Town forecloses on derelict lot

BEULAVILLE — The Beulaville Board of Commissioners approved the foreclosure of a property in town at its monthly meeting on Monday, July 6.

The property at 406 W. Church St., parcel 07-849, was discussed during the new business portion of the meeting. The property currently has an active lien of $7,248.70 for back-due property taxes, and the town has had no luck communicating with the property owner.

The town has been discussing the property over the past year, with hopes of resolving the situation, but has had no luck.

“The owner passed away, and it went to the state. We have not had any communication at all from any family members,” explained Town Manager Lori Williams.

In other news

In public comment, Emily Wilcox and Jennifer Thigpen, representatives from Hearts Hope Crisis Pregnancy Center, addressed the board to introduce themselves and talk about the services the center offers.

Public Works Report

Williams delivered the public works report in the absence of Public Works Director Ricky Raynor.

She stated that they met with the Adams Company and Stroud Engineering to talk about the stormwater and wastewater treatment plant USDA project.

Williams explained that crosswalks are in need of repair at the Highway 41 and Highway 24 stop intersection.

“We got a notification from DOT that the crosswalks at 41 and 24 at the main stop light were approved. We do not have a start date, but it was approved through DOT,” she said.

She also told the board that the sewer line extension project with C&D Farms was approved. In a previous meeting, Williams told the board that the extension request had been put in, and followed up to let them know it was approved.

Police, Code Enforcement Report

Police Chief Karl Mobley said it was a typical month and that nothing major happened during the month of June. He also stated that the state youth all-star softball tournament that Beulaville hosted at its parks and recreation park at the end of June went well, with no major incidents.

Code Enforcement Officer Jamie Rogers said there has been a major improvement in the trash cart violations.

“There were only 19 reported violations that he had to notify citizens about,” Williams shared. “He said there was a significant difference in the trash can violations with the trash carts. They will also probably see an increase with grass and weeds because it’s just that time of year.”

New BusinessThe board adopted a resolution and approved a contract with Beverly Stroud, CPA, to perform bookkeeping and other finance and consulting duties for the town. The contract stated that she would provide these services at $150 per hour with a maximum billing amount of $18,000. She will also bill travel time at half of the hourly rate plus mileage at the IRS’s current rate.

The board also discussed the town’s Section 125 plan, which covers employee pre-tax dollar benefits. The board approved.

“The town is required to offer what they call a cafeteria plan, which is what they call a Section 125 Plan — which is like additional insurance benefits that the employees can purchase on their own whether it be AFLAC, Globe Life, Colonial, or any other,” Williams explained. “We have to offer it to the employees, and it is payroll deducted, but the town doesn’t pay any of the premiums. The employee has to pay all of it, but we do assist in collecting it and paying the premium each month.”

Beulaville holds its monthly town board meetings on the first Monday of the month at 6:30 p.m. in the Beulaville Town Hall conference room.