Important Topics

Are you affiliated with a political party?

Hell no. I’m what you call a “Local Government Libertarian.”

I believe that individuals and local governments should have more liberty to be what they want to be. Neither of the major parties support my vision. I believe that towns should be able to pursue their interests and people can then choose where they want to live. It saddens me that so many places look alike, and I love the CB has remained unique.

What do you mean by sustainability?

Sustainability means making every decision, every purchase, every investment with an eye on the future. Everything we do should make our lives easier, less expensive and more efficient in the future. If we make smart decisions we can keep expenses down and therefore lower the tax burden on ourselves…and make it easier to weather a storm.

Consider your home. “Investing” in a pool adds expenses, chores and liability to your life. What happens when you retire and your income goes down? Or your kids move out and there’s no one to share the chores? A pool is not be decision made in the interests of making your home more sustainable. On the other hand, solar panels and high efficiency windows will lower your bills tomorrow, next month and next year. That’s improved sustainability.

Let’s apply this logic to everything we do in Carolina Beach.

Swimming pools, attractions, permanent rides… all examples of things that will make our lives more complicated and more expensive going forward. These are not investments you make with an eye toward sustainability.

Smarter roads, safety measures, utility upgrades… these are the investments you make with an eye toward sustainability.

If we support alternative transportation we can keep cars off the road. This requires fewer parking spaces. Fewer parking spaces means less pavement, and less pavement means easier storm water management. It really is this simple!

Downtown Parking

During our peak months the beach is packed, the restaurants are over-capacity and the roads are nearly gridlocked. For this reason I don’t support any major parking projects. If we had more parking, where would those people go? And how could our roads possibly support them?

What we need is to make our parking better for locals! Let’s add more golf car spots, more bike racks and make walking/biking more attractive… this will help the locals and free up more spaces for those who need to drive (elderly, those with children, visitors, etc…)

Let’s be creative and find more places for short-term parking (30 minutes or less) … this will be great for local restaurants that offer to-go services… and it’s also more convenient for the locals.

Let’s provide better parking for our handicapped citizens. It’s not good now, and that’s a shame.

With a little creativity, we can find these spaces… they’re right under our noses. We just need to look!

Environment… and Trees Specifically

Our number 1 amenity is our natural beauty. The sun, sand, sea and breeze is why the visitors come and why we live here. That should be our focus.

With that in mind I’d like to see us become a tree friendly community. I propose a goal… to plant 100 new trees by 2023. These should be no less than medium sized trees that will produce shade and beauty for future generations. We should also pursue “Tree City” designation by the National Arbor Day Foundation.

100 trees by 2023!

Beautification

I believe that Carolina Beach has gotten prettier every year since I’ve been here. So I really have no complaints about how things have gone. That being said, we have to stay the course. Keep planting trees, keep cleaning our roadways and work with volunteer organizations to keep it up.

Safety

The roads are getting crowded. We must think to the future and make safety improvements now… not after someone gets killed.

We have a plan in place for a multi-use path along St. Joseph Street and Lewis Drive. Let’s get it done!

We have a plan in place for safe routes to Carolina Beach Elementary. Let’s get it done!

Our Bike/Ped Committee recommends a crosswalk at Spartanburg and Lake Park. Let’s get it done!

Let’s connect our sidewalks where there are gaps. Maintain the bike lanes along Lake Park, Canal and Carolina Beach Ave. These are simple, inexpensive projects. Let’s get them done!

Taxes

My taxes went up 43% in 2021. I can handle it, but we need to hold the line.

Taxes should not rise again any time soon!

The vision that I support so vigorously is not very expensive and if we focus on our natural attractions (sun, sand, water, breezes) as opposed to man-made (pools, attractions, etc..) we can keep costs down in the future.

I will support cautious decisions with an eye on our bottom line. We must keep taxes and other expenses in check!

Stormwater

I’m the only candidate with an engineering degree and experience as a civil engineer right here in Carolina Beach. I know how it works. In fact, I designed the stormwater system for Seagrove (Wilmington Beach) and the largest stormwater retention pond in Carolina Beach. (The one along the Greenway behind Carolina Sands.) Both work great, so I must have done something right.

I can offer technical support and oversight to our staff.

It may not be popular to say, but our approach to stormwater management is sound… we just need to execute better. That means making continuous improvements, enforcing our standards, being eternally vigilant and practicing preventative maintenance.

Local Business

The government needs to maintain infrastructure, keep our town beautiful and clean, keep people safe and then… get out of the way. That’s all the town can or should do.

Don’t require unnecessary paperwork, don’t require unnecessary permits and don’t create special taxes. Business owners are smart.. let them find solutions that work for their special circumstances… because they will!

Carolina Beach Lake

Finish the job and be done with it!