Nags Head board signals 2026 beach nourishment, issues notice-of-intent to Wicks Marine

The Nags Head Board of Commissioners on Dec. 17 authorized the town manager to issue a notice of intent to award Wicks Marine the 2026 Beach Nourishment Project, including the base bid of $34,934,100 and two additive alternates of $965,000 each, following engineering and financial presentations that emphasized recent erosion and financing options.

Consulting coastal engineer Beth Chaddone of Moffett & Nickel told the board the town's fall monitoring showed an atypically active season with four events above 15-foot wave heights and visible dune scarping. "There's been widespread dune scarfing," Chaddone said, and the monitoring team found an average shoreline recession of about 27 feet across the nourished oceanfront and losses above the minus-14 (NAVD88) trigger that amount to roughly 877,419 cubic yards, reducing the sand available to protect town infrastructure.

Chaddone reviewed reach-by-reach survey results, numerical-model runs of a recent coastal low, and identified hotspot areas in Reach 3 South and Reach 4 where transects are at or near volumetric triggers. She also summarized the proposed cross sections and noted the project's permit allows up to 2.3 million cubic yards of placement and includes a taper into National Park Service property under a special-use permit.

Andrew Carter of DEC Associates presented financing scenarios that combine county contributions and town cash to limit borrowing. Carter said the town has a strong cash position, projecting about $14 million in the Beach Fund, and that Dare County indicated roughly $13 million in support; in one conservative model staff would use about $13.5 million in cash plus roughly $12.2 million borrowing on a five-year loan at 5 percent to fund the base bid and alternates. "Shoreline protection is really what you're doing here," Carter said, framing the project as engineered infrastructure protection rather than a recreational beach project.

Carter cautioned banks typically seek coverage factors above 1.2 to achieve favorable interest rates; he showed models that edge close to that threshold under conservative assumptions and discussed options such as lowering contingencies or changing the mix of cash and debt to improve coverage. Commissioners asked how coverage affects pricing and what would happen if occupancy-tax receipts fall; Carter said lenders rely on multi-year rolling averages and that pledged occupancy-tax revenues would serve as collateral only if the town failed to appropriate payments.

After discussion, Mayor Bearer moved and a commissioner seconded to authorize the town manager to issue a notice of intent to award Wicks Marine the base bid and the two alternates; the board approved the motion by voice vote. The mayor noted staff would bring formal contract authorization and the project ordinance back for action in February, and staff recommended issuing the notice of intent now to lock the contractor for a 2026 construction schedule.

Town attorney John Leidy requested a closed session at the January meeting to discuss potential litigation connected with the project; the board agreed to place that item on the next agenda.

Next steps: staff will issue the notice of intent to award, perform a pre-construction survey to identify any localized hotspots that merit alternates or adjustments, and return with a formal notice of award and project ordinance for final approvals in early 2026.