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Much like easing back into routine after a long Christmas vacation, the Wallace Town Council began 2026 at an unhurried pace Thursday evening, convening a brief meeting with a light agenda.
Airport Director Ben Jones provided an encouraging update on the Wallace-Pender Airport’s ongoing expansion. The multi-year project has already transformed the small facility straddling the Duplin-Pender County line.
All surrounding homes have been acquired and demolished to clear space for growth, Jones reported. Runway rehabilitation and lighting upgrades are 100% complete, as is house demolition. Road relocations, which affect portions of Wallace Airport Road and Old Mill Road, are 90% finished.
“It’s starting to look like a real airport out there,” he told the council.
The extended runway and new taxiways remain in early stages. They are about 10% complete and in final design, while terminal and ramp improvements are just beginning preliminary design work.
The longer 5,500-foot runway promises multiple benefits, including accommodating larger aircraft, increasing takeoffs and landings, and boosting fuel sales.
“With a longer runway, jets can take on more fuel and still take off successfully, so we sell more fuel,” Jones explained.
He also noted rising traffic at the airport, driven in part by overflow from the increasingly busy Wilmington International Airport, which draws smaller planes and private pilots seeking a friendlier alternative.
Public Works Director Brent Dean also gave an update on public works, with updates on the amount of water treated in the town’s wastewater treatment plant, and the capacity for new commercial and residential development planned over the next few years.
In an effort to clean up some past deficiencies, the council voted unanimously to formally annex three parcels that were already owned by the town but had not been annexed in the past. The parcels were Farrior Park at the Boney Mill Pond, which was acquired by the town in 2014; the water tower parcel located off of U.S. 117 that was acquired in 1976; and the public safety training grounds, which used to be the old wastewater treatment plant, and which was acquired in the 1950s.
In other business, new Councilman Glenn Price was appointed to replace retired Planning Director Rod Fritz on the Eastern Carolina Council of Governments.
Also, the council voted to approve the contract for the 2024-25 fiscal year audit with RH CPAs, LLC. Town Manager Rob Taylor said the goal is to have the audit completed in March. The cost of the contract, $49,500, will be paid for from funds from the N.C. League of Municipalities to help the town get back on track. The audit for the 2023-24 fiscal year was behind schedule and deficiencies were found that the town is in the process of correcting.
The meeting concluded with a closed session to discuss personnel matters; however, no action was taken, Taylor said.
