Posted on July 17, 2018
By Andrew James, WWAY
Town leaders have revived the lake dredging project for Carolina Beach lake hoping to take dredged material across Snows Cut.
It comes as the project has sat stagnant for nine months. The council unanimously approved to continue the lake dredging.
The town wants to begin as soon as possible, but they still have to get the blessing to do so.
Town leaders are talking with the U.S. Coast Guard to dump dredged material on the five acres the town owns on the LORAN station property south of the Beau Rivage. Town manager Michael Cramer says they are working with the coast guard to get a permit for the work.
It’s a project neighbors still want to see happen and say needs to happen.
“I think it was a worthwhile project as it was originally envisioned,” said Don Fox who lives near the lake and says now the algae is causing an odor. “I hope that you will see it through to the end.”
Town leaders say this time they hope to not repeat the shortfalls of the previous dredging work.
“I expect oversight on this project from start to finish,” said Mayor Joe Benson. “Because I suspect that’s what happened last time, just a hunch. You know somebody wasn’t there saying, ‘this needs to go to this spot’ and it ends up going to some other spot. That can’t happen.”
The town still needs the Coast Guard to reply to an environmental study of the 5-acre site that town staff performed. If the town can move forward, they estimate clearing the site and gaining vehicle access to it will cost more than $135,000. There still sits more than 50,000 cubic yards of sludge that the town wishes to dredge to deepen the lake from 6 to 8 feet. The town estimates work to revive the actual dredging of that sediment could cost somewhere between $3 to 2.2 million.
Island Greenway
More business on Pleasure Island surrounding work on the Carolina Beach Island Greenway is moving along. Work on the Greenway has been going on for months now.
Town leaders say it is on time. The Greenway will connect Carolina Beach’s Chappel park to a 2 mile trail that connects to Alabama Avenue in Kure Beach. Town leaders say it should be complete by the end of summer.
Pedal Pub on Water
It was not meant to be on land so a pedal pub business plans to hit the water. Town leaders tell WWAY the owners of the pedal pub that was denied are working to launch a similar business within the sound off Carl Winner Drive.
They say the owners are submitting a business license. Leaders say they cannot regulate the business like they could have as a pedal pub using public streets.
The owners are calling the business Sea Legs Pedal Pub and plan to begin operation by the end of July with bookings starting in mid August.
Source: WWAY
