Position Statements

                       POSITION PAPER ON VOTING RECORDS OF ELECTED OFFICIALS

ABCPOA OBJECTIVES

     ABCPOA is an apolitical "Alliance" of member POA's, HOA's and CIVIC ASSOCIATIONS.
However, the Alliance should be viewed as a lobbying force with governmental authorities on
specific issues in the common interest to its thirteen (13) Member Associations and some 10,000
Residents in Brunswick County.

POSITION PAPERS

     Position Papers drafted by Committees, and approved by the Board of Directors, are an
expression of the Alliance's position and proposed actions to be taken on various issues. 
As such, they will be submitted to the respective governmental entity having the power of
adopting or disregarding the proposed position or actions to be taken.
Position Papers will be distributed to Alliance members, posted on ABCPOA website and
published in local papers.

     The Alliance will actively lobby for adaptation of its position.

     The Alliance will record and publish the performance of elected officials and, where applicable,
County Department Heads, on positions taken by the Alliance.

PROCEDURE 

     ·    Position Papers issued by the various committees, by nature of the subject and different
          authors, are not uniform.  For ease of tracking voting records of elected officials however, 
          the position paper clearly must itemize the issues and sub-issues which will be subject to an 
          approved or disapproved vote by the officials.  Therefore, a committee position paper may address 
          one issue only or, where needed, address more than one position on different issues which would 
          be subject to a vote. The latter requires the author of the position paper to identify such 
          different positions with Position 1, 2, …or A, B,….. .

     ·    The voting record shall be measured as:

               Yes  = ABCPOA position adopted, or
               No   = declined adaptation, or ABSTAINED

     ·    The respective Committee will monitor and record all votes taken by individual office
          holders on ABCPOA position papers it issued.

     ·    The Secretary of the Alliance shall tabulate findings from all committees.

     ·    Results of the voting records will be made public. *

          *Note, converse: this also shows the success rate of the Alliance!)


COMMITTEE: 

Gordon Ackley, Mike Loyack, Phil Sloat, Frank Thomas, Hans Wagner


        
  POSITION STATEMENT ON STATE ROADS LOCATED IN BRUNSWICK  COUNTY
   
  ISSUE:

     Should  Brunswick County be empowered to institute a base of revenue to
  raise necessary funds for the creation/improvement of State Roads located in
  Brunswick County?
   
  Background:

     The North Carolina Department of Transportation currently controls the
  creation/improvement of most roads within the State.  The exceptions are Inter-state and
  Municipal roads. Current state law does not allow Brunswick County to raise and spend
  funds for road construction. The NCDOT has publicly indicated that funding for state
  roads is extremely limited.  The Governments TIP Program although ambitious cannot
  be achieved for the at least a decade.  Currently approved projects lack the funding for
  completion. In rare instances the NC Legislature has granted approval and authority
   to a few counties in the State to acquire right-of-way for road construction and
  expansion and to raise alternative funds for transportation issues through a transfer tax.

  Discussion: 

     Brunswick County is currently listed as the 29th fastest growing county in the United
  States.  With the vast influx of citizens, commercial growth and the proposed Port
  Facility and Coastal Events Center, in the county, the road infrastructure is totally
  inadequate to meet the current need without consideration for future development...
  In discussions with State Leaders, County Officials and NCDOT Professionals consensus
  has been achieved in two areas.  First, existing roads need improvement and secondly,
  inadequate funding prohibits these vital improvements.

     Initial steps have begun. The NCDOT has asked Brunswick County Commissioners to
  identify critical roads that require improvement.  The County has identified SR211 from
  Rte.17 to Southport and SR904 from Rte 17 to SR179 at Sunset Beach as inadequate in
  width. Ocean Isle Beach Road SR needs to be developed into a four lane highway from
  Rte.17 to south SR179.

     Further, Georgetown Road must be widened to four lanes East and West to SR179 to
  facilitate current and future traffic from approved Developments along its border and to
  consider its extension as a bypass to Shallotte.
   
  ABCPOA POSITION PAPER:
   
     The ABCPOA Transportation Committee strongly suggests that the North
  Carolina Legislature authorize Brunswick County Commissioners with the ability
  and responsibility of establishing a funding mechanism for the development and
  improvement of the road infrastructure in Brunswick County.  These funds would
  be dedicated to roads specifically and could not be utilized for any other purpose 

     Further, we unanimously support the Commissioners in placing a Referendum
  before the citizens of the county, endorsing the concept of funding at the local level
  to ameliorate inadequacies in the road system of Brunswick County.