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Free food, a gift for registered members, special demonstrations and displays, and a chance to win cash, free electricity and a pickup truck – that’s what is in store for the CCEC Annual Meeting on May 3 at Glad Tidings Church in Morehead City.

Doors open at 5 p.m., and the first 600 registered members will receive a pair of silicone oven mitts. All co-op members who attend and register will get a ticket for drawings at the close of the meeting. Those drawings include cash prizes, up to $1,000 in free electricity (for bills mailed July through December, 2018) and a Ford Ranger pickup truck retired from the cooperative's fleet.

Attendees can learn more about energy safety and our newer account payment and management technologies. Carteret-Craven Electric Foundation board members will be on hand to sign up members for our Operation RoundUP^® program. Those who aren’t participating, but choose to sign up for the nonprofit humanitarian grant program, will be entered in a drawing for a gift bag full of goodies. The co-op’s Relay for Life team will host a free hotdog dinner served up by employee volunteers.

Entertainment by talented students from West Carteret High School’s Jazz Band and Chorus will be featured in the church sanctuary just prior to the opening of the business meeting.

In addition to those activities, co-op members will learn about the organization's operation over the past year, plans for the future, and more.

The terms for directors from Districts 1, 3 and 4 expire this year. All three candidates were unopposed. They are: District 1 Director Deloria Irby, District 3 Director Arland Bell and District 4 Director Fred Fulcher.

“We encourage members to attend and learn more about their cooperative,” said CCEC Communications Director Lisa Galizia. “After all, our co-op members are actually the owners of the organization, and they have a say in what we do.”

Carteret-Craven Electric Cooperative provides power to more than 33,000 members in Carteret, Craven, Jones and Onslow counties and is part of Touchstone Energy®, a nationwide family of co-ops exhibiting the core values of integrity, accountability, innovation and commitment to community.

The 5th annual Emerald Isle Marathon, Half-Marathon, and 5K Races were held on March 10, with a total of 725 finishers on a beautiful spring day in Emerald Isle.  Thanks to a great turnout, great sponsors, and great volunteers, the races generated total net proceeds of $36,000 that have been distributed to two great causes.

At the April 10 Town meeting, Race Director (and Town Commissioner) Candace Dooley and Race Committee members presented a check for $18,000 (50% of race proceeds) to the Town’s Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee for future bicycle and pedestrian improvements in Emerald Isle. 

Dooley and the Race Committee members also presented a check for $18,000 (50% of race proceeds) to Little Pink Houses of Hope, a breast cancer charity that routinely provides vacation opportunities for breast cancer victims in Emerald Isle. 

Since its inception in 2014, the races have raised approximately $240,000 for bicycle and pedestrian improvements in Emerald Isle and various health charities.  Thank you to all who have participated, supported, and volunteered for this great annual event over the past 5 years!  

Register today for the 4th annual Bike The Banks event, with 3 great bicycle rides in our beautiful coastal environment!  https://www.emeraldisle-nc.org/4th-annual-bike-the-banks-2018-05-05 

The 2018 event will again feature a 100 mile ride to the Cape Lookout Lighthouse and back, a 50 mile ride to Fort Macon State Park and back, and a 10 mile leisure ride on the Town's bicycle path.  Rides begin at 7:30 am (100 mile ride) and 8:00 am (50 mile ride) and 8:15 am (10 mile ride). 

All proceeds benefit the Emerald Isle bicycle path network. Please join us on May 5 in Emerald Isle!

Emerald Isle has been nominated in the Great Place for Healthy Living People's Choice award contest.  Remember you can vote once a day (every 24 hours)!

Voting ends 5pm on April 27! https://www.wishpond.com/lp/2301863/

USA TODAY 10 Best Reader's Choice Awards has named Emerald Isle as "Best North Carolina Beach"!

Please note the Disc Golf Tournament scheduled for Saturday, April 7 at 10am has been rescheduled for Saturday, April 14  - 10am for singles/ lunch/ then teams.  Any questions or concerns, text the event coordinator at 919-697-3794.

The Board of Commissioners has selected a proposal from A-Team Enterprises LLC (a group that includes principals from the adjacent Islander Hotel) for the sale and redevelopment of the abandoned go-kart track / bumper boat property on Islander Drive.  A-Team would purchase the 1.846 acre tract for $804,000, and plans to construct a mixed-use development on this tract and an additional adjacent tract.  

The planned development includes multiple 3-story buildings with approximately 30 residential units and several ground floor retail units.  The A-Team proposal also includes construction of a public walkway and additional public parking spaces along Islander Drive and Louise Avenue. The total projected investment by A-Team is approximately $8 million. Pending the execution of a formal development agreement in the coming weeks, the sale would be finalized later this summer, and construction would begin in January 2019.

The Town purchased the 1.846 acre tract in June 2017, and invested approximately $689,000 in the land purchase and subsequent clean-up of the property.  Thus, the Town expects to realize a significant profit from the sale, and the Board of Commissioners has committed to use all profits for additional streetscape improvements along Islander Drive and beach access improvements at the adjacent Western Ocean Regional Access. In addition to the land sale profit, the Town has also been awarded a $100,000 State grant for the revitalization of the Islander Drive area.  In total, the Town expects to re-invest approximately $265,000 in beneficial public improvements in this area.     

The Town is pleased to have fostered the clean-up and redevelopment of this underutilized area, and looks forward to a quality development project by A-Team.  The proposed development is consistent with the Town's land use plans and current development regulations, is comparable to other existing development in Emerald Isle, and will result in significant public improvements at minimal or no cost to the Town's taxpayers.  

The Final Environmental Impact Statement for the long-term (50 years) nourishment of Bogue Banks beaches (including Emerald Isle's ~ 12 miles of beach) and the management of a stable main channel in Bogue Inlet (and protection of The Point) is nearing approval, and we expect formal Federal and State permits to be issued this summer.  This effort, led by the Carteret County Beach Commission / Shore Protection Office on behalf of Emerald Isle and other towns, will greatly simplify and expedite the permitting for future beach nourishment and inlet management projects.  

The Town hopes to utilize the new Federal and State permits for a new beach nourishment project in winter 2018-19, depending on the availability of State funding assistance.  Design work is currently underway for an approximately 3 mile beach nourishment project in eastern Emerald Isle, roughly between the Indian Beach town line and the Town's Eastern Ocean Regional Access.  If State funding is awarded, work should occur in winter 2018-19. If State funding is not awarded, the project will be delayed until winter 2019-20, pending another State funding request.

The Town is pleased to see this effort come to a beneficial conclusion, and appreciates the hard work of all involved! 

We all love Emerald Isle, and all of us realize how blessed we all are to enjoy this special place! Whether you've been here for many years, or only recently found us, we want to make sure you know as much as possible about our great town!  The Town prepares and updates several general information documents, and you can easily access this information at the Town's website:

• Fast Facts - a quick overview of Town statistics, interesting tidbits, and key values, located at  https://www.emeraldisle-nc.org/Data/Sites/1/media/pdfs/2018-fast-facts.pdf , 
• Top 10 Things To Know About Emerald Isle - a quick rundown of what the Town of Emerald Isle is all about, located at  https://www.emeraldisle-nc.org/Data/Sites/1/media/pdfs/top-10-things-to-know-about-ei.pdf , and 
• Annual Update on Town Projects and Issues - a quick synopsis and status report on numerous Town initiatives, big and small, located at  https://www.emeraldisle-nc.org/Data/Sites/1/media/pdfs/realtor-session---march-2018.pdf . 

There are now approximately 900 golf carts registered in the Town's local golf cart program, and the program continues to grow.  The Town is pleased to offer this additional mode of convenient transportation for our residents and property owners, and urges all golf cart operators to be safe and follow the rules.  The most significant regulations are as follows:

• all golf carts must be registered with the Town annually, 
• all registered golf carts must be equipped with specified safety equipment, including seatbelts, headlights, tail lights, blinkers, and more, 
• golf cart operators must possess a drivers license, and be at least 18 years old, 
• golf carts are not permitted to be operated on NC 58 and Coast Guard Road, however, drivers may cross over these roads, 
• golf carts are not permitted to be operated on the NC 58 and Coast Guard Road bicycle paths, 
• open containers of alcohol are prohibited, and golf cart operators driving under the influence will be arrested. 

A full description of the program and regulations is located at  https://www.emeraldisle-nc.org/golf-card-registration-program .  It is important to note that these regulations do not apply to any golf cart with North Carolina license plates or to golf carts operated solely on private streets in private subdivisions.