With one $25 million-dollar pier currently under construction in Nags Head, Dare County and Aquarium officials have shifted focus to the next of the three proposed piers. Partnered with the Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores, the next “$25 million-dollar pier” will be located in Emerald Isle on land donated by the town.
At a meeting of Pier Advisory Committee last week, Aquarium Society Director of Development Jay Barnes presented that he had spoken with both Sen. Preston (R – Carteret) and Rep. McElraft (R – Carteret) and “both are very supportive” of the project.
No, don’t adjust your browser settings. You read that right.
Despite the “lashing” the first pier received following funding by General Assembly at a time when other priorities were being cut, two supposed conservative Republicans, Sen. Preston and Rep. McElraft, are in support of yet another taxpayer funded pier. There is currently one privately owned fishing pier in Emerald Isle.
The Aquarium Society has (finally) commissioned an economic impact study to be conducted by the economics department at UNC – Wilmington on the three proposed piers. Supporters hope this study will “give some credibility to the arguments we make about how important the piers are.”
I suppose we shall see if we can expect another “Aquarium Satellite Areas Funding” bill to come sailing through the General Assembly again soon. I wonder if Basnight Construction will get some work on this one too?
We first brought you news of the hiring of a “Part-Time Pier Construction Observer” over the summer. This temporary employee has an 11-month contract (July 23, 2009 – June 23, 2010), working 20 hours per week at an hourly rate of $44.03 (roughly $38,000 total). Main duties of this State-funded position include giving guided tours for elected officials and informing stakeholders if a crisis should arise (or if the crane falls down). Essentially, taxpayer funds are being used to have someone sit around and wait for Sen. Basnight show up and want a tour.
Funny, that’s not what I was thinking when legislators argued “job creation” in favor of this project.
The authorizing legislation (House Bill 628) claimed the creation of 555 on-site jobs, yet it seems no more than 30 men are working on an average afternoon.
The Aquariums Division have proposed the creation of 11 full-time year-round pier staff positions including a Pier Manager, Aquarist/Exhibits Tech, Rental & Events Coordinator, Admissions Manager and Housekeeper. Funding of these positions will cost $557,064 according to a drafted budget.
Aquarium officials believe these positions will be funded by revenue from pier walk-ons, fishing passes and equipment rentals. Yet, quick math indicates that the Pier would need at least 153 visitors paying at least the $10 per day average for a fishing pass all 365 days of a year to break-even. Any budget shortfalls will be covered by the Aquarium’s Admissions fund, supported by your tax-dollars.
It’s becoming clear that this $25 million pier will end up costing taxpayers much, much more.
Be sure to check out the live web-cam of construction here.
A webcam streaming live from Basnight’s $25 million fishing pier in Nags Head is now up and running. Check it out here, hosted by the Division of N.C. Aquariums. For just $3,000, the web camera, cabling and software was purchased by the Aquarium Society and linked to the existing state-funded N.C. Aquariums web site.
Be sure to watch in the coming weeks as the remaining concrete piles are driven and three 90 foot wind turbines are installed.
Just a side note, depending on your bandwidth, the “slow pan” might seem a bit choppy.
This latest case of “pier pressure” shows just how far our elected officials will go with little to no further planning.
While there is currently no plan for design or construction (much less funding plans), Town officials in Carolina Beach have proposed a property tax increase of 1.5 cents per $100 in value to pay for two acres of beach front property valued at $4 million.
At a public meeting held Tuesday, Town officials in Carolina Beach discussed the land to be used for a fishing pier, parking lot and other amenities, receiving mixed reactions.
Like the two other state-owned fishing piers (Jennette’s and Emerald Isle), the pier in Carolina Beach would be partnered with the Aquarium at Fort Fisher.
If you thought just one $25 million “pier to nowhere” was a bad idea, just wait until you hear about the latest case of “pier pressure” on the North Carolina coast.
In late 2007 the Town of Emerald offered the state a “free” 4.2. acre parcel for the site of the North Carolina Aquarium’s Pier at Emerald Isle partnered with the nearby Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores. The land currently operates as the Eastern Regional Ocean Access point and former site of the privately owned Emerald Isle pier (destroyed by hurricanes Bertha and Fran in 1996).
Recent pre-bid design estimates put the cost of this pier close to $27 million ($2 million more than the pier in Nags Head). However, after a serious reality check and subsequent scaling back, a more “fundable” $16.5 million price tag was reached.
The most significant cost savings occurred where various “green” aspects were scrapped. Unlike Jennette’s Pier in Nags Head, this pier will not be powered by alternative sources including wind, solar or wave. Additionally, water reuse capabilities, geothermal wells, and LEED certification will not be perused. As Barnes put it to the Advisory Committee at a meeting on Wednesday, “traditional materials are simply more affordable”.
The State has directed that the pier remain 1,000 feet in length and be made of concrete.
While the source of $16.5 million remains unclear, Emerald Isle Town Manager Frank Rush and Pine Knoll Shores Aquarium Director Jay Barnes indicate they’ll seek a variety of state and federal grants and private donations in addition to funds that will be available upon completion of the Jennette’s Pier project.
Design plans are expected to be completed by the end of next year.
Directors of two of North Carolina’s three aquariums have announced their upcoming retirements (here and here) in recent weeks.
Jay Barnes, Director of the N.C. Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores announced in July just as another aquarium controversy began to heat up. While Joe Malat, Director of the N.C. Aquarium at Roanoke Island (home of the new pier in Nags Head) announced just earlier this month.
Despite the lack of funds, the Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores continues to pursue an aquarium pier in Emerald Isle, a project in which Barnes continues to be heavily involved. A nation-wide search is underway to fill the position, however one can could understand the apprehension in diving into rough waters.
No word on the whether the third aquarium’s director, Donna Moffitt of the Aquarium at Fort Fisher is contemplating retirement as well.
The State Energy Office will be allocating $300,000 of their share of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds to the University of North Carolina in a continuation of their coastal wind study to:
“contract with a third party by October 1, 2009, to design, permit, procure, construct, establish, operate, and reclaim as appropriate at the end of their economic life up to three demonstration turbines and necessary support facilities in the sounds or off the coast of North Carolina by September 1, 2010” (pg. 60, Senate Bill 202).
Curiously, $300,000 is nowhere near enough to build even one utility-scale (think wind farm) turbine in the sound or off-shore. An individual 750-kw turbine would cost at least $800,000 according to information provided by the U.S. Department of Energy. Additional costs would be incurred for offshore turbines as utility infrastructure improvements will be needed if we’d like to use the energy generated.
Interestingly enough, the $25 million Aquarium Pier in Nags Head, currently seeking private funding for “green” aspects, is designed to accommodate three 10-kw wind turbines at an estimated cost of $300,000. Although ARRA funds cannot be used on aquarium projects, an agreement between the Aquariums Division and The University for the pilot turbines to be located on the pier would not be surprising.
Additionally, not only has the General Assembly instructed the State Property Office and the Department of Environmental and Natural Resources to expedite the permitting of the project and to waive any applicable fees, this project is exempted from a number of state statutes. Most concerning are the exemptions from statues requiring a competitive public bidding for the contract, certification that bids were submitting without collusion as well as prohibiting bribes to be taken in exchange for the contract. The project is also exempted from statutes outlined by the Environmental Policy Act and the Sedimentation Pollution Control Act of 1973.
Unfortunately, this is just yet another case of shifting funds for this pork project.
Please don’t get the wrong idea, I am not against interstate commerce, however, when a bill is passed by our General Assembly and signed by our Governor to create jobs in North Carolina, one cannot help but be a bit surprised to find out that almost as many employees currently on-site in Nags Head, N.C. will soon be working off-site in Chesapeake, V.A.
Coastal Precast will begin manufacturing concrete piles (arguably the largest overall expense of the $25 million project) as soon as results from test piles are obtained. Production will provide work for approximately 25 Virginians and an estimated 2 North Carolinians (who likely commute in from Dare county) according to the project manager.
Additionally, neither the general contractor (Clancy + Theys) nor Coastal Precast use the federal e-verify program to confirm the legal residency status of their employees.
With our own double-digit unemployment, it’s hard to tell which is worse: N.C. taxpayers creating jobs for non-North Carolinains or creating jobs for non-Americans.
When HB 628, the bill authorizing the funding of a $25 million fishing pier in Dare county, passed the House in early April, Representative Tim Spear (D – Washington) claimed the “shovel-ready” project would create 1,800 jobs both on and off site in a region with nearly double digit unemployment. Hard to say “thanks, but no thanks” to, right?
Well, it’s three months later and according to Aquarium Division Director David Griffin there are a grand total of 33 employees working on site (including the Aquarium’s own site manager) with roughly the same number employed off site.
An estimate by the general contractor, Clancy + Theys, highlights that most of the jobs provided by this project are sustained employment through sub-contractors rather than the creation of new positions, with essentially little to no impact on unemployment.
An N & O article from earlier this month also highlights the State’s exceedingly optimistic job creation figures stemming from the Apple incentives deal for the western part of the state.
Although I suppose we shouldn’t be surprised by this misleading math, it’s nothing new from our State leadership.
Duties to include calling stakeholders if a crane falls down as well as guided tours for elected officials. Prior experience with N. C. Aquarium projects preferred.
No, this is not a hoax.
With construction underway at the N.C. Aquariums – Jennette’s Pier, the Aquarium Division is hiring a part-time “on-site manager” to serve as the eyes and ears of the various stakeholders in addition to the current full-time site manager employed by contractor Clancy + Theys.
In justifying this hire to the Jennette’s Pier Advisory Board, Division Director David Griffin cited concerns regarding timely communication if a crisis arises as well as “if a Senator walks up on site and needs to be showed around”. Any guesses as to whom Griffin could be referring?
I wonder if an umbrella, lawn chair and cold beverage are included as benefits…
Just tally one more job created by this state-funded project.