Oriental board back pedals on ‘noise’ committee

January 8, 2009 by pamliconews

Will town become another Pollocksville?

JEFF AYDELETTE
PAMLICO NEWS STAFF

Elected officials in Oriental put the kibosh Tuesday night on a committee of ‘stakeholders’ to study noise levels in the community. The change of heart was a blatant rebuke of Mayor Bill Sage, reversing a board decision made Dec. 2 and reiterated just last week.

The unanimous vote came on a motion by Commissioner David Cox, quickly seconded by Commissioner Nancy Inger.

Holding aloft 14 applications from would-be committee members, Sage, who votes only when the board deadlocks on an issue, implored his colleagues not to renege on their earlier commitment.

“I think it is important that we allow these people, or at least six of them, to continue in helping us to pursue this investigation,” he said.

Several in the audience suggested the abrupt about-face smacked of behind-the-scenes dealings. Town resident Carol Dixon chastised the board, calling the action a “last chance” to solicit community input in a fair and impartial manner.

“Now there is no opportunity for people to serve on this committee that we can trust,” she said.

Commissioner Kathy Kellam, like Cox, has pushed for a comprehensive new law, imposing hard-and-fast decibel limits that the town’s police force would be expected to enforce using hand-held meters.

She explained her vote against appointing a committee:
“Having such a large group will increase the divisiveness that we are seeing in town,” she said.

Commissioner Sherrill Styron, a former long-time mayor, reluctantly went along, adding his affirmation only after Cox, Inger, and Kellam signaled their support for the 180-degree change.

“This is not an attempt to ram some things through,” said Cox, explaining his motion, “but the larger the group we have, the more difficult it is to actually draft an ordinance.”

Despite those assurances, Cox -- later in the meeting -- did propose immediate adoption of hard-and-fast decibel limits. However, that effort failed for lack of a second.

During a public comment period near the end of the meeting, Tom McIlhenny, proprietor of the local Tiki Bar where performances of live music often trigger noise complaints, registered his passionate plea for a go-slow approach and thorough analysis of the problem.

“We’re dying for people. We’re dying for revenues. This (proposed noise limits) may put some of us out of business. This town has to thrive in order to survive,” he said. “Otherwise, you might get a downtown Pollocksville that has boarded up storefronts.”

Commissioner Candy Bohmert, out of town on business, did not attend the session. Reached on her cell phone after the meeting, she indicated her vote would have been to stick with the board’s original decision to appoint a six-member committee.

“I am very disappointed in my fellow board members for going back on their word,” she said.

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