Early one morning this week, as I walked past Wrightsville’s historic square of nonprofits, I saw the Coastal Federation’s Mike Giles outside, on the back deck of the historic three-story Palmgren-O’Quinn cottage with the chamber chair and another individual.
They were looking over the land that is behind the circa 1946 cottage, which has been comfortably settled on pilings and retrofitted as office and learning space for the Southern Regional Office of the North Carolina Coastal Federation. The house was barged around Harbor Island to its current site in the Town of Wrightsville Beach’s Historic Square last June. It has been all smiles since.
No one looked happy on this beautiful spring morning.
Without asking, I could see what they were unhappy about: the town’s decision to locate a commercial parking lot behind the site it leases to the Coastal Federation for $1 per year. This could be seen as a cruel blow to the local nonprofit environmental advocacy organization, which is just moving into this renovated historic house and has big plans for the location. Their organization’s ongoing capital campaign of $600,000 was used to move the cottage, renovate and create the office and learning center. The center will also feature rain barrels, cisterns, native plants and a rain garden as a demonstration of some of the low-impact development work on which the federation focuses. Space for indoor classrooms will be supplemented by outdoor classroom areas for the organization’s educational work, including the adjacent salt marshes. The center has said the open first floor will be available for events and other public gatherings.
The new parking lot, with 40-odd spaces, will be paid Wrightsville Beach parking for commercial pass holders only. Work has already begun and will be completed this week. So it is sudden.
Ever squeezing a nickel to keep from raising taxes on residents, the town is trying to get a grip on a runaway problem. Last year the town granted close to 120 commercial passes to businesses to use for their employees to park in the town’s beach side metered spaces for $290 each. Beach side metered space paid commercial parking passes will jump to $500 each and businesses will each be limited to 10 of these. But, businesses will each be allowed up to 20 additional spaces in this newly created town lot at a modest $250 each. Forty plus spaces @ $250 are expected to generate $10,000 in revenue, plus hopefully free up metered spaces for others.
Parking fees are the second largest revenue stream for the town, after taxes. Each active metered space the town has generates approximately $1,500 annually. By attempting to free up 40 of those metered spaces, the town could generate more than $1,200 more per metered space around businesses that have previously been tied up by business employees using commercial passes.
Ever wonder why all the meters in front of Crystal Pier are always full? Bingo! It is a safe bet they were taken by employee vehicles using a $290 commercial parking pass for the season.
Look at this as just a numbers game intended to generate revenue to run the town.
Of course what the mayor calls “slippage” could still occur, when residential passes are used illegally for business employees. There is a small black market for Town of Wrightsville Beach paid parking passes, commercial and residential.
The lot was approved Tuesday, March 25, during a continued Wrightsville Beach Board of Aldermen meeting along with a host of other parking changes. The Coastal Fed and one of the other nearby two historic cottages which houses the Wrightsville Beach Museum of History say they were not aware of the proposal. Chamber chair Sue Bullock says she was.
I don’t think anyone is against the idea of a commercial lot, but the location the town chose from among all the open space to place this lot has more than a few eyebrows raised, not to mention some downright unhappiness. Talk about raining on someone’s parade.
Access to the municipal historic “square” is off Salisbury Street. Stuck behind the tennis courts and adjacent to a municipal water treatment facility, it is not a prized piece of real estate when compared to the other open greener space under the town’s control. The parking is unpaved, and in the off hours is used by Loop walkers to park before setting off on their 2.4-mile walk.
Mike Vukelich, public works director, expressed concern about the narrow access’ proximity to one of the town’s major water treatment centers.
This back portion of the remaining open space, which abuts the University of North Carolina Wilmington’s marine science fish research facility, has long been used as the debris staging area for the town following a weather emergency. The parks department also uses it for staging and storage of mulch and so on.
One of the big negatives is the only easy access cuts sharply against the corner of the Coastal Fed’s new facility; it is in quite close proximity. The area use is moving from one extreme to another; very relaxed, to the opposite, with vehicular ingress and egress from business employees coming and going from work all hours of the day. There are safety concerns; children formerly allowed complete freedom in this area will need to be watched very carefully.
The fine for illegally parking in this new lot will be triple the town’s usual parking fine.
Everyone admits this is a short-term solution, one they could jump on fast. One of the big plusses for this location is the minimal amount of work needed to have the lot ready to go. Developing it is the only cost the town incurs in labor, gravel, signage, fencing (decorative split rail) and ongoing security, estimates at $5,000. The reasoning should have and appears to have been while creating commercial parking for the town’s businesses is highly desirable, it should not be at the cost of residents’ taxes.
Other, more costly options would be to create an entrance near the public safety building or near the UNCW marine science research center, or beg for additional access from the DOT off Salisbury Street. None were as easy, or quick.
The center’s grand opening is scheduled for May 3.
Here’s hoping it all goes smoothly for everyone involved.
