Pasquotank to review current noise ordinance after complaints about speedway

Pasquotank Attorney Mike Cox will conduct a review of the county’s current noise ordinance after commissioners raised concerns about late-night noise at Dixieland Speedway.

The Pasquotank commissioners gave Cox the go-ahead to begin a preliminary review of the county’s current noise ordinance on Monday night. According to county officials, the District Attorney’s Office does not believe Pasquotank’s current ordinance is enforceable and recommends adopting a noise ordinance similar to one in place in Currituck County.

“In the end what I’m looking for is permission, consent from the board, to work with the (Pasquotank) Sheriff’s Office, to work with Currituck to find out a little bit more about how” their ordinance works, Cox said.

Currituck’s ordinance is much more technical than Pasquotank’s, which has been in place in its current form for several years, Cox said. Currituck’s ordinance is about 9 pages long.

During public comments at the commissioners’ Aug. 19 meeting, commissioners heard from a resident who said he lives near Dixieland Speedway on northern Northside Road. The man told commissioners that noise from the speedway on Friday nights can last as long as 1 a.m. According to the speedway’s website, the racing season began March 22 and concluded with the final race on Aug. 23.

In other items Monday night, commissioners gave unanimous approval to amending the county’s emergency medical services contract with Camden County.

According to Pasquotank Manager Sparty Hammett, Camden officials said they will be ready to begin operating the county’s new EMS agency starting Feb. 15, 2025.

Camden officials have asked that the contract between the two counties be amended to terminate that same day, Hammett said.

According to Hammett, the amendment stipulates that in the event Camden is not ready to begin providing services on Feb. 15, the current contract would function on a month-by-month basis.

This measure ensures that Pasquotank can continue serving Camden residients, Hammett said. The monthly agreement would continue till the end of the fiscal year, June 30, 2025, or when Camden’s EMS station is up and running, whichever comes first.

If the contract extends beyond Feb. 15, the county will charge Camden an additional 40% on top of the current monthly payment. That amount, including the 40%, comes out to about $82,860, according to Hammett.

That extra 40% would cover the cost of overtime pay for any Pasquotank EMS staff responding to Camden, Hammett said.

In May, the commissioners unanimously approved a one-year extension to the county’s current EMS contract with Camden. The extension was set to expire in June 2025 and to cost Camden $710,265.

Camden has contracted with Pasquotank for EMS and ambulatory services for several years. In recent years, Camden officials have marked a growing need for the county’s own EMS system to serve its residents. Last year, Camden officials agreed to hire an EMS director to help start the new standalone system, and in December, Camden commissioners agreed to spend nearly $857,000 for three ambulances.

Camden officials requested the one-year extension after having difficulty hiring an EMS director to ramp up the new EMS station.

In June, however, Camden announced it had named former Currituck Fire and EMS Captain Joseph Zaller as the county’s first-ever EMS director.