[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.

January 12, 2026, Town of Kill Devil Hills Board of Commissioners Meeting

Transcript