SWAN QUARTER — The Hyde County Board of Commissioners moved on multiple fronts at its most recent meeting, holding public hearings on a $2.6 million grant application to renovate the Davis School gymnasium, previewing a countywide community health day, and voicing sharp alarm over proposed state property tax reform that officials warned could devastate rural county budgets. Twas’ a long meeting, so forgive this writer if we’re a little bit behind schedule in posting this story. And rather than use a boring photo from the commission meeting, I thought I’d use a photo from Swan Quarter that makes me happy.

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Davis School Gym Targeted for $2.6 Million CDBG Request

The board opened two Community Development Block Grant public hearings presented by Chris Hilbert of Insight Planning Consultants, who has administered CDBG projects in Hyde County for more than 25 years — beginning, he noted, just before Hurricane Floyd.

The first hearing addressed an amendment to an existing CDBG grant, No. 21-C-4015, currently funded at $950,000 and supporting an ongoing housing rehabilitation project with five homes either completed or nearly complete. Officials are seeking to piggyback a $2.6 million request onto that grant to renovate the gymnasium wing of the historic Davis School complex — fully with CDBG funds, requiring no county match.

County Manager Kris Noble provided context on prior work at the site. Funding from the state Office of Recovery and Resilience had already enabled selective demolition of the rear building, a complete structural roof replacement, and restoration of the historic windows — a process she described as costly and difficult, requiring a contractor willing to repair original windows rather than replace them.

“They’re done and they’re absolutely beautiful,” she said.

The proposed $2.6 million renovation would bring the gymnasium to full operational use, adding locker rooms, public restrooms, and a new entrance opening to an adjacent playground. Davis Ventures, the nonprofit managing the campus, would gain event and rental space to rebuild revenues that have dried up since the building fell out of use. Hilbert also noted the gym would serve as a post-storm resiliency hub — a staging point for commodities, first aid, and phone charging after weather events, though not an active shelter during storms due to floodplain restrictions.

The second public hearing was a general first-round hearing covering any new CDBG applications the county might submit in calendar year 2026, including potential economic development or additional housing projects. Gibbs explained that the county maintains a database of housing needs and encouraged residents to contact the Office of Economic Development Planning directly.

Both hearings closed without public comment.

Community Health Day Set for May 9

Community Schools Coordinator Angie Kerr — I remember her — presented plans for the inaugural Hyde County Community Health Day, organized in partnership with Project DIREC — Diabetes Intervention Reaching and Educating Communities Together, a local 501(c)3 — and the Hyde County Health Department.

The event is scheduled for May 9 and will be held outdoors with a stage, vendor area, and separate section for pet services. Services will include free A1C and glucose screenings, blood pressure and cholesterol checks, prostate screenings by fingerstick, vision and hearing screenings through the Lions Club, and referrals to cancer screening appointments — including transportation — for mammograms, lung cancer, and colon cancer evaluations through Cancer Services of Eastern North Carolina.

The event will also feature a mobile veterinarian offering pet services, a CPR demonstration by EMS, diabetic foot care education, and a session supporting residents in navigating heir property deed issues through NC Legal Aid’s Heir Property Project.

Food vendors, entertainment including a recreation department cheerleading squad, and live music are also planned. Organizers said they need at least 25 volunteers to staff the event.

Project DIREC Director Archie Green, who said he has been concerned about healthcare access barriers in Hyde County since founding the organization in 2010, asked the board to consider issuing a proclamation designating May 9 as Hyde County Community Health Day. The board expressed support and agreed to take up the proclamation at the May meeting.

Commissioners Alarmed by Property Tax Legislation

Hyde County Tax Administrator Donnie Shumate presented a draft letter to the N.C. House Select Committee on Property Tax Reduction and Reform, urging lawmakers to consider the disproportionate impact of proposed changes on rural coastal counties.

Shumate focused specifically on the short-term rental market’s distorting effect on property valuations, particularly on Ocracoke Island. Under North Carolina’s uniformity clause, the county must assess all residential properties at their highest and best use — which on Ocracoke has increasingly become short-term rental income production, driving assessed values sharply upward even for longtime residents.

He recommended the committee either carve out an exemption from the uniformity clause or create a separate residential property class subject to income-based valuation, which he said could dramatically reduce assessed values for properties that are not actually operated as rentals.

Shumate also warned that a proposed constitutional amendment to cap levy-rate increases at inflation times population growth would be ruinous for Hyde County, which has no population growth. He calculated that last year’s inflation rate of 2.7 percent would have produced a $579,000 budget shortfall; the prior year’s rate would have created a $1.2 million gap.

Commissioner Jan Moore, who attended a recent NCACC district meeting where lobbyists addressed the legislation, said the group left the session alarmed. She urged fellow commissioners to follow developments closely and noted that placing such a cap in the state constitution — rather than passing it as ordinary legislation — would lock counties into an inflexible formula with no room to respond to local conditions.

“They don’t know how it’s going to work. They just want everybody to vote on it,” Moore said. “Putting it in the Constitution is going to be very dangerous.”

Board Chairman Randal Mathews seconded those concerns, noting that Hyde County’s tax base of approximately $1.2 billion is a fraction of larger counties driving the legislative push. He pointed to unfunded mandates — including state-required increases to law enforcement retirement contributions, expanded DSS and health department staffing requirements, and school funding obligations — as the underlying driver of rising local tax rates.

The board unanimously approved sending Shumate’s letter to the committee.

Other Business

In addition, the board:

Approved two new public safety job descriptions — an administrative assistant for EMS and an IT communications technician for the sheriff’s office — both filling positions being vacated rather than adding new headcount, with no net budget increase. The EMS position will absorb scheduling and administrative duties previously handled by command staff who will return to fieldwork.

Approved a one-year contract extension with Ceres Environmental for debris management services, described as the final allowable renewal before new procurement. Gibbs noted the contract carries no cost unless a declared state of emergency triggers debris removal, and that reimbursements from FEMA have historically covered those costs.

Approved mainland occupancy tax appropriations totaling $23,000 recommended by the Mainland Occupancy Tax Board: $3,000 for Davis Park restroom maintenance, $10,000 for Hyko Pyrotechnics fireworks programming, and $10,000 for the Hyde County Chamber of Commerce, primarily for Farm Days.

Approved the final disbursement report for the $8.3 million Needs-Based Public School Capital Fund project for the Hyde County Industrial Arts Center, which commissioners described as a significant asset to the school campus.

Approved a contract with Aperion LLC, a local company, to operate the Ocracoke tram system for the 2026 season, funded entirely through Ocracoke occupancy tax revenues. Four new M-series 15-passenger trams have arrived or are imminent, also purchased with occupancy tax funds. A separate maintenance contract will come before the board in May.

Approved health department fee schedule additions of $40 for medical evaluation fit testing and $25 for fit testing.

Accepted the April 2026 tax collection report, showing a 92 percent collection rate as of April 1, with current-year collections up $392,000 year-to-date compared to the prior year.

Passed proclamations recognizing April 2026 as Fair Housing Month and April 10 as Local News Day, with Chairman Mathews offering specific recognition of the Ocracoke Observer and its publishers.

Following a closed session, the county attorney read into the minutes a report of settlement in an EEOC matter involving a former employee, noting the settlement was not an admission of liability.