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Commissioners adopt several proclamations; public speakers pitch community-owned arena
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Summary
At the April 20 meeting the board adopted proclamations recognizing National Travel & Tourism Week, Sexual Assault Awareness Month and Child Abuse Prevention Month; public commenters described a community-owned Wilmington Arena Project and invited commissioners to an upcoming Riverfront Park event.
The New Hanover County Board of Commissioners adopted multiple proclamations April 20 and heard public comment on a proposed community-owned arena.
Chair Leanne Pierce read a proclamation recognizing National Travel and Tourism Week, highlighting local visitor-spending totals and room-occupancy-tax benchmarks; Kim Hoffmann, president and CEO of the New Hanover County Tourism Development Authority, thanked the board and invited commissioners to a May 6 industry event. The board approved the proclamation by voice vote.
Commissioner Walker read a Sexual Assault Awareness Month proclamation and invited an agency representative from Coastal Horizons (crisis services) to speak about survivor support and prevention; the board adopted that proclamation by voice vote. The board also adopted a Child Abuse Prevention Month proclamation; Brianna Guerra, child abuse prevention and outreach coordinator at Carousel Child Advocacy Center, cited that Carousel received 394 referrals in FY 2024–25, with 188 involving New Hanover County, and thanked multidisciplinary partners who support victims and families.
During public comment, Michael Volman and Kyla Harding of the Wilmington Arena Project described efforts to launch a community-owned arena and a related Cape Fear Sports and Community Coalition. They invited commissioners to a free Riverfront Park event to showcase community interest and to raise funds for a mobile street-hockey rink as part of youth programming. Commissioners thanked the speakers and said the proposals would be watched as they develop.
All proclamations were adopted by voice vote and public-comment speakers were heard during the designated period.
