WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — Earlier this week, all 5 New Hanover County Commissioners traveled to Washington DC to attend the National Association of Counties Legislative Conference.
While there, Commissioners Dane Scalise and Rob Zapple made an additional trip to Capitol Hill.
“We went up there, and this was, to me the really important point, to talk to our federal representatives,” Scalise said. “People from Senator Thom Tillis’ officer, people from Senator Ted Budd’s office and Representative David Rouzer, who is in the House of Representatives, about the issues that are most critical to us here in New Hanover County.
While on Capitol Hill, four topics were discussed, from beach renourishment methods to PFAS and how to ensure people can continue having access to clean water.
Two topics discussed involved federal funding, mainly how to more easily get access to it when a disaster hits and getting funding for the Cape Fear Memorial Bridge replacement.
“There will be a hurricane at some point in the future” Scalise said. “How do we respond whenever a hurricane comes and causes damage to our community? Well, we’re all going to mobilize, we’re all going to do everything that we can to pitch in. Part of that though is we need funds that will ultimately come from the federal government to help make replacements, fix things that get broken.”
“What I’d like to see happen is for the federal government to bring money to bear on this situation so that we can use money from the federal government and state government to build the Cape Fear Memorial Bridge replacement and never have to impose a toll on the public. That is the goal and is ultimately what I was there for.”
Scalise said federal grant requests have been made to help fund a Cape Fear Memorial Bridge replacement, which would help cover a substantial portion of the estimated $400-500 million price tag.