Southern Shores reviews Trinity Trail delays, budget gap and fire-department feasibility study

Town Manager Cliff reported on the town's quarterly operations and projects at the Jan. 7 Southern Shores Town Council meeting, focusing on the Trinity Trail bridge work, municipal revenue timing and a consultant-led fire-department feasibility study.

Cliff said the Trinity Trail bridge contractor began work Dec. 9 and has driven sheet piles on the north and south sides. He described an early equipment incident near a culvert that caused local concern but no injuries, and said crews “discovered a significant chunk of concrete” buried in the work area that required workarounds. “So far, they've billed about a $100,000 worth of work out of the $1,600,000,” Cliff said, noting most of that amount was mobilization. He said the project remains scheduled to meet a Feb. 15 moratorium date but that staff will hold regular progress meetings and communicate with adjacent property owners about vibration and safety concerns.

On municipal finances, Cliff presented a year-to-date snapshot showing revenues received at roughly 59.78% of budget and expenditures at about 44.54%, leaving expenditures exceeding revenues by approximately $481,842 so far this fiscal year. He said the town expects receipts from ad valorem, occupancy sales and land-transfer taxes later in the fiscal year and that timing explains much of the shortfall.

Cliff also updated the council on a fire-department unification and feasibility study performed by consultants from the North Carolina Fire Chief Consulting organization. As of Jan. 4, the consultants had interviewed 15 Southern Shores Fire Department members and four of the five council members, reviewed incident-record and state-reporting data, received the department's financial package and issued a membership survey. Cliff said the consultants were “constructing observations and recommendations” and that the study's results should be available in February.

Cliff framed the fiscal implications of potential staffing changes: he said the town appropriates about $1.2 million annually to the fire department (including roughly $314,000 in debt service) and that hiring two firefighters would be “equivalent of 1.15¢ tax increase.” He added the town's preference is to retain volunteer staffing as long as feasible while acknowledging budgetary impacts if the department transitions to more paid positions.

Cliff also noted several other items from the quarter: completion of a document-scanning project into Laserfiche, volunteers planting beach grass (41 boxes, about 61,500 sprigs), a joint FEMA BRIC grant application with the town of Duck to address shared stormwater issues, and a $91,533.67 award from the visitors bureau to replace worn multi-use path surface with concrete on a segment from 5th Avenue to Hillcrest.

Council members raised neighborhood concerns tied to the Trinity Trail work — particularly vibration from pile driving, open holes left at night and site appearance. Cliff said the contractor has been responsive when called and that staff will document damage claims, require cleanup and provide homeowners advance notice before particularly disruptive activities such as pile driving.

The council requested the full consultant report on the fire study when available and directed staff to keep neighbors informed about construction activity and mitigation steps. The manager said several items related to facilities, including a potential move of community organizations into 13 Skyline for file storage, would return to a future agenda for a rental agreement and related conflict-waiver considerations.

The council did not take policy action on staffing levels or the fire study at the Jan. 7 meeting; Cliff said the feasibility study's findings and specific budget choices would be considered after the consultants' February report.