With eyes on 2019, Belhaven’s town manager and town council members shared some of their goals and priorities for the coming year.

Although the town council has not formally adopted a set of priorities for the year, town Manager Lynn Davis shared three things she hopes to see happen in 2019: a review of the town’s policies and procedures, a renewed focus on community appearance and tackling the town’s drainage issues.

Among the council members who spoke Wednesday, one priority was common — a desire to take a look at Belhaven’s drainage issues, a project that could prove costly and take time to bring to fruition. Davis, Councilman Ricky Radcliff and Councilwoman Brenda Cherry all agreed that the town needs to look at the issue more closely.

According to Radcliff, a plan to fix the town’s drainage was prepared years ago, but finances made implementation difficult. Radcliff said the council recently met with and shared similar concerns with N.C. Rep. Keith Kidwell on the priorities and issues facing the town.

A possible solution for improvements, according to Davis, is to create long-term, multi-year plans that could include infrastructure upgrades and improvements on a number of fronts. By phasing in projects, Davis says the view of what could be accomplished wouldn’t have to be restricted to the next 12 months.

“One of the goals I see, and we’ll get into our budget process, is that rather than looking at our budget as an annual document, I want the council and the town to start focusing on projects we can do in phases,” Davis said.

For Councilman Ricky Radcliff, another priority will be finding a use for three county-owned pieces of property on the town’s waterfront. Between the three pieces of land, the largest of which is the 33-acre Cooperage Tract, there are 40 publicly-owned acres that Radcliff would like to see developed for the community, be it a park, a boardwalk or a boat ramp.

“Coming into a town kind of reminds me of coming into a business,” Radcliff said. “Most of the time, the first impression of what you see kind of sticks out with you.”

Cherry, meanwhile, spoke about the need for infrastructure and jobs for the town, also expressing a desire to see more activities for young people, which will in turn encourage families to stay in the town.

“I know that if we want our kids to stay here in Belhaven, we have to have to have activates down here for them to participating in,” Cherry said. “Of course, we need more jobs, but we need a structure for these children.”

Attempts to reach council members Robert Wilkins, Mary Cox and Amos Wilson, as well as Mayor Ricky Credle, were not returned by press time.