CCA Spent Years Discussing the Issues with the County, But the County Refuses to Listen

Here is a brief history:

2011 - Corolla Community Association Formed

CCA’s first set of actions was to poll the community to identify important tissues and communicate them to County management. This has been done every year since. Here is the first of these “wish lists.” The number one item in Tourist Support was completion of the hike/bike path along NC12 both as an attraction for our fitness-conscious family visitors, as well as for safety of pedestrians and cyclists along Corolla’s only north-south route.

2012 CCA Hosts Monthly Meeting with County: County claims “funding constraints” delay plans for hike/bike path but they had plenty of money

In Spring of 2012 CCA began hosting monthly meetings with the County Manager, Commissioners, the Tourism Director and various County staff to discuss issues of importance to the community. They were continuously told that completion of the bike path would be delayed due to “funding constraints.” What CCA didn’t know at the time was that $8.5 million of OT was being spent to build a YMCA, another $5 million of OT to buy and improve a horse farm with plans for another $6 million of OT for ball fields - all far from any tourist areas. But even with this questioned spending the County had more than enough OT reserve to build the paths along NC12 if they wished.

2013 Mother and Dad Run Over on NC12

The monthly meetings hosted by CCA continue, but the County still claims no funds available to build any extension of safe paths along NC12 despite the high tourist use of the path already built along the northern section of NC12. For several miles of heavily trafficked NC12 pedestrians and bicyclists must share the narrow, un-lit road shoulder.

At the height of the 2013 summer tourist season the first pedestrians are killed along NC12. But still no action from the County.

Immediately following this tragedy CCA President, Barbara Marzetti, took the initiative to host a meeting with the County and NC State Department of Transportation on September 13, 2013, in Corolla to discuss the safety issues and urge the rapid completion of the path. The County seemed enthusiastic - per Chairman O’Neill’s remarks above - but nothing was done.

2014 Third Fatality Along NC12

CCA again called a meeting of County, State and NC-DOT officials to demand that plans for hike/bike path along the remaining miles of NC12 be fast tracked. Several subsequent meetings by CCA helped raise awareness. Four years and three deaths after CCA first raised this critical issue with the County, and with more than $8 million in reserve the County begins planning for what would be a $1.3 million section of path between Food Lion and Harris Teeter.

2015 The County Begins NC12 Hike/Bike Path

Following the CCA meeting and because of the very bad publicity from the three deaths in 2013 and 2014, the County to begin to move on the next major section of path which was completed in March of 2016. Their fast action revealed that they did have the money before but chose not to spend it. Questions were already being raised about how the County was spending OT.

2016 The County Briefs Beach Property Owners and Business on The County’s OT Spending Plan

In December 2016 CCA invited the County Manager and Tourism Director to brief the community on future OT spending plans at our monthly member meeting. The audience was shocked to learn that OT was being spent to cover items (starred below) that did not seem to help attract tourist, but rather to help cover general county expenses.

2017 CCA Shares OT Spending Concerns With Commissioners and County Attorney

Further investigation and discussion with several legal experts raised significant questions. leading CCA to request a meeting with Commissioners and the County attorney in spring of 2017. CCA presented its concerns at the meeting, but the Commissioners present, Hanig, White and K. Etheridge, insisted that they could spend the money however they decided. The County attorney, Ike McRee, agreed.

CCA followed up this meeting with a memo of a recommended open process the County should use to suggest projects and evaluate them for consideration by the Commissioners, consistent with the legal requirements that such projects attract tourists and increase the use of lodging and other facilities that generate tax. CCA asked for a meeting to discuss further, but received no formal reply.

Below is a memo from Commissioner Hanig to Commissioner White after the meeting . CCA received no formal response to their written concerns.

At the end of 2017 the CCA President sent the County the Community’s annual wish list of suggestions for discussion along with this cover note.

County Commissioner Paul Beaumont’s email below commented on the community’s ideas and was a harbinger for the frosty responses CCA members were beginning to get at BoC meetings.

2018 CCA Community Develops OT Spending Plan:

At our January 2018 members meeting it was suggested that CCA put together the community’s view of a legally compliant spending plan for Occupancy Tax for the next ten years. This project took over three months and involved over 100 residents, property owners and business leaders. Below is a snapshot of the table of contents. Click on the image to see the full summary and Appendix.

While the County refused to discuss CCAs ideas the subsequent Public Records requests uncovered Tourism Dept staff emails that gave good reviews of the plan’s content.

2018 CCA Requests County OT Public Records

CCA attorneys advised CCA to request County Public Records surrounding the County’s deliberations on its Tourism Related Expenditures (TRE) from Occupancy Tax Revenues. This would give insight to CCA on what information was provided to the Commissioners to inform their judgments as to how these TRE projects were designed to attract tourists and increase use of lodging and other facilities. Below is the first page of CCA’s attorney’s request.

The filing of the Public Records request caused the County to first defer, then cancel, attendance at the monthly meetings CCA had been hosting since 2012 to discuss beach community issues.

CCA members repeatedly spoke at the Public Comment section of BoC meetings, but their concerns were brushed aside and some speakers felt attacked by subsequent BoC member comments.

By early summer 2018 the independent analysis of audit reports and Board of Commissioner meeting minutes had been completed. The case became clear that the County’s interpretation of the law was funneling at least a third of all OT revenues for projects that seemed to be outside the 2004 law’s legal boundaries. In total almost $60 million of OT expenditures were flagged as questionable according to the 2004 OT law’s revised language.

The County’s response to CCA’s Public Record Request was over 6,000 documents and emails providing background information and communications among the Commissioners and County staff about their considerations of OT spending request. A team of CCA volunteers reviewed every document, email and attachment looking for evidence that the County Commissioners had, in fact, followed the law. Sadly, little evidence was found of serious discussion, before approving the projects, of how these questioned projects would attract tourists and increase the use of lodging.

2019 CCA Asks the Court to Adjudicate the Differences

The suit was prepared and many rental home owners agree to be party to the suit with CCA. It was filed in May 2019 asking the Court to interpret the law, require future spending along guidelines the Court defines and require return of all misspent funds to the TDA reserve so that they may be dispensed for statutorily approved projects such as beach nourishment.

Below is a scan of the cover page of the suit. Click on link to see the full complaint.