Key Information:
- Candidate filing begins tomorrow (July 7).
- Duke Energy siren test on July 12.
- Next CAPTF meeting is on July 19, stakeholders encouraged to attend.
- There is a vacancy on the Planning Board, please consider applying!
- Golf cart safety tips.
Reminders & Events:
- BHI Conservancy will be having a TED workshop on Saturday, July 29.
- Overflow parking is available along Station House Way when Beach Access #42 is full.
- Property tax bills will break out municipal service district tax levies.
- Next Village Council regular meeting is on Friday, July 21.
- Dosher Clinic on BHI will not be open this season.
Candidate Filing – Municipal elections are coming up in November. The Village of Bald Head Island will have two councilor seats open as the terms of Councilors Jerry Maggio and Ginny White will end on November 7, 2023. Those interested in running for these seats must file with the Brunswick County Board of Elections between Friday, July 7, 2023, at noon and Friday, July 21, 2023, at noon. Incumbents must also file. For more information, go to the Brunswick County Board of Elections website HERE.
Duke Energy Siren Test – Duke Energy and county officials will be testing sirens around the Brunswick Nuclear Plant on Wednesday, July 12, 2023, between 10 a.m. and 11 a.m. The test will last from five to 30 seconds. No public action is required. More info HERE.
CAPTF Special Meeting – The Commercial Area Planning Task Force is having its next meeting on Wednesday, July 19, 2023, from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. The meeting will take place in the multi-purpose room at the Department of Public Safety and will be broadcast via Zoom (Zoom link HERE, agenda HERE). At this meeting, the task force will continue its review of the draft set of commercial design guidelines. Stakeholders who are interested in providing feedback to the task force are encouraged to attend and will have an opportunity to “sit at the table” with the task force members as they review the guidelines page by page.
Planning Board Vacancy – The Village is accepting applications to fill a vacancy on the Planning Board. To find out more about what the Planning Board does read the description online HERE. To apply, please fill out the Village’s APPLICATION.
Golf Cart Safety Awareness Month – July is Golf Cart Safety Awareness Month, and the Village is pleased to recognize the artists and share the artwork that was submitted for last year’s contest. The artwork is now up in the Island Package Center & Post Office. If you look up right as you walk in the door you will see it hanging above the PO boxes.
Here are a few tips from our gold medal winning artist, Powers:
DO watch the wheel. DO keep all hands on the wheel. Do be sensible and buckle up!
DON’T jump out of the cart. DON’T let a kid drive. DON’T go fast on curves. DON’T look at your phone while driving.
The Village would like to emphasize that no person less than 16 years of age may operate a golf cart on the Village’s public streets. The Public Safety Officers have come across parents allowing their children to drive a golf cart with them while they have a learner permit as part of a graduated licensing process and while they are not yet 16. NC General Statute 160A-300.6 specifically states, “No person less than 16 years of age may operate a golf cart on a public street, road, or highway.”
Check out more golf cart safety tips HERE.
REMINDERS & EVENTS:
TED Workshop – Last month, the Village reminded crab pot users that they shall not leave crab pots at the Village’s creek access. The Village also notified folks that a terrapin exclusion device (TED) is required to be installed on crab pots that are used in the creeks at Bald Head Island. The BHIC will be having a TED workshop on the Bald Head Island Conservancy porch on Saturday, July 29 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. Bring your crab pot and they will teach you how to equip them with TEDs.
More information on TEDs can be found in the BHI Conservancy’s brochure HERE.
Beach Access #42 Overflow – Avoid a ticket by parking legally along Station House Way if the Beach Access #42 parking lot is full. The Village has “honeycomb” pavers in a large section of right-of-way beginning at 233 Station House Way. The Village will be enforcing the illegal parking along South Beach Drive which is causing safety issues with carts blocking the roadway and passage of emergency vehicles.
Tax Bills – This year property tax bills will look a little different for folks who own property in Municipal Service District Zone A (beachfront) and Municipal Service District Zone B (dune and East Beach).
In years past, the Bald Head Island tax indicated on the bill included the Island-Wide Tax rate and the Municipal Service District tax together, beginning this year, the two tax levies will be shown separately. The Island-Wide rate is now $0.5779 for each $100 valuation. The Municipal Service District Zone A rate is now $0.0668 for each $100 valuation. The Municipal Service District Zone B rate is now $0.0383 for each $100 valuation.
The two Municipal Service Districts were created in 2009 following a bond referendum. The additional tax supports shoreline protection. View a map of the districts HERE.
Next Village Council Meeting – The next regular Village Council Meeting is scheduled for July 21, 2023, at 10:00 a.m. in the multi-purpose room in the Department of Public Safety (273 Edward Teach Ext.). The agenda will be posted HERE. Zoom information to listen-in remotely can be found HERE.
Dosher Clinic Closed – Due to staffing shortages Dosher Memorial Hospital will not be able to have a clinic on the island this season. This will not impact the Village’s current procedures for addressing walk-in non-emergent patients. The Village will continue to notify patients about their options to include the on-island provider and mainland providers when necessary. In addition, some medical providers and insurance companies have telemedicine options that individuals may wish to explore prior to staying on the island. As always, if you are experiencing a medical emergency, please call 911 and let the operator know you are on Bald Head Island.