[0:00] Everyone, um, welcome to the January
12th, 2026
[0:05] Town of Kildo Hills Board of
Commissioners meeting. I call this
[0:08] meeting to order and invite everyone to
please stand and join me in the pledge
[0:12] of allegiance.
[0:16] I pledge algiance to the flag of the
United States of America and to the
[0:21] republic for which it stands. One nation
under God, indivisible, with liberty and
[0:28] justice for all.
[0:34] » Everyone is welcome to please join me in
a moment of silence.
[0:50] All right. Um,
good evening everyone. Um, our next item
[0:56] of business is our agenda. We have one
before us. Move to approve the agenda.
[1:01] » Second.
>> We have a motion, a second. Do we have
[1:03] any further discussion? Hearing none.
All in favor, please indicate by saying
[1:08] I.
>> I. I.
[1:09] » All right. We have an agenda. Next, we
have our first opportunity for public
[1:13] comment. This is an opportunity for
anyone in the audience to address the
[1:17] board on any topic of their choosing
that pertains to the town. We do that.
[1:21] We do ask when you are called upon,
approach the podium, speak into the
[1:24] microphone, and identify yourself by
name and address. Uh please keep
[1:28] comments to three minutes if you're
speaking as an individual or five
[1:32] minutes if you are speaking on behalf of
a group. And friendly reminder, there'll
[1:36] be another opportunity for public
comment toward the end of the meeting.
[1:38] And if anybody would like to
participate, the floor is open.
[1:49] All right.
[1:54] Evening. Uh my name is Chris Merrick.
I'm one of the owners of Ocean Atlantic
[1:57] Reynolds, which is located at 2001 South
Croin Highway in Kilovable Hills. Thanks
[2:03] for having me tonight. My first order of
business is to remind everybody about
[2:07] trash attack. And it's been a labor of
love for this town and and my friends
[2:12] for some years. And it's coming up in
April probably. We're going to have a
[2:17] meeting soon to talk about it. Um but I
I imagine it'll be April and it's always
[2:22] a great time. And I think it really is
awesome to get the beach in the area
[2:27] ready um from all the wind that's blown
all winter and get us set up for our
[2:32] visitors who are on their way. So, um,
look forward to that. Um, I just wanted
[2:37] to say thank you to the town and to the
staff for, um, working on an amendment
[2:43] to, um, define beach concierge setup
service. Um, and I I believe y'all will
[2:50] be discussing and voting maybe on that
tonight. And I just wanted to add my two
[2:54] cents worth since I am a uh equipment
rental guy uh on in Killable Hills and
[3:00] in a couple other towns here and I've
been through some ordinances on this
[3:04] topic with some other towns and have
some experience and I'm always available
[3:08] if I can help with that. But I want to
thank staff for making time to discuss
[3:13] it with me and uh and I understand it a
lot better and I really like what they
[3:18] modeled this program after uh this
ordinance. Um, one thing in there that,
[3:24] um, is concerning to me is is just, um,
if my equipment, which by the way is
[3:30] sometimes rented by people who walk into
my store and sometimes rented by people
[3:35] who want concier service and they do it
over the internet or they do it over the
[3:39] phone.
No one can tell the difference. It's the
[3:43] same beach chairs with my nice big
commercial logos on them. They're heavy
[3:47] duty oak products. many of you have seen
that most vendors here use and
[3:54] they're expensive and I I like to retain
them and the way the code is ending
[3:59] right now is talking about um things
that violate the code will be destroyed
[4:05] and I just I I really have a great vibe
and a great word from staff that they
[4:11] they believe in being neighborly and
they believe in u making a phone call or
[4:16] or giving us just a real reasonable time
to remove beach equipment and deal with
[4:21] our customer if they're the one in
violation or if we're the ones in
[4:24] violation getting our staff back on
board. Um but it's not written that way.
[4:30] So I'm just asking y'all to look at that
last page in that detail tonight. Um
[4:38] um the other thing that I wanted to
mention that is um exciting to me about
[4:43] this and and and this will be very quick
is is there was a lot of businesses that
[4:47] were doing this last summer in
particular and I love the
[4:52] entrepreneurial spirit. I have it. But
they were a couple guys with a pickup
[4:56] truck and some popup tents from the
corner store and they weren't they they
[5:02] were you know that's why this is
exciting is is they may not have had
[5:05] insurance. I don't know. I love people
going for it but I think this is going
[5:09] to help have quality on your beaches. Um
and and in that vein I would say this
[5:15] last thing. Sometimes there's chronic
violators of these rules. And I love
[5:21] that you have a a $500 um concierge fee
that real players are going to need to
[5:28] pay and I you know um have no problem
with that and I think it's necessary. Um
[5:33] but I think when you have chronic
violators who keep putting things in
[5:38] front of the lifeguards who keep doing
bad stuff and not responding to that
[5:45] courtesy phone call or that courtesy
ordinance uh violation, there needs to
[5:50] be some teeth. Maybe it's a hundred
bucks after the third ding or I don't
[5:54] know. Um, again, other towns have
figured it out way better than me. Um,
[6:00] but I just uh I would tell you that's
kind of something that comes down the
[6:03] pipe with this from my experience. So,
doors always open. You guys know where I
[6:08] where I work and live and uh thank you
for the time tonight and uh go trash
[6:13] attack. One last thing I just wanted to
ask if I could um present the mayor with
[6:17] one of our calendars for this year and
it's all beach setup stuff on the beach.
[6:22] So um we love doing it. Thank you.
>> Sure. Thank
[6:27] [clears throat]
>> you, sir.
[6:30] » All right.
[6:37] » Would anybody else like to speak at this
public comment period?
[6:43] All right. Um,
not seeing anyone. We'll move on to
[6:47] response to public comment. Um,
thank you very much, Chris, especially
[6:52] for the trash attack. Uh, you know, pep
rally. That was very, very nice. And I
[7:00] couldn't agree more. That is an event
we're really really proud of and it's
[7:05] coming up. I think uh the planning
meeting is in February,
[7:09] » February 10th. February 10th, 4 PM will
be in this room.
[7:13] » That is a very about efficiently run
meeting as you're gonna attend. We're
[7:17] going to be in and out quick. And uh
this
[7:20] » uh you and and Sandy Marklin do
everything Sandy touches is almost gold.
[7:25] She um can run complex and events and
organizations to a tea. So I'm looking
[7:32] forward to our event this year. Any
other response, public comments? All
[7:38] right. Hearing none, we'll move on to
ongoing business.
[7:42] » Yes, sir.
>> All right. New business item number one,
[7:46] annual comprehensive financial report
for fiscal year 2024,
[7:50] 2025. Certificate of excellence in
financial reporting for fiscal year
[7:56] ending June 30th, 2024
and popular annual physical report
[8:01] manager.
>> Yes, sir. Call Angel.
[8:05] » All right, Angel.
[8:08] Good evening. So, we're gonna get our
auditor, Emily Mills, on the phone, and
[8:12] she's gonna first give her presentation.
>> Miss Mills, anytime you're ready.
[8:18] » Okay. Good evening. Can you hear me?
Okay.
[8:21] » Yes.
>> Yes.
[8:23] » Okay. My name is Emily Mills and I'm a
partner with DMJPS, formerly Pottering
[8:28] Company, and I'm pleased to be here
before you this evening to present the
[8:32] town's annual comprehensive financial
report for the fiscal year ended June
[8:36] 30th, 2025.
Thank you for allowing our firm to
[8:41] perform this service for the town. I
want to commend the work of the finance
[8:45] staff. Angel, Sam, and the entire
finance team were helpful, professional,
[8:50] and wonderful to work with. On page nine
of your financial statements, you will
[8:55] find our independent auditor's report.
We have issued an unmodified opinion on
[9:01] the statements of the town of Kville
Hills as of June 30th, 2025.
[9:07] An unmodified report is the highest
level of assurance that we as
[9:11] independent auditors can issue and it
states that the financial statements
[9:15] present fairly in all material respect
the financial position of the town at
[9:20] June 30th 2025.
This is commonly referred to as a clean
[9:26] opinion.
In addition to the independent auditors
[9:30] report, we have also issued a report on
the town's compliance known as the
[9:35] yellow book report. This report is in
the compliance section of the financial
[9:40] statement starting on page 178.
This report deals with the town's
[9:45] compliance with government auditing
standards.
[9:48] We noted no findings that we consider to
be significant deficiencies or material
[9:53] weaknesses.
These financial statements were
[9:57] submitted to the LGC on December the
10th and the LGC reviewed the statements
[10:03] on December the 22nd. There is one item
that requires the town to submit a
[10:09] response to the LGC. This item is
concerning the benchmark ratio for water
[10:14] and sewer capital assets and this is
generated from the LGC's data input
[10:20] workbook. The town had to submit a
response on this same ratio in prior
[10:25] year's audits. The town's response
should be submitted to the LGC within 60
[10:31] days of today's presentation and should
be signed by a majority of the board,
[10:35] the manager, and the finance officer.
Example responses are available on the
[10:40] LGC's website.
The balance sheet information for the
[10:45] general fund can be found on page 32.
At the end of the year, the town's
[10:50] general fund had an unrestricted cash
balance of 23 million and a restricted
[10:56] cash balance of 9 million. The general
fund total fund balance was 35 million.
[11:03] Of this amount, 19 million was
unassigned for any specific purpose.
[11:09] The revenues and expenditures for the
general fund are summarized on page 34.
[11:14] The general fund reported 26 million in
revenues, 37 million in expenditures,
[11:21] and 11 million from other financing
sources. This resulted in an increase to
[11:26] fund balance of a little over 500,000.
And the statements for water and
[11:32] wastewater activities begin on page 38.
And these funds resulted in a combined
[11:37] increase of 1.7 million for the year.
Again, I'd like to thank the town for
[11:44] the opportunity to be of service and I
am happy to answer any questions.
[11:52] » Any questions from the board?
[11:57] » Looks great as always.
>> No, no, I'll quit order ahead. It sounds
[12:01] pretty good. So, um, thank you very much
and thank you Angel and team.
[12:07] » Very nice.
>> Thank you, Emily.
[12:08] » Thank you, Emiline. Have a good evening.
Thank you.
[12:10] » Thank you.
>> All right. So, I'm gonna just add a
[12:14] couple things to Emily's report. Uh,
first, I would like to present the
[12:18] town's 36th consecutive certificate of
achievement for excellence in financial
[12:23] reporting, and that's for our annual
comprehensive financial report for the
[12:27] fiscal year ended June 30th, 2024.
Uh, this [clears throat] is a document
[12:31] that truly takes the whole finance
department, but I want to specifically
[12:34] thank assistant finance officer Sam
Angelo and the accountant Scott Nickens
[12:38] for really putting this document
together.
[12:42] In addition, the town also received its
second conse consecutive award for
[12:46] outstanding achievement in popular
annual financial reporting. Again, this
[12:50] is for a fiscal year ending June 30th,
2024.
[12:53] And this is a document that we put
together just to be a userfriendly, much
[12:57] easier to read version of our financial
information. So with that, we will look
[13:02] at this year's popular annual financial
report. And for this one, I want to
[13:07] specifically recognize our customer
service representative, Selma Selena
[13:10] Dermatus. She really took a lot of time
to put this together. So I would
[13:15] encourage you all to look through the
whole thing. It's got both financial and
[13:18] non-financial information, but I am just
going to hit on the financial
[13:22] highlights, which really start on pages
seven and eight. And this is the
[13:26] document that looks like this. You guys
should have that.
[13:30] » Um, so if you look at page eight, that's
our townwide financial information. And
[13:36] here you can see how our net position
changed throughout the year. you will
[13:40] see our overall net position um was
beginning net position was restated as
[13:45] of the beginning of the year by about
1.2 million. This was due to a change in
[13:49] accounting principle. So while that
beginning number was not incorrect, it
[13:53] needed to be adjusted to make it
consistent with the financial reporting
[13:57] requirements that were released in 2025.
So that reduced that beginning net
[14:01] position by about 1.2 million. And then
during the year we had an overall net
[14:06] position increase of about 3.35 million.
And that's the amount that our revenues
[14:10] exceeded our expenses for the year for
both governmental and business type
[14:14] activities.
So then we'll take a look at the fund
[14:18] specific information. If you flip over
to page 10, we'll start with our general
[14:22] fund, which is where most of our
activity takes place. Revenues for the
[14:26] year were about 26.4 million. That's up
from about 25.9 million in 2024.
[14:33] I'll touch on the advalorum and the
other taxes and licenses on the next
[14:37] page, but here we'll just look at those
intergovernmental revenues. They did dip
[14:41] a little bit and that's just due to some
one-time grant funds that we received in
[14:45] 2024 that we did not receive in 2025.
And then our other revenues, those were
[14:50] very steady from 24 to 25. That includes
our permits and fees, our sales and
[14:55] services, some investment income, and
then some other miscellaneous sources.
[14:59] Our expenditures on the year were almost
37 a.5 million. But we can look at that
[15:04] general government expenditure section
and you can see it looks like a huge
[15:09] increase there. That spike is due to
another new accounting standard where we
[15:14] have to recognize the full principal
amount of a lease in the year that that
[15:18] lease begins. So the fire station began
in 2025. We had to record the full 10.2
[15:24] million in that year. However, that will
be paid over 20 years. there's an other
[15:29] financing source to offset that entry.
So, it doesn't actually affect our fund
[15:34] balance. It just results in looking like
we had a huge spike in our expenses, but
[15:38] that's not actually a cash flow thing.
That's just um if you remove that 10.4
[15:43] or 10.2 million, the expenditures were
about the same from 2024 to 2025.
[15:48] » There was also a slight spike in our
transportation expenditures, and that's
[15:52] due to the Rightsville Boulevard project
that was ongoing in 2025.
[15:56] Public safety and public works both had
slight increases you would expect for
[16:00] increased personnel and inflationary
cost. Our environmental expenditures
[16:05] actually went down and that's due to
some garbage trucks that were purchased
[16:08] in 2024. We didn't have any garbage
truck purchases in 2025. And then our
[16:13] debt service, we saw a slight increase
there and that's mainly due to the first
[16:16] full year of the fire station lease
payments.
[16:20] On the next page, we'll take a look at
those tax revenues. The adalorum taxes
[16:25] increased about 2.5%.
The tax rate stayed the same at 35 1.5
[16:30] cent per $100 of valuation. So that 2.5%
increase is really due to continued
[16:34] development and growth within the town.
Our other taxes and licenses increased
[16:39] about 4.9% mostly due to increased sales
taxes. Sales taxes went up about 7.9%.
[16:46] Occupancy was about the same with an
increase of only.1% and our land
[16:50] transfer tax increased about 1.4%.
[16:54] On the next page, we just another look
at those expenditures. This goes into a
[16:58] little bit more detail about that fire
station and lays out the expenses for
[17:02] the Ritzville Boulevard Street project.
Um, and then down at the bottom, you can
[17:06] see our capital outlay purchases for the
year, and that's mainly our machinery
[17:09] and equipment that was purchased.
[17:14] On the next page, we have our capital
projects for the year. We have a nice
[17:18] new walk over at the Haymon Street Beach
Access. About 69,000 of that came from
[17:22] grant funds with about 23,000 coming
from our capital reserve fund for a
[17:26] total project cost of about 92,000.
We had a new walkway or repairs on a
[17:32] walkway on Bay Drive for about 12,000.
The Writesville Boulevard project, we
[17:37] had paid about 4.2 million as of the end
of 2025
[17:41] and with about 4 million of that coming
in fiscal year 25. So that left about
[17:46] 160,000 to be paid in fiscal year 2026.
And then there was a new sound system
[17:50] installed over at Aviation Park to be
used at the events that are hosted over
[17:54] there.
On the next page, you can see our fund
[17:58] balance. Fund balance in total bumped up
to about 35.2 million. That's up from
[18:03] about 34.7 million in 2024. About
230,000 of that is in non-spendable
[18:09] form, which is inventory and prepaid
items. About 15.2 is restricted. 6.8
[18:15] million of that is restricted by state
statute. about 48,000 restricted for
[18:20] public safety, about 30 330,000 for
streets, and about 8.1 million is in our
[18:26] capital reserve fund, which I'll touch
on on the next page. We had no money
[18:30] committed at the end of fiscal year
2025. We had about 78,000 that was
[18:35] assigned and that was the amount of fund
balance appropriated in our fiscal year
[18:39] 2026 budget.
So that leaves about 19.7 in our
[18:43] unassigned fund balance. Our fund
balance policy requires that we keep 35%
[18:48] of the next year's expenditures in
unassigned fund balance. So that's about
[18:53] 9.75 million and that leaves about 9.9
million to meet the ongoing needs of the
[18:58] town.
[19:01] On the next page, we have our capital
reserve funds. And this just shows the
[19:05] breakdown of that 8.1 million and how
it's distributed among the five purposes
[19:09] we have capital reserve funds set up
for. We have about 5.7 million for beach
[19:13] nourishment, about 400,000 for shoreline
access, about 266,000 for our wreck
[19:19] facilities, about 284 for our sidewalks,
and about 1.4 million for streets.
[19:25] And that wraps up our general fund. So,
I'll just briefly touch on our business
[19:29] type activities, which is our water and
wastewater funds. Those are pretty
[19:33] steady revenues and expenses from year
to year. In the water fund, the total
[19:38] operating revenues were about 6.1
million. That was up about 5% from the
[19:42] prior year, mostly due to the 4%
increase that we had in our water rates.
[19:47] And then operating expenses totaled just
over 5 billion. That was an increase of
[19:52] about 9.5% from the prior year. And
that's mainly due to personnel
[19:56] inflation. And we did have some
increases in our maintenance and repair
[20:00] costs. Wastewater. Um the operating
revenues totaled about 203,000 which is
[20:07] almost exactly the same as it was the
prior year. and expenses did see a small
[20:11] bump of to about 181,000. That's mainly
due to some increases we had in our
[20:16] maintenance and repair costs.
So, that is all that I wanted to
[20:21] highlight, but I'm happy to answer any
questions that you guys may have.
[20:30] » Great job.
>> Okay, this is awesome.
[20:33] » I like this. Yeah,
>> I know.
[20:35] » Very user friendly. [clears throat]
>> It is. Yes.
[20:38] said our customer service representative
worked a long time on this.
[20:42] » This would be good to present the COA
classes on this
[20:45] » financial obligations the town has to
have, right?
[20:48] » Understanding what municipal government
actually does, how the money spent
[20:52] » is much easier for if I could understand
it, I think the COA students would be
[20:55] just fine. So, uh,
>> thank you.
[20:58] » It's like the USA Today version.
[laughter]
[21:01] » And my dog's in there, too. So,
>> we were wondering whose dog that was.
[21:05] [laughter]
>> Perfect.
[21:07] Big great Dane trip.
>> Perfect. All right. Thank you guys.
[21:11] » Thank you.
>> Thank you team.
[21:15] » Nice.
>> All right. Moving on. New business item
[21:20] number two proposed amendment to chapter
96 seaside regulations. Add regulations
[21:26] for beach equipment setup and regulation
for beach concier services.
[21:33] Meredith or Cam. I'm not sure who's
going to take the lead.
[21:37] I'll start and Cameron can jump in when
he needs to. Um,
[21:43] we've received from the board um several
times uh about beach setups and where
[21:50] they're set up and how they're set up
and when they're set up. Um, we've been
[21:54] working with the ocean rescue um
with what they're seeing in real time
[22:00] out there and we also researched our
neighbor municipalities. Duck and Nagad
[22:06] both have um ordinances that that
directly go to the the concier services.
[22:13] So, this uh change to our seaside
regulations would define BC concier
[22:18] services. um several other definitions
that go along with that along with um
[22:25] regulations for the concier services. Um
they will require to be permitted here
[22:30] in town. They'll have to have a shy bond
which is insurance. Um they'll have um
[22:36] specific areas that they can set up
which is 30 feet from our access points.
[22:41] Um, and when I say access points, we're
talking the physical access points, not
[22:48] the whole 50 or 100 foot wide right of
way that the access is on, but where the
[22:54] people come out and where the vehicles
come out, depending what we got
[22:58] [clears throat] going on there. U, we
are limiting it to no more than two
[23:02] canopies within 10 feet of each other.
So you don't have five or six stretched
[23:07] out um in in big swaths of the beach.
Canopies can't be greater than 12 by 12.
[23:14] Can't be set up before 6:00 a.m. must be
removed by 8.
[23:18] Um it has to be anchored to prevent it
flying away. Um if it's not in use,
[23:26] everything has to be located under the
canopy or umbrella. Um this was intended
[23:32] to prevent the early morning
canopy with the chairs that stretch out
[23:38] 10 or 12 feet on either side just to try
to secure some some space on the beach.
[23:44] Um, like I said, the concier services
will have to register with the town.
[23:49] They'll get a permit. The permit will be
$500. That's part of the fee schedule
[23:53] change that we're requesting. Um most of
the things I just said applied not only
[23:59] to the concier services but to um people
setting up personally. The no more than
[24:05] two uh more than 10 ft of uh
two 10 ft apart. Is that right? Yes. Um
[24:14] anchored um have to be removed at night.
Um all transactions for concier services
[24:20] have to happen off the beach. You cannot
do business on the beach. You can't just
[24:24] go set up an umbrella and chairs and
then sell it when someone shows up at
[24:28] the beach. Um we've had that happen a
lot in Kville Hills. Um it it was always
[24:35] illegal, but now it's written into the
ordinance. Um
[24:40] and there's violations. I think we give
um one of the things that Chris brought
[24:45] up was the violations for what you got?
>> Liability. I said they had to have
[24:51] liability insurance and they have to
have a shy bond for the um
[24:57] if there's violations they'll for being
registered or violations to the setups
[25:03] and takedowns they will be issued a
notice of violation and civil citation
[25:09] which is $50 a day and then $100 after
15 days. So So there are and then it's
[25:16] $500 after 30 days. So there are
remedies for people that are coming out
[25:23] that are not registered, that are not
setting up correctly and also it's two
[25:28] strikes and you lose your permit to have
a concier service on our beach. So not
[25:34] only will they monetarily they'll also
lose their permit if they're doing
[25:38] business without a permit. They're going
three times. um if they they working
[25:45] without a permit, they get an automatic
violation and that will be a civil
[25:49] citation. So, we will have some some
repercussions for the entrepreneur that
[25:55] didn't. We're also planning on trying to
do if the board adopts this uh education
[26:01] contacting the concier services that we
know about doing a video um and letting
[26:07] them know what the ordinances so that we
can get this information out before the
[26:11] season starts so that we can get people
registered and their permits issued so
[26:15] that we know who's going to be out
there. The lifeguards will know who's
[26:18] out there. Lifeguards are going to be
our monitors. planning department will
[26:23] be the ones that will issue any
violations, our code enforcement, but
[26:26] our lifeguards will be the monitors
letting us know what's happening on the
[26:31] beach so that we're not sending planning
department out there. Although I mean I
[26:35] I volunteer on really pretty days, but
um [clears throat] and that's that's
[26:42] essentially the removal of equipment
[clears throat] is not something new to
[26:46] the ordinance. It's it's been there. Um
it's always been there. It's been there
[26:50] for about six or seven years now. Our
lifeguards have a tag process where they
[26:56] tag equipment that they find in the
morning that's been there overnight
[27:00] giving a warning and if it's still there
the next morning it gets removed. If
[27:05] it's concierge service, what'll happen
is they'll report it to us. We'll call
[27:09] the concier service, let them know. And
if they say, "Well, we rented that to
[27:14] Miss Smith from our store." we're going
to say, "Well, you need to tell Miss
[27:17] Smith to pick it up or we're going to
take it tomorrow." So, there there
[27:21] that's always been a point of
communicating. Um, and the concier
[27:25] service will make it easier because
they'll be registered.
[27:28] So,
[27:31] that's really it. And other thing Chris
had talked about signage. Um, signage is
[27:36] something we we do want. Um, it's
helpful to identify whose it is, but how
[27:41] much we don't also want billboards on
the beach. So, we've got it specifically
[27:45] in there for how much signage is allowed
to be on the canopies and that does
[27:48] mirror the other m other municipalities
that do regulate it. So, hoping that if
[27:53] they're already following those
guidelines, we're not changing the way
[27:56] it's regulated. So,
>> and a lot of one of the complaints that
[27:59] we got regularly was that the setups
were being set up and no one was in
[28:04] them.
>> That's still going to happen. Um, but
[28:08] their setups will all be confined to
underneath
[28:12] » the canopies,
>> their canopy or umbrella now and so if
[28:17] they show up they can spread out
[clears throat] as they need to. But
[28:20] until then and um I think the lifeguard
services said that they would also make
[28:27] sure that it was confined and let us
know if people are violating it. So
[28:34] it'll give us a little bit more control
on our beaches. Yeah. So,
[28:43] » so can I ask uh does this is it proper
to ask right now?
[28:46] » Yes.
>> Uh can I ask uh does this um so this
[28:50] applies to anybody let's say you're
renting a home is applying to private
[28:55] people as well. I mean even though they
won't be have knowledge of this
[28:58] ordinance likely. I mean, obviously
you're charged with having knowledge of
[29:02] the laws where you travel, but um
>> so most of most of these regulations
[29:07] have been in place for years with both
individuals and the concier. We're just
[29:13] kind of separating out the concier
services and requiring a permit. The
[29:18] private residents, our lifeguards have
done an incredible job with public
[29:22] education in person.
>> Yeah.
[29:25] » Letting them know. We have the warning
tags so that they know that they can't
[29:28] leave their stuff out. Um,
>> yeah. Overnight,
[29:33] » the lifeguards, our supervisors have
spent a tremendous amount of time for
[29:40] public education,
>> right? Because I see the private person
[29:42] is not going to know that one rule about
leaving not putting their chairs outside
[29:47] of the tent. You know what I'm saying?
And that's not going to be very easy to
[29:50] » and and and the when in working on this
ordinance with with the lifeguard
[29:55] services, they're very willing to do
public education in person with people
[30:01] on the beach. That's
>> Does this actually is this um put more
[30:06] taxing on the lifeguards? I mean, take
away their their general duty to life be
[30:11] lifeguards or
>> it's something they're already doing. So
[30:13] in the ordinance you look in the seaside
regulations it already talks about beach
[30:17] equipment and where it can go but it's
pretty vague but it's been interpreted
[30:20] » for years you know if it's it's if it's
in the line of sight or if it's you know
[30:25] taking up where they where they drive
they're they work with the public every
[30:28] day already on the setup of beach
equipment. So it it gives them instead
[30:33] of this loose interpretation some real
>> teeth
[30:36] » rules no but also real rules that they
can show someone that hey these are the
[30:39] rules that are on the books this is what
we need you to do. Okay. But what I'm
[30:42] asking more is
>> I'm into oper I'm not an operator in
[30:45] beach lifeguard services but from
speaking with Dave it's their
[30:50] supervisors that are on four-wheelers
that do most of the public education not
[30:54] the person sitting on the stand watching
the water.
[30:56] » Okay.
>> The person on the stand watching the
[30:57] water that their primary responsibility
and that's all they're going to do is
[31:01] public safety for the ocean.
>> Right. So, I was just like thinking is
[31:06] that is it is the directive going to be
super enforcement or is it going to be
[31:13] like are you amping up are they going to
amp up their enforcement? I mean comes
[31:17] from the town manager or or it comes
from you know whoever's in charge of
[31:22] lifeguards the supervisor there. Is it
going to be like hey this is more of an
[31:27] active like now we have these rules are
we going to be more active? Do you do
[31:31] you anticipate that or
>> the the private rules for setup are not
[31:36] changing?
>> Right.
[31:37] » They're just being separated from the
concurge and now the concierge the
[31:41] business people that are making money
setting these things up. The businesses
[31:45] now have a permit process and they have
to have a shy bond and and insurance.
[31:50] » I'm just asking is that job do you view
that job is going to be more intense for
[31:54] that person now that lifeguard who who's
on the 4x4? that the education's going
[31:59] to be about the same as it was before.
It's it's actually going to take a
[32:03] little bit of pressure off of them
because if one of the businesses is not
[32:06] doing what they're supposed to, they're
going to be able to call us who are in
[32:09] the office
>> and we're then going to make contact
[32:12] with the concier's business that has a
permit. So, it's actually going to
[32:15] » it creates accountability.
>> It's going to take a little bit of
[32:17] pressure off of them if if there's um if
it is a marked business that's set up
[32:24] incorrectly, they're going to call us.
>> Okay. So,
[32:27] » and and a lot of these things are based
off of issues that they have been having
[32:30] on the beach every summer.
>> Yeah.
[32:32] » And so, a lot of these new regulations
just for everybody's beach equipment was
[32:37] based off of, you know, what what things
they struggle with dayto-day.
[32:44] » Do we have any an estimate on how many
chairs or umbrellas get tagged by
[32:53] lifeguards for being abandoned
overnight?
[32:55] » I don't have that information. Yes, sir.
>> I mean, not just to chief anything that
[32:59] you may know if the Dave It probably
doesn't get to you. I'd be better keep
[33:03] numbers on it.
>> I I don't know. I'd have to ask Elder
[33:06] Dave Elder. I have I don't know if they
keep a daily account numbers
[33:11] » for the season, for the week. I don't
know.
[33:14] » I'm just curious, kind of going to back
something Chris said, what percentage of
[33:19] things that may be left out overnight
belong to a a rental company versus
[33:24] privately owned? And is that a regular
thing?
[33:28] » From what I've heard, I believe the
majority of the ones that are more of a
[33:32] nuisance are as as Chris said earlier,
the fly by nighters,
[33:36] » the two kids from home for the summer.
We're going to run this business. Uh,
[33:40] you know, we went out, we didn't we only
got $60 on a tarp and made $300 on it
[33:44] today. We're not going to worry about
picking another hook. I don't know. I'm
[33:47] assuming that's what the majority of the
stuff is. I don't think the uh the
[33:52] vendors [clears throat]
the concier service most of them have
[33:55] got much you know the more reputable
bigger ones have got a lot more high
[33:59] quality stuff that they're not willing
to
[34:02] » just lose. The other thing that the
planning department has chased down
[34:05] through the lifeguard beach services is
the fly by nights that are actually at
[34:10] beach accesses that they've set up four
or five umbrellas and two chairs and
[34:14] they have someone sitting there and
said, "Well, you can rent that umbrella
[34:19] and chairs for me for 50 bucks for the
day." And it's not so much as a staying
[34:23] overnight, but they're actually
conducting they're they're taking up
[34:25] space and trying to sell it
>> in person. they're pedalling
[34:29] [clears throat]
>> um their umbrellas and chairs and that
[34:32] takes from the reputable businesses that
are getting permits and we can stop
[34:37] that. They're also one of the big
problems we've had in the past is
[34:44] storing their equipment at the base of a
beach access overnight because they
[34:49] don't want to really take it all the way
off because they're going to be back in
[34:52] the morning. So they'll tuck it to the
dudes and maybe put a tarp over it.
[34:58] Well, we don't want that. That's
dangerous.
[35:01] » Um, so this really puts a lot more
accountability into that that that can't
[35:07] be done and we can stop them from
working on our beach.
[35:11] » Yeah. and in talking with our public
services department too who ends up
[35:16] being responsible for picking up this as
solid waste is when we first started
[35:20] picking up overnight equipment. The
first summer was very busy.
[35:24] » But over time with education, most
people realized you can't leave it out
[35:28] there all night long or you can't leave
it at the toe of the dune. So even this
[35:32] summer there was numerous times we were
>> calling up companies who left beach
[35:37] equipment at beach accesses or at the
toe of the dune and let them know they
[35:40] couldn't do that. they need to come get
it and it wasn't thrown away. So,
[35:43] there's still a lot of education going
on, but over time we saw that
[35:47] » there ended up being an understanding of
what the rules are. So, it it will take
[35:50] time, but
>> and I just looked it up the over or
[35:53] Michael just let me know the overnight
equipment regulation has been in place
[35:57] since 2015. So, we've been doing that
for 10 years.
[36:01] » That's that's not new.
>> Yeah. the um civil penalties pursuant
[36:06] with section 10.99 of this of this code.
What's the dollar amount? Could you guys
[36:12] imagine if you do have a initial
violator or repeat violator to uh
[36:16] » it's a graduated scale?
>> Yeah,
[36:18] » it starts at $50.
[36:22] » Teeth there is that we can revoke the
permit.
[36:27] » That's just for one year.
>> Yeah. Yeah. So, will run from January 1
[36:31] to December 31st. We'll hope to get
everybody permitted and prepared before
[36:36] the season. And then that those three
violations will be, you know, for the
[36:41] really a summer season.
[36:46] » A a lot of people are already operating
thinking that we have these rules. Um
[36:50] I've spoken to several people like, "Oh,
I thought you already had the same rules
[36:54] as Duck or Nag's head." Um because they
wanted their equipment to be taken care
[36:58] of, too. They're pretty proud when they
put their logos on these things. Um, but
[37:02] there there have been others that have
not followed these rules.
[37:07] [clears throat]
>> Any more questions or comments?
[37:12] » Just when when everything's teared torn
down and and you said left a lot of
[37:17] times right at the base of someone's um
oceanfront stairs in the you know dunes
[37:24] or
>> that's private or concier.
[37:25] » You're okay as soon as you can. Are you
are do you want that in on their st wood
[37:31] stairs or do you want off the beach?
>> Oh, you want it west of the dune. Yes.
[37:35] So, okay.
>> A lot of that's been that way for
[37:37] » Yeah.
>> How many years?
[37:38] » A decade.
>> A decade.
[37:39] » Yeah. And I've Oh, at night overnight.
Really? Yeah. I've seen a lot of, you
[37:44] know, concier left on that side, too.
Just for ease of set up, you know, it
[37:48] makes sense.
>> We've had some We've had some some very
[37:52] specific issues in very specific areas
for years.
[37:54] » So, that's going to change there. It
it's been that way. No, I know. But
[37:58] » and we write them violations and call
them. It's every year.
[38:01] » Okay.
>> This that's
[38:03] » I'm just not aware of that. Okay. It's
not new. Thank you.
[38:06] » It's the easy place to to put it.
>> Yeah, I understand. It's not easy to
[38:09] carry it.
>> Makes sense.
[38:13] » Okay.
>> I think this is great. Thank you very
[38:16] much for this. It's very thorough and
it's very much needed.
[38:22] » All right. Um,
if unless anyone has any more comments
[38:26] or questions, I'll what would the board
like to do? We could I'll entertain a
[38:31] motion or I'll make a motion to adopt
the amendment to chapter 96, seaside
[38:37] regulations, add regulations for beach
equipment setup and regulations for
[38:41] beach concier services.
[38:45] » I'll second.
>> We have a motion, a second. Any further
[38:49] discussion?
>> Mayor. Yes. Um,
[38:55] would you include in your motion,
please, um, to amend the town's um,
[38:59] consolidated fee schedule to include the
beach concier service permit for $500?
[39:05] » Yes.
>> Thank you. And would you amend your
[39:07] second?
>> I would amend my second.
[39:09] » Thank you.
>> All right. Um,
[39:13] we have an amended motion and second.
Any more discussion or comment? All in
[39:20] favor, please indicate by saying I.
>> I.
[39:23] » I.
>> I.
[39:24] » All righty.
>> Thank you.
[39:27] » Let's move on to new business item
number three, proposed amendment chapter
[39:34] 71, traffic regulations pro prohibition
of vehicular travel in flooded areas.
[39:43] Um,
>> yes, sir.
[39:44] » Debbie, I'll turn it over to you.
>> Thank you. Um, this ordinance is I won't
[39:50] tell you what I was calling it, but
anyway, it's where you've got heavy
[39:53] storm events and people are driving
through the flooded waters and it makes
[40:00] the way to go up into private property.
um just creating various misunders.
[40:08] Um the police department has highlighted
its mission to promote public
[40:13] [clears throat] safety and prevent
damage in flooded areas and proposed
[40:17] this amendments to chapter 71 traffic
regulations. If it's adopted, it would
[40:22] make it unlawful for motorists to
operate a vehicle in flooded water,
[40:26] displacing water and/or creating a wave
that would adversely affect
[40:34] and staff would recommend adoption of
the ordinances presented.
[40:42] » Okay. Got a few questions.
>> Okay.
[40:45] » Um 2 in of water as the threshold. Um
does this ordinance only apply to Kill
[40:52] Devil Hills roads or does commercial
property or private property encompassed
[40:57] in it as well?
This this would be the um the town's
[41:02] road.
>> Just the road. So,
[41:05] anything in a commercial businesses
>> Yes.
[41:08] » If a commercial business's parking lot's
flooded and someone drives through that,
[41:14] this ordinance does not include that.
>> Jurisdiction. Okay.
[41:21] » That was my initial question. Where did
um
[41:26] again the genesis of this where did two
inches of water as a threshold come from
[41:32] as uh
as a depth I guess for uh for this we
[41:38] picked like was there is there any any
>> I did
[41:42] » okay where did we is there any other two
inches yeah like what's
[41:46] » what's the background for that any other
towns do this
[41:48] » two inches that cover the the roadways
which if the way that our roads are
[41:53] built, they crown and go to the sides,
which means the edges will be
[41:57] dramatically more than two inches.
>> Yes.
[42:00] » Where people
[42:04] » the two in is a is a basic flood number.
And if that is moved and you're going
[42:12] into something that's six or eight
inches on the side of the roads, you're
[42:16] creating a lot of water movement.
So it has to be 2 in across the paved
[42:22] surface of the road, not on the sides.
If there's two inches on the the side of
[42:26] the road,
>> people are not water. It's just for the
[42:30] actual road surface of the road because
that means the flooding on the sides of
[42:35] the roads because of the way we design
our streets is dramatically deeper and
[42:40] it will go towards private properties.
It also creates the spray that hits
[42:47] people's windshields and blinds them
when they're moving.
[42:51] » So that's that's where it came from.
>> But two inches at the crest of the road
[42:57] in the center of this highest point
>> the pave portion
[42:59] » obviously it'll be much deeper on the
side. Okay.
[43:03] » Is this from this for marked areas
though? Not like they're sign this is
[43:08] for marked areas. You're not you're not
as a motorist have to decide whether
[43:11] there's two inches on the road or not.
or this is this applies to every every
[43:16] area.
>> Every area, especially right after you
[43:18] have a storm, you don't have a time to
put out signs let know that there
[43:22] there's water on the road and people
it's obvious you're not supposed to
[43:26] drive through high water anyway. Yeah.
But some of these people would take
[43:29] NC12. We've had some places that drive
up there in ladies house and water to go
[43:33] in. They're still drive 35 miles an hour
through there throwing weights up higher
[43:37] than vehicles.
>> Oh yeah. I mean, common sense
[43:39] [clears throat]
>> should prevail, but it's not like I
[43:42] mean, I've been on I've been driving out
of Hatters where every single car is
[43:45] ruining itself going through, you know,
six
[43:48] » correct
>> to 12 inches of water and that's
[43:52] basically the only way to come and go.
So,
[43:55] » but they're not doing it reckless in a
manner to that would cause it. They're
[43:58] trying to drive slow enough that they
can get through it, not throwing water
[44:01] up on the other vehicles they're
meeting, hitting their windshield, and
[44:04] that might cause them to uh
>> I mean, but it's not like if you have to
[44:07] get to your place or you have to get out
of your place. I mean, you're going to
[44:09] have to go through it. That's
>> Oh, no. If you have to go through it and
[44:11] you're not sitting there driving
reckless, you should be able to go
[44:14] through it. You drive like like you
said, have some comments.
[44:17] » Oh, this talks about reckless.
>> That was my that was my concern as well.
[44:21] Like is is this a blanket ban on
>> No, this is it's like for the like in
[44:27] the first sentence where it talks about
the secret individuals.
[44:33] » Oh, yeah. Yeah. I'm sorry.
>> purposely doing this,
[44:36] » right? Yeah. Yeah. It's not the person
that's trying to get to their house,
[44:40] driving slow, and paying attention to
what they're doing.
[44:42] » So, you're looking for intent. That's
correct.
[44:45] » Of the driver.
>> Yes.
[44:46] » Yeah. It's in It's in that sentence. It
>> No, I understand. Yeah. But how do you
[44:50] how do you how do you regulate intent of
how do you determine intent? The
[44:54] officers are going to determine intent.
>> The officers will. Yes, sir.
[44:59] » Okay. How?
>> No different than reckless driving,
[45:02] » right?
>> Well, I know reckless driving water. As
[45:06] you know, as a criminal attorney,
reckless driving is sort of a very broad
[45:11] and and intent can I'm just wondering
what it is that's gonna because I just
[45:16] see like a lot of problems with this
being so broad. You know what I'm
[45:20] saying? Like I mean, yes, we we all
think we know what's intentional and
[45:24] what's not and obviously an officer is
more trained than that at that than
[45:28] others, but I just don't like adding,
you know, something that's, you know,
[45:34] Yeah. I mean, it's I mean, it should be
reckless. Isn't it covered by reckless
[45:38] driving, first of all?
>> Not necessarily.
[45:40] » Wouldn't you wouldn't you say?
>> Not necessarily.
[45:42] » I'm not a criminal lawyer, so I'm going
to defer. [laughter]
[45:45] But I could I could see why not. You
know, reckless driving, you're thinking
[45:50] of crossing left or center, driving at a
high rate of speed in a school zone,
[45:55] things of that nature. Here, I mean, I
guess it maybe falls, but not
[45:59] necessarily. Right. I was going to say
>> it basically just helps our police
[46:03] department be able to deal with these
situations, especially after a storm and
[46:08] like said, you don't have time to put up
signs. Um you may have time an
[46:13] opportunity to put cones out.
>> Yeah.
[46:15] » But they witness people moving the cones
to go around.
[46:19] » Yeah.
>> And this is a civil citation also.
[46:22] » Oh, okay.
>> Right. Right. That's the I was going to
[46:24] add that. Yes. That's right, Chief.
>> Yeah. Yeah. No, I mean I you know
[46:28] » and officer is going to use this
discretion at it anyway. If it's
[46:31] intentional, they'll be able to tell.
But
[46:33] » you you've seen trucks with big tires.
They'll be running throwing rooster
[46:38] tails for bad
>> have a good old time just to just to
[46:41] cause some trouble. I get it. Yeah.
>> Thrill seeking.
[46:43] » Yes.
>> No. Nobody needs a wake in their living
[46:46] room. I get I I get it all. I just It's
just like it seems a little broad to me,
[46:51] but uh and I don't like broad. But
anyway, it's okay. It's an ordinance.
[46:58] It's not a statute, but it's just kind
of broad. But
[47:05] questions or comments? Anything else? I
mean, I
[47:11] I kind of have a funny feeling, too. I I
completely could support the thought.
[47:16] » I wish the language was a little more
detailed of maybe the road being
[47:19] completely covered in water and then
I just wish it the little more specific.
[47:26] I just can't but I I completely support
the
[47:29] » the idea.
>> What would you add in the specifics?
[47:33] » The road completely submerged in water
and uh as we described where the crest
[47:39] of the road is two inches or below
underwater. Like if there's puddles on
[47:45] the side where the motors get to safely
navigate through the middle, they may
[47:49] think, well, there's two inches on. They
just their tire touches that puddle,
[47:53] they may be in violation of this.
>> If they navigate safely through the two
[47:58] inches of water,
>> they're not in violation.
[48:02] » And that was my question because I
interpreted this as like there's flood
[48:06] waters, you can't drive. So with this
understanding of the intent and that's
[48:12] what I think we were getting at maybe we
should clear this up a little bit.
[48:14] » Yes.
>> With the understanding of the intent of
[48:16] the ordinance which I get the intent.
Common sense says do not do this but we
[48:21] don't live in that world. So if we can
clarify that intent of
[48:28] yes calming people down perhaps a little
bit and that you are allowed to drive
[48:32] down your road if it is flooded as long
as you do so in a reasonable manner. I
[48:36] think that I can get that and I do I do
understand the first sentence. It's very
[48:40] exciting way to start it. It just kind
of threw me um regarding the intent.
[48:46] » I think you have to define something
else like
[48:49] » but it says water to be displaced and or
create a wake of water. So
[48:53] » So the interpretation is if you do not
create the wake then you are fine.
[48:58] » You're not displacing it or creating a
wake then you're not in violation.
[49:01] » I don't think it's as clear as you think
it is. I think it's really not that
[49:04] clear. Okay.
>> I mean when you say I mean we have to
[49:07] define like we define in other things
you know what the travel surface is what
[49:13] the there's nothing about crescent of
the road. So we like we'd have to define
[49:17] a couple other things in there but I
don't think it's as clear as as you
[49:21] » see then I think you're getting too
specific like all you people
[49:24] » specific is good with law specific is
good. I don't think people
[49:28] » broad is bad
>> and it's broad and it's very broad but
[49:32] but you know you're just as specific
when in in the drafting of the of the
[49:36] last ordinance and defining certain
things I think you have to define
[49:41] um travel surface define you know
roadway define a couple things I think
[49:46] would make a lot more sense don't you
>> agree
[49:49] » I think like the sentence it should it
shall be unlawful to drive slash operate
[49:54] a motor vehicle maybe that recklessly
drive or ne or dangerously drive.
[50:01] » That's what I'm getting at.
>> Specific the type of driving is what
[50:05] we're trying to prohibit. Not safely
going through two of
[50:09] » I think that's also a good point. That's
a there's a second thing that it's a
[50:13] good point.
>> That's my only concern. That's my only
[50:17] concern. Do you want to
try to amend this here and now or do you
[50:23] want to try to table this and
>> I think there is consensus that we all
[50:26] support the the notion and I think it's
a good idea maybe we table this and give
[50:32] staff time to
[clears throat]
[50:35] refine it add a few more details based
on this discussion to bring it back to
[50:41] our next meeting
>> be glad to help yeah town attorney maybe
[50:45] able to help too
>> we craft it get it up.
[50:48] » Yeah, it's just it's just a little
broad.
[50:51] » All right. Do we need a motion or cons?
Okay.
[50:55] » All right.
Moving on to new business.
[51:02] Item number four, process and timeline
to fill vacant position on the board of
[51:06] commissioners.
Town manager.
[51:09] » Yes, sir. Um staff has recently
conferred with representatives for
[51:14] years. um UN School of Government for
guidance in this process um on filling
[51:20] the vacancy to cause the death city
commissioner Terry Gray. Um we're
[51:25] recommending the following.
Um
[51:29] Monday, February the 2nd would be the
deadline for applications to be
[51:33] submitted. Um applications may be
submitted online through the town's
[51:37] website and a resume may also be um
submitted with the complete application.
[51:42] Um, February the 9th, the town clerk
will forward all eligible applications
[51:47] to the board. February 9th through March
9th, the board members will review the
[51:51] application and may individually contact
applicants to obtain additional
[51:56] information or clarification on any of
the information submitted. March 9th,
[52:01] which would be um the first meeting in
March. During the board commissioners
[52:05] meeting, members will use the nomination
and ballot method to fill the vacant
[52:09] seat from the eligible candidates
submitted applications.
[52:13] Um if an applicant is selected at that
meeting, then on the 25th of March, the
[52:18] office would be administered to the um
to the commissioner. And just for
[52:24] clarification purposes, when filled, the
term of this appointment um made by the
[52:29] board will be through December 2027,
which is when Commissioner Grace term
[52:36] would have um ended. The remaining two
years, I'm sorry, it um would not have
[52:42] ended. The remaining two years of the
term would then be decided by the voters
[52:47] in November 27 municipal election and
the certified winner of that election
[52:52] would serve in December 29th which is
when the term [clears throat] was
[52:57] bra term would have ended.
>> So we were our
[53:01] » it keeps your it keeps your terms the
same. It keeps your board staggered.
[53:06] » Yes. But it allows the citizens to fill
the seat for the remaining two years and
[53:12] obviously um they could elect one that
you appoint.
[53:18] » All right. Thank you very much.
>> Yeah. Thank you.
[53:21] » Um any comment or feedback on this
proposal?
[53:27] » I move to approve the recommended
process and timeline.
[53:31] » I will second.
>> We have a motion and a second. Any more
[53:34] discussion?
hearing none. All in favor, please
[53:38] indicate by saying I.
>> I.
[53:39] » I.
[53:43] » All right. [clears throat]
New business. New business. Item number
[53:48] five, appointments and nominations. We
have three different sections here. U we
[53:54] think we should just go maybe one at a
time. Uh we'll start out with our
[53:58] planning board. We currently have uh two
vacancies. Uh first uh our longtime
[54:03] chairman Howard Buchanan has recently
moved outside of our town limits which
[54:08] has opened a vacancy on that spot. And
we also have Becky Brieholtz. Her term
[54:13] is is expiring and uh she has expressed
interest in being reappointed to her
[54:20] seat. Um
I will jump in here and
[54:26] we had ch I had a chance to really look
at the four applications. I think
[54:29] everybody else added did as well. Uh I I
first would like to nominate Becky Brie
[54:36] Holtz to be reappointed to the seat. She
has that br awful lot of of experience
[54:41] to the planning board and has been a
real asset as well. And um for the open
[54:48] seat, I I like Shannon MacArthur. I
thought her application was good. Um, I
[54:53] thought she has some real I I read
genuine desire to serve and then a good
[54:58] background. Uh, I'll open it up to you
rest of you all for discussion as well.
[55:04] » I agree as well. Having reviewed the
applications, her answers were more than
[55:09] thorough.
>> Yeah.
[55:10] » So,
>> I agree.
[55:12] » I uh I had talked to you guys. I do like
Jason Self. I know he has served the
[55:18] town. Um I feel like he's um
[55:25] uh you know he's a longterm time member
of the town and and resident of the
[55:30] town. But um I do agree that that was
that was that application was filled
[55:37] out, you know, clear and complete and uh
will uh agree with that.
[55:43] » All right. So my uh my motion is to
reappoint Becky Brie Haltz to the seat
[55:50] she currently occupies and then nominate
appoint Shannon MacArthur to the open
[55:56] seat on the planning board.
>> I'll second that.
[55:58] » Uh motion second. Any more discussion?
Hearing none. All in favor please
[56:02] indicate by saying I. I.
>> I. All right. Thank you. And board's
[56:08] restocked. All right. [laughter]
Um,
[56:13] our next two items of this is the
government education access channels and
[56:18] dear county tourism board were uh seats
that Terry had uh was serving in during
[56:24] his time on the board. I know Ivy, I'll
turn over to you if you'd like to speak
[56:29] or I can go ahead.
>> Sure.
[56:31] » All right.
Um we had discussed um
[56:37] the government access channel
appointment and the tourism board
[56:43] appointment um potentially holding off
on those if that's if that's an option
[56:49] until the seat is filled so that we can
um properly
[56:56] » um spread out the duties. Is that is
that something
[57:02] » that's possible?
>> It's certainly your option. Um,
[57:04] specifically with the government access
channel, um, I think that would work
[57:10] work very well. As you recall with the
with the visitors bureau and bureau, um,
[57:16] you make nominations through and we send
those to their county um, in the order
[57:23] of your preference.
So unless you're thinking that the
[57:29] appointed position is the one that you
want on the visitors bureau, then I
[57:34] would recommend you not wait
because you go that much longer without
[57:38] a representative on that board.
>> Okay?
[57:42] » So if that but that if that's your
intent is that that the appointed
[57:47] commissioner will be your choice for the
visitors bureau then wait. Well, we we
[57:54] got a lot to work out. Yeah, maybe. It's
a maybe at this point because we we have
[58:00] to see who applies,
>> what their availability and preferences
[58:04] are.
>> I'm just I just want to point out that
[58:08] » that's a pretty big time to be without a
representative on that.
[58:14] » True.
>> Because it has once you do that, then it
[58:17] goes
>> it's another it's another month or six
[58:19] weeks. Yeah.
>> True. to make the appointment and
[58:22] typically they will appoint the one that
you list as your main option your
[58:28] preference
>> right
[58:30] » I I agree with Commissioner Ingram
sentiment I think that I kind of would
[58:35] like to get all our seats full again and
get a chance to really kind of talk
[58:40] through
>> sure
[58:41] » we all have careers with families it's
big time commitment and you know let's
[58:45] see where people like what they where
they want to serve where they can serve
[58:50] um work these things out.
>> That was important [clears throat]
[58:53] » to point out,
>> right? Yeah, absolutely.
[58:56] » Um any more thoughts on those two
appointments?
[59:03] Should we need to make a motion to uh
table consensus? Okay.
[59:07] » No, we're just um it'll come back if you
do um select someone and they are sworn
[59:13] in at the
>> March
[59:14] » last March meeting, we'll have on the
March agenda if that's okay. or if you'd
[59:18] rather let April whichever.
>> Well, April. April's how I feel. How do
[59:23] you all What do you all think? Because
it may be too
[59:27] » How about this? Let's put it on March.
>> Yeah, March given, you know,
[59:32] » I mean, the person would have already
been
[59:34] » selected. We'd have a couple weeks. So,
yeah, let's
[59:36] » let's do that. March.
[59:40] » Thank you.
>> All right.
[59:44] Next item on the agenda is committee
reports. Nothing for me.
[59:49] » Nothing.
[clears throat]
[59:51] » Nothing.
>> Uh, well, I got one quick thing to
[59:53] share. On December 16th last year, I
attended the DARE housing foundation
[1:00:00] meeting. Uh, it's been really nice to
see the task force become the foundation
[1:00:05] and and move forward in addressing a
very complex issue. Um, we adopted a
[1:00:12] meeting calendar for the rest of the
year. We have found an office, a home
[1:00:15] and office space in Southern Shores for
the time going forward. And uh we've
[1:00:21] established committee work to kind of
look at marketing, look at potential
[1:00:24] sites, really move this uh nonprofit uh
forward and addressing the issue. Um
[1:00:33] it just so happens our chairs in this
audience today, too. So great time to
[1:00:38] talk about [clears throat] the the
housing foundation. I I found that when
[1:00:41] people do ask me questions, I I can
always refer back to the the task
[1:00:44] force's report as we ended the task
force and confer and turned into uh the
[1:00:51] foundation. It's a nice way to kind of
have a understanding of what work we're
[1:00:56] doing. Uh that seems to come up a lot in
casual conversation on social media in
[1:01:01] the media. Uh this is a nice resource to
kind of know, you know, what we're
[1:01:05] working on and what our goals are and
what's happening.
[1:01:09] So, um that's all I have for committee
reports. Commissioner's agenda.
[1:01:15] Nothing for me, sir.
>> No agenda here.
[1:01:18] » I wanted to um bring up something. Um I
did the laptop receiving from Caleb
[1:01:27] today. And so, I wanted to bring up
something that we've talked about before
[1:01:32] um and it wasn't super popular, but I'm
going to bring it up again because it's
[1:01:35] 2026. And um I'm going to ask that we
consider ditching the paper um since we
[1:01:43] have nice beautiful laptops now and it's
a huge waste of resources. Um I I think
[1:01:51] I like I personally like having an
agenda here in front of me too. of maybe
[1:01:56] we print one agenda per spot, but this
is it's a lot of unnecessary paper and
[1:02:04] I'd like us to really consider that
paper waste and the resources that the
[1:02:09] town is using. So,
just throwing it out there.
[1:02:15] » I know I'm so I'm so old school. I
probably was the one that was against it
[1:02:18] last time. I just I [laughter]
like I do like the paper. I do like the
[1:02:23] paper, but that's just
>> is it possible for some of us to have
[1:02:26] paper and some of us, right?
>> Okay.
[1:02:29] » And
you know, certainly I think you want to
[1:02:32] take a little time to get used to your
>> For sure. Yeah. Yeah. Just something for
[1:02:37] us to consider in the next couple
months.
[1:02:38] » Consider and we could kind of ease into
it.
[1:02:41] » Maybe by Earth Day.
>> I like I like April 25th.
[1:02:45] » I like the idea of it being a choice for
different board members if they want to
[1:02:49] try it. I'm
now that we have a I never the old iPad
[1:02:54] I never
>> No,
[1:02:55] » that didn't work. But
>> a laptop's a whole different story,
[1:02:58] » right?
>> I'm uh
[1:03:00] » openminded to give it a shot.
>> Let's just
[1:03:03] » ask Caleb how the paper he has
calculated how far the paper goes around
[1:03:08] town. Ask him and then
>> when you get you when you get your
[1:03:12] laptop, ask him about his paper
calculations [laughter]
[1:03:16] » and it might change your mind
>> right.
[1:03:21] » I'm I'm [laughter] willing to try it.
>> I'm willing to give it a shot. I I I am
[1:03:25] very much like Commissioner Makavoy. I
enjoy I write notes all over my
[1:03:30] [laughter]
>> No, I I I mean dinosaurs.
[1:03:33] Yeah, I I really
have to um modernize here, but I'm I'm
[1:03:39] completely open-minded to adopt
Commissioner Ingram's recommendation. We
[1:03:44] made an investment in computer. Let's
see if we can
[1:03:47] » live without this, but um good call out.
[laughter]
[1:03:53] » Yes, I think that's the preference is is
fine.
[1:03:57] » Uh anything else under commissioner's
agenda? Hearing
[1:04:04] none, I under mayor's agenda, I have a
few things. Um, holiday drives. I want
[1:04:10] to take a moment to share with the board
and everyone how successful uh the
[1:04:14] town's 2025 holiday drives were. Thanks
to generous donations by our community,
[1:04:20] we
there were numerous toys donated for
[1:04:23] Toys for Tots and over 400 pounds of
food for the Beach Food Pantry. I
[1:04:28] promise you, they need it. Um early
voting uh that just just like we just
[1:04:33] got out of one just got done with that
and we're talking about it again. Uh the
[1:04:38] town has again volunteered the town hall
meeting room to serve as a site for
[1:04:42] early voting for all voters of Dair
County for the upcoming March 3rd
[1:04:46] primary election. Early voting will
begin on Thursday, February 12th. Um,
[1:04:53] it'll run from the 12th through the
27th, weekdays from 8:00 am to 7:30 p.m.
[1:04:58] on February 29th. Uh, that's the only
Saturday for early voting from 8:00 a.m.
[1:05:02] to 3:00 p.m. And election day is March
3rd. Polls open at 6:30 in the morning,
[1:05:09] close at 7:30 at night. And to remind
everyone, the town is not involved in
[1:05:13] the voting process. If anyone has
questions about voting, registration,
[1:05:17] etc., Please contact the Dare County
Elections Office.
[1:05:24] All right, and that's all I have for
mayor's agenda. Um, town manager's
[1:05:28] agenda,
>> nothing this evening. Thank you.
[1:05:31] » Town attorney,
>> nothing for me. All right, we can move
[1:05:34] on to the consent agenda.
[1:05:39] » Yes, sir. Thank you. Um the minutes from
the December 8th, 2025 meeting, the
[1:05:44] November 2025 monthly report, the annual
certification of firefighters, um
[1:05:49] approval of the consent agenda will
record the board certification of the
[1:05:53] fire department's roster.
>> Um earlier this evening when Emily was
[1:05:58] giving her report on the audit, she
referenced this um response to the local
[1:06:02] government commission. We've talked
about this before. Um, and simply the
[1:06:07] the letter has been written and if
Michael has not gotten you um if you
[1:06:11] would before you leave this evening,
please sign that. Um, approval of the
[1:06:16] consent agenda will record the board's
approval of the response to the LGC and
[1:06:20] authorize its execution and submission.
Number five is a proclamation um for a
[1:06:27] reimbursement resolution for fiscal year
2526 declaring the intent to reimburse
[1:06:32] the cost of certain expenditures.
Approval of the consent agenda will
[1:06:35] approve the reimbursement resolution for
the fiscal year declaring the intent to
[1:06:40] reimburse the cost of certain
expenditures and allow the town to
[1:06:43] reimburse itself for cost incurred for
the purchases of the above items with
[1:06:49] loan proceeds. and staff recommends
approval of the consent agenda as
[1:06:53] presented and a motion would be in
order.
[1:06:56] » I'll make a motion to approve the
consent agenda.
[1:06:59] » Second.
>> Have a motion, a second. Any discussion?
[1:07:03] [laughter]
Hearing none. All in favor, please
[1:07:05] indicate by saying I.
>> I. I.
[1:07:07] » All right. So now,
>> thank you very much.
[1:07:10] » Thank you. Um, now is our time.
Second opportunity for public comments.
[1:07:18] Duke, you're the only public person we
have in the in the in the room right
[1:07:22] now. Anybody would like to speak. U
you're welcome to do so.
[1:07:28] Seeing no takers, we'll close the second
public comment period.
[1:07:32] » Move to adjourn.
>> Second.
[1:07:36] » Uh all in favor, please indicate by
saying I.
[1:07:38] » I I
thank you all.
[1:07:42] » Good job.
[cough and clears throat]
[1:07:45] » This is the angel. that actually.