Nags Head awards construction contract for employee wellness center, approves $2.7M financing

The Nags Head Board of Commissioners voted July 2 to award a construction contract for a new employee wellness center and two workforce housing units and authorized town financing to pay for the project.

Planning staff presented the project as a 3,200‑square‑foot wellness center with two four‑bedroom workforce housing units above, parking upgrades and on‑site wastewater redevelopment. Staff said the project was bid under formal guidelines and, after a second advertisement to obtain three competitive bids, recommended awarding the contract to AR Chesson Construction for a total of $2,338,000 including two additive alternates (second‑floor buildout and a complete sprinkler system with spray‑foam attic). "Based upon the bids that were submitted, AR Chesson was the lowest responsive responsible bidder," the project presenter stated during the meeting.

Deputy Town Manager and Finance Officer Amy Miller told the board the town is recommending financing of $2.7 million to cover the construction contract plus contingency, furniture, fixtures and equipment, security, networking and landscaping. "The recommendation is to finance $2.7 million. We did an RFP for financing. We received three bids. The lowest one was First National Bank at 4.17% for 10 years," Miller said, and added the financing package is tax‑exempt and bank‑qualified. Miller said the town expects to seek Local Government Commission (LGC) approval at the LGC meeting on Aug. 5 and to close the loan shortly thereafter, with a deed of trust on the property at 5401 South Croatan Highway.

The board moved, seconded and approved the contract award and then approved a series of financing actions by voice vote: a resolution accepting financing terms (explicitly including First National Bank and the stated interest rate), a resolution authorizing filing the LGC application, a reimbursement resolution in case work began before closing, and a budget amendment the staff described as having no net impact (debt payments were already included in the adopted budget).

The contract award motion authorized the town manager to execute the construction contract contingent on town attorney review. No roll‑call votes were recorded in the meeting transcript; routine motions were approved by voice vote.

The next procedural step for the financing is LGC review and approval, as Miller noted. If the LGC approves the financing, the town intends to close the loan the week after the LGC meeting and make the first payment a few weeks after closing.