SWAN QUARTER — The Hyde County Board of Commissioners honored two retiring public servants, received an annual update on mental health services and approved a slate of budget revisions during Monday’s meeting.

The meeting opened on an emotional note as commissioners and staff recognized Charles Tripp, an area coordinator with the North Carolina Emergency Management Eastern Branch Office, on his retirement after a career that spanned major disasters across eastern North Carolina.

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Let’s start with this — EMS Chief Joey Williams credited Tripp with steadying Hyde County’s emergency management program after Williams took over in 2020. “He was the one that pointed me in the right direction and was always showing up,” Williams said. “If I had a question, he would answer, and if he didn’t know, he would always get back with me.”

Tripp reflected on his time working alongside Hyde County officials and staff.

“The position of area coordinator in emergency management has truly not been a job for me,” he said. “I’ve enjoyed my career here, and it’s just been a huge blessing that I’ve been able to experience the good and the bad times with you here in Hyde County and eastern North Carolina.”

He urged commissioners to continue investing in emergency preparedness. “Your emergency management program and your public safety program have grown vastly since 2020,” Tripp said. “Continue to support them. Continue to make your citizens more resilient and be prepared in those times where we don’t have the blue sky days.”

County Manager Kris Noble, who has worked with Tripp for 15 years, expressed personal gratitude. “You trained me so well through some of those earlier storms — the Florences and the Irenes,” Noble said. “Being able to walk out of the EOC and get in my car and call you and get advice was beyond valuable. You got me ready for Dorian, and I could have never gotten through Dorian without you.”

Commission Chair Randal Matthews praised Tripp as a model for North Carolina emergency management. “North Carolina is exceptional across the whole country, and I think you are a great example of that,” Matthews said.

Tripp was presented with a plaque from the county reading, in part: “In appreciation of your exceptional and unwavering support to Hyde County Emergency Management and its citizens during challenging times.”

Trillium Health Resources Annual Report

Dave Peterson, Senior Regional Director for Trillium Health Resources, delivered what he acknowledged was his final annual presentation to the board after 13 years and 43 years in the behavioral health field.

Peterson reported that Trillium served 103,556 individuals across its 46-county service area during fiscal year 2024-25, with a total expenditure of $1.7 billion. In Hyde County specifically, 77 individuals received services, with the majority carrying a primary diagnosis of mental health.

He noted that Trillium has grown significantly following a state-directed consolidation.

“There was six of us managed care organizations in the state,” he said. “The other three managed care organizations got one county each. Trillium got 18 counties. If that isn’t the message right there that we do good stuff and that the state trusts us — that says a lot.”

Peterson also updated the board on a pending consolidation between two other managed care organizations, which would reduce the number of such organizations statewide to three after October 1.

He highlighted ongoing local efforts, including a mobile health clinic serving Hyde County monthly, substance use prevention programs targeting fentanyl risk, and an extended commitment to fund a school therapist position.

“No one’s been hired yet, so next fiscal year we’ve extended that money until you can get someone hired,” he said. “You can get them early on in school, start working on whatever the issues are.”

Peterson introduced his successor, Sean Kenney, who has over 25 years of experience in the behavioral health field and will take over the regional director role.

Odds and Ends

Tax Collector Ryan Bishop reported that April 2026 collections were down $85,000 for current-year taxes and down $163,000 for delinquent collections compared to the prior year, but that year-to-date current collections remain up $357,000. The overall collection rate stands at 94.8 percent as of June 1, with approximately $620,000 in 2025 levies still unpaid. Solid waste collections are at 82 percent, with $115,000 still outstanding.

The board also approved two tax refunds — $41.40 to Robert Miller and $225 to Eric Sawyer — for overpayments made through the DMV system.

The board reappointed Commissioner Jan Moore to the Hyde County Board of Health for a three-year term running through June 2029, and also reappointed Moore as Hyde County’s representative to the Albemarle Commission Area Agency on Aging Regional Advisory Council.

Commissioners approved the retirement of a 2015 four-wheel-drive EMS quick response vehicle as surplus, to be auctioned through GovDeals.

The board approved a memorandum of understanding between Hyde County Consolidated Human Services and the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, described by Noble as a routine annual agreement.

Commissioners also approved the fireworks display permit application for the 2026 Independence Day celebration on Ocracoke, scheduled for July 2, with Hyde County serving as sponsor for permitting and insurance purposes. The budget adoption meeting, previously scheduled for the morning of June 11, was moved to 1 p.m.

The board approved a $983,000 budget revision package that moves funds between line items across several departments — including public safety, solid waste, the airport, and transit — without increasing the overall budget or appropriating fund balance.

Included in the revisions was a $15,000 grant from NC East Alliance, secured through Hyde County’s membership in the regional economic development organization. Economic Development Director Richard noted that the funds will be used to repair the floor of the community center in Fairfield, making the facility operational. ‘”By joining that team, it’s based off population — we pay dues of $450 a year and we automatically get a $15,000 grant,” he said. “Next fiscal year we’ll get another $15,000 and we’ll come up with a project for that.”

Manager’s Report

Noble addressed ongoing concern about a dredging operation in the Sloop Channel between Hatteras and Ocracoke, clarifying that the project is being conducted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and a private contractor — not Hyde County. The operation has temporarily amended the Hatteras-Ocracoke ferry schedule, shifting the earliest morning departure from 5 a.m. to 5:30 a.m. and adjusting three late-night runs with low ridership.

Noble noted that the channel was widened from 100 to 200 feet through years of work by Hyde County and the Ocracoke Waterways Commission, with Hyde County applying for state shallow draft funds to cover the additional 100 feet not covered by federal designation. “This is a pipeline dredge, and it is the most efficient method for moving high volumes of solids,” Noble said. “We haven’t had a pipeline dredge in that channel since 2013.”

Noble and several commissioners also encouraged the public to attend the dedication of the Brandon Marshall Ballfield complex Saturday at 9 a.m., with a chicken dinner and concessions available at 5 p.m. Noble recalled the late Marshall’s vision for the project.

“He pulled me aside at a ball tournament and said, ‘This is what Hyde County needs — a ball field complex with three or four fields so we can offer tournaments and bring people into the county,’” Noble said. “When he passed away unexpectedly, we decided we had to make that happen for him.”

The board also held a public hearing on the proposed fiscal year 2026-27 budget, with final adoption scheduled for June 11 at 1 p.m. Budget documents are available at hycountync.gov.