DARE COUNTY, N.C. — Dare County Manager Bobby Outten addressed the public at the Oct. 7 Commissioners meeting about subpoenas that had been requested by the U.S. Attorney's Office for Eastern North Carolina.
"(To) Make it clear from the outset, Dare County or Dare County officials are not targets. They're not a part of any investigation. This is simply a request for records."
At that time, records were requested from the county related to the Miss Katie Dredge and Coastal Affordable Housing LLC.
Watch related coverage: A Dare County task force is taking a look at housing challenges in the Outer Banks
"I don't know much about what the target of their investigation is or what it's about. They didn't share much of that with me, but it is related to use of federal dollars. And with respect to the records they've asked for us for the Miss Katie or the Coastal Affordable Housing, there were no federal dollars involved in either of those projects. So that money is not what they're investigating," Outten said at the October meeting.
Miss Katie is a hopper dredge, which is a ship that collects and moves sand and other seabed material. The dredge plays a significant role in Hatteras and Oregon Inlets, helping keep the waterways open, but had its dredging permits suspended in late summer by the Army Corps of Engineers for violations. Those permits have now mostly been restored.
Coastal Affordable Housing LLC was working with Dare County to address housing needs, but commissioners ended that partnership in April. That included the commissioners voting to return $35 million back to the state that would have gone towards addressing the housing crisis in the Outer Banks.
Watch related coverage: The impact that housing challenges are having on the Outer Banks workforce
Now the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Eastern North Carolina has subpoenaed all but one of the seven commissioners to testify before a grand jury. It’s not exactly clear what for, but Chairman Bob Woodard told us his testimony was about the Miss Katie. Some of these testimonies are happening this week and more are slated for next month in Raleigh.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office had this to say when we asked what the subpoenas are for.
“Our office does not comment on active investigations, including confirming or denying whether those investigations are taking place.”
We’ll continue to work to find answers on what exactly is being investigated here and update our viewers when we know more.
