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The Southern Shores Town Council held a brief workshop last week to vote in a new council member and to make plans to address seasonal traffic.

Out of 14 self-nominated applicants, the council chose Mark Batenic to fill the council vacancy left by Elizabeth Morey when she was elected mayor. Batenic will be sworn in at the next meeting for the term ending in 2023.

All council members made it clear that they had a challenging task to select one person out of so many qualified applicants. “It’s always impressive – the civic engagement of our citizens – and every applicant was probably amply qualified to sit up here with us,” said Matt Neal. “It’s hard to weigh what indicators would point towards one person or the other. You all made it difficult,” he continued.

Next, town manager Cliff Ogburn shared updates about the asphalt preservation project coming in the spring and the stormwater project that will address standing water issues at various intersections throughout town.

With rental agencies throughout the Outer Banks claiming that the summer of 2022 is almost fully booked, Southern Shores is looking for ways to manage traffic before the onset of the season.

According to Ogburn, the town has data from the no left turns, the local traffic only barricades and from closing the median at East Dogwood. “What we’d like to be able to do is put a plan in front of the public before we get started in the summer season to get their input so everyone knows what’s going on. Last year we tried some things mid-season … but I’d prefer to try and get something in front of you that we could implement going forward then everybody knows this is what the plan is going to be this year and what they can expect,” Ogburn said to the council.

Information to the public will be forthcoming in the town newsletter.

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