January LIBPA Newsletter

From The Editor: At the beginning of each year, as the editor of the LIBPA newsletter, I pause and give thanks to those of you who have so graciously continued to support the publication of the newsletter. At the top of the list has to be Ms. Judy Smith who, each month, takes a pile of articles and puts them together in the form of our newsletter, then coordinates the printing, mailing and e-mailing. Pat Harvey Palmer gives and has given for many years, use of her office space and equipment at Home Town Realty to serve as the unofficial LIBPA headquarters. Steve Thompson, President of PC Web Services contributes the operation and maintenance of the LIBPA web site which includes the publication of a community version of the monthly newsletter. A special thank you is offered to each of you who support the continued publication of the newsletter through your membership, share your thoughts on how to it can be improved and take the time to share the newsletter with a friend or neighbor. As a form of New Years’ resolution I would like to promise you that, as the editor, my error rate will decrease, my proficiency at proofreading will increase, my ability to catch errors as to layout will get better and my spelling (especially names) will significantly improve. I do pledge to each of you in the forthcoming year a sincere effort for improvement in each of the areas mentioned but having been privileged to be a part of the publication of the LIBPA newsletter for almost a decade, I accept there are very real limitations on my part. Having said that, please know how very much I appreciate the sense of humor and courtesy with which you point out errors, your willingness to contribute information and articles to the newsletter, your comments and recommendations as to ways we can improve the newsletter and your active support of our community as a member of the Lady’s Island Business and Professional Association.

Newsletter Feedback: Most of responses received in regard to the articles in the monthly LIBPA newsletter are recommendations as to ways to improve the newsletter, potential subjects for future newsletter articles or straight forward agreement or disagreement as to the general nature of an article. Some of the responses are submitted in an effort to provide additional information or clarify a point. Following are three such responses which deserve sharing with our members. Clarification. In response to the article “The Cost of Solid Waste Management” in the December newsletter Ms. Billie Lindsay pointed out that: “The county pays the tip fee (disposal fee) per ton at the landfill of all solid waste that is considered ‘residential’. The criteria used to designate ‘residential’ solid waste and recycling is that it either comes from a convenience center or is collected curbside and transported directly to the landfill. The ‘commercial’ designation is applied if the waste is collected in a dumpster and then that dumpster is transported to the land fill. This is the case in many townhouse and condominium complexes. In this situation, the waste is considered commercial and the disposal fee is charged to the commercial entity. So, the county pays the disposal fee and plans on continuing to pay the disposal fee for all residential waste generated from the municipalities and also the unincorporated parts of the county. All municipalities except the Town of Hilton Head provide collection services. The conundrum is the practicality of continuing to provide municipal solid waste collection in the form of Convenience Centers by the county in areas where the population density makes the Convenience Center concept unworkable.” Correction. In response to the item in the December “Island Notes” which indicated there was a rumor that the Upper Crust restaurant had plans to move into one of the new commercial buildings being built next door; Mr. David Blake, owner and manager of the Lady’s Island Upper Crust restaurant indicated that it is just that – a rumor. Sorry David, we will try harder in the future to verify our information. Good News. Ms. Carlotta Ungaro, President & CEO of the Beaufort Regional Chamber of Commerce informed us that the same magazine group (National Geographic Adventure) that indicated Hilton Head may be facing some challenging times as a tourist destination in the future, as reported in the article “If You Kill The Golden Goose – Then What?”, had in their September issue selected the City of Beaufort as one of the top 50 “Adventure Towns” in the nation. The magazine’s September 2007 issue included a list of this year’s top “adventure” towns. An adventure town was defined as “an ideal mix of terrain, activity and opportunity, (which could) inspire a complete and total life change.” The City of Beaufort is listed as 1 of the 9 best waterfront small towns in the nation where you can “live the adventure daily”.

What Are The Important Issues For Lady's Island?: With 2008 being an election year for positions ranging from our local county coroner to President of the United States and many offices in between, the Lady’s Island Business and Professional Association is already hearing the question – “What issues are important to the voters of Lady’s Island and LIBPA?” We each, as individuals, have personal issues, about which for a variety of reasons we feel strongly. There are important national issues such as Iraq, taxes, the economy and health care; but what are the issues that impact directly on our community that we would like to see addressed by our elected officials. To try and determine what these issues of common concern are, LIBPA will run a survey during January on the LIBPA web site and report the results in the February newsletter. Please click here to take our survey and share your thoughts on the subject of what is important to Lady’s Island.

Construction Of New Hanger Underway: The construction presently in progress at the Lady’s Island Airport is for the purpose of building a hangar and associated runway improvements for use by the Beaufort County Mosquito Control unit. The new hangar is for the helicopter utilized in support of mosquito control operations. Its present operating site on Shanklin Road is scheduled to become a Drop Off Center. The cost for the project is $551,431.95.

Private Schools On Lady's Island: The Department of Defense (DOD) Schools at Laurel Bay and private schools in northern Beaufort County account for over 2000 students attending other than public schools. For general planning purposes there are 1000 students attending the Laurel Bay DOD Schools and 1000 students attending the 6 private schools located in northern Beaufort County. Lady’s Island is home to 2 private schools; Beaufort Academy (K-12) and St. Peter’s Catholic School (K-8) which together has an enrollment of approximately 500 students. So, almost 1 out of every 2 students attending private schools (other than DOD) in northern Beaufort County, do so on Lady’s Island. It should be also noted that Lady’s Island is home for 2 private Montessori schools. We, on Lady’s Island, are proud of all of our schools, both public and private. Education is one of the top economic factors on our island.

2008 South Carolina Legislative Session At A Glance: On January 8th the South Carolina Legislature will convene for its 2008 session. Some of the items scheduled for consideration by the legislature and worth keeping your (and LIBPA’s) eye on include: Annexation Enclaves – (S201, Community Unification Act) Authorizes a municipality to annex an area by ordinance if the area is completely surrounded by the municipality. It may not annex an area using this procedure if the area has more than 50 acres, more than 25 registered voters or has been surrounded by the municipality for less than 3 years. Density – (S202) Allows a municipality to annex an area contiguous to a municipal boundary using specific threshold limits of population and development densities. Petition/Ordinance Method - (S203) Reduces the number of signatures and assessed value required by the present 75/75 petition ordinance method of annexation. The new ordinance would reduce the 75% -75 % to 60%-60%. (Note these numbers refer to the present law which allows a municipality to annex a piece of property if 75% of the property owners, owning 75% of the assessed value of the property request such annexation by petition. The purpose of this proposed legislation is to reduce the threshold to 60% for both the number of property owners and 60% per cent of assessed value of the property.) Finance Business License Collection - (H4102) Changes the application of the business license tax from gross revenue to net revenue and excludes home based businesses from the tax. School Operating Cost – (H3615) Would establish a cap on the increase in the amount of total expenditures by school districts or political subdivisions made for all operating purposes. The cap would limit expenditure increases to the Consumer Price Index plus the percentage increase in the population of the political subdivision or school district in the previous year. The above list of potential changes to South Carolina law is just a glimpse of the items scheduled for consideration by the 2008 Legislature. For a more in-depth look at the agenda and explanation of each bill the S. C. Municipal Association is an excellent website (www.masc.sc) to visit.

The Coalition For Smart Growth: by Harley Laing, Co-Chairman, Coalition For Smart Growth Our group started while we were organizing public participation in the Clarendon/McLeod annexation debate. Since then we have focused on participation in growth-related issues in northern Beaufort County. We currently have a dues-paying membership base of about 40 and a much larger list of people interested in the impacts of growth. We just published our first email newsletter which went to over 300 people. Our objective is to improve understanding and participation in land use planning and decision making. To do this we provide information and expert opinion, organize meetings, participate in government processes and generally try to engage the public in the complexities of growth management. Our website is www.supportsmartgrowth.com. It has our membership forms on it (HINT). Our Steering Committee members, who meet monthly, are Beth Grace, Kay Harris, Harley Laing, Andrea Malloy, John Stewart and Wendy Zara. Beth, Harley and John serve as co-chairs. Following is our definition of the oft-used term "smart growth": "Smart growth" means the careful management of land uses to preserve and enhance our lowcountry community. The goals of smart growth here are to sustain our culture, our economy, and our unique natural resources; to expand the range of housing, employment and transportation available to us; to equitably distribute the costs and benefits of development and to preserve our community for future generations. Here are examples of the issues we are currently following and involved in. • A new bridge. Among the topics they have discussed is the $6,000,000 that was approved as part of the recent transportation bond issue to study the so-called "Northern Bypass", an additional bridge connecting Lady's and Port Royal Islands. We would like to see a thorough environmental and economic analysis of the bridge, its location and all reasonable alternatives, including not doing it. We think this would be a healthy, open debate to have, and soon! • A big box on Lady's Island. We will be pushing for a very thorough analysis of the traffic, economic and environmental impacts of any new big box stores. They have large impacts, including employment, low cost shopping, traffic changes, site-specific environmental issues, local business impacts and others. We want any such proposal to be thoroughly analyzed and publicly aired before any decisions are made. • Costs of development. We would like to have a "Costs of Community Services" study done here. Given the way costs of services are split between municipal and county governments in South Carolina, residential development is a revenue producer for the municipal government. But that's only because the county picks up the tab for schools, roads and other necessary infrastructure. Every such study done in the US has shown that residential development costs more in public funds than it creates in revenue, the average being about $1.20 in costs for each dollar of tax revenue. Jim Hicks recently did an article for the LIBPA newsletter on these studies. One done here would not be expensive and would be illuminating. • Clarendon/McLeod. The Cox family's 4,000 acres at their Clarendon Plantation has been annexed and approved for 6,000 housing units. Our hope, and our expectation, is that the land will eventually be preserved but this is uncertain. However, at present the land can be developed. There has been no movement on conservation protection for the land that we know of. For McLeod, the federal government and the County have worked with the McLeod family to purchase development rights on 350 of the 700+ acres. That leaves approximately 430 acres open to development. • Northern Beaufort County Regional Plan Implementation. The Implementation Committee is in the process of drafting an intergovernmental agreement that will be the first step in the process of implementing the plan. We are participating in the development of this important and innovative agreement. It can get growth management off to a good start. Editor’s Note: In addition to serving as co-chairman for the Coalition for Smart Growth Mr. Laing also serves as a member of the Beaufort - Port Royal Joint Planning Commission and member of the Northern Regional Plan Implementation Committee.

The Year Completed - The Year Coming Up, From My View: by D. Paul Sommerville, Lady's Island Representative, Beaufort County Council 2007 was a productive and successful year for Lady’s Island. When I was elected I had a lot of objectives. High on that list was an active park for Lady’s Island which we now have. At least we have the land to build it on. It will be several years before we can budget the millions of dollars it will take to bring it up to speed but at least we have the dirt and the capital improvement budget for 2009 and 2010 to build it. Another item high on my list was having future development begin to pay for itself. This objective has not been totally met because much of the solution lies with our state legislature who has yet to allow us to collect school impact fees. However, with the cooperation of the school board (more about that in a minute) we have implemented a development fee of $6,000.00 per rooftop and $2.50/square foot of commercial space for all new construction in Beaufort County in Planned Unit Developments that require development agreements. The municipalities are not on board with this yet but they have been approached to sign on and they are giving it serious consideration. I am optimistic. Another objective high on my list was to improve relations with the school board and the municipalities. While I cannot take credit for this personally, I certainly have been doing my part and relations have never been better, particularly with our school board. I cannot say enough good about our school board representative Jim Bequette and board chairman Fred Washington as well as the other 9 members. When the county council and the school board are fighting among themselves, the children suffer and when the county and the municipalities are fighting and suing each other, resources are wasted and opportunities are lost. 2008 offers new opportunities and new challenges. In the challenge category we will be working closely with municipalities, particularly the City of Beaufort to make certain that future development and annexations take into account all impacts and not just those that directly affect city millage. This is the essence of the comprehensive plan which we have been working diligently on for over a year. Of course, traffic and schools are the most obvious ones but there are others such as parks, stormwater runoff and greenways. Relations between the City of Beaufort and Lady’s Island are much improved. This does not mean that we can dictate to the City of Beaufort or vice versa, but it does mean that we are talking on a regular basis and we share mutual respect. The City of Beaufort became a major player on Lady’s Island when Henry Chambers annexed across the Beaufort River thirty odd years ago and it serves no purpose to have an antagonistic relationship with them. This was proven during the litigation wars between the two entities some 5 or so years ago. Another challenge will be what to do about the agreement entered into and signed by Beaufort County in 2002 wherein the county agreed to fund a greenway down Meridian Road that will connect the Woods and McTeer bridges “providing adequate funds are available”. This agreement was signed by the county and the city on April 27th, 2002. Unfortunately, there does not appear to be enough DOT right of way to complete this project without purchasing additional right of way. Also, it is not clear on which side of Meridian Road this greenway was contemplated. While the majority of Lady’s Island residents appear to support this project, there are those who oppose it, some adamantly. Another challenge has been the discussions of minority contract set asides. While none of us condones discrimination of any type, set asides are for the sole purpose of rectifying egregious and proven discrimination and I have not seen anything that comes close to meeting that standard. On the opportunity side, Lady’s Island will be getting a new elementary school. The timing remains unknown as it will be tied to a bond referendum that has yet to be introduced or voted upon. There is no question we need additional elementary school capacity unless we plan to begin bussing our children off the island. Another challenge for 2008 is the possibility of a “big box” store on the island. The airport PUD is in the city of Beaufort, zoned commercial and currently approved for over 500,000 square feet of commercial space. It is far from clear that a big box is imminent but we, as a community, need to consider our feelings on such a possibility and make these feelings known to both the county and the city of Beaufort. Quite frankly, I don’t know how many of our residents would feel about say, a Wal-Mart by the airport. Jim Hicks has previously pointed out that one important element in that decision would be whether a big box type of business kept traffic on the island or attracted more from across the bridges. Retailers tell me that when they consider a new store, they look at the radius of service area and a radius means a circle and bridges don’t change that. At a very minimum, we would want to look closely at an in depth traffic, storm water runoff and an environmental impact study before signing off on such a project. Our airport continues to be both a challenge and an opportunity. It is an opportunity because it is a significant part of the economic engine we need to add more commercial establishments to our county tax base. It is a challenge because the runway is too short to allow for jets with fuel on board to take off or land and because we lack hanger space for the very type of business persons we need to attract. It is also a challenge because in the event of an evacuation, the larger planes needed for the evacuation could not take off or land. The comprehensive plan contemplates extending the runway in 2013. It is also a challenge because residents in the airport zone are concerned about future noise and safety issues over their residences. Solid waste disposal continues to be a challenge. We are currently dependent on Hickory Hill landfill in Jasper County. Should that landfill become prohibitively expensive or no longer available, we would need to have alternatives. We are currently working with consultants and looking at alternative sites and methods of disposing of our ever growing mountains of trash and recyclables. The second McTeer Bridge, approved by voters in the penny sales tax, will not be completed until 2013. In the meantime there are over 3,000 homes permitted but un-built in planned unit developments on Lady’s Island alone plus a large but unknown number of “by right” homes that can and probably will be built in the coming years. Planning and engineering alone for a third (northern) crossing will not be completed until 2012 and after that it is anyone’s guess when a third crossing might actually be built, assuming that is ultimately determined to be the best solution. What we really need is an environmental impact study which looks at all of the alternatives for traffic mitigation. Hopefully, this will be completed using the money designated in the penny sales tax for study of a third crossing. I mentioned our lack of school impact fees but I should add that all impact fees need to be re-evaluated. Our infrastructure needs are many and if new development must come, it must pay for itself. A big challenge is the Department of Transportation’s inability to maintain, mow and keep clean, the many state highways that traverse our islands, particularly US 21 and SC 802. The amount of money budgeted by the DOT for these purposes is woefully inadequate and the quality and condition of our roadways shows it. Beaufort County will have to step into that void but again, we run smack into the funding issue. Where will Beaufort County come up with the money to maintain, mow and clean the roads? Abandoned mobile home removal is on my radar screen for 2008. This is a challenging project but I believe that we can make progress in removing some of these eyesores and hazards. The state has passed some enabling legislation and we have to figure out how to make it work. As we, in our community, together face the many challenges that comes with the privilege of living in this beautiful part of the country, please know how much I appreciate the honor of working with and for you to find solutions.

Plans For School Progress In 2008: by Jim Bequette, Lady's Island Representative, Beaufort County School Board Under the leadership of Dr. Valerie Truesdale and a unified School Board, the Beaufort County School District will begin experiencing improvement. I say “begin” because of the lack of adequate leadership for so many years. It will take more than one year to approach the excellence that our children deserve; however, the process is now underway. Academic improvement is the number one objective of the Superintendent and the current School Board. After years of what was called site based management we had a disorganized approach to education as each school was allowed to go its own way with little management guidance. Dr. Truesdale is busy aligning instruction so that there is managed consistency in delivering education to our children. For instance, under prior practices a middle school could receive students from four or five elementary schools using entirely different systems for teaching mathematics so the middle school math teacher was faced with a major problem.  Beginning next fall elementary schools will use the same method of teaching mathematics. We have many outstanding teachers who need the support of parents, school leadership and the community. Pay for teachers needs to be reviewed in order to attract and keep highly qualified educators. We must also insure that we have a system that does not require teachers to spend their own money for classroom supplies. Motivated professional teachers are the primary key to excellence in education. In order to make our schools more efficient, school discipline in the classroom must be improved. I am hearing too many reports about students that are allowed to continually disrupt their class day after day without the teacher getting support from the school administration. This has to be corrected. The referendum for facilities improvement and new construction will be a major initiative for the year. The District has had a nationally respected consultant prepare a five-year plan for the facility needs of our school system. This was supplemented by a more intense engineering study of safety, health issues and technology of existing schools. We have serious roof problems and drainage problems at many schools throughout the county. Water problems lead to mold and health problems. An expert studied the roofs at every school and we have a detailed report that is more than three inches thick with their analysis and recommendations. We need to build two new elementary schools and add early learning centers at two existing schools in Bluffton to accommodate the growth while eliminating the “temporary cities” at schools in that area. We are also considering a new elementary school on the north end of Lady’s Island, and land purchases for new middle and high schools in the Bluffton area. Another major item in the referendum calls for upgrading technology in order to prepare our students for competing in the global economy. Students will be able to take advanced courses via the internet. The Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE) has partnered with a Virtual Business class at Battery Creek High School. As a participant I have been amazed at the content of the program. Those students are learning business principles many of us learned at the college level back in the 60’s and 70’s. There have been six meetings throughout the county to present these facility needs to the public. Many questions were answered at these meetings and others were solicited on forms provided to each attendee. All are being studied for consideration in preparing the final needs to be included in the referendum. The Principals, school administration, and your Board will continue to review the needs in the facility studies to ensure that we include only that which is necessary for academic performance, health and safety. There will be no frills in the referendum presented to the taxpayers. The package should be completed and approved by your Board on January 15. In summary the main emphasis for 2008 must be academic improvement, teacher support, discipline in the classroom, and financing of facility needs. It has been my pleasure to serve you this past year.

Just A Reminder: This year is going to see a great deal of political activity at many levels. LIBPA will make every effort to provide opportunities for our members and the community to see and hear the candidates for elected office. We will offer space in the LIBPA newsletter for articles by the candidates for local and state offices. When appropriate, LIBPA will coordinate and sponsor public forums to allow residents of the community to see and hear the candidates. As we go through the year, please remember it is the policy of the Lady’s Island Business and Professional Association that, as an organization, we will not endorse or oppose any candidate for public office. However, LIBPA will take an official public position on subjects, such as the school bond referendum, based on the best interest of our community. Key political dates this year include: • Republican Presidential Primary election – January 19 • Democrat Presidential Primary election – Jan 26 • Dates to file as an official party candidate for state primary – March 17 to March 31 • South Carolina Primary election – June 10 • Filing dates for candidates for Mayor or City Council (2 seats), City of Beaufort – August 15 • General Election – Tuesday, November 4 • Beaufort County School District Bond Referendum – Date to be determined.

Real Estate's Perfect Storm:  by Everett Ballenger, President, Beaufort County Association of Realtors and BIC/Operating Principle Keller Williams Realty Ballenger Associates We are now about a year and half into this present real estate correction which seemed to start in the late spring of 2006 in our area. Everyone and their uncle seems to blame the sub prime mortgage fiasco for the so called collapse of property market, especially in what used to be real estate hot spots like California, Florida, Nevada, Arizona, etc, etc. The sub prime market has suffered because house prices stopped appreciating, in a manner we have all got accustomed to for the previous five of years or so. The sub prime is a symptom, not the disease. The rampant price explosion is the low depression that put the storm clouds on the horizon. As the market heated up, first time buyers began to have serious problems with affordability, so much so…that they just about stopped buying altogether, and the ones that did stretch themselves, quite often ended up with a large sub prime mortgage, which as we now know was adding energy to the building storm. A lot of people underestimate the importance of first time buyers; they have a tremendous “knock on” effect. Also fueling our monster was the huge new home building programs going on throughout the country. Builders were building subdivisions not knowing for sure if there was anyone to actually buy them. Banks and investors were caught up in euphoria, so it was full steam ahead, in the construction industry. This led to an over amount of inventory available to buyers, who could start being a little more choosey. So our storm is now well underway, and to help it along insurance rates went through the roof in many coastal areas, after the nasty hurricane season we had in 2005. Again buyers started to balk at the possibility of laying out huge sums, just for insurance on their residence. The above is the national picture, in our little piece of heaven, right at the start of what selling season we were going to get, some clown whacked the McTeer Bridge, thus cutting off the main access to Lady’s Island and beyond. This severely effected how Realtors could operate. It became almost impossible to show property in areas like Lady’s Island, St Helena, Fripp, etc. Realtor open houses were almost a waste of time, as only a hardy 2-3 agents could get there to view the house. Add all these elements together, and I think you would have to agree, it is a prefect real estate storm. So where do we go from here? After a storm passes, the weather is usually quite pleasant. People still want to move to the Beaufort area. True, there is a lot of inventory to be soaked up before prices stabilize and get back on track. How long that will take is anybody’s guess. I personally think we have seen the worse of the situation, and I am looking forward to an encouraging spring selling season. I believe once buyers cotton onto the fact this is the best buying opportunity they will see for a long time - they will return to the market. The following data for Lady’s Island is supplied by the Beaufort County Association of Realtors. Since the final numbers for December cannot be included in this article it obviously is not a complete picture of the 2007 real estate picture for the island. However, it does provide a pretty good indication of some aspects of the year. Please remember not all agents/companies are members of the MLS, so there may well have been more sales than those listed below.                                Closed 2007 Sales for Lady’s Island (January through November) Residential: Number of single family residences sold – 224 units Total list price for all units combined - $74,091,323 Combined selling price for all units - $70,871,973 Based on this data, those home owners on Lady’s Island who were able to sell their home in 2007 received 95.6% of their asking price. Land Sales Total number of lots sold – 53 Total list price for all lots combined - $15,281,300 Combined selling price for all lots - $14,120,000 Based on this data, those property owners on Lady’s Island who were able to sell their property received % 92.4% of the asking price. Under no circumstances is the above data presented as being indicative of the 2007 real estate picture in northern Beaufort County in 2007. Once all of the 2007 information is received, the Beaufort County Association of Realtors will analysis the data and share our impressions of what the numbers tell us. To see that the homes and lots on Lady’s Island which sold in 2007 received 95.6% and 92.4 % respectively of their asking prices demonstrates the overwhelming need for sellers to work with realtors and develop realistic selling prices for today’s market. To refuse to do so relegates your home or property into an ever growing unsold inventory.

2007 Year End Accounting:  by Roger Talmage, LIBPA Treasurer It should be noted that the data set forth in this article is presented in such a manner as to best show LIBPA members the amount of funds received in the form of dues and interest (certificate of deposits) and the manner in which those funds were utilized along with a comparison to the previous year. LIBPA continues to financially support the maintenance and replacement of the signs for the planted medians on Sams Point Road. The increase in printing this year is primarily due to the publication of the Lady’s Island Business Pamphlet and as we all know the price of postage increased. As can be seen, the LIBPA budget is reasonably stable from year to year and our organization is financially sound.