Oak Island Town Council holds special session

OAK ISLAND, NC (WWAY) — Following Hurricane Matthew, the beach communities of North Carolina have been looking for answers on how the area will rebuild.

Today the Town of Oak Island took that first step towards that during their special session.

The town council of Oak Island held a special session to hear from engineers on their plans to re-nourish the beaches and dunes after the devastation of Hurricane Matthew.

Johnny Martin, from Moffatt & Nichol, came up with plans varying in cost after doing pre and post-storm surveys of the dunes and shorelines.

“He’s coming up with three different proposals to look at what we can do to put the beach back for emergency for FEMA, putting back a one-time push and then what to do for an engineering beach.” David Kelly, Oak Island Town Manager.

Each of the plans varies in cost from minimal, mid-range and the top standard for repairs.

Those repairs will include replenishing the dunes in the area after losing a total of 1.3 million cubic yards after Hurricane Matthew according to their reports.

“The big concern is the beach,” Kelly added. “We have to get a berm put back in place from supply. The sand supply is going to have to come from some outside source so we can get it back on the beach before the tourist season comes. That’s what we’re looking at then we take action on the pier.”

In order to replace the sand that was lost, it could have a cost in the millions.

But the hope of the town and its residents is that these plans can start the process of returning Oak Island to what it was before.

No decision on the plans have been made at this time, the town council wanted time to consider all proposals before they made their choice.