborhood dispute on the north end of Roanoke Island. Neighborhood kids have long ridden dirt bikes in the are but the use increased dramatically when “fill” was added to 4 lots and shaped into a track with ramps and jumps. Neighbors complained to the DC Sheriff but the deputies decided the activity didn't violate the vague standards of Dare County's noise ordinance (more on this later). The neighbors carried their complaint to the Dare Board of Commissioners. The board told staff to draft an ordinance to fix the problem.
Fix in this case meant to make sure that the activity as allowed to continue. Comm. Alan Burris and Richard Johnson felt that the activities were, in fact, traditional activities in rural (my term not theirs) Dare. They felt that this type of activity, along with keeping horses and working on cars and boats, should not be regulated away as the county developed. From that came the abomination called “Ancillary Residential Uses”, amendment the zoning ordinance that allows all the activities listed above on any zoning district in DC.
What's wrong with a couple of kids on dirt bikes you ask. Lets find out:

• Noise level: Sound pressure levels (noise level) ranging form 81 to 94 decibels are allowed in the rule. To put that in perspective the state of Colorado caps noise from train rights of way at 80 db. 81 db is the equivalent of standing 30 ft from the bypass on a busy summer day. Imagine enjoying your deck with this racket going on next door.
• How loud is really allowed: The 81 + db limits are really the limits. You see the ordinance requires that sound be measured 25 ft from the property line. Since the use can occur right up to the lot lines of the lot in question this means 25 ft onto neighboring property. I am not a sound engineer but that means the noise will be more intense at the property line so the limits aren't really the limits at all.
• Zoning Districts: The ordinance allows the uses in any district this includes some envirnomentally sensitive districts and recently zoned areas where the community has been intimately involved in drafting the zoning code. How will they react to this intrusive uee.
• It won't work: Ironically the ordinance won't even solve the problem it was drafted to address. The proposed language includes a requirement that the use be :”private property only in association with a residential structure”. You can't ride on a vacant lot. Well guess where the problem is – on vacant lots.

Now the rest of the story, the County's noise ordinance prohibits Noise Disturbance which is defined as:

Any sound which endangers or injures the safety or health of humans or animals, or annoys or disturbs a reasonable person of normal sensitivities, or endangers or injures personal or real property.
It goes on to state that:
No person shall operate a motor vehicle, motorcycle or motorboat which causes noise disturbance across a real property boundary, within a noise sensitive zone or on a public right-of-way, public space or public waterway as a result of:
1. A defective or modified exhaust system;
2. Any unreasonably rapid acceleration, deceleration, engine revving or tire squealing; or
3. Overloading or ill-repair which causes unusually excessive grating, grinding, rattling or other noise
[All emphasis added]

A reasonable person might think that continued exposure to sound pressure levels that can damage their hearing is banned under this ordinance but apparently Planning Staff doesn't see the contradiction between banning bothersome noise on one hand and allowing it on the other. The Planning Board decided at an earlier meeting not to have a demonstration of the noise levels permitted under the plan so they don't have to deal with the contradiction either.
Now for the bad news. The sound levels in the Dare draft are based on a Nags Head ordinance that I voted for about 18 years ago. how about that. The rule has never come into play in Nags Head but our more stringent general noise rules get enforced regularly. The town rule sets specific limits for residential and commercial zones. It works pretty well. Much better than the rules similar to DC's that it replaced.
Second problem. I agree with Richard and Alan that the old practices should be protected. I fought to keep pit fires and dogs on the beach. Both activities that generated complaints like the one the began the Dare County fiasco. However the proposed Dare County rule goes too far in allowing intrusive activities both in terms of how (loud) and where. Dogs require a leash, pit fires require a permit, motorcycles require reasonable limits as well.
Expect a dust up if the current ordinance gets to the BOC in its current form. There should be a lot of people alarmed about what might be coming to a neighborhood near them. If they aren't upset now they will be when the hear (about) it.
Ciao.

What will happen in 2009

Time to get out my crystal ball and see if I can divine what the new year holds for me and for us. Last year’s post didn’t do too badly though I certainly didn’t foresee Derb Carter’s win or Barack Obama’s for that matter.

• I walk 36.3 My sister’s and I have committed to complete the Avon Breast Cancer Walk in Boston May 16th and 17th.. That means walking a marathon on Saturday and a half marathon on Sun. It also means raising $2,000 to help find a cure for the disease that took my mother. You can follow our progress at the Walking for Liz blog. You can make a contribution at my Avon Page.
• The CDC gets rolling. This should be a break out year for the Outer Banks Community Development Corp. We will build a new mixed use building in Nags Head and complete and market 8 units on Roanoke Island.
• Beach Nourishment returns. After a couple of years of dormancy this will be the year you hear about new plans for restoring the area’s beaches. The sand won’t flow for another year or two but the issue will resurface and the debate will begin again. Jetties will be part of it but nourishment will be the big thrust.
• Election No – Involvement Yes. Once again I will not run for elected office (this is getting to be a theme). I do expect to campaign for some candidates in Nags Head’s balloting. Expect a battle for the Mayor’s seat with at least 3 candidates maybe more but don’t expect much interest in the Commissioner’s race. One incumbent will run and win the other seat will go to a new face.
• No bridge. I predict that the bailout/stimulus will not build he replacement for the Bonner Bridge. This bridge will be sent back for more study by the feds. This will begin an even stricter approach to coastal development let by the environmental lobby and an emboldened Democratic Congress. Like it or not its coming. At least it will be good fodder for the blogss.
• Celebrating 20 years. My wife Carole and I will celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary this year. This is my most confident prediction. I would be lost without my loving partner and only hope we can squeeze another 20 years jus like the last 20.

Finally I predict this blog will still exist at this time next year. Probably in the same erratic, unedited style. Thanks for your interest and your patience. I hope your new year brings you health, peace and progress in whatever goals you set.
Ciao

What Happend in 2008

Time for the annual year end review. This marks the third retrospective post. 2007 and 2006 were milestone years. 2008 was typified by developing involvement with a number of projects. It was a year of successes and some failure. It is hard to pick a single event in my life that stands out but the election of Barack Obama to the Presidency will make this year stand out in our collective history at a national and perhaps an international level. The latter remains to be seen.

• I got Certified. I completed the requirements for the Duke Certificate in Nonprofit Management in the spring. I have learned a lot about how nonprofits operate, particularly about fund raising. This has turned out to be a good decision. The benefits of my expanded knowledge and contacts has already begun to show in my involvement with NPO's
• Duke comes to KDH The time and expense of traveling to Durham for these classes led me to look into how to bring some Duke classes to the Outer Banks. Long story short I am now the Outer Banks site coordinator. We held 4 very successful class this fall and 5 more are scheduled for the spring. The Outer Banks Community Foundation has provided scholarships and the First Colony and and Penguin Isle have helped as well. Check out obxlearn.org for more info. (cheap plug)
• No Eure Center yet. Perhaps the most disappointing project has been the attempt to establish the Eure Outer Banks Arts Center. After a struggle we secured a large grant from the Vistors Bureau but the project stalled as we tried find the right structure for the purchase. We have now arranged the purchase and found the money to buy the property but fund raising for operating costs has been slow. It is not clear if this project will work out.
• CDC moves forward. My role as Chairman of the Outer Banks Community Development Corp. (OBCDC) has been very rewarding. We stumbled a bit early in the year but have now actually started to see families moving into homes. We have 2 major projects about to start construction, both with great chances for success. Several more will come online soon. I don't do the work for the CDC, the staff does but I do hopefully provide some guidance and support. The organization is getting ready to really take off and start delivering what it has been promising for a long time.
• Key West called. We got to go back to Key West this year. It was a very special trip because we were joined by my sisters and their husbands. We had a great time, except for that episode of seasickness on the trip to the Dry Tortugas (sorry again Ed). No plans yet but I expect that we will try this arrangement again though probably not in Key West again. See the photos at the blog. We also got back to Nashville for the Tin Pan South Songwriters Conference. Lots of great music. As has been our habit we made it to Ocracoke in Sept. and traveled north for Thanksgiving. Not as much travel as last year but we enjoyed it all.
• Last Blog standing. This site has had its ups and downs over the year. We hit over 200 views on a post this summer, a record and a far cry from the 5o or so of you who are regulars. Beach Access dominated the spring and summer while posting slowed during the campaign and a little of Vice Presidental politics crept in. The demise of Outer Banks Republic, the brief life of Southern Shores Times and the limited posting on Outer Banks Real Estate dropped the number of active local blogs covering politics to about one and a half. Uncle Jack keeps is hand in but his move to Ballmor and his time in Camden Me. limits his perseptive OBX insights. He remains the best writer in our blogosphere though Skip at KYSCoast posts beautiful prose about surfing and biking and living on a barrier island. New father Bill hits topics other than watersports sometimes but his windsurfing posts are so strong you know where his heart is.
• Barack, Beverly and Kay won. I helped. I was able to play a small role in the election. I helped the Dare County Democratic Party organize the best phone calling effort we have ever mounted. I also did some work for the Campaign for Change. For a few days before the election I helped volunteers in Manteo go door to door for Obama. The most rewarding part of this was seeing the interest and emotion of so many people who chose to take part in the political process. It was good to see so many people decided they needed to take a role in shaping our country's future.
• I gained weight back. I lost my diet discipline and put back on much of the weight I lost in 2006 and 2007. I have resumed walking with dedication and I am started back in the right direction.
• The economy. It would be impossible to think about this year without recognizing the effect the eocnomy has had on everyone. High gas prices led me to try to make only one trip in the car each day. Carole and I are very fortunate that the impact on our life was not as severe as it was for so many people. We are insulated from much of the effect and while we suffered in the market the problems are temporary (I hope) and we count our blessings every day.
• I take pictures. My photography ebbed and flowed with the time spent on other projects. I still managed to get some good photos but didn't spend as much time taking pictures as I did last year. See Flickr for a few of the best shots.
• Facebook. I joined FB and have had a lot of fun reconnecting and staying in touch with friends.
  
• Ubuntu works. Ubuntu is a version of the Linux operarting system. I have been working with it all year. t is great, stable, secure and free. I have gotten a lot more comfortable with it and now have 2 machines that dual boot Windows and Ubuntu. The learning process has be gret fun I
  

• Highlights: The ECU-WVU game. First live college football game in ages. Thanks Mike and Willo. Every day I get to see my 4 year old buddy Dylan. Traveling with Carole. She is a wonderful partner and I love her more than I can say. LOBX Marathon in Manteo. I worked on the barricades. They worked the way we planned. Coold deal. Getting to spend time with my sister Elizabeth while she recovered from surgery.
  

2008 goes in the books as a succesful year on a personal level. The Duke program was a big win and the CDC's progress has been very rewarding. Still it is hard to ignore the massive problems that face our new president and to worry about how they will affect the Outer Banks. The economic impact is already harsh, it is hard to imagine what happens if things get worse. I feel for the local elected officials who are dealing with the shortfalls. It brings into focus just how fortunate I was in my time in office.
Thanks to the faithful readers of this blog. I appreciate that you find something worth reading on these pages. Thanks to my partners at the CDC, the Eure Center, the Duke classes. I did nothing alone. Together we continue to make progress.
I hope your year was successful and that 2009 is even better. Happy New Year.
Ciao