Pay-by-phone parking on Pelican Drive, a permit for a temporary wireless facility in Wrightsville Beach Park, a permit for a new boat club and an expansion request by The Surf Club are among the six issues on which the Wrightsville Beach Board of Aldermen will invite public input during its April 8 meeting.
Pelican Drive paid parking
The board is once again considering charging beachgoers to park along Pelican Drive.
During the last public hearing on the matter in 2013, residents opposed adding meters to the road. They said meters clutter the street and, since the road isn’t heavily used for parking, the revenue garnered by meters would take too long to offset the $30,000 cost of installing them.
This time, the board’s proposition does not include installing meters or pay stations. Beachgoers would pay by phone, meaning the only cost to the town would be planting several signs along the road explaining the process of paying.
The board discussed the idea at its March 26 budget meeting, during the process of cutting items from the budget and searching for additional areas of revenue. Lanier Parking has consistently recommended adding paid parking to Pelican Drive, saying it could generate $28,000 during one eight-month parking season.
Town manager Tim Owens said enforcement would be light at first.
“We would just do warning tickets for a period of time,” he said during a March 31 phone interview.
Residents would still be able to park along the road using their hangtag, he added.
Temporary wireless tower in the park
VCI Group Inc., a representative of Spring/Ericsson, submitted a request to construct a temporary telecommunications tower in Wrightsville Beach Park.
Director of planning and parks Tony Wilson said the proposed tower would be a contained facility located near the soccer field during Sprint’s peak usage times, from April to September 2015.
Construction would be minimal, he said during a March 31 phone interview, because the facility is a mobile unit that would be transported on a trailer and tied down in location. Town planning staff is in favor of the tower on the condition that it is temporary, he said.
“Our other question is, are there other better locations, a better place to put it,” Wilson added.
Boat club permit
Scott Weismantel applied with the town for a conditional use permit to open a location of the nationwide franchise Carefree Boat Club at 96 W. Salisbury St. The business would rent five boats, ranging in size from 18 to 27 feet, to club members.
If the aldermen grant the permit, Wilson said, they will set specific conditions such as limiting the number of boats on site, setting a minimum age for captains and requiring boater competency on the water.
During previous town meetings, Weismantel has said each club member would have to complete both classroom and on-the-water training before operating a Carefree Boat Club vessel and no one younger than 26 will be allowed to captain a boat.
Surf Club deck awning
The Surf Club, located at 1 E. Mallard St., is applying for a permit to install an awning on its deck. Wilson said the material would likely be similar to that covering the Oceanic Restaurant’s outdoor seating.
The board could use the conditions on the CUP to regulate outdoor noise, outdoor music and hours of operation, he said.
Graffiti penalties
The board will decide whether to classify graffiti as a public nuisance in its ordinances in order to mandate quicker cleanup and stricter penalties for offenders.
Vandals would be subject to both civil and criminal penalties that would escalate for multiple offenses — $100 for a first offense, up to $1,000 for a fifth offense.
The law would also require property owners to clean up the graffiti within a certain time frame. If the property owner does not comply, forcing the town to remove the graffiti, he or she would be charged the cost of cleanup.
School’s church lease
Wrightsville Beach School leases part of Wrightsville Beach Baptist Church for classroom space, but the school’s two-year lease runs out in 2015. The town will consider a text amendment renewing the lease until 2019.
Eventually, the school will use funds from the $160 million school bond approved by voters during the Nov. 4, 2014, election to expand its facilities and bring all classes back on site.
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