The coastland times. [volume] (Mnateo [i.e. Manteo], N.C.) 1947-1959, 1959-03-06
COUNTY
REPORT
DAVID STICK
Dare County Commissioner.
Atlantic township

I have just returned from a
$3.50 mile trip in which I visited
every accessible oceanfront area
between here and the southern tip
of Florida.
In dozens of counties and hun
dreds of communities l was able to
see our competitors at work, for
everywhere, l went the economy
was geared to the fast growing
tourist industry, just as it is here
in Dare.
1t would be nice if l could re-
port that we are ahead of the
South Carolina, Georgia and Flori-
da resorts in providing the serv-
ices and facilities which attract
the tourists, but the facts tell a diff
ferent story. For we appear to be
far behind the majority of the bet
ter resorts in many ways, and I'M
less we admit this openly and
start developing a long-range pro-
gram of modernization and i'm
provement, we stand to fall still
further behind.
Here are some points to consid-
er:
1.-PUBLIC BEACH AREAS:
In Key West, Florida, the county
has provided an excellent public
bathing beach, with picnic tables
and a playground for children, and
while l was there the city of Key
West announced that it was going
to spend more than a quarter of
million dollars for another public
beach.
All along the coast of Florida,
and in Georgia and South Carolina
as we'll, the states, counties and
local communities have set aside
large portion of the beachland for
public use; have provided numer-
Gus boat launching facilities; have
established public parks and picnic
grounds; have marked access areas
to the oceanfront, and in many in
stances have retained ownership of
the oceanfront beach itself.
2.-ZONING: In all of the bet
ter beach resorts the business and
residential areas are separated,
and minimum standards for house
construction are enforced.
3.-WATER SUPPLY: Even in
the smallest resort communities,
and in the brand new ones, central
water systems have been installed
to provide a continued adequate
supply of potable water. In many
resorts smaller than ours, sewage
systems have also been installed.
4.-POLICE AND FIRE PRO-
lection: I constantly encoun-
tered county police cars on patrol
in the unincorporated resort areas.
and time after time I saw commu-
nifty and rural volunteer fire de-
partments at the ready.
5.-TAXES: Throughout Flori-
da, our greatest competitor for at
tracing permanent residents, the
Homestead Act provides lifetime
exemption of $4,000. on the proper-
ty tax of any outsider settling
there.
6. 9TH E r INDUSTRIES:
Though the tourist business is the
primary source of income all along
the coast, and few sections are
getting some additional income, as
we are in Dare, from commercial
fishing, in most areas there are
other industries which provide a
more stable economic base. Among
these which could be adapted to
our use are seafood processing, the
manufacture of craft items, and
boat building.
These are some of the more OBJ
vious comparisons which come to
mind at this time. We can no lon
ge sell our resort on the basis of
the beach itself, for though | saw
many areas so badly eroded that
there was no beach at all, yet there
were hundreds of miles, in all the
states l visited, with wide, flat,
clean beaches still to be developed
AS for sports fishing, many other
areas can offer a variety of fish on
a par with ours, and in most in
stances they have provided far
more extensive fishing facilities,
particularly as regards small boat
rental.
We have some excellent hotels,
motels and rental cottages, but the
average does not seem to stack up
with those in the same price range
at many of the resorts south of us:
and certainly we are far behind in
providing variety in the type of
restaurant fare offered, and our
prices if anything are high.
Except for the other North Car
DINA resorts, most of which seem
to have even less planning than we
have in Dare, most of the newer
areas boast more attractive cot
tages Though not necessarily more
expensive) than ours, better laid
out business areas, carefully land
scanned ctraatc and oyanrac apd a