After a long and colder-than-usual winter, we are all glad to have the 2011 summer season upon us!  We hope everyone will enjoy their time in Emerald Isle this summer!

In order to promote an enjoyable beach experience for everyone, we ask everyone to abide by the following important beach regulations:

• Please dispose of trash and recyclables in approved containers, which are provided approximately every 1/10 of a mile along the beach strand.  Please keep our beach clean and beautiful!
• Dogs are permitted on the beach strand, but must be kept on a leash at all times, including the surf zone.  Please pick up your dog's excrement from the beach strand and dispose of it in a trash receptacle.
• Fireworks that explode and/or leave the ground are illegal, and will be confiscated by the Police Department.
• Please stay off the dunes!  They are our first line of defense during hurricanes!
• Please fill in any holes that you dig on the beach before you leave for the day.  Large holes are a safety hazard for other beach visitors and emergency personnel, particularly at night.
• Camping overnight is not permitted on the beach strand.
• Fires are not permitted on the beach strand.
• Unattended beach equipment (tents, canopies, etc.) must be removed from the beach strand each night.  Failure to remove these items will result in confiscation by Town personnel.

 Thank you for your cooperation!  Have a great time! 

The new Emerald Isle Boating Access Area is now open to the public.  The new facility is located on Bogue Sound near mile marker 18 on NC 58 (adjacent to Chapel By The Sea), and has a clearly marked channel to the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway.  

The new boating access area has 4 launch ramps and parking for 112 vehicle / trailer combinations.  The new facility is open every day, and there is no charge to launch a boat.  Enjoy your boating and fishing adventures!

The Emerald Isle Fire Department is gearing up for the summer season, and has recently hired several new Beach Patrol and lifeguard personnel.  Intense training will occur in May, and Beach Patrol and lifeguard personnel will begin work on the beach strand in late May, just in time for Memorial Day weekend. 

The Town will deploy two mobile personnel on ATVs who will roam up and down the beach to perform water rescue, ordinance enforcement, and public assistance duties every day.  For the first time, the Town will also station two fixed lifeguard personnel at the Town's two regional beach access facilities. 

Beach Patrol and lifeguard personnel will be on duty 7 days a week through the entire summer until after Labor Day weekend. 

The Board of Commissioners recently awarded the 2011 street resurfacing contract to Onslow Grading and Paving, Jacksonville, NC.  The following Town streets will be resurfaced in May:

• Washington Street (entire length)
• Heverly Drive (entire length)
• Dorothy Court (entire length)
• Wiley Court (entire length)
• Shell Drive (entire length)
• West Warren Street (entire length)
• Hancock Drive (entire length)
• Fairview Drive (entire length of soundside segment).

The Emerald Isle Fire Department was recently awarded a $97,043 grant from the US Fire Administration for the replacement of Fire turn-out gear and pagers for all paid and volunteer firefighters (35 sets of each).  The Town's match for the grant is $5,107.

The new equipment will help to keep our Fire personnel as safe as possible in dangerous situations, and these grant funds will help to keep the Town's tax-supported expenses as low as possible.  

The Town utilizes Emerald Isle Woods Park as a receiving site for storm water pumped from various locations along the Coast Guard Road corridor.  The Town's system is a model storm water project that includes 5 different storm water treatment features, and has been praised by State and Federal regulators and environmental groups.

After several years of analysis, discussion, and negotiations with State regulators, the Town recently received authorization for an emergency discharge from EI Woods Park. The Town will be able to utilize this discharge from vast wetlands through an enhanced natural swale to the Bogue Sound marsh ONLY when Bogue Sound is closed to shellfishing.  This discharge greatly enhances the receiving capacity of the EI Woods Park system, and will enable the Town to eventually connect additional pumps (at The Point and Lands End) to the system.  The emergency discharge will also provide relief for the Cape Emerald subdivision.

Construction of this discharge is set to begin in May, and should be complete prior to the 2011 hurricane season.  We hope we won't need to use it this year, however!