Tourism dollars to help pay for new water system

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FROM THE DAILY ADVANCE

Tourism dollars help pay for new water system

By Cindy Beamon

Staff Writer

Sunday, June 12, 2011

Currituck will loan itself $5 million for a new water system
on the Outer Banks and spend $2 million to advertise its beaches thanks
to tourist dollars generated from the county’s occupancy tax.
The county expects to collect $8.9 million next year in occupancy
taxes paid by vacationers through the 6 percent tax on hotel rooms and
beach rentals. The room tax is mostly used to provide beach services but
also for other “tourism-related” activities on the mainland.
The state requires that a third of those dollars go toward promoting
the Currituck Outer Banks, but the tourism department has a surplus
sitting in its coffers.
This year, the county plans to loan itself $5 million in advertising
dollars for the purchase of private water systems on the Outer Banks.
Residents who hook up to the new county-owned system will pay back the
loan — with interest, said County Finance Director Sandra Hill. County
officials say the end result will be an end to bad-tasting water at the
resort and 2.5 percent in interest for tourism promotions as the loan is
paid back over the next five years.
Under the proposed 2011-12 budget, about two-thirds of the occupancy
tax revenue goes toward tourism-related expenditures. Much of the
spending is concentrated on the beach, but the state allows the county
to use the funds elsewhere for economic development and recreation.
Next year, a portion of the occupancy taxes will go toward ongoing
beach services, from lifeguards to beach access ramps, from rescue
services to contributions to the Whalehead Club and the Corolla Wild
Horse Fund.
The Currituck mainland would benefit as well. This year the Rural
Center in Powells Point, the Historic Jarvisburg Colored School, and a
commerce park in Maple will be among the recipients.
Occupancy taxes will pay for a $547,000 expansion of the Rural
Center’s park facilities. The upgrade includes a board walk trail, kayak
and canoe pier, playground, picnic shelters and parking at the North
Spot Road site.
Two historic sites, the Historic Jarvisburg Colored School and Old
Currituck Jail would receive funding through the occupancy taxes.
The funds will also be used for economic development in the Maple area near the Currituck airport.
The county plans to use $1 million toward building a new wastewater
treatment system to serve the county’s new YMCA/Community Center (funded
by occupancy taxes in previous budgets) and a new commerce park in
Maple. The three projects are part of the county’s multi-million-dollar
plan for a business and recreation complex in the area.