Pender County commissioners approve Union Rescue Squad contract, shelve noise ordinance amendment

BURGAW, NC (WWAY) — Pender County commissioners met Monday evening, where they took action regarding several major topics, including the future of Union Rescue Squad.

After months of uncertainty, Union is ready to help residents again after commissioners unanimously approved a new contract.

Back in January, Pender EMS and Fire had sent a different contract requiring Union to respond to 60% of all calls in their district.

That contract would have also kept Union’s EMTS as volunteers, something Chief Diane Giddeons says the new contract changes.

“It makes us independent but responsible to the county,” Giddeons said. “And it give us the opportunity to pay people to work at our station to provide EMS service within our district, as well as mutual aid throughout the county.”

The new contract is for $770,000 in the first year, which covers salary and operational costs, and will allow Union to remount one of their ambulances.

And, also, according to Commissioner Randy Burton, “they are going to be providing advanced emergency medical technicians in the coming future, within 90 days.”

Commissioners also shelved an amendment to the county’s noise ordinances that passed last week.

It would have banned dirt bikes on private property that are louder than 70 decibels and within a certain distance of a neighbor’s property line.

But during Monday’s meeting, Commissioner Jimmy Tate, who had voted in favor of the amendment, made a motion to table it for now.

“I think we found out at the very last meeting and all throughout the last week…… is there mass confusion out there about the policy, as well as there is a lot of concern among people that they feel like the entire county is being penalized because of this one particular issue,” Tate explained.

Max Southworth-Beckwith, who attended the meeting, said commissioners seemed unaware of how easily someone could go above the amendment’s noise limit.

“So we were at the meeting and one of the gentlemen in front of me had a decibel meter and just talking, one commissioner just talking, was at 80 decibels,” Southworth-Beckwith said. “So the fact of the matter is that they don’t, they didn’t know what 70 decibels actually was.”

Tate said the county’s original noise ordinance will remain in place, but that commissioners may look at other possible changes in the future, once they receive more input from residents.