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Crystal Beach Improvement Corporation
CBIC News – You need to know!
CBIC Email Address: cbicncorg@gmail.com / CBIC Web Page Address: cbic-nc.org
CBIC voice mail: (252) 495-0159
August 2026
The Board of Directors of the Crystal Beach Improvement Corporation (CBIC) hope that everyone has had a happy 2026 and have come to tolerate the HEAT! In this mailing, you will find information of interest to all lot owners. Your suggestions for improvements are encouraged and may be made in person or in writing and you are welcome to attend our meetings the 2nd Saturday of each month at the Friends of Crystal Beach Building, 181 Driftwood Dr.
FROM THE CBIC PRESIDENT: Since our Annual Meeting last year, we have collected $19,070 in voluntary assessment donations. We have had multiple meetings with an attorney concerning our bulkhead assessment and lot fees. Efforts are ongoing with the mandatory assessments and changing By-laws with members present and voting ballots returned by mail. The attorney has not given a final interpretation as to what will be applicable to CBIC however, he has explained that we are not the only HOA in this type of situation and there are ways to fix this. He is researching and working on our case.
As discussed last year our bulk heads at the beach are deteriorating and it is not a question of if, but when they fail, especially the bulkhead next to the Pavilion. You can see a 10 to 15 degree lean in that section. We have received a permit from the NC Division of Coastal Management to begin repairs. We had originally thought this project was too much to be handled by volunteers and were going to have to pay large sums of money to have them replaced. Mick Lane and James Bland have taken leadership of a group of volunteers and are attacking this project saving Crystal Beach an overwhelming amount!! This is making the project not only possible but on track to finish ahead of schedule!! Please tell them and all the volunteers THANK YOU!! We had discussed using (renting?) a small hydraulic excavator to work on the bulkheads. It would cost $1,000 just to transport the excavator here. The team has discovered that we can buy a motorized Auger (requires two people to operate) and a water pump for less than $1,000. A question was raised about holding fund raisers when this project was discussed at last year’s annual meeting. At our July 4th celebration, we raised $4,614.00 (included in the figure above.) which does help. CBIC is owed approximately $15,000 in overdue fees. (Efforts are ongoing in trying to collect on these as liens HAVE been placed on all the delinquent properties). Bottom line is this project is up and going thanks to voluntary assessments and voluntary team efforts!!! We will keep you updated as we move forward and keep your eyes open to watch the improvements. Issues the community continues to face include speed of vehicles and non-residents using our facilities. Let us all as property owners, pull together and help police our community together.
SAFETY AT CRYSTAL BEACH: Safety for your family and your home are everyone’s main concern. All types of vehicles operated on roads in Crystal Beach should do so in a manner where safety is the priority, fun is secondary. We also remind everyone that the entire neighborhood has a 15-mph speed limit. Whether a road is paved or unpaved our roads were designed for maximum speeds of 15-mph. And for the gravel roads, there is dust. The faster you drive the more dust you kick up. This speed limit applies to all types of vehicles. Drive like your Children or Grandchildren live here. Be sure and lock up your possessions and keep an eye on your neighbors’ property as well. Also, Blount’s Creek Volunteer Fire Department provides our emergency services. Please consider donating to them. We are happy to announce that Spectrum Internet is now available at the beach. There are three networks available. Two are for Guests and require no password. The third network requires a password, and this will be used for our security cameras. The strength of the signal may vary in some conditions, but it can be accessed from the 1st Boat ramp then west to Nevile’s Creek and from the waterfront to the docks to the south. Warning, I strongly recommend not using FaceBook, a banking app, Amazon or any website that may allow access to financial or personal information on this network unless you have a VPN (Virtual Protective Network).
Continued from page 1: Without a VPN, a hacker may be able to see your online activity including websites visited and be able to capture passwords. VPNs can be purchased from most Virus Protection Software providers and cost less than $5/month.
BEACH COMMITTEE: Kevin Brantley is our new Beach Committee Chair. The Beach Committee has successfully completed the beach restoration project near the bathhouse. This project removed excess sand that had been washed onto the existing basketball court and other areas. We were able to replenish some of the beach sand which create more actual beach area to be used. We also created a separate parking area for gold carts nearby in the attempt to improve safety.
The bulkhead project has been more difficult to get underway than anticipated due to permitting issues. These issues have been resolved, and project start-up is expected very soon.
Financing for the bulkhead effort has been as good as can be expected for a new venture such as it is. As of this newsletter we have raised through donations and fundraising over $19,000. This is a very good start but a lot more will be needed in the future. Mr. Harold Puckett’s annual July 4th Pig picking along with the 50/50 raffle and the drawing for artwork raised $4614.00 (included in the amount in the President’s comments). Much appreciation to those who made that effort successful.
In closing, keeping the beach area clean and safe is no small task. Volunteers such as Mick Lane, James Bland, Terry Roberts for the grass cutting and weed eating and grading work. Thanks to Debbie Brantley for keeping the bathrooms cleaned and stacked with supplies.
ID TAGS FOR BEACH: Just a reminder that Crystal Beach is a private community to be enjoyed by lot owners in good standing, their families, and invited guests. The ID tags must be displayed on your vehicle when using community beach facilities. Failure to display the tags may result in your vehicle being towed. We are aware of non-residents using our boat ramps. With the help of cameras, we hope to address this issue. If you see someone without beach tags putting in/taking out a boat, try to get a license plate number and let a board member know.
FRIENDS OF CRYSTAL BEACH: Friends of Crystal Beach is a non-profit organization whose purpose is to boost, preserve, develop, enhance, and help sustain the Crystal Beach Community by promoting a sense of community through opportunities for social activities and community service projects. Through fundraising events and our wonderful members who continue to join year after year, we can sustain the Friends building for our meetings, CBIC meetings and gatherings. We encourage any property owner to join the Friends of Crystal Beach, by contacting any one of our board members for a form. $50 for couples, $30 for a single person membership. Please join us the second Saturday of the month at 9am for our meeting. Let us get to know you and bring any ideas of outreach and fundraising. We are planning a Fall Festival down at the Pavillion Saturday, October 11th. Follow us on Facebook for more! 🙂 Thank you for your support!
WEBSITE: Did you know that we host our own website to keep folks informed about Crystal Beach Estates? Visit us at www.cbic-nc.org to view the latest information including governing documents, reserve the pavilion or simply contact us with a question or comment. We also have a presence on Facebook so stop on by at https://www.facebook.com/CBIC.nc/ and do not forget to “Like Us.” Community info can also be found at https://www.facebook.com/friendsofcyrstalbeachnc/.Lot fee and Beach fee payments: As a reminder, the bills that are sent out may not include the physical address of the property being billed. When we receive a payment, and the payment does not identify the Crystal Beach Property Address, the Financial Secretary must research to locate the property associated with the bill. If the bill you receive does not clearly identify the address e.g., 123 Wood Lane, please write in the physical address of the property you are paying fees for. Thank You!