Four candidates running for three positions on the Southern Shores Town Council will meet for a Q&A forum hosted by the League of Women Voters of Dare County (LWV) tomorrow, from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., in the Pitts Center.
The LWV moderator will pose questions to the candidates submitted by the public on site or in advance in email sent to LWVdare@gmail.com. The LWV asks that you include your name and your town with your emailed question(s).
The four candidates vying for Town Council office are incumbents Matt Neal, who was elected in 2019 and has served as mayor pro tem for two years during his term, and Mark Batenic, who was appointed in January 2022 to fill the vacancy created when then-Councilwoman Elizabeth Morey was elected mayor, and challengers Robert E. Neilson and Michael Guarracino.
Mr. Neilson and Mr. Guarracino have posted campaign websites. Mr. Guarracino’s site is https://fortosscouncil.com, and Mr. Neilson’s is https://www.robneilsonsstc.com.
We have neither seen nor heard of any door-to-door campaigning occurring in town, which is highly unusual for grass-roots electioneering, nor have we learned of any meet-and-greets being held or scheduled or received any mailers. With just 18 days remaining before the early voting period begins, the candidates have been very subdued.
Please see The Beacon, 9/10/23, for more details about the general municipal election, which will be held Nov. 7 in the Pitts Center, not the Kitty Hawk Elementary School.
For the hours and days of early voting, which begins Oct. 19 at the Kill Devil Hills Town Hall and Dare County Administrative Offices in Manteo, see https://www.darenc.gov/departments/elections/voting.
TOWN COUNCIL MEETING FEATURES AUDIT and ETJ CHANGE
The Town Council will meet Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. for its regular monthly meeting. Mayor Elizabeth Morey announced at the last Council meeting that the Mayor Pro Tem will preside over the meeting in her absence.
Included on the meeting agenda are an audit report by the Town’s new accounting firm, Carr, Riggs & Ingram, and a public hearing on Town Code Amendment (TCA) 23-02, whose purpose is to relinquish Southern Shores’ Extraterritorial Jurisdiction (ETJ) over commercial properties in Martin’s Point.
See the agenda and the meeting packet, which includes TCA 23-02, at: https://mccmeetings.blob.core.usgovcloudapi.net/soshoresnc-pubu/MEET-Packet-66566ec9838c4684b59ea5030efd0120.pdf.
If the Town Council votes to adopt TCA 23-02, and relinquishes the Town’s ETJ, Martin’s Point commercial properties will no longer be subject to the Town’s development regulations, including zoning, and will become a part of Dare County’s jurisdiction.
ETJ Representative John Finelli requested the relinquishment in August 2022, and the Planning Board unanimously recommended in December that the relinquishment occur. The Town Council directed Town staff in February to prepare an ordinance to effectuate this action, and the Planning Board unanimously recommended in August that the Council adopt TCA 23-02.
Carr, Riggs & Ingram is a top-25 nationally ranked, Alabama-based accounting firm that serves clients nationwide, according to its website, https://cricpa.com.
Tuesday’s meeting agenda does not note any topics that Town Manager Cliff Ogburn plans to bring up in his staff report. The Council will be taking up in “new business” tasks associated with replacing the culvert at the Trinitie Trail bridge.
PARADE OF HOMES: 2 SOUTHERN SHORES-BASED BUILDERS ON TOUR
Southern Shores-based builders, Sandmark Custom Homes, Inc., and Neal Contracting Co., each have examples of their craftsmanship in this year’s Outer Banks Home Builders Assn.’s Parade of Homes, which starts Thursday and runs through Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
The OBHBA also will host a Trade Expo for businesses and vendors who support the Outer Banks building industry on Sunday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Ramada Plaza Oceanfront in Nags Head.
Neal Contracting built a new seven-bedroom, 2,926-square-foot house in Southern Shores at 8 Fifth Ave., and Sandmark remodeled a five-bedroom, 3,059-square-foot house in Duck at 107 Canvas Bank Drive.
These houses are two of nine featured in the 31st annual Parade of Homes, three of which are only available for viewing online in a “Virtual Parade”—a new twist to this annual showcase of home design and construction.
Croatan Custom Homes of Kitty Hawk built three of the nine featured homes, including two on the Virtual Parade, which according to FAQ on the OBHBA website will remain online for one year.
The six “in-person” homes range in location from Corolla to Salvo and include one in Manteo.
The largest and most expensive “home” on the tour is a wedding venue in Corolla known as “OBX One” that was built by CMI Design Studio, a custom builder based in Washington, D.C.
The $12.5 million, 14,500-square-foot venue has 12 bedrooms, 19 full baths, 3 half-baths, a swimming pool, an elevator, “state-of-the-art technology,” and a boatload of other luxuries, as you can imagine, and is located “semi-oceanfront” at 890 Lighthouse Drive, meaning it is across the street from the beach.
Tickets are $20 per person and include access to the nine houses and the Trade Expo.
For more information about the homes, the Trade Expo, and advance ticket sales, see https://www.obhomebuilders org/2023-homes/.
Tickets also may be purchased at the entrance to one of the “in-person” homes.
Ann G. Sjoerdsma, 10/1/23
The Southern Shores Beacon 