Sharing the strong state of the county, a commitment to meeting community nutritional needs and the hiring of a new county attorney – the first March meeting of the New Hanover County Board of Commissioners was loaded with an abundance of noteworthy items. Check out the highlights below.
State of the County address
Before the start of the regular meeting, New Hanover County Board of Commissioners Chair Bill Rivenbark provided the annual State of the County address, highlighting key achievements throughout New Hanover County over the past year and looking ahead to projects that will take place over the coming years.
To hear Chair Rivenbark’s remarks and to learn more about the work of New Hanover County Government, watch the State of the County by clicking here.
National Nutrition Month Proclamation
The Board of Commissioners adopted a proclamation in recognition of National Nutrition Month. With a theme of “Fuel for the Future” for this year, Commissioners recognized the need for proper nutrition to ensure overall health and physical well-being. You can view the proclamation by clicking here.
Making healthy food accessible for all in the community has been a priority the Commissioners are focused on addressing. As part of the county’s community building plan, a partnership between the county and the Northside Food Co-op to bring a grocery store to the Northside of the community is continuing to develop, with construction slated to begin this summer on property donated by the City of Wilmington on N. 10th Street. To learn more about the project, visit the Northside Grocery Store webpage.
Welcome aboard, Jordan Smith!
Commissioners unanimously approved the appointment of Jordan Smith to serve as New Hanover County Attorney. Smith, who will take over from outgoing attorney Wanda Copley when she retires at the end of June, will start his role with the county on May 2.
A full announcement on Smith’s appointment is available here.
And that’s not all …
Commissioners also approved a resolution in support of H.R. 524, which was introduced by Congressman David Rouzer. The legislation would exempt beach nourishment projects from provisions of the Coastal Barrier Resources Act, which does not allow federal funds to be used for projects where sand is extracted from inlets within CBRA zones to nourish beaches that are not in CBRA zones. The exemption would apply to beach nourishment projects that have used these inlets at least 15 years, and would apply to Wrightsville Beach and Carolina Beach that have used CBRA inlets for more than 50 years. You can see the full details of the resolution here.
Four public hearings and a quasi-judicial hearing were also held for Planning and Land use items, with all items being approved.
You can view the March 6 meeting here and below. The next regular meeting of the Board of Commissioners is set for 9 a.m. on February 20.
The New Hanover County Board of Commissioners holds its regularly scheduled meetings on the first and third Monday of each month, unless otherwise noted. These meetings take place at the New Hanover County Historic Courthouse (24 North 3rd Street, Room 301). A schedule of the 2023 meetings can be found here.
All meetings are broadcast live on NHCTV.com, New Hanover County's YouTube channel and Spectrum channel 13. For meeting agendas, minutes and exhibits, visit Commissioners.NHCgov.com.