The Seabrook Island Town Hall polling place will be open on Tuesday, November 6, from 7:00am until 7:00pm for voting. Some 30% of the town’s more than 1,300 registered voters are expected to appear, according to the Municipal Election Commission.
Chairman Eugene P. Corrigan, jr. foresees minimum waiting as the voting lines will be aided by a roped-off access line. “‘A – L’ initialed voters will enter to the left of the registration table and continue to voting machines, departing along the left wall of the Council chambers. Those with last initials ‘M – Z’ will enter to the right of the table and exit along the right wall to avoid any pileup and speed the vote,” says Commissioner Beverly J. Baird.
Nine volunteer poll managers will assist voters in three shifts, Commissioner Ralph Lloyd reported. Unlike general elections, which have annually drawn record numbers of voters (about 85.9% of the Town of Seabrook’s population), the Town elections are relatively non-controversial and pull less than 30% of the islands’ population.
Candidates are: re-election as Mayor, Frank McNulty; Utilities Commissioner, Robert D. Stief; Councilmen (four), (* incumbent): William J. Bouldreau*, G. Jeremy Cummin, John B. DuBois*, Thomas Flynn*, William F. Holtz, Robert M. Savin, MD*. |
Please note that all quotes made by Stephen Brown, Seabrook Town attorney, were actuually made by Town Administrator Randy Pierce. We apologize for any confusion.
Seabrook financials
Mayor McNulty reported that, once again, Seabrook is doing great on financials. This year’s budget is $20,000 higher than the same date last year and even after the extra expenses of the bike path and the Utility rebate came out, the Town should finish out the year with an ending balance between $500,000 and $600,000.
Living it up in the Lowcountry
Katie Chapman of the Charleston Visitor’s Bureau (CVB) announced that tickets for the annual “Be a Tourist in your Own Town” event are going on sale as of November 1. During the month of January, residents of Charleston County may purchase a pass for $20 and get free admittance to 31 area attractions such as Magnolia Plantation, Middleton Gardens, the Carolina Ice Palace, Cypress Gardens, Charles Towne Landing and the Gibbs Museum of Art, as well as discounts to 13 area restaurants, a coupon for $20 off your next AirTran flight and $5 off any one day ticket to the 2008 Southeastern Wildlife Exposition. To find out more and to purchase tickets, please visit www.beAtourist.com.
Colbert Report comes to Charleston
Katie Chapman also reported that Stephen Colbert of Comedy Central’s Colbert Report will be broadcasting his show from the Sottile Theater during the last week of January as part of the Be a Tourist in your Own Town program. Please check the Island Connection calendar in future issues for definite dates and times.
It’s confirmed! Charleston is one great place to live
Southern Living Magazine has once again voted Charleston as their favorite city in the United States and according to this year’s Conde Nast Traveler magazine reader’s choice awards, Charleston is the third best city to visit in the United States, right behind New York (number 1) and San Francisco (number 2). And, since the Mayor asked, Boston made it on the list at number 10.
Doh! The deer
John Turner of the Seabrook Island Property Association wildlife subcommittee stated that the deer population on Seabrook has grown by 30% in the past four years and the number is starting to become dangerous. “We’ve had several near misses this year,” said Mr. Turner, referring to drivers narrowly avoiding hitting deer that crowd into the streets at night. “One deer was killed recently by a car,” said Mr. Turner. “We need to take measures to cull the herds so it’s easier for all of us to live on this island.” Mr. Turner suggested employing the services of Mr. Jim Jordan, the wildlife biologist on Kiawah Island. Mr. Jordan has had experience in herd culling on Kiawah Island and brings experience and knowledge of the permitting needed to keep the culling safe and legal.
“Mr. Jordan will be using small caliber silenced rifles at night, shooting from elevated positions downward and not taking any shots over thirty feet to ensure safety,” said Mr. Turner. Mr. Jordan is one of only two people in the State certified to perform herd culling. All deer that they collect will be dressed, processed and sent to local food banks at a cost of $150 per deer. “The POA has offered to pay for all of the dressing and processing,” Mr. Turner stated.
The Council agreed to allow the herd culling on the condition that the POA and Mr. Jordan write a formal letter requesting permission from Council and that all of the permits are verified and presented to Council before taking any action. The culling is scheduled to take place during the months of November and December at night.
Bike Path noticeably underway
“It’s nice to see some work being done on the bike path,” said Mayor McNulty. Councilman Steven Brown agreed, announcing that he and the Mayor spoke with the managing engineers for the project the day before the Council meeting and learned that the Bike Path was more than one third finished. “We’re moving along at a good pace,” said Councilman Brown. The area from Freshfield’s to the BB&T bank has been cleared and the gravel placed and compacted. “If all goes well, we’ll be done by December,” said Mayor McNulty. The question of having more bike stands at Freshfield’s was brought up and Councilman Brown replied that he would be in touch with the property managers about installing enough for the number of bikers they will be expecting.
Mr. Turner of the POA also reported that the POA intends to build a bike path and bike lane that will end at the equestrian center and link up with the bike path. “The POA is currently negotiating with the Club about obtaining some land for the path to cross through,” said Mr. Turner. “But as of now, we are not sure when or if the project will be started.” He also pointed out that POA Councilman Jerry King was in charge of the project and he had not yet spoken to him about any further progress on the project.
Don’t be alarmed
Councilman Brown reported that they had been unable to find a FEMA grant that would cover the installation of an island-wide alarm system that would broadcast warnings in case of weather emergencies. “We’d still like to have a meeting with the Mayor to determine what to do about installing an alarm system,” said Councilman Savin. The Mayor agreed, but pointed out that “The general feeling on the island is that the alarm system is a bad idea. It doesn’t make sense. I think the main concern of our citizens is hurricanes and we are well aware when those are coming through, we don’t need an alarm system for that. As for tornados, there are alerts on TV all the time. What more do we need?” Councilman Dubois concurred, reminding Council about the time they decided to put more lights on the streets in residential neighborhoods. “Everyone wanted more lighting, but no one wanted it in front of their house. We’d have the same problem with sixty foot alarm poles.” Councilman Turner did point out, however, that when he lived in Michigan, “When a siren went off, we knew that the danger was in our immediate vicinity. Because of that localized alert, the sirens were not redundant with the TV. The weather stations let us know the general area of weather problems, but the sirens let us know when the threat was imminent.”
Financial-savvy commissioner needed
Chairman Joe Hall of the Utility Commission took a moment to recognize the fine efforts of late utility commissioner Bob Delaney. “He was a tremendous financial power for the company,” said Mr. Hall. “In 1996, the Utility Commission was $6 million in debt. Bob came on in 1997 and today, the Commission has $18 million in assets and a value of over $9 million. He was a keystone in obtaining bonds for the Commission, refinancing them at 4.4%.” Now, the Utility Commission needs someone to fill Mr. Delaney’s shoes for the last two years of his term. “My preference is,” said Mr. Hall, “because we have a bond issue with covenants that the bondholder needs to report on regularly, we need a financial person who understands bonds. That’s who we’ll be looking for.” The commissioner will only need to meet with the Utility Commission once a month and perform the occasional side task. There is a meeting in Columbia once a year that they would need to attend, but besides that, the Commission is simply look for a financial-savvy candidate. He asked that Town Council keep their ears and eyes open for any potential candidates and said that he’d love to speak with anyone interested in the position. The new commissioner will need to be approved by Council. Interested residents can reach Seabrook Island Utility Commission at 768-0102.
Chairman Hall also reported that the 24-inch waterline across John’s Island was going well. The pipes have already been positioned above ground in many places and workers are currently drilling under tree masses to avoid cutting down any trees. The head contractor still believes that the entire project will be finished by May 2008.
Finally, Chairman Hall reported that the new wastewater pumps for the island are well underway.
*please note that these minutes are unapproved. For approved minutes, please see Linda Manning at Seabrook Town Hall or email her at lmanning@townofseabrookisland.org.
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