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The August 7 Duck Town Council meeting opened with the introduction of three new police personnel: one officer and two recruits.

In the first introduction, Duck Police Chief Jeff Ackerman advised that Police Officer Richard Deaner comes to Duck with an associate criminal justice degree and 12 years of experience. While nine of them were in West Virginia where he achieved the rank of sergeant, after moving to the Outer Banks he worked for Southern Shores for a couple years before the switch to Duck.

The next two introductions were for Police Recruits Xavier Berry, a Manteo resident and Manteo High School graduate with considerable cooking experience, and Micheal Ohse, a transplant from Ohio and 2015 First Flight High School graduate.

Ackerman said both are the first police recruits hired by Duck, and will soon begin a 16 week training program in Barco.

Closing out the police presentations, Ackerman presented Senior Police Officer Kelly Mears, who has nine years in law enforcement with the most recent three in Duck, with her Advanced Law Enforcement Certificate.

Of special interest was an overview of the Emergency Operations Plan and Continuity of Operations Plan for the Town of Duck by Duck Fire Chief Donna Black.

The next presentation included a short video about what makes the Outer Banks special, why care for it, and manage the positive and negative impacts of tourism by Jeff Schwartzenberg and Lee Nettles from the Outer Banks Visitors Bureau.

Moving to the action items on the agenda, a request for a public hearing to expand the seating capacity at NC Coast Restaurant at 1184 Duck Road was rescheduled for 1 p.m. on November 6 at the applicant’s request.

Council then voted to accept a $144,000 North Carolina Division of Coastal Management Grant Award for the anticipated permitting, construction management, and project construction costs for phase 4 of the NC Resilient Coastal Communities Program.

The grant will cover 100 percent of the anticipated permitting, construction management, and project construction costs with the town funding the $41,000 needed for a required topographic survey, drainage report, and detailed site plan/specifications.

Also approved was a two-item consent agenda with July 3 regular meeting and July 17 mid-month meeting minutes.

Council then entered a closed session to discuss a confidential matter. Returning to open session, council approved a motion by Mayor Don Kingston to award the town manager with a 10 percent pay increase and $10,000 bonus.

With business completed, council adjourned until 1 p.m. on Wednesday, September 4.

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