Get ready, South Nags Head (Time running out ...):
The state Division of Coastal Management is preparing notices to property owners in seven coastal counties who have sandbags, reminding them of the looming deadline for their removal, said Mike Lopazanski, the division's coastal and ocean policy manager.
After discussion of the issue in July at a Coastal Resources Commission meeting, the panel decided to allow the last extension for sandbags to expire in May 2008.
...
The problem is that the sandbags in South Nags Head are keeping the ocean from destroying beachfront homes, said Yogi Harper, owner of Erosion Control Specialists in Nags Head. Harper's business involves installation and repair of sandbags.
"This is going to be a catastrophic event," he said Friday.
Catastrophic? Maybe for individual home owners but not for society (in this case, Dare County).
When it became apparent that Congress was not going to provide money for a federal beach nourishment project in Dare County, the town of Nags Head developed a $30 million nourishment proposal.
It would have been financed by a $24 million bond issue, and the cost would have been paid back by taxpayers, with property owners in a special district along the beach picking up a larger share. But in a special election in April, town voters slapped it down.
Sometimes voting can be used to infer economic values. With about 15,000 households in the County and a $24 million loan, each household is facing about a $1600 price tag. Spread out over 10 years at 6.5% interest, the annual cost is about $216.
If I'm voting for (against) a $24 million bond proposal that might cost me $216 annually for 10 years then I am (not) willing to pay $216 for the services funded by the bond.
I'd say the cost of the NC Division of Coastal Management to require sandbag removal is perceived to be less than $24 million by Dare County residents. Or, maybe with an impending catastrophe the vote will change?
