Brian Hicks Yet Again --- He Must Be Joking

In a recent column, Brian Hicks responded to ..what?   Comments on social media somewhere?  He must be joking. But it should be no surprise that he turned it into yet another attack on the Town of James Island.

He claimed that the Town collects no taxes.  If only that were possible. What is unusual is that the 20 mil property tax levied by the Town is low enough that the LOST property tax credit we provide zeros it out so that no net property taxes are paid to the Town.   Unfortunately, the Town has always collected a variety of other taxes, very similar to those collected by other municipalities in South Carolina.

Further, the people of the Town are also in the James Island Public Service District (JIPSD) which is now levying a 64.4 mil property tax. While that millage is lower than in the City of Charleston, it is higher than in the City of Folly Beach or the Town of Mount Pleasant.  One reason why the Town's millage can be so low is that expensive services like fire protection and solid waste collection are provided to the residents of the Town by the JIPSD.   

Because the JIPSD provides no LOST property tax credits, their taxes hit Town homeowners hard.   After last year's 13% increase, the JIPSD property tax burden for homeowners surpassed that in the City of Charleston for the first time.  That won't last long given the recent property tax hike by the City, but that hardly helps Town taxpayers.

Fortunately, the voters of the JIPSD turned out three incumbent Commissioners in November, and the new majority appears open to working with the Town on a tax credit.  That will allow the Town to use is its other sources of revenue to help pay for fire protection and solid waste collection for its residents as is done by most municipalities rather than put all the burden on property taxpayers.

The Town funds the Island Sheriff's Patrol, which is a partnership with the Charleston County Sheriff's Office to provide increased law enforcement. The Town pays for sidewalks, paving roads, drainage repairs, improvements in our parks, and more. We employ our own building inspector and provide zoning and planning services as well.   As a result, negative impacts from excessive development are much less in the Town, though we are heavily impacted by excessive development in the roughly 50% of James Island annexed by the City. The Town frequently partners with the City of Charleston or Charleston County for the provision of services, but we generally are bringing our checkbook.

The people of the Town pay the county taxes which fund our library system.   The distribution of library branches has proven to be political.  A library slated to be closed in West Ashley was kept open.  Why?  Effective advocacy by the member of County Council whose district included that branch.  

I am very happy that James Island will get a new branch library.  I strongly advocated for the Dills Bluff Road site owned by the JIPSD.   There was plenty of room at that site for a new library, a new Town Hall, and a new JIPSD administrative center. At the time, the majority of JIPSD Commissioners didn't want to sell for reasons they wouldn't explain and so quoted insultingly unrealistic prices.   Most of that bunch have since been turned out of office, and with the current Commission things would be very different if we could do it over again.  Sadly, that opportunity slipped through our fingers. 

Finally, I am just baffled by the charges of racism.  The library branch on Camp Road is only about 500 feet from First Baptist Church of James Island, probably the largest on James Island, whose congregation is mostly African American.  That church and our new Town Hall are next door neighbors in the "Down the Island" community--also predominantly black. When the Town passed a resolution renewing our call for the County library system to keep the branch open, both an associate pastor from First Baptist and the leader of the Triangle Grace Association representing the community came to Town Hall to speak in favor.  The Camp Road branch serves an ethnically diverse area, including both Town and City neighborhoods.

   

I have never had a negative word to say about the Grimball Road site for the new Baxter Patrick library branch. After that site was selected, I became an enthusiastic supporter.  It will be a great addition to James Island.   I am sure that it will also have an ethnically-diverse clientele, especially residents of the growing number of predominately white apartment complexes popping up in the nearby areas on Folly Road annexed by the City of Charleston.   

Still, like just about every other elected official on James Island, I think two libraries are better than one. That includes Charleston City Councilwoman Carol Jackson.  I greatly appreciate how our new County Councilwoman, Jenny Honeycutt, did her best to reverse a decision made years ago and save the library branch on Camp Road.   I am very thankful that she has won support from County Council to lease the building to the Town after the move.

We are still considering options, but I believe that we can continue to provide some level of library service--working with the Charleston County library system.   The current level of service is likely out of reach, but something more akin to operations at the Folly Beach branch--also a partnership between a municipality and the County system--would be feasible.  And yes, I certainly expect that, as usual, the Town will be bringing a checkbook. 

The James Island Library Branch on Camp Road

Several years ago, County Council decided to move the library on James Island from its current Camp Road location to a new location somewhere on the Folly Road corridor.   The planned new library was to be a bigger and better state of the art facility.

In 2014, the Town passed a resolution asking County Council to include on the library referendum a specific location for the new library, but also that the existing branch on Camp Road be renovated and remain open.

While there was consideration of several sites for the new library, including where O2 Fitness is located near Folly Road and the James Island Public Service District property on Dills Bluff Road, County Council chose the old Baxter Patrick School on Grimball Road.

Former County Councilman Qualey fought this decision, but he was unable to find enough votes on County Council.   I believe that County Councilwoman Anna Johnson supported the Grimball Road site and lined up majority support.

County Councilman Qualey did win one victory.  County Council approved a resolution stating that if there was any money left over after all of the other library construction and renovation projects  were complete, then that extra money would be used to renovate the library branch on Camp Road.  Unfortunately, there was nothing about the funds needed to operate the branch permanently or what would happen between the time the new branch opened  and all of the library construction and renovation projects were complete.

At the time, I didn't think it mattered much because the chance that all of the other library construction and renovation projects would on net end up under budget rather than have cost overruns were slim to none.   My view on that has not changed.   Frankly, I think the majority of County Council felt the same which why some supporters of the Baxter Patrick site voted for the resolution backed by Qualey.

Last December, Town Councilman Troy Mullinax asked to place a new resolution regarding the library on the agenda.   He included a statement that County Council had decided to close the branch on Camp Road when the Baxter Patrick branch was completed in June.   The proposed resolution reiterated the Town's position from 2014--the existing branch should remain open.  It added that, at the very least, the branch on Camp Road should remain open until all of the other projects were complete to see if there was money left for renovation.

I didn't think it was really necessary for Town Council to pass a new resolution when it added little to our longstanding position. I saw no reason to expect that anyone on County Council had changed their mind.  On the other hand, I didn't see how it would do any harm to restate our position either.

Just before the December meeting, however, I was told that County Council had not decided to close the library branch on Camp Road.   After I shared that, Councilman Mullinax asked to defer consideration of the resolution.   There was no objection from Council.

It wasn't long after we learned that, as was expected all along, the Charleston County library system intended to close the branch on Camp Road when the new branch opened.   While some materials and equipment will be moved, the most important shift will be staff.   The librarians from the branch on Camp Road will become the librarians for the new Baxter Patrick branch when it opens.   There will be no librarians available to staff the branch on Camp Road.

County Councilwoman Honeycutt tried to build support for keeping the Camp Road branch open, but there just were not enough votes on County Council.   Very few were willing to reverse the decision they had made nearly four years ago.   I told Councilwoman Honeycutt that some years ago, we had heard from County staff that it might be possible for the Town to lease the building after the library closed.  However, I explained that the Town preferred having two libraries on James Island.   We still wanted to keep the Camp Road branch open, though we were happy that a new modern branch was opening on Grimball Road.   Councilwoman Honeycutt was not able to accomplish our first preference, but she was able to find majority support to lease the library building to the Town.   

I believe she deserves thanks for actually accomplishing something for James Island.

Frankly, I fail to see how having a member of Council who rants and raves at the other members and fails to get a majority does anyone any good.   It is very disheartening to have your representative explain that when you go before County Council it is better not to mention that you have their support because that will automatically turn the majority against you.

I am not sure why our activist community thought encouraging people to come to Town Council to plead to keep the library open would help. Town Council was not proposing to close the library branch. Town Council's position has remained the same for years--two libraries are better than one.   I admit it bothers me when I read emails or hear public comments that seem to suggest that the Town is proposing to close the library or that Charleston County is obligated to obtain our permission.   Anyway, the resolution passed unanimously.

While I doubt the pleas of James Island residents would be very effective in influencing County Council, especially the seven members who have no constituents on James Island, that is who is making the decision.  I was surprised to hear that County Council voted to explore leasing the property to the Town the same night Town Council was considering its resolution.    However, it is important to understand that Town Council has favored keeping the branch open since 2014.   Its not like our position was a mystery to County Council.

The Town must now consider what we can do with the library building when it is closed.  We are exploring a variety of options.   I believe and hope that we can keep some level of library services at the Camp Road site.   However, staffing a library at the existing level of service will be very challenging financially to the Town.

Town Council Supports Tax Credit Plan

Town Council approved four to one a resolution authorizing signature of an MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) with the James Island Public Service District (JIPSD) that would be a first step towards reducing property taxes in the Town.   Joining me in support of tax relief were Councilmen Blank, Mullinax and Stokes.  Voting against was Councilman Milliken.

JIPSD property tax was increased by 13% last year and makes up approximately half of the total property tax burden for homeowners in the Town.   As a result, the total amount paid by homeowners in the Town on last October's property tax bill surpassed what was paid by homeowners in the City of Charleston for the first time.

The Town retained the Pope Flynn law firm to develop a proposal for tax relief.   This firm works for municipalities and special purpose districts across South Carolina.   I sent the proposal they developed to the JIPSD Commissioners last spring.  The Town would pay for a portion of JIPSD services directly in exchange for the Commission's consent to provide credits against the property taxes the JIPSD collects in the Town.  In response, I received a very nasty letter from four of the Commissioners rejecting our offer. Fortunately for the taxpayers of the Town, three of those four were defeated in last November's election.

The Pope Flynn law firm has now developed an MOU for the Town and the JIPSD to sign.  The MOU creates a nonbinding road map for negotiating a more detailed agreement that would implement the tax credit plan.  It is called the "Cost-Sharing Agreement" and would only be executed after approval of both Town Council and the Commissioners.

I hope that the James Island Public Service District Commission will also authorize signature of the MOU.  It is important to begin working on this now so that credits can appear on the County tax bills going out to property owners in the Town next October.

McCoy Files SC House Bill 3661--Opportunity to Reunite the Town

Representative Peter McCoy filed House Bill 3661 in Columbia Thursday. This proposed change in South Carolina annexation law would create an opportunity to reunite the Town of James Island. Similar to a bill filed last session, it clarifies the definition of "contiguity."

If a unincorporated property or area is in the same special purpose district as a municipality and it would be contiguous with the municipality but for a break in the contiguity of the special purpose district, then the property or area would be considered contiguous to the municipality. This only applies if the municipality is entirely within the special purpose district and the special purpose district has an elected governing body.   Contiguity is important because it is a requirement to allow for annexation.

The Town is entirely within the James Island Public Service District (JIPSD) which has an elected Commission.  There are breaks in the contiguity of the JIPSD created by strings of properties annexed by the City of Charleston.  

At least some of those annexations were aimed at breaking up James Island to prevent the formation of a Town.   That effort failed, however, some parts of James Island that were in the Town in 2011 were unable to vote in the incorporation election and be included in the Town in 2012. 

This clarification of contiguity would make unincorporated properties or areas on James Island contiguous to the Town if they are directly across one of the areas annexed by the City of Charleston. If the McCoy bill becomes law, an individual property owner in the unincorporated area of James Island could petition Town Council to annex--to join the Town.   But they could only do so if they are next to an area annexed to the City and on the other side of that City area is an area already in the Town.    

It would also be possible for an entire neighborhood to annex to the Town.   If the neighborhood is next to a City area and on the other side of that City area is an area in the Town, then it would be possible to hold an annexation election.   This would require 25% of the registered voters in the neighborhood to sign a petition. Then the Charleston County Election Commission would hold an election.  If the majority of those voting wanted to join the Town, then that neighborhood would return to the Town.   

The effect of this change in annexation law would allow people in the unincorporated area of James Island to choose between joining the Town of James Island or the City of Charleston on an equal basis.   All of those who would become contiguous to the Town because of this law are already contiguous to the City of Charleston and can annex to the City of Charleston if they want.   Few choose to annex to the City.

I greatly appreciate Representative McCoy's faithful support of the effort to provide an opportunity for all of those former Town residents who were left out of the incorporation election of 2012 to also have a chance to vote whether they want to return to the Town.

While there has always been strong support on Town Council for the goal of reuniting the Town, there have been few opportunities for Council to go on record with a vote.  Also on Thursday, Town Council voted 4 to 1 for a resolution endorsing the McCoy bill.   Joining me in support were Councilmen Blank, Mullinax, and Stokes.   The sole vote in opposition was Councilman Milliken.

   

The Town's resolution asks all of the Representatives and Senators with districts that include parts of James Island to join Representative McCoy in helping pass this needed change in South Carolina law.    Representative Stavrinakis and Senator Senn and Senator Campsen each represents parts of James Island, including unincorporated areas. 

Do you live on James Island?   Do you want an opportunity to vote to join the Town?   Contact your Senator and Representative.  And give Representative Peter McCoy a big thank you for supporting the right of James Islanders to choose.

      

New Commissioners Take Charge

The James Island Public Service District held a special meeting on January 14th. The meeting was called by a majority of Commissioners soon after they were sworn in on January 2nd.

For the first item of business, the Commissioners changed their rules of procedure to regain their authority to select the JIPSD Attorney.  That had been given up to the District Administrator in 2015 by then Commissioners Waring, Kernodle, Hollingsworth, and Wilder.

The Commissioners then asked Michael Timbes to serve as an attorney to review transition issues.   The Commissioners voted to allow Trent Kernodle to complete a letter to the City of Charleston that he had already been assigned.    According to the newly-established rules a "Request for Qualifications" will be sent out soon seeking a new General Attorney for the District.

The next item of business was election of officers.   Commissioner Kathy Woolsey moved to suspend the rules as necessary for the election of all officers by roll call vote.   The Vice Chair and Secretary positions were vacant because former Commissioners Hollingsworth and Wilder were defeated in their reelection efforts in November.   Chair Engelman was not up for election in November, and since the JIPSD rules of procedure has its officers elected for one year terms from June to July, her term as chair is slated to end on June 30.  However, the JIPSD rules of procedure allow a majority of Commissioners to suspend the rules, which would include the rules regarding the terms and dates of election of officers.  Commissioner Woolsey argued that it would be better to elect officers using the calendar year--January to January.   The vote to suspend the rules failed on a 3 to 4 vote.  Commissioners Brown Crouch, Clifford, and Woolsey voted in favor.   Commissioners Engelman, Platt, Laughlin, and Poston voted against. 

Commissioner Laughlin was appointed as the Chair of the Adminstrative Committee by Commission Chair Engelman in an email last week.   He called for a committee meeting to review the rules regarding the election of officers before the next regular meeting on January 28th.  From the discussion there appeared to be substantial support for running terms from January to January.

The Commission then filled the two vacant offices.  Commissioner Platt nominated Alan Laughlin for Vice Chair.   Commissioner Brown Courch nominated Commisioner Woolsey.   Laughlin received 3 votes in favor--Engleman, Platt and himself.   Commissioner Woolsey received four votes Clifford, Brown Courch, Poston, and herself.   Commissioner Poston was elected Secretary on a 6 to 1 vote, with only Chair Engelman voting against.

Chair Engelman left the meeting.   Vice Chair Woolsey continued the meeting.    The next item on the agenda was the time of the regular Commission meetings.   There was  concern that it is difficult for citizens to fight the traffic and get to a 6:00 Commission meeting right after work.   Two of the Commissioners have jobs and explained it is difficult for them to make it to a 6:00 meeting.  The Commission voted unanimously to change their rules of procedure so that the time of the regular meetings is returned to 7:00 PM as it had been for many years.

Lighthouse Boulevard Drainage Project

The Town of James Island has been working on the Lighthouse Boulevard Drainage Project for many years. Initially, the project focused on constructing a sidewalk to connect the Lighthouse Point Neighborhood to the sidewalk on Fort Johnson Road.  While that continues to be part of the overall project, because of flooding on Fort Johnson Road and homes to the north during major storm events, the project now includes a culvert under Fort Johnson Road and a storm drain along the east side of Lighthouse Boulevard to convey water to the Parrot Creek drainage canal that runs between the New Beginnings Church and the Lighthouse Point Neighborhood. 

The sidewalk portion of the project has shifted to the west side of Lighthouse Boulevard.  The James Island Soccer Club has agreed to provide an easement for the construction of the sidewalk on their property.   The sidewalk will wind through the heavily wooded area between the soccer field and the road.  No grand trees will be impacted by the sidewalk.

The drainage portion of the project, however, remains on the east side of Lighthouse Boulevard.   For the most part, the drainage pipe will be under the SCDOT right of way along the road, but it will encroach on the Church's property in several places.   The Church has agreed to give the Town an easement for the encroachments.

Unfortunately, there are two grand trees that will be impacted by the installation of the drainage pipe.   While both trees have suffered severe root damage due to the maintenance of the existing drainage ditch, digging the trench for the new drainage pipe will cause further damage.   One will need to be removed, and the root system of other will be further damaged so that it might not survive.  The Town will try to save one of the trees, but is asking the BZA for permission to remove both.

Initially, the Town had asked new Beginnings Church for an easement to construct a sidewalk on their property near Lighthouse Boulevard. The Church instead proposed that the Town construct a curb and gutter along the road, pipe the existing ditch, and place the sidewalk next to the newly constructed curb. That approach would have required the removal of some trees.   Due to the requirement that much of the ditch be piped, and the experience of flooding on Fort Johnson Road and the homes to the north during storm events, the Town expanded the project to include a culvert under Fort Johnson Road to help with drainage problems. A sidewalk project became a joint sidewalk and drainage project.

The Town won a grant from the Charleston County 1/2 cent Transportation Sales Tax to share in the cost.   We asked Charleston County Transportation to take over management of the project in 2017.   Their consultant proposed that the sidewalk portion of the project be moved to the west side of he road and that we approach the Soccer Club for an easement.   That was successful.

As for the drainage portion of the project, the west side of Lighthouse Boulevard would have many serious tree impacts, so the County's consultant proposed to continue to look at the east side of the road.   One option was to construct an open drainage ditch to convey the water away from the new culvert under Fort Johnson Road.   This would be partially constructed on the SCDOT right of way, but it would substantially encroach on the Church's property because of the need for slope on the sides of the ditch,  This would also create more tree impacts.   The drain pipe alternative requires less room, but it still will encroach on the Church's property some and impact two grand trees.  The Church agreed to the drain pipe rather than the open ditch just last month.

After receiving approval from the Church for the drainage portion of the project, the Town applied to its own Board of Zoning Appeals for a variance to remove the two grand trees. The Town's BZA always meets on the third Tuesday of each month. The Town's case will be heard at the BZA's next regular meeting on November 20th.   The Town met all legal notification requirements--a sign was placed on the property, letters were sent out to neighboring property owners, and an ad was placed in the Post and Courier.    During the coming week, our usual notifications for the BZA meeting will appear on the Town's website and other social media.

There has been some confusion spread by the media regarding the project.   While the overall project is for a sidewalk and drainage improvements, the sidewalk is not being constructed to improve drainage.   The culvert under Fort Johnson Road and the drain pipe along the east side of Lighthouse Boulevard is aimed at improving the drainage on Fort Johnson Road and the area on the north side of Fort Johnson Road. 

The two trees are partly on the SCDOT right-of-way and partly on the Church's property.   There is no drainage issue at that location.   The project is not aimed at controlling standing water there.  Exactly what the Church will do with that area of its property is up to them, but they are not replacing the trees with impervious surface.  Immediately, there will be a grassy area that will continue to absorb rainfall rather than create additional runoff. 

While the drain pipe will have inlet boxes along Lighthouse Boulevard and so remove storm water from that road, there is not a serious drainage problem because sheet flow down the road to the the drainage canal conveys most of that water on the road.   While SCDOT did dig out the ditches on the road recently, it wasn't because there was severe flooding on Lighthouse Boulevard.   The problem is that Fort Johnson Road blocks drainage from the north, which is the reason for putting a culvert under Fort Johnson Road.   The purpose of the drain pipe is to convey that water to the drainage canal.

This drainage improvement will not impact the Lighthouse Point neighborhood, which is on the other side of the drainage canal from the outlet of the drain pipe. Lighthouse Point does have drainage problems, which he Town continues to address.   For example, the Town recently replaced a drain pipe to convey water from the ditches on Grimsley Road to the outfall in Clark Sound. 

I am asking that the Town's BZA allow the removal of these two trees because controlling flooding is a major priority for the Town of James Island.

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