Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Highlights from the January 8 Duck Town Council regular session meeting included town employee recognition, an update for town standards, and a recommendation remove a house on town property.

Mayor Don Kingston opened the special presentation portion of last Wednesday’s meeting with a five year service award for fire engineer Matthew Munden.

Town manager Drew Havens then introduced Lauren Creech as the new finance administrator, filling a position that has been vacant for several months. During the introduction Havens advised that Creech has already started work and comes to Duck with a BS degree in marketing and 15 years of private sector accounting experience.

Next up, acting Fire Chief Matthew Dudek provided an introduction of new firefighter Matthew Quinn, who has served as a lifeguard and has five years of firefighter experience in Georgia.

While not actually new employees, Xavier Berry and Micheal Ohse were given their oath of office as the Duck Police Department’s newest officers. According to Police Chief Jeff Ackerman, both were hired as trainees and, although previously introduced as recruits, they are now being sworn in after recently completing their basic law enforcement training. Ackerman then added that both have been well received in the community.

Among the action items for council was a vote to declare a house on town property as surplus, offer it for auction and have other structures removed.

Havens explained that three parcels of land known as the Herron Property at 101 and 103 Scarborough Lane and 1165 Duck Road were acquired in December with house, sheds and a gazebo. While it is one of the older buildings in Duck, and not beyond salvage condition, the house does need substantial work. Haves said the town has no need for the structures and the gazebo is in poor repair and recommended the house be auctioned off and removed, and the property be cleared and restored as vacant land.

During discussion it was mentioned that if the house does not sell, the wood from the house could be sold and/or used for art projects.

A vote to auction off the house and have the other structures on the property removed passed on a 4-0 vote with Sandy Whitman absent and not voting. Additional discussion on the property will take place during council’s February retreat.

After holding a quasi-judicial public hearing, council gave unanimous approval for a residential addition to exceed the maximum building height.

According to community development director Joe Heard, the house at 113 Royal Tern Lane was initially built in 1985 under the existing interpretation for Dare County that referenced an average building height. A new addition permitted in 2022 and completed in 2024 was found to have a nonconforming height of 36.2 feet.

Ken Green, the builder, explained that the addition was built to match the existing roof line because a lower roof line would be more obvious and look like an addition. It wasn’t until later that it was discovered that the roof is 1.2 feet above the 35 foot maximum height limitation. The height of the existing residence was assumed to be conforming but was unknown until completion of the addition.

Green went on to say the experience has now led him to take height measurements before starting any new projects to ensure compliance with the height cap.

Also approved was an ordinance update to clarify town lot coverage standards for pervious material use on single-family residential properties consistent with recently adopted State legislation.

Although Mayor Pro Tempore Monica Thibodeau initially felt the requirements are a bit too complicated and could actually deter people from using them unless they really need the credit, she did vote in favor of the changes with exemptions for artificial turf and water in swimming pools, a 100 percent lot coverage credit for pervious parking surfaces, a 40 percent credit for other types of semi-pervious parking surfaces and pervious surfaces used elsewhere on a property. Along with the standards for appropriate surface materials is a requirement for certification by NC licensed engineer and record of long term maintenance by the owner.

Another public hearing led to two outdoor lighting ordinance changes with section 156.116(c) now requiring all lighting conform to all applicable outdoor lighting standards found elsewhere in the Town Code and replacing Planning Board with Town Council in 156.155(B)(1).

After public comments both for and against amending sections of town code to allow amusement arcades as a specially permitted use in the village commercial zoning district, council voted to hold a public hearing on the issue at the February 5 meeting.

According to town documents, the request is to amend several sections of the Duck Town Code to allow the addition of amusement arcades as a permitted use in the Village Commercial (V-C) zoning districts so that an amusement arcade could be established within one unit of the Duck Commons shopping center at 1211 Duck Road. The intent is to offer classic 1980s to 2000s arcade games for a nostalgic throw-back environment aimed at gamers of all ages 14 years and up. The space will offer walk-in visitors daily as well as off-season private event rentals as a way to supplement operation expenses.

A similar request for indoor amusement arcade entertainment was proposed and then withdrawn in 2021.

Other business for the evening included selecting a top 10 list from 16 recommended North Carolina League of Municipalities goals for the 2025-2026 biennium. Included on the list in no specific order are:
– Expand funding opportunities for disaster resiliency and recovery efforts.
– Establish long-term funding streams that adequately address water, sewer, stormwater, transportation and other infrastructure needs.
– Create incentives to encourage the development of diverse housing options.
– Create incentives that encourage and adequately fund regionalized water and sewer solutions.
– Reduce regulatory conflicts between state agencies that discourage voluntary consolidation, merger and interconnection of municipal utility systems.
– Provide local revenue options beyond the property tax.
– Support technical assistance programs to assist municipalities with securing or maintaining grants or other necessary municipal resources.
–  Address the needs of a changing municipal workforce through state assistance that supports employee retention, including training and recruitment.
– Update the annexation petition thresholds to make voluntary annexations easier to initiate.
– Protect the ability of municipal elected officials, acting on behalf of local voters, to  determine election formats, districts and other election matters currently under their purview.

Council also approved a consent agenda with November 6 meeting minutes and December 4 meeting minutes with one minor correction.

Council ended last Wednesday’s meeting with a closed session to discuss a legal matter with attorney Robert Hobbs who advised that during the session he provided legal advice.

READ ABOUT MORE NEWS HERE.

SUBSCRIBE TO THE COASTLAND TIMES TODAY!