by Keith T. Barber
The installation of a 6-foot-high wooden fence at Public Access No. 33 was officially completed on Friday, May 23, in accordance with the terms of the town’s agreement with the Gornto-Murchison family to purchase the 5-foot-wide beach path. On Wednesday, May 28, public works staff applied a wood sealant to the fence, and new Access 33 signs should arrive next week, said public works director Mike Vukelich.
“They went the extra mile for us,” Vukelich said of his staff. “The residents ought to be pleased with the caliber of workforce we have here. That job was done completely in-house, primarily with public works and parks maintenance.”
The fence runs from the intersection of Seashore Street and South Lumina Avenue to the 1939 building line, parallel to the bulkhead at the Blockade Runner resort. At the building line, public works staff members installed a sand fence, which meanders south toward the original beach access. The town’s agreement with the Gornto-Murchison family stipulates the sand fence extend directly east from the 1939 building line. However, the Coastal
Staff photo by Alex Brawley
Last Friday, Wrightsville Beach Public Works completed construction of the fence at Public Access No. 33 in accordance with the terms of an agreement between the town and the Gornto-Murchison family. The town will officially purchase the 5-foot-wide beach path by July 1. |
Area Management Act (CAMA) permit issued to the town on May 8 clearly states the sand fence cannot “involve the significant relocation or removal of primary or frontal dune sand or vegetation.”
Last week, town manager Bob Simpson said he was working to arrange a meeting between town officials, CAMA officials and the Murchison family to address the family’s concerns.
Steve Everhart, district manager for the N.C. Division of Coastal Management, said the town’s jurisdiction ends at the 1939 building line.
“The property itself does not go all the way across the dune, so there’s a static vegetation line or static build line out there beyond which the property does not extend,” Everhart said. “The old path cuts across the dune in front of the Murchison family. … That’s state-owned land.”
The completion of the fence represents the next step in a process that will eventually convey the property to the town. On March 13, the Wrightsville Beach Board of Aldermen approved an agreement to purchase Public Access No. 33 from the Gornto-Murchison family for $25,000, plus the cost of the construction of the fence. The Cape Fear chapter of Surfrider Foundation pledged to contribute $15,000 to the purchase price of the property. The financial transaction between the town and the Gornto-Murchison family is to be completed by July 1, 2008.
Jim Mincher of the Cape Fear chapter of Surfrider Foundation said the organization raised more than $7,000 during the silent auction event at the Toast to the Coast event held at Hugh MacRae Park on May 24. In addition, Hope from Helen Inc. has donated $5,000 to help pay for Public Access No. 33, which brings Surfrider’s fundraising efforts to nearly $14,000. More than 100 items were auctioned during the Toast to the Coast fund
