Boundary Adjustment and the new Folly Road Fire Station

The Chairwoman of the JIPSD Commission, Sandi Engelman, emailed me on August 1 to ask for a meeting regarding their proposed new Fire Station on Folly Road.

I immediately agreed.   The meeting was held at Town Hall on August 8.

I welcomed the JIPSD representatives and invited them to explain what they needed from the Town.  The District Administrator said that the JIPSD had purchased three parcels on Folly Road for their new fire station.   Two of the parcels are in the Town of James Island and one of the parcels is in the City of Charleston.  He explained that he had already met with Mayor Tecklenburg of the City of Charleston and asked that he agree to shift its boundary with the Town so that all three of the parcels would be in the Town. The District Administrator stated that Mayor Tecklenburg had asked that the boundary shift go the other direction, so that the two parcels in the Town would switch to City’s jurisdiction.  The District Administrator reported that he said that he did not want that and that the Mayor of Charleston then agreed to switch the one parcel to the Town   The District Administrator then reported that Mayor Tecklenburg said that he, the District Administrator of the JIPSD, now owed him, the Mayor of the City of Charleston, a favor.

I responded that I am sure that we can come to an agreement.

The architects then broke in and said that they had some questions.   They asked if they could begin the process of site plan review before the pending boundary adjustment.   They stated that they understood that completing a boundary adjustment would take months.  

We on the Town side all agreed that they could begin the process now.

Municipalities are authorized under state law to adjust their boundary by agreement.   Two municipalities that have a contiguous boundary first come to an agreement about a boundary adjustment.   Then each municipality must hold a public hearing and each municipal council must pass an ordinance enacting the agreed boundary adjustment. The soonest these things could be completed on the Town's side would be at the Town’s regular meeting in late October.   Charleston City Council would also have to pass an ordinance implementing the same agreement.  

The architects informed us that the JIPSD intended to combine the three parcels to form a single large parcel.  They asked if this could be done before the boundary adjustment was complete.   The Town’s Planning Director explained that they could, but that they would need to go through both the Town’s and the City of Charleston’s process.   The architects then explained that the combination of the parcels could wait because they did not plan on pulling any permits before the spring of 2019.

The architects said they were ready to leave, and oddly enough, the District Administrator and Commissioners Hollingsworth and Kernodle said they were ready to go as well.   They didn’t seem at all interested in discussing any agreement regarding this favor the JIPSD was requesting from the Town.

I stated that I would talk to members of Council about whether they would agree with this boundary change.   I said that I am sure members of Council would be watching the Commissioners at their upcoming Commission meetings.

Commissioner Hollingsworth asked if I thought there would be any problem with getting Town Council to approve the boundary adjustment.   I repeated that I am sure that Town Council would be watching the Commissioners at their upcoming meetings.

Commissioner Hollingsworth stated that building this new “state of the art” fire station was very important for the safety of James Islanders.   I said that I understand the need for a new fire station.

Commissioner Kernodle accused me of trying to prevent or delay the fire station.  I stated that I was not trying to prevent or delay the new fire station.

Commissioner Hollingsworth asked what I wanted from the JIPSD Commissioners.   I stated that they know what the Town wants from the JIPSD.

Commissioner Hollingsworth said that maybe it was better to have just him and me meet rather than continue discussions with the current group.    I stated that I was willing to meet with him.

Commissioner Kernodle told Commissioner Hollingsworth that she would just talk to Leonard Blank (the Mayor Pro-tem)   She also told Commissioner Hollingsworth to begin recording our conversation on his phone.   She demanded of him “Turn it on.”   He responded “cool your jets.”

Commissioner Hollingsworth apologized to the “young ladies,” for having to listen to this discussion.  (That is, the Town Administrator and Planning Director.  He may have also been referring to the JIPSD’s architects, since both of those attending were women.)

Commissioner Hollingsworth said the Town has asked the JIPSD for things that it just can’t do and stated he wanted a meeting to discuss these matters.    The meeting broke up.   I shook the District Administrator’s hand.   I also shook Commissioner Hollingsworth’s hand and said I was willing to meet with him anytime.   I said goodbye to Commissioner Kernodle.   She left without speaking.

Later that day, the JIPSD wrote the Town again asking if they could begin site plan review.  The Town responded that yes, they may, as we had already agreed at the meeting.  That same day, the Town wrote to add that any boundary adjustment is a Council decision but that the site review process with the Town is necessary regardless whether the fire station is wholly or partly in the Town.   It would be up to the JIPSD to determine if they wished to begin site plan review with the City of Charleston at the same time.  (That would be necessary if Town Council and/or City Council do not approve the boundary adjustment.)

Also, on that same day, I wrote Mayor Tecklenburg.  I thanked him for agreeing to a boundary adjustment that adds territory to the Town at the expense of the City.   I requested that we meet to make a formal agreement between the City and the Town regarding the boundary adjustment to bring to our respective municipal councils.  I explained to him that the architects had said that they didn’t anticipate pulling any permits until next spring, so that there is no real hurry and that Town Council couldn’t get to this before our September 20 meeting.   I suggested that this might be a good time to discuss any other matters of concern between the Town and the City.

As for what the Town wants from the Commissioners, I did not mean to be mysterious.   A decision about a boundary adjustment is a Council decision, and I said that I would be discussing the matter with Council.  What should the JIPSD do in exchange for this favor--having them solely go through the Town's zoning and building inspection process rather than having to go through both the City and Town processes?

My view is that if Commissioners want the Town Council to do this favor, they should do a favor for the taxpayers of the Town of James Island.   On June 10, I wrote then Commission Chair Cubby Wilder with a proposal to have the Town contribute up to a million dollars to pay for PSD services in exchange for a credit against PSD property tax.   The credit would offset the 13% property tax increase they have already levied, most of which is to be used pay back with interest the money they plan to borrow for the new fire station. 

While the Commissioners should care about the taxpayers of the Town, the letter signed by Commissioners Wilder, Kernodle, Hollingswoth, and Engelman on June 19 suggested otherwise.   They were willing to throw $1 million away in a barrage of insults to the Town.     

I also think it is past time for the Commissioners to quit stonewalling on support for legislation in Columbia to allow residents of the unincorporated area of the District to have the opportunity to vote to return to the Town.   

Each member of Council must make their own decision.  If the Commissioners would make a good faith effort to work with the Town, then I, for one, would be willing to vote to adjust the Town's boundary to help out their staff.   As the architects explained, they won't even be pulling permits to break ground until next Spring.  There is plenty of time to work this out. 

Is there a majority of Commissioners interested in mending fences with the Town?