What happened?
The JIPSD's small meeting room was filled and there were people waiting outside who came to speak against moving the garbage trucks and sewer trucks next to a residential neighborhood. I spoke and asked them to pull the plug on this plan. I said that the Town would never change the zoning of the area from residential to industrial. I said that moving the administrative offices was very feasible.
One resident after another called upon the Commissioners to keep their garbage trucks and sewer trucks where they are.
Commissioner McMillan explained that he had been to the Whitehouse Plantation neighborhood informing residents of the plan and asking them to come to the meeting to tell the other Commissioners what they thought. (I also went door-to-door in the neighborhood. Most residents were very happy with the Town, but not at all happy about the JIPSD proposal to bring industrial uses right next to their residential neighborhood.)
Commissioner Waring, who had said that any needed zoning change would be "easy" when the project was first presented by the architects, said that she hadn't made up her mind about the plan because she didn't have enough information. Commissioner Welch said that he wouldn't want the facility moved to his neighborhood, and that it would probably be best to simply sell the property. Commissioner Brown-Crouch said that she knew nothing about any proposal to move garbage trucks to the Dills Bluff property and had never supported that.
Of course, all of the Commissioners were made aware of the proposal when it was presented at the budget workshop on May 6. That is when I found out about it too and I reported on it here. I think what Commissioner Brown-Crouch meant is that when the Commissioners approved a feasibility study for the Dills Bluff property, she had no idea they were proposing to study moving everything from Signal Point Road and rather were only looking at the feasibility of moving the administrative offices.
Commission Chairman David Engelman made no comment. Commissioner Hollingsworth only challenged Commissioner Brown-Crouch's statement that she had given the property to the JIPSD. He said that she had only given 1/2 acre of the 6 acre property.
The RFQ from the JIPSD dated August 4, 2013 included the following:
"Based on the results of the facilities assessment, the District is looking to relocate the current Signal Road Complex facilities to a more centrally located 6.5 acre lot located just off Camp Road on Dills Bluff Road, James Island, SC. This property was deeded to the District in April 2004 by the Honey Hill Homeowners Association. The facilities to be constructed will be in the category of a Class B, LEED Gold or Silver certified, office building, storage and vehicular parking accommodations.Obviously, someone at the JIPSD knew about the proposal to move everything, including the garbage and sewer operations, to Dills Bluff. Apparently, it was not made clear to all of the Commissioners who voted last year to approve the $55,000 that was spent developing the plan for the move.
The JIPSD Attorney, Trent Kernodle, said that the first he had heard about this proposal was "two days ago." (Saturday, June 7.) Apparently, he did not review the RFQ or the contract signed with the architects. (The Town's Attorney, Bo Wilson, routinely reviews our contracts.) And further, he hasn't been keeping up with the issues facing the Town and the JIPSD for the last month. A proposal that would require a rezoning from residential to industrial is a major issue for the Town. It seems to me that it would be a major legal issue for the JIPSD.
Since May 6, I have discussed the matter with Commissioner Brown-Crouch several times.
The entire parcel was purchased by the Town of James Island during the first incorporation. It was to be used for a new Town Hall. When the Town was closed down by the Supreme Court, its assets were divided. The Honey Hill Homeowners Association and the JIPSD both asked the court for the Town's land. The court gave the Honey Hill Homeowners Association a parcel that is a little more than one acre. That parcel is zoned commercial and is right behind the shopping center. The larger portion, a parcel that is slightly more than 5 acres, was given to the JIPSD. That parcel is zoned residential. Commissioner Brown-Crouch, representing the Honey Hill Homeowners Association, later gave the smaller, though highly valuable commercial parcel to the JIPSD. (More exactly, she sold it to the JIPSD for $10.)
Since that time, Commissioner Brown-Crouch has been asking the other Commissioners to do something with the property. She has always wanted the Town and the JIPSD to have some kind of shared facility there.
During our discussions over the last month, I explained to her that I could never support a rezoning to industrial, moving the garbage and sewer trucks next to a residential neighborhood. She explained to me that she never had wanted to move all of the JIPSD operations from Signal Point Road. She never had in mind moving the garbage or sewer trucks and was surprised when the architects presented a plan to do just that.
As an alternative, I suggested the Town could use its greenbelt money to purchase most of the land for a park. The joint Town/JIPSD facility could be on the front of the property with the park to the rear. Commissioner Brown-Crouch thought it was a good idea.
I told Commissioner Brown-Crouch that because she had worked so long and hard for a facility shared by the Town and the JIPSD on the parcel, she should be the one to announce the plan. I suggested she bring it up at the JIPSD meeting on June 9th.
However, she didn't get a chance to mention it before the meeting ended. Fortunately, the JIPSD had an additional time for public comment at the end of the meeting, so I went ahead and made the Town's alternative plan public.
Hopefully, there will be sufficient support among the Commissioners to pursue this joint project. I have always considered the JIPSD the Town's sister governmental body, and favored close ties and cooperation However, I have also always understood this in the context of both bodies having the same "boss." We all work for the voters and taxpayers of James Island.
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