Renovating, repairing this Brunswick fishing pier to come with hefty price tag
Bringing the Holden Beach pier back to life won’t come cheap.
As the town of Holden Beach works to craft its budget for the upcoming fiscal year, it revealed the first cost estimates for the pier repair and restoration project. According to the town manager’s budget message, the town is budgeting $2,130,000 for the project.
Here’s what to know about the project and the rest of the town’s budget.
Pier project
In a controversial move, the town of Holden Beach moved forward with efforts to purchase the two-parcel, 1.9-acre pier property for just around $3.3 million in 2022. The property includes the pier, parking lot and adjacent building.
The N.C. Local Government Commission delayed the purchase after questioning town officials about the pier's structure and Mayor Alan Holden's involvement in the deal, but ultimately the multi-million-dollar purchase was approved by the commission.
At its February meeting, the town council unanimously approved a conceptual idea of the final site plan for the property. The pier is located at 441 Ocean Blvd. in Holden Beach.
The conceptual site plan outlined renovations to the existing pier and pier house, as well as improvements to the public parking lot on site. Architects reported to the town’s commissioners this year that the pier structure extending over the ocean is in good shape, but in need of largely cosmetic improvements such as replacing handrails and some decking.
The portion of the pier over the beach needs more extensive repairs, like replacing some structural support beams.
Other budget takeaways
Holden Beach’s 2023-24 fiscal year begins July 1 and runs through June 2024.
The budget totals just over $100 million – nearly 75% of which is attributed to the FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) Capital Project Fund. Disregarding that grant funding, the town’s budget totals $26 million.
The proposed budget includes an 11.9% pay increase for town employees and the addition of one new position. The proposed budget also includes a new tax rate of 14 cents, nearly two cents higher than the revenue neutral tax rate of 12.02.
As the town enters its second year with paid parking, the proposed budget estimates $500,000 in revenues from public parking for the 2023-24 fiscal year.
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The Holden Beach Board of Commissioners is expected to approve a final draft of the 2023-24 fiscal year budget at its June 21 meeting.
Jamey Cross covers Brunswick County for the StarNews. Reach her at jbcross@gannett.com or message her on Twitter @jameybcross.
This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: Holden Beach Fishing Pier repairs to cost over $2 million
