[Call To Order]
[00:00:14]
CERTAINLY SIR, UH, MR. STANFORD, MR. BROWN, MR. HARKINS HERE.
AND I'D ALSO LIKE TO, UM, ASK FOR EVERYONE'S PRAYERS AND THOUGHTS FOR THOSE, UM, IN UKRAINE AND WITH THE SITUATION THERE CERTAINLY ARE THINKING IN PRI AND MR. AMES WILL NOT BE HERE TODAY.
CHRISTIAN, SHE'S STILL WALKING AROUND WEAK CURTIS.
WE ALL WENT IN COMPLIANCE TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT.
WE ARE IN NEED APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA IS APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA.
[5c. Update and Discussion of Current Housing Initiatives and Proposed Next Steps]
MARK.YOU WANT TO LEAD ON THIS? YES, SIR.
UM, MR. FRANKLIN REGUS AND, UH, ERIC GREENWAY ELATE.
WE WILL JUST TAKE A PAUSE WHEN THEY GET HERE.
UH, MAYOR COUNCIL, UH, TODAY 2, 2 22.
IT'S ALSO MY ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY.
SO, UM, ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF BECAUSE OF THAT, BUT I'M JUST EXCITED TO BE HERE.
AND IRONICALLY, UH, TO PRESENT A HOUSING WORKSHOP, I COULD NOT HAVE PUT THIS INFORMATION TOGETHER WITHOUT THESE TWO ACROSS THE ROOM HERE, SEAN, JAMIE, THANK YOU.
UM, THEY HAVE A LOT OF, UH, KNOWLEDGE FROM OVER THE YEARS HERE, UH, ON THE, AS A, AS A TOWN STAFF, AS WE THINK ABOUT AND TALK ABOUT AND TRY TO IMPLEMENT SOME HOUSING INITIATIVES.
SO WITH THAT BEING SAID, UH, WE'RE HERE TODAY TO TALK ABOUT A FEW THINGS.
ONE FOR ME, THIS HAS BEEN A GOOD EXERCISE SIMPLY FOR ME TO LOOK BACK AND SEE WHAT THE TOWN HAS DONE TO DATE.
AND SO I'LL REMIND US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THAT TODAY.
UM, AS A TOWN COUNCIL, AS AN ELECTED BODY, YOU HAVE ESTABLISHED THREE VERY IMPORTANT PUBLIC POLICIES, UM, RELATED TO HOUSING, AND THEY COME OUT OF THE STRATEGIC PLAN FOR HOUSING, THE, OUR PLAN AND THIS TOWN STRATEGIC PLAN.
AND SO THOSE ARE REAL STRONG PUBLIC POLICY DOCUMENTS, WHERE I GET MY DIRECTION AND INFORMATION ON WHAT TO DO AND HOW TO MOVE FORWARD.
UM, A LITTLE BIT ABOUT HILTON HEAD ISLAND.
IT'S, IT'S BEEN A GOOD EXERCISE.
UM, WE HAVE SOME WORKFORCE AND AFFORDABLE HOUSING OPTIONS ON HILTON HEAD.
THAT QUESTION HAS COME UP TO ME A FEW TIMES.
I'VE ASKED THAT QUESTION MYSELF.
AND SO TODAY I'LL PAUSE AND JUST HIGHLIGHT WHAT THOSE, THOSE NEIGHBORHOODS ARE.
UM, YOU'VE ALSO ADOPTED SOME STRONGER POLICY OR SOME, I WOULD SAY SOME TACTICS BEYOND THE STRATEGIES IN THOSE THREE DOCUMENTS ABOVE.
AND SO I'D LIKE TO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT THOSE ARE TODAY AND THEN REALLY WHY WE'RE HERE.
IT'S WHAT ARE THE, WHAT ARE THE SIGNIFICANT NEXT STEPS AS WE CAN AFFECT HOUSING, UM, AFFORDABLE WORKFORCE, LOW TO MODERATE AMI.
YOU'RE GOING TO HEAR A LOT OF DIFFERENT TERMS OVER TIME.
I, I, FOR TODAY I'M JUST CALLING IT HOUSING.
UM, BUT THE PROPOSAL TO UTILIZE AND FOLLOW THROUGH ON THE USE OF THE AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN FUNDS, AS WELL AS TO TALK ABOUT SOME, SOME IDEAS IN A PROPOSAL TO ESTABLISH A PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP, TO ADVANCE SOME HOUSING CHOICES ON HILTON HEAD ISLAND.
SO WITH THAT BEING SAID, THE TIMELINE.
SO LOOKING BACK A LITTLE BIT IN 2019, THE TOWN COUNCIL ADOPTED THE WORKFORCE HOUSING STRATEGIC PLAN.
SOON AFTER THE TOWN COUNCIL ADOPTED THE COMMERCIAL CONVERSION, WHICH IS A CONVERSION OF COMMERCIAL SQUARE FOOTAGE TO RESIDENTIAL UNITS.
UM, IN 2020, WE ADOPTED OUR PLAN IN 21.
WE ADOPTED A DENSITY BONUS WITH A WORKFORCE HOUSING INCENTIVE IN 21.
WE, AS, AS WE REMEMBER, WE PROGRAMMED THE $5.2 MILLION OF AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN FUNDS YOU AROUND THE SAME TIME THROUGH.
SO LOCO WHEN OUR PARTNERS IN THE REGION, AS WELL AS BUFORD COUNTY ASKED STAFF TO BE A PART OF ASSESSING A REGIONAL HOUSING TRUST FUND.
AND THEN OF COURSE JUST RECENTLY BELIEVE DECEMBER ADOPTED THE TOWN STRATEGIC PLAN.
ALL OF THOSE ELEMENTS HAD HOUSING, STRONG HOUSING COMPONENTS
[00:05:01]
TO THEM.AND THEN WE'RE HERE TODAY TO 2 22, A PROPOSAL TO ADVANCE MORE HOUSING INITIATIVES.
AND SO THE WORKFORCE HOUSING STRATEGIC PLAN HAD EIGHT RECOMMENDATIONS.
I WON'T GO THROUGH THEM ALL, BUT, YOU KNOW, RECOMMENDATIONS WERE TO ESTABLISH A HOUSING TRUST FUND, A COMMERCIAL REUSE POLICY, MAKE TOWN OWNED, LAND AVAILABLE DENSITY BONUS PROGRAM, EMPLOYER ASSISTED, UM, TAXING IMPACT FEE REBATES, AND YOU CAN SEE THEM ALL.
AND YOU'VE YOU ASKED THE STAFF AT THE TIME TO TAKE A LOOK AT THE HOUSING TRUST FUND, THE COMMERCIAL REUSE POLICY, THE TOWN OWNED LANDS AND THE DENSITY BONUS PROGRAM.
WE HAVE NOT STARTED TO DIVE INTO EMPLOYER ASSISTED HOUSING AND THE SIX, SEVEN, AND EIGHT NUMBERS AND ITEMS ON THAT, ON THAT PAGE, STRAIGHT OUT OF THE WORKFORCE HOUSING STRATEGIC PLAN THAT THEY SHOULD HAVE SOLUTIONS FOR HOUSING SHOULD BE DESIGNED TO RESPECT OUR NATURAL AND CULTURAL RESOURCES.
I PUT THIS UP HERE ON PURPOSE SO THAT WE KNOW WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO ACCOMPLISH IS STRAIGHT OUT OF A STRATEGIC PLAN THAT YOU ADOPTED, UM, WHEN I'M MAKING IT UP, IT'S, IT'S, IT'S PRETTY SOUND IT'S, IT'S PRETTY STRAIGHTFORWARD, UM, POLICIES THAT NOT ONLY PROVIDE HOUSING FOR WORKERS, BUT PROMOTE THE COMMUNITY ON THE ISLAND.
UM, SO WE'RE NOT JUST TRYING TO FIND A HOUSING UNIT IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE.
WE'RE TRYING TO ADD VALUE TO OUR COMMUNITY, ADD VALUE TO A NEIGHBORHOOD THAT THERE SHOULD BE A RANGE OF HOUSING OPTIONS ON THE ISLAND, UM, REQUIRES PARTNERSHIPS, PUBLIC, PRIVATE, AND NONPROFIT A LITTLE BIT MORE ON THAT LATER.
AND THEN INCENTIVES FOR HOUSING SHOULD BE APPLIED IN AN EQUAL MANNER.
SO ALL PROPERTY OWNERS CAN REALIZE THE ECONOMIC VALUE.
SO RIGHT OUT OF OUR PLAN, THERE ARE SEVERAL, UM, CORE VALUES IN OUR PLAN THAT SUPPORT HOUSING.
AND YOU CAN READ THEM ON THE BOARD FROM ECONOMY STRATEGIES AND ECONOMIC ECONOMY TACTICS ALL THE WAY DOWN TO INFRASTRUCTURE STRATEGY.
AND OF COURSE WE REMEMBER OUT OF THE TOWNS, STRATEGIC ACTION PLAN, IMPLEMENT THE AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN, ASSESS CREATION OF A REGIONAL HOUSING TRUST FUND AND IMPLEMENT WORKFORCE AND AFFORDABLE HOUSING STRATEGY.
SO STRAIGHT OUT OF THE DOCUMENTS.
UM, SO A LITTLE BIT ABOUT HILTON HEAD ISLAND, UM, TRYING TO UNDERSTAND CURRENTLY WHAT, UM, OUR ISLAND IS IN, UH, FROM A PROFILE STANDPOINT.
SO IF WE LOOK AT THIS VERY INTERESTING, UM, CHART, LET'S SEE IF THIS WORKS.
UM, YOU, YOU SEE TOP LEFT POPULATION IN 19 70, 2500 POPULATION TODAY BASED UPON THE CENSUS 37 6.
AND WE'VE BEEN REALLY FLAT OVER THE LAST DECADE.
WE KNOW THAT, RIGHT? SO THE, THE, THE FOLKS THAT VOTE, UM, PERHAPS HAVE BEEN CONVERTED TO, UH, FOLKS THAT DON'T LIVE HERE YEAR ROUND, THEY MIGHT OPERATE A BUSINESS HERE.
THEY MIGHT BE ON VACATION HERE, BUT OUR ISLAND IS VERY BUSY FOR SHOWING 38 1 1 5 IN, IN, IN 2030.
I, I, I THINK THAT ON A DAILY, WE HAVE MORE PEOPLE RESIDING HERE TODAY, BUT THESE ARE THE NUMBERS WE'RE DEALT.
AND, AND SO WHEN WE REALLY LOOK AT OUR POPULATION, UM, IS 37,600 PEOPLE AS A CENSUS COUNT.
WHEN WE START LOOKING AT INCOMES, WE, WE TOOK A LOOK AT, AND THIS COMES OUT OF SOME OF OUR MID ISLAND, UM, STUDY, AS WELL AS THAT ISLAND BASELINE CAPACITY THAT WE KICKED OFF A FEW WEEKS AGO.
YOU CAN SEE THAT MEDIAN HOUSEHOLD INCOMES, YOU KNOW, NORTH END OF THE ISLAND, 86, SOUTH END, 93, BUFORD COUNTY, 78 IN THE SAVANNAH HILTON HEAD REGION OVERALL IS DOWN AND AROUND 70.
WE GET THAT FROM ESRA E S R I, WHICH IS THE, YOU KNOW, THE, THE GLOBAL POWERHOUSE OVERSIGHT OF ALL GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEM.
SO THAT DATA ISN'T JUST PULLED TOGETHER BY US.
UM, BUT ONE THING THAT SEAN AND I HAVE BEEN TALKING ABOUT A LITTLE BIT IS THIS IS FOR AN EXAMPLE, TAKE A LOOK AT HILTON HEAD ISLAND, NORTH AND SOUTH.
SO 86 TO 93, LET'S JUST SAY THAT A MEDIAN HOUSEHOLD INCOME, APPROXIMATELY 2.2, 2.3 PEOPLE PER HOUSEHOLD, LET'S JUST USE THE $90,000 MEDIAN HOUSEHOLD INCOME VALUE WHEN YOU START COMPARING IT WITH HOUSEHOLD SIZE.
AND SO THESE, WE HAVE FOUR QUICK TABLES HERE AND I'LL EXPLAIN THEM.
THE THIRD ON THE NEXT SHEET IS ONE 20 AND THE FOURTH IS ONE 50.
BUT AS WE LOOK AT A HOUSEHOLD SIZE AROUND THE TWO TO THREE TO FOUR RANGE, YOU'LL SEE THAT AT 80%, YOU HAVE 62,000 WITH A FAMILY OF FOUR AT 80%.
YOU'RE AT 76,000 FOR A FAMILY OF FOUR AT A HUNDRED.
YOU'RE AT 91 FOR ONE 20 IN YOU'RE
[00:10:01]
AT ONE 14.AND SO WHAT THIS REALLY HELPS US WITH IS UNDERSTANDING NOT JUST GROSS INCOME, CAUSE WE TALK A LOT ABOUT GROSS INCOME AMI, LOW TO MODERATE.
A LOT OF THOSE WORDS ARE THROWN OUT A LOT WHERE WE REALLY HAVE TO LOOK AT IS WHAT CAN WE RENT IT FOR? W W WHAT CAN YOU AFFORD AS RENT AND WHAT CAN YOU AFFORD HIS MORTGAGE? AND THOSE OTHER TWO COLUMNS UP THERE RENT IT 30% INCLUDES UTILITY.
SO LET'S SAY A FAMILY OF THREE AT 80% AMI, WHICH IS A $55,800 HOUSEHOLD INCOME GROSS CAN AFFORD RENT AT 1395.
UM, AND THAT WOULD MAYBE BE A, UH, A ONE, TWO OR THREE BEDROOM UNIT AND IN $170,000 MORTGAGE, AND THAT'S 5% INTEREST, NO DOWN PAYMENT.
AND SO WE JUST KIND OF CONSERVATIVELY LOOKED AT THOSE NUMBERS.
AND SO THERE'S NO REAL ANSWER IN THESE SHEETS TODAY IN THIS, BUT IT'S REALLY GOOD INFORMATION AS A BASELINE, AS WE START TRYING TO UNDERSTAND THE GOAL, WHAT IS THE GOAL ARE WE TRYING TO BUILD FOR WHO ARE WE TRYING TO RENT FOR? WHAT ARE WE TRYING TO SELL AT WHAT PRICE? AND SO THIS SHOULD DEFINITELY BE THAT, THAT, UM, ANCHOR OF INFORMATION THAT WE HAVE TO KEEP AT THE FOREFRONT OF OUR MIND AS WE THINK ABOUT, UM, HOUSING CHOICE.
SO SEAN DID SOME, SOME RESEARCH ON ZILLOW.
UH, ZILLOW HOME VALUE INDEX FOR ZIP CODE 2 9 9 2 6 2 9 9 2 8.
YOU SEE THAT, YOU KNOW, YOU SEE THE MEDIAN VALUE UP THERE.
THE TYPICAL HOME VALUE, I SHOULD SAY 619,000 IN ONE AREA OF OUR ISLAND AND 689 IN ANOTHER, BUT YOU ALL, WHAT REALLY JUMPS OUT AT ME REALLY, ISN'T ONLY THAT NUMBER.
IT'S WHAT VALUES HAVE DONE OVER THE LAST YEAR AND THE ZILLOW PREDICTION.
I DON'T BASE EVERYTHING ON ZILLOW.
WE KNOW THAT WE CAN, YOU KNOW, THERE'S A LOT MORE INFORMATION AGAIN, BUT WE'RE USING THIS TO GET OUT OF THE GATE.
SO, UH, SO INSTEAD OF JUST USING ESR, I, THE CENSUS ZILLOW, WE'VE DONE AN ASSESSMENT OF HILTON HEAD ISLAND PERMITS OVER THE LAST YEAR.
SO WE APPROVED 219 PERMITS, NEW RESIDENTIAL PERMITS.
WE, AND SO FOR ARGUMENT'S SAKE, WE'RE JUST LOOKING AT SINGLE FAMILY RIGHT NOW.
UM, AND, AND BEHIND THE GATES REALLY IN THE PDS SEVENTY-FIVE PERCENT OF THOSE HOMES WERE BUILT.
I'VE GOT A LITTLE NUMBER HERE, THE RANGE ANYWHERE BETWEEN $185,000, WHICH IS GREAT ALL THE WAY UP TO 2.9 AND THE MEDIAN PERMIT VALUE, NO LAND $540,000.
SO SOME WITHIN THE RANGE OF THOSE, RIGHT, SOME WITHIN THIS RANGE, BUT, BUT MOST IF, IF NOT THE SUPER MAJORITY COMPLETELY FAR OUTSIDE OF THAT, UM, AND AGAIN, IT'S JUST JUST DATA, UM, COMMUTING TRENDS, UH, US CENSUS AND KIMBERLY HORN AND, AND SOME TRAFFIC ASSESSMENTS TELL US THAT 13,013 AND A HALF THOUSAND FOLKS COME TO THE ISLAND EVERY DAY AND CLOSE TO 5,000 LEAF.
UM, THERE'S ABOUT 8,000 RESIDENTS THAT LIVE AND WORK ON THE ISLAND.
UH, AND THAT 58 PER 0.6% OF THOSE WORK HERE, NOT JUST LIVE HERE AND THEN THE REST.
AND YOU CAN SEE 4% GO TO BLUFFTON AND BEYOND SOME, ALL THE WAY TO NORTH CHARLESTON.
UM, AND, BUT A LOT OF EMPLOYED RESIDENTS LIVING AND WORKING ON THE ISLAND, YOU KNOW, WHEN WE'RE, WHEN WE HAVE THAT, THAT BENEFIT TO LIVE AND WORK HERE, WE'RE, WE'RE ALWAYS ABOUT 10 MINUTES AWAY FROM HOME.
IT'S JUST THE OTHER, THE, THE, THE OTHER PART OF IT, GETTING TO OUR ISLAND.
AND I THINK THOSE ARE SOME GOOD DATA POINTS.
UM, WHAT DO WE DO WITH IT? I DON'T KNOW YET.
SO WHERE ARE THERE OPTIONS FOR WORKFORCE AND AFFORDABLE LIVING OPTIONS ON, ON OUR ISLAND? WELL, WE KNOW THAT IN 2011, THE TOWN DONATED FOR OVER 14 ACRES TO HILTON HEAD HABITAT FOR HUMANITY.
UM, YOU CAN'T GET ANY BETTER THAN THE TIMING.
THE TIMING OF THAT IS PERFECT.
UH, AND IT'S CALLED THE GLEN IS A BEAUTIFUL, WONDERFUL LITTLE, LITTLE COMMUNITY, LITTLE NEIGHBORHOOD PHASE.
IT WAS 16 UNITS, PHASE TWOS UNDERWAY, 10, PROBABLY 11 UNITS COMPLETED TODAY.
UM, WELL, THAT'S IT, IT'S, IT'S, IT'S REALLY REACHING OUT.
AND, UM, THERE'S A LOT OF GREAT SUCCESS STORIES TO TALK ABOUT WITH THOSE 14 ACRES AND 32 FAMILIES THAT LIVE LIVE IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD.
WON'T HAVE TO DIVE INTO A LOT OF THEM.
SOME OF THEM HAVE BEEN HERE A WHILE.
SOME HAVE SOME HAVEN'T EVEN HAD THEIR CEO YET, BUT 90 DILLON, CEDAR WELLS, THERE'LL BE TUBS, SANDAL, WARD, TERRACE, HILTON, HEAD GARDENS.
AND I, AND I PUT ON HERE 55 GARDENER, RIGHT?
[00:15:01]
SO I REALLY WANT TO MAKE THE POINT, THIS ISN'T ALL ABOUT GOVERNMENT SUBSIDIZED HOUSING IS WHAT WE'VE RESEARCHED.WE'VE JUST RESEARCHED SOMETHING THAT'S NOT MARKET RATE.
SO WHAT ARE THE OPTIONS THAT ARE JUST NOT MARKET RATE ON OUR ISLAND AND HOW DID, HOW DID THE TOWN OR THE STATE OR SOMEONE ELSE EVEN A NONPROFIT AFFECT THOSE UNITS? AND SO, UM, PALMETTO BAY LODGES IS SEA PINES COMPANY BUILDING WORKER, WORKER HOUSING, UM, WHICH IS FABULOUS 16 UNITS RIGHT NOW, BUT MUCH, MUCH MORE ROOM TO GROW 55 GARDNER 13 UNITS AT 120% OF THE AMI, EXCUSE ME.
AND THEN YOU CAN SEE SOME OF THESE OTHER UNITS THERE.
I BROUGHT BACK A LITTLE MORE INFORMATION THAN WE HAD WHEN, WHEN WE WERE AT COUNCIL LAST TIME.
AND BECAUSE THIS PROJECT HILTON HEAD GARDENS IS FIGURING ITSELF OUT A LITTLE BIT, YOU RECENTLY SIMPLY SUPPORTED THE TAX EXEMPT MULTIFAMILY BOND.
YOU JUST SIMPLY SAID, YES, IT'S GOOD FOR THE ISLAND.
AND THIS IS REALLY WHAT THEY'RE DOING.
AND THIS WAS A FEW MONTHS AGO AT COUNCIL VITUS DEVELOPMENT PURCHASED HILTON HEAD GARDENS FOR A LITTLE MORE THAN $14 MILLION.
BUFORD HOUSING AUTHORITY ASSISTED WITH FINANCE, WITH FINANCING BY ISSUING THE BONDS.
UM, THE NEW OWNER INTENDS TO REHABILITATE 112 UNIT PROPERTY AT ABOUT 50 K PER UNIT.
AND SO JUST FROM 50 K, YOU CAN KIND OF START IMAGINING, YOU KNOW, THE, THE IMPACTS WILL PROBABLY BE GOOD, BUT NOT OVERLY SIGNIFICANT, RIGHT? BUT THEY, THEY SAY THEY'RE GOING TO IMPROVE SITE ACCESSIBILITY, REPAIR THE SIDEWALKS AND STEPS, RIGHT? THOSE, THOSE ADA ELEMENTS, JET, THE SEWER LINES, UH, QUALITY OF LIFE, AND THEN SOME EXTERIOR AND INTERIOR UPGRADES.
PAINT, SIDING, SHINGLES, GUTTERS, APPLIANCES, UH, HARD WIRING FOR FIRE SMOKE.
SO SOME LIFE SAFETY, AS WELL AS SOME FUNCTIONALITY IMPROVEMENTS.
AT WHAT POINT DO YOU WANT QUESTIONS WHEN THE COUNCIL, ANYTIME, ANY QUESTIONS ON THE FIRST 20 PAGES MARK ALEX, UM, I'LL HOLD UNTIL WALK FINISHES, TAKE THE NOTES.
AT THIS POINT, IT'S JUST, JUST BY COMPARISON, MARK, YOU, YOU PUT UP THE, UH, THE AVERAGE OR MEDIAN INCOMES, UH, WHAT IS A FIRST YEAR TEACHER MAKE AND WHAT IS A ENTRY-LEVEL OF FIRE RESCUE? FIRST-YEAR TEACHERS 37 K UM, SCHOOL DISTRICTS HERE TO GIVE ME A BETTER 37 AND FIRE RESCUE, APPROXIMATELY 45.
I IRONICALLY, I LOOKED THOSE UP TO JUST TRY TO DRAW SOME COMPARISONS BECAUSE WE TALK A LOT ABOUT, WE HAVE TO, WE HAVE TO TRY TO BE A PART OF SOLVING THE WORKFORCE HOUSING ISSUE, BUT I ALWAYS GO BACK TO WHAT'S THE, WHAT ARE WE REALLY TRYING TO ACCOMPLISH? IS IT FOR TEACHER? IF SO, THERE'S THE NUMBER.
IF IT'S FOR A FIREMAN, THERE WE GO THERE AS THE NUMBER, SO GOOD, GOOD DATA APP, GOOD DATA SO FAR.
SO WHAT AS A, AS A TOWN COUNCIL, WHAT HAVE YOU DIRECTED US AS A STAFF TO DO OVER TIME AND REALLY WHAT'S CURRENT? SO CURRENTLY WE HAVE A COMMERCIAL CONVERSION AND DENSITY BONUS INCENTIVE.
WE HAVE A REGION, AN ASSESSMENT ALONG WITH, WITH ERIC GREENWAY, WITH THE REGIONAL HOUSING TRUST FUND, AS AN ASSESSMENT OF A REGIONAL HOUSING TRUST FUND.
WE ALSO HAVE, UM, ENTERTAINED, UH, HOW TO PROGRAM THE AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN FUNDS THAT WERE PROVIDED TO US.
UM, AS A COVID STIMULUS BILL THROUGH THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT PASSED DIRECTLY TO THE TOWN.
AND THEN YOU ALSO TOLD ME RECENTLY, GO ASSESS THE TOWN OWNED PROPERTY MAP THAT THE TOWN OWNED ASSET BANK AND LET US KNOW WHAT'S COMPLETELY OFF THE TABLE.
AND ARE THERE SOME PROPERTIES THAT MAKE SENSE IN THE RIGHT LOCATION THAT COULD BE USED FOR? AND THE FOUR COULD BE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, IT COULD BE FOR HOUSING, UM, AS WELL.
SO WE'VE STARTED TO DO THAT AND I'LL SHARE WITH YOU OUR RESEARCH TO DATE.
SO WORKFORCE HOUSING INCENTIVES, AGAIN, JUST ANOTHER PLUG.
WE TALK ABOUT IT AS MUCH AS WE CAN.
THERE IS A COMMERCIAL CONVERSION CONVERSION OF EXISTING NON-RESIDENTIAL SQUARE FOOTAGE TO RESIDENTIAL UNITS.
THE DENSITY BONUS WE HAVE ADDITIONAL DENSITY ALLOWED, PROVIDED IN EXCHANGE FOR WORKFORCE HOUSING UNITS.
KEEP IN MIND THAT DENSITY BONUS IS ONLY ALLOWED IN PARTICULAR ZONING DISTRICTS, NOT EVERYWHERE ACROSS THE BOARD, BUT IN SOME WE HAVE PREPARED.
YOU RAISED THE COMMERCIAL CONVERSION AND THE DENSITY BONUS.
IT'S MY UNDERSTANDING THAT WE'VE HAD ZERO INTEREST FROM THE DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY
[00:20:01]
FOR COMMERCIAL CONVERSION.WE'VE HAD ZERO INTEREST FROM THE DEVELOPER DEVELOPER COMMUNITY FOR DENSITY BONUS.
SO IT'S TIME FOR US TO BE LOOKING TO OTHER TOOLS.
CAN I FOLLOW UP ON GLENN'S POINT? YEAH, I AGREE WHOLEHEARTEDLY WITH THAT.
UM, BUT I'D ALSO LIKE US TO REVISIT THOSE TWO OPTIONS.
SEE IF THOSE TOOLS COULD MAYBE BE SHARPENED A BIT.
BONUS DENSITY FOR AN EXAMPLE, THERE'S A THREE ACRE STIPULATION ON IT.
MAYBE WE NEED TO REDUCE THAT TO ATTRACT NOT NECESSARILY THE HOME RUN HITTERS AS FAR AS DEVELOPERS ARE CONCERNED, BUT MAYBE THE SMALLER DEVELOPERS.
MAY I JUST POINT OUT TO THAT WITH REGARD TO DENSITY BONUS? UM, WE HAVE HAD DEVELOPERS WHO HAVE COME TO TOWN AND OFFERED UP PROJECTS THAT THEY ARE CONSIDERING AND OFFERING, UM, PERCENTAGE TOWARDS WORKFORCE HOUSING.
THERE ARE SOME THAT HAVE COME FORWARD AND I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE STAYING, UM, AWARE OF ALL OF THAT.
THEY MAY NOT HAVE BEEN THE APPROPRIATE PLACES OR PROPERTIES OR WHATEVER, BUT THE FACT IS PEOPLE HAVE KIND OF THAT WORD.
MA'AM UH, IT WAS SEVERAL MONTHS AGO THAT I WAS WITH YOU IN, AND IT WAS PROBABLY ONE OR TWO WORKSHOPS THAT WE HAD EARLY IN MY TIME TO TALK WORKFORCE HOUSING.
AND I BELIEVE IT WAS MR. LENNOX THAT SAID, LISTEN, I, WE, WE ADOPTED A COUPLE OF POLICIES.
WHAT A STAFF DONE TO MARKET? WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO ADVERTISE? WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO COMMUNICATE? I BELIEVE IT WAS MR. LENNOX.
I COULD BE WRONG, BUT WHAT WE'VE DONE.
AND I THINK IT'S, IT'S, IT'S DONE WELL.
WORKFORCE HOUSING INCENTIVES AND HILTON HEAD ISLAND LEFT SIDE OF THE SCREEN.
WE HAVE AN APPLICATION FORM, IT'S IT? IT LOOKS EASY ON THE APPLICATION FORM.
ALTHOUGH THERE'S A LOT OF PEOPLE IN THE CROWD HERE THAT'LL TELL ME IT'S NOT.
UM, WE EMAILED THE INFORMATION PACKETS TO COMMERCIAL REALTORS.
WE POSTED IT ON THE TOWN'S WEBSITE.
WE POSTED IT ON LINKEDIN AND OTHER SOCIAL MEDIA OUTLETS AND CALLED AND EMAILED THE GOOD OLD FASHIONED WAY.
AND INFORMALLY, FORMALLY, I THINK I DO.
I DO SEE SOME, SOME COMMERCIAL TO RESIDENTIAL CONVERSIONS, BUT FORMALLY, ACCORDING TO TWO STAFF, THAT TAKES A LOOK AT THE PERMITS BASED UPON THE TIME THAT YOU ADOPTED THE POLICY, THAT WE HAVEN'T HAD ANY REAL RESULTS YET.
UM, SO YOU'VE ALSO ASKED TO ASSESS THE REGIONAL THAT WE ASKED TO ASSESS IN THE, IN THE, UM, OH, SOMEBODY OKAY.
YOU ASKED TO ASSESS IN THE HOUSING STRATEGIC PLAN, A HOUSING TRUST FUND, AS WE GOT THROUGH THE SOUTHERN LOW COUNTRY BOARD AND, AND THE GROUP THAT MEETS WITH BUFORD COUNTY, WE STARTED TO TAKE A LOOK AT NOT JUST A HOUSING TRUST FUND, BUT A REGIONAL HOUSING TRUST FUND.
AND SO A LITTLE REMINDER FOR US ALL, UM, IN, IN SEPTEMBER OF 19, YOU APPROVED, ENTERING INTO AN MOA WITH THE COUNTY TO PARTICIPATE IN A COST SHARING CONTRACT FOR CONSULTING TO DEVELOP A REGIONAL HOUSING TRUST FUND.
AND AT THE TIME AS I LOOK BACK AT THAT, IT WAS REALLY ABOUT, YEAH, LET'S, LET'S SPEND A LITTLE MONEY, LET'S SPEND, LET'S SPEND SOME, SOME DOLLARS TO MAKE, TO, TO UNDERSTAND THIS A LOT BETTER.
AND COUNCIL APPROVED UP TO 25 K IN DECEMBER, 2020 BEAVER COUNTY HAD A CONTRACT, UM, FOR A REGIONAL HOUSING TRUST FUND PROPOSAL AND IMPLEMENTATION PLAN.
OUR PORTION WAS 24,193 OF THE 120,000, ALMOST 1 21 SPENT TO DATE OCTOBER MR. GREENWAY, WHO'S HERE.
UM, UH, PRESENTED THE FINAL PLAN TO TOWN COUNCIL, UM, THE REGIONAL HOUSING TRUST FUND PROPOSAL AND IMPLEMENTATION PLAN.
WE WON'T DIVE INTO IT TODAY, BUT IT TALKS ABOUT REVENUE SOURCES.
HOW CAN WE FUND IT? THE USE OF FUNDS, THE FUND GOVERNANCE AND PARTNERSHIP AND PROJECT CRITERIA, A LITTLE UPDATE, UH, SINCE WE LAST TALKED ABOUT IT, THE COUNTY PROPOSES TO USE COMMUNITY WORKS TO ADMINISTER THE TRUST FUND.
IS THAT STILL ACCURATE, SIR? GOOD.
AND THE COUNTY WILL PRESENT THE TOWN WITH DOCUMENTS TO REQUEST PARTICIPATION IN THE TRUST FUND AND TO HIRE, TO HIRE COMMUNITY WORKS AND ALLOCATE THE FUNDS.
UM, COUNCIL SOON YOU CAN CONSIDER THOSE OPTIONS AND DECIDE WHETHER IT REGIONAL HOUSING TRUST FUND IS, IS FOR YOU, FOR US, FOR THE COMMUNITY OR NOT.
UM, AND THE TRUST FUND REALLY IS TO FILL GAPS, RIGHT? SO IT'S NOT A DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION PER SE.
IT'S A FUND THAT FILLS THE GAPS OF FINANCING, UM, AND A STRATEGY
[00:25:01]
FOR LAND ACQUISITION AND DEVELOPMENT.THE COUNTY'S PROPOSING A POTENTIAL DISTRIBUTION OF THEIR AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN FUNDS 250 K UP TO 500 WITH A COUPLE, UH, CONDITIONS, UM, ALLOWING THE FUNDS TO BE USED TOWARDS THE TRUST FUND INITIALLY.
AND, UM, YOU WILL SEE THIS IN THE COMING MONTHS.
WHAT'S IMPORTANT IS, IS, IS WHAT'S HERE IN FRONT OF US.
SO REGIONAL VERSUS LOCAL HOUSING IS, SIR.
I CAN TAKE A BREAK A SECOND NOW.
RODRIGUEZ AND ERIC, YOU SEE IT FITS RIGHT INTO WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT HERE, SIR.
WE CAN WANT THEM TO GO WHERE AND YOU SHOULD BE ALIVE.
IT'S ALWAYS A PLEASURE TO SEE YOU, SIR.
[5a. Presentation on the Beaufort County School District Impact Fees]
A FEW MEMBERS OF MY TEAM HERE FROM, UH, BUFORD COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT.I HAVE OUR, UH, CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER, TANYA CROSBY, AND I HAVE CAROL CRUTCHFIELD FROM OUR OPERATIONS TEAM.
UM, AND I THINK THE FIRST THING I WOULD DO IS JUST SHARE A COUPLE HIGHLIGHTS WITH YOU, AND THEN I'LL ASK THEM TO COME UP AND SHARE A LITTLE MORE IN DEPTH WITH YOU.
I THINK YOU ALL RECEIVED A LITTLE INFORMATION ON THE SCHOOL IMPACT FEE, UH, A FLYER THAT, UH, WE HAD PUT TOGETHER WITH SOME INFORMATION.
SO, UH, PRIOR TO MY ARRIVAL, I KNOW THAT, UH, THE COUNTY HAD BEEN, UH, EXPLORING IMPACT FEES.
AND THEN THE SCHOOL DISTRICT WENT ALONG INTO CONVERSATIONS WITH THE COUNTY ON IMPACT FEES AND, AND APPROVED TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THE IMPACT FEES.
THERE HAD BEEN A PROJECT REVIEW LIST THAT THEY HAD, UH, IDENTIFIED AS, AS NEEDS.
UM, I THINK ONE OF THE CRITICAL COMPONENTS AROUND IMPACT FEES FOR THE SCHOOL DISTRICT IS THAT WE REALLY DON'T HAVE ANY WAY OF, UH, UH, RAISE DOLLARS FOR, UH, CAPITAL MAINTENANCE OR CAPITAL PROJECTS, CAPITAL DOLLARS THAT WE CAN USE OTHER THAN REFERENDUMS, UH, UH, A PERCENT FOR CAPITAL PROJECTS AND THEN OF COURSE, UH, IMPACT FEE COMPONENT.
SO, UH, THE SCHOOL BOARD DECIDED TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THE IMPACT FEES.
THE STUDY WAS DONE BY, UH, TISCHLER BICE, UH, AND IN THAT, IN THAT STUDY, UM, THEY IDENTIFIED THE SOUTHERN AREA OF THE COUNTY.
AND FOR US, OUR SERVICE AREA IS ALL OF SOUTHERN BUFORD COUNTY SOUTH OF, UH, UH, WELL, THE SOUTHERN PORTION IN BLUFFTON, OTT, HILTON, HEAD AND HARTSVILLE.
UM, HOWEVER, IN, UH, THE NORTHERN BUFORD COUNTY, BECAUSE OF THE SPACE AND CAPACITY AVAILABILITY IN NORTHERN BUFORD COUNTY, UH, IT WAS DETERMINING THAT STUDY NOT TO APPLY IMPACT FEES TO NORTHERN BUFORD COUNTY.
SO THE GROWTH AREA FOR US, UH, IS IN, IN TERMS OF OUR SERVICE AREA IS SOUTHERN BUFORD COUNTY.
AND FOR US, UH, ALL OF IT IS, IS ONE SERVICE AREA.
WE DON'T LOOK AT IT, UH, BY MUNICIPALITY FOR US.
IT'S, IT'S A WHOLE SERVICE AREA.
UH, WITH THAT IN MIND, I'LL ASK, UH, MS. CROSBY TO COME FORWARD.
I UNDERESTIMATED THE LENGTH OF TIME.
IT WOULD TAKE TO GET TO THE NORTH FROM THE NORTHERN MOST BUFORD COUNTY, ALMOST AN MSC TO HERE.
SO I LEFT TWO HOURS AHEAD OF TIME, BUT IT WASN'T QUITE ENOUGH.
SO I APOLOGIZE FOR ALLOWING US TO BE A LITTLE FLEXIBLE THIS MORNING.
UM, AS DR. RODRIGUEZ MENTIONED, UM, WE HAVE A COUPLE OF OPTIONS FOR CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS AND, UM, THOSE ARE REF VOTER APPROVED REFERENDUM AND OUR 8% PROJECTS AND THOSE AFFECT, UH, TAXPAYERS THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE COUNTY, UH, IMPACT FEES ARE ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY FOR THE SCHOOL DISTRICT TO ALLOW ADDITIONAL REVENUES AND OFFSET A LITTLE OF, OF THAT, UH, NEEDED, UH, NECESSARY CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS IN ORDER TO, UH, LOWER THE BURDEN ON, ON ALL OF THE TAXPAYERS IN THE COUNTY.
UH, IT CAN'T BE USED FOR NORMAL OPERATIONS OR MAINTENANCE.
THOSE ARE FOR OUR GENERAL FUND OPERATIONS OR 8%.
[00:30:01]
UM, BUT IT IS A ONE-TIME PAYMENT FOR GROWTH RELATED INFRASTRUCTURE, UH, USUALLY COLLECTED AT THE TIME THE BUILDING PERMITS ARE ISSUED.UH, THE MONEY HAS TO BE SPENT WITHIN THREE YEARS OF A SCHEDULED DATE OF CONSTRUCTION.
AND, UH, WE HAVE TO PRODUCE AN ANNUAL MONITORING REPORT.
UH, AND THE STUDY WAS, I THINK WHAT WAS VERY, UH, IMPORTANT FOR THE TOWN OF BLUFFTON WAS THAT THE STUDY MUST BE UPDATED EVERY FIVE YEARS.
SO THERE IS AN OPPORTUNITY, UH, FOR US TO SEE IF THE NEED IS STILL PRESENT AND IF THE FEE AMOUNT NEEDS TO BE CHANGED, UM, OR IN ANY WAY.
AND THAT, AGAIN, MUST BE VOTED ON BY THE BODIES AT THAT TIME.
UH, THE, IT REQUIRES AN ANALYSIS OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING, WHICH HAS BEEN DONE IN THE INITIAL STUDY AND WOULD BE REQUIRED ON EACH UPDATE AS WELL.
UH, THE MAXIMUM FEE IN A SINGLE FAMILY UNIT, 95, 9,535 AND A MULTIFAMILY UNIT, 4,400 AND 508.
THE REVENUE THAT CAN BE GENERATED THROUGH THESE ARE ESTIMATED TO BE ABOUT $8 MILLION A YEAR.
UH, AND OVER A PROJECTED YEAR PERIOD, $80 MILLION WOULD BE A SIGNIFICANT, UH, IN HELPING US TO OFFSET, UH, ANY TAXES THAT ARE NEEDED FOR CONTINUED EXPANSIONS OR ADDITIONS OF SCHOOLS.
SO, UH, IT, AGAIN, IT HELPS TO LOWER THE BORROWING ON UPCOMING PROJECTS AND WE WOULD GO, WE WOULD USE IT ON A FEE, A PAY AS YOU GO BASIS.
SO, UM, USING THE DOLLARS EACH YEAR ARE ACCUMULATED OVER A COUPLE OF YEARS TO GENERATE, TO PAY DIRECTLY TO THOSE PROJECTS IN THE, IN THE SERVICE AREA.
UM, AND LASTLY, ON, ON THE FINANCIAL SIDE OF THINGS, SCHOOL DEBT, MILLAGE, UH, WE GENERATE ABOUT $2 MILLION PER MIL ON SCHOOL DEBT MILLAGE.
SO AN $8 MILLION SOURCE OF REVENUE WOULD POTENTIALLY SAVE ABOUT FOUR MILS IN TAX REVENUES.
SO, UM, JUST, UH, JUST LOOK FORWARD TO FURTHER CONVERSATIONS WITH YOU.
AND, UM, I THINK, UM, MS. CRUTCHFIELD MAY HAVE MORE INFORMATION ON THE GROWTH AND THE CAPITAL PROJECT SIDE, BUT, UH, WE DO HAVE A MAJOR RENOVATION PLANNED, UH, BOTH IN THE CURRENT REFERENDUM AT HILTON HEAD MIDDLE THIS YEAR, BUT ALSO, UM, WE'RE BEGINNING SOME DESIGN PROJECTS FOR, UH, HILTON HEAD HIGH SCHOOL WITH THE, WITH THE ANTICIPATION OF MAKING SOME MAJOR RENOVATIONS AND POTENTIALLY EXPANDING THE CLASS SIZES OR EXCUSE ME, CLASSROOMS EITHER AT THE HIGH SCHOOL OR ONE OF THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS.
SO WE DO HAVE A LIST OF PROJECTS, UM, OR A, UH, UH, A PROJECT IDENTIFIED FOR ADDITIONAL CLASS SPACE IN THE HILTON HEAD AREA.
SO WITH THAT HERE, DO YOU HAVE ANYTHING TO ADD, OR YOU HAVE A QUESTION.
THE IMPACT THE IS SOUTH OF THE BROAD COUNTING, THE FULL DEBT MILLAGE IS COUNTY WIDE.
UH, THE IMPACT FEE FOR A SINGLE DWELLING, YOU INDICATED WAS 9,000 PLUS.
UH, WE DO OUR COLLECTING IN THE UNINCORPORATED AREAS OF YOUR, FOR COUNTY CURRENTLY.
AND SO THAT IS THE ONLY AREA THAT IS JEN, UM, CURRENTLY COLLECTING REVENUE.
HAVE YOU TESTED THIS, UH, YET WITH THE REALTOR ASSOCIATION OR WITH THE AREA BUILDERS? NO, ACTUALLY WE, WE W I HAVE, UH, SPOKEN IN FRONT OF THEM, UH, BUT WE HAVE NOT HAD AN IN-DEPTH PRESENTATION TO THE REAL UPPERS ASSOCIATION.
AND, UH, OBVIOUSLY YOU WOULDN'T BE DOING THIS UNLESS YOU NEEDED THE CAPITAL TO, FOR NECESSARY CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS.
UH, IF THIS VEHICLE TURNS OUT TO BE UNTENABLE, WHAT ARE THE ALTERNATIVES ASSUMING YOU STILL WANT TO GO AHEAD AND ACCUMULATE EIGHT PER YEAR OR 80 IN TOTAL OVER 10.
UM, SO, UM, TO THE FIRST PART OF, OF YOUR QUESTION, UM, JUST AS A, UH, UH, HISTORY COMPONENT FOR, UH, FOR US IN BUFORD COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT, AS I MENTIONED AT THE BEGINNING, UM, THERE'S LIMITED WAYS FOR US TO, UH, ADDRESS THE CAPITAL NEEDS, RIGHT.
UM, AND AS A SCHOOL DISTRICT, WE WERE UNSUCCESSFUL IN PASSING A REFERENDUM FOR OVER 11 YEARS.
UM, AND SO, SO, UM, WE JUST RECENTLY THANK YOU TO OUR COMMUNITY.
UM, THANK YOU VERY MUCH STORE IN COMMUNITY.
WE'RE ABLE TO ADDRESS A LOT OF, UH, CAPITAL MAINTENANCE
[00:35:01]
NEEDS THAT, THAT WE HAD, UH, WITHIN THE SCHOOL DISTRICT, UH, WITH THE PASSAGE OF THE REFERENDUM IN 2019, WE BEGAN THAT WORK.SO, SO THAT, UM, THAT HAS BEEN VERY, VERY HELPFUL IN, IN US GETTING OUR FACILITIES.
WE'RE STARTING TO GET OUR FACILITIES, UH, TO A BETTER PLACE FOR A MORE CONDUCIVE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT.
UM, BUT, UH, YOU KNOW, THE COMMUNITY PROJECT REVIEW COMMITTEE THAT WAS FORMED TO LOOK AT THAT REFERENDUM HAD IDENTIFIED WELL OVER A 600, A MILLION DOLLARS WORTH OF PROJECTS, AND WE COULDN'T DO THAT.
SO, UH, SO WE, WE WENT IN 2019, UH, WITH A $344 MILLION BOND REFERENDUM, WHICH, UH, THANKFULLY PASSED IN OUR COMMUNITY WAS EXTREMELY SUPPORTIVE.
I'M GRATEFUL, GRATEFUL FOR THAT.
UM, SO, SO THIS IS, UH, ANOTHER WAY FOR US TO, UH, ADDRESS NEEDS TO YOUR SECOND PART OF YOUR QUESTION.
I'M SORRY, CAN YOU REPEAT THAT? I WAS SO FOCUSED ON, I WAS INTERESTED IN IT IF YOU'RE NOT ABLE TO USE THIS VEHICLE, WHAT OTHER VEHICLES ARE AVAILABLE? UM, REFERENDUM AND 8% DOLLARS ARE THE ONLY CAPITAL PROJECTS WE HAVE AVAILABLE.
SO, UM, WE HAVE CERTAIN LIMITATIONS.
UH, WE GENERALLY SPEND 20 TO $25 MILLION A YEAR ON 8% PROJECTS.
THOSE ARE ROOF REPLACEMENT, HPAC, MAJOR PAINTING OF SCHOOLS, UH, AND E MAJOR EQUIPMENT UPGRADES THAT MAY NEED TO OCCUR.
UM, WE HAVE, YOU KNOW, FINITE LIMITATIONS ON THOSE DOLLARS.
THE ONLY OTHER ALTERNATIVE IS A REFERENDUM, A BOND REFERENDUM.
AND IF I MIGHT ELABORATE ON THAT A LITTLE BIT, I THINK THAT TOWN COUNCIL SHOULD KEEP IN MIND THAT THE IMPACT FEES FOR SCHOOLS OR ANY IMPACT FEE, UM, DOES NOT APPLY TO REDEVELOPMENT.
SO IF YOU HAVE PROPERTIES THAT ARE BEING REBUILT, UH, BEING TORN DOWN AND REPURPOSED AND THINGS LIKE THAT, SCHOOL IMPACT FEES WOULD NOT BE, UH, APPLICABLE ON THOSE PARTICULAR CASES.
UH, WHEN, UM, MR. ORLANDO WAS SPEAKING TO THE CONVERSIONS OF COMMERCIAL PROPERTIES WHILE THAT WOULD COMMERCIAL CONVERSION OF COMMERCIAL PROPERTY TO RESIDENTIAL WOULD TRIGGER A SCHOOL IMPACT FEE.
IT WOULD BE OFFSET BY THE REDUCTION OF OTHER IMPACT FEES SUCH AS TRANSPORTATION AND THINGS LIKE THAT, BECAUSE PRESUMABLY THE TRIPS FROM COMMERCIAL TO RESIDENTIAL WOULD BE BEING REDUCED.
SO, UH, THE TRANSPORTATION IMPACT FEES IN THOSE PARTICULAR CASES WOULD BE, UM, REDUCED A LITTLE BIT.
IF IT'S A WORKFORCE HOUSING PROJECT, THE COUNTY COUNCIL HAS A FUND WHEREBY THE COUNTY COUNCIL CAN EITHER PAY A PORTION OF THOSE IMPACT FEES, UH, TO TAKE THE BURDEN OFF OF PEOPLE DOING AFFORDABLE HOUSING OR TO PAY THE FEES ENTIRELY.
UH, IF IT'S 60% OF ANNUAL MEDIAN INCOME INSTEAD OF 80%.
SO IF IT'S 80% OF AN ANNUAL MEDIAN INCOME, THE COUNTY COUNCIL WOULD PAY UP TO 60% OF THE IMPACT FEE FOR THAT FUND.
THEREFORE REDUCING THE BURDEN OF THE PERSON, DEVELOPING THAT.
IF IT'S BASED ON 60% OF AMI THAN THE COUNTY COUNCIL WOULD PAY A HUNDRED PERCENT OF THE IMPACT FEE, ERIC IS THAT CHISELED IN STONE.
IT'S ACTUALLY IN THE IMPACT FEE ORDINANCE THAT WAS ADOPTED BY THE COUNTY COUNTS.
UH, AND THEN THE THIRD THING I WOULD POINT OUT TO YOU TO TWO ADDITIONAL THINGS IS THAT WHILE THERE'S NO GROWTH HERE RIGHT NOW THAT I THINK ONE OF THE PREVIOUS CONCERNS IS, YOU KNOW, WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN TO THE SCHOOLS ON HILTON HEAD ISLAND.
IF WE DO THIS, UM, AS YOU ALL REDEVELOP THESE PROPERTIES AND ARE SUCCESSFUL IN WORKFORCE HOUSING AND FOUR OR FIVE, SIX YEARS, THERE MIGHT BE A NEED FOR ADDITIONAL CAPACITY TO THE HILTON HEAD ISLAND SCHOOLS.
THE IMPACT FEE STUDY HAS TO BE UPDATED BY STATUTE EVERY FIVE YEARS, UH, IN ORDER TO KEEP PACE OF THE, THE CHANGES IN THE DEMOGRAPHICS.
AND THEN FINALLY, UM, I WOULD POINT OUT TO YOU THAT YOU ALL ARE ON HILTON HEAD ISLAND, AND WE'RE GRATEFUL FOR IT BECAUSE THE VALUE OF THE PROPERTIES HERE, UH, ARE ALREADY, UH, BEARING A LOT OF THE BURDEN OF COUNTY SERVICES AND FEES AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
UM, IF YOU HAVE TO DO A REFERENDUM, THAT'S PAID BACK TO AVALARA TAXES AND THINGS LIKE THAT, TO ADD THESE SCHOOLS ALL OVER THE COUNTY, THEN THAT'S GOING TO GREATLY IMPACT THE PEOPLE ON THE ISLAND, THAT OWN PROPERTIES, WHERE THEY'RE PAYING ON A NON-OWNER OCCUPIED PROPERTY TAXES, THAT RESIDENTS NOT SO MUCH SO FULL-TIME RESIDENTS, BUT NON-OWNER OCCUPIED PROPERTIES WOULD PAY A GREATER BURDEN OF THOSE, OF THOSE PORTIONS OF THE FEES FOR WHEN A REFERENDUM, AS OPPOSED TO THE IMPACT FEE.
SO MY OPINION, THE IMPACT V SCHOOL IMPACT V IS A GREAT WAY TO BALANCE
[00:40:01]
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PEOPLE BUILDING NEW HOUSING THAT CREATES THE NEEDS FOR ADDITIONAL SCHOOLS AND INFRASTRUCTURE VERSUS THOSE THAT HAVE BEEN LIVING HERE A LONG TIME, OR HAVING PROPERTY HERE THAT LIVE HERE FULL TIME WITHOUT HAVING TO PAY THAT DIFFERENCE.UH, I S I SEE THE VALUE, THE, I SEE THE VALUE OF GENERATING X, MILLIONS OF DOLLARS A YEAR TO HELP WITH EDUCATION.
I THINK THAT'S, THAT'S PUBLIC GOOD.
LIKEWISE, PUBLIC GOOD CAN BE SERVED BY THE DEVELOPMENT OF WORKFORCE HOUSING.
AND I APPRECIATE THE DEGRATION OF THE FEE, UH, BASED UPON, UH, THE PERCENT OF WORKFORCE IN A PARTICULAR PROJECT.
I WOULD JUST CHALLENGE ALL OF US TO THINK ABOUT WAIVING THAT FEE ENTIRELY FOR WORKFORCE HOUSING, WHY WE'RE TRYING TO COBBLE TOGETHER DIFFERENT SOURCES OF REVENUE TO PROVIDE THE OPPORTUNITY FOR MORE PEOPLE, UH, TO WORK HERE, WHICH WE DESPERATELY NEED.
AND, UH, WHILE I SEE THE VALUE OF A, OF A, UH, IMPACT FEE, I THINK WE SHOULD BE CAUTIOUS ABOUT, OF UNIVERSALLY APPLYING IT TO, ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU'RE DEALING WITH SOMETHING THAT IS EQUALLY IMPORTANT FROM A PUBLIC GOOD STANDPOINT.
AND THEN NOW LET ME ELABORATE ON THAT.
IF I MIGHT, THE STATE STATUTE DOESN'T ALLOW A TOTAL WAIVER OF THE IMPACT FEE.
SO WHEN I SPEAK TO WAIVER OF IMPACT FEE, BECAUSE EVEN HOUSING PROJECTS, UH, YOU HAVE TO KEEP EVERYTHING IN THE IMPACT FEE STATUTE.
YOU HAVE TO KEEP EVERYBODY ON A LEVEL PLAYING FIELD, WHETHER IT'S A HOUSE THAT'S GENERATED ON A LOT OF, UH, YOU KNOW, THAT'S FOR MARKET RATE HOUSING OR AFFORDABLE HOUSING, THE IMPACT TO THE SCHOOL SYSTEM IS THEORETICALLY STILL THE SAME.
SO IT'S ALL IMPACT FEES ARE ALL ABOUT PROPORTIONAL SHARE, UM, OF PAY THEM FOR THAT SERVICE.
SO THAT'S WHY THE COUNTY COUNCIL HAS TO HAVE A SEPARATE FUND TO PAY THOSE IMPACT FEES FOR A WORKFORCE HOUSING.
AND WE'RE HAPPY TO TALK TO YOU ALL ABOUT, UM, YOU KNOW, DOING A MORE, UH, AT 80% THAN THE 60% REDUCTION WE CAN PUT THAT LANGUAGE IN THE TOWN OF BLUFFTON HAS REQUESTED THAT WE LOOK AT THAT AT THIS POINT, WE CAN HAVE THAT DISCUSSION.
SO IF YOU ALL SAID, WELL, IF IT'S 80% AMI, WE WOULD LIKE, FOR THOSE TO BE CONSIDERED FOR THE 100% WAIVER FROM THE COUNTY FUND, THEN WE CAN HAVE THAT DISCUSSION WITH YOU ALL AS WELL.
BUT I WOULD JUST ENCOURAGE YOU AS TOWN COUNCIL TO WORK WITH THE COUNTY ON THIS PARTICULAR ISSUE IN THE SCHOOL DISTRICT.
IT'S A GREAT OPPORTUNITY FOR YOU ALL TO TAKE A LEADERSHIP POSITION, UH, IN THE COUNTY ON THIS PARTICULAR ISSUE, WITHOUT HAVING A DETRIMENTAL IMPACT TO THE DEVELOPMENT AND THE REDEVELOPMENT ON THE ISLAND.
BECAUSE A LOT OF THE REDEVELOPMENT PROJECTS THAT YOU ARE LOOKING AT, UH, WOULD NOT HAVE TO PAY THESE FEES AND THOSE THAT DO, IF IT'S WORKFORCE HOUSING, THEN THE IMPACT FEE FOR SCHOOLS WOULD BE GREATLY REDUCED IN THAT PARTICULAR CASE.
NO, IT JUST PLAIN MUNICIPALITY, OR DOES THE COUNTY HAVE THE, WELL, THE COUNTY HAS ADOPTED THE SCHOOL IMPACT FEE FOR UNINCORPORATED AREA.
SO THE WAY THE STATUTE WORKS AND IT WOULD NOT APPLY TO YOU ALL, BUT IF, IF THE, IF A UNINCORPORATED AREA ADOPTS AN IMPACT, THE STATUTE, AND THEN A MUNICIPALITY ANNEX IS PROPERTY THAT IS BOUND BY THAT IMPACT FEE IN THE UNINCORPORATED AREA OF THE COUNTY, THEN THAT MUNICIPALITY THERE HAS TO COLLECT THAT IMPACT FEE, OR THEY HAVE TO AGREE TO PROVIDE THAT SERVICE.
YOU ALL DON'T PLAN TO ANNEX ANY NEW PROPERTY OUTSIDE OF YOUR EXISTING BOUNDARIES.
SO IT WOULD NOT BE APPLICABLE TO YOU ALL.
SO IF YOU, IF YOU ADOPT AN IMPACT FEE AND YOU WANT THE MUNICIPALITIES TO COLLECT THAT IMPACT FEE, THEN YOU HAVE TO ENTER INTO AN INTER-GOVERNMENTAL AGREEMENT WITH THOSE MUNICIPALITIES TO COLLECT THAT FEE AND TURN THAT MONEY BACK OVER TO THE, UM, AUTHORITY, MANAGING THE FEE FOR THE, UH, UH, SCHOOL DISTRICTS.
SO YOU WOULD TRANSFER THE MONEY TO US.
WE WOULD PUT IT IN A SEGREGATED ACCOUNT, AND THEN WE WOULD TRANSFER THE FUNDS TO THE SCHOOL DISTRICT.
THERE'S A QUESTION IF BLUFFTON AND HARTSVILLE PROVE THE IMPACT FEE, AND WE DON'T GOT A POSSIBILITY, IT IS A POSSIBILITY.
UM, MR. GREENWAY, YOU MENTIONED THAT THE STATUTE DOES NOT ALLOW FOR WAIVING THE IMPACT FEE, BUT YOU CAN PAY UP TO A HUNDRED PERCENT.
THE, THE, THE STATUTE DOESN'T ALLOW THE IMPACT FOR YOU TO BE WAIVED.
IT HAS TO BE PAID REGARDLESS BY SOMEONE, THE COUNTY COUNCIL UP TO THIS POINT HAT, AND THAT'S GONNA CONTINUE, HAS SAVED FOR WORKFORCE AND AFFORDABLE HOUSING UNDERNEATH THESE SCENARIOS.
WE'RE GONNA PAY THIS FEE, UH, TO THE IMPACT VIA ACCOUNT ON BEHALF OF THOSE DEVELOPERS THAT ARE DEVELOPING WORKFORCE AND AFFORDABLE HOUSING, WHAT'S THE FUNDING SOURCE
[00:45:01]
GENERAL FUND COUNTY GENERAL FUND.IT'S COMING OUT OF AVALARA TAXES, AVALARA TAXES, AND OTHER, AND OTHER REVENUES GENERATED FROM FEES AND ALL NOT TO BELABOR THE POINT, BUT I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT.
UM, I THINK THERE WAS A REPORT DR.
RODRIGUEZ, THAT THE, UH, THE POPULATIONS WITHIN THE SCHOOLS, PARTICULARLY IN HILTON HEAD HAVE INCREASED WITH DEGREE, BUT IN THE HISPANIC POPULATION.
AND WE ARE LOOKING TO PROVIDE A, AN ENVIRONMENT FOR FOLKS TO LIVE, WORK AND PLAY ON HILTON, DAN.
UM, AND THE SCHOOL SYSTEM IS DEFINITELY A BIG PART OF THAT.
AND WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE SUPPORTING, UM, BUT WE ALSO HAVE TO REALIZE, AS MY COLLEAGUES HAVE MENTIONED HERE, WE'RE IN A CRISIS ON HILTON HEAD WHEN IT COMES TO SHELTER FOR THESE FAMILIES.
UH, SO I UNDERSTAND THAT WE CAN'T LEGALLY WAIVE IT, BUT WE'VE GOT TO GET CREATIVE ABOUT HOW WE PAY IT OUTSIDE OF FORCING THESE FAMILIES TO PAY IT.
BECAUSE, UM, I THINK YOU MENTIONED $9,000.
I MEAN, THEY MAY, THEY MAY GET LOST IN THE ROUNDING ON A MILLION DOLLAR HOME ON THE BEACH, BUT THAT COULD MAKE A DIFFERENCE AS TO IF SOMEONE'S GOING TO LIVE ON HILTON HEAD OR NOT FOR SOME OF THESE FAMILIES THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT.
SO THAT'S AN IMPORTANT PIECE THAT I THINK NEEDS TO BE FIRST AND FOREMOST IN OUR CONVERSATIONS.
AND WE DO, WE DO THAT SAME THING.
SO THERE HAVE BEEN A FEW INSTANCES IN THE LAST YEAR OR TWO, WHERE FOLKS I'VE BEEN PLACING DWELLINGS ON THE NET ALLEN AND THEIR INCOME LEVELS, INDIVIDUAL INCOME LEVELS WERE SUCH THAT WE COULD PAY THEIR IMPACT FEES FOR THEM.
AND WE HAVE A PROCESS INTERNALLY AT THE COUNTY TO WORK WITH THE TOWN IN ORDER TO DO THAT, WE FILL OUT THE PAPERWORK, WE SEND IT OVER TO THE 2D, OUR FINANCE DEPARTMENT, AND, AND WE PAY THOSE IMPACT FEES, UH, INTO THE APPROPRIATE ACCOUNTS THAT WERE REQUIRED TO MANAGE.
UM, I JUST HAVE A QUESTION, UM, ABOUT THE FINANCIAL IMPACT.
UM, IT SAYS MAXIMUM FEE, AND THEN IT GIVES THE SINGLE FAMILY UNIT, UM, AND THEN A MULTIFAMILY UNIT PRICE.
UM, I'M JUST CURIOUS ABOUT THE BREAKDOWN OF HOW THE FEES ARE CALCULATED.
UM, AND THEN JUST ALSO INTERESTED, I GUESS, SOMEWHAT TO WHAT MR. BROWN WAS REFERRING TO, UM, A SINGLE FAMILY UNIT, UM, BEING CLOSE TO DOUBLE.
SO IT'S, IT'S ABOUT PROPORTIONAL SHARE AGAIN, THE IMPACT OF THE STATUTE IN THE STATE OF SAKANA, UH, WORKS ON PROPORTIONALITY.
SO FOR A SINGLE FAMILY HOME, AND MOST FOLKS THINK THAT A LOT OF FOLKS, BECAUSE THEY DON'T UNDERSTAND MULTIFAMILY DEMOGRAPHICS VERSUS SINGLE FAMILY DEMOGRAPHIC, UH, THINK THAT THERE'S MORE CHILDREN ACTUALLY THAT LIVE IN APARTMENTS FOR MULTI-FAMILY PROJECTS THAN SINGLE FAMILY.
IT ONLY TAKES 33 SINGLE FAMILY HOMES TO, ON AVERAGE, TO EQUAL THE NUMBER OF CHILDREN THAT LIVE IN 100 APARTMENTS OR MULTI-FAMILY UNITS IN A GIVEN DEVELOPMENT AREA.
SO THAT'S WHY IT'S, THAT'S WHY IT'S MUCH LARGER FOR A SINGLE FAMILY HOME BECAUSE THE IMPACT OF THE SCHOOL SYSTEM BASED ON THE CONSULTANT'S REVIEW ON WORK, STATISTICALLY AND PROPORTIONALLY IS MUCH GREATER TO THE SCHOOL SYSTEM FOR SINGLE FAMILY HOMES.
AND IT IS FOR MULTI-FAMILY HOMES BECAUSE PROPORTIONALLY MULTI-FAMILY HOMES HAVE LESS CHILDREN.
AND THANK YOU FOR THE EXPLANATION.
UM, I JUST WENT AROUND HILTON HEAD, UM, A SENSE, UM, WHAT WAS IT, 29% OF THOSE PERMITS AND PROBABLY MANY OF THE 71% BEHIND THE GATES, UH, PERMITS ARE.
UM, AND I GUESS OUR STATISTICS WILL START TO BEAR THIS OUT AS WE GO A LITTLE BIT FURTHER, BUT, UH, FOR SHORT TERM RENTALS WHERE, UM, THERE ARE NO FAMILIES LIVING IN THOSE HOMES.
AND SO IT'S JUST A NUMBER OF PIECES TO THE PUZZLE THAT, UM, FOR ME, NEEDS TO BE PUT TOGETHER IN TERMS OF HOW THAT REALLY APPLIES TO, TO OUR SITUATION HERE, BUT ALL OF THIS WITH QUESTIONS FROM MEMBERS OF THE COUNCIL, WE WON'T TAKE ANY PUBLIC COMMENT AT THIS TIME UNTIL THE VERY END.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR COMING.
NO, NOT AT ALL, BUT THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR HAVING US APPRECIATE SEEING ALL OF YOU AND THANK YOU FOR, UH, FOR YOUR ALL SUPPORT ALL THE TIME.
ARE YOU GOING TO SAY A FEW WORDS? YOU OKAY.
YOU VERY MUCH GOOD TO SEE YOU ALL.
APPRECIATE IT BACK TO YOU, MR. ORLANDO.
UH, WHERE WERE WE? WE WERE TALKING ABOUT
[00:50:02]
THE ASSESSMENT THAT WE WERE A PART OF FOR A HOUSING TRUST FUND.IN FACT, WE STARTED TO TAKE A LOOK AT A REGIONAL HOUSING TRUST FUND, RIGHT? NOT A LOCAL HOUSING TRUST FUND.
UM, WE'VE DONE A LITTLE BIT OF WORK, UM, COUNTIES BRINGING IT FORWARD.
THEY'RE GOING TO SOON ASK US IF WE ARE, IF THIS IS REALLY A GO OR NO GO.
UM, AND I THINK AT THIS POINT THEY SIMPLY WANT AN ANSWER.
UM, AND I'LL BRING THAT FORWARD TO ALL OF YOU, UM, IN AN APPROPRIATE AGENDA IN THE, IN THE WEEKS OR MONTHS TO COME.
SO REAL QUICK THOUGH, FOR TODAY'S PURPOSE, I'VE REALLY ASKED THE QUESTION AND I'VE HAD THE QUESTION ASKED OF ME A FEW TIMES.
WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A HOUSING TRUST FUND THAT WE'RE TRYING TO PLAN FOR? AND DOES CHARLESTON HAVE A HOUSING TRUST FUND IS A, CAN HAVE A HOUSING TRUST FUND.
DOES NASHVILLE HAVE A HOUSING TRUST FUND? AND SO WE REALLY STARTED TO DIVE INTO THIS A LITTLE BIT ABOVE AND BEYOND THE PROPOSAL, UM, THAT CAME TO US FROM THE COUNTY AND REALLY FOR TODAY'S PURPOSE IS JUST, I WANT TO MAKE A POINT HERE THAT THERE'S A DIFFERENCE IN HOUSING TRUST FUNDS ACROSS OUR COUNTRY, AND SOME ARE REGIONAL AND SOME ARE LOCAL, RIGHT? WHEN YOU TALK TO, WHEN WE TALK TO OUR FRIENDS AND PARTNERS, UH, IN CHARLESTON, THEY HAVE A LOCAL HOUSING TRUST FUND.
THEY DO NOT, IT IS NOT A MAJOR PIECE OF THEIR BUSINESS, BUT IT'S NOT A REGIONAL MODEL.
AND THERE ARE THERE EXAMPLES OF SUCCESSFUL REGIONAL MODELS, WHICH WE'VE SAW IN THE, IN THE CONSULTANT'S REPORT.
SO UP HERE, AND JUST FOR ARGUMENT'S SAKE, I TRIED TO COMPARE REGIONAL VERSUS LOCAL, RIGHT? REGIONAL LOCAL DOLLARS PULLED FOR REGION FOR THE REGION TO ADDRESS REGIONAL HOUSING NEEDS.
THE PRIORITY OF THE DOLLARS ARE BASED UPON THE BOARD.
WE WOULD DEFINITELY HAVE A SEAT ON THE BOARD.
UM, IT WOULD DEFINITELY HELP A REGIONAL MODEL.
THERE ARE OPPORTUNITIES REGIONALLY.
I DO THINK THAT WE COULD MAKE SURE THAT THERE ARE PROJECTS ON HILTON HEAD ISLAND THAT BENEFIT FROM THE REGIONAL HOUSING TRUST FUND, RIGHT? AND SO THE GOAL OF THIS ISN'T TO JUST TAKE A DOLLAR AND GET OUT OF IT, A DOLLAR IT'S TO LEVERAGE REGIONAL DOLLARS TO BENEFIT THE DEAL AT HAND, AND THAT DEAL COULD BE WITHIN THE REGION.
UM, AND THEN YOU CAN SEE THE LOCAL, I WON'T, I WON'T GET INTO IT, BUT THE, THE LIKELIHOOD OF A LOCAL REGIONAL HOUSING TRUST FUND IS A HUNDRED PERCENT IN OUR FAVOR.
IF IT'S LOCAL, IT'S NOT 100% OVER TIME, IF IT'S REGIONAL.
AND I THINK IT'S JUST A MATTER OF WHAT IS IT THAT WE'RE TRYING TO SOLVE.
I THINK WHAT YOU'RE SAYING HERE IS IN A REGIONAL TRUST FUND THAT IS SUPPORTED BY THE TOWN OF HILTON HEAD ISLAND.
HOW MANY OF THOSE DOLLARS WILL COME BACK TO ASSIST, UH, WITH THE HOUSING NEEDS HERE ON HILTON HEAD ISLAND VERSUS OTHER PARTS OF THE COUNTY.
AND SO THAT'S THE SENSITIVE ARC OF ALL OF THIS.
I SEE VALUE IN REGIONAL PARTICIPATION AND COOPERATION, BUT WHEN IT GETS DOWN TO SPENDING DOLLARS, THAT'S WHERE OUR TAXPAYERS GET IN AN UPROAR AND FOR GOOD REASON, IN MY OPINION, UNDERSTOOD.
UH, GO TO REGIONAL THE LAST BULLET, A REGIONAL, THAT SEEMS TO BE CONFLICTING LANGUAGE TO ME.
SO I OBVIOUSLY DON'T UNDERSTAND IT.
WOULD YOU CLOCK, IN OTHER WORDS, I I'M READING THAT WE HAVE A HIGH, HIGHER RESOURCE GAP ON THE ISLAND, WHICH EQUALS LESS LIKELIHOOD OF LOCAL PROJECTS, I WOULD THINK WOULD BE THE CONVERSE.
AND WE'LL DIVE IN, YOU YOU'VE DOVE INTO THE REGIONAL MODEL.
THAT, UH, THAT RELATES TO THE, UM, SORT OF THE BARRIERS TO, TO PROJECT.
SO COST OF LAND, COST OF MATERIALS, YOU KNOW, MATERIALS GO UP AS YOU CROSS THE BRIDGE.
AND SO THE RESOURCES NEEDED TO IMPLEMENT A PROJECT HERE VERSUS AN HARTVILLE OR AN IN BLUFFTON ARE GREATER BECAUSE THE COSTS ARE GREATER.
UM, YOU KNOW, WE LOOKED AT MEDIAN PERMIT VALUES WITHOUT LAND.
THAT LAND BARRIER IS SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER HERE THAN IT IS.
SO THAT'S WHY YOU CAN HAVE A LESS LIKELIHOOD OF GETTING PROJECTS HERE LOCALLY WITH A REGIONAL MODEL.
WELL, IT WOULD SEEM THAT IF YOU'RE DEVELOPING A WIDGET OFF ISLAND AND A WIDGET ON ISLAND, THEN, UH, OUR WIDGETS WOULD BE MORE EXPENSIVE.
SO SHOULDN'T WE BE ASKING FOR PROPORTIONATELY MORE? WE, WE ARE DONOR MUNICIPALITY ALWAYS HAVE BEEN, PROBABLY ALWAYS WILL BE, UH, WE'RE A DONOR
[00:55:01]
COUNTY, UH, STATEWIDE, UH, AND THIS IS NO DIFFERENT, UH, IN THE SPIRIT OF REGIONAL REGIONALISM.IT MAKES SENSE TO CONSIDER SOMETHING LIKE THIS.
HOWEVER, THERE IS, UH, A CONFLICT EMBEDDED IN THE BUSINESS MODEL IN AND OF ITSELF, AND THE CONFLICT INVOLVES, UH, LOCAL DOLLARS GOING REGIONALLY.
AND HOW DO WE ANSWER, UH, TAXPAYERS WHEN THEY ASK, WHY ARE YOU ALLOWING OUR LOCAL TAX DOLLARS TO BE USED REGIONALLY? UH, AND I GUESS THE ANSWER WOULD BE BECAUSE THOSE REGIONAL PRODUCT PROJECTS ARE SUPPORTING WORKFORCE HOUSING AND WORKFORCE ON THE ISLAND.
THE OTHER PART OF THE CONFLICT IS, UH, THE REGIONAL HOUSING TRUST FUND WHEN CONSIDERING A PROJECT ON HILTON HEAD ISLAND HAS TO CONSIDER THE HIGHER COST OF THE CONSTRUCTION AND HOW CAN THEY JUSTIFY THAT? AND THOSE TWO ISSUES ARE EMBEDDED IN CONFLICT IN THIS BUSINESS MODEL.
WELL, MAYBE WE SHOULD THINK, UH, T AND OFF MR. LENNOX, HIS COMMENTS THAT, UH, FROM A REGIONAL STANDPOINT, WE TAKE THE PERSPECTIVE THAT ALL SHIPS RISE WITH THE TIDE AND, UH, ALTHOUGH WE COULD BE PARTICIPATING REGIONALLY, THAT WOULD NOT PRECLUDE US FROM DOING OUR OWN LOCALLY AWESOME BRECHT.
UM, SO WITHOUT HAVING, UM, JUST IN REACTION TO THIS AND, AND, UM, TOM'S, UM, WELL SPELLED OUT CONFLICT, THERE'S ANOTHER CONFLICT IN THE WAY THAT CONFLICT, I THINK MIGHT UNFOLD IS THAT UNDER THE VERY BEST CIRCUMSTANCES, OUR VERY BEST EFFORTS, WE WILL NEVER SATISFY ALL OF OUR WORKFORCE HOUSING NEEDS ON THE ISLAND AND YET, AND SO PERHAPS IT MAKES SENSE TO HELP CONTRIBUTE TO THOSE OFF THE ISLAND.
THAT WOULD BE BENEFICIAL TO THOSE WORKERS WHO COME ONTO THE ISLAND.
I MEAN, WE'RE CERTAINLY BUILDING A BIG BRIDGE FOR THEM SO THAT, UM, THAT PIECE CAN BE CHECKED OFF.
SO I THINK THAT'S THE OTHER CONFLICT.
WHERE'S THE DESIRE FOR WHAT'S THE, OUR GOAL ON THE ISLAND? IT CAN'T BE, IN MY OPINION, WHAT'S, UM, OUTLINED IN THE HOUSING CONSULTANTS REPORT, BECAUSE WE JUST DON'T HAVE THE CAPACITY IN TERMS OF LAND ON THE ISLAND TO SATISFY THAT NEED IN THAT WAY.
SO I THINK THAT'S ANOTHER CONFLICT THAT CERTAINLY EXISTS.
UM, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT FOLKS WORKING WHO WORK ON THE ISLAND, NOT LIVING ON THE ISLAND, PEOPLE GET VERY UPSET.
SO, UM, THOSE ARE A LOT OF THE PIECES THAT HAVE TO BE TEASED OUT THAT WE REALLY HAVE TO THINK ABOUT.
IT'S NOT AS SIMPLE AS ONE OR THE OTHER.
AND SO THAT'S A CONVERSATION I'D REALLY LIKE TO HAVE IS WHAT IS OUR GOAL AND OUR HONEST GOAL, AN HONEST GOAL OF WHAT WE CAN TRULY ACCOMPLISH.
AND, UM, AND THEN WHAT BEYOND THAT, AND IF IT'S NOT ON THE ISLAND, DOES A REGIONAL HOUSING TRUST FUND MAKE SENSE THEN, BUT TO BEGIN WITH, I THINK THAT THE IDEA OF MANAGING OUR OWN NEEDS, UM, SHOULD STAY LOCAL.
I HOPE I DON'T HAVE ANYTHING ON DISTANCE TO ME.
UH, I THINK, UH, TAMMY'S MAKING A LOT, A LOT OF SENSE THAT WE HAVE, WE HAVE A CONSULTANT REPORT THAT SAYS WE HAVE A SHORTAGE OF THIS WORKFORCE HOUSING ODDS ARE, WE DON'T HAVE THE CAPACITY HERE TO ADDRESS THAT.
SO WE NEED TO AGREE VERY PRAGMATICALLY ON A, THAT IS DOABLE INSTEAD OF JUST THIS SELF-FLAGELLATION ALL THE TIME SAYING WE DON'T HAVE IT.
WE'RE NEVER GOING TO GET THERE.
SO LET'S, LET'S HAVE A REALISTIC GOAL AND THEN WORK TOWARD IT.
AND THE WHY WE'LL MEET WITH YOU TODAY, WE WILL SIGN THIS TO ONE OF THE COMMITTEES AND WE'LL BRING IT FORWARD.
THE SECOND MEETING IN MARCH FOR A VOTE THINGS CAN'T GO ON FOREVER, WHICH SHOULD DISCUSS IT OUT.
WILL THEY THEN MAKE A VOTE? OKAY.
JOSH, YOU GOT THAT JUST AS A NOTE.
[01:00:01]
TO WRITE, I'M GONNA MOVE ON HERE.UM, AND SO, YOU KNOW, IT'S JUST BACKING UP IN A, IN A QUICK REMINDER CAUSE WE STOPPED.
BUT WHAT I'D LIKE TO DO TODAY IS TALK ABOUT WHAT'S CURRENT.
WHAT ARE WE WORKING ON? WHAT ARE WE WORKING ON WHEN EVERYBODY'S AT WORK? UM, AND A PROPOSAL.
SO WITH THAT BEING SAID, UM, WE TALKED QUICKLY ABOUT THE CONVERSION, THE DENSITY BONUS.
WE HAD SOME GOOD FEEDBACK I GAVE, WE GAVE SOME RESULTS, A HOUSING TRUST FUND.
UM, A QUICK REMINDER, AUGUST 19TH WAS A GOOD DAY.
UM, WE RECEIVED AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN FUNDS SHORTLY PRIOR, SHORTLY BEFORE THAT, UM, PRIOR TO A LOT OF OTHER MUNICIPALITIES AND COUNTIES IN OUR STATE, IN SOUTH CAROLINA PRIOR TO THEM RECEIVING THE FUNDS.
AND WE JUMPED OUT OF THE GATE AND, AND, AND WORKED WITH YOU AS A COUNCIL.
AND THEN WE WORKED WITH THE STATE AND THE FEDS TO UNDERSTAND THE USE OF THESE DOLLARS.
AND BROUGHT BACK TO YOU A PROPOSAL THAT YOU ADOPTED, UM, SOME OF THESE PROGRAMS, OR I WOULD SAY SOME OF THESE COMPONENT PIECES OF THAT PROGRAM ARE ALIVE AND WELL, AND OTHERS ARE ABOUT TO TAKE, TAKE SHAPE AND BE IN MOTION IN THE NEXT 30 DAYS.
SO REAL QUICK, A MILLION DOLLARS EARMARKED TO THE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION, A MILLION DOLLARS INTO TOWN HALL FACILITY FOR SECURITY TECHNOLOGY, UM, UM, A MILLION DOLLARS INTO HOUSING INFRASTRUCTURE.
WE TALKED A LITTLE BIT AT THAT TIME ABOUT THE PATTERSON TRACT, AND THEY'LL SHARE SOME UPDATES WITH YOU ABOUT THAT.
UM, FINALLY FIGURED OUT HOW TO USE THIS, UM, $400,000 TOWARDS A HOME REPAIR PROGRAM, UH, $200,000 TOWARDS LATERAL SANITARY, SEWER CONNECTION, UM, AND IN GRANTS AS WELL AS WE SIMPLY PARKED $1.6 MILLION IN PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE WITH A TBD THAT COULD BE ROAD WATER, SEWER, STORM, WATER BROADBAND.
UM, BUT IT'S PARKED THERE FOR A LITTLE BIT, UM, 5 MILLION, $227,178 TO BE SPENT.
SO YOU ASKED AND WE ARE IN MOTION TO ASSESS OUR TOWN PROPERTIES, UM, BIG JOB, UM, LOTS OF FILE CABINETS, LOTS OF WORK.
UM, WHAT, WHAT WE'RE EXCITED ABOUT IS THAT WE'VE TAKEN THE FILE CABINETS AND WE'VE CONVERTED IT TO A GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEM MAP.
UM, THE MAP IS INTERACTIVE, SO IT'S NOT JUST A STATIC MAP WITH NICE COLORS.
YOU CAN CLICK ON THE PARTICULAR PIECE AND WE CAN START LEARNING ABOUT THAT PARTICULAR PIECE IN REAL TIME.
AND AS IT AFFECTS, UM, USE IT, IT WILL TELL US HOW IT WAS BOUGHT WHEN IT WAS BOUGHT.
ARE THERE ANY COVENANTS, ARE THERE ANY RESTRICTIONS? WHAT ARE THE FUNDING SOURCES? AND SO WHAT WE STARTED TO DO, AND I'M NOT THERE YET.
AND SO THE QUESTION WAS, SHOULD WE PUSH THIS MEETING OFF? I DIDN'T WANT TO, YOU KNOW, I, WASN'T GOING TO PROPOSE A LET'S, LET'S TRY THIS AGAIN.
WHAT I SUGGEST IS THAT, UM, RESPECTFULLY THIS IS A BIG TO-DO AND WE WANT TO GET IT RIGHT.
UM, WE ON VERSION THREE OF IT, UM, REALLY I WOULD SAY V3 OF, OF THIS ASSESSMENT AND ONE ORDINANCE, ONE PRESS RELEASE ONE FILE AT A TIME OVER 1400 ACRES THROUGH TIME.
AND I APPRECIATE ALL THE WORK THAT'S GONE INTO IT, BUT THE GOAL AT A CERTAIN POINT, AND WE'RE NOT THERE TODAY TOO, IS, IS TO ELIMINATE THE UNTOUCHABLES.
LET'S PAINT THEM DARK GREEN, LET'S PUT A COVENANT ON THEM AND LET'S SAY THEY'RE OFF THE BOOKS FOREVER.
AND LET'S BE REAL CLEAR THAT WE CAN'T CONVERT A BEACH PARK OR A PUBLIC PARK TO A HOUSING OR A HOTEL, OR IF YOU KNOW A JOB, RIGHT.
SO THERE'S, THERE'S RESTRICTIONS ON, ON THESE PROPERTIES.
UM, BUT THEN THERE'S ALSO SOME THAT WERE BOUGHT WITH TIF DOLLARS OR TAX REVENUE DOLLARS OR CERTAIN INSTANCES WHERE THE REAL ESTATE TRANSFER FEE ACQUIRED, BUILT, OR DEVELOPED OR ENTITLED PROPERTY, AND WE CAN DOWNTOWN.
SO IT'S NOT AN EASY ANSWER OF YES OR NO.
IT'S NOT A GREEN OR RED ON A MAP THAT I CAN EASILY SHOW YOU.
UM, SO I ASK THAT YOU GIVE, GIVE US A LITTLE MORE TIME AND THAT IN ABOUT 30, 45 DAYS THAT WE COME BACK HERE AND WE SHOW YOU THE INTERACTIVE MAP THAT WE SHOW YOU THE, WHICH PIECE WAS BOUGHT WITH WHAT FUNDING SOURCE CURTIS, UH, HAS DEFINITELY BEEN CLOSE BY AS I'M LOOKING AT THIS FOR THE FIRST TIME.
UM, I KNOW JOSH HAS SOME EXPERIENCE.
SEAN HAS A LOT OF EXPERIENCE AS A TEAM.
IF WE ALL DON'T KNOW, WE COLLECTIVELY BLAME SEAN BECAUSE HE SHOULD KNOW.
AND SEAN JUST LOOKS AT CURTIS AND WE'RE RIGHT.
YOU KNOW, BUT I THINK THE GOOD PART OF THIS IS THAT WE'RE SCRUBBING IT.
AND SO IF YOU LOOK AT ALL THE DIFFERENT LAND, ACQUISITION FUNDING, SOURCES, BEACH FEE BONDS, AND SEVERAL BONDS, SEAN,
[01:05:01]
YOU SAID THERE WERE FIVE BONDS.WHAT WERE THE YEARS? UM, I THINK 97, 2000, 2007, 10 OR THREE.
REAL ESTATE TRANSFER FEE H TAX TIF MONEY, CIP FUNDS AND CIP FUNDS COULD BE A LOT OF DIFFERENT THINGS.
STORMWATER UTILITY, SOME STORMWATER UTILITY FUNDS WHERE WERE USED TO ACQUIRE DITCHES AND EASEMENTS AND, AND WHATNOT.
REAL ESTATE TRANSFER FEE REQUIRED.
MOST OF THE CORRIDOR OF WILLIAM HILTON PARKWAY, THE BEAUTIFUL GREEN CORRIDOR WAS BOUGHT WITH REAL ESTATE TRANSFER FEE, BUT SO ARE SOME PROPERTIES THAT ARE VACANT AND SO ARE SOME PROPERTIES THAT HAVE STRUCTURES OR ENTITLEMENTS.
SO, UM, EXCHANGE AGREEMENTS, JOINT OWNERSHIP, DONATIONS, AND GRANTS.
AND SO WE CAN SEE THE EXERCISE THAT'S BEING DONE.
THIS MAP, YOU ADMITTED ONE, I THINK AMERICAN RESCUE FUNDS.
WE DIDN'T ACQUIRE ANYTHING WITH THOSE FUNDS.
IT SEEMS TO ME IF THAT FITS THAT DEFINITION, CORRECT.
UH, MARK, UH, GOING FORWARD, I'D LIKE TO SEE THIS CHART EXPANDED FOR A THIRD COLUMN AND THAT THIRD COLUMN WOULD DEAL WITH, UH, DEVELOPMENT FUNDING.
UH, CERTAINLY ONE COULD BE THE PRIVATE SECTOR WHERE YOU GET A DEVELOPER CONTRIBUTING A HUNDRED PERCENT TO BUILD THE PROJECT, RIGHT.
UH, THE OTHER, UH, ANOTHER COULD BE THAT WE'VE KICKED AROUND, BUT HAVEN'T DONE ANYTHING ABOUT YET WOULD BE, UM, THE DISPOSITION OF TOWN LAND THAT CAN BE USED FOR DEVELOPMENT.
WE MAY HAVE BOUGHT IT FOR A DOLLAR AND IT HAS A PRICE POINT TODAY IN THE MARKET OF $3.
UM, HOW DO WE APPROACH THAT? HOW ARE WE WILLING TO APPROACH THAT? ARE WE, ARE WE GOING TO GO FOR THE THREE? UH, ARE WE GOING TO GO BACK TO THE ONE? UM, UH, WOULD WE POSSIBLY DONATE IT? WOULD WE POSSIBLY LEASE IT? RIGHT.
SO, SO WHERE I STARTED AND I MAYBE NEED TO BETTER EXPLAIN THIS WHERE I STARTED WAS SIMPLY HERE, HOW DID THE TOWN BUY THESE PROPERTIES? NOT WHAT CAN THEY BE USED FOR, WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO LATER? WHAT WAS SIMPLY GOING FORWARD? SO AS A, AS AN ASSESSMENT FOR TODAY, I UNDERSTAND AND HAVE A NOTE, HOW DO WE EXTRAPOLATE NOT JUST A FUNDING SOURCE, BUT WHAT TO DO WITH IT IN THE FUTURE.
AND IN ORDER TO DO THAT, WHAT I'D LIKE TO DO IS BE REALLY CLEAR OF WHAT PROPERTIES HAVE A CHANCE AND WHAT PROPERTIES ARE ABSOLUTELY OFF LIMITS.
AND AS A COUNCIL, I THINK OVER TIME, THERE WERE AGREEMENTS ON THAT.
I JUST DID A BOND TO BUY IT THAT A REAL ESTATE TRANSFER FEE BY IT.
WAS THERE A LAND SWAP IF THERE WAS, IS THERE A COVENANT? I, AND AGAIN, WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO IS SIMPLY BUILD A MAP, A GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEM THAT WE DON'T HAVE TO GO CHASE ONE FILE DRAWER AT A TIME TO FIGURE OUT WE HAVE GREAT TECHNOLOGY.
THE TECHNOLOGY HAS CHANGED OVER TIME.
THIS IS NOT A SLIDE OF HOW WE KEEP RECORDS.
THE RECORDS ARE FABULOUS, BUT WE'VE CHANGED TOWN ATTORNEYS, RIGHT? THERE WAS, YOU KNOW, CURTIS WAS HERE, CURTIS WASN'T HERE.
CURTIS IS HERE AGAIN, THERE ARE DIFFERENT METHODS AND STYLES AND HOW WE FILE AND HOW WE KEEP RECORD.
AND SO FOR THE FIRST TIME, AND I THINK IN, FOR, FOR FOREVER, WE WILL BUILD THAT RECORD.
THAT'S FULLY TRANSPARENT AND AVAILABLE AT THE COMMUNITY'S FINGERTIPS, THE COUNCIL'S FINGERTIPS, AND THEN SOMEBODY LIKE ME OR JOHN OR ANYBODY ELSE TRYING TO UNDERSTAND WHAT WE CAN DO WITH A PIECE OF LAND IS, IS IMPORTANT.
UM, YEAH, TH THIS IS, UH, THIS IS SO CRITICAL TO ALL OF OUR DISCUSSIONS.
UM, IF WE'VE GOT A HUNDRED PROPERTIES, END OF THE DAY, WE FIND OUT THAT ONLY TWO CAN BE USED, IT'S A TOTALLY DIFFERENT DISCUSSION THAT WE'RE HAVING.
UM, SO MAKING SURE THAT THIS IS ABSOLUTELY RIGHT, IS SOMETHING THAT WE OLDER COMMUNITY.
UM, SO I APPRECIATE YOU TAKING A BIT MORE TIME WITH IT.
UM, I APPRECIATE WHAT STAFF HAS DONE THUS FAR WITH IT.
UM, I'D ALSO APPRECIATE ANOTHER SET OF EYES ON IT.
I'M GOING TO SAY THAT OUT LOUD, RIGHT.
UM, YOU CAN RIDE AROUND THE TOWN AND LOOK AT SIGNS THAT WE'VE PUT UP ON PROPERTY THAT WE BOUGHT.
THAT'S IT, THAT'S HOW I MEANS ABSOLUTELY NOTHING, BECAUSE THERE'S A CHANCE THAT YOU COULD USE IT FOR SOMETHING, AND THERE'S A CHANCE THAT YOU CAN, BUT THE SIGNS SAY THAT WE CANNOT DO ANYTHING WITH IT TO THAT POINT.
I THINK THAT JUST A LITTLE BIT MORE DUE DILIGENCE.
[01:10:02]
UM, AGAIN, GOING BACK TO ANOTHER SET OF EYES, I THINK IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE WE, AS A COUNCIL, WE AS STAFF, WE CAN'T TAKE THAT OWNERSHIP OF THIS PROPERTY BECAUSE IT BELONGS TO THE PEOPLE AND WE'VE GOT TO BE OVERLY CONFIDENT THAT THE ANSWER THAT WE GIVE AS TO WHAT WE CAN DO AND WHAT WE CAN'T DO IS REAL.SO I JUST OFFER THAT MR. MANAGER, UM, THAT, THAT WE DO HAVE ANOTHER EXPERT, TAKE A LOOK AT WHAT WE HAVE IN FRONT OF US, WHAT WE'RE GOING TO PRESENT TO THE COMMUNITY.
UM, JUST BECAUSE IT'S CHANGED HANDS.
SO MANY TIMES I COULD DO JUST TWO STEPS.
ONE IS I LIKE THE SECOND SET OF EYES TO LOOK AT IT, WHICH YOU'VE ALREADY ARRANGED FOR IT.
AND THE SECOND STEP IS COMPLETE THIS MAP AS TO WHAT CAN BE USED, WHAT CAN'T BE USED AND DON'T PUT ANYTHING ELSE, ELSE IN IT UNTIL WE FINISHED THAT.
I ALSO LIKE A DONE BY THE LAST DAY OF MARCH FOR PUBLIC HEARING.
SO THE PUBLIC CAN LOOK AT THE MAP, SEE THE MAP AND ASK QUESTIONS ON A MAP.
OKAY, CHRISTA'S FLAGGED THE DATE.
UM, PLEASE KNOW THAT WE LOOK AT THIS OFTEN, I APOLOGIZE THAT IT'S NOT DONE YET, BUT, UM, IT SEEMS THAT THE FILES ARE DEEP AND WE DON'T WANT TO MAKE MISTAKES.
AND SO, UH, KNOW THAT THERE'S A PROCESS IN PLACE AND, AND SO, OKAY.
OH GOSH, SALUTE YOU AT, UH, AND STAFF'S EFFORT TO ACT.
ABSOLUTELY UNDERSTAND WHAT RESTRICTIONS APPLY SO THAT WE KNOW WHAT WE'RE REALLY DEALING WITH.
UM, THE QUESTION I HAVE IS THAT OF THE CURRENT ASSESSMENT OF TOWN ON PROPERTIES UNDER LAND ACQUISITION FUNDING SOURCES, IS THERE A SHORTCUT OR A SHORTHAND WAY OF SAYING WHICH ONES ARE, UM, RESTRICTED OR IS IT ALSO BASED ON, UM, HOW IT'S CURRENTLY ZONE DOES THAT? I WISH I COULD SAY YES, THERE'S A SHORTCUT, RIGHT? SO WE CAN EASILY LOOK AT OUR BEACH PARKS AND JUST TAKE THEM OFF THE BOOKS, BUT I DON'T WANT TO BE SATISFIED WITH JUST THAT, BECAUSE THEY DON'T KNOW WHAT 15 YEARS FROM NOW BRINGS.
UM, IT'S COLORED BLUE ON A MAP.
IT'S A BEACH PARK IS CALLED, UH, UH, THE PARKING LOT AT COLIGNY.
WHAT IF SOMEBODY ASKS US NEXT WEEK? SHOULD WE PUT HOUSING THERE? I DON'T WANT TO JUST SAY, OH, IT'S A BEACH PARK.
I REALLY, WE REALLY NEED TO KNOW HOW IT WAS BOUGHT, HOW IT WAS ACQUIRED.
WHAT ARE THE COVENANTS? I ALSO THINK THAT THIS IS A REALLY IMPORTANT TIME THAT WE COULD TAKE A LOOK AT THAT MAP AND TO, TO, TO YOUR POINT, MS. BECKER, THE SHORTCUT NEEDS TO BE, LET'S MAKE SURE IT'S VERY CLEAR THAT THERE ARE CERTAIN PROPERTIES THIS ISLAND AND I, YOU KNOW, UH, MAKE, MAKE IT CLEAR FROM MY VANTAGE POINT.
HILTON HEAD ISLAND IS KNOWN AS IN, IN THE, IN THE NATION, AS, UH, AS A COMMUNITY THAT PRESERVED LAND.
IT TOOK UNITS OFF THE TABLE TO DEVELOP.
IT TOOK COMMERCIAL AND RESIDENTIAL AND EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN OFF THE TABLE TO DEVELOP.
UM, I KNOW THAT I, I JUST KNOW THAT FROM MY CAREER, BUT I ALSO KNOW THAT BECAUSE AS I TALK TO FOLKS ACROSS THE STATE AND BEYOND THEY KNOW HILTON HEAD ISLAND FOR THAT, AND OTHER FOLKS HAVE BORROWED OR USE THAT METHOD, THE LAND ACQUISITION PROGRAM THAT MR. STANFORD WORKED ON, YOU KNOW, COUNTYWIDE IS, IS LIVE AND STRONG HERE.
I THINK IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT THAT WE GET OUR HANDS AROUND OR AREN'T WRAPPED OUR ARMS AROUND THIS AND THEN PAINT OUR MAP.
WHAT IS TRULY UNTOUCHABLE, NOT JUST FROM A COVENANT STANDPOINT, BUT ALSO FROM A COMMUNITY VALUE STANDPOINT.
AND SO I THINK THAT IS REALLY IMPORTANT AS PART OF THIS EXERCISE OF WHAT CAN I USE FOR HOUSING AND WHAT NEEDS TO BE INCLUDED IN.
LET'S ALSO BE MAKING THE BIGGER PICTURE DECISION OF ALL THE PROPERTIES.
AND I THINK THAT'S BEEN MADE OVER TIME.
I THINK THERE'S PEOPLE THAT WILL SIT HERE AND TELL ME, YOU JUST GOT HERE, THIS, THIS HAS BEEN MADE, BUT WE'RE, WE'RE BUILDING THE MAP.
AND I THINK THAT TO BRING US CURRENT LET'S, LET'S, LET'S GO THROUGH A, UH, LOUD EXERCISE.
MAY I JUST FOLLOW UP? THAT IS, UM, I JUST, I'M JUST BASICALLY GONNA RESTATE WHAT YOU JUST SAID, BECAUSE I DON'T THINK FROM MY PERSPECTIVE, THERE'S TOO MUCH DISAGREEMENT.
THERE'S THE FUNDING SOURCES THERE, THERE ARE COVENANTS, BUT I THINK ALSO IF NOT EQUALLY, CERTAINLY, UM, I WOULD SAY MORE IMPORTANTLY, THE COMMUNITY EXPECTATIONS, THOSE SIGNS THAT WE SEE AROUND THE ISLAND THAT SELL, SAY TOWN OWNED PROPERTY.
UM, THOSE OF US WHO HAVE BEEN AROUND A LONG TIME AND THOSE WHO COME ONTO THE ISLAND ARE SO DEEPLY GRATEFUL FOR THOSE PARCELS OF LAND THAT HAVE BEEN HELD AND, UM, ARE GREEN AND PRESENT TO US AN EXPECTATION THAT THEY'LL REMAIN THAT WAY.
AND THE PART OF THE QUALITY OF LIFE THAT WE LOOKED AND EXPECT ON HILTON HEAD ISLAND
[01:15:01]
IS WRAPPED UP IN THAT EXPECTATION OF THAT GREEN.UM, AND SO THREE COMPONENTS EQUAL, BUT I WOULD PUT THE EMPHASIS ON WHAT OUR COMMUNITY EXPECTATIONS ARE OVERALL.
SO WE HAVE THIS MAP IN, IN, IT'S A GREAT MAP AND APPRECIATE THE WORK THAT'S GOING INTO IT TO REALLY ASSESS IT AND CONGRATULATIONS TO EVERYONE.
WHO'S WORKED HARD TO ACQUIRE THOSE PROPERTIES OVER TIME.
I, I, I THINK WE NEED TO BE MINDFUL OF THAT.
UM, SO I LOOKED AT PROPERTIES, I'M SURE MY PHONE WILL RING OFF THE HOOK AS SOON AS I SHOW SOME OF THESE, BUT THE EXERCISE WAS SIMPLY TO TAKE A LOOK AT SOME PROPERTIES THAT WE THOUGHT THAT I THOUGHT THAT OTHERS THOUGHT MIGHT MAKE SOME SENSE.
WELL, AND WE'RE GOING TO GO THROUGH ONE AT A TIME TODAY.
WE'VE TAKEN A LOOK AT SOME OF THE HIGH PRIORITY, OR AT LEAST SOME OF THE OBVIOUS PARCELS.
AND WE SIMPLY JUST STARTED TO LOOK AT THEM.
AND SO TODAY, UH, I WANT TO SHOW YOU SEVERAL PROPERTIES THAT WE LOOKED AT, BUT TALK ABOUT ONLY ONE IN PARTICULAR.
THAT DOESN'T MEAN WE SHOULDN'T TALK ABOUT THE OTHERS AT THE MARCH DATE, BUT I'D LIKE TO TALK ABOUT ONE TODAY BECAUSE, UM, IT SEEMS THAT THERE'S A LITTLE MORE ROOM TO MAKE SENSE OF THAT IMMEDIATELY, UM, AND MOVE FORWARD.
SO WITH THAT BEING SAID, WE'VE TAKEN A LOOK AT THE WHOLE INDIGO RUN HOTEL TRACK.
THE REASON I PUT THIS ON HERE, UH, IT'S IMPORTANT FOLKS HAVE CALLED AND SAID, HEY, THIS IS A GREAT PIECE.
IT'S ON MARSHLAND ROAD, IT'S ON A BUS ROUTE.
WHAT AN AMAZING NEIGHBORHOOD THAT WOULD BE WELL IF WE'RE DEVELOPERS.
BUT AS COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT, UH, YOU KNOW, IN THE BUSINESS OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT, WE GO BACK AND WE SAY, OKAY, DOES THE TRACK MAKE SENSE? ABSOLUTELY.
HOW DID WE BUY IT? IT WAS BOUGHT WITH 1997 BOND REFERENDUM, MONEY REPAID WITH A REAL ESTATE TRANSFER FEE AND THE 2000 BOND REFERENDUM.
AND IF I LOOK AT MY TOOL HERE, 1997 BOND REFERENDUM FOR $15 MILLION, THE ORDINANCE ORDERED A REFERENDUM NOT TO EXCEED 15 MILLION.
AND THE COUNCIL FIND THE FUNDS OF THE ACQUISITION OF LANDS FOR MANAGEMENT OF GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT, PUBLIC FACILITIES, PASSIVE AND ACTIVE PARK AND PRESERVATION OF HISTORIC SITE FURTHERS THE GOAL OF THIS COUNCIL AND ALL PRECEDING COUNCILS AND IS CONSISTENT WITH THE GOALS OF THE COMP PLAN.
AND AS WE DIG A LITTLE DEEPER, UM, PURCHASING DEVELOPED AND UNDEVELOPED LAND ON HILTON HEAD FOR THE PUBLIC USE OR USES OF MANAGEMENT OF GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT, PUBLIC FACILITIES, PASSIVE ACTIVE PARKLAND, AND PRESERVATION OF HISTORIC SITES.
IF GOOGLE WANTED TO BE THERE, WE AS A JOB CENTER AND AS A GREAT NEIGHBORHOOD COULD GO THERE TO ADVANCE HOUSING CHOICES ON OUR ISLAND, BASED UPON HOW THE PROPERTY WAS PURCHASED FOR ME AT THIS TIME, IT SEEMS TO BE OFF THE TABLE.
UM, MR. ORLANDO, WHEN, WHEN, WHEN YOU BRING US THE FINAL PRODUCT, UM, THAT WHILE YOU WERE READING ALL OF THOSE STIPULATIONS, IT JUST, IT SPARKED THE THOUGHT MAYBE IT'S TIME FOR US TO ALSO CONSIDER OUR LANGUAGE LAND ACQUISITION POLICY, BECAUSE IT SEEMS TO ME THAT IF THERE WAS A NUMBER DOLLAR WISE THAT WE WOULD TRY TO GET TO BACK WHEN THIS WAS PURCHASED OR ANY OF THESE PROPERTIES, AND WE DIDN'T NECESSARILY HAVE IT THERE, MAYBE WE LOOKED AT OTHER FUNDING SOURCES TO GET TO THAT NUMBER, BUT I'M NOT QUITE SURE THAT THAT WAS THE RIGHT WAY TO DO BUSINESS.
UH, SO AS YOU BRING IT FORWARD TO IT, I THINK WE NEED TO JUST DUST THAT OFF AND TAKE A LOOK AT HOW WE BUY A PROPERTY.
UH, PARTICULARLY SINCE IT'S SO SCARCE ON HILTON HEAD AT THE MOMENT.
AND WE LOOKED AT LEGO MUTTON, 2003 BOND REFERENDUM, RIGHT? THE OLD CONCRETE PLANT, AS WE KNOW IT, IT'S IN AN INTERESTING LOCATION.
WE DON'T KNOW WHAT THE UNITS DOWN THE STREET WILL DO TO THE TRAFFIC FLOW.
UM, BY NO MEANS ARE WE ADVOCATING THESE PROPERTIES, BUT WE'RE SIMPLY SHOWING YOU THE PROCESS THAT WE WE'VE LOOKED AT.
UM, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S ZONED PLANNED UNIT DEVELOPMENTS, ALMOST FIVE ACRES, BUT IT WAS BOUGHT WITH BOND REFERENDUM MONEY, VERY SIMILAR PATTERSON ESTATE, UM, PARCEL 77 ON THE MAP IS WHAT WE REALLY LOOKED AT.
THERE'S THOSE TWO PIECES IN THE RED IT'S RIGHT ACROSS FROM ALEX PATTERSON ROAD.
UH, I THINK THAT THE FACT THAT IT'S CLOSE TO THE ROUNDABOUT
[01:20:02]
CLOSE TO SHOPS ON THE WATER.EARLY ON, I WAS EXCITED, JOHN AND I TALKED, HEY, THIS MIGHT MAKE SENSE ARC SOME AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN FUNDS THERE.
WELL, AS WE START LOOKING AT THE SITE FROM A DUE DILIGENCE STANDPOINT, ONE IT'S IN A A HUNDRED YEAR FLOOD ZONE, AND I DON'T THINK IT'S APPROPRIATE FOR THAT REASON.
UM, I THINK IT'S APPROPRIATE FOR HOUSING FOR A LOT OF REASONS, BUT THE FACT THAT IT'S IN A HUNDRED YEAR FLOOD LET ALONE, IT WAS BUILT A PURCHASE WITH 2000 BOND REFERENDUM IN SOME TRANSFER FEE.
AGAIN, ADS, THOSE ADS, ADS, THOSE STRINGS ADDS THOSE ISSUES.
OR I WOULD SAY ADDS, UM, A VALUE THAT IT SHOULDN'T BE DEVELOPED, UH, OFFICE PARK ROAD TRACKED, UH, IT WAS ACQUIRED WITH REAL ESTATE TRANSFER FEE.
IF, IF HOUSING IS NEEDED FOR US CB, POTENTIALLY US CB COULD LOCATE THERE.
YOU KNOW, SOME, SOME UNITS ON SITE, THEY COULD ALSO WORK WITH PRIVATE PROPERTY OWNERS CLOSE BY, BUT THE LANDS THAT SURROUND US CB FOR HOUSING ONE, THIS IS, UM, WHAT'S IT CALLED? BOGGY GUT.
IT'S, UH, IT'S AN IMPORTANT ENVIRONMENTAL PLACE ON, YOU KNOW, ON OUR ISLAND.
UM, AND AT THE SAME TIME WE ACQUIRED IT WITH REAL ESTATE TRANSFER FEE THAT HAS SOME OBSTACLES TOO, AS WELL.
RIGHT? IF SO, ACCORDING TO WHAT MY CONVERSATIONS WITH CURTIS, I DON'T WANT TO SPEAK FOR YOU, BUT AS VACANT LAND WAS ACQUIRED WITH REAL ESTATE TRANSFER FEE, IT WAS TO TAKE UNITS OFF THE TABLE, OR AT LEAST MITIGATE THOSE, THOSE, THOSE TRIPS.
WELL, ANYTHING ABOVE AND BEYOND RAW LAND ISN'T IS, IS IN AN ADVERSE CONFLICT WITH MITIGATING TRIPS.
SO SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT, AND AGAIN, WE CAN TALK MORE ABOUT THIS IN ANOTHER MONTH, PALMETTO BAY ROAD TRACK.
SO IT WAS ACQUIRED WITH REAL ESTATE TRANSFER FEE, AS WELL AS SOME TAX REVENUE.
AND SO NOW WE START GETTING INTO WHAT WAS ACQUIRED WITH SOME TAX REVENUE.
WE KNOW THAT SOME TIME AGO, THE TOWN, UH, POSTED THIS AS AN OPPORTUNITY AND WORKED CLOSELY WITH JOHN O'TOOLE AND B FOR COUNTY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION, UM, TO TRY TO MAKE SENSE OF THIS AS A, AS A COMMERCIAL SITE.
BUT, UM, IF, IF THIS WAS A COMMERCIAL MIXED USE SITE, THERE ARE SOME RESIDENTIAL RESTRICTIONS IN THE BUSINESS PARK.
I'M NOT SAYING THAT THEY'RE IMPOSSIBLE TO OVERCOME, BUT AGAIN, THERE'S SOME WORK TO DO TO THINK THROUGH THIS.
I REALLY LIKE THIS SITE AS A, AS, AS AN OPPORTUNITY, A LOT MORE THAN ANY OTHERS.
SO FAR TO START THINKING THROUGH AN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND OR HOUSING SOLUTION ON HILTON HEAD, WE TOOK A LOOK AT MODERN CLASSIC MOTORS, UM, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF ONE PIECE, SEAN, I THINK PURCHASED FUNDING WAS TAX REVENUE.
AND THEN THERE WAS ALSO SOME TEXT IN THE PAST.
IT WAS ONE OF THE PARCELS BOTTOM LEFT HAS SOME RESTRICTIONS.
AND WHAT ARE THOSE RESTRICTIONS? THERE ARE COVENANTS ON THAT PIECE.
THEY WERE, UH, WITH PALMETTO DUNES THAT REQUIRED TO BE USED AS A, UH, AS A CAR LOT.
AND CURTIS, THAT'S ONE OF THE THINGS WE HAVE TO KIND OF DIVE IN CURTIS.
HE SAID, WELL, I THINK WE GOT RID OF THAT.
SO AGAIN, LET'S, LET'S COME TOGETHER, BUT, YOU KNOW, W WHAT, UH, WHAT AN INTERESTING PLACE FROM AN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STANDPOINT, AND I KNOW THAT MR. O'TOOLE IS, IS WORKING ON SOME MARKETING MATERIALS, SOME DRONE FOOTAGE, SOME REAL SITE ASSESSMENT, AND TRYING TO SEE WHAT THE HIGHEST AND BEST USE OF THIS SITE IS FROM A, FROM A JOB PERSPECTIVE, DON'T WANT TO PUT WORDS IN HIS MOUTH, BUT JOHN, I APPRECIATE THAT YOU'RE HERE TODAY WITH US, SIR.
UM, ARE YOU SAYING THAT IT'S NOT RESTRICTED? IT'S NOT RESTRICTED.
MID ISLAND PURCHASED WITH BOND REFERENDUM.
AS WHAT I FOUND WAS THE ACQUISITION OF THIS WAS BOND REFERENDUM.
AND SO HERE'S THE POSITION I'M IN.
UM, I'M TOLD THAT THERE ARE NO RESTRICTIONS ON IT.
I'M TOLD THAT SOME DON'T WANT HOUSING.
I'M TOLD THAT SOME DO WANT HOUSING ON A COUNCIL.
I'M HEARING FROM THE COMMUNITY, UH, EQUALLY ON SOME OF THOSE ISSUES.
WE FINALLY DIVING INTO THE, INTO THIS, UM, LITTLE LATE, I'M SORRY THAT IT IS SO LATE.
YOU KNOW, WE TALKED TO A CONSULTANT ABOUT HOUSING.
WE, WE HAD HIM PERFORM SOME, SOME AT LEAST CAPACITY SITE PLANNING.
WE'VE HEARD FROM FOLKS IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD SURROUNDING IT, NOT, NOT JUST PORT ROYAL, BUT OF
[01:25:01]
PORT ROYAL FROM THE RESIDENTS, SOME OF OUR OWN THOUGHTS, BUT I ALWAYS GET BACK TO, AND IT'S PROBABLY NOT PROBABLY IT'S WHERE WE SHOULD HAVE STARTED FROM THE BEGINNING IS HOW DID THE, HOW DID YOU BUY THE PROPERTY? HOW WAS THE PROPERTY PURCHASED? AND SO, UM, LESSON LEARNED FOR ME BECAUSE I'M GOING BY WHAT I BELIEVE SOMEONE'S ADVICE WAS TRAVELING DOWN THE LINE.NOW IT'S BECOMING INSTITUTIONAL KNOWLEDGE WHERE IN FACT, WE NEED TO PULL THE FILE DRAWER AND LOOK AT THE ORDINANCE, THE COVENANTS, THE RESTRICTIONS, AND NOT JUST, YOU KNOW, TELL MKS K HEY, HOUSING MIGHT WORK HERE.
IN FACT, THE MORE I THINK ABOUT THIS HOUSING TO ME MAKES SENSE ON DILLON ROAD, IF WE COULD MAKE SENSE OF IT.
BUT AS WE LOOK AT THIS, IT WAS BOUGHT WITH 2008 BOND REFERENDUM.
HOW DO WE RESOLVE THAT? UM, I, I THINK OUR MARCH 31ST OR, OR A LITTLE LATER MEETING AS WE TAKE A LOOK AT THE MONEY SOURCE OF BUYING THIS PROPERTY NEEDS TO NEEDS TO SERVE AS THAT ONLY POINT OF REFERENCE TO GET STARTED.
SO MORE TO COME NORTH END, POST OFFICE TRACT BOUGHT WITH CIP FUNDS, REAL ESTATE TRANSFER FEE.
UM, AND, AND SO AS I W YOU KNOW, AMONGST A WHOLE BUNCH, OTHERS, I'LL GO BACK REAL QUICK TO SHOW YOU AMONGST A REAL ASSESSMENT.
AND, UH, A LOT OF DRIVING, WE GET TO THIS PIECE IT'S RIGHT NEXT TO THE POST OFFICE.
IT'S ACROSS THE STREET FROM ISLAND REC AND THE SCHOOL COMPLEX, CLOSE TO MAIN STREET.
IT WAS BOUGHT WITH FUNDS THAT ALLOW FOR SOME DEVELOPMENT.
AND SO FOR MY PURPOSE OVER THE LAST 60 DAYS, I'VE, I'VE REALLY WORKED ON THIS PIECE ONLY.
UM, WE KNOW IT'S CLOSE TO THE SCHOOLS.
WE KNOW IT CONTAINS SOME PARTIAL INFRASTRUCTURE.
IF YOU WONDER WHAT THAT IS, UM, IT'S LOCATED IN FLOOD ZONE X, IT CAN BE REZONED FOR RESIDENTIAL.
IT WOULDN'T BE JUST LIKE, OH, HEY, WE REALLY THINK HOUSING SHOULD BELONG HERE IS NEXT TO IT.
THERE'S, THERE'S SOME, THERE'S SOME ISSUES WITH IT THOUGH.
OF COURSE IT'S NOT IN THE, THERE'S NOT AN, A GREAT ACCESSIBLE LOCATION.
IF YOU LOOK AT THIS SITE AS A RIGHT IN, RIGHT OUT ON ALREADY A, A BUSY, A BUSY CORRIDOR.
UM, BUT WE'VE DONE A LITTLE WORK ON IT TO TRY TO UNDERSTAND ITS SURROUNDINGS.
AND SO, AGAIN, PROPERTIES RIGHT HERE, POINT OF REFERENCE WILD HORSE MARSH POINT GUMTREE AND RIGHT GROUND ZERO OF INTERSECTIONS, UH, ON OUR ISLAND, BUT POST OFFICE AND EXCITED TO TAKE A LOOK AT HOW IT MAKES SENSE WITH THE SCHOOL CAMPUS, THE ISLAND WRECK.
AND I, AGAIN, I DON'T THINK THAT EVERY SINGLE PERSON THAT LIVES HERE WILL HAVE A STUDENT IN THIS SCHOOL AS A REQUIREMENT, BUT AS WE TAKE A LOOK AT HOUSING AND WORKFORCE, I THINK THAT WE HAVE TO BE MINDFUL THAT BEING ABLE TO WALK TO GET A JUG OF MILK CANDY BAR, OR TO PLAY BASKETBALL AT THE REC CENTER SHOULD BE SOMETHING THAT WE'RE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT.
UM, AND SO AS WE LOOKED AT THAT, WE STARTED TO JUST TRY TO UNDERSTAND THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT A LITTLE, LITTLE DIFFERENTLY.
UM, AND I REALIZED THIS, AND IT'S OBVIOUS, RIGHT? WE CAN'T DO THIS BY HERSELF IN THE PRIVATE SECTOR.
I THINK IF THEY COULD, WOULD HAVE ALREADY STARTED TO DO THIS OR, OR REALLY DESIRED TO, WITHOUT ANYBODY'S HELP WOULD HAVE WE'D HAVE APPLICATIONS.
AGAIN, SOMEONE SAID EARLIER, IT'S HILTON HEAD ISLAND.
WELL, WE NEED THIS PIECE OF PROPERTY.
WHAT'S THE NEXT STEPS THEY'RE BAKED INTO LIKE FOUR SLIDES FROM NOW.
IS BECKER, UM, PLANTATION? DOES IT HAVE IN THE PORT ROYAL PUD? OH, YOU MEAN, DOES PORT ROYAL HAVE RESTRICTIONS ON THE MID ISLAND TRACK? UH, HE'S SHAKING HIS HEAD.
NO, I'M TALKING ABOUT THE POA THAT THERE ARE RESTRICTIONS AS PART OF THE ORIGINAL COVENANTS AS PART OF THE OPEN SPACE REQUIREMENT, UM, FOR PORT ROYAL PUD.
THERE ARE OPEN SPACES, AS WELL AS PERVIOUS IMPERVIOUS REQUIREMENTS THAT WOULD NEED TO BE MAINTAINED, UM, AS THAT TRACT IS, UM, PUT INTO USE AS A PARK OR SOMETHING DIFFERENT, BUT IT'S NOT RESTRICTIONS OF OPEN SPACE ONLY THERE'S SOME, AND AGAIN, I THINK THAT WE CAN IDENTIFY THAT FOR YOU.
I'M NOT PREPARED TO SHOW YOU ALL THAT TODAY, BUT YEAH, THERE ARE SOME RESTRICTIONS, BUT BASED UPON THOSE RESTRICTIONS, IT DOESN'T NEGATE
[01:30:01]
ANY ANYTHING.BUT WHEN WE GO BACK TO THE MONEY SOURCE, I THINK THAT'S WHERE WE REALLY HAVE TO, YOU KNOW, SCRUB THAT WE HAVE TO HAVE LEGAL JUSTIFICATION FOR THAT.
SO AS I, AS I TOOK A LOOK AT THIS, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE, THE EXERCISE FOR ME TODAY IS TO ASK YOU IF I CAN PROCEED WITH THE FOLLOWING IN THE FOLLOWING MANNER.
AND SO A REMINDER I ASKED FOR, YOU KNOW, WE'RE A LOT OF WORK FROM STAFF, A LOT OF INPUT FROM COUNCIL.
UM, WE ASKED TO PRESENT TO YOU A HOME SAFETY AND REPAIR PROGRAM, SAFE AND DRY AS ROUTE AS WELL AS REMOVAL OF UNSAFE UNINHABITED STRUCTURES.
UM, WE'VE PUT A GREAT PROGRAM TOGETHER AGAIN, THANK YOU TO SEAN AND A LOT OF GOOD FOLKS.
AND, AND JAMIE, WE WILL PROPOSE AS AN AGENDA ITEM FOR THE MARCH FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE COMMITTEE TO BRING FORWARD HOUSEHOLDS, EARNING UP TO 60% AMI, A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF GRANT, UH, POTENTIALLY $10,000 AS GRANT AS A GRANT FOR HOME REPAIR, KEEP YOUR HOME SAFE AND DRY, FIX YOUR ROOF, FIXED REPORTS, FIX YOUR WINDOWS, UH, BATEMAN AND OR DEMO OF UNSAFE UNINHABITED STRUCTURES ON, ON OWNED PROPERTY, AS WELL AS SOME HAZARD TREE TRIMMING OR REMOVAL.
WE LOOK AT THIS AS A HOUSING PROGRAM PROPOSAL TO IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF LIFE WHERE YOU CURRENTLY LIVE.
WE ALSO ARE PROPOSING, UH, REALLY IN CONJUNCTION OR IN CONCERT WITH PROJECT SAFE.
AS WE KNOW FROM THE PSD THAT THERE'S AN, UH, THERE'S SOME GRANTS AVAILABLE FOR LATERAL CONNECTIONS.
UM, CONGRATS AGAIN, TO EVERYBODY THAT WORKED ON ESTABLISHING MAIN TRUNK LINES FOR WATER SEWER ON HILTON HEAD ISLAND.
BUT WE KNOW THAT SOME FOLKS HAVE NOT HOOKED UP.
MAYBE IT'S, MAYBE IT'S JUST A MATTER OF LEAVE ME ALONE.
MAYBE IT'S A MATTER OF FINANCES, BUT I WANT TO TAKE A LOOK AT THIS, NOT JUST FROM AN INCOME QUALIFICATION, BUT FROM AN ENVIRONMENTAL QUALIFICATION TOO.
SO WE CAN SEE THAT THE PROPOSAL IS UP TO A HUNDRED PERCENT DIFFERENT THAN THE PRIOR 60%.
AGAIN, FNA COMMITTEE IN MARCH PRIORITY TO APPLICANTS WHO RECEIVED SOME GRANTS AND, OR ARE DENIED BY PROJECT SAFE FOR SOME DIFFERENT REASONS WHEN WE'RE TRYING NOT TO REPLICATE WHAT THEY DO AND SIMPLY ADD TO THE BUCKET, WE'RE TRYING TO EXPAND THEIR PROGRAM.
UM, UM, YOU'RE PROPOSING THAT FNA, TAKE A LOOK AT THIS.
UM, I NEED TO GET THIS OFF BEFORE I LOSE IT, UH, THE CAPACITY FEES, UM, BECAUSE THE TOWN HAS BEEN SO AGGRESSIVE IN PURCHASING PROPERTY.
UM, A LOT OF, AND LET'S JUST SAY THAT THERE ARE GOING TO BE RESTRICTIONS ON THOSE PROPERTIES.
UM, A LOT OF THE LOAD THAT WOULD BE PUT ON THE, UH, PUBLIC DISTRICT SERVICE IS GOING AWAY BECAUSE THE LAND WILL NEVER BE DEVELOPED.
SO A CONVERSATION AROUND CAPACITY FEES, I THINK, SHOULD BE, UM, ASSIGNED TO THIS COMMITTEE ALSO.
AND I'LL, I'M NOT QUITE SURE I WANT A HUNDRED PERCENT TRACKING WHAT YOU'RE ASKING US TO DO WITH FNA, BUT WE, MAYBE WE CAN CHAT OFFLINE TO UNDERSTAND THAT.
I THINK THERE'S SOME OPPORTUNITIES WITH OUR, WITH OUR PSD PSDS TO, TO BE IN PARTNERSHIP HERE.
SO THAT WILL COME FORWARD IN, IN BOTH IN MARCH, RIGHT? ONE HOME SAFETY UP TO 60, THE OTHER SEWER CONNECTION UP TO 100.
AND THEN TONIGHT, TONIGHT, TODAY, I SHOULD SAY, UH, WANT TO PROPOSE THAT WE SEEK A PARTNER THROUGH A HOUSING, PUBLIC, PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP.
I ALWAYS LOOK BACK AT THE URBAN LAND INSTITUTE FOR SOME DIRECTION.
I'VE TAKEN THESE KEY PRINCIPLES RIGHT OUT OF THE PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP MATERIALS THAT THEY PRODUCE.
UM, BUT REALLY THE GOAL IS TO INCREASE AFFORDABLE HOUSING SUPPLY ON THE ISLAND BY PARTNERING ON DEVELOPMENT OF WORKFORCE AND AFFORDABLE HOUSING.
IT'S, IT'S AS SIMPLE AS THAT, UM, THAT WE LOOK FOR A PARTNER WITH EXPERTISE IN FINANCING AND DEVELOPMENT.
UM, AND THERE ARE SOME KEY PRINCIPLES OF PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS.
UH, I THINK THAT AS WE WORK, IF YOU WOULD GIVE ME DIRECTION AS WE WORK FORWARD, I KNOW THAT WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT ALL THESE KEY PRINCIPLES ARE, ARE, ARE BEING ADDRESSED, RIGHT FROM PREPARING PROPERLY TO CREATING A SHARED VISION, UNDERSTANDING OUR PARTNERS, UM, BEING CLEAR ON OUR RISKS, ESTABLISHING A DECISION MAKING PROCESS, MAKING SURE WE ALL DO OUR HOMEWORK IT'S IT'S IT'S NEEDS.
THIS IS, THIS IS A CHALLENGING, BUT VERY DOABLE, UH, OPPORTUNITY.
UM, WE COMMUNICATE WITH YOU THAT WE COMMUNICATE WITH THE COMMUNITY THAT WE COMMUNICATE WITH PARTNER ALL THE TIME.
UM, AND THAT THE DEAL BE FAIR.
[01:35:01]
I THINK PEOPLE WILL DO BUSINESS WITH US IF WE TRY TO PUT A PARTNERSHIP TOGETHER THAT ISN'T FAIR.WE'RE RIGHT BACK WHERE WE STARTED SEVEN MONTHS FROM NOW.
SO WE HAVE TO BE MINDFUL OF THAT.
AND AGAIN, CAN WE SPEAK TO THAT? YES.
I SEE PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS AS ONE OF THE KEYS, IF NOT THE KEY TO SOLVING OUR PROBLEM HERE, YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT INTRODUCING A PARTNER, WHICH WOULD, I GUESS, ASSUME SOME OF THE RESPONSIBILITY WITH THAT.
IT SEEMS TO ME THAT THERE'S ALSO AN OPPORTUNITY FOR A PRIVATE PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP.
WHEREAS IF WE HAVE A PARTIAL OF LAND, UM, AND WE APPROACH A DEVELOPER AND WE SAY, WE WILL LEASE THIS LAND TO YOU ON A FAVORABLE BASIS, PROVIDED YOU CONSTRUCT 100%, UH, WORKFORCE HOUSING, ACCORDING TO OUR DEFINITIONS ON THAT PROPERTY.
AND THEN IMPOSE RESTRICTIONS ON CONVERSION RESTRICTIONS, VARIOUS RESTRICTIONS THAT WOULD BE NECESSARY IN CONJUNCTION WITH THAT.
IT'S MY UNDERSTANDING, WHICH MAY BE INCORRECT, BUT IT'S MY UNDERSTANDING THAT THE CITY OF CHARLESTON HAS DONE EXACTLY THAT I WOULD LIKE AS PART OF THIS, FOR US TO DRAW DOWN SOMEONE FROM CHARLESTON TO GIVE US A DETAILED REPORT, SHARE THEIR ORDINANCES, SHARE THEIR EXPERIENCE IN CONJUNCTION WITH A PRIVATE PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP, IF YOU WILL.
I THINK THAT THERE ARE PROBABLY LESS DETAILS AND OBSTRUCTIONS AND CONTRACTS AND ALL SORTS OF THINGS THAT MIGHT GO ON IN, UH, A URBAN LAND INSTITUTE TYPE OF MODEL.
GLENN SAID IT BETTER THAN, THAN I WILL.
I, I, I, I THINK CLEARLY, UH, SPEED TO MARKET IS VERY IMPORTANT FOR US AND ALL DUE RESPECT TO GOVERNMENT, UH, IF WE CAN GO TO THE PRIVATE SECTOR AND WE SET THE TONE OF THE MEETING IN TERMS OF THE PRINCIPLES OF, OF DEVELOPMENT, THE PRINCIPLES OF OPERATION, UM, THE MIX, UH, AND, UH, THE CAPACITY, UH, I'M SURE WE WOULD NOT WANT TO WORK WITH A, A PARTNER THAT COULD ONLY DO A ONE AND DONE, RIGHT.
UM, CAUSE WE'D LIKE TO DO A ROLLOUT AND, UH, UNLESS I'M MISSING SOMETHING HERE, UH, I WOULD JUST GET RID OF ONE WORD UP THERE.
PUBLIC SET THE TONE WE AS A GOVERNMENT.
MA'AM UM, FOLLOWING UP ON BOTH OF THOSE VERY WISE COMMENTS, UM, I'M GONNA, I'LL BE PROBABLY MORE SIMPLE THE WAY I SAY IT AND HOPEFULLY IF I'M WRONG, CORRECT ME, I'M ALWAYS, UH, TENUOUS AT BEST IN MY THINKING WITH REGARD TO PUBLIC, UM, PARTNERSHIPS, UM, MOSTLY BECAUSE OF THE STRINGS, THEY TEND TO BRING WITH THEM, UM, THE CONTROL THAT THE TOWN WILL LIKELY HAVE TO GIVE UP, UM, IN THAT RELATIONSHIP.
SO KEEPING THIS AS A PRIVATE, UM, PARTNERSHIP, CERTAINLY FROM MY PERSPECTIVE, ALLOWS US TO BE ABLE TO HAVE THE RIGHT TYPE OF, UM, GOVERNMENT, UM, COVENANTS AND INPUT AND DIRECTION AND KNOW THAT THAT'S WHAT WE'RE GETTING IN RETURN, NOT JUST WHEN WE SIGNED THE DOCUMENTS AND GO FULFILL A VISION, BUT ALSO LONGTERM.
AND, UM, THAT'S AN IMPORTANT ASPECT AS WE MOVE ALONG.
WE KNOW FROM RECENT HISTORY WHERE WE RECEIVED A GRANT THAT NOW IS, UM, TIED OUR HANDS IN TERMS OF BEING ABLE TO FULFILL ISLAND RESIDENTS REQUESTS.
SO, UM, I CERTAINLY WOULDN'T WANT TO SEE THOSE SAME TYPES OF THINGS HAPPEN DOWN THE ROAD.
UM, ALSO, UM, I KNOW THE DEFINITION BY HUD, ET CETERA, I'VE, I'VE DONE MY RESEARCH THAT I FIND IT INTERESTING IN DOCUMENTS WHERE WE CHANGED FROM WORKFORCE HOUSING TO SUDDENLY AND IN NO DISPARITY, JUST STATING A FACT HERE TO AFFORDABLE HOUSING SUPPLY ON THE ISLAND, BY PARTNERING ON DEVELOPMENT OF WORKSHOP, WORKFORCE AND AFFORDABLE HOUSING CAN, FOR THE BENEFIT OF EVERYONE WE DELINEATE DEFINE WHAT THE TWO DIFFERENCES ARE.
AND IF A COUPLE SLIDES AND I I'M, I'M EXPLAINING TO SOME OF THEM, THESE ARE GOOD QUESTIONS.
[01:40:01]
THEY'RE THINGS WE NEED TO DECIDE, YOU KNOW, IS IT AGAIN, WHAT ARE WE DOING? WHO ARE WE SERVING? IS IT THE FIRST YEAR FIREMAN FIRST YEAR NURSE FIRST YEAR SCHOOL TEACHER? UM, WHEN WE LOOKED AT THAT MATRIX A BUNCH OF SLIDES AGO, ABOUT AN HOUR AGO OR SO, UM, I TOOK A LOOK AT 8101 21 50.I'M NOT ADVOCATING FOR EITHER.
I THINK THAT HAS SIMPLE RANGE OF PRODUCT NEEDS TO BE ACHIEVED.
BUT I WILL ALSO SAY TODAY, WE'RE NOT PREPARED TO ANSWER THAT QUESTION BECAUSE WE DON'T KNOW WHAT WILL MAKE THE PROJECT VIABLE, RIGHT.
IS ONE THING TO SAY, IT'S GOTTA BE ALL 60% AND THEN WE'RE NOT SATISFIED WITH THE QUALITY OF CONSTRUCTION.
IT'S ANOTHER THING TO SAY, IT'S ALL 150%.
SO THE QUALITY IS, IS GREAT, BUT IT'S NOT SERVING THE NEEDS OF THE MANAGER OF, OF THE GREAT PLACES WE LIKE TO SHOP AND VISIT.
SO, ONE THING THAT I, THAT I KNOW IS THAT WE OWN SOME LAND.
WE HAVE SOME AMERICAN RESCUE PLANS PARKED THERE ARE SUCCESSFUL, AND I'M NOT SURE I UNDERSTAND REMOVING THE PUBLIC OUT OF THE PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP.
IF WE ARE TALKING ABOUT OUR LAND AND OUR DOLLARS, IT'S A PUBLIC PARTNERSHIP ALONG WITH A PRIVATE PARTNER AND I'LL SHOW YOU A TERM SHEET IN A SECOND.
UM, BUT REALLY, AS I START THINKING THROUGH THIS, OR AS WE THINK THROUGH IT TOGETHER, IT HAS TO BE PRINCIPAL DRIVEN.
WHAT ARE WE TRYING TO ACCOMPLISH? AND FOR WHO, UM, WE HAVE SO MUCH INFORMATION IN, YOU KNOW, IN THE PAST.
I, AND I WENT THROUGH THAT, SORRY, IF I'M BORING.
OR REPEATING, BUT I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE KNOW THAT WE HAVE A HOUSING STRATEGIC PLAN THAT TOWN COUNCIL ADOPTED.
WE HAVE AN HOUR, OUR PLAN, THE COMP PLAN YOU ADOPTED, WE HAVE A STRATEGIC PLAN WE ADOPTED.
AND IF WE ARE GOING TO DO SOMETHING, I THINK WE'RE AT THAT POINT WHERE SOME OF THE POLICY INITIATIVES THAT ARE IN PLACE, I SHOWED YOU THE RESULTS.
WE SHOWED YOU SOME DATA OF THE ISLAND.
UM, AND THROUGH A PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT, PERHAPS WE COULD TAKE A LOOK AT OUR RESPONSIBILITY IN A PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT VERSUS THE PARTNER RESPONSIBILITY, RIGHT? SO LEFT SIDE OF THE BRAIN VERSUS RIGHT SIDE OF THE BRAIN TOWN RESPONSIBILITY, LAND CONTRIBUTION.
WE DON'T HAVE TO DECIDE TODAY WHETHER THAT'S A DOLLAR MARKET VALUE MARKET VALUE, LESS 25% LEASE CHARLESTON'S MODEL IS THEY'RE STARTING TO LOOK AT, AND I'VE HAD A LOT OF CONVERSATIONS WITH THEIR, UH, CHIEF LEGAL COUNSEL.
THEY LEASE THE PROPERTY, THEY KEEP CONTROL OF THE PROPERTY.
THERE ARE OTHER DEALS THAT WE KNOW OF THAT THE LAND WAS CONTRIBUTED.
SO I THINK IT ALL DEPENDS ON HOW WE PROCEED.
AND THOSE ARE DECISIONS THAT WE HAVE TO MAKE IN THE FUTURE PERMIT AND INSTALL PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE UP TO A MILLION DOLLARS ON LEFT SIDE.
SECOND, SECOND POINT WE TALKED ABOUT THAT'S THE AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN FUNDS ROAD, WATER, SEWER, STORM WATER, AND POTENTIALLY BROADBAND, UM, ZONING ENTITLEMENTS.
SO IF THE IT'S CURRENTLY ZONED PARKS AND REC, AND IT'S NEXT TO HOUSING, WE COULD, AS THE PARTNER AND LAND OWNER REZONED THE PROPERTY, RATHER THAN TELL SOMEBODY ELSE WHO MIGHT BE OUR PARTNER TO DO IT, A FINANCIAL CONTRIBUTION TOWARD PLANNING, ENGINEERING, AND ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN.
I FEEL STRONGLY ABOUT IT BECAUSE IF WE'RE CONTRIBUTING, WE HAVE A SEAT AT THE TABLE AND WE CAN AFFECT THE DESIGN OF THE SITE, THE FUNCTIONALITY OF THE SITE AND NOT KEEP REACTING TO IT.
UM, I'M NOT PROPOSING THAT WE PAY EVERY PENNY OF IT.
UM, BUT I, I THINK SOME, SOME CONTRIBUTION AS AN INCENTIVE TO OUR PARTNER, UM, MIGHT MAKE A LITTLE BIT OF SENSE, EXPEDITE DEVELOPMENT PLAN, REVIEW, AND PERMITTING, NO MATTER WHO YOU TALK TO, THEY SAY TIME IS MONEY, UM, INTEREST CARRY MATTERS, AND THAT IF WE CAN EXPEDITE IT AND TREAT THE PROJECT AS A PARTNER, OR, YOU KNOW, AS A, AND WE HELP EXPEDITE THAT ON OUR OWN ACCORD AND THAT WE REDUCE OR ELIMINATE APPLICABLE TOWN FEES WHILE WE CAN'T.
AND WE HEARD FROM MR. GREENWAY TODAY, WE CANNOT JUST ELIMINATE OR REDUCE BUFORD COUNTY IMPACT FEES.
YOU HAVE THE AUTHORITY TO EITHER A PAY FOR THOSE IMPACT FEES AS PART OF THE PROJECT AND OR B REDUCE OUR OWN FEES, OUR DEVELOPMENT PERMIT, OUR BUILDING PERMIT, AND SOME OF THOSE FEES, WHAT WOULD A PARTNER BRING TO THE TABLE THAT DEMONSTRATED EXPERIENCE TO DEVELOP? RIGHT? SO FROM A FINANCIAL CAPABILITY, UH, TO COMPLETE THE PROJECT IN A COST EFFECTIVE MANNER, WE'RE LOOKING FOR AN EXPERIENCED TEAM, NOT, YOU KNOW, WE'RE NOT LOOKING FOR THIS SOMEONE'S FIRST PROJECT HERE.
WE NEED TO GO SEE TOUCH AND UNDERSTAND WHAT THEY'RE CAPABLE OF FROM THEIR ARCHITECTS, ENGINEERS, CONTRACTORS, THE WHOLE, WHOLE NINE YARDS.
UH, THEY NEED AN ABILITY TO CARRY OUT THE ACTIVITIES TO PLAN, PERMIT, FINANCE, AND IMPLEMENT.
AND THAT'S GOING TO BE THROUGH A CASH FLOW PROFORMA ANALYSIS, RIGHT? AND SO THIS, THIS, THIS POTENTIAL PARTNER, WE WOULD HAVE TO SIT DOWN AT THE TABLE AND START UNDERSTANDING HOW THEY'RE BUILDING THEIR PROFORMA.
[01:45:01]
WHAT IS IT REALLY SHOWING IN, IN THEIR RETURNS AND HOW DOES OUR INVESTMENT HELP WITH THAT, THAT NEEDS TO BE FULLY TRANSPARENT, UM, UH, AMONGST, UM, AMONGST THE, THE COUNCIL AND, UH, PRODUCE A DEVELOPMENT THAT'S OPERATIONALLY SUSTAINABLE, UH, THAT WE WOULD ALSO ASK, UH, THAT THE PARTNER ESTABLISH A DOWN PAYMENT ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.UM, THERE ARE FUNDS AT THE STATE LEVEL, THERE ARE FUNDS THAT NONPROFIT LEVELS, THERE ARE FUNDS THAT ARE AVAILABLE FOR DOWN PAYMENT ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS. I THINK THAT IF THIS IS GOING TO BE A SUCCESSFUL PROJECT, WE NEED TO PERHAPS, UM, REQUEST THAT OF A POTENTIAL PARTNER AND THAT THEIR BA WE WROTE HIGH QUALITY FOR LACK OF A BETTER WORD, NOT A CHECK THE BOX, HOME BUYER, EDUCATION PROGRAM, AND COUNSELING, BUT A REAL ONE, SOMEONE THAT TEACHES SOMEBODY, UM, HOW TO PROPERLY OWN AND SUSTAIN THEIR HOME.
AND I'VE SEEN SOME REAL GOOD EXAMPLES OF THAT.
AND S AND SAW PERSONALLY, SOME, SOME GOOD SUCCESS STORIES OF GOOD DOWN PAYMENT ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS AND GOOD HOME BUYER EDUCATION CLASSES.
UM, THERE'S, THERE'S A LOT TO STILL DO.
SO WE NEED TO ASSEMBLE OUR MUNICIPAL TEAM, UH, WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT I'M CLEAR ABOUT THIS TOWN COUNCIL'S INVOLVEMENT, OUR STAFF'S INVOLVEMENT, CONSULTANTS, FINANCIAL ADVISOR, ARCHITECT, BOND COUNCIL, UH, AS WELL AS COMMUNITY MEMBERS, RIGHT? WE, WE TALK A LOT ABOUT THIS PROJECT, BUT WE, WE NEED TO DEFINITELY INCLUDE THE COMMUNITY STAKEHOLDERS, COMMUNITY LEADERS.
WE NEED TO ASSEMBLE A DEVELOPMENT TEAM, AND THERE'S A LOT OF DIFFERENT PLAYERS THERE.
AND THEN SOME CONSIDERATIONS GETTING BACK TO THE QUESTIONS EARLIER.
UM, I DON'T KNOW HOW TO ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS TODAY.
DO WE WANT TO RENT OR SELL? DO WE WANT MULTI-FAMILY OR SINGLE FAMILY OR DUPLEX TO W WHAT IS THE PRODUCT TYPE WE'RE BUILDING A NEIGHBORHOOD.
I WOULD ENCOURAGE US TO HAVE A RANGE OF PRODUCT TYPES.
UM, WHAT IS THE AMI RANGE? 60 8101 21 50.
YOU KNOW, IN, AT LEAST FROM MY PERSPECTIVE, THE CONVERSATION IS ALWAYS A FEW WAYS ABOUT AFFORDABLE OR, UM, WORKFORCE.
YOU ALWAYS HEAR ABOUT LOW TO MODERATE INCOME, AND YOU'LL NOTICE TODAY.
THERE'S NOTHING IN HERE ABOUT LOW TO MODERATE INCOME, YOU KNOW, AND, AND AS MUCH AS I CAN IT'S HOUSING, I DON'T THINK WE'RE TRYING TO BUILD, NOR AM I TRYING TO ADVOCATE TO BUILD MARKET RATE HOUSING, BUT A LOT OF THE DISCUSSION SOMETIMES ON YOUR AMI RANGE IS AFFORDABLE, IS AT THE LOWER END OF YOUR INDEX.
AND YOUR WORKFORCE IS AT THE HIGHER LEVEL OF YOUR INDEX.
UM, AND THOSE LOW TO MODERATE INCOME CONVERSATIONS.
I HAVEN'T FOUND ONE CLEAR DEFINITION.
I'VE ALWAYS TRIED TO THINK ABOUT IT AS WORKFORCE IS UP AROUND YOUR CAP.
THAT'S JUST BELOW YOUR MARKET RATE, RIGHT? SO IN SOME PLACES THAT'S ONE 20 HERE, BASED UPON WHAT I SHOWED YOU TODAY, IT'S SOMEWHERE AROUND 1 35 OR ONE 40.
THAT'S WHERE THE GAP STARTS AFTER THAT.
AND THAT'S, I SHOULD SAY THAT'S WHERE THE MARKET RATE STARTS AFTER THAT.
AND THERE'S SOME GAP BELOW AND AFFORDABLE HERE IS, YOU KNOW, LESS, LESS THAN 80, LESS THAN 80% OF OUR AMI.
ARGUABLY IN SOME CASES WE COULD PROBABLY ALSO SAY, IF WE'RE TRYING TO HOUSE THE WORKFORCE, WE CAN, WE COULD PROBABLY SAY, YOU KNOW, IT'S NOT A, IT'S NOT A HOUSING, UH, BUFORD HOUSING AUTHORITY DEFINITION.
I'M SURE THEY'LL, IT'LL SCHOOL ME ON FEDERAL POLICY AS IT RELATES TO THESE DEFINITIONS.
AND I'M GOING TO ALWAYS GET US BACK TO WHAT ARE THE LOCAL DEFINITIONS AND HOW DO WE CALIBRATE THIS LOCALLY TO SERVE THE NEEDS? UM, WE NEED TO FIGURE OUT THESE ITEMS THOUGH, RENT SELL PRODUCT TYPE AMI LAND VALUE, SITE PLANNING.
WHAT ARE THE TERMS? IS IT DENSE? IS IT NOT? I PUT THIS UP HERE SO THAT YOU CAN UNDERSTAND WHERE AT LEAST STAFF'S COMING FROM ONE, I'M NOT SHOWING UP TODAY SAYING I HAVE PRECONCEIVED NOTIONS, WHETHER THERE SHOULD BE MULTIFAMILY, SINGLE FAMILY OR SOMETHING IN BETWEEN.
UM, WE KNOW THAT IT NEEDS TO BE ENERGY EFFICIENT, THAT THERE NEEDS TO BE SOME PROGRAMMED FOOD SUPPLY AS PART OF THE OPEN SPACE THAT THE MATERIALS NEED TO BE PERVIOUS.
SO IT SHOULD BE A SHOWCASE, REALLY OUR FLAGSHIP RESIDENTIAL COMMUNITY.
UM, AS MUCH AS WE CAN HAVE A WATER NEUTRAL SITE WHERE WE CAPTURE THE STORM WATER ON SITE AND FILTER IT, IT'S NOT JUST A SMALL FIVE LOT SUBDIVISION AND GO THAT THE LANDSCAPING MATTERS, THE ENVIRONMENT MATTERS, AND THAT THE PROXIMITY TO SCHOOL SERVICES AND SOME TRANSPORTATION WE SIMPLY FOR NOW, UM, JUST PUT SOME, SOME REFERENCE PHOTOS UP TOP, UH, ONE, I DON'T WANT THE TOP RIGHT TO SCARE YOU, BUT I ALSO DON'T WANT TO SAY THAT WE'RE THE WHOLE COMMUNITIES, COTTAGE LIVING.
UM, AND SO AS WE LOOKED AT THIS, UM, WE HAD, UH, A LAND PLANNER MURKY FOR JONES,
[01:50:01]
TAKE A LOOK AT THE SITE.UM, APOLOGIZE THE, IF YOU CAN'T SEE IT, BUT WE HAVE TWO, TWO MODELS.
REALLY? THIS IS A TOWN HOME JUST FROM A CAPACITY STANDPOINT.
AND IF WE BACK UP, YOU CAN SEE FOR A POINT OF REFERENCE, SORRY, POINT OF REFERENCE.
HERE'S THE SITE, HERE'S THE POST OFFICE THERE'S MARSH POINT DRIVE HEADING OUT.
SO AS WE TOOK A LOOK AT THE SITE, AGAIN, POINT OF REFERENCE POST OFFICE AS THE WATER TOWER, AND HERE WOULD BE THE SITE.
THIS, THIS CAPACITY STUDY IS, IS YOU HAVE THE PRESENTATION IN FRONT OF YOU, SEAN, MY OLD 50 YEAR OLD EYES IS THAT 12.0 0.6 TO 12.62, UH, ACRES.
READ ME ON THE RIGHT SIDE, 79, 79 DWELLING UNIT DENSITY IS 6.3.
WE HAVE A LOT OF REFERENCE PROPERTIES ON THIS ISLAND, CROSS WINDS.
ONE OF MY FAVORITE SUBDIVISIONS ON THE ISLAND FROM A DENSITY STANDPOINT IS SOMEWHERE ABOUT SIX, EIGHT ISH.
AND YOU REALLY CAN FIT IT IN WITH SOME GOOD STREETS AND SOME GOOD PLANNING.
IT HAS OPEN SPACE, POCKET PARKS ON STREET, PARKING, FRONT, AND REAR LOADED, UH, TOWNHOMES, UM, AND, AND AS IMPORTANT TO EVERYTHING, ONE STORMWATER TREATMENT ON SITE, THAT'S MORE FUNCTIONAL.
AND AS AN AMENITY, NOT IN THE TOP LEFT CORNER, BUT A ROAD HOPEFULLY THAT COULD PUNCH THROUGH THE POST OFFICE ON THE FAR SIDE OF IT.
AND WE HAVE SOME WORK TO DO THERE WITH THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AND THE POSTMASTER.
BUT IF THIS ROAD COULD PUNCH THROUGH, UM, WE HAVE VERY GOOD ACCESS.
IF I CAN FIND THAT SHEET JUST REAL QUICK, JUST SHOW YOU WHAT I MEANT RIGHT HERE.
WE HAVE VERY GOOD ACCESS INTO AND THROUGH, YOU KNOW, THESE, THESE DRIVES AND THESE ROADS THAT COULD CONNECT TO THE SCHOOL, UM, BY NO MEANS, IS IT A SOLUTION YET? IT'S CONCEPT.
UM, AND THEN AGAIN, ANOTHER OPTION IS MULTIFAMILY.
UM, SECOND VERSE, SEAN, HOW MANY DO DO USE ON THE MULTI-FAMILY 136 AT 10.8, RIGHT? AND THIS IS MULTIFAMILY BUILDINGS.
UM, BUT, BUT MY RECOMMENDATION REALLY IS IF WE ARE GOING TO DO THIS, LET'S MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE BUILDING THE RIGHT NEIGHBORHOOD, NOT JUST TRYING TO MAX OUT UNITS, THAT'S THE AUTOMATIC, HEY, WE HAVE TO GET AS MANY UNITS AS WE POSSIBLY CAN GET.
AND THEN DO WE LEAVE SOME OPEN SPACE AND FUNCTIONALITY AND GOOD LIVING ON THE TABLE? I THINK THAT, UM, MY RECOMMENDATION, YOU KNOW, TO BE A PART OF THE ARCHITECTURE AND DESIGN IS FOR THAT REASON, ONE, WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT THIS IS ADDING VALUE TO HILTON HEAD ISLAND AND THAT THE SITE IS VERY LIVABLE.
UM, BUT THOSE ARE TWO CAPACITY STUDIES.
AND SO NEXT STEPS I WOULD LIKE TO PROCEED WITH THOSE TWO PROGRAMS, THE AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN PROGRAMS TO THE MARCH FNA COMMITTEE.
I DON'T NEED A RECOMMENDATION.
UM, BUT WITHOUT ANY NOS DON'T COME FORWARD, I'M GOING TO BRING FORWARD THE HOME SAFETY AND REPAIR FOR MARCH THROUGH MR. LENNOX'S COMMITTEE WILL ALSO PROCEED WITH THE SEWER CONNECTION PROGRAM ON THE MARCH FNA COMMITTEE.
I'LL TALK TO YOU A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOUR, YOUR, YOUR COMMENT EARLIER.
I WANT TO MAKE SURE I'M A HUNDRED PERCENT UNDERSTANDING WHAT YOU'RE ASKING FOR, AND THEN LET'S PROCEED WITH THE HOUSING PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP ON FOR THIS FOR JUST NOW ONE SITE, ONE DEAL LET'S LEARN, LET'S LEARN, UM, ALLOCATE THE MILLION DOLLARS IN PRINCIPLE TOWARDS THE INFRASTRUCTURE.
LET'S BE CLEAR THAT WE HAVE THOSE DOLLARS AS WE SEEK OUR PARTNER, UM, RELEASED THE RFQ NO LATER THAN MARCH 31, UM, AND ESTABLISHED MY RECOMMENDATION IS SOME VERSION OF AN AD HOC HOUSING COMMITTEE TO ASSESS AND ADVISE ON THE PUBLIC POLICY PROJECT FRAMEWORK FOR TOWN COUNCIL CONSIDERATION THAT COULD, IT COULD INCLUDE VARIOUS DIFFERENT FOLKS, COMMUNITY MEMBERS, STAFF MEMBERS, COUNCIL MEMBERS.
IT COULD GO THROUGH ONLY A PARTICULAR COMMITTEE.
IT COULD BE SEVERAL COUNCIL MEMBERS PLUS A COUPLE OF STAFF MEMBERS.
I THINK WE HAVE TO THINK THROUGH THAT A LITTLE BIT AND MAKE, AND HELP ME MAKE SOME DECISIONS.
ONE, THIS, THIS IS NOT WHAT SEAN AND I CAN FIGURE OUT BY HERSELF AND THEN FIND A PARTNER.
WE HAVE TO INTERVIEW AND WE HAVE TO BRING BACK TO TOWN COUNCIL, SOME OF SOME OF THOSE RESULTS SO THAT WE CAN CONFIDENTLY MOVE FORWARD WITH A CONTRACT.
AND THERE'S NO WAY THAT THERE'S NO QUICK WAY TO DO THAT.
AND IT'S NOT A STAFF LEVEL ONLY IN, IN MY STRONG RECOMMENDATION.
UH, I, I'M ALSO AS A FOLLOW-UP TO THE LAST COUNCIL MEETING, WE'RE ALSO EXPLORING A DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION
[01:55:01]
AND THE STONY NEIGHBORHOOD.AND WE KNOW A COUPLE EXAMPLES THAT, YOU KNOW, A COUPLE CLOSE BY EXAMPLES, I SHOULD SAY OF DEVELOPMENT CORPORATIONS THAT HAVE HELPED ADVANCE HOUSING OPPORTUNITIES.
THAT THAT'S MORE COMPLICATED, RIGHT? SO WHY WOULD WE BE IN A DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION MODEL AND NOT JUST THE MODEL IS PRESENTED IN THE TERM SHEET, BECAUSE WE WANT TO MAKE SOME PROGRAM.
WE WANT, WE WANT SOME PROGRAM PROCEEDS AND WE WANT TO BE IN THE BUSINESS OVER AND OVER AND OVER AGAIN.
UM, PERHAPS THAT IS FOR THE SECOND, THIRD OR FOURTH TIME.
UM, I DID NOT MAKE A RECOMMENDATION TODAY THAT THAT BE FOR OUR FIRST OUT OF THE GATE, SIMPLY, UH, TO MR. HARKINS POINT, UH, SPEED TO MARKET, RIGHT? GETTING THIS ON THE STREET, ESTABLISHING A DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION WILL TAKE SOME TIME AND BE IN OUR WAY.
IT'S NOT TO SAY THAT DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION, IF, IF NOT JUST THE STONY, BUT PERHAPS A BIGGER LOOK AT IT IN THE FUTURE, IT, IT MIGHT HELP US.
AND THEN ALSO EXPLORE TOWN OWNED AND PRIVATELY OWNED PROPERTIES.
THE ONE, THE ONE GOOD IDEA CAME, CAME TO ME FROM, FROM A COUPLE PEOPLE OVER TIME AS MARK, IF SOMEONE HAS A PRIVATE, A PIECE OF PROPERTY IN A GOOD LOCATION, COULD THE TOWN NOT PROVIDE THESE SAME INCENTIVES INFRASTRUCTURE? COULD WE BUILD A ROAD? COULD WE PUT THE SEWER LINE IN? COULD WE MAKE THE, THE PUBLIC, COULD WE MAKE THE INFRASTRUCTURE PUBLIC ON PRIVATE PROPERTY? BUT WE, YOU KNOW, WE CLAIM THE RIGHT OF WAY.
WE PUT SOME SEWER WATER AND WHATNOT IN STORMWATER, EVEN OPEN SPACE AND WORK TO ADVANCE SOME PRIVATE PROPERTIES.
I THINK WE JUST NEED TO KEEP EXPLORING THAT.
BUT FOR TODAY, WHAT I'VE MADE THE PROPOSAL ON REALLY IS TO ADVANCE THE POST OFFICE TRACT, UM, THROUGH A PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP.
I HAVE, UH, WE HAVE SOME REAL GOOD RFQ SAMPLES.
WE CAN CALIBRATE IT BASED UPON TODAY'S DISCUSSION AND FEEDBACK.
AND IF YOU WOULD SO CHOOSE, LET ME PROCEED WITH HOME REPAIRS, SEWER CONNECTION, AND RELEASE AN RFQ.
UM, I THINK WE'RE GOING TO LEARN A LOT WHEN WE RELEASE THE RFQ.
I KNOW THAT THERE'S FOLKS PROBABLY EVEN SITTING IN THE AUDIENCE TODAY THAT SAYS THIS WON'T WORK.
AND I ALSO HAVE PEOPLE CALLING ME SAYING, WHEN ARE YOU GOING TO RELEASE THE RFQ? I CAN'T, WHEN CAN WE GET STARTED? DO I HAVE TO GO THROUGH A PROCESS? SO WE'RE GOING TO HEAR A LOT IN, IN WHAT I, WHAT I DO KNOW HAVING BEEN THROUGH THIS IN THE PAST IS WE'RE GOING TO LEARN A LOT ABOUT DEVELOPING WORKFORCE AND AFFORDABLE HOUSING, CALL IT WHAT YOU WILL.
WE'RE GOING TO LEARN A LOT ABOUT HILTON HEAD ISLAND COSTS, LAND VALUES, FINANCING.
UM, WE'RE GOING TO LEARN A LOT THROUGH THIS PROCESS.
AND I THINK THAT WE HAVE TO KEEP AN OPEN MIND, UM, HOUSING, UH, HOUSING PARTNERSHIP THAT CHARLESTON, UH, RELEASED SOME TIME AGO.
THEY GOT THREE BIDS AND OTHER TIMES THEY DON'T GET A LOT.
AND OTHER TIMES THEY GET A WHOLE BUNCH, DEPENDING ON THE SITE, DEPENDING ON THE , DEPENDING ON THE CAPACITY OF THE DEVELOPER AT THAT TIME, WHO KNOWS, IF FOLKS ARE OUT THERE THAT ARE READY TO GO RIGHT NOW OR SAY, IT'S JUST BAD TIMING.
AND SO I ENCOURAGE US ONE LET'S RELEASE THIS RFQ.
YOU NEED TO PUT $3 MILLION IN.
IT'S GOTTA BE MARKET RATE TOWN NEEDS TO OWN THE PROPERTY.
AND I'M ALSO GOING TO ASK, BE ASKED BY FOLKS, WHY DO I HAVE TO WAIT FOR MARCH 31ST? LET'S GET GOING.
WHAT CAN WE DO MORE TO MOVE THE MARCH 31ST DATA? NOTHING.
I WANT TO HAVE MARCH 31ST DATE, BECAUSE I WANT TO MAKE THAT I DEDICATE THE RIGHT AMOUNT OF TIME INTO THAT RFQ.
IT'S ARGUABLY 30 ISH DAYS AWAY.
UM, IT, IF I CAN DO IT SOONER, I WILL, YOU PLEASE KNOW THAT FOR ME.
UM, AND THAT'S WHY I WROTE NO LATER THEN ONE ROUND OF QUESTIONS FROM THE COUNCIL BEFORE WE GO TO THE PUBLIC.
UM, SO I JOT DOWN A LOT OF NOTES, SO I HAVE HOMEWORK TO DO, BUT, UM, JUST STAYING CONSISTENT WITH, UM, SOME OF MY THOUGHTS ON, UM, HOUSING.
THERE ARE TWO, THERE ARE TWO PLANS.
THERE'S ONE WITH, UM, FOR THAT TRACK.
THERE'S ONE THAT HAS MORE OF AN OFFICE SETTING.
THERE'S I THINK THE PRINT IS VERY SMALL, SO CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG AND ON THE OTHER, WHICH IS MORE OF A SINGLE FAMILY TOWN HOME TYPE OF PLACE.
UM, I THINK WE NEED TO APPRECIATE STATE, UM, HOUSING FOR VARIOUS STAGES OF LIFE, WORKFORCE, AND AFFORDABLE TO ME.
UM, WORKFORCE AND AFFORDABLE TO ME MEANS ROUGHLY THE SAME THING.
[02:00:01]
WHY I SAY THAT TO SAY THAT THE HOUSING THAT WE PROVIDE IN THE AFFORDABLE RANGE FOR THAT LEVEL OF, AND NY ISN'T PART OF OUR WORKFORCE IN MY MIND IS, IS SOMEWHAT INSULTING.UM, AND, AND SO OUR WORKFORCE INCORPORATES ARE AFFORDABLE.
UM, WE JUST NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE LOOK AT IT IN THE VARIOUS STAGES OF LIFE.
AS FAR AS I'M CONCERNED, THERE ARE THOSE WHO ARE YOUNG OR SINGLE, AND SOME OF THE HOUSING THAT'S BEEN PROVIDED IN THE EARLY PART OF THIS PRESENTATION IS COMPLETELY APPROPRIATE WITH DORMITORY AND ONE BEDROOM, UM, RENTAL TYPE SITUATIONS.
AND THEN THERE'S HOUSING THAT FITS BOTH THE WORKFORCE SLASH AFFORDABLE DEFINITION, UM, THAT NEEDS TO BE AVAILABLE SO THAT PEOPLE HAVE THEIR FOOT FIRMLY PLANTED ON HILTON HEAD IN MY MIND, UM, OUR COMMUNITY THAT IS PART OF THIS PROJECT THAT WE'RE WORKING ON ARE THOSE THAT WE WANT TO BRING IN AS TRUE PARTNERS, UM, IN TOWN OF HILTON HEAD AS RESIDENTS CONTRIBUTORS.
AND THE BEST WAY FOR THAT TO HAPPEN IS TO GIVE THEM THAT NEXT FOOT IN THE DOOR OF THEIR NEXT RESIDENTS.
UM, I'M A HUGE, UM, HABITAT FOR HUMANITY, UM, ADVOCATE.
I WOULD LOVE TO SEE OPPORTUNITIES, MORE OPPORTUNITIES FOR PEOPLE TO ESTABLISH, UM, A PURCHASE AND OWNERSHIP IN LAND, UM, AND BE PREPARED TO, UM, GET SOME EQUITY OUT OF THEIR HARD WORK IN THE LONG RUN.
ONE OF THE THINGS THAT CONCERNS ME IS THAT, UM, A AS WE DISCUSSED, I DON'T THINK WILL EVER SATISFY, UM, WHAT THE CONSULTANT, UM, PUT IN THERE NOR DO I THINK WE NEED TO PUT THAT AS OUR GOAL.
UM, WE DO HAVE, UM, PEOPLE WHO WILL WANT TO LIVE ELSEWHERE AND CROSS OVER THE BRIDGE.
AND WE WILL ALSO HAVE PEOPLE ONCE, UNLESS THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY TO, TO PUT THEIR FOOT FIRMLY HERE AND GAINED SOME EQUITY OVER TIME, NOT BE ABLE TO AFFORD THAT NEXT STEP, THAT HOUSES HAPPENS ON HILTON HEAD AND THAT SPORT OUT BY THE STATISTICS THAT YOU SHOWED US EARLIER IN THE PRESENTATION WITH REGARD TO AVERAGE PRICE HOMES.
RIGHT? SO, UM, UH, W SOMETHING THAT YOU SAID MARK THAT, UM, RESONATED WITH ME WAS THAT WE'RE BUILDING A COMMUNITY AND NEIGHBORHOOD.
AND, UM, I WOULD, UM, ENCOURAGE THAT WHEN WE LOOK AT THIS, IT'S A NEW NEIGHBORHOOD THAT TRIES TO ADDRESS NOT JUST ONE SINGULAR PART OF THE PICTURE OR THE OTHER, BUT TRIES TO REALLY GIVE PEOPLE OPPORTUNITY AND STILL STAY WITHIN THAT NEIGHBORHOOD AND ON HILTON HEAD WITH THEIR FIRM FEET FIRMLY PLANTED AS PART OF OUR RESIDENTIAL CONTRIBUTING COMMUNITY.
FIRST UP, I'LL TAKE UP THE COMMENT ON PUBLIC, WHICH APPARENTLY WAS OFFENSIVE.
UH, IT WASN'T INTENDED TO BE, UM, UH, I, I WAS RELIEVED WHEN I SAW ACCOUNT AND RESPONSIBILITY.
HAVE YOU PUT THAT CHART UP THERE AGAIN, PLEASE? OKAY.
I'LL BE CLEAR WHILE I'M SLOWLY CLICKING.
I WASN'T OFFENDED, BUT JUST MAKE SURE.
UH, BUT I THINK TOWN RESPONSIBILITY, THOSE RESPONSIBILITIES TO ME ARE HOW AVANT GARDE, THEIR CREATIVE, UH, THEY'RE DOING SOMETHING THAT NOT EVERYBODY DOES.
UH, AND YES, YOU ARE USING, UM, COUNTY MONEY TO DO THAT, UH, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY.
UH, BUT THE VIEW HAS TO BE NOT FROM AN ACCOUNTING STANDPOINT IN TERMS OF THE OUTFLOW OF FUNDS, BUT FROM THE INVESTMENT STANDPOINT, IN TERMS OF ECONOMIC, LOOKING AT THE ECONOMICS OF THIS COMMUNITY AND INVESTING LAND TIME AND TALENT, UH, TO, UH, UH, VERY IMPORTANT, UH, NEED, UM, I DON'T SEE, UH, I SEE THE TOWN, UH, SHARPENING ITS PENCIL IN TERMS OF DEMANDING, YOU KNOW, HIGH QUALITY, HIGH PERFORMANCE.
UM, YOU HAVE AN AWFUL LOT OF POWER SETTING THE TABLE.
UH, YOU MAY LOOK, YOU MAY WANT TO BE LOOKING AT SOME CLAWBACK IF WE END UP LEASING FOR A DOLLAR A YEAR, IF THE, IF THE PARTNER DOESN'T PERFORM RIGHT, YOU GOT TO THINK OF SOME PENALTIES GIVEN HUMAN NATURE, WHAT IT IS.
BUT, UM, I LIKE WHAT I SEE, UH, IN, IN TERMS OF THE RFP,
[02:05:02]
UH, THE FIRMS THAT REPLY, IF THEY DON'T KNOW WHAT THEY'RE DOING, THEY'RE GOING TO TAKE A LONG TIME REPLY.IT SPEAKS TO, UH, THEIR BRAINPOWER AND AVAILABILITY TO PERFORM.
SO I WOULDN'T, UH, I'D USE YOUR BEST JUDGMENT, BUT I WOULDN'T PUT THAT OUT FOR A LONG PERIOD OF TIME.
UH, OTHER THAN THAT, I LIKED THE IDEA ORIGINALLY.
I THOUGHT, UM, WELL, YOU TALKED ABOUT THE TIMELINE.
WE WEREN'T GOING TO DO MUCH OF ANYTHING UNTIL YOU WRESTLED WITH A VERY IMPORTANT PIANO AND OR HIS PROJECT.
AND THAT IS, UH, DETERMINING, UH, TRUTH, THE TRUE LEGAL CAPACITY FOR EVERYTHING THAT WE OWN.
UH, THAT'S A LONG PRODUCTION LINE BEFORE YOU GET TO MARKET WITH EVERYTHING YOU'RE GOING TO SELL.
SO I LIKED THE IDEA, YOU REALLY FAST TRACKING THIS BY LOOKING AT THE POST OFFICE PRODUCT THAT'S CLEAN, UH, IT'S CLEAN IN THE SENSE OF, UM, WHAT WE CAN DO.
IT'S NOT CLEAN YET IN TERMS OF, UH, THE STATE GOVERNMENT, IN TERMS OF MAYBE INGRESS AND EGRESS.
IT'S PROBABLY NOT CLEAN IN TERMS OF, UH, THE POST OFFICE.
UH, I THINK WE HAVE TO DO SOMETHING.
THERE IS PROBABLY NOT CLEAN IN TERMS OF, UH, EXITING THAT AREA AND GETTING ON, UM, UH, ON THE ROAD THAT WOULD BRING YOU TO THE SCHOOL OR TO THE REC CENTER.
BUT THOSE ARE ALL THINGS THAT WE CAN WORK WITH.
SO, UM, I, I COMMEND YOU FOR MOVING.
AND IN THIS DIRECTION, THANK YOU.
UM, FIRST OF ALL, I WANT TO JUST SAY THAT EVERY UNIT COUNTS, RIGHT.
I MEAN, AGAIN, ARGUE BACK AND FORTH.
IF 2000 IS OUR NUMBER, NOT IF IT'S A HUNDRED STILL EVERY UNIT COUNTS, RIGHT.
UM, I GUESS THE, THE LAST LINE THAT YOU HAD UP, JUST KIND OF LAYING OUT, UH, NEXT STEPS AND, UH, JUST SOME, I GUESS, BULLETS UNDER THE, IN THE POST OFFICE COLUMN.
UM, AND I JUST WANNA SPEAK TO THAT JUST A BIT.
UM, I'M GOING BACK TO YOUR FOURTH PRINCIPLE, UM, IN ONE OF YOUR EARLIEST SLIDES, AS SOON AS FOR HOUSING SHOULD BE APPLIED IN AN EQUAL MANNER.
SO ALL PROPERTY OWNERS ON THE ISLAND CAN REALIZE THE ECONOMIC VALUE OF THEIR PROPERTY.
AND HERE, WE'RE SAYING IN THE BOTTOM, UH, NEXT STEP TOWN OWNED PROPERTY AND PRIVATELY OWNED PROPERTIES TO ADVANCE HOUSING OPTIONS AND OPPORTUNITIES.
I CAN APPRECIATE, LET'S TAKE A CLOSER LOOK AT THE NORTH END POST OFFICE, BUT I'D LIKE FOR US TO EXPLORE THIS MORE AGGRESSIVELY ALSO, AND HERE'S WHY THE TOWN PROPERTY IS NOT UNDER ANY PRESSURE.
I MEAN, THERE'S NO FOR SALE SIGNS ON IT.
YOU HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT SOMEBODY COMING IN, PICKING IT UP, CONVERTED IT INTO A SHORT-TERM RENTAL, OKAY.
SOMEBODY PICKING IT UP, UH, DEVELOPING HOUSING.
THAT IS WAY OVER MARKET PRICE.
IT, THE TOWN'S PROPERTY DOES NOT HAVE THE SAME PRESSURE TO PRIVATELY OWNED PROPERTIES HAVE, AND UNLESS WE ARE AGGRESSIVE IN THAT AREA, WE COULD NOT NECESSARILY BE FULFILLING OUR GOAL.
SO THAT ONE, I THINK NEEDS A BIT MORE MEAT ON THE BONE.
UM, WE'VE GOT PROPERTY OWNERS THAT, THAT WANT TO DO PROJECTS AND THEY MAY NOT BE HOME RUN PROJECTS, BUT THEY'RE PROJECTS AND THEY COULD FIT THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING NEED HEALED HILTON, HEAD GIFTED WITH SOME ASSISTANCE FROM THE TOWN AND GETTING OVER THE HUMP.
OH, WE'VE ASKED OURSELVES THE QUESTION FOR US AS LONG AS I'VE BEEN ON COUNCIL.
UH, WHAT IS THE HIGHEST AND BEST USE, UH, OF $180 MILLION WORTH OF LAND ASSETS THAT ARE NON-INCOME PRODUCING ON THE TOWN'S BALANCE SHEET.
UH, AND WE ALSO RECOGNIZE AND ASKING THAT QUESTION THAT MUCH OF THAT LAND IS RESTRICTED IN A SHEER SIZE BECAUSE OF THE COVENANTS, UH, THAT YOU MENTIONED EARLIER, BUT THERE ARE LANDHOLDINGS THAT ARE UNRESTRICTED, AND WE REALLY HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO ANSWER THAT QUESTION EXCEPT TO SAY THAT WE DO REALIZE THAT THERE'S A LARGE PART OF THE COMMUNITY, UH, THAT BELIEVES ALL OF THOSE LAND HOLDINGS SHOULD BE CLEAN AND GREEN FOREVER, REGARDLESS OF THE RESTRICTIONS OR LACK THEREOF.
SO TO PROPOSE SOMETHING LIKE THIS TODAY IS WATERSHED, UH, NO LONGER ARE WE TALKING ABOUT
[02:10:01]
DEVELOPING THE ISLAND OR RESTRICTING AND PROHIBITING THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE ISLAND.WE'RE TALKING ABOUT REDEVELOPING THE ISLAND.
AND WE ALSO RECOGNIZE THAT THE THREAT OF OUR ABILITY TO ATTRACT A QUALIFIED WORKFORCE IS THE MOST SIGNIFICANT THREAT THAT WE HAVE X A HURRICANE.
I THINK WE SHOULD PROCEED AS RECOMMENDED BY MARK THAT I THINK WE ALSO HAVE TO RECOGNIZE, UH, RECOGNIZE THAT THERE'S GOING TO BE PUSHBACK FROM A LARGE PART OF THE COMMUNITY IN THAT THEY THINK THESE LAND HOLDINGS SHOULD NOT BE DEVELOPED AND WE'VE GOTTA BE PREPARED TO EFFECTIVELY ANSWER THAT OBJECTION.
AND I THINK YOU HAVE IN YOUR PRESENTATION, BUT I DO RECOGNIZE THAT THERE WILL BE PEOPLE, UH, SQUARELY OPPOSED TO ANY DEVELOPMENT, UH, OF THE TOWN LAND HOLDINGS.
SO PEOPLE BE PREPARED FOR THAT.
UH, IT IT'S COMING IT'S IT'S THERE.
AND THIS WILL REKINDLE THAT, THAT, UH, DISCUSSION.
WE DON'T KNOW WHAT THE ABSORPTION WILL BE.
WE DON'T REALLY KNOW WHAT THE DEMAND, UH, FOR RENTALS LONG-TERM RENTALS ON THE ISLAND IS, UH, WE'VE HAD ONE EXAMPLE IN SHELTER COVE, UH, AND THEY'RE CERTAINLY NOT AFFORDABLE, BUT WATERWALK APARTMENTS I UNDERSTAND ARE NOW FULLY, UH, FULLY LEASED UP THAT TOOK LONGER THAN SOUTHEAST DEVELOPMENT ORIGINALLY THOUGHT, WHY DID IT TAKE LONGER WHO'S IN THERE? ARE THEY ISLAND RESIDENTS OR ARE THEY NEW TO THE ISLAND? ARE THEY OLD? ARE THEY YOUNG? ARE THEIR KIDS OR NOT? WE MISSED A GLORIOUS OPPORTUNITY TO DEVELOP DATA POINTS ON THE LEASE UP OF WATERWALK.
WE HAVE NOW ON GARDNER ROAD, THE OLD CHRISTIAN ACADEMY SITE, WHERE WE'VE GOT 250 MARKET RATE UNITS BEING COMPLETED, AND THEY'RE GOING TO LEASE UP.
I SUGGEST THAT WE FIND SOME WAY, UH, TO UNDERSTAND WHO THE RENTERS ARE WHO'S GOING IN.
UH, AGAIN, ARE THEY SIMPLY PEOPLE RELOCATING, UH, FROM THE ISLAND OR ARE THEY NEW TO THE YARD? WHAT TYPE OF PERSON WANTS TO RENT LONG-TERM ON HILTON HEAD ISLAND.
THAT'LL HELP US UNDERSTAND WHAT WE'RE SUGGESTING THAT WE GO INTO HERE.
AND CERTAINLY IF WE BUILD THIS PROJECT, OR SHOULD I SAY, WHEN WE BUILD THIS PROJECT, WE'VE GOT TO UNDERSTAND WHO WANTS TO LIVE THERE.
AND IF THIS IS TO BE A SUCCESS, WE'VE GOTTA UNDERSTAND, UH, OUR MARKET MORE FULLY.
SO WHEN WE BUILD THE SECOND ONE, WE CAN DO IT MORE EFFECTIVELY.
UM, I WANT TO THANK THE TOWN MANAGER AND THE STAFF.
THIS IS THE BEST PUBLIC MEETING, THE BEST WORKSHOP I HAVE EVER PARTICIPATED IN ON THIS ISLAND.
AND I SALUTE YOU AND SAY SINCERE APPRECIATION TO EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU FOR ALL OF YOUR HARD WORK AND COMING UP WITH SOME WONDERFUL IDEAS.
WE'VE TALKED TO SOME HERE ABOUT DEFINITIONS.
I GO BACK TO OUR WORKFORCE, HOW THEY CONSULTANT DON'T GET HUNG UP IN THAT, JUST CALL IT WORKFORCE.
UM, AND THAT'S WHAT I DO MOVING FORWARD.
AND I THINK THAT'S THE DEFINITION THAT'S IN OUR ORDINANCE.
THEN WE TALK ABOUT WHAT DOES WORKFORCE MEAN IS OUR CALL ARE IN OUR ORDINANCE.
WORKFORCE MEANS 60 TO 80% AMI.
WE NEED TO TAKE A LOOK AT THAT.
AND IF WE'RE GOING TO BE VARYING THAT WE CAN, BUT WE NEED TO VARY THAT BY CHANGING THAT ORDINANCE, THIS PROGRAM TODAY BEGAN OFF GENERAL BROAD MARKET STROKES.
AND I WAS WORRIED THAT I WAS GOING TO COME OUT OF HERE WITHOUT A SPECIFIC GOAL IN MIND, BUT I WAS WRONG.
AND I THANK YOU FOR THAT BECAUSE YOU HAVE GONE FROM THE GENERAL IDENTIFYING THE PROBLEM DOWN TO A
[02:15:01]
SPECIFIC, A VERY STRONG SPECIFIC, WHICH MAKES A WHOLE LOT OF SENSE TO ME.AND I'M GLAD THAT WE DO HAVE A BOOKEND ON TIME.
I APPRECIATE THE BAYER SAYING HE WANTED SHORTER TIME, BUT I UNDERSTAND THERE'S A HECK OF A LOT OF WORK THAT NEEDS TO GO INTO THIS AND BETWEEN NOW AND MARCH 31 IS NOT A VERY LONG TIME IN MY VIEW.
SO I'M VERY, VERY PLEASED ABOUT THAT.
UM, THEN I WANT TO THROW A LITTLE BIT OF A MONKEY RANCH.
UM, DAVID BENNETT, OUR PRIOR MAYOR WAS IN THE BUSINESS OF BUILDING WORKFORCE HOUSING.
I SPENT HOURS WITH HIM ONE DAY TRYING TO UNDERSTAND HOW HIS BUSINESS WORKED AND HOW THE INDUSTRY WORKED.
AND THE ANSWER WAS 9% INCOME TAX CREDITS AND THE FEDERAL LAW.
WE WERE TOLD THAT THE STATE DEFINITION THAT ALLOWED THOSE FUNDS TO COME HERE WAS SO RESTRICTIVE THAT IT WOULDN'T MEET, UH, ANY PIECE OF PROPERTY HERE ON HILTON HEAD ISLAND.
SINCE THEN THERE HAVE BEEN REVISIONS IN THAT WHICH WERE IDENTIFIED, UH, TO MAKE IT MORE LIBERAL.
AND SO APPARENTLY THAT GOOD WORK HERE.
I DON'T WANT TO DO ANYTHING IN CONJUNCTION WITH 9% TAX CREDITS TO SLOW DOWN OR IMPEDE ANYTHING WE'RE TALKING ABOUT IN TERMS OF BUILDING PUBLIC, PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS AND SPECIFICALLY DOING A PROJECT ON THE NORTH END POST OFFICE SITE.
SO I'M EXCITED ABOUT THE OPPORTUNITIES HERE AND I'M COMMITTED TO WORK ON IT.
DO YOU HAVE ANY, PARDON ME OF ANY COMMENTS, SIR? NO, THIS IS I, YOU KNOW, NO, THIS IS, THIS IS 100% OF POLICY DISCUSSION AT THIS POINT, AT THIS POINT.
OKAY, WELL, LET'S TAKE, UH, COMMENTS FROM THE, FROM THE CITIZENS.
NOW EVERYBODY HAS THREE MINUTES.
THERE WERE NO DEROGATORY OR ANY MARKS AGAINST THE, THE COUNCIL.
AND WE'LL START ON THIS CORNER HERE.
WORK OUR WAY AROUND, RIGHT? YES.
I'VE BEEN A FULL TERM RESIDENT ON HILTON HEAD SINCE 2000 AND ALSO A REALTOR.
I HAVE BEEN SITTING IN TOWN COUNCIL FROM MAYOR PEOPLES ON, AND THE SAME CONVERSATION HAS BEEN HEARD ALL THOSE YEARS.
I HAVE ATTENDED MANY, MANY HOUSING DEVELOPMENT, UH, MEETINGS WITH CHARLESTON, GREENVILLE, COLORADO, FLORIDA, AND THEY'VE ALL BEEN HERE.
AND IT SEEMS AS THOUGH, YOU KNOW, I'M GROWING OLDER, I'M BECOMING A BLONDE ONE STRAND AT A TIME, AND THAT WAS ALL BRUNETTE WHEN I STARTED HERE.
SO I DON'T KNOW IF I'LL LIVE TO SEE THIS, BUT THE GRACE OF GOD.
UM, I WOULD FIRST LIKE TO ASK, UH, THE TOWN MANAGER, IF I COULD HAVE A COMPLETE COPY OF THE PRESENTATION IN, ON PAPER.
SO I DON'T HAVE TO GO ON THE INTERNET BECAUSE I WANT TO ANSWER AND MAKE MY COMMENTS TO EACH ONE OF THE ITEMS THAT YOU SPOKE ABOUT TODAY.
AND, UM, AND I WANT TO CLEAR UP ONE THING THAT WAS SAID WITH REGARDS TO THE HABITAT COMMUNITY.
IF I'M NOT MISTAKEN, THAT LAND WAS NOT DONATED ABOUT TIME.
THERE WAS LIKE A TRADE IN THERE SOMEWHERE.
SO, BUT THAT INFORMATION IS REPEATED CONSTANTLY.
AND I THINK THAT AFTER TODAY, IT SHOULD NEVER EVER BE SAID IN THIS ROOM, ANYONE IN COUNCIL THAT IT WAS DONATED BECAUSE IT WAS NOT, I WAS ON THE HABITAT BOARD FOR SIX YEARS.
AND, UM, I THINK THERE SHOULD BE A REAL SERIOUS HOUSING DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE THAT WOULD COMPOSE OF A COUPLE OF CITIZENS REALTORS.
WE KNOW ALL ABOUT THE RENTAL AND OWNERSHIP.
YOU WANT TO KNOW ABOUT THE RENTALS AND WE CAN GIVE YOU ALL THAT WATER WORK OR EITHER THE NEW PROJECT ON GARDENERS.
UM, A COUPLE OF THE TOWN COUNCIL PEOPLE, AND WE NEED LEGAL REPRESENTATION BECAUSE THERE'S ALWAYS THIS, YOU KNOW, CAN WE DO THIS LEGALLY? SO MAYBE IF THEY TELL LAWYERS SITS IN ON THAT, UM, THAT'S ALL I WANT TO SAY TODAY BECAUSE I WANT TO PUT EVERYTHING IN WRITING.
WHEN WE TALK ABOUT WORKFORCE COMING TO THIS COMMUNITY, WE NEED TO ALWAYS
[02:20:01]
INCLUDE TRANSPORTATION PARK AND RIDE TO THE ISLAND.AND AS A REALTOR, I CAN TELL YOU THE MILLIONS OF PEOPLE THAT ARE COMING HERE ASK ABOUT, CAN WE GET A BUS OR ANYTHING TO GO TO SHOPPING? WE DEFINITELY NEED TO TALK ABOUT TRANSPORTATION WHEN WE TALK ABOUT HOUSING.
THANK YOU MUCH THE IN THE FIRST ROW.
I'M A RESIDENT, UH, ON THE ISLAND AND HAVE BEEN FOR MANY YEARS.
UH, WHEN WE FIRST CAME INTO THE MEETING.
NOW YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT, UH, UH, YOU HAD A REPRESENTATIVE FROM THE SCHOOL DISTRICT AND TALKING ABOUT IMPACT FEES.
UH, UH, I WOULD JUST MAKE MY OPINION KNOWN.
I'VE BEEN IN THE HOUSING INDUSTRY FOR 50 YEARS.
UH, UH, TAKE A LOOK OUT IN THE, UH, UH, ON THE WEST COAST IN PARTICULAR, UH, HOUSINGS ARE REAL PROBLEM.
UH, AFFORDABILITIES OF REAL PROBLEM.
AND THE ONE THING THEY CONSTANTLY BRING UP IS WE'VE REALLY HIGH IMPACT FEES, UH, IMPACT FEES, UH, IN MY OPINION, ARE MORE NEGATIVE THAN POSITIVE SCHOOL DISTRICT HAS AN OBLIGATION.
IT'S THE OBLIGATION, EDUCATE OUR CHILDREN, OUR GRANDCHILDREN.
THEY HAVE AN OBLIGATION TO GO TO THE PUBLIC FOR FUNDING.
WHAT THEY ARE PROPOSING IS A BACKHANDED WAY OF RAISING THAT THERE'S $8 MILLION.
UH, THEY TALKED ABOUT $650 MILLION BEING NEEDED AND THEY FUNDED 360.
I WOULD BE VERY, VERY CAREFUL ABOUT THIS ISLAND THAT ALREADY CONTRIBUTES GREATLY THE SCHOOL DISTRICT OF PUTTING ANOTHER VEHICLE IN PLACE, UH, TO, UH, SUPPORT THE SCHOOLS.
WE BELIEVE IN SUPPORTING SCHOOLS IN EVERY WAY WE CAN.
WE DON'T THINK THAT'S THE WAY TO DO IT.
SO THANK YOU THERE, UH, WITH REGARD TO THE, UH, UH, UH, WORKFORCE HOUSING OR A STRONG BELIEVERS IN WORKFORCE HOUSING.
AND I DON'T REMEMBER WHO IT WAS THAT BROUGHT IT UP, BUT IT MIGHT'VE BEEN YOU, UH, MR. LENNOX, UH, ABOUT OUR, UH, UH, THERE'LL BE A LOT OF OPPOSITION.
SOME OF IT WILL BE, UH, UH, ON THE BASIS OF JUST GREEN SPACE.
UH, MOST OF IT I SUSPECT IS A NIMBYISM AND THERE'S GOING TO BE A GREAT AMOUNT OF THAT.
SO THE ONE THING I WOULD REQUEST IS THAT YOU NOT MOVE FORWARD WITH OTHER PROJECTS THAT RESTRICT WHERE AFFORDABLE HOUSING, OR I'M SORRY, WE'RE WORKFORCE HOUSING AND GO, UH, I KNOW WE HAVE A HUNDRED ACRES, UH, THAT, UH, UH, THERE ARE PLANS IN PROCESS FOR PARK THERE.
I THINK OPEN SPACE AND PARKS ARE GOOD.
UH, THAT'S ALSO AN OPPORTUNITY FOR WORKFORCE HOUSING AND, UH, THERE MAY BE RESTRICTIONS.
AND ONE OF THE THINGS I GUESS I WOULD ASK, UH, OUR TOWN MANAGER, UH, YOU PRESENTED A LOT OF OBSTACLES AND WE KNOW THERE ARE OBSTACLES, UH, UH, COVENANT RESTRICTIONS AND SO ON.
UH, TYPICALLY WE RESET, UH, PRESENT OBSTACLES, GREAT TO PRESENT SOLUTIONS.
WHAT I HEARD YOU READ FROM, UH, ONE OF THE LEGAL DOCUMENTS OF IT'S PRETTY BROAD BASED.
THERE WERE A COUPLE OF POWER, COUPLE OF THE PHRASES IN THERE THAT SEEMED TO LEAVE OPEN THE OPPORTUNITY FOR, UH, INTERPRETATION.
SO I WOULD, BEFORE I WOULD ELIMINATE ANY PARTICULAR PIECE OF PROPERTY, I'LL LOOK AT WHAT ARE THE OPPORTUNITIES TO REMOVE THOSE RESTRICTIONS.
ANY OTHER, ANYBODY ELSE IN THE FIRST ROW, SECOND ROW WOMAN ON THE END.
I'M A 36 YEAR RESIDENT OF OUR TOWN, AND I'M ALSO THE CURRENT DIRECTOR AT THE DEEP WELL PROJECT.
AND I AM SO EXCITED THAT I CAME TO THIS MEETING TODAY.
UM, FOR MANY, MANY YEARS, WE HAVE BEEN, WE NEED STAKES IN THE GROUND.
WE REALLY NEED A STAKE IN THE GROUND.
AND I SHARE THAT JUST BECAUSE OUR FRIENDS AT THE DEPOT PROJECT SEE THE, THE PROBLEMS WITH NOT HAVING STAKE IN THE GROUND EVERY DAY.
UM, WE SEE PEOPLE WHO ARE RENEWING THEIR LEASES AND THE LEASES ARE GOING FROM 900 OR A THOUSAND DOLLARS A MONTH TO $1,400 A MONTH WAGES AND RAISES CANNOT KEEP UP WITH THAT KIND OF AN INCREASE.
WE SEE SITUATIONS WHERE WE HAVE 12 AND 14 PEOPLE LIVING IN TWO BEDROOM APARTMENTS.
WE HAVE PEOPLE 10 AND 12 PEOPLE LIVING IN SINGLE WIDE MOBILE HOMES.
THIS IS NOT THE WAY IT NEEDS TO BE.
[02:25:01]
TO BE HERE TODAY TO SEE I CAN ALMOST SEE THE STAKES IN THE GROUND NOW.AND I'M VERY EXCITED ABOUT THAT.
AND I APPRECIATE THE WORK THAT GOES IN.
I KNOW IF IT WAS EASY, WE COULD HAVE WAVED A MAGIC WAND AND WE COULD HAVE HAD THIS DONE YEARS AGO.
I KNOW, I KNOW IT IS HARD WORK.
THERE'S SO MANY FACTORS TO BE, UM, CONSIDERED.
I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU WERE DOING IS SO CRITICAL AND SO IMPORTANT TO SO MANY OF YOUR NEIGHBORS.
AND WE WORK WITH THEM AT DEEP, WELL EVERY DAY, EVERY WEEK.
AND SOME OF THE STORIES TRULY ARE HEARTBREAKING AND THEY ARE NOT THE AMERICAN DREAM.
AND I AM VERY EXCITED TO KNOW THAT THIS COUNCIL MAY BE THE COUNCIL THAT DOESN'T KICK THE CAN DOWN THE ROAD AND IS GOING TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT.
AND I THANK YOU FOR YOUR COURAGE AND I THANK YOU FOR STICKING WITH IT.
AND, AND I SPEAK FOR THOSE FOLKS WHO COULD NOT BE HERE TODAY, BUT THEY'RE WORKING, THEY'RE WORKING HERE AND THEY WANT TO BE HERE AND THEY WANT TO WORK HERE AND THANK YOU FOR MAKING IT POSSIBLE FOR THEM TO LIVE HERE AND ENJOY THE SAME AMENITIES THAT ALL OF US DO.
GOOD MORNING, MR. MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF COUNCIL.
I LIVE AT 67 DOLPHIN HEAD DRIVE.
I'M HERE AS AN ADVOCATE FOR HOUSING THAT'S AVAILABLE AND ATTAINABLE AND AFFORDABLE AND SUSTAINABLE.
THERE IS NOT AN ISSUE THAT IS REALLY MORE IMPORTANT TO HILTON HEAD ISLAND'S ECONOMY AT THIS POINT THAN THIS ONE.
YOU KNOW, THAT THERE'S NOT AN ISSUE THAT IS MORE IMPORTANT TO HILTON HEAD'S QUALITY OF LIFE FOR ALL OF US WORKING FAMILIES AND TOURISTS AND RETIREES LIKE ME AND MOST OF YOU BEHIND THE GATES, THERE'S NOT AN ISSUE.
THAT'S MORE IMPORTANT TO HILTON HEAD'S FUTURE VITALITY THAN HOUSING.
THERE'S NOT AN ISSUE THAT IS MORE IMPORTANT TO HILTON HEAD'S SENSE OF COMMUNITY THAN HOUSING.
AND IT'S AN ISSUE THAT'S BEEN COMING AT US LIKE A FREIGHT TRAIN FOR DECADES.
SO, UM, I'M GRATEFUL THAT THE, THIS COUNCIL IS TALKING ABOUT IT AND THIS TOWN MANAGER AND THE PLANNERS ARE WORKING HARD ON IT.
UH, IT NEEDS TO MOVE ALONG AT A, A VERY STRONG PACE AT THIS POINT, UH, AND THE COMMUNITY NEEDS TO UNDERSTAND, UH, WHY IT IS MOVING AHEAD.
AND I'M GLAD TO SEE WHAT, UH, IS IN, UH, MR. ORLANDO'S RECOMMENDED STEPS FOR TODAY.
HOPE THOSE CAN MOVE ALONG VERY QUICKLY.
I'M HERE TODAY TO ASK FOR THINGS.
IF TOWN COUNCIL PLEASE QUIT GIVING ATTAINABLE HOUSING SURFACE CITIZENS.
AND AT TIMES COUNCIL ONLY TALK INSTEAD PUT THE POWER OF TOWN GOVERNMENT BEHIND IT TO MAKE IT REAL AFFORDABLE.
HOUSING IS A GREAT THING TO TALK ABOUT A GREAT THING TO PLAN, BUT IT DOESN'T MEAN A THING UNTIL THE FIRST HUNDRED NURSES AND TEACHERS AND HEALTHCARE WORKERS, AND FIRST RESPONDERS MOVE IN SECOND, GIVE YOUR TOWN MANAGER AND STAFF THE SUPPORT AND RESOURCES THEY NEED TO HELP MAKE IT HAPPEN.
THIRD, MOVE THIS AHEAD WITH CREATIVITY AND URGENCY, THE CLOCK IS TICKING AND THE ISLAND IS ALREADY EXPERIENCING AS YOU KNOW, THE NEGATIVE IMPACTS OF A WORKFORCE THAT LIVES MOSTLY OFF THE ISLAND AND FORTH QUICKLY IDENTIFY THE SUITABLE SITES FOR ATTAINABLE HOUSING AND GET TO WORK ON THOSE WITH DUE DILIGENCE RIGHT AWAY.
TO ME, IT IS NO LONGER ACCEPTABLE FOR MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY TO SAY WE LOVE ATTAINABLE, AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND SUSTAINABLE NEIGHBORHOODS, BUT THEN TO SAY, SITE A DOESN'T WORK AND SITE B DOESN'T WORK AND SITE C DOESN'T WORK AND SITE D DOESN'T WORK.
WE NEED TO MAKE SOME OF THOSE SITES WORK.
PERHAPS YOU COULD BE LOOKING FOR LEGAL OPINIONS AND PLANS THAT ADDRESS HOW TO MAKE THESE SITES WORK, AS OPPOSED AS LEGAL OPINIONS THAT FOCUS ON WHY THEY MIGHT NOT WORK IN MY MIND SITE A IS A SMALL PORTION OF THE MID ISLAND.
AND THAT'S ONE OF THE TRACKS THAT I THINK DESERVES THAT KIND OF ATTENTION AT THIS POINT.
THANK YOU, JOHN MORNING, MR. MAYOR.
UH, MY NAME'S JOHN O'TOOLE, I'M A HILTON HEAD RESIDENT AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE BUFORD COUNTY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION.
UH, TOM LINUX, COUNCILMAN LENNOX, UH, HAS SEEN ME AT A REGIONAL GROUP SAY THAT I'M REALLY FRUSTRATED, YOU KNOW, THAT A LOT'S DONE FOR BIRDS AND TURTLES, AND WE'VE GOT TO CARE ABOUT PEOPLE TOO.
UH, I JUST WANT TO SAY REALLY QUICKLY
[02:30:01]
THAT EMPLOYEES ARE THE GASOLINE THAT FILLS THE ENGINE OF THE ECONOMY.AND SO WHAT YOU'RE DOING TODAY, I'M, I'M SO EXCITED FOR THE GOOD WORK THAT STAFF'S DOING AND, AND YOUR COURAGE TO MOVE FORWARD.
AND I DON'T THINK IT TAKES A LOT OF COURAGE BECAUSE I TRY TO MEET SOMEBODY SATURDAY AT A PARTICULAR SPOT.
IT WAS CLOSED BECAUSE THEY WERE UNDERSTAFFED.
I THINK MOST PEOPLE WHO LIVE ON THIS ISLAND KNOW THAT THIS IS A CRISIS THAT PLATFORM'S BURNING AND WE HAVE TO DO SOMETHING.
AND THE LAST POINT I'LL LEAVE YOU WITH IS THAT IF THAT DOESN'T CONCERN YOU, WE KNOW IN OUR HEARTS, WE HAVE TO CARE ABOUT PEOPLE AND WHATSOEVER YOU DO TO SOMEBODY WHO CAN'T FIND HOUSING, YOU DO A, TO SOMEBODY, UH, MUCH BETTER.
AND, UH, I THINK YOU'RE ON THE RIGHT TRACK AND I'M REALLY EXCITED TO BE HERE TODAY.
I'M RISA PRINCE AND I'M HERE TODAY ON BEHALF OF THE GREATER ISLAND COUNCIL GOVERNMENT POLICY COMMITTEE.
UM, THERE'S AN OLD ADAGE THAT GOES, IF YOU ALWAYS DO WHAT YOU'VE ALWAYS DONE, YOU'LL ALWAYS GET WHAT YOU'VE ALWAYS GOTTEN.
IT'S PRETTY CLEAR THAT WE HAVE NOT PROGRESSED SINCE THE CONSULTANT'S.
WE CONTINUE TO HAVE A PROBLEM WITH THE AVAILABILITY OF WORKERS.
AND ACCORDING TO THE BUSINESS OWNERS, I KNOW IT'S ONLY WORSENED OVER THE LAST THREE TO FOUR YEARS, EVEN IN SPITE OF INCREASED WAGES.
AND CERTAINLY IF WE'RE NOT AT THE TIPPING POINT RIGHT NOW, WE'RE IN THE TIPPING ZONE WHERE IF WE DON'T DO SOMETHING SIGNIFICANT TO DISRUPT THIS TREND, UH, WE'RE GOING TO HAVE AN, AN EYE PROBLEM WITH OUR ECONOMY THAT WILL NOT BE OVERRIDDEN.
I CAME HERE TODAY TO ADVOCATE FOR COUNCIL COMMITMENT, TO A SIGNIFICANT PROOF OF CONCEPT PROJECT.
WE DON'T KNOW IF THIS SOLUTION THAT'S BEEN PROPOSED IS REALLY GOING TO ANSWER ALL THE QUESTIONS, BUT IT CERTAINLY WILL GIVE US THE DATA THAT WILL ALLOW US TO MOVE FORWARD AND GIVE US SOME DIRECTION FOR HOW TO DO THAT.
UM, YOU ALL HAVE A FIDUCIARY AND AN ETHICAL RESPONSIBILITY TO BETTER THE COMMUNITY.
THAT'S WHAT YOU SIGNED UP FOR WHEN YOU RAN FOR OFFICE.
AND THAT'S WHAT WE ELECTED YOU TO DO.
AND PLEASE NOTE THAT IF WE WERE TO BUILD 2000 UNITS AT YOUR AUTHORIZED DENSITY, THAT WOULD ONLY TAKE 15% OF THE TOWN LAND AND LESS.
IF WE PARTNER WITH PEOPLE WHO OWN LAND, WHO WANTED IN THIS PROGRAM.
SO THERE'S NO REAL THREAT TO OUR GREEN SPACE AND THOSE PUBLIC SPACES THAT WE ALL COME TO HAVE COME TO TO DESIRE.
SO I CHALLENGE YOU TO MOVE QUICKLY ON THIS, UM, DRINKS AROUND ME.
IF WE'RE AT A 2023 GROUNDBREAKING, AND I WANNA THANK MR. ORLANDO AND YOUR MEMBERS OF COUNCIL WHO HAVE THE COURAGE TO GO AHEAD AND MAKE THIS DECISION TO MOVE TODAY.
MAKES SURE THAT DRINKS ARE ON ME AS PART OF THE MINUTES.
I SAW FOUR PEOPLE WRITE THAT DOWN.
I'M A SEVENTH GENERATION NATIVE, AND I AM PART OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION.
I DEFINITELY AGREE WITH MR. BROWN HERE, THAT WE NEED TO FOCUS AND LOOK AT PRIVATELY OWNED LAND.
I MEAN, THAT IS SOMETHING THAT IS DISAPPEARING FAST.
WE COULD DEFINITELY HELP THE PROBLEM OUT BY LOOKING AT PROBABLY OWN PROPERTY AND ASSISTING THOSE PEOPLE WITH A GRANT THAT WILL HELP PAY FOR WATER, SEWER INFRASTRUCTURE FEES.
THAT, THAT ALSO HELPED THEM BRINGING IN SECOND INCOME AND HELP THEM PAY FOR THEIR TAXES WITH THAT MONEY.
YOU DID EXCELLENT JOB TODAY TO THANK YOU, SIR.
UM, ALSO HAVE A COUPLE OF RESTAURANTS IN THE ISLAND AND I WANT TO SAY, UH, TODAY'S OUTCOME.
IT'S BOLD AND BRAVE, AND FINALLY A REAL STEP ADDRESSING AN ISSUE THAT'S BEEN IN FRONT OF EVERYONE, BUT IT'S BEEN IGNORED.
CAUSE I THINK SOME OF THE COMPLICATIONS THAT MR BROUGHT UP, EVERYONE HAS TO REALIZE ON THIS ISLAND, IT'S IMPACTUAL, NOT FROM OUR WORK STAFFS, NOT FROM YOUR QUALITY OF LIFE, NOT FROM YOUR EDUCATION FROM YOUR FIRST RESPONDERS.
RECENTLY, I WAS IN THE HOSPITAL
[02:35:01]
ON HILTON HEAD.I SAT IN AN EMERGENCY ROOM FOR 23 HOURS.
THEN I WAS ASKED IF I WANTED TO LEAVE MY COMMUNITY TO GO TO COASTAL CAROLINE TO BE SEEN.
WELL THEY HAVE STAFF AND THEY HAVE A BET.
I WENT TO COAST CAROLINA, GOT MY CARE.
THEN I GOT A $4,700 AMBULANCE BILL.
THAT'S NOT COVERED BY INSURANCE BECAUSE THE HOSPITAL HERE WHERE I CHOOSE TO HAVE MY FAMILY NUMBER OF BUSINESSES, ABOUT 170 EMPLOYEES, BECAUSE I COULDN'T BE SEEN.
SO TOM, I ASKED THAT WHEN PEOPLE ASK YOU WHY THIS HAS TO HAPPEN, IT'S A PRETTY SIMPLE STORY.
SO A COUPLE OF THINGS ARE ALSO BROUGHT UP AS BROUGHT UP THE INITIAL CONSULTANTS REPORT THAT WE NEED 2000, 2000 BEDROOMS, 2000 UNITS.
I WOULD LOVE TO SEE WHAT THAT NUMBER IS NOW.
MY ESTIMATION IS PROBABLY 4,000.
AT THIS POINT, THE ECONOMY HAS INCREASED AND I THINK MARKET SHARE SLIDE 39% VALUE INCREASE IN PROPERTY.
WELL, IF YOU BOUGHT A UNIT IN 1970 FOR A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS, AND IT'S NOW WORTH 600,000, I'M NOT RENTING IT ANYMORE.
SO THERE'S NO WAY THAT 2000 NUMBERS EVEN CLOSE.
THE DENSITY PROJECT HAS NOT WORKED.
THE DENSITY PROJECT WON'T WORK.
10% INCREASED DENSITY WOULD TAKE 17,000 ACRES OF DENSITY ON THIS ISLAND TO GET TO THAT NUMBER OF 2000.
I THINK TODAY'S PROJECT IS A BOLD STEP.
I DON'T THINK IT'S BIG ENOUGH.
I DON'T THINK IT'S CLOSE TO BIG ENOUGH, BUT IT'S A BOLD STEP.
THE ONLY QUESTION I HAVE IS WHAT CRITERIA WE PUT ON THERE TO ASSURE THAT THE 80% OF THE AMI, THE $50,000 EMPLOYEE IS MET AT $1,250 A MONTH.
THAT IS A COMPETE, A KEY COMPONENT.
THE PRIVATE PUBLIC SHOULD WORK, BUT AGAIN, IN RUNNING IN NUMBERS AND UNDERWRITING WILL NOT WORK UNTIL THE FINANCING IS DONE BY THE TOWN OR TOWNS, FINANCING OF BONDS OR RAISING MONEY.
SO AGAIN, THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
ANYBODY ELSE HAD A THIRD GIRL BACK THERE? LANCE? ANYBODY ELSE OR ANYBODY ELSE? I MISSED ANY AUDIENCE.
A GOOD, I THANK YOU ALL VERY MUCH FOR COMING MARK.
AND YOU SAID YOU HAVE FOR YOUR WORK.
I APPRECIATE ALL YOUR INPUT TODAY AND ALONG THE WAY.
AND THEY CALLED US MEETING JORDAN.