Havelock meets needs, invests in future with ARP funds

The promise of the American Rescue Plan (ARP) is to aid cities in both recovering from the pandemic and pursuing long-term successes. It requires an impressive balance of both present need and future goals. And it is exactly the balance struck by the City of Havelock in its ARP strategy, all while keeping at the center of its strategy the community’s most important stakeholder: Marine Corps Air Station, Cherry Point.

Like many North Carolina communities, Havelock faces the issue of aging water and sewer infrastructure. As such, the City is investing the vast majority of its ARP funds in four projects: a sewer outfall on Highway 70, a metering system upgrade, a sewer plant well, and a sewer SCADA system.

“It’s a problem similar to what a lot of North Carolina towns face,” said Mayor Will Lewis. “What we tried to do as a board was determine how this money could be used in an efficient way to help the City of Havelock for as long in the future as possible.”

It is not a strategy that arose overnight. Rather, it is the culmination of a thoughtful, long-term plan that not only identified the biggest areas of need, but also targeted those areas strategically.

Two projects — the metering system upgrade and sewer SCADA projects — typify this approach, as each represents large upfront costs that will also yield long-term dividends. The former introduces smart metering technology, and the latter allows Havelock both electronic controlling of its sewer plant and the ability to collect data, which furthers its ability to target efficient investments in the future. Both provide significant forward-looking benefits, especially as it pertains to the prudent use of resources.

Perhaps more impressive is how Havelock has tied these projects into their forward-looking economic development goals. The largest of the four projects – the sewer outfill – resides along U.S. 70, one of primary east-west corridors across eastern North Carolina and a major connection from the Triangle to

the coast. Between Raleigh and Morehead City, U.S. 70 is undergoing upgrades and will soon become Interstate 42. Havelock is included in that stretch. Local leaders expect that highway upgrade to increase both passenger and freight movement in the area.

At the moment, due to the lack of sewer infrastructure, Havelock could be unable to provide adequate services to new or expanding businesses that hope to take advantage of that growing market. The ARP investment will change that. Through the Highway 70 project, Havelock will lay the foundation needed to serve the anticipated growth.

“There’s a lot of opportunity for Havelock over the next decade,” said Mayor Lewis. “This will put us in a great place infrastructure-wise, to accept projects and bring them to Havelock and do so some good for our citizens.”

Weaved through all of these plans is the aspect of stakeholder engagement. Considering both the need and the expected impact, the projects selected by Havelock seem irrefutable. That perception, however, overlooks the extensive outreach efforts undertaken by Havelock, specifically as it relates to Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point.

As noted by city leaders, the world’s largest Marine Corps air station is always a top consideration, outweighing other concerns even as critical as economic development.

“Cherry Point being within our city limits and us being the host community, every decision that we make has a lens on protecting Cherry Point and all those Marines and sailors that are making sacrifices for us every single day,” said Mayor Lewis. “We ask, ‘What can we do in the community that adds to those families’ quality of life?’”

Through close relationships with leaders at the base, the city is able to both meet its obligations to the base and proceed with its forward-looking strategic goals. For Havelock, and because of its outstanding outreach efforts, those aims can go hand in hand.