A contingent of business owners from Hatteras Island showed up in force at the Jan. 22 meeting of the Dare County Board of Commissioners to talk during the public comment period of the meeting.
On the agenda that evening was an item to create a special task force to address the problem of shoaling in Oregon Inlet.
The Hatteras islanders supported the inlet task force but they had another one in mind ? one that would address the continuing issues with Highway 12.
Beth Midgett of Hatteras village is chairperson of the county?s citizens? action committee to replace the Bonner Bridge.
?As Chair of the Replace the Bridge Now Committee,? she told the commissioners, ?I see a great need for the addition of a task force at this time. While I am confident we have reached the best solution for Bonner Bridge replacement and NCDOT?s phased approach that will bridge the hotspots, I am not confident there are solid contingency plans in place that will adequately serve our road access needs until the phases are in place. We seem to be reacting after weather events rather than proactively anticipating them.?
Midgett noted that the all-volunteer citizens? advisory committee on the bridge has evolved into working with the entire Highway 12 corridor.
?However,? she said, ?the targeted focus a task force could bring to the corridor challenges would be an invaluable asset to our efforts and would assure the public that Dare County is giving the utmost priority to this lifeline for commerce and our economy.?
She said that the task force would allow business owners to feel as if they are included in decision-making rather than left feeling as if decisions are happening ?to? them.
?Without a clear understanding of infrastructure contingency planning and the resultant plans,? she said, ?it becomes next to impossible to budget efficiently or plan for sustainable long-term growth. The island?s businesses are the backbone of its economy and therefore the need for this type of communication is paramount. We all know expectations affect perceptions, and without accurate information, business owners cannot do the work needed to ensure that both existing and potential customers have a positive experience with their business and therefore our Island and Dare County.?
Midgett?s sentiments were repeated by others who spoke at the public comment session, including folks from several real estate management companies, a campground, REAL Watersports, Koru Village, the Inn on Pamlico Sound, East Carolina Bank, Lighthouse Service Center, a fish house, and a charter boat captain. An island physician talked about problems with emergency medical care when the highway is out, and a funeral director addressed issues with serving grieving family when there is no road access to Hatteras.
Earlier this week, board chairman Warren Judge, Hatteras Island commissioner Allen Burrus, and county manager Bobby Outten came to Hatteras to meet with Midgett and a small group of business owners.
Later, Outten said that the commissioners seem to be headed in the direction of expanding the focus of the bridge advisory committee to include the entire Highway 12 corridor.
We would all like to speed up the permanent solutions to the highway?s hotspots in such places as the S-curves in northern Rodanthe. But given what the Department of Transportation has to deal with to build permanent causeways or bridges, that may not be possible.
Meanwhile, Outten said, it could be four or five years before long-term solutions are in place.
Dealing with getting and keeping the road open in the interim, he and Midgett said, would be the focus of an expanded bridge citizens? advisory group.
The bridge committee already has a page on the Dare County website in place and a track record of working with the county and DOT and encouraging citizen input in the process.
If the focus of the bridge committee is to be expanded, it will require a vote by the entire Board of Commissioners, which would appoint members. Meetings of the task force would be announced in advance and open to the public. In fact, Midgett said, public participation will be encouraged.
A move by the board to appoint a bridge committee with an expanded focus on the Highway 12 corridor, could come later this month.
Beth Midgett stressed that the committee would continue to support DOT?s plan to replace the Bonner Bridge with a parallel span and address the hotspots on Highway 12 in a phased approach.
DOT has already announced that it plans a permanent bridge across Pea Island Inlet, formed by Hurricane Irene in 2011. The department is expected to announce its preferred long-term solution at the S-curves this spring. There will be public hearings on both plans later this winter and spring.
The county?s citizens? committee would focus on such things as communication with residents and business owners and encouraging their participation, planning in advance for many contingencies for public health and safety when the highway is closed or washed out, and keeping commerce and the island economy going during periods when there is no highway access.
For instance, Midgett mentioned an alternative to the emergency vehicle ferries that others have discussed after both hurricanes Irene and Sandy. Is it feasible to bring visitors to the island on a passenger ferry or by private boat and have companies put in place a temporary transportation system to move them around the island?
If you have questions or comments about a citizens? committee to focus on the Highway 12 corridor until there are long-term solutions, you can contact Beth Midgett at bonnerbridgemom@gmail.com or you can e-mail Warren Judge, Allen Burrus, and the other county commissioners by going through the county?s website, www.darenc.com.
