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A large part of the March 4 Southern Shores Town Council meeting was a look at the Southern Shores Volunteer Fire Department.

Armed with data covering 2018 to 2023, Greg Grayson with NC Fire Chief Consulting gave a summary on the feasibility of the fire department becoming part of the Town of Southern Shores municipal government.

According to Grayson, the fire department has strong depth in its membership with ages ranging from 19 to 73. However, there are several older and several younger firefighters with fewer in the middle ranges. Without mutual aid agreements with neighboring departments, the department would not be able to provide adequate coverage.

Another finding is that SSVFD has a 14 percent net loss of volunteers each year. The statewide average is around 3.5 percent.

Grayson went on to say that although SSVFD is financially sound, there is not enough money for any expansion. With vehicle replacement costs running well into the millions of dollars, additional funding will be needed to sustain the current level of coverage.

Volunteers are still an important part of the department’s performance, but additional help is needed.

He added that there are 514 municipal departments in North Carolina and, while there are usually no cost reductions in mergers, in every case service was improved.

Other business for the evening included a consent agenda with two budget amendments, approval of the 2025-2026 Government and Education Access Channel $375,759 budget, a resolution in support of  legislation restoring local government zoning authority, and January 7, January 17 and February 4 meeting minutes were approved, as was the adoption of the Outer Banks Regional Hazard Mitigation Plan Update.

Making the rounds to each Dare County municipality, Dare Community Housing Task Force Chair Donna Creef gave a summary of the Dare County Housing Task Force December 2024 report.

Creef demonstrated that housing is a complex issue with a number of different factors involved in the housing market. Overall, housing needs to be available, attainable, sustainable and acceptable.

During her talk, Creef pointed out that while the North Carolina Constitution limits what governments can do, there is a move to investigate development of housing units on government-owned land. Another avenue is the expansion/revision of the 2004 legislation to allow local governments to develop housing programs for their employees with incomes that exceed 80% AMI.

Creef added that Dare County has been invited to participate in an 18-month UNC sponsored study of housing in North Carolina. The aim is to connect communities with resources and tools needed to assess and make decisions on how to respond to local housing needs.

The December Dare County Housing Task Force report is available on the county website at bit.ly/3EFcWs6.

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