01 – Town Meeting

Lou’s Views

“Unofficial” Minutes & Comments


BOC’s Special Meeting 01/14/25

Board of Commissioners’ Agenda Packet » click here NA

Audio Recording » click here NA


1.   Executive Session Pursuant to North Carolina General Statute 143-318.11 (a)(6), Personnel and 143-318.11(a)3), Consult with the Attorney – Mayor Pro Tem Myers and Commissioner Thomas


BOC’s Special Meeting 01/21/25

Board of Commissioners’ Agenda Packet » click here NA

Audio Recording » click here NA


1. Interviews for Candidates Interested in Serving on the Audit Committee – Mayor Pro Tem Myers

We had six (6) candidates that applied to fill the two (2) vacancies on the Audit Committee as follows:

      • Mike Felmly
      • Grace Lam
      • Cedric Scott
      • David Shehdan
      • Kent Steeve
      • Mitchell Varner

BOC’s Regular Meeting 01/21/25

Board of Commissioners’ Agenda Packet click here

Audio Recording » click here NA


The Board of Commissioners Regular Meeting and Special Meeting

scheduled for January 21st were canceled.


BOC’s Special Meeting 01/28/25

Board of Commissioners’ Agenda Packet click here   (01/21/25 agenda packet)

Audio Recording » click here


1. Public Comments on Agenda Items

There were comments made by fourteen (14) members of the public.

All of them addressed removing the pier building both for and against the proposal.

Almost sixty (60) percent of the meeting time was spent on public comments some were quite contentious.


2. Consideration and Possible Action to Award the Contract for Pier Engineering Services to HDR – Interim Town Manager Ferguson

Agenda Packet – pages 5461

HDR Contract » click here

ISSUE/ACTION REQUESTED:
Consideration and possible action to award the contract for pier engineering services to HDR.

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE OF REQUEST:
HDR was one of the companies who submitted proposals in response to the Town’s RFQ for the pier. At the December meeting, the BOC selected HDR after reviewing those proposals. Representatives from the firm will attend the meeting in case the BOC has questions regarding the contract proposal attached.

ASSISTANT TOWN MANAGER’S RECOMMENDATION:
Receive contract and determine whether to award  based on information obtained. Staff was asked to answer few questions by phone from the firm. HOR representatives were encouraged during the call to illuminate for the board any hesitations they may have with outlined deliverables.


FEE

HDR proposes to provide the Task 1-5 services (Option 01) on a lump sum basis for a total amount of Two Hundred and Twenty-Nine Thousand Four Hundred and Thirty Dollars ($229,430). HDR proposes to provide the Task 1-6 services (Option 02) on a lump sum basis for a total amount of Two Hundred and Fifty Thousand Eight Hundred and Seventy Dollars ($250,870). A summary for each major task is listed below. No other services are presently expected. However, if additional services do become necessary, we will acquire authorization in advance from the Town and bill for these in accordance with HDR’s most current rate schedule or at an agreed to lump sum fee. This Proposal is valid for 30 days.

Task Amount Per Task
Task 1: Project Management and Administration                      $38,227.54
Task 2: Geotechnical Services                                                         $17,444.10
Task 3: Coastal Services                                                                    $29,520.66
Task 4: Preliminary Repair Design                                                $92,543.81
Task 5: Preliminary Reconstruction Design                                $51,691.35
Task 6: Preliminary 250-Foot Pier Extension                              $21,442.11
Total Proposed Budget (Tasks 1-5):                                                $229,430.00
Total Proposed Budget (Tasks 1-6):                                                $250,870.00


Previously reported – December
HDR Response » click here

The Town received four (4) responses to the RFQ. The request informed interested parties on what criteria they would use to make their selection. The proposals are for the development of preliminary designs and cost estimates for repair or replacement of the Town pier property. Commissioner Thomas made a motion to direct the staff to award the contract to HDR and move forward as appropriate. Apparently they were ready to move forward, and don’t want to delay this project anymore than it has been already.
A decision was made – Approved unanimously

Editor’s note –
A request for qualifications is a document that asks potential suppliers or vendors to detail their background and experience providing a specific good or service. In this case, the buyer is only concerned about the vendor’s skills and experience. Professionals responding will be selected solely based on their qualifications and not on price. Once a firm is selected the Town will negotiate a contract for the desired services. Therefore, the response is not a bid.

Update –
Representatives from HDR attended the meeting to clarify the contract proposal and address any concerns the Board still had. The Board had already got responses to all of their questions and concerns. Mayor Pro Tem Myers asked them to explain the difference in the proposals. The two (2) options are essentially the same with regards to the repair and reconstruction of the pier. The difference between the two options is including adding a two hundred and fifty (250) pier extension which was the original footprint of the pier structure. Commissioner Paarfus made a motion to move forward with the contract including the pier extension option. Christy pointed out the contract exceeded the amount they previously budgeted for this project and had them include in the motion that any overage would be covered with funds in the BPART account.

A decision was made – Approved unanimously


3. Discussion and Possible Action on Removing the Pier Building – Mayor Pro Tem Myers and Commissioner Thomas

Agenda Packet – pages 2453

ISSUE/ACTION REQUESTED:
Discuss and Possible action on Removing the Pier Building

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE OF REQUEST:
The Pier Building was last inspected by Holden Beach Inspection Dept on Sept 17, 2021 (see attached). At that time the summary was “The structure itself is in disrepair, but the west end may have some potential for modifications, other portions are beyond repair.”

The Engineering Report – Pier Building Assessment dated Sept 20, 202 l (see attached) concluded: “The original section of the building… could not be repaired and may be demolished. It follows that the smaller East side may also be demolished. The west side may be able to be salvaged but would require further assessment and analysis.” Since that time, the cost of construction has increased and the building has continued to decline such that there is no longer any potential for repair under Holden Beach ordinances.

Potential Motion:
Given the current situation and the fact that the Pier Building would be in the way of repairing or constructing a new pier, instruct staff to send out an RFP to remove the Pier Building.

TOWN MANAGER’S RECOMMENDATION:
Supports proposed motion

TOWN INSPECTION DIRECTOR RECOMMENDATION:
Supports proposed motion

Update –
Both the Planning Department and engineering report both support the building being demolished. Based on the buildings deterioration and the increase in building costs it is now beyond repair and a tear down. Commissioner Thomas asked the Planning & Inspections Director Evans to explain why he supports this motion. Timbo stated that the building is a dilapidated structure and can no longer be salvaged. In addition, the building is in the way of repairing or replacing the pier structure. Assistant Town Manager Ferguson supported Timbo and stated that the town position is that steps need to be taken to remove the building. It boils down to not if we need to tear down the pier building but simply when. Commissioner Thomas made the motion to  instruct staff to send out a Request For Proposal (RFP) to remove the pier building.

A decision was made – Approved unanimously


4. Consideration and Possible Action to Formulate Federal Priorities for the Upcoming Year – Interim Town Manager Ferguson

Agenda Packet – pages 9495

ISSUE/ACTION REQUESTED:
Consideration and possible action to formulate federal priorities for the upcoming year.

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE OF REQUEST:
In the early part of each calendar year, the BOC is tasked with formulating the  Town’s federal priorities that can be communicated  for federal funding purposes and also to advocate for policy change. The attached memo outlines my recommendations for areas of attention that the board may want to pursue.

TOWN MANAGER’S RECOMMENDATION:
Receive information and direct interim town manager on execution of priorities.

After discussion with our federal advocates, Ward and Smith, the following are my recommendations for our federal priorities in this order.

Funding

    • Ocean Boulevard Stormwater – 5113 Environmental Infrastructure program
    • Lockwood Folly Inlet (LWF) Dredging Funding
    • Exploring Additional Funding Opportunities for Projects- stormwater, pier, etc.

Policy

    • LWF Dredging Sand Placement
    • FEMA
      a. Appropriate Funding Levels for Disaster Relief Fund
      b.
      National Flood Insurance Program- follow developments and advocate for THB

While the board has an additional policy opportunity available, I would suggest leaving this open for other areas of concern that may surface during the year.

Update –
Christy after discussion with our federal advocates Ward and Smith proposed our federal priorities for funding and policy issues. Motion was made accepting what was laid out in the memo and also authority to issue the letters of support for these requests that will go to our congressional delegation. 

A decision was made – Approved unanimously


5.   Discussion and Possible Action on Resolution 25-01, Resolution Prohibiting Viewing of Pornography on Town Networks and Devices – Town Clerk Finnell (Interim Town Manager Ferguson)

Agenda Packet – pages 9697

ISSUE/ACTION REQUESTED:
Discussion and Possible Action on Resolution 25-01, Resolution Prohibiting Viewing of Pornography on Town Networks and Devices

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE OF REQUEST:
NCGS §143-805 requires all public agencies to adopt a policy governing the use of its network and devices owned, leased, maintained, or otherwise controlled by the Town of Holden Beach. Staff’s proposed usage policy is attached.

Update –
Christy explained that we do not have an issue with any of the town employees. This is simply a housekeeping item. We are  adopting the guidelines set by the North Carolina General Assembly Statutes.

A decision was made – Approved unanimously


Upcoming Events


A Birthday Cake Painting, 54th Anniversary of THB

Town of Holden Beach officially established on February 14, 1969

Celebrating our 56th Anniversary!


THB Newsletter (01/17/25)
Town Birthday Celebration
The Town of Holden Beach will hold its annual birthday celebration on Friday, February 14th at 11:30 a.m. Lunch will be served. Please RSVP to Christy at [email protected] by January 31st so there is an accurate food count.


 Swing Dance Lessons
The THB is taking an interest list for bi-monthly Friday night swing dance sessions
The first two events will be January 24th and February 14th


Storm Event


From the Mayor’s Desk
(01/20/25)
The NC Department of Transportation is preparing the Brunswick Island bridges for the potential storm and cold weather. Please be mindful and prepare your personal property for extreme cold weather. Forecasted temperatures show a potential for wind chills in the teens.

From the Mayor’s Desk (01/21/25)
The approaching winter storm is expected to bring freezing rain and/or snow late this afternoon about 5:00 p.m. Accumulation of three inches or more is expected. The Holden Beach bridge has been prepped for snow and ice but it is still possible for it to ice over. If this happens, the bridge is subject to be closed for an extended period of time. Make plans accordingly. Be mindful that any weather updates may bring changes to the present expectations. Currently these extreme weather conditions may last through Thursday night. Town Hall will likely close early today. We will continue to monitor the weather.  There will be no meetings at the Holden Beach Town Hall after 4:00 p.m. today. Please limit driving in the hazardous conditions.

From the Mayor’s Desk (01/21/25)
Bridge Closed
Snow and ice have caused the Holden Beach Bridge to freeze, creating a hazard to motorists. A near collision and loss of control has pushed us to make the tough decision to close the bridge to all traffic. We will advise the public as soon as conditions allow for safer travel.

From the Mayor’s Desk
(01/22/25)
The Holden Beach Bridge is currently open but is still subject to being closed. The winter conditions have caused unsafe and hazardous traveling conditions on our streets. If you do not have to be on the roads, please stay home.

From the Mayor’s Desk (01/23/25)
Town Hall will remain closed tomorrow (Thursday, January 23rd) due to the weather conditions. Please stay off of the roads. The overnight and early morning commute will likely be treacherous due to black ice. Icy conditions on the bridge could potentially result in closure.

From the Mayor’s Desk (01/23/25)
The roads on Holden Beach have frozen back over and are extremely hazardous. The bridge is currently open but the Town is recommending emergency travel only.


Snow covers Brunswick County, officials warn of hazardous driving conditions
Brunswick County got a rare snow day on Wednesday, Jan. 22, as a winter storm dropped between two and five inches of snow across the county on Tuesday evening, Jan. 21 and into Wednesday morning. The storm’s impacts are expected to linger throughout the week. A rare occasion, a snow storm hit Brunswick County, resulting in significant accumulation. With schools closed and many primary and most secondary roads unsafe for travel, residents have been enjoying a couple days of winter fun. The North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) continues working  to clear the roads, but roads remain hazardous on Thursday, Jan. 23. Local and state officials are encouraging residents to avoid travel if at all possible, warning of black ice along local roadways as temperatures dropped overnight and are forecast to barely climb above freezing on Thursday. Temperatures are set to drop well below freezing again Thursday evening and overnight. “The roads are definitely starting to turn into mush and melting, and tonight there is a good possibility for some black ice [into] tomorrow,” Brunswick County Sheriff Brian Chism said in an online statement. “If you don’t have to travel, if you don’t have to be on the roads – please stay home.” The Brunswick County Sheriff’s Office in a Thursday morning statement said road conditions are just as bad as on Wednesday. Other local law enforcement agencies released similar statement Thursday, warning of icy roadways and encouraging folks to stay home if possible. “It is important to remember that below freezing temperatures will remain for the next few days. Any snowfall that does melt will refreeze each evening,” said North Carolina Emergency Management Director Will Ray. “If you do not need to be on the roadways today, please stay home for your safety and for the safety of first responders and NCDOT working to clear the roads.” Additionally, the National Weather Service (NWS) issued a special weather statement warning of “dangerous road conditions through Thursday morning,” as temperatures barely rose above freezing on Wednesday and Thursday. “What limited melting occurs will quickly refreeze this evening with expected lower temperatures in the lower teens,” the statement notes. Brunswick County Government will remain closed to the public Thursday, Jan. 23, and the county is currently operating at Level 2 (Partial Activation), with essential public safety and response staff monitoring and responding. Most area municipalities’ offices will remain closed Thursday as well. The bridges to the town of Holden Beach and to Sunset Beach’s island and Ocean Isle Beach’s island were closed Tuesday night into Wednesday morning due to the storm. The three bridges reopened Wednesday and remained open as of 6 p.m. However, town officials from all three towns have said the bridges are subject to closing again as the sun goes down. “NCDOT has treated the Sunset Beach bridge, and it is now open,” Sunset Beach Town Administrator Lisa Anglin said in a 12:30 p.m. statement on Wednesday. “However, public safety officials warn that if/when conditions deteriorate this afternoon and tonight the bridge is likely to close again. We anticipate conditions will be slow to improve in the morning, expect delays and hazardous conditions if you must travel first thing.” Holden Beach Mayor Alan Holden and the town of Ocean Isle Beach released similar statements on Wednesday morning regarding the town’s respective bridges being subject to re-closure. The three bridges have remained open throughout the day on Thursday. According to National Weather Service (NWS) snowfall reports from last night’s winter storm, five inches of snow fell in Ocean Isle Beach, 4.5 inches in Sunset Beach and Calabash, four inches in Ash, 3.8 inches in Holden Beach, between 2.1 and 3.5 inches in Varnamtown and two inches in Supply. Brunswick Beacon staffers have travelled around the county Thursday and say road conditions are bad across Brunswick County but appear to be the worst in and around Southport.
Read more » click here


General Comments


Mayor Alan Holden was not in attendance
Commissioner Page Dyer was not in attendance
Commissioner Rick Smith – was not in attendance

Posted on the Town Facebook Meeting Audio – Carlton Pittman
Having only 3 commissioners present further illustrates why it is important to have commissioners actually LIVE here, not just have their voting registration here. No offense to Commissioner Smith, but commissioners should actually LIVE here, not just have their voter registration here just to be able to run for a board seat.


THB Code of Ordinances – Quorum
§30.15 VOTING AND QUORUMS.
   (A)   Quorum. The Mayor and three Commissioners, or three Commissioners without the Mayor shall constitute a quorum (simple majority) of the Town BOC


Commissioner-Manager (weak Mayor) form of government
§30.02  FORM OF GOVERNMENT.
   (A)   The town shall operate under the Commissioner-Manager (weak Mayor) form of government The legislative authority of the town shall be vested in the Mayor and Town Board of Commissioners, hereinafter referred to as the BOC, which shall consist of a Mayor and five Commissioners chosen as hereafter provided.

§30.04  MAYOR; DUTIES.
   The Mayor shall serve as the chief spokesperson for the town and the chief advocate of formally approved and adopted town policy.  In addition, the Mayor shall preside at meetings of the BOC; shall be recognized as head of the town government for all ceremonial purposes and by the governor for the purposes of disaster or emergency declarations.  The Mayor shall sign ordinances and resolutions only on their passage; shall sign deeds, bonds, contracts and other instruments approved by BOC as required by law. Willful failure by a mayor to discharge their legal duties shall result in those duties being assumed by the Mayor Pro Tem by reason of disqualification, as set forth in § 30.05.  Legal remedies for failure to discharge the duties of Mayor may result in legal censure or charges of contempt and may serve as grounds for impeachment.  The Mayor shall convene the Town BOC in special called session when deemed necessary by the Mayor.  Unless otherwise expressly provided by law or this chapter, the Mayor shall have no vote on any question before the Town BOC except in case of a tie.


North Carolina has created a very limited role for mayors. Our state laws leave many decisions about the management and operation of municipalities to the governing board, or, in jurisdictions operating in a council-manager form of government, to managers.

The council-manager form of government is the system of local government that combines the strong political leadership of elected officials in the form of a council or other governing body, with the strong managerial experience of an appointed local government manager.  The form establishes a representative system where all power is concentrated in the elected council and where the council hires a professionally trained manager to oversee the delivery of public services.

Based on Separation of Functions:
.        •
Governing Board is Legislative and Policy Oriented.
.        • Administration is responsibility of professional manager.

Characteristics:
.        • More Businesslike Form of Government
.        • Pinpoints Authority and Responsibility

Mayor’s Role (N.C. General Statute 160A-151)

    • Very Few Formal Powers.
    • Preside at governing board meetings.
    • Voting to break a tie.
    • Sign documents on behalf of the city.
    • Can call special meetings of council.
    • Mayor and all council members are ineligible to serve as manager, interim manager, or acting manager.

      BOC’s Meeting
      The Board of Commissioners’ next Regular Meeting is scheduled on the third Tuesday of the month, February 18th

      Agenda did not include the following:

        • Budget Calendar – they have not established the budget meeting schedule yet
        • Rules of Procedures – the Board is required to adopt some version of the Rules of Procedure each year
        • Board Objectives – they have not established an objectives meeting yet

       It’s not like they don’t have anything to work on …

      The following eight (8) items are what’s In the Works/Loose Ends queue:

            • Accommodation/Occupancy Tax Compliance
            • Audio/Video Broadcast
            • Block Q Project/Carolina Avenue
            • Dog Park
            • Fire Station Project
            • Pavilion Replacement
            • Pier Properties Project
            • Rights-of-Way

      The definition of loose ends is a fragment of unfinished business or a detail that is not yet settled or explained, which is the current status of these items. All of these items were started and then put on hold, and they were never put back in the queue. This Board needs to continue working on them and move these items to closure.


      .

      Lost in the Sauce –

      .

       



      2024
      Causeway


      Brunswick Beach Road with Properties, Cars, and Signboards

      Holden Beach Causeway – Facebook
      Sometimes change is out of our control but if we recognize it in time, we can help influence change to have a positive outcome. Our community is special and no longer a secret. The area’s population increase is happening at a rapid pace. The Holden Beach Causeway has become insufficient to meet today’s demand. Spend a little time on the Causeway and it is easy to see it is unsafe for pedestrians and vehicles entering and exiting the local businesses. The crash rating on the Causeway is three (3) times higher than the NC state average for similar roads. Since 2018 I have persistently advocated for a study on developing the necessary changes needed on the Holden Beach Causeway. The Holden Beach Causeway Corridor Study was approved and funded in 2019. The study was developed with the influence of the Causeway property owners working with Brunswick County Planning, the North Carolina Department of Transportation and the Grand Strand Area Transportation Study (GSATS). A special thank you to the Causeway Property Owners who were a part of the Causeway Study Steering Committee. Lyn Holden, Gina Robinson, Steven Parish, Joe Shannon, Andrew Robinson and I dedicated a lot of time working on the study. Communicating with other Causeway property owners and representing what is right for our community, to prevent an unwanted outcome. The steering committee involved Tri-Beach Fire Department in the conversations. Including their opinions on the study’s development to assure they had sufficient access through the Causeway and to the island for emergency response. All headed up by the carefully chosen consulting firm, Bolten and Menk. The consulting firm did an amazing job working with all of the obstacles on the Causeway, consulting with the steering committee and business owners about their concerns of any negative impacts from the project. We are proud to present to you the Holden Beach Causeway Corridor Study. Please visit the link below to review the final draft. Considering all of the obstacles and considerations for everyone, the outcome offers a bright future for our community. It also provides a path for sustainability and safety for our Causeway and its businesses, as our area continues to grow.

      What happens next?
      Chairman to the Brunswick County Board of Commissioners, Commissioner Randy Thompson, has requested an endorsement for the Holden Beach Causeway Project from the Town of Holden Beach. Commissioner Thompson’s position for requesting the Town endorsement is the Causeway is the highway ingress, egress to the island. Next, the study will be presented to the Brunswick County Board of Commissioners for endorsement. Once the study has been endorsed by Brunswick County, the study will go back to the Grand Strand Area Transportation Study for adoption. Once adopted by GSATS, we can begin applying for Funding. It has been a long road to get to this point and we have a long road ahead to receive funding and begin construction. Thank you all for your support for the Holden Beach Causeway Project. We will need your continuous support as we navigate through the next phase of this process. I will keep this page posted as developments are made with the County required endorsements and the road to GSATS adoption.
      Jabin Norris president of PROACTIVE Real Estate
      For more information » click here

      HB Causeway Study Report » click here

      THB Newsletter (01/25/24)
      Holden Beach Causeway Study
      The Grand Strand Area Transportation Study MPO (GSATS) funded a study to improve the Holden Beach Causeway by observing the area and addressing the concerns of Causeway business owners and patrons as well as the community related to vehicular and pedestrian safety, accessibility, right‐of‐way encroachments, and parking deficiencies. This study provides insight as to how the corridor functions and ideas for future improvements from a transportation and land use perspective.

      For more information and to view the study, visit the Brunswick County Planning Department’s website: https://www.brunswickcountync.gov/409/Holden-Beach-Causeway-Transportation-Cor

      The Draft Holden Beach Causeway Transportation Study will go to the Brunswick County Board of Commissioners for a public hearing and for their consideration on February 5, 2024, at 3:00 p.m.

      Previously reported February 2023
      A popular Brunswick beach road could soon see needed improvements.
      Here’s the first step.
      A popular Brunswick County road could see much-needed improvements if a project more than four years in the making gets its final go-ahead. Since 2019, Holden Beach residents have pushed local and state leaders to fund a study looking at the Holden Beach Causeway, the business strip on the mainland side of Holden Beach. Now, with a contractor in place and funding squared away, state and local leaders are eager for the study to get underway.

      Here’s what to know as officials await the green light to begin.

      What will be studied?
      The Grand Strand Area Transportation Study (Myrtle Beach Metropolitan Planning Organization) is leading the Holden Beach Causeway Study. The GSATS MPO study area boundary encompasses the northern coast area of South Carolina, including portions of Horry and Georgetown counties, and the southern coastal area of North Carolina including portions of Brunswick County. According to Marc Hoeweler, MPO Director at GSATS, the study will focus primarily on access management by studying existing rights-of-way and driveways and how they can best be structured and ordered for better traffic flow. Hoeweler said the project was prompted by a request from the county. The study would also address pedestrian safety concerns and parking deficiencies. Following its completion, the study would serve as a guide for future road improvements and development along the causeway.

      What is the cost?
      The $40,000 study will be funded with both federal and local dollars. According to Hoeweler, 80% (or $32,000) will be funded by federal money, while a 20% (or $8,000) local match will be provided by Brunswick County.

      What’s the hold up?
      According to Brunswick County officials, GSATS is currently working with the North Carolina Department of Transportation to finalize the contract with the consulting firm. Following a “competitive” selection process, Minnesota-based engineering firm Bolton & Menk was selected for the project. Once a final contract is signed by all parties, work on the study will begin. Hoeweler said he expects approval any day now and a kickoff meeting could occur within a week of the contract being signed.
      Read more » click here


      2023
      Bulkheads
      The discussion was on whether we want to bulkhead the town properties in the 700 and 800 blocks of OBW. If we do it will require bulkheads on approximately 700 linear feet at a cost of $350 per linear foot. The preliminary cost estimate is  $298,925 just for a continuous bulkhead with tiebacks. Pat suggested that we still need to know how many parking spaces could be put there. Brian stated that we have no plans to put parking there now. He also made the point that the area was delineated in order to preserve property, bulkheading is a way to do that. In addition, they pointed out that USACE may require parking in that area, so it is important to minimize erosion and maintain the land there in case it is needed. David said that we will need to submit design in order to get a CAMA permit. Shane was asked to report back additional information regarding the permit process.

      Editor’s Note
      The Town owns ten (10) parcels in the 800 block which we obtained on 04/21/13 ostensibly to be used for parking.


      2023
      Tri-Beach Fire Department

      The Tri-Beach VFD has been using the four bay Town owned building at 572 Ocean Boulevard West for a number of years to house fire apparatus that is used for firefighting, emergency medical calls and rescue calls on the island and off the island as needed. Housing the equipment on the island has been beneficial to Town of Holden Beach residents and vacationers on the island. Currently, staffing by the department is in place twelve hours a day (7:00 AM to 7:00 PM) during the summer months typically from Memorial Day to Labor Day. The rest of the year, 24-hour staff responds to calls on the island from the off-island fire stations. Due to the increase in permanent residents and renters staying on the island, before Memorial Day, during the summer, and after Labor Day, emergency calls on the island are on the increase. Tri-Beach is working on a plan to provide sufficient staff to man Station 2, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week all year. This will improve the response time to calls on the island during the entire year. To safely house staff 24 hrs./7 days a week, upgrades to Station 2 will be necessary. The Board of Directors of the Tri-Beach Volunteer Fire Department is formally requesting the Town  of Holden Beach to put a plan in place to upgrade (or replace) the existing Station 2 building to provide the necessary facilities (such as a bunk room, kitchen, flood resistance, etc.) to support safely housing onsite staff for 24 hours a day. The Tri-Beach Chief officers and staff stand ready to assist Town personnel in the planning and execution of upgrading the Station 2 building to provide enhanced fire, emergency medical and rescue services to the residents and vacationers in the Town of Holden Beach. Please respond back to the Board of Directors as soon as possible so that we can all move forward on this plan.

      Fire Department Presentation » click here

      Update –
      Assistant Chief David Ward of the Tri-Beach Fire Department made the presentation. As a representative of the fire department, he was there to justify the request for them to either upgrade or replace the existing fire station. Call volumes have significantly increased, and they would like to staff the fire station on the island around the clock all year long so they can adequately provide protection to the public. Timbo pointed out that this is a critical facility and impacts our Community Rating System score which reduces our homeowners insurance costs. The Board members agreed that they need to create a committee so they can make an educated decision about what they should do. Mayor Holden requested additional information from the fire department to know what their options are before they proceed.




      Hurricane Season
      For more information » click here.

      Be prepared – have a plan!
       


      No matter what a storm outlook is for a given year,
      vigilance and preparedness is urged.


       Board of Commissioners’ – Scorecard

       NYC Mayor Koch used to ask – How am I doing?

       Imagine if the BOC’s asked you – How’d they do?

      The goal of government is to make citizens better off


      Action Taken – 2024

      January
      Adoption Resolution 24-01, Truist Signature Card

      February
      Ordinance 24-01, Chapter 157: Zoning Code
      .    
      Accessory Structures
      Adoption Resolution 24-02, Key Bridge Foundation ADA Mediation Agreement

      March
      Ordinance 24-02, Parking Regulations
      Adoption Resolution 24-03, Participation in the Federal 1033 Program
      Ordinance 24-03, The Revenues and Appropriations Ordinance (#3)
          •
      Grant from the NC Department of Environmental Quality
      Ordinance 24-04, The Revenues and Appropriations Ordinance (#4)
      .     •
      Transfer unassigned General fund balance over 70%

      April
      Ordinance 24-05, The Revenues and Appropriations Ordinance (#5)
          •
      Lockwood Folly Inlet Dredging
      .     •
      Budget appropriation of $109,438
      Adoption Resolution 24-04, Lockwood Folly Inlet Water Resources Grant
      Ordinance 24-06, Traffic Code, revisions to paid parking program

      May
      Ordinance 24-07, Chapter 92: Nuisances
      .     •
      Unlawful Outside Lights
      Ordinance 24-09, The Revenues and Appropriations Ordinance (#6)
          •
      Coastal Storm Risk Management (CSRM) Study
      Adoption Resolution 24-05, Greensboro Seer Lift Station #2 Grant

      June
      Ordinance 24-08, Chapter 154: Flood Damage Prevention
      .     •
      FEMA Recommendations
      Ordinance 24-10, Chapter 157: Zoning Codes
      .     •
      Frontal Dune Policies
      Ordinance 24-11, The Revenues and Appropriations Ordinance  / Budget Ordinance
      .     •
      Approved the town’s $26.2 million-dollar Budget Ordinance
      Adoption Resolution 24-06, Authorizing Upset Bid Process

      July
      Meeting Cancelled

      August
      Adoption Resolution 24-07, Stormwater Master Plan

      September
      Adoption Resolution 24-08, tentative award contract for lift station #2
          •
      Terrahawk lowest bidder for the work in the amount of $3,899,000
      Ordinance 24-12, The Revenues and Appropriations Ordinance (#1)
          •
      Greensboro Lift Station #2 / $4,776,308
      Ordinance 24-13 – Capital Project Ordinance
          •
      Establish a budget for capital projects to be funded by EPA STAG and DEQ grants.
      .     •
      The project authorized is the upfit of the sewer lift

      October
      Ordinance 24-15, Amending Chapter 72: Parking Regulations

      November
      Ordinance 24-16, The Revenues and Appropriations Ordinance (#2)
      .     •
      Additional funds of $30,000 for Lift Station #2
      Ordinance 24-17
      .    
      Capital Project Ordinance Lift Station #2
      Adoption Resolution 24-09
          •
      DEQ Project No. SRP-W-134-0021 grant
      Ordinance 24-18, The Revenues and Appropriations Ordinance (#3)
      .     •
      796 OBW moved funds of $278,710

      December
      Ordinance 24-19, The Revenues and Appropriations Ordinance (#4)
      .     •
      Beach and Inlet Capital Reserve Fund Transfer moved funds of $2,783,382
      Ordinance 24-20, The Revenues and Appropriations Ordinance (#5)
          •
      Stormwater Additional Areas moved funds of $76,100
      Adoption Resolution 24-10, Truist Signature Card
      Adoption Resolution 24-11, Recycling Fee Schedule


      Happy New Year at the Bottom of the Newsletter

      Wishing you a new year filled with health and happiness 


      Do you enjoy this newsletter?
      Then please forward it to a friend!


      Lou’s Views . HBPOIN


      .         • Gather and disseminate information
      .         • Identify the issues and determine how they affect you

      .         • Act as a watchdog
      .         • Grass roots monthly newsletter since 2008

      https://lousviews.com/

01 – News & Views

Lou’s Views
News & Views / January Edition


Calendar of Events –


Brunswick County invites residents to participate in lifesaving certification training
Brunswick County’s Risk Management and Parks and Recreation departments are partnering to offer First Aid/CPR/AED Certification Training in 2025. This new training program is designed to provide residents with the knowledge and skills needed to recognize and respond appropriately to cardiac, breathing, and first aid emergencies.

“Many accidents at work and at home—such as bruises and cuts sustained from tripping or burns given by heating equipment—can be helped by a bystander with the proper resources and training,” Risk Manager Andy Yoos said. “That’s why it’s important for everyone to know how to perform basic lifesaving care.”

The training is open to any Brunswick County resident 12 years of age and older. Participants under 18 years of age must be accompanied by an adult guardian for the entire training session. Upon successful completion of the course, participants will receive an American Trauma Event Management (ATEM) First Aid/CPR/AED certification card, which is valid for 2 years.

The 2025 training sessions will be held on Feb. 15 inside the Town Creek Park Community Building, April 26 inside the Leland Field House, June 7 inside the Lockwood Folly Community Building, Aug. 9 inside the Waccamaw Park Community Building, and Oct. 4 inside the Leland Field House. Participants must register and pay online before the training date.

There are only 12 seats available per training session and the registration fee is $10 per person. Each class will consist of an AM Session from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., a 30-minute lunch break*, and a PM session from 12:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. You must attend and complete both sessions to receive certification.

*Participants must bring their own lunch and beverages.

 Upcoming Training Session
Saturday, June 7, 2025 / Supply Area
Location: Lockwood Folly Community Building, 1691 Stanbury Rd SW, Supply, NC 28462
Time: 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Cost: $10 per person

Learn more and register online on the Brunswick County Parks and Recreation RecDesk website.

For questions or more information about the training program, email Brunswick County Risk Management.

For more information » click here


TDA - logoDiscover a wide range of things to do in the Brunswick Islands for an experience that goes beyond the beach.
For more information » click here.


Calendar of Events Island –


THB Newsletter (01/02/25)
Swing Dance Lessons
There have been several individuals who put their name on our interest list. Email Christy at [email protected] if you are interested, indicating whether you are signing up for the lessons or the dance only. Class information is below. Have you ever wanted to take swing dance lessons or do you already know how and wish there were a local dance location? The Town Holden Beach is taking an interest list for bi-monthly Friday night swing dance sessions. There will be a beginner six count jitterbug dance lesson followed by a dance. No partner is necessary and all ages are invited. Anticipated times are as follows: Beginner lesson 7:00 -8:00 p.m. and swing dance 8:00 -10:00 p.m. Price will be $10 per night, per person. Emily Alley will be your instructor. She’s been swing dancing for 10 years as a lead and follow. She loves teaching Jitterbug (also known as East Coast Swing), Lindy Hop, Carolina Shag and Collegiate Shag. Before moving to Holden Beach, she lived in Asheville and was the organizer/teacher/DJ of Swing Asheville and also started a swing dance community in Boone NC. She’s looking forward to sharing her love of swing dance to the area.

The first two events will be January 24th and February 14th


Parks & Recreation / Programs & Events
For more information » click here


Reminders –


Icon of Email News, text on White BackgroundNews from Town of Holden Beach
The town sends out emails of events, news, agendas, notifications, and emergency information. If you would like to be added to their mailing list, please go to their web site to complete your subscription to the Holden Beach E-Newsletter.
For more information »
click here



Paid Parking
Paid parking will be enforced in all Holden Beach designated parking areas. It will be enforced from 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. daily, with free parking before and after that time. All parking will use license plates for verification. 

Visit https://hbtownhall.com/paid-parking for more information and to view a table with authorized parking areas. 


Solid Waste Pick-Up Schedule
GFL Environmental change in service, October through May trash pickup will be once a week. Trash collection is on Tuesdays only.


Please note:

. • Trash carts must be at the street by 6:00 a.m. on the pickup day
. • BAG the trash before putting it in the cart
. • Carts will be rolled back to the front of the house


GFL Refuse Collection Policy
GFL has recently notified all Brunswick County residents that they will no longer accept extra bags of refuse outside of the collection cart. This is not a new policy but is stricter enforcement of an existing policy. While in the past GFL drivers would at times make exceptions and take additional bags of refuse, the tremendous growth in housing within Brunswick County makes this practice cost prohibitive and causes drivers to fall behind schedule.


Solid Waste Pick-up Schedule –

starting October once a week 

Recycling

starting October every other week  pick-up


Curbside Recycling – 2024Curbside Recycling
GFL Environmental is now offering curbside recycling for Town properties that desire to participate in the service. The service cost per cart is $119.35 annually paid in advance to the Town of Holden Beach. The service consists of a ninety-six (96) gallon cart that is emptied every other week during the months of October – May and weekly during the months of June – September. 
Curbside Recycling Application » click here
Curbside Recycling Calendar » click here


GFL trash can at a beautiful green land


Trash Can Requirements – Rental Properties
GFL Environmental – trash can requirements
Ordinance 07-13, Section 50.08

Rental properties have specific number of trash cans based on number of bedrooms.

* One extra trash can per every 2 bedrooms
.
.

 § 50.08 RENTAL HOMES.
(A) Rental homes, as defined in Chapter 157, that are rented as part of the summer rental season, are subject to high numbers of guests, resulting in abnormally large volumes of trash. This type of occupancy use presents a significantly higher impact than homes not used for summer rentals. In interest of public health and sanitation and environmental concerns, all rental home shall have a minimum of one trash can per two bedrooms. Homes with an odd number of bedrooms shall round up (for examples one to two bedrooms – one trash can; three to four bedrooms – two trash cans; five – six bedrooms – three trash cans, and the like).


Building Numbers
Ocean front homes are required to have house numbers visible from the beach strand.
Please call Planning and Inspections Department at 910.842.6080 with any questions.

§157.087 BUILDING NUMBERS.

(A) The correct street number shall be clearly visible from the street on all buildings. Numbers shall be block letters, not script, and of a color clearly in contrast with that of the building and shall be a minimum of six inches in height.

(B) Beach front buildings will also have clearly visible house numbers from the strand side meeting the above criteria on size, contrast, etc. Placement shall be on vertical column supporting deck(s) or deck roof on the primary structure. For buildings with a setback of over 300 feet from the first dune line, a vertical post shall be erected aside the walkway with house numbers affixed. In all cases the numbers must be clearly visible from the strand. Other placements may be acceptable with approval of the Building Inspector.


Upon Further Review –


Teetering on the edge: How North Carolina communities are dealing with disappearing beaches
A slow-motion catastrophe is eating away beaches from the Outer Banks to Brunswick County as rising seas and stronger storms batter the state’s coast. But solutions aren’t easy, popular or cheap.
Under sunny and warm late-October skies, Frank Thompson picked the fishing rods out of his pickup while his sons grabbed the bucket and rest of the fishing gear. The Ohio native was making his annual pilgrimage to the N.C. coast, and this year he had decided to give Topsail Island specifically North Topsail Beach a try because he had heard the fish were running strong and the beaches weren’t crowded. What he hadn’t expected, though, was finding enough beach at high tide to actually have the space to cast. “We’ve got maybe 2 to 3 feet at the toe of the dunes, so that should be fine,” Thompson said with a smile as waves lapped under some of the threatened oceanfront homes at the Onslow County beach town’s northern tip. “And if we get wet, we get wet.” While Rodanthe on the Outer Banks became North Carolina’s poster child this past summer for collapsing homes and the inevitability of Mother Nature winning the oceanfront battle as seas continue to rise and climate change fuels bigger and stronger storms, it is at the northern end of Topsail Island where the struggle is even potentially more dire. And while erosion has been a problem in North Topsail for a long time, thanks in large part to the adjacent New River Inlet, a permanent answer appears no closer today than in past decades. “No, there really is no long-term solution that will bring the beach back,” said Dr. Robert Young, director of the Program for the Study of Developed Shorelines at Western Carolina University. “These areas near inlets are the most dynamic areas along barrier islands, and unfortunately that’s what we’re seeing and have been seeing in North Topsail Beach.”

‘A tough spot for everyone’
Since 1964 when the first federal nourishment project pumped sand onto Carolina Beach’s eroded beach, mining offshore sand to rebuild battered beaches has been North Carolina’s go-to to keep its sandy strips plump for tourists and to protect pricey oceanfront property. But pumping sand isn’t practical for all parts of the coast and is increasingly becoming more challenging, due to a declining supply of compatible sand to meet all the demands especially for Brunswick County beach towns and the rising costs of nourishment projects. These increasing obstacles come as the threats to oceanfront properties continue to rise, notably due to climate change. According to a review of 2020 imagery by the N.C. Division of Coastal Management, more than 750 of the state’s 8,777 oceanfront structures were considered at risk from oceanfront erosion, with no dune or vegetation between them and the Atlantic. In many beach towns, property owners and sometimes local governments have installed sandbags to hold back the encroaching ocean, although environmentalists and other say the temporary structures do little but shift the sand-eating waves to neighboring sections of the beach often prompting the installation of more sandbags. In places like Rodanthe and North Topsail Beach, where money for beach nourishment is in short supply, another factor is at play. Natural elements have conspired to prevent either area from naturally or easily re-establishing their dune lines. In Rodanthe, the foil is largely powerful ocean currents. At the north end of Topsail Island, New River Inlet and a relatively flat topography combine to work against an easy or cheap solution to the chronic erosion woes. Since 2020, 10 homes, and five just this year, have fallen into the Atlantic in Rodanthe, most recently on Sept. 24. The resulting debris fields have spread far and wide along Hatteras Island, impacting the environment and forcing the closure of beach areas in the nearby Cape Fear National Seashore and Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge due to public health and safety concerns. The potential losses in the more densely populated northern end of North Topsail, where walls of sandbags taller than a basketball net protect some oceanfront homes and condos, could easily exceed those numbers. “It really is a challenging situation, a tough spot for everyone up there because these temporary Band-Aid solutions like adding more sand are providing benefits that are having shorter and shorter lifespans,” said Kerri Allen, coastal management program director with the N.C. Coastal Federation.

Rising costs and limited benefits
North Topsail isn’t the only beach town in Southeastern N.C. or even on Topsail Island dealing with a disappearing beach and its knock-on effect on coastal economies that rely on tourists to put heads in beds and valuable beach property to fill local coffers. In Surf City, which occupies the mid-section of Topsail Island, the town is finalizing its plans with the Army Corps of Engineers for a long-term federal nourishment project to boost its eroded strand. The 50-year project, which is estimated to cost at least $187 million over its lifespan, with Washington covering 65% of the cost and the state and Surf City splitting the remaining 35%, could start late next year if all the necessary permits and other regulatory approvals are secured. The first phase of construction would see an estimated 7.9 million cubic yards of sand pumped onto the town’s nearly 6-mile-long beach, with further nourishments taking place roughly every six years. In Topsail Beach, which covers the bottom third of Topsail Island, the town earlier this year wrapped up a roughly $25 million beach nourishment project that it largely paid for itself. North Topsail Beach also has aggressively been moving to shore up its beachfront with several different nourishment projects. But a big chunk of the town is in a Coastal Barrier Resources Act (CBRA) zone, a classification that prevents the expenditure of federal dollars on projects  including beach nourishment in hazardous coastal areas. That means the town has to dip into its own budget to fund the work or seek aid from the state. While North Topsail has a shoreline protection fund, which includes revenue generated from the town’s accommodation tax and paid parking and collects about $5 million a year, and dedicates significant capital funds annually to beach projects, that doesn’t go very far when you have 11 miles of shoreline to maintain and protect. In some cases, the state has stepped up to help out including a $10.5 million grant to support a 2.5-mile beach nourishment south of the north end that’s going to kick off later this year. Those budgetary pressures played a large role in the town withdrawing from Surf City’s federal nourishment project, which originally was supposed to also include nourishing 4 miles of beach in North Topsail. Town officials said the price tag of North Topsail’s portion jumped nearly 200% between 2012 and 2021 to almost $34 million.

‘Financial calculus just doesn’t work’
The general idea of retreat or relocation of threatened structures isn’t often embraced by local officials, who face challenges from unwilling sellers to a lack of money to fund buyouts to questionable political will to pursue pulling back especially when it could mean abandoning some of a beach town’s most valuable tax base. Environmentalists and others, though, say retreat is coming. The only question is whether it will be managed, done in a controlled way, or unmanaged as historically has been the case in most areas. Five years ago, Young’s team from Western Carolina came up with a different proposal for North Topsail Beach than simply throwing good money – or sand – after bad money. In short, the authors suggested that instead of spending those resources on 7% of the town’s tax base that is seriously at-risk, dedicate them to the 93% of the town’s tax base that is sustainable over the next 30 years. “It’s clearly cheaper for the town in the long run than simply trying to hold the line,” he said. “The financial calculus just doesn’t work to keep fighting the sea.” The paper suggested the town look into buying out the nearly 300 at-risk properties and parcels at the north end. The 2019 paper said the purchase cost would be nearly $55 million but would generate about $58 million in benefits – representing a savings of roughly $3 million over 30 years. “The fiscal analysis does not include many unquantifiable benefits from the proposed targeted acquisition,” the report states. “These include the transfer of amenity value to other properties, reduced emergency management costs for the municipality, reduced need for consulting engineering fees, improved beach access for all residents and renters, and, quite frankly, no more ugly sand bags and a return of a recreational beach that all residents and guests can enjoy.”

Terminal groin in the cards?
The proposal wasn’t pursued by North Topsail officials at the time, and Town Manager Alice Derian said town officials haven’t discussed a potential buyout program for north end property owners in recent times. Recent efforts to stabilize and enhance the beach at the town’s north end include a 2023 corps’ project that saw 160,000 cubic yards of sand dredged from New River Inlet placed on the north end. Then last year, the town and FEMA paid for trucked-in sand to be dumped in front of some of the threatened structures. In both cases, the sand didn’t last. Derian said North Topsail also is looking to see if it can potentially secure government help to replace roughly 88,000 cubic yards of sand, much of it at the north end, which was washed away by the unnamed storm that pummeled and swamped much of Southeastern North Carolina in September. Future efforts include another injection of fresh sand from the corps’ dredging of New River Inlet and, very far out, potentially the construction of a terminal groin. But that sort of project can take a decade to get permitted, and the construction and maintenance costs could easily reach $20 million or more. Young said North Topsail Beach and Rodanthe aren’t the country’s only coastal communities struggling with how to manage oceanfront areas beset with severe erosion woes. But with sea-level rise and more frequent and stronger storms likely and the rising cost of beach nourishment projects, beach towns are going to have to consider making tough choices. “This is not a proposal that would ruin your coastal economy but preserve your coastal economy by allowing you to invest your finite resources where it makes sense, and that’s so important,” Young said of the buyout study. “Places like North Topsail Beach need to come together as a community and have a real discussion about where they want to go moving forward.”
Read more » click here

Sand dollars: 12 things to know about NC’s coastal economy
The N.C. coast drives much of the economy in Eastern N.C. But maintaining the beaches that attracts millions of visitors a year isn’t cheap.
The coast is an economic engine for Eastern North Carolina, attracting millions of visitors every year who fill rental properties, lure new homeowners to the beach, and keep restaurants, bars and marinas busy in often isolated communities that might otherwise struggle to survive. But maintaining the drivers of that economy, namely keeping the beaches that lure the tourists to the coast wide and attractive, is becoming increasingly expensive and is a challenge that’s expected to increase in complexity and price in coming years as climate change keeps seas rising and storms getting bigger and stronger.

Here are things to know about North Carolina’s coastal economy.

      • $187 million: Estimated 50-year cost of Surf City federal nourishment project. 
      • $40 million: Estimated cost of Oak Island’s proposed nourishment project, half funded by a state grant.
      • $13.6 million: Cost of 2024 Wrightsville Beach federal nourishment project.
      • 2 million: Visitors to the N.C. coast in 2022.
      • 8,777: Number of oceanfront homes in N.C. as of 2020.
      • 1964: First federal beach nourishment project takes place in Carolina Beach.
      • 1,101: 2023 population of North Topsail Beach. 
      • 750: Estimated number of threatened N.C. oceanfront homes in 2020.
      • 320: Miles of N.C. ocean shoreline, roughly half of which is protected/undeveloped.
      • 22: Number of inlets along the N.C. coast.
      • 10: Homes in Rodanthe that have collapsed into the Atlantic since 2020. 
      • 4: Current number of N.C. beach towns that have federal beach nourishment projects (Wrightsville Beach, Carolina Beach, Kure Beach, Ocean Isle Beach).

Read more » click here


Corrections & Amplifications –


Holden Island Properties Sold Comparison

Island Homes Sold – 2024 * Lou’s Views
A complete list of homes sold in 2024

Island Land Sold – 2024 * Lou’s Views
A complete list of land sold in 2024

Island Properties Sold – Comparison * Lou’s Views
A comparison of Holden Beach properties sold through the last three (3) years


Odds & Ends –


A Brunswick beach continues to navigate dangerous ‘cliffs’ and tires.
Here’s why.
Walking along the Holden Beach strand after rough weather could result in some interesting finds. From driftwood, to tires and cliffs, there’s no telling what the tide will bring next. For years, Holden Beach residents have reported seeing “cliffs” along the beach strand and tires washing ashore. Karyn Morrow has been visiting Holden Beach for around 40 years. She said she owns a beach house on the east side of the island with hopes to retire there in the next few years. Morrow said she has seen the “cliffs” come and go since she could remember, noting the dunes eventually return to normal. “I call them the cliffs because it’s literally a drop off, you have to jump down to get to the beach. You jump down and you wonder how you’re going to get back up,” Morrow said. Residents will often carry step ladders with them to ensure they have a way out, said Morrow, noting the cliff could be over somebody’s head at time. Holden Beach Mayor Alan Holden said the “cliffs” are normal and are caused by winter storms. The cliffs will become dunes again as sand migrates back to shore after a few weeks or months. “It’s worrisome to see that happen but it will round out and will be OK,” Holden said. “There’s nothing that the town or anybody can do, it’s just a normal process.” The Holden cliffs are called “escarpment,” Holden said. Escarpment occurs when there is a sudden change in elevation and is caused by erosion by wind or water, according to National Geographic. “This has been occurring my entire life,” Holden said. Asked if the Ocean Isle Beach terminal groin, built in April 2022, could cause escarpment, Holden said no. The terminal groin has no impact on the Lockwood Folly inlet or escarpment, he noted. Holden asks the public to be mindful when walking the beach at night and to pay attention to the drop offs. Do not let children dig tunnels into the cliff either, Holden said. “The possibility of it collapsing on them is a concern,” he said. Storms can also bring tires to shore. In December 2023, a storm left several hundred tires on the Holden Beach strand. The tires come from an “old artificial reef experiment strewn the entire length of the beach,” the town’s Facebook post about the storm said. The metal used to bound the tires together have rust over time and are letting tires free, Holden said. Residents and visitors should not worry about floating or sand tires on the beach, the mayor said. If tires wash ashore, he said, they are immediately picked up. The mayor thanked the staff’s hard work when it comes to maintaining the beach. He also encouraged owners to continue fertilizing grass along the ocean front. “Feed that grass, let it grow,” he said. Read more » click here

Brunswick Community College holds groundbreaking for new first responder training center
Brunswick Community College held a groundbreaking ceremony Friday morning for the new “Alan Holden Public Safety Center,” named after the chair of BCC’s Board of Trustees. The building will be located directly behind the main entrance to the college off highway 17. Construction of the more than 28,000 square-foot facility is scheduled to begin Monday. The state-of-the-art facility will feature a wide array of specialized labs and training rooms. Including a moveable wall tactical firearm room, a self-defense arrest techniques mat room, fire truck and police scenario simulators, and EMS scenario training rooms. College president Gene Smith says the new facility will continue BCC’s mission of expanding with the community. “This facility will provide the opportunity for BCC to continue to serve our students and meet the needs of our community for many, many, many, years to come,” Smith stated. Construction is estimated to finish in March of 2026.
Read more » click here


This and That –


When will the Brunswick County Visitors Center re-open?
The Brunswick County Visitors Center, a state-operated facility in Shallotte, is a popular rest stop for those driving along U.S. 17. Located at the intersection of U.S. 17 and N.C. 130 between Wilmington and Myrtle Beach, the facility is a North Carolina Department of Transportation rest area that serves thousands of patrons each year. But the facility has been closed for renovations and has not yet re-opened. A reader recently wrote to the StarNews and inquired about plans to re-open the facility. Here’s what we found out.

When did the facility close?
The visitors center closed in fall 2023 for construction.

What did the project include?
According to a previous StarNews article, the project involved several improvements, including a new family restroom facility, water line, updated drainage and landscaping improvements. The article stated a construction contract for $981,000 was awarded to Kowen General Contractors out of Maxton for the project.

What was the project timeline?
Kowen was able to begin construction in October 2023, but according to Lauren Haviland, spokeswoman for the NCDOT, the firm did not start groundwork until March 2024. “That delay was due to the contractor had never done work for NCDOT before and was unfamiliar with the processes, such as working with certified sub-contractors,” Haviland said, in an email. “Also, several items of work have been added, extending their agreement to the end of the year.”

What items were added to the project?
Haviland said additional work includes waterline and hydrant installation, additional tile work, removing and replacing existing sidewalks, additional support at one of the entrances, cabinet work in one of the rooms, and removing and replacing the fascia. Haviland noted that while the original contract amount was $981,000, the project was funded for $1.5 million. As of the November 2024 estimate, Haviland said NCDOT had spent about $1,352,000.

When will it be completed?
According to Haviland, construction is expected to be completed in late January 2025.
Read more » click here

Why rising costs have left some Wilmington-area beach nourishment projects high and dry
Carolina and Kure beaches in New Hanover County and Oak Island in Brunswick County could be left waiting for sand due to rising dredging costs and a surge in demand for such projects nationwide
Some Wilmington-area beaches, recently covered by a rare snow storm, will soon again be a hive of activity as officials take advantage of the open environmental window outside of sea turtle and shorebird nesting season to pump fresh sand onto the vital economic engines for many coastal communities. The activity, however, will be muted this year, and that has officials in both New Hanover and Brunswick counties concerned.

What’s going on?
Call it the law of supply and demand. Beach nourishment is inherently expensive, requiring lots of pre-project planning and permit work and then securing an acceptable sand source that can be pumped onto a beach. If that borrow site is farther away than say a nearby inlet, like Wrightsville Beach and Carolina Beach mine for their projects, it will cost more to move the sand from the source to the beach. “Sources of sand are drying up in some places,” said Dr. Robert Young, director of the Program for the Study of Developed Shorelines at Western Carolina University. “Borrow areas don’t make sand. These are non-renewable resources. And as you creep offshore even a little, costs go up, often a lot. But another factor that’s helping send the cost of beach nourishment surging is the high demand for projects to rebuild beaches all along the Gulf and East coasts battered by recent hurricanes and the few number of American companies out there in the dredging business. “There are simply a limited number of companies out there that can do this kind of work, and competition is fierce because we’re literally trying to hold the line everywhere from Saco, Maine, to Padre Island, Texas, and that’s only a little bit of an exaggeration,” Young said. “When you have a lot of demand and not a ton of supply, the people who do work like this are really in the driver’s seat.”

What have been the impacts this year?
With prices coming in well above predictions, some Cape Fear-area beach towns are having to adapt and make painful decisions. In New Hanover County, the periodic federal nourishment of Carolina and Kure beaches is one that has fallen victim to the financial headwinds. The Pleasure Island project had an estimated cost of just under $20 million. But the only bid for the work the Army Corps of Engineers received came in at $37.5 million. In a letter to residents, Kure Beach Mayor Allen Oliver said the price differential was just too much to overcome this winter. “Getting additional bidders are slim and since the price was double the estimated project cost, the best possible solution is to postpone the event until next year,” the mayor said. “We should get better pricing and more bidders participating.” The delay means the two New Hanover beach towns will have to go longer than expected without a fresh injection of sand a worry for officials and residents in a world where climate change is increasingly fueling stronger and bigger tropical storm systems. “This is not the most favorable situation for us and Carolina Beach, but honestly it is the most logical decision based on the lack of bidders and the cost of the single bid received,” Oliver said. In Brunswick County, Oak Island also is feeling the pain of higher prices and not enough competition. When the town opened bids up this fall for a large-scale, end-to-end beach nourishment project to take place this winter, the bids from two companies “were significantly above a feasible budget for the town, which was reflective of the fact that there is essentially no availability of dredging company equipment to conduct the project during that timeframe,” states a post on Oak Island’s website. The project is estimated to cost at least $40 million, with half of that covered by a one-time state grant. Bids for the same work to take place during the 2025-26 dredging window came closer to the town’s budget, and Oak Island officials are now in negotiations to see if the work can get done between mid-November and late April 2026. “If negotiations are not successful, the project will be rebid in 2025,” the town stated online. Now officials and residents have to hope the beach can hold out until then. Hurricane Isaias, which raked the Brunswick County shoreline nearly five years ago, chewed away a lot of the beach. Storms, king tides and gradual sea-level rise has since then added to the pain not to mention the no-name storm and the remnants of Tropical Storm Helene that hit Brunswick County last September and October, respectively. Big beach projects aren’t the only ones getting caught up in the financial squeeze. A project put out to bid by the corps of engineers to dredge the shipping channel near the mouth of the Cape Fear River this winter and place the sand on Oak Island and Caswell Beach also came in 20% over estimates.

Is it all bad news?
At least one beach town in the Wilmington area will be seeing new sand this winter. This week, Surf City will begin pumping sand from Banks Channel on the Intracoastal Waterway side of the Pender County beach town onto its beach strand. The nearly $20 million project, which is expected to wrap up in late March, will nourish the town’s entire strand, adding an estimated 60 feet of beach from the Topsail Beach line to 1,000 feet north of the Surf City Fishing Pier. Town Manager Kyle Breuer said although Surf City only received one bid for the work, it was within the town’s estimates and the timing of when the dredging could take place within the fairly narrow fall/winter navigational window also worked. “We were very fortunate and very thankful,” he said. Breuer noted that not only will the project help nourish Surf City’s eroded beach but also piggyback on the earlier dredging of parts of Banks Channel done by Topsail Beach to improve navigation around the southern half of Topsail Island. The breakdown of the project’s cost is roughly $5 million from Surf City and about $14.5 million in funding coming through a one-time state grant.

What does the future look like?
Unfortunately, a lot like today if not worse for beach towns desperate to hold back the encroaching ocean, Western Carolina’s Young said. He said the pressures that are driving prices upward are only likely to increase as sea-level rise, more storms and increased development make shore protection efforts more frequent and necessary than ever along many parts of the country’s oceanfront. The new Trump administration’s stated goal of taking a fine-tooth comb to the federal budget and slashing a lot of discretionary spending also could leave many coastal communities hunting for new revenue sources outside of Washington just as dredging prices surge and the need for beach nourishment increases. “Beaches are not stable, they move, so the only future I see is one where costs are increasing because there’s only so much sand and we’re doing it more often and in more places,” Young said.
Read more » click here


Factoid That May Interest Only Me –


People flocked to this North Carolina city in 2024.
Now, it ranks No. 1 in US — again

North Carolina is home to the nation’s hottest place for people to start calling home — again, a new report finds. Wilmington ranks No. 1 on a list of metropolitan areas that attracted new residents in 2024, according to data the moving company United Van Lines shared with McClatchy News on Jan. 2. The city, near popular beach destinations, wasn’t the only North Carolina-based metro to receive recognition. The Charlotte, Raleigh and Hickory areas also ranked among the top places people flocked to last year, according to moving companies. Wilmington topped its list after United Van Lines said it studied thousands of moves in metro areas across 48 states and Washington, D.C. It studied the percentage of people moving into and out of each place to determine where they settled down.

What makes Wilmington rank No. 1?
When compared to all metro areas across the country, Wilmington reigned supreme with 83% of inbound moves compared to 17% outbound, results show. The Wilmington area regained the top spot that it held in the 2022 rankings, when United Van Lines praised the area for its “large historic district, vibrant riverfront” and proximity to the coast. The metro had slipped to the No. 2 spot on the 2023 list, McClatchy News reported. The latest results were published as U-Haul shared similar lists in early January. The moving company in a news release said it studied “net gains of U-Haul customers taking one-way equipment into and out of metro areas” in 2024. On both the U-Haul and United Van Lines lists, North Carolina ranked among the top 10 states gaining new people. “While U-Haul rankings may not correlate directly to population or economic growth, the U-Haul Growth Index is an effective gauge of how well states, metros and cities are attracting and maintaining residents,” the company wrote. Here’s how other North Carolina-based metros fared in the national rankings: Hickory at No. 9 for all metros (United Van Lines) Charlotte at No. 1 and Raleigh at No. 8 for larger metros (United Van Lines) Charlotte at No. 2 and Raleigh at No. 7 for all metros (U-Haul) After Wilmington, these metros rounded out the nation’s top five favorite places to move, per United Van Lines: Springfield, Missouri, at No. 2 Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, at No. 3 Flagstaff, Arizona, at No. 4 Brownsville-Harlingen, Texas, at No. 5
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Study: Wilmington area No. 1 place people are moving to
A national moving company that releases data on where people are entering and exiting annually has put out its 2024 study.
It rates Wilmington, North Carolina, among the top metropolitan statistical area people are moving to, according to United Van Lines. The company has traced migration patterns on a state-by-state basis since 1972 and utilized data from its parent company, UniGroup, handling household moves in 48 states and D.C. Wilmington MSA consists of the tri-county region (New Hanover, Brunswick and Pender counties) and has come in the top 10 for many years now but climbed to the number-one slot in 2022 as well. The 2024 study indicates that 83% of people the company tracked moved to the Wilmington MSA, with 17% leaving in 2024. Only two other North Carolina cities came in the top 25, including Greenville (74% inbound and 26% outbound) and Greensboro-Winston-Salem area (65% inbound and 35% outbound). Located 77 miles south of Wilmington, the area of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, tracked number three (80% inbound and 20% outbound). Overall, North Carolina was the number five state people moved to, according to the survey, with South Carolina topping out at number three. The company asks surveyors if they are moving due to improved cost of living, to be closer to family, for retirement, as a company transfer or for a new job, or for a lifestyle change. North Carolina came in number seven for people to move for retirement. Neighboring South Carolina came in third for retirement, fifth for lifestyle change and sixth for improved cost of living. West Virginia jumped nine spots since 2023 and came in as the number one state people flocked to, due to its affordable housing, outdoor activities, and the cost of living being lower than the national average. For the seventh year in a row, New Jersey has remained the most highly exited state, with most movers leaving due to retirement.  “As housing costs continue to rise, Americans are moving to lower density, more affordable regions between expensive, economic-driving states,” an economist and professor in the department of public policy at the UCLA, Michael Stroll, noted in the release. See United Van Lines full report here.
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Hot Button Issues

Subjects that are important to people and about which they have strong opinions



Climate

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There’s something happening here
What it is ain’t exactly clear


2024 Brought the World to a Dangerous Warming Threshold. Now What?
Global temperatures last year crept past a key goal, raising questions about how much nations can stop the planet from heating up further.
At the stroke of midnight on Dec. 31, Earth finished up its hottest year in recorded history, scientists said on Friday. The previous hottest year was 2023. And the next one will be upon us before long: By continuing to burn huge amounts of coal, oil and gas, humankind has all but guaranteed it. The planet’s record-high average temperature last year reflected the weekslong, 104-degree-Fahrenheit spring heat waves that shuttered schools in Bangladesh and India. It reflected the effects of the bathtub-warm ocean waters that supercharged hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico and cyclones in the Philippines. And it reflected the roasting summer and fall conditions that primed Los Angeles this week for the most destructive wildfires in its history. “We are facing a very new climate and new challenges, challenges that our society is not prepared for,” said Carlo Buontempo, director of the Copernicus Climate Change Service, the European Union monitoring agency. But even within this progression of warmer years and ever-intensifying risks to homes, communities and the environment, 2024 stood out in another unwelcome way. According to Copernicus, it was the first year in which global temperatures averaged more than 1.5 degrees Celsius, or 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit, above those the planet experienced at the start of the industrial age. For the past decade, the world has sought to avoid crossing this dangerous threshold. Nations enshrined the goal in the 2015 Paris agreement to fight climate change. “Keep 1.5 alive” was the mantra at United Nations summits. Yet here we are. Global temperatures will fluctuate somewhat, as they always do, which is why scientists often look at warming averaged over longer periods, not just a single year. But even by that standard, staying below 1.5 degrees looks increasingly unattainable, according to researchers who have run the numbers. Globally, despite hundreds of billions of dollars invested in clean-energy technologies, carbon dioxide emissions hit a record in 2024 and show no signs of dropping. One recent study published in the journal Nature concluded that the absolute best humanity can now hope for is around 1.6 degrees of warming. To achieve it, nations would need to start slashing emissions at a pace that would strain political, social and economic feasibility. “It was guaranteed we’d get to this point where the gap between reality and the trajectory we needed for 1.5 degrees was so big it was ridiculous,” said David Victor, a professor of public policy at the University of California, San Diego. The question now is what, if anything, should replace 1.5 as a lodestar for nations’ climate aspirations. “These top-level goals are at best a compass,” Dr. Victor said. “They’re a reminder that if we don’t do more, we’re in for significant climate impacts.” The 1.5-degree threshold was never the difference between safety and ruin, between hope and despair. It was a number negotiated by governments trying to answer a big question: What’s the highest global temperature increase — and the associated level of dangers, whether heat waves or wildfires or melting glaciers — that our societies should strive to avoid? The result, as codified in the Paris agreement, was that nations would aspire to hold warming to “well below” 2 degrees Celsius while “pursuing efforts” to limit it to 1.5 degrees. Even at the time, some experts called the latter goal unrealistic, because it required such deep and rapid emissions cuts. Still, the United States, the European Union and other governments adopted it as a guidepost for climate policy. Christoph Bertram, an associate research professor at the University of Maryland’s Center for Global Sustainability, said the urgency of the 1.5 target spurred companies of all kinds — automakers, cement manufacturers, electric utilities — to start thinking hard about what it would mean to zero out their emissions by midcentury. “I do think that has led to some serious action,” Dr. Bertram said. But the high aspiration of the 1.5 target also exposed deep fault lines among nations. China and India never backed the goal, since it required them to curb their use of coal, gas and oil at a pace they said would hamstring their development. Rich countries that were struggling to cut their own emissions began choking off funding in the developing world for fossil-fuel projects that were economically beneficial. Some low-income countries felt it was deeply unfair to ask them to sacrifice for the climate given that it was wealthy nations — and not them — that had produced most of the greenhouse gases now warming the world. “The 1.5-degree target has created a lot of tension between rich and poor countries,” said Vijaya Ramachandran, director for energy and development at the Breakthrough Institute, an environmental research organization. Costa Samaras, an environmental-engineering professor at Carnegie Mellon University, compared the warming goals to health officials’ guidelines on, say, cholesterol. “We don’t set health targets on what’s realistic or what’s possible,” Dr. Samaras said. “We say, ‘This is what’s good for you. This is how you’re going to not get sick.’“If we were going to say, ‘Well, 1.5 is likely out of the question, let’s put it to 1.75,’ it gives people a false sense of assurance that 1.5 was not that important,” said Dr. Samaras, who helped shape U.S. climate policy from 2021 to 2024 in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. “It’s hugely important.”  Scientists convened by the United Nations have concluded that restricting warming to 1.5 degrees instead of 2 would spare tens of millions of people from being exposed to life-threatening heat waves, water shortages and coastal flooding. It might mean the difference between a world that has coral reefs and Arctic sea ice in the summer, and one that doesn’t. Each tiny increment of additional warming, whether it’s 1.6 degrees versus 1.5, or 1.7 versus 1.6, increases the risks. “Even if the world overshoots 1.5 degrees, and the chances of this happening are increasing every day, we must keep striving” to bring emissions to zero as soon as possible, said Inger Anderson, the executive director of the United Nations Environment Program. Officially, the sun has not yet set on the 1.5 target. The Paris agreement remains in force, even as President-elect Donald J. Trump vows to withdraw the United States from it for a second time. At U.N. climate negotiations, talk of 1.5 has become more muted compared with years past. But it has hardly gone away. “With appropriate measures, 1.5 Celsius is still achievable,” Cedric Schuster, the minister of natural resources and environment for the Pacific island nation of Samoa, said at last year’s summit in Azerbaijan. Countries should “rise to the occasion with new, highly ambitious” policies, he said. To Dr. Victor of U.C. San Diego, it is strange but all too predictable that governments keep speaking this way about what appears to be an unachievable aim. “No major political leader who wants to be taken seriously on climate wants to stick their neck out and say, ‘1.5 degrees isn’t feasible. Let’s talk about more realistic goals,’” he said. Still, the world will eventually need to have that discussion, Dr. Victor said. And it’s unclear how it will go. “It could be constructive, where we start asking, ‘How much warming are we really in for? And how do we deal with that?’” he said. “Or it could look very toxic, with a bunch of political finger pointing.”
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2024 was the hottest year on record, breaching a critical climate goal and capping 10 years of unprecedented heat
It’s official: 2024 was the hottest year on record, breaking the previous record set in 2023 and pushing the world over a critical climate threshold, according to new data from Europe’s climate monitoring agency Copernicus. Last year was 1.6 degrees hotter than the period before humans began burning large amounts of fossil fuels, Copernicus found. It makes 2024 the first calendar year to breach the 1.5-degree limit countries agreed to avoid under the Paris climate agreement in 2015. Scientists are much more concerned about breaches over decades, rather than single years — as above that threshold humans and ecosystems may struggle to adapt — but 2024’s record “does mean we’re getting dangerously close,” said Joeri Rogelj, a climate professor at Imperial College London. The Copernicus analysis points to a slew of climate records falling last year: The planet endured its hottest day on record in July; each month from January to June was the warmest such month on record; and levels of planet-heating pollution reached unprecedented highs. Last year is part of a pattern of off-the-charts heat. Every single one of the world’s 10 hottest years happened in the last decade, according to Copernicus data. Behind these statistics lies a huge toll. “Every fraction of a degree … brings more harm to people and ecosystems,” Rogelj said. The extreme weather that swept the globe last year shows just how dangerous life in a warmer world already is. Back-to-back hurricanes in the US, fueled by ultra-warm ocean temperatures, killed hundreds of people. In Spain, more than 200 people died in catastrophic floods. Amazon rivers fell to unprecedented lows during the region’s worst drought on record and the Philippines experienced an extraordinary typhoon season, with six in just 30 days. The climate crisis played a role in all of these extreme events, according to scientific analyses. Scientists are still trying to fully understand why global heat has been so extreme for the past two years. The main driver is clear: the human-caused climate crisis, boosted by El Niño, a natural climate pattern that tends to have a warming influence, which began in 2023 and ended earlier this year. But it doesn’t explain all of the heat. Scientists have also pointed to a recent drop in shipping pollution following regulations — a win for human health, but, in a cruel twist, this type of pollution also helps cool the planet by reflecting sunlight back into space. The eruption of a huge underwater volcano in the South Pacific in 2022, which sent plumes of water vapor — a potent greenhouse gas — into the atmosphere may have also contributed. Then there are the clouds. A December study found a dearth of sun-reflecting clouds over the ocean may be another factor. Scientists believe it’s unlikely 2025 will be another record-breaking year. La Niña, a natural climate pattern that tends to have a global cooling influence, was declared Thursday. “But people shouldn’t think that’s climate change hitting pause or plateauing,” said Paulo Ceppi, a climate scientist at Imperial College London. “A small dip doesn’t change the clear upward trajectory we’re on,” he added. Scientists say the decades to come are likely to be hotter still as humans continue to burn planet-heating coal, oil and gas. “The world doesn’t need to come up with a magical solution to stop things from getting worse in 2025,” said Friederike Otto, a climate scientist at Imperial College London. ‘We know exactly what we need to do to transition away from fossil fuels.”
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You just lived through the hottest year on record. Again.
In 2024 temperatures reached 1.6 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels.
This is a climate era when even the most ferocious records are bound to be broken. Scientists in Europe Friday confirmed that 2024 had been the hottest year on record — and the first to surpass a dangerous warming threshold of 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) that nations had pledged not to cross. But even as experts described the year as unprecedented, they acknowledged that it would ultimately become just one more marker in an upward warming trajectory causing havoc on a growing scale. “As long as people keep burning fossil fuels, this will only get worse,” said Friederike Otto, who leads a scientific group, World Weather Attribution, which assesses the role of climate change in amplifying extreme weather events. In 2024, according to data from the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service, temperatures reached 1.6 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels. Aside from Australia and Antarctica, every continent experienced its warmest year on record. So too did sizable parts of the ocean. It is the second consecutive year in which the world has set a temperature record. In 2023, the arrival of El Niño — a natural phenomenon that is known to boost global temperatures — brought a jolt of warming much earlier than scientists had expected, with a temperature 1.48 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels. Then in 2024, temperatures predictably remained elevated in the wake of the fading El Niño, and scientists are debating what other factors may have contributed to the margin of record warmth. Projections suggest that 2025 might not be as hot as the past two years but that it will probably rank in the top five warmest years on record. Despite the year-to-year fluctuations, the general trend is obvious, as is the cause: the emission of greenhouse gases, primarily from fossil fuels. Each of humanity’s 10 hottest years have come over the past decade. At the time, 2016 was seen as an unprecedented scorcher — what one climate scientist called a “wake-up call.” Just nine years later, 2016 is now looking “decidedly cool,” said Adam Scaife, the head of long-range prediction at Britain’s Met Office. In 2024, so many heat-related events caused death and damage that it was hard to keep up. It was a year in which an estimated 1,300 religious pilgrims died under 120-degree Saudi Arabian heat. It was a year when a smoke plume stretched diagonally across nearly all of wildfire-stricken South America, when heat-exhausted howler monkeys fell dead out of trees in Mexico, and when the hottest place on earth — California’s Death Valley — registered its hottest month ever. The heat also transformed the oceans. Marine heat waves, expansive blobs of unusual oceanic heat, covered parts of all ocean basins during the year, reaching extreme levels in the tropical Atlantic, North Pacific and western Indian Ocean. That fostered an atmosphere capable of holding more moisture, which in turn led to one of the year’s most pronounced patterns: intense storms and flooding. Dubai, a hub of luxury in the arid Persian Gulf desert, was hit by a year’s worth of rain in a single day, flooding highways and grounding flights. For the first time on record, four tropical cyclones formed simultaneously in the western Pacific in November — displacing hundreds of thousands of people in the Philippines. In Spain, an extreme rainfall pattern fed on unusually warm Mediterranean waters, leading to the deadliest floods in a single European country since 1967. “It was like a tsunami,” said Mario Martinez, a Valencia barbershop owner, who watched the floodwaters break through the glass windows of his shop. He escaped the rising waters by hopping on a car that had gone into the storefront, and then jumping to a second-floor balcony. “First, you’re just grateful to be alive,” said Martinez, 50. “And then you realize what has happened and how much it has ruined you.” He said the flood threw him back by “20 or 30 years.” He spent weeks in cleanup mode, and when he reopened a month later — still with mud caking the walls — his was the only remaining business on the block.

Will the heat continue?
Though the world broke the 1.5-degree Celsius threshold in 2024, that doesn’t mean the planet has formally breached the most ambitious target set in the Paris agreement. It will take a much longer span for scientists to make that determination. That’s partly because there are many variables that make some years hotter than others. One of those variables is the natural El Niño-Southern Oscillation, based on shifts in ocean trade winds, which can influence global weather patterns. During El Niño periods, sea surface temperatures across the middle of the Pacific Ocean tend to be higher than average. During La Niña periods, they tend to be cooler. Right now, cool water in the equatorial Pacific signals that La Niña has developed. But it is expected to be short-lived. New climate model projections show the cool water in the Pacific eroding and giving way to warmer-than-average seas by the middle part of 2025. Meanwhile, warmer-than-average seas are predicted to continue across most of the rest of the planet. This suggests that the planet will have little, if any, reprieve from record warmth in the months ahead — which could be exacerbated further if an El Niño develops later in the year. El Niño events are known for their warming effect, as heat that builds up along the equator spreads outward. There is some question about what drove the record warmth of 2023 and 2024, besides the emergence of a strong El Niño climate pattern. Scientists have explored contributions from a 2022 volcanic eruption that spewed water vapor into the atmosphere, a spike in solar activity sending more energy toward Earth, and reductions in air pollution around the world, which allowed more sunlight to reach the planet’s surface. They found a mix of influences. But a full understanding is still lacking, said Gavin Schmidt, director of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies. That makes it more difficult to predict what trajectory temperatures could take in the years ahead, since some warming factors could be temporary, while others could continue adding to the warmth, said Nick Dunstone, a fellow at the Met Office. “It really depends what the driver is, as to what happens next,” Dunstone said.

A hidden toll
Despite the planetary alarm bells, it was a brutal year for environmental diplomacy. The right-wing shift in many countries, coupled with the victory of former president Donald Trump in the United States, widened divides over who is responsible for climate change and how to deal with it. Several end-of-year events on environmental issues either derailed or failed to make substantial progress. Saudi Arabia used its veto power to push back against the global phaseout of fossil fuels. Wealthy nations offered only a fraction of the money needed by poorer countries to handle the escalating costs of climate change. And indeed, in 2024, extreme events left the greatest toll in places least equipped to handle it. Sudan, torn apart by war, saw flooding that inundated crops and displaced scores who had already fled once because of conflict. Across Chad, Mali and Nigeria, extreme rains killed more than 1,000 and upended the lives of people such as Babakura Bukar, who fled his home when the rainfall started and then returned to it in a rented canoe. The flooding was so vast that in the aftermath, his neighborhood, in the Nigerian city of Maiduguri, resembled a lake. Bukar paddled toward his home and felt his heart drop. The outer fence of his property had collapsed. His furniture and most of his electronics were destroyed. He managed to salvage a solar panel from the rooftop. “It was a nightmare,” said Bukar, 58, a retired journalist. Even several months later, he is still living with his family in the guesthouse of a friend. He received $200 in government assistance, he said. But rebuilding his home will cost about $6,000, he estimated. “And I don’t even think I am halfway done,” he said.
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Flood Insurance Program

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National Flood Insurance Program: Reauthorization
Congress must periodically renew the NFIP’s statutory authority to operate. On December 20, 2024, the president signed legislation passed by Congress that extends the National Flood Insurance Program’s (NFIP’s) authorization to March 14, 2025.

Congress must now reauthorize the NFIP
by no later than 11:59 pm on March 14, 2025.



GenX

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Push to regulate ‘forever chemicals’ like GenX stalls as Trump scraps discharge limits
Contamination from manmade chemicals like GenX, which polluted numerous N.C. water sources, is largely unregulated, and scientists have tied the ‘forever chemicals’ to a host of health ailments
Among the slew of executive orders President Donald Trump has signed since returning to the White House, there’s one that has particular resonance for Southeastern North Carolina. The new administration has withdrawn a proposal to set limits on some toxic “forever chemicals” in industrial wastewater discharges. The decision came as the president issued an executive order to freeze any new federal regulations pending a fresh review by Trump officials. The draft rule, which the then-President Biden led U.S. Environmental Protection Agency sent to the White House for review last summer, was seen as a precedent-setting move by limiting releases of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) like GenX, manmade chemicals that have been linked to an array of health problems including certain cancers, liver damage, thyroid disease, immune system dysfunction and other health problems. The withdrawn proposal would have required industry to monitor and reduce PFAS discharges under the federal Clean Water Act. In a historic announcement last spring, Michael Regan, EPA administrator and North Carolina’s former top environmental regulator, traveled to Fayetteville to announce the new draft rules. The location for the announcement wasn’t by accident. Eight years ago, the StarNews broke the story that water in the Cape Fear River downstream of Chemours’ Fayetteville Works Plant contained high levels of previously unknown chemicals. In the years since, PFAS have been found throughout the United States and worries about the environmental, financial and health impacts of this national contamination have seen a raft of proposals at the federal, state and local levels to protect people, punish the PFAS polluters, and learn more about the true health impacts of the compounds that have already been linked to several types of cancer. Chemours and the previous owner of the Fayetteville Works plant, DuPont, have admitted to dumping the toxic chemicals into the Cape Fear River and allowed them to enter the air and local groundwater for decades. The chemicals are used in many household and everyday items, and they “have a place and are important for certain industries and certain practices,” Regan said last year. But decades of uncontrolled dumping of the chemical compounds into the environment, including into waterways and groundwater that serve as drinking sources for millions, and their widespread use, including in fire-fighting foam, has seen PFAS contamination and health concerns proliferate across the country. The substances are often called forever chemicals because they do not easily break down in nature or the human body. But that regulatory push now appears to have stalled at least at the federal level. “These guidelines would have provided states, like North Carolina, with important information to help manage PFAS producer’s discharge permits,” said Emily Donovan, co-founder of Clean Cape Fear, a grassroots community environmental action group formed in the wake of the PFAS contamination coming to light. “This would help states stop PFAS at the source before these toxic forever chemicals end up in the bodies of water communities use to create tap water.” Although plenty of lawsuits are still working their way through the courts and some industrial manufacturers have settled with some states and local utilities, almost all efforts to control PFAS contamination are still being shouldered by local taxpayers. In Southeastern North Carolina, the Cape Fear Public Utility Authority, H2GO in Brunswick County, and the Fayetteville Public Works Commission all have invested millions in systems to address the contamination costs that are largely being shouldered by their customers. Efforts at the state level in North Carolina to deal with the contamination also are moving forward with fits and starts as politics and concerns over the economic impacts on businesses clouds the regulatory push. Although state regulators are now slowly moving forward with some proposals, the effort by the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality has been hampered by a lack of guidance at the federal level. An aversion by the Republican-controlled General Assembly to implement any rules or regulations that go beyond federal environmental requirements also has tied regulators hands to adopt new measures. Donovan said that shouldn’t be seen as an excuse, noting that the actions of the Trump administration don’t absolve state officials from regulating PFAS discharges in North Carolina waters. “State regulators have the power and authority to set strong limits on PFAS releases,” she said. “We have not seen (the Department of Environmental Quality) take a clear and strong initiative in their most recent permit writing efforts and that’s a problem worth addressing.” Having adopted temporary limits last fall, state water quality officials are currently working on draft rules setting safe health standards for eight types of “forever chemicals” in groundwater. It will then be up to the Environmental Management Commission, a 15-member state board of political appointees that has dragged its feet in the past on adopting new PFAS regulations, to decide whether to proceed with starting the process of making the rules permanent.
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Homeowners Insurance

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Insurance rates to increase in 2025, and 2026, with Cape Fear beach communities among hardest hit
Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey announced today that the N.C. Department of Insurance has ended its legal dispute with insurance companies about their proposed homeowners’ insurance rate increase filed in January 2024. The N.C. Rate Bureau originally requested an average 42.2% increase last year, with proposed increases of up to 99.4% in the beach areas in Brunswick, Carteret, New Hanover, Onslow and Pender Counties. Under the agreement signed by Commissioner Causey and the Rate Bureau, the average statewide base rate will increase by 7.5% on June 1, 2025, and 7.5% on June 1, 2026. The beach areas in Brunswick, Carteret, New Hanover, Onslow and Pender Counties will see a 16% increase on June 1, 2025, and a 15.9% increase on June 1, 2026. Eastern Coastal areas of Brunswick, Carteret, New Hanover, Onslow & Pender Counties will see a 10.5% increase on June 1, 2025, and a 10.1% increase on June 1, 2026. “The insurance companies wanted to raise our homeowners’ rates up to 99.4% in some areas and an average 42.2% statewide in a single year,” Commissioner Causey said. “I fought for consumers and knocked them back to 7.5% increases over two years with a maximum of 35% in any territory. We consider this settlement a big win for both homeowners and North Carolina.” The Rate Bureau is not a part of the Department of Insurance and represents homeowners’ insurance companies in North Carolina, and the agreement prohibits the Rate Bureau from undertaking an effort to increase rates again before June 1, 2027. “North Carolina homeowners will save approximately $777 million in insurance premiums over the next two years compared to what the insurance companies requested. This also protects homeowners from future base rate increase requests until June 2027,” said Commissioner Causey. “These rates are sufficient to make sure that insurance companies, who have paid out large sums due to natural disasters and face increasing reinsurance costs due to national catastrophes, have adequate funds on hand to pay claims.
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NC, home insurance companies reach deal on new premiums.
Here’s how much you’ll pay.

Homeowners’ insurance rates in North Carolina will increase by an average of about 15% over the next two years under a settlement Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey and the N.C. Rate Bureau announced Friday. The N.C. Rate Bureau, which represents more than 100 companies that write insurance policies in North Carolina, had requested an average 42.3% increase that would have started this month. In some coastal areas, the Rate Bureau was asking to nearly double rates. Setting insurance rates is a delicate balancing act, with consumer protections and the cost of premiums on one side and ensuring that companies will continue writing policies in the state on the other. During a public hearing that started in October, witnesses for Causey’s office argued that rates should be increased by a maximum of about 3% or even lowered. The hearing was the first held during Causey’s eight years in the office. “These rates are sufficient to make sure that insurance companies, who have paid out large sums due to natural disasters and face increasing reinsurance costs due to national catastrophes, have adequate funds on hand to pay claims,” Causey said in a written statement. In Durham and Wake counties, rates will increase by an average of 7.5% in each of the next two years. Orange County’s average increases will be significantly lower, with 3.4% in 2025 followed by an additional 3.2% in 2026. For homeowners in Mecklenburg County, rates will increase by 9.3% in 2025, followed by an additional 9.2% in 2026.

Generally, the settlement’s highest increases will come in places that were hit hard by Hurricane Matthew in 2016 and Hurricane Florence in 2018. Those include:

    • Beach areas from Carteret to Brunswick counties will see average 16% increases in 2025 followed by an additional 15.9% in 2026.
    • Duplin and Lenoir counties, where rates will increase by an average 13.6% in 2025, followed by an additional 13.5% in 2026.
    • Edgecombe and Wilson counties, where rates will increase by an average 11.6% in 2025, followed by an additional 11.6% in 2026.

The areas hit hard by Hurricane Helene last September are poised to see some of the lowest average increases in the state. Buncombe, Watauga and Yancey counties, for example, are all set for a 4.4% increase in 2025 followed by 4.5% in 2026. And Mitchell County’s average increase will be 0.7% in 2025 followed by 0.9% in 2026. Jarred Chappell, the Rate Bureau’s chief operating officer, indicated in a written statement that the Rate Bureau is virtually certain to call for another significant increase once the two-year period covered by the settlement ends. “It’s a step in the right direction, but the North Carolina Rate Bureau asked for a larger increase because that’s what recent claims data called for. Storms have gotten stronger and more damaging, more people are living in disaster-prone areas, inflation in the construction industry has been particularly high and reinsurance costs have exploded. All these cost drivers remain an issue,” Chappell said. Under state law, companies writing homeowners’ insurance have the option to use “consent-to-rate” to set premiums. That allows insurers to charge as much as 250% of the regulatory cap. In 2022, about 40% of the state’s homeowners’ policies were set by consent-to-rate policies, with those homeowners’ average premiums costing 47% more than the caps negotiated by Causey and the Rate Bureau. The Rate Bureau, Chappell wrote, is aiming to keep as many carriers as possible writing homeowners insurance policies in the state. Some companies have already started to pull out of disaster-prone parts of North Carolina, most notably Nationwide, which last year did not renew about 10,000 policies from Pitt and Greene counties to the Outer Banks.

Other recent negotiated increases included:

    • An average 4.8% increase in 2017 after the Rate Bureau had requested 18.7%.
    • An average 4% increase in 2018 after the Rate Bureau had requested 17.4%.
    • An average 7.9% increase in 2020 after the Rate Bureau had requested 24.5%.

In most states, insurance companies file their rate requests independently of each other. But North Carolina is one of very few states — and perhaps the only one — where a rate bureau files for requested rates and negotiates on behalf of the entire industry. Nationally, insurance companies are seeing their profits worn away by large natural disasters coming in quick succession, along with increased building costs. In 2024, there were 27 disasters that caused at least $1 billion in damage, according to the National Centers for Environmental Information. That total is the second-highest since 1980 and includes Helene, which caused an estimated $58 billion in Western North Carolina alone.
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Homeowner insurance rates set to rise significantly across the Wilmington area
The deal between state regulators and the insurance industry calls for an average 15% increase by mid-2026. But many coastal areas will see much steeper increases.
N.C. Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey recently announced his department and the state’s insurance companies had reached a legal settlement over how much the companies will be allowed to raise homeowner insurance rates over the next two years. Industry had asked for an average statewide increase of 42%, with some areas around Wilmington seeing their rates double. The settlement calls for an average of 15% over the next two years, 7.5% this year and another 7.5% next year, with areas along the N.C. coast seeing double that. Causey hailed the deal as a victory for consumers and a fair settlement for the industry, which has been hammered by a series of natural disasters on both ends of the state in recent years. “The insurance companies wanted to raise our homeowners’ rates up to 99.4% in some areas and an average 42.2% statewide in a single year,” Causey said in a statement. “I fought for consumers and knocked them back to 7.5% increases over two years with a maximum of 35% in any territory. We consider this settlement a big win for both homeowners and North Carolina.” But property owners, especially in and around Wilmington, will still have to dig deeper into their pocketbooks to pay for insurance and industry officials have said the deal doesn’t solve the underlying problems that are driving insurance companies to seek steeper and steeper rate increases. So, is it a good deal? Let’s dig into the facts.

How did we get here?
In January 2024, the N.C. Rate Bureau, a 14-member board that represents the industry, submitted a proposal to raise homeowner insurance premiums by 42% statewide and an eyewatering 99% in beach and coastal areas around Wilmington. Since North Carolina is a regulated insurance market, industry needs to win state approval to raise rates. The proposal, after a public hearing, was swiftly and vocally rejected by N.C. Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey. The commissioner’s action triggered a judicial hearing, which started in October and wrapped up late last year. Causey then had 45 days to announce his decision.

Why such a big, proposed increase?
The N.C. Rate Bureau cited two main factors for the surprisingly large rate increase proposal. First, is the rising cost of pretty much everything, including labor and potential repairs, driven by inflation and the lingering impacts of labor and material shortages tied to the COVID-19 pandemic. The other is climate change, which is causing more frequent and widespread property destruction, particularly tied to bigger and stronger hurricanes, as the warming climate fuels more severe weather events. Damages in North Carolina tied to 2018’s Hurricane Florence, for example, were estimated to top $22 billion, with much of that hitting inland areas. Other factors that are playing a role in the proposed substantial increase include the moratorium that was put into place during the pandemic on any rate increases and the cost of reinsurance basically insurance for the insurance companies themselves in case a large-scale disaster stretches their financial ability to respond. While a regulated market, theoretically meaning North Carolina just be ring-fenced from some of the issues hammering insurance markets in other states, notably Florida, Louisiana and California, reinsurance operates on a global scale. That means increasing costs of insurance for companies operating, say, in California due to massive wildfire payouts and exposure will be felt by companies operating in North Carolina.

What does the settlement call for?
The deal calls for an average statewide increase of 7.5% this year, effective June 1, and 7.5% next year in homeowner insurance rates. But not all parts of the state are being treated equally.

Here’s the breakdown for the Wilmington area and some other N.C. regions.

  • Beach areas in New Hanover, Brunswick and Pender: +16% this year; +15.9% in 2026; Rate bureau had sought a 99.4% increase.
  • Eastern coastal parts of New Hanover, Brunswick and Pender: +10.5% this year; +10.1% in 2026. Rate bureau had sought a 71.4% increase.
  • Western parts of New Hanover, Brunswick and Pender: +5% this year; +4.8% in 2026; Rate bureau had sought a 43% increase.
  • Beach areas on the Outer Banks: +5.1% this year; +4.8% in 2026. Rate bureau sought a 45.1% increase.
  • Duplin and Lenoir counties: +13.6% this year; +13.5% in 2026. Rate bureau had sought a 71.4% increase.
  • Wake and Durham counties: +7.5% increase; +7.5% increase in 2026. Rate bureau had sought a 39.8% increase.
  • Buncombe County (Asheville): +4.4% increase this year; +4.5% in 2026. Rate bureau had sought a 20.5% increase.

Why does the coast look like it’s getting singled out?
Like many things, rate increases lag the big disasters that prompted the industry to re-examine its exposure and business model. In an interview this fall, Causey said this rate increase request was mostly tied to the industry’s costs and payouts associated with the spate of natural disasters, including 2018’s Hurricane Florence, North Carolina saw several years ago. He added that his office is still dealing with claims tied to Florence, having recently paid one out to the University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW) tied to that devastating storm. “It takes years from the time a storm hits for the rates to catch up,” Causey said. That means damage from September’s unnamed storm, which dropped historic amounts of rain on parts of the Cape Fear region, and losses associated with Tropical Storm Debby and any from Hurricane Helene aren’t taken into account with this rate filing. Ditto for the devastation Helene caused in Western North Carolina and why this rate increase is heavily weighted toward the coast and Eastern N.C. With some damage estimates for Helene in the mountains pushing $60 billion, that will likely change when the rate bureau asks for its next increase.

Wait, another increase?
According to the settlement, the insurance industry can’t ask for another increase until June 2027. Causey said that is a fair compromise for all parties. “These rates are sufficient to make sure that insurance companies, who have paid out large sums due to natural disasters and face increasing reinsurance costs due to national catastrophes, have adequate funds on hand to pay claims,” he said in a statement. But industry officials made it clear that they didn’t get everything they wanted. In a statement, Jarred Chappell, chief operating officer with the rate bureau, said the approved rate increase isn’t “adequate.” “It’s a step in the right direction, but the North Carolina Rate Bureau asked for a larger increase because that’s what recent claims data called for,” he said. “Storms have gotten stronger and more damaging, more people are living in disaster-prone areas, inflation in the construction industry has been particularly high and reinsurance costs have exploded. “All these cost drivers remain an issue.” With little to forecast that any of those factors will change or even slow down in the coming years, especially with greenhouse gas emissions, the primary source of climate change, still on the rise globally, Chappell said the state and the insurance industry could find themselves at loggerheads again in just a few years. “Unfortunately, when the two years covered by this settlement are up, we will almost certainly be in a similar position, calling for a significant increase to keep the North Carolina market strong and to encourage as many carriers as possible to compete here for customers,” he said.
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Commissioner Causey negotiates settlement on Rate Bureau’s homeowners’ insurance request
Average 7.5% agreement will take effect on June 1
Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey announced today that the N.C. Department of Insurance has ended its legal dispute with insurance companies about their proposed homeowners’ insurance rate increase filed in January 2024. The N.C. Rate Bureau originally requested an average 42.2% increase last year, with proposed increases of up to 99.4% in some areas. Under the agreement signed by Commissioner Causey and the Rate Bureau, the average statewide base rate will increase by 7.5% on June 1, 2025, and 7.5% on June 1, 2026. The Rate Bureau is not a part of the Department of Insurance and represents homeowners’ insurance companies in North Carolina. “The insurance companies wanted to raise our homeowners’ rates up to 99.4% in some areas and an average 42.2% statewide in a single year,” Commissioner Causey said. “I fought for consumers and knocked them back to 7.5% increases over two years with a maximum of 35% in any territory. We consider this settlement a big win for both homeowners and North Carolina.” In addition, the agreement prohibits the Rate Bureau from undertaking an effort to increase rates again before June 1, 2027. “North Carolina homeowners will save approximately $777 million in insurance premiums over the next two years compared to what the insurance companies requested. This also protects homeowners from future base rate increase requests until June 2027,” said Commissioner Causey. “These rates are sufficient to make sure that insurance companies, who have paid out large sums due to natural disasters and face increasing reinsurance costs due to national catastrophes, have adequate funds on hand to pay claims.”

You may view the changes by territory.

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Hurricane Season

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Hurricane season runs from June 1 through November 30



Inlet Hazard Areas

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Lockwood Folly Inlet

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Seismic Testing / Offshore Drilling

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Biden makes protections from offshore drilling permanent
President Joe Biden has permanently closed off much of the nation’s coasts from prospective offshore drilling for oil and natural gas. The move, announced Monday as Biden wraps up his presidency, includes more than 330 million acres of the Atlantic outer continental shelf, from Canada to the southern tip of Florida, and the eastern Gulf of Mexico, as well as the West Coast, and the remainder of Alaska’s northern Bering Sea.
Everyone from coastal advocates to typically opposite-of-the-aisle politicians representing North Carolina coastal communities, which have overwhelmingly opposed offshore oil and gas exploration and drilling, lauded the president’s action. Wilmington City Councilman and Republican Charlie Rivenbark introduced a resolution opposing seismic airgun testing and offshore drilling off the North Carolina coast to fellow board members nearly 10 years ago. The board unanimously adopted the resolution, aligning the Port City with dozens of other North Carolina municipalities and counties opposed to then-President Barack Obama’s administration’s plan to open waters off the Southeast coast to oil exploration. “I would still be opposed to offshore drilling anywhere, particularly along the North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia coasts, and I’m glad President Biden’s doing this on his way out,” Rivenbark said Monday morning. “This to me is almost a nonpartisan issue. I grew up on the coast. I know the other side has got terrific arguments and reasons why, but I just can’t take a chance at an oil spill.” That sentiment has resonated throughout not only coastal North Carolina, but also across the state over the course of the last several years. Concerns about the potential for oil spills were specifically cited in the North Carolina Coastal Resources Commission’s April 2019 resolution that opposes offshore drilling. The resolution, which was adopted unanimously, pointed to impacts from the Exxon Valdez oil spill in 1989, the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill and several scientific studies that raise concerns about seismic testing on marine mammals and fisheries. “Seismic surveys and offshore drilling are just not compatible with our coast,” North Carolina Coastal Federation Executive Director Braxton Davis said in an email response to Coastal Review Monday. The Coastal Federation publishes Coastal Review. “Keeping our coast healthy, thriving and free of oil spills is crucial for the survival and prosperity of our communities and is at the heart of our work at the Federation,” Davis said. “For decades now, North Carolina’s opposition to offshore oil and gas has been largely bipartisan. Even under ideal conditions, drilling operations release a number of dangerous pollutants into the ocean, not to mention the potential for larger spills that can devastate local tourism and fisheries.” Governors of both Atlantic and Pacific coastal states pushed back on President-elect Donald Trump’s plan to expand offshore drilling during his first tenure in the White House. In fall 2020, Trump announced he was withdrawing federal waters off the Atlantic Coast from Virginia to Florida from the possibility of drilling for oil and gas. The 10-year moratorium he established ends in 2032. Michelle Bivins, Oceana’s Carolinas Field Campaigns representative, said Monday afternoon that Biden’s announcement “essentially codifies those protections and makes them permanent.” “As for Trump reversing this policy once he’s in office, during his last presidency he protected the South Atlantic from the threat of offshore drilling for almost 10 years, following bipartisan support. He knows that coastal economies and businesses depend on healthy, oil-free oceans,” she said. Shortly after the White House announced the ban Monday morning, the American Petroleum Institute, or API, released a statement calling for the reversal of Biden’s withdrawal the offshore areas from future oil and natural gas leasing. “American voters sent a clear message in support of domestic energy development, and yet the current administration is using its final days in office to cement a record of doing everything possible to restrict it,” API President and CEO Mike Sommers stated in a release. “Congress and the incoming administration should fully leverage the nation’s vast offshore resources as a critical source of affordable energy, government revenue and stability around the world. We urge policymakers to use every tool at their disposal to reverse this politically motivated decision and restore a pro-American energy approach to federal leasing.” Two separate but similar letters – one signed by members of the U.S. Senate, the other signed by House representatives – calling late last year for Biden to implement the ban pointed out that presidential withdrawals had not been successfully challenged in court. Trump in 2017 reversed Obama’s Arctic and Atlantic withdrawals. A district court judge in Alaska ruled presidents do not have authority under the law, in this case the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, to revoke prior withdrawals. “A large-scale withdrawal of the Atlantic, Pacific, and Eastern Gulf from fossil fuel development while maintain the development of renewable energy solutions would provide durable protections for these critical areas,” according to the Dec. 19, 2024, letter signed by nine U.S. senators. The areas included in the withdrawal encompass more than 625 million acres, the largest in the country’s history, according to the U.S. Department of Interior. “President Biden’s actions today are part of our work across this Administration to make bold and enduring changes that recognize the impact of oil and gas drilling on our nation’s coastlines,” Interior Secretary Deb Haaland said in a release. “Today, the President is taking action that reflects what states, Tribes and local communities have shared with us – a strong and overwhelming need to support resilient oceans and coastlines by protecting them from unnecessary oil and gas development.” The withdrawals do not affect rights under existing leases, of which there are about 30 off the southern California coast and about a dozen in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico, according to the release. In fiscal 2023, production in the outer continental shelf resulted in about 675 million barrels of oil and 796 billion cubic feet of gas. Almost all of that production is in the western and central Gulf of Mexico, “where industry has yet to produce on more than 80 percent of the 12 million acres already under lease,” according to the release. The current leasing program that runs through 2029 includes three potential lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico planning areas. Those areas are not included in the withdrawal.
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Dont Drill NC Text and Cancel Sign on Drilling on Sea

What Biden’s big ban on offshore oil and gas drilling means for NC and the East Coast
The president permanently placed off limits significant portions of the country’s outer continental shelf from future drilling activity. The move represents the largest withdrawal in U.S. history.
In one of his most far-reaching and last moves as the country’s top official, President Joe Biden earlier this month announced he was using his presidential authority to permanently withdraw most unleased areas in federal waters to future offshore oil and gas drilling. The move, which covers the East Coast, West Coast, Alaska and the eastern part of the Gulf of Mexico, was hailed by environmentalists and clean energy advocates as a pro-active measure that sets the U.S. firmly on the path of a decarbonized energy future. But the fossil fuel industry and many Republicans, including President-elect Donald Trump, have railed against the move, calling the blanket ban too much and potentially seriously damaging the push toward making the country energy independent. But while the presidential ban generated plenty of headlines and polished Biden’s environmental credentials, what does it really mean for states like North Carolina that have little to no existing offshore oil or gas industry or infrastructure to speak of?

What exactly did Biden do?
Using his authority under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, Biden withdrew significant portions of the country’s outer continental shelf from future oil and natural gas leasing. The withdrawal areas, which are in waters that extend up to 200 miles from the U.S. coastline, encompass more than 625 million acres, more than 330 million of those in the Atlantic, and represent the largest withdrawal in U.S. history. According to the U.S. Department of the Interior, oil production in 2024 on federal lands and water is at an all-time high. In fiscal year 2023, the outer continental shelf produced approximately 675 million barrels of oil and 796 billion cubic feet of gas, accounting for roughly 14 percent of all oil production and 2 percent of natural gas production in the U.S. Nearly all of this production is in the western and central Gulf of Mexico, where industry has yet to produce on more than 80 percent of the 12 million acres already under lease, the department noted. Most of the Gulf of Mexico isn’t included in the president’s drilling moratorium.

What drilling activity takes place in areas that are part of the new ban?
In short, not much. According to the federal government, there is no active oil and gas exploration and development along the U.S. East Coast or in much of Alaska. There are approximately 30 decades-old existing offshore leases off southern California, and approximately a dozen in the eastern Gulf of Mexico. “Nothing in the withdrawals affects rights under existing leases,” stated a release from the Interior department.

So, is this a big deal?
Yes and no. From a practical point of view, the impact is likely to be minimal. Take North Carolina, for example. The Tar Heel State is not believed to have enough hydrocarbon resources in the waters off its coast to make drilling a viable economic endeavor for the oil and gas industry. It’s been decades since any serious survey work has been done, and even with new advanced ways of extracting fossil fuels from the ocean bottom the uncertainty over just how much of the resource is out there especially when considering the expense of finding out likely isn’t an attractive proposition for industry.
On top of that, North Carolina doesn’t have the onshore infrastructure to support any serious offshore development of an oil and gas industry and then get any fuels that are brought to land from the coast to more built-up areas inland. That could mean any economic benefit from drilling off the N.C. coast, aside from some royalties to sweeten any concerns state politicians might have, would be enjoyed by the larger and more developed ports of Norfolk, Virginia, to the north and Charleston, S.C., to the south.

What about the optics of the ban?
North Carolina coastal officials of all stripes have been against offshore drilling for decades. That opposition only heightened 15 years ago after the Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico soiled beaches and wetlands in several Gulf Coast states with oil, damaging the environment, killing birds and marine life, and leaving coastal communities reliant on tourism on economic life support. Wilmington and many other coastal communities have passed resolutions opposing offshore drilling, and the N.C. Coastal Resources Commission which manages development and policies in the state’s 20 coastal counties also has come out against the practice. Elected statewide officials from both parties in Raleigh and Washington also have pushed back against efforts to open East Coast waters to drilling, both by President Barack Obama and more recently Trump during his first term. That opposition, along with a push for votes, prompted Trump in fall 2020 to announce he was removing federal waters from Virginia to Florida from the possibility of drilling, a ban that was set to expire in 2032.

Can Republicans reverse Biden’s ban?
The fossil fuel industry has come out aggressively against the new moratorium. “American voters sent a clear message in support of domestic energy development, and yet the current administration is using its final days in office to cement a record of doing everything possible to restrict it,” said Mike Sommers, president of the American Petroleum Institute, in a release. “Congress and the incoming administration should fully leverage the nation’s vast offshore resources as a critical source of affordable energy, government revenue and stability around the world. We urge policymakers to use every tool at their disposal to reverse this politically motivated decision and restore a pro-American energy approach to federal leasing.” But the courts historically have said only Congress can reverse a presidential declaration adopted under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, a move that could prove tricky considering how divided and gridlocked Capitol Hill remains. One thing Trump could do, however, and on the campaign trail threatened to do so immediately after taking office, is torpedo a different kind of offshore energy development wind farms. Steps the incoming administration could take to hamper development of the renewable energy source, long a favorite of Biden and environmentalists worried about the impacts of climate change, is to slow the issue of regulatory permits or opening new lease sites for projects in federal waters and strip wind projects of federal tax credits and other incentives. That could make many of the projects, already costly and facing opposition from some coastal politicians and residents, financially unviable.
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Offshore Wind Farms

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Ports, suppliers in 40 states are invested in offshore wind
The nation’s burgeoning offshore wind energy industry has created thousands of jobs, boosted work in shipyards and ports, and includes a supply chain that spans 40 states, according to a new report. Billions of dollars have been invested in things like new and retrofitted vessels for offshore wind developers, ports infrastructure, and the expansion of renewable energy manufacturing facilities that support offshore wind, according to Oceantic Network, a Baltimore-based nonprofit that advocates growing the country’s offshore renewable energy industry and supply chain. According to the report, “Offshore Energy at Work,” 25 U.S. ports are either taking part in the industry or preparing to support it. Last February, North Carolina State Ports Authority Executive Director Brian Clark signed a record of decision on a proposed plan to create a multi-use terminal that would support manufacturing and operations for offshore wind and automotive industries at the Morehead City port. The proposed project entails developing land the port owns on Radio Island. It includes construction of a 300,000-square-foot manufacturing facility with office space for offshore wind, a roughly 60-acre gravel pad for storage, a new rail spur that would tie into the existing rail, roadway improvements, and the installation of a gas line from Morehead City to the island. The estimated price tag is $250 million to $285 million. “We have no updates to provide at this time,” Elly Cosgrove, N.C. Ports senior communications manager, said in an email Wednesday. “The Record of Decision signed in February is the latest as it pertains to Radio Island.” It is unclear how an executive order President Donald Trump signed in his first day back in the White House pumping the brakes on new offshore wind development might affect the ports’ proposed plans, including four lease areas off the North Carolina coast. Five days after Oceantic Network released its 60-page report, Trump suspended new leases on the entire outer continental shelf. The order will stand until it is revoked. The order also blocks the federal government from issuing new federal permits to offshore and onshore wind projects, including four lease areas off the North Carolina coast, until the secretary of Interior conducts a “comprehensive assessment and review” of the permitting process. Oceantic Network joined other renewable energy proponents in immediately rebuking the president’s order, calling the permitting pause “a blow to the American offshore wind industry.” Trump’s actions threaten thousands of American offshore wind industry-related jobs in shipyards, factories, and ports, and “strand businesses who have reorganized their operations to support the sector,” Oceantic said in a release. “While under a National Energy Emergency created by an unprecedented rise in energy demand, we should be working to quickly bring generation online instead of curtailing a power source capable of providing base load generation and creating new jobs across 40 states,” Oceantic founder and CEO Liz Burdock said in the release. “We urge the administration to reverse this sweeping action and keep America working in offshore energy as part of its commitment to an ‘all-of-the-above’ energy strategy.” A spokesperson for Oceantic Network declined to comment further. In a statement it released following Trump’s order, the Southeastern Wind Coalition called offshore wind “an economic force” in the U.S., investing billions of dollars in reviving previously underutilized ports and creating training programs for the work sector. “Wind energy is critical to achieving American energy dominance, meeting our growing electricity demand, and creating stable manufacturing jobs across the nation,” Southeastern Wind Coalition President Katharine Kollins said in a release. “Wind energy is a vital part of the global electricity system, and ceding the advancement and development of wind technologies to other nations will only set us back.” More than 100 companies in the Southeast produce components for the industry, according to the wind coalition. But at least one of those has turned to the European market to stay afloat. An official with Nexans, a France-based power and communications cable producer, said in an article published earlier this month that the company’s Charleston, South Carolina, plant — the largest subsea cable manufacturer in the U.S. — is shipping its product to Europe. Nexans vice president for generation and transmission told renewable energy publication Recharge that high demand for cables in Europe is “a blessing in disguise” for the plant. Still, all is not all doom-and-gloom for the industry. In an email announcing the dates and location for the International Partnering Forum, the largest offshore wind energy conference in the U.S., Burdock noted that five commercial-scale, federally approved offshore projects are either under or near construction. Another six projects have received federal approvals. “Despite misleading headlines, there is no question that the industry is moving forward,” Burdock wrote.
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Things I Think I Think –


A Man Dining and Talking to Waiter with a Portrait on WallEating out is one of the great little joys of life.

Restaurant Review:
The Dinner Club visits a new restaurant once a month. Ratings reflect the reviewer’s reaction to food, ambience and service, with price taken into consideration.
///// January 2025
Name:               Joseph’s                                                                                                                  Cuisine:           Italian Bistro
Location:        5003 O’Quinn Boulevard, Southport NC
Contact:          910.454.4440 /
https://www.josephsitalianbistro.com
Food:               Average / Very Good / Excellent / Exceptional
Service:           Efficient / Proficient / Professional / Expert
Ambience:      Drab / Plain / Distinct / Elegant
Cost: $23        Inexpensive <=20 / Moderate <=26 / Expensive <=35 / Exorbitant <=60
Rating:            Three Stars
It is probably easier to get there by boat than by car but don’t be discouraged by the trip because good things can be found in out of the way places. Located at the South Harbour Marina, the view overlooking the marina and ICW is outstanding. Outside seating is available, weather permitting. It’s a very busy place; they do accept reservations but they only have three (3) seatings. Serving some of the best Italian cuisine in the area since 2003, the menu reflects home-style interpretations of their family favorites. The food is very good, the portions are generous, and the prices for both the food and wine are reasonable. We have always enjoyed the dining experience there, it’s an exceptional value.


Oldest restaurants in the area:

1978: Inlet View Bar & Grill, 1800 Village Point Road, Shallotte
This spot was a grill / motel / marina even before C.W Hughes, Jr. and his wife Allison bought the property in 1978. It became the Hughes Marina and home to a small restaurant and tackle shop with 13 bar stools. Their daughters took over the business in 1992. It reopened as the seasonal Inlet View with a bigger restaurant serving local seafood in 2009. 

1974: Silver Hill Grill, 2049 Holden Beach Road SW, Supply
If you know, you know it’s worth seeking out this kitchen / trailer that’s been serving up shrimp burgers, oysters, and fresh fish for decades. You can order and sit at one of the picnic tables on the screened-in porch. Or get it for take-out. Real pros call in their orders ahead when the restaurant is busy.  


Dining Guide – Local * Lou’s Views

Dining Guide – North * Lou’s Views

Dining Guide – South * Lou’s Views

Restaurant Reviews – North * Lou’s Views

Restaurant Reviews – South * Lou’s Views


Book Review:
Read several books from The New York Times best sellers fiction list monthly
Selection represents this month’s pick of the litter


 

THE GREY WOLF by Louise Penny
This is the nineteenth entry in the Chief Inspector Gamache, the head of homicide of Quebec’s provincial police force, series. This time around, the Canadian detective is investigating a plot to poison Montreal’s water supply, with unsettling connections to high-ranking officials. This is a departure from Three Pines village where most of the other books in the series take place. At the center of the tale is the legend of two wolves—the “grey wolf” and the “black wolf”—symbolizes the dual forces of good and evil within everyone.
.

The story concludes with a cliffhanger revelation.
Although the battle may seem won, a war has yet to be waged.


That’s it for this newsletter

See you next month


Lou’s Views . HBPOIN

.                                         • Gather and disseminate information
.                                    • Identify the issues and determine how they affect you

.                                    • Act as a watchdog
.                                    • Grass roots monthly newsletter since 2008

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12 – Town Meeting

Lou’s Views

“Unofficial” Minutes & Comments


BOC’s Special Meeting 12/06/24

Board of Commissioners’ Agenda Packet » click here NA

Audio Recording » click here


1.   Executive Session Pursuant to North Carolina General Statute 143-381.11 (a)(6), Personnel – Mayor Pro Tem Myers and Commissioner Paarfus

2.   Discussion and Possible Action to Appoint Interim Town Manager – Mayor Pro Tem Myers and Commissioner Paarfus

 The Holden Beach Board of Commissioners held a special meeting on Friday to select an interim town manager. The board had previously voted to terminate David Hewett as town manager. The motion was made to hire Assistant Town Manager Christy Ferguson as the interim town manager effective immediately with an annual salary of $140,000.

A decision was made – Approved unanimously

Jackie Chan Still from a Movie with Wait What Text

Animated Image of a Old Man with My Two Cents Text


They just hired our Assistant Town Manager Christy Ferguson as the interim town manager effective immediately with an annual salary of $140K. There are forty-five (45) City Manager’s in North Carolina with a town population below 2,500. The average NC town manager salary for that size community is $114K. Christy as Assistant Town Manager is currently making $99K. Understand that a salary adjustment was needed but the Board just gave Christy a $41K raise, that’s a whopping +41% increase and 93% of David’s salary of $151K. Are.. You.. Kidding.. Me?! Who is responsible for this debacle? What were they thinking? Frankly, they really should consider taking a negotiating course. It was my understanding that David did not get any salary increases recently because of a reduction in his work load, having hired both an Assistant Town Manager for $99K and a Finance Officer for $86K. The Board just had an opportunity to adjust the manager’s salary to account for those two positions. Granted for the time being she will be attempting to do two (2) jobs, both her Assistant Town Manager and David’s Town Manager responsibilities. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics promotional increases typically average between 7% and 12%. A 10% increase would have paid her $109K, which is pretty close (87%) to the NC town managers average salary. That makes more sense especially since the position no longer has the Finance Officer responsibilities. Based on her lack of experience it is usual and customary to come in at the entry pay level for this position. Therefore, she should be paid closer to the bottom of the pay window not the top. There are only six managers that make more than that in the entire state. The flip side is that 87% of the NC town managers make less than that salary of $140K. Unfortunately, they have now set the bar for her or anyone else that they hire to expect the minimum salary of $140K, which is too high. What are they mashugana? Although Christy has the inside track she still needs to demonstrate that she is up to the task and that they should hire her to fill the position. Meanwhile I don’t think we have to promote her and definitely don’t think that it should be a foregone conclusion. We still need to search for the best qualified candidate. I believe we need to  hire a headhunter company that provides employment recruiting services to find talent and to locate individuals who meet the specific job requirements we have for our town manager position. There’s a lot of experienced, competent people, with the desired skill sets required, that are out there who would be able and willing to serve our community. We certainly should have plenty of options especially since we now will be paying at least $140K.


Brunswick beach town hires interim manager following recent termination
Less than a month after firing the town manager, one Brunswick beach town board has decided who they want to fill the position temporarily. The Holden Beach Board of Commissioners have chosen an interim town manager before beginning the search for a new, permanent town manager. Here’s the latest.

Recap on what happened in November
Following a less than five-minute closed session to discuss personnel during the Holden Beach Board of Commissioners regular Tuesday, Nov. 19 meeting, Commissioner Rick Paarfus motioned to fire former Town Manager David Hewett. Hewett was with the town since 2008. Commissioners Paarfus, Tracey Thomas and Mayor Pro-Tem Tom Myers voted in favor of Hewett’s termination while Commissioners Page Dyer and Rick Smith voted against. Hewett’s termination became effective Dec. 4. However, the board placed Hewett on administrative leave from Nov. 21 until Dec. 4. Smith, Dyer and Holden said the decision blindsided them and that Hewett was a solid town manager.

What’s new?
Commissioners held a special meeting on Friday to discuss and hire on an interim town manager. The meeting began with a public comments section. “You went about it all the wrong way,” resident Sylvia Pate said about the board’s action toward Hewett, noting it was humiliating. Following public comments, meeting attendees were pushed to stand in the hallway before the doors to the chambers were locked by Town Clerk Heather Finnell. Commissioners then filed into a separate room dedicated for closed sessions – without unlocking the glass doors to the chambers. The closed session was approximately an hour and a half long. Commissioner Dyer was seen reentering the commissioners’ chambers in frustration twice. At one point she was seen speaking to Finnell with anger and another time Dyer exited the room with Holden behind her. Commissioners finished their closed discussion and resumed the open meeting shortly after 10 a.m. Paarfus motioned to hire Assistant Town Manager Christy Ferguson as the interim town manager, effective immediately, with an annual salary of $140,000. Commissioners voted in favor unanimously. “Through the years, Christy has been dedicated, straight forward, couldn’t ask her to have anything any better than what she has done, and she has proved her love for the people and the town of Holden Beach over and over again,” Mayor Alan Holden said. Asked if there were other candidates discussed, the mayor said no. Holden said Hewett did a good job as town manager and constantly encouraged staff to educate themselves in preparation for promotions. “Holden Beach has come a long way in the last 14, 15, 16 years and we appreciate what David did,” he said.

Next steps
The board must follow a process to hire the next town manager, and Holden said the town plans to fulfill all requirements. The start of the process is advertising the town manager position. “I think it’s a good day for the public in the fact that Christy has agreed to stay with us a little while longer,” Holden said. Though Ferguson has only been hired as the interim, Holden said the town is encouraging her to apply for the permanent job.
Read more » click here


BOC’s Regular Meeting 12/17/24

Board of Commissioners’ Agenda Packet click here

Audio Recording » click here


1.   Conflict of Interest Check

2024 Rules of Procedure for the Holden Beach Board of Commissioners
(e) Conflict Check. Immediately after the approval of the agenda, the Presiding Officer shall poll each member to disclose any potential conflicts of interest. In the event that a potential conflict is disclosed, the members will vote on a motion to allow or excuse that member with respect to the agenda item. If excused, the member may not participate in any discussion, debate, or vote with respect to the agenda item.

The Board was polled by Heather our Town Clerk. All of them declared that there was no conflict of interest with any agenda item at this meeting.


2.   Consideration and Possible Action on the Termination of the Coastal Storm Risk Management General Revaluation Corps of Engineers Study – Bob Keistler and/or Brennan Dooley, Corps of Engineers and Interim Town Manager Ferguson

Agenda Packet – pages 14 – 25

USACE Presentation » click here

ISSUE/ACTION REQUESTED:
Consideration and possible action on the termination of the Coastal Storm Risk Management General Reevaluation USACE study

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE OF REQUEST:
Data produced through Beach-FX and G2CRM modeling conducted by the Corps reveals that a CSRM project is not in the national interest at this time. The Corps will go through its rationale and give the BOC a chance to decide if they want to continue the study effort.

INTERIM TOWN MANAGERS RECOMMENDATION:
Receive report and consider termination of study.


The Town of Holden Beach executed an agreement with the Corps to engage in a Coastal Storm Risk Management (CSRM) study in August of 2021. The Corps has been working through various tasks and alternatives since that time to establish if a beach project is in the national interest. As part of all CSRM studies, the agency is also mandated to consider back bay flooding. Modeling analysis reveals neither project fits the economic model to be in the national interest. The Corps will  present  this information , and the BOC will need to provide direction  on  terminating  the study  effort  that  is scheduled  to conclude  in July of 2026. Presentation slides from the agency are included as an attachment.


CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION

Conclusion:

    • This analysis has not identified a supportable Coastal Storm Risk Management project. The recommendation for this study is the “no action”
    • The Corps will finalize study products that are in progress and share all data with the Town of Holden

Recommendation:

    • The town should continue its local Coastal Storm Risk Management

Previously reported – April 2021
In order for us to become a USACE beach requires a new study be authorized
Three (3) years / Three (3) levels of review / Three (3) million dollars

    • $1.5 million Feds and $1.5 million Town of Holden Beach

Why consider doing a study?

    • FEMA is not an insurance policy
    • The rule book is changing
    • We have to consider risks

Coastal Storm Risk Management Study
This attached draft agreement for a Coastal Storm Risk Management Study (Attachment 1) between the USACE and the Town of Holden Beach represents the inclusion of the study in the Corps work plan for this federal fiscal year. The study was the Town’s number one advocacy priority at the federal level as a proposed means of storm damage reduction . The Town will not know if it is economically and environmentally feasible for us to become a federal beach unless the study is conducted. The attached budget amendment (Attachment  2) in the amount of $500,000 represents the town’s commitment for the upcoming FY for the Town’s share of the total non-federal (Town) study cost of $1,500,000.

If the BOC chooses to pursue the study, a motion will need to be made to authorize the Town Manager to execute the contract document and self-certification of financial capability with the USACE and approve the attached budget amendment.

Christy went through a slide presentation briefly reviewing how we got to this point. The abridged version is that FEMA continues to change the rules for engineered beaches maintenance programs. The study with the USACE gives us another option if we can’t count on FEMA moving forward. Commissioner Kwiatkowski was prepared as usual and had a number of questions for the USACE representatives that were in attendance at the meeting. The Corps representative walked them through the process. Commissioner Sullivan asked a couple additional questions regarding funding. An important takeaway is the federal government contributes 65% of the costs for initial construction, the cost split is 50% between federal and non-federal funding for maintenance nourishment projects. Of course, the major concern is whether there will be adequate funding for not only the study but for an approved project. The Corps rep made it very clear that there is no guarantee, but he felt confident that they both would be funded. He understands that the Town is looking to obtain the best deal possible. FEMA and USACE organizations are both here to help and each have a place. The difference between them is that the USACE is more of a designed project, build, and maintain whereas FEMA is primarily there to help cover emergencies. The BOC’s decided to fund the  $1.5 million study and take the funds from the BPART account instead of the Capital Reserve account.

A decision was made – Approved unanimously

Animated Image of a Old Man with My Two Cents Text

We just approved spending $1.5 million to potentially switch to USACEwait for itafter we just received $45 million for FEMA projects. I have some reservations about making the change and was really disappointed that there was not more serious discussions prior to spending that kind of money.  Just to be clear I’m for beach nourishment, but I am generally opposed to moving forward with the federal project due to the uncertainty of the funding. Congressional authorization of a project does not necessarily mean that the project will receive federal construction funds. Project authorizations over the years have far outpaced the level of federal appropriations provided. Our portion is $1.5 million just for the Storm Risk Management study, which is a huge amount of money when we don’t even know if the study will be completely funded let alone whether the project will be approved or funded.

Previously reported – September 2022
The Army Corps of Engineers will be presenting recently communicated proposed changes in the Coastal Storm Risk Management Study duration, scope, costs, and potential funding options (slides included in agenda packet) . The board should consider this as an opportunity to obtain clarity on its options going forward. The board may need to consider a letter of intent regarding changes to study para meters.

Additional scope required for the study
EIS, borrow source investigations, backside waterway flooding analysis
This resulted in an additional 11 months of study and a cost increase of – $1.25 M.

USACE briefly reviewed the process and gave us a status update. Hat in hand, they said they are not able to get it done as presented to us; neither in the time frame three (3) years nor for the budget of three (3) million dollars. Additional work beyond what they planned is needed. They realize that they need to take other variables into consideration, and they need to address it now. Colonel Bennett stated that they were not here to advocate for or against the project but were here to communicate capability. The sooner that they get Board approval the better, it would likely be a greater opportunity to be selected. The Board allowed the public to ask any questions that they had. Town Manager will draft letter of intent and the BOC’s will discuss at the Special Meeting scheduled for September 28th.

No decision was made – No action taken

Animated Image of a Old Man with My Two Cents TextLet me get this straight we already committed $1.5 million for our portion just over one (1) year ago and now they want us to ante up another 1.25 million? The additional cost prohibits us from doing other things that we planned on doing.

Previously reported – October 2022
Colonel Bennett, representing the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, presented proposed changes in the Coastal Storm Risk Management Study duration, scope, costs, and potential funding opportunities at the September board meeting. Attached please find the letter of intent  the Wilmington  District  would  like from the Board (Attachment 1) to apply for 2019 Disaster Relief Act funding. Prior to the  regular September meeting staff consulted with Ward and Smith /Ferguson Group to develop the attached draft letter of intent at Attachment 2; however, the Wilmington District  has communicated “HQ  would  like  to see full acknowledgement of the additional time and  costs”  (Christine  Brayman ).  Also included  is what we have obtained since the meeting to describe actions/costs to date (Attachment 3).

Christy went over the information presented at the last meeting and the potential options available to us. USACE Wilmington District would like the first letter in the packet to be sent from the Board to apply for the 2019 Disaster Relief Act funding. Board approval of  the letter of intent is an acknowledgement of the additional time and costs. Motion was made to send the first letter in the packet to the USACE.


The Town of Holden Beach, NC, supports the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Wilmington District’s request for Disaster Relief Act of 2019 (DRA19) funding to complete the Brunswick County Beaches, Holden Beach Portion, General Reevaluation Report (GRR) at 100% Federal cost . We understand the current study cost is $4,250,000 and will now require an additional 11 months to complete the study for a total of 47 months due to additional requirements. If DRA19 funding is approved, the Town understands that no further non-Federal contribution would be required to complete the GRR and the cost sharing agreement would be adjusted to reflect this change to 100% Federal funding requirements.

A decision was made – Approved unanimously

Commissioner Kwiatkowski recommended that we need to consider revisiting our decision because of all the changes that have been made. She questioned whether this is the best thing to do now. Also, she would like them to consider working together with Oak Island on moving forward together with just one project.

Animated Image of a Old Man with My Two Cents TextIf I understood correctly, they did not agree to ante up any additional funds. They are applying to the federal government to produce the money. In addition, I was not really clear if the USACE was asking us for the full $1.25M or to split this amount with them. For the time being we have not committed any additional funds and have just spent $500,000 for the study so far. Stay tuned …

Update –
Representatives from the USACE gave a presentation. The bottom-line is the government requires that the project BENEFITS be greater than the COST, they are not.  The project is not in the national interest, which simply means the analysis does not support a Coastal Storm Risk Management project. USACE plan to wrap up the study, close it out, and transfer data to the town. The motion was made to receive the report and initiate termination of the study.
A decision was made – Approved unanimously

Animated Image of a Old Man with My Two Cents Text

The Town has spent a total of $1,775,000. Turns out this was a very costly roll of the dice. Both our lobbyist Mike McIntyre and the USACE both assured us that they wouldn’t propose to move forward if they didn’t think that Holden Beach would qualify for the program. What the termination means to us is that we need to reevaluate and change the game plan. The transfer of funds to the Beach & Inlet Reserve Fund is a good start for us to manage and pay for beach nourishment moving forward.


3.   Police Report – Chief Jeremy Dixon 

Agenda Packet – pages 26 – 30

Police Report » click here

Police Patch


Jeremy reviewed the actions that were taken by them last month
Business as usual for this time of the year

.

Previously reported – October 2024

We are in the shoulder season, they experienced a normal seasonal decline of activity

The Chief reminded everyone that runners and walkers should be on the sidewalk not in the bike lane

Hunting season is underway, it is prohibited within Town limits


Personnel announcement

Not only did they not fill the open detective position, but another officer has resigned

The department now has four (4) vacancies 

The police department currently has only seven (7) officers of the eleven (11) they are budgeted to have

 Having the full complement of eleven (11) police officers seems to be an elusive goal.


What he did not say –


Public Service Announcement
Requested that we all use caution if driving during the holiday season. There is lots of traffic during the holiday and statistically the country has an average of 119 fatalities a day. Please drive safely!

The National Safety Council estimates 720 people may be killed on U.S. roadways during the upcoming holidays: 345 during the Christmas holiday driving period and an additional 375 during the New Year’s holiday driving period.\\


Booze It & Lose It’ underway through holidays
Recognized as one of the nation’s most effective anti-drunk-driving campaigns, Booze It & Lose It has created increased awareness of the dangers and the consequences of drinking and driving through innovative education campaigns and extensive enforcement of impaired-driving laws. During each campaign, law enforcement agencies increase the number of patrols and officers in an area, set up checking stations and use local news media to reach out to drivers. Motorists caught driving while impaired could face jail time, lose their driving privileges and pay an average of $10,000 in fines, towing fees and other expenses associated with a DWI. That’s not a small price, and it doesn’t even count the heftier price: the potential cost of a lost life. Even with the success of Booze It & Lose It, more than 9,000 people have lost their lives in alcohol-related crashes in North Carolina since the program’s introduction in 1994. During enforcement campaigns, law enforcement agencies increase the number of saturation patrols, set up checking stations and use local news media to reach out to all drivers.


It’s that time of year, rental season ends, and break-in season officially starts
Requested that we all serve as the eyes and ears for law enforcement.

If you know something, hear something, or see something –
call 911 and let the police deal with it.


4.   Inspections Department Report – Inspections Director Evans

Agenda Packet – pages 31 – 33

Inspections Report » click here


ACTIVE NEW HOME PERMITS                                                               = 29
OTHER ACTIVE PERMITS                                                                         = 445
PERMITS ISSUED OVER $30,000                                                             = 47
*
AMOUNT INCLUDED IN ACTIVE TOTAL
PERMITS ISSUED OVER $100,000                                                           = 5
*
AMOUNT INCLUDED IN ACTIVE TOTAL
PERMITS ISSUED SUBSTANTIAL IMPROVEMENTS                            = 0
* AMOUNT INCLUDED IN ACTIVE TOTAL
PERMITS ISSUED WAITING PICK UP                                                     = 20
TOTAL PERMITS                                                                                         = 494


PERMITS IN REVIEW                                                                                = 4
CAMA ISSUED                                                                                             = 3
ZONING ISSUED                                                                                         = 19


PERMITS SERVICED FOR INSPECTIONS FROM 11/07 – 12/06            = 100
TOTAL INSPECTIONS MADE                                                                 = 219

Update –
Timbo briefly reviewed department activity last month, the department has not been as busy. Right now, they have a steady stream of work, they’ve seen a pickup in construction.


5.   Finance Department Report – Finance Officer McRainey

Agenda Packet – pages 34 – 37

Finance Report » click here 


Revenues to Watch

AD VALOREM TAX
FY 24 / 1,839,859
FY 25 / 1,030,109

PARKING REVENUE
FY 24 / 423,057
FY 25 / 439,956

OCCUPANCY TAX
FY 24 / 3,254,203
FY25 / 3,314,590

Ad Valorem tax collections through November are still behind from last year but this is not concerning considering bills went out later this year and we should have a better picture of Ad Valorem collection in January/February.

Parking revenue is trending higher as it should being the first year of paid parking through the winter months.

Occupancy tax revenues continue to trend slightly higher than last year.


Revenues vs. Expenditures by Fund

Three graphs were presented, with fiscal year comparisons of the following funds:
    1) General Fund
    2)
Water/Sewer Fund
    3)
BPART Fund

GENERAL FUND – REV / EXP
FY 24 / 2,382,151 / 1,323,474

FY 25 / 1,475,715 / 1,261,172

WATER/SEWER FUND – REV / EXP
FY 24 / 2,010,247 / 1,353,835

FY 25 / 2,085,302 / 1,554,170

BPART FUND – REV / EXP
FY 24 / 4,001,321 / 2,960,723

FY25 / 3,920,667 / 2,438,503

BPART Fund – Beach Preservation / Access & Recreation / Tourism
BPART is a Special Revenue Fund authorized by act of the General Assembly which allows the Town to collect six cents of an Accommodations Tax for the purposes of funding beach preservation and tourism related expenses.

Update –
Daniel briefly reviewed the status of each of the three (3) funds. 


6.  Town Manager Report – Interim Town Manager Ferguson

Agenda Packet – pages 38 – 39

Town Manager Report » click here


Greensboro Street / Sewer Lift Station #2
Department of Environmental Quality offer to fund signed and returned to the State
Copy of Insurance and Exhibit 8 executed by contractor, updated certificate of insurance
Notice to proceed processed and returned

Previously reported – November 2024
Action item to increase state funding on November meeting agenda tonight
Engineer and Staff had meeting with contractor and DWR representative
Awaiting contractor’s final insurance documents before issuing Notice to Proceed

Previously reported – October 2024
We have approvals from both the EPA and NCDWQ
Awaiting TerraHawk contract review
David anticipates having it by the end of the week
The next step is for the Town Attorney to review the documents
The Town can then execute the contract  with the subsequent Notice to Proceed


Key Bridge Mediation Agreement


Mediation Agreement Quarterly Meetings
Meeting was held on 12/4/24


Ave E – Public/Emergency Beach Access and Restroom Facility
Contractor started work 

Previously reported – November 2024
Notice to Proceed issued with due date of February 1st

THB Newsletter (12/12/24)
Advisory
Reminder, the lot at the end of Avenue E is closed to complete ADA improvements until further notice. Access will be impacted in the area during this timeframe. Barriers will be placed in the area to facilitate the work. Work is estimated to last until February.

THB Newsletter (11/15/24)
Advisory
The lot at the end of Avenue E will be closed to complete ADA improvements beginning Monday until further notice. Work is estimated to last until February. Access may be impacted in that area during this time frame.

Previously reported – October 2024
Notice to Proceed issued to Babson contract for $168,365
Due date of February 1st

Previously reported – September 2024
This is the area at the far east end of the island. They have obtained the necessary permits for ADA compliant parking, public and emergency accesses, and  restroom facilities. Request for Proposal has been drafted. Anticipate construction would begin in the fall and must be completed by the March 2025 deadline.


801 OBW – Public Beach Access
Final inspection was completed
The Town plans to do matting there, although it is not part of the agreement

Previously reported – November 2024
Walkway construction has been completed
Handrails were installed today
Access is not open at this time

Previously reported – October 2024
Notice to Proceed issued to Jesse & Meyers contract for $48,900
Due date of November 15th

Previously reported – September 2024
They have made some design refinements for the Emergency and Public Access there to accommodate the adjacent properties. A CAMA permit has been applied for. We still need to build a walkway there.


Coastal Storm Risk Management Study
Update in the packet for tonight
Depending on action, follow up required at the federal level 12/18/24


Recycling Program
Action item on agenda this evening
Be mindful to get renewals in


Emergency Operations Center
The EOC building is being used by Tri-Beach Fire Department while they renovate their fire station on Sabbath Home


Congressionally Directed Spending (Senate)
Community Project Funding (House)
Funding formally known as earmarks
BOC’s should begin to consider upcoming requests
Potential  January agenda topic
Timing of federal forms release unknown
BOC’s needs to consider things like the 5113 Environmental Infrastructure program, Stormwater, LWF Inlet, and continuation of other policies  


Employee Updates
Public Works gained an employee in mid-November.
Replaces the Public Services Supervisor vacancy left when Scott Cunningham retired

The current Fiscal Operations Supervisor Margaret Lancaster is retiring
Agenda item has change in work responsibilities for our Finance Officer


Canal Subdivisions
CAMA permit renewals are staggered and being processed


Ocean Boulevard Bike Lane
Should have maintenance agreement for the January meeting
NCDOT will pick up the tab

Animated Image of a Old Man with My Two Cents Text

Do not think that quarterly maintenance is really adequate although it is better than nothing


Previously reported – November 2024
DOT reviewing requirements for agreement needed for Town to conduct street sweeping
Quote in hand for maintenance cleaning

Previously reported – October 2024
NCDOT cost overrun
Estimate $1,722,364: actual $1,797,424
The delta is $75,060
with the Town’s share being 42%, which would be $31,525
David is coordinating with DOT to review the project and identify potential alternative funding to satisfy overrun

Maintenance –
DOT advises that state’s standard of care is not what Town will require
Staff reviewing options for service provision: in-house versus contract for sweeping
We will need an agreement with the DOT  for the Town to conduct street sweeping


Icon of a Bike on Green Background, bikeBike Lane Maintenance

Good news: We have a bike lane now

Bad news: We are not even doing routine maintenance of the bike lane

A significant number of locations of the bike lane have sand, gravel, rocks, and broken glass from recycling trucks. Therefore, it is UNSAFE especially for young and/or inexperienced bicycle riders. Not a good situation, if someone goes down they could easily slide into the traffic lane, which would have some serious negative consequences. NCDOT only provides maintenance service a few times a year. Standard protocol is for the town to take care of the bike lane with their staff. If Public Works is unable to get it done perhaps we should consider a contract with a vendor to handle routine maintenance until they are able to do it. Any lawn maintenance service with a blower should be able to take care of it in the interim. This is a safety issue that needs to be addressed, sooner rather than later.


Tracking Tool
Previously reported – October 2024
The BOC’s are looking for a status report on a monthly basis, for the eight (8) items listed, in order to track the progress of projects that they have prioritized.

      • #2 ADA Self-Assessment
      • #6 ADA bathroom (at block Q)
      • #7 Fire station Upgrades
      • #8 Improve Audio/Video for Town Meetings
      • #14 Block Q Site Plan
      • #18 Update Town Website
      • #19 Pier Repair/Replacement
      • #26 Investigate vacuum bypass system

Christy briefly reviewed the status of each of the eight (8) items listed
The current status
is in the Town Manager Report


What she did not say –


Stormwater Project Partnership Agreement (PPA)
Previously reported – March 2024
Town staff met with USACE Program Manager in February to develop a draft PPA. Awaiting draft PPA for about a half dozen projects for  an estimated cost of two (2) million dollars. The intent is to position the Town to receive federal stormwater funding for these projects.


Coastal Resources Commission
Previously reported – October 2024
Meeting will be held on OIB in mid-November
They are tracking the Inlet Hazard Area revisions closely
Probably won’t be addressed until sometime next year

Previously reported – September 2022
Discussion of the changes Coastal Resources Commission approved last month to both the rules and Inlet Hazard Area boundaries. Commissioner Kwiatkowski was asking the staff  what will be the impact on us here at Holden Beach. Timbo informed us that the boundary and vegetation line overall impact will be minimal to us.


In Case You Missed It –


Snow Flake Decorations for Boulevard Light Poles

 

Public Works have put up snowflake decorations on the boulevard light poles

      • Purple streetlights are not part of the
        holiday decorations they are the LED’s failing

Townhall Icon, a Place for Town Meeting, Lous Views

Town Hall Holiday Schedule
Town Hall will be closed December 24th, 25th, 26th and January 1st in observance of the holidays. 


Pets on the Beach Strand
Pets – Chapter 90 / Animals / 90.20

Effective September 10th

      • Pets allowed back on the beach strand during the hours of 9:00am through 5:00pm
      • Dog’s need to be on a leash
      • Owner’s need to clean up after their animals

Solid Waste Pick-up Schedule –
starting October once a week 

Recycling
starting October every other week  pick-up 


National Flood Insurance Program: Reauthorization
Congress must periodically renew the NFIP’s statutory authority to operate. On December 20, 2024, the president signed legislation passed by Congress that extends the National Flood Insurance Program’s (NFIP’s) authorization to March 14, 2025. 


News from Town of Holden Beach
The town sends out emails of events, news, agendas, notifications and emergency information. If you would like to be added to their mailing list, please go to their web site to complete your subscription to the Holden Beach E-Newsletter.
For more information » click here


Upcoming Events –

NA


7.   Discussion and Possible Approval of 2025 Board of Commissioners’ Meeting Schedule – Town Clerk Finnell (Interim Town Manager Ferguson)

Agenda Packet – pages 39a – 39b

Meeting Schedule » click here

ISSUE/ACTION REQUESTED:
Discussion and Possible Approval of 2025 Board of Commissioners’ Meeting Schedule

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE OF REQUEST:
Enclosed is the proposed 2025 Board of Commissioners’ Regular Meeting Schedule. All dates reflect the third Tuesday of the month.


2025 BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS’ MEETING SCHEDULE
Regular Meetings are held at 5:00pm on the third Tuesday of each month


January 21st
February 18th
March 18th
April 15th
May 20th
June 17th
July 15th
August 19th
September 16th
October 21st
November 18th
December 16th

Update –
The proposed monthly meeting schedule was adopted as submitted.

A decision was made – Approved unanimously


8.   Discussion and Possible Action on Selection of Mayor Pro Tem – Town Clerk Finnell (Interim Town Manager Ferguson)

Agenda Packet – pages 40 – 41

ISSUE/ACTION REQUESTED:
Discussion and Possible Action on Selection of Mayor Pro Tem

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE OF REQUEST:
Per Section 30.05, Mayor Pro Tempore of the Holden Beach Code of Ordinances, the Board shall elect from one of its members a mayor pro tem. The normal term of office is one year, commencing with the December meeting.

If the Board chooses to elect a new mayor pro tem, you can vote by ballot or verbally, whichever is the Board’s preference. If the Board votes by ballot, please make sure to sign your ballot.

§30.05 MAYOR PRO TEMPORE.

(A) The BOC shall elect a Mayor Pro Tempore. The normal term of office of the Mayor Pro Tempore shall be one year, commencing at the first regular meeting in December; provide, however, that the member shall serve at the pleasure of the

(B) The Mayor Pro Tempore shall discharge the duties and exercise the powers and authority of Mayor in the absence, disability, disqualification of the Mayor and during a vacancy in the office of Mayor; provided his or her rights and duties as BOC shall remain unimpaired; except he or she shall receive the salary or expenses of Mayor when serving in that capacity. No additional oath of office shall be required of the Mayor Pro Tempore upon assuming the duties of the Mayor beyond that oath taken at the time of appointment to Mayor Pro

Update –
The Code of Ordinances reads that the Board shall elect a mayor pro tem from one of its members. Per the ordinance, the Board may choose to extend the current term of Mayor Pro Tem Myers or select another member to serve as the mayor pro tem. Commissioner Thomas made a motion to nominate Tom Myers for Mayor Pro Tem. Commissioner Myers was selected to serve as Mayor Pro Tem again next year.

A decision was made – Approved unanimously


9.  Discussion and Possible Action on Resolution 24-10, Resolution Approving Truist Signature Card – Town Clerk Finnell (Interim Town Manager Ferguson)

Agenda Packet – pages 42 – 43

Resolution 24-10 » click here

ISSUE/ACTION REQUESTED:
Discussion and Possible Approval of Resolution 24- I 0, Resolution Approving Truist Signature Card

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE OF REQUEST:
Historically, the official signatories for the Town’s Truist accounts are the mayor, mayor pro tern and staff. Resolution 24-10 updates the current signature card by designating Mayor Holden, Interim Town Manager Ferguson and Finance Officer McRainey as the official signatories. It will also designate the Board member that is voted to serve as mayor pro tern for 2025.

Update –
Housekeeping item update of signatories, adopted as submitted

A decision was made – Approved unanimously


10.  Discussion and Possible Action on Revised Job Descriptions for Finance Department – Town Clerk Heather (Interim Town Manager Ferguson)

Agenda Packet – pages 44 – 48

ISSUE/ACTION REQUESTED:
Discussion and Possible Action on Revised Job Descriptions for Finance Department

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE OF REQUEST:
Our current Fiscal Operations Supervisor is retiring. Staff proposes removing the supervisory duties from the current position and realigning the duties to the Finance Officer. No changes to the salary ranges are recommended at this time.

Update –
The current Fiscal Operations Supervisor Margaret Lancaster is retiring. They revised the job descriptions for both the Fiscal Operations Supervisor and the Finance Officer. The change adds supervisory duties to the work responsibilities of our Finance Officer.

A decision was made – Approved unanimously

Animated Image of a Old Man with My Two Cents Text

No changes to the salary ranges are recommended at this time.” Nor should there be a change to the salary range which is $78K to $119K or his salary of $86K. There is not even one (1) of the finance directors that make the top of the range $119K in the entire state. Daniel’s starting salary in 2020 was just $45,739. He now makes $85,965, that’s a salary raise of +$40,226 or a whopping +88% increase in just four (4) years. There are twenty-six (26) Finance Director’s in North Carolina with a town population below 2,500. The average NC finance director salary for that size community is $82K. So, his $86K salary is already 5% above the average NC finance directors salary. Sheesh!


11.  Discussion and Possible Action on Resolution 24-11, Resolution Amending the Holden Beach Fee Schedule (2025 Recycling Fee) – Town Clerk Finnell (Interim Town Manager Ferguson)

Agenda Packet – pages 49 – 51

Resolution 24-11 » click here

ISSUE/ ACTION REQUESTED:
Discussion and Possible Action on Resolution 24-11, Resolution Amending the Holden Beach Fee Schedule (Recycling).

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE OF REQUEST:
We have received the updated fees assessed by GFL Environmental for people who utilize the voluntary curbside recycling program.

The annual 2025 cost for people participating in the program will be $119.35 per bin. This is an increase from the current rate of $106.88. The fee schedule needs to be amended to reflect the new amount.

Staff recommends the Board approve Resolution 24-10 Resolution Amending the Holden Beach Fee Schedule, if you wish to continue the curbside recycling program.

Update –
The Board amended the fee schedule to reflect the increased rate, from $106.88 to $119.35, for the curbside recycling program. Motion was made to approve the resolution amending the fee schedule as submitted.

A decision was made – Approved unanimously

Animated Image of a Old Man with My Two Cents Text

The charges were $86.37 in 2022, just three years later they are now $119.35 a 38% increase which are considerably steeper than what inflation would dictate.


THB Newsletter (12/20/24)
2025 Recycling
GFL Environmental offers curbside recycling for Town properties that desire to participate in the service. The 2025 service cost is $119.35 annually paid in advance to the Town of Holden Beach. The service consists of a 96 gallon cart that is emptied every other week during the months of October – May and weekly during the months of June – September. You may apply in person at Town Hall or by clicking here to download the application in and mailing it in with your check payment. If you currently utilize the service, make sure to turn in your 2025 payment.


13. Discussion and Possible Action on Ordinance 24-19, An Ordinance Amending Ordinance 24-11, The Revenues and Appropriations Ordinance for Fiscal Year 24-25 (Amendment No. 4, Beach and Inlet Capital Reserve Fund Transfer) – Finance Officer McRainey (Interim Town Manager Ferguson)

Agenda Packet – pages 52 – 53

Ordinance 24-19 » click here

ISSUE/ACTION REQUESTED:
Transfer excess unassigned general fund balance over 70% to the Beach and Inlet Capital Reserve Fund.

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE OF REQUEST:
The town’s fund balance policy sets target fund balance between 40%-70%.

FINANCE RECOMMENDATION:
Recommend transferring an amount less than the full amount taking into account a possible large stormwater project in the near future.

Update –
The original motion made was to transfer the unassigned General fund balance of $2,783,382 to the Beach and Inlet Capital Reserve Fund per our own fund balance policy. Our Finance Officer proposed to not transfer the entire balance at this time. If they put it in this fund they can’t use it for anything else, which is the point of moving it there. After some discussion they agreed to hold back $300,000 for currently unfunded expenses. The motion made was to transfer unassigned General fund balance of $2,483,382 to the Beach and Inlet Capital Reserve Fund

A decision was made – Approved (3-2)
Commissioners Smith and Dyer opposed the motion


13.  Discussion and Possible Action on Proposal for Additional Areas of Concern for Stormwater from McGill Associates – Public Works Director Clemmons (Interim Town Manager Ferguson)
a.
Ordinance 24-20, An Ordinance Amending Ordinance 24-11, The Revenues and Appropriations Ordinance for Fiscal Year 24-25 (Amendment No. 5)

Agenda Packet – pages 54 – 59

Ordinance 24-20 » click here

ISSUE/ACTION REQUESTED:
Consideration and possible action on the requested proposal from McGill regarding additional areas of concern for stormwater.

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE OF REQUEST:
McGill completed a proposal for the board’s consideration after the BOC expressed interest in adding areas of concern to the approved stormwater master plan. If the board chooses to move forward a budget amendment would be needed.

ASSISTANT TOWN MANAGER’S RECOMMENDATION:
Receive proposal and consider award should BOC want to add additional areas of study to the plan.


The BOC asked that McGill be contacted regarding additional areas of concern for the stormwater master plan. The attached proposal involves survey work and analysis to add three streets at the east end of the island and canal streets. It projects a six-month deliverable following a notice to proceed at a price of $76,100. Michael Norton will be available by phone to answer any questions the board may have during this agenda item .


Previously reported – March 2024
Stormwater Project Partnership Agreement (PPA)

Town staff met with USACE Program Manager in February to develop a draft PPA

Awaiting draft PPA for about a half dozen projects for an estimated cost of two (2) million dollars

The intent is to position the Town to receive federal stormwater funding for these projects

Previously reported – June 2024
Representatives from McGill Associates did a slide presentation which was not included in the agenda packet but is available with the link below. They reviewed their analysis for the six (6) areas of concern. They provided a probable construction range of cost estimate based on current construction costs with the overall cost total will be in excess of two (2) million dollars. Scenario A assumes 100% of the projected capital investment needs are funded by user fees generated by the stormwater utility. Based on the project cost of capital stormwater projects and on-going and planned maintenance for the stormwater system they recommend proceeding with implementation of Scenario A with an initial flat rate of $7.20/month for each parcel on the island. The plan is current and incorporated the additional asphalt from the Ocean Boulevard resurfacing and bike lane project in their analysis, so they don’t think it had a significant impact.

No decision was made – No action taken

Animated Image of a Old Man with My Two Cents TextThe Ocean Boulevard resurfacing and bike lane project has eliminated some of the areas of concern and has created some new ones.

Previously reported – August 2024
The proposed  resolution is a plan to forward and address our stormwater issues. It is simply a guideline, which we can refine, prioritize, and enables us to apply for funding. David stressed the approval of this plan will allow us to move forward strategically, and that they need to adopt the plan. It’s hard to ask for grants if you don’t have a plan. The motion was made to move forward with the plan as submitted. They stated that this is not a panacea, but just our first step to address stormwater issues.

Previously reported – October 2024
ISSUE/ ACTION REQUESTED:
Discussion and possible action on an amendment to the Stormwater Master Plan

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE OF REQUEST:
At the August BOC meeting, a resolution was passed to adopt the Stormwater Master Plan. The Town is now proceeding to obtain grants and external funding to implement the plan. Once we have applied and been accepted for funding, we will likely be restricted to spending it only on the areas defined in the plan.


There are two additional areas on the island that have significant flooding issues: OBE to the east of the entrance to Dunescape, and the canal streets. We should consider adding these areas to the plan before we apply for any grants or funding that would restrict our scope to only the six identified areas.

Possible Action:
Obtain a quote from McGill and Associates to amend the plan to include these new areas.

The discussion was about adding other locations to the stormwater plan as part of grant application. They agreed to appended the existing stormwater plan to add two (2) projects. The first is OBE to the east of the entrance to Dunescape, and the second is the canal streets. Tom wanted them to consider adding these areas to the plan before we apply for any grants or funding. There was agreement on adding the locations, not so much about applying for funding before they are added. David said that he plans on getting it done as soon as they can, but they  may not be able to include them in the grant application. The Board directed the staff to contact McGill Associates for a proposal for the additional locations.

A decision was made – Approved (4-1)
Commissioner Smith opposed the motion

Update –
The Board accepted the submitted proposal from McGill Associates to add additional areas of concern to the Stormwater Master Plan. Motion was  made to move forward including approving the budget amendment.

A decision was made – Approved unanimously


14.   Discussion and Possible Action to Terminate the Agreement for Holden Beach Pier Design Between the Town and Bowman Murray Heminway Architects – Town Attorney Sydnee Moore (Mayor Pro Tem Myers and Commissioner Thomas)

Agenda Packet – page 60

ISSUE/ACTION REQUESTED:
Motion/Discussion/Vote to Terminate the 18 April 2023 Agreement for Holden Beach Pier Design between Town of Holden Beach and Bowman Murray Hemingway Architects, PC for convenience and direct Town Attorney to send written notice informing Architect of BOC decision to terminate as Agreement requires.

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE OF REQUEST:
It is my understanding that the contract for Holden Beach Pier Design between the Town of Holden Beach and Bowman Murray Hemingway Architects, PC dated 18 April 2023 was never terminated by either side when project was suspended , and it is questionable as to whether the completed portion of the contract rises to “Substantial Completion” threshold needed to automatically terminate the Agreement (Section 9.8). Out of an abundance of caution to avoid future issues under GS 143-64.31 for RFQ respondents and the Town of HB, it is advised that the BOC tem1inate the contract with Bowman Murray Hemingway Architects, PC to allow a blank slate for the RFQ discussion and/or selection for actions potentially taken later in this meeting . Section 9.5 of the Agreement allows Owner (Town of HB) to terminate the agreement with at least seven (7) days’ written notice to the Architect for Owner’s convenience and without cause. This decision to terminate the 18 April 2023 Agreement will not preclude the Town of HB from selecting Bowman Murray Hemingway Architects, PC from the pool of pier RFQ’s to be discussed later in this meeting if the Board wishes to do so.

Update –
The contract with the Bowman Murray Hemingway Architects is still active. The Town needs to terminate the Bowman Murray Hemingway Architects contract before moving forward with the Pier Request for Qualifications, which is the next agenda item. We have already paid for the work that was completed on it. Motion was made to terminate the contract and have the town attorney to send written notice to the architects informing them of the Board’s decision.

A decision was made – Approved unanimously


16.   Receive Request for Qualifications for Pier and Direct Staff on Next Steps – Interim Town Manager Ferguson

Agenda Packet – page 61, plus separate packets

BMH Response » click here

HDR Response
» click here

MidAtlantic Response
» click here

Greene Response
» click here

ISSUE/ACTION REQUESTED:
Receive RFQ’s for pier and direct staff on next steps.

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE OF REQUEST:
A Request for Qualifications (RFQ) was issued with four responses received. The intent is for the BOC to receive proposals at the December meeting and direct staff on next steps and how the BOC would like to evaluate qualifications.

INTERIM TOWN MANAGER’S RECOMMENDATION:
Receive responses and direct staff on next steps.

Update –
The Town received four (4) responses to the RFQ. The request informed interested parties on what criteria they would use to make their selection. The proposals are for the development of preliminary designs and cost estimates for repair or replacement of the Town pier property. Commissioner Thomas made a motion to direct the staff to award the contract to HDR and move forward as appropriate. Apparently they were ready to move forward, and don’t want to delay this project anymore than it has been already.

A decision was made – Approved unanimously

Editor’s note –
A request for qualifications is a document that asks potential suppliers or vendors to detail their background and experience providing a specific good or service. In this case, the buyer is only concerned about the vendor’s skills and experience. Professionals responding will be selected solely based on their qualifications and not on price. Once a firm is selected the Town will negotiate a contract for the desired services. Therefore, the response is not a bid.


16.   Discussion and Possible Action on Issuing a Request for Proposals for Executive Search Firm – Mayor Pro Tem Myers and Commissioner Thomas

Agenda Packet – pages 62 – 74

ISSUE/ACTION REQUESTED:
Discussion and possible action on issuing an RFP for executive search firm services.

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE OF REQUEST:
An executive search firm is needed to support the town in identifying and hiring a new town manager.

Typical services include:

    • Conducting kick-off meeting(s) to launch the search
    • Working with the BOC and key stakeholders to determine goals, objectives, and desired future state
    • Creating a marketing brochure describing the Town and the Town Manager position
    • Advertising and marketing the position
    • Actively recruiting and soliciting candidates
    • Pre-screening candidates to identify qualified individuals
    • Conducting initial interviews
    • Performing background checks and vetting candidates to create a recommended shortlist
    • Presenting the shortlist to the BOC for consideration and determination of finalists
    • Performing reference checks on finalists
    • Facilitating finalist interviews with the BOC and key stakeholders
    • Assisting in drafting and presenting an offer and contract to selected candidate
    • Facilitating introduction and onboarding of the selected candidate

The NC League of Municipalities has provided an example RFP from the Town of Waxhaw that we can use as a template for our RFP.

Possible Action:
Direct town staff to 1) develop an RFP for the services listed above using the materials from the NCLM as a template; and 2) provide a copy of the RFP to the BOC ASAP. If the BOC doesn’t contact the Town Clerk with concerns by January 3rd, RFP will be issued.

Update –
The decision made was to engage an executive search firm to provide services to help us with the hiring process. The NC League of Municipalities has provided us a template to assist us to develop an RFP. The Board directed the town staff to develop a Request for Proposal as soon as possible.

A decision was made – Approved (3-2)
Commissioners Smith and Dyer opposed the motion

Animated Image of a Old Man with My Two Cents Text

I don’t think we have to necessarily promote Christy and definitely don’t think that it should be a foregone conclusion. We need to search for the best qualified candidate. who meet the specific job requirements we have for our town manager position.


General Comments –


Town Hall Closed
Town Hall will be closed December 24th, 25th, 26th and January 1st in observance of the holidays.

BOC’s Meeting
The Board of Commissioners’ next Regular Meeting is scheduled on the third Tuesday of the month, January 21st


 It’s not like they don’t have anything to work on …

The following eight (8) items are what’s In the Works/Loose Ends queue:

        • Accommodation/Occupancy Tax Compliance
        • Audio/Video Broadcast
        • Block Q Project/Carolina Avenue
        • Dog Park
        • Fire Station Project
        • Pavilion Replacement
        • Pier Properties Project
        • Rights-of-Way

The definition of loose ends is a fragment of unfinished business or a detail that is not yet settled or explained, which is the current status of these items. All of these items were started and then put on hold, and they were never put back in the queue. This Board needs to continue working on them and move these items to closure.


.

Lost in the Sauce –

.

 


Beach Mat Plan
Previously reported – December 2022
Timbo made a presentation that considers both regulations and policies that needs to be considered in order to develop a plan. Staff made recommendations where mats could be utilized. Let’s just say that it’s a work in progress for now.

Previously reported – September 2022
Request for staff opinion on moving forward with planning for dry sand placement of mats at select THB public accesses to enhance handicap access to the beach based on information in the CRC-22-17 document (provided as background). Request for staff opinion to allow residential use of mats for beach walkways, including consideration as a potential solution to debris concerns arising from construction of long wooden walkways over multiple dunes.

Memo from North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality
Last year, the Commission amended the rules that established specific use standards  for structural pedestrian accessways (dune crossovers) that allow for public access to the beach. You will recall that the use standards previously limited these accessways to elevated, piled-supported structures terminating on the beach near the seaward toe of the frontal dune. Due to numerous local governments expressing interest in using synthetic or wooden roll-out matting as a handicap-accessible alternative for beach access, the accessway rules were amended to allow the use of these types of mats for public beach access. However, the use these materials was limited to State, federal or local governments due to concerns expressed by the NC Wildlife Resources Commission (NC WRC) and the U.S . Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) about potential adverse impacts on sea turtle habitat resulting from their use waterward of the frontal dune.

 Since the amendments went into effect, Staff has had further discussion regarding the use of beach matting for residential applications as an alternative to structural accessways. As you are aware, during storms, dune crossovers (including stairways) can account for a great deal of the debris that wind up scattered across beaches and in waterways. Staff believes that by limiting matting to the same general standards that apply to structural accessways (six feet wide and no farther waterward than six feet from the toe of the dune), public access and wildlife protection goals will be met while reducing debris on the state’s beach during storm events. Residential application of matting material would adhere to the same standards previously approved including installation at grade and prohibiting extension onto the public trust beach.

 In addition, in recent years the Commission has approved three petitions for variances from local governments (Carolina Beach, Topsail Beach and Kure Beach) seeking to install beach mats on the dry sand beach (seaward of the frontal or primary dune and vegetation line) in support of enhanced handicap accessibility. The Division and Commission have supported both variance petitions, and in both cases, efforts were taken to minimize risks to sea turtles, including changes in siteing, size, and orientation of the proposed structures. However, following the Commission’s variance and issuance of a CAMA Minor Permit to the Town for installation of beach mats, the Town still assumes some liability for any “takes” of threatened or endangered species under the federal Endangered Species Act. For this reason, DCM has advised the Towns to consult directly with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to resolve this situation, potentially through the development of “Habitat Conservation Plans” or other formal approvals that can be issued by the USFWS for non-federal entities in accordance with the Endangered Species Act.

Staff are proposing a change to 07H.0308(c)(2)(C) to potentially allow beach mats on the dry sand beach without the need for a variance from the Commission, where they are sponsored by a local government for the purpose of enhanced handicap accessibility and are subject to review by the NC WRC and USFWS. The proposed amendments to 07K .0207 would also add residential use of matting material to the exemption language for beach accessways.

Mobi-Mat » click here

Coastal Resources Commission expands exemptions for beach mats
The NC Coastal Resources Commission approved new guidelines on Thursday that allows beach mats to be used in more ways. In a memo from the NC Department of Environmental Quality, staff says towns like Carolina Beach, Kure Beach, and Topsail Beach have petitioned to install the mats closer to the water. Additionally, staff says they’ve also had several requests from oceanfront homeowners to install the mats for private beach access instead of a typical wooden walkway. The commission approved an amendment at its meeting in Wilmington on Thursday allowing mats sponsored by local governments to be installed on dry sand without a variance from the commission. The amendment also allows the residential use of the matting for beach walkways.


The NC Coastal Resources Commission approved new guidelines that allows beach mats to be used in more ways. Public Comments speaker pointed out that accessibility is a need not a want. Discussion to allow dry sand placement of mats at some public beach accesses for handicap use and possibly for residential walkways too. Commissioner Kwiatkowski would like to see this done for next season. The motion made was to have staff make recommendation where mats can be utilized.


2023

Rules of Procedure
The Board is required to adopt some version of the Rules of Procedure each year.

Rules of Procedure 2024 » click here


Budget Season
They have not established the budget meeting schedule yet.

Budget Calendar
The Town Manager’s proposed budget is due by June 1st
Commissioners must adopt budget no later than June 30th for the next fiscal year
Adopting the annual budget is a primary responsibility of the Board.




Hurricane Season
For more information » click here.

Be prepared – have a plan!


This year’s Atlantic hurricane season is officially over
The season proved hyperactive, with five hurricanes hitting the United States.
Coastal residents can now take a collective deep breath — hurricane season is now technically over. By the books, Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 to Nov. 30. While surprises can happen, a hurricane has never hit the Lower 48 outside this window, according to records that date back to 1861. Five hurricanes slammed the United States. Four alone reached at least Florida. According to some estimates, damage exceeded $190 billion. More than 200 people died as a result of Helene, making it the deadliest mainland U.S. storm since Katrina — though thousands died in Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory, when Maria hit in September 2017. The season has been a hyperactive one. That’s according to ACE, or Accumulated Cyclone Energy — a metric that estimates how much energy storms churn through and expend on strong winds. A typical hurricane season averages 122.5 ACE units. This season has featured 161.6 units — above the 159.6 unit threshold required for a season to be “hyperactive.” That’s in line with preseason forecasts, which pointed toward anomalously warm ocean waters and a burgeoning La Niña pattern. La Niñas, which begin as a cooling of water temperatures in the eastern tropical Pacific, tend to feature enhanced upward motion in the air over the Atlantic.
Read more » click here

Atlantic hurricane season races to finish within range of predicted number of named storms
2024 season came roaring back despite slowdown during typical peak period
The 2024 Atlantic hurricane season, which officially ends on Nov. 30, showcased above-average activity, with a record-breaking ramp up following a peak-season lull. The Atlantic basin saw 18 named storms in 2024 (winds of 39 mph or greater). Eleven of those were hurricanes (winds of 74 mph or greater) and five intensified to major hurricanes (winds of 111 mph or greater). Five hurricanes made landfall in the continental U.S., with two storms making landfall as major hurricanes. The Atlantic seasonal activity fell within the predicted ranges for named storms and hurricanes issued by NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center in the 2024 August Hurricane Season Outlook. An average season produces 14 named storms, seven hurricanes and three major hurricanes. “As hurricanes and tropical cyclones continue to unleash deadly and destructive forces, it’s clear that NOAA’s critical science and services are needed more than ever by communities, decision makers and emergency planners,” said NOAA Administrator, Rick Spinrad, Ph.D. “I could not be more proud of the contributions of our scientists, forecasters, surveyors, hurricane hunter pilots and their crews for the vital role they play in helping to safeguard lives and property.” Twelve named storms formed after the climatological peak of the season in early September. Seven hurricanes formed in the Atlantic since September 25 — the most on record for this period. “The impactful and deadly 2024 hurricane season started off intensely, then relaxed a bit before roaring back,” said Matthew Rosencrans, lead hurricane forecaster at NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center, a division of NOAA’s National Weather Service. “Several possible factors contributed to the peak season lull in the Atlantic region. The particularly intense winds and rains over Western Africa created an environment that was less hospitable for storm development.”
Read more » click here


My Xmas
I respectfully submit My Xmas List

These are the items I would most like to see addressed this year.
. 1.
Beach
. a)
Support LWF Inlet waterway maintenance projects, keeping inlet navigable
. b)
Work together on beach protection issues with surrounding communities
. c)
Increase Beach Strand Ordinance Compliance & Enforcement
.

. 2.
Parking
. a)
Develop plans for a promenade on Jordan Boulevard
. b)
Utilize acquired properties for additional parking
. c)
Prohibit rights-of-way parking

. 3. Trash Services
. a)
Offer a suite of services
. b)
Charge a user fee for those that want the service
. c)
Make policies both fair and consistent
. d) Town should address noncompliance issues

. 4. Budget Season
. a)
Start the budget process earlier
. b)
Establish a monthly budget meeting schedule


Lou’s Views –
The views expressed here are simply my opinion based on the facts as I understand them. I have no hidden agenda, no ax to grind, or any political ambition. I’m simply attempting to keep the community informed on what actually is going on here. I just tell it like it is and that is why people read the newsletter. After all it is called “Lou’s Views”! I welcome updates, clarifications or a correction to any fact I have stated which have changed or was inadvertently stated incorrectly.


Website policy –
We have had a number of inquiries about our website policies. We do not have an official policy per se. In general, we do not accept paid ads, associates or links for our website. Approved Vendor List as well as Advertisement – not paid for is based on my personal experience as a homeowner and as a property manager here on Holden Beach. Associates are simply personal friends that have a local business. Links are to websites that provide information that are of public significance. We invite you to share with us anything that you feel our readers would want to know too. We hope you find our website useful.


Request –
We encourage you to pass along this newsletter to anyone else you think would enjoy it. We would like to include other members of the community and are asking for your help in making that happen. To be added to our distribution list send an e-mail to [email protected] or subscribe on our website https://lousviews.com.

Thank you for subscribing!


Disclaimer –
. 1) Not official correspondence from the Town
. 2)
Not affiliated with Holden Beach Property Owners Association (HBPOA)


Wishing you and yours a Happy Holiday!

Wishing you and yours a Happy Holiday!


 Do you enjoy this newsletter?
Then please forward it to a friend!


Lou’s Views . HBPOIN

.                                          • Gather and disseminate information
.                               • Identify the issues and determine how they affect you

.                               • Act as a watchdog
.                               • Grass roots monthly newsletter since 2008

https://lousviews.com/

12 – News & Views

Lou’s Views
News & Views / December Edition


Calendar of Events –


NA


TDA - logoDiscover a wide range of things to do in the Brunswick Islands for an experience that goes beyond the beach.
For more information » click here.


Calendar of Events Island –


NA


Parks & Recreation / Programs & Events
For more information » click here


Reminders –


Icon of Email News, text on White BackgroundNews from Town of Holden Beach
The town sends out emails of events, news, agendas, notifications, and emergency information. If you would like to be added to their mailing list, please go to their web site to complete your subscription to the Holden Beach E-Newsletter.
For more information »
click here



Paid Parking
Paid parking will be enforced in all Holden Beach designated parking areas. It will be enforced from 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. daily, with free parking before and after that time. All parking will use license plates for verification. 

Visit https://hbtownhall.com/paid-parking for more information and to view a table with authorized parking areas. 


Solid Waste Pick-Up Schedule
GFL Environmental change in service, October through May trash pickup will be once a week. This year September 28th will be the  the last Saturday trash pick-up until June. Trash collection will go back to Tuesdays only.

Please note:
. • Trash carts must be at the street by 6:00 a.m. on the pickup day
. • BAG the trash before putting it in the cart
. • Carts will be rolled back to the front of the house


GFL Refuse Collection Policy
GFL has recently notified all Brunswick County residents that they will no longer accept extra bags of refuse outside of the collection cart. This is not a new policy but is stricter enforcement of an existing policy. While in the past GFL drivers would at times make exceptions and take additional bags of refuse, the tremendous growth in housing within Brunswick County makes this practice cost prohibitive and causes drivers to fall behind schedule.


Solid Waste Pick-up Schedule –

starting October once a week 

Recycling

starting October every other week  pick-up 


Yard Waste Service, second and Fourth Fridays, April and MayYard Waste Service
Yard debris is collected on the second (2nd) and fourth (4th) Fridays during the months of October, November, and December. Yard debris needs to be secured in a biodegradable bag (not plastic) or bundled in a maximum length not to exceed five (5) feet and fifty (50) pounds in weight. Each residence is allowed a total of ten (10) items, which can include a combination of bundles of brush and limbs meeting the required length and weight and/ or biodegradable bags. Picks-ups are not provided for vacant lots or construction sites. 


Curbside Recycling – 2024Curbside Recycling
GFL Environmental is now offering curbside recycling for Town properties that desire to participate in the service. The service cost per cart is $119.35 annually paid in advance to the Town of Holden Beach. The service consists of a ninety-six (96) gallon cart that is emptied every other week during the months of October – May and weekly during the months of June – September. 
Curbside Recycling Application » click here
Curbside Recycling Calendar » click here


GFL trash can at a beautiful green land


Trash Can Requirements – Rental Properties
GFL Environmental – trash can requirements
Ordinance 07-13, Section 50.08

Rental properties have specific number of trash cans based on number of bedrooms.

* One extra trash can per every 2 bedrooms
.
.

 § 50.08 RENTAL HOMES.
(A) Rental homes, as defined in Chapter 157, that are rented as part of the summer rental season, are subject to high numbers of guests, resulting in abnormally large volumes of trash. This type of occupancy use presents a significantly higher impact than homes not used for summer rentals. In interest of public health and sanitation and environmental concerns, all rental home shall have a minimum of one trash can per two bedrooms. Homes with an odd number of bedrooms shall round up (for examples one to two bedrooms – one trash can; three to four bedrooms – two trash cans; five – six bedrooms – three trash cans, and the like).


Building Numbers
Ocean front homes are required to have house numbers visible from the beach strand.
Please call Planning and Inspections Department at 910.842.6080 with any questions.

§157.087 BUILDING NUMBERS.

(A) The correct street number shall be clearly visible from the street on all buildings. Numbers shall be block letters, not script, and of a color clearly in contrast with that of the building and shall be a minimum of six inches in height.

(B) Beach front buildings will also have clearly visible house numbers from the strand side meeting the above criteria on size, contrast, etc. Placement shall be on vertical column supporting deck(s) or deck roof on the primary structure. For buildings with a setback of over 300 feet from the first dune line, a vertical post shall be erected aside the walkway with house numbers affixed. In all cases the numbers must be clearly visible from the strand. Other placements may be acceptable with approval of the Building Inspector.


Upon Further Review –


Wildlife officials push back on straw bales for sand fencing
Thorough research needs to be done on how wheat straw bales might affect oceanfront habitat before the state allows them to be used as an alternative to sand fencing, a state wildlife official said. The North Carolina State Wildlife Resources Commission has repeatedly stated its concerns in recent years about straw bales being used as a tool to protect and build up oceanfront dunes, Maria Dunn said in a recent meeting of the state Coastal Resources Commission. Dunn, who is with Wildlife Resources Commission’s Habitat Conservation Program, said that the agency understands the desire to try and maintain shorelines, but pointed out what she said are “significant differences” between traditional sand fencing and bales. “We have not objected to traditional use of sand-fencing material as long as installation was done in a manner to effectively collect wind-blown sand and not impede or block areas of the shore for public use and wildlife habitat,” Dunn said at the coastal commission’s Nov. 13 meeting. “Appropriate installation includes the location along the appropriate area of the beach profile, orientation and alignment of fencing, distance between fencing, and length of fencing down the beach profile.” The proposed rule change the coastal commission approved in April establishes specific guidelines for where and how bales may be placed on a beachfront. But the potential impacts to shoreline habitat and the animals, including endangered species and plants, that rely on that sandy habitat, remain grossly understudied, Dunn said. “It was asked if research was available on how bales impact wildlife resources on habitats on ocean shorelines,” she said. “But since they are not permitted on any other Atlantic shoreline’s state shore there is no research or data available to share with you.” The rule amendment was introduced as a way to help save permittees from waiting for sand fencing to become available during times when it is in high demand. But unlike traditional sand fencing, straw bales could potentially introduce invasive and nonnative ocean shoreline plant species to shores, influence sand temperatures and, when initially installed, take up 48 times the area that traditional sand fencing uses, Dunn said. Under the proposed rule amendment, bales cannot be placed in sections more than 10 feet long, 2 feet wide and 3 feet high and ties or binding must be removed from the bales. A permittee must repair or remove damaged, nonfunctioning, or bales sections or stakes moved from the alignment in which they were authorized. Only local governments, state and federal agencies and large, oceanfront homeowners associations would be permitted to use bales. A state Division of Coastal Management official told the Coastal Resources Commission in August that the division does not expect a significant uptick in the use of straw bales because they tend to cost more than traditional sand fencing, which would need to be replaced more frequently than fencing, and the verdict is still out on how efficiently bales trap sand. Ocean Isle Beach became the first in the state to test straw bales on a portion of its ocean shore in 2023. Ocean Isle Beach Mayor Debbie Smith told Coastal Review in late August that the bales worked well, were cheaper than sand fencing and easily accessible during a time when the town could not get sand fencing because of high demand. Dunn said that the town’s pilot program was monitored by little more than photographic documentation and some surface temperature readings. There was no designed, controlled experiment comparing different bale installments to traditional sand fencing to see which application best collected windblown said, she said. “We would recommend that such an experiment is designed with input from state and federal agencies to determine the best type of sand management tools to collect sand for dune structure while minimizing impacts to wildlife resources,” Dunn said. Smith said in a telephone interview Tuesday afternoon that she never saw a Wildlife Resources Commission representative visit the island to check sand temperatures at turtle nests or conduct other monitoring. “On any decision we have to make we can always say ‘what if,’” Smith said. “She has no evidence of some of those what-ifs. I don’t think anybody wants to do any environmental damage.” The town is working on a dune project that will begin sometime this winter. Since the proposed rule amendments have not been made formative, the town has opted to use traditional sand fencing “to move our project along and get it permitted,” Smith said. Sand temperatures play a significant role in determining the sex of sea turtles in a nest. Dunn said that a half-degree variation can change how many males or females are within a nest and possibly whether a nest remains viable. Temperatures were not taken at sea turtle nest cavity depths in Ocean Isle Beach, she said. “We don’t want to artificially create more females,” said Deb Allen, Ocean Isle Beach Sea Turtle Protection Organization coordinator. “We need a balance of males to females.” Allen pointed to studies that show when nests incubate at higher temperatures it can affect the physical and cognitive abilities of hatchlings, slowing them in their ability to make it from the shore to the ocean. “We want them to come out of that nest and we want them to crawl to that ocean as fast as possible,” she said. The coastal commission in August unanimously approved the fiscal impact analysis of the proposed rule. The fiscal analysis measures how a rule may affect a government’s revenue and expenditures to help prepare for or prevent budget shortfalls. The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality, or DEQ, and Office of State Budget and Management also approved the fiscal analysis. A public hearing on the proposed amended rule was held Oct. 30 in Morehead City. The public comment period on the rule ends December 2. The division has not yet received comments from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, according to its public information officer, Christy Simmons. The wildlife service did not respond to a request for comment in time for publication. Division officials anticipate that the amended rule will become effective April 1, 2025.
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Teetering on the edge: How North Carolina communities are dealing with disappearing beaches
A slow-motion catastrophe is eating away beaches from the Outer Banks to Brunswick County as rising seas and stronger storms batter the state’s coast. But solutions aren’t easy, popular or cheap.
Under sunny and warm late-October skies, Frank Thompson picked the fishing rods out of his pickup while his sons grabbed the bucket and rest of the fishing gear. The Ohio native was making his annual pilgrimage to the N.C. coast, and this year he had decided to give Topsail Island specifically North Topsail Beach a try because he had heard the fish were running strong and the beaches weren’t crowded. What he hadn’t expected, though, was finding enough beach at high tide to actually have the space to cast. “We’ve got maybe 2 to 3 feet at the toe of the dunes, so that should be fine,” Thompson said with a smile as waves lapped under some of the threatened oceanfront homes at the Onslow County beach town’s northern tip. “And if we get wet, we get wet.” While Rodanthe on the Outer Banks became North Carolina’s poster child this past summer for collapsing homes and the inevitability of Mother Nature winning the oceanfront battle as seas continue to rise and climate change fuels bigger and stronger storms, it is at the northern end of Topsail Island where the struggle is even potentially more dire. And while erosion has been a problem in North Topsail for a long time, thanks in large part to the adjacent New River Inlet, a permanent answer appears no closer today than in past decades. “No, there really is no long-term solution that will bring the beach back,” said Dr. Robert Young, director of the Program for the Study of Developed Shorelines at Western Carolina University. “These areas near inlets are the most dynamic areas along barrier islands, and unfortunately that’s what we’re seeing and have been seeing in North Topsail Beach.”

‘A tough spot for everyone’
Since 1964 when the first federal nourishment project pumped sand onto Carolina Beach’s eroded beach, mining offshore sand to rebuild battered beaches has been North Carolina’s go-to to keep its sandy strips plump for tourists and to protect pricey oceanfront property. But pumping sand isn’t practical for all parts of the coast and is increasingly becoming more challenging, due to a declining supply of compatible sand to meet all the demands especially for Brunswick County beach towns and the rising costs of nourishment projects. These increasing obstacles come as the threats to oceanfront properties continue to rise, notably due to climate change. According to a review of 2020 imagery by the N.C. Division of Coastal Management, more than 750 of the state’s 8,777 oceanfront structures were considered at risk from oceanfront erosion, with no dune or vegetation between them and the Atlantic. In many beach towns, property owners and sometimes local governments have installed sandbags to hold back the encroaching ocean, although environmentalists and other say the temporary structures do little but shift the sand-eating waves to neighboring sections of the beach often prompting the installation of more sandbags. In places like Rodanthe and North Topsail Beach, where money for beach nourishment is in short supply, another factor is at play. Natural elements have conspired to prevent either area from naturally or easily re-establishing their dune lines. In Rodanthe, the foil is largely powerful ocean currents. At the north end of Topsail Island, New River Inlet and a relatively flat topography combine to work against an easy or cheap solution to the chronic erosion woes. Since 2020, 10 homes, and five just this year, have fallen into the Atlantic in Rodanthe, most recently on Sept. 24. The resulting debris fields have spread far and wide along Hatteras Island, impacting the environment and forcing the closure of beach areas in the nearby Cape Fear National Seashore and Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge due to public health and safety concerns. The potential losses in the more densely populated northern end of North Topsail, where walls of sandbags taller than a basketball net protect some oceanfront homes and condos, could easily exceed those numbers. “It really is a challenging situation, a tough spot for everyone up there because these temporary Band-Aid solutions like adding more sand are providing benefits that are having shorter and shorter lifespans,” said Kerri Allen, coastal management program director with the N.C. Coastal Federation.

Rising costs and limited benefits
North Topsail isn’t the only beach town in Southeastern N.C. or even on Topsail Island dealing with a disappearing beach and its knock-on effect on coastal economies that rely on tourists to put heads in beds and valuable beach property to fill local coffers. In Surf City, which occupies the mid-section of Topsail Island, the town is finalizing its plans with the Army Corps of Engineers for a long-term federal nourishment project to boost its eroded strand. The 50-year project, which is estimated to cost at least $187 million over its lifespan, with Washington covering 65% of the cost and the state and Surf City splitting the remaining 35%, could start late next year if all the necessary permits and other regulatory approvals are secured. The first phase of construction would see an estimated 7.9 million cubic yards of sand pumped onto the town’s nearly 6-mile-long beach, with further nourishments taking place roughly every six years. In Topsail Beach, which covers the bottom third of Topsail Island, the town earlier this year wrapped up a roughly $25 million beach nourishment project that it largely paid for itself. North Topsail Beach also has aggressively been moving to shore up its beachfront with several different nourishment projects. But a big chunk of the town is in a Coastal Barrier Resources Act (CBRA) zone, a classification that prevents the expenditure of federal dollars on projects  including beach nourishment in hazardous coastal areas. That means the town has to dip into its own budget to fund the work or seek aid from the state. While North Topsail has a shoreline protection fund, which includes revenue generated from the town’s accommodation tax and paid parking and collects about $5 million a year, and dedicates significant capital funds annually to beach projects, that doesn’t go very far when you have 11 miles of shoreline to maintain and protect. In some cases, the state has stepped up to help out including a $10.5 million grant to support a 2.5-mile beach nourishment south of the north end that’s going to kick off later this year. Those budgetary pressures played a large role in the town withdrawing from Surf City’s federal nourishment project, which originally was supposed to also include nourishing 4 miles of beach in North Topsail. Town officials said the price tag of North Topsail’s portion jumped nearly 200% between 2012 and 2021 to almost $34 million.

‘Financial calculus just doesn’t work’
The general idea of retreat or relocation of threatened structures isn’t often embraced by local officials, who face challenges from unwilling sellers to a lack of money to fund buyouts to questionable political will to pursue pulling back especially when it could mean abandoning some of a beach town’s most valuable tax base. Environmentalists and others, though, say retreat is coming. The only question is whether it will be managed, done in a controlled way, or unmanaged as historically has been the case in most areas. Five years ago, Young’s team from Western Carolina came up with a different proposal for North Topsail Beach than simply throwing good money – or sand – after bad money. In short, the authors suggested that instead of spending those resources on 7% of the town’s tax base that is seriously at-risk, dedicate them to the 93% of the town’s tax base that is sustainable over the next 30 years. “It’s clearly cheaper for the town in the long run than simply trying to hold the line,” he said. “The financial calculus just doesn’t work to keep fighting the sea.” The paper suggested the town look into buying out the nearly 300 at-risk properties and parcels at the north end. The 2019 paper said the purchase cost would be nearly $55 million but would generate about $58 million in benefits – representing a savings of roughly $3 million over 30 years. “The fiscal analysis does not include many unquantifiable benefits from the proposed targeted acquisition,” the report states. “These include the transfer of amenity value to other properties, reduced emergency management costs for the municipality, reduced need for consulting engineering fees, improved beach access for all residents and renters, and, quite frankly, no more ugly sand bags and a return of a recreational beach that all residents and guests can enjoy.”

Terminal groin in the cards?
The proposal wasn’t pursued by North Topsail officials at the time, and Town Manager Alice Derian said town officials haven’t discussed a potential buyout program for north end property owners in recent times. Recent efforts to stabilize and enhance the beach at the town’s north end include a 2023 corps’ project that saw 160,000 cubic yards of sand dredged from New River Inlet placed on the north end. Then last year, the town and FEMA paid for trucked-in sand to be dumped in front of some of the threatened structures. In both cases, the sand didn’t last. Derian said North Topsail also is looking to see if it can potentially secure government help to replace roughly 88,000 cubic yards of sand, much of it at the north end, which was washed away by the unnamed storm that pummeled and swamped much of Southeastern North Carolina in September. Future efforts include another injection of fresh sand from the corps’ dredging of New River Inlet and, very far out, potentially the construction of a terminal groin. But that sort of project can take a decade to get permitted, and the construction and maintenance costs could easily reach $20 million or more. Young said North Topsail Beach and Rodanthe aren’t the country’s only coastal communities struggling with how to manage oceanfront areas beset with severe erosion woes. But with sea-level rise and more frequent and stronger storms likely and the rising cost of beach nourishment projects, beach towns are going to have to consider making tough choices. “This is not a proposal that would ruin your coastal economy but preserve your coastal economy by allowing you to invest your finite resources where it makes sense, and that’s so important,” Young said of the buyout study. “Places like North Topsail Beach need to come together as a community and have a real discussion about where they want to go moving forward.”
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Sand dollars: 12 things to know about NC’s coastal economy
The N.C. coast drives much of the economy in Eastern N.C. But maintaining the beaches that attracts millions of visitors a year isn’t cheap.
The coast is an economic engine for Eastern North Carolina, attracting millions of visitors every year who fill rental properties, lure new homeowners to the beach, and keep restaurants, bars and marinas busy in often isolated communities that might otherwise struggle to survive. But maintaining the drivers of that economy, namely keeping the beaches that lure the tourists to the coast wide and attractive, is becoming increasingly expensive and is a challenge that’s expected to increase in complexity and price in coming years as climate change keeps seas rising and storms getting bigger and stronger.

Here are things to know about North Carolina’s coastal economy.

      • $187 million: Estimated 50-year cost of Surf City federal nourishment project. 
      • $40 million: Estimated cost of Oak Island’s proposed nourishment project, half funded by a state grant.
      • $13.6 million: Cost of 2024 Wrightsville Beach federal nourishment project.
      • 2 million: Visitors to the N.C. coast in 2022.
      • 8,777: Number of oceanfront homes in N.C. as of 2020.
      • 1964: First federal beach nourishment project takes place in Carolina Beach.
      • 1,101: 2023 population of North Topsail Beach. 
      • 750: Estimated number of threatened N.C. oceanfront homes in 2020.
      • 320: Miles of N.C. ocean shoreline, roughly half of which is protected/undeveloped.
      • 22: Number of inlets along the N.C. coast.
      • 10: Homes in Rodanthe that have collapsed into the Atlantic since 2020. 
      • 4: Current number of N.C. beach towns that have federal beach nourishment projects (Wrightsville Beach, Carolina Beach, Kure Beach, Ocean Isle Beach).

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Corrections & Amplifications –


Home Sales Rounding Out Year At Steady Pace In Brunswick Co.
The residential real estate business found a steady groove all year in Brunswick County, a Realtors group said in its latest report. A news release from the Brunswick County Association of Realtors on Thursday stated that home sales remained strong through October and November. The year-to-date sales volume surpassed $2.5 billion, still ahead of last year’s pace, according to the release. In addition to strong sales, inventory reached levels not seen in several years, the report stated. “While rising inventory might be a warning sign of a slowing market in other areas, that’s not the case in Brunswick County,” said Cynthia Walsh, CEO of BCAR, in the release. “Home sales have been steady all year, in part because Brunswick County continues to be one of the fastest-growing counties in the state and nation. The increased supply is needed to meet the continued strong demand.” The BCAR report is based on statistics recorded in the regional multiple listing service (MLS). In November, new listings increased nearly 10% compared to last year, from 505 to 554. The number of units sold rose 6%, from 401 to 425. Average sale prices increased slightly, by 1.1%, rising from $486,919 to $492,324. Median sale prices also grew 2.5%, increasing from $365,000 to $374,000. Meanwhile, total sales volume jumped 7.2%, climbing from $195,254,439 to $209,237,493. The luxury market in BCAR’s territory remained strong in November, with 31 sales of $1 million or more, the release stated. “The largest transaction over the past two months occurred in Ocean Isle Beach and topped $4 million,” according to the release. The year-to-date sales volume through November totaled $2.5 billion, up from $2.3 billion at the same point in 2023. According to the report, the number of units sold through November was up 5.7% compared to last year, from 4,996 to 5,283, and new listings increased 18.8%, from 6,161 to 7,320.
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Zillow will now show climate risk data on home listings
The information is meant to help home buyers assess potential damage from extreme weather.
Potential home buyers are increasingly weighing the environmental threats their homes could face as the effects of climate change intensify across the United States. Eighty percent of buyers now consider climate risks when shopping for a home, according to a 2023 Zillow survey. To help homeowners navigate that uncertainty, Zillow is adding a climate risk threat score to every for-sale listing on its platform. Data from First Street Foundation, a nonprofit that assesses climate risk, will provide home buyers with scores that measure each property’s susceptibility to flood, wildfire, wind, heat and air quality risks. This information will be available on the Zillow app for iOS and website by the end of this year, while Android users will be able to access the data in early 2025, the company said in a release last month. Home buyers will be able to view this data on Zillow in two ways, either by looking at information within individual listings or by checking an interactive, color-coded map. The scores will display each home’s current climate risk, as well as the risk estimates for 15 and 30 years in the future — the most common terms for fixed-rate mortgages. Zillow also plans to offer tailored insurance recommendations to users alongside the risk information. First Street’s climate risk scores are established through models that measure the likelihood of a climate disaster in a given area and then the potential severity of the event, according to Matthew Eby, the company’s founder and chief executive. The company updates its models each year based on the natural disasters that have unfolded, Eby said. “This level of transparency is allowing people to choose the level of risk that they find comforting and then make an informed decision,” Eby said. “Will this change the buying experience? Absolutely.” The Zillow upgrade comes at an uncertain time for home buyers as climate change becomes more extreme. Some of the largest U.S. insurance companies have ended certain disaster protection coverage and raised premiums in response to climate risks, The Washington Post has reported. And more home listings today are affected by major climate risks compared to just five years ago, according to a report from Zillow published last month. Across all new home listings in August 2024, nearly 17 percent were at major risk of wildfire, while nearly 13 percent came with a major risk of flooding, the company said. This information could be especially valuable given that many states don’t require home sellers to disclose past flood or fire damage to potential buyers, even though more than 300,000 Americans moved to disaster-prone counties last year, The Post previously reported. A 2022 Post analysis of extreme flooding events across the country found that the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s flood maps fail to fully inform Americans of their flood risks. In a 2022 study published by real estate company Redfin, home buyers who had access to property listings that included flood risk information were less likely to view or bid on high-risk homes. That finding indicated a massive information gap for buyers regarding a home’s climate risk, according to some experts. “The information it provides is beneficial because otherwise, there’s just nothing out there for a home buyer or a renter to learn about the risk that they’re facing,” said Joel Scata, a senior environmental health attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Council. “Even if there’s debate over the methods used or the processes used, it’s better than nothing.” It’s difficult to determine the reliability of many climate risk models because the vast majority are not publicly accessible, said Benjamin Keys, a professor of real estate and finance at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School who has studied the effects of climate-change-fueled disasters on insurance markets. But since the amount of climate-threat information buyers typically have has been “astonishingly low” for years, any improvement would aid transparency in the industry, he added. Climate risk modeling experts are still developing the best possible way to measure the probability of flooding, fires and other natural disasters in any given area, notes Jesse Keenan, a professor of sustainable real estate and urban planning at Tulane University. The data provided from consumer-facing models can be “uneven” depending on where a person is house-hunting, because some risks have been studied more extensively in certain regions than others, he said. “They’re not great,” Keenan said. “Some places they work well, and there’s a lot of places where the uncertainty is greater than the value.” Still, most prospective home buyers will weigh climate risks early in the hunt, and data on these risks can help flag issues they should investigate further, Keenan emphasized. For example, if a score indicates that a house is at a high risk of flooding, home buyers should talk to neighbors about their experiences or show up to the property on a rainy day. The tool should signal the start of the information-gathering process about a home’s climate risk, rather than the end, Keys added.
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Flood history questions added to real estate disclosure form
Sometimes it’s a puzzle why people don’t ask more questions, such as, “Has the river that’s down your road ever flooded your house, the house I’m thinking of buying?” The maxim “buyer beware” is wise advice no matter where a house is situated, but it’s good to have rules in place to cover homebuyers’ backs for the things they overlook or wrongly assume. As of July 1, prospective real estate buyers in North Carolina must now be provided the required North Carolina Real Estate Commission residential disclosure form by the seller that for the first time includes questions related to a property’s flood risk. The change in the form was requested in a petition for rulemaking filed by the Southern Environmental Law Center in December 2022 on behalf of the Natural Resources Defense Council, or NRDC, the North Carolina Justice Center, MDC Inc., the North Carolina Disaster Recovery and Resiliency School, Robeson County Church and Community Center, and NC Field. “Most of those are small, local nonprofits that respond to disasters,” Brooks Rainey Pearson, senior attorney with the law center, told Coastal Review in an interview, referring to petitioners. “So, we really wanted to give a voice to the people on the ground who deal with the fallout from flooding.” Pearson said that the Real Estate Commission had quickly granted the petition at the time and agreed to add the questions proposed by petitioners. It was then delayed by mutual agreement, she said, to adjust the law to allow the commission to merely make changes in the form. That would avoid having to go through a lengthy rulemaking process. “It was a longer journey than it should have been, but not because of any pushback,” she said. “I think everyone understands that homebuyers deserve to know if the property has flooded before.” Questions about flooding that have been added to the disclosure statement include the following: Is the property located in a federal or other designated flood hazard zone? Has the property experienced damage due to flooding, water seepage or pooled water attributable to a natural event such as heavy rainfall, coastal storm surge, tidal inundation, or river overflow? Is there a current flood insurance policy covering the property? Is there a flood or Federal Emergency Management Agency elevation certificate for the property? Has (the property owner) ever filed a claim for flood damage to the property with any insurance provider, including the National Flood Insurance Program? The form also notes that the requirement to obtain flood insurance passes down to all future owners for those properties that have received disaster assistance. Joel Scata, senior attorney with the NRDC, a national environmental nonprofit organization that is one of the petitioners, said that in the past, the only flood information that had to be disclosed to homebuyers in North Carolina was whether the property was in a floodplain. “Now with the changes, a buyer is going to have access to much more detailed information,” he told Coastal Review. According to state law, residential property owners are required to complete the disclosure statement and provide it to a buyer before an offer is made to purchase the property. New construction or never-occupied properties are exempted. Every question must be answered with “Y,” “N,” “NR” or “NA” for “Yes,” “No,” “No Representation,” and “Not Applicable,” respectively. Despite stern language in the form about requirements, there is enough gray area to give pause to anyone with insight into human failings. “An owner is not required to disclose any of the material facts that have a NR option, even if they have knowledge of them,” the statement says. Also: “If an owner selects NR, it could mean that the owner (1) has knowledge of an issue and chooses not to disclose it; or (2) simply does not know.” The form does warn that failure to disclose hidden defects “may” result in civil liability. It also assures that if an owner selects “No,” it means that the owner is not aware of any problem. But if “the owner knows there is a problem or that the owner’s answer is not correct, the owner may be liable for making an intentional misstatement.” If an owner selects NA, it means the property does not contain that particular item or feature. Scata said that he believes that whatever remedies are available for enforcement are strictly civil, and do not include criminal charges in the case of fraud or misrepresentation. “A buyer could file a civil suit, claim that the seller intentionally misled the buyer, make a fraud claim,” he said. But damages and other penalties would depend on the impact of what wasn’t disclosed, he added. A buyer should take any “NR” answer as a cue to ask the owner about what they don’t want to disclose, Scata said, adding “it’s a good indication that something is wrong with the property.” That choice could not be removed from the form unless it was done through a change in the legislation, he said. “The buyer always has the right to go back and explicitly ask the seller the question,” he said. And don’t just push the question with the buyer, he said, but also go talk to neighbors about the situation with flooding episodes in the neighborhood. Also, real estate brokers by law have a duty to disclose what they know, or reasonably should know, regardless of the seller’s response. “So, if a seller says something like ‘No, there’s never been (flooding) on the property,’” Scata said, “but the Realtor knows that’s not true, there’s a duty on them to disclose. And they can be liable if they are complicit in that fraud.” In that instance of potential fraud by a broker, the buyer can file a complaint with the Real Estate Commission. According to an NRDC press release, homes in North Carolina with prior flood losses would be expected to average an annual loss of $1,211, compared to $61 for the average home. In 2021, there were 13,237 homes purchased that were estimated to have been previously flooded. The expected annual flood damage totals for those homes were estimated at about $16 million. With climate change causing more intense rain and stronger storms, flooding is only going to become more of an issue, Pearson said. “Before when you only had to disclose if the house was in a floodplain, well, that’s no longer a good indicator of whether your house might flood,” she said. “The best indicator of whether your house might flood is whether it’s flooded before. And so, we think, just for the sake of transparency, people deserve to know that. But they also deserve to know that because — I believe it’s called behavioral economics — when people have more information, they’ll make different and better decisions.”
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Odds & Ends –


Brunswick County to explore creating a stormwater utility
Brunswick County commissioners will not pause new development. Instead, board members agreed during their Monday night meeting to further explore the possibility of creating a stormwater utility as a way to address mounting concerns about the county’s ongoing building boom. “The stormwater utility would help solve the problem of increased growth, polluted stormwater, and improve the drainage capabilities of the county that are susceptible to flooding,” Commissioner Pat Sykes said. “Within this we should be able to designate certain areas as special protection areas. These areas would determine, should they be low, medium or high density.” This utility is created to collect fees from property owners, which are then used to maintain and improve drainage systems. Sykes eventually seconded a motion made by Chairman Randy Thompson to direct county staff to move forward with coming up with a plan to establish a temporary moratorium on new commercial, multifamily and single-family home construction. Thompson suggested a moratorium would span 120 days. Commissioners voted down the motion 3-2. “I’m sorry, but I’m not in favor of a moratorium,” Commissioner Marty Cooke said. “I don’t see legally we can do it.” Thompson reiterated concerns he raised at the board’s Sept. 23 meeting as reasons for implementing a building pause, one he and supporters of a moratorium say is needed to give the county time to examine its water and wastewater service capacity, current fire service adequacy, impacts of pending construction, floodwater management, and update its unified development ordinance, or UDO. “I honestly believe that all these things need to be addressed,” he said Monday night. “They need to be addressed quickly, but it takes time to address them properly and so that is why I am still firmly in the belief that we need to do a moratorium.” Others agreed, arguing that the county can make the case a building moratorium is needed to address imminent public health and safety concerns. Gene Vasile, president of the Alliance of Brunswick County Property Owners Association, said Thompson’s comments at the Sept. 23 meeting summarized the most serious consequences of “excessive development.” “Ask yourself, how can developments the size of small towns be approved in areas that are served by volunteer fire departments?” Vasile said. “The consequences of rapid development without advanced planning for its ramifications are serious and irresponsible. In the interest of public health, safety and good order, a moratorium on the approval of certain new development is essential.” Shallotte Mayor Walter Eccard shared those sentiments, saying he believed county commissioners have the authority to declare a moratorium “for the purpose of addressing public safety and adequacy of infrastructure.” Eccard, who said he was speaking as a resident of the county, referenced widespread damage in the county caused by flooding from the unnamed storm that dumped more than 15 inches of rain onto the area last month. “The impact of recent uncontrolled growth and its related clear-cutting raised, at a minimum, serious questions with respect to the adequacy of the county’s rules for stormwater control, flood mitigation and other matters,” he said. “As you know the recent storm resulted in local flooding, road closures, bridges destroyed, limitations of emergency vehicle access and inadequate evacuation routes. These present serious public health and safety concerns.” Major new developments, Eccard said, have been approved without a review of whether existing fire and emergency services could adequately serve them. “It’s clear to many of us that this is a recipe leading to catastrophe,” he said. Rather than call for a building moratorium, St. James Mayor Jean Toner asked commissioners immediately approve text amendments to the county’s UDO that address trees and green space, transportation overlay zoning and transportation impact analysis. Toner said rampant clear-cutting, high-density housing and inadequate requirements for developers to create open space, “have created a situation where development is neither well-managed nor responsible.” “Since 2020 the county has approved 37,500 new housing units,” she said. “UDO text amendments are necessary to mitigate the problems that result from these changes. Revisions to mitigate flooding associated with stormwater runoff are overdue. How much more flooding, damaging homes, businesses and roads and bridges, must we experience before change is made?” Rather than establish a building moratorium, County Manager Steve Stone recommended to commissioners amend the county’s stormwater ordinance and enhance the flood prevention ordinance. Specifically, Stone suggests developers be required to include stormwater designs for a 100-year storm event rainfall. Currently, the ordinance requires plans for a 25-year event. “It’s technically feasible to implement this change within 120 days of beginning the process,” he said, referring to a stormwater ordinance amendment.
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Brunswick considers creating stormwater utility, expanding buffer requirements to improve resiliency
Two months after an unnamed storm inundated Brunswick County with severe flooding and damage to local roadways, officials are evaluating options to enhance stormwater management.  Last month, Brunswick County Commissioners struck down chair Randy Thompson’s motion to request staff prepare information for an imminent 120-day development moratorium due to issues including strained water and wastewater capacity, flooding and stormwater management, and the adequacy of the county’s emergency services. County manager Steve Stone recommended the county instead continue to evaluate the feasibility of a moratorium and amend stormwater rules to require systems to handle 100-year storm events. Commissioners unanimously passed a motion for staff to present potential updates to the county’s stormwater ordinance at the October meeting. Stormwater engineer Richard Christensen and deputy engineering services director Brigit Flora carried out the presentation at last week’s commissioner meeting. Recommended changes include enhanced protections of riparian buffers — undisturbed vegetation, such as trees or shrubs, adjacent to natural drainage ways — and the potential creation of a new stormwater utility for the county. The utility would be a separate legal entity in charge of stormwater management planning, engineering, administration, maintenance, and permitting. It would be paid by user fees and determine rates based on properties’ runoff generation and stormwater controls. Staff’s presentation stated upgrading stormwater control measures to handle a 100-year storm event — 10 to 11 inches over 24 hours — would increase management costs and reduce developable land; standard stormwater conveyance systems within the county are designed to handle a 10-year storm event of seven inches within 24 hours.  September’s Potential Tropical Cyclone #8 dropped upward of 20 inches of rain in 24 hours and was considered a 1,000-year storm event. Commissioners requested staff provide additional information at the December meeting and did not take a vote last week. Brunswick County’s stormwater ordinance requires 30-foot riparian buffers be maintained on streams, ponds, lakes, and other water bodies in the county. Christensen and Flora noted the vegetation strips trap and filter pollutants from upland stormwater and maintain the integrity of natural drainage systems. However, Brunswick County currently does not require riparian buffers around wetlands; staff recommended adding new requirements for wetlands and increasing buffer width to 50 feet. Residents have repeatedly raised concerns about the impact of development in the county — consistently ranked among the fastest growing in the state — on stormwater management. Brunswick County Conservation Partnership founder Christie Marek first floated the idea of a  development moratorium at the planning board’s August meeting to ensure infrastructure can meet demand and address negative impacts of growth. The issue was salient before the planning board approved the 2,950 unit Ashton Farms development in March after rejecting it last year. The planning board endorsed the project after applicant Thomas & Hutton Engineering revised its plan to include 30-foot wetland riparian buffers in Natural Heritage Program areas and expanded stormwater ponds capable of handling 100-year storm events. In neighboring New Hanover County, its Unified Development Ordinance requires 25-to-100-foot buffer zones from conservation areas. Conservationist Andy Wood argued protections have not been adequately enforced and views the reduction of riparian buffers in Brunswick and New Hanover counties as a contributor to degradation of local waterways. “When you destroy the riparian buffer for short-term development,” he said, “you’re ultimately ruining water quality both at the surface and in the aquifer. And relative to travel and tourism at the ocean, because our dirty surface water flows out to the beach.” Wood is a member of Save Sledge Forest, a group that seeks to conserve a 4,030-unit development proposed in a 4,039-acre Castle Hayne property including roughly 3,000 acres of wetlands. The North Carolina Land and Water Fund cited Sledge Forest’s riparian buffers along the northeast Cape Fear River and Prince George Creek among its reasons for considering the property a top state priority for conservation. A portion of the waterway was added to the Department of Environmental Quality’s impaired water bodies list this year due to arsenic and hexavalent chromium found in fish tissue. DEQ added several Brunswick County water bodies to the 2024 list. In the Lumber River Basin, 2.2 miles of Leonard Branch river connecting to Juniper Creek joined due to fecal coliform and Lockwoods Folly River from Royal Oak Swamp to SR 1200 was included for dissolved oxygen. Sustainable engineering firm Stantec Consulting Services Inc. cited stormwater runoff from development in the Lockwoods Folly River Basin as a contributor to declining water quality in a 2010 report. The firm included riparian buffer restoration among its recommendations to improve water quality in the region. Riparian buffer regulation has been fiercely contested over the last decade. Business associations representing development and real estate interests have argued developers are insufficiently compensated for protecting riparian buffers and advocated for less expansive mandated buffer size.  The North Carolina Home Builders Association took credit for helping pass a 2015 bill which prohibited local governments from enacting stricter riparian buffer regulations than the state’s 50-foot guideline. The Business Alliance for a Sound Economy, an influential Wilmington-based business association, also expressed support for the legislation. The bill still allowed municipalities to apply to the North Carolina Environmental Management Commission for greater buffers with local scientific evidence to justify regulations. Sen. Bill Rabon — who has served as Brunswick County’s senator since 2011 — supported a 2017 bill that would have removed local governments’ abilities to apply for individual standards. He argued municipalities “use the provision to get around buffer rules” during a 2017 committee meeting. The 2023 Farm Bill removed protections for up to 3 million acres of state wetlands and further reduced riparian buffer protection in the state. A provision drops the penalty for removing timber in a riparian buffer from a maximum of $25,000 to the value of timber removed. The Department of Environmental Quality allows developers to pay into a mitigation bank to compensate for impacts to riparian buffers. Environmental Management Commissioner Michael Ellison — former director of DEQ’s Division of Mitigation Services — circumvented the Environmental Management Commission’s proposed 2014 update to stream protection rules after engaging in private meetings with industry representatives. The EMC publicly criticized his actions.
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North Carolina G.O.P. Brushes Aside Democratic Governor to Expand Power
After cloaking a bill that strips key powers from Democrats as hurricane aid, the state’s Republican-controlled legislature overrode a veto from Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat, to pass it into law.
Republicans in North Carolina muscled through a sweeping expansion of their own power on Wednesday, overriding the Democratic governor’s veto of a bill that will give the G.O.P. increased control over elections, judicial appointments and whether its laws stand up in the courts. Perhaps most striking was how Republicans did it: They titled the legislation “Disaster Relief” but filled it with measures that had nothing to do with aid for areas devastated by Hurricane Helene and instead eroded the power of top state Democrats. Just 13 of the bill’s 131 pages dealt directly with the storm. Republicans moved swiftly to pass the bill last month, only for Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat, to veto the legislation. Republicans then moved to overcome his veto in the final weeks of their single-vote supermajority in the House, where they lost key seats in November. Even as Donald J. Trump carried the state, Republicans fell short in several other top races, including for governor, attorney general and secretary of state. The override vote, which passed by 72 to 46 along party lines, follows four years of efforts by Republicans nationwide to gain greater control over the mechanics of elections, a push initially fueled by Mr. Trump’s false claims about the 2020 presidential contest. State Representative Tim Moore, the departing Republican speaker of the House, said openly before the vote that the bill was meant to help his party win future elections. “This action item today is going to be critical to making sure North Carolina continues to be able to do what it can to deliver victories for Republicans up and down the ticket and move this country in the right direction,” Mr. Moore told the Trump ally and conservative podcaster Stephen K. Bannon on Wednesday. Lawmakers in North Carolina have a tradition of trying to lock in their political power after election losses. Democrats wielded such tactics in the 1990s, but more recently Republicans have led the way. After Mr. Cooper beat the Republican incumbent in 2016, the legislature stripped the governor’s office of key powers and reduced the number of staff members he could appoint by more than 1,000 positions. Republicans in the state have also long used voting laws to try to gain an upper hand in elections. In 2016, a federal appeals court struck down a voter identification law passed by Republicans, saying its provisions deliberately “target African Americans with almost surgical precision.” (A less restrictive voter ID law was passed in 2018.) The House vote on Wednesday means that the bill will now become law in North Carolina, after the State Senate voted this month to override Mr. Cooper’s veto. Democrats have vowed to challenge the legislation in court, arguing that changes to the state election board and other measures were unconstitutional. The law will significantly restructure the state election board, the top authority over voting in North Carolina, wresting appointment power away from the governor’s office and handing it to the state auditor, who will be a Republican next year. The change is likely to put the board, which currently has three Democrats and two Republicans, under G.O.P. control. The legislation will also significantly restrict the governor’s ability to fill vacancies on state courts, including the Supreme Court, by limiting the options to candidates offered by the political party of the judge leaving the seat. And it will curtail the ability of the attorney general — currently Governor-elect Josh Stein, and next year Jeff Jackson, another Democrat — to challenge laws passed by the legislature. Beyond those proposals, the law will make major changes to state election procedures. It will significantly shorten the time voters have after Election Day to address problems with their mail and absentee ballots — a process known as curing — and will require local election officials to finish counting provisional ballots within three days of the election. Though Republicans currently enjoy a one-vote supermajority in the House, a successful override of the governor’s veto was not a foregone conclusion in Raleigh, the capital. Three Republican state representatives from western North Carolina had voted against the initial bill, arguing that it had not done enough to bring new storm aid to their region. As recently as Tuesday, at least one of them, Mark Pless, had indicated he was unsure how he was going to vote. But on Wednesday, Mr. Pless, along with the two other lawmakers from the region, Mike Clampitt and Karl E. Gillespie, backed the move to enact sweeping changes to state government. In a statement to The New York Times, Mr. Pless reiterated that he believed the bill had been rushed and, on initial inspection, had provided no aid for western North Carolina. “Since that day I have spent hours examining the bill to understand the content and explore options to get funding to the hurting people of western North Carolina,” he said. “I have discussed the needs with numerous elected leaders local, state and federal. I am convinced there is a path forward and money will be available next quickly to provide help to the people of western North Carolina.” Mr. Cooper responded to the veto override in a statement: “Western North Carolina small businesses and communities still wait for support from the legislature while Republicans make political power grabs the priority. Shameful.” Dozens of protesters gathered inside and outside the chamber on Wednesday before the vote, singing “This Little Light of Mine” and holding signs that read “stop the power grab” and “Western N.C. needs disaster relief, NOT more voter suppression.” Western areas of the state are still struggling to recover after Helene ripped through in late September, causing roughly $53 billion in damage. In October, the legislature approved about $877 million in recovery aid, including $50 million in loans for small businesses. But local leaders called for far more, and Mr. Cooper had sought a $3.9 billion proposal. A drive down Lyman Street in the River Arts district of Asheville revealed block after block of devastation, with crumpled buildings, tangled steel and debris stretching for nearly a mile. Residents and small businesses have been waiting for more help from the legislature and have grown frustrated about the intrusion of politics. Two Democratic state representatives from the western part of the state — Eric Ager and Lindsey Prather — criticized the override effort from the chamber floor, listing at length the residents and businesses still struggling to recover from the hurricane. “This bill just doesn’t meet the moment, and it doesn’t meet North Carolina’s values,” Mr. Ager said. “We should have done more sooner. You know, we talk about figuring all this out. The people in North Carolina are tired of hearing that help is on the way. It’s not coming. And that’s, that’s the way people feel.” State Representative Dudley Greene, a Republican from Avery County in the state’s northwest, tearfully recounted his experience when the hurricane hit, and how at one point he had slept in a Walmart parking lot. He defended state lawmakers’ response to the disaster, saying that recovery would take time, and indicated that the money shifted in the bill was better than nothing. “To say we’re not doing anything, we’ve done it, and we continue to do it,” Mr. Greene said. “We’ve allocated money that hasn’t had time to even be spent yet, and will allocate more, I’m sure.” Mr. Stein, the governor-elect, has been critical of the effort. “The bill, to be clear, is a power grab, not disaster relief,” he told reporters at the Democratic Governors Association’s winter meeting last week in California. “It’s petty and wrongheaded, and it’s contrary to what the voters of North Carolina had just done in this election and who they elected.”
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North Carolina GOP changes election rules before losing supermajority
Republicans in the state legislature gave an ally control over the state’s elections board, rewrote ballot-counting rules and chipped away at the power of the incoming Democratic governor.
Flexing power just before they lose their supermajority, Republicans in North Carolina’s legislature overrode a veto Wednesday to give one of their allies control over the state’s elections board, rewrite ballot-counting rules and chip away at the power of the incoming Democratic governor. The move came as Republicans sought to claim three seats in the legislature and a spot on the state Supreme Court by throwing out tens of thousands of ballots in races they lost last month. The state Democratic Party is fighting that effort by asking a federal judge to ensure votes don’t get tossed because of administrative errors. The developments offer the latest test for democracy in the swing state while highlighting North Carolina Republicans’ brand of go-to-the-mat politics. Courts could soon review how ballots were counted in last month’s election, and judges will almost certainly be asked to review the new law limiting the power of the incoming governor, Josh Stein (D). The dispute over the state Supreme Court is one of the last of its kind in the country. Election disputes have been less protracted this winter than four years ago, when Donald Trump and his supporters filed lawsuit after lawsuit to contest his loss of the White House. Under the measure lawmakers approved Wednesday, Stein will lose the power to appoint members of the state and county elections board. Those duties will be handled by the incoming auditor, Dave Boliek, who will be the first Republican to hold the job in 16 years. The auditor is responsible for reviewing state finances and previously has not had a role in running elections. Republicans rushed the lame-duck bill through the legislature to get it in place before they lose the veto-proof majority that in recent years has allowed them to sideline the outgoing governor, Roy Cooper (D). Republicans will still have large majorities in both chambers, but their strength in the House in January will fall below the three-fifths margin they need to override vetoes without the help of Democrats. The legislature passed the bill last month, and Cooper quickly vetoed it. The state Senate overrode the veto last week, and the House overrode it Wednesday. That will put the law into effect — and queue up an all-but-inevitable lawsuit. The law also limits the legal arguments the incoming attorney general, Jeff Jackson (D), can make in court, eliminates the jobs of two judges who have ruled against lawmakers and requires the governor to fill any vacancies to the state’s top courts with appointees recommended by the political party of the departing judge. That will prevent Stein from appointing Democrats to fill future openings on the state Supreme Court if any Republicans step down. The bill will give voters who cast provisional ballots three days instead of nine to provide election officials with information that ensures their votes count. And it will require election officials to tally absentee ballots on Election Day that night, forcing them to work through the night in some cases. Republicans said the main purpose of the bill was to provide $227 million in Hurricane Helene relief. Critics called the assistance hollow because additional legislation will be needed to allocate the funds. Three House Republicans from areas affected by the hurricane voted against the measure when the legislature first considered it, and GOP leaders worried they could prevent the bill from being overridden. Hours before the legislature took up the bill, Speaker Tim Moore (R) appeared on former Trump aide Stephen K. Bannon’s podcast to urge people to call Republican lawmakers to insist they vote to override the measure. “We need the MAGA world to step up and remind our Republicans to stand strong,” Moore said. Moore said the measure would improve elections, saying it shifted authority over the state elections board to the auditor “because, frankly, I think we need auditing of the elections.” The push to limit the power of Democrats in North Carolina echoes legislation lawmakers passed eight years ago to restrain Cooper just before he was sworn in. That measure also would have given Republicans more control of elections, but courts blocked that element of the law. Democrats, meanwhile, have grown alarmed by the fight over the state Supreme Court, where Republicans hold a 5-2 majority and an appetite for cases with political dimensions. Jefferson Griffin, a Republican appeals judge, filed challenges on technical grounds to more than 60,000 votes after losing the race by 734 votes to Justice Allison Riggs, a Democrat who joined the court in 2023. Many of the ballots Griffin challenged were cast by longtime voters who do not have their driver’s license number or the last four digits of their Social Security number on file as part of their voter registrations. Griffin asked election officials to discard ballots if voters didn’t update their registrations with that information. Democrats who control the state elections board rejected that idea Wednesday, with Chairman Alan Hirsch saying discounting votes on such grounds is “anathema to the democratic system.” Griffin challenged other types of ballots as well, such as those cast by overseas and military voters who did not provide a copy of their ID and overseas voters whose parents are from North Carolina but who have not lived in the state themselves. The board rejected those challenges, in part because it found Griffin had not properly notified voters he was protesting their ballots. Griffin can appeal in state court under a process that could ultimately put the matter before the state Supreme Court. That would leave it to Riggs’s colleagues to decide whether she can remain on the court. Hoping to avoid that outcome, the state Democratic Party on Friday filed a lawsuit asking a federal judge to declare that the state must count the challenged ballots. Democrats believe the federal courts offer them more protection, while Republicans want to see the matter play out in state court given the GOP tilt to the state Supreme Court. Republicans in August made some of the same arguments about voter registration that Griffin is making now. That case is ongoing, but a federal judge last month said his final ruling will affect future elections but not ones that have already been held. Democrats expressed outrage over the challenges. “It’s a political temper tantrum that is expensive and it is exhausting,” said Kimberly Hardy, a Democrat and assistant professor of social work whose ballot was challenged. When Griffin filed his ballot challenges, he contended he was seeking to protect democracy in the state. “These protests,” he said in a statement, “are about one fundamental principle: ensuring every legal vote is counted.” North Carolina’s Supreme Court has shifted to the right since 2016, when the state abandoned nonpartisan court races and required candidates to run as members of political parties. Republicans won a 5-2 majority in 2022 and immediately reconsidered decisions the court had just made so they could put in place a voter ID law and a redistricting plan that favored the GOP.
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Republicans in North Carolina pass sweeping changes to consolidate power
The last-minute inclusions in a lame-duck bill will strip the incoming Democratic governor and attorney general of significant authority before the GOP loses its legislative supermajority.
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North Carolina Republicans Push to Seize Power From Top Democrats
The state’s Republican-controlled legislature passed a sweeping bill that would erode the power of the Democratic governor and attorney general and hand the G.O.P. more control over elections.
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This and That –


Every year, the independent nonprofit ratings agencies Charity Navigator and Candid Guidestar evaluate charities nationwide based on fiscal transparency, accountability, and effectiveness. We are thrilled to share that this year the Coastal Federation earned the highest ratings from both Charity Navigator and the Candid Guidestar. Review the details on Charity Navigator and Candid Guidestar.

As a Federation supporter, you can be proud to support an organization earning top marks nationwide and you can be confident that your donation will be put to good use.

 Mission:
Since its founding in 1982, the North Carolina Coastal Federation has worked with citizens to safeguard the coastal rivers, creeks, sounds and beaches of North Carolina. Headquartered in Newport, North Carolina with offices in Wanchese and Wrightsville Beach, the Coastal Federation works in three key program areas: environmental advocacy; restoring and protecting habitat and water quality; and educating citizens and community leaders. Our vision is for a natural, beautiful, and productive coast that is a great place to live, work and visit. Today the Coastal Federation consists of more than 11,000 supporters, 200 partner organizations, thousands of active volunteers and a 30-member professional staff and is considered one of the most effective coastal conservation groups in the state. The Coastal Federation remains a collaborative, grassroots organization, bringing together traditional and nontraditional organizations, government agencies and businesses to leave a legacy of a healthy coast for future generations.


A black and white picture of the HB bridgeWhat’s behind the name of this seaside town in Brunswick County?
How did a seaside community in Brunswick County, located midway between Wilmington and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, get its name? The island of Holden Beach is named after Benjamin Holden, who bought four mainland tracts and the island between his plantation and the ocean in 1756. The island extended from Lockwood’s Folly Inlet west six miles to Bacon Inlet. Holden and his sons used the island for fishing and cattle grazing. John Holden, Benjamin’s grandson in 1924, began a commercial fishery on the island. Holden also started planning a vacation destination, which is called the Holden Beach Resort. It was the first subdivision of oceanfront property in Brunswick County. The town of Holden Beach was incorporated on Feb. 14, 1969. A new high-rise concrete bridge was dedicated on May 13, 1986, allowing better access to the more than 1,900 homes on the island. The Holden Beach Fishing Pier has been closed to the public since 2022, but steps are being taken to either reopen or revamp the structure.
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Factoid That May Interest Only Me –


Christmas Trees RecyclingChristmas Trees Recycling
Christmas trees can be recycled to help build sand dunes on the beach. It is a way to build more protection on the shore by using them as a natural and biodegradable sand fencing. The trees are positioned facing downward at a 45-degree angle. Once the trees are laid down, they are left completely exposed except for the tips, which are covered in sand. The needles of the branches catch the sand, and it starts to accumulate until gradually the sand will bury the tree and build up the dunes around them. As the tree biodegrades, it provides nutrients to the other plants and organisms around it.

Christmas Trees Recycling


Paid parking will now extend to all Brunswick beach towns
Seeing it as ‘inevitable,’ another Brunswick beach town votes for paid parking
This Brunswick beach town is the last island in Brunswick County to hop aboard the paid parking program express. During its Monday, Dec. 2, special meeting, Sunset Beach Town Council came to a consensus to implement a paid parking program in 2025. A discussion was held by council members but there was no public comment section during the meeting. The main reason the board has decided to look into paid parking is due to concerns about public safety and the need for control over parking, Councilman Charles Nern said. If the town does not start charging people to park, Sunset Beach will be “inundated,” said Councilman Peter Larkin, with people trying to take advantage of free parking because surrounding beach towns require payment for parking. “I think it’s inevitable,” Larkin added.

Here’s what to know.

Discussion and program details
Councilman Mike Hargreaves presented the topic and led the discussion, noting the board in September accepted “in conception” an island parking plan. The Sunset Beach Police Department currently uses SurfCAST through OttoConnect to manage parking citations. A paid parking program will be a new addition. The parking plan includes more than 250 paid parking spots but the plan and parking areas are subject to change. “It may not be perfect – that’s for sure – but the concepts are there,” said Hargreaves. “The plan is there pretty much, I think.”
Most decisions regarding the details of the paid parking program will be made after the council chooses to hire a paid parking management company. Hargreaves said the town will work with property owners that may have paid parking spaces in front of their homes before officially designating parking areas. Council members talked about signage and coloring curb stops to mark parking spaces. Some board members are concerned that too many signs could be a problem. “It’s going to be a field of signs, it’s going to look like ‘Picketville,'” Councilman Mike Pozdol said.

Paying for the program
McGill and Associates, Hargreaves noted, gave the town cost estimates on startup program costs. The town could spend anywhere from $114,000 to $125,000 to initiate a paid parking on all the roads. Board members said they do not want tax payers to pay for the program. “We’re sticking with that,” said Nern. Town Administrator Lisa Anglin said property owners will pay for program installment costs such as surveying, signs and curb stops upfront using money from the general fund until the town is able to “recapture” the costs in paid parking revenue. “Before we can make any revenue off of parking, we have to delineate where parking is. … Those costs will 100% be paid out of general fund before any revenue is generated,” Anglin said. Staff recommends the town initiate on street parking before fronting the costs of building a parking lot.

A parking lot on the island
One grassy spot on Sunset Boulevard, named the “Boulevard Lot,” will also contribute to paid parking revenue. The town has yet to approve the lease agreement nor a plan for the Boulevard Lot. Anglin said the Boulevard Lot will need an engineering and construction company to make it a paved parking area. The town might keep its foot on the brake for the paving project since it could cost as high as $500,000.

Further discussion
Ocean Isle Beach earlier this year approved implementing a paid parking program in 2025 and has recently held two public input sessions. Ocean Isle Beach chose SurfCAST by Otto Connect as its parking management firm.

Though the town of Sunset Beach is going through with paid parking, council members have not selected a parking management firm. “There’s a tremendous number of details to work out,” Mayor Pro-Tem John Corbett said. Four proposals from parking management firms have been received, Hargreaves noted. He, Anglin and Nern have been tasked as the parking committee to make a recommendation on what firm they think would be best.
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Former Trolley Stop lot becomes new parking area for Holden Beach visitors
Several months after a popular Holden Beach shop burned down, the lot where it once stood is now being used to help the town with one of its biggest problems: parking. Back in March, the Holden Beach Trolley Stop convenience store and bar burned down in an early morning fire. Since then, owner Jeremy Ridenhour has torn down the structure and turned the space into a parking lot. Visitors can park there all day for just $20, cash only, with 24 cars able to use the lot and visitors don’t need the town’s annual parking pass to park there. Ridenhour said this parking lot will help not just the town’s residents but visitors as well. “You know, we’re really here to help the people of the community and you know, help the people that’s not on the island, the people that live off the island to have a place to come and park,” Ridenhour said. “It’s real close, it’s located really close to the beach. Most of our parking, we have 24 parking places here that are closer than the town’s parking to the public access.” Ridenhour added that he isn’t planning on rebuilding the Trolley Stop but would be open to doing so if the opportunity presents itself.
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Hot Button Issues

Subjects that are important to people and about which they have strong opinions



Climate

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There’s something happening here
What it is ain’t exactly clear


Why a two-year surge in global warmth is worrying scientists
Instead, global temperatures remain at near-record levels.
As 2023 came to a close, scientists had hoped that a stretch of record heat that emerged across the planet might finally begin to subside this year. It seemed likely that temporary conditions, including an El Niño climate pattern that has always been known to boost average global temperatures, would give way to let Earth cool down. That didn’t happen. Instead, global temperatures remain at near-record levels. After 2023 ended up the warmest year in human history by far, 2024 is almost certain to be even warmer. Now, some scientists say this could indicate fundamental changes are happening to the global climate that are raising temperatures faster than anticipated. “This shifts the odds towards probably more warming in the pipeline,” said Helge Goessling, a climate physicist at the Alfred Wegener Institute in Germany. One or two years of such heat, however extraordinary, doesn’t alone mean that the warming trajectory is hastening. Scientists are exploring a number of theories for why the heat is been so persistent. The biggest factor, they agree, is that the world’s oceans remain extraordinarily warm, far beyond what is usual — warmth that drives the temperature on land up as well. This could prove to be a temporary phenomenon, just an unlucky two years, and could reverse. “Temperatures could start plummeting in the next few months and we’d say it was just internal variability. I don’t think we can rule that out yet,” said Zeke Hausfather, a climate scientist at Berkeley Earth. But he added, “I think signs are certainly pointing toward fairly persistent warmth.” But some scientists are worried the oceans have become so warm that they won’t cool down as much as they historically have, perhaps contributing to a feedback loop that will accelerate climate change. “The global ocean is warming relentlessly year after year and is the best single indicator that the planet is warming,” said Kevin Trenberth, a distinguished scholar with the National Center for Atmospheric Research. Other factors are temporary, even if they leave the world a bit hotter. One important one, scientists say, is that years of efforts to clean up air pollutants are having an unintended consequence — removing a layer in the atmosphere that was reflecting some of the sun’s heat back into space. Whatever the mix of factors or how long they last, scientists say the lack of clear explanation lowers their confidence that climate change will follow the established pattern that models have predicted. “We can’t rule out eventually much bigger changes,” Hausfather said. “The more we research climate change, the more we learn that uncertainty isn’t our friend.” Experts had been counting on the end of El Niño to help reverse the trend. The routine global climate pattern, driven by a pool of warmer-than-normal waters across the Pacific, peaked last winter. Usually about five months after El Niño peaks, global average temperatures start to cool down. Often, that’s because El Niño is quickly replaced with La Niña. Under this pattern, the same strip of Pacific waters become colder than normal, creating a larger cooling effect on the planet. But La Niña hasn’t materialized as scientists predicted it would, either. That leaves the world waiting for relief as it confronts what is forecast to be its first year above a long-feared threshold of planetary warming: average global temperatures 1.5 degrees Celsius warmer than they were two centuries ago, before humans started burning vast amounts of fossil fuels. (Formally crossing this threshold requires at least several years above it.) The year 2023 is the current warmest year on record at 1.48 degrees Celsius above the preindustrial average. However, 2024 is expected to be at least 1.55 degrees, breaking the record set the year before. Last year’s record was further above the expected track of global warming than scientists had ever seen, by a margin of more than three tenths of a degree. This year, that margin is expected to be even larger. While changes in temperatures of a degree or less may seem small, they can have large effects, Trenberth said. Like “the straw that breaks the camel’s back,” he said. That includes increasing heat and humidity extremes that are life-threatening, changing ocean heat patterns that could alter critical fisheries, and melting glaciers whose freshwater resources are key to energy generation. And scientists say if the temperature benchmarks are passed for multiple years at time, storms, floods and droughts will increase in intensity, too, with a host of domino effects.

Trouble with record warm waters
Compared to past years when El Niño has faded, the current conditions are unlike any seen before. A look at sea surface temperatures following three major El Niño years — 2024, 1998 and 1983 — reveal that a La Niña-like pattern was evident in all three years, with a patch of cooler than average conditions emerging in the equatorial Pacific Ocean. But in 2024, the patch was narrow, unimpressive and dwarfed by warmer than average seas that cover most of the planet, including parts of every ocean basin. Known as marine heat waves, these expansive blobs of unusual oceanic heat are typically defined as seas being much warmer than average, in the highest 10 percent of historical observations, across a wide area for a prolonged period. Strong to severe marine heat waves are occurring in the Atlantic, much of the Pacific, the western and eastern Indian Ocean, and in the Mediterranean Sea. In October, ocean temperatures at that high threshold covered more than a third of the planet. On the other end, less than 1 percent of the planet had ocean temperatures in the lowest 10 percent of historical values. Warm and cold ocean temperature extremes should more closely offset each other. But what’s happening is a clear demonstration that oceans, where heat accumulates fastest, are absorbing most of Earth’s energy imbalance. Warm extremes are greatly exceeding cold ones. That’s a problem because what happens in the ocean doesn’t stay in the ocean. Because ocean water covers more than 70 percent of Earth, what happens there is critically important to temperatures and humidity on land, with coastal heat waves sometimes fueling terrestrial ones. Weather systems can sometimes linger, producing persistent sunny and wind-free days and bringing ideal conditions for marine heat wave development. These systems can sometimes straddle the land and the ocean, leading to a connected heat wave and transporting humidity. Trenberth said increasing heat in the oceans, particularly the upper 1,000 feet, is a major factor in the relentless increases in average surface temperatures around the world. And changes in ocean heat content can affect not just air temperatures, but sea ice, the energy available to storms and water cycles across the planet.

Factors that could trigger changes in global heat
Research has begun to unpack what else may be triggering such changes in global heat. One recent study found that a reduction in air pollution over the world’s oceans may have contributed to 20 to 30 percent of the warming seen over the North Atlantic and North Pacific, said Andrew Gettelman, a scientist at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and the study’s lead author. Restrictions on sulfur content in the fuels used by shipping liners, put in place in 2020, have dramatically reduced concentrations of sulfur dioxide particles that tend to encourage cloud formation. Though it means lower pollution levels, with fewer clouds, more solar radiation is hitting the oceans and warming them. A study released Tuesday found that a decline in cloud cover likely contributed to perhaps 0.2 degrees Celsius in previously unexplained warming that hit the planet last year. Goessling and colleagues think that was the product of cleaner shipping emissions, as well as a positive feedback loop in which warming close to Earth’s surface leads to reduced cloud cover, which leads to even more warming. The study found that in 2023, planetary albedo — the amount of sunlight reflected back into space by light-colored surfaces including clouds, snow and ice cover — may have been at its lowest since at least 1940. There have also been questions about the roles other factors may be playing, such as an increase in stratospheric water vapor after a 2022 volcanic eruption. But Earth’s systems are so complex that it’s been impossible to parse what exactly is happening to allow the surge in global temperatures to persist for so long. “Is this just a blip, or is this actually an acceleration of the warming?” Gettelman said. “That’s the thing everyone is trying to understand right now.”

What happens next?
This year is widely expected to be the warmest year on record, driven largely by the huge stores of ocean heat. And for now, seasonal model guidance keeps the foot on the accelerator into early 2025, as far as widespread warmer than average seas go. Because of record ocean heat and global temperatures, atmospheric circulation patterns, jet streams and storm tracks across the planet will change. Temperature records will continue to be set. How big these changes are partly depending on how much warming occurs in the year ahead. But that is unclear because the cooling that usually follows El Niño still hasn’t arrived. It’s possible that normal planetary variations are playing a bigger role than scientists expect and that temperatures could soon begin to drop, said Hausfather, who also works for the payments company Stripe. Even without the cooling influence of a La Niña, a stretch under neutral conditions, with neither a La Niña nor an El Niño, should mean some decline in global average temperatures, he said. At the same time, if this year’s unusual planetary warmth doesn’t slow down into 2025, there would be nothing to prevent the next El Niño from sending global temperatures soaring — the starting point for the next El Niño would be that much higher. Whether that happens later in 2025 remains to be seen. But the lack of clarity isn’t a promising sign when some of the most plausible explanations allow for the most extreme global warming scenarios, Hausfather said. “The fact that we don’t know the answer here is not necessarily comforting to us,” he said.
Read more » click here

Warming oceans made every 2024 hurricane stronger study says
“Through record-breaking ocean warming, human carbon pollution is worsening hurricane catastrophes in our communities.” – Dr. Daniel Gilford, climate scientist
With the official end of the 2024 hurricane season on Nov. 30, a new study has found that climate change supercharged 2024’s hurricanes and tropical storms including Tropical Storm Helene that devastated Western North Carolina and made them on average one category stronger than they normally would have been. The report by Climate Central, a nonprofit climate research group, builds on research looking at storms between 2019 and 2023 that found 30 hurricanes were more intense than they would have normally been due to sea surface temperatures made hotter by global warming. For the 2024 season, the Climate Central analysis found that maximum wind speeds for all eleven hurricanes to form so far were increased by 9 to 28 miles per hour. That included pushing Hurricanes Beryl and Milton to become Category 5 monsters, storms that otherwise wouldn’t have reached that level of intensity on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. Water temperatures in the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico were at or above record levels for much of hurricane season, allowing tropical weather systems to suck in more fuel and turbocharge themselves into super storms. Hurricane Milton, for example, rapidly intensified by 95 mph in just 24 hours, faster than any other storm in the Gulf of Mexico, according to the National Hurricane Center. “Every hurricane in 2024 was stronger than it would have been 100 years ago,” Dr. Daniel Gilford, climate scientist at Climate Central and lead author of the study, said in a release. “Through record-breaking ocean warming, human carbon pollution is worsening hurricane catastrophes in our communities.” Helene’s wind speeds were made about 13 mph more intense because of climate change. In late September Helene ripped through Florida’s northern Gulf Coast before tearing through Georgia, South Carolina and into Western North Carolina, where it caused massive flooding, washing away roads, bridges and in some cases whole towns. The deadly storm killed more than 100 people in the Tar Heel State and caused an estimated $53 billion in damages.

Increased risk, increased costs
The new report adds to the mountain of evidence that human-induced warming of the planet through the pumping of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere is having profound impacts on the world’s weather, including the power, size and deadly impact of hurricanes. The increased threat from tropical weather systems has seen scientists and some political officials rushing to raise the alarm and hasten communities, especially along the coast, to become more resilient and better prepared for when not if one of these superstorms comes calling. Researchers also are warning that it isn’t just the storm’s winds that are being turbocharged by our warming climate. Helene dropped more than 30 inches of rain on parts of Western North Carolina, while an unnamed storm off the Cape Fear coast in mid-September that surprised local officials dumped more than 20 inches of rain on parts of New Hanover and Brunswick counties. The rising temperatures also are impacting sea levels, as warming waters mean ice in Greenland and Antarctica is melting more quickly than originally forecast. In a recent sea-level rise update report, the N.C. Coastal Resources Commission Science Panel said the evidence is becoming increasingly clear that the seas are rising, faster than originally thought in some cases, and that the trend will accelerate in the coming decades. The state’s top committee of coastal experts said North Carolina and coastal communities needs to plan to deal with at least 1 foot of sea-level rise compared to 2000 by 2050. An additional foot or more of sea-level rise, depending on how successful efforts are to slow the planet’s warming trend in coming decades, could easily occur before 2100. Some beachfront communities, like Rodanthe on the Outer Banks and North Topsail Beach on Topsail Island, are already facing severe erosion woes that threaten to accelerate more and more homes facing the threat of collapsing into the ocean, while communities like Carolina Beach struggle with tidal flooding that’s becoming increasingly common even without storms or King Tides. The private sector also is responding to concerns that climate change is making weather patterns more unpredictable, with some insurance companies either completely pulling out of states like Florida and Louisiana that have seen several direct hurricane hits in recent years or dramatically increasing homeowner rates to cover their potential risk of massive payouts if a big storm does hit. In North Carolina, the insurance industry is seeking to raise homeowner insurance premiums by 42% statewide and a staggering 99% in beach and coastal areas around Wilmington, citing the increased threat and uncertainty brought on by climate change as a primary driver. State regulators have challenged the proposal, and a decision made by N.C. Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey which could be appealed by the insurance companies is expected in the coming weeks. The National Flood Insurance Program, run by the federal government, also is pushing to significantly increase the prices it charges property owners as more areas are found to be either in floodplains or susceptible to massive rainfall events.
Read more » click here
 



Flood Insurance Program

For more information » click here

 


National Flood Insurance Program: Reauthorization
Congress must periodically renew the NFIP’s statutory authority to operate. On December 20, 2024, the president signed legislation passed by Congress that extends the National Flood Insurance Program’s (NFIP’s) authorization to March 14, 2025.

Congress must now reauthorize the NFIP
by no later than 11:59 pm on March 14, 2025.



GenX

For more information » click here

 



Homeowners Insurance

For more information » click here

 


NC coastal insurance rates are going up, but by how much is still to be determined
Insurance companies want to raise homeowner insurance rates by 42% statewide and nearly double them around Wilmington’s coastal areas. The state is challenging the proposal.
While several major questions about the country’s future were decided on Election Day, many residents in the Wilmington area are waiting for another big decision to come down. But how much North Carolina’s homeowner insurance rates might go up, especially at the coast, is still to be determined more than 10 months after a proposal by state insurers that could see some premiums double in price. A hearing to review a request by the N.C. Rate Bureau, a 14-member board that represents the industry, to raise homeowner insurance premiums by 42% statewide and an eyewatering 99% in beach and coastal areas around Wilmington, started in early October. The hearing was triggered after N.C. Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey rejected the initial proposal, calling it too much. State law gives Causey 45 days to issue an order once a hearing concludes, and the insurance industry always has the option of taking the issue to the courts if they reject the commissioner’s findings. But the hearing has yet to wrap up, and the court is on hiatus this week. With the hearing likely to wrap up around mid-November, several officials said it could be next month potentially just before the new year before Causey makes a decision, with any changes to rates likely not effective until mid-2025. That’s because of the complexity of the case, but also because this is an election year, and Causey was up for re-election in a heated campaign against Democrat Natasha Marcus, who has blamed Causey for giving in too easily to the industry when it comes to raising insurance rates. North Carolina is a regulated insurance market, meaning companies have to receive approval from state regulators to raise most rates, including those for homeowner and auto insurance. Causey has said he has fought hard since taking charge of the state insurance office in 2017 to keep rates down. But having not had a rate increase in more than four years, and a pandemic and several natural disasters in between driving up repair costs and prompting large insurance payouts, even Causey admits the industry deserves the chance to raise rates. But the rub is by how much, with officials worryingly noting that the current rate request doesn’t include the damages from this year’s Hurricane Debby, an unnamed storm that slammed the Wilmington area in mid-September, and the devastating floods from Tropical Storm Helene in Western N.C.

No settlement this time around
In many past rate disputes, the insurance department and industry have been able to negotiate a settlement before the issue reached the courts. In the 2020 homeowners filing, for example, the rate bureau requested an average 24.5% increase but settled with the state on 8%. That the parties haven’t been able to reach a deal this time around shows just how much is at stake this time around. For N.C. homeowners, it is a pocketbook issue. But for Causey and the state as a whole, it’s about maintaining a healthy and attractive market for insurance companies to ply their trade. Push too hard, and North Carolina could find itself in a similar position to Florida and Louisiana, where repeated hurricane hits and an inability to charge premiums to cover their exposure have seen many insurance companies flee those states or go bankrupt. That has prompted both states to set up government-run programs as “insurers of last resort” for homeowners who don’t have any other options. But that, in turn, has put all of the state’s taxpayers on the hook if a major natural disaster strikes. A major factor driving the insurance industry’s desire to significantly increase rates which is quickly becoming a national and global issue is the increased size and frequency of natural disasters in recent years, which almost everyone is tying to climate change. Insurance companies themselves aren’t immune to the increased costs associated with ever-more frequent and expensive natural disasters, which include hurricanes, floods, wildfires, heatwaves and droughts, with the cost of reinsurance effectively insurance for insurance companies increasing dramatically in recent years, doubling in some cases. Munich Re, one of the world’s largest reinsurers, has said “the insurance industry is directly affected by the consequences of climate change.” “In recent years, tropical storms (called hurricanes, typhoons or cyclones depending on the region where they occur) have been accompanied by increasingly extreme precipitation,” the German-based company states in a report discussing climate change and its consequences. “There are also indications that the proportion of especially severe storms is rising.”

New Hanover County tops the NC risk list
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) also has sounded the alarm about the rising risk to many areas posed by the increased risk of natural disasters as the world warms and weather patterns become more unpredictable. The agency has created a National Risk Index to help residents and businesses determine a community’s risk factors. It also allows parties to compare and contrast risks between communities. Not surprisingly, the index shows the most risk-prone areas of North Carolina are at the coast. Unfortunately for Wilmington, FEMA says New Hanover County is the riskiest county of all in North Carolina. The county was rated “very high” for the risk of ice storms and lightning strikes, and “relatively low” for earthquakes. But it was the threat of hurricanes that pushed New Hanover’s risk score up, with the county rated as “very high” for threats from tropical storms. The FEMA risk index states that New Hanover has about a 40% chance of dealing with a hurricane in any given year, with an average annual loss of nearly $267 million. On the plus side, the index says New Hanover, Brunswick and Pender counties are safe from avalanches, a cold wave, landslides, volcanic activity, and tsunamis.
Read more » click here
 



Hurricane Season

For more information » click here

Hurricane season runs from June 1 through November 30


This year’s Atlantic hurricane season is officially over
The season proved hyperactive, with five hurricanes hitting the United States.
Coastal residents can now take a collective deep breath — hurricane season is now technically over. By the books, Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 to Nov. 30. While surprises can happen, a hurricane has never hit the Lower 48 outside this window, according to records that date back to 1861. Five hurricanes slammed the United States. Four alone reached at least Florida. According to some estimates, damage exceeded $190 billion. More than 200 people died as a result of Helene, making it the deadliest mainland U.S. storm since Katrina — though thousands died in Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory, when Maria hit in September 2017. The season has been a hyperactive one. That’s according to ACE, or Accumulated Cyclone Energy — a metric that estimates how much energy storms churn through and expend on strong winds. A typical hurricane season averages 122.5 ACE units. This season has featured 161.6 units — above the 159.6 unit threshold required for a season to be “hyperactive.” That’s in line with preseason forecasts, which pointed toward anomalously warm ocean waters and a burgeoning La Niña pattern. La Niñas, which begin as a cooling of water temperatures in the eastern tropical Pacific, tend to feature enhanced upward motion in the air over the Atlantic.
Read more » click here

Atlantic hurricane season races to finish within range of predicted number of named storms
2024 season came roaring back despite slowdown during typical peak period
The 2024 Atlantic hurricane season, which officially ends on Nov. 30, showcased above-average activity, with a record-breaking ramp up following a peak-season lull. The Atlantic basin saw 18 named storms in 2024 (winds of 39 mph or greater). Eleven of those were hurricanes (winds of 74 mph or greater) and five intensified to major hurricanes (winds of 111 mph or greater). Five hurricanes made landfall in the continental U.S., with two storms making landfall as major hurricanes. The Atlantic seasonal activity fell within the predicted ranges for named storms and hurricanes issued by NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center in the 2024 August Hurricane Season Outlook. An average season produces 14 named storms, seven hurricanes and three major hurricanes. “As hurricanes and tropical cyclones continue to unleash deadly and destructive forces, it’s clear that NOAA’s critical science and services are needed more than ever by communities, decision makers and emergency planners,” said NOAA Administrator, Rick Spinrad, Ph.D. “I could not be more proud of the contributions of our scientists, forecasters, surveyors, hurricane hunter pilots and their crews for the vital role they play in helping to safeguard lives and property.” Twelve named storms formed after the climatological peak of the season in early September. Seven hurricanes formed in the Atlantic since September 25 — the most on record for this period. “The impactful and deadly 2024 hurricane season started off intensely, then relaxed a bit before roaring back,” said Matthew Rosencrans, lead hurricane forecaster at NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center, a division of NOAA’s National Weather Service. “Several possible factors contributed to the peak season lull in the Atlantic region. The particularly intense winds and rains over Western Africa created an environment that was less hospitable for storm development.”
Read more » click here 



Inlet Hazard Areas

For more information » click here

 


 .
Lockwood Folly Inlet

For more information » click here.

 



Seismic Testing / Offshore Drilling

For more information » click here. 

 



Offshore Wind Farms

For more information » click here

 



Things I Think I Think –


A Man Dining and Talking to Waiter with a Portrait on WallEating out is one of the great little joys of life.

Restaurant Review:
The Dinner Club visits a new restaurant once a month. Ratings reflect the reviewer’s reaction to food, ambience and service, with price taken into consideration.
///// October 2024
Name:             Lucca Italian Chop House
Cuisine:           Italian
Location:        4924 Main Street, Shallotte NC
Contact:          910.754.2334 /
https://www.luccachophouse.com/
Food:                Average / Very Good / Excellent/ Exceptional
Service:           Efficient / Proficient /Professional / Expert
Ambience:      Drab/ Plain / Distinct / Elegant
Cost: $26         Inexpensive<=20 / Moderate <=26 /Expensive <=35 / Exorbitant <=60
Rating:            Two Stars
Lucca is a local Italian restaurant, dining in a casual relaxed atmosphere with a menu that offers something for everyone. An exceptional value, the food is very good, the portions are generous, and the prices are reasonable. All in all, we had a nice meal there, but it really wasn’t anything special.

Italian menu average price is $23 was $20
Chop House menu average price is $39 was $48

///// December 2022
Angelo’s which is permanently closed has rebranded and are now operating as Lucca Italian Chop House. It’s really like there are two restaurants that are both operating under one roof. The Italian menu prices are inexpensive ($20), serving a wide variety of pizzas, pastas, and traditional Italian dishes. Unfortunately, they no longer have a brick oven. The steakhouse menu prices are exorbitant ($48), meats are cooked in an 1800-degree Southbend Broilers. Dining is in a casual relaxed atmosphere with a menu that offers something for everyone. That works for the Italian menu , but not so much for the steakhouse menu which has prices of an upscale restaurant, and they just aren’t one. I’m sorry to say that it was simply not up to our expectations, we were disappointed.


Dining Guide – Local * Lou’s Views (lousviews.com)

Dining Guide – North * Lou’s Views (lousviews.com)

Dining Guide – South * Lou’s Views (lousviews.com)

Restaurant Reviews – North * Lou’s Views (lousviews.com)

Restaurant Reviews – South * Lou’s Views (lousviews.com)


Book Review:
Read several books from The New York Times best sellers fiction list monthly
Selection represents this month’s pick of the litter



THE DARK WIVES
by Ann Cleeves
This is the eleventh entry in the Detective Chief Inspector Vera Stanhope novel series. A murder investigation in the north of England, Vera  and her team endeavor to uncover the connection between a  troubled teen missing from a children’s care home and a pair of murders. Cleeves spotlights the problems of a for-profit approach to Britain’s child welfare system .


That’s it for this newsletter

See you next month


Lou’s Views . HBPOIN

.                                         • Gather and disseminate information
.                                    • Identify the issues and determine how they affect you

.                                    • Act as a watchdog
.                                    • Grass roots monthly newsletter since 2008

https://lousviews.com/

11 – Town Meeting

Lou’s Views

“Unofficial” Minutes & Comments


BOC’s Regular Meeting 11/19/24

Board of Commissioners’ Agenda Packet click here

Audio Recording » click here


1.   Conflict of Interest Check

2024 Rules of Procedure for the Holden Beach Board of Commissioners
(e) Conflict Check. Immediately after the approval of the agenda, the Presiding Officer shall poll each member to disclose any potential conflicts of interest. In the event that a potential conflict is disclosed, the members will vote on a motion to allow or excuse that member with respect to the agenda item. If excused, the member may not participate in any discussion, debate, or vote with respect to the agenda item.

The Board was polled by Heather our Town Clerk. All of them declared that there was no conflict of interest with any agenda item at this meeting. 


2.  Presentation to Development Services Officer Janna Pigott for Achieving Floodplain Management Certification – Town Manager Hewett

Agenda Packet – background information was not provided

What is the CFM Certification Program?
The ASFPM national certified floodplain manager program was established in 1998 to create a baseline testing of professional competence in floodplain management. The program requires passing an exam and then continuing education credits annually to maintain certification. Recognizing training/continuing education/professional development is a keystone of the program, as the floodplain management program is continually evolving and the knowledge and performance of local, state, federal and private-sector floodplain management professionals is ever changing.

The role of the nation’s floodplain managers is expanding due to increases in disaster losses, the emphasis on mitigation to alleviate the cycle of damage-rebuild-damage, and a recognized need for professionals to adequately address these issues. This certification program lays the foundation for ensuring that highly qualified individuals are available to meet the challenge of breaking the damage/rebuild cycle on the nation’s human, financial and natural resources.
For more information » click here

Update –
David recognized Janna Pigott  our Development Services Officer for obtaining the  Floodplain Management certification. He briefly explained the importance of her role in the community.

Previously reported – October 2024
Representative Steve Pfaff from the National Weather Service recognized the Town for being Storm Ready/Tsunami Ready. Steve stated that the three pieces of the program are partnership, planning, and preparedness. Recognition was given to all members of the Planning and Inspections Department. He presented a certificate to the Town, followed by a photo-op. Timbo made sure that we recognized staff member Janna Pigott for her efforts in getting us ready, he stated that now we are prepared.


3.   Presentation of Fiscal Year 2023 – 2024 Audit Results – Elsa Swenson, Martin Starnes and Associates – (Finance Officer McRainey)

Agenda Packet – pages 17 – 38, plus separate packet

ISSUE/ACTION REQUESTED:
Presentation of Fiscal Year 2023 – 2024 Audit Results

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE OF REQUEST:
Martin Starnes has completed and submitted the 2023-2024 audit. The Local Government Commission has approved the submittal. Elsa Swenson is here to present the highlights of the report.

Audit Report » click here

Audit Results Presentation » click here

Financial Highlights

    • The assets and deferred outflows of resources of the Town of Holden Beach exceeded its liabilities and deferred inflows of resources at the close of the fiscal year by $42,043,999 (net position).
    • The government’s total net position increased by $4,509,963, primarily due to an increase in the governmental activities of $4,346,045 and increases in the business-type activities of $163,918.
    • As of the close of the current fiscal year, the Town of Holden Beach’s governmental funds reported combined ending fund balances of $17,759,470, an increase of $2,752,842 in comparison with the prior year. Of this amount, $5,347,024 is available for spending at the government’s discretion.
    • At the end of the current fiscal year, unassigned fund balance for the General Fund was $5,347,024,or 146%, of total General Fund expenditures for the fiscal year.

Economic Factors and Next Year’s Budgets and Rates

The following key economic indicators impact on the potential growth and prosperity of the Town:

    • Occupancy tax revenues continue to remain strong with collections exceeding $3.9 million.

Holden Beach continues to be a destination for those seeking to escape the confines of larger cities with rental property tax revenue collections continuing to spread into the traditionally off-season months.

    • Construction revenues on the island grew by almost $200k even with high interest rates people are continuing to build and make improvements to their homes.

Previously reported – October 2024
Audit Committee Report Regarding the Annual Audit – Mayor Pro Tem Myers

Audit Committee Report » click here

The audit committee met on Friday, October 11th, to review and discuss the draft audit report information with the external auditor and Town staff.

The following topics were discussed:

    • Overall change in net position, the reasons behind it, and possible future trends
    • General Fund balance, unassigned fund balance ratio, and potential future actions
    • General Fund, BPART, and paid parking revenues
    • Water & Sewer fund revenues, changes in net position, and unrestricted fund balance
    • The impact of capital charges making the Water & Sewer fund show an operating loss and triggering a required letter to the LGC

Based on the information the auditor presented, their responses to our questions, and the results of our discussions, our findings are as follows:

    • The audit reflects very strong financial results with a total net position increase of over $4.5M
    • We will receive a clean opinion from the auditor
    • There are no internal control deficiencies
    • There are no issues with the Water Resources Development Grant Program
    • The audit is on track for meeting the October 31st filing deadline with the LGC
    • Similar to last year, the BOC will need to sign a letter to the LGC explaining the appearance of an operating loss in the Water & Sewer fund

Mayor Pro Tem Myers briefly reviewed the Audit Committee report. Tom reported that we have  very strong financial results, which is really good news. The audit will be submitted as required to the Local Government Commission on time.  The auditor will be here to do a presentation at the November Regular Meeting.

Update –
Auditor’s report for fiscal year 2023 – 2024 audit was presented by Elsa the project manager. The audit was submitted to the Local Government Commission timely and approved with no changes. The auditor Martin Starnes was able to render an unmodified/clean opinion; which is the best possible opinion that you can receive.


4.   Annual Monitoring Report Results – Fran Way, Applied Technology and Management (Assistant Town Manager Ferguson)

Agenda Packet – pages 39 – 53

ISSUE/ACTION REQUESTED:
Presentation by Fran Way, ATM regarding our annual beach monitoring.

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE OF REQUEST:
Our coastal engineer, Fran Way, provides a yearly presentation of the status of the beach  strand and dune system regarding erosional and accretional activity. The presentation explores data analysis of our annual beach surveys from the spring. The effort will conclude with an annual report that Is used for a baseline in storm damage events.


The town participates in annual beach monitoring to maintain a healthy beach and dune system and to keep our engineered beach status. These reports are also instrumental in serving as a baseline account of sand volume as compared to post-storm surveys. Mr. Fran Way with ATM will present data from the annual report and highlight changes since last year. His presentation slides are attached to this memo.


Monitoring Report Presentation » click here


Ongoing Beach Management Activities

    • USACE 50-year Study
    • FEMA Coordination
    • LWFIX & Bend-Winder
    • LWF Outer Channel Dredging/Navigation
    • West End Analysis (OIB Terminal Groin)
    • Permit Application for Offshore Borrow Area

ATM Logo on a white background

Applied Technology Management

ATM is a coastal engineering firm hired by the town to do the following:

    • Annual monitoring, data collection and reporting
    • Assess sand erosion
    • Evaluate nourishment
    • FEMA projects cost reimbursement support
    • Meet government regulatory permitting conditions

Annual monitoring has been occurring since 2001. We have an engineered beach – which means it has been nourished and is being monitored.

Update –
Fran Way presented the annual beach monitoring report. The slide presentation is in the meeting agenda packet. They have completed the annual survey of the beach strand. Primarily they make sure the beach is healthy. Most sections of the beach strand are stable and had accretion compared to baseline conditions comparison. Beach equilibration has occurred, projects are designed to include a volume of sand that the waves and currents will transport offshore to fill in the lower parts of the beach profile. Some of the sand lost off shore has been coming back in to the system. Ongoing beach management activity has made the beach strand wider and healthier than it was twenty years ago.

Animated Image of a Old Man with My Two Cents Text

Same as it ever was – Once again, Fran was wandering around (I can only assume that he was wandering around since there no longer was any visual) during his presentation; the audio was going in and out so you could not clearly hear everything that he said. Speakers need to talk into the microphone in order for us to hear what they are saying. Which part don’t they get?


5.  Discussion and Possible Action on the Results of the Town of Holden Beach 2024 Pavement Condition Survey – Shane Lippard, Right Angle Engineering (Public Works Director Clemmons)

Agenda Packet – page 54, plus separate packet

Pavement Condition Survey » click here

ISSUE/ ACTION REQUESTED:
Discussion and Possible Action on the Results of the Town of Holden Beach 2024 Pavement Condition Survey Update

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE OF REQUEST:
This is an update to the Pavement Condition Plan that was established in 2008. Since the plan was implemented, approximately $1.5 million in improvements have been completed. It updates the priority and pricing

TOWN MANAGER’S RECOMMENDATION:
Review and approve.


Analysis of the Results of the 2024 Pavement Condition Survey

 Executive Summary
This report presents the results from a Pavement Condition Survey and analyzes the maintenance needs for the Town of Holden Beach’s street system. Right Angle Engineering, Inc. conducted a visual survey of the public (non-State maintained) streets that are maintained by the Town of Holden Beach. The results from this survey were used to determine maintenance needs and estimate their costs.Recommended maintenance activities for the street system are presented in  Appendix  B. A priority listing, provided in Appendix C, is based on Pavement Condition Ratings (PCR’s). The priority listing does not account for high volume or low volume streets. Streets are categorized by the Town as either low (Class A) or high (Class B) volume streets. Certain Class A or Class B streets may have higher or lower importance for the Town based upon the number  of dwelling  units served, commercial traffic using the street, or projected land development and traffic growth. Based on field observations, it is assumed that the streets surveyed would be considered Class A streets. We do not anticipate that there are any Class B streets maintained by the Town of Holden Beach at this time.

A. Street Inventory
The Town-maintained street system consists of approximately 12.8 miles of total paved asphalt roadway. As previously mentioned, all of the subject streets are Class A (low volume) roads. Approximately 1.6% of the streets have sidewalk along one side only, while none of the streets have sidewalks on both sides. We did not observe any streets with curb and gutters. AU of the Town-maintained paved streets have an asphalt surface.

B. Pavement Condition
The two primary distress types that require maintenance are alligator cracking and patching. Over 66% of the street system exhibits some degree of alligator cracking while approximately 6% of the system requires some asphalt patching. Some areas of light  block/transverse cracking, reflective cracking, rutting, raveling, and bleeding were noted. In addition, the ride quality of some areas was observed to be slightly rough.

C. Maintenance Needs
Of the 12.8 miles of streets inspected, approximately 25% are in need of maintenance. The survey indicated a total estimated maintenance need for plant mix resurfacing of $1,021,874. This represents an average of $72,350 per mile for the entire town street system. It should be noted that this cost estimate is for pavement repair only. Additional costs can be incurred for drainage improvements, administration, utility adjustments, work zone traffic control, and other items. Please note that these costs are variable and can increase the total project cost significantly.


Summary of 2024 Pavement Condition Survey Results for the THB

A. Use of Survey Results
The Pavement Condition Survey is an objective evaluation of the amount and severity of eight types of pavement distress. The results  of the survey  should never be used arbitrarily. There is no substitute for in-the-field engineering judgment and experience in determining the types of maintenance activities needed. The street listings should be used as a guide for planning and scheduling maintenance activities. It is important to understand how the results  were  calculated before using this information.

B. Priorities
Although all recommended maintenance activities are needed right away, often there are more maintenance needs than funds available. Therefore, the types of maintenance should be prioritized. High Priority maintenance should include skin patching, short overlays, full-depth patching, crack pouring, and resurfacing of alligator cracking and rutting. Medium Priority maintenance includes resurfacing of severe block/transverse cracking, severe raveling, and severe bleeding. Low Priority maintenance should consist of resurfacing for moderate block/transverse cracking, moderate raveling, rough ride quality, and severe patching. Table 8 shown below lists these levels of priority with the anticipated cost for each level and the  cost per mile for work in that priority range.


Pavement Condition Rating / PCR Listing
The type and amount of distress that was observed on each street was used to obtain a Pavement Condition Rating (PCR). A 66 – 80 rating indicates a general condition of just fair.

The following streets had the lowest PCR:

    • Sand Dollar / 73
    • Heron / 75
    • Swordfish / 75
    • Tuna / 75
    • Lois / 77
    • Lumberton / 77
    • Charlotte / 78
    • Heron Landing / 80

Previously reported –  November 2015
Shane Lippard, Right Angle Engineering presented Streets Condition Survey report
We have a total of 12.8 paved asphalt roadways
Subject streets are Class A (low volume) roads
40% of the roads need maintenance
Total estimated costs are a whopping $1,200,000
The average cost of $93,750 per mile for the entire street system
The cost estimate is for pavement repair only, with the costs being variable
Draft report is a planning document
Surface evaluation was done rating each street and prioritizing the work that needs to be done
Recommended we address it with a ten-year game plan, budgeting accordingly, tackling it on a yearly basis
Understandably we can expect our streets to continue to degrade while costs will continue to go up

In 2015 the Board implemented a tax increase of $.010 specifically for street paving and maintenance. The penny worth of tax revenue earmarked for paving is money that is already in the budget.


Ad Valorem Tax  

Estimated 2024 tax base is $2,402,018,650
Tax rate of $.14 per $100 of assessed value

    • $2,402,018,650 X $.14 = $3,362,827
    • $3,362,827 X 99.20 = $3,335,924 (Tax collection rate of 99.20%)

A penny generates $240,202 of tax revenue

2024 – High Point Street / $115,250
2023 – Tide Ridge Drive, Pointe West Drive and Ranger Street / $126,000
2022 – Seagull Drive / $208,150
.   *
The cost was split between the Town and the properties on Seagull
2021 – BAE from Rothschild to Ferry / $123,000

Update –
A penny worth of tax revenue ($240,202 ) is earmarked specifically for street paving and maintenance and is already in the budget.


6.   Police Report – Chief Jeremy Dixon (Written Report Only)

Agenda Packet – pages 55 – 60

Police Report » click here NA


Police Patch

 

 

 

Chief Dixon, Lieutenant Dilworth, and Sgt. Milligan are all currently at the NC Justice Academy for three days of 2025 Legal and In-Service Training Updates. As Certified Law Enforcement Instructors, this material is what we bring back each year to train our officers.

October’s report shows nothing of significant concern to bring to the board’s attention.

Internally, one officer has tendered his  resignation  to seek  other opportunities.  We  now have 4 vacancies (3 patrol, I detective). We have also exhausted all efforts on background investigations and interviews for applicants and have not found a suitable candidate  or extended  an offer of employment. We currently have no active applications on which we are working.

We would like to assure the community that even though we are short-staffed, we are as dedicated as ever to being vigilant in our duties to this community and maintaining the safety and well-being of everyone.

From our family at the Holden Beach Police Department to your family –
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!


Previously reported – October 2024

We are in the shoulder season, they experienced a normal seasonal decline of activity

The Chief reminded everyone that runners and walkers should be on the sidewalk not in the bike lane

Hunting season is underway, it is prohibited within Town limits


Personnel announcement

Not only did they not fill the open detective position, but another officer has resigned

The department now has four (4) vacancies 

The police department currently has only seven (7) officers of the eleven (11) they are budgeted to have

 Having the full complement of eleven (11) police officers seems to be an elusive goal.


What he did not say –

It’s that time of year, rental season ends, and break-in season officially starts
Requested that we all serve as the eyes and ears for law enforcement.


If you know something, hear something, or see something –
call 911 and let the police deal with it.


7.   Inspections Department Report – Inspections Director Evans

Agenda Packet – pages 61 – 63

Inspections Report » click here  


ACTIVE NEW HOME PERMITS                                                               = 31
OTHER ACTIVE PERMITS                                                                         = 421
PERMITS ISSUED OVER $30,000                                                             = 40
*
AMOUNT INCLUDED IN ACTIVE TOTAL
PERMITS ISSUED OVER $100,000                                                           = 5
*
AMOUNT INCLUDED IN ACTIVE TOTAL
PERMITS ISSUED SUBSTANTIAL IMPROVEMENTS                            = 0
* AMOUNT INCLUDED IN ACTIVE TOTAL
PERMITS ISSUED WAITING PICK UP                                                     = 25
TOTAL PERMITS                                                                                         = 477


PERMITS IN REVIEW                                                                                = 7
CAMA ISSUED                                                                                             = 4
ZONING ISSUED                                                                                         = 16


PERMITS SERVICED FOR INSPECTIONS FROM 10/08 – 11/07            = 100
TOTAL INSPECTIONS MADE                                                                 = 199

Update –
Timbo congratulated Janna Pigott our Development Services Officer since she has obtained her Floodplain Management certification. Timbo briefly reviewed department activity last month, the department has not been as busy. Right now, they have a steady stream of work, construction usually cranks up as the weather gets cooler.


Construction Too Box Vector ImageContractors Information Seminar
The Planning & Inspections Department, supported by the town staff, hosted
the
thirteenth  annual Contractors Information Seminar.
Contractors and electricians were able to earn two (2) hours of continuing education credits.


8.   Finance Department Report – Finance Officer McRainey

Agenda Packet – pages 64 – 67

Finance Report » click here  


Revenues to Watch

AD VALOREM TAX
FY 24 / 619,755

FY 25 / 11,384

PARKING REVENUE
FY 24 / 393,054

FY 25 / 400,883

OCCUPANCY TAX
FY 24 / 3,089,453

FY25 / 3,154,726

Revenues are looking good through October very comparable to last year other than the Ad Valorem tax which is a result of billing later than last year.  Parking and occupancy tax revenues show a slight increase over last year.


Revenues vs. Expenditures by Fund

Three graphs were presented, with fiscal year comparisons of the following funds:
    1) General Fund
    2)
Water/Sewer Fund
    3)
BPART Fund

BPART Fund – Beach Preservation / Access & Recreation / Tourism
BPART is a Special Revenue Fund authorized by act of the General Assembly which allows the Town to collect six cents of an Accommodations Tax for the purposes of funding beach preservation and tourism related expenses.

Update –
Daniel briefly reviewed the status of each of the three (3) funds. 


9.  Town Manager Report – Town Manager Hewett

Agenda Packet – pages 68 – 69

Town Manager Report » click here 


Greensboro Street / Sewer Lift Station #2
Action item to increase state funding on November meeting agenda tonight
Engineer and Staff had meeting with contractor and DWR representative
Awaiting contractor’s final insurance documents before issuing Notice to Proceed

Previously reported – October 2024
We have approvals from both the EPA and NCDWQ
Awaiting TerraHawk contract review
David anticipates having it by the end of the week
The next step is for the Town Attorney to review the documents
The Town can then execute the contract  with the subsequent Notice to Proceed


Ocean Boulevard Bike Lane
DOT reviewing requirements for agreement needed for Town to conduct street sweeping
Quote in hand for maintenance cleaning

Previously reported – October 2024
NCDOT cost overrun
Estimate $1,722,364: actual $1,797,424
The delta is $75,060
with the Town’s share being 42%, which would be $31,525
David is coordinating with DOT to review the project and identify potential alternative funding to satisfy overrun

Maintenance –
DOT advises that state’s standard of care is not what Town will require
Staff reviewing options for service provision: in-house versus contract for sweeping
We will need an agreement with the DOT  for the Town to conduct street sweeping


Icon of a Bike on Green Background, bikeBike Lane Maintenance

Good news: We have a bike lane now

Bad news: We are not even doing routine maintenance of the bike lane

A significant number of locations of the bike lane have sand, gravel, rocks, and broken glass from recycling trucks. Therefore, it is UNSAFE especially for young and/or inexperienced bicycle riders. Not a good situation, if someone goes down they could easily slide into the traffic lane, which would have some serious negative consequences. NCDOT only provides maintenance service a few times a year. Standard protocol is for the town to take care of the bike lane with their staff. If Public Works is unable to get it done perhaps we should consider a contract with a vendor to handle routine maintenance until they are able to do it. Any lawn maintenance service with a blower should be able to take care of it in the interim. This is a safety issue that needs to be addressed, sooner rather than later.


Key Bridge Mediation Agreement

Quinton Street/ 114 OBE – Public Beach Access & Restroom Facility
All ADA requirements have been met
Certificate of Occupancy has been issued
The facility is fully operational now


Ave E – Public/Emergency Beach Access and Restroom Facility
Notice to Proceed issued with due date of February 1st

THB Newsletter (11/15/24)
Advisory
The lot at the end of Avenue E will be closed to complete ADA improvements beginning Monday until further notice. Work is estimated to last until February. Access may be impacted in that area during this time frame.

Previously reported – October 2024
Notice to Proceed issued to Babson contract for $168,365
Due date of February 1st

Previously reported – September 2024
This is the area at the far east end of the island. They have obtained the necessary permits for ADA compliant parking, public and emergency accesses, and  restroom facilities. Request for Proposal has been drafted. Anticipate construction would begin in the fall and must be completed by the March 2025 deadline.


801 OBW – Public Beach Access
Walkway construction has been completed
Handrails were installed today
Access is not open at this time

Previously reported – October 2024
Notice to Proceed issued to Jesse & Meyers contract for $48,900
Due date of November 15th

Previously reported – September 2024
They have made some design refinements for the Emergency and Public Access there to accommodate the adjacent properties. A CAMA permit has been applied for. We still need to build a walkway there.


Fire Prevention
Staff coordinated a meeting with the rental property companies. Representatives from three (3) of the major companies attended. Two (2) of the companies currently provide information regarding regulations concerning open flame devices. The third company does not allow charcoal grills and did not want to provide information on items they prohibit. The companies already have been working with their homeowners and renters to educate them on the rules and to come up with ways to encourage people from moving these devices under their homes. They were not receptive to the idea of the Town ordering magnets to help with education.

Previously reported – October 2024
ISSUE/ACTION REQUESTED:
Discussion on possible actions for non-legislative actions to inform the public of the Holden Beach General regulation 91.17 restriction concerning the placement of open flame devices

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE OF REQUEST:
Several residents have observed the practice of using open flame devices under houses in violation of 91.17 (attached). This usually is the result of the individual having no knowledge of the regulation’s required standoff distance. It is desirable to find an effective means of informing the public about this important safety issue., particularly because houses typically burn in 2;3 or 3’s due to proximity and environmental concerns.

§91.17 OPEN FLAME DEVICES.
Charcoal burners and other open flame devices shall not be operated on or within ten feet of combustible construction. Exception: propane fueled grills.

Discussion was about ways of informing the public concerning the placement of open flame devices. They tossed around a couple of ideas and they felt that they could communicate most effectively through the property management companies. It was decided to have the staff contact the property management companies to get their input on ways to improve communications regarding Town ordinances.

Editor’s Note –
It is my understanding that Hobbs Realty addresses this issue by recommending, if they opt for charcoal, that each rental property have park grills fixed in place away from the structure. That seems like a pretty simple solution, albeit with a minor cost for each rental property. They also notify guests in arrival emails of pertinent ordinances like this one. I’m thinking those are ideas could be a benchmark for the other rental companies.

THB Newsletter (10/24/24)
Fire Prevention
October is Fire Prevention Month, with a goal to raise fire safety awareness and help protect homes and families. According to the National Fire Protection Association, unattended cooking is the #1 cause of home fires and in America, fire departments respond to a fire every 23 seconds! We ask for your help with our efforts to protect the property and lives on Holden Beach. Remember, our Code of Ordinances prevents the use of charcoal burners and other open flame devices on or within 10 feet of any combustible construction.


Tracking Tool
Previously reported – October 2024
The BOC’s are looking for a status report on a monthly basis, for the eight (8) items listed, in order to track the progress of projects that they have prioritized.

Objective DescriptionStatus
#2ADA Self-AssessmentNov agenda
 

 

ADA bathroom (at block Q)

#6Architect/staff mtg 25 Oct Anticipate bid pkg on street before Thanksgiving
#7Fire station UpgradesCorners Ground truthed; lnsp awaiting needs id from TBFD to

dvlp potential configurations

#8Improve Audio/Video for Town Meetingsstaff benchmarked peers and different options. Need quote obtained to install new equipment and broadcast the meetings on a different platform, most likely YouTube. We are in the process of working with a vendor to move forward
#14Block Q Site PianNov agenda for concert venue
#18Update Town WebsiteWebsite was updated a few years ago after researching what other municipalities have. A suggestion made after the objectives were estab lished was to establish a “Projects” page– which

has been accomplished.

#19Pier Repair/ReplacementRFQ Eng Svs due
#26Investigate vacuum bypass systemPWD research/No budget 24/25

What he did not say –


Stormwater Project Partnership Agreement (PPA)
Previously reported – March 2024
Town staff met with USACE Program Manager in February to develop a draft PPA. Awaiting draft PPA for about a half dozen projects for  an estimated cost of two (2) million dollars. The intent is to position the Town to receive federal stormwater funding for these projects.

Coastal Resources Commission
Previously reported – October 2024
Meeting will be held on OIB in mid-November
They are tracking the Inlet Hazard Area revisions closely
Probably won’t be addressed until sometime next year

Previously reported – September 2022
Discussion of the changes Coastal Resources Commission approved last month to both the rules and Inlet Hazard Area boundaries. Commissioner Kwiatkowski was asking the staff  what will be the impact on us here at Holden Beach. Timbo informed us that the boundary and vegetation line overall impact will be minimal to us.


In Case You Missed It –


Veterans Appreciation Luncheon   
The Town held its Veterans Appreciation Luncheon on Friday, November 8th.

THB Newsletter (11/11/24)
Thank You to Our Veterans
The Town would like to take a moment to express our gratitude to all the men and women who have served in the armed forces. Veterans Day serves as a special reminder to show appreciation to the past and present members of our military. Thank you for the sacrifices you have made to protect our country and our freedom.


Snow Flake Decorations for Boulevard Light Poles

 

Public Works have put up snowflake decorations on the boulevard light poles

  • Purple streetlights are not part of the
    holiday decorations they are the LED’s failing

.
Pets on the Beach Strand
Pets – Chapter 90 / Animals / 90.20

Effective September 10th

      • Pets allowed back on the beach strand during the hours of 9:00am through 5:00pm
      • Dog’s need to be on a leash
      • Owner’s need to clean up after their animals

Solid Waste Pick-up Schedule –
starting October once a week 

Recycling
starting October every other week  pick-up 


National Flood Insurance Program: Reauthorization
Congress must periodically renew the NFIP’s statutory authority to operate. On September 26, 2024, the president signed legislation passed by Congress that extends the National Flood Insurance Program’s (NFIP’s) authorization to December 20, 2024. 


News from Town of Holden Beach
The town sends out emails of events, news, agendas, notifications and emergency information. If you would like to be added to their mailing list, please go to their web site to complete your subscription to the Holden Beach E-Newsletter.
For more information » click here


Upcoming Events –

Turkey Trot / November 28th
Tree Lighting / December 5th
Gingerbread Creation Competition / December 5th
Reindeer Dash / December 14th
Sandy Paws / December 14th
The Chapel Choir Christmas Musical Performance / December 15th


10.  Discussion and Review of Site Plan for Potential Concert Venue Location – Assistant Town Manager Ferguson

Agenda Packet – pages 7072

ISSUE/ACTION REQUESTED:
Review of site plan for potential concert venue location.

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE OF REQUEST:
The attached site plan was developed by the architect as part of a tasker that was sent to the PRAB. The BOC asked at the October meeting that the site plan come back so the board could review the location of the proposed pavilion on the plan.

Previously reported – October 2024
Discussion and Possible Action on Long-Term Summer Concert Venue – Mayor Pro Tem Myers and Commissioner Thomas

ISSUE/ACTION REQUESTED:
Discuss and possible action on long term summer concert venue

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE OF REQUEST:
Previous concert venue (pavilion next to sewer station #1) was condemned and removed before the 2024 concert season

2024 concerts were held at the Bridgewater Park pavilion:

    • This required closing the park on Sunday afternoons to prep the area and allow bands to set up
    • Portable toilets were rented to provide bathroom facilities (park bathrooms were locked/closed during concerts)

Review Lessons Learned – feedback from town employees and concert goers

 Discuss   2025   plan  for  concerts –

    • Bridgeview park again?
    • Temporary
    • Rented stage somewhere else? (where)
    • New pavilion? (where)

Commissioner Thomas wanted to be proactive and start the discussion of what we want to do for concerts next year. They were all over the place, it does not seem that they are all on the same page. Both am interim and permanent location for the summer concerts was discussed. The Board requested to have the site plan, without the parking, that they previously reviewed presented to them again next month. Realistically we are not going to get this resolved for the 2025 concert season. Commissioner Smith said you can’t finish till you start. At least this is a start.


Animated Image of a Old Man with My Two Cents TextPlans for Block Q are all over the place, it is not a panacea. What if parking is provided elsewhere? We proposed additional parking on Jordan Boulevard way back in 2005. I am not a big fan of the original Boulevard plan (see picture below). The Town owns the property/land on both sides of the current street configuration. I’m thinking more of a promenade down the center, with parking on both sides of it as well as parking on the sides. By incorporating a  Jordan Boulevard project with the Block Q project, it would allow us to have a lot more flexibility with what can be done at Block Q, like pickleball and/or a concert venue.


Update –
Some of the Board were ready to move forward with the submitted plans. They were reminded that the Board simply asked where the concert venue could go on Block Q. Commissioners Paarfus and Thomas again suggested that they look at the whole area (Block Q, Pavilion, and Jordan Boulevard) collectively and not proceed piecemeal but rather develop a comprehensive plan. Christy asked for some clarification and direction from the Board. The Board responded that it needs to be discussed before asking staff to do anything else.

No decision was made – No action taken


11. Discussion and Possible Action on the Second DEQ Offer to Fund Greensboro Street Lift Station – Assistant Town Manager Ferguson

.   a) Resolution 24-09, DEQ Project No. SRP-W-134-0021
.   b) Ordinance 24-16, An Ordinance Amending Ordinance 24-11, The Revenues               and
Appropriations Ordinance for Fiscal Year 24-25 (Amendment No. 2)
  c) Ordinance 24-17, Capital Project Ordinance

Agenda Packet – pages 7394

ISSUE/ACTION REQUESTED:
Discussion and possible action on the second DEQ Offer to Fund Greensboro Street Lift Station Document.

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE OF REQUEST:
The funding offer was first accepted by the board in May in the amount of $1,940,000. Since that time, NCDEQ has prepared an increased offer based on their administrative requirements decreasing. The new offer in the amount of $1,970,000 will need to be accepted by resolution.

TOWN MANAGER’S RECOMMENDATION:
Accept funding offer and adopt resolution and  capital budget accordingly.


The BOC first accepted an offer to fund the Greensboro Street Lift Station Project in May, in the amount of $1,940,000, from the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ). On October 23, 2024, we received new funding offer documents from DEQ. Upon inquiry, the project manager explained that SL 2024-1 reduced the Division of Water Infrastructure administrative requirement, first calculated at 3%, and our new offer to fund is $1,970,000. The BOC will need to accept the new offer to fund and the attached resolution and capital budget and direct Town Manager Hewett to execute documents.


Ordinance 24-16 » click here 

Ordinance 24-17 » click here 

Resolution 24-09 » click here

Update –
Not very often that the DEQ contacts us to offer thirty thousand dollars of additional funds. The BOC’s accepted the offer and approved everything as requested.

A decision was made – Approved unanimously


12.  Discussion and Possible Action on Ordinance 24-18, An Ordinance Amending Ordinance 24-11, The Revenues and Appropriations Ordinance for Fiscal Year 24-25 (Amendment No. 3, 796 Ocean Boulevard West) – Finance Officer McRainey

Agenda Packet – pages 9596

ISSUE/ACTION REQUESTED:
Approval of budget amendment to be able to use proceeds from the sale of 796 to pay off associated debt.

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE OF REQUEST:
The town sold the property at 796 OBW through an upset bid process and the proceeds were booked to miscellaneous revenue in the Water/Sewer Fund. The debt will be paid down at the next payment date in April.

Ordinance 24-18 » click here

Previously reported – October 2024
796 OBW
Tentative closing date of October 17th

They will temporarily book proceeds from that sale to Water & Sewer miscellaneous revenue account

Follow-up in November, he will bring a budget amendment for the Board  to authorize debt prepayment

Update –
Budget amendment for the Board  to authorize debt prepayment
Simply a housekeeping item

A decision was made – Approved unanimously


13.  Discussion and Possible Action on Proposal Received for ADA Self-Evaluation and Transition Plan Request for Proposals and Alternative Option– Inspections Director Tim Evans

Agenda Packet – page 97, plus separate packet

ISSUE/ACTION REQUESTED:
Discussion and Possible Alternative Action.

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE OF REQUEST:
Action Required from Commissioners Goals and Objectives. Staff Recommends an assessment be performed by the Planning Department, and if needed then funds already budgeted can be used for any outside additional consulting deemed necessary.

ADA Self-Evaluation Report » click here

Accessibility Consulting Partners (ACP) proposal for a complete ADA Self-Evaluation Transition Plan is $98,150

The project scope is comprised of the following:

    • Initiation/Grievance Procedure
    • Facilities Survey/Inventory
    • Transition Plan/Public Outreach
    • Review of Town Policies, Programs, and Practices
    • Website Assessment

ADA Self-Evaluation
Previously reported – October 2024
ADA Self-Assessment Request For Proposals due October 15th
We received only one response and that was to the tune of $100,000

Previously reported – September 2024
The Town of Holden Beach is requesting proposals from qualified individuals and firms for consulting services related to an ADA Self-Evaluation and Transition Plan. The Town is specifically looking for firms that specialize in providing ADA consulting as a core business function.

Update –
Timbo explained that the outside vendor is really for larger municipalities. He recommended that we do it in house, the staff is more than capable of doing this and are doing many of those things already. Really it was a no-brainer, we get the assessment done and get to keep the money too. Timbo was asked by the Board to prepare a plan for the staff to do an assessment that meet DOJ requirements for small towns.

 A decision was made – Approved unanimously


14.   Review Conceptual Proposal for a Public Private Partnership for the Pier Building with Possible Action to Issue a Request For Proposals – Commissioners Smith and Dyer

Agenda Packet – pages 98117

ISSUE/ACTION REQUESTED:
Review conceptual proposal for a public private partnership for the pier building with possible action to issue a request for proposals.

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE OF REQUEST: There are organizations or entities who would submit a formal proposal to demolish and rebuild the pier building via a public private partnership, but an unsolicited proposal is not allowed. Therefore, reviewing a conceptual proposal to consider issuing a request for proposals is an option to move the project forward.

Previously reported – April 2024
Holden Beach Pier Property
. a)
Holden Beach Community Alliance Presentation of Their Petition to Save the .      Pier – Commissioners Smith and Dyer
. b)
Discussion and Possible Action on Pier Property Development – Mayor Pro  .      Tem Myers and Commissioner Paarfus
. c)
Discussion and Possible Action to Request Staff to Issue a Request for                .      Proposals to Repair or Rebuild the Holden Beach Pier that will Meet North            Carolina Building Codes – Commissioners Smith and Dyer
. d)
Discussion and Possible Action to Request Staff to Issue a Request for                     Proposals to Repair or Replace the Building at the Town Property Located at    .      441 Ocean Boulevard West – Commissioners Smith and Dyer

Agenda Packet – pages 67 – 98, plus separate packet


13b)
ISSUE/ACTION REQUESTED:
Discussion and possible action on Pier Property Development

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE OF REQUEST:
The purpose is to develop a project approach for the pier property based on the attached information

It is imperative that it be understood that  the pier is an amenity and will have to compete against critical projects infrastructure and other non-critical for funding. Examples of critical infrastructure projects include water system capacity increases, stormwater projects, tire station replacement (for 24/7 manning), road paving, beach and inlet maintenance, etc.

SUMMARY
The purpose of this document is to initiate discussion concerning development of the pier property by providing a baseline approach to that development. It is not intended to be the final project plan, but to serve as a starting point.  Development of  the pier property should encompass the entire property, not just the pier and pier building, with priority given to addressing the pier. Phases have been suggested to make the development financially manageable. A notional timeline for preliminary work has been outlined with possible funding scenarios to accomplish it. Last information concerning public private partnerships is provided along with stakeholder information.

Pier Property Development Plan » click here

Commissioner Parfus discussed a detailed plan for a project approach to develop the pier property. It appears that he really did his homework, was very prepared, knew his stuff, and offered a viable game plan to move the project forward. Motion was made to approve the development plan that he submitted for the pier property.


13d)
ISSUE/ACTION REQUESTED:
Request staff to issue RFP (Request for Proposal) to repair or replace the building located at the town property located at 441 OBW HB. The building will need to meet North Carolina Building Codes Requirements

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE OF REQUEST:
The purpose is to have recreational space on the property that allows for retail, food vendors, restrooms/outdoor showers and an entry/ticket booth to the towns pier. A private/public partnership with town would be welcomed. The staff would direct this type of partnership.

Previously reported – March 2024
Commissioners Smith and Dyer are now proposing a public/private partnership. This step is simply a request to get proposals to see if there is any interest in privately doing this project. They say that there is, including one from  previous Commissioner Murdock. Commissioner Paarfus said that an RFP is premature, in his opinion we need to wait until its decided what we want to do there, so we know what we are asking for. Mayor Pro Tem Myers said that they have asked for and have gotten a lot of input and we should look at what the public said before we head down this path. Although a public/private partnership could be a viable option we are not at the point of putting out a formal request for services yet.

Local Government Commission Approval of Certain Public Enterprise Agreements

Animated Image of a Old Man with My Two Cents Text

Frankly, this is not a viable location for a year-round business and does not have adequate parking for a seasonal business. The parking lot there has been full throughout the fall and winter regardless of the weather. That is without either the pier being available for use or any business running out of the building. There just is not adequate parking there to support beachgoers, fisherman, and whatever else we plan to do with the building. I just don’t see how they think that it could be profitable.

 Commissioners Smith and Dyer are again proposing a public/private partnership for the building at the pier property. Motion was made directing the Town staff to contact the Local Government Commission to determine what are the requirements, and what is the approval process for a public/private partnership.

Update –

Item was removed from the agenda

This has been on the agenda twice before, it is still premature, they are waiting for the Local Government Commission response. They had the same discussion that they have had before. Not right time, would like to stick to our plan, defer until we are ready. When we reach the point of having specific plans we can explore the option then,  just not at this time.

 


15. Executive Session Pursuant to North Carolina General Statute 143-318.11(a)(3), To Consult with the Town Attorney

Update –
Shortly after coming out of Executive session a motion was made to terminate Town Manager David Hewitt’s contract. Mayor Pro Tem Myers and Commissioner Thomas were charged to form a subcommittee in order to start the process of finding a new Town Manager.

A decision was made – Approved (3-2)
Commissioners Smith and Dyer opposed the motion

Animated Image of a Old Man with My Two Cents Text

Wait, what just happened? I’m shocked, shocked I tell you. Actually, the only shock is that it took this long to terminate David. I can’t tell you how many conversations I have had with different Commissioners over the years about them wanting to do this. Commissioner Paarfus submitted the agenda item and was the point man. Despite the appearance that this was a spur of the moment action I feel confident in saying if Commissioner Paarfus was involved that this was well planned in advance. David’s behavior must have crossed some red line. Without knowing what actually transpired during the executive session I am comfortable speculating that it is more likely than not that Commissioner Paarfus articulated their position for the justification to terminate the contract. I find it a little hard to swallow that some of the Commissioners are claiming they have no knowledge of the reason. It is never easy to terminate an employee. Applaud them for finally doing what they felt needed to be done.

Holden Beach Town Council votes to fire Town Manager
Some residents of Holden Beach are stunned that Town Council voted to fire its longtime Town Manager. Town Council had a regularly scheduled meeting tonight but went into closed session near the end. When they returned, a motion was made to “terminate Town Manager David Hewitt’s contract, effective December 4th , in accordance with Section 11a of the agreement for employment as Town Manager/ Finance Director dated March 31, 2017.” Council voted 3-2 to move forward with the motion to fire Hewitt, who has been in the position since 2008. Hewitt will be placed on administrative leave on Thursday until the termination goes into effect, and two commissioners will form a sub-committee to start the process of finding a new town manager. After the meeting, a woman could be heard telling off Council members for firing “the best manager that any town could ever have,” adding, “I don’t even know how you all can go home and sleep!” Town Council members would not comment publicly on the firing because it’s a personnel matter.
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Holden Beach board, in 3-2 decision, fires town manager
Holden Beach commissioners Rick Paarfus, Tracey Thomas and Mayor Pro Tem Tom Myers fired longtime town manager David Hewett at the end of Tuesday night’s November 19 town meeting. Following the regular meeting, the board went into closed session to discuss a personnel matter. Within only a few minutes they were back in open session, where Paarfus announced Hewett would be terminated. “Mr. Hewett, we’re going to terminate your contract,” Paarfus said. “I make the motion to terminate town manager David Hewett’s contract effective Dec. 4, 2024, in accordance with section 11A of the agreement for employment as town manager/finance director, dated March 31, 2017 in amendments there to. The town manager is to return all town property to town hall and remove his personal belongings from town hall by close of business November (20), 2024. The town manager shall be placed on administrative leave starting Nov. 21, 2024 through Dec. 4, 2024.” “The town attorney is directed to work with the town human resource officer to complete the separation before December 31, 2024. Commissioners Thomas and Myers are to form a subcommittee to start the process of finding a new town manager,” Paarfus said. Myers seconded Paarfus’s motion and, with Thomas, outvoted commissioners Rick Smith and Page Dyer to pass the motion 3-2. “[This is] the most unprofessional event I’ve ever been a part of,” Mayor Alan Holden said after the meeting adjourned following the vote. Holden left the building before he could be reached for further comment. Asked for comment on the reasoning for Hewett’s termination, Paarfus and Thomas claimed they cannot speak on personnel matters. “It’s a personnel situation. I’m not going to comment on it,” Paarfus said. “We legally can’t comment on it,” Thomas said. Myers immediately left the building once the meeting was adjourned, so he could not be reached for comment. Dyer said the three commissioners did not provide any explanation or rationale for terminating Hewett’s contract during the closed session. “It’s absolutely ridiculous. I don’t know what else I can say. It’s absolutely ridiculous,” Dyer said. “I can’t talk about closed session. I have no idea what their reasoning is. All I can say is I’m absolutely flabbergasted and disappointed.” Commissioner Rick Smith said Tuesday night’s closed session was the first time Hewett’s termination was considered. “The part I don’t understand is we went into executive session a while back to discuss personnel issues and, I can’t divulge exactly what was said, but it was to try to give him some set goals and things that we wanted done, and he tried to do that tonight with his report. I just don’t see how they think anybody else can come in to this small community and fit in and know the things that need to be done. It’s just devastating,” Smith said. “I think that this was probably the worst thing that could ever happen to Holden Beach. David Hewett has spent countless hours with government officials getting us the things that we need to keep this beach going. I don’t think the people that terminated him tonight have any idea of the things that he’s done for Holden Beach over the years. I’m really saddened, just about saddened to tears. “But I surely hope that the voters and the people of Holden Beach realize that it was not the consensus of the entire board of commissioners,” Smith said. Hewett, who had been employed with the town since 2008, declined to comment following the meeting.
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Brunswick beach town suddenly fires its town manager. Here’s what we know.
A Brunswick beach town has decided to terminate its long-time town manager and finance director. Holden Beach commissioners voted during a meeting Tuesday night to fire Town Manager and Finance Director David Hewett. Here’s what we know.

What happened?
The board conducted business as usual during its regular meeting on Tuesday until one final motion. Following a closed session to discuss personnel, Commissioner Rick Paarfus motioned to fire Hewett. “Mr. Hewett, we’re going to terminate your contract,” Paarfus said as he faced Hewett. Hewett’s termination is effective Dec. 4. However, the board decided to place Hewett on administrative leave starting Nov. 21 until Dec. 4. Hewett was directed to gather his personal belongings and return personal property by end of day Nov. 20. Commissioners did not discuss the termination because it is a personnel matter, Commissioner Tracey Thomas said. Commissioners Paarfus, Thomas and Mayor Pro-Tem Tom Myers voted in favor of Hewett’s termination while Commissioners Page Dyer and Rick Smith voted in opposition. The board turned to the town attorney for guidance on rules for discussing the matter but, Dyer said, the attorney “had no idea.” Hewett, who has been with the town since 2008, left without a word after the motion to fire him succeeded. Mayor Alan Holden called the situation “unprofessional” before banging the gavel to abruptly end the meeting without calling a vote to adjourn. StarNews reached out to all board members for comment but have not received responses from Myers, Smith, Thomas and Paarfus as of noon Wednesday.

Some Board members say it’s a ‘sad day’ for the town
“I had no idea that the three new commissioners had planned and were going to follow through with this,” Holden said. “David Hewett’s service to Holden Beach was professional, loyal and very productive. This is a sad day for this town.” Dyer echoed Holden’s gloomy view for the town and that her, the mayor and Smith were blindsided. The way Hewett was fired was unfair, Dyer said. “No, I have no reason why he was fired,” she said. “The man does his job; he’s done everything we asked him to do. … I’m completely lost.” Asked if the closed session discussion about Hewett changed her mind on Hewett as a person or town manager, she said no. “They have decimated our staff. … He’s been the best town manager,” Dyer said.

What now?
Commissioners Thomas and Myers are to form a subcommittee to start the process of finding a new town manager.
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Holden Beach fires town manager
The Town of Holden Beach voted to fire its town manager Tuesday, Nov. 19. At its meeting, available online here, the board of commissioners voted 3-2 to terminate Town Manager David Hewett. Right before the vote, Commissioner Rick Parfus said: Mr. Hewett, we are going to terminate your contract. I make the motion to terminate Town Manager David Hewett’s contract effective December 4, 2024, in accordance with section 11A of the agreement for employment as town manager/finance director, dated March 31, 2017, in amendments thereto. The town manager is to return all town property to town hall and remove his personal belongings from town hall by close of business November 20, 2024. The town manager shall be placed on administrative leave starting November 21, 2024, through December 4, 2024. The town attorney is directed to work with the town human resource officer to complete this separation before December 31, 2024. Commissioners [Tracey] Thomas and [Tom] Myers are to form a subcommittee to start the process of finding a new town manager. In a statement, Holden Beach Mayor J. Alan Holden says he and the two commissioners who voted against terminating Hewett were surprised by the motion. “My personal opinion is it is a sad day for the town of Holden Beach to have lost such a talented town manager,” said Holden. Holden said no reason was given for Hewett’s firing and the three council members that voted to fire him were recently elected. “David Hewett has served the town professionally, honorably, and effectively about as much as someone can do by getting grants and organizing town functions. He has served us for 16 years and through those years Holden Beach was recognized nationally as the number one family beach in America. The growth and services of the town have been more than satisfactory during his employment. The millions of dollars that he and his staff have brought to the town by way of grants and other sources have been astonishing,” said Holden.
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General Comments –


 BOC’s Meeting
The Board of Commissioners’ next Regular Meeting is scheduled on the third Tuesday of the month, December 17th


 It’s not like they don’t have anything to work on …

The following nine (9) items are what’s In the Works/Loose Ends queue:

        • Accommodation/Occupancy Tax Compliance
        • Audio/Video Broadcast
        • Block Q Project/Carolina Avenue
        • Dog Park
        • Fire Station Project
        • Pavilion Replacement
        • Pier Properties Project
        • Rights-of-Way
        • USACE/Coastal Storm Risk Management Study

Upon further review we have decided to revise the Loose Ends list based on the BOC’s prioritized objectives. Frankly, it did not seem that some of the items were going to see the light of day ever again.

The definition of loose ends is a fragment of unfinished business or a detail that is not yet settled or explained, which is the current status of these items. All of these items were started and then put on hold, and they were never put back in the queue. This Board needs to continue working on them and move these items to closure.


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Lost in the Sauce –

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2023 –

Audio/Video Broadcast
Previously reported – November 2023
The Town has been live streaming their Board of Commissioners meeting on Facebook and later posting the audio to YouTube. I believe that more people participate in virtual meetings than those that physically attend the meetings. It still is difficult to listen to the meetings on Facebook since the audio is so poor, it’s really hard to hear what they are saying. Virtual meeting protocols prescribe them to talk into the microphone, have speakers say their name before commenting, and to take roll call votes, among other suggestions. We should be able to get audio right on the Facebook livestream. It is unacceptable that the audio is so poor. The Town needs to do whatever it takes to get this corrected.

Previously reported – March 2024
The motion was made to direct the Town Staff the task to review and assess what other towns are doing and make recommendations for audio/video improvement. In other words, benchmark what other towns are doing and determine what are the costs associated with providing this service. Commissioner Paarfus specifically requested various price point options.


Accommodation/Occupancy Tax Compliance
Previously reported – November 2023
How this beach town is cracking down on short-term rental properties
Officials in one Brunswick County beach town are looking to keep a closer eye on short-term rental properties. After discovering many short-term rentals in Sunset Beach were underreporting or not reporting proper accommodations tax to the town, town officials have signed a $45,000 yearlong contract with GovOS to help better monitor such properties in the town. GovOS is a software platform that works with state and local governments to streamline various processes involving property, licensing and taxing. GovOS promised its short-term rental software would help increase short-term compliance in the town. According to Sunset Beach staff, research on this subject in the town began over two years ago. GovOS estimated the town has 637 short-term rental properties. Of those, the company estimated that some 200 are fully in compliance with the town’s accommodation tax ordinance. Accommodations tax is a tax on short-term rental properties – properties that are rented through platforms such as AirBnB or VRBO. In Sunset Beach, accommodations taxes are levied at a rate of 6% of the gross rental income, which includes a 3% tourism-related expenditure tax, a 2% beach nourishment and protection tax, and a 1% county tourism and travel tax. According to Sunset Beach, the property owner or agent are required to pay the full 6% tax to the town with a tax report form monthly based on income from the previous month. Even if no rental receipts are applicable for that month, property owners or agents must file reports month. The software will allow the town to identify properties currently being used for short-term rentals – a feat town staff has struggled with in the wake of the explosion of short-term rental platforms such as AirBnB and VRBO. Once the properties are identified, the software will report the short-term rental properties to the town along with a variety of information on the properties and their tax reporting history. The more properties that properly comply, the more accommodations tax revenue the town will receive. According to the town’s budget for the 2023-24 fiscal year, the town anticipates collecting some $775,000 in accommodations taxes, a figure that could be nearly doubled if this software is successful. The Sunset Beach Town Council heard a presentation from GovOS in September before awarding the contract in October, at the request of town staff.
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Hurricane Season
For more information » click here.

Be prepared – have a plan!


Hurricane season isn’t over yet.
Here’s why North Carolina residents need to stay vigilant.
Despite tropical storm-induced flooding in the mountains and along the coast, experts say NC isn’t out of the woods yet as hurricane season drags on
First Tropical Storm Debby, a slow-moving storm that trudged up the East Coast in early August before making a second landfall along the central South Carolina coast, drenched the Cape Fear region with more than 15 inches of rain in places. A little more than a month later, an unnamed storm that wasn’t deemed a big enough threat to close many schools swamped parts of southern New Hanover County and much of Brunswick County with another massive deluge. The nearly 20 inches of rain in some areas caused extensive flash flooding, collapsed roads, and destroyed several bridges. Then Tropical Storm Helene blew into the state three weeks ago, pummeling Asheville and the North Carolina mountains. The record-setting rainfall, more than 18 inches in some places, washed out roads and bridges, knocked out power to nearly 2 million people in the Carolinas with 14,000 N.C. customers still without power as of Wednesday, and killed at least 95 people in the state with dozens still unaccounted for. North Carolina has been hammered on both ends of the state by tropical weather systems this year, making 2024 one of the worst hurricane seasons the state has seen in a long time. And while it might be mid-October and temperatures are already beginning to fall, experts warn that the Tar Heel State needs to stay on alert for another possible visit from Mother Nature. Several factors are contributing to officials’ concerns, but chief among them is the impact climate change is having on temperatures and weather patterns. “So, no, we are definitely not out of the woods for this season,” said Dr. Michael Mann, a meteorologist and scientist at the University of Pennsylvania, in an email.

Does North Carolina get late-season hurricanes?
On Oct. 15, 1954, Hurricane Hazel made landfall near the North Carolina/South Carolina state line. The storm remains the only Category 4 hurricane to ever hit the Carolinas. After wiping clean some of the Brunswick County barrier islands with storm surge that exceeded 18 feet in places, the monster storm barreled inland at speeds of more than 50 mph. That allowed Hazel to bring hurricane-force winds well inland, to places like Fayetteville, Raleigh and Goldsboro. While Hazel might be a bit of an outlier, it isn’t the only storm that has impacted North Carolina late in hurricane season. Others include 2012’s Hurricane Sandy, which brought substantial overwash to the Outer Banks and nearly a foot of snow to the N.C. mountains in late October, and 2018’s Tropical Storm Michael that left more than 400,000 without power and flooded many coastal communities. Hurricane Matthew also hit the state in October 2016, flooding nearly 100,000 structures across much of Eastern North Carolina and causing billions in damages. Remnants of tropical systems that form and then fall apart farther south also can wander north and impact parts of the state, especially coastal areas as they ride the Gulf Stream north.

How is the rest of the 2024 hurricane season shaping up?
As of Wednesday, the National Hurricane Center was tracking two tropical disturbances in the Atlantic basin, with the one in the mid-South Atlantic on track to hit the northern Caribbean and then potentially Florida. If it strengthens enough, it would become Tropical Storm Nadine. They are unlikely to be the last systems of the season to attract the attention of meteorologists. Before hurricane season officially began June 1, officials were expressing concern over how bad it might be. With climate change warming the oceans and air temperatures seemingly hitting new highs every month, they said it really was only a question of just how brutal the season would be. But for most of the summer, aside from Beryl, which was a rare major June hurricane, the reality on the ground seemed to confound the predictions, with Saharan dust blowing off Africa helping limit storm formation for much of June, July and into August. Then Debby, Ernesto, Francine and Helene came barreling ashore not to mention the no-name storm that pummeled Southeastern North Carolina. Mann said conditions remain ripe for more storm activity. He said sea surface temperatures remain very warm, largely a result of heat-trapping gasses pumped into the atmosphere tied to human activity. Warmer ocean water helps fuel storms, allowing them to intensify more quickly and grow bigger and stronger. They also can hold their strength longer and travel farther inland, and hotter ocean temperatures allow them to travel farther north, striking areas that aren’t used to seeing raging hurricanes on the horizon. Mann said we’re also still transitioning toward a La Niña climate pattern. That will mean decreased wind shear in the tropical Atlantic and a more favorable environment for tropical cyclones. “That combination of factors tends to lead to very late seasons, Mann said. “2005 is the definitive example, where we saw named storms into the new year.” The record-setting 2005 hurricane season included 28 named storms and 15 hurricanes. Four of those reached Category 5 strength, and seven of the storms formed in October, another three in November. Although hurricane season is supposed to end Nov. 30, the 2005 season continued until Jan. 6 and was so busy the National Hurricane Center had to use the Greek alphabet to name some of the storms. Infamous storms from that season included Hurricanes’ Katrina, Rita and Wilma. Another storm, Hurricane Ophelia, raked much of the N.C. coast, causing significant coastal flooding and erosion.
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As hurricane seasons worsen, taxpayers subsidize people to live in risky areas
Helene and Milton spotlight a federal flood insurance program drowning in debt.
Hurricane Helene likely caused more than $30 billion worth of damage. Less than two weeks later, Hurricane Milton inflicted almost $50 billion more. With six weeks left in this hurricane season, the Small Business Administration’s disaster loan program is already out of money. And more tropical storms are swirling over the Atlantic. Who pays for all of this? Because private home insurers generally find this sector of the business unprofitable, the federal National Flood Insurance Program shoulders the burden of providing homeowners inundation coverage — and it has problems. The NFIP is managed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency — the same body fighting misinformation and dodging vigilantes as it tries to distribute much-needed aid to the victims of Helene and Milton. The program provides nearly $1.3 trillion in coverage to more than 5 million policyholders. It’s funded by the premiums collected from policyholders but borrows from the U.S. treasury when claims it’s obligated to pay outpace revenue, as is often the case. Congress canceled $16 billion in NFIP debt in 2017; since then, the program has borrowed billions more from taxpayers. If Helene and Milton epitomized how destructive hurricanes are becoming in a warming world, the NFIP’s financial woes will only worsen. And yet Congress has made no fundamental reforms to the program since its inception nearly six decades ago. That cannot continue. Congress created the NFIP when private insurers retreated from the flood insurance market after the first storm to cause $1 billion in losses: Hurricane Betsy in 1965. The government stepped in with two conditions, which were intended to avoid “moral hazard,” the phenomenon whereby insuring against a particular risk encourages more people to take it. It required communities to adopt land-use policies that discouraged development in flood-prone areas, and it mandated that homeowners pay “actuarially sound” premiums. Moral hazard took hold anyway, as developers and other real estate interests gamed the system to suppress premiums and permit building in low-lying areas and beachfronts exposed to storms. The upshot is that FEMA flood hazard maps that determine coverage today rely on outdated information so inaccurate that more than 40 percent of NFIP claims made from 2017 to 2019 were for properties outside official flood hazard zones or in areas the agency had not mapped at all. Heavily lobbied by the interested industries, Congress has taken little action to rectify these long-standing issues, which have been festering for decades. Since the end of fiscal 2017, it has enacted 31 short-term NFIP reauthorizations, including the most recent extension through Dec. 20. The one attempt at genuine reform in recent history — the Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012 — would have ended subsidized rates for second homes and properties that repeatedly flooded. After Hurricane Sandy, however, coastal-state representatives reversed even these modest improvements. Despite congressional inaction, FEMA took one step in the right direction on its own by implementing its Risk Rating 2.0 pricing methodology. The agency now uses data from private insurers to charge policyholders rates based on variables that more accurately gauge flood risk. But to be solvent and continue providing coverage to homeowners, the NFIP needs larger-scale reforms that require legislative action. Ideally, modern data collection and risk mapping should enable private insurers to resume issuing flood insurance rather than leave the business entirely to the government. In the likely event that doesn’t happen, Congress should at least reinstate the 2012 law’s bans on subsidized premiums for second homes and properties that have been rebuilt multiple times. As climate change raises risks to more areas, investing in updated flood maps would also bring a more fitting geographic region under the NFIP’s purview. That, in turn, would enable stronger enforcement of building standards and tougher flood-risk building requirements. And even if private industry didn’t offer policies directly to consumers, more accurate pricing would help the NFIP appeal to private insurers, which might then share some of the risk by offering “reinsurance” — essentially, insurance protecting insurers, in this case NFIP, from high costs. Still, premiums greatly lag behind risk assessments. Congress should enable FEMA to build on the Risk Rating 2.0 pricing model, adjusting rates to reflect actual risk. Yes, more accurate pricing might raise some homeowners’ premiums. But this necessary step will help the program become fiscally stable and provide coverage in the coming years. It’s simply unfair to ask the entire population to provide deep subsidies for properties that, by definition, only a portion of Americans can occupy and enjoy.
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I hope your Thanksgiving is filled with family and friends

and all of the memories that make you thankful!

memories that make you thankful!November 28, 2024


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