Public Notices

BURGAW – Pender County officials announced the hiring of Allen Phillips-Bell as the new director for the Pender County library system.

“Mr. Phillips-Bell has served as Interim Library Director since Mr. Mike Taylor retired in December of 2020,” said Allen Vann, Pender County Assistant Manager. “He has done a tremendous job and I know with certainty he is the right person to lead the Pender County Library system into the future.  He has a passion of ensuring all community members throughout the county have access to the libraries and their various programs.”

Phillips-Bell has worked for Pender County Library for more than five years. He started his career in 2016 as the Virtual Services Librarian, focusing on technology-related services in the library. He was promoted to Deputy Director in 2018.

“It is a great honor to serve the people of Pender County,” said Phillips-Bell. “I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to lead our excellent library staff in providing new and innovative library services for our community.”

Phillips-Bell is a native of Union County, North Carolina. He graduated with a master’s in information science from UNC Chapel Hill’s School of Information and Library Science in 2014. As an undergraduate, he majored in music composition, also at UNC Chapel Hill.

“I decided to pursue a career in libraries a little over 10 years ago because I believe public libraries are a powerful way to help people: to give families access to books for their children, to help people connect to their roots through local history and genealogy, to give people access to technology and to help them use it, and to provide a welcoming third space for the community to gather and meet,” Phillips-Bell said.

He was attracted to Pender County because the county has much to offer with its beautiful landscapes, the small-town feel of Burgaw, and the beaches.

Working with Michael Taylor was a benefit to working in the Pender County system, Phillips-Bell said, adding that he learned several best practices from Taylor.

“Mike took care to prioritize reaching out to all of Pender County with library services,” said Phillips-Bell. “A prominent example is the Early Literacy Outreach program. Through it, the library delivers curated bags of books to over 60 daycare center and preschool classrooms, all throughout the county, on a monthly basis. I hope to build on that by expanding other outreach programs, bringing story time and science programs to sites throughout the county.”

PENDER COUNTY – Last week, Pender County Planning and Community Development was made aware of land clearing activities occurring on a parcel of land in Hampstead and multiple gravesites were located onsite as well.

“On Wednesday, March 17, 2021, Pender County Planning and Community Development issued a Final Notice of Violation and Stop Work Order upon the referenced parcel in accordance with Article 13 ‘Enforcement and Penalties’ of the Pender County Unified Development Ordinance,” said Travis Henley, Planning and Community Development Director.

This violation is specifically regarding the land clearing activities that occurred without an approved “preliminary plat,” which is currently pending at this time. As specified in the notice of violation and stop work order, all land clearing activities are to cease and remain ceased until a Preliminary Plat is approved by Pender County Planning and Community Development. Furthermore, the notice of violation also required removal of all equipment from the site as well.

Staff are still awaiting the results of the aforementioned survey commissioned by the developers as of this release and will continue to await the receipt of all necessary documents required in order to issue approval of the pending Preliminary Plat for this parcel. In the meantime, Staff will continue to coordinate with all local, state, and federal partners to ensure compliance with all applicable regulations and standards, including the State Archaeologist’s Office.

This situation is evolving rapidly, and Staff has and will continue to monitor the site to ensure compliance and will continue to provide updates to the community as they are available.

PENDER COUNTY – In preparation for the multi-hazard severe weather event expected this afternoon and evening, Pender County will close all county parks and the Holly Shelter Shooting Range at 3 p.m. today.

The county will also close the COVID-19 Call Center at 3 p.m.

Pender County offices and Pender County libraries will close at 4 p.m.

All Pender County Convenience Sites and the Hampstead Transfer Station will close at 5 p.m. today.

According to the National Weather Service, a strong cold front will drive a line of storms across the Carolinas, resulting in an increased risk for severe thunderstorms. The numerous to widespread severe thunderstorms will be capable of producing damaging wind gusts more than 60 mph, a few tornadoes, and large hail. In addition, frequent cloud-to-ground lightning is also expected, especially with the more intense storms.

“We encourage Pender County residents to closely monitor this developing weather situation,” said Tommy Batson, Pender County assistant emergency manager. “The Pender County Emergency Operations Center is closely monitoring this storm front.”

PENDER COUNTY – Last week the Pender County Planning staff was made aware of land clearing activities occurring on a parcel of land in Hampstead and multiple cemeteries were located on site as well.

“Our staff received a “preliminary plat” application for a residential subdivision for this property months ago, but it is currently pending at this time,” said Travis Henley, Pender County Planning and Community Development Director. “Pender County has not issued approval of the preliminary plat for this site, which is required prior to commencement of any land development activities. Therefore, the property is in violation of the Unified Development Ordinance.”

Henley noted that Pender County has through the years attempted to document cemeteries across the County, and this list is continuously updated as new cemeteries are found and documented.

“One cemetery on-site had been previously documented by the County, but planning staff were alerted to another that was not,” said Henley. “Staff immediately reached out to the surveyor and put the surveyor in contact with the local citizen to determine the exact location of the additional markers.

Per conversations with the surveyor and the applicant, the location of these markers has been documented.

Additionally, the applicant had additional surveyors on-site Monday, March 15, to attempt to determine the presence of any additional unmarked graves.

The planning staff anticipate receiving the results of this survey in the coming days.

Pender County’s planning staff engaged local historians as well as partners at the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality, North Carolina Department of Cultural and Natural Resources, and the US Army Corps of Engineers to further verify compliance with all applicable historical and environmental rules, including but not limited to all rules regarding cemeteries. This is in addition to previous work through the Technical Review Committee.

“The county will work with these partners and the applicant to ensure all cemeteries and graves are documented and preserved throughout the development process,” said Henley. “This includes ensuring that all grave locations and protective measures are documented on all submitted plats and that compliance is achieved with all appropriate local, state, and federal regulations in accordance with the Unified Development Ordinance and all other applicable standards, as we do with all projects submitted to this Office.”

Site work shall not be permitted to continue until a preliminary plat that meets all applicable standards, coupled with all relevant permits and approvals from outside agencies, is approved by Pender County. The county has not in any way permitted or allowed site work to occur on this parcel at this time. In addition to communicating directly with the applicant to cease all work, Pender County will be using all appropriate remedies in accordance with Article 13 ‘Enforcement and Penalties’ of the Pender County Unified Development Ordinance to rectify this situation.

Document would play a major role in shaping community connectivity as new development occurs.

PENDER COUNTY – Pender County is updating the 2016 Collector Street Plan to account for feedback received over the plan’s lifetime and respond to changing infrastructure needs as the county grows.

The updated plan will include requirements for new development to construct roadways meeting specific design criteria at key intervals in the southern and eastern portions of the county in addition to providing policy recommendations for future County action.

“This plan will help ensure transportation infrastructure keeps pace with Pender County’s growing population through clear standards for new development,” explained Travis Henley, Pender County’s Planning and Community Development Director. “State and federal data have consistently ranked Pender County as one of the fastest-growing counties in North Carolina.”

Public input is a key part of the update process, with an online survey available here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/PenderCountyStreetsPlan Members of the public who are concerned about transportation infrastructure in southern and eastern Pender County are strongly encouraged to respond.

This project is made possible through a partnership with the Wilmington Metropolitan Planning Organization and WSP Consulting, who are assisting with the planning process.

BURGAW – Pender County Library had the honor to dedicate the public meeting room at the Main Library in Burgaw to Mike Taylor, who served as library director of Pender County Library from 1985 to 2020. The Pender County Board of Commissioners approved the Library Board of Trustees’ request in December that the meeting room be named in Taylor’s honor and that a portrait of Taylor be displayed at the library.

The Friends of Pender County Library provided the funding for the new sign for the room, a plaque honoring the room dedication, and a pen-and-ink portrait of Taylor created by local artist Mitchell Henderson. The Friends of the Library is a nonprofit that raises funds to supplement county and state funding for the library and that advocates on behalf of the library.

In attendance at the March 3 dedication ceremony were Taylor, Library Board of Trustees Chair Liz Piacenza, Friends of Pender County Library President Irene Baker, Assistant County Manager Allen Vann, Burgaw Mayor Pete Cowan, Interim Library Director Allen Phillips-Bell, Hampstead Branch Manager Karen Burkett, Library Circulation Supervisor Misty Barnes, and the portrait artist Mitchell Henderson.

During the dedication, Taylor spoke of how humbled he is by the rare honor of having the meeting room dedicated to him, and how he is indebted to the Library Trustees and the Friends of the Library for their long-standing support. Vann took the opportunity to express what a pleasure it had been to work with Taylor, to wish Taylor all the best in his retirement, and to thank everyone present for their support of the library system.