During its last meeting Aug. 14, the Wrightsville Beach Board of Aldermen approved a plan to spend $50,000 to allow Groundwater Management Associates, Inc. (GMA) to study and determine the town’s long-term water and sewer needs. During the Sept. 11 meeting, the board will discuss the creation of an ad hoc committee of town citizens to assist GMA in the process.
Periodic issues have occurred with saltwater intrusion into parts of the Wrightsville Beach well system due to aging. During the next six months, GMA will conduct a study with two main tasks.
The first involves assessing current water production capabilities from the existing well field and determines long-term viability requiring three site visits to inspect and document the existing wells. The second task will identify options to improve the well system as well as costs of implementation.
GMA hopes to finish the first phase by the middle of October, the second by the middle of November, and present a final report to the town in February 2015, although those are target dates. GMA has stated it will update the board on the schedule as the project progresses.
Town manager Tim Owens said any town resident could apply to be a part of the ad hoc committee. Among other things, participation would include attending meetings with town staff to learn about the town’s water and sewer infrastructure to better make recommendations for its improvement.
Owens said it was important for Wrightsville Beach citizens to take part in the committee to give a voice to the community most affected by the project. Long-term water and sewer improvements could cost the town as much as $20 million during the next five or 10 years, Owens said, which would likely raise water and sewer bills for residents.
“That’s why the committee is being formed,” Owens said, “so these citizens will have input. Obviously in the future we’ll have some public hearings.”
The board will also discuss purchasing 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 will consider whether recent events warrant installing cameras sooner than planned. Two criminal incidents occurred in the vicinity of Crystal Pier during the last month.
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 case.
A memorandum from Wrightsville Beach Police Chief Dan House states the surveillance camera project would involve the installation of two fixed light finder cameras and one pan, tilt, zoom camera at the South Lumina Avenue restroom facility. The estimated cost for the project is $14,800.
Chief House will present more details about the project during the meeting and the board will discuss whether to approve the project.
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