Still on the Road…Carova Beach Road Service District

This is the second in a series of informational articles concerning the Carova Beach Road Service District (CBRSD). You’ll remember (from the first article) upon creation of the CBRSD, it was determined economically feasible to provide services without an annual tax levy and to utilize Occupancy Tax revenue as the source of funding. However, in May 2019 the Currituck County Board of Commissioners (BoC) proposed and approved:

1. Creation of the Carova Beach Watershed Improvement Service District (CBWISD). No special property tax was ever levied to fund it

2. a .01 cent tax for road maintenance.

3. To fund the CBRSD with “nearly the entire amount collected” from horse tour operators, as opposed to half (existing funding).

4. To fund the CBRSD with an annual stipend from Occupancy Tax revenue.

Subsequently, a Carova Beach Watershed Improvement Service District (CBWISD) was established., but never funded ( Note: a constituent survey conducted by the County prior to and regarding the creation of the CBWISD resulted in 48% in support, with 52% opposed. see pages 6-8 https://currituckcountync.gov/wp-content/uploads/boc-minutes-19may06.pdf

Additionally, a resolution extending the CBRSD was proposed and approved by the BoC.

There are approx. 23 miles of road within the district; however, not all are a part of the maintenance schedule.  The map below depicts the roads on the schedule:

Roads are assessed at the start of each month, and maintenance is scheduled as needed. Per Currituck County, the contract covers 100 miles of maintenance per year. For example, if in July the contractor graded 8.54 miles of roadway and in August graded 8.78 miles of roadway, there remains 82.68 miles the County will direct the contractor to grade from September through June.

Currituck County conducts a bidding process for the CBRSD maintenance contract. All bidders must meet licensing requirements under Chapter 87 of the North Carolina (NC) General Statutes.

• Under $40,000 - no competitive bidding, general building contractors may perform the work.

• $40,000–$499,999 - informal bidding (minimum of three bids), work must be done by an NC General Contractor with a highway license.

• $500,000 and above - formal/sealed, publicly advertised bidding.
  

Jon King of Wild Horse Construction currently holds the CBRSD maintenance contract. Wild Horse Construction holds licenses for all types of construction and road work.  

NBPA met with Jon King to find out a bit more:

NPBA:  Why are previous contractors no longer maintaining Carova Beach roads?

Jon:  You need to have a highway license from the state. None of the local contractors have that endorsement.

NBPA: What are the road maintenance requirements?

Jon:  A 2% crown. That isn’t much and if the sand is soft by the time we get down the road, with all the traffic, it’s already changed. Another part is to keep roads free of potholes. A pothole is not the big, deep holes you see.  It takes months to fix those. That’s a rebuild of the road and not part of the contract. The contract is for road maintenance; there is little or no funding for repair and none for improvement.

NPBA:  If road work is performed on a monthly basis, when weather events call for immediate repair or work that is not contracted, how is that handled? 

Jon:  The work never exceeds the contract amount.  We are told what to do per month based on funds.

NBPA:  What is the number one thing you wish people would do when roads flood?

Jon:  When the roads flood people need to stay off them. But that is just not practical. If they drive slowly (2 mph or less) it won’t wash them out as bad. People, even locals, fly through and cause washouts. I have watched it happen even while I’m trying to fix it.  There is excessive traffic on these sand roads.

The county is putting the contract out for bid soon in hopes to change to a calendar year. Not really sure why but that may cause more issues for billing. Normally, the contract is per year with an option for an additional two years (a total of three years). It keeps the contract from having to go for a rebid. It actually worked in the County's favor. The last contract, as yearly, only went up 2% and fuel has gone up more than that.Have questions for Jon, you can contact him directly at: wildhorseconstructioncorp@yahoo.com 

We will continue the series in our next Newsletter with a deep dive into numbers - the CBRSD annual budget since inception, work completed and any projects in the pipeline.  NBPA welcomes your comments/questions.