During its Sept. 11 meeting, the Wrightsville Beach Board of Aldermen voted unanimously to purchase surveillance cameras for the public areas near Crystal Pier and the Oceanic Restaurant.
Camera surveillance has been a long-term goal for that location but the board considered whether recent events warrant installing cameras sooner than planned. Two incidents occurred in the vicinity of Crystal Pier during July and August 2014.
The first, vandalism by graffiti, occurred to the town’s public bathrooms. The second was an armed robbery of an Oceanic employee Aug. 25. No one was apprehended in either crime.
Wrightsville Beach Police Chief Dan House presented details of the proposed surveillance cameras to the board. He said the project would involve installing two fixed light finder cameras and one pan, tilt, zoom camera at the South Lumina Avenue restroom facility.
“We’re not saying it would solve 100 percent of crimes if we had cameras,” House said, “but it would certainly answer some questions.”
The estimated cost for the project is $14,800, which House said could vary slightly depending on where the cameras are mounted.
“I’d rather give you a higher number and have it go lower than have a lower number and have it go higher,” he explained.
He said he has been very pleased with the cameras that have been installed so far.
“We’re trying to work out all the details,” House said, “but the quality of the video, it’s night and day from what we had. When you zoom in, it doesn’t pixelate it, you get really, really good images, so you can get license tags and stuff like that.”
Alderwoman Lisa Weeks asked whether there were any other areas around Wrightsville Beach that needed cameras.
“The ultimate goal is to cover all the big parking lots, and Town Hall,” House responded. “That’s the beauty of putting the system together and that’s why we worked so hard to get the infrastructure right, because now we can put more up at relatively low cost.”
Weeks suggested another area that might need cameras was the portion of the John Nesbitt Loop near the Harbor Way Gardens, because it was not well lit.
The board also voted to form an ad hoc committee of town citizens to assist Groundwater Management Associates Inc. in the process of determining the town’s long-term water and sewer needs.
There have been periodic issues with saltwater intrusion into parts of the Wrightsville Beach well system due to aging. Town manager Tim Owens said fixing the issues could cost the town as much as $20 million during the next five years, which would likely raise water and sewer bills for residents.
He said it was important to allow a committee comprised of town citizens to have a voice in the matter because they would be affected by it. Participation in the committee would include attending meetings with town staff to learn about the town’s water and sewer infrastructure to better make recommendations for its improvement.
Board members expressed concern that requiring GMA to work with the committee would bring the cost of the project higher than the $50,000 stated in the contract. Weeks said the $50,000 included monthly conference calls but there was a $1,400 charge for every extra presentation.
“I think we need to be cognizant of that with the committee and make sure they’re not asking for a lot of interface,” Weeks said.
Mayor Bill Blair said even if extra meetings were required, it was more important to conduct a thorough study to determine the wisest and most cost-effective plan for the town’s water and sewer systems.
“I don’t think we want to limit this committee,” he said. “The meetings should be the number of meetings required to get the job done.”
Weeks suggested they look into teleconferencing as a cheaper option for conducting meetings with GMA.
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