Key information:
- Major barge service interruption March 20 – March 28, please assist the Village by reducing your household waste during this time
- Increased golf cart registration enforcement
- Provide input on the county’s transportation system via a survey recently released by the NCDOT
COVID-19 Update
- NC remains under an executive order including a mask mandate through March 26, 2021
- Vaccinations are still being given to Groups 1 through 3 and will move to Group 4 on March 17, 2021
- Brunswick County Case Numbers
Reminders:
- The next regular Village Council meeting is this Friday, March 19, 2021, at 2:00 p.m.
- Wilmington Harbor Maintenance Project continues, expected to be complete by March 30
- Village Hall remains closed to the public until further notice
Major Barge Service Interruption – Last week, the Village passed on an announcement from Bald Head Island Limited, LLC that required barge ramp maintenance is scheduled to take place March 20, 2021, through March 28, 2021. The Village is preparing for this service interruption as it will impact solid waste and recycling service and the Island Package Center and Post Office.
Solid Waste/Recycling – With the expected uptick in island population for spring break and the upcoming Easter holiday, the Village would like Islanders to do what they can to limit household waste production during the barge service interruption. The Village is expecting to continue having its solid waste contractor perform regular trash pick-up service and to have extra containers on-hand to handle what would normally be transported off-island. The Village is concerned that the available containers will not be sufficient to hold all the hauled waste, so any reduction that can be made by Islanders could help ensure that the waste can be contained until the barge reopens.
IPC/PO – BHI Limited’s warehouse has indicated that it will do everything it can to get all packages delivered to the IPC daily during the maintenance period. The exception to this will be larger items like TVs, mattresses, and any items that are greater than 48” and/or will not fit in a dolly.
Golf Cart Registration Enforcement – The Department of Public Safety has increased enforcement on golf cart registration. All carts are due to be registered by January 1st each year. Unregistered vehicles are a safety concern and officers on patrol will take notice of a late or expired registration and it may result in a citation. If you have not registered your cart(s), please do so now, you can do it online HERE.
CTP Survey – Brunswick County, it’s municipalities (including Bald Head Island), Cape Fear Rural Planning Organization, Grand Strand Area Transportation Study Metropolitan Planning Organization, and NCDOT have created a steering committee to start the Brunswick County Comprehensive Transportation Plan (CTP).
The CTP is a 25-30 year long-range multimodal transportation plan that will assess Brunswick County’s existing and future transportation needs including roadways, bicycle, pedestrian, transit, and rail facilities and services. The goals of a CTP are to assist with identifying transportation deficiencies, setting short and long-term transportation priorities, establishing a relationship between local and regional expectations, and reinforcing and support other local and regional planning and funding initiatives.
The CTP steering committee wants feedback from residents and visitors of the county to help create the Vision, Goals and Objectives as well as to guide the entire CTP process. Your input will help guide this plan. Please participate in THIS SURVEY or pick up a paper copy in the IPC/PO. The survey will be open from March 11 to June 9.
COVID-19 UPDATE
North Carolina continues to be under an executive order which will expire on March 26, 2021, at 5:00 p.m. The Executive Order includes a mask mandate and limits the number of people who may gather indoors at 25, 50 remains the limit for outdoors. Safety protocols such as masks, social distancing, and frequent handwashing will continue to be important to keep numbers down until folks are fully vaccinated.
Vaccinations – The State has moved to Group 3 for COVID-19 vaccinations. The NCDHHS has announced plans for how the state will move to Group 4. North Carolina will move to Group 4 on March 17, beginning with people with high-risk medical conditions, people experiencing homelessness, and incarcerated people who have not been vaccinated. North Carolina plans to move to other essential workers and other people in close group living settings under Group 4 on April 7. Brunswick County reported that as of last week, more than 25% of Brunswick County residents are at least partially vaccinated for COVID-19, with nearly 16% fully vaccinated, according to the latest data from the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services.
The State has developed a tool to help you determine which vaccine group you are in. You can access the “Find My Vaccine Group” tool HERE. More vaccine information can be found on the NCDHHS website HERE and Brunswick County’s website HERE. The State’s COVID-19 vaccine help center number is 888-675-4567.
Brunswick County Case Numbers – The latest NC County Alert System report indicated that 6 out of the 100 counties in North Carolina are “red” 34 are “orange”, and 60 are “yellow.” Brunswick County has moved from orange to yellow since the last report. Yellow means there is significant spread in the community.
Case numbers were typically updated daily on Brunswick County’s dashboard on THIS WEBSITE. The County experienced technical issues and this site will direct citizens to the State’s COVID-19 dashboard until the County dashboard is up and running. View the latest COVID-19 snapshot posted by Brunswick County on March 12, 2021.
REMINDERS
Council Meeting this Friday – The next regular Village Council meeting is this Friday, March 19, 2021 at 2:00 p.m. The agenda for this meeting will be posted online HERE. Those who wish to listen-in on the meeting can call the Village’s conference call line at 1-855-369-0450 Pin 41787483.
Wilmington Harbor Maintenance Project – As of yesterday, Great Lakes Dredge and Dock was near Beach Access #31 heading east toward the shoreline side of Killegray Ridge. According to USACE’s latest map, the project will be completed by March 30, 2021. Please follow the Village’s updates on THIS WEBPAGE. The page includes progress maps and photos of the project site and is being updated by the Army Corps of Engineers and Village staff regularly.
Village Hall – Out of an abundance of caution, Village Hall has been closed to the public until further notice. If you have business with the Village, we ask that you please use our online options, e-mail, or call for an appointment. Please call 910-457-9700 and the auto-attendant will direct you to the appropriate department. General questions can be e-mailed directly to public.information@villagebhi.org. Utility payments are to be dropped off in the box on the porch at Village Hall. Notary services are available at the IPC/Post Office.