Annual Retreat Recap
2026
Each year, the Council holds an open retreat to meet with consultants, outside specialists, department heads, and other Island entities. The intent is to reorient, update data, and strategize areas of focus for the upcoming year, including potential budget implications.
This year’s retreat took place on Tuesday, March 3, and Wednesday, March 4, 2026. Videos of each retreat topic have been uploaded and organized into a YouTube playlist available HERE. Below is a recap of what was presented and discussed.
Day one of the Village Council Annual Retreat consisted of the following:
- A shoreline management update presentation from the Village’s coastal engineer. The presentation covered several topics including an update on the Frying Pan Shoals borrow site permitting effort, contingency planning in case a storm hits before the borrow site is permitted, recommendation to consider a feasibility and cost-benefit study to replace the existing sand-filled geotextile tubes with rock structures, an overview of current beach conditions, recommendation to perform a long-term beach management sustainability study, UNCW’s capstone project on Bald Head Creek, and analysis of the Wilmington Harbor Sand Management Plan and recommendations for amendments.
View the video of the presentation HERE and the slides HERE.
- A presentation from the Village’s governmental affairs consultants on the various advocacy efforts they have been working on for the Village. The purpose of having advocacy at the Federal level is to ensure that the Village’s shoreline, infrastructure, and long-term resilience needs are understood and supported at the Federal level and strengthens relationships with Congress, the US Army Corps of Engineers, and key agencies involved with permitting and coastal policy. They discussed the upcoming trip to Washington, D.C. (March 23 & 24) to meet with Congressional offices, the Corps, and Federal agencies, and updated the Council on the current climate in DC regarding energy, regulations, and the budget. Consultants provided insight into the Village’s Federal Feasibility Study (50-Year Shore Protection Project), Frying Pan Shoals Permitting, the Additional Work Agreement for 2027 dredging (for placement potentially in other sections of the shoreline on South Beach during the 2027 Wilmington Harbor maintenance dredge), and funding for the Wastewater Treatment Plant expansion.
View the video of the presentation HERE and the slides HERE.
- A presentation from the Bald Head Island Conservancy on the Conservancy’s environmental services contract with the Village. Dr. Beth Darrow shared information about the health of the maritime forest, deer population and herd management, aquifer monitoring, creek water quality, the living shoreline project, beach vitex removal, alligator monitoring, coyote populations, shorebird conservation, diamondback terrapins, channel deepening concerns, and the Conservancy’s requests to the Village to keep them involved early in beach management, stormwater/wastewater planning, development impacting the tree canopy or dunes and State/Federal policy issues.
View the video of the presentation HERE and the slides HERE.
- A presentation from Ken Richardson with the NC Division of Coastal Management (DCM) discussing the DCM Line of Construction analysis and the Beach Management Plan (BMP). Oceanfront owners asked the Village to consider a BMP because the pre-project vegetation line currently restricts rebuilding on some properties. Mr. Richardson provided clarity from the DCM on what a BMP is, what regulatory flexibility it provides, and what responsibilities the Village would assume. South Beach was specifically discussed because several existing homes are currently non-rebuildable because the pre-project line bisects them. With a BMP, some could become conforming again. Many vacant lots on South Beach remain unbuildable due to high dunes, public trust areas, setback requirements and historic sandbag structures and groin tubes located beneath the dunes.
View the video of the presentation HERE and the slides HERE.
- An update on the Village’s wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) expansion project from Mike Nixon, P.E., and Tony Boahn, P.E., from McKim & Creed. They provided a history of the WWTP, the current permitted capacity, the need for expansion, an overview of the proposed design with emphasis on the major additions and upgrades, shared that they used 3D modeling to help with design and operations, updated the Council on the status of the permit, and provided the most up-to-date cost estimate and the construction schedule.
View the video of the presentation HERE and the slides HERE.
- A presentation from Withers & Ravenel on the Village’s asset inventory assessment (AIA) program, which is a multi-year grant-funded effort to evaluate the condition, risk, and long-term sustainability of BHI’s water and wastewater systems. The goal is to shift Village Utilities from reactive maintenance to proactive, data-driven asset management. The Village secured $500,000 for Phase 1 and an additional $300,000 for continued work. The presentation covered all of the work product that comes out of the effort which includes a complete inventory of water and sewer assets, condition assessments (gravity sewer, manholes, lift stations, hydrants, valves), criticality and risk scoring (likelihood of failure × consequence of failure), Capital Improvement Plan (CIP), lifecycle modeling (when assets will need replacement), O&M (operation and maintenance) recommendations, and a rate study (presented separately). The results of the system inventory and key findings from the condition assessments were shared as well as major recommendations. The Village now has a data-backed Capital Improvement Plan, lifecycle model, and O&M strategy.
View the video of the presentation HERE and the slides HERE.
- A presentation from Withers & Ravenel on the Village’s Water and Sewer Fund Rate Study and Capital Improvement Program. The presentation explained the purpose of the study, which is to develop a 10-year spending plan for all water/sewer capital needs, incorporate the Asset Inventory Assessment, Village-identified projects, and the Wastewater Treatment Plant expansion, and avoid rate shock by planning predictable, incremental increases. There was a customer and rate structure overview, followed by proposed rate structure changes to be implemented with the FY27 budget, and then recommended annual rate adjustments.
Council discussed concerns about the proposed 5% annual rate increases and the justification for the inflation assumptions, and noted that the Village needs to clearly separate base rates (operations & routine capital) from a wastewater treatment plant surcharge (debt only). They acknowledged that past rates did not build capital reserves, unlike other utilities. Early, clear communication will be important for residents and stakeholders.
View the video of the presentation HERE and the slides HERE.
- Another presentation from Withers & Ravenel on the Local Assistance for Stormwater Infrastructure and Investment program from the NC Department of Environmental Quality, which awarded the Village a stormwater planning grant ($350k). The goal of the project is to develop a comprehensive plan and provide recommendations to improve surface water conveyance during extreme rainfall events (i.e., Hurricane Florence and PTC#8). The presentation covered the key challenges that have been identified, the technical work completed, and priority areas. A few programmatic improvements were recommended to include reviewing the Village’s ordinances related to stormwater, public education and outreach, and to develop a Floodwater Management Discharge Plan to streamline emergency pumping approvals with the state. Work on this grant is expected to be completed by the end of 2026.
View the video of the presentation HERE and the slides HERE.
Day two of the Village Council Annual Retreat consisted of the following:
- A brief introduction by Mayor Quinn, who offered context for anyone reviewing the transcript or video later. He emphasized that the extensive consultant presentations from the previous day were informational tools, not directives. The presentations provided data to assess the status of the island and does not indicate that the Village will act on everything that was presented. The purpose of gathering the information is to establish criteria, priorities, and budget direction—not to signal agreement with every recommendation.
Video of the Day 2 introduction can be viewed HERE.
- A discussion on Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) Fees. Staff reviewed the seven guiding principles (a seventh had been added), to make sure that the Council was on-board with them. The draft fee schedules for electric commercial vehicles and ICE vehicles were shared with the Council. Staff indicated that these are not the final schedules, and they can change before the April Council meeting when the public hearing will be held.
There was discussion about focusing on limiting size rather than emissions, as technology could improve and allow for large EVs. There was also concern that focusing on electrics could hold the Village to providing the infrastructure for charging stations. There was clarification that the intention was to focus on both; however, it was recognized that the transition to full electric on the island was not feasible, and the intent was to incentive commercial users to go to the smaller-sized electric vehicles and golf carts. Staff indicated that the fees will be evaluated each year, and stakeholder input will be considered.
View the video of the discussion HERE. View related documents HERE.
- A discussion on Village Vision 2040 – Who Are We, Where Do We Want to Go? Staff presented the Council with a few past versions of mission and vision statements made by previous boards. Emphasis was to evaluate whether the mission/vision and Blueprint 2040 plans align with today’s community values, and for the Council to clarify who the Village serves and how the island should evolve. There was consensus that the primary constituency is property owners. The Council said there is a distinction between being a tourist destination (weeklong family renters) versus an attraction (day trippers, short stays, entertainment driven uses), tourism is allowed but not encouraged. Council discussed the contradiction that folks do not want development, but then also want commercial services, and agreed that emphasis should be that commercial activity not alter the island’s character.
There was discussion on consistent enforcement of ordinances, updating development ordinances with a Unified Development Ordinance (UDO), conducting regular town halls and small group meetings to get feedback, improving communication to avoid feedback loops, using fiscal discipline by ensuring essential infrastructure spending needs are met before amenities are considered, and building long-term capital reserves.
View video of the discussion HERE and related visuals HERE.
- A presentation from the Village’s Finance Director. Mr. Hewett went over the FY27 budget calendar leading up to the adoption of the budget which is scheduled for June 18. He reviewed the ad valorem (property tax) revenue projections, beach debt service, accommodation tax revenue projections, interest earnings, and operational and capital pressures that will drive budgetary requests and decision-making for FY27.
Council debated tax rate reduction versus long-term capital spending, whether the Village is over-collecting given the strong fund balance and unused contingency, balancing infrastructure needs with amenities and avoiding future spikes in tax rates. The Council had shared priorities, which included transparency, efficiency, and clear tradeoffs.
View the video of the presentation HERE and the slides HERE. You can also follow the progress of the FY27 budget preparations on the Village’s website HERE.
- A discussion on the Council Priorities 2026-2030 Long Range Planning. Council reflected on the volume of information received during the retreat and the need to consolidate priorities. The Village Manager indicated that he will be preparing a comprehensive list of all identified priorities for Council review and consensus. Council will determine which items to advance, defer, or drop. There was further discussion on capital improvement planning, how to manage the ideas that come to the Council, the Village’s organization capacity and service levels, and providing clear feedback to its consultants.
View video of the discussion HERE.
Past Recaps & Videos
2025
2025 Annual Retreat Video 2025 Annual Retreat Recap2024
2024 Annual Retreat Video 2024 Annual Retreat Recap2023
2023 Annual Retreat Video 2023 Annual Retreat Recap2022
2022 Annual Retreat Video 2022 Annual Retreat Recap2021
2021 Annual Retreat Recap