Dare County board approves recreation referendum referral and a package of administrative actions

The Dare County Board of Commissioners voted March 2 to advance multiple administrative actions, including calling an advisory referendum on a quarter-cent sales and use tax to help fund a $56.9 million recreation plan and approving a set of operational items the county said are necessary to keep infrastructure and services running.

Resolution for advisory referendum The board approved a resolution asking the Dare County Board of Elections to hold an advisory referendum on Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026, asking voters whether to levy a local one-quarter cent sales and use tax under the authority of North Carolina law (Article 46, Chapter 105 and related provisions). County staff emphasized that adopting the resolution only calls the advisory referendum; any decision to spend funds would come later through the county's budget and project prioritization process. "You have to get the referendum passed before you can make decisions on spending that," one commissioner said; staff confirmed the resolution does not bind the county to spend the full plan cost.

Transportation rates Dare County Transportation asked the board to approve an updated per-mile reimbursement rate of $3.92 for Medicaid non-emergency medical transportation, replacing an older $1.70-per-mile figure established before the COVID-19 pandemic. County and transit staff said the change is intended to secure full Medicaid reimbursement for the actual per-mile cost and will not increase out-of-pocket costs for riders. The board approved the rate update unanimously.

Rodanthe sand-storage pit The board authorized NCDOT to use a county sand-storage pit near the Rodanthe helipad as a holding site for beach/dune sand that can be redeployed to patch dune breaches on Highway 12. County staff said DOT must maintain the pit's overflow drain and must remove stored sand if the county needs the site to accept pipeline-dredged spoil; the board approved the arrangement unanimously.

Former COA building demolition and continued use of newer facility COA (the community education entity identified in the packet) asked to continue using the newer western building on the Twiford site while the county demolishes the older, deteriorated eastern structure. COA owns the property; the board authorized demolition and formalized the continued-use arrangement, with the site to revert to county control if COA ceases its campus use.

Airport lease amendment The board approved an amendment to an airport lease clarifying parcel descriptions and that the airport authority — not the county — is responsible for certain maintenance expenses; county staff said the amendment is intended to satisfy a final FAA checklist item needed to obtain property-release approvals.

Consent agenda and other approvals Commissioners approved the consent agenda, which included minutes, the tax collector's report, library internet and AT&T leases, a pathway grant budget amendment, emergency management and social-services grant items, and a large-item pickup contract implemented under an existing pre-bid arrangement. The board also confirmed a recommended appointment to the Virginia Stillet Community Center Advisory Board.

What's next If voters approve the advisory sales-tax referendum in November, the board would still need to allocate funds, bid projects and set priorities for any recreation investments. Separate implementation details will return to the board for budget and procurement actions.