Holden Beach Property OwnersAssociation Newsletter

Fall 2014

In This IssueHBPOA Planning 2015

Summer Concert Update

Mayor's Update

Town Manager's Update

Police Chief's Update

Playground is OPEN

Dog Park is Open

Playground is OPEN

Shrimp Boat Update

Marshside Houses

Holden Beach Library

Renewal Notices Coming

Quick LinksOur Website

Town of Holden Beach

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President's Message Thank you to everyone who attended our Annual Membership Meetingover Labor Day Weekend. During this meeting we heard updates fromBill Spiers regarding Second Helping, and from Mayor Alan Holden andPolice Chief Wally Layne regarding current Town news Board Member elections were also held, and current Board MembersCyndi Kiernan, Gina Martin and Lillian West, along with new BoardMember John Fletcher, were elected. During the Directors' meeting prior to the membership meeting, the Boardappointed Jerry Todd to fill the remaining term of Ralph Martin whoresigned in May. When the Director's meeting resumed after the membership meeting wasover, the Board Elected the following Officers:

Tom Myers ­ PresidentDonna Aycock ­ Vice PresidentMarlene Hahn ­ SecretaryCyndi Kiernan ­ Treasurer

I am excited to start another year with the HBPOA and hope to continue toimprove this organization to better serve the needs of its members. Please plan to attend our next meeting on November 29th (the Saturday ofThanksgiving weekend) to hear the latest updates on current issues andtopics of interest, and to approve our budget and plans for 2015. I hope tosee you there. Best regards, Tom MyersHBPOA President  

HBPOA Planning Session ­ Give Us Your Input!

 The HBPOA Board will be conducting a Planning Session on October18th to review our progress and discuss goals and objectives forimproving the organization.  Please provide us your input regarding ourmeetings, activities, communications and budget.  You can send an emailto:  hbpoa@hotmail.com or reach out directly to any one of our Directors: Tom Myers ­ tmmyers@atmc.net  Donna Aycock ­ dwebb16@ec.rr.com                 Marlene Hahn ­ paoti@hotmail.com                  Cyndi Kiernan ­ kbkiernan@gmail.com   

John Fletcher ­ fletcherlux@gmail.comSteve Greene ­ sgreene217@hotmail.com      Jack Lohman ­ clohman@ec.rr.comRegina Martin ­ rgobb@aol.comDolly Mitchell ­ lewmitch@aol.comPeggy Schiavone ­ mschiavone@atmc.netJerry Todd ­ golfertodd@yahoo.comLillian West ­ llyndrup@yahoo.com 

Concerts by the CoastBy Gina Martin

The HBPOA was a named sponsor for the 2014 Concert Series at theHolden Beach Pavilion. This is the first year the Town of Holden Beachhas managed the Concerts. Prior to this year the Greater Holden BeachMerchants Association had managed this weekly event that vacationersand homeowners alike have come to love. The Concerts start each year on the Sunday night of Memorial Dayweekend and are held free of charge each Sunday night through LaborDay weekend from 6:30 tile 8:00 PM. The music was mostly BEACHMUSIC this year. We enjoyed well-known bands including Sea Cruz,Craig Woolard and the Embers, and Jim Quick and Coastline to name justa few. Every Sunday night we had from 300 to 1000 people inattendance. Some of the HBPOA members and board directors volunteered to staff thetent at each concert. We were able to talk to many of you at these eventsand put faces with names. We provided general information to thoseattending the event and talked to new property owners about becomingmembers. We sold books about the history of Holden Beach and T-shirts. All who helped with these concerts had a great time and enjoyed talkingto our members and prospective members. As Chairman of theMembership Committee, I thank all of you who volunteered your time forthese concerts.  

Mayor's Update  We are basically in the middle of hurricane season. Are you ready? Do you have your plan? TheHolden Beach Emergency Team Volunteers met thismonth. The teams are ready and we thank all of thevolunteers and town staff for their efforts. The beach strand over all is still in good condition. We do have somesteep banks in some areas where the "super tides" and "storm tides" cameup in the grass along the ocean front. The extreme low tides have createdsome of the most beautiful, wide strands with tidal pools one could hopefor kids to enjoy. The Lockwood Folly inlet channel continues to move westerly. It isconsiderably west of the Iron Age Shipwreck. I have this year witnessedpeople walking from Oak Island to the shipwreck while having to wadeonly the last few yards to reach the wreck. Of course, this is dangerousterritory and don't advise this activity. As one crosses Holden Beach Bridge, coming to the island, one may findit especially interesting to pay attention at low tide how far the sand bars

now extend into the ocean beyond the inlet. Millions of cubic yards ofbeach quality sand is sitting there in those sand bars. Believe me there is alot of value there considering the cost of beach nourishment. Some of the street lights have been changed. Brunswick Electric has beentesting different lights. These tests are not involving the town. I had the most purple Martins this year I have ever had. Great news! Thebad news is that they now have left to go back south for the winter. Theother bad news is the pigeons are still here eating all of the bird foodbefore other birds get a chance. Mosquitoes will probably be much worse for the upcoming weeks due toall the recent rain. The town will do it's best to address the matter. Sales are still fairly strong but prices are still flat. Rentals are still overallup a little over last year. Construction is still fairly busy. Alan Holden  

Town Manager's Update Beach Season continues to grow since it seems asthough it has been summertime since Easter. It maybe just me but this summer has been "a- bustle" withlots of folks enjoying America's number one FamilyBeach. The Beach strand appears to be in great shape; with our "Piggyback"project placement near the east end earlier this Spring holding up well inthe face of a couple of off shore Tropical Storms and astronomical hightides. We will know "for shore" when our coastal engineer provides uswith an update on the annual beach profile surveys at the Town's regularmeeting in September. Beach vegetation is an integral part of our strand management programhere at Holden Beach. We are always seeking improved ways to improveour coastal dune protection system. A recent cooperative initiativebetween the Town, UNCW and Coastal Transplants is attempting to gaugethe best mix of fertilizer for beach plantings. An almost football fieldsized location on the East End of the island has been planted, plotted andparceled into a test site that will over the course of the next year serve asthe baseline for determining how well different fertilizers work on seaoats. Assembly of the Playground equipment purchased by HBPOA funds isnow complete on site at Bridgeview Park which is located on thewaterway adjacent to Town Hall and the Water Tower. As of this writingPublic Works crews are putting the final touches on the play space inaddition to performing some residual grounds maintenance work that has to be accomplished before the playground equipment is serviceable for useby the public. I hope to have this work accomplished before the LaborDay weekend. I anticipate the Board of Commissioners will likelyschedule some type of official ribbon cutting with exact time, date as yetto be determined. Christy Ferguson is on board with us as the Town's new ShorelineProtection and Recreations Programs Manager as of this week. Christycomes to us Magna Cum Laude from the ECU Department of Health and

Human Performance and most recently the Town of Oak Island where sheserved as the Recreation Programs Supervisor. Please make anopportunity to stop by Town Hall or attend a Parks and RecereationAdvisory Board meeting to say Ahoy! Lastly, MAKE NOTE OF NEW PARKING REGULATIONS that areset to become effective mid September. The revised parking rules resultfrom a year long effort by the Planning and Zoning Board to improve theparking situation at Holden Beach. The revised rules do not significantlychange previous regulations with the exception for those requirementsimposed on commercial and construction vehicles which can no longerpark on the sidewalks during the course of providingcommercial/construction services. Should you wish to review the rules acomplete text can be obtained from the Town Clerk -Heather@hbtownhall.com. Sincerely. David W. HewettTown Manager

Police Chief's Update Chief Wally Lane reported that the summer seasonwas busy as usual, but nothing out of the ordinary.  Afew break­ins occurred early in the summer, but thesuspects have been arrested.  One of the department'strucks was totaled in a collision Labor Day weekend. The officer was not injured.  Chief Lane let everyone know that the Statepassed a law this year requiring everyone to evacuate in the event of aMandatory Evacuation.  This is especially important for Holden Beachbecause we have a vacuum sewer system which is shut off whenevacuating.  If it is used after it is shut off the vacuum is lost requiringsignificant time to bring it back up.

Playground Update

  The playground is open and being heavily used.  It is great to see kids andfamilies enjoying the facilities   Thanks again to everyone who contributedmoney, and thanks to the Town for working to prepare the site and installthe equipment.  The purchase and placement of the commemorative bricksis dependent upon the overall plans for the park, of which the playground

is one piece.  Once the layout of the park is decided, we will know whereto place the bricks, and will move ahead at that time.   At their meeting on September 9th, the Commissioners voted to approve$161,000 in funding to proceed with a portion of the plans for the parkthat were originally in the PARTF grant that the Town did not receive. The diagram shown below was submitted with the PARTF grantapplication.  Since that time, the orientation of the playground has rotateda bit counterclockwise.

  

Dog Park Now Open

 The Holden Beach Dog Park on Scotch Bonnet is open and ready foraction.  There are separate areas for large and small dogs, a water station,benches, shade trees and grass.  Poop bags are provided, but please cleanup after your own pet. 

Flood Insurance vs. the 35' Height Limit  Flood insurance regulations are requiring houses to be built higher abovesea level, while the Town's 35' height limit restricts how high a house canbe built.  Since the Federal Government controls the flood insurance andchanging the 35' limit requires an act of the NC State Legislature, the only"wiggle room" appears to be in establishing the point from which the 35' ismeasured.  Mayor Holden said at the Labor Day Meeting to expect to hearsomething on this around the New Year.  More to come on this one...

Sinking Shrimp Boat ­ Eyesore or Icon? 

 The sinking (sunk) shrimp boat across the ICW from Town Hall is stillthere.  The owner is unable to remove it, and since the boat is tied to aprivate dock and not (yet) causing an environmental problem or

navigational hazard, it is a low priority for Brunswick County and otheragencies.  The cost to remove it is estimated at around $50,000 and theCounty doesn't have the funds.  The Town of Holden Beach does not havejurisdiction on that side of the waterway. Stay tuned...the latest rumor is that two more derelict boats are pending.

Lots Between Scotch Bonnet andGreensboro Some people were surprised to see a new house on the north side of OceanBlvd. West between Greensboro and Scotch Bonnet.  This is the areaalong the marsh with the fitness trail.  There are actually four privatelyowned lots on this stretch of OBW.  The remaining lots are owned by theTown or the NCSU Agricultural Foundation. 

   

Need a Good Beach Read for FREE? There is nothing more relaxing than sitting on the beach strand with agood book!  Do you need a new book to read?  Visit the Holden BeachLibrary in Town Hall for a great selection.   Just take the elevator or stairsto the 2nd floor.  Books are free! You do not need to check themout....just remember to bring them back. If you have any books you haveread you can donate them.  

Watch Your Email If your membership expires this year you will begetting a special email from us!  We will be sendingout 2015 renewal notices in October.  Formembership questions contact Gina Martin at 336­462­4146 or email her at rgobb@aol.com.  

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