Moore County’s newly-constituted Board of Commissioner seem no more inclined than the previous board to raise property tax rates.

When the Commissioners opened their annual planning retreat on Monday, January 5 with a discussion of their personal goals for the year, the common thread was keeping property taxes at current levels.

All Moore County property will be revalued for tax purposes this year, and a key question is whether the total value of real estate in the county — the tax base — will rise, fall, or stay the same.

Whatever happens to the overall tax base, the commissioners appear determined to minimize the impact on individual taxpayers.

“My number one goal is, in our tax revaluation, that Moore County taxpayers will not see any increase whatsoever in what they are going to pay,” Chairman Nick Picerno said.

County Manager Wayne Vest “and the staff have done an excellent job in controlling costs while providing service to our citizens and getting good value for our tax dollars,” he added.

“These folks out here in the audience hired me,” Commissioner Otis Ritter said, “and I am going to try to work with them to keep their taxes at that current level.”

“Like the rest of our board members, I also want to keep our taxes at the current rate,” Commissioner Catherine Graham said. “Bottom line — no increase. If you’re paying $100 a year now, then I hope you will pay $100 a year next year.”

“With Wayne’s leadership, the staff has done a great job of keeping spending under wraps, Commissioner Randy Saunders said.

“I can’t imagine that we won’t be able to stay revenue neutral” — in other words, based on the new overall valuation, set a tax rate that will produce the same amount of revenue for the county.”

While supporting the idea of a "concept" high school designed to provide graduating high school seniors with marketable career skills, some members of the Board of Education appear anxious to nail down exactly what skills should be included in the new school's course offerings — and to make sure the course offerings reflect the needs of Moore County employers.

Members of the MCS administrative staff presented the results of a web-based survey that solicited public opinion about the new school during the January 5 meeting. Over ten days, the poll attracted responses from 1,069 citizens, including 518 students and 350 parents.

Associate Superintendent Kathy Kennedy said 59 percent of the responses came from the area served by Pinecrest High School, 30 percent from the Union Pines area, and 11 percent from North Moore.

Board member Charles Lambert urged that staff make an extra effort to alert North Moore residents to opportunities for input, since many residents in that area do not regularly peruse media based in Southern Moore County.

Survey respondents were presented with a list of potential course offerings, grouped within four "academies," which included Life & Health Sciences, Agriculture, Design & Production, and Hospitality & Culinary Arts.

Most proposed course offerings received at least some votes. Among the most popular were Animal Science (including Veterinary Assisting), Culinary Arts, Hospitality Management, Horticulture (including Golf Course & Turf Management), and Life & Health Science (including Physical Therapy, Anesthesiologist, & Nursing).

There results "tell us we were on the right track as far as the pathways were concerned," Kennedy said.

Associate Superintendent Eric Porter told the Board that community forums aimed at gathering additional information are planned for February 12 at North Moore, February 16 at Union Pines, and February 23 at Pinecrest. They will be held from 6:00 pm to 7:30 pm.

Seven Lakes Country Club has a new owner -- almost.

The club informed members on Wednesday, November 12, via email that the Board of Directors has identified a new owner for the club. But negotiations are apparently still underway, so details are scarce.

An email sent to members Wednesday morning, November 12, broke the news, but provided few details.

Here's the text of the notice to members:

"The BOD wishes to inform the membership that a decision has been made on who will be the new owner of SLCC. Due to the sensitive nature of negotiations we cannot reveal their name at this time. We will inform you once the negotiations are complete. The BOD is very excited for the future of Seven Lakes Country Club under the new owner."

"Member dues and annual payment options will remain the same. Information regarding this will be available within the week."

The Board had listed the award-winning course, designed by Peter Tufts, with Hilda Allen Real Estate Inc. in Adel, Georgia.

The broker then conducted a sealed bid auction with a November 6 deadline.

Beauty, they say, is in the eye of the beholder.

In the case of the pasture fence in Seven Lakes North, the factor that separates the Architectural Review Board [ARB] from the Recreation Committee is beauty — beauty, and its constant companion, money.

Members of both those Seven Lakes Landowners Association [SLLA] committees, along with representatives of the Security and the Facilities Committees, as well as a smattering of interested residents, met on Friday afternoon, November 7, to review options for replacing the existing pasture fence. SLLA President Bob Racine called the special meeting after discussion of the matter was postponed at the October 29 Open Meeting.

Jane Leach presented the ARB committee's recommendations; George Temple spoke for the Recreation Committee.

They key issue that separates those proposals is a wood fence along Seven Lakes Drive: ARB wants wood; Recreation can live without it.

No one apparently sees much value in retaining the existing split rail fence. Community Manager Ray Sohl said many of the fence posts are loose and moving, causing rails to fall.

"I don't see a reason to keep it, because it will constantly require maintenance," Sohl said. 

For the second time this year, Seven Lakes Landowners Association [SLLA] Director Bill Hirsch has resigned.

Responding to comments made by former SLLA President Bob Darr during the public forum period of the Wednesday, October 29 Open Meeting, a visibly angry Hirsch raised his voice, insulted Darr, and then stormed out of the room.

Darr’s remarks focused on proposed upgrades to the fence that surrounds the Association’s horse pasture.

But Hirsch's anger apparently had less to do with Darr's comments regarding the fence and more to do with a series of emails and conversations regarding an October 23 Architectural Review Board [ARB] meeting that dealt, in part, with the stables, and from which Darr believed he had been excluded.

The background

Earlier in the month, during the Monday, October 13 SLLA Board Work Session, the Recreation Committee and the Stable Manager proposed fence improvements that aimed to make the pasture more secure. Horses have escaped through the fence on at least two occasions in the past sixty days.

Stable Manager Amanda Dugan reported, during the Work Session, that the current split rail fence and electric wire were old and in a constant state of disrepair. She recommended the construction of a new electric fence inside the existing split rail fence.

After Duggan's presentation, Hirsch recommended that any fence rehabilitation first be approved by ARB, suggesting that there would be enough time to finalize the fence proposal between the Work Session and the October Open Meeting.

During their October 23 meeting, ARB voted against the concept of a secondary fence around the perimeter of the stable, effectively ruling out the stable manager's recommendation.