Residents press council for action on dredging, Majestic Oaks and dying lakes

Residents used public comment to press the Town of Sunset Beach council for action on long-standing infrastructure and environmental concerns.

Gary Green, speaking from his experience with dredging, said the recent canal work has not delivered the promised dimensions — he cited an expectation of a 20-foot-wide, 4-foot-deep channel and observed sections as narrow as 6 feet and as shallow as 3 feet. He urged planning for temporary spoil storage to keep dredging operations continuous and volunteered his dredging expertise to the town. "We were promised... we'd have a 20 foot wide canal, 4 feet deep," Green said, adding that without adequate width or depth boats must wait for higher tides.

Green and Lynn Neesmith suggested adding signage or other measures to slow boats in Jenks Creek to protect paddlers and small craft. Neesmith also urged the town to convert Majestic Oaks from industrial staging and spoil dumping to a park to protect a surviving oak tree.

Lorraine Thomas Bass described ecological degradation at Osprey and Metcalf Lakes—heavy weed growth, eutrophication and reports of dying wildlife—and said roughly 80 homes in her subdivision lack adequate fire-protection access. She urged the town to explore adding hydrants served from Calabash or Sunset Beach and to regulate runoff from Sea Trail. "It's an ecological disaster," she said, listing dead alligators, turtles and fish.

Speakers requested clearer plans and timetables from the town on dredging, park conversion and lake remediation; no formal council directives or votes were recorded in the public-comment portion of the forum.