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On Monday, March 3, 2025, the Dare County Board of Commissioners entered into a contract with McGill Associates to prepare a recommendations and implementation plan for the entire county.

McGill Associates presented a needs assessment of the county’s existing Parks and Recreation program at the commissioners Feb. 3 meeting.

The county’s Parks and Recreation program is delivered by three divisions:

– Northern Beach including Duck, Southern Shores, Kitty Hawk, Kill Devil Hills and Nags Head;

– Roanoke Island/Mainland including Manteo, Wanchese, Manns Harbor, Stumpy Point and East Lake; and

– Hatteras Island with Hatteras, Frisco, Buxton, Avon, Salvo, Waves and Rodanthe.

The assessment summary states that the county has 17 parks totaling 98.5 acres. “Dare County’s total park acreage is well below national benchmark levels, due in part to its unique geographic makeup,” states the assessment summary.

To gather information from county citizens, McGill held four public input sessions with reached 300 people. The sessions were held in Manteo, Kill Devil Hills, Rodanthe and Buxton.

At the public sessions, photos of exercise options were presented and attendees could indicate options. Two boards with 16 options each were presented. The top 10 of the 32 options were adventure play area with 88 votes; gymnasium, 74; pickleball, 71; dance/gymnastic room, 48; splash pad, 45; tennis, 43; basketball courts, 40; indoor fitness stations, 40; soccer fields, 35; and baseball/softball fields, 33.

An open survey was employed. Some 2,044 surveys were collected representing nearly 3,890 residents or about 10% of the county’s population, considered to be a very high participation rate.

Surveys came from the three divisions: Northern Beach, 65.8%; Roanoke Island/Mainland, 19.77%; Hatteras Island, 12.32%; other, 2.06%.

Top 10 survey results for recreation activities/facilities

Generally, the countywide, northern beach and Roanoke Island/Mainland divisions results have the same activities but changed in rank. Hatteras Island had three entirely different facility requests.

For all three divisions at the top of the list is “pool.”

Countywide: pool; indoor programs (arts, fitness); greenways/trails; bike trails; soccer fields; indoor fitness equipment; pickleball; gymnasium (multi-purpose indoor space); basketball court (indoor); and baseball/softball field.

Northern Beach: pool; indoor program (arts, fitness); greenways/trails; soccer fields; bike trails; pickleball; gymnasium (multi-purpose indoor space); basketball court (indoor); indoor fitness equipment; and tennis court.

Roanoke Island/Mainland: pool, baseball/softball fields; indoor programs (arts, fitness); Greenways/trails; gymnasium (multi-purpose indoor space); soccer fields; bike trails; basketball court (outdoor); indoor fitness equipment; and playground/tot lot.

Hatteras Island: pool; pickleball; bike trails; indoor fitness equipment; indoor program (arts, fitness); public motored boat ramp; canoe/kayak launch; playground/tot lot; picnic areas; and soccer fields.

Additional information

The summary report shows participation rates trending up. The program analysis shows five years of participant numbers by division and then overall by seasons.

The report benchmarked the available facilities against national standards. Generally, pickleball is well above the benchmark. “The county has nearly three times above the national benchmarks.”

Baseball/softball fields and recreation centers are also above benchmark.

Below benchmark ranges are aquatics, indoor recreation, playgrounds, accessible playground and others.

The study also established the level of service provided countywide and by division, detailing current inventory, public interest and gaps in service.

New contract

The new McGill contract calls for developing recommendations, reviewing county-owned property, prioritizing land acquisition and facility construction, joint recreation planning interaction, formulating a 10-year capital improvement plan, evaluating current staffing levels, developing schedule for new improvements, maintenance, services, and more.

The contract cost is $47,280.

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