As the year ends, so too will Cape Lookout National Seashore’s presence in Beaufort.
Since 2013, the National Park Service has had a visitor information center in Beaufort town hall, located in the historic post office building on Front Street.
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In the 10-year agreement expiring Jan. 1, 2024, the town provided at no charge to the National Park Service space in town hall for a visitor center, use of the dock on Front Street for ferry transportation through a concessionaire, and part of a town park for national seashore signage.
In addition to the visitor center closing permanently in January, “suspension of ferry transportation from Beaufort to Cape Lookout National Seashore will likely follow sometime thereafter,” National Park Service officials said in an announcement Thursday. “With no agreement in place between the town and the National Park Service, there is no way the NPS can require a ferry service to operate out of Beaufort. This change opens the door for the ferry service to choose another location, negotiate with the town independently, or discontinue the service completely.”
According to the town, the National Park Service notified Beaufort officials in August of its plans to terminate the existing lease. The 10-year contract had the option for the park service to extend the lease an additional three years, expiring Jan. 1, 2027.
In early negotiations to renew the agreement, town officials “expressed a desperate need for space to expand services” for residents and proposed using the visitor center space for new offices for town employees, according to the park service. There were also complaints about a lack of parking in Beaufort.
“The town suggested the NPS pay ‘fair market value’ to continue use of the portion of the building currently housing the visitor center. Unfortunately, there are no federally allocated funds to pay for this change,” the park service said.
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National Park Service officials noted in their announcement that there was the option to for a three-year extension to retain the visitor center through the end of 2026.
“However, there is no viable reason to execute this extension for the visitor center beyond the end of the current ferry service contract. Cape Lookout National Seashore intends to close the visitor center at the end of the season in 2023 to provide the town with the office space they have requested,” the park service release continues.
Park Superintendent Jeff West said he made several attempts to discuss this with the town leaders. During the town commissioners meeting in August, it was “confirmed that without direct financial compensation, they were not interested in retaining a National Park Service presence in Beaufort,” West said.
“I think a lot of Beaufort,” he said, adding that he believed the visitor center was “great for the community economically, and great for visitors to experience such a wonderful place. I am greatly disappointed that we were not able to reach any kind of viable agreement with the town.”
Beaufort Mayor Sharon Harker said that she values “the great partnership between the National Park Service and the Town of Beaufort. Although our partnership is not over, I respect their decision to close the visitor information center. I appreciate the many years the visitor center has provided information about the Park Service and Beaufort to visitors near and far.”
The town explained in a news release Thursday that it is “uniquely poised to undertake significant rehabilitation investments to the waterfront area” and could include the reconfiguration of the east end of the boardwalk and dock facilities. “The scope of the project is yet to be determined; therefore, the Town is not prepared to re-enter a long-term lease on the facilities at this time.”