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Resident says Army Corps beach renourishment left oceanfront rocks exposed, creating safety gap
Summary
At the Dec. 9 Carolina Beach council meeting, resident Melinda Singer said an Army Corps renourishment left rocks and an unfilled drop at 1512 Carolina Beach Avenue North, limiting beach access and creating a safety hazard; she said the work followed a different contract template than residents expected and asked the town to coordinate with the Corps.
Melinda Singer, a Carolina Beach resident, told the Town Council at its Dec. 9 meeting that she observed an Army Corps of Engineers beach renourishment last Saturday that left rocks and large gaps between the dunes and the beach at 1512 Carolina Beach Avenue North.
“Not the case. Not the case at all,” Singer said, recounting earlier assurances that the Corps would follow the previous renourishment template. She said she watched crews and observed that “the rocks partially have been covered partially and to the tune that there's still the big chasm and gap between the dunes and the beach,” and that the condition limits direct access from several oceanfront homes and creates a safety drop.
Singer said she had contacted the Corps’ local contact (identified in the meeting only as Kent) and texted Councilmember Joe Benson after the October 30 public meeting when Corps staff had described the project template. According to Singer, some Corps engineers told her they had no orders to move past the rocks and that the current contract appears to follow a different template than residents had been told.
Singer described ad-hoc contractor work to place sand at the main street access, but said that did not address the exposed-rocks condition or the steep drop in places. “It's a lot more difficult to come back the beach when you're moving forward on that one,” she said, warning of the safety implications of an uncompacted slope and abrupt drop from the dune to the beach.
Town staff and council acknowledged Singer’s concern and asked staff to follow up. One council member asked staff to coordinate with Singer and with the Corps after the meeting; another attendee offered to pose the question to the Corps directly. A council member said, “To my knowledge, the template hasn't changed, but if you'll just coordinate,” and staff agreed to ask the Corps for clarification and report back.
No formal action or vote was taken on the matter during the meeting. Singer requested and appeared to expect follow-up from town staff and from the Corps; the transcript records a commitment by staff to make inquiries after the meeting but does not record a timeline or specific next steps.
Background: Singer said the affected property is at 1512 Carolina Beach Avenue North and that the issue became apparent around 3 p.m. on Saturday during the Corps’ operation. She told council members she raised the issue to preserve property access and public safety and sought confirmation that the Corps was following the previously described project template.
Next steps: Council members asked staff to coordinate with Singer and to contact the Corps for clarification; the transcript records no subsequent written response, timetable, or formal referral to staff in the meeting minutes.
