NORTH CAROLINA GENERAL ASSEMBLY

1959 SESSION

 

 

CHAPTER 887

HOUSE BILL 879

 

 

AN ACT TO INCORPORATE THE TOWN OF OCEAN ISLE BEACH IN BRUNSWICK COUNTY, STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA.

 

The General Assembly of North Carolina do enact:

 

Section 1. The inhabitants of the Town of Ocean Isle Beach in Brunswich County, within the boundaries hereinafter established, are hereby incorporated under the name of the Town of Ocean Isle Beach, and same is hereby created a body politic and corporate and shall hereafter possess all the corporate powers and be subject to all the provisions contained in Chapter 160 of the General Statutes of North Carolina and other general laws of the State relating to cities and towns and all such provisions that are not inconsistent with this Act are hereby made a part of the same.

Sec. 2. The boundaries and corporate limits of said Town of Ocean Isle Beach shall be as follows:

"BEGINNING at the West bank of Shallotte Inlet at a point where the same intersects the Atlantic Ocean, runs thence along the high-water mark of the Atlantic Ocean approximately 24,920 feet to Homer L. Johnston and wife, Eloise S. Johnston's southwest corner as the same appears in a deed from Odell Williamson et ux to Homer L. Johnston and wife, Eloise S. Johnston, dated November 10, 1956, and recorded in Book 128, Page 640, Office of the Register of Deeds of Brunswick County, North Carolina; runs thence North 20 degrees West and along Homer L. Johnston's western line and Homer L. Johnston's western line projected to the center line of the Intra-Coastal Waterway Canal; runs thence in an eastwardly direction and with the center line of said Intra-Coastal Waterway Canal to a point opposite Shallotte Inlet; runs thence South and with Shallotte Inlet to the place and point of BEGINNING, same being all of Sections A, B, and C of Ocean Island Beach as evidenced by maps of same recorded in Map Book 3, Pages 178, 178A, 179, and 179A, together with approximately 1,625 feet of frontage on Atlantic Ocean of Section D, said corporate limits being bounded on the East by Shallotte Inlet; on the South by the Atlantic Ocean; on the West by Homer L. Johnston et ux's western line; and on the North by the center line of the Intra-Coastal Waterway Canal."

Sec. 3. The governing body of the Town of Ocean Isle Beach shall consist of a mayor and five (5) commissioners, who shall be initially appointed by the Governor of North Carolina and selected as follows:

A. Upon a petition signed by at least ten (10) qualified voters (as herein defined) of the Town of Ocean Isle Beach being presented to the Chairman of the Board of Elections of Brunswick County, he shall within ten (10) days after receipt of said petition appoint a town clerk to serve until the duly selected and appointed board of commissioners selects some person to act as town clerk. Said clerk so appointed by the Chairman of the Board of Elections of Brunswick County shall do all things necessary for holding an election for the selection of commissioners of said town. Said election to be held in the same manner as the regular election as hereinafter set forth with the following exceptions:

B. Said acting clerk shall within thirty (30) days next succeeding his appointment prepare a registration book of the freeholders within the herein defined corporate limits and at the same time leave said registration book open for the registration of residents as herein defined.

C. Any qualified voter desiring to become a candidate for the office of commissioner shall within said above-specified thirty (30) day period file with said clerk his petition for said office.

D. The clerk shall on or before the 45th day of his appointment forward a ballot with the names of all persons so filing for the office of commissioner to every freeholder at his or her last known address and to each registered legal resident of said town. Said ballot shall in every respect conform to the requirements herein set out for a regular election. Said qualified voters shall return their ballot to the Chairman of the Board of Elections of Brunswick County on or before six (6) p. in. on the 61st day of said clerk's appointment.

E. At 7:30 p.m. on the 61st day of said clerk's appointment, said ballots shall be opened and tabulated by the Chairman of the Board of Elections of Brunswick County as provided in cases of regular elections. Whereupon the Clerk of the Town of Ocean Isle Beach and the Chairman of the Board of Elections of Brunswick County shall immediately forward to the Governor of North Carolina, the result of said balloting, including the names of all candidates for office and the number of votes which each candidate received, and the Governor shall consider for appointment to fill said offices, the six (6) persons receiving the highest number of votes for a term of office of two (2) years or until the first day of June in the next succeeding odd-numbered year, whichever is the shorter time.

F. Said appointees shall within fifteen (15) days after notification by the Governor of North Carolina of their appointment be sworn in to the office of Commissioner of the Town of Ocean Isle Beach as herein provided and then and there organize and possess all of the powers of Chapter 160 of the General Statutes not inconsistent with this Act and shall from their number select a mayor of said town.

Sec. 4. In the last week of May of the next succeeding odd-numbered year after the initial selection and appointment as herein provided, the Governor of the State of North Carolina shall appoint six (6) commissioners for the Town of Ocean Isle Beach, who shall be sworn in as such commissioners as soon after such appointment as is possible, by any person authorized to administer oaths and shall take office on June 1st, the date upon which their respective terms begin; provided, the Governor shall appoint only those persons who shall be recommended to him and who shall be selected as follows:

A. On or before the first day of April of the next succeeding odd-numbered year and biennially thereafter, any qualified voter desiring to become a candidate for Commissioner of the Town of Ocean Isle Beach shall file with the clerk of said town his petition for said office.

B. On or before the 15th day of April of the next succeeding odd-numbered year and biennially thereafter, there shall be forwarded by the Clerk of the Town of Ocean Isle Beach, a ballot to every freeholder at his or her last known address and to each registered legal resident of said town, a ballot containing the names of the persons so filing for the above-stated offices. The ballots shall be properly marked as designated, and notarized by any person authorized to administer oaths and returned to the Chairman of the County Board of Elections of Brunswick County in a sealed envelope not later than 6:00 o'clock p.m., on the Tuesday following the first Monday in May of the next succeeding odd-numbered year, and biennially thereafter, said ballots to be then opened and tabulated at 7:30 o'clock p. m., on said Tuesday, in the Office of the Clerk of the Town of Ocean Isle Beach by the Chairman of the Brunswick County Board of Elections, said opening being public. The six (6) persons receiving the highest number of votes for the office of commissioner shall be recommended for said office and shall serve for a term of four (4) years or until their successors are duly appointed and qualified: Provided, however, that at the municipal election to be held in May of the next succeeding odd-numbered year after the election set out in Section 3 above, the three (3) commissioners appointed who receive the largest number of votes shall serve for a term of four (4) years each and the other three commissioners appointed shall each serve for a term of two (2) years. Thereafter, all commissioners duly appointed shall serve for a four-year term each or until their successors are duly appointed and qualified.

Said commissioners shall elect from their number one person to be mayor, who shall serve for a term of two (2) years, or until his successor is duly appointed and qualified: Provided, that upon the death or resignation of any member of the board of commissioners or mayor, the board of commissioners shall have the power to fill said vacancy until the next municipal election and subsequent appointment by the Governor of North Carolina.

When the ballots have been opened and tabulated as hereinabove provided, the Clerk of the Town of Ocean Isle Beach and the Chairman of the Board of Elections of Brunswick County shall immediately forward to the Governor of the State of North Carolina the result of said balloting. The persons so appointed by the Governor shall constitute the governing body of said town and shall possess and be vested with all the powers and duties of governing bodies of cities and towns in this State.

For the purpose of holding office or casting ballots for town officers, a legal resident shall be considered to be a freeholder, or any person whose residence is in the Town of Ocean Isle Beach six (6) months or more out of the year, thirty (30) days of which immediately precedes the day fixed for election of town officers. After the first municipal election as provided in Section 3 of this Act, the Clerk of the Town of Ocean Isle Beach shall maintain a book for the registration of freeholders and legal residents of said town, which book shall be open for registration of freeholders or legal residents during the months of July and August of each year and during the month of March in years in which there is to be an election as provided herein. The registration book shall contain, as to each person registering, such person's name, address at his legal residence, and a description of any property owned by such person in the Town of Ocean Isle Beach. After the first election of municipal officers and the subsequent election held in the next succeeding odd-numbered year, no person shall be eligible to vote in said municipal election unless registered as herein provided.

Sec. 5. The Chairman of the Board of Elections of Brunswick County shall receive for his services, in addition to such other compensation as he may receive, the sum of fifteen dollars ($16.00) for supervising the opening and tabulating the ballots. Said amount shall be paid by the Town of Ocean Isle Beach and said town is hereby authorized, empowered, and directed to pay such other necessary expenses as may be incurred in carrying out the provisions of this Act.

Sec. 6. After the election and subsequent appointment of the first governing body of said town, said body shall be vested with the right of levying taxes as of the first of the next calendar year after their election and subsequent appointment and shall be subject to the general laws of the State relating to the taxing powers of incorporated cities and towns, but in no event shall the tax rate imposed be in excess of one dollar ($1.00) per one hundred dollars ($100.00) valuation of property.

Sec. 7. All laws and clauses of laws in conflict with the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed.

Sec. 8. This Act shall be in full force and effect from and after its ratification.

In the General Assembly read three times and ratified, this the 10th day of June, 1959.