What's inside this issue?

• Severe weather forecast for January 9-10.
• BHA's 5th Annual Operation Re-Forest — We Forest is here! Pick up your ordered trees at Public Works on Thursday, January 11.
• Village of BHI's 2024 G.O. Bond Referendum — helpful links, important dates and voting information.
• 2024 proposed homeowners insurance increase — public comment period.
• BHA's 2024 Annual Meeting, Online Voting and Smith Island Social.
• BHA's 2024 assessment coupons mailing this week.
• Don't miss — January Island Report.
• Events
• BHA quick links (ARC and BHA committees) and Board meetings.
• Handy Bald Head Island website links.

Severe Weather Forecast

Tuesday, January 9, through Wednesday, January 10

According to the Village, "The National Weather Service (NWS) Wilmington office has forecast a powerful storm system that will bring heavy rain, strong winds and possible isolated tornados for southeast NC tomorrow (1/9/24) afternoon and evening. Coastal impacts may include storm-force winds, large seas, dangerous surf and minor flooding. Village officials are keeping an eye on the forecast. Depending on the expected conditions, the Village may reduce staffing on the Island to essential-only."

BHI Transportation has announced, "The National Weather Service has issued gale and storm warnings for our area beginning Tuesday afternoon (1/9/24) and impacting the region through Wednesday (1/10/24). Due to predicted high winds, high seas, heavy rain and limited visibility, it is possible ferry service may be suspended at various times throughout this period. Please monitor the website and the mobile app for operating status updates. Your safety is our top priority."

BHA will close its office on BHI to foot traffic on Tuesday, January 9, for safety precautions. Staff will continue to work remotely to assist members. Stay tuned for additional updates as needed.

Additional Resources

• Click HERE for the NWS Wilmington website.
• Click HERE for the Village's 1/8/24 Village's Voice announcement.
• Click HERE for BHI Transportation's website.

BHA's 5th Annual

Operation Re-Forest — We Forest

Pick up your ordered trees on Thursday, January 11,

from 9:30am-1:30pm at Public Works

BHA's 5th annual “Operation Re-Forest — We Forest” is here! BHA will bring trees to Bald Head Island for planting January 10-11, 2024. Property owners can pick up their ordered trees on January 11 from 9:30am-1:30pm at Public Works (271 Edward Teach Ext.). Please note that this year's trees are larger, and it really takes two people to lift a tree. If you've already placed an order using this year's survey, we appreciate your prompt payment.

BHA began this operation in 2019 to help mitigate Bald Head Island’s tree losses from previous storms, such as Hurricane Florence in 2018. According to BHI Conservancy’s survey estimating Hurricane Florence’s damage to trees on Bald Head Island, “Scaled-up total loss of trees was a median of 4,000 trees lost for Bald Head Island proper, not including the Coastal Reserve, with an additional 1,000 trees lost on Middle Island.” Because trees, native vegetation and their root systems help with water drainage and wind protection, BHA kicked off “Operation Re-Forest — We Forest” in 2019 as a way to help mitigate BHI’s tree losses.

Online "Operation Re-Forest — We Forest" Map/List

Check out the Operation Re-Forest — We Forest map and list of honorees on BHA's website HERE.

Thank You!

BHA is grateful for the support of its Resource Conservation and Beautification (RCB) Committee volunteers to make this operation a success. We thank both the Village of BHI and BHI Limited for their continued support, with the Village again waiving its ICE fees and BHI Limited again waiving its barge fees for tree delivery. Thank you also to the volunteer Tree Keepers who check on and water newly planted trees. If you'd like to volunteer to be a Tree Keeper, email Barbara Giera at Barbara.Giera@gmail.com.

Village of BHI's 2024 G.O. Bond Referendum

Vote on Tuesday, March 5, 2024

Brief Background

The Village of Bald Head Island is planning for a coastal storm damage reduction (CSDR) project in the winter of 2024-25. The full project as proposed will use Jay Bird Shoals to supply the project with approximately 1 million cubic yards of beach-quality sand. The sand will be placed east of the terminal groin along South Beach, down through the area where the sand tube groins are installed. It will restart east of Muscadine Wynd and will fill to the east end of the Shoals Club.

Read more about the background, with additional resources and quick links for the December Town Hall video and slides, an overview article, statements of disclosure and more on the Village's 2024 Bond Referendum web page HERE.

A Bond Referendum

A bond referendum is a voting process that gives voters the power to decide if a municipality should be authorized to raise funds through the sale of bonds, for specific purposes. A general obligation (G.O.) bond is long-term borrowing in which a municipality pledges its full faith and credit (taxing power) to repay the debt over a specified term. G.O. bonds are the least costly financing option available to the Village to finance major capital costs and offer significant savings to taxpayers over the repayment period. 

During the upcoming March 5, 2024, primary Bald Head Island voters will be able to vote YES or NO on two questions. To read the questions, click HERE.

Questions?

The Village is still taking questions. Please send them to GOBOND@villagebhi.org.

The questions and answers will be posted on the 2024 Bond Referendum web page (click on the button below) and will be updated as more questions are received. The questions are being separated by category (finance/tax, shoreline and bond referendum).

Important Dates:

January 15, 2024 – Absentee ballots for the bond referendum will be available.

February 3, 2024 — Residency deadline.

February 9, 2024 – Last day to register to vote in the referendum.*

February 15, 2024 – Early voting period starts.

February 27, 2024 – Absentee ballot request deadline (5:00pm).*

March 2, 2024 – Early voting period ends.

March 5, 2024 – The referendum will take place. Absentee ballot return deadline is 7:30pm.*

By March 15, 2024 – Canvass of returns by Board of Elections.

* Voter registration and absentee voting deadlines are different for military and overseas citizen voters.

Voting and Residency

As of January 2, 2024, there are 381 people registered to vote in BHI elections. If you live on Bald Head Island full-time or part-time, you may want to review the voting requirements and determine WHERE you want to exercise your voting rights.

According to the Brunswick County Board of Elections, “The residency qualification to register to vote in a municipality or county is that the persons registering must have, by the time of the election, resided in that municipality or county for at least 30 days with the intent to make that county, municipality, precinct, ward, or other election district a permanent place of abode.” The residency deadline is Saturday, February 3, 2024. (Read Brunswick County's "Clarification on Voter Residency Requirements" HERE.) For the Brunswick County Board of Elections web page, click HERE.

2024 Proposed Homeowners Insurance Increase

In its January 5, 2024, press release, the NC Department of Insurance (NCDOI) stated, "Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey announced that the North Carolina Rate Bureau (NCRB) filed a rate filing with the North Carolina Department of Insurance on Wednesday asking for an average statewide increase in homeowners’ insurance rates of 42.2%. The Rate Bureau has asked for the rates to become effective August 1, 2024."

The NCRB's proposed increase is 99.4% for the territory including beach areas in Brunswick County, which would include Bald Head Island. Click HERE for the 2024 territories with the NCRB proposed rate increase.

Click HERE for the full NCDOI press release announcing the NCRB's rate filing and explaining the public comment period. There are four ways the public can provide comments:

• A public comment forum will be held to listen to public input on the NCRB’s rate increase request at the NCDOI’s Jim Long Hearing Room on January 22 from 10:00am to 4:30pm. The Jim Long Hearing Room is in the Albemarle Building, 325 N. Salisbury St., Raleigh, NC 27603.
• A virtual public comment forum will be held simultaneously with the in-person forum on January 22 from 10:00am to 4:30pm. Click HERE for the link to this virtual forum.
• Emailed public comments should be sent by February 2 to: 2024Homeowners@ncdoi.gov.
• Written public comments must be received by Kimberly W. Pearce, Paralegal III, by February 2 and addressed to 1201 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, N.C. 27699-1201.

Click HERE to read the CBS17 article "Detailed list of NC home rate increase plan by cities, counties from insurance companies."

BHA News

BHA's 2024 Annual Meeting, Online Voting

and Smith Island Social

BHA's Annual Meeting is coming soon — Saturday, January 27, 2024, at 9:00am. Make plans to join us in-person or online. Stay tuned for location details and the Zoom link.

Watch for your copy of BHA's 2023 Annual Report packet, mailed in late December. It will arrive in a white, catalog envelope, and it contains your unique voter registration ID on the front cover, proxy, voting details and more.

For all Annual Meeting resources, such as the online voting link and tips, candidate biographies, the candidate forum recording and more, click on the button below. For answers to frequently asked questions, click on that button below.

BHA's 2024 Assessment Coupons Mailing This Week

BHA's 2024 assessment coupons will be mailed this week, so be on the lookout. Payment is due by February 15, 2024. For any questions, contact Leigh Ann Fink, bookkeeper, at LeighAnn@BaldHeadAssociation.com.

Don't miss!

• Dive into your community — volunteer!
• BHA's 2023 Annual Report Packets, Annual Meeting, Voting and Smith Island Social.
• ARC — Design Guidelines 27th edition and decorative items in harmony with nature.
• Monthly ARC Quiz.
• President's Letter.
• BHI native plant series feature — sea oats.
• Letter to the editor — all property owners need to vote.
• 2024 BHA annual assessments.
• ARC improvement ad hoc committee update.
• Monthly contributors — the Village of BHI, Old Baldy Foundation and the BHI Conservancy.
• Plus much more!

Due to flooding in BHA's Association Center,

all activities are being temporarily relocated during renovations. For the latest updates, check our online event calendar for location information.

Community Potluck Dinner

Monday, January 8, 6:00pm

Relocated to Delphina Coastal Cuisine

Join us for the next Community Potluck Dinner on Monday, January 8, at 6:00pm. The event has been relocated to Delphina Coastal Cuisine (8 Marina Wynd).

Featured guests will be the No Boundaries Art Colony artists, who will be spending two weeks on BHI in January. We anticipate approximately 15 guest artists. Check out their website HERE.

All are invited! Make new friends and join those you've known for years. Please bring 2 dishes to share and your favorite beverage. Click on the poster for more details. Contact Betsi Stephen for additional information at BetsiStephen@gmail.com.

Brunswick Nuclear Plant Siren Test

Wednesday, January 10, 2024

The outdoor warning sirens around the Brunswick Nuclear Plant will be tested between 10:00am and 11:00am on Wednesday, January 10, 2024. The test will be a full-volume,

3-minute test. No public action is required.

The dates for the rest of the quarterly tests are: April 10, July 10 and October 9. All tests will be 5-30 seconds, with the exception of the October test, which is held at full volume for 3 minutes.

Flower Arranging Class

Wednesday, January 24

2:00-3:30pm

Delphina Coastal Cuisine

Sign up by January 17!

Join us for a flower arranging class taught by BHI homeowner Jenny Elliott on Wednesday, January 24, from 2:00-3:30pm. The cost is $125, and participants need to prepay by January 17 (VENMO or check accepted). There are six open spaces. Click on the poster for additional details. Click HERE to visit Jenny's site. For questions, contact Betsi Stephen at BetsiStephen@gmail.com.

Public Service Auxiliary (PSA) Annual Meeting

Sunday, January 28, 1:00-2:00pm

Public Safety Complex

The annual meeting of the Public Service Auxiliary (PSA) will be on Sunday, January 28, from 1:00-2:00pm at the Public Safety Complex (273 Edward Teach Ext.). Current members of PSA are encouraged to attend, and anyone interested in volunteering for the PSA are welcome to attend. Many opportunities exist for all property owners. You do not need to be a full-time resident to volunteer for PSA. For questions, contact Cam McIntyre at cammacnc@gmail.com.

Yoga Classes

Re-starting in 2024

Relocated to BHI Bottle Shop

Re-starting in 2024, yoga classes are taught by Pam Moulin on Mondays and Wednesdays, 11:45am-1:00pm. The new location is BHI Bottle Shop (2 Maritime Way). Thank you to Jordyn Matthews for donating space in the Bottle Shop for yoga classes!

Pam has 36 years of experience as a fitness instructor and 19 years of experience as a yoga instructor, and she's been teaching yoga on Bald Head Island for 13 years. All levels are welcome. Classes are $20, and participants must bring their own yoga mat. Pam requires that all participants show proof of vaccination against Covid-19. For all new participants, it's strongly suggested to email Pam beforehand (and let her know of any physical limitations) at pammoulin@ec.rr.com.

BHI Community Care

Do you need assistance?

Your Island Friends are here to help!

BHI Community Care is in association with Project Longevity. For help or to volunteer, email Joan Maggio at JoanMaggio.BHIcare@gmail.com.

BHI Transportation

Announces Deadline of March 31, 2024,

for 2-part ("Old") Paper Ferry Tickets

According to BHI Transportation's announcement:

Bald Head Island Transportation will STOP accepting two-part (“old”) paper tickets after March 31, 2024. "Old" Bulk 40 tickets (only) may be exchanged for a coupon code through March 31, 2024.

Starting April 1, 2024, only QR-coded “new” tickets and transferred or newly issued passes will be valid for ferry boarding.

Click HERE for the announcement. Click HERE for BHI Transportation's website.

BHA's Board of Directors invites property owners and others to join its monthly public meetings in person or remotely via Zoom. Board meetings are typically held the second Friday of each month beginning at 11:00am EDT. Agendas, approved minutes of previous meetings and a link to the current monthly Zoom meeting can be found on the meeting information web page. Click on the link below to learn more.

(NOTE: change of venue — the Chandler Building in the BHI Harbour.) The next BHA Board meeting public session is scheduled for Friday, January 26, 2024, at 11:00am.

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