- Recap of Village Council regular meeting.
- Hearing scheduled on BHIT’s application of proposed ferry/tram schedule changes.
- Notice of second primary.
- Village Utilities is assessing island properties per the EPA’s Lead and Copper Rule.
- Quarterly fire hydrant flushing.
- Start thinking about your emergency plans!
Reminders & Events:
- Village Council Special Meeting Budget Workshop to be held on Friday, April 26, 2024, at 10:00 a.m.
- Join us for our Arbor Day Tree Planting on Friday, April 26, 2024, at 1:00 p.m. at the Department of Public Safety.
- Turtle season starts May 1!
- Orton Plantation will be performing controlled burns through May 1.
- Project Longevity/Community Care is having an event on advanced care planning on May 3, 2024.
- The next regular Village Council meeting is on Friday, May 17, 2024.
- Cape Fear Memorial Bridge westbound lanes expected to be closed through May 23, 2024.
Regular Council Meeting
The Village Council conducted its regular meeting on Friday, April 19, 2024, at 10:00 a.m. Here is a summary of the information shared and the actions that were taken at this meeting:
Under public comment, the Village Council heard from Elizabeth Hervey Stephen, Ann & Jim Nichols, Tippi Antalik (on behalf of Elizabeth Robinson), John Fisher, Jeff Stokley, Sandra Gleich (on behalf of Bob Keiger), and Robert Drumheller. All expressed concerns about the ongoing litigation over the transportation system.
The consent agenda passed unanimously. It included the approval of minutes from the March 15 regular session and March 28 special session.
Under Old Business, Mayor Quinn shared a Transportation System Litigation Status Table that was prepared by Village Counsel. He responded to the public comments and indicated that a Q&A document and/or public forum will be considered and discussed with Village Counsel, as there are items that cannot be discussed because of non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) imposed by the other party and attorney client privilege. In the meantime, the status table will be available to the public on the Village website (HERE).
Under New Business, the Village Council tabled the awarding of the Unified Development Ordinance contract (WithersRavenel was the recommended firm), adopted a budget amendment to account for additional revenue, expenditures and appropriations of fund balance, adopted a capital project ordinance amendment for Jay Bird Shoals dredging, and a BRRAT (Beach Renourishment, Recreation and Tourism) fund budget amendment to transfer $477,000 from the BRAAT fund to the Jay Bird Shoals Dredging Project Fund. The Finance Director presented the March 2024 financials. Mayor Quinn introduced a proposal for the Village to conduct natural asset planning. He indicated the need to assess the Village’s natural environment and plan for what needs to be addressed, some of the items include medians, beach access parking, public parks, mulch site, and landscape maintenance. View a preliminary list of study items HERE.
Below are a few items shared in the Manager’s Report:
SHORELINE PROTECTION UPDATE
2025 Project & Borrow Site Update
Erik Olsen with Olsen & Associates (coastal engineering firm) gave some updates on the 2025 Coastal Storm Damage Reduction Project. Mr. Olsen reported that the Village has received all permits associated with the 2025 project. He indicated that they are now working on the plans and specifications for the project’s bid documents. He explained that the fill templates will be finalized immediately prior to the construction of the project, however, the sand volumes will not change. A portion of the plans showing the approximate limits of the project was shared (view HERE). He recommended that the Village bid out the groin tube portion of the project as soon as possible to avoid supply chain issues.
Mr. Olsen announced that the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) will be performing a channel maintenance project this year, with sand placement on Caswell Beach. There was discussion about the impact this will have on the Village’s project.
The Village Council authorized staff and the Village’s consultants to re-initiate the Frying Pan Shoals borrow site permitting effort.
Chris Creed of Olsen & Associates was introduced. Mr. Creed will be transitioning to the lead engineer position for the Village as Mr. Olsen moves toward retirement. Mr. Creed has worked with Olsen and his firm for 31 years and will be traveling to the island to meet everyone in person soon.
Mr. McCall, Village Manager, mentioned he recently met with Village’s state governmental affairs consultant. They discussed moving forward with the hardened structures bill to allow for additional options to manage shoreline erosion.
NCBIWA
Mr. Kim, Assistant Village Manager and Shoreline Protection Manager announced that the NC Beach Inlet & Waterway Association meeting is coming up on May 9 & 10 (agenda). Two Village staff and one Councilor have signed up to attend.
Marina Channel Maintenance
Mr. Kim reported that the Village’s contractor has staged its equipment in the BHI marina and that they should start dredging sometime during the week of 4/22. They will be starting with the channel and then removing the sand on the bypass area south of the marina channel entrance. Sand will first be placed on the north side of the marina channel entrance directly next to the channel and then they will move northward. The work should take about a week to complete and does not have an impact on ferry service.
Beach & Waterfront Access Grant
Mr. Kim announced that the Village has submitted a pre-application for a grant requesting $150,000 which will require a $50,000 Village match to make an ADA-accessible access that will allow folks to reach the area where the old Marina Park dock existed which will include a fixed platform that will overlook the Oyster Reef project. If the Village’s pre-application is selected, a final application will be submitted in July. Funding notifications will be made around September or October and if funded, construction could start in November.
IPC UPDATE
Mr. Kim shared the latest statistics from the Island Package Center. Those can be found in this table and graph. He reported that most of the packages are UPS, USPS, and FedEx ground. He indicated that there are seasonal shifts between in-season and off-season, but overall numbers are growing consistently. The IPC is getting an average of 54 customers on Saturdays.
AIA GRANT UPDATE
Mr. Kim reported that all fieldwork for the Asset and Inventory Assessment (AIA) was completed in March including GPS data collection and GIS mapping and they are currently working on quality assurance and quality control before creating two system maps, the first one is expected to be completed next month and will be reviewed by Public Services staff for accuracy.
COMMERCIAL REVIEW BOARD UPDATE
Mr. Kim announced that the Commercial Review Board (CRB) approved its first application (Philips Air Care). Through the process, they have identified a few recommended amendments to the existing standards. The board is finalizing the amendments before they are formally submitted to the Council for possible approval. The changes are in legal review and are expected to be discussed at the May CRB meeting for possible approval by the Council at its June meeting.
DEVELOPMENT SERVICES UPDATE
Assistant Village Manager, Jae Kim, presented the monthly departmental statistics for March (HERE & HERE) on behalf of Mr. Boyett.
PUBLIC SAFETY UPDATE
Chief Gibson presented the monthly statistics for March (HERE & HERE) for Public Safety.
He announced that the bike patrol is actively engaging with citizens, and the statistics are on par with last year. Public Safety and Public Services are prepared to install post and rope in preparation for the peak season in the areas where there have been numerous parking violations. Officers are issuing citations for parking, unlicensed drivers, DWI, and ICE violations. There have been three arrests since March 1.
The ladder truck and engine are still on schedule for October 2024 delivery. Ambulance number two received its OEMS certification on 4/16 and was put in service that day. Ambulance number one finally received a VIN number from Ford for the chassis and is being shipped to begin the building process. The quick response vehicles (QRVs) are ready for pick up and will not take long to put into service.
The Village has completely transitioned to First Due software. The Community Connect component had 194 subscribers as of last Tuesday.
The Dosher Clinic will be returning to the island this year, two days a week. Once the hours of operation are worked out, additional announcements will be made.
Interviews for the law enforcement Deputy Chief position were completed on April 11th and a conditional offer was sent last week. The North Carolina Justice Education and Training Standards Commission completed an audit of the law enforcement side of the department on March 28 which included personnel and training records. The department received zero deficiencies.
Congratulations to Sergeant Jacob LeBer for completing the HeartSaver and BLS (CPR) certification which allows him to teach CPR classes to staff and the community. Congratulations to PSO Dylan Matthews. He passed the state exam and graduated from the paramedic program.
There was discussion about speeding and Chief Gibson shared the statistics (HERE) from the radar sign that was positioned before the intersection of N Bald Head Wynd and Muscadine Wynd at N Bald Head Wynd and Towhee Court. There was a 0.4% speeding violation rate at that location. There was a request for a stop sign at this location and the data did not justify a need for one. There was discussion about the transportation ordinance in reference to speed and horsepower. The Village Council may discuss this later.
PUBLIC SERVICES UPDATE
JP McCann, Public Services Director, presented the monthly statistics for March for Public Services. He showed them an example of a speed bump that Public Services may try to use in lieu of the rumble strips that are not staying in place. The Village Council requested that Public Services install a test one in a parking lot to see how it does.
Mr. McCann reported that the Village Harbor Main lift station upgrade has been completed. The remaining tasks at the site include additional berm and vegetation to serve as a buffer for the adjacent home. The concrete apron will be added to all three lift stations at the end of the project. The new panels are now three-phase pumps instead of single-phase. Dune Ridge Main will be the next lift station that will be upgraded. Stede Bonnet will be the third. He said they hope to do another three this year, they are still waiting on the power panels for those.
Mr. McCann announced that the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) public water supply section completed their annual sanitary review and Village Utilities has zero deficiencies. There was one recommendation that came out of the report and that was that DEQ will be requiring additional certifications for operating the Reverse Osmosis (RO) system. Our operators will need a physical-chemical certification. All three operators have taken the class. All will need to take the exam and will have to keep up with the continuing education credits annually.
Mr. McCann indicated that the island-wide sign replacement project is about 50% complete. He updated the Village Council on the timber bridge. The Village needs an engineer to assist with a long-term plan of the bridge and it will be a part of the Village’s Capital Improvement Program. In the meantime, Public Works will be pressure washing and staining the bridge this week. The Village will need to start replacing boards since they have all been flipped.
OTHER ITEMS
Mr. McCall announced the upcoming Arbor Day Celebration (see below). He reported that the Village’s debt application for the $13.5M will be before the Local Government Commission on May 7. The Village Clerk will be hosting the Brunswick County clerks on BHI on May 10. Village staff will be attending Brunswick County’s annual hurricane conference on May 30.
A full account of these meetings can be found in the minutes which are posted HERE. Typically, minutes are posted with the agenda of next month’s meeting (e.g. If you want to read the November meeting minutes, they can be found under the December regular meeting agenda).
NCUC Hearing on Proposed Ferry/Tram Schedule Changes
The NC Utilities Commission (NCUC) has scheduled a hearing to receive public witness testimony on BHI Transportation’s (BHIT) application of proposed ferry/tram schedule changes. The hearing will be held on Tuesday, August 13, 2024, at 7:00 p.m. in Courtroom 2 of the Brunswick County Courthouse (310 Government Center Drive, Bolivia, NC). Additional testimony will be heard on Tuesday, August 27, 2024, at 2:00 p.m. in the Commission Hearing Room in Raleigh, NC. Details for the Raleigh hearing and instructions for written statements can be viewed in the NCUC’s 4/15/24 order HERE.
Notice of Second Primary
The Brunswick County Board of Elections would like BHI voters to know that there is a second primary for two state Republican contests, NC Lieutenant Governor and NC State Auditor. Those eligible to vote in this primary are Republicans and Unaffiliated voters who either voted the Republican ballot or did not vote in the March 5, 2024, primary election. Early voting is between April 25 and May 11 and the second primary election day is May 14, 2024. More information HERE.
Lead & Copper Rule
Village Utilities personnel have been assessing island properties per the EPA’s Lead and Copper Rule. This may require them to do a small amount of excavation to check the water lines at the meter. All Village Utilities staff drive vehicles and wear uniforms with the Village of Bald Head Island logo and are authorized to do this work. As of today, the assessment is about 2/3 complete. For more information, read our Lead & Copper Rule Fact Sheet HERE.
Fire Hydrant Flushing
Over the last month, the Department of Public Safety has been conducting fire hydrant flushing throughout the island. Flushing enhances water quality by removing sediments from inside the mainline and flushing them throughout the hydrant; identifies malfunctions in the hydrant and related valves; helps determine weaknesses in the water distribution system; identifies inadequate water volumes and pressures in the mainlines and helps determine fire flow adequacy.
There are a few remaining areas that still need to have fire hydrants flushed. When these areas are scheduled, property owners in each specific area will receive a CodeRed text/email and a notice will be posted on our social media (Facebook/X). If you have not signed up for CodeRed, please do so HERE. The messages include a link to the FAQs which provides guidance to consumers. This activity will occur between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. on the scheduled days.
The Department of Public Safety expects to perform fire hydrant flushing once a quarter and hopes to develop a set schedule for each section of the island for the remainder of the year. Stay tuned!
Start Thinking About Your Emergency Plans!
Researchers at Colorado State University recently released their prediction of the upcoming Atlantic hurricane season which officially starts June 1. They are predicting an “extremely active” season with 11 hurricanes and 23 named storms. Now is a great time to check your emergency kit to make sure it is fully stocked and review your emergency plans with family members. For all the tips and resources, go HERE.
REMINDERS & EVENTS
Budget Workshop
The first budget workshop is scheduled for next Friday, April 26, 2024, at 10:00 a.m. in the multi-purpose room at the Department of Public Safety. It will also be broadcast via Zoom (info HERE). A recording of the meeting will be posted to the budget webpage (HERE). If additional time is needed, the Village Council may schedule additional budget workshop meetings. Those meeting notices will be posted at Village Hall, on the Village’s public hearings and annual budget webpage, and emailed to those who are on the “Sunshine List.” If you would like to be on this email distribution list, please contact Darcy Sperry at village.clerk@villagebhi.org and use “Sunshine List” in the subject line.
Arbor Day Tree Planting
The public is invited to attend a tree planting in celebration of Arbor Day. The tree planting will be taking place at the Department of Public Safety on Friday, April 26, 2024, at 1:00 p.m. The BHA’s Recreation, Conservation, and Beautification Committee, Bald Head Academy students, and Village officials will be planting two oak trees. If you are unable to attend please stay tuned to our social media channels (Facebook/X/YouTube) or our Tree City USA webpage (HERE) for photos of the event AND our video celebration of Arbor Day documenting five years of Operation Re-Forest-We Forest.
Turtle Season
In North Carolina, turtle nesting season officially begins on May 1st. Last year, 1,724 nests were laid in NC, of those, 122 were found on Bald Head Island. During turtle nesting season, BHI Conservancy volunteers patrol the shoreline looking for turtle tracks for signs that a nest has been laid. The nests are marked. Please do not disturb these areas!
When turtle season begins, no beach bonfires will be issued, dogs on the beach must be on a leash from sunset to sunrise, and all beach equipment must be removed between the hours of 9:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m. and at least 10 feet away from sea turtle nests. Below are a few additional tips from the BHI Conservancy:
- TURTLES DIG THE DARK – Do not shine any light, including red light, on nesting moms or hatchlings.
- RED LIGHTS ONLY – Only red lights are allowed on the beach.
- FILL UP HOLES & PICK UP TRASH – Holes are dangerous to nesting moms, hatchlings, and our team!
- TURN OFF BEACH FRONT HOUSE LIGHTS – Brightly-lit houses can disorient moms and hatchlings.
- REPORT ANY TURTLE ACTIVITY – Call (910) 457-0089 x 5 – it is illegal to touch sea turtles.
Controlled Burns at Orton Plantation
Orton Plantation announced that it will be performing controlled burn, covering 6,000 acres through May 1, 2024. The smoke may be visible from the ferry and the island. Occasionally winds will push the smoke toward the island, and it may be noticeable.
Project Longevity/Community Care Event
The Project Longevity/Community Care team is back again with a special event. Jason Clamme from Lower Cape Fear Lifecare will be returning to the island. You may recall he was a presenter at their last meeting and discussed hospice care.
Jason will be back to “Begin the Conversation” about:
- Understanding and defining healthcare choices
- Putting plans in writing
- Sharing decisions with family members and doctors
A notary will be available to assist with the preparation of your advance directives, so be sure to bring your ID.
The workshop is on May 3rd at 10 a.m. at the Public Safety Building on Edward Teach,
A second workshop at 1:30 p.m. has been added. The deadline to sign up for this time slot is Monday, April 29, 2024, at noon. Please email Joan Maggio (email) with the following information for each individual who will be attending:
- Your name
- Your email address
- Your telephone number
Next Regular Council Meeting
The next regular Village Council Meeting is scheduled for Friday, May 17, 2024, 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.
Cape Fear Memorial Bridge
The westbound lanes of the Cape Fear Memorial Bridge are currently closed and are expected to reopen just ahead of Memorial weekend on or before May 23, 2024. More details about the project can be found HERE.
Bald Head Association events can be found HERE.
Old Baldy Foundation events can be found HERE.
BHI Conservancy events can be found HERE.
Village Chapel events can be found HERE.
The Village calendar can be found HERE.
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