Board of Commissioners - Regular Meeting

What's going on? How are you? Good morning everyone. This the Nags Head regular board of commissioners meeting for September 3rd, 2025 is hereby call to order. If you will please join me in a few moments of silence. Now, if you'll stand as you're able and join me in the pledge of allegiance.

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. The next item on our agenda is the adoption of the agenda and a motion would be in order. So move second. I have a motion and a second. All in favor signify by saying I. I. I. Opposed. Thank you. That brings us to recognitions. And we will first call on Chief Perry Hail.

Good morning, Mr. Mayor and commissioners, it's my pleasure to come before you today to recognize Detective Mike Alvarez for his 10 years of service with the town. Alvarez started his career in law enforcement with the Nags Head Police Department in July of 2015 as a patrol officer. He spent 5 years on patrol before transitioning to criminal investigations in 2020. Since then, he has proven to be a vital asset to our department, demonstrating a strong commitment to solving crimes and a particular interest in internet-based defenses, including cryptocurrency and the dark web. Alvarez is one of the AY's general instructors, along with specializing in firearms and rapid deployment. His enthusiasm and effectiveness are well known around the department. I often joke that he should at least give suspects some time to believe they have gotten away with a crime before he actually solves the case. In his off time, he enjoys spending time with two golden retrievers and most importantly his wife and 11month old little girl. Alvarez, congratulations on your 10 years and we look forward to 21.

Thank you very much. Appreciate you. Congratulations. He's not joking. We do expect 20 more. All right. Uh, next on our agenda is a proclamation for Septic Smart Week. and Kelly.

Good morning, mayor and commissioners. Um, this morning I wanted to come to you and give a little intro to Septic Smart Week. Um, the town of Nags Head has long been a leader in protecting water quality and public health through the Todd Draft Septic Health Initiative. Nearly 85% of our homes and many of our businesses depend on septic systems. So, we do have um this very special program within the town. It provides residents with valuable education, free septic inspections, and a financial incentive such as a $250 water bill credit when you pump your septic system. Um, and should during the process of that inspection they find that your septic system needs repairs, uh, we also have a lowinterest loan that you can apply for. Um, these efforts not only extend the life of septic systems and prevent costly failures, but also safeguard our groundwater, surface waters, and the environment that we all depend on. With this in mind, the week of September 15th through 19th is recognized nationally as septic smart week, a reminder of the importance of maintaining your septic system. So with that, I will hand it over to Mayor Kahun.

Great. Thank you, Kelly. We are very proud of this program and it's something that we have been trying to export to our surrounding communities and um I was at the association of um uh realtors not too long ago and um there is some interest there and helping us promote this among the other towns finally which is which is good. It's something we would very much uh like to see copied um and are not too proud. Uh we we would love that. So this proclamation for septic smart week September 15 through 19 2025. Whereas proper septic system use and routine care are vital to protecting public health and preserving our highway valued groundwater and surface waters. And whereas proper septic system maintenance will preserve the function, performance and longevity of systems, thereby avoiding costly repairs that can result from neglect. And whereas nearly 85% of homes and most businesses in the town of Nags Head rely on septic systems to treat wastewater. And whereas the Todd Draft septic health program established by the town of Nags Head provides education to its property owners about the need for proper septic system use and routine maintenance. And whereas the Todd Draft Septic Health Program encourages proper maintenance by offering free inspections of conventional septic systems and a $250 water bill credit each time the system tank is pumped. And whereas if a conventional system is found in need of repair or replacement, the town offers lowinterest loans to assist in replacing all or a portion of the septic system. And whereas residents and the environment of the town of Nags Head benefit from properly designed, installed, operated, and maintained septic systems. Now, therefore, be it resolved that the town of Nagsad Board of Commissioners does hereby proclaim the week of September 15 through 19, 2025 as Septic Smart Week in the town of

Nagshead and urges all citizens to join us in the special observance by considering what they can do to properly maintain their septic system. This being the third day of September, 2025. Having heard that, a motion to adopt would be in order. Make a motion, mayor, to adopt that as presented. All right. Thank you. Is there a second? That all in favor signify by saying I. I. Opposed. Great. Thank you, staff, for bringing that forward to us.

Uh the next is a proclamation for diaper need awareness week. Uh this is something that we do annually. tell you as a grandfather of two children, one of them now happily out of diapers, um for those on limited income, um this is a a problem and there are resources in our community that we will urge folks to support that will help uh young families with the need uh for diapers. Whereas diaper need, the condition of not having a sufficient supply of clean diapers to keep babies and toddlers clean, dry, and healthy can adversely affect the health and well-being of babies, toddlers, and their families. And whereas the latest study from the National Diaper Bank Network reports that one in two families struggles with diaper need, an increase from previous studies done in 2010 and 17. And whereas purchasing enough diapers to keep a baby or toddler clean, dry, and healthy can consume 14% of a low-wage family's post tax income, making it difficult to obtain a sufficient supply. And whereas a daily or weekly supply of diapers is generally an eligibility requirement for babies and toddlers to participate in child care programs and quality early education programs. And whereas without enough diapers, babies and toddlers risk infections and health problems that may require medical attention and may prevent parents from attending work or school, thereby hurting the family's economic prospects and well-being. And whereas the Nagsad community recognizes that diaper need is a public health issue and addressing diaper need can lead to economic opportunity for our families and community and improved health for children. just in thus ensuring all children and families have access to the basic necessities required to thrive and reach their full potential. And whereas the town of Nagsad is proud to be home to trusted

community-based organizations including the Children and Youth Partnership for Dair County that recognize the importance of diapers in ensuring health and providing economic stability for families and thus distribute diapers to families through various channels. We the town of Nags Head do hereby proclaim the week of September 15 through 21, 2025 as diaper need awareness week. And we thank the Children and Youth Partnership, their staff and donors for their service through CYP's diaper bank and encourage the citizens of our community to support the diaper bank to ensure that all Dair County children and families have what they need to thrive. This being the third day of September, 2025. Having heard that proclamation, a motion to adopt would be in order.

So move second. I have a motion and a second. All those in favor signify by saying I. I opposed. Thank you. That brings us to our third and final proclamation for National Night Out. Chief Hail, wake up, Chief.

Good morning again. Uh Mr. Mayor, commissioners. Um like to thank y'all and and the board and the town for the support that they give the police department for our annual u national night out event. Um as we changed it uh seven or eight years ago from the August date um just to dealing with the heat, humidity and storms where we were usually cancelling the event more than we were having it. Um and then once Dowy Park opened up, we moved it to Dowy Park. It gives us a lot of exposure from people riding by. Um we've had several families that come each year and they base their um vacation around the event um because they bring their grandkids. Um we will have a bounce house again. Um I believe we're trying to get a new um blow up this year that will be like an obstacle course for the children. Um we also have the dunk tank again. I appreciate your uh dedication last year. Invite you again this year or any other the board members that would like to participate in the dunk tank. Um hopefully it won't be cold. Um but we look forward to a great time. We realize that the police department here in Nags Head that um it takes the community uh to work with us because we're not everywhere all the time. Um and to have that bond and relationship with the community and they come out and see us in a normal setting instead of seeing us when they call us in their time of need is a big benefit. We really appreciate the the support that comes from the community and the vi excuse me and the visitors that show up. Um it's just a great cause um to to get us out there. We just ordered a bunch more uh stress balls, uh little cups, pencils, uh rubber bands for the kids to wear. So we hope we have a big turnout and the weather's great and we have hot dogs and hamburgers again. So uh we want everybody in the town uh to come out and and join us and and hopefully have a great day and great weather. If we could get some weather like this, we'll put that in order as well.

Yes, sir. Thank you very much. It's a great event. We thank y'all for putting it together very much and it's nice to see the community come out. I was in the dunking tank last year and I was I was expecting some citizens to show up, but it was mostly kids who just really enjoyed dunking dunking the mayor, but it's an election year so maybe um maybe we'll get a few more people to few more adults to show up to throw the baseball. So uh we have a proclamation for National Night Out um October 7th, 2025. Whereas the National Association of Town Watch is sponsoring a unique nationwide crime, drug and violence prevention program called National Night Out, which is celebrated by communities in August and in early October. And whereas the town of Nags Head, the Nags Head Community Watch Association, and the Nags Head Police Department are celebrating National Night Out on Tuesday, October 7th, 2025. And whereas the annual National Night Out provides a unique opportunity for the town of Nags Head to join forces with thousands of other communities across the country in promoting cooperative police community crime prevention efforts. And whereas the Nags Head Community Watch Association plays a vital role in assisting the Nags Head Police Department through joint crime, drug and violence prevention efforts in the town of Nags Head and is supporting National Night Out 2025 locally. And whereas it is essential that all citizens of the town of Nagad be aware of the importance of crime programs and the impact that their participation can have on reducing crime, drug and violence in the town of Nags Head. And whereas police community partnerships, neighborhood safety, awareness, and cooperation are important themes of the National Night Out Program. Therefore, I do hereby call upon all citizens of the town of Nags Head to join the Nags Head Community Watch Association, the Town of Nags Head Police Department, and the

National Association of Town Watch in supporting the 42nd annual National Night Out on October 7th, 2025. Further, let it be resolved that I, Ben Cahoun, do hereby proclaim Tuesday, October 7th, 2025 as National Night Out in the town of Nags Head, Dair County, North Carolina. Adopted this, the 3rd day of September, 2025. Having heard the proclamation, a motion to adopt would be in order. So moved. I have a motion. Is there a second? Second. I have a motion and a second. All in favor signify by saying I. I. Opposed.

Great. Thank you again. Um, everyone, uh, that brings us next to public comment and I will turn it over to Mr. Lighty. Good morning, Mr. Light.

Good morning, Mr. Mayor. Thank you. Um, the board of commissioners at each regular meeting invites members of the public to provide public comment. This is an opportunity for members of the public to comment on matters of concern or interest to them and to share that with the board. It's not an opportunity for dialogue and the board rarely responds to public comment. Um, also there is a public hearing on the agenda for today and if you're here to speak at the public hearing, you can reserve your comments until the public hearing is called. But for anyone else, if you would like to provide public comment, this is your opportunity. Please start by going to the podium and telling us who you are and where you live and then address your remarks to the board. And I'll let you know when your five minutes is just about up.

Good morning. I'm Mary Kelly. Uh I live in West Oscal in Nagad. Uh I've had the privilege and the honor to serve as a town of Nagsad volunteer for the last three years. The majority of my time has been at the farmers market, Dowy Park. I'm here today to commend one of your employees, Paige Griffin. You speak often of the many events held at Dowy Park, the success of these events, and the enjoyment that so many benefit from attending them. It is truly because of the hard work of Paige. I'm impressed with her organizational skills, communication skills, professionalism, and thoroughess at all that she does. I see the respect the vendors have for her, and they value her efforts. One described her as priceless. I've been an HR administrator for over 30 years, and I feel I can identify exceptional employees, and Paige is definitely one. Thank you for giving me this these few minutes to highlight one of your exceptional employees. Thank you.

Thank you, Miss Kelly.

Howdy. Good morning. Um, I'm Hillilary McCubbins. I live in Nag's Head Pond and I am here to talk about something that I saw in the survey. What was it about two years ago or so? Um, y'all would know better than me, but anyhow, um, there was a question about concrete mediums, and I didn't think much of it at the time. I was like, "Yeah, I grew up with these. I'm from the literal and figurative jungles of southeast Florida where there is no operating without a concrete median." And um, and I was just got to thinking about it over the time since the survey went out. And I really think the town would benefit from these concrete medians, specifically from 8th Street light to about where the Villa Dunes neighborhood starts ending and then picking back up again at the hospital light heading south to probably about here, you know, getting past the fire department. Um, and um, I I I have seen concrete medians in other areas where like they don't have like a turn lane in the middle. It's just like one big solid like oval or like blocking off the whole thing. And I feel like we could definitely fit in those little like lefthand turn lanes into them. Um, and then there's the question of like landscape or not landscape and I I feel like if there was data that supported that landscaping at least like the large the wider parts of the concrete med that if there was data that supported um reducing runoff cool if not then I feel like that would save a lot of money and maintenance and probably maintenance. Um and reasons why I feel pretty strongly about this is that it would decrease driving down the center lane.

Um, it would, you know, I didn't actually know about this until recently, but evidently it's like against the law to even sit in the center lane, like to wait to turn, you know, into the opposite opposing lane. I had no idea until recently. So, I'm really glad I know that now, but now that I know that, I feel like this would help people from sitting in the center lane trying to get over into the opposite side of traffic they're trying to go down. Um, and then also I feel like my biggest thing for this is pedestrian safety because there are those areas where there is no crosswalk. We can't put a light in a crosswalk everywhere. So at least like these medians would give somebody a safe place to pause before they were to go straight across um the rest of the bypass or you know go all the way across. So that's my reason for it and I feel like it can be done and um and I feel like Nag said is such a leader in so many aspects of I don't know I I I feel like Nag said could be certainly a leader in public safety initiatives by doing this just basic common sense public safety and gosh I feel like we and sure they might be like a little annoying in the offse but I feel like after a few years, you get used to them and they may feel less cumbersome. But shoot, our population here in the summer is just like southeast Florida, which is why I think I thrive in the summer. The heat, the humidity, the crazy. Um, I think it would really help with all that. Okay. Thanks.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you very much. Any uh is there anyone else who wishes to comment for the board? Right. If not, uh, at this time we will conclude the public comment session. Very good. U, thank you very much. Uh, that brings us to our consent agenda, which you have before you with seven items. And a motion would be in order. Moved. I have a motion. Is there a second? Second. I have a motion and a second. Uh, to approve the consent agenda. All in favor signify by saying I. I. Opposed. Great. Thank you. Uh, that brings us to uh a public hearing. our only public hearing today and we'll turn this over to John Lighty and Kelly Wyatt.

All right. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. At this time, we will begin the public hearing to consider a text amendment request submitted by TWW's Outdoor Outfitters LLC to amend section 10.86.2.4.2 two of the unified development ordinance to reduce the required building separation from 20 ft to 10 ft for buildings that are serving as accessory to the prime uh principal commercial use on the site. We'll begin with the presentation of the staff's analysis by Kelly Wyatt, the planning and development director.

Thank you so much. Um, as stated, this is a text amendment uh submitted by TWW's outdoor outfitters to reduce the required uh building separation between multiple commercial buildings from 20 ft down to 10 ft. Um, when the building serves as an accessory to the principal. Um some key background information that was included in your packet that I would like to highlight um is that this standard has been in place um in some form since the late 1970s and was carried forward into air and commercial design standards in more recent years. Um I have up on the screen um this information for we can see in 1977 uh we did not have the 3:1 length to width ratio um but we did permit group developments via the conditional use process um and required that there be a 20 foot building separation. Um and then we had different iterations of this in 83 87 um all the way up until adopted the UDO in 2019. Um, the intent of the 20 foot separation is to prevent the appearance of large strip style buildings um and to preserve smaller scale distinct structures that define Nagad's character. Um, this is actually written out um as part of section 10.86.2.4 um in an effort to prevent the appearance of large disproportionate and or strip style buildings. Um also of note uh the applicant who unfortunately isn't here today um while they may have a specific project in mind text amendments are not sight specific. So this text amendment in particular

would apply to all commercial properties um within the town. So any change here would affect any commercial development moving forward other than that in the C3 uh commercial services district because that district is exempt. Um the 20 foot separation maintains our architectural style, creates visual breaks along commercial corridors and prevents large and uninterrupted facades. It allows for landscaping, natural light and air flow between buildings. It provides safety and access benefits for fire and emergency personnel. Reducing this to 10 feet would undermine the objectives and could set a precedent that's inconsistent with their design standards. Um, I did provide some examples of developments within the town, the approximate year that they were constructed, and their status in terms of compliance. I'll pull that up on the screen. Um, outlets next head The Outer Banks Mall, Croatan Center, Surfside Plaza, Pirates Key, South Beach Plaza are all um good indicators of where we have applied a type of separation. South Beach Plaza being the most recent. Um the planning board unanimously recommended denial of this request at its meeting in July. Staff also recommends denial as we believe this amendment is inconsistent with the town's comprehensive land use plan and its long-standing development goals. Um pull the ordinance up so you can see what that would look like in terms of it being um amending the ordinance. But I am happy to answer any questions that you may have. Um and the the applicant is unavailable today.

All right. Does the board have any questions for Miss Wyatt? I have a question. Would if this if we were to approve this, we wouldn't because of that downzoning bill, we wouldn't be able to this townwide text amendment, we wouldn't be able to undo it. Correct. This would be sort of loosening the requirement. So, it would be hard to go tighten it back down in the future. Thank you. Kelly, I got a question. Yes.

You were you mentioned accessory dwelling or accessory use to a primary use, but then every example you gave was actually an extenduation to fit the three in one. So, if it's an accessory to a primary use, are we grading this or judging this based on a different ordinance when you say 3 to one usage? I mean, I don't know what this gentleman's plans are, but as you defined accessory structure to the primary structure, is that even what we're talking about when we are talking about a 20 foot um sit back to a 31 like Croatin Center over here that you referenced?

Yeah. So, I as I interpret it to mean all buildings. Yes. It's not a discrepancy between principal and accessory. Um, accessory buildings when they're on commercial developments. Um, they do have they do have some different requirements that they have to meet. However, the 3:1 appears to apply to all structures. Um, and it certainly applies to all structures as part of the commercial design standards. But are we talking about accessory structure to the primary use? I I asked that question and I don't want to mention any of these restaurants, but there are multiple accessessory structures for storage that are less than 20 ft and that have been added in the time frame that you're speaking of as accessory structures to the primary use. So are we talking accessory structure to the primary use? Are we talking three in one with the 20 foot setback in this text amendment? I mean what and only because you started out the conversation is this is an accessory use on 20 foot away from it.

So yeah, so that was the applicant's request is that it be reduced from 20 to 10 when we're talking about a principal and an accessory. um the 3:1 requirement. Um and again, it's hard to do this without getting sight specific, but I believe the applicant's original intention was to have a long linear building that ran a foul of the 3 to one. And so in looking at our ordinance, um it states Properties with multiple buildings and it doesn't state whether it's a principal building or an accessory building shall have each building separated by at least 20 ft and shall not have the appearance of being one structure. So this is under the requirements um for 3 to one for strip style. Um, for example, multiple buildings may appear to be one structure. There is a continuous roof line over the main structure that carries the two buildings. It goes on to say that buildings can be connected with exterior pedestrian walkways. Um, I'm not sure if I am understanding and answering your question properly, but we're looking at the 3 to one requirement, which was initially what the applicant was having issues meeting. And under this criteria, as you can see on the screen, 10.86.2.4.2, [Music] um, it just states that when you've got multiple buildings, um, where you're budding up on that 3:1, there has to be this 20 foot separation between the buildings.

Between the buildings, but an accessory structure as a secondary use to the primary structure on a commercial property, does that actually say 20 ft separation? mean that. So, I'm looking at the language

and I understand where you're coming from because you see more than we see. You see what he originally intended to do. At which time, however, he ended up trying to put in a text amendment to to shorten this distance. He had to be told he had to have less distance or he had to come up with a way that maybe it's not an accessory structure. But looking at the GIS, like I was stating, I can show you multiple restaurants that within the last four years have had accessory structures closer than 10 ft. So it's an accessory structure to the primary dwelling. Is that what we're talking about? Are we talking three in one for a longer something we're not looking at? Yeah. So I'm just trying to get clarification for myself.

In 1977, the ordinance was specific to group developments. So restaurants weren't contemplated. So I imagine there could have been restaurants developed at that time frame where the 20 foot separation wasn't a requirement. Um in 1983 language limiting the length of the principal residential and commercial structures to three times their width. So 83 seems to be when this 3:1 came into play. Um 197 or 1987 through8 is when we saw langage introduced that kept the 3 to one, but the 20 foot separation was specific to group developments and shopping centers. So again, I would think that a structure developed during that time. Um that wasn't a group development or a shopping center, the 20 foot may not have been triggered. Um and then obviously with the commercial design standards in 2019, it became clarified where the 20 foot did apply. It applied to all structures um which is what we have listed um properties with multiple buildings and it doesn't speak to the type of use. And I'm sorry if I'm not answering the question.

No, you're answering the question. there's just some gray area in it and that's the there's one section of our code in the beginning of our commercial design standards. Uh I think this was added in 2019 like you were saying that the commercial design standard shall apply to any accessory building greater than 500 square ft. Yes. And previously I don't think that was a requirement of the code. So it was changed to apply those standards to anything the commercial design standard.

So I think that it would be hard if someone proposed a building greater than 500 square feet. It would be hard to argue that you know the the standard wouldn't apply and therefore this change wasn't necessary to apply to anything bigger than that. Yeah. I mean I agree with that. Oh, they're good. I mean, like like she said, the applicant wasn't present at the planning board meeting either. They did the best they could with the information they had at hand. Right. Okay. Any other questions for Kelly?

You spoke a little bit about the um fire and public safety. It's part of the UDO. They changed the to 20 ft because of fire and public safety. Do you feel or So, the UDO doesn't contemplate um anything within the fire code or the building code. that would be separate. So I tried to keep my analysis specific to the zoning requirements, but I did note that any type of uh development of this nature would certainly have to go through building and fire and it would have to meet those standards as well. But I tried to keep my analysis um specific to the zoning requirements. Okay. Thank you.

Sure. Um, Kelly, in a in a circumstance, you know, just sticking to the accessory building question, um, as it's as as it's referenced, um, if there were if there were a two building development and how how would an applicant describe and how would staff assess whether in fact the second building was accessible? as opposed to just a second primary. So, um I can try to pull it up for you. We do have a definition

of accessory use and it has some specific criteria about that use as subordinate in size and purpose to the principal, right? It's for the comfort and convenience of the principal as well. Okay. Um so we would need to make sure that whatever that accessory structure the use that's occurring inside of it is clearly incidental and subordinate to and for the convenience of the principal. Okay. Um are the setbacks for accessory structures different from those for primary structures for commercial? Mhm.

Um I don't believe so. For residential it is, but for commercial we don't contemplate a difference between the two. So in the zone where this is proposed C2, we have the not less than five nor more total of 15 not less than five on a side on one side. Correct. Correct. Yes. So theoretically, you could have two developers unrelated. They could both choose the same five- foot side and you could end up with two primary buildings andor two secondary buildings 10 feet apart

perhaps. I mean, there's a No, I mean, it's a theoretical, but but yes, I'm pretty sure that that would be the case that that that we would have two two five foot setbacks and we could end up with structures 10 feet apart. Um, yeah, I mean, one one could be five, the other would obviously have to be larger. The other setback would have to be 10. Correct. To meet that 15. And then on the next property, they could put their 10. They they could be mirrored essentially. You could have the tens on the outside and the fives abudding. Yes. For the setbacks and so those structures would then be 10 ft apart. Yes. Okay. Um that's all

but you see that a lot with the cottage court developments up against other commercial. Yes. Especially in South Nad where they're right on top of each other. We get complaint about how come they're so tight. Yeah. But those are older too, aren't they? Are they not? They got too. That's true. That's true. with other commercial and residential projects. Okay. All right. Any other questions for Miss Wyatt? All right. Anything else, Kelly? No, sir.

All right. Thank you, ma'am. Uh, and of course, the applicants not here. Uh, would any member of the public like to comment on this on this proposed text amendment or anything from the planning from planning board members? All right. If not, um, does the board wish to receive any other information about this proposed text amendment before you begin your deliberations? All right. If not, we will conclude the public hearing at this time and the board may begin its deliberations on the proposed text amendment. All right. Comments or or a motion? Either one would be in order. Um, I I will say for for myself, um, you know, I'm not I am not fundamentally opposed to a 10-ft separation in certain circumstances. I mean, I I understand the concept of not giving the appearance of lengthening a building with only a 10-ft separation between them, it but if it's a T-shaped configuration and the secondary building is behind it, you know, visually it's not doing the same thing as the 10-ft separation between two long buildings. Um but I just I don't think that this is fully considered. Um I the the the fire code I know more about the fire code than you know other board members certainly by virtue of my profession. The fire code deals with building separation more than adequately. I appreciate that Kelly actually approached this from an aesthetic standpoint because I really think the the fire code deals with building separations um very thoroughly. Um but um I I will accept that um I'm not sure that this is has been um as thoroughly considered perhaps as it

could be. Um and that's all. Thank you. Anyone else?

I I'll say I agree with what you're saying in this particular case. I don't think um the text amendment might be the right approach. I think I think it might be planning for to look at it overall to see really what the factors are because there are some structures that are accessory dwelling use or not dwelling accessory use in commercial applications that are smaller than but they're defined. I mean you can easily tell and I just think there's some confusion here and with the applicant not here to u state his case or their case then I think that you know we vote with the uh staff and planning board. Right.

Okay. Very good. In that which case, I'll consider a motion. I'll make a motion to deny this text amendment. Okay. Is there a second? Second. Motion and a second. Any further consideration or discussion? Hearing none. All in favor say I. I. Opposed. Thank you. Um thank you, Mr. Lighty. Thank you, Kelly. Appreciate that. That brings us to reports and recommendations. I wondered why Kelly was still standing. You're coming right back. Thank you. Go too far.

Thank you. Um I typically say that I won't take too long, but we actually have quite a bit to discuss today, so I apologize in advance. Um the planning board will start there. Um At their August meeting, the board unanimously recommended adoption of text amendments to comply with new state law reducing parking stall width um from 10 feet down to 9 ft. That's on your consent agenda today and you'll have the public hearing for that in October. Um there was quite a bit of discussion related to the commercial outdoor recreation overlay district. Um the planning board that conversation and our deputy planning director Joe Costello um presented an animation showing opportunities identified in a recent report um that Mr. Costello also completed about um existing conditions within the district. Uh these included a potential boardwalk connection from the soundside event site uh to outlet Snacks Head. Um opportunities for public art installations, enhanced soundside access, uh shade trees and wayfinding signage along the path to create a sense of place um and a mix of recreation and commercial principal uses. Um the next step uh is to invite the tourism board and the owners within the commercial outdoor recreation overlay district to the planning board's um September meeting. I believe that's September 16th. Um we have confirmed that either Diane Bodnich or Lee Nettles um from the tourism bureau will be attending the planning board's um September meeting to provide an update on the status of their soundside boardwalk. Um staff also has sent a letter out inviting all the

property owners within the court um to the planning board's September meeting and we hope to facilitate uh some open dialogue um on strategies to strengthen to strengthen that district or that overlay district. um things like supporting existing businesses, allowing more flexibility with principal uses, preserving sound views and access, and improving pedestrian and bicycle connectivity. Um and again exploring potential um uh boardwalk idea. So in addition to that um at the planning board's September meeting, uh they are also going to review text amendments related to crowd gathering permits, specifically events at the designated public event site, and a reszoning request on Satderfield Landing for the lot located immediately behind um TWW's bait and tackle for our board of adjustment. Uh they did meet on August 14th and the BOA granted variances for the SIM property which is at 8725 South Old Oregon Inlet Road. Um that variance allowed the demolition of non-conforming home and construction of a new home. With regard to the septic health advisory committee, um they will be meeting again in October and in preparation for administering the no interest um septic loan program that we have through DWI. staff is preparing the scope um for that project to be sent to DWI um in anticipation that they will go ahead review that and approve that. Uh we also need to have a contractor workshop in midepptember to go over compliance with Davis bacon rates and the American um iron and steel provisions.

I did want to note um that we are welcoming an intern from UNCC Chapel Hill, Isabelle PA through the Outer Banks field site program. Today was her first day, which is actually why Connor was unable to be here when we did our septic smart week. Um he's with her uh kicking her time off with uh taking her out to some septic inspections and showing her how the program works. Good for her.

Yeah. Um we're excited. So, she will be supporting the septic health um inventory and septic tanks uh with the mapping effort and we now have the water quality loggers which we're integrating into our conversations. So, she'll be helping with all of that and as you know the DWMP has had a constant focus on increasing engagement and increasing our numbers for pumpouts. So, um we hope to get her fresh mind with some fresh ideas on how we're going to do that. So, we're we're excited to have her and try to get her in October and November um for y'all to meet her. Um Estan Shoreline Management Plan, I'm not going to go into that much at all. Um Joe Pastello will be providing an update on that here shortly. Um for the KMA access grant, we did get some great news. Uh we were awarded $400,000 through the North Carolina Public Beach and Coastal Waterfront Access Grant um for improvements to the Hardrove Street public beach access and Dowy Park. Um I appreciate so much um Mary Kelly earlier her comments on page. I would echo those completely. She's done an amazing job. Um the art and culture committee continues to discuss um how we're going to honor Carrie Oakmith Sanders. Um it's a hard conversation but also a really wonderful conversation. Um and so we have some wonderful ideas. We'll continue that. Um we'll hopefully have something before you soon. Um the 2025 farmers market season has wrapped up. The final market had to be rescheduled because of Hurricane Aaron. Um but we still had a strong turnout and most of the vendors really appreciated that we were able to pivot that quickly so that they could get that last market in. Um summer concert series continues tonight. We have Manny Murphy. Um Peer Pressure on the 10th and Shelley Gates and the

Keepers on the 18th. The 18th is a Thursday. We've all become accustomed to concerts on Wednesdays. Um but this one's going to be on a Thursday. So uh we'll make sure that everybody is aware of that. Um uh we are starting up with movies in the park. We have one this Friday. We're showing Toy Story and that's what was selected for community poll. Um we'll be doing Hocus Pocus in October which is going to be tied to the Nagad Elementary School pumpkin fair and then another movie in November which we'll put out for a poll as well. Um fitness Fridays have wrapped up but Tuesday yoga continues and people still love and enjoy that. Um, and Paige is now working on holiday events. Um, she's getting the calendar together and trying to get some fresh ideas for our tree lighting ceremony, um, which is the Saturday after Thanksgiving. And finally, um, the Art Mast project that's still active. We have two new panels being painted right now. Um, and then our, uh, four original panels that we have out, um, are getting some wear and tear. Um, so we have in our budget time to replace those. Hopefully next season um we'll have the old ones replaced and two brand new ones.

Happy to answer any questions that you have about this. Any questions? I do. Um I was going back to your planning board update. Um and the September meeting seeing that you have the visitors bureau coming and property owners. Um, I myself want to attend that meeting too and I was going to encourage the other board members to attend as well. I think it'd be a good opportunity to talk about the boardwalk. I'm really excited about the possibility of that project. Um, and I think it'd be a great opportunity to kind of get that ball rolling and start talking to other people and seeing how other residents feel about that project as well.

Yeah, absolutely. That sounds wonderful. Um, if the board's interested, Joe Costello can run through some details. um thus far with where we're at, but if not, I totally understand. I'll leave that up to the board. I'm very interested. So, yeah, that'd be great. Definitely. Sure. The um board had been discussing for years the concept of of a boardwalk.

Um there was a committee probably 10 years ago or more that talked about a boardwalk along the sound. Um the I think the more recent discussions were let's wait and see what the Outer Banks Visitors Bureau does with their property before the town considers the project again. And now we know that they're proceeding with their project. I believe the county board of commissioners is approving that today the the the funding for it. Correct. And I know Mayor Pro Tim Sears is is aware of all of that. They're they're essentially moving forward with all of the elements that they showed on their plans. Is that correct?

They were fortunate to come in about 500,000 under budget for what they had projected. Uh that project is just under $5 million and um it will be completed by spring if approved by the board today. And so I think the board at one point said it might have been during a capital improvement workshop. If if and when the visitors bureau proceeds with a boardwalk, maybe we would pick back up those discussions. Now that's happening. And also in light of the planning board's discussion regarding this commercial outdoor recreation overlay district. Maybe it is time we start looking at the possibilities there. And and so I think this all is good timing. Perfect.

Great. Well, we'll look forward to that. Um to sign off on on Kelly's report, I do want to say um uh yes, Paige does a wonderful job. But what Paige has done and what I enjoy so much is that um she's really built a community of vendors there. Um I thoroughly enjoy um walking through at setup time, which I try to do, and to go back and and visit with those vendors. Um they support one another. um they support Paige, Paige supports them, and um it it I think it really makes the market. It's not it's it's it's a little more than a market, you know, it's really a community gathering um every every Thursday and it's it's just really pretty pretty awesome. So, we're we're we're very proud of it. I feel I feel the same way about the Wednesday night concert series and I know I've seen you at a few of those as well and it's it is like a community gathering and and it's really grown over the years. I mean I can't even imagine how many people are out there now. It's got to be hundreds.

Yeah. I don't know if you 300 300 Yeah. Yeah. So it's really taken off and really done extremely well and people are really enjoying it. The kids are playing on the playground and the parents are listening to the music. It's great. It is awesome. I agree with you. It's a It's really a very much the heart of the community. It's wonderful. All right, Joe. All right. Thank you. Good morning.

Morning. Um just going to give a brief overview of what we've been talking about at the planning board. Um I thought I'd start off just sort of showing you the commercial outdoor recreation overlay district. Basically runs from Forest Street to um sort of the end of town here, Fishing Unlimited. Um and you can see it's kind of a mirror that all of that is zone C2. Um, if I go to the our table of uses, um, the overlay district allows a lot of unique uses in this area that aren't allowed anywhere else in town, such as the adventure park, go-karts, mini golf. Um, but again, if you go back to that map, the underlying zoning is C2. So any of the properties there can and and could develop um according to any allowed C2 use. Large residential dwelling units are one of those. There's a whole host of other ones. So, we started looking at this district and thinking about sort of how fragile it is um in a way that one or two uses could change and really impact the cohesiveness of the district as it is. Um, with SP 382, we have limited ability to remove any uses, but we started looking more and more at uses that maybe could be added. Um, when I go to I'm gonna pull up this report. Um, this is this report that staff put together in March and we basically did an existing conditions analysis. We looked at what the comprehensive plan says we want the district to be. We looked at previous planning efforts um in the area which included the beach road design. Um, we looked at the buildout of the pedestrian network, both what's existing and then what's in our pedestrian plan and what that sort of looks like. Um, I'll go to the

comprehensive plan portion just to sort of read one little section. Uh, the character areas provide both the vision and policy and direction of the desired use, design, and infrastructure. And it this um overlay district overlaps almost directly with this soundside activity node. And um one of the parts of that says this area is envisioned to be a des destination where people can park their car and enjoy exploring the surrounding area by foot or bike. This area is imagined as primarily commercial with a mix of retail and restaurant with a high degree of walkability. They've identified this character area as a model for the future development of the well-bown core activity node. It's envisioned to develop as a high quality mixeduse area and prime location for recreational uses and hotel development. Further, the area is highly desirable for additional dining opportunities and local boutique style shopping that is designed as a planned highly walkable destination type development. Um it goes on to say it also supports mixeduse development. And so this um existing conditions plan basically looked at our what what's been planned. As I already mentioned, we sort of looked at key destinations throughout, try to sort of document the existing land uses and character. What do we have? How much vacant property is available? What kind of structure sizes do we see there? There's not much vacant land in the area. Um, and as we went through, we eventually sort of came to these recommendations from a zoning perspective. What can we do to add um potentially to to align with the comprehensive plan? One of those things might be to allow group developments and allow outdoor recreation uses as a part of a group development as as a other principal use. Um and further we kind of look at these character areas. This is sort of like a buildout. Let me zoom in

again of the um pedestrian network. You can see yellow is what we have. Orange is what is planned um which I've included sort of that u the southside event centers boardwalk and green is just sort of a theoretical idea of you know maybe some additional connection to really achieve what we've said we want to see there in the comprehensive plan. And then we talk about some other items in this report such as public art, placemaking, things like um street trees. So now I'll show you this little animation I did which basically um I guess caveat this. Um this doesn't meet zoning architectural guidelines. It doesn't meet fire or building code. Um this is just sort of to present this idea of interconnectivity. I used the GIS shaped files we have and then the site plans for the outfit mall and the soundside event center that were recently submitted sort of build this. So just kind of walk you through. I also um sort of took full license to show the outlet mall as a second as a two-story building um with pedestrian activity sort of on the rear there and a reoriented outlet mall that takes advantage of that sound um viewshed. Um, and again, I'm just sort of trying to highlight this idea of interconnectivity between the outlet mall and the rest of the district. Um, I've sort of gauged some property owner interest. Everyone that I've talked to has been supportive, but obviously we're going to have this more um open stakeholder discussion and we'll we'll see what people have to say.

And Joe, the Adventure Park already has when they opened, they put a boardwalk in on their property as well, did they?

Yeah. Yes, they did. And um you know, zoomed in, I'm just showing some potential uses in in the um comprehensive plan. It's very specific about the uses we want to see, some of them, our museum, etc. And this is sort of just a buildout of what what was planned um and sort of shown and what we approved in the site plan with these pickle ball courts and and you know what this all could look like. So again that's sort of trying to highlight the the recreation uses public art street trees again just just to sort of give a visual to sort of this idea that we've sort of been looking at as as we look at the comprehensive plan and we look at what's there. And so, um, hopefully that will be a helpful tool to sort of just aid and let people sort of look at something and talk about something. Um, and so as Kelly mentioned, we are having a we sent this letter out to everybody in the district um, inviting them about half of the property owners are um residential property owners in the villas at Sugar Creek. We sort of invited them anyway and said, you know, this this is mostly about contiguous commercial development, but we're happy to have you and get your input as well. As um Megan mentioned, I think it, you know, be great to have board members um come and hear what people have to say and participate.

And so that's really where we're at. answer any questions.

Thank you, Joe. I not so many much questions as Well, I do have a question, but observations. I' I've always hoped that we would get to a point where we could take this area and and I you know I wouldn't want to make it unwieldy and it could quickly get unwieldy and maybe we need to tackle it in pieces but where the entire whale bone area oceanfront Janette's pier site the shopping center all of that was tied together as this sort of rich pedestrian environment with restaurants and entertainment and and uh um you know extremely walkable I think would be you know would really be a nice thing um uh for us to eventually see and um and and so I appreciate the the effort to um kind of go a little bit beyond just talking about a boardwalk and think about how we actually achieve some interconnectivity in that area. Um, I wonder um I'm not I have connections at NC State at the School of Design. I'm not aware that they have studios that are specific to this, but a few years ago we had a sustainability studio and and um the professor brought their students here and they did a number of sustainability projects throughout the town. That was kind of interesting to see. they were, you know, they were they were theoretical and student work is rarely practical, but it does raise some some ideas. You know, it does bring fresh ideas to the table that would be things that, you know, we would not think of o otherwise. Um, you know, they they have studios for sustainability, they have studios for main streets. It would be interesting to have that kind of discussion, that kind of community discussion among all the sort of property owners in that area.

um and then maybe some visuals that would sort of um maybe resonate with that community. And um so if if there's an interest there, I would I would like to see us approach and I would help approach NC State um and see if they would be see if somebody there would be interested in doing that. I'm certainly open to that. I think like you said, I think um universities have have students that can, you know, sort of are immersed in what they're studying and can really provide some outside of the box or or just, you know, just a different perspective that really can move things forward. Yeah.

No, I agree with you. I think it, you know, it looks really good. I think that's a great idea and I I see your see your vision and and the animation really helps to visualize everything. So, thank you for that. Thanks. Yeah, appreciate that. Very good. All right. Thank you, Joe. Appreciate that. And I believe you're up next for what you were here.

That's right. Um so, just just an update on this um estuary and shoreline management plan. Um we had a stakeholder meeting um earlier this month. It was really well attended, which I'm happy about. we got the word out and um was really looking at these sites one and two, the Villudes Drive, Nags Head Woods Preserve area and then the um Westside Road area. Um attached to your staff report was a summary document that sort of let you all know who was there and tried to put all of the comments and responses we heard. um a lot of concerns about navigation, the aesthetic of these um sort of large living breakwater structures. Um and then also other comments like, you know, are we restoring marsh in the Southside Road area when um a lot of um residents who have been there a really long time said, "We've never had that. It's always been sandy." Um and and just some just just had a good discussion. I had a good public meeting. We've taken all of those comments and we're working with the consultants to come up with a design that incorporates everything we've heard. Um I think the Southside road section quite honestly these southern three islands I think we heard enough nos that it um wouldn't be able to move forward as it's depicted here um given that we would need easements from private property owners from to actually construct these. But we are still looking at this burm and this and the nice headwoods preserve site and trying to sort of tweak and modify the designs to still be able to be permitted and still achieve what they're designed to achieve and meet the needs and concerns of local residents. Um with the Harvey

site, we had a kickoff meeting, I think just last week. Um right now they're in the data collecting and design phase. A lot of the data had already been collected from this effort when we already looked at and collected the SAB as a part of this effort. So they that project's going to move a lot quicker. Um and so we are expecting schematic designs I think sometime next month or at least a concept design. And so, um, with the Harvey site, we've we, um, had half half a million dollars, I believe, through, um, North Carolina Atlanta wild life, um, fund, and then we, um, Amy applied and got the RCCP grant to sort of complete that project from design all the way through construction. With these two sites that we're looking at, um, we haven't funded through construction. We have 60% design funded, and hopefully assistance through permitting. We've applied for a grant to get us to 100% construction. We don't know whether we've gotten that or not.

Great. Very good. Any questions for J? Just just one thing to to note too. Um with the we refer to the Harvey site project as the Harvey site. The majority of this living shoreline will be on the Outer Banks event site.

And so we just need to make sure we we people know that. The second piece to this is since it's on the event site and the majority of that property is owned by the tourism board and eventually will all be owned by the tourism board, we need to coordinate closely with them on this design because essentially they will inherit this design. And so we have scheduled the consultant to come to the tourism board's meeting in September and kind of go over some of the concepts and get a little bit of feedback from them before we get too heavy into the design. There's also going to be a a small working group of people to talk about some of the uses out there like kite surfing and sailing just to make sure that whatever we design doesn't disrupt any of the activities. So just to be aware of all that that's all going to be happening I think September 18th is that

yeah I believe so that's right. So very good. Yeah, I think it's also important that those users are involved because we've we've had concerns there in the past about people's access and ability to use that use that space. Thank you. All right. Um then that would bring us to um your next item, item three.

Yeah. Um this is sort of a carryover from the presentation you received about the um hazard mitigation grant program three or four months ago. Um we did file our paperwork and got approval for the state centric model. So the state would be handling all of the procurement and aspects of this grant if um we move forward. We had one property owner as two oceanfront properties who submitted two applications. The town would be serving as the um sub applicant. the county will take our if we sign off and and and move forward with submitting his um grant applications with our letter of interest, the county will send it to the state. The state will then forward it to FEMA. FEMA will make an offer that will then go back to the state if if it's funded through this grant. Um and then the property owner will have a decision to make on whether or not they accept the um offer for demolition. and then um the town would acquire the property underneath it and it would be dedistricted to be public open space. Um the two properties that we've received submissions for are both sort of east of the static line um down in South Nag. And so I think um from the town I think it makes sense to you know grant the property owner's wishes and and for these law and you know I think he's sort of just open to seeing what the offer is and um you know if it meets meets what he's expecting he he will move forward but if not you know it's up to him but our our role would just be to get you all to um allow Andy to be the primary agent and me to be the secondary agent um to sort of continue this um his application along.

Very good. Any questions for J? All right. In that case, a motion would be in order. So move. Second. All right. I have a motion and a second to authorize town manager Garmin as the designated agent and deputy planning director Costello as the town secondary agent uh for the hazard mitigation grants. Any further discussion? Hearing none. All in favor signify by saying I. I opposed. Great. Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you, Joe. Um, that brings us to uh new business and we do have a time specific groundbreaking. I'm not sure if everybody's here yet. Um, so I think we'll continue down our agenda and we'll come back to that in just a few few minutes. Um, and so that would bring us to committee reports and I think I'll start on the other end. Commissioner Lambert.

Um we did meet uh for our government education access channel meeting uh just a couple weeks ago. We actually met in KDH at their town hall. Um and we approved two LPDIA grants. And we also got to meet the new part-time position, Brenda, which was really exciting. She hasn't officially started at the time of our meeting, but she was nice enough to come and attend so that we could all meet her and she can hit the ground running. And that's it. Great. Thank you. Good. Tourism board. Um, we've talked about what's going on with that and then Andy's going to talk about the housing task force. Okay. Very good. Commissioner Sanders.

Well, we just got a big update on the shoreline management plan, so I think we're good there. Okay. Thank you, Joe. Um, I think the thing that probably in the last several months has consumed me the the most has been the legislative activity and and the correspondence and Andyy's going to report on that and we're going to talk about that in just a little bit. So, um, I will I will leave that there. Um, that brings us then to any items from the town attorney, Mr. Lighty. Mr. Mayor, I have nothing to present today. Okay, great. Thank you. All right, then that brings us to the town manager. And Andy, you're going to start with the update on the legislative.

Sure. Thank you, mayor. Um, so, you know, as the board is aware, uh, we have been working with a legislative liaison, Warden Smith, Whitney Campbell, Christian Christensen, uh, to advocate for the town's interests at the state. Um, we submitted to them in in the spring a legislative priority list of policy items and also appropriations requests. Uh we have, as everybody knows, uh been out to Raleigh several times with the mayor and uh Commissioner Lambert to talk to our legislative delegation, uh Senator Hanig and Representative Kidwell. Those meetings were were all very good. Uh as well, we were working with the other towns in the spring to advocate for certain policy issues, primarily u sort of opposing some things that would affect our authority like H765. Um, so want to give a brief update on what's happened since then. And uh, I had a call with Whitney uh, just a few days ago and um, you know, there's there's a primary message here and that is that it's not been a very productive year in the legislature. Um, and it's because there's a a disagreement that's sort of overriding everything going on and that is uh, rel related to tax policy. And so, as the board knows, they're working on a budget. Uh, but before they can do that, uh, they have to agree on how they're going to handle uh, taxes. Uh, there was there were tax cuts that were supposed to take effect, I believe, in a couple of years. And there's some disagreement on that. I think there's one one delegation that says we shouldn't enact those tax cuts because we know we're going to be in a deficit if we do that in a couple of years. Um, we've had a lot of additional things happen in the state. uh uh hurricane Helen has affected um our expenditures as well as other things

Medicaid uh there's some other things coming down from the federal government that could create a huge burden for the state. So I think some folks um in especially in the house think that we should not enact those tax cuts that they're really sort of immaterial when it comes to how much they would reduce uh individual tax burdens. So really uh at this point until they can resolve that there's not going to be a budget. Um they adjourned at the end of June. Uh they did an adjournment resolution. They said that they were going to meet once a month uh for a few days at a time for the rest of the calendar year. Uh they were supposed to meet in August. Uh I was told that because they don't really want to be in the same room with each other, they canled that meeting. Um, and so they're they're supposed to meet again in September on September 22nd. Um, and to take up uh I think additional budget discussions. Um, we've also been told that um the policy items they're going to consider for the rest of the year are probably going to be very limited uh primarily to conference reports. Um, so that that really is related to any laws that were already sort of drafted, but any anything can be added to a conference report. So I think that even though they're saying that there's not going to be a lot of activity from a policy standpoint, we we'll still need to pay close attention to what's going on because things can get added. Uh but um at some point when they can establish direction on the tax policy, they'll start working on the budget and then the appropriations committees will start to meet again and that's when we really need to pay attention and and advocate again uh for what we've requested. And so that's really the message with that. Um there's some other things. Uh the downzoning provisions is something we

talked about. You know, uh when that was adopted last year, a lot of the local governments and uh league of municipalities and and other organizations were very upset about that. There was a lot of opposition and there were a lot of promises made about uh correcting the downzoning provisions and a lot of bills were drafted but yet never adopted and that still hasn't occurred. And so I think one of the concerns is that um people were told it's going to be fixed. People backed off. Hasn't been fixed. Now what's what's happening? No, it's quiet. And so what we're being told is that it it's probably not going to be fixed at least at a minimum until the spring, but there's still no guarantee. And so that's something I think may require some additional advocacy at some point. Um, and so, uh, something we talked about and something that they're going to keep us posted on in terms of what what's going to happen. Um, so I think the the primary message is we just need to stay tuned and stay vigilant and and listen to our lobbyist and then be ready to um, write a letter, write write emails, get other people organized or even go back to Raleigh at some point over the course of the fall when we know about things that are happening. So the September 22nd is the next date. They're going to meet for probably three or four days. I think October 16th is the following date and then I don't know the November and December dates yet, but keep you posted on that.

Very good. Um, thanks Andy. um on the um on the no down zoning and the the reversal of that legislation, there's been some conversation with me and some of our fellow mayors um about a broader uh you know, we were we were able to come together as the the local mayors to um write a common letter. Um I think there's going to be more of an effort statewide to get small communities, communities our size um to weigh in together. um on an effort and uh but there's no point in doing that until the legislature is about to do something. I mean, a letter that you write today is going to be forgotten by the time they probably actually do any real business in the spring. So, I think we're just going to sort of keep our powder dry on that and um and wait until it's a meaningful meaningful effort uh to try to tackle that. Thank you, Andy. It's been it's been uh I want to thank the board for their wisdom in uh retaining a legislative liaison for us uh this year. It has proven to be um valuable in a year year like this. Um I can only imagine how valuable it would be in a year when the legislature was actually doing its job. Um would be would be pretty wonderful. Um, all right, Andy. Next then, and perhaps David, although David stepped out of the room, um, uh, the beach nourishment planning.

Okay. I just want to go over this real quick. Um, I know beach beach nourishment is going to come up come up on us faster than than we realize and uh, things are starting to kick up here. Um we we have um permits applied for uh for the project and uh we expect a permit decision around September 20th. Um beyond that, we're getting ready to advertise our next project for bid. Um the project is expected to be um put out to bid on September 29th uh with the bids due and opening on November 13th. And so, um, we we hope to have all permits in hand by December 1st. Um, on December 3rd, we'll go over some of that information with the board. At that meeting, we'll be seating a new board. So, it's kind of an interesting timing. You know, there's a lot for people to get up to speed on and so we want to be mindful of that. So on December 3rd, I don't think we're going to expect the board to make any decisions, right?

But I think one of the things we want to do, and this is what I really wanted to talk about, is on December 17th is our midmon meeting. I think we will plan to have a workshop to talk through um the cost of the project. Uh give the public some information on the details of the project and then talk a little bit about um our ability to afford the project with our current resources. So that would include what the county would give to us towards the project and also what our current taxes would generate to pay off the project. And we don't we don't know any of this information yet. Uh until we get bids back, we don't know what the project's going to cost. So we can't really make an assessment of of whether or not our current MSD and townwide taxes would be able to pay for it fully. Um, so we expect to have our consultant DEEC associates here, Andrew and Doug Carter, at the midmon meeting in December to kind of walk the board through our beach nourishment funding model and then talk about some tax implications. The good part about this is that we're being told that we don't have to finance the project or go through that process until um sometime later. So, we expect that on January 7th, we would be bringing to the board um contract approval for the contractor to construct the project. Um, and then we would also be approving an interlocal agreement with Dair County for the funding that they would give us. Um, and then also a capital project ordinance. So, that would set things in motion. And um as the board is aware, uh we're bidding this out for a 2026 project or a 2027 project. With previous projects, there's been a pretty significant difference between the pricing on on two two consecutive years. Um based on past experience, the longer you

give contractors, the better pricing you'll get, but we still don't know what that's going to look like yet. So, with the calendar we've prepared and and this is something we can advertise to the public, um we've got a calendar that looks at for a 2026 project, what we're going to have to do to finance the project and get everything approved. And then for a 2027 project, we we get a little bit more time. You know, we don't have to do everything right away. If we do it in 2027, we'll be going through the financing in the spring of 27. If we do it in 26, obviously we'll have to go from the project approval right to right to the financing process. Um, but in both years, I kind of show some board action items. So, if the consultant tells us that we we we're not generating enough money currently to pay off this project and we do have to consider taxing in our MSDS or even townwide, uh we're going to need to have a discussion about that. And we're looking at the timing that around the March 4th, the March time frame frame in both years, whether it's this year or 2026 or 2027. Now, one of the things that this calendar says is even if we decide to do a 2027 project, um depending on the board's preference, we could talk about tax rates this year, meaning 2026, or we could also talk about them in 2027. Now, if we adopt new taxes in 2026, and I'm not saying this is required. I'm just saying if we have to do that, um that would would obviously bring down the overall amount we'd have to tax because you add another year to it. Um so, it's just a food for thought for the board. Um, so essentially, uh, through the beginning of the calendar year 2026, we'd be we'd be looking at signing a contract for a contractor to construct the next project and then moving into

financing either in the spring of 26 or the spring of 27. So, I just wanted to point all this out to the board in case you have any questions. Um, just to make the public aware of what's going to happen and then look forward to comments. So regardless of whether it's a 2026 project or 27 in January, we would approve the we would we would award the bid. Uh do those other actions that you've listed there in January the local agreement with the county. We would do all of those things that really to lock the contractor in to that pricing even if it's 2027 and then um and then push it off and then take those actions in spring of 27 the findings and the and those

right move the project. Okay. Yeah. We were told that as long as we approve the interlocal agreement with the county and do a capital project ordinance, then we can approve the construction contract at that time and then do deal with the financing following that. Okay? And so that's what we would do. Um so, you know, I think we're in a pretty good position for the next project. You know, obviously the cost is the cost and we're hoping that it comes in good.

Um but you know, we we have been doing this for a while. I think we've kind of got a rhythm in terms of how we're doing things and then we do have a beach nourishment capital reserve fund and we have a fund balance in that that will help us pay for this next project. And so that that'll all be part of the discussion in in December when we go over that with you. Any questions for you?

Okay, then um we are probably close enough. It's 10:25. We need to move across the site here for our um groundbreaking. So, um I think I do I I don't know that I need a John. Do I need a motion to recess to the groundbreaking? No. Uh well, I guess maybe to leave the council chambers in order to go to that. Okay. Then then then a motion to um uh uh take a break in the meeting and go uh to the to the groundbreaking and then return for the balance of our business. So move second. All right. All in favor signify by saying I

I opposed. Right. Thank you. We'll be back shortly.

Are we back?

All right. So, the board has returned and we decided um thank you everyone who came and participated in our groundbreaking for our new wellness facility. Uh we decided rather than shout over the traffic in the wind, uh we would we would come back inside for our comments and so I'm glad everybody everybody returned. Um I want to thank you for being here today. Uh we're here to celebrate the groundbreaking of our new wellness facility, an employee housing building, which is phase one of the town hall campus master plan that the board completed last year. As you know, Nagshead has had an employee wellness center for many years. Two years ago, we closed the original building due to ongoing mold and moisture issues. That concrete block building on the town campus where the new one will go was a poor candidate for rehabilitation. In the interim, the center was housed in the former bank building across 158 from town hall. In recent years, we've enhanced our efforts to recruit and retain qualified staff. We have an employee total reward strategy along with the basics like good insurance and retirement. The wellness center is an important component of this. Good health and reduced injuries reduce loss productivity and make for a happier and more productive workforce. We have about 120 employees. Roughly half of these employees are public safety. We also have 50 ocean rescue staff in peak season. And we know that this is something our staff really cherishes. And we did not want to see it go away. We're making a commitment to our employees today to provide them with the best facilities, which are an important part of their training and fitness regimes, but also something that will enhance their overall quality of life and work experience here at the town of Nags Head.

Around the same time that we re realized the old building had to be replaced, the town was pursuing options to construct housing for ocean rescue staff. This has been a long-standing strategic plan initiative. We are nearing completion of a duplex that we will use for ocean rescue housing on the site of the community care clinic and we expect this to house up to 16 staff. We're now pursuing a second project along with this fitness and wellness facility to house about that many more staff. With these two projects, we will meet several board goals. Providing housing for about twothirds of our seasonal staff and replacing the wellness center. The fitness center and the staff housing have been part of our public budget discussions for about two years and this combined wellness center is in the budget. We've received bids that are surprisingly well within our budget and we are finalizing financing of the facility and expect construction to begin in September. Combining the facilities is much cheaper than building them separately. So, I want to thank the staff, uh, the board of commissioners, all all of you, um, who are so dedicated to to the town and to have done so well for our employees, um, and, uh, our staff who are, uh, building a culture um, of which this facility will be a part. And Andy, I know that you want to thank some of our staff um, here in particular.

Yes. Uh, thanks, mayor. So, like anything we do, you know, we um we try to pull in our experts to to come up with designs for things. Um folks that use our facility and know know it much better than I do and know our needs. And so um we had a group of individuals from all of our departments help us with this design. We had a committee and had a couple meetings with Oakley Collier and with David Ryan sort of leading the effort. But I just wanted to thank all of them for their their effort and for their knowledge and expertise. And I I know that they are going to use this facility. They're going to generate interest amongst all of their peers to use the facility. Uh I hope it is everything they they hoped for. Uh some of them are here today. So I just wanted to mention their names. So we have Skyla Lamberto Egan with fire. Appreciate your help with the design. We have Trey Simmons with fire and Brandon Stallings with fire. Thank you. Uh Vicky Wright with administrative services is here. Uh Christian Agira is here. I see him in the back row there. Uh we have Seth Gray with the water department. Obviously, David Ryan, Perry Hail, and Shane Heightroll involved with this. And then not here today, Ben Joff helped us with the design as well as Chad Moes. And then Jan was part of this group as well. So, we just thank all of their effort. And again, I'm sure they'll be here to witness the construction. And you know, we when we're finishing off this facility, maybe we'll pull them in and just make sure that we address the things we need. We did budget some funds for additional equipment, too. And so, they're going to be heavily involved in procuring all of that and making sure it's what they intended to be in there. So,

with that said, thanks to the staff, thanks to the board of commissioners for supporting this effort. I I never dreamed that we would build be building something like this to replace that old wellness building. So, it is really something that is exceptional and we really appreciate it. And then I think David's going to come up and talk a little bit about the consultants that are helping us.

Thank you, Andy. Um, yes, we just wanted to go ahead and recognize the design team. Um, you're going to hear some very familiar names. Um, we've we have Oakley Collier Architects, which is represented here today by Frank B. Joiner, who's their construction administrator. um and the the rest of the design team which included Tim Oakley, David Griffin, Amanda Ryder um and then also their consultants um they were assisted by Scaline Design who provided structural support as well as Atlantech Engineers who is now IMG. Um they provided plumbing, mechanical and electrical engineering assistance uh for the project. And we also wanted to recognize AR Chesson. Um they are represented here today by Al Chess um who is the president of AR Chesson and then also their site superintendent Chandler Clants um who's going to be heavily involved in this project. Um again um we are looking forward to another successful project. Um, we were just wrapping up with our public services complex, both of which AR Chesson and Oakley Collier were heavily involved in and we're going to go ahead and run it back again with the wellness center. So, we're we're really looking forward to another successful project. So, thank you.

Very good. Thank you. Thank you, David, for all of your work that you also put into that. I know uh in bidding and coordinating all of that. Appreciate Appreciate your work. Appreciate the the team who contributed to the design. And thank you all very much uh for putting in that extra effort. Thank you to the design and construction professionals. Uh we we echo that as well. And we um we're very proud of public services and and look forward to opening this new facility uh soon. Thank thank you all very much. All right, Andy. That brings us to an update on our state, our homes.

Okay. Thank you, Mayor. I'll just be brief with this. Um obviously um Nagshe Head is participating in the Dair County Housing Task Force. Um that consists of individuals from all the towns and several private entities around the county. Um one of the aspects that we're we're participating in with this is the our state our homes program. It's a program that's put on by UNCC Chapel Hill. something that Dare County was selected for one out of 14 communities across the state uh where we go uh for five separate forums uh at UNCC Chapel Hill to talk about housing issues and solutions for housing issues um for our communities. So we have another one of those forums uh our third one uh starting today. my cohort, my counterparts are already out there, Malcolm, Donna Krief, and Matt Neil with Southern Shores. I'm leaving after this meeting. U but it's been a useful program. Um, one of the things I wanted to highlight is uh recently we had a webinar on uh community land trusts. And so I think one of the main initiatives coming out of the housing task force uh and Mike Sears is on the housing task force. uh he he's not only on the task force, but he serves on a subcommittee on planning projects. So, chime in anytime you feel like it. Um so, um one of the the things that Donna, who's essentially the leader of the task force, is working on is creating a nonprofit and we are receiving a stipen from the our state our homes program uh that was designed to pay the project manager for their time. that project manager is Donna. Uh Donna has now um requested to not receive that money but to use the money towards hiring an attorney uh to help create uh this nonprofit. Um they they've they've hired someone out of Chapel Hill to do that.

They're currently working on the articles of incorporation and the bylaws and once that's done they will actually be creating a board and that's probably something that the housing task force will have a role in creating. But I I expect that Nags Head will have a seat on that B board. Um and one of the the primary mechanisms this uh nonprofit will use to develop housing is the community land trust model. And I can circulate the presentation that we were given uh on community land trusts. We had four communities um in North Carolina present to us on the things that they're doing. Um there's a lot of these throughout the the state and throughout the country. Um, one was the Burlington uh, Community Land Trust. We had the Raleigh Area Land Trust, um, Watuga Community Housing Trust in Western North Carolina, and then Durham. I think Durham was one of the oldest in the state, but uh, essentially the community land trust model uh, allows uh, groups to develop housing and keep the cost down by essentially getting land that's either donated or or or procured. And then um they use a ground lease with the tenants. Um essentially you can buy a home that's developed by a land trust and own it. Um you pay a ground lease as part of your ownership and uh the the mortgage or the appreciation the equity is capped every year through a a deed restriction. And so essentially that's what allows the housing to stay affordable. And then the the properties are managed and maintained by the land land trust which in this case for Der County would be likely managed through the um through the um

nonprofit

nonprofit. Correct. So um you'll hear more about this over the next month. The Dair County Housing Task Force is meeting uh in a few weeks. I think they're going to talk quite a bit about this and then I think the county board of commissioners may bring this up as well uh later on. And then finally, um, we'll we'll be asked at some point for certain things and and you'll hear about that in the next month or month or two. Um, so anyway, just wanted to make sure that the board was aware of of this u activity, the creation of the nonprofit and then also this community land trust um activity and then maybe commissioner Sears if you want to say anything about the subcommittee. Well, on the subcommittee, we've identified county property. Um, that's the reason for the land trust and that will what allowed this to be affordable. The other mission to that is we want to build sustainable, you know, you've heard it before, workforce out here. So, you can't do that in transient or rental property, but you can do that if everybody owns the property. So, if we can make that uh where it's tied to ownership will work here, they'll be generational. And that's kind of the the mindset that everybody on the planning side of this has taken. If we can if we can show home ownership, then they'll be more invested in the community.

Cool. That's great. Very good. Well, thanks and appreciate your effort, you know, getting getting in the car and jumping running to another meeting. Appreciate Commissioner Sears, y'all. additional work outside of this board on this effort. Thank you. Sure. Uh that brings us to the board of commissioners agenda. Does any board member have an item that they would like to bring to us today?

Seeing none, we will move the mayor's agenda. I do not have anything new to bring to you today. We do not have any closed sessions planned. So, is there other business to come before the board? And we do not need a midmon meeting. And so a motion to adjurnn would be in order. So move. I have. Is there a second? Second. I have a motion and a second to adjurnn. All those in favor signify by saying I. I. Opposed. Assume there's nobody opposed.