For members of the Carolina Beach Inlet Association, a study pegging Carolina Beach Inlet’s total economic impact to New Hanover County at $68 million annually supports claims repeatedly made in efforts to secure funding for inlet dredging. Even though the inlet is in Carolina Beach, advocates stress it is an economic asset to the entire county.
“We call our water resources, both waterways and inlets, our infrastructure just like an interstate highway in the central part of the state. It’s our lifeline, so to speak, to keep our economic engine running for our community,” said Dennis Barbour, former Carolina Beach mayor who serves on the Carolina Beach Inlet Association, during a July 28 phone interview.
Dr. Chris Dumas, economics professor at University of North Carolina Wilmington, and Dr. John Whitehead, economics professor at Appalachian State University, updated a 2009 study using input-output analysis, which tracks money as it travels through the local economy.
Captain Robert Schoonmaker, Carolina Beach Inlet Association president, said he hopes elected officials invited to the meeting will realize the returns offered on investments in quarterly dredging projects that maintain the inlet’s navigability.
“It’s not like they’re spending money on a rose garden. They’re spending money on infrastructure that gives them a hard return. You can see the money generated,” Schoonmaker said during a July 28 phone interview.
Rep. Ted Davis Jr., R-New Hanover, has led efforts in Raleigh to find funding for shallow-draft inlet dredging during the last two legislative sessions, including a 2014 House bill setting aside a portion of room occupancy tax for the projects.
Following a 2013 law that allocates state funds for shallow-draft inlet dredging if a local match is provided, Davis sought to tap ROT funds accumulated from unincorporated areas of New Hanover County for the local match. The funds were earmarked for beach renourishment in unincorporated areas, but because no beaches in need of renourishment exist in those areas, the fund has accrued more than $1 million since its 2006Â creation.
To comply with state guidelines on ROT collection and use, the New Hanover County Tourism Development Authority must oversee use of the ROT fund, rationing two-thirds of proceeds for tourism and one-third for tourism-related activities.
The fund accrues approximately $150,000 per year. The annual local match to keep Carolina Beach Inlet open and navigable totals $400,000.
Davis claimed all of the $1 million currently sitting in the fund for tourism-related activities. He said a pending memorandum of agreement between the tourism development authority and beach town governments will establish shallow inlet dredging as the tourism-related activity for which the funds are used.
“You can make the argument that it’s tourism-related because if you keep your inlets dredged, people are going to come down and fish, spend the night, eat in restaurants, buy gas. That’s the logic behind that,” Davis said during a July 28 phone interview.
Schoonmaker said he is grateful for Davis’ work but stressed the need for additional assistance from county and state officials.
“That’s a step in the right direction. Is it the answer? No, because it’s insufficient funds,” Schoonmaker said. “I hope that the county and elected officials will take note of the numbers, see the economic benefit of this inlet, sharpen their pencils and find money in their budget to keep this inlet open.”
Presentation of the study will take place during an Aug. 5 meeting at the American Legion in Carolina Beach. The meeting starts at 6 p.m. The public is invited to attend.
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