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BY BUFORD COUNTY, UH, BUFORD COUNTY, NORTH REGIONAL PLAN IMPLEMENTATION COMMITTEE, UH, UH, DAUGHTER.UM, LET'S GO AHEAD AND START WITH THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE.
I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND TO THE REPUBLIC FOR WHICH IT STANDS ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL.
I THINK SOME INTERFERENCE GOING ON THERE, BUT, UM, UH, ROM I UNDERSTAND THAT THE FOIL RESPONSIBILITIES HAVE BEEN TAKEN CARE OF BASED ON WHAT I SAY.
SO I'LL MOVE TO, UH, APPROVAL OF LAST MONTH'S MINUTES.
I'LL TAKE A MOTION TO APPROVE APPROVAL ON A SECOND.
EVERYBODY'S SAYING A FIVE OR RAISING YOUR RIGHT HAND.
AND FROM WHAT I CAN TELL THE MOTION PASSES UNANIMOUSLY, UM, UH, MOVE TO APPROVE THE MEETING AGENDA ALL IN FAVOR, RAISE YOUR RIGHT HAND AND THE AGENDA IS APPROVED.
GOOD TO SEE YOU AND BILLY ON YOUR FACE.
OKAY, LET'S GO AHEAD AND DO, UH, ATTENDEE INTRODUCTIONS.
MIKE TOLD ME, UH, REPRESENTING, UH, YOU KNOW, DC, GERALD COUNTY COUNCIL REPRESENTING ONE MAYOR BUFORD FOR TWO MORE WEEKS.
APRIL COUNTY PLANNING COMMISSION.
I GUESS THAT'S THE COMMITTEE MEMBERS.
UH, DO WE HAVE ANY CITIZEN COMMENTS? WE HAD NOTHING AT THIS POINT.
THEN WE GO TO ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT WITH JOHN O'TOOLE.
IS HE HERE JANUARY WITH ALL OF THESE OFF JOHN? YES.
YEAH, I WAS, I WAS, I WAS TRYING TO JUGGLE IT AND GET THAT TO SHOW UP.
CAN YOU SEE MY SCREEN NOW AND HEAR ME? YES.
I WILL TRY TO GO THROUGH THIS QUICK.
I, I BELIEVE, UH, HOW MUCH TIME WOULD YOU LIKE ME TO SPEND ROB? I DON'T WANT TO EXCEED THAT TIME.
UM, I THINK I KIND OF BALLPARKED AT, UH, 20 MINUTES, BUT, YOU KNOW, ANSWER.
I'LL TRY TO GO THROUGH A QUICK, I THINK MANY OF YOU HAVE SEEN OR HEARD FROM ME BEFORE, UH, BUT I I'LL GIVE YOU MY, MY, UH, EXPERIENCE OR PATIENT OF WHAT'S DOING.
AND IF, IF SOMEBODY DOESN'T HAVE THEIR PHONE MUTED, IF YOU COULD, IT JUST, IT MAKES IT HARD FOR ME TO FOCUS.
SO I'LL GET TRYING TO GET THROUGH THIS.
UH, WE HAD DONE A FEW PROJECTS ACTUALLY TO DATE.
WE'VE BEEN, WE'VE BEEN IN BUSINESS NOW FOR THREE YEARS AND TWO WEEKS.
AND, UH, HAVING WORKED WITH COMPANIES AND GETTING A FEEL FOR THE AREA WE SETTLED ON THE BRAND.
GOOD FOR YOUR BUSINESS AND GOOD FOR YOUR SOUL ORGANIZATION WAS STOOD UP IN 2017.
IF I CAN BEG SOMEBODY TO MEET THEIR PHONE, THAT WOULD BE GOOD.
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UH, UH, BUT, UH, UH, OUR MISSION WAS TO DIVERSIFY THE ECONOMY, OBVIOUSLY HOSPITALITY AND TOURISM, MILITARY DEFENSE, UH, ARE THE BLUE CHIP INDUSTRIES FOR OUR REGION.UH, BUT TO, UH, INSULATE THE AREA FOR DIFFERENT OCCURRENCES, UH, ANY ECONOMY, IT MAKES SENSE JUST LIKE YOUR OWN PORTFOLIO, UH, TO, UH, UH, DIVERSIFY YOUR, YOUR PORTFOLIO, DIVERSIFY YOUR ECONOMY, UH, IN THE MISSION STATEMENT, YOU'LL SEE THAT, UH, EARLY ON, WE, WE, WE BECAME QUITE AWARE OF FAILED ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, UH, EFFORTS IN BUFORD COUNTY, REALLY SINCE EARLY 2000.
AND, UH, AND, UH, IT BECOMES VERY OBVIOUS THAT WE HAVE TO DO THIS IN A WAY THAT'S RESPECTFUL OF THE ENVIRONMENT.
AND ULTIMATELY IF YOU MEET MYSELF OR CHARLIE STONE, UH, WE'RE A GROUP OF TWO, OUR PASSION IS REALLY TRANSFORMING PEOPLE'S LIVES, UH, WITH GOOD PAYING JOBS, BENEFITS, AND THAT KIND OF THING.
SO, UH, WE'VE HAD A PRETTY GOOD RUN, UH, THINGS I'LL COVER TODAY ARE, ARE OUR BALANCE.
UH, CAUSE THIS IS KIND OF AN EPIPHANY I HAD, UH, EARLY ON, UH, UH, THAT, UH, THERE'S KIND OF A BALANCE WHEEL IN BUFORD COUNTY.
AND I THINK A LIFE AS, UH, A BALANCE WHEEL, ALL YOUR SPOKES HAVE TO BE STRONG IN ORDER TO KEEP THE WHEEL ROLLING.
UH, MEASURING SUCCESS SEEM TO BE A FAILURE OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN THE PAST.
SO SHOWING PEOPLE, SCORECARD, UH, HOW YOU MEASURE SUCCESS AND WE SHOW IT ON EVERY MEETING WE DO BECAUSE OF P AND E EVEN TODAY, I MAY SPEAK FOR 20 MINUTES, BUT IF YOU, AS A, UH, A LEADER IN YOUR, UH, VARIOUS, UH, AREA OR EVEN A RESIDENT, WE GET INPUT FROM EVERYONE, UH, TRANSPARENCY, UH, I'M SURE I'M SURE THE MAYOR OR THE COUNCIL PEOPLE, UH, COULD SPEAK TO THIS, THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE IN BUFORD COUNTY REALLY NEED TO KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON.
AND, UH, I'LL, I'LL DISCUSS THAT IN A LITTLE MORE DEPTH.
OUR TARGET INDUSTRIES I'LL COVER WITH YOU.
AND THEN JUST THE WHOLE IDEA OF WHERE WE ARE.
THIS HAS BEEN KIND OF A, A CRAZY TERRIBLE YEAR IN MANY REGARDS, BUT IT ALSO PRESENTS OPPORTUNITY IN WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT, WORKFORCE HOUSING.
UH, WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO BE MORE ATTENTIVE AS THE ECONOMY, IF YOU'RE WANTING TO BACK TO WHERE WE WERE IN MARCH BEFORE COVID, UH, THERE, THERE'S A REAL QUESTION OF WHERE, WHERE THE SKILLED WORKFORCE, UH, EVEN UNSKILLED WORKFORCE IS GOING TO COME FROM.
AND THEN PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT IS SOMETHING THAT COUNTY COUNCIL'S BEEN AFTER US.
SO I'LL RUN THROUGH THIS AND HOPEFULLY IT'LL PRECIPITATE SOME QUESTIONS OR, UH, MAKE US BE MORE FOCUSED IN THE AREA ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT.
UH, WHEN I LOOK AT, UH, UH, AS I SAID, LIFE, YOU KNOW, EVEN IN OUR OWN LIVES, OUR LIFE IS LIKE A BALANCE WHEEL.
IT COULD BE A SPIRITUAL, IT COULD BE EXERCISE, IT COULD BE FAMILY TIME, BUT EVERYONE DEFINES THEIR OWN SPOKES.
I THINK THE SPOKES THAT KEEP YOU FOR COUNTY AS A WHOLE AND HILTON HEAD BLUFFED IN PORT ROYAL AND THE CITY OF BUFORD ROLLING ARE, ARE BASED ON THESE SPOKES.
AS I LOOK AT THEM, UH, I BELIEVE, UH, OUR SUCCESSES COME FROM THE FACT THAT WE RECOGNIZE THE MOST IMPORTANT SPOKE IN THIS COMMUNITY IS THE ENVIRONMENT.
AND BY TALKING ABOUT THE ENVIRONMENT AND RESPECTING THE ENVIRONMENT, UH, FOLKS EXHALE WHEN THEY HEAR ABOUT THE FACT THAT WE'RE, WE'RE BROUGHT IN HERE TO, UH, FACILITATE GROWTH WHEN PEOPLE UNDERSTAND, UH, OUR LOVE OF THE ENVIRONMENT, UH, THAT MATTERS, UH, WHILE I WAS BROUGHT IN HERE TO DO ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, I'D SAY ONE MORE SPOKE KIND OF FINISHES AHEAD OF US AND THAT'S EDUCATION.
AND I THINK THE COUNTY DID A GREAT JOB.
UH, LAST YEAR, YOU KNOW, THE VOTERS IN APPROVING THE REFERENDUMS AND INVESTING IN EDUCATION BECAUSE WITHOUT EDUCATION, UH, UH, YOU HAVE VERY LITTLE JEFFERSON SAID, IF YOU EXPECT TO BE IGNORANT AND FREE, YOU EXPECT SOMETHING THAT NEVER WAS AND WILL NEVER FOR B.
SO EDUCATION IS CRITICALLY IMPORTANT TO ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT.
I THINK WE'RE DOING A PRETTY GOOD JOB.
AND I HAVE TO SAY THAT THE COMMUNITY IS THAT SET UP ECONOMIC, EVEN BEFORE I GOT HERE IN TERMS OF GETTING THE COMMUNITIES TO WORK WITH, UH, WORK TOGETHER.
AND I KNOW GERALD DAWSON WAS INVOLVED IN THAT MAYOR, KAISER LING, AND ALSO, UH, UH, VAN WILLIS WHO WAS ON OUR BOARD SO MUCH GOOD WORK WAS DONE BEFORE I GOT HERE.
IT JUST IN TERMS OF, UH, BUILDING A COLLABORATIVE ARRANGEMENT.
SO I'M VERY GRATEFUL FOR THAT WORKFORCE, UH, IS, IS CRITICAL WHEN WE'RE TALKING TO PEOPLE FROM OUT OF AREA, UH, YOU KNOW, THE EXITING MARINE CORPS GIVES US A GREAT STORY TO TELL, BUT, UH, WE'VE ALSO IDENTIFIED PROJECTS THAT ARE LOOKING TO HIRE PEOPLE WHO ARE NATIVE TO OUR AREA.
SO, UH, UH, WE TRY TO ALSO BE MINDFUL OF OUR AUDIENCE AND PAY ATTENTION TO WORKFORCE.
HOUSING IS SOMETHING THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, OH, I'LL BE A LITTLE TOUGH ON, UH,
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OBVIOUSLY WE'VE HAD THE TRANSPORTATION, UH, UH, REFERENDUM LAST YEAR AND PEOPLE ARE INVESTING IN THAT.UH, BUT A LOT OF STUDIES HAVE BEEN DONE AND I'M, I'M A BIG BELIEVER THAT, UH, YOU HAVE TO GET SOMETHING DONE.
AND SO I THINK COMING OUT OF COVID AND SEEING THAT THE ECONOMY IS GOING TO HEAT UP AGAIN, I THINK THE COMMUNITIES AND THE COUNTY AS A WHOLE, UH, COULD DO SOMETHING BOLD IN HOUSING.
AND SO THAT'S KIND OF THE CRUX OF, OR THE FOCUS OF, OF OUR WORK AND BEING MINDFUL OF ALL THESE DIFFERENT SPOKES IN TERMS OF KEEPING SCORE, EVERY AGENDA I HAVE AND YESTERDAY I KNOW VAN WILLIS AND, UH, UH, UH, GERALD DAWSON WERE ON OUR MEETING.
WE ALWAYS START WITH OUR SCORECARD.
AND SO, UH, YOU KNOW, I'LL JUST WALK YOU THROUGH A FEW OF THESE NUMBERS, CAPITAL INVESTMENTS.
SO IN THREE YEARS, UH, WE'RE JUST UNDER 200,000, I'M SORRY, $200 MILLION IN INVESTMENT IN TERMS OF JOBS CREATED 627 NEW JOBS BY THE PROJECTS WE BROUGHT IN.
I'LL JUMP DOWN HERE TO THE BOTTOM.
WE'RE AVERAGING ABOUT $48,000 PER JOB.
SO THAT'S IMPROVING PEOPLE'S LIVES AND, UH, RETAIN JOBS.
I MEAN, NO, UH, UH, UH, COUNCILMAN ASHMORE, UH, KNOWS THAT, UH, STONEWORKS LOCATED IN, UH, PORT ROYAL.
AND THAT'S BECAUSE WE'VE GOT TO TAKE CARE OF, UH, UH, OUR EXISTING BUSINESSES AND MAKE SURE THAT WHEN THE AIRPORT EXPANDS AT HILTON HEAD, THAT THEY'RE, THEY'RE TREATED VERY WELL AND GIVEN A PLACE TO CONTINUE TO DO BUSINESS.
SO, UH, UH, BUT WE, WE CAN EXPLAIN RETAIN JOBS.
IT'S NOT, NOT JUST A FEELING, IT'S AN ACTUAL, UH, PROJECT.
THERE WAS ANOTHER ONE OUT ON HILTON, HAD A LASER MANUFACTURER WHO, UH, WAS ACQUIRED TWICE OVER, UH, HEADQUARTERED OUT OF PITTSBURGH.
AND WE COMPETED WITH PITTSBURGH AND ORLANDO AND, UH, THROUGH A NATIONAL SITE SELECTOR TO KEEP PROJECTS IN BUFORD COUNTY AND THEN CREATING A LOT OF JUMPS THROUGH THE REST OF THESE, BUT MAKING SURE WE'RE ALWAYS CULTIVATING MORE PRODUCT TO SELL, BECAUSE AS YOU SEE DOWN HERE, UM, UH, AND THIS, UH, UH, YOU LOOK AT SQUARE FOOT ABSORBED IN NEW CONSTRUCTION, WE'RE OVER 600,000 SQUARE FEET THAT HAVE BEEN ABSORBED THROUGH ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT EFFORTS.
SO WE ALWAYS HAVE TO BE CREATING MORE, UH, UH, PRODUCT.
AND THEN THE, THIS IS KIND OF THE GOOD NEWS.
I MEAN, THE COMMUNITIES ARE PAYING US $25,000 A YEAR.
THE COUNTY PUTS $375,000 A YEAR IN OUR BUDGET, BUT WE'RE BRINGING INCENTIVES BACK TO COMPANIES AND THIS LINE SITE DEVELOPMENT GRANTS, AS YOU CAN SEE OVER A $1.7 MILLION IN SITE DEVELOPMENT GRANTS THAT HELPS US CREATE PRODUCT.
AND THEN I KNOW I'M BOUNCING AROUND A LITTLE, UH, AND I APOLOGIZE IF I SOUND LIKE THE OLD GUY FROM THE FEDEX COMMERCIAL.
SO I HOPE YOU'RE ABLE TO FOLLOW ME.
UH, BUT, UH, WE ALSO MEET WITH BUSINESSES EVERY YEAR AND EXPLAINED TO THEM HOW IMPORTANT THEIR BUSINESSES ARE RIGHT NOW.
WE, WE TRY TO AVERAGE 50 A YEAR.
SO, UH, WE HAVE 20 SO FAR THIS YEAR AND WE'LL KEEP PLUGGING AWAY AT THAT.
AND, UH, WE HAVE ALL SORTS OF SOURCES OF LEADS, WHETHER WE'RE TALKING TO THE SEA ISLAND, ROTARY, THE BUFORD ROTARY, UH, THE BLUFFTON ROTARY, UH, UH, THE LIBERAL MEN'S CLUB OF HILTON HEAD, OR THE REPUBLICANS, UH, OF BUFORD COUNTY, UH, A LOT OF OUR LEADS.
AND I'LL SHOW YOU THAT LATER COME FROM, UH, PEOPLE, UH, WITHIN THE COUNTY.
AND SO WE TRACK ALL OUR LEADS.
WHAT I ASK YOU TO DO HERE IS PICK UP THE FACT THAT 61%, THE BLUE LEADS ARE ALL FROM, UH, SOME SORT OF CONTEXT.
SOMEBODY WHO'S ALREADY HAD A TASTE OF BUFORD THE BEST.
IT'S VERY EASY TO DO ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT HERE, UH, BECAUSE IT'S SO ATTRACTIVE.
I KIND OF MARVEL THAT PREVIOUS, UH, EFFORTS WERE UNSUCCESSFUL, BUT I THINK THEY WERE SHOOTING FOR ELEPHANTS AND OUR APPROACHES TO SHOOT FOR RABBIT AND DEER SMALLER PROJECTS THAT ARE OF SCALE, AND DON'T UPSET THE APPLE CART HERE.
AND THEN WE DO WORK WITH THE SOUTHERN CAROLINA ALLIANCE, THE DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE, AND SOME OF THESE OTHER GREEN ONES ARE COMPANIES THAT WILL ACTUALLY, UH, WE'VE RETAINED THEM.
AND THEY DEVELOP, UH, BUSINESS LEADS FOR US JUST IN TERMS OF ACTIVITY.
AND, UH, I'LL GO THROUGH THIS, UH, AS I'M DOING EVERYTHING KIND OF QUICKLY, UH WE'RE WE HAVE MAGNETS BUILDING A 64,000 SQUARE FOOT SPEC BUILDING OUT IN BUFORD'S COMMERCE PARK.
WE ALSO HAVE A, A COMPANY AT A NEW JERSEY THAT'S GOING TO BUILD A 10,000 SQUARE FOOT FACTORY OUT THERE.
UH, EXCUSE ME, THROUGH THE UTILITIES.
YOU COULD SEE IT ON THE OTHER RUG, OTHER CHART, BUT WE'RE, WE'RE, WE'RE OVER A MILLION DOLLARS IN, IN ACQUIRING UTILITY TAX TO AUGMENT THE, THE BUDGET THAT BOTH THE COMMITTEE ENTITIES AND THE COUNTY PROVIDE TO US, UH, OUT AT LA BECO, UH, UH, WORKING WITH THE SOUTHERN CAROLINA ALLIANCE, WE'VE
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APPLIED FOR AN EPA GRANT TO DO SOME ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT OUT THERE THERE'S SITES THROUGHOUT THE COUNTY.UH, WE'RE IN THE MIDST OF GETTING, UH, UH, THE PALMETTO SITES RECOGNITION, OR RE-UPPING IT FOR THE BUFORD COMMERCE PARK.
AND, UH, MY, MY YOUNG COLLEAGUE IS ABSOLUTELY TERRIFIC.
CHARLIE STONE, HE'S SECURED GRANTS, AND WE'RE DOING WORK TO GET, UH, A PAD BUILT AT, UH, UH, ON A LOT 13 IN THE BUFORD COMMERCE PARK.
AND I, I JUST LAST MONTH COMPLETED A TOUR OF CONNECTICUT MEETING WITH COMPANIES UP THERE.
AND WE HAVE TWO COMPANIES THAT ARE INTERESTED IN PARTICULAR ON THAT LOT 13, UH, GOING AND THAT'S, UH, I MENTIONED ALREADY PROJECT GARDEN HERE, UH, BUT THAT'S THE NEW JERSEY COMPANY THAT'S GOING TO BUILD A 10,000 SQUARE FOOT FACTORY OUT IN ABUJA FOR COMMERCE PARK.
THIS IS AN INCUMBENT COMPANY THAT'S GOING TO, UH, UH, BUILD, UH, OR INVEST $20 MILLION IN THEIR EXISTING PLAN IN BUFORD COUNTY ARE, THAT'S WHAT WE'RE, UH, WE'RE PROVIDING SOME FEEDBACK THROUGH COMMERCE TO TRY TO FACILITATE THAT INVESTMENT, UH, PROJECT MERCURY IS GOING TO BE PROBABLY OUR MOST SIGNIFICANT PROJECT TO DATE, PROBABLY INVOLVED HUNDRED AND 37 JOBS ARE LITERALLY 237 JOBS, UH, EIGHT AND, UH, EIGHT AND A QUARTER MILLION DOLLARS OF INVESTMENT.
AND, UH, THE AVERAGE COMPENSATION ON THESE JOBS IS OVER RIGHT THOUSAND DOLLARS A YEAR.
SO, UH, AGAIN, WE BELIEVE THESE KINDS OF JOBS TRANSFORM LIVES.
WE'VE HAD THE UNIVERSITY OF CLEMSON.
UH, THERE ARE ECONOMICS GROUP DO AN IMPACT ON IT AND, UH, THEIR ASSESSMENT, WE HAVE A FOLLOW-UP CALL WITH THEM THIS AFTERNOON, BUT THAT PROJECT ALONE WILL HAVE, UH, UH, 259 MILLION, $259 MILLION ECONOMIC IMPACT ON THE REGION OVER THE NEXT FOUR YEARS, IF IT GOES FORWARD AND CREATE, UH, EIGHT, UH, 896, UH, JOBS, UH, THROUGHOUT THE COUNTY.
SO WE ALSO WORKING WITH THE ECONOMISTS.
WE CAN LOOK AT THE RIPPLE EFFECT.
UH, THE VIRGINIA PROJECT IS, UH, A HEALTH GROUP LOOKING TO SET UP A, A 75 DOC DOCTOR PRACTICE IN BUFORD COUNTY.
UH, SO, UH, PEOPLE ARE RECOGNIZING OUR, THE GROWTH WE'RE HAVING DOWN HERE IN BUFORD COUNTY.
AND, UH, THIS, THIS PARTICULAR GROUP JUST FINISHED UP A PROJECT IN CHARLOTTE AND BUFORD COUNTY.
IS THERE YOUR NEXT TARGET, UH, UH, PROJECT CLOUD? THIS IS AN AEROSPACE COMPANY THAT WANTS TO BE NEXT TO THE, UH, UH, EXPANDED HILTON HEAD AIRPORT.
THEY'LL SERVE A CIRRUS AIRCRAFT.
THESE ARE THE PLANES THAT ARE SELL FOR LIKE A QUARTER MILLION, OR JUST UNDER THREE QUARTERS OF A MILLION, OR JUST UNDER A MILLION DOLLARS.
AND THEY HAVE PARACHUTES BUILT INTO IT.
THEY WANT TO PUT A MAINTENANCE TRAINING AND SALES OPERATION OUT THERE.
UH, PROJECT TOMATO, UH, IS A, UH, PROCESSING, UH, OPERATION CURRENTLY IN BUFORD COUNTY.
AND WE'RE WORKING WITH THEM AND THE AG DEPARTMENT TO HELP THEM EXPAND THEIR OPERATION AND PROJECT CALI.
THIS IS ANOTHER GREAT EXAMPLE.
I, I BRAG A LOT ABOUT CHARLIE STONE.
UH, CHARLIE STONE TOOK SUCH GOOD CARE OF THIS ONE SMALL COMPANY THAT THIS SMALL COMPANY EXPLAINED TO A COMPANY IN CALIFORNIA, HOW THEY WERE TREATED.
AND, UH, WE HAVE A GENTLEMAN LOOKING FOR 50,000 SQUARE FEET, UH, IN BUFORD COUNTY.
AND, UH, BY THE END OF JANUARY, COINCIDENTALLY, WE MAY HAVE A SPACE, UH, 49,850 SQUARE FEET EMPTYING, UH, AT THE END OF FEBRUARY.
SO, UH, UH, BUT IT'S, WE'RE TAKING CARE OF PEOPLE, UH, AND, AND PROVIDING CONCIERGE LEVEL SERVICE.
AND CHARLIE'S THE BEST AT IT, UH, BRINGS MORE BUSINESS FOR US.
I, UH, GET THROUGH THE REST OF THESE, I THINK QUICKLY, UH, BUT THE IDEA OF TRANSPARENCY, I'M SURE MOST OF YOU READ THE ISLAND PACKET AND, AND REALIZE ANY ABSENCE OF GOOD INFORMATION PEOPLE WILL CREATE THEIR OWN.
SO WHEN I TALK ABOUT OUR BUDGETS AND WHEN I TALK TO COMMUNITIES, I SHOW THEM WHAT THEY PUT IN OVER THREE YEARS AND WHAT WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO, UH, DELIVER.
SO WE TRY TO BE ABSOLUTELY TRANSPARENT, JUST SHY OF SHARING.
FOR INSTANCE, THE COMPANY MOVING OUT OF NEW JERSEY, UH, THEY'RE GOING TO GET A FILO THROUGH THE COUNTY COUNCIL AT THE THIRD READING, WE HAVE TO GIVE THEIR NAME, BUT WE WORK WITH THE BUSINESS BECAUSE THEY MAY OR MAY NOT HAVE TOLD THEIR EMPLOYEES THAT THEY'RE MOVING TO BUFORD COUNTY.
SO WE, THAT'S WHERE WE JUST STOPPED SHORT OF DIVULGING SOMEBODY ELSE'S INFORMATION THAT'S HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL, BUT, UH, I, THAT, THAT'S MY BIG AHA DOWN HERE IN BUFORD COUNTY OVER THREE YEARS, IS THAT GIVE PEOPLE WHATEVER THEY ASK FOR, UH, AND NOT TO PICK ON ANYONE, BUT ONE OF THE CHAMBERS KIND OF DOESN'T, UH, GIVE THE INFORMATION AND THEN PEOPLE CREATE THEIR OWN, THEIR OWN, UH, UH, NARRATIVE.
AND SO WE TRY TO GIVE AS MUCH AS WE CAN OUT THERE, UH, UH,
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UNDERSTANDING THE CRITICS.WE, I SHOULD SAY ALSO THAT OUR GOOD WORK IS DONE WITH THE HELP OF THE CHAMBERS THAT THE COLLEGES, UH, THE, EVEN THE K THROUGH 12 PROGRAM HAVE BEEN GREAT PARTNERS OF OURS.
UH, ALSO UNDERSTANDING THE CRITICS.
OFTENTIMES I, I, I LIKE THE BOOK, UH, UH, TEAM ARRIVALS THAT, YOU KNOW, SOMETIMES YOUR CRITICS CAN HELP YOU IMPROVE YOUR PRODUCT, IMPROVE YOUR MESSAGE.
UH, AND, UH, I'LL JUST SAY THIS AS WE'RE IN THESE COVID TIMES IS A MOVE FORWARD BOLDLY.
YOU KNOW, I, I WAS TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT I GOT HERE, WHY, UH, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT WASN'T SUCCESSFUL.
AND I, I LOVE THE AREA, BUT I WANTED TO PUSH THE ENVELOPE QUICKLY TO FIGURE OUT IF COMMUNITIES WERE GOING TO SUPPORT ME, BECAUSE I DO FEEL I CAN SELL.
UH, BUT, UH, I WANT TO WORK WITH TOWN COUNCILS COUNTY COUNCIL, UH, TO STAND HOW FAR I CAN GO AND I CAN, I CAN WORK WITHIN THOSE BOUNDARIES.
SO, BUT I THINK SOMETIMES PEOPLE TIPPY TOE AROUND.
I KNOW WITH WORKFORCE HOUSING, THAT WOULD BE SOMETHING I'D LOVE TO SEE, UH, COMMUNITIES DO BOTH THINGS, AND OUR TARGETS ARE PRETTY STRAIGHTFORWARD.
AND AS YOU CAN SEE, OUR TARGETS ARE, ARE MINDFUL OF, UH, UH, OF, UH, UH, THE ENVIRONMENT THERE.
WE'RE NOT GOING TO DO ANY HARM TO THE ENVIRONMENT.
SO WE'VE GOT HEADQUARTERS, HEALTHCARE, UH, INSURANCE AND FINANCIAL SERVICES, BACK OFFICE, AEROSPACE, DEFENSE, UH, BIO LIFE SCIENCES, LIGHT MANUFACTURING, AND, YOU KNOW, WHAT WE'VE SEEN WITH THE, UH, BREWERIES AND THE DISTILLERY GOING INTO BLUFFTON SUPPLY CHANGE, THE HOSPITALITY IS NOT ONLY A DIVERSE ECONOMY, BUT ON RAINY DAYS FITS IN WELL WITH THE TOURISTS, HAVING SOMETHING TO DO.
AND I THINK, YOU KNOW, BIRD, CHURCH DISTILLERY, EXAMPLE OF THAT, UH, UH, THE DISTILLERY ON BOUNDARY STREET AND SO ON.
UH, THERE'S A LOT OF GOOD STUFF THERE.
YOU KNOW, THIS IS, UH, I, I DON'T MEAN TO, UH, PREACHER, UH, GIVE YOU LIKE A, A HISTORY LESSON, BUT WE'VE ALWAYS HEARD THAT THERE WAS A CHINESE CRISIS, UH, YOU KNOW, ALSO SHOW DANGER AND OPPORTUNITY.
AND SO THIS IS A QUOTE FROM KENNEDY, BUT I'D ENCOURAGE PLANNERS.
AND I KNOW BARBARA AND, UH, UH, UH, DAVID PRO-CHARTER ON THE CALL.
WE'VE BEEN WORKING WITH THEIR COUNTERPARTS IN BLUFFTON HILTON HEAD, AND ALSO AT THE COUNTY LEVEL THAT, YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU HAVE, UH, UH, A DROP IN THE ECONOMY LIKE 2008, UH, OR EVEN COVID THIS YEAR, IT PROVIDES YOU KIND OF A WINDOW TO DO SOMETHING BOLD THAT YOU, THAT YOU'VE BEEN TEMPLATING, BUT DIDN'T THINK IT HAVE SUPPORT.
SO WHEN WE COME OUT OF REALLY CHALLENGING TIMES, IT'S AN OPPORTUNITY, UH, TO DO SOMETHING, UH, BOLD.
AND, AND I, I, I DID HAVE A CALL, NOT WITH ONE OF THE PLANNERS ON THIS CLUB, BUT ONE OF THE OTHER ONES, UH, YOU KNOW, JUST ON THE FACT THAT, UH, WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT, THAT'S SOMETHING WE'LL, WE'LL CONTINUE TO WORK WITH.
WE WORK WITH, UH, SOUTHERN CAROLINA.
THE ALLIANCE IS CURRENTLY DOING A, UH, A STUDY ON THE GAP OF WHAT PEOPLE NEED IN WORKFORCE.
UH, ON OUR BOARD, WE HAVE, UH, THE K THROUGH 12 PROGRAM TCL RICH, UH, DR.
GOLF, AND THEN CHANCELLOR
UH, SO I, AND WE ALSO WORK WITH TRANSITION ASSISTANCE.
OUR, OUR BIG TRUMP CARD IN BUFORD COUNTY ARE THE EXITING MARINES AND, UH, UH, TELENET STORY, WORKFORCE HOUSING.
AND I THINK THERE, THERE COULD BE SOLUTIONS IN COUNTY, AND WHETHER WE'RE WORKING WITH THE MSC OR HARDY VILLE, I THINK A REGIONAL APPROACH TO WORKFORCE HOUSING MAKES A LOT OF SENSE.
AND THEN I I'VE LOOKED AT THE, UH, UH, UNEMPLOYMENT NUMBERS FOR SEPTEMBER, AND THEY WERE BACK INTO THREES FOR BUFORD COUNTY, UH, AND TALENT ATTRACTION WHEN THE ECONOMY HEATS UP AGAIN, AND I FULLY EXPECT IT WILL, UH, TALENT ATTRACTION, UH, BECOMES, UH, UH, IMPORTANT FOR US.
AND THEN, UH, UH, WHEN WE LOOK TO, UH, PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT, I, WE, FOR INSTANCE, GLASSWORKS, WHICH IS NOW AT THE PARKER, HANNIFIN BUILDING ON THREE OH TWO, UH, PARKER DRIVE.
THEY ACTUALLY CHOSE BUFORD BECAUSE THEY SAID, THEY SAID, BUFORD REMINDED THEM OF WHAT THEY'D LIKED ABOUT CHARLESTON 30 YEARS AGO.
SO WE'RE SEEING PEOPLE EXIT THE BOEING AND THE VOLVO ORBIT AND REALIZE THEY CAN LIVE HERE, BUT AS WE DO IT, I'M NOT FOR, UH, UH, YOU KNOW, THAT ALL ALIGNED IN THE SONG, TEAR DOWN PARADISE AND PUT UP A PARKING LOT.
I BELIEVE, YOU KNOW, WORKING WITH PLANNERS, OUR OPPORTUNITY IS TO MAKE SURE THAT THE THINGS WE DO ARE IN HARMONY WITH WHAT PEOPLE WANT IN THE COMMUNITY, NOT THE PEOPLE WHO MOVE HERE, GET THEIR PIECE OF THE PIE AND THEN WANT TO BLOCK EVERYONE ELSE OUT, BUT, UH, MAKE SURE THAT, THAT YOU'RE LEAVING THINGS IN A POSITION SO THAT SOME FUTURE GENERATION CAN ACTUALLY FEED THEIR FAMILY AND LIVE HERE.
SO I THINK WE HAVE TO HAVE HARMONY.
AND THEN I THINK SCALE IS SOMETHING THAT'S IMPORTANT, UH, IN BUFORD
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COUNTY THROUGH MY EXPERIENCE IS THAT, UH, IN THE PAST THEY WERE LOOKING AT, I THINK THE LAST ACT OF THE LAST ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT GROUP WAS TO TRY TO CREATE A MEGA SITE AND THE PLANNERS ON THE CALL KNOW THAT, AGAIN, WE TALK A LOT ABOUT HUNTING FOR DEER AND RABBITS, AND INSTEAD OF LOOKING FOR A MEGA SITE, WE'RE WORKING WITH THE PLANNERS AND IN THE COMMUNITY TO IDENTIFY 30 ACRE SITES WHERE WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO GET A COUPLE OF BUSINESSES ON.AND AGAIN, THE SCALE IS RIGHT.
UH, AND I'LL SAY THIS, CHARLIE AND I, UH, LOVE LIVING IN BUFORD COUNTY.
WE DON'T WANT TO UPSET THE APPLECART BY BRINGING IN A NUCLEAR REACTOR SITE OR, UH, UH, SOMETHING BIZARRE.
UH, SO, UH, WE, WE REALLY WANT TO BE, UH, IN HARMONY AND MAKE SURE WE'RE OF SCALE.
AND TODAY WE HAVEN'T HAD ANY, ANY OF THE 36 OR 38 PROJECTS WE'RE DOING, WE HAVEN'T HAD ANY DRAW THE IRE OF ENVIRONMENTALIST OR NEIGHBORHOOD GROUPS.
SO WE'RE KIND OF HAPPY WITH THAT.
AND THEN, YOU KNOW, OFTEN TIMES PEOPLE ALWAYS FOCUS ON TRANSPORTATION ORIENTED, UH, DEVELOPMENT, BUT I'M NOT, I'M A BELIEVER THAT IT'S A, IT'S A LARGER ISSUE OF, UH, INFRASTRUCTURE ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT.
AND IF YOU FOCUS ON THAT, YOU HAVE A BETTER RATE OF RETURN.
AND I THINK THAT'S THE END OF MY SLIDE.
I'LL FINISH WITH THIS ON PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT.
YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY UP ON THE BIKO, WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO ASSEMBLE LIKE 200 ACRES THAT'S AND, AND FOR ENVIRONMENTAL REASONS AND EPA GRANT THAT WE'RE APPLYING FOR, UH, YOU KNOW, THAT COULD MAKE A LOT OF SENSE, UH, AND, AND, AND PROVIDE, UH, A REAL PALLET FOR FUTURE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT.
BUT WE'RE REALLY TRYING TO FOCUS WITH THE PLANNERS ON SMALLER PARCELS THAT ARE ZONED PROPERLY AND, UH, WON'T UPSET, UH, THE COMMUNITY.
SO THAT'S KIND OF OUR APPROACH.
I, I HOPE, UH, I, I HIT THE MARK AND WHAT YOU WERE EXPECTING, AND I THINK I'M ABOUT A MINUTE LONGER THAN, THAN 20, BUT I'D BE HAPPY TO TAKE QUESTIONS, ANY QUESTIONS FROM THE BOARD FOR, UH, JOHN? UH, THIS IS BILLY.
I JUST TO SAY, SAY, JOHN WE'VE COME A LONG WAY IN A SHORT TIME, AND I CERTAINLY APPRECIATED THE BOARD AND THE WORK YOU AND CHARLIE ARE DOING.
I MEAN, THIS IS A PHENOMENAL TURNAROUND, PROBABLY THE BIGGEST TURNAROUND ON ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT THAT I CAN REMEMBER IN BUFORD.
NOT PROBABLY CERTAINLY THANK NO, THANK YOU.
AND, YOU KNOW, I BRING A LOT OF PROJECTS TO YOUR COUNCIL.
UH, YOU KNOW, AND WE, WE HAVE A VERY COLLEGIAL BACK AND FORTH ABOUT, UH, YOU KNOW, WHERE I HIT THE MARK, WHERE YOU WANT ME TO BE IN THE FUTURE.
NEXT THAT CANDID CONVERSATION HELPS US, YOU KNOW, UH, GET BETTER EVERY TIME.
JOHN, THIS IS A CONSUMMATE DAWSON.
UM, YES, I ATTENDED YOUR, UH, UH, EDC MEETING YESTERDAY AND I SHARED, UH, UH, BILLY'S THOUGHTS AS WELL AS TO COMMAND YOU CHARLIE AND THE EDC BOARD FOR THE WORK THAT YOU'RE DOING.
YOU GUYS ARE DOING A GREAT JOB.
YOU'RE MAKING PROGRESS, UH, RE YOU REMIND OURSELVES THAT ROME WASN'T BUILT IN A DAY, BUT WHEN THEY COMPLETED A PROJECT, IT WAS A WELL FORTIFIED, UM, UH, UNION.
SO, UH, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IS NOT GOING TO HAPPEN OVERNIGHT, BUT YOU AND CHARLIE, I'VE BEEN PLUGGING AWAY AT THIS AND WE CAN SEE THE BENEFITS OF YOUR WORK.
SO, UH, KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK.
SO I JUST WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT YOU HAVE ALL SUPPORT MAIL.
I, I I'LL JUST, UH, COME AT THE NET GERALD THAT WE FEEL BLESSED TO DO THIS WORK ARE TRULY, TRULY BLESSED.
AND, AND, BUT WE ARE, WE ARE HUMAN AND WE'RE GOING TO MISS THE MARK SOMETIMES.
SO WHEN WE MISS THE MARK WITH OUR WORDS, OR WE, UH, UH, YOU KNOW, UH, DON'T COMMUNICATE PROPERLY, OR YOU THINK WE'RE OFF TRACK, UH, WE'D LOVE TO HEAR THAT FEEDBACK AS WELL MIGHT BE PAINFUL, BUT WE, WE WILL BENEFIT FROM IT.
I'VE GOT JUST A COUPLE OF COMMENTS, JOHN.
I WANTED TO SAY, I'M HAPPY TO SEE THAT THE ENVIRONMENT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT SPOKE AS YOU SPOKE ABOUT EARLIER.
UH, EXCITED TO SEE THAT IT JUST LOOKS LIKE A TON OF PROJECTS THAT YOU'VE GOT IN THE WORKS OUT THERE.
I BELIEVE I COUNTED SEVEN, SO THAT'S VERY EXCITING.
IT IS CRITICAL IN IT TO, TO THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, UH, AND, AND ALSO THANKS FOR YOUR HELP WITH STONEWORKS HERE IN PORT ROYAL.
I'LL TELL YOU A QUICK STORY, CAUSE IT KIND OF APPEALS TO POP CULTURE.
UH, BUT MANY OF YOU MAY NOT KNOW ROGER STAUBACH DID, UH, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OR SITE SELECTION AFTER FOOTBALL.
AND I THINK HE MADE MORE MONEY
[00:30:01]
DOING THAT THAN IN FOOTBALL.AND NOW EMMETT SMITH IS IN THE CORPORATE SITE SELECTION BUSINESS, AND HE HIRED THE SMARTEST WOMAN IN AMERICA ON THAT SUBJECT TO RUN HIS COMPANY.
AND WHEN WE MET WITH HER, SHE EXPLAINED, YOU KNOW, I, I, WHEN I BRING A COMPANY INTO TOWN, I NEED TO KNOW WHAT THE PIPELINE OF TALENT IS.
THAT'S YOUR, THAT'S YOUR FUTURE? THAT'S YOUR PIPELINE? AND SHE, SHE MADE IT VERY CLEAR TO US THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, AGN AND OUR BOARD THOUGHT OF IT BEFORE I GOT HERE, UH, WITH THE REPRESENTATION WE HAVE ON OUR BOARD.
BUT, UH, THAT, YOU KNOW, LIKE ELECTRICITY, YOU NEED ELECTRICITY TO RUN A PLANT, ANY TALENT, YOU HAVE TO KNOW WHERE THAT TALENT'S COMING FROM.
ANY OTHER COMMENTS FROM THE BOARD, JOHN? UM, ONE OF THE THINGS I THINK I'D LIKE TO DO IS, UH, I'M NOT SURE IF YOU'RE AWARE OF THE, UH, UH, UH, LADY'S ISLAND, UH, VILLAGE CENTER DEVELOPMENT THAT WE'RE IN THE PROCESS OF DOING.
WE HAVE A TASK FORCE THAT IS CURRENTLY ADDRESSING, UM, ALL OF THE ISSUES RELATED TO A LADY'S ISLAND AND ITS UH, UH, SECOND TIER DEVELOPMENT, IF YOU WILL.
UM, ALONG WITH, UH, UH, DEVELOPING WHAT WE ALREADY SET INTO MOTION AND MORE GRANULAR WAY, UH, FROM THE, UH, THE LADY'S ISLAND PLAN.
UH, BUT I THINK, UM, I WOULD, UH, REALLY LIKE TO HAVE YOU COME TO ONE OF OUR TASK FORCE MEETINGS, UH, SOMETIME IN THE NEAR FUTURE.
UH, TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT GIVE YOUR PRESENTATION, BUT ALSO MAYBE TO BRING YOU UP TO SPEED, IF YOU'RE NOT UP TO SPEED ON WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO ACCOMPLISH AT THE SAME TIME, THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL.
UH, STEPHEN MURRAY HAD KEPT ME, UH, HAS, HAS MENTIONED THAT THAT'S SOMETHING, UH, IN THE WORKS.
I I'D BE DELIGHTED TO, UH, PRESENT TO THE GROUP AND LEARN MORE ABOUT WHAT'S GOING ON OUT THERE.
MAYBE, UH, YOU ROB COULD SEND ME YOUR CONTACT INFORMATION AND UH, WE'LL TRY AND GET TOGETHER.
ANYTHING ELSE FROM, THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
IT WAS A GOOD, A GOOD PRESENTATION.
I ENJOYED, UH, UH, HEARING WHAT YOU HAD TO ADD TO SAY.
I THINK IT'S, UH, UH, I THINK IT'S A VERY GOOD PRESENTATION ABOUT WHAT TRYING TO ACCOMPLISH HERE, UH, IN THE COUNTY AND THE CITY.
UM, WITH THAT, WE'LL MOVE ON TO THE NEXT ITEM, UH, WHICH IS A PRIORITIZATION, UH, LIST OF ACTION ITEMS. UM, WE DON'T HAVE A LOT OF THE PEOPLE, UM, HERE RIGHT NOW, UM, UH, THAT, THAT HAVE BEEN ADDRESSING SOME OF THESE ITEMS. SO, UH, I'LL LEAVE IT UP TO THE BOARD.
WE CAN, UH, HIT ITEMS THAT ARE OF PARTICULAR INTEREST FROM ANYBODY ON THE BOARD.
I CAN GO THROUGH, UH, EACH OF OUR PRIORITIZATIONS OR WE CAN JUST COVER THOSE THAT ARE OF THE GREATEST INTEREST TO EVERYBODY
I'M, I'M ASSUMING THAT, UH, THEN WE CAN MOVE FORWARD WITH JUST DOING ITEMS THAT ARE OF THE, UH, GREATEST INTEREST TO EVERYBODY.
AND LET ME, UH, LET ME GO AHEAD AND, UH, UH, ADDRESS A FEW OF THE ITEMS THAT I THINK, UH, ARE IMPORTANT, UH, UH, TO THESE ACTION ITEMS. ONE, ONE, UH, OF COURSE IS THE, UH, THE CONTINUED DEVELOPMENT OF THE TASK FORCE FOR THE LADY'S ISLAND PLAN AND, UM, UH, A COUPLE OF THINGS THAT WE STILL NEED TO HAVE HAPPEN WITH THAT IS, UH, UH, UH, CONTACT WITH THE COUNTY ENGINEER FOR TRANSPORTATION TO TRY AND, UH, GET THEM INVOLVED WITH OUR GROUP AND TIE THEM INTO THE, UH, TO THE LOOP OF, UH, WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO ACCOMPLISH AND WHERE THEY ARE WITH THEIR CONTINUED DEVELOPMENT OF THE TRAFFIC, UH, STUDY, UH, UM, FROM THE STANTEC AND THE, UH, UM, UH, I GUESS UPDATING THE STANTEC, UH, WITHIN, UH, THE NEW DETAIL THAT, UH, UH, AND DATA THAT WE HAVE, UH, COMING OUT OF THE COUNTY.
UM, THE, UH, ANOTHER ONE OF THE ITEMS THAT I THINK TO ME WAS, UH, IMPORTANT IS, UM,
[00:35:01]
UM, THE, UH, MEETINGS THAT WERE SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN THAT HAVEN'T HAPPENED YET.ONE IS, UH, WHERE, UH, EACH OF THE, UM, EACH OF THE, UH, UH, GROUPS WAS GOING TO GET TOGETHER, UH, AND, UH, ADDRESS THE, UH, UH, REGIONAL VERSUS LOCAL PARKS AND, UH, COMPLETE THAT LIST AND DECIDE, UH, WHERE WE WERE WITH THAT NIGHT.
I THINK THE LAST TIME THERE WAS GOING TO BE A, UM, A LIST, UH, DRAWN UP AND AGREED TO, AND THERE WAS SOMETHING WAS PRELIMINARILY DONE, BUT I DON'T KNOW THAT I'VE SEEN, AND I'M NOT SURE IF ANYBODY ELSE HAS SEEN, UH, ANYTHING FURTHER ON THAT.
SO I WOULD REALLY ENCOURAGE, UH, THAT TO BE DONE.
UM, THE, UH, UH, I THINK THERE WAS PRESENTATIONS THAT WERE GOING TO BE MADE HAVEN'T BEEN SCHEDULED YET.
AND I CAN UNDERSTAND THAT MAY NOT BE SCHEDULED UNTIL AFTER, UM, AFTER CHRISTMAS, MAYBE, UH, OR AT LEAST AFTER THANKSGIVING.
AND THAT ONE WAS TO ADDRESS THE BOUNDARIES, UH, GROWTH BOUNDARIES.
AND THAT WAS A PRESENTATION THAT WAS GOING TO BE MADE TO THE MPC.
UH, I HAVE NOT SEEN ANYTHING, UM, SCHEDULED FOR THAT YET.
AND ONE OF THE OTHER THINGS THAT, UH, AD AND I WERE WE'RE GOING TO DO, AND THAT WAS TO GIVE BOTH THE COUNTY, UH, PLANNING GROUP TOGETHER WITH THE MPC.
UH, WE HAVE NOT DONE THAT YET.
THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF OTHER THINGS GOING ON.
I KNOW FROM, UH, UH, THE COUNTY AND THE CITY, UH, UH, POINT OF VIEW.
SO, UM, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT ED AND I ARE STILL GOING TO HAVE TO DO.
AND THAT, AGAIN, THAT MAY DEFINITELY HAPPEN AFTER THE HOLIDAYS, UH, WHEN A LOT OF THESE OTHER THINGS COME TO COME TO PASS.
UM, IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE THAT ANYBODY ELSE WANTS TO PUT ON THE TABLE FROM THE, UH, UH, ACTION ITEM LIST? AND WHAT I WILL DO IS I'LL GO THROUGH AND I'LL ADDRESS EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THE ACTION ITEMS LISTS AND, UH, ASSOCIATE NAMES OF PEOPLE THAT, UH, HAVE SAID THAT THEY'RE GOING TO MOVE FORWARD WITH DOING CERTAIN THINGS.
AND THAT WILL BE PART OF THE, UH, UH, BACKUP AGENDA, UH, FOR OUR NEXT MONTHLY MEETING.
MIKE, MIKE, IF I COULD SAY SOMETHING, THIS IS BILLY.
UM, YOU KNOW, THE PARKS THING'S BEEN TALKED ABOUT FOR A LONG TIME, OR AT LEAST I'VE TRIED TO TALK ABOUT IT FOR A LONG TIME, AND I THINK WE ALL HAVE, BUT I THINK THERE'S A SENSE OF TRYING TO MOVE THAT UP BECAUSE AS THE COUNTY HAS FINISHED THEIR IMPACT FACE STUDY, THERE ARE IMPACT FEES RELATIVE TO, TO, TO PARKS, TO RECREATION, AND THAT SOME SORT OF AN UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT IS REGIONAL, WHAT IS LOCAL, I THINK WOULD BE VERY HELPFUL AT LEAST TO THE CITY.
AND I THINK ALL THE MUNICIPALITIES, UH, DON'T WANT TO SPEAK FOR JOE OR FOR JURY OUR, OR FOR, BUT IF WE'RE, SINCE WE'RE GOING TO BE LOOKING AT, AT MEMORANDUMS OF UNDERSTANDING OR, UM, BETWEEN THE MUNICIPALITIES AND THE COUNTY ON, ON IMPACT PHASE, WE OUGHT TO REALLY HAVE A BETTER SENSE OF WHAT PARKS WE'RE TALKING ABOUT, WHICH, WHICH ARE SHARED, WHICH, WHICH ARE CERTAINLY OUR OWN.
THE SECOND IS THAT AS YOU CONTINUE WITH THE LADY'S ISLAND PLAN, AND WE'RE GOING TO GET INTO SOME SPECIFICS LATER ON THE AGENDA, UM, AND THE ISSUE OF GROWTH BOUNDARIES, WHICH, YOU KNOW, AS WE MOVE ON THESE TWO GROWTH BOUNDARIES WAS I THINK ONE OF THE NEXT DISCUSSIONS W WE OUGHT TO BE TALKING ABOUT, IF IN FACT WE'RE SUCCESSFUL AND COME UP WITH TOOLS FOR CURBING GROWTH OR MANAGING GROWTH ON LADY'S ISLAND, UH, WHERE, WHERE, WHERE DO WE MOVE? YOU KNOW, HOW, HOW DOES, FOR EXAMPLE, THERE'S A CITY MOVE NORTH WHERE IT'S LESS BRIDGE DEPENDENT.
UM, I THINK THAT, AND KNOWING THAT THE
[00:40:01]
HAVE CONGESTION ISSUES.WE, WE LOOK AT AREAS THAT ARE OPEN AND HOW WE MIGHT ENCOURAGE DEVELOPMENT IN THOSE AREAS RATHER THAN CONTINUING ON LADY'S ISLAND.
THOSE ARE MY TWO THOUGHTS BASED ON YOUR AGENDA ITEMS, YOUR ACTION ITEMS. THANK YOU.
I THINK THAT REALLY NEEDS TO HAPPEN.
I DON'T KNOW IF I CAN ASK THAT THE, UH, UH, THE LIST OF PARKS AND IDENTIFICATION FROM, UH, EACH OF THE MUNICIPALITIES AND THE COUNTY TO, UH, MAKE A LIST OF THOSE.
AND I'LL BE GLAD TO TRY AND INCLUDE THOSE IN THE AGENDA FOR THE NEXT MONTH, AT LEAST SO THAT, UH, THERE'S SOMETHING, UH, ON THE TABLE, UH, FROM, UH, FROM EVERYBODY, UH, THAT STARTS TO IDENTIFY THAT IF THAT'S AN APPROPRIATE THING TO DO, UH, FROM THE BOARD, UH, I WILL, I WILL DO THAT.
I'LL ASK TO, UH, GET THAT COORDINATED, UH, FROM EACH MUNICIPALITY AND FROM THE COUNTY TO, UH, UH, GET THAT TO ME.
I'D ASK ROB, BECAUSE I BELIEVE WE'VE DONE THAT ONCE I BELIEVE WHERE WE DID HAVE A LONG LIST, UM, CA IT WAS ACTUALLY COUNTY-WIDE.
UM, BUT WE CAN CERTAINLY RE RE SUBMIT A LIST IF THAT FILE IS NO LONGER AVAILABLE.
I WAS TOLD LAST MEETING THAT THAT LIST DID EXIST.
I JUST HADN'T HEARD ANYTHING SINCE.
SO WE HAVE A LIST WHO WAS ACTUALLY PART OF OUR COMPREHENSIVE PLAN THAT LISTS EVERY SINGLE PARK, AND TO FIND SOME AS, YOU KNOW, POCKET PARK NEIGHBORHOODS, COMMUNITY, AND REGIONAL, YOU KNOW, THAT, THAT LE WE COULD START WITH THAT LIST.
I THINK THERE'VE BEEN A FEW ADDITIONS IN A FEW, I THINK MAYBE A FEW OF THE PARKS HAVE GONE AWAY.
UH, THAT'D BE GREAT ROBIN, IF, IF WE CAN BRING IN OUR NEXT PACKET, THAT WOULD BE GREAT.
I THINK I CAN PROBABLY WORK WITH LINDA AND DAVID ON, YOU KNOW, JUST SENDING THE LIST AND THEN THEY CAN VERIFY OR ADD OR SUBTRACT ANYTHING IN THERE.
WE CAN START, START FROM THAT LIST.
UM, AS IT RELATES TO THE GROWTH BOUNDARIES, SO I THINK THAT THAT WAS A HIGH, UH, HIGH PRIORITY, UH, ALSO IS, UH, BILLY, UH, MENTIONED, BUT THERE WAS SUPPOSED TO BE, I THINK, A UP, UH, WHERE, UM, I THINK, UH, THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN WAS JUST GOING TO BE SHARED FROM THE COUNTY WITH THE, UH, UH, WITH AT LEAST THE MPC TO START WITH, UH, AS WELL AS THE CITY'S COMPREHENSIVE PLAN.
I DON'T KNOW IF ANYTHING'S BEEN THOUGHT ABOUT YET FOR, UH, APPROXIMATE DATES FOR SCHEDULING THAT OR NOT.
UH, ROB AND DAVE, I KNOW ROBIN, UM, BUT WE HAVE NOT SCHEDULED ANY FORMAL MEETINGS TO COORDINATE SO FAR.
WELL, I'LL, I'LL JUST KIND OF STAY ON YOU GUYS TO MOVE THAT FORWARD.
CAUSE I THINK THE, UH, I THINK WE ALL WANT TO, UH, UNDERSTAND WHAT THE GIRL, AT LEAST THE GROSS BOUNDARIES ARE STARTING TO LOOK LIKE AND HOW THEY INTERSECT BETWEEN THE COUNTY, THE CITY AND THE TOWN.
UH, SO I THINK THAT WOULD BE, UH, THAT WOULD BE SOMETHING THAT WE REALLY WANT TO MOVE FORWARD ON THE AGENDA, UH, BEFORE WE GET TOO FAR DOWN THE ROAD.
I MEAN, THOSE GROUP BOUNDARIES ARE DEFINED AND THEN WE HAVE A REVISION OF THE GRIP BOUNDARIES RECOMMENDED AND THE LADY SILENCE PLAN.
UM, AS FAR AS I KNOW THOSE TWO EXISTING BOUNDARIES AND WHAT WAS PROPOSED IN THE PLAN STILL STAND, DON'T BE THERE.
HAVEN'T BEEN, UM, I THINK WHAT THE MAYOR WAS REFERRING TO IS MAYBE WITHIN THE BOUNDARIES, ADDITIONAL MECHANISMS THAT MIGHT DIVERT NEW DEVELOPMENT, YOU KNOW, WEST OF THE CITY OR NORTH OF THE CITY.
YOU KNOW, THE LARGELY BECAUSE OF WITHIN THE BOW GROWTH BOUNDARIES, WE DO HAVE, WE WANT TO PROTECT AT THE SAME TIME, IF WE WANT TO BACK OFF ON LADY'S ISLAND, WHICH I THINK WE'RE HOPING TO AND SUCH.
SO DURING THE LADY'S ISLAND PLAN, WE WOULD LIKE TO KNOW THAT YOU'LL HAVE COLLABORATION AS, AS WE MOVE IN OTHER DIRECTIONS THAT WILL HOPEFULLY HELP WITH SOME OF THE PROBLEMS MITIGATE SOME
[00:45:01]
OF THE PROBLEMS OF LADY'S ISLAND WITHOUT DIMINISHING OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE RIGHT KIND OF GROWTH.I THINK WE'VE ALWAYS SAID THAT THE GROWTH AROUND REEVES AND THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN WHAT'S URBAN, WHAT'S RURAL, WHAT'S GOING TO BE URBAN.
WHAT'S GOING TO STAY RURAL, ARE ALL MOVING PARTS.
AND I FIND IT HARD TO PLAY WITH, WITH ONE, ONE PIECE OF A PUZZLE THAT, THAT INCLUDES ACTUALLY THREE PARTS.
AND THAT'S, THAT'S WHAT I'M TRYING TO SAY IS THAT, THAT DISCUSSION AND INTEGRATES THE THREE, THREE, THREE ENTITIES TO TRY TO ABSORB SOME OF THE PROBLEMS THAT CLEARLY THE LADY'S ISLAND PLAN ADDRESSES THAT.
AND IF I MAY ADD THAT, SO IN 2009 IN THE CITY'S COMP PLAN, THEIR FUTURE LAND USE, WASN'T JUST INSIDE THE JURISDICTIONAL BOUNDARIES, BUT THEY ALSO INCLUDED, UM, THE PARCELS THAT ARE INSIDE THE GROWTH BOUNDARY.
I THINK WE SHOULD CONTINUE THAT WITH OUR UPDATE.
OF COURSE, THAT WOULD MEAN WE NEED TO COORDINATE WITH THE COUNTY, UM, AND ALSO PORT ROYAL.
UM, SO THAT WE'RE KIND OF IN AGREEMENT ABOUT WHERE WE SEE THE FUTURE OF THE PROPERTIES GOING, UH, INSIDE THE GROWTH PATTERN AND, UH, ALSO THE LAYS ISLAND, UH, PLAN, UH, THE CITY ENDORSED IT.
SO WE WILL INCORPORATE, COULD INCORPORATE THAT INTO OUR UPTAKE, BUT RIGHT.
YET WE'VE NOT GOTTEN TO THE POINT WHERE, UM, WE WERE ADDRESSING THOSE SECTIONS.
SO THAT'S REALLY WHY ROB AND I HAVEN'T HAD ANY MEETINGS YET.
GOING ALL THE WAY BACK TO THE NORTHERN REGIONAL PLAN, WE KIND OF HAD TWO COMPONENTS.
ONE WAS THE GROWTH BOUNDARIES, BUT THE OTHER WAS A GENERAL AGREED UPON FUTURE LAND USE MAP WITHIN THOSE BOUNDARIES.
SO THAT WHEN PROPERTY IS ANNEXED, THERE'S A GENERAL AGREED UPON EXPECTATION THAT IT'S NOT GOING TO GO FROM RURAL TO LIGHT INDUSTRIAL OR, YOU KNOW, SO I THINK THAT THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE CAN DEFINITELY COORDINATE AND I DIDN'T SEE ANY HUGE SHIFTS IN, IN FUTURE LAND USE POLICY IN THESE AREAS, YOU KNOW, THE, THAT ARE GONNA CHANGE RADICALLY FROM WHAT WE'VE ADOPTED 10 YEARS AGO, BUT WE'LL DEFINITELY COORDINATE THAT WORK.
I APPRECIATE THAT ONE OTHER ONE OTHER ITEM THAT I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S AN ISSUE OR NOT WHAT IT WAS RELATED TO, UH, PARIS ISLAND.
AND THIS WAS HAPPENING A COUPLE OF MONTHS AGO FOR US WITH THE ARTICLE THAT SHOWED UP.
AND, UH, MY, MY QUESTION IS WITH THE POTENTIAL CHANGE IN OUR GOVERNMENT'S ADMINISTRATION, UM, DO, DO WE HAVE ANYBODY OR ANYTHING HAPPENING THAT, UH, HELPS TO CONTINUE TO SOLIDIFY, UH, OUR POSITION WITH, UH, PARIS ISLAND IN CASE, UM, THE WINDS CHANGE SO TO SPEAK OR SOMETHING ELSE HAPPENS? IF I, IF I MAY SAY WE, WE HAVE SOMETHING THAT WAS SET UP ACTUALLY DURING BROCK ONE, MANY YEARS AGO, AND MINE IS CALLED THE MILITARY ENHANCEMENT COMMITTEE.
IT IS TECHNICALLY A COMMITTEE OF THE CHAMBER, BUT IT'S SOUGHT ITS INDEPENDENCE.
AND IT HAS REPRESENTATIVES APPOINTED BY EACH OF THE GOVERNMENTAL ENTITIES AND ITS SOLE FOCUS IS TO KEEP AN EYE ON, ON PROTECTING THE BASIS.
UM, THEY HAVE, THEY HAVE SORT OF GONE BACK INTO ACTION ALONG WITH THE STATE WITH THE CONVERSATIONS, BUT, UM, QUITE FRANKLY, IT MIGHT BE A REALLY GOOD IDEA TO INVITE THE MAC, TO, TO DO A BRIEFING TO THIS GROUP ON, ON WHAT THEY'RE DOING.
AND TO, TO, TO, TO, TO ASK FOR ANY SUGGESTIONS WE MIGHT HAVE, I'M NOT AT A LINE, JUST A WEDNESDAY.
THEY ELECTED NEIL GLEES TO BE THE CHAIRMAN OF THAT GROUP.
SO YOU MIGHT WANT TO GET NEIL TO UPDATE YOUR GROUP.
HE'S A BULLDOZER AND HE'S A GOOD ONE.
SORRY, ROB, IS THAT SOMETHING YOU MIGHT BE ABLE TO COORDINATE OR DO YOU WANT ME TO TRY AND DO THAT? YOU'RE MUTED, ROB,
[00:50:01]
SO WE DEFINITELY WANT TO INCLUDE THEM ON THE NEXT AGENDA.YES, WE CAN GET IN TOUCH WITH HIM.
I THINK, I THINK THAT'D BE A VERY GOOD THING TO DO TO STAY AHEAD OF THAT, MIKE, WHILE WE'RE ON THAT SUBJECT, I RECALL SOMETHING IN THE NEWSPAPERS A WEEK OR SO AGO, A MOUNTING RESILIENCY STUDY.
I THINK IT'S GOING TO BE CHAIRED BY FOG OR THE TRANSPORTATION ORGANIZATION.
I'M NOT SURE, BUT IT'S DOING THERE.
THEY'VE BEEN A BUNCH OF ABOUT 475,000 TO LOOK AT PARIS ISLAND AND THE FLOODING ASPECTS OF PARRIS ISLAND AND THE THREATS TO PARRIS ISLAND FROM FLOODING FOR A PERIOD OF ABOUT, THEY'RE GOING TO STUDY THIS FOR OVER A YEAR.
I DON'T KNOW WHAT'S INVOLVED IN THE PROCESS, BUT PERHAPS THERE'S SOME INFORMATION THAT WE MIGHT FIND USEFUL PRESENTATION FROM THEM.
AND WE, WE DID THAT BEFORE, WHEN THEY DID THEIR LAST ONE, THEY DID AN ASSESSMENT OF PARIS ISLAND AND THE AIR STATION.
UM, AND OBVIOUSLY THEY'RE UPDATING IN AN AD, PROBABLY A ACCELERATING IT.
BUT ROB MAY REMEMBER, I DON'T KNOW WHETHER IT WAS LOW COG WITH, UH, SOME OF THE MILITARY MONEY THAT DID IT, BUT THEY DID COME AND THEY DID GIVE US A PRO I THINK IT WAS THIS GROUP, A PRESENTATION ON, YOU KNOW, THEIR, THEIR, THEIR MILE HIGH VIEW.
AND NOW THEY'RE OBVIOUSLY HAVING TO FOCUS DOWN ON IT BECAUSE OF TWO THINGS.
ONE IS SEA LEVEL AND, AND, AND, AND THE S THE S THE, THE SIDE ISSUE THAT IS EMERGED.
AND I THINK MAYBE TWO MEETINGS AGO, STEPHANIE ROSSI WITH, UH, L COM BRIEF THIS COMMITTEE THAT THEY WERE, UM, SEEKING THE GRANT, AND MAYBE SHE CAN PROVIDE US WITH AN UPDATE OF KIND OF A SCOPE OF WORK, WHAT THAT ENTAILS.
AND AS A SIDE WORK, WE SHOULD THANK JOHN AND THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION, BECAUSE THEY HAVE A COMPANY HERE NOW THAT IS PERFECTING A NEW SUBSTITUTE FOR CONCRETE.
AND WHEN IT IS EXPOSED TO WATER, IT'S STRENGTHENS RATHER THAN ERODES.
AND, UM, I WAS TALKING TO THE, UH, ONE OF THE SENIOR OFFICIALS THERE, AND I SAID, WE'VE GOT SUCH A GREAT SHOWROOM FOR YOU IN TERMS OF USING A PRODUCT THAT IS ESSENTIALLY WATER RESISTANT AND WATER CONTAINING.
SO IT COULD, IT COULD BE A HUGE OPPORTUNITY IF, IF, IF A, IF WALLING BECOMES PART OF ANY PROCESS.
I'D LIKE TO KNOW MORE ABOUT THAT, TOO.
THAT, THAT, UH, THAT'S ABOUT ALL OF THE, UH, DISCUSSION ITEMS THAT I HAD PICKED OUT OF THE, UH, PRIORITIZATION LIST.
UH, IS THERE ANYTHING ANYBODY ELSE WOULD LIKE TO PUT ON THE TABLE TODAY? OKAY.
SEEING NONE, UH, WE'LL GO, UH, BACK TO ROM WITH, UH, PHIL ORDINANCE.
AND, UM, I WASN'T PLANNING ON A VERY FORMAL PRESENTATION.
WE WERE, UM, WE PRESENTED THESE TWO ITEMS AT THE LAST MEETING AND REALIZED THAT WE NO LONGER HAD A QUORUM.
UM, BUT AS JUST A REAL QUICK OVERVIEW, YOU KNOW, THESE ARE THE TWO RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE LADY'S ISLAND PLAN.
UM, AND WE, UH, PUT TOGETHER A TASK FORCE TO LOOK SPECIFICALLY AT THESE TWO ORDINANCES.
AND THEN THE WORK OF THAT TASK FORCE REALLY BROADENED TO ADDRESS, UM, RESILIENCY AND CLIMATE CHANGE ISSUES, YOU KNOW, FOR THE REGION, BECAUSE WE REALIZED THAT, YOU KNOW, SINCE WE WERE TASKED WITH A COASTAL RESILIENCE OVERLAY, WE WANTED TO LOOK AT HOW THAT PARTICULAR TOOL FIT INTO THE LARGER, UM, YOU KNOW, ISSUE OF, OF SEA LEVEL RISE AND THE TOOLBOX OF, OF COASTAL RESILIENCY.
UM, SO WE HAVE THESE TWO ORDINANCES THAT CAME OUT OF THE LATEST ISLAND PLAN AND KIND OF OUR MARCHING ORDERS WERE TO ADDRESS THE FILL ORDINANCE, THE SEA LEVEL RISE, OR COASTAL RESILIENCY OVERLAY BEFORE CONSIDERING ANY MOVEMENT IN THE, UH, GROWTH BOUNDARIES.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, THAT'S, THAT'S KIND OF WHAT WE'RE PRESENTING TODAY.
UM, I WANTED TO SHARE REAL QUICKLY WITH YOU BECAUSE THE HEIGHT OF THAT YOU HAD IN THE PACKET, UM, DID NOT INCLUDE THE LATEST
[00:55:01]
DRAFT OF THE FILAMENTS.AND JUST HOLD ON ONE SECOND WHILE I, I FIND YOU CAN ALL SEE THAT, OKAY, THIS IS THE COASTAL RESILIENCE OVERLAY.
UH, LET ME OPEN UP THE FILL ORDINANCE REAL QUICK.
IS THAT THE PHIL ORDINANCE REDUCE IT? NO.
I BROUGHT THE WRONG ONE FIRST.
I WANT TO DO, I THINK WE'VE GONE OVER THIS SEVERAL TIMES.
I WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT SEVERAL CHANGES AND THESE ARE A DIRECT RESULT OF COMMENTS MADE BY THE COMMITTEE AT THE LAST MEETING.
UM, WE MODIFIED THE LANGUAGE TO RECOGNIZE THAT THE AREA WHERE WE'RE ALLOWING PHIL WOULD INCLUDE A DRIVEWAY AND WALKWAY ACCESS TO THE STRUCTURE.
AND THEN ALSO THAT WHEN WE TAKE HER AWAY FROM THAT, WE'RE INCLUDING A FIVE FOOT PERIMETER AROUND THE BUILDING TO MAKE SURE THAT THERE'S ADEQUATE ACCESS PEDESTRIAN ACCESS TO THE BUILDING.
BUT THAT WAS A COMMENT SPECIFICALLY MADE BY THE BOARD AT THE LAST MEETING.
AND SO I'M SORRY, KNOW, YOU HAVE UP TO COASTAL RESILIENCE OVERLAY, IS IT? I THOUGHT IT CHANGED PHIL NOW.
UM, THE LANGUAGE I SORT OF HIGHLIGHTED IN GRAY.
THIS IS THE REVISED LANGUAGE THAT THE BOARD REQUESTED AT THE LAST MEETING.
I THINK MIKE, UH, TOMI SPECIFICALLY ASKED FOR THESE CHANGES, DOES THIS, UH, WHICH WE'RE WORKING TO CHANGE
AND SO THESE BASICALLY ADDRESS MAKING SURE THAT THEY'RE NOT ONLY DRIVEWAY ACCESS, BUT WALKWAY ACCESS TO THE STRUCTURE, UM, YOU KNOW, WHERE, WHERE THE FILL IS IN THAT AREA.
AND IT'S ALLOWING FOR BOTH THE THINGS, THE ONLY OTHER CHANGE, UH, IS TOM BELOW WOULD IN IT'S VERY SPECIFIC WHEN WE TALKED ABOUT, I DON'T KNOW WHY, BUT I CAN'T MOVE DOWN INTO THE DOCUMENT.
WE ALLOW AN EXCEPTION FOR THIS, UM, OR, UM, NUMBER THREE, WHICH I'M GOING TO HIGHLIGHT SINGLE FAMILY RESIDENTIAL STRUCTURES USE ON UTILIZING RATES, RAISED SLABS WITH A BASE SCENARIO OR CONCRETE CURTAIN MAY CONTAIN MORE THAN THREE FEET OF FILL, BECAUSE IT IS LIMITED TO THE FOOTPRINT OF THE BUILDING THAT LANGUAGE, A MASONRY OR CONCRETE CURTAIN WALL IS A REQUEST OF THIS BOARD AT THE LAST MEETING.
UM, I GUESS WHAT WE'RE ASKING AT THIS MEETING, UM, IS NO APPROVAL OF THE IMPLEMENTATION COMMITTEE.
AND I WANTED TO KIND OF GIVE YOU SOME IDEAS OF WHAT OUR NEXT STEPS ARE.
[01:00:01]
OUR PAST DISCUSSION.THERE SEEMED TO BE A REAL STRONG INTEREST IN MAKING SURE THAT WE COMMUNICATE WITH ELECTED OFFICIALS, YOU KNOW, IN AN INFORMAL SETTING, SUCH AS A WORK SESSION, UM, THESE TWO ORDINANCES COMING FORWARD, AND THAT THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE'RE ANTICIPATING TO BE COMING BY, YOU KNOW, MULTILATERALLY, YOU KNOW, AT THE COUNTY, CITY AND TOWN LEVEL.
AND SO A DAY PER SHARD, LINDA BRIDGES, AND I SPOKE ABOUT HOW THAT MIGHT LOOK AND, UM, OR, OR LOOKING AT PROVIDING A BRIEFING TO COUNTY COUNCIL, YOU KNOW, TO THEIR NATURAL RESOURCES COMMITTEE IN DECEMBER, WE'RE LOOKING AT, UM, YOU KNOW, THE CITY IS IN TRANSITION WITH GETTING A NEW MAYOR, BUT WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT THEIR FIRST WORK SESSION TO, YOU KNOW, WHEN THEY'RE READY FOR THIS TO BE BROUGHT FORWARD, WE BRING THEM UP TO SPEED AS WELL AS, UM, COMING FORWARD TO, UM, AND FORT ROYAL TOWN COUNCIL WITH THEIR WORK SESSION IN DECEMBER.
ONCE THERE'S A COMFORT LEVEL AMONG THE ELECTED OFFICIALS, WE WILL MOVE FORWARD FOR FORMAL ADOPTION, GO TO METRO, TO OUR PLANNING COMMISSION, AND THEN, UM, OFF TO EACH INDIVIDUAL JURISDICTION FOR ADOPTION.
BUT I AM WILLING TO ANSWER ANY SPECIFIC QUESTION ON THESE ORDINANCES.
I KNOW WE'VE LOOKED AT THEM QUITE A BIT OVER THE LAST SEVERAL MONTHS, UM, ROB WITH THE ADOPTIONS, WITH THE CITIES, THE MUNICIPALITIES, THE TOWN, AND THE CITY WOULD THAT, I KNOW THAT THERE ARE SOME EXCEPTIONS WITH REFERENCE TO OUR, TO OUR REDEVELOPMENT AREAS AND SO FORTH THAT ARE REFERENCED IN THE ORDINANCE ITSELF, BUT ARE THERE, WILL THERE BE OPPORTUNITIES TO ACTUALLY HAVE OTHER, UM, CRAFTING AS FAR AS THE MUNICIPAL ORDINANCES ARE CONCERNED? YEAH.
I MEAN, I THINK, YOU KNOW, OUR GOAL IS TO HAVE THE SAME GENERAL STANDARDS ACROSS THE BOARD.
THAT'S ONE OF THE THINGS, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'RE, OUR STAFFS ARE MEETING NEXT WEEK TO TALK ABOUT THAT VERY THING, IDENTIFYING THOSE REDEVELOPMENT AREAS.
YOU KNOW, I THINK THAT THE GENERAL THING IS THAT WE DON'T WANT TO, IF YOU HAVE AREAS WHERE YOU'RE TARGETING REDEVELOPMENT OR IN CELL DEVELOPMENT, WE DON'T WANT TO PUT A ROADBLOCK IN THE WAY.
I, YOU KNOW, TH THIS IN MANY WAYS IS ONE OF THE COMPLICATED, MOST COMPLICATED AND PERHAPS CONTROVERSIAL ISSUES WE'VE DEALT WITH FOR QUITE A WHILE.
UM, BECAUSE THERE ARE A NUMBER OF INTEREST GROUPS WHO WE'VE ALREADY HEARD FROM, AND I THINK WE HAVE TO BE CAREFUL.
SO I LIKE THE, YOUR VETTING PROCESS AND WHAT MIKE, MIKE, MIKE MAKE THESE COMMENTS IS THAT, YOU KNOW, WE LEARNED THE HARD WAY THAT ONE SIZE DOESN'T FIT ALL.
AND THEN WE, WHEN WE JOINED, JOINED WITH THE COUNTY AND PORT ROYAL IN GETTING A FORM-BASED CODE, WE ENDED UP WITH SOMETHING THAT WAS SO GENERIC THAT WE SPENT MORE TIME CHANGING IT THAN WE WOULD HAVE HAD WE DONE OUR OWN.
I HAVE WISHED WE'RE STILL, WE'RE STILL WORKING ON THAT BECAUSE EACH OF US HAS A DIFFERENT BUILT ENVIRONMENT AND EACH OF US HAS A DIFFERENT, UH, SET OF GOALS.
SO STORMWATER WAS, WAS AN EXAMPLE ALSO.
SO I THINK YOUR PROCESS OF EMBEDDING IT AND THEN LETTING US OVERLAY IT WITH WHAT WE HAVE TODAY AND HOW IT FITS, HOW IT FITS WITH OUR GROWTH.
AND, AND, AND OBVIOUSLY, UH, THE LIKELIHOOD IS THAT THE COUNTY WILL HAVE A PLAN THAT FITS THE COUNTY.
AND I THINK THAT THEY WILL BE VARIANCES AMONG THE MUNICIPALITIES BECAUSE OF THE DISTINCTIONS DIFFERENCES.
AND THAT'S, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT CAME UP EARLY IN OUR CONVERSATION.
YOU KNOW, WE, WE DIDN'T WANT TO, IF YOU HAVE, UM, BOUNDARY STREET AS A MAJOR REDEVELOPMENT AREA, WE DIDN'T WANT TO SET UP, UH, YOU KNOW, HAVE THIS REGULATION STAND IN THE WAY OF, YOU KNOW, AN AREA WHERE IT'S TARGETED FOR REDEVELOPMENT.
AND SO I DEFINITELY THANK YOU.
SO I, I, I WILL, I HA I HAD A TIME TO SAY THAT WITH THE IDEA THAT THE PLAN IS FOR US TO RECOMMEND THAT EVERYBODY CONSIDER IT AND START TO MOUNTAIN, YOU KNOW, MOUNTAIN, UH, WORK, WORK OVER IT.
AND THEN WE BREAK, WE BRING BACK TOGETHER, SHARE OUR HEART THOUGHTS.
WE'D PROBABLY MOVE THE PROCESS FASTER.
[01:05:03]
UM, ANY OTHER COMMENTS FROM THE BOARD HEARING, DOES THAT TIE UP BOTH 10 AND 11, THE COASTAL RESILIENCE AS WELL AS LOWER NOTES? OR DO YOU HAVE SOME OTHER INFORMATION THAT YOU WANT TO TALK ABOUT ON THE COASTAL RESILIENCE? UM, YOU KNOW, WE PRESENTED THAT AT THE LAST ACCIDENT, THE LAST TWO MEETINGS, UM, AND NO CHANGES HAVE BEEN MADE TO THAT, BUT THAT'S BASICALLY AN ORDINANCE THAT IDENTIFIES LOW LYING AREAS.LISTEN REQUIRES DISCLOSURE WHEN REAL ESTATE IS TRANSFERRED.
AND SO WE, ONE OF THE THINGS WE WANT TO DO PRIOR TO ADOPTION IS, UM, YOU KNOW, REACH OUT TO THE BOARD OF REALTORS BECAUSE THEY'RE AWARE OF IT.
AND THEY WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU CAN GET THERE.
THERE'S SOME CONCERNS, OBVIOUSLY, BECAUSE IT, YOU KNOW, COULD AFFECT A VALUE FOR REAL ESTATE IF IT'S BEING FLAGGED AS BEING LOW LYING.
I THINK FROM THE STANDPOINT OF REALTOR'S ASSOCIATION, AND I CAN'T SPEAK AS A PAST PRESIDENT, JUST AS A CONCERNED AND AS A PROFESSIONAL REALTOR, UM, THEY MAY ACTIVE DISCLOSURE IS NOT THE ISSUE.
WE FEEL LIKE THAT IS IMPORTANT INFORMATION.
IT IS VITAL FOR, FOR CLIENTS TO BE AWARE OF.
IT'S JUST THE, THE ACTUAL MECHANISM BY WHICH IT WILL BE DONE IS THE MORE CONCERNED FOR THE REALTOR.
SO DON'T, DON'T, DON'T MISCONSTRUE THAT AS BEING RE RESISTANCE NEW INFORMATION, BUT SIMPLY IN THE WAY THAT IT WILL BE RECORDED AND, AND BE DOCUMENTED THAT DISCLOSURE IS CONCERNED.
AND I THINK, YOU KNOW, IT'S KIND OF A, WE HAVE A GOOD PRESS IN THE REGION WITH THE ACRES AND SAY, WELL, WE'LL, WE'LL DEFINITELY FOLLOW THROUGH WITH THEM AND MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE PROVIDING THAT INFORMATION TO THEM AND, AND AWARENESS AS A SINGLE MOTION OR AS A JOINT MOTION PROBABLY OUGHT TO BE SINGLE EMOTIONS.
UH, I BELIEVE YOU'RE GOING TO ROB.
SO, UH, I'LL TAKE A MOTION, UH, OR, UH, ANY FURTHER COMMENT ON THE PHIL ORDINANCE.
I MOVE, WE PUSHED THE FILL ORDINANCE FORWARD.
I HAVE A, SORRY, UH, FALL IN FAVOR OF THE FELLOW ORDINANCE, PLEASE SIGNIFY BY RAISING YOUR RIGHT HAND.
SO ANYBODY OPPOSED
UH, NOW I'LL ASK FOR A MOTION ON THE COASTAL RESILIENCE MOTION AND A SECOND, ALL IN FAVOR OF PUSHING THE COASTAL RESILIENCE FORWARD, PLEASE SACRED FIBER RAISING YOUR RIGHT HAND.
AND AGAIN, I'M NOT SURE I SEE EVERYBODY.
IS THERE ANYBODY OPPOSED TO THE MOTION HEARING? NONE MOTION PASSES UNANIMOUSLY, UH, MOVING ON TO, UH, THE, UH, MEETING SCHEDULE.
UH, THAT'S BEEN PUBLISHED A COUPLE OF TIMES NOW, SO I GUESS, UH, WE'D BE LOOKING AT, UH, APPROVAL OF THIS THROUGH ALL THE MEETING DATES.
UH, IT REMAINS BEING THE FOURTH, FRIDAY AT NINE 30 EVERY MONTH WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THE NOVEMBER AND DECEMBER THE 19TH.
AND THAT'S THE THIRD, THIRD, FRIDAY OF THE MONTH OF NOVEMBER.
ANY DISCUSSION OR MOTIONS, I'LL TAKE A MOTION FOR APPROVAL OF THE, UH, MEETING
[01:10:01]
SCHEDULED FOR 2021.I HAVE A SECOND ALL IN FAVOR OF THE MOTION, PLEASE SIGNIFY BY RAISING YOUR RIGHT HAND.
AND I'LL ASK IF ANYBODY'S OPPOSED.
DID SOMEBODY SPEAK TO THE OPPOSITION? NO.
SO, UH, THAT PASSES UNANIMOUSLY, UH, THE MEETING SCHEDULED FOR 2021, UH, GOING INTO DISCUSSION ITEMS AND ROUND TABLE COMMENTS.
UH, WHAT THE ONE COMMENT I'D MAKE IS TO, UH, UH, ADDRESS THE FACT THAT, UH, THE, UH, UH, LADIES ISLAND TASK FORCE, UH, DID HAVE, UH, LINDA, UH, PARTICIPATE FROM PORT ROYAL, UH, IN OUR LAST MEETING.
SO I APPRECIATE LINDA YOU BE IN THERE AND BEING ABLE TO CARRY THE INFORMATION BACK TO PORT ROYAL.
UH, ROB, I JUST LIKE IRS, EXCUSE ME, MIKE.
I JUST LIKE TO OFFER A COMMENT, YOU KNOW, AS WE GO INTO THE NEW YEAR WITH OUR NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS, AND SINCE WE WON'T BE MEETING UNTIL THE PRIOR PART OF JANUARY MIGHT BE USEFUL FOR THOSE, UM, MEMBERS TO BE THINKING ABOUT ANY FURTHER PRIORITIES THEY'D LIKE TO BRING FORWARD, OR I'M AMENDING ANY OF THE PRIORITIES AND TAKING THE THEN POTENTIAL THE OWNERSHIP OF THOSE.
UM, IT'S JUST A TIME THAT, UH, WITH THE NEW ADMINISTRATIONS TO TAKE A LOOK AT WHAT'S BEING DONE AND WHAT NEEDS TO BE REPRIORITIZE OR, UM, UM, THAT'S GOOD POINT.
AND, UH, I THINK I, UH, ASKED FOR THAT WHEN WE GOT TO OUR PRIORITIZATION LIST, BUT WHAT I'LL DO IS, UH, I WILL PUBLISH, UH, THE PRIORITIZATION LIST WITH, UH, PEOPLE THAT HAVE, UH, SAID THAT THEY WOULD BE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE ITEMS ON THE LIST.
UH, I WILL PUBLISH THAT WITH THE NEW INFORMATION THAT WE'VE ADDED TODAY TO IT AND PUT THAT OUT TO EVERYBODY.
AND THEN WHOEVER HAS, UH, MODIFICATIONS TO THAT OR ADDITIONS TO THAT.
IF YOU WOULD PLEASE JUST GO AHEAD AND RESPOND BACK TO ME AND THEN I'LL GET THAT FINAL LIST, UH, TO ROB TO INCLUDE IN THE, UH, UH, OUR AGENDAS.
UM, IF I'M NOT MISTAKEN, ROB CORRECT ME, BUT I I'M LEAVING.
AND I THINK IT WAS MY FIRST OR SECOND MI, UH, ATTENDANCE AT, AT ONE OF THESE MEETINGS, UH, WHERE ABOUT 12 YEARS AGO WE PASSED THE NORTHERN REGIONAL PLAN.
UM, AND I I'D LIKE TO SAY THAT, THAT I THINK IT WAS IN RETROSPECT, A FABULOUS IDEA.
I THINK THAT BY AND LARGE, THE IDEA OF, OF PEOPLE WHO HAVE SHARED AND INDIVIDUAL INTERESTS, BEING ABLE TO COME TOGETHER TO LOOK AT WHAT'S GOOD FOR THE NORTHERN PART OF THE COUNTY, AT LEAST, UM, HAS BEEN VERY, VERY PRODUCTIVE.
I THINK LADY'S ISLAND IS PROBABLY THE, THE, THE, THE, THE LATEST, UH, SUCCESS STORY, EVEN THOUGH IT'S JUST STARTING, BUT TWO OF THE PRINCIPLE ISSUES ARE ISSUES THAT WE'RE FORWARDING TO OUR COUNCILS TODAY.
UM, I THINK THAT, UM, IT'S JUST BEEN A GREAT EXPERIENCE FOR ME.
I'VE I WAS NOT PART OF THE FIVE-YEAR STRUGGLE, UH, OR MORE SCRABBLE, WHICH WAS QUITE QUITE FOR THOSE WHO YOU, WHO ARE NOT AROUND, UH, WAS QUITE A, UH, SQUABBLING MATCH.
AND IT TOOK A LONG TIME FOR PEOPLE TO GET ON THE SAME PAGE TO PASS IT.
UM, AND, UH, SO I THINK IT'S, IT'S, YOU CAN CELEBRATE MY NOT BEING IN ANY MORE THESE MEETINGS MEMBER.
YOU CAN CELEBRATE THE FACT THAT STEVEN HAS BEEN SITTING IN, UH, FOR YEARS NOW AND WHEN MIKE WASN'T AVAILABLE AND I'M, HE'S PROBABLY EVEN WATCHING IT NOW, BUT STEVEN, YOU KNOW, WILL COME OUT RUNNING EDA.
HIS LEARNING CURVE WILL BE VERY SHORT BECAUSE HE'S, HE'S BEEN A THOUGH NOT TOTALLY ACTIVE PARTICIPANT.
[01:15:01]
FOLLOWING THIS AND THROWING HIMSELF INTO THINGS LIKE THE LADIES OUT IN PLAN.I MEAN, ALMOST EVERYTHING WE'VE DONE HE'S HE'S SO I DON'T THINK THERE'S GOING TO BE A GAP THERE I'LL MISS YOU ALL.
I LOVE THE COLLEGIALITY, UM, THE PASSION WE ALL HAVE FOR DOING WHAT'S RIGHT.
FOR, FOR, FOR EVERYBODY, AND WANT TO THANK YOU FOR HAVING THE OPPORTUNITY FOR 12 YEARS TO BE PART OF THIS PANEL.
AND, AND, AND, AND ISRAEL, YOU, YOU GREET PEOPLE BY SAYING SHALOM PEACE.
AND WHEN YOU LEAVE PEOPLE, YOU SAY SHALOM, SHALOM, PEACE, BE WITH YOU SHALOM, SHALOM, SHALOM, SHALOM MAYOR CASUALLY.
I JUST WANTED TO SAY I HAVEN'T BEEN ON THE COMMITTEE AS LONG AS EVERYBODY ELSE PRACTICALLY ON HERE, BUT I WOULD LIKE TO JUST SAY THAT I REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR GUIDANCE AND YOUR LEADERSHIP, NOT JUST ON THIS COMMITTEE, BUT, UH, TO THE CITY OF BUFORD.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR, UH, UH, UH, TAKING THAT CIVIC RESPONSIBILITY, MICROCOSM.
JUST WANT TO TELL YOU, UM, I APPRECIATE WORKING WITH YOU, UM, THROUGHOUT THE YEARS, UM, UM, UH, WORK, UH, ETHICS AND FRIENDSHIP DEVELOP OVER THE YEARS, AND IT'S SOMETHING THAT I VALUE.
AND, UM, EVEN THOUGH YOU RETIRING, UH, I STILL LOOK FORWARD TO COMMUNICATING AND, UM, AND I'M SEEING YOU FROM TIME TO TIME.
YOU MIGHT SAY YOU MIGHT SEE ME MORE NOW.
W W WE'VE NONE OF US HAVE USED THE WORD RETIREMENT WE'RE ABILITY IS CONCERNED AND, AND FOR MYSELF EITHER, UM, I'M HOPEFUL, UM, TO BE A PART OF THE SPECIAL ELECTION COMING UP, AND I WILL CONTINUE TO BE, UM, MONITORING WITH YOU ON THE JANUARY 20TH, YOUR JANUARY MEETING.
UM, THE CITY MAY ASK ME TO BE A DESIGNEE, UM, IN THE INTERIM OF MY PA, UH, MY TWO SECTIONS, CAUSE I WILL STEP OFF OF COUNCIL ON THE EIGHTH AND NOT COME BACK ON, HOPEFULLY COME BACK ON IN FEBRUARY, BUT, UM, WE'LL HAVE DESIGNEES AND STEVEN OF COURSE WILL BE HERE.
ANY OTHER, UH, COMMENTS I'LL MOVE TO A NEW AND OTHER BUSINESS HEARING NONE.
UH, OUR NEXT MEETING IS JANUARY 22ND AT NINE 30.
AND ANY DISCUSSION ABOUT THAT? I THINK THAT'S FAIRLY WELL SET.
SO I'LL ASK FOR A MOTION TO ADJOURN.
SECOND, ALL IN FAVOR, SAY AYE.
IF YOU'D LIKE A DVD OF THIS PROGRAM, CLICK ON THE LINK ON THE RIGHT AND FILL OUT THE ORDER FORM.
AND THANK YOU FOR WATCHING THE COUNTY CHANNEL.
THE STATE'S CONSTITUTION OF 1868, RENAMED THE JUDICIAL DISTRICTS COUNTIES.
THUS YOU'VE HEARD DISTRICT BECAME NINE YEARS UNTIL WE WERE FOR 99 FOR COUNTY.
FOR THE FIRST TIME IN THE HISTORICAL RECORD IN 1868, STILL MORE CHANGES WERE IN STORE FOR BUFORD COUNTY.
10 YEARS LATER IN 1878, BEAVER COUNTY WAS DIVIDED INTO BUFORD COUNTY IN HAMPTON COUNTY.
[01:20:01]
THE COUNTY LINE FOLLOWED AT THE SAVANNAH CHARLESTON RAILROAD TRACK IN 1912, BOTH BUFORD COUNTY AND HAMPTON COUNTY GAVE UP TERRITORY TO CREATE JASPER COUNTY.THE LAST ADJUSTMENT TO THE BOUNDARIES OF BUFORD COUNTY OCCURRED IN 1951 WHEN AREAS NEAR HARDY MILL AND THE LEVY LIMA HOUSE AREA VOTED TO JOIN JASPER COUNTY, THUS THE NAMES AND BOUNDARIES OF WHAT WE KNOW AS BUFORD COUNTY HAVE VARIED THROUGH TIME.
I WORK AT BUFORD COUNTY LIBRARY, AND THIS HAS BEEN YOUR BUFORD COUNTY MOMENT TO SEE MORE BUFORD COUNTY MOMENTS, GO TO THE BUFORD COUNTY LIBRARY HOMEPAGE AND CLICK ON THE LOCAL HISTORY TAB.
APPEALS ALLOCATING A TAX MONIES ADVOCATING FOR SPECIFIC ORGANIZATIONS, WORKING ON STORMWATER RELATED ISSUES, ZONING ISSUES, DESIGN REVIEW, HISTORICAL PRESERVATION, YOU NAME IT.
VISIT WWW DOT BUFORD COUNTY, SC.GOV/COUNCIL/BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS TODAY TO SEE A LIST OF OUR ACTIVE BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS AND FILL OUT AN APPLICATION SIGN UP TODAY.
SO YOU CAN HAVE A HAND IN MAKING OUR COMMUNITY EVEN GREATER THAN IT ALREADY IS.
AND THIS MONTH WE'RE TALKING HOLIDAYS, WE'RE TALKING HOLIDAY SAFETY WITH THE CITY OF BUFORD.
WE'RE TALKING RE-INVENTING CHRISTMAS WITH THE CITY OF BUFORD, AND WE'RE ALSO GOING SOUTH OF THE BROAD TO THE TOWN OF BLUFFTON.
AND WE'RE GONNA BE TALKING ABOUT HOW THEY'RE DOING HOLIDAYS THIS YEAR AS WELL.
THAT'S THURSDAY NIGHT AT EIGHT ON COASTLINE RIGHT HERE ON THE COUNTY JAIL.
I'M NO EXTROVERTED THAT IT'S A BIG FISH, WHATEVER IT IS.
IS THIS RED FISH? YOU HEAR THAT? YOU'RE THAT DRUMMING NOISE.
SO THESE THINGS MAKE UP FABULOUS.
ANOTHER NAME FOR IT IS RED DRUM.
AND YOU COULD HEAR THEM JUST, JUST CROAKING AWAY.
SO BEAUTIFUL, BEAUTIFUL ANIMAL.
[01:25:01]
THEN YOU SEE HE'S GOT THAT KIND OF REDDISH PINKISH COLOR.THE SPOT TAIL BASS IS ANOTHER NAME FOR THIS GUY.
I MEAN, FABULOUS, FABULOUS TOO.
I MEAN, IT IS INCREDIBLE WHAT WE HAVE HERE.
ONE OF THE REASONS THAT WE HAVE SUCH A VARIETY OF FISH IS BECAUSE THIS AREA IS STILL IN REALLY GOOD SHAPE.
WE HAVE DEEP WATER, WE HAVE HIGH SALINITY, HIGH TIDAL AMPLITUDE, AND ALL THOSE THINGS ARE A RECIPE FOR GREAT FISHING AND GREAT DIVERSITY OF LIFE RANT HERE.
JOIN ME FOR COASTAL KINGDOM ON THE COUNTY CHANNEL.
ALSO GERMS AND CHEMICALS FROM UNWASHED HANDS CAN BE TRANSFERRED TO OTHER OBJECTS LIKE CELL PHONES, TABLETOPS, OR TOYS, AND THEN TRANSFER TO OTHER PEOPLE'S HANDS.
THAT'S WHY IT'S SO IMPORTANT TO WASH YOUR HANDS, FOLLOWING THESE STEPS, WET LATHER, SCRUB, RINSE, AND DRY.
SO YOU CAN STAY HEALTHY AND HELP KEEP THOSE AROUND YOU HEALTHY FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT CDC.GOV FORWARD SLASH HAND WASHING HERE, OR WHEN WE'RE EATING GREAT.