Quashed conflict of interest statement sent message that unethical is acceptable, chairman says.

By NICOLE CARTRETTE
Staff Writer

The second of two planning board members to resign this month did so Monday.

Frustration with a “watered down” subdivision ordinance that commissioners seem to have forgotten and a conflict of interest statement that the Board of Commissioners voided led Chairman J.B. Evans of Fair Bluff to call it quits, he said.

Evans’ resignation comes one week after board member Ivan Wilson of Lake Waccamaw resigned, also citing the voided conflict statement as the “final blow.”

“Upon you appointing me as an inaugural member of the Planning Board, I must say that I had high hopes and tremendous expectations that a new day had dawned in our county,”

Evans wrote in his June 11 resignation letter addressed to Commissioner Amon McKenzie. “I fully expected that this new group could work cooperatively with the Board of Commissioners and finally craft a set of plans to move our county forward.

“After several years of frustration and disappointment that I have observed first hand as chairman of the Planning Board, I have concluded quite frankly that the county commissioners have no concern for making plans for our county,” he added.

“I have lived in Columbus County all of my life, and I am very proud of my home county. But events over the past few years have also made me very concerned about the future of my home county,” Evans explained.

“Specifically, the Planning Board spent years working with experts in state government and land use to put together a proposed Subdivision Ordinance. We altered the state recommendations at the Planning Board level. Then we altered them based on concerns the county commissioners voiced to us in numerous joint workshops.

“The resulting document is a very much watered down ordinance that, in my opinion, would be the weakest subdivision ordinance any county in North Carolina has enacted,” Evans stated in the resignation. “Yet it is still not enacted.
The Board of Commissioners lacks the courage and leadership to even put minimal rules on the books.”

In regard to the board’s work on a “modest land use plan,” Evans wrote: “I can see now that the Board of Commissioners never adopted a land use plan because you clearly did not want one.
“It is a waste of the Planning Board members’ collective and individual time to work on a project that the board knows full well it will never implement,” Evans noted.

He accused the board of ignoring existing ordinances and states: “During my tenure on the Planning Board, I have seen first hand numerous cases where the existing ordinances of the county have been totally disregarded. The mobile home park ordinance and floodplain ordinance would be two blatant examples.”

Evans questioned the reasoning behind enacting laws and regulations he said are not enforced and stated “The Board of Commissioners does not care about the future of our county.

“The latest example of this dangerous attitude would be the vote to do away with the compromise conflict of interest rules that the planning board unanimously felt were important to our integrity,” Evans declared. “Yet the commissioners jumped in and squashed those guidelines that your own attorney said were appropriate.”

Evans further explained that to stay on the board would be contrary to his morals. “At my age, all I have left is my reputation, which hopefully has been a lifetime of trying to be a force for good.

Being honest and above board has gotten me this far, and I cannot associate myself with any effort that takes the low road,” he pointed out.

“How in the world can the Columbus County commissioners say to anyone and everyone that being ethical, being honest, and trying to do the right thing are traits we do not want in our county government?

“Your vote sent the clear message that being unethical is an accepted and expected practice in Columbus County government. I have to run from that sentiment. I have to resign.

“I will pray for those in leadership positions as I have done all of my life. Good luck as you govern the county in the future,” Evans concluded his letter.

Last week, Ivan Wilson stated in his resignation letter addressed to Commissioner Bill Memory: “The final blow for me was the repealing of the conflict of interest statement adopted unanimously by the planning board.

The implications of this repeal shatter my demands for integrity and honesty; therefore, I must resign from the board rather than risk the tarnishing of my reputation.”

The two resignations come after a long and controversial tug-of-war over the Columbus County Planning Board adopting the policy requiring board members to sign a conflict of interest statement and the majority initially voting to eliminate members from voting if they did not sign the statement.

Three board members, Lacy Wilson, Chandler Worley and James Register, said they had problems with the statement and refused to sign it. At subsequent meetings board members appeared to work out their differences. All members, including Wilson, Worley and Register, agreed to sign the revised statement, which eliminated any reference to “future” conflicts or “perceived conflicts.”

By signing the statement members would acknowledged if a conflict existed they would refrain from voting and would not engage in discussion to sway other members’ opinions.

Despite the compromise, commissioners were not happy with how the board went about creating rules for themselves.

“They did not approach us – that is not why we put people on that planning board,“

Commissioner Bill Memory said at a commissioners’ meeting in which he asked other commissioners to void the policy. All seven commissioners voted unanimously to void the statement.