PART OF A SERIES
Strategic Planning Committee
By John Ferguson, Chairman
As you have no doubt read in the Carteret County News-Times, the Strategic
Planning Committee (SPC) met with the Board of Commissioners and com
mittee chairpersons on January 19 to formally present the revised Strategic Plan
and to seek approval of the document. I am very pleased with the result. The
Board of Commissioners approved the plan, and it has been posted on the town
website at townofpks.com for all to review.
In the meeting, I mentioned that the purpose of the plan is to identify key
areas and methods to continually improve, so that the vision and mission of our
great town can be achieved over time. One of the key areas highlighted in our
discussion was that of maximizing the input and involvement by our citizens in
town affairs. It is the SPC’s belief that in order to achieve the goals and objectives
in the plan, the Board of Commissioners, town management, and our volunteer
committees must work together in making decisions with the plan results in
mind. It is also vital that we employ the myriad avenues available to utilize the
citizen expertise found throughout our community. In fact, a key strategic area
within the plan is Sense of Community. We are a community diverse in age,
employment status and resident status. Incorporating this diversity will ensure
the best performance results.
Another point made in the meeting is that the Strategic Plan is very broad.
This, of course, is by design, as there are many areas that require attention
to continually improve. However, this does not mean that every item can be
completed within a short period of time. As such. Town Manager Brian Kramer
and his staff have worked on implementation items and priorities that should be
worked initially. In fact, he has worked with the SPC to identify these priorities,
and Brian presented them to the Board of Commissioners for its approval at the
off-site planning meeting on February 10-11. These priorities and the ties to the
Strategic Plan, as well as the measures of effectiveness and progress, will soon be
available on the town website, but I would like to summarize them here:
• Maximize the use of Federal Infrastructure funds by applying to the NC
Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) and Clean Water State
Revolving Fund (CWSRF) for projects
• Identify and prioritize Pine Knoll Shores capital improvement projects
• Conduct town-wide street assessment by credentialed consultant and
develop a prioritized street repaving plan
• Identify best practices for technology in similar municipal governments in
NC
• The town police and fire chiefs work to identify the ideal fully credentialed/
trained/certified skill roster for all 21 Pine Knoll Shores Public Safety full
time employees
• Along with the NC Office of Recovery and Resiliency (NCORR), develop a
prioritized list of resilience-focused initiatives in Pine Knoll Shores
• Develop a recruiting plan to maintain rosters for volunteer fire fighters, the
Community Emergency Response Team (CERT), and Volunteers in Police
Service (VIPS)
• Develop a succession plan for paid staff
• Identify improved outreach strategy to second-home owners, utilizing
summer HOA meetings to capitalize on this
• Benchmark with other 20 coastal NC local governments for techniques for
barrier island maintenance of beach strand. Emphasis on health and safety,
dune strengthening and damage prevention
• Engage with NCORR in EY2022-23 to maximize use of anticipated
federal funds
• Monitor sand volume in annual Shore Protection Office (SPO) report and
correlate with Pine Knoll Shores Beach Capital Reserve Fund
• Initiate a photographic record of Pine Knoll Shores dune strength (height,
width, density)
• Coordinate with other 20 coastal NC local governments on litter control,
water quality, and public education initiatives
• Develop a Pine Knoll Shores Water Quality monitoring effort
• Modernize Pine Knoll Shores water table monitoring effort with the use of
available technologies
• Examine the 2016 Citizen Visual Preference Survey
• In 2023, conduct a Citizen Visual Preference Survey with data from 2016
and emphasis on the Pine Knoll Shores Strategic Plan
• Examine development-related ordinances as part of the Unified
Development Ordinance (UDO) effort
As we move forward with the implementation of our Strategic Plan, the Board
of Commissioners, town management and the Strategic Planning Committee
will do all we can to keep you informed. We look forward to working hard to
meet these commitments and supporting our wonderful town.
PKS RECYCLE DATES
PKS YARD WASTE
"A" Week: March 14,28
PICK-UP DATES
"B" Week: March 7,21
March 8, 29
Please place recyclables and trash out
on Sunday night to ensure pickup.
Please clearly mark recycling containers to ensure that recycling is not picked up by the
trash truck. Stickers for this purpose are available at town hall. Contact Charles Rocci at
town hall at 247-4353, ext. 13, or clerk@townofpks.com with questions.
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