N. Topsail Beach Update

Joann McDermon, Mayor Pro Tem

Joann McDermon, Mayor Pro Tem, of the Town of N. Topsail Beach presented an update on happenings in Town. She explained that the Board of Aldermen is in a holding state due to the challenge of Dan Tuman, mayor candidate who lost the election to her as write-in candidate on the November 5th ballot. Superior Court will rule on his challenge of her write-in campaign later this month. (photo by Jeff Wenzel)

Update Outline

• Storm Repair.  Still recovering from Hurricane Florence
• Town Hall.  Working with our engineer and insurance company to restore the building to pre-Florence condition.
• Town Park.  Working with our engineer.  Having trouble with getting bids in the expected cost range. Will re-bid.
• Dune Repair.  Hurricane Matthew dune repair is underway as a sand truck haul project for Phase 5 (south end of NTB). Hurricane Florence dune and beach repair is scheduled for 2020-2021 and will include sand for dunes in Phases 2-4.
• Onslow County BeachAccess.  We are working with the county to understand the schedule to repair our large ‘Regional Beach’ access lots. 
• South- End Fire Station. Structural damage to the fire station will require engineering work to fix damaged components in the building.

• Surf City/ NTB Federal Project in the planning phases.  Aggressively targeting next year for the project. We thank the TISPC for their years-long effort to bring this important beach project to fruition.

• COBRA legislationWe continue to work with TISPC.org and Audubon to get the legislative map amendments approved in Congress.

• Upcoming events in 2020
  • Sledgehammer Half Marathon, 10 miler and 5K run to support the Semper Fi Fund of the USMC was held on Saturday, February 1st along the beach and streets of NTB.
  • Cycle NC, a week-long celebration for bicyclists that tours from the mountains to the coast will end at N. Topsail Beach in October.
  • Ocean City Jazz Festival is coming 4th of July weekend
    • We support this festival through financial contributions as well as provided public safety resources for the weekend event.
    • The festival organizers are looking for town-wide donations this year.
• Earth and Surf Fest 5K will be held in July.

• TISPC participation
• We value our membership in the organization and all it does for Topsail Island.
  • By
    • Assisting with lobbyists and COBRA legislation for NTB
    • Assisting with the prioritization and planning for our island regarding beach related issues and projects