Monday, September 25, 2023

Despite legal ruling, H2GO board still in disagreement over whose vote actually counts

Brunswick County Water and Sewer H2GO met officially and completely for the first time with its Nov. 2017 elected officials. (From left) Trudy Trombley, Bill Beer, Rodney McCoy, Ron Jenkins and Jeff Gerken all serve as commissioners on the public utility board. (Port City Daily photo / JOHANNA FEREBEE)
Brunswick County Water and Sewer H2GO met officially and completely for the first time with its Nov. 2017 elected officials. (From left) Trudy Trombley, Bill Beer, Rodney McCoy, Ron Jenkins and Jeff Gerken all serve as commissioners on the public utility board. (Port City Daily photo / JOHANNA FEREBEE)

LELAND — At the opening of H2GO’s first regularly scheduled meeting with newly-elected members, the public utility’s attorney Stephen Coble advised the public utility board of its actual voting power, which was still not clear.

Coble was clear to state that a valid board would comprise of a total of five voting members. But, on Tuesday, six people, both former or current members of H2GO Brunswick Regional Water and Sewer, cast votes on an item.

The discrepancy in voting power originated after Bill Beer was sworn into office at 12:10 a.m. on Dec. 4. That swearing in allowed the H2GO board to call an emergency meeting at 8 a.m. on the same day to undo the sale of its assets to the town of Belville.

Read more: H2GO timeline, How we got here

Beer, newly-elected on an anti-reverse osmosis platform, would have been sworn in during the Tuesday, Dec. 19, regularly scheduled meeting under normal circumstances.

Instead, Beer had already exercised voting power on the board in emergency and special meetings this month. He did so under the pretense that he had been sworn in on Dec. 4.

Beers’ Nov. 7 election swung the board’s power to a majority opposing the construction of a reverse osmosis plant and began a domino effect of transactions that ultimately landed Belville, Leland and H2GO in court last week.

On Dec. 13, Judge Thomas Lock ordered H2GO’s assets to remain under the operation of Belville and for all construction on the reverse osmosis plant to cease for the time being.

Nearly one hundred residents gathered for H2GO's first regularly scheduled board meeting with its newly-elected board. (Port City Daily photo / JOHANNA FEREBEE)
Nearly one hundred residents gathered for H2GO’s first regularly scheduled board meeting with its newly-elected board. (Port City Daily photo / JOHANNA FEREBEE)

No, really, who is in charge here?

The voting power of standing commissioners Trudy Trombley and Jeff Gerken, whose terms expire in 2019, was not in question.

“We believe that the two commissioners that are still seated that did not run do have valid votes,” Coble told the board.

Beer’s vote would also be considered valid according to Coble.

“Mr. Beer would also be a third valid vote,” he said.

However, Coble said the validity of votes cast by the two remaining commissioners on their final day of office, is up to the courts.

“Two additional votes would be a valid question,” he said.

Outgoing commissioners Carl Antos and William Browning did not attend the board’s special and emergency meetings after being named in Leland’s restraining order against H2GO. Their last day of voting power under normal circumstances would be during the Dec. 19 meeting.

With six active members sworn in Tuesday, six members voted 3-3 on a motion to approve the minutes of the contentious Nov. 28 meeting that sold H2GO’s assets to Belville.

Coble could not offer the board a solid answer on the impact or validity of a motion voted on with six members.

Some governing bodies are required to be comprised of an odd number of elected officials with voting power, so as to not create a stalemate in decision-making. H2GO is designed to only consider the five votes of its elected commissioners.

Board elects chairman

Beer, along with pro-reverse osmosis newcomer Rodney McCoy and the incumbent commissioner Ron Jenkins were all elected to H2GO’s board in the Nov. 7 election.

With Beer already having been sworn in since Dec. 4, McCoy and Jenkins were officially sworn in on halfway through the Dec. 19 meeting.

H2GO director Bob Walker swears in newly-elected commissioner Rodney McCoy Dec. 19. Re-elected commissioner Ron Jenkins was also sworn in and newly-elected Beer had been sowrn in earlier this month. (Port City Daily photo / JOHANNA FEREBEE)
H2GO director Bob Walker swears in newly-elected commissioner Rodney McCoy Dec. 19. Re-elected commissioner Ron Jenkins was also sworn in and newly-elected Beer had been sworn in earlier this month. (Port City Daily photo / JOHANNA FEREBEE)

The new board elected Gerken as chairman of the board, Trombley as vice-chairman, and Beer as secretary. Each move was voted on 3-2, signifying McCoy and Jenkins clear opposition to the majority anti-reverse osmosis board.

Nearly one hundred residents were present in the audience as the commissioners met regularly for the first time. Throughout the evening, public interjections were consistent and audible, many in opposition to anti-reverse osmosis commissioners and the split board.

This story has been changed to correctly identify Stephen Coble.


Johanna Ferebee can be reached at johanna@localvoicemedia.com or @j__ferebee on Twitter

Related Articles