Next dinner with the mayor. Our next dinner
with Mayor Jones will be on Saturday February
23, in the greater Raleigh area. This will allow
our second-home owners the opportunity to
meet with Mayor Jones close to home and receive
an update on our early February 2019 annual
planning meeting. We will distribute the word
on this via email, so if you are not signed up for
the towns email alerts, please send a request to
be added as shown below. I am interested in
recommendations on a location; please email me
at manager@townofpks.com with the names of any restaurants that have a private area
that can sit 35-40 people.
Requests to FEMA resulting from Hurricane Florence damage. The town is in
the early stages of submitting the largest storm reimbursement request to FEMA in the
history of Pine Knoll Shores. This request is essentially broken into two segments. The
first involves reimbursement request§'for storm cleanup, damage to public facilities,
and use of town equipment, rental costs for pumps, and overtime calls for personnel.
Storm cleanup alone will likely exceed $1 million. The damage to our public safety
building was extensive. We believe a new roof will be needed, and damages there may
approach $500,000. Over $200,000 was expensed on staff overtime, pumping, and use
of our own equipment. We lost the main generator at the public safety building, and
one of our rooftop air-conditioning units was destroyed. The entire Police Department
(west side) of the building is vacated right now. It is going to be a long time before
operations are back to normal.
The second part of our request to FEMA involves damages to our beach. FEMA
reimburses towns for sand loss, which is officially categorized as storm mitigation,
as long as we have an engineered beach and monitor it regularly. We meet both of
those requirements, and hope to receive federal funding to help us put our beach
back in good order. This project will include both sand fencing and beach vegetation.
Unfortunately, due mainly to all of the permitting requirements, this will not happen
this winter. So we are looking at a major beach nourishment project in the winter
of 2019-20. This project could be in the $10 million to $14 million range, which
would put it on par with the largest project ever in the town, the original (and first)
renourishment project of 2001-02.
Road bore project/Pine Knoll Shores water system. Do not be surprised if you
see some work along the right of way in the eastern end of town in the January and
February time frame. We are installing new hydrants and boring pipe under the road
to connect the water mains on both sides to help equalize pressure and prevent leaks.
These are the last in the series of such projects that Sonny Cunningham has installed
over the years.
Audit report. At the Board of Commissioners meeting on November 14, our state-
approved auditor reported to the board our overall financial condition. We received
an “unmodified opinion” by our auditing firm, which means they were impressed with
what they saw and had no findings of concern. All of our major funds saw increases
in reserves, which is further good news. Audit reports are great, but it is the behind-
the-scenes work of Julie Anderson (Finance), Sonny Cunningham (Water and Public
Works), Jason Baker (Fire/EMS and Emergency Management) and Ryan Thompson
(Police) that make these results possible. These department heads are excellent
stewards of the town’s funds.
Single family home development in Pine Knoll Shores. On November 14, the
Board of Commissioners directed the Planning Board to consider removal of single
family homes from the major landscape permit process. The intent is to streamline
the development of single family homes in town, and ahow staff to determine if the
requirements of the Pine Knoll Shores Code have been met, rather than have this
done in a quasi-judicial hearing in front of the Planning Board, which occurs once
per month. We are the only town in the area that has such a process, and we believe
that can be done more efficiently at the staff level and allow the Planning Board to
focus more on policy issues. The Planning Board will discuss this at their meeting on
November 27.
Farewell to Connie Shelton. By the time you are reading this, long-time town
of Pine Knoll Shores Tax Collector Connie Shelton will be approximately one
month away from retirement. Connie has been with the town for 29 years, and is
one of our most valued staff members. In the past 11 years she has been the staff
lead on transitioning water utility billing from town hall to Carteret-Craven Electric
Cooperative. She was named the North Carolina Tax Collector of the Year in 2013, and
is a true professional who will be missed. Finance Officer and Assistant Town Manager
Julie Anderson is in the process of soliciting applications for Connie’s replacement. That
person will have large shoes to fill.
Pine Knoll Shores Watershed Plan. Thank you to all who attended the briefing on
this subject in October. Adoption of this plan will be considered at the December Board
of Commissioners meeting. Once adopted, the town will be eligible to apply for federal
funds to deal with many of the water quality issues we face. We also hope to use some of
this funding to address some of our storm water concerns.
Town email list. If you want to be on our email distribution list for periodic town
messages, please notify us at swilliams@townofpks.com.
Project Christmas Cheer
of Carteret County
By Vicki Daniels, PCC Program Coordinator
Project Christmas Cheer (PCC) is a local volunteer nondenominational outreach
program established to provide Christmas holiday assistance to children and adults in
Carteret County who have documented financial need. The program is administered
by a board of directors, a staff of two coordinators and approximately 30 volunteer
application takers who help out during the application and adoption period.
Initially established to provide Christmas gifts to area children through the process
of the children being “adopted” from Angel Trees at area locations, PCC has grown
to providing both gifts to the children and meals and food to qualifying adults and
families. Over the years, individuals, businesses, churches and community organizations
have provided financial support and have adopted children and families to ensure that
all in our community can share in the joy of Christmas by giving and receiving.
How Project Christmas Cheer works. The 2018 seasonal office was opened and
staffed on October 15, and volunteer training for taking applications and orientation for
representatives from supporting organizations took place shortly thereafter.
Applications for PCC assistance were accepted during a five-week period, beginning
on the first Monday in November, at First United Methodist Church. Spanish translators
were available each Monday during the application period.
PCC follows the Department of Social Services income guidelines to determine
eligibility for assistance; however, due to the unique circumstances and needs created by
Hurricane Florence this year, we have attempted to also address the needs of those who
lost income, homes or were displaced from their homes. Hopefully, we can assist with
providing a Christmas for those in need this Christmas season.
As applications are processed and approved, the children’s names and wish lists are
distributed to the Angel Trees located this year at One Harbor Church locations in
Morehead City and Beaufort, Newport Baptist Church and, new this year, at The Sports
Center in Morehead City. Individuals or groups can either go to those locations to adopt
angels for Christmas or can contact the Christmas Cheer office as shown below to select
children, families and other adults to provide food and gifts at Christmas.
After the application period ends on December 7, the process and effort continues to
ensure that all the children and adults are successfully adopted. The First Presbyterian
Church of Morehead City will host a luncheon and entertainment on December 15. for
many of the applicants who are 65 years of age and up. This year we are committed to
providing food to each family that is accepted for Christmas assistance.
During the 2017 Christmas season, 465 families in Carteret County were assisted
through PCC, and 816 children received gifts due to the generous support of the citizens
of Carteret County. It is with the continued support of the entire county community
during 2018 that PCC will continue to provide assistance to less-fortunate children
during the Christmas season.
More information about Project Christmas Cheer is available at
projectchristmascheer.com or by visiting Project Christmas Cheer of Carteret County
on Facebook. Individuals, churches, businesses and civic organizations wanting
information on making donations or adopting children can contact the Project
Christmas Cheer office at PO Box 1914, Morehead City, NC 28557, by calling
252-247-7275, or by emailing pccvicki@gmail.com.
m
ler.