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BEULAVILLE — The Aug. 4 board meeting in Beulaville opened with a moment of silence to honor the late Austin Obasohan, former Duplin County Public Schools Superintendent.
“He was a true friend of Duplin County and the citizens and students of Duplin County Schools,” Mayor Hutch Jones acknowledged.
The board conducted a public hearing concerning the 2025 Community Development Block Grant Funding (CDBG). Interim Town Manager Lori Williams informed the board that the town qualified as having 51.7% of its population in low- and moderate-income areas, making it eligible for more grant funding, including aid for non-housing renovations.
The board discussed the possibility of using the $950,000 max grant and $12 million state funding for eligible repairs and revitalization projects such as sidewalks, driveways, streets, paving, shelters, community buildings, and houses. CDBG Funding is subject to the Build America, Buy America Act requiring the materials used for infrastructure projects to be produced or manufactured in the United States. Board members were encouraged to come up with a list of suggested locations for repairs by the September board meeting, being mindful that this type of eligibility does not often come around. Williams suggested that the planning engineer would be able to help guide the board toward the best areas to spend available funding once a prioritized list of considerations were developed. A second public hearing on the issue will be at the October board meeting. Paperwork for the grants will be due by the end of October.
The public hearing closed and public comments opened. Karl Wilson, a local constituent, addressed the board concerning work on water lines at his property. According to Wilson, the work left track marks, uneven dirt, unearthed trash, and exposed pipes that were causing further problems. Public Works Director Ricky Raynor said the work wasn’t finished, and the exposed pipes were marking where engineers have to still go down and do mapping.
“It’s not easy cutting lines,” Raynor said. “What we are doing now is the hard part; then we will come around and do the clean up.” While Raynor could not give a definite time when the work would be done, he did affirm that it should be done well before December.
Police Chief Karl Mobley reported that a smoke shop was broken into, and a juvenile has been arrested in the case. Furthermore, he reported that several vape products have now been banned, and police will undergo special training concerning them.
“If a business has any of the banned substances, we can now pursue them for criminal charges,” Mobley said.
Douglas Clark of 112 N. Grant Street then made his fifth attempt to repurchase family property now owned by the town. The 0.113 acre land is important to Clark because it is part of an 1800s family plot believed to be where some of his ancestors are buried. He passed out images of a degraded cemetery within 50 yards of the town of Beulaville’s Sewer Plant gate.
“This is not our cemetery, but we are trying to keep ours from getting to this,” Clark said. The 81-year-old has spent three years trying to secure the land “so some Sandlin and Whaley descendants can rest with no public cost.”
He was denied again for no other reason than the board “doesn’t know what other issues (they) may have to deal with for the land.”
Clark has paid surveyors to mark out proposed boundaries, made donations to the town, and offered to pay any amount for the land, yet he is continually denied.
“I’m not sure what I need to do to get this done. People care about where their parents and grandparents are buried, but no one cares about where their great-grandparents are,” Clark said.
The board moved on to discuss a property off Gresham Street where they have not been able to move forward with ditch repair because of disagreements with a property owner. The owner refused to allow trees to be removed because of what lives in them. The board voted to condemn the property in order to take control and clear it as they see fit.
A series of contract agreements were then approved to move forward with projects and town services. The Adams Company was approved to provide administrative and engineering services for CDBG-I sewer improvement projects. DPH General Contractors was approved for the flood mitigation project. Triple S. Farms and Cleaning was approved to continue handling sludge for the town. Mark Houston was approved to take on yard debris and bulk trash removal for the town.
“The first Wednesday of the month will continue to be the day for collection of yard waste, and we will schedule a quarterly date for pickup of bulk waste,” Williams explained.
An appointee for the Duplin County Transportation Committee was then discussed.
Jones acknowledged the importance of the committee for making long-range plans for the county. The problem with meeting attendance, however, is the fact that meeting times (often 9 a.m.) can be difficult.
“The committee wants a representative from each town to serve, and it’s supposed to be the highest government official with an alternate,” Williams explained. The board voted to appoint Jones as the representative with Williams as his alternate for the committee. The board also voted to appoint Brandon Lanier to the Zoning Board. According to Williams, the town’s concerns about setting allowed areas for food trucks will be part of what is discussed through the zoning board.
The board approved moving the Sept. 1 meeting to Sept. 8 because of Labor Day.
