Dare County Newsletter - January 10, 2024

All Dare County offices and facilities will be closed on Monday, January 15, 2024 in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. In addition, Dare County Public Works has announced a revised trash collection schedule for the unincorporated areas of Dare County as well as the Town of Kitty Hawk for the week of Monday, January 15, 2024 through Friday, January 19, 2024. To view the revised trash collection schedule, please click the button below. 

Have you set fitness goals for the new year? Document your starting point and create a healthy fitness plan utilizing the free fitness assessments that are offered at the Thomas A. Baum Senior Center in Kill Devil Hills and the Virginia S. Tillett Community Center in Manteo. Fitness assessments measure your current fitness level through various exercise assessments, discuss your fitness behaviors and goals, and also help you to create a fitness plan to meet your individual needs.

To schedule a fitness assessment at the Virginia S. Tillett Community Center, which is located at 950 Marshall C. Collins Drive in Manteo, please contact Jackie Pikulski Frappier at Jackie.Pikulski@DareNC.gov or 252-475-9272. To schedule a free fitness assessment at the Baum Senior Center, which is located at 300 Mustian Street in Kill Devil Hills, please contact Aubrey Remige at AubreyR@DareNC.gov or 252-475-5644.

Dare County EMS Station 4 in Southern Shores:

Construction of the new Dare County EMS Station 4 in Southern Shores is currently on schedule, with the facility expected to be completed in early March 2024. The station’s concrete apron and parking lot have been poured and paved, the bi-folding doors have been installed, and all of the building’s siding has been installed and painted.

Both the architectural and mechanical louvers have been installed. The permanent power to the building was trenched by Dominion Power and will allow Barnhill Contracting to test air circulation, exhaust systems and mechanical systems. All of the station’s interior doors have been installed, and installation of ceiling grid tiles and restroom tile work was also recently completed. All interior painting is scheduled to be completed by January 12, 2024. Furniture and televisions are scheduled to be installed the week of February 12, 2024, followed by the installation of fitness equipment and kitchen appliances during the week of February 19, 2024. 

Once construction has been completed, Dare County will host an open house, and members of the public will be invited to tour the new facility. Details regarding the open house to celebrate the completion of Dare County EMS Station 4 in Southern Shores will be announced in the near future.

Dare MedFlight Hangar (Station 7) on Roanoke Island:

Construction of the new Dare MedFlight hangar (Dare County EMS Station 7) on Roanoke Island is also nearing completion, with work at the facility currently expected to be finished in early April 2024. The driveway area and Dare MedFlight helicopter landing pad have been poured and paved, and both the interior and exterior stairs and handrails have been installed at the facility. 

The 96-foot bay door and all of the exterior windows have also been installed, as has the facility’s siding, which was recently painted. Overhead mechanical work and installation of the ceiling grid has also been completed. A ribbon-cutting ceremony will be held in the coming months to celebrate the opening of the new Dare MedFlight hangar, and more details about the event will be announced when the facility is closer to completion.

Dare County EMS Station 1 and Kill Devil Hills Fire Department Station 14:

Construction at Dare County EMS Station 1 in Kill Devil Hills—which is also co-located with the new facility for Kill Devil Hills Fire Department Station 14—is also making considerable progress. The metal roof panels and the insulation and plywood on the exterior of the building have all been installed, and siding work has begun. Storefront windows are being installed and are expected to be completed by the end of January 2024.

Drywall has been hung on the interior of the Kill Devil Hills Fire Department side of the building, and drywall on the Dare County EMS side of the building is scheduled to be finished by the end of January 2024. The mezzanine stairs and handrails were also recently completed. All of the in-wall rough-ins for mechanical, electrical and plumbing lines are complete, and sprinkler lines have also been installed throughout the building.  

Construction of the new Dare County EMS Station 1 and Kill Devil Hills Fire Department Station 14 is currently scheduled to be completed in early July 2024. More information regarding a ribbon-cutting ceremony will be announced as the facility nears completion later this year.

For more information and the latest updates regarding the renovation and modernization projects that are currently underway or planned for Dare County’s EMS facilities, please click the button below. 

To address the ongoing issues and opposition to essential and workforce housing developments—and to create an atmosphere of collaboration among local governments—Dare County has formed a task force that is dedicated to finding solutions to the housing issues that exist throughout the county. 

The task force will consist of approximately 20 stakeholders, including various Dare County officials and representatives from each of Dare County six municipalities, among other members. The first meeting of the task force will be held at 9 a.m. on Thursday, January 18, 2024 in Room 168 of the Dare County Administration Building, which is located at 954 Marshall C. Collins Drive in Manteo. The public is invited to attend the meeting; however, please note that seating is limited.  

In addition, at the January 2, 2024 Dare County Board of Commissioners meeting, the board passed a resolution affirming its intention to solve the workforce housing problem by working with local governments, citizens and stakeholders through the task force. The resolution also confirmed Dare County’s intention “not to use HB 259 to exempt any workforce housing solutions from the local government zoning authority as part of any proposed solutions.”

This formally sets aside the state legislation (HB 259) that would have permitted any projects using the $35 million in state funding that has been allocated to Dare County for the development of workforce housing to be exempt from local zoning regulations. To view a PDF of the resolution that was passed by the Dare County Board of Commissioners, please click the button below.

Dare County Emergency Management encourages all non-resident property owners as well as business owners to obtain their 2024 reentry permits, which are now available online at DareNC.gov/Reentry. 

To enter Dare County following a mandatory evacuation, individuals must present a current reentry permit along with a valid corresponding ID. Expired reentry permits from previous years will not be accepted. All Dare County residents are welcome to apply for a reentry permit; however, a valid ID that contains a Dare County address is sufficient on its own for local residents. (A reentry permit would be redundant and is therefore not necessary for these individuals to obtain).

Reentry permits are issued as a PDF file that is sent via email to applicants with the required credentials and can be obtained via Dare County’s online system at any time. Once they have been issued, reentry permits will expire at the end of the calendar year. Individuals who were issued 2023 reentry permits—with the exception of business owners/managers who have previously been issued permits—will need to apply for a new reentry permit for the current calendar year. 

For more information and to obtain a 2024 reentry permit from Dare County Emergency Management, please click the button below.