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Public Notices

Advertisement for Bids: Hampstead/Scott’s Hill Well Project

Pender County, Burgaw, NC, Pender County Utilities

Hampstead/Scott’s Hill Well Project

ADVERTISEMENT FOR BIDS

PUBLIC BID OPENING

Sealed Bids for the construction of the Hampstead/Scott’s Hill Well Project will be received, by Pender County on May 12, 2020 until 2:00 p.m. local time, at which time the Bids received will be “publicly” opened and read via a web-based meeting utilizing Microsoft Teams. Interested parties wishing to join the web-based public reading of the bids received may do so by sending an email request to the following email address no later than May 11, 2020, 5:00 p.m. local time.  Note that a physical meeting will not be held for the bid opening and only the web-based meeting will be conducted.

jfitzsimmons@mckimcreed.com

A Microsoft Teams link will be sent to all parties who provide an email address for the bid opening no later than 10:00 a.m. local time on May 12, 2020. Parties may utilize this link to join the web-based Microsoft Teams meeting. Interested parties are advised that only audio may be available due to limitations with Microsoft Teams video capability. Consequently, the public bid opening will be conducted via audio and interested parties may only hear the reading of the bids as video may not be available.

PRE-BID CONFERENCE

A pre-bid conference will be held at 10:00 AM local time on April 28, 2020. The pre-bid conference will be conducted via a web-based meeting utilizing Microsoft Teams. Interested parties wishing to join the web-based pre-bid conference may do so by sending an email to the following email address no later than April 27, 2020 2:00 p.m. local time. Note that a physical meeting will not be held for the pre-bid conference and only the web-based meeting will be available to interested parties.

jfitzsimmons@mckimcreed.com

A Microsoft Teams link will be sent to all parties who provide an email address for the pre-bid conference no later than 8:30 a.m. local time on April 28, 2020. Parties will utilize this link to join the web-based Microsoft Teams meeting. Interested parties are advised that only audio may be available due to limitations with Microsoft Teams video capability. Consequently, the pre-bid conference will be conducted via audio and interested parties may only hear the pre-bid conference as video may not be available. Attendance at the pre-bid conference is not mandatory.

The Project consists of the construction of:

  • Two (2) finished water production supply wells and associated appurtenances
  • Pre-fabricated well house buildings
  • Chemical Feed Systems
  • Electrical and control systems for well system operation
  • Approximately 600 linear feet of Water Main Distribution Piping

Bids will be received for a single prime Contract. Bids shall be as indicated in the Bid Form. Bidders are not required to be pre-qualified in order to submit a bid for the Hampstead/Scott’s Hill Well Project. Contractor is advised and shall meet the following project schedule for execution and completion of the project:

  • Pre-Bid Conference         April 28, 2020 10:00 a.m. local time
  • Public Bid Opening         May 12, 2020 2:00 p.m. local time
  • Notice of Award              June 2, 2020
  • Notice to Proceed           June 15, 2020

Prospective bidders may obtain copies of the Bidding Documents by contacting the Issuing Office for the Bidding Documents at: McKim & Creed, Inc., 243 N. Front Street, Wilmington, NC 28401, Jamie Mabe Fitzsimmons, 910-343-1048, jfitzsimmons@mckimcreed.com. Physical copies of the Bidding Documents will not be available for review at the Issuing Office.

Bidding Documents may also be examined on the Pender County website at the following link. Physical copies of the Bidding Documents will not be available for review at the offices of Pender County:

https://pendercountync.gov/utl/

Bidding Documents will be provided no later than April 20, 2020, at Carolinas Plan Room, 2527 S. 17th Street, Wilmington, NC 28401; online at Carolinas AGC www.cagc.org; Prospective Bidders should contact these entities to determine availability for obtaining or viewing the documents.

Bidding Documents are available on compact disc (as portable document format (PDF) files for a non-refundable charge of $100.00, including shipping via overnight express service. Alternatively, printed Bidding Documents may be obtained from the Issuing Office via mail, upon Issuing Office’s receipt of payment for the Bidding Documents. The non-refundable cost of printed Bidding Documents is $200.00 per set, payable to “McKim & Creed, Inc.”, plus a non-refundable shipping charge. Upon Issuing Office’s receipt of payment, printed Bidding Documents will be sent via the prospective Bidder’s delivery method of choice; the shipping charge will depend on the shipping method chosen. The date that the Bidding Documents are transmitted by the Issuing Office will be considered the prospective Bidder’s date of receipt of the Bidding Documents. Partial sets of Bidding Documents will not be available from the Issuing Office. Neither Owner nor Engineer will be responsible for full or partial sets of Bidding Documents, including Addenda if any, obtained from sources other than the Issuing Office.

Owner: Pender County Utilities

By:        Kenny P. Keel PE

Title:     Director

+ + END OF ADVERTISEMENT FOR BIDS + +

Gov. Cooper shares a path forward for North Carolina – testing, tracing, and trends

RALEIGH: Governor Roy Cooper today charted a path forward for eventually easing certain COVID-19 restrictions while still protecting North Carolinians from a dangerous second wave of the virus.

“This virus is going to be with us until there is a vaccine, which may be a year or more away,” said Governor Cooper. “That means that as we ease restrictions, we are going to enter a new normal. We want to get back to work while at the same time preventing a spike that will overwhelm our hospitals with COVID-19 cases.”

Expert modeling has shown it would be dangerous to lift the restrictions all at once because it would increase the chances that hospitals become overwhelmed and unable to care for severely ill patients. Cooper emphasized that changes in restrictions must protect public health, especially those who are most vulnerable to severe illness, including people over age 65, those with underlying health conditions and people living in congregate settings.

“Experts tell us it would be dangerous to lift our restrictions all at once. Rather than an on/off light switch, we are viewing this as a dimmer switch that can be adjusted incrementally,” said Governor Cooper.

In order to ease restrictions, the state needs to make more progress in three areas: testing, tracing and trends.

TESTING
State planning relies on an increase in testing capabilities to identify, isolate and track new cases of COVID-19. This means having the supplies and lab capacity to do more testing across the state. Dr. Mandy Cohen, Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, has brought together laboratory partners from the public and private sector to coordinate efforts to ensure testing – diagnostic and antibody – is widely available across the state while also conserving protective equipment.

TRACING
Tracing requires the state to boost the public health workforce and ability to trace contacts of new cases of COVID-19. Contact tracing can be effective at containing new outbreaks, but it requires more personnel. When a person tests positive, the tracing efforts will help identify who that individual may have been in contact with so those people can get tested and take the right precautions. NC DHHS is working with its partners to increase this critical piece of our public health workforce. New digital tools can also help scale this effort.

TRENDS
In order to ease restrictions, the state needs to understand how COVID-19 is impacting the state and impacting specific populations and regions of the state to determine when to strengthen or ease social distancing policies. Trends that will influence policy decisions will be based on data like the new positive cases, hospitalizations, deaths, as well as available supply of personal protective equipment, hospital capacity.

“Because we acted early and because we acted together, we have averted the devastating scenarios we have seen playing out in other parts of our country and across the globe. We now need to look ahead at how we stay ahead of the curve. Widespread testing, aggressive contact tracing, and data-informed policy decisions are our best tools to keep our communities safe and protect our frontline workers,” said NC Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Mandy Cohen, MD.

Make sure the information you are getting about COVID-19 is coming directly from reliable sources. For more information on public health, please visit the CDC’s website at www.cdc.gov/coronavirus and NCDHHS’ website at www.ncdhhs.gov/coronavirus, which includes daily updates on positive COVID-19 test results in North Carolina.

For more information about economic relief, child care and food services, the state COVID-19 website at www.nc.gov/covid19 includes daily updates on COVID-19 assistance.

Help for small businesses and the unemployed

Tips For Small Businesses_041420

 

The Small Business Owners Guide to the CARES Act

If COVID-19 has impacted your business, there’s assistance available. We are providing links to the various agencies where you may apply or simply learn more about the programs. The booklets in this post are helpful guides.

Non-profit organizations suffering losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic are eligible for assistance from the SBA. For more details, click here. https://www.sba.gov/sites/default/files/2020-04/SBA%20Faith-Based%20FAQ%20Final.pdf

NC COVID-19 Rapid Recovery Loan is a program for all North Carolina businesses with loans up to $50,000. https://www.ncifund.org/what-we-do/covid-19-loans
• Businesses and individuals may obtain information and loan applications by calling the SBA’s Customer Service Center at 1-800-659-2955 or 1-800-877-8339 for the deaf and hard-of-hearing, or by emailing disastercustomerservice@sba.gov. Loan application forms can also be downloaded atdisasterloan.sba.gov. Here’s a link for more information on low-interest loans. https://disasterloan.sba.gov/ela/

• The Small Business Administration offers information for businesses impacted by COVID-19. Click here for the link. https://www.sba.gov/page/coronavirus-covid-19-small-business-guidance-loan-resources.

• Available from the Cape Fear Community College Small Business Center are numerous free online classes to help small businesses deal with the COVID-19 crisis and the economic havoc it has played upon us. Take advantage of these FREE classes to help you navigate through these uncharted waters of a pandemic. https://cfcc.edu/small-business-center

• Be sure to visit SCORE, a free service with helpful links designed for your success. This national resource with an office in the Cape Fear Region offers many helpful tips, webinars, and links to business resources. https://www.score.org/

• For business loan information, ThreadCapital will offer guidance. It’s a free service. https://www.threadcap.org/

• If you must lay-off employees who will file for unemployment, please list COVID-19 as the reason for the ‘separation’ and instruct your employees to do the same. We were told by the NC Department of Commerce this will expedite an overwhelmed process. https://des.nc.gov/apply-unemployment

• N.C. State Extension has an extensive page of resources for our farm families and agricultural sector, including information on food safety and supply chain issues. https://strawberries.ces.ncsu.edu/2020/03/covid-19-farming-resources/

• A reminder from the IRS about the distribution of Economic Impact Payments authorized by the CARES Act, are being distributed automatically, with no action required for most people. Here’s more information about the payments, who qualifies and how they’ll be distributed. An important reminder: individuals on Social Security who have not filed tax returns ARE eligible for the payments. If social security checks are automatically deposited into a bank account, recipients need not file a tax return.  https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/economic-impact-payments-what-you-need-to-know. 

• Treasury and IRS have also launched the Employee Retention Credit, designed to encourage businesses to keep employees on their payrolls during the pandemic. The refundable tax credit is 50 percent of up to $10,000 in wages paid by an eligible employer whose business has been financially impacted by COVID-19. Updates on the implementation of this credit and other information can be found on the Coronavirus page of IRS.gov. It’s important to remember that businesses that receive Paycheck Protection Program loans are not eligible to receive the Employee Retention Credit. https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/irs-employee-retention-credit-available-for-many-businesses-financially-impacted-by-covid-19

The Small Business Administration has a link that goes directly to the loan page and describes each they are offering. https://www.sba.gov/funding-programs/loans/coronavirus-relief-options For help with applying for the SBA Loan, call 800-659-2955.  You can also use a text telephone (TTY) by calling 1-800-877-8339.
If unable to reach someone from SBA PLEASE UTLILIZE ONE OF THE FOLLOWING RESOURCES (depending on size of company) Contact your local location based on your county and schedule an online counseling session:
• FEWER than 9 Employees – Contact the local – SBC – Small Business Center Network – https://www.ncsbc.net/DocumentMaster.aspx?doc=1003
• MORE than 10 Employees – Contact the local – SBTDC – Small Business Technology Development Center – http://www.sbtdc.org/erfc/
In the Cape Fear Region call Don Spry – Tel: 910-398-0746; email: don.spry@sba.gov ; Fax: 202-292-3787

-Unemployment –

There has been a long wait time for calls to the Unemployment Office, please try to do as much as you can online.
N.C. Division of Employment Security – 888.737.0259 https://des.nc.gov/

  • If you have lost your job or been laid off, file an Unemployment Insurance (UI) claim.
    If you are not eligible for UI benefits, the business owner and/or employee may be eligible for Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA). DUA is a federal program that provides temporary payments to people in a federally declared disaster area whose employment has been lost or interrupted as a direct result of the disaster. Business owners that are self-employed, farmers, or commercial fishermen, who are unemployed as a direct result of the disaster may be eligible.
  • How do I apply for DUA? – What is Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA)?
    You can file online. Once you have created an online account, file for unemployment and choose the appropriate reason for losing your job. If you have difficulty filing online, you may contact the DUA Hotline at 1-866-795-8877 Employee Call Center 866-278-3822

Pender County staff will continue to compile new information throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. We would like to thank Congressman Rouzer’s office, Small Business Administration, SCORE, and Cape Fear Community College Small Business Center for sharing this useful information.

 

Post storm clean-up starts in Pender County

BURGAW – Homeowners impacted by the April 13 tornado and high winds can take their construction debris to Pender County’s Solid Waste Transfer Station.

The Hampstead Transfer Station, located at 250 Transfer Station Rd. off US Hwy 17, will accept household items, carpet or rugs, appliance and metals, tires without rims, construction debris and broken-down pallets.

The transfer station will not accept brick, cement, and mortar, yard vegetation, paint, oil, gasoline, explosives and hazardous materials, batteries or electronics.

Loads up to 200 lbs. are free per day. However, larger loads are charged $78 a ton. No cash is accepted. The transfer station accepts Visa, Mastercard, Discover, or checks.

Call the Hampstead Transfer Station Scale House at 910-270-5011.

The transfer station scale house is open Mondays – Saturdays 8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. The website is: https://pendercountync.gov/sw/transfer-station-scale-facility/.

Residents who have Solid Waste Decals may use the Burgaw, Willard and Rocky Point Convenience Sites to dispose of large household items, construction debris in the construction debris bins. Loads must be under 200 lbs. once a day. For locations of the convenience sites, visit https://pendercountync.gov/sw/convenience-centers/.

Branch and Brush Debris Depot, a new Hampstead-based business located at 21435 U.S. 17, will accept any vegetative debris that can be burned. The company charges a minimum of $20 per trailer. Pull-up service is available Mondays – Fridays, 8 a.m. – 5 p.m., Saturdays, 8 a.m. – 3 p.m. For more information call 910-581-1719.

American Property Experts, 606 Sunny Vale Dr. in Wilmington, will accept yard waste for a fee of $25 per pick-up truck load.

Vegetative debris may be burned within the state fire marshal guidelines found at https://www.ncforestservice.gov/burn_permits/burn_permits_main.htm.

Hampstead and Burgaw libraries added to state broadband map

BURGAW – Recently the NC Department of Information Technology updated their Broadband Infrastructure Interactive Map. However, Pender County officials discovered Hampstead and Burgaw libraries were not listed.

“This was an important detail – especially now, during the COVID-19 pandemic, that our students need Internet to accomplish their schoolwork,” said Erik Harvey, Pender County IT director.

Harvey and his staff worked with the NC Department of Information Technology to update the map to correctly reflect the locations of the Burgaw and Hampstead libraries.

To find free Internet connectivity, visit the interactive map at https://www.ncbroadband.gov/covid19broadband/.

Pender County Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Department is still here to serve you

The Pender County WIC Department is currently experiencing a very high call volume. The team is working hard to return all phone calls as quickly as possible. We ask that you PLEASE LEAVE A MESSAGE with your name and phone number and we will return your call as soon as possible.

No in-person appointments at this time please call the Pender County WIC Office at 910-259-1290

Or visit: NCDHHS WIC PROGRAM WEBSITE

Morning storms leave a swath of damage across Pender County

BURGAW- Pender County Emergency Management and Pender County EMS & Fire monitored the storms that crossed Pender County this morning, April 13.

“We have several reports of trees and power lines down,” Carson Smith, Pender County Emergency Management Interim Director, said. “Fortunately, we have not received reports of injury or loss of life.”

Harsh winds cut a swath of damage from US 421 and Blueberry Road northeast across the Long Creek area, US 117 at Ashton, and Shaw Highway near Holly Shelter.

The storm caused some structural damage, most of it minor with a few agricultural buildings and other non-residential buildings destroyed.

The National Weather Service is surveying the morning conditions to determine if a tornado touched down.

Four County Electric is reporting power outages. To report an outage, call 888-368-7289. Duke Energy’s reporting telephone number is 800-769-3766. Both electric companies report crews are working to restore power.

COVID-19 Federal Rural Resource Guide

COVID-19 Federal Rural Resource Guide

USDA and its Federal partners have programs that can be used to provide immediate and long-term assistance to rural communities affected by the COVID-19 outbreak. These programs can support recovery efforts for rural residents, businesses and communities through:

• technical, training, and management assistance;

• financial assistance; and • state and local assistance.

This resource matrix organizes funding opportunities identified in the CARES Act and other federal resources that can help support rural America. Opportunities are categorized by customer and assistance type.

For more information on the immediate actions USDA is taking to respond to COVID-19, visit usda.gov/coronavirus.

Click Here to View Full Document

Volunteer Assistance and Opportunities

BURGAW – Working with Pender County and Pender County Emergency Services, the Pender Long Term Recovery Group reminds Pender County citizens there are opportunities for assistance as well as opportunities to volunteer. It is possible to volunteer while practicing social distancing.

Organizations with volunteers are available to assist residents with needs like grocery, pharmacy, or food bank pick up, wellness calls, etc. should register now on www.crisiscleanup.org. Pender Long Term Recovery Group (Pender LTRG) is a registered partner.

“Individuals in need of assistance are encouraged to access www.coronacommunity.org if help of any kind is needed,” said Olivia Dawson, Pender LTRG Co-Chair & County Representative. “The resident will make a request for assistance through this website and a voluntary service group will respond to the request through Crisis Cleanup.”

Crisis Cleanup is designed to help the established voluntary relief organizations help communities by collaborative disaster management and recovery.

Share Cape Fear is another option for people to help during this pandemic. Sharecapefear.org is designed to encompass all the nonprofit groups in the region. This platform assists with needs, volunteer management, and ways to donate. Organizations are encouraged to sign-up, and to complete their profile. Sign-up is free.

“Share Cape Fear is a new tool in the cape fear area, organized and designed for non-profit groups,” said Dawson. “This helps with the efforts of managing the community needs and efforts to lend help.”

“The Pender LTRG is dedicated to support our citizens in providing available assistance, resources, and recovery services during and after disasters,” Dawson said.

There are many available resources for food assistance around the county, Dawson added.

Pender County Food Pantries and Resources include:

Livingstone Tabernacle Church Food Pantry, 910-270-0720
127 Sloop Point Loop Rd, Hampstead, Monday – Saturday (12pm-5pm)

The 4 Cs Food Pantry, 910-270-0930
15200 US Hwy 17, Hampstead, NC 28443, Monday, Wednesday & Thursday (9am-12pm)

Pender County Christian Services, 910-259-5840
210 W. Fremont St, Burgaw, Monday through Thursday (9am-3:30pm), Friday (8:30am-3pm)

Share the Table
12395 NC Hwy 50, Hampstead, 910-616-8897
Sunday (4:30-6pm) – pantry box & takeout meals only
Tuesday & Wednesday (10-11:30am & 1-2:30pm)
Thursday (10-11:30am & 2-3:30pm)

St. Joseph’s Food Pantry
Please drive up to the pantry, remain in your car, and a volunteer will place the box inside your car
Thursday, 2-4pm
1303 Highway 117 South, Burgaw

Gateway Community Church Food Pantry
Monday, Wednesday, Friday (11-12pm)
416 W Bridgers St, Burgaw

Catholic Charities in Wilmington, 910-251-8130
20 N. 4th Street, Suite 300, Wilmington, NC 28401
Curbside services begin this Friday. Wednesdays from 2-4pm and Fridays from 9:30-11:30 am.
Individuals and families can call to make an appointment.

Pender County Schools continues to provide breakfast and lunch for all children 18 and under.
Six school sites open from 11 am-1 pm and 50 alternate pickup sites.

For more information and assistance on the provided information contact:
Pender Long Term Recovery Group (Pender LTRG), 910-663-1379 or email: PenderCountyLTRG@gmail.com

Gov. Cooper orders tightened social distancing measure, strengthen long-term care rules and streamline unemployment benefits process

Executive Order No. 131 Sets Policies for Retail Stores, Enforces Mandatory Rules at Nursing Homes and Expedites Issuing Unemployment Benefits

RALEIGH: Governor Roy Cooper took action to the address the spread of COVID-19 by issuing stronger social distancing requirements and speeding up the process to get benefits to people out of work through Executive Order No. 131.

Three key areas are addressed in Executive Order 131. The first requires retail stores that are still operating to implement new social distancing policies to make shopping safer for customers and employees. The second makes earlier COVID-19 guidelines mandatory for nursing facilities, and recommends other long-term care facilities to do the same. The third area is unemployment benefits, issuing changes that will speed up certain benefit payments to those who are out of work.

“North Carolina continues to take strong action to slow the spread of COVID-19, and today’s Order will help make stores safer, protect those living and working in nursing homes, and get more unemployment benefits out quicker. Our state is resilient, and we will get through this crisis together if we all do our part,” said Governor Cooper.

POLICIES FOR SOCIAL DISTANCING IN RETAIL STORES
This Order offers clear requirements that essential businesses must implement in order to safeguard the health of customers and employees. Some of the directives include:
• Setting limits of how many people can be in a store at one time, 5 people per 1,000 square feet of retail space or 20% of fire marshal posted occupancy limits
• Marking 6 feet of distance for areas where people gather like checkout lines
• Requiring specific cleaning measures for retail stores
The Order encourages:
• Implementing hygiene recommendations for employees and customers, like hand sanitizer at the doors and face coverings for workers
• Establishing designated shopping times designated for high-risk groups
• Creating barriers between customers and employees at checkout to lower the risk of required interactions

Creating barriers between customers and employees at checkout to lower the risk of required interactions

The Order states these requirements will last for 30 days unless extended by further executive action.

LOWERING RISK IN LONG TERM CARE FACILITIES
The Order sets public health and safety requirements for nursing homes during the public health emergency. The Order encourages other long-term care facilities to follow the same guidance. Some of the directives include:
• Canceling communal activities, including group meals
• Taking the temperature of employees and essential personnel when they enter the facility
• Requiring specific personal protective equipment in the facility
• Requiring close monitoring of residents for COVID-19 health indicators like body temperature
The Order states these requirements will last until this order is repealed.

STREAMLINING UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE CLAIMS
The Order makes it easier for employers to file a batch of claims, called an attached claim, on behalf of their employees. By temporarily eliminating some of the hurdles for employers, benefits can get in the hands of those who need them faster.

The Order will extend 60 days beyond the date the state of emergency is lifted to allow employers to get back on their feet.

Additionally, the Department of Employment Services issued information on timing of federal benefits reaching North Carolinians today.

Read the full Order.

Read questions and answers about specific items in the order.

Make sure the information you are getting about COVID-19 is coming directly from reliable sources like the CDC and NCDHHS. For more information, please visit the CDC’s website at www.cdc.gov/coronavirus and NCDHHS’ website at www.ncdhhs.gov/coronavirus, which includes daily updates on positive COVID-19 test results in North Carolina.

EO-131-FAQs
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