Beaufort residents happy with commissioners’ decision for future of waterfront dock

BEAUFORT, N.C. (WITN) – The future for one Eastern Carolina town’s beloved waterfront dock is clearer thanks to a decision by commissioners.

At the first public meeting on the waterfront lease agreement issue in July, people were upset about what they felt was a lack of transparency from commissioners.

In that meeting, Beaufort resident Daniel Ferrell and others expressed concerns about the town potentially selecting a new dock operator with the intention of altering the waterfront dock, which residents say is a vital part of the community.

“It’s like a house you lived in all your life. That’s what this dock is,” says Ferrell.

Advocates even created a Facebook page in support of keeping the current local waterfront operator. Since then, residents have continued to voice their concerns, and the board decided to slow the process down.

“So the board voted to ask the current lessee if they would extend their lease for another 12 more months, giving us a little more time to investigate the future of the waterfront improvement project,” says Beaufort Mayor Sharon Harker.

In a meeting Monday, the board also voted to cease negotiations and discussions with the current entity and to include the letter of intent, with the company of interest as it relates to future management of the Beaufort Docks.

Residents feel that decision is worth celebrating.

“The thing I love are the people in this town, and to see everybody get involved is just a great moment… and to see the people we elected hear us is just a beautiful thing,” says Ferrell.

Mayor Harker says they wouldn’t be able to operate if it wasn’t for the people of Beaufort.

“I’m glad we were able to make our citizens feel more comfortable about the process moving forward, and I’m also very excited to see them super engaged and coming out to our meeting which I love to see a full auditorium every time we meet,” says Mayor Harker.

Mayor Harker says she decided to form a working committee called the Beaufort Waterfront Operations and Finance Committee, which will focus on the location’s future.