SURF CITY — Mayor Doug Medlin is running for election against challenger Jeremy Shugarts, a sitting councilman.
Medlin served as Mayor Pro-Tem prior to the resignation of Zander Guy in March 2017 to take a job as chairman of the N.C. Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission. Medlin was then appointed as mayor and Councilman Buddy Fowler filled in his spot as Mayor Pro-Tem.
Medlin previously served as the mayor of Surf City from 1989-1991, and on council from 1993-2017.
Note: Candidate interviews are published largely without editing (besides minor typographical corrections) and without limits on length. All council candidates received the same questions, which appear in bold with answers in italics below.
Describe your background and platform.
I have served Surf City for more than 30 years, both as a Town Councilman and Mayor. I know that I have the knowledge, experience, and vision to guide us through our next phase of growth. My platform is simple: I will keep Surf City a family friendly, quaint beach town that is safe, fun, and thriving. I will accomplish this through intentional growth that effectively accommodates our changing needs. I will protect our coast through conservation, preservation, and beach nourishment projects. I will develop a Communications Department to ensure the communication between our town and citizens is a two-way street. I will also bring additional medical and recreational services to our area to support our growth. I will continue to oversee the completion of an expanded Multi-Use Path, a plan that has been in the works since 2014 and under the first phase of construction since 2017. With wisdom from our history, in-depth knowledge of our present, and a solid vision for our future, I will lead Surf City forward.
How will you approach the balance of keeping Surf City a “small and quaint beach town,” which is how we have heard numerous residents and town leaders describe it, while properly planning for growth?
I appreciate you using my slogan, which I have used since my first campaign over 30 years ago. It only goes to show that good ideas stand the test of time, and the fact that we have managed to maintain our character speaks to the guidance of those who have served our town. I will continue to approach it as I have in the past, by implementing our town’s long term plans while always being willing to update and adjust our plans as the needs of the town change.
What is your approach to beach nourishment, and how do you feel about the beach push last spring, a $300,000 operation some experts called ineffective in the long-term?
We have used beach pushes for over 40 years and they have served us well until now. Timing is very important and you don’t jump the gun when you are spending millions of dollars. My approach to beach nourishment is to follow through on the plans we have in progress of hauling sand and completing an engineered beach project. Having an engineered beach will be very beneficial for our town, and that’s why I’ve worked so hard to secure federal funds for such a major project. Beach pushes were kind of like spare tires for us — they are not for long-term use, but the result is well worth the cost.
This project was never intended to be a permanent solution. As I said before, beach pushes are more like replacing a flat tire with a spare. The spare tire does not look good and it’s not an improvement, but it is a benefit in the short term. Our citizens appreciate it and feel it is a temporary protection for their homes. We had the foresight to see and plan for funding our engineered beach through using these beach pushes. The big benefit of beach pushes over the years is that it allowed us to build up our funding and remain in the positive with our town’s budget. Beach pushes have given us protection while building our funds for our permanent improvement.
As [Town Manager Ashley Loftis] said, we are aware that it is not as beneficial [as completing a full nourishment project], but is a very small percentage of what the entire beach nourishment project would cost. Beach pushes have maintained our dunes while allowing us to build our funds to enable us to budget for larger nourishment projects. We have a private project scheduled to be completed by 2020. I have also been working to get our engineered beach nourishment projects federally funded and that project is planned for 2021.
Development is spreading along the coast — apartment complexes, mixed-use developments, etc. How has the town handled such development? Would you change anything?
I think we have handled this well through zoning and height restrictions. We have amended and updated our ordinances to keep up with our growth. I always focus on blending districts to compliment the community and our needs (i.e. You don’t want commercial too close to housing, etc.). You need a balance of commercial, mixed-use, and residential along with affordable housing. I will continue to focus on keeping our island businesses more local and keep corporate commercial business on the mainland and blended well. We must look at the whole picture and see how it’s going to fit together.
Hurricane Florence brought up issues with emergency planning, particularly communication with residents. Some have said communication had improved during Hurricane Dorian. What will you do to continue this improvement in future storms?
My plan includes adding a Communications Department to continue building what we have already started improving. Our emergency plan was updated this year and will continue to be updated and amended as needed and as trainings influence us to do so. Our Emergency Management Director attends ongoing training and education and provides the same for our town staff consistently. We have also already purchased some updated equipment for our new EOC center and are pursuing more technology to better equip us in the future. Between adding our own EOC, having state-of-the-art equipment, and developing a Communications Department, we will have a solid way forward to face any future storms with great preparedness.
Some candidates at the PCD forum suggested the town was not communicating enough about its 25-year land-use plan. However, it is posted on the town’s website. What is your stance on this?
I would say that if a candidate is running for office, and they haven’t even made the slightest attempt to educate themselves about the publicly-posted plans of the town they are running to lead, then they need to go do their homework and come back when they’re better prepared. That seems pretty basic to me. I do believe more communication could be done in all areas to inform our citizens of what our plans are, which is why I want to develop a Communications Department. However, our town’s 25-year plan (a.k.a. Land Use Update Plan) is fluid and has to change as we experience growth. Although we might not have specifically said our discussions in town meetings are part of an overall 25 year plan, they are. Everything we discuss should always be pointing back to our overall plan. So, with that being said, part of my plan is to utilize our new Communications Department to better communicate these ongoing updates to our plans and to do so in every department of our town.
When you have a growing town, you have to plan for it. What would be your plans for keeping infrastructure on pace with a growing population?
This is a big job in any municipality, and I believe we’ve done a pretty good job. Opening the new bridge was a big step for our community, as was expanding our utility services to enable a brand new school to be built. One of the most critical, primary infrastructures is water and sewer, and the most challenging of these is sewer. Our current board has an intense focus on this area currently and has recently expanded our sewer services. Due to new regulations, we are in the process of locating additional discharge areas, but our water system is in great shape. I will continue to guide our growth and work with developers and all appropriate agencies to keep our infrastructure not just on pace with development, but carefully planned out ahead of when it’s needed.
Parking is becoming limited in Surf City. Would you consider a form of paid parking to help fund things like beach nourishment?
At this point, I am not in favor of paid parking. Having open parking is part of our atmosphere here as a small, quaint beach town. Many of our citizens drive over to the island to play, eat, and shop and I do not feel we need to change our community in this way. As long as I serve as Mayor, I will always remain open to changes that are needed but I will also work hard to preserve our community’s culture.
The Atkinson Road fire brought up some residents’ concerns about house setbacks and a limited availability of water. What would you do differently, if at all, to be better prepared for structure fires on the island? (i.e. Would you consider a fireboat?)
We always need to study and assess after tragedies so that we can do our best to improve and prevent another occurrence in the future. However, there was no limit or issue that restricted our water usage during this fire. The only way for people to better understand is to get educated on how our fire department fights fires and the process. Having more ways to access is something that I have at the top of my priority list to research as well as building material used. Our Fire Chief has researched the expense and the benefit of having a fire boat, to include maintenance cost and frequency of use based on our census. With the information we have at this time, I do not feel we would benefit from, or that this option would help our town. However, this is something we will continue to do our research on.
