Updated February 12
From Don Austin:
Dear Sir,
I attended the NCDOT Proposed Ferry Tolling
Public Meeting at Knotts Island 4 February. I hope you will take
the time to truly read and hear what I have to say. You are, after
all, suppose to represent your constituents; and most people I
have spoken with recently find you do not represent their best
interest or opinions.
First you must ask yourself prior to making any
decision ,”what would I do, how would this impact me if it were
applied to my life”! These Ferry tolls, especially the one for
Knotts Island, would crush life as we know it for this community.
It is our only link with North Carolina and our own County except
for driving to Virginia through two Cities (Virginia Beach and
Chesapeake) and back into North Carolina on very narrow, deep-
ditched, backwoods roads, with no shoulders to pull off on should
we break down.
We on Knotts Island have little commercial
activity. We have an Elementary School, a Post Office, a small
store (more like a 7-11) one part- time restaurant/ beer joint,
and a winery. There are no Government Offices, no Garage, no auto
dealers, no repair facilities, no appliance store, no lumber yard,
no Super Market, no Medical Facilities, no Library…….. I think you
should be getting the picture by now. We have nothing but
solitude, and a little hunting and fishing for amusement unless we
are “drinkers”.
Imagine this, you buy a home where you have
free access to everything to maintain a happy life and someone
comes along 10, 20 or 40 years later and places a $7.00 toll on
every trip you make to and from your home. How would you like it
if a vote was taken to place a toll on you for access to any of
the available activities you have in your County, City or State.
Think about your child attempting to play sports with classmates,
or think about any other things you enjoy doing in your City,
County, or State.
Our Ferry is nothing more than an extension of
our road to the activities most people enjoy freely with NO TOLL.
Yes we all pay our toll through Taxes and those Taxes should pay
for Ferries just as they pay for your roadways. We have one of the
highest gas taxes in the United States as it is. I am asking you
to STOP TAXING us to death. The State Law 2013-360 and 2013-183
both need to be repealed. They are illegal, are not for the
“common good” of the people of the State or Knotts Island. We ALL
paid for the four lane highways and every other State maintained
roadway in and around Raleigh as well as the rest of the State and
now we should ALL pay for the Ferry service the same way.
I ask you once more. Please do the job you were
elected or appointed to do properly. Look after the common good of
your fellow North Carolina residents. If you had any part in the
approval of this legislative action inflicted upon the citizens
without their approval, I ask you to reconsider your actions.
Please now take the actions required to remove this burden upon a
minor group of your constituents. Thank You, Donald S. Austin
From Tammy Waterfield Stilke:
To whom it concerns:
My name is Tammy Waterfield Stilke and I live
on Knotts Island, NC. I am writing you today in regards to
the proposed ferry tolls on the Currituck/Knotts Island Ferry
system.
Knotts Island has been my home since I was born
in 1968. I am very proud of my Island. The people here are unique.
Combined we form a very close knit community. When one family
needs help, we come together and get help for them.
Jobs are few and far between on this Island. I
am proud to work at our local market giving customer service to
the Island people. During the summer hours, I post the ferry
schedule on our communication wall as a courtesy to tourists
coming through our Island. Most people that come in inquiring
about the ferry have two questions: What time is the next ferry
leaving? And how much does it cost? Most people are prepared not
to take the ferry if it cost money, but quickly decide to take it
when I tell them it’s free.
Route 615 comes from VA into Knotts Island. It
stops at the ferry. The ferry then picks up cars and connects the
road over at the mainland. The cars get off the ferry and continue
their journey. For tourists, it means heading to the Outer banks.
For Islanders, it means going to the courthouse, paying taxes, or
heading to a doctor’s appointment. The ferry is our connection to
the mainland. If we are required to pay a toll, how will we be
able to continue to communicate with the mainland?
I believe the tolls will devastate our Island.
The summer tourism will fall off because tolls will discourage
people from visiting our Island. In turn, business will decline
and the businesses here will suffer. Jobs lost will create an
unemployment rise which our state does not need.
Tolls will ruin our students’ chances of
receiving a fair education. If having to pay a toll in order to be
in any after school activities, our students will start to drop
off and the drop- out rate will rise.
I would like to go on record opposing the tolls
on the Knotts Island Ferry. Please consider your options
carefully. By imposing tolls, you will be impacting a community’s
livelihood. Please look for other options in requiring monies for
our roads.
Sincerely, Tammy Waterfield Stilke
Terry King:
I am Terry King, I was a speaker at the Knotts
Island ferry hearing and voiced my opinion as not being in favor
of the ferry tax/tolls.
I feel it is important to advise you that many
people voiced their displeasure with the lack of attendance by you
and the Membership of the ARTPO at the meeting. The general
consensus was concern that you would not have a true, clear
perception of our situation. There were two ARTPO Members in
attendance. It was expressed that this seems to be a small
representation for a 10 county group. Representative Steinberg
indicated in his presentation that a person “really needed to
attend the meeting to get a feel for the wishes and needs of the
people”. We agree. Without attending, you have no way to know all
of the factors that are involved with the needs and concerns of
the people. I would hope that you would want to get the “feel” for
our wishes, the reality of our needs and the overall effect this
will have on us.
With that said, I would like to simply state
that we the people have heard many stories about how this all came
about. We do not care about who or what is at fault we only care
about the fix, the tax/toll Is not by any means a fix. It is a
temporary stop gap measure that will come back for more and more
funding. That would be required funding from communities that
cannot afford the tax/tolls.
The burden of decision has been placed on the
ARTPO. We the people disagree with the tax/tolls being a solution.
Forward thinking loudly implies that this tax/toll will have a
destructive domino effect on the people of North Eastern North
Carolina. We need your help, We struggle in today’s economy and
this may just be the straw that breaks the camel’s back. We want
and need fairness to prevail. I am attempting to speak in the best
interest of both Island’s involved.
They both will ultimately be the ones impacted
by your decision. I find it interesting that the tolls are aimed
at the Islanders which basically are small defenseless communities
with limited resources and limited traffic volume. Tax/tolls from
these small tributary communities would have an insignificant
impact on the revenue required. I believe that If the tax/tolls
are imposed on us, the cost to the DOT highway department and the
tourism dollars lost will be much greater than any funds
collected. I find it interesting the State would go against the
national normal of applying tax/tolls to High volume (more
profitable) highways, as opposed to two small tributary
communities. It makes little sense to most citizens as it does not
comply with the normal thought process.
I fail to understand why the ferries have to
acquire separate funding from the DOT, are they not a form of DOT
highways like the others? They are water highways for the citizens
of the islands allowing them to be linked to the rest of the State
of North Carolina.
We understand that If you deny this tax/toll
the ferries will possibly suffer. If you approve the tax/toll the
islanders will suffer and if you pass it back to the legislation
the ferries have to compete for limited State highway funds. Then
(due to a shortage of funds) the state will most likely choose to
either raise DOT highway taxes to ALL citizens (as is how
government is supposed to function). They may also attempt to
place a tax/toll on a regional highway. If they followed the
pattern of the states north of our border, they will place
tax/tolls on a high volume corridor (that is where the money is).
The City of Chesapeake recognized this and has
a successful major corridor tax/toll facility on RT168, what is to
say that you shouldn’t do the same?
North Carolina has studied placing revenue
generating tax/tolls on Interstate 95. This confirms the opinion
that a major corridor would be a better choice than placing a
tax/toll on a dead-end island tributary.
If they require more money, then, go where the
cash is……go to a high volume corridor……I suggest you tax/toll the
Wright Memorial bridge. The bridge that serves the entire outer
banks. This should allow you to continue providing free ferries to
the citizens of the islands and the tourist. The free ferries
would continue be an attraction that promotes tourism and provides
a vital service to the citizens of Ocrakoke. The rate required for
this tax/toll to fulfill the ferry requirements would be much
smaller than $7 each way. Surely this makes more sense that making
two small communities bare the whole load and cripple the welfare
of the Island citizens.
Thanks for your time. I’m absolutely happy that
“I am not in your shoes”. I pray you make the right decision.