Town of Cameron discusses harrassment, again
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| The Town of Cameron holds a public hearing at its May 23, 2023 regular meeting. |
The Town of Cameron discussed harassment and discord among
board members at its May 23 regular meeting. The discussion began after the
public hearing when Kay Kelly read pages of concerns. She read the North
Carolina General Statute 168-86 on ethics and education.
“I am extremely upset with actions of the board. You have
been elected to support the best interests of the people,” Kelly said about the
board making decisions without a full board and without public notice.
The town board had only three members for several months and recently
recruited new members for a full board.
General Statute 168-86 directs members to obey laws regarding
official actions taken as a board member, to uphold the integrity of the member’s
office, to avoid impropriety, to be faithful to duties, and to conduct affairs
in an open and public manner.
“We do often find ourselves with discord amongst the staff.
Most of the time I don’t want to be here because of some strong personalities.
I’ve been feeling sort of harassed. I’ve been called by our clerk, crying about
being harassed. I come to these meetings walking on eggshells because I don’t
know what kind of messages I’ll be sent later,” Member Joey Frutchey said.
In March 2022, Mayor Jim Leiby resigned after harassing emails
from Mayor Pro Tempore Ginger Bauerband. Leiby shared the emails, showing
bright red font in all capitals, at the board’s regular meeting.
The May 23, 2023 harassment discussion was spurred by the resignation of a
planning board member told to resign in a text message.
This took place after Bauerband and Town Board Members Kane
Parsons and Michael Williamson attended a planning board meeting. The planning
board reviewed changing zoning ordinances to restrict homesites to lots at 2.5
acres. The one planning board member who voted against the 2.5 acres
restriction was told to resign.
“It was not retaliation,” Bauerband said.
“I have been living back and forth equally between Sanford
and Cameron. I felt targeted to resign because I was against the two and half-acre
lot size and was bullied and yelled at. My residency became a problem only when
I disagreed with the lot size,” the planning board member who asked not the be
named said.
Moore County Board of Elections lists the resigned board
member as living in Cameron.
“That member brought a lot to the table,” Frutchey said about
the resigned planning board member with years of construction experience.
Cameron resident Sylvia Caddell said it was too hard to get
people to serve in the small town.
Prior to the town board meeting, the Historic Preservation
Committee passed a resolution to propose an ordinance to the town board to
preserve Cameron’s historic district.
The ordinance created an overlay historic district to protect the heritage of the Town of Cameron by preserving districts, landmarks, elements of its culture, history, architectural history, and prehistory.
The town board passed the ordinance, and the audience of
about 30 cheered.
“The history of Cameron kept me coming back a long time and
as a co-owner of historic property, I have plans to renovate,” Nick Levy said.
“Best thing we’ve done in many, many years to protect
Cameron,” Sylvia Caddell said.
Article and photos by Stephanie M. Sellers
Journalist
BS Mass Communications and Journalism
MFA Creative Writing
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