Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

At the beginning of the March 2 meeting of the Dare County Board of Commissioners, Chairman Robert L. Woodard raised the subject of revaluation.

“We have not addressed our budget yet,” said Woodard in opening remarks.

He called on Robert L. Outten, county manager and attorney.

North Carolina laws dictate that every county must complete a revaluation at least every eight years. Dare’s commissioners elected to accomplish that task in the seventh year.

The Tax Appraisal Office of the Dare government worked for two years on the revaluations that were mailed to each real property owner in Dare County on Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2020.

The purpose of revaluation is to “bring all properties up to what market value is,” said Outten.

An appeals process is in place. The informal appeals deadline is March 17.

So far, 506 informal appeals, a little more than 1%, have been received by the Tax Appraisal Office. Appeals are lodged about the market value assigned by the Appraisal Office.

To assist with appeals, on the county’s revaluation page at darenc.com are links to “Improved Property Comparable Sales Search” and a companion link for vacant properties.

Dare’s commissioners begin consideration of budget and other issues at a scheduled March 13 retreat date. The special meeting will start at 8 a.m. at the Outer Banks Visitors Bureau on Roanoke Island.

Staffers key to retreat discussions will be Outten and David Clawson, finance director. At the March 2 meeting, Clawson received his 30-year pin with much praise from Outten and two commissioners. Clawson, in turn, praised the finance department staff as the best he’s ever had.

Lorelei Costa, executive director of the Outer Banks Community Foundation, briefed the commissioners on the organization’s activities.

The foundation serves as the non-profit recipient of donations for Outer Banks disaster relief. In the first five days after Dorian, $500,000 was contributed. A total of $1.5 million has been donated to fixing and elevating homes.

She reminded the commissioners that applications for scholarships managed by the foundation are now open. The foundation will give $175,000 in scholarships to graduating seniors.
A Vision 2020 grant is the newest investment in the Outer Banks community. A donor has provided $105,000 for addressing a community need or opportunity. The grant will go to one or two non-profit organizations. Applications will be available online March 23 with a June 26 deadline for submission.

The foundation now manages 190 funds with total assets of $20 million. All funds are for charitable purposes and all are for Outer Banks communities.

Michael Tillett appeared before the board and provided an update on the 2020 OBX Rod & Custom Festival which will take place at the Soundside Event Site in Nags Head. The festival is scheduled for May 1-2, 2020. Some 415 entries are pre-registered for the event, including cars from Canada, Finland, California and Texas. Last year, which was the event’s first year, had 80 entries.

“Social media is good,” said Tillett, explaining the growth in the festival numbers. The cut-off is 500 vehicles. Beneficiaries are Children and Youth Partnership of Dare County and Dare County Toy Run. For the festival, cruise-ins are set for stops from Kitty Hawk to Manteo.

About the Soundside Event Site, the Dare County Tourism Board asked consent to spend up to $60,000 for demolishing the South Beach Grille, located at 6806 S. Virginia Dare Trail, Nags Head. The board unanimously consented. The parcel will be used for parking for the Event Site.

The board adopted a proclamation designating the month of April as “North Carolina 811 Safe Digging Month.”

The documents states “in 2019, the North Carolina one-call system received 2.2 million notification requests and transmitted over 12.2 million requests, providing protection to utility companies infrastructure, their employees, excavators and customers . . .”

The proclamation encourages all excavators and homeowners of Dare County to contact 8-1-1, at least three working days prior to digging.

READ ABOUT MORE NEWS AND EVENTS HERE.

RELATED:

Value of Dare’s property tax base increases by 26 percent overall

RECENT HEADLINES:

Vidant Health announces budget shortfall, workforce reduction

Lengthy Duck Town Council meeting includes three public hearings