By Miles Layton

COLUMBIA — The Columbia Board of Aldermen moved quickly through a light agenda Tuesday night, approving contracts for the town’s boardwalk project and hearing an update on the renaming of a local bridge, but the meeting’s most heated moment came when a local business owner challenged the town over a water bill he called impossible.

Mayor Sandra Owens opened the meeting with a prayer before turning to routine business.

Law enforcement numbers reviewed

A sheriff’s deputy presented Sheriff Kevin Sawyer’s monthly report, telling the board that August included eight investigations, three orders for arrest and three warrants served. Deputies logged 674 miles transporting people to and from jail and court, and fielded 390 calls total, with 247 initiated by law enforcement and 143 coming from the public. The fire department had no calls during the month, while EMS responded to 63.

Asked whether the department was fully staffed, the deputy said it was — technically.

“We do have one out on workers’ comp that cannot return,” he said, adding he doubted the officer would come back. Another deputy is in school and, under a state law change roughly two years ago, cannot work until finished, he said. A third recently suffered a meniscus tear. “It’s like we get full, and then something knocks us back down,” the deputy said.

He also explained that town and county coverage is split between a “town deputy” and a “county deputy” each shift, estimating that “seventy-five percent of everybody’s shifts are spent” in town.

A board member asked what number residents should call after a bear was struck on U.S. 64 over the weekend, saying a call to the sheriff’s office line “just would ring” with no answer. The deputy gave the central dispatch number, 252-473-3444, and said it is staffed around the clock.

Water bill dispute turns tense

The evening’s longest exchange came when William “Billy” Oakes of Oak Service Center disputed a bill charging him for 51,700 gallons of water. “We’ve had no leak, but yet I’m billed for 51,700 gallons of water, and there ain’t no way,” Oakes told the board, saying his normal usage runs 300 to 1,000 gallons a month.

Mayor Owens said town workers had checked the meter and confirmed the usage passed through it, and said a similar situation once left another business with a $2,000 bill traced to a running toilet no one noticed. Oakes maintained none of his fixtures could account for the volume. The exchange also touched on a disagreement over where a county water main sits relative to his property line, which the mayor said was town or state right-of-way rather than his land. The matter was not resolved, and no formal board action was taken.

Manager outlines meter upgrade, training, bridge renaming

Town Manager Monica Mauffray told the board a new quote for replacing the town’s water meters, including installation, came to $213,889.47, and recommended the town’s software vendor, Southern Software, handle the data transition rather than staff. She noted the installation company has offered to buy the town’s old meters, which could offset costs. “I feel like that’s going to be almost a wash once it’s all said and done,” she said.

She also reported that letters sent to property owners about yard cleanup have been returned twice by certified mail, and the town is now considering FedEx or UPS delivery to obtain signatures. Town Attorney Will Crowe and the sheriff’s deputy discussed the possibility of having the sheriff’s office serve the notices in person, similar to civil paperwork.

Mauffray confirmed that the renaming of a local bridge in honor of James Cahoon, a longtime former mayor who passed away in 2025, has been approved, with a resolution ceremony set for early November in Raleigh. She and other staff also have upcoming training: a permitting course in New Bern later this month, and mandatory federal grant training in Raleigh in October tied to a $3 million Community Development Block Grant.

She also updated the board on ongoing infrastructure work, including street and water line projects moving “smoothly” and a planned sewer line cleaning and smoke-testing project under the town’s federal relief grant, which will include public notices before crews begin.

Tax collections trail last year

Tax Collector Donna Combs reported the town’s collection rate at 92.72 percent, down from 95.18 percent at the same point last year. A board member asked how much an ongoing issue with a property owner was affecting collections. Combs said the customer has an agreement to pay $4,000 a month and owes “a little over six thousand” for 2025. “They have been reaching out, and I’m sending them everything they asked for,” she said.

Budget Officer Juliana Owens told the board the town’s general fund revenues stood at 10 percent with expenses at 21 percent, while the water and sewer fund showed revenues at 18 percent against expenses of 52 percent. She said the gap partly reflects a reimbursement the town is still awaiting. Town Manager Monica Mauffray added that an unplanned cleanout of sludge from the town’s clarifier cost more than $60,000. “That was a big hit,” Mayor Owens said.

In other matters, the board voted to hire the firm McDavid and McDavid for both technical services and administration/program management on the town’s boardwalk project, funded by a $500,000 grant covering the stretch from the rail near the visitor center to the wooded area. Mauffray clarified that funding for a nearby wildlife refuge covers only a walking loop, while the town is responsible for the rest of the corridor. Both motions passed unanimously.

The board approved its consent agenda without discussion, which included downward water and sewer adjustments for five customers: Tyrrell Co. (trailers), $379.76; Pablo Arce, $15; Valerie Burrus, $117.24; Latonya Whitney, $72.31; and Zena Skinner, $41.04. No one signed up to speak during the public comment period.

The next meeting is scheduled for Oct. 5, 2026.