We Now Know What is Holding Beaufort County Back
BY: HOOD RICHARDSON
Several months ago, Stan Deatherage and I began investigating why the Beaufort County Industrial Park South had zero development during the past 16 years. This is a 245-acre tract of land that is served by a high voltage power line, a natural gas line, a railroad and a federal highway (US 17). The soils are good and the site is well drained. It looks like it would be impossible not to have attracted at least one industry in 16 years.
During this entire time, we have had several economic developers, at least two county managers, seven county commissioners, a county economic development board, the North Carolina Department of Commerce and the railroad stirring up huge clouds of dust and gallons of sweat as they wrote reports and spent tax money to “bring industry to Beaufort County”. With all of this going for us, why and how did we fail?
Over the years I have heard whispers that this or that industry had made inquiry, and they were told by Beaufort County Government or the local leadership that this particular industry was not acceptable for our County, we did not want them. We are looking for high paying industries that employ skilled workers. Something elitist and sophisticated so they say. I have no proof of specific industries, but my gut tells me this accusation is true. The County Manager volunteered at the January 2025 meeting that this is no place for a meat processing operation. I am also aware that, during my 28 years as a commissioner, not all commissioners have been fully informed about economic development activities. Stan Deatherage and I also believe a munitions manufacturer was recently discouraged from investigating coming to Beaufort County. County employees and other do-gooders are a serious problem in the economic development arena.
Stan Deatherage and I discovered this site is handicapped by zoning. Beaufort County does not have zoning, but this site is zoned and controlled by the Town of Chocowinity. This property is 1.5 miles from the Town of Chocowinity. It is outside any normal legal jurisdiction that the Town of Chocowinity would have to impose zoning or to include it in its Extra Territorial Jurisdiction.
Zoning imposes a burden on any piece of property because it limits what it can be used for. Five commissioners, after a spirited argument during 2008 wanted the property zoned. They voted to request the Legislature to pass a special bill authorizing the Town of Chocowinity to include this property in their Extra Territorial Jurisdiction. Stan Deatherage and I voted against zoning the property because we knew it was much more valuable and marketable without zoning. The County, as owner, has control of the property because we could decide who we would sell to and what the use would be.
The bill was passed by the Legislature and the Town of Chocowinity rezoned the property “Light Industrial”. The jump from “no zoning” to Heavy Industrial down to Light Industrial zoning had a tremendous impact on its value and possibility for industrial development. Light Industrial zoning choked off any use other than convenience stores, auto repair shops, laundries, churches, fire and police departments, gardens, banks, travel agencies, etc., etc. It is obvious to anyone with normal intelligence that these 245 acres of farmland located 1.5 miles from the closest village will never be developed into anything but farmland.
The Town of Chocowinity, the Beaufort County Commissioners and the Economic Development Department have played a cruel and incompetent hoax on the citizens and taxpayers of Beaufort County.
When one combines the incompetent zoning, the elitists who want to decide what industries are good for you, the natural inefficiencies of government officials and the latent backwardness of the Town of Chocowinity, there is no way this property will ever be developed into an industrial or commercial site.
The Beaufort County Commissioners did request the Town of Chocowinity to rezone the property for Heavy Industrial use. The Town agreed to rezone part of the property but with limitations on what it could be used for.
I, with a second by Commissioner Stan Deatherage, made a motion at the January meeting to request the Legislature to repeal the bill authorizing Chocowinity to zone the property. That motion failed by a vote of four to three.
The four liberals and RINOs voted against taking control of our property. They are Fake Frankie Waters, Randy Walker, Jerry Langley and Ed Booth. None of these people have any real business development experience. I call him Fake Frankie because he sits on the County Republican Executive Committee while he writes checks to Democrats and refused to sign a pledge to support the Republican platform.
Arguments were made by the four liberals and RINOs and the County manager that the zoning did not really matter. They said, when we find the right company, we along with Chocowinity would make the necessary changes to the zoning so things would work. Let us go back to people with normal intelligence. During any site selection screening process zoning is a prime issue. When the screener sees “zoned Light Industrial” and he is looking for Heavy Industrial or commercial he passes over the site and looks for one that is zoned “Heavy Industrial”. Only an idiot would believe any company would waste time on a site that is not already zoned so they can use it.
The gang of four went on to say that our elected officials in Raleigh would get industry for us when we really need it. They spoke like true liberal control freaks who have no understanding of commerce.
This group of four have been voting together on important issues since December when the two Democrats, Langley and Booth, voted to install Fake Frankie Waters as Chairman of the Board of Commissioners. RINOs, Fake Frankie Waters and Randy Walker then voted to install Democrat Jerry Langley as Vice Chairman. There are five registered Republicans on the Board of County Commissioners.
These same four commissioners, at the January meeting, voted to not require the school board to report the number and prices paid to purchase curriculum programs during the past year or to report to commissioners the number of classes taught without textbooks.
Purchasing pre-prepared curriculums from companies is one of the ways DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) and other socialist and communist content is introduced to school students. My belief is that any competent teacher should be able to prepare curriculum and lesson plans without the need of a $400,000 special program.
Parents have no way of knowing what is being taught, if anything, in classes that do not have textbooks.
The County Commissioners tax our citizens who contribute about $18,000,000 dollars to education each year. As one of the people who take your money and give it to the school system to spend, I believe both I and you have a right to know how it is spent. This gang of four, two Republicans and two Democrats are not serving the public or overseeing the proper spending of your tax money.
Chasing windmills????? That would seem to be the climate alarmists.
|
Big Bob: Please lose your Village Idiot persona by providing just an iota of substance every now and again.
Is that too much to ask? |
Then you will spend your life chasing windmills.
|
Big Bob: You began the "teamwork" metaphor as yet another one of your clichés, so I used that metaphor to inform you how I well I understand how politics /governing works, even though, as a Leftist, it is probably a concept you cannot fathom.
Let me use another metaphor for you then that is not so clichéd, so you might understand. I will not join in league with the devil for the "best possible out comes for all of us." This is the way I have governed for 26 plus years, and this method continues to work best for me and my constituents. |
In football that is true. As as a public servant, I would argue no. Your job is to fight for the best possible out comes for all of us.
In the end we are all on the same team. That is something we all need to remember. |
There is an old saying in politics that "ya dance with who brung ya". We have a pair of RINOs on the commission who don't seem to have learned that.
|
Big Bob: You have no clue what is real; do you?
|
I’m just sayin, teamwork makes the dream work.
Election’s over. Try it. |
Big Bob: Yet another cliché.
I have played team sports for much of my formative years, and I always played on my team, and I played to win. I do not play on the opposing team. I play to beat the opposing team. |
I’m just sayin, teamwork makes the dream work.
Election’s over. Try it. |
I wonder where the saturation point for fast food restaurants is. That must be the way to go for the Beaufort County economic development wizards. Granting that this pertains to some parts of the county more than others. Although Dollar Generals are found all over.
|
And I’m the idiot - bhahahahaha
Keep setting them up Stan, and I’ll keep knocking the down!