New Town Hall

The first Town purchased the property on Dills Bluff currently owned by the JIPSD for the site of a James Island Town Hall.   The Town is no longer threatened with losing everything we have built up.   We can finally move forward to achieve a goal set by our first Mayor, Joan Sooy, almost twenty years ago.

I greatly appreciate the past support of our current landlord, Ken Berlinsky.  This is especially true regarding his patience as the Town was closed in 2004, reopened in 2006, closed in 2011, and then reopened in 2012.   However, we are paying nearly $70,000 each year in rent.   I think it is time for us to instead start investing in a permanent home for the Town.

In the summer of 2014, I proposed that the Town and JIPSD build a joint administrative center on the Dills Bluff Property.   My plan was for them to own their part and we to own our part.    It seemed like a common sense, win-win, plan.  We thought that the District Manager, Robert Wise, and even then JIPSD Chairman Donald Hollingsworth, were supportive.     

At the February meeting of Town Council, I announced that it was time for the Town to go forward with building a Town Hall.   It was a major subject of discussion at the Budget Workshop in early March.   Every member of Council seemed supportive.   No member of Council proposed that we abandon or even delay building a Town Hall.   The major point of contention was whether my proposal to be a close neighbor with the JIPSD was feasible or even desirable.   Some members of Council raised concerns about the attitude of some Commissioners.     My view has always been that we should look forward to the next twenty years and realize that Mayors, Members of Council, and Commissioners come and go.   Still, while that was contentious, there was a clear consensus in favor of a new Town Hall.

This spring it became clear that the JIPSD was only interested in having the Town pay them rent.  There is no interest in shared ownership.   I offered to buy 2 acres from the 6.2 acre site.  There was never a clear answer.   So, the Town is looking at alternative sites.

The Town is currently reviewing the qualifications of architect and engineering firms to help us with this project.   I hope that we will be ready to select one at the August Council meeting.

One task for this firm will be a needs assessment.    I have been assuming that the Town Hall will be 25% to 50% larger than our current space.  That would be a new Town Hall that is between 5500 and 7000 square feet.   But that is just an estimate.  We will look at the needs assessment, though affordability is important.   We plan to ask for a design that will allow for additions in the future if needed.

The 2015-16 budget includes $200,000 for a building fund for the new Town Hall.   As the budget wound through the approval process, no member of Council objected, and the budget finally passed second reading at the June meeting.   The budget passed unanimously, including this partial funding for the new Town Hall.

$200,000 is not nearly enough to buy property and construct a new Town Hall.   At the February Council meeting, I explained that I was going to request authorization from Council to sell bonds.    As we began discussions with our bond attorney, we discovered that if the Town sells bonds, then state law requires that we put a bond millage on the tax bill.     My view was that the Town would be required to provide a tax credit against the tax liability created by the bond millage.   And required or not, that certainly is a better option than having Town taxpayers pay additional property tax.   My plan was to provide a tax credit sufficient to zero out any tax that our property owners would otherwise have to pay for the bonds issued to pay for Town Hall.

After further discussion with our attorneys, I determined that lease-purchase is a better option for the Town than bond finance.    Rather that approving the issue bonds and the required millage, Council approved introducing a millage for payment for real estate by lease purchase agreement and maintenance of a reserve.   The Town is required to provide a property tax credit against the tax liability this creates.   Council approved a tax credit large enough to zero out the tax liability for all taxpayers.

I am not concerned that the LOST funds the Town receives will "dry up," but it is possible that the revenues might suffer temporary decreases.   To continue zeroing out the tax bills, the millage might need to be adjusted.   In South Carolina, property tax millage must be passed again each year with the budget.   Not only can the millage be reduced, if Council fails to include it in the annual budget, then it goes away!     There is no doubt that the Town's lease payments will be affordable.  The question is how long will it take before enough lease payments have been made that the new Town Hall is fully paid off.    The sooner that happens, the sooner funds will be freed up for sidewalks and other community improvements.