WRIGHTSVILLE BEACH — Though the board of aldermen in Wrightsville Beach shied away from raising parking rates this year, the town has facilitated a new parking committee to help inform the program moving forward. However, at last week’s budget workshop, it was revealed the newly formed committee will not be beholden to the same sunshine laws as most other advisory boards in the municipality.
“You don’t have to worry with keeping minutes or making it a publicly noticed meeting,” Town Manager Haynes Brigman suggested, noting the process would be more streamlined through staff rather than requiring an aldermen vote. The idea did not present much concern to the board.
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Port City Daily reached out to the town to inquire further into any transparency worries related to the informal nature of the committee, ask how many members of the public expressed interest in the group, why an informal committee was preferred over a formal one, and to receive a more concrete timeline for its debut.
Rather than answer the questions, a spokesperson for Wrightsville Beach responded with a statement:
“At this time, the committee has not yet been formed, and plans for the committee have not been finalized. Because of this, it would not be appropriate for us to address these questions prior to the committee’s formation.”
In the meeting Brigman asserted the informal nature of the committee would not be held to the same standards as an official one, like the parks and recreation advisory team.
Per one of North Carolina’s sunshine laws, or G.S. § 143-318.9, public bodies, including appointed boards and board-appointed committees, must give advance public notice of meetings, be open to the public to attend, and minutes must be kept.
Thus, if the committee is put together and managed by town staff, the law is not necessary to adhere to. Brigman made a verbal commitment, not bound by the general statute, that the parking committee meetings would still remain open to the public with notice given ahead of time, though there will not be minutes taken.
Brigman further explained the reason behind his informal committee suggestion was to reduce the number of hurdles town staff would have to go over to put together the group, such as needing a board of aldermen vote to fill membership. Originally, however, the town manager suggested including aldermen Margaret Baggett and Todd Schoen at the budget workshop. Schoen confirmed to Port City Daily that he, nor Baggett, would sit on the board.
Instead, the committee will consist of eight to 10 members, including representatives from Pivot Parking and town finance manager Brian Murray, as well as residents and local business owners. The members of the public will be chosen, ultimately, by town staff, though the town manager commented he would take feedback from the board into consideration.
Both Mayor Ken Dull and Schoen expect to sit down as a board to go over candidates as well, they told Port City Daily. Neither expressed concerns over a lack of transparency.
“These are just citizens and residents,” Schoen said, noting volunteers for the committee just want to be helpful to the town. “These aren’t people that have campaigned for anything. They’re not elected officials. They shouldn’t have to be under the same scrutiny and stresses that our elected officials are.”
This year’s parking fees are projected make up almost a third of the town’s revenue, anticipated to bring in around $7.2 million. In previous years, it has increased to almost half the total general fund revenue, with the 2023-2024 fiscal year drawing in $6.9 million. The full 2024-2025 parking revenue is not posted on the town’s website; it has $3.9 million presented year-to-date from July 2024 to May 2025, making up around a quarter of the general fund.
The town only has a handful of revenue sources, including sales tax, property tax, and room occupancy tax. As reported by Port City Daily Thursday from the budget workshop, Brigman said it’s reaching its limit unless other alternatives are brought to the table.
However, next fiscal year parking rates will be reduced by $5 for all-day premium and non-premium spots, while hourly rates remain unchanged (which are $5 an hour for non-premium spots and $6 an hour for premium). Instead, the board of aldermen voted unanimously to create the parking committee. The board hoped — as Mayor Dull iterated to Port City Daily — that volunteers and representatives would be able to research and discuss ways to improve WB’s parking program, while acting as liaisons between the public’s needs and the municipality government’s own needs and strategic planning.
Dull wants to see data-driven solutions.
“We wanted to build a well-rounded committee that has all different perspectives — business, tourist, resident, different parts of the beach because not every part of the beach is like other with traffic, parking and congestion,” Dull said. “The reality is that it could almost be called the parking and traffic committee.”
The committee will meet once a month, ideally starting in the spring, according to Dull. Town staff are currently in the process of fielding interest from members of the public, who can email the town to request an application.
“We want to make sure that we’ve turned over every rock we can to make a good decision,” Dull said, estimating applications would close first week of March.
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