Play money is coming to Dare County
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http://www.ncga.state.nc.us/gascripts/BillLookUp/BillLookUp.pl?Session=2009&BillID=s1298&submitButton=Go
It's clear that by the time the North Carolina Legislature adjourns, perhaps this week, that Dare County Commissioner Chairman Warren Judge will have accomplished his biggest dream. For he will have finally secured enough tax funding to pump sand on the Outer Banks beaches.
And, it will be done regardless of how the majority of Dare residents feel about it. With the new occupancy tax increase, Judge now has a way to spend $35-$40 million in Nags Head, not for the majority who thinks the sand will quickly wash away, but for a small minority who bed down away from the Outer Banks and have nightmares about whether their personal investments might one day wash into the sea.
And, as the money ($7 million per year in revenues) flows away Judge and others, will keep telling you, the resident taxpayer, this whole affair isn't costing you one penny. In fact, they'll say it will make your future and your children's future more secure.
For Judge, and elected officials like, Nags Head Commissioners Renee Cahoon, Anna Sadler, Bob Oakes and Kill Devil Hills Mayor Ray Sturza, along with the special interest business associations, to name a few, it has been a long dream. Untold dollars have been spent to date, getting us to the point where "everyone" can finally "protect the revenue stream" that flows through all these peoples' pockets. So folks, no matter how much of that revenue stream flows through your pocket, even if its only a trickle, just be thankful that those who have made the Outer Banks into what it is today, are finally able to say, "we got beach nourishment!"
And, at EOD, we can only say, "Sleep tight, Mr./Ms. Investor. Commissioner Warren Judge and the Town of Nags Head are coming to the rescue." At least temporarily.
http://beachhuggers.com/outer_banks_visitors.htm
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14 comments:
I noticed that now that Dare County has cut the budget to the bone and we have an increased property tax, there are 6 jobs advertised on Dare's web site. None of which I feel are worth the tax increase.
Is there a better image of human stupidity, vanity, and futility than throwing sand on the beach???? When the rising ocean has rinsed the ribbon of sand away, people will wonder why anyone could have thought this a good idea. It is essentially embezzling public funds for private gain. Disgusting.
Assuming this additional tax windfall does occur, we can expect to see Judge & Company carry on like they just won the Mega Ball Lottery. First, if Nags Head gets it permits in place, which is very likely, and the project goes to bid, we can expect the price to be a lot larger than the original $32 million estimate. The current estimate is now $37 million, so look for it to cost at least $40 million. Irregardless, we expect Judge & Company to pour whatever it takes into Nags Head's pockets for this project, whether they decide to levy a property tax on the oceanfront owners or not. Rest assured, there will be a $7 million per year pipeline running out into the ocean until the people of Dare County say, "enough is enough" and stop electing these people.
Quote:..."I don't care what the voters think..." Anna Sadler, Nags Head Commissioner.
Quote:..."We have to protect our revenue stream..." Warren Judge,Dare County Commissioner
I want to know which company will be benefiting from the sand pumping. I'm sure that has already been planned as well regardless of who wins the bid.
Maybe it wont be the doomsday you think it will. Let's give it a try!
To the last "Anonymous" -- how many times do you have to renourish the beach before you realize it is a waste of money? For most of us, once was enough. But it has been done more than once -- all with the same results.
The govt project after hurricane Isabel was not a nourishment project. It was a temporary berm with low quality sand not expected to stay longer than a year or two Max. Comparing this with that is like comparing apples and a brick.
Sorry, Anon,
but the photos in this blogpost were taken in 2002, before Isabel.
It was part of a 2002 Nags Head nourishment project, paid for the the State of North Carolina, that put about 1700 linear ft.sand on the beach starting at Jennettes Pier and going south.
The beach was widened there approx. 200 feet and elevated approx. 2-3 feet. It didn't last long...in fact, it went so fast most people didn't see or remember it..
If you calculate, using your linear footage, 1700 X 200 X 3, you get 1,020,000 cubic feet of sand. You usually measure sand in cubic yards, so you divide cubic feet by 27. I get 37,778 cubic yards of sand in this "project", spread over 1700 linear feet, or 22cubic yards per linear foot.
The Nags Head project proposes 4,600,000 cubic yards over a ten mile length, or an average of 87 cubic yards per linear foot. A greater proportion of that sand will go in South Nags Head, where the rate of erosion has been higher.
From what I read, a 1/3 mile long project is just too small a scale to have an effect on the huge sand system on the beach and nearshore. The rule of thumb is the longer the project, the longer the lifespan.
If you calculate, using your linear footage, 1700 X 200 X 3, you get 1,020,000 cubic feet of sand. You usually measure sand in cubic yards, so you divide cubic feet by 27. I get 37,778 cubic yards of sand in this "project", spread over 1700 linear feet, or 22cubic yards per linear foot.
The Nags Head project proposes 4,600,000 cubic yards over a ten mile length, or an average of 87 cubic yards per linear foot. A greater proportion of that sand will go in South Nags Head, where the rate of erosion has been higher.
From what I read, a 1/3 mile long project is just too small a scale to have an effect on the huge sand system on the beach and nearshore. The rule of thumb is the longer the project, the longer the lifespan.
There are only a handful of dredge companies that can handle a project this size, but of course we will bid out the project. 32 million was an initial estimate, which was upated to 35 million by our engineer lasst year. We've used 36 million for planning purposes, which includes the extra 1/2 million for additional environmental monitoring. I'd say the dollar amount is set, but how many cubic yards of sand that money buys is variable (say 4,000,000 - 4,600,000 cubic yards).
This is sad. Past fall / winters were always spent walking beautiful beaches, collecting shells and sea glass. Now every winter we'll have to climb dredge pipes and look for beach accesses that are actually open. There will no longer be shells. Instead of dealing with homes long on public beaches, those homes will remain and now mud and slurry will spew. Every available penny will be spent on Bn instead of funding TRUE tourism related expenses such as a possible late night bus line for night clubbing, fire works, performances, etc. Now we will have used every last penny to fund a very expensive bad band aid to a very evident erosion problem which will still exist after $36 mil spent. Not one mention of removing sand bags which are illegal in SNH And not one leader has still explained how we are going to let guests know about dredging, possible beach closures and loss of wildlife. SAD. I loved walking snh beaches and already mourn for the loss of a beautiful beach. Some greedy sob's insist on eating cake and having it to. Shame. We all lose.
Even worse, it will be in the middle of the summer (not winter) when the full price guests are climbing over dredge pipes. So on top of a property and occupancy tax increase for 2011, the Nags Head guests will want refunds from the owners because of the heavy machinery conducting industrial operations in the middle of their vacation.
But it won't be that bad, if the sand lasts an optimistic four years before it needs to be replenished (how on earth will we pay for that) Nags Head guests will only have to step over dredge pipes 25% of the years they visit.
Three out of the four years they come here, they won't have to deal with the incredible noise from the pumps.
Most of the time, the sand will be great.
Most years, they won't have to deal with the huge bulldozers.
What this is, really, is a huge win for KDH.
Ad Campaign 1:
"Come to KDH, we're not f--- up your vacation to boost property values on 40-year old pieces of oceanfront crap!"
atta boy Mr. Mayor!
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