The Onslow Board of Commissioners met at 11AM, Monday, November 1, 2021 in the Commissioners’ Chambers at the Onslow County Government Center, 234 NW Corridor Blvd, Jacksonville, NC. The following are summaries of the actions taken and are not official minutes of the Board. The Commissioners heard a presentation on a master plan for Parks and Recreation. Parks and Recreation Director Katelyn White indicated that the master plan would make the County eligible for grants that could help fund future park purchases and improvements to current ones. The Plan was unanimously adopted by the Commissioners.
There were two rezoning requests are on the agenda for public hearings. The first is on behalf of the Dill Family Trust which was making a request to rezone a 261-acre parcel on Cow Horn Road near the intersection with Gum Branch Road, from Rural Agriculture to Residential 15. Residential development would increase from 2 units an acre to 5 units an acre. Two residents spoke against the project. The Rezoning was approved on 6-1 vote with Commissioner Robin Knapp dissenting.
The second was a request from Fose Properties which was seeking a rezoning of a .53-acre parcel on Richlands Highway from Residential 15 to Highway Business. The site is near the intersection of Richlands Highway and Greencrest Circle. Several residents of the adjacent Greencrest Circle and Dressler Drive areas spoke against the rezoning protesting the commercial use of the property that once was part of the subdivision. The Commissioners unanimously voted to deny the rezoning.
Commissioners also voted to approve endorsing a loan that will allow Back Swamp Volunteer Fire Department to replace a 1994 fire unit with a new one and to accept an agreement between the School Board and the Sheriff’s Office for School Resource Officers. The Board accepted a nearly $20-thousand-dollar award that will allow the Health Department to expand their breastfeeding program.
The Board also approved the write off of about $1,200 in fees owed by patients to various clinics. The Board split 5-2 to endorse the action of the Onslow County Alcoholic Beverage Control Board to increase the salary of its General Manager by 5%. Commissioners Mark Price and Walter Scott voted no.
Among appointments, the Commissioners appointed Michael Richards and Dr. Connie Bruce-Gilliam to the Consolidated Human Health Services Advisory Committee and voted to appoint Steven Sanchez to the Onslow County Fire-Rescue Commission.