By Nicole Bowman-Layton
EDENTON — Harbor Towns leaders faced sharp questioning Tuesday, Feb.10, over their handling of a stalled ferry pilot program before the Edenton Town Council voted to move forward with approximately $1.4 million in waterfront improvements tied to a separate state infrastructure grant.
About 35 people attended the meeting at the council chambers, 504 S. Broad St., Edenton.
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During public comment, Chowan County Commissioner Bob Kirby said he had “genuine concern” about the direction of the nonprofit and its management of public funds.
“I am expressing my disappointment with where this project stands at the moment,” said Kirby, who is also chair of the Albemarle Commission Board of Delegates.
Kirby noted that two high-speed ferries purchased under the pilot program are not operational and listed for sale. He also asked why Harbor Towns’ corporate headquarters is in Chapel Hill rather than in one of the Albemarle region’s communities. He also questioned financial figures reported in nonprofit filings, citing $305,290 in board-related compensation over two years and $114,500 in investment income.
“I serve on several nonprofit boards,” Kirby said. “Wouldn’t it be nice to get that kind of money?”
Peter Thomson, treasurer of Harbor Towns and operations manager for 17 projects across five counties, disputed the suggestion that board members are paid.
“Being on the board is not compensation. There is no compensation for board members,” Thomson said, explaining that Harbor Towns employs four paid personnel with total staffing costs of approximately $150,000 per year.
The gentleman (Kirby) mentioned $150,00 a year — when you are handling $15 million dollars and 17 projects, we think that’s extraordinarily cheap. We have four people, and we’re spending $150,000 a year. I don’t know about you guys, but we do that,” Thomson said. “And, the reason I took the job was that we couldn’t find somebody to do it without paying a lot of money.”
That said, this story says otherwise — that some board members are paid.
The 2024 filings report the following compensation:
State Rep. Ed Goodwin, Director — $0 reported compensation for 2022-2024
Nicholas Didow, President & CEO — $30,000 in 2024; $79,709 in 2023, $0 in 2022
Philip McMullan, Vice President — $7,500 in 2024; $19,664 in 2023, $0 in 2022
Peter Thomson, Treasurer — $36,000 in 2024; $78,417 in 2023; $0 in 2022
Sanders, Secretary — $18,000 through October 2024; $36,000 in 2023; $0 in 2022
Thomson defended Goodwin, who spearheaded the program through the General Assembly.
“The other thing I want to say is, there’s some suspicion that Ed Goodwin got some money out of it,” he said. “It’s absolutely untrue. He’s absolutely never taken a nickel from anything. In fact, he’s helped in every way he possibly can, including chipping paint off the boat. So he’s the hero of the bunch. And I wish that everybody would understand that he’s done everything possible for this area.”
A couple of weeks ago, when Goodwin was speaking at the Chowan County Republican Party’s monthly meeting, he said he’s distanced himself from the project that’s managed by the Harbor Towns Board of Directors, not the state.
“I stuck my hand in the water and washed my hands, and I was out of it,” he said.
“My job was to try to get them money (as a member of the General Assembly) to do that, and I did that,” he said. “Then it’s (project’s management) up to them.”
Questions about planning and Infrastructure
Much of the discussion centered on whether sufficient planning was done before launching the ferry pilot.
The two high-speed ferries, Thomson said, are currently in Belhaven — one of the few marinas in the region capable of lifting the vessels’ 16.5-ton weight — and are now for sale.
“They are for sale,” Thomson confirmed.
Thomson said the boats “were designed wonderfully; they were manufactured badly,” but acknowledged broader operational challenges once the pilot began.
The vessels burn roughly 40 gallons of fuel per hour, and Thomson said local infrastructure proved inadequate for servicing them.
“There is no master mechanic here that can handle that kind of boat. There is no lift here. There was no fuel here,” he said.
Councilman Sambo Dixon questioned whether evaluating existing infrastructure and long-term operating costs should have occurred before purchasing and deploying the ferries.
Thomson said Harbor Towns assumed the new boats would operate reliably after initial testing.
“What we assumed was if you get new boats and you spend a month running them, that they would be reliable. That was untrue,” he said.
The exchange drew visible reaction from some in attendance.
Infrastructure Funding Separate
Thomson emphasized repeatedly that the ferry pilot and the infrastructure funding before council are separate programs.
“It is a separate, totally separate deal,” he said, noting the infrastructure grant is overseen by the state Office of State Budget and Management (OSBM), which conducts quarterly reviews.
The council ultimately approved placeholder amounts for four projects:
- $500,000 to rebuild the waterfront washrooms
- $250,000 for repairs at the Penelope Barker House
- $200,000 for waterfront lighting
- A pavilion/gazebo near the Barker House (amount to be determined)
- A $450,000 breakwater repair contract with Waff Contracting Inc. is expected to be finalized soon.
All contracts tied to the $10 million infrastructure grant must be signed before June 1 or the funds revert to the state.
Council Seeks Assurances
Before voting, council members pressed for assurances that projects would be completed and that the town would retain oversight over design and spending.
Mayor Hackney High and Town Manager Corey Gooden stressed that Monday’s vote approved placeholder amounts only — not final designs — and said no construction would move forward without architectural review and preservation commission approval.
Council members also discussed reallocating any surplus funds toward day-use boating improvements identified by the mayor’s Waterfront Task Force, including floating docks and modifications to finger piers to accommodate day-use boaters.
Council approved the projects with the stipulation that excess funds could be directed to a potential seventh project focused on day-use boating.
Dixon indicated that the town has experienced past situations where promised projects were delayed or not completed, underscoring the importance of clear contracts and accountability.
He asked that there be something put into place saying that once final approval is given, the projects would be completed.
Public Urges Action
During public comment early in the meeting, resident Gil Burroughs urged council not to allow the funding opportunity to lapse.
“Please, please, please, council, don’t let money go back to the state because of a lack of our initiative,” Burroughs said.
He proposed additional waterfront enhancements, including bulkheading at Sunfish Park, expanded parking, and amenities for visiting boaters.
“If there is one thing that cruisers, sailors, and boaters really need, when they finally land and stop somewhere, they need to do the washing,” he said.
Despite lingering skepticism about the ferry pilot, council members agreed that the infrastructure funding presents an opportunity to improve Edenton’s waterfront — provided the projects are properly managed and completed on time.
With a June contract deadline approaching, the council opted to proceed while emphasizing oversight and flexibility as designs and cost estimates are finalized.
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6 responses to “Harbor Towns defends ferry pilot program as Edenton council OKs projects”
The town of Edenton’s leadership, in my opinion, has been remiss, at best, in not being proactive over the last two years regarding the Harbor Town grant. Their collective backs are now to the wall and they are in a reactionary mode fighting a deadline.
The Harbor Town offices are in Edenton in the old chamber offices. The Chapel Hill address is the mailing address for their chairman of the board. If you drive by, you’ll see the van w/ HT logo parked out front.
During the meeting, Peter Thomson referred to the Chapel Hill location as Harbor Towns’ corporate headquarters and mentioned that they have offices in Edenton and Elizabeth City.
I stand by my statements made to Edenton Town Council on February 10, 2026. Publicly available IRS tax filing documents clearly indicate that officers of Harbor Towns were compensated as outlined by Nicole Bowman-Layton in her post above. These same documents note that officers each worked an average of 1-hour per week (or 52-hours per year) for each year 2022, 2023, and 2024. If these figures are not correct, then the public (and most importantly the Internal Revenue Service) should expect that Harbor Towns will file amended returns for 2022, 2023, and 2024. Time to come clean. Sunshine is one of the best disinfectants.
Further, from news reports and last evenings Town Council Meeting, I understand that Harbor Towns has put the two ferry boats (they paid about $2,000,000 for the pair) up for sale. What has not been made clear however, is where Harbor Towns will be purchasing ferry boats to replace these vessels, and when the public should expect to travel the beautiful Albemarle Sound on a routine ferry service route.
Last evening I issued an invitation to the Board of Harbor Towns to attend a future Board Meeting of both the Chowan County Board of Commissioners AND The Albermale Commission Board of Delegates so these boards can obtain first hand details on this important economic development project. The folks at Harbor Towns can email me at bob.kirby@chowan.nc.gov to schedule. I anxiously await their reply.
Bob Kirby
Chairman Chowan County Board of Commissioners
Chairman Albemarle Commission Council of Governments
The idea behind Harbor Town Ferries is a good concept but since it was proposed, pushed and funded by government entities instead of investors risking their own money it was never likely to succeed. The high speed “hydrofoil assist” boats are a joke, except that taxpayers like me left holding the bag are not laughing. It is unfortunate that Eddie Goodwin, who I consider to be a good guy, has fallen under the spell of Raleigh…ie…bring home the bacon to Chowan and move on to the next cash infusing project or grant to “improve” our community. The same can be said for the representative of the county where these boats were built; they got their $$ from Raleigh and no one locally had to pay anything, so who is harmed? When this mindset is applied statewide and nationwide we wind up with an unsustainable fiscal situation which will not end well. The goal of most state and national politicians is to extract money from people living elsewhere to give to causes/people who can reelect them. The longer they can remain in office the more effective they become at doing this. That is the main rationale for term limits because the people will never vote out incumbents as long as they are bringing home the bacon. This is a great system if you are a long-time politician or someone feeding at the government trough; for the average person/tax payer—not so much.
John Sams, Edenton
[…] allotted $2 million in state grant funding to improve their harbors. Harbor Towns Inc. Treasurer Peter Thomson oversees the funds and […]