During their regular meeting on Monday night, the Onslow County Board of Commissioners discussed a number of other matters in addition to passing the FY25 budget.
The board approved a three-year grant from the N.C. Department of Public Safety to the Onslow County Sheriff’s Office as part of the consent agenda. With an annual reward of $145,340, the grant has a total value of $436,020.
The consent agenda states that the money will be used to close service gaps for released prisoners by supporting transitional housing, medication-assisted treatment, and substance-use counselling. It will also expand and provide evidence-based drug-use treatment for those who have been released from prison.
Reducing overdoses, recidivism, and relapses in the Onslow County community is the aim of the project.
The meeting proceeded into public hearings once the agreed agenda was approved, with the proposed FY25 budget being the first item discussed. The board approved the budget, as The Daily News had previously reported. Commissioner Mark Price, on the other hand, felt that funds were being allotted for whims rather than needs, as seen by his vote against the budget for the YMCA pool project.
During Monday night’s meeting, three rezoning petitions were also made.
Robert Brewer filed an application to rezone 0.41 acres on the south side of Hubert Boulevard from Residential-15 to Highway Business on behalf of Roland and Susan Pridgen.
At their meeting on April 4, the planning board unanimously advised against granting the request, according to Carter Metcalf, the director of planning and development for Onslow County. Concerns raised by the residents included flooding, traffic, a decline in quality of life, and the size of the site.
According to Metcalf, the owner of the site intended to construct a sort of warehouse or shipping outlet in addition to running another inventory-based Onslow County business.
Neil Hebert, a local, addressed the board about his concerns with the request.
For the past twelve years, he has resided across the street from the aforementioned parcel and has noticed a significant rise in traffic. Jimmy Lucas, a veteran of the Vietnam War, agreed with Hebert.
When you attempt to enter Hubert Boulevard after leaving Lucas Lane, you nearly endanger your own life. It’s absurd, Lucas remarked.
According to local homeowner Tom Fink, the rezoning will directly affect at least six homes.
Commissioner Royce Bennett stated, “I always tend to let people do what they want with their own personal property.
Although I believe that everyone has the freedom to use their personal property as they see fit, there are a number of things about this that bother me and give me the impression that it is not acceptable.”
The rezoning request was then unanimously refused by the board.
On Monday, however, two rezoning requests were granted. Tidewater Associates Inc. filed an application to rezone 9.28 acres of 30.11 acres on the northern side of Cooke Drive in Swansboro from Residential-15 to Rural Agriculture on behalf of Onslow Development Group LLC.
Furthermore, John L. Pierce and Associates P.A. filed an application to rezone 5.93 acres in Swansboro from Rural Agriculture to Residential-10 on behalf of Diversified Investors Inc.
The next meeting of the Onslow County Board of Commissioners is set for July 1 at 11:00 a.m.
