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This morning (Nov 7, 2024) Town Council held a special meeting to approve the contract with the Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) for beach renourishment this winter. Any contracts the town enters into must be voted on by Town Council. Why didn’t we just wait until next week at our regularly scheduled meeting? … because the Corps needs as much time as possible to mobilize for the project and we’re running a bit late due to recent (ahem) complications.

As you may recall, we had to change our parking policy to comply with language in the contract that says parking must be “open and available to all on equal terms.”

That language is not new. It’s been in every renourishment contract we’ve ever entered in to. It’s the interpretation of the language that is new. By using a formula that’s difficult to follow, they have determined that we must provide 767 parking spaces for all to use. We can charge for parking, but town residents must pay the same rate as everyone else. If we sell a parking permit, we must also sell that permit to everyone else for the same price. We can sell a special parking permit to town residents, but it can’t be valid in any of the 767 spaces.

And that’s where we are today. I have my personal ideas on how we should move forward, but like any good cooking blog, you’ll have to read (or scroll) to the bottom to see my recipe. First…

Why Is Everything So Hard?

Re-litigating this parking thing has me annoyed. I never wanted to do this! Why does everything around here feel like pulling teeth? And why must we argue?

I’ll tell you why, because Carolina Beach is a very complicated little town. Beware when people say “Up in Concord, we just do it this way…” It ain’t so simple here. We deal with many external complicating factors. A great example being our parking. How many other communities have to change their parking policy because of a claus in a US Army Corps of Engineers contract?

Here’s more:

Want a crosswalk at Spartanburg? NCDOT has to get involved. Expand Mike Chappel Park? The US Army owns that land. Build a new water tower? Expand our water treatment plant? US Army. US Army.

How about running a beach rake to pick up litter? Great idea! But don’t forget that Coastal Area Management Act (CAMA) regulations only allow it twice per year because of nesting turtles.

Want to pave Snow’s Cut Trail? FUHGETTABOUTIT! The US Army Corps of Engineers owns that land. The multi-use path on St. Joseph had to stop before the turn at Lewis Drive. Why? Coastal wetlands!

Clean the big drainage ditch? That’s classified as “Waters of the United States” (WOTUS) and subject to federal jurisdiction under the Clean Water Act (I’m exhausted just typing that.)

Add more mooring balls in the harbor? Sure, but the State of North Carolina has a say. Improve the crossing at Harper and Dow Road? Change the speed limit on Ocean Blvd? NCDOT, NCDOT. Get rid of a derelict boat? It might be in waters governed by New Hanover County.

Build new bathrooms at the Boardwalk? CAMA again. And don’t forget that oceanfront structures have to be built for extreme wind and corrosion factors.

Many of these agencies offer grants and we take advantage of them all the time. But they always come with strings attached and the projects move slowly. (Think Ocean Blvd sidewalk and St. Joseph St multi-use path.)

Here’s a good example of paralysis … there’s a spot along the water on Florida Ave near Canal Drive that floods during king tides. A bulkhead there would serve our citizens well. But the next door neighbor doesn’t want it and neither does the property owner.

We’re willing to pay for it, so maybe we can force the issue? Nope. That would require enabling legislation from the State Legislature. But even if we got the enabling legislation (which some people would fight, because… I don’t know, they just would.) CAMA might not allow it. It’s enough to drive you crazy.

And then there are the internal factors. We have a population of 6,500, but also many 2^nd home owners who consider themselves locals (as do I.)  We balloon up to 40,000 in the summer. Well, you have to maintain police, fire and utilities for the maximum population, not the minimum. And beach towns attract a rough crowd sometimes. The drug dealers, partiers, thieves and scumbags show up in force.

Don’t forget the competing interests. Are you a business owner that wants lots of visitors? Or a retiree that wants it to be quiet? Maybe you’re raising a family. Or you’re a part-timer. Maybe you have an e-bike. Maybe you hate e-bikes. Maybe you’re a home builder. Maybe you’re an environmentalist.

With every decision I make I consider everyone’s wishes, but it’s tough to please them all. And when people are unhappy… yep, they go to social media. Facebook can elevate anyone’s voice and that’s a good thing, but it can also needlessly get people riled up.

So what’s to be done? Just keep trying, keep moving forward. Find a way to offer people options. Start the projects, and stay the course until they get finished. Keep looking for solutions to vexing problems.

Back To Parking

When making decisions like these, I start with what is most important. Keeping a good relationship with the Army Corps (and therefore our beach renourishment) is paramount. Therefore, we should make our decisions with these 4 points in mind:

1. We will respect the Army Corps’ interpretation as it’s written.
2. We will adhere to the spirit of the interpretation.
3. We will not try to be cute and work around the rules.
4. We will keep the Army Corps’ apprised of any changes we make.

Another important thing… our citizens should be able to park where they want without paying hourly rates. What’s the point of having all these oceanfront lots if my pass doesn’t work at them? A surfer on a golf cart should be able to go where they want without carrying their wallet to pay for parking.

Another important thing… our citizens should have the option to buy an inexpensive parking pass. If you’re just trying to grab a coffee at Malama, there should be a pass for you.

Therefore, I propose that we sell annual, unlimited parking passes. Which means that anyone, anywhere can buy the same pass for the same price. (Welcome back Monkey Junction friends.) I’m not sure about the price point.

I also propose that we sell limited, less expensive parking passes to CB citizens only. (The Malama Pass.) Since we sold local passes for $40, and now they’ll be limited, I suspect about $25 seems fair.

As for my 4 rules, the Army Corps allows us to sell limited passes, and they’re allowing Kure Beach to sell unlimited passes as long as anyone, anywhere can buy them too. So I don’t see why this policy will be a problem.

Of course, my fellow Council members, town staff and the parking company may feel differently. Let the games begin.

I stuck my neck out a year ago to force a more equitable parking system and I thought we found one. I never wanted to open this discussion again. Ever. And now this. (barf emoji)

Questions/Answers….

Why were you so quiet about this? … 1) Because we are/were in touchy negotiations and potential legal action with the Corps of Engineers (Corps.) Outraged emails from citizens and/or non-citizens would not be helpful. I believe in keeping the public informed (and my record supports that) but sometimes discretion is necessary. 2) Any delays would have likely resulted in us losing the contract for this year. (It must be done in winter to avoid environmental factors.) 3) We were trying to quietly get to Nov 1 (when parking is free) to start the difficult conversation.

Full disclosure – I’m regretting it.

Is this because we stopped selling OTB passes? … Probably, but keep in mind that we haven’t sold OTB passes since 2021. And we had a re-nourishment project in 2022! And when we did sell OTB passes they were more expensive than local passes. ($40 vs $175 in 2021.) That’s why we didn’t see this coming. What changed? I want to know.

Will this be the policy going forward? … I don’t know. First, I hope we can convince the Corps to change their interpretation of the rules. If not, I’ll advocate for keeping our premium lots open to our citizens (Sandpiper, Hamlet, Alabama.) I’ll advocate for making golf cart spots (Spartanburg) straight up free. Naturally I’ll look to bike/ped improvements too. I’m open to suggestions.

Will we consider selling OTB passes again? … I’m open to it (I always have been.) But keep in mind they’ll have to be the same price we pay. I hate the thought of our citizens paying hourly to park. I hate it!

How did the Corps come up with this 767 number? … I have no idea. It’s a complicated formula that some federal employees dreamed up.

Should we have just told the Corps to pound sand and go without renourishment? … Tempting as that was, no. I was just in Rodanthe and that’s scarier than paying for parking! And as for the argument that erosion only hurts the fat cats with oceanfront property… nope. No matter where you live, you want the beach to be strong. Perhaps we can look into teaming up with other beach towns to buy our own dredge boat (it’s possible.) Maybe we can re-evaluate how ROT funds are spent. But let’s get this one done first.

Town of CB Press Release (link)

FAQs (from the Town of CB website)

The Town of Carolina Beach Town Council, in a Special Meeting, adopted changes to areas where residential parking passes are accepted. This change occurred to meet requirements for our Federally Authorized Coastal Storm Risk Management project and to prevent further delay or loss of the upcoming beach nourishment. Here are answers to some questions about the changes we have recently received:

Are these changes permanent? We hope not. The Town will continue to review the federal requirements for beach nourishment and work with the USACOE for additional options. The Town Council is always looking to expand access to the beach and town businesses for citizens and visitors alike.

Will the Town still sell parking passes to Kure Beach residents? There have been no changes to this parking policy.

Will the Town still sell employee parking passes?  There have been no changes to this parking policy.

Where can employees park with a parking pass?  Anywhere resident parking passes are allowed

Do these new restrictions affect LSV/golf carts? Yes, LSV/golf carts are considered cars.

What happens to the golf cart spaces on street ends, for example Spartanburg Avenue? Golf carts will be required to pay for parking at street ends.

How does this affect the north end resident parking during flooding? The Town will not enforce parking during Town recognized flooding events on the North End.

Will passes still be $40 in 2025?  Town Council reviews the rates each year in December.

Will I get a refund for the remainder of this year? Your pass is still valid; no refunds will be issued.

Why are passes not allowed in some ocean front lots?  CLICK HERE for details.

Is there a map showing where resident passes are allowed? Yes – CLICK HERE for to view.

When did this change occur? CLICK HERE to view a timeline of discussions with the USACE.

If anyone has recently received a parking ticket in a lot recently designated to not accept residential passes and where new signage has not been installed, please contact the Town Manager’s office.

Timeline (from the Town of CB website)

August 1 – Meeting with USACE, Kure Beach, and Wrightsville Beach to discuss parking and the Public Partnership Agreement (PPA) and the Beach Renourishment Evaluation Report (BRER).

August 20 – USACE issues request Carolina Beach and Kure Beach validate, no later than September 15, 2024, that all non-Federal responsibilities are met.

August 22 – Kure Beach letter sent.

September 10 – Council restricts resident parking passes in certain lots to ensure compliance with the PPA and BRER.

September 12 – Town certifies that it meets all non-Federal responsibilities, including providing the required 767 parking spaces on an equal basis and availability to all.

September 19 – USACE issues subsequent letter to Kure Beach and Town to provide specific detail about the parking requirements under the PPA and BRER no later than October 3.

September 20 – Kure Beach responds and justifies parking passes for residents.

September 28 – USACE issues additional guidance on the parking requirements which lessens the Town’s ability to meet the parking requirements under the PPA and BRER by including on street parking.

September 30 – Council properly notices special meeting to take action in response to the September 28th guidance to make certain the Fall 2024 nourishment event takes place.

September 30 – USACE issues letter to Kure Beach suspending the fall nourishment project for failure to meet the requirements of the BRER and PPA.

October 2 – Council, in response to USACE, eliminates parking passes in ocean front lots to secure fall nourishment event.

October 8 – USACE notifies the Town it meets the requirements of the PPA and BRER and the nourishment project will now be placed out to bid.

Our new budget took effect today. And yes it included a 9% property tax increase and 4% utility increase. Let’s just get that out of the way.

Property tax works like this. Our new rate is 23.5 cents. Which means 23.5 cents per $100 value of your home. (Home value is determined by the New Hanover County Tax Department.)

For instance, my house is valued at $370,100. Therefore my tax is computed like this:

($370,100 / 100) = $3,710 x .235 = $870

That’s my share. $870. I suspect that I pay a little less than average, but it’s hard to say. What you pay is based on your home value. I live in a single family home, in a nice neighborhood (Carolina Sands), but it’s pretty small … only 1,600 sf. The Hoffer home is valued higher than most condos, but lower than most houses. Anyway…

The Tax Increase

I get no joy out of raising your taxes. The easy explanation is that every expense that our town government incurs has gone up in the last few years. So just like your household, it costs us more to do the same stuff.

That being said, someone has to hold the line and I was hoping that we could as well. The last couple of years we were able to because sales tax, ABC (liquor sales) and ROT (room occupancy tax) revenues kept rising. But they’ve started to flatten out, so here we are.

What a lot of people don’t realize about the budget is that 95% of it is consistent with the year before. It goes toward the stuff we always do: police, fire, road maintenance, parks, etc… Then maybe 5% goes toward the new stuff, the fun projects if you will: a sidewalk, skate park, new bath house, marina improvement, etc… So when the budget gets tight, those are the first things to go.

We’ve been improving our town lately, and I for one didn’t want to slow the momentum.

** The following image shows haw my taxes have increased through the years. If they would have increased at 3% every year since 2004, they’d be a little lower than they are today.

What About Finding Efficiencies?

It’s often assumed that if we just looked hard enough we could find millions of dollars worth of waste. That if we just hired a good accountant we could cut our budget in half. As if we’re heating town hall in the winter by burning $100 bills. That’s just not the case.

Someone once told me that “local government is the lean, mean, fighting machine of all governments.” And in comparison to county, state, federal and school districts, he was right. We’re not perfect (no organization is) but remember… there is no money in this budget for Ukraine, Israel or NATO. We’re not funding a grocery store (like New Hanover County) or buying $750 bolts for jet fighters.

The budget is just full of things that we hope will make our town better. Feel free to dispute some items, I won’t blame you. Go here to view the budget:

https://www.carolinabeach.org/government/departments/finance/annual-budgets

My Philosophy

I don’t look at it as if we’re operating a business. I look at it as if we’re managing a big family. There are some things we have to do, and some things we want to do. But we all must pitch in for everything. With that in mind, I look at every expenditure based on what your contribution will be. Should we build that sidewalk? … or reduce taxes accordingly?

Hence, the chart you see below. That sidewalk on Ocean Blvd? My contribution is $47. I’ll pay it. Police and Fire Department … $231. I’ll pay it. And so on. I’ll never ask you to pay for anything that I wouldn’t willingly pay for myself.

** The following image shows your contribution to some recent projects depending on the value of your home. For instance, if your home is valued at $500,000 you pitched in $28 for the skatepark.

Some Examples

Of course, one person’s wasteful spending is another person’s worthy project. Let’s start with the famous choo choo train that people love to use as an example of poor fiscal management.

First of all, it was funded by Room Occupancy Taxes, so it didn’t technically come from our local taxpayers. Regardless, it was a Parks & Rec purchase. And Parks & Rec departments have a unique mission … entertain the kids. You could dig through their receipts and find out that they bought oven mitts, ping pong balls, fishing poles, etc… Is that all wasteful?

Our staff thought a cute little train would be fun for some events. So they bought one for $3,000. My share of $3,000 is 35 cents! (I can handle that. Look at the chart to see what your contribution was.)

How about the Goosemaster guy at the lake shooing away the massive flock of geese that poop everywhere. Some people would say, “There’s a local government being proactive, creative and trying to solve the root cause of a problem.” Others would say “what a waste!”

I don’t love spending the money, but I see it as a local government trying a thing. If it doesn’t work (and it may not) we can always stop. At least we tried. It may cost up to $11,000 a year for the service. My share of $11,000 is $1.29. I can afford that.

There are some projects that I don’t see the value in. Painting a centennial logo on the water tower… not worth it to me. Investing money in the old library building … I’m not convinced that the building is worth it. Paving the Tennessee beach access… maybe. Small contributions add up… I get that.

But here’s the way local government works… Council sets general goals and priorities, staff decides what specific projects to take on. I have faith in the team, so I don’t raise a stink.

The Fund Balance

Our General Fund budget is $22 million and we have almost $11 million in the bank. Approaching a 50% fund balance is a great place to be. We could have dipped into it to keep the tax increase down, but it’s not worth it. If there’s a major emergency we’ll be glad to have the money (of course), but it helps in other ways.  A strong financial footing allows us to get better terms for borrowing money… and we’ll be doing that soon for our major infrastructure projects starting next year.

It also gives us the flexibility to seize opportunities without sacrificing our current goals. For instance, when the Ocean Blvd sidewalk project got complicated due to stormwater concerns, we had money in the bank to keep the project alive.

[To recap: we received $485,000 from the state legislature to build the sidewalk. Awesome! But unfortunately stormwater complications forced us to add $400,000 of our own money. That sucked, but at least we’re still getting an important improvement, and at half the cost. Without a healthy fund balance, this doesn’t get done.]

Speaking of other opportunities…

South Lake Park Sidewalks

After years of trying, we’re in a contract with the NCDOT to build a sidewalk on S Lake Park from CB Lake to Carolina Sands Drive. We have to pay $550,000, DOT pays $190,000 and does all of the engineering and project management. If that sounds expensive, that’s because it is. Safety costs money.

We don’t have to stroke a check today, but we do have to formally set the money aside. Without a healthy fund balance, this doesn’t get done.

The sidewalk will start at the path around CB Lake and run along the west side of Lake Park Blvd, in front of the Veggie Wagon, Butts n Such, Scotchman and the Spot. Every street crossing will be ADA compliant and there will be a crosswalk at Spartanburg Avenue.

I should also point out that Council asked staff to work with DOT to keep the sidewalk going to Tennessee Avenue. This would allow Wilmington Beach residents safer pedestrian access to downtown. I don’t know what that extra block would cost, but I do know this… if we’re on solid financial ground we can make it work.

In Closing

We can’t be doing too bad. Here’s a comparison of two houses on Alabama Avenue. Same size, same distance from the beach. One in Carolina Beach, one in Kure Beach. The Kure Beach house pays $200 more in property tax. Winning!

There is so much happening in town right now that it’s hard to keep up… so I made myself a spreadsheet (I’m nerdy like that) and I’m sharing it with you. It’s here on my website in PDF format.

Click here to see it.

Keep in mind that this is my personal reference. Things could be wrong and if they are it’s my fault and no one else is to blame. So there’s my disclaimer… it may not be 100% accurate and it’s always subject to change.

But wait there’s more! I have other things to share. Go to my blog page, scroll down and look for the list of “references.” (See picture.) Whenever I come up with something good, I always put it there. For you of course.

With budget season in full bloom, I decided to run a little experiment. I’ve always said that Carolina Beach defies comparison, but it still can’t hurt. How much does it cost to live here, compared to other beach towns?

So I compared a Carolina Beach house to a similar one in Wrightsville Beach. They’re both about the same size and age. They’re both about a mile from their downtown. They’re both across the street from the bay, but within walking distance to the beach.

I compared the tax data. Both houses have nearly identical values placed on their structure, but the land under the WB house is worth much more.

WB people pay about $100 more per year in town property tax and about $30 more per month for water/sewer/trash and stormwater fees. But they get their butts kicked on New Hanover County taxes… about $3,300 more per year! (I’m guessing they can afford it.)

I also ran a Carolina Beach vs Kure Beach comparison and found that our costs of living are nearly identical. (This isn’t an exact science.)

I’m not presenting this information to set you up for a tax hike. And I’m not doing it to brag. I just find it interesting and worth looking into.

What’s my biggest takeaway? Our local taxes are reasonable, but watch out for the next countywide revaluation. It’s scheduled for 2025. Our property values will likely jump high in comparison to the non-beach areas… and our share of the county tax burden will increase.

This inflationary economy is tough. Rents get raised, prices go up and portions go down… it sucks. Everything we need to bring you services costs more than last year. But doggone it, somebody has to hold the line… and I’ll try to do just that.

** First things first… we did a poor job explaining this to the public at last night’s meeting. (11/4) I take responsibility for that, because I like to think of myself as a decent communicator. I was not on my game. My apologies to anyone at the meeting or watching from home. **

We are under contract to buy a parking lot at 1810 Canal Drive. Way up yonder near the entrance to Freeman Park. The price… a cool $1 million. But only $400,000 to us, because we got a Coastal Area Management (CAMA) grant for $600,000. The grant money is to ensure public access to beaches throughout the state. The parking lot currently has 24 spaces available and it’s about .25 acre in size.

OK, But Why?

The financials make sense. The lot brings in roughly $80,000 per year. That’s a 20% return on investment, which is good… really good. Or you could look at it this way… it will be paid off in 5 years. Any businessman worth his salt would jump all over that deal. It’s a move that helps the town’s long-term finances.

Yes, we forfeit property taxes when we purchase the lot. It’s valued at $467,300 which brings in about $1,000 in property tax each year. If it was developed it could result in upwards of $3-4 million in value (I’m guessing) which would bring in $6,500 – $8,500 in property taxes. I’ll still take the $80,000 thank you very much!

And that’s just talking money. By buying this we obtain a permanent place for our citizens to park (free with your pass) and access Freeman Park and/or the Carolina Beach Pier. That’s a win for you.

Take me for example. I’m too poor to own a Jeep or a boat. (2 kids in college!) The only way for me to see the inlet is to walk, and I do it once or twice a year. I drive up, park in that lot and go. I’m glad to know that this isn’t going anywhere.

It’s also a good strategic spot to allow for handicap access to the beach. Maybe even a viewing platform or something of that nature.  

Why Didn’t Anyone Know About It?

Real estate transactions are discussed in closed sessions (no public allowed, no minutes provided) because of the sensitive nature of negotiations. If word gets out, these things can go up in smoke. I didn’t even tell Mrs. Hoffer about it.

Here’s a scenario. We’re in negotiations (and there were negotiations), we get all excited about it and someone makes social media post. Then a few Facebook friends get upset (believe it or not, that could happen) and start raising hell about it. Then the sellers get spooked, because they think we might change our minds. Then the sellers back out. Or a private investor sees what’s going on and makes a big offer. And poof! No deal and no more parking at the entrance to Freeman Park.

And that my friends, is why not everything can be a public referendum.

Our job is to make smart decisions for the town, and talking about the deal can only serve to f&*% things up. That’s why we have elections… so you can elect people you trust, who have your interests at heart.

I try my best to live up to that trust.

With malice toward none and charity to all, let it be said… we need free parking this December. I will speak on this at Tuesday’s Town Council meeting (11/14) and if there is support, I’d like to vote on it at the next workshop. (11/28)

Why not ask for a vote on Tuesday? … Because I don’t like voting on topics without proper discussion. We discuss it Tuesday, then allow two weeks for the public to be heard and for Council members to consider it. Then, and only then, a vote is appropriate (in my opinion.) So why Hoffer, why?

It’s Asking Too Much From Too Few

It’s just too much of a burden on our local businesses. They didn’t sign up for this when they invested in our town. And I’m not just talking about the Boardwalk businesses here. The lack of visitors and the bad publicity hurts all of our businesses. With free parking in the winter months, people may come to town for the beach and the Boardwalk, but have dinner at an establishment who has their own parking lot on their way out of town. I’ve also heard from property managers who said that CB off-season listings are down because visitors are specifically requesting Kure Beach places.

It’s Bad For Our Image

We are the only beach town in the entire state that charges for parking year-round. Even those fancy-pantsed**, Eagletonians up in Wrightsville Beach don’t charge November-February. Hell, they don’t even give their own citizens a parking pass**, but it’s free in the winter!

** A reader pointed out to me that WB does sell parking passes to their citizens. $50, but some restrictions apply. Another reader pointed out that not all WB people wear fancy pants, and in fact, most WB people wear regular pants just like us. (Who knew?) I regret the error and the unfair generalization.

And don’t get me started on the citations. Let’s just say it’s a bad look. We need to take a reset and discuss this fully over the winter months.

It’s Not That Much Money

December 2022 gross parking revenue was about $25,000. That sounds like more than it really is. We can make that up next spring easily by simply raising the maximum daily fee from $25 to $35. It doesn’t have to affect the current budget at all.

But if you really want to play the “It’ll raise my taxes!” game, it would amount to $3 out of my pocket. That’s based on how much we’d have to raise taxes (which we won’t) to make up the loss. It’s a good thing I have Janet to split the cost with me. Quick honey, look under the couch cushions!

Let me get this straight… we’re going to divide the town (and yes, this has divided the town) over $3?Which brings me to my last point:

It’s Just Not Popular

The election tells me so. Lynn Barbee won 49.9% of the vote. Call me crazy, but I think every one of the other 50.1% don’t like the parking policy. It was a one-issue election for them. Think about it, what else is there that’s so controversial? You can nitpick all you want, but things are generally going better than ever in Carolina Beach. Without this unpopular issue, he probably runs unopposed.

And many of those who voted for Lynn did so despite not liking the parking policy. I know this because they told me so.

Which leads me to believe that if the current parking policy was a ballot initiative it would lose big time. The business owners are a very small minority in Carolina Beach. But we’re an empathetic bunch and most of us feel guilty about this. You can put me in that group.

The Theory of Congestion Pricing

Many people don’t realize this, but paid parking isn’t just about the money. It’s also a form of congestion control. Think of higher road tolls during rush hour. You charge more during the crazy season to keep the crowds in check and less during the slower season to encourage visitors. It’s a way to flatten the crowd curve which makes it easier to manage the town. I think we’ve gotten away from that.

I’ve heard from quite a few citizens that like the price point because it makes finding a parking space easier in the busy season. What good is a parking pass if there’s nowhere to park?

A Word About Our Town Council

Buried down here at the bottom of the blog, this may not be read, but I mean every word.

Did you know that this is first time in over 20 years that the same exact Council will serve for 4 years straight? There has always been turnover. Why not this year? Because this is an honorable, professional and dedicated group. Because people agree with the general direction of the town. There will always be detractors and gadflies, but let’s be real… things are good right now. The financials are great, projects are getting done, grant money is flowing and we communicate pretty well.

If you’re convinced that we’re a terrible Council, then you’re either new to town or have a really bad memory. Things may not be perfect, but have they ever been perfect in CB? I’ve seen Council members bicker endlessly at meetings, resign in a huff and get arrested in bar fights. Who here remembers the road diet? Buying oceanfront hotels? The Arcadius high rise project? Hiring a Town Manager that lasted 3 months? The original lake dredge project?

Why are things going well? I’d say that continuity, consistency and cordiality are underrated attributes. We have staff in place and we let them do their jobs. We don’t change our priorities every 6 weeks. We had a very smooth transition in 2021. While we looked inexperienced on paper (Jay and Lynn had only served 2 years, 3 new members were taking office) we were ready to go. Jay and Lynn are  mature professionals. Joe had served as Mayor, Deb’s local understanding was unmatched and me… well, I’m pretty experienced and educated and I’ll just leave it at that.

We disagree, but we don’t bicker. We have fun, but we stay professional. We have dreams, but we stay realistic.

The first words of this blog were “with malice toward none.” I mean it. To those who disagree with me, no hard feelings. We’ll either make the change or we won’t. And then we’ll continue to move forward.

… and other thoughts on the CB Lake dredge project, playground and general improvements.

Let’s get right to the headline shall we? I’m saying it. The geese gotta go!

We’re in the process of making about $3 million worth of improvements to CB Lake. It’s unacceptable to dredge the lake, improve the water quality, install a beautiful new playground, build a new bathroom and renovate the picnic shelter only to keep letting the geese crap all over it. It’s gross,

Fun fact… one goose makes 2.5 pounds of poop per day. The last time I counted there were at least 50 geese out there. Yep, that’s 125 pounds of poop per day. Eww. Here’s another fun fact … every Saturday morning before the farmers market, vendors feel the need to bring shovels. That about sums it up!

There’s a solution. It’s called “get a Border Collie.” That’s what Airlie Gardens did.

I went and visited with their superintendent and he told me all about it. You get a trained Border Collie and take it to the park daily to shoo away the geese. They’ll find another home, they won’t get hurt and the method is approved by PETA and the Humane Society. It’s not quite as simple as it sounds, but totally worth doing. There are other methods, but none are nearly as effective.

Read about geese management here.

At Airlie the superintendent serves as the dog handler and the dog (Reilly) is his family pet. (In fact, I didn’t get to meet the dog, because his wife stopped by and took him to the beach.)

Read about the Airlie Gardens Border Collie here.

I’d like to see the town purchase a dog and have an employee (or Jay Healy) adopt it. But like I said, it’s not simple. Just sending a spastic dog out to run around and bark would only send the geese into the lake until it left. The dog must be trained to route the birds away from the water and get them to fly off. Then you have to follow up daily, for some time. After a while it can be a weekly, or as needed event.

In the meantime we can hire a company to do it. Yes, they exist. Many golf courses employ them.

Here’s a video of a Border Collie at work.

More info on CB Lake:

1. The eastern portion is being dredged as you read this, but it’s not really “dredging.” The silt is pumped into giant tubes and stays on site. The pond surface area will get smaller, the upland will get bigger and the pond will get deeper.
2. I was under the impression that the little island (with the flags) would be incorporated into the upland, but I was wrong. It will stay an island.
3. The southeastern corner has been taken over with phragmites, which is aggressive, invasive reed grass. The company doing the “dredging” specializes in pond management which includes dealing with invasive plants. They will work on that as well.
4. The lake work has nothing to do with the new playground. That’s a different contractor. The two projects can be done concurrently (Joe Benson … “concurrently” means “at the same time.”)
5. The lake “dredging” is scheduled to finish by the end of November, and there are penalties built into the contract if it isn’t completed on time.
6. The playground installation will start this fall, when the time is right.
7. The bathrooms and picnic shelter will either be replaced or renovated, depending on how the budget is shaking out.

Time For My Opinions:

As stated, I think it would be a travesty to do all this work only to let the geese keep doing their thing. They gotta go. I also think we need to get serious about beautifying the park. The landscaping needs improving. The entrance by the school is awful. The bathrooms are past their prime. We can do better and now is the time.

I’ve been pretty quiet about the looks of the park, because I knew these projects were coming online, so we may as well wait. Now things are happening and it’s time to invest. First we have to see how the project budgets shake out. If there’s not enough leftover to make some nice improvements, I’ll push for it in the 2024/25 budget.

Last week the Town of Carolina Beach purchased a 3 acre property adjacent to our 7 acre municipal complex (which contains Town Hall, Police Department, Operations Department headquarters, the Federal Point History Center and the Rec Center.)

The price – $2 million, paid in 10 installments of $279,600 (I hate paying interest!)

Why Buy It?

In a word… insurance. Insurance against the possibility that we’ll need land, but we won’t have any. I can’t explain it any better than this quote from Mayor Lynn Barbee:

“It’s an insurance policy for the future. First we have seen MOTSU significantly tighten up on the use of their land for public facilities. So placement of water towers on their land is not guaranteed. Also, we have seen other coastal towns (Wrightsville) have saltwater intrusion into their aquifer. We depend on our aquifer for all of our water.

We are not on CFPUAs long range plans for water in the southern part of the county. So if we see salt water intrude into our aquifer, we will need to put in a reverse osmosis plant to filter our water. The town did not own a piece of land large enough for such a plant.

Lastly we don’t foresee property opening up adjacent to town hall in a lifetime. In the short term we have uses for storage and parking. The first thing you realize when you get in council is ‘why did my predecessors not plan for this and buy something when it was cheaper?’ Well speaking for this council we are taking care of our future. It was a tough pill to swallow right now, but the responsible thing to do.”

Can We Afford It?

Yes. When we were discussing the purchase it was unanimously agreed upon that we wouldn’t close on the property unless we received a grant to pay off the Freeman Park loan. (We did.)

To recap, we paid $7 million for Freeman Park with $3.75 million down and $3.25 million financed. (The downpayment came from entrance fees saved up over a few years.) This winter we were awarded a $4 million grant to not only pay off the loan, but also improve the park. So that frees up $399,750 in our budget. (If we could afford 399K, we can afford 279K.)

Let’s look at it another way

We have a $29 million budget – $2 million is 7% of that.

Let’s use the household analogy that I love so much. Imagine you’re a family with a $100,000 annual budget and the empty lot next door comes up for sale at $7,000. Could you afford it? Yes, but you might have to finance it. Would you buy it? I would… I would buy it in case I needed it for something I haven’t even thought of yet. I would buy it to ensure that I’m in control of what happens next door. I would buy it because it’s a safe investment.

The same logic applies.

Why Didn’t Anyone Know About It?

Real estate transactions are discussed in closed sessions (no public allowed, no minutes provided) because of the sensitive nature of negotiations. If word gets out, these things can go up in smoke. I didn’t even tell Mrs. Hoffer about it.

That being said, it wasn’t that secret. On multiple occasions we specified that we were going into closed session to discuss Real Estate Parcel ID# R08814-001-007-000. Anyone could have looked it up, but for the same reasons that closed sessions are closed, we weren’t going to advertise it.

In Conclusion

It definitely made me nervous… $2 million is a lot of money. (Think of the bike paths and trees you could buy with that!) But I believe it’s ultimately the right thing to do.

I don’t want to look back 10 years from now wishing we had done this. And if it isn’t needed, we can sell it. I’m not trying to be a real estate investor with the public money, but surely it’s value won’t disappear. Land is not usually a depreciating asset.

With the new stop light coming to the Hamlet Avenue / Lake Park Blvd intersection, now is a good time to introduce you to “Lake Park 2025.” (My term… nothing official.)

In 2025 Lake Park Blvd from the bridge to Carolina Sands Drive will be repaved. This is a DOT road, and therefore a DOT project. It will be done on their dime and on their timeframe. (So you never know, it could be delayed.)

When it is repaved, it needs new striping, and that is our opportunity to make changes with a fresh slate… and as a bonus, DOT will pay for it. So we’re discussing what we’d like to do. Last summer we put some committees to work looking at the issue. Operations, Beautification and Bike/Ped all looked at the corridor and made recommendations. Our goal is to make a formal proposal to the DOT in 2023.

Meanwhile other changes to the Lake Park Corridor are underway, so please read on to learn about them. I’ll tell you what I know, or what I think… depending on the situation.

1… Publix Intersection. I’d like to see a better pedestrian crossing situation here. (We should have made Publix do it, but that’s a complaint for another day.) We can ask DOT to upgrade the intersection with a crosswalk and pedestrian signal. You may have noticed that as you leave the ACE Hardware there’s no signal on that side. I think there should be.

2… The Proximity Corridor. The developers will put in a wide sidewalk along their Lake Park frontage. (That’s good.) I hope that we can work together to extend the wide sidewalk all the way to Winner Avenue. (That would be even better.) The main entrance to Proximity is right in the center of the development. It will be “right in, right out.” Meaning no left turns to gum up the traffic.

3… Winner Avenue. The Proximity developers offered $300,000 to contribute to an intersection improvement here. I’m obsessed with making a safe crossing here for bikes/peds coming from St. Joseph. It won’t be perfect, but it’s the best we can do. (Ideas are welcome!) Yes, it will probably result in another stoplight, making 5 through the heart of our town.

The hope here is to make this small road a nice connection between ST. Joseph’s Street, Proximity, the west side of town, and all the fun businesses in that area. (I do enjoy a Guinness at Hoplite.)

4… St. Joseph Street Intersection. I’m not a fan of this intersection. It’s confusing and dangerous. I’ve lived here for 20 years and I still get mixed up. There is no Council consensus on this one, but I’ll tell you my opinion. I think it should also be “right in, right out.) The left turns are fatalities waiting to happen.

5… The Downtown Corridor. This is the section of Lake Park from Harper to Charlotte, with all the diagonal parking. The Operations Committee studied this, and they think we should remove the parking all together. A bold idea. Pros… it would eliminate the back out parking which is sketchy. It would eliminate the huge trucks parked in the drive lane. It would eliminate the vehicles hanging over the sidewalks. It would allow people to see the businesses. Cons… it would eliminate a bunch of parking! (What do you think?)

I do hate the angled parking, but I’m just not sure what to do.

6… Cape Fear Blvd. There is now a left turn arrow for traffic headed west from Cape Fear. (Thank you DOT.) I have been told that is the most dangerous spot in town. It’s where baby Cora was killed and another person was hit last year. The left turn arrow will allow pedestrians to cross more safely, but we may not be done yet. There is a serious discussion being had about making Cape Fear east of Lake Park a one-way street, east only. (Toward the Boardwalk for the directionally impaired.) And making Canal Drive a one-way street also, headed north. At this point it’s being studied, that is all. (What do you think?)

https://mikehoffer.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Cape_Fear_Canal.pdf

7… Hamlet Ave. The new stoplight is going in soon, along with 3 pedestrian crossings. Two for crossing Hamlet (east and west side of Lake Park) and 1 for crossing Lake Park (where the current crosswalk is.)  

I support this. It came from a Bike/Ped Committee recommendation waaaay back in 2018. (Thank you LeAnn Pierce for pushing it forward. Does everybody remember her?) I could do a whole separate article about how unsafe this intersection is. I don’t love stoplights anymore than the next guy, but you know what I really don’t like? Dead pedestrians!

8… South Lake Park Corridor. This is another one that deserves its own article. After years of study the Bike/Ped Committee and I believe that the best scenario here is to add bike lanes and remove all parking from the west side of Lake Park. (7 spaces.) There is no room for sidewalks with the current road width and making any big changes would be super expensive because of all the utilities in play. 1/2 million dollars for 1/3 mile of sidewalk? I couldn’t look a Canal Drive resident in face and propose that.

Why remove the west side parking? Because like it or not, that’s where the pedestrians are and the cars parked along with trash cans, power poles and mailboxes leave the pedestrians with no choice but to walk out in traffic.

We can extend the sidewalk a short distance from the lake (on our property) and then seek to add sidewalks a little bit at a time as opportunities arise.

9… Spartanburg Ave Crosswalk. I want it. You want it. We all want it. So what’s the hold up? Staff just hasn’t been pushing DOT hard on this, because they’re backed up with a lot of other stuff. What can I say?

And that folks, is the story of Lake Park Blvd. Rest assured that I’m going to support the options that make it nicer for bikes and pedestrians. (Shocker.) I want to hear your thoughts. I will follow this up with a Joe Benson style public forum in the near future.

Much love,

Mike