Brunswick County Commissioners discuss fire services, unanimously approve two resolutions

BOLIVIA, NC (WWAY) — Several major topics were discussed during the Brunswick County Commissioners meeting Monday night.

Commissioners unanimously approved a resolution supporting the North Carolina Coastal Counties Fisheries Coalition’s position of opposing any suggested limitations on the harvesting of blue crabs.

State officials have considered placing restrictions on harvesting blue crabs to help the population recover.

Commissioners also heard information about fire services in the county, with a new contract between the county and fire departments expected to be presented by county staff at the January 20th meeting.

Southport Fire Chief Charles Drew is also president of the county’s fire chiefs association.

He said there are a variety of issues departments are having to deal with.

“Fire funding has been a hot topic recently because a lot of the fire departments are underfunded, which leads to other challenges for the fire chiefs, with staffing and apparatus and purchasing equipment,” Drew said. “So we’ve been lobbying, trying to get more funding.”

Any changes to help county fire services would be made as part of next year’s budget, with suggestions including using a fire tax instead of a fire fee, or a one-time use of between 10 to 12 million dollars from the county’s general fund.

Commissioners also unanimously approved a resolution opposing the expansion of the Chemours Fayetteville Works facility.