In this issue:
- Highlights of the December Village Council regular meeting.
- Golf cart registration renewal system update.
- Deer management operations are due to begin the first week in January.
- Public Safety encourages islanders to celebrate this holiday season safely.
- Tree maintenance continues along Village roads; expect detours.
- The Village’s paving project has been delayed due to the weather.
Reminders & Events:
- Village offices will be closed Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday (12/24 – 12/26) and on New Year’s Day.
- The Island Package Center & Post Office schedule for the holidays.
- The next regular Village Council meeting is on Friday, January 16, 2025, at 10:00 a.m.
Village Council Regular Meeting
The Village Council conducted its last regular meeting on Friday, December 12, 2025.
At the beginning of the meeting, honorary recognition was given to Paul Swanson, who will retire as a Lieutenant with the Department of Public Safety on December 31, 2025, after serving the department since December 15, 2010. A proclamation of commendation and appreciation was adopted, and a resolution awarding him his badge and service sidearm was adopted by the Council. Swanson was present to receive his badge and his sidearm, which was engraved with his name, date of retirement, and rank. A reception was then held in his honor in the Department of Public Safety bays.
Below are a few of the actions taken:
- Council recontinued the public hearing on a proposed amendment to the budget ordinance fee schedule, ICE fees. For the last two months, the Village Council has continued hearing, and it’s now been recontinued until the January 16 Council meeting, so staff can continue to work with Councilor Thomas and Mr. Cowdry on the amendment to incentivize users to operate smaller and/or electric commercial vehicles.
- Council conducted a public hearing on a proposed text amendment to correct a discrepancy in the Commercial Design Standards and the Zoning Ordinance regarding the building height limit in the Muscadine Corridor. No public comments were received, and the amendment was adopted unanimously as presented.
- Village staff presented additional information supporting the need to amend the ordinance on yard debris pick-up and will bring back an updated draft ordinance for Council to consider at its January 16 meeting.
- Council adopted a Resolution Urging Robust Mitigation, Long-Term Monitoring, and Adaptive Management for the Wilmington Harbor 403 Project. This is concerning the Wilmington Harbor Channel Deepening Section 403 project. The Village has some information on this project in the shoreline protection section of its website (HERE) and will be creating a dedicated webpage for the project, which will include recent and past public comments submitted by the Village indicating its concerns with the project.
During the organizational portion of the meeting, the following took place:
- The Council unanimously accepted the Brunswick County Board of Elections’ official results for the municipal election held on November 4, 2025.
- Oaths of Office were administered to Mayor Peter Quinn, Councilor-Elect Jesse Hermann, and Councilor-Elect Slaughter Fitz-Hugh.
- Resolutions Honoring outgoing Mayor Pro Tem Scott Gardner and Councilor Emily Hill were adopted, and both were presented with an honorary street sign.
- Councilor Ginnie White was unanimously elected Mayor Pro Tem and was sworn in.
- Councilor Thomas was appointed as a delegate to the Cape Fear Council of Governments, and Councilor Herman was appointed as an alternate.
- The Council adopted the resolution setting its regular meeting schedule for 2026.
Other than a few of the items reported later in this issue, Village Staff reported on:
- Representative Charlie Miller’s request to meet with the new Council members.
- Council retreat agenda update.
- Village parks programming – will be discussed at the annual retreat. (Mayor Quinn)
- An on-island dental care services proposal.
- Elected officials training.
- Frying Pan Shoals Borrow Site permit update.
A full recap with additional details is posted monthly on our website HERE. You can also listen to a podcast episode recapping the meeting HERE.
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 December meeting minutes, they can be found under the January regular meeting agenda).
Golf Cart Registration Renewal System Update
Current golf cart owners started receiving registration renewal invitation letters in the USPS mail late last week. As cart owners were logging into the system, the carts that were listed on the letter were not showing up online.
Many of the letters received arrived on Friday afternoon and over the weekend. Village Staff began investigating over the weekend and on Monday morning sent an e-blast announcement to islanders (along with posts on social media and the Village website) notifying islanders of the issues with the system. Our vendor has been working with its programmer and the 3rd party payment provider to rectify the situation, which appears to be an unsuccessful upload of data.
Once our vendor notifies the Village that the system is working, Village Staff will be running additional tests of the system to verify the portal is fullly functional. As soon as we feel comfortable that the system is working properly, we will be sending an e-blast via our Village’s Voice subscription service and updating the Village’s webpage and social media channels.
The Village has received numerous emails and phone calls regarding the inoperability of the registration system, issues with old carts that have been sold/no longer operable being listed on the invitation letter, or carts that have been purchased in the last year (which should have been duly registered) not being listed. As soon as the system is up and running, Village Staff will be able to provide further guidance on these issues and will be posting this information on the Golf Cart/Electric Vehicle Registration webpage.
ENFORCEMENT WILL NOT BEGIN ON JANUARY 1. It will begin no earlier than March, and likely later. The Village wants to make sure that every cart owner has had the opportunity to register their current carts and that the stickers have been delivered. In the meantime, several Q&As have been posted on the Village’s webpage. Please visit the webpage before calling or emailing the Village. We will make every effort to respond to the messages that have already been received but may be delayed during the holidays.
With any change, as an example, the new ferry reservation system, there are going to be some hiccups, and the Village will work through them. We appreciate folks’ patience as we work through them.
Deer Management Operations to Begin in January
Village Manager, Chris McCall, reported at last week’s Village Council meeting that the Village had received the winter deer census count data from the BHI Conservancy indicating a deer population of approximately 239 deer. The breakdown included: 117 does, 60 fawns, and 62 bucks.
The Village has submitted its operations plan to the NC Wildlife Resources Commission (WRC) and requested that a depredation permit be issued to “take” up to 100 deer. WRC indicated they should have the permit written and issued this week (week of 12/15). The Village plans to initiate the program in January for the weeks of 1/5, 1/12, and 1/19 and will be culling Monday through Thursday (between the hours of 12:00 a.m. and 5:00 a.m.). The Village will be sending out an eblast as the first week approaches to make sure all islanders are notified. In the meantime, islanders can find details about the Village’s deer management program on the Village website HERE.
Celebrating the Holidays Safely
Festive celebrations, flickering lights, and winter greens are hallmarks of the holiday season, but they also present fire risks that can quickly turn this festive time of year into a devastating one. The National Fire Protection Association reports U.S. fire departments responded to an estimated average of 835 home structure fires per year that began with decorations, excluding Christmas trees. These fires caused an annual average of 3 civilian fire deaths, 29 civilian fire injuries, and $18 million in direct property damage.
The Department of Public Safety would like to offer some tips to make sure this holiday season is a safe one for everyone:
- Place candles out of reach of children and where they cannot be knocked down or blown over.
- Keep matches and lighters up high in a locked cabinet.
- Use flameless candles near flammable objects.
- Do not burn Christmas trees, wreaths, or wrapping paper in the fireplace.
- Always use a screen on the fireplace when a fire is burning.
- Never leave candles or fireplaces burning unattended or when asleep.
- Check and clean the chimney and fireplace area at least once a year.
- Do not plug too many lights into a single electrical outlet; this can cause an overload. It’s important to keep wires away from heat sources such as space heaters and fireplaces.
Please also remember to water your Christmas tree daily. Between 2020 and 2024, US fire departments responded to an average of 143 home fires that started with Christmas trees per year. These fires were responsible for an estimated 7 civilian deaths, 13 civilian injuries, and $15M in property damage during that time period.
When it is time to dispose of your Christmas tree, you can take it to the Village’s Timbercreek Mulch site. The Timbercreek Mulch site is located off North Bald Head Wynd between Needle Rush Court and Towhee Court. Map HERE.
Tree Maintenance on Village Roads
Public Works and its contractor (Fitness Tree) will continue to perform routine tree maintenance along the Village’s roads through mid-February. Islanders should expect lane closures during this period of time. Overhead cutting by Fitness Tree will resume in late January. Updates will be posted on the Village’s “Road Closures” webpage HERE and on social media. Here also is some Tree Maintenance Info.
Annual Paving Project Delayed
Unfortunately, this year’s paving project will need to be postponed since the temperatures were too low to lay asphalt. As mentioned at the December 12 Council meeting, and in our meeting recap, we have asked the paving contractor if there is an earlier window of opportunity within their schedule so we may be able to get it completed sooner than spring. Details to come.
Below is a list of the work that will be done:
- Muscadine / S Bald Heady Wynd – 3” Mill & Pave – 1,500 SY
- S Bald Head Wynd 4” Asphalt Wedging – 150 SY
- Edward Teach Wynd Ext – 3” Mill & Pave – 110 SY (2 areas)
- Tanbark Ct. 2” Mill & Pave – 573 SY
- Tanbark Ct.: Concrete Header Curb Replacement – 35 LF
- Tanbark Ct: 4″ Concrete Sidewalk Replacement – 140 SF
Please note that the Village has funds in its annual budget to address potholes. Requests for pothole repair can be made online via our service request portal HERE (the hammer icon on our website homepage) or you can call us at (910) 457—9700 ext. 1000.
REMINDERS & EVENTS:
Holiday Office Closures
Village Hall and the Island Package Center & Post Office (IPC/PO) will close early tomorrow, Friday, 12/19, so that staff can attend a holiday luncheon. The IPC/PO will close at noon, and Village Hall will close at 12:30.
Village offices will be closed on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, December 24-26, and New Year’s Day. This includes the Village Hall and Department of Public Safety administration. If you need a Public Safety Officer to come to you, please call 911.
2025 IPC/PO Holiday Schedule
Christmas Holiday – The IPC/PO will be open for extended hours on Tuesday, December 23, 2025, and will open at 10:00 a.m. and close at 6:00 p.m. The IPC/PO will be closed on Wednesday, December 24th, and Thursday, December 25th. Although the Village offices will remain closed on Friday, December 26th, the IPC/PO will be open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. that day. In previous communications, the Village recommended that if you were having items shipped to the island for this holiday, you should have placed your orders by December 9 or earlier to give sufficient time to make it to the island.
New Year’s Day – The IPC/PO will be closed on Thursday, January 1, 2026.
Next Village Council Meeting
The next regular Village Council Meeting is on Friday, January 16, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. The agenda will be posted HERE. Zoom information to listen in remotely can be found HERE.
The Village Council adopted its regular meeting schedule at the December 12 meeting. Regular meetings will continue to take place on the third Friday of the month at 10:00 a.m. at the Department of Public Safety. Exceptions in 2026 include the February retreat (2/3 & 2/4), June (third Thursday – 6/18), October (fourth Friday – 10/23), and December (second Friday – 12/11).
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.
Project Longevity event info HERE.
The Village calendar can be found HERE.
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