April LIBPA Newsletter

Island Notes: Welcome! Beaufort County Association of Realtor’s is scheduled, in the near future, to relocate its headquarters from 905 Charles Street in Beaufort to Lady’s Island. Their new home will be at 22 Kemmerlin Lane which is one of the new business office suites directly behind BB&T on Lady’s Island Drive. Congratulations Mr. Durbin. A banquet was recently held at Dataw Island during which Beaufort High School principal, Dan Durbin, was recognized as the “Father of the Year”. The University of South Carolina Beaufort sponsors the program which is designed to recognized outstanding fathers in the community. Dan was selected as a result of an essay written by his daughter Olivia about her dad.

Congratulations Laura Cody:  We are pleased to mention that one of our members, Laura Cody, of Laura Cody Art Studio has been selected to be the Featured Artist at the Beaufort Art Gallery. The gallery will have a special exhibit of Laura’s paintings from April 9th through May 12th, 2007. A “Meet The Artist” reception will be held on April 13th from 5:30PM to 7:30PM at the Gallery, which is located in the Elliot House at 1001 Bay Street in downtown Beaufort. LIBPA members are invited to attend. It is noteworthy to mention that Laura Cody’s web site--- lauracodyart.com---is the second most active on the LIBPA network. Recently Laura stated, “Thanks to the link to my web site through the LIBPA web site, more people have become aware of and interested in my art work. It has become a big help in generating additional business”. We are always glad to hear that the efforts and practices of LIBPA have helped further the business interests of our members.

Road Paving On Lady's Island: The project to pave the Quail Run Community road is nearing completion. Next on the Beaufort County Engineering Department’s paving list and presently under design are Varsity Street, Alumni Road and Faculty Drive. These roads are located to the rear of Beaufort Academy.

New Development Approved On Sams Point Road:  Another development on Lady’s Island was recently approved by the Beaufort County Development Review Team. The proposed development is located adjacent to Spring Knob Circle, north of Cedar Point Drive on the east side of Sams Point Road. It consists of 8.5 acres and the developer’s plan is for construction of 15 homes on the property.

A Nice Way To Do Business:  On a Saturday morning in the first part of March the county council representatives for Lady’s and St. Helena Islands (Paul Summerville and Bill McBride) and the school board representatives for Lady’s Island, St. Helena and Beaufort (Jim Bequette, Michael Rivers and Fred Washington) sat in the auditorium of the Beaufort County High School and listened to the concerns of those they represent. Approximately 80 residents of the local area came and shared their concerns, primarily about the possible loss of “year round” school with their elected representatives. For well over an hour the elected representatives did nothing but listen to their constituents. The second hour they responded to specific questions. There was no finger pointing, just good conversation on the part of all those attending. The impression presented was of a community working together with their elected representatives to find real solutions to real problems. To each of the elected representatives who attended the meeting a special thank you for not only scheduling the meeting but to the considerate and concerned manner in which you conducted it. To Mr. Bequette, Lady’s Island representative on the Beaufort County School Board, thank you for supporting the parents who requested your help in regard to continuing “year round” schools such as Lady’s Island Elementary.

Fred & Jeannie Kuhn, Thanks For Your Contribution:  Recently, Fred and Jeannie Kuhn, Lady’s Island residents and owners and founders of Fred Kuhn Realty, announced to fellow realtors their intention to close the business and enjoy retirement. For Fred this marks the completion of a second successful career. In October 1974 he retired from the Marine Corps as a Lieutenant Colonel after 25 years of service which included service in both the Korean and Vietnam conflicts. Upon settling in Beaufort, Fred became a sales associate with Peoples Real Estate. In January 1977 he and Jeannie opened the doors of Fred Kuhn Realty at 708 King Street where the business would serve the real estate needs of the community for the next 30 years. Fred served as Broker in Charge and Jeannie made sure everything worked correctly in the business and while doing so established a reputation as one of the top realtors in Beaufort. In fact, she was the first realtor in the local area to invite agents to lunch in what today is the familiar open house luncheon. Fred noted that 30 years ago when they started their business there were no computers, no cell phones, no voice mail, no MLS and no fax machines. The standard contract of sale was one page in length and searching for listings meant driving all over town, reading the Friday edition of the Beaufort Gazette, the Shopper or looking through the office three ring binder. Over the years Fred and Jeannie have very generously contributed to the community in a variety roles. For Fred some of his contributions include serving as a member of the Beaufort County Bicentennial Commission, Director and President of the County Board of Realtors, Commodore of the 1977 Water festival and Chairman of the Beaufort County Joint Planning Board. Also, for many years he taught “Introduction to Real Estate” at the University of South Carolina and Beaufort Tech. Fred and Jeannie note that closing the doors of their business is not as simple as it may sound and their “official” final day has not been established. From those of us in the Lady’s Island Business and Professional Association and also their neighbors on Lady’s Island we thank them both for their contribution to our community and wish them a “great” and well deserved retirement.

Approval Recommended For Establishment Of Airport District:  The Lady’s Island/St Helena Subcommittee of the Beaufort County Planning Commission met on Wednesday March 21, 2006 at the Lady’s Island Airport Conference Room to review the proposed zoning for a Lady’s Island Airport District. Technically, such a district had been in existence but a map delineating the boundaries had not been established and the zoning requirements needed to be reviewed for currency with modern airport operations. The only impact of significance which would result from approval of the proposed ordinance for the average Lady’s Island resident is that homes in the approach and transition paths of the existing runway will be required to notify new home buyers that the possibility of noise does exist as a result of planes arriving and departing. This requirement is only being recommended for homes in the direct path of the runway. There is a height restriction in the ordinance for buildings or structures at each end of the runway, as a matter of safety, for the aircraft but due to the location of the airport it does not affect the average 35-40 foot building height for homes. The Subcommittee recommended the Planning Commission approve the Airport District ordinance.

2006 Residential Construction Growth:  In 2000 there were 520 building permits for construction of homes in the area of Beaufort County north of the Broad River. Last year there were 722 building permits issued for the same area. The following chart shows the location in which growth occurred in 2006 and the present number of dwelling units in each area. As to Lady’s Island, the 2006 number of residential building permits dropped from the 2005 all time high of 204 homes to 159 permits or a 28% reduction. Once all of the new homes are built and occupied the population of northern Beaufort County would have increased by approximately 1,805 residents.

Houses, Cars, and Transportation Capacity: As part of the work being done to develop a Northern Regional Plan for the area north of the Broad River the following question was posed to the traffic engineer doing the study: After all of the projected improvements are completed and all the steps to reduce/manage traffic taken; how many houses can be built in the (1) area feeding cars onto Highway 21 between the Whale Branch and the intersection with SC 170 and (2) Lady’s Island, St. Helena Island and Harbor Island? Following is the consultant’s answer to the question. Highway 21 (Whale Branch to intersection with SC170) Present traffic – 31,900 vehicle trips per day. Capacity of existing road – 38,700 vehicle trips per day . Present excess capacity – 6,800 vehicle trips per day. Equivalent number of houses which can be built prior to reaching road capacity – 1,700 homes. Number of additional homes, in the general area, which could be built on undeveloped land – 5,300 homes. Lady’s Island In the case of Lady’s Island the controlling factor is the combined capacity of the Woods Memorial Bridge and the McTeer Bridge in 2025. The following data, other than present traffic, assumes the McTeer Bridge has 4 lanes as does Lady’s Island Drive and the Highway 21, SC 802 Connector Road is completed. Present 2007 traffic (over both bridges) - 43,900 vehicle trips per day. Combined projected capacity of both bridges in 2025 – 50,400 vehicle trips per day. Excess capacity between present traffic and future (2025) capacity – 6,500 trips per day. Equivalent number of houses which can be built prior to reaching 2025 capacity – 1,900 homes. Number of additional homes which could be built on Lady’s and St. Helena Islands – 4,400 homes . These numbers speak for themselves. We can argue the accuracy of any of the projected numbers. However, it is a simple, frightening fact that if we fail to control future growth it will overwhelm our road systems, school facilities, parks, libraries and infrastructure in general. Editor’s Note: The data presented in this article can be viewed at the Beaufort County web site under the subject of Northern Beaufort County Regional Plan.

March Community Preservation Committee Meeting:  A Community Preservation Committee meeting was held in the conference room of the Lady’s Island Airport on March 12, 2007 during which time the following subjects were addressed. - Review of the proposed Marina project to be located in vicinity of the former Ollie’s restaurant. This project includes the removal of the restaurant and the two concrete block buildings presently located on the property and replaced by 6 buildings which will have a total of 31 dwelling units and 7600 square feet of commercial. The commercial space will be located in 2 buildings located along Sea Island Parkway with the 2d floor being designed for living space. This project will be located on 2.2 acres and have a density of 13.72 units/acre. The maximum building height is 50 feet. This project is located within the City of Beaufort and as such will be reviewed and permitted by the City. - Review of a request to allow increased commercial uses in the 5 acres of undeveloped property next to Bluff Farms on Sams Point Road. The request was denied as inappropriate for the area and if approved, would promote increased traffic on Sams Point Road. - Reviewed the concept and basic design for a new Butler Marine facility to be located directly across from the Lady’s Island Marina. This building will be a one story, single building designed to provide the appearance of multiple buildings and capable of housing the boat showroom. The committee voted to support the concept as presented. This was a courtesy review at the request of the owner in that the project has been approved by the Beaufort County Development Review Team and is presently being reviewed by the Corridor Review Board. - As part of the 5 year review of all zoning on Lady’s Island conducted the final review of the Expanded Home Business District. The majority of the changes were administrative in nature. An additional authorized use was recommended for the EHB district that would allow general administrative offices.

First Impressions Of Being A County Councilman:  by Paul Sommerville, District 7, Beaufort County Council Representative On January 2nd, 2007, I took the oath of office as a Beaufort County Councilman representing District 7, which includes all of Lady’s Island, Dataw, Cat, Cane, Lost, Distant, part of the City of Beaufort and much of St Helena’s. It has been an interesting and humbling two months. Mark Generales, my predecessor, warned me that the learning curve would be steep. He was right. If the paperwork, e-mails and phone calls don’t overwhelm me, the number of meetings most certainly will. I happen to love all ethnic food and I am particularly fond of Chinese food. I frequent all of the local Chinese establishments but am often found at the Fortune Cookie on Boundary Street. I know the owners and I taught their daughter in Sunday school for several years. Whoever heard of anyone liking Chinese food and not appreciating fortune cookies. I am no exception. A recent fortune read: “It is not how much you know but how fast you learn”. That pretty much sums it up for my first two months on council. The problems facing Beaufort County are many. Growth has outpaced infrastructure and it shows everywhere you look. Schools are crowded, roads are clogged or clogging, libraries and parks are deficient and the list goes on. And to top it all off, every time you turn around, some journalist or TV personality is naming our little community as a top retirement and/or tourist destination and/or place to live in the entire nation. Just what we need. More publicity and more people. The reality is that we have been discovered and there is nothing any of us can do to change that. All we can do is fasten our seat belts, roll up our sleeves, put on our best southern smiles and charm and do our very best to maintain our quality of life, be good stewards of our environment and good hosts and neighbors to our guests and newcomers. Where does one begin? The municipalities want to oversee and control the urbanization and have the county look after what is rural. Sound simple? It isn’t. The mantra of the municipalities is: “You have to grow or you’re going to go”. And grow they will. But growth must be controlled and it must pay for itself. Let’s start with growth paying for itself. Historically, annexation occurred when municipalities could provide services to residential and commercial areas where counties could not. Today, it’s all about density and how to circumvent the comprehensive plan. We are looking to the State Legislature for statutory relief but in the meantime, municipalities are legally able to annex and approve development far in excess of our present or (funded) future infrastructure capacity. How much does it cost the school district (on average) every time a new residence is built and occupied? The answer depends on who you ask and how you figure it but there have been at least two studies that put the number north of $10,000/house. While infrastructure includes lots more than schools – think parks, law enforcement, open spaces, libraries, roads, storm water management and so on – it is a very good place to start the discussion. If we can’t educate our children we are in big trouble. I was recently quoted (correctly) in the Island Packet (3-15-07) as saying: “We’ve reached the end of the line of approving development agreements and planned unit developments (PUD’s) that don’t pay for themselves.” I was also quoted (correctly) in Bluffton Today (3-15-07) as saying that developers should pay up to $15,000.00 per unit toward schools and additional infrastructure costs. I have previously said that in my opinion we are selling Beaufort County on the cheap. I stand by that statement as well. During these first few months I have learned that Beaufort County is headed for a fiscal crisis and it won’t take us too long to get there. All we have to do is look at the infrastructure deficit, the ever increasing demands being placed upon us by ever increasing residential development, drastically decreasing state support for education and state restrictions on our ability to offset any of this through the millage process. Lady’s Island desperately needs an active park. As land prices escalate and developers focus on even the smaller tracts of undeveloped land, it becomes increasingly difficult to even find a piece of land that the county can afford to buy. When I campaigned for office I said I would make a Lady’s Island Park a priority. I am doing just that but it is an uphill battle. In spite of all of the challenges, I truly enjoy my work as your council representative. I have been able to meet many of you and I have been able to discuss many of your issues with you and in some cases, even find solutions. I look forward to the next four years and working with each of you to make Beaufort County and District 7 in particular a better place for us all.

Thoughts After 70 Days On The Board:  by Jim Bequette, Lady’s Island School Board Representative It takes a lot of homework and thought to keep up with the avalanche of material and research that must be accomplished in order to be effective as a member of the School Board. And then you often wonder if it was worth it when a majority of the members of the Board have different ideas— apparently formulated without research and study. The biggest challenge before the new Board was that of the school calendar. The Interim Superintendent recommended that all schools be put upon a traditional calendar. Passionate opposition immediately came from the parents, teachers, Principals, and even the students. One class of third grade students each wrote me a letter and presented it when I was visiting Lady’s Island Elementary School. Nineteen argued for year-round and five of the class made their case for the traditional calendar. The Board voted to keep both calendars. I would not have made the calendar a priority issue. Right now the Board and Administration need to concentrate on academic improvement, adequate facilities for all students, spending priorities, and improving contracts and the administration of those contracts. During the last part of March the Board will be concentrating on hiring a new Superintendent. By early April we should complete interviews with the recommended finalists from our national search firm. The goal is to hire the Superintendent during April. The Board needs a much heavier emphasis on academic improvement. This includes hearing specific plans from the administration on the goals for each school and how performance is reported and monitored. I know that we will see improvement when the Board and Superintendent make academics the number one priority. This means having a Superintendent who identifies and replaces staff who are not doing their job. As the District’s academic consultant told the Board in a recent meeting, you can find staffing problems by analyzing school test scores. This Board member is using his background to analyze BCSD spending in comparison to other school districts in suburban growth areas of the state. The task is made easier because each district must report using the same state format. Based on state records for fiscal year 2005, the following table will give you an over view of other counties’ spending, based on per pupil expenditures, as compared to what we presently spend per student in Beaufort County and the results (based on test scores):                         Using FY 2006 data I will be comparing Beaufort department by department spending with these five school districts in order to determine exactly where we are spending excess money. My analysis will be completed prior to reviewing budgets for the next fiscal year which begins July 1. When I received the state figures there were nine other school districts that spent from $130 million to $300 million each year. Only one of these nine districts spent more money on a per pupil basis than BCSD. An outstanding national school planning firm is scheduled to complete a five-year facility plan for the Beaufort County School District in the next sixty days. Some of us (school board members) met with representatives of the firm recently and the work being done is impressive.

Single Gender Education At Lady's Island Middle School: by Priscilla Drake, Principal, Lady's Island Middle School Sixth grade teachers (Deanna Johnson, Bonnie Nicolai, Teri Metelak and J. Mark Warner) at Lady’s Island Middle School instruct students in a single sex pod. Teachers use strategies and teaching techniques taught by Dr. Michael Gurian and the Gurian Institute and Dr. Leonard Sax, founder of the National Association of Single Sex Public Education (NASSPE). The main focus of teaching within the pod is to develop community involvement, team building, character awareness and selfreliance. Within the classroom, teachers have adjusted the classroom schedules to meet the needs of the students in the pod. The Language Arts and Humanities are two (2) hours long, while the Mathematics and Sciences classes are one (1) hour long. Students are allowed a five minute break during instructional time to stretch and socialize. Recess has become an essential part of the day; students have an opportunity to release their anxieties and stresses before returning to class. Recess has proven to be a deterrent to potential class disruptions and/or altercations. The educational gains are visible. The students are utilizing test taking and critical thinking skills taught in class. These skills help them to be successful when taking high stakes tests. Teachers tailor their lessons to make learning more realistic and practical. Learning is hands-on, interactive and fun. Our goal for our students is to learn to be responsible citizens. Our Motto: “WE BELIEVE” Our Pledge: “Failure is not an option. I am an achiever. I am successful. I am college bound. I make a difference in my home, my school, and my community. I AM AN ACHIEVER!!!”

Coosa Elementary School: by Cindy Keener, Principal How do you define a successful school? Henry David Thoreau once stated, “Success usually comes to those who are too busy to be looking for it.” School success… .the most obvious is student achievement. On the South Carolina Palmetto Achievement Challenge Test (PACT), Coosa students score very well. In English/Language Arts and Math, 92% of the students scored basic or above on both areas. On the nationally-normed Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) taken by all students in grades 2-5 in Beaufort County, 92% (Reading) and 89% (Math) of the students scored basic or above. Coosa Elementary School received the South Carolina Palmetto Silver Award for 2006-2007 for student achievement on the PACT in November. In addition, the Coosa Elementary School family received a letter on March 12, 2007, from the South Carolina Education Oversight Committee (EOC) recognizing their “special efforts” to close the achievement gap among students of differing economic, racial and ethnic groups. On April 9, the EOC will recognize 135 elementary and middle schools from among 866 elementary and middle schools statewide.” Coosa Elementary School will be recognized in Columbia on the steps of the State House. The criterion for recognition rises as student achievement rises each year. I am very proud of our children’s success, but know that there is always a need for continued improvement. The sixty-five instructional and support staff members at Coosa Elementary are all certified and highly qualified for their positions. A mix of veteran and new teachers blends wisdom and energy, with excitement for learning at all grade levels. Forty of the forty-one classroom teachers returned from last year. A majority of the staff spends summer break at workshops, conferences, and taking courses to further improve their instructional skills. Our students would not achieve the above levels of recognition without the competence and dedication of our support and instructional staff. I am very proud to be associated with such a fine group of educators; many have worked with me for over 16 years. These educators understand that learning never ends; the thirst for knowledge is a part of their everyday life. Parent and community involvement at Coosa Elementary is one of the school’s greatest assets. Coosa boasts 400+ parent and community volunteers. These adults support our students as Rotary Readers, tutors, classroom volunteers, field trip volunteers, School Improvement Council members, PTO Executive Board members, and special project volunteers. Spending so much time with us, these volunteers know the school’s strengths and weaknesses, and are then willing to give their time in supporting our mission of increasing student achievement. The degree of parent involvement is closely tied to effective communication. Our School Improvement Council surveys parents yearly to insure effective communication between school and home. The results show that 98%+ are satisfied with communication with school, are satisfied with our academic curriculum, and are satisfied with school safety. With the great number of families moving in and out of our attendance zone, this survey instrument merely helps us stay in touch with the needs of our students. It is then our responsibility to go beyond the results and make the constant changes necessary to meet the needs of our students. “Success usually comes to those too busy to be looking for it?” Well… the Coosa Elementary School family is mighty busy!!

What The March Numbers Say About The Real Estate Market: by Jerry Marlow, President, Success Plus School Of Real Estate & Broker with Coldwell Banker Keyserling Real Estate I do so wish I could be the bearer of good news in regard to the present real estate market. However, the numbers speak for themselves and as can be seen by the following charts there is not a lot of good news. The size of the inventory, for the area north of the Broad River, continues to grow. The total inventory grew by 14% in the last month and 37% since October 2006. Worthy of note is the fact that the price range that saw the most significant increase (19%) was in the $100,000 to $200,000 bracket. At the present time there are over 130 homes priced under $200,000 in the inventory. There are 214 homes in the $200,000 to $300,000 range which means that 46% of the homes on the market are asking a sales price of $300,000 or less. As can be seen from the following chart, no area is exempt from a growing inventory.                                           The word from the general realtor community is that, in regard to number of homes being placed under contract, the picture is looking better. If one is comparing the number of homes sold at the present time compared to the end of 2006 there is some improvement. However, if you compare the numbers for the first part of this year to the same period last year there is a 32% decrease. As the inventory continues to grow a great deal of attention is being given to determining if the general price of homes in the Beaufort area is starting to come down. At the present time there is insufficient data to prove one way or the other but it should be noted that the median price of homes under contract for this period last year was $225,400 and this year it is $225,000. So if the general price of homes is not coming down, it would appear to at least be stabilizing. With the construction of condominiums both planned and under way on Lady’s Island it is interesting that, at the present, there are 84 condominiums for sale and 18 have already been placed under contract this year. The following data speaks for itself – it is still a tough market.                           Finally, with all of the talk regarding problems in the subprime mortgage market, a quick look at www.forclosure.com finds only 6 foreclosures presently in progress in the area north of the Broad River. However, it is interesting to note there are presently 128 homes included as part of bankruptcy actions in Beaufort County and 14 of these are on Lady’s Island.

What The March Numbers Say About The Real Estate Market: by Jerry Marlow, President, Success Plus School Of Real Estate & Broker with Coldwell Banker Keyserling Real Estate I do so wish I could be the bearer of good news in regard to the present real estate market. However, the numbers speak for themselves and as can be seen by the following charts there is not a lot of good news. The size of the inventory, for the area north of the Broad River, continues to grow. The total inventory grew by 14% in the last month and 37% since October 2006. Worthy of note is the fact that the price range that saw the most significant increase (19%) was in the $100,000 to $200,000 bracket. At the present time there are over 130 homes priced under $200,000 in the inventory. There are 214 homes in the $200,000 to $300,000 range which means that 46% of the homes on the market are asking a sales price of $300,000 or less. Finally, with all of the talk regarding problems in the subprime mortgage market, a quick look at www.forclosure.com finds only 6 foreclosures presently in progress in the area north of the Broad River. However, it is interesting to note there are presently 128 homes included as part of bankruptcy actions in Beaufort County and 14 of these are on Lady’s Island.