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MORNING CHAIRMAN AMES HAS A PERSONAL CONFLICT AND WILL NOT BE ABLE TO CHAIR THE MEETING, SO HE HAS ASKED ME TO PINCH HIT FOR HIM, AND I'LL DO JUST THAT BY CALLING, UH, THIS MORNING'S PUBLIC PLANNING COMMITTEE.
MEETING OF THURSDAY, OCTOBER 27TH, 2022 TO ORDER.
KRISTA, HAVE WE COMPLIED WITH FREEDOM OF INFORMATION? YES, SIR.
WOULD YOU CALL THE ROLE? YES, SIR.
YOU HAVE IN YOUR PACKET AND MINUTES FROM AUGUST 31ST, 2022, ARE THERE ANY CHANGES, ADDITIONS, OR DELETIONS? MOVE.
ALL THOSE IN FAVOR PLEASE SIGNIFY BY SAYING AYE.
DO WE HAVE APPEARANCE BY CITIZENS DISTANCE? NO, SIR.
AT THIS TIME I DID NOT HAVE ANYONE SIGN UP TO SPEAK, UM, OR ADDRESS THE COUNT.
THE COUNT COMMITTEE AT TODAY'S MEETING.
UNDER NEW BUSINESS, WE HAVE FOUR ITEMS. THE FIRST IS AN UPDATE ON SHORT TERM RENTAL ORDINANCE AND PROGRAM.
MISSY, WHAT'D YOU DO, MISSY? I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING.
DO YOU HAVE TO KNOW THE SECRET HANDSHAKE, MISSY? THAT'S RIGHT.
I'M THE COMMUNITY PLANNING MANAGER.
UM, IT IS NICE TO BE IN FRONT OF YOU THIS MORNING TO TALK ABOUT SHORT-TERM RENTALS.
SO THIS UPDATE, I'M GONNA COVER THE IMPLEMENTATION EFFORTS OF THE SHORT-TERM RENTAL ORDINANCE THAT WAS ADOPTED, AND I'LL COVER SOME OF THE OPERATIONAL STAFFING AND COORDINATION WITH OUR SOFTWARE VENDOR.
AND IT ALSO EXPLAINS SOME OF THE FUTURE NEXT STEPS.
SO SINCE THE ORDINANCE HAS BEEN ADOPTED, WE HAVE ESTABLISHED A SHORT-TERM RENTAL IMPLEMENTATION TEAM, AND YOU CAN SEE THAT IT'S A INTERDEPARTMENTAL GROUP.
WE HAVE FINANCE, COMMUNITY PLANNING, CODE ENFORCEMENT, GIS, AND COMMUNICATIONS ON THE TEAM TO IMPLEMENT THIS EFFORT.
ALSO, UM, JUST TO GIVE A REMINDER OF WHAT THE ORDINANCE ENTAILS, BUT THE SHORT TERM RENTAL ORDINANCE WAS ADOPTED IN MAY, AND IT REQUIRES NOW A SHORT TERM RENTAL PERMIT, UM, AS WELL AS ESTABLISHES FOR PARKING, NOISE MANAGEMENT, TRASH STORAGE AND REMOVAL, AS WELL AS ESTABLISHES A PROCESS FOR COMPLAINTS AND TRACKING AND VIOLATIONS.
SO AFTER THE ORDINANCE WAS ENACTED IN MAY, UM, IT WAS ENACTED WITH AN EFFECTIVE DATE OF JANUARY OF 2023, SO THAT WE HAD TIME TO BUILD IN THE NECESSARY STEPS TO IMPLEMENT THE ORDINANCE.
AND ONE OF THOSE WAS TO ESTABLISH SOME ADDITIONAL STAFF CAPACITY.
WE HIRED A REVENUE CUSTOMER SERVICE MANAGER, BARBARA WOOSTER, AS WELL AS OUR DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC SAFETY.
UM, AS WELL AS, UH, WE'RE ABLE TO EXECUTE A CONTRACT WITH THE SOFTWARE VENDOR GO O S TO HELP US IMPLEMENT THE SHORT-TERM RENTAL PORTAL, UH, MANAGE ALL OF THE LISTINGS, VERIFY THEIR ACCURACY, AND REALLY ASSIST US THROUGH IMPLEMENTATION.
SO WE HAD A KICKOFF MEETING WITH GO O S AND, AND WE'VE BEEN WORKING WITH THAT LARGE, UH, SHORT-TERM RENTAL IMPLEMENTATION TEAM WITH THEM.
WE ARE MEETING WEEKLY, UM, AS A GROUP TO WORK THROUGH ALL OF THE IMPLEMENTATION STEPS.
UH, SOME OF THE PROGRESS THAT WE'VE MADE.
CURRENTLY, WE ARE CURRENTLY ACTIVELY SEEKING ADDITIONAL STAFF, INCLUDING THREE TEMPORARY, UM, ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANCE AND ADDITIONAL CODE ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS.
WE ARE WORKING ON THE SHORT TERM RENTAL PORTAL, AND THAT INCLUDES ESTABLISHING INTERDEPARTMENTAL WORKFLOWS AND PROCESSES, UH, AS WELL AS FINALIZING OUR GOOD NEIGHBOR BROCHURE AND OTHER COLLATERAL THAT'S REQUIRED TO GO ALONG WITH, UH, THE ORDINANCE IMPLEMENTATION.
ALSO, ONE OF THE MAJOR KEY POINTS THAT WE'RE WORKING ON IS, UH, WE'RE WORKING WITH GIS ON AN APPLICATION THAT WILL HELP WITH THE SITE PLAN REQUIREMENT.
SO ALL OF THE SINGLE FAMILY SHORT TERM RENTALS ARE GONNA HAVE TO TURN IN A SITE PLAN THAT SHOWS WHERE THEIR PARKING IS LOCATED, AS WELL AS THEIR TRASH LOCATION.
AND SO GIS IS CREATING AN APP TO ASSIST PEOPLE WITH THAT SITE
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PLAN REQUIREMENT.WHAT'S COMING UP, UH, IN NOVEMBER COMMUNI? WELL, ACTUALLY, UH, NEXT WEEK ALREADY.
UM, WE ARE GONNA LAUNCH SOME PUBLIC INFORMATION MEETINGS, UH, TWO MEETINGS ON NOVEMBER 3RD AND ONE ON NOVEMBER 17.
AND WE WILL, UM, IT, WE WILL HAVE ADDITIONAL MEETINGS AS WELL THROUGH OUR COMMUNICATIONS AND OUTREACH EFFORTS, UH, TO INFORM SHORT-TERM RENTAL OWNERS AND OPERATORS ON WHAT THESE PERMIT REQUIREMENTS ARE.
UM, WE'LL HAVE STEP-BY-STEP, UH, PROCESSES TO AS TO HOW TO UTILIZE THE, THE PORTAL WHEN IT'S LAUNCHED.
AND SO THOSE MEETINGS ARE GONNA BE STARTING, UH, ALREADY NEXT MONTH.
WE'RE ALSO WORKING ON THE WORKFLOWS FOR THE COMPLAINT HOTLINE AND HOW THE SOFTWARE COMPANY WILL HANDLE THAT BY DEVELOPING PHONE SCRIPTS, UM, DEPENDING ON WHAT THAT COMPLAINT IS, HOW IT GETS ROUTED AND HOW WE HANDLE IT.
WE'RE ALSO GONNA MOVE INTO SOFTWARE TESTING IN NOVEMBER AND DECEMBER.
WE'RE GONNA HAVE SOME STAFF TRAINING, AND THEN WE'RE GONNA CREATE THE STANDARD OPERATING, UM, PROCEDURES FOR THOSE TEMPORARY POSITIONS THAT WILL BE ASSISTING THE PUBLIC WITH AND, AND REVIEWING ALL OF THE, THE APPLICATIONS THAT COME IN.
AND THEN IN DECEMBER, WE WILL WORK WITH GOOS TO PREPARE REGISTRATION LETTERS TO ALERT EVERYONE AS TO THE PORTAL'S OPENING IN EARLY JANUARY.
UM, AND SO REALLY WE'RE PREPARING FOR THE PORTAL TO, TO GO LIVE ON JANUARY 3RD OF NEXT YEAR.
THAT IS MY QUICK UPDATE OF WHERE WE ARE WITH IMPLEMENTATION OF THE SHORT-TERM RENTAL ORDINANCE.
DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, MISSY? I'M INTERESTED IN WHETHER GOOS HAS DONE ANY WORK IN TERMS OF DETERMINING THE NUMBER OF SHORT-TERM RENTAL UNITS ARE OUT THERE.
HAVE THEY BEEN DOING THAT RESEARCH? THEY ARE ACTIVELY DOING THAT RESEARCH RIGHT NOW, AND IN EARLY DECEMBER WE SHOULD, WE SHOULD HAVE SOME DATA.
WHAT THEY'RE DOING NOW, OUR GIS DIVISION GAVE THEM OUR PARCEL DATA, AND THEY'RE WORKING TO MATCH ALL OF THOSE ADVERTISEMENTS THAT ARE OUT THERE WITH OUR, OUR PARCEL DATA.
AND SO WE SHOULD HAVE THAT FULL FULLY SCRUBBED IN EARLY DECEMBER, AND WE'LL, WE'LL BE ABLE TO PRODUCE SOME OF THOSE MAPS.
ALEX, I HAVE NO QUESTIONS AT THIS.
ANY COMMENTS FROM QUESTIONS? THIS CHAIR? THANK YOU.
UM, THE, UH, IT SEEMS LIKE WE'LL BE SPEEDING UP HERE AS FAR AS GETTING INFORMATION IN FRONT OF US BASED OFF OF THE CAPABILITIES OF THE SOFTWARE.
UM, THERE, THERE WAS ONE, UH, CHARGE SET OUT, UM, THAT WE HAVE NOT REALLY TALKED ABOUT, AND THAT WAS THE, UH, PLACEMENT OF THIS ADVISORY COMMITTEE.
UM, IS THAT WITHIN THE TIMELINE SOMEWHERE? SO THIS IS IMPLEMENTATION OF THE ORDINANCE THAT WAS ENACTED.
AND CERTAINLY THERE WAS DISCUSSION OF, UH, A FUTURE PHASE WHERE WE WOULD ENACT, UM, AN ADVISORY COMMITTEE AND WE, WE WOULD LOOK AT SOME ADDITIONAL, UM, REGULATION OR LOOK AT HIGH OCCUPANCY SHORT TERM RENTALS.
AND, AND, AND THAT PROCESS WE HAVEN'T YET STARTED.
SO WE'RE LOOKING IN SOMETIME IN EARLY NEXT YEAR AFTER WE HAVE THIS LAUNCHED, UM, AND UNDERWAY TO MOVE INTO PHASE TWO.
YEAH, I'M, I'M, UH, I GUESS MAYBE GETTING AHEAD OF MYSELF A LITTLE BIT HERE, BUT, UM, AS, UH, COUNCILMAN STANFORD HAD ASKED THE QUESTION ABOUT THE NUMBER OF UNITS, I THINK ONCE THAT HEAT MAP GETS IN FRONT OF US, THAT WE REALLY KNOW WHAT'S OUT THERE THAT'S GOING TO REALLY START TO PERCOLATE DISCUSSIONS AND REACTIONS AND THAT SORT OF THING.
SO I WANT US TO BE PREPARED TO HAVE QUALIFIED DISCUSSIONS AROUND IT.
UH, SO I THINK THE, THAT PHASE OF THE ADVISORY COMMITTEE AND, YOU KNOW, HOW WE FORMAT DISCUSSIONS MOVING FORWARD IS IMPORTANT FOR US TO START THINKING ABOUT.
SO THE, AND JUST THE, THE PHASE TWO, UM, THE MAIN COMPONENTS THAT WERE IDENTIFIED IN THAT, THAT WE HAVEN'T YET STARTED WERE TO ESTABLISH AN ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON SHORT TERM RENTALS, EXAMINE HIGH OCCUPANCY SHORT-TERM RENTALS, EXAMINE HIGH FLOOR AREA RATIOS, SINGLE FAMILY STRUCTURES, EXAMINE OCCUPANCY LIMITS, REVIEW OF SATURDAY CHECK-INS, AS WELL AS THE IMPACTS OF, IN THE INCREASING NUMBER OF SHORT TERM, SHORT TERM RENTALS AND, AND HOW THAT TRENDS TOWARDS THE FUTURE.
SO THAT'S ALL IN A FUTURE PHASE, BUT, BUT IT'S NOT YET ON THE IMMEDIATE RADAR, BUT IT'S COMING SOON.
CAN I ASK FOR CLARIFICATION ON THAT? WAS THAT SOMETHING THAT THE, UH, WAS DIRECTED, UM, BY THE COMMITTEE TO MOVE FORWARD WITH AS A SEQUENTIAL? OR WAS THAT SOMETHING THAT WAS GOING TO BE BROUGHT BACK FOR FURTHER DISCUSSION AS TO WHETHER OR NOT WE MOVED FORWARD? OH, YES.
UM, CERTAINLY THE, IT WAS WE NEEDED THE DATA MM-HMM.
UM, AND ONCE WE GET THAT DATA, THEN WE'LL DETERMINE WHETHER WHERE WE HAD PHASE TO IS A IN NECESSITY.
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THAT'S CORRECT.THE LETTERS GENERATED BY GOBEL WEST GO OUT THE FIRST WEEK IN DECEMBER.
SO THAT PRETTY MUCH PUTS A TIME SPECIFIC FOR IDENTIFYING THE NUMBER, UH, OF SHORT TERM RENTALS.
ANY COMMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC? PETER, I THANK YOU, MR. CHAIRMAN.
I DIDN'T COME FOR, FOR THIS PARTICULAR ITEM, BUT THIS IS IN OUR WHEELHOUSE.
UM, OBVIOUSLY THESE ARE FIRST STEPS AND WE'RE GONNA SEE HOW THESE WORK AND ENFORCEMENT, AS MISSY POINTED OUT, IS GONNA BE THE KEY.
IT'S GREAT TO HAVE RULES AND REGULATIONS, BUT IF YOU HAVE NO ENFORCEMENT, IT'S NOT GONNA WORK.
UM, OBVIOUSLY, MOST OF THE PEOPLE IN THIS ROOM AND ON THIS ISLAND, WERE ONCE TOURISTS AND THEY SUPPORT THE LIFESTYLE THAT WE ALL ENJOY.
HOWEVER, THERE NEEDS TO BE A BALANCE.
AND AS WE GO THROUGH THIS, AND I'VE SAID THIS OVER AND OVER AGAIN, IF THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY TO MEET WITH ALL THE FOLKS WHO CONTROL THE BULK OF THE RENTAL, SHORT TERM RENTAL MARKET, IF THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY TO CONVINCE THEM TO STAGGER THEIR CHECK IN DAYS, IT WOULD GO A GREAT WAY TO ELIMINATE A LOT OF THE PROBLEMS WE ARE SEEING WITH BOTH TRAFFIC AND SERVICES ON THE ISLAND.
BECAUSE THE MAJORITY OF THE FOLKS LEAVE AT 10 O'CLOCK ON SATURDAY MORNING, AND THE MAJORITY OF THE FOLKS CHECK IN AT FOUR O'CLOCK ON SATURDAY AFTERNOON.
IT, THAT COULD BE STAGGERED JUST OVER TWO DAYS INSTEAD OF, OF HAVING SATURDAY TO SATURDAY, HAVE FRIDAY TO FRIDAY AND SATURDAY TO SATURDAY, AND EVEN SUNDAY TO SUNDAY.
MANY OTHER COMMUNITIES LIKE OURS THAT ARE RESORT IN THEIR ORIENTATION AND, UM, IN THEIR ECONOMY DO THE SAME THING.
AND IT CAN BE DONE ON A VOLUNTARY BASIS WITHOUT AN NOR.
OR YOU CAN INCENTIVIZE IT BY GIVING FOLKS A BREAK ON, ON THEIR BUSINESS LICENSE IF THEY DO IT THE RIGHT WAY.
I'VE MADE THE SUGGESTION FOR 10 YEARS, IT'S NEVER GOTTEN ANY TRACTION, BUT SOMETHING TO CONSIDER.
THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY.
BACK TO THE DS, UH, MISSING, NO ACTION IS REQUIRED.
NEW BUSINESS ITEM NUMBER TWO, INTRODUCTION OF THE STRATEGIC PLAN ITEM TO IDENTIFY STRENGTHS, WEAKNESSES, OPPORTUNITIES AND THREATS, UH, OF HILTON HEAD ISLAND RESILIENCY.
UM, WE NEED HELP HERE, KRISTA.
JUST DOWN TO THE, OH, AND THEY'RE ALL GONE.
UM, HAPPY TO BE BEFORE YOU THIS MORNING.
WHAT, UH, I WANNA PRESENT IS, THIS IS A STRATEGIC ACTION PLAN INITIATIVE, AND SO I WANNA GIVE YOU AN OUTLINE, AN OVERVIEW OF WHERE WE ARE TODAY AND WHERE WE'RE GOING.
AND, UM, NO ACTION NEEDED ON THIS ITEM EITHER, ALTHOUGH I WOULD LIKE FEEDBACK.
SO IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, IDEAS THAT POP UP ALONG THE PRESENTATION, UM, PLEASE INTERJECT AND, AND LET ME KNOW, AND, AND I'LL TRY TO DOCUMENT THOSE.
AND GOING FORWARD, WE WILL, UH, JEFF, WOULD YOU PREFER WE WAIT UNTIL YOU'RE, UM, NO, I THINK AS WE GO, IT MAY BE, YOU KNOW, HELPFUL AND, AND WE'LL TRACK THOSE AND, AND, UH, I'LL TRY NOT TO TAKE TOO LONG.
UM, THIS HAS TAKEN DIRECTLY OUT OF THE STRATEGIC ACTION PLAN, UH, PURPOSE STATEMENT, WHY WE'RE DOING WHAT WE'RE DOING.
UM, I WAS SPEAKING WITH ONE OF OUR RESIDENTS BEFORE THE MEETING HERE ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WE'RE A LITTLE LATE TO THE GAME.
I'VE GONE TO CONFERENCES, OF COURSE, AND BEEN AROUND AND, AND SEEN SO MANY PLANS ALREADY IN PLACE.
AND SO IT'S, IT'S A GOOD THING THAT WE'RE DOING IT NOW.
AND, UH, VERY EXCITED TO BE WORKING ON IT.
UM, COMES FROM THE COMP PLAN ALSO, UH, THIS WAS APPROVED A FEW YEARS AGO.
UH, THERE WAS A GOAL REGARDING RESILIENCE.
UM, SO THEY OUTLINED STEPS WE SHOULD TAKE.
UH, AND, AND THAT'S REALLY WAS THE BASIS FOR THIS STRATEGIC ACTION, UH, PLAN INITIATIVE.
UM, PRIMARY GOALS AND OBJECTIVES.
I'LL SPEND A LITTLE BIT OF TIME ON THIS SLIDE.
UM, YOU KNOW, I PUT TOGETHER A, A, A STATEMENT UP HERE, IMPROVE THE RESILIENCY OF THE ISLAND AGAINST THREATS OF CLIMATE CHANGE AND SEA LEVEL RISE TO BETTER PROTECT OUR RESIDENTS INFRASTRUCTURE, PUBLIC AND PRIVATE ASSETS, NATURAL ENVIRONMENT, QUALITY OF LIFE, UH, WITH RECOMMENDATIONS FOR NEAR, MID,
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AND LONG TERM ACTIONS.AND AS YOU LOOK AT A LOT OF THESE PLANS, THAT'S THE WAY MOST PEOPLE DO IT.
THEY WILL HAVE NEAR, MID AND LONG TERM ACTIONS.
AND RIGHT NOW, A AS WE BUILD THE PLAN AND DEVELOP IT, YOU KNOW, WE WILL HONE IN AND SELECT THOSE.
BUT RIGHT NOW, I WOULD PROBABLY SAY 2030 WOULD BE NEAR TERM 2050 MIDTERM AND 2100 LONG TERM.
UM, YOU KNOW, WE'RE ALMOST IN 20, 23, 20, 37 YEARS AWAY.
SO TO IMPLEMENT SOME OF THE, THE NEAR TERM ACTION ITEMS AND, AND BUDGET AND BUILD THOSE, I THINK THAT'S A, THAT'S A DOABLE THING.
BUT, BUT THOSE ARE KIND OF THE TIMELINE, THE MILESTONES I HAVE IN MIND FOR THE NEAR, MID, AND LONG TERM ACTIONS.
UM, THE EXTENT OF THE PLAN, OF COURSE, WILL BE THE TIME LIMITS, UH, CAUSEWAYS AND BRIDGES TO THE MAINLAND, UH, OF COURSE, VERY, VERY IMPORTANT.
UM, THE SCHEDULE AS OUTLINE IN THE STRATEGIC ACTION PLAN, UH, WE JUST STARTED, UH, HERE A MONTH OR TWO AGO.
UM, WE'RE GONNA RUN THE FIRST PHASE UP THROUGH THE SECOND QUARTER OF NEXT YEAR, AND THEN BEGIN THE SECOND PHASE.
AND, AND I'LL SPEAK MORE TO THE SCHEDULE HERE NEAR THE END OF THE PRESENTATION.
AND THE STAKEHOLDERS, OF COURSE, THE CITIZENS, PROPERTY OWNERS, VISITORS, UTILITIES, UM, ALL THE GOVERNMENT AGENCIES, HEALTHCARE BUSINESS OWNERS, ET CETERA.
JEFF, BEFORE YOU GO AWAY FROM THAT SLIDE, UH, WHERE IS THAT PICTURE TAKEN? BEACH.
AND SO I DIDN'T UNDERSTAND YOU.
IT'S WHERE, UH, SINGLETON BEACH AT THE END OF SINGLETON BEACH, RIGHT? YES, SIR.
SO, YEAH, VERY, UH, IMPACTFUL PICTURE THERE.
UH, PARTNERING, UM, AS I SAID, A LOT OF PEOPLE HAVE DONE A LOT OF WORK ALREADY TO DATE.
UM, THESE ARE THE MAIN AGENCIES I'VE BEEN SPEAKING WITH, SOUTH CAROLINA OFFICE OF RESILIENCY.
UH, THEY HAVE A, A RESILIENCY PLANNER, HOPE WARREN, WHO I'VE BEEN, UH, COMMUNICATING WITH, AND SHE'S BEEN VERY HELPFUL.
UH, THE C GRANT CONSORTIUM, THAT IS REALLY THE UNIVERSITIES, UH, OF SOUTH CAROLINA, UM, THAT CAN APPLY SCIENCE AND, AND, AND FOLKS WORKING ON PROTECTING THE COAST, DOING THINGS ALONG THE COASTLINE THAT IS A VERY GOOD AGENCY.
THEY COMPILE PLANS, UH, DATA AND, AND, AND, AND OTHER, YOU KNOW, USEFUL INFORMATION.
AND SO I'LL BE WORKING WITH THEM.
UH, NO, OF COURSE, THEY, THEY'VE GOT, UH, ALL THE CLIMATE, UH, DATA, UH, THAT'S THE BEST SOURCE OF DATA AND FEMA THROUGH HOMELAND SECURITY.
THEY HAVE, WELL, THEY HAVE GRANTS FRANKLY, IN FUNDING AND OTHER, UH, PLANS AND WAY WE, WE CAN HELP.
AND SO WE, WE HAVE APPLIED FOR TWO GRANTS TO LET YOU KNOW, UM, THE HAZARD MITIGATION GRANT, UH, PROGRAM, AND THEN, UH, THE BRICK GRANT BUILDING RESILIENCY AND INFRASTRUCTURE IN COMMUNITIES.
AND, UM, BECAUSE WE GOT SHORTLISTED FOR ONE OF THOSE GRANTS, THE OTHER ONE, THEY SAID, WE'RE GONNA TAKE YOU OFF THE LIST AND PUT YOU ON THAT.
AND SO, ANYHOW, WE SHOULD KNOW IN A FEW MONTHS WHETHER WE'RE SUCCESSFUL, UH, IN WINNING THAT GRANT, CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE FACILITIES, WE HAVE LISTS ALREADY IN PLACE FOR OUR EMERGENCY ACTION PLAN, DEBRIS MANAGEMENT OPERATIONS, ET CETERA.
I WILL REFINE THAT AND VET IT AND, AND MAKE SURE THIS IS THE PROPER LIST FOR RESILIENCY.
UH, BUT AS YOU CAN IMAGINE, UTILITIES, UM, ALL THE SERVICE PROVIDERS, TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS, OUR STORM DRAINING SYSTEM, I'LL TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THAT.
UM, AND THEN HEALTHCARE AND, AND PUBLIC FACILITIES.
UM, I KNOW MR. BROWN, DURING THE BEACH MANAGEMENT PRESENTATION ASKED THE OTHER DAY ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WE'RE LOOKING AT THE FRONT END, YOU KNOW, THE ATLANTIC FACING INFRASTRUCTURE, THAT, THAT IS THE BEACH.
UH, BUT ON THE BACK END AS THE TIDES RISE, UM, OUR STORM DRAINING SYSTEMS, YOU KNOW, WE'VE HAD A STORM WATER UTILITY IN PLACE FOR, FOR 20 YEARS.
WE HAVE FOUR MAJOR PUMP STATIONS.
UM, WHAT WE CAN DO ON, ON THE BACKSIDE AND TO PROTECT, YOU KNOW, THE SEA LEVEL COMING UP.
AND IN THERE, UH, THE MAIN WEAPON OR, OR TOOL, UH, BACKFLOW PREVENTION FOR THESE PIPES AND DITCHES THAT DRAIN OUT INTO TIDAL WATERS.
UM, THERE'S ALL KINDS, YOU KNOW, DIFFERENT KINDS OF GATES AND VALVES.
YOU CAN PREVENT BACKFLOW COMING BACK UP INTO THE SYSTEM.
SO RETROFITTING A LOT OF THOSE OUTFALLS WITH BETTER BACKFLOW PREVENTION, UM, MAYBE MORE PUMP STATIONS IN OUR FUTURE.
THAT ONE IN THE BOTTOM PHOTO IS WEXFORD, UH, PLANTATION, RIGHT AT THE BORDER OF LONG COVEN WEXFORD AS IT EMPTIES INTO BROAD CREEK.
UM, WE HAVE A, YOU KNOW, A MASSIVE STRUCTURE BACK THERE.
WE HAVE GRAVITY CULVERT STRAINING OUT AS WELL.
UH, WE HAVE A EMERGENCY DIESEL GENERATOR UP THERE.
THE PUMPS THEMSELVES ARE WIRED, HARDWIRED INTO A TRANSFORMER FROM PROTO ELECTRIC.
BUT SHOULD THE POWER GO OUT, WE'VE GOT A DIESEL GENERATOR BACK UP TO, UH, OPERATE THOSE PUMPS.
HOW DID THESE HOLD UP DURING IRMA GO? WE, THEY HELD UP, WELL, WE, WE HAD AN ISSUE BACK AT THIS PARTICULAR PUMP STATION WHERE THE, THE SURGE, THE TIDE CAME AROUND THROUGH THE LONG COVE SIDE AND FLOWED BACK OVER.
AND SO TO PREVENT A RECIRCULATION OF WATER, WE BUILT UP A BERM TO BETTER, YOU KNOW, MAKE THIS MORE FUNCTIONAL AND RESILIENT.
UM, BUT YEAH, THAT WAS ONE OF THE THINGS WE DID THEN.
AND AS WE LOOK AT FUTURE PROJECTIONS FOR SEA LEVEL RISE, THERE MAY BE MORE OF THAT, UH, IN STORE FOR US.
JARVIS CREEK HAS A MAJOR FACILITY ALSO.
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A PROBLEM, UH, IN MATTHEW, UH, THAT NO ONE COULD HAVE EXPECTED.UM, YEAH, DURING THAT, THERE IS A BOX COVERED UNDER S 2 78.
I THINK IT'S EIGHT FOOT HIGH BY 12 FOOT WIDE OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
UM, MAYBE NOT THAT LARGE OF A DIMENSION, BUT ANYHOW, A A TRUCK BED LINE OR A BIG PLASTIC TRUCK BED LINER FLOATED UP AND WEDGED AND MASHED AGAINST THE CULVERT OPENING.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, A FEW HUNDRED FEET DOWN, YOU'VE GOT A MULTIMILLION DOLLAR PUMP STATION PUMPING, AND YOU HAD THIS FREAK BLOCKAGE.
AND SO, BUT, UH, HAVE YOU PUT SOME SORT OF SYSTEM THERE THAT WOULD PREVENT SOMETHING LIKE THAT FROM HAPPENING AGAIN, LIKE A SCREEN, FOR EXAMPLE? UM, WE, THAT PARTICULAR ONE, WE, WE DO NOT HAVE, HAVE A SCREEN ON THERE NOW.
HIS ANSWER, UM, YEAH, WE, WE'VE TOLD FOLKS TO CLEAN UP THEIR, THEIR SITES AND, AND TIDY UP AND, AND NOT LEAVE LOOSE THINGS OUT THERE.
BUT, BUT WE ARE WORKING ON, PART OF THE RESILIENCY IS SOME BETTER SCREENING FOR THOSE PUMP STATIONS.
THE ONE BACK AT WEXFORD, EVEN THOUGH THESE WATERSHEDS ARE MOSTLY CLEAN, YOU CAN GET A FREE CON OCCURRENCE, AND, AND A LOT OF IT'S GONNA BE ORGANIC.
IT'LL BE TREE LIMBS AND LOGS, ET CETERA.
UM, BUT WE ARE IN THE PROCESS NOW PUTTING A BIGGER, BETTER SCREEN ON THE WEXFORD PUMP STATION.
AND, UH, WE'RE GONNA LOOK UP THERE AT MAIN STREET IN THAT ONE AS WELL.
UM, THI YOU KNOW, THIS IS ANOTHER DRAMATIC PHOTO.
THIS IS HARBOR ISLAND, WHICH IS, YOU KNOW, IN BEAUFORT COUNTY.
UM, BUT TALKING ABOUT EXISTING, UH, STUDIES AND PLANS, WE'VE BEEN COMPILING OTHER, YOU KNOW, FROM AROUND COASTAL US AND EVEN OTHER COUNTRIES, LOOKING TO SEE WHAT THEY DO AND, AND TAKING ALL THOSE IN.
I'M GONNA DO A BENCHMARKING ANALYSIS.
LIKE WHAT ARE THE BEST PARTS OF THOSE PLANS, KIND OF WHAT, WHAT TARGET THAT IS.
THE KEY THING I THINK IN ALL OF THIS IS WHAT TARGET YOU PICK ON THE SEA LEVEL RISE, RIGHT? SO THERE'S A LOT OF DATA OUT THERE.
UM, YOU KNOW, NOAH HAS ALL THESE PROJECTIONS AND THE, THE MAJOR CATEGORIES THEY WILL SAY ARE LOW, INTERMEDIATE, LOW INTERMEDIATE, INTERMEDIATE, HIGH AND HIGH.
AND SO YOU CAN PICK ONE OF THOSE FIVE CURVES AND THEY'LL SAY, IN 10 YEARS, THIS CURVE SAYS IT'S GONNA RAISE THIS MUCH.
IN 30 YEARS, IT'S GONNA RAISE THIS MUCH.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, IF YOU APPLY LIKE THE GOLDILOCKS PRINCIPLE, YOU WOULD THINK INTERMEDIATE IS, IS MOST LOGICALLY THE CHOICE.
IF YOU TARGET TOO LOW OF A SCENARIO AND, AND TURNS OUT THAT, YOU KNOW, IT REALLY WAS TOO LOW, AND GENERATIONS LATER THEY'RE HAVING TO REDO AND REBUILD THINGS THAT WE DID, YOU KNOW, YOU PICKED TOO HIGH OF A TARGET, YOU OVERSPEND, UH, MAYBE YOU DON'T HAVE THE FUNDING, BUT, BUT YOU BUILD UNNECESSARILY.
SO, SO THAT IS A VERY, VERY KEY DECISION IN THIS WHOLE THING.
UM, WHAT TARGET SCENARIO WE PICK AND INTERMEDIATE SEEMS TO BE, YOU KNOW, MOST COMMON OR MOST, UH, LOGICAL THING TO PICK.
ONE OF THE THINGS WE DID, WE PUT A, UH, TIDE GAUGE OUT THERE.
UH, THERE'S A GROUP THAT'S TRYING TO GET MORE DATA, MORE TIDE DATA UP AND DOWN THE COAST.
AND SO I THINK IT WAS $500 WE PAID FOR THIS THING.
UM, SOLAR POWER, YOU KNOW, SHOOTS A, A BEAM DOWN AT THE WATER SURFACE AND, AND RELAYS DATA BACK.
UH, THIS GROUP HAS A WEBSITE, YOU KNOW, YOU CAN GO ON AND LOOK UP AND DOWN THE COAST AND, AND SEE HOW TIDE DATA IS, IS HAPPENING.
WE PUT THIS BACK AT THE WEXFORD, UH, HARBOR ON A, ON A CONCRETE HEAD WALL THERE.
WE MAY GET ANOTHER ONE, JUST MORE DATA, MORE REDUNDANCY, PUT IT SOMEWHERE ELSE HERE.
WHAT ARE YOU FINDING? EXCUSE? WHAT ARE YOU FINDING FROM THE TIDE GAUGE? UH, WELL, WE'RE JUST MONITORING, YOU KNOW, LIKE, UM, YOU KNOW, UH, WE COULD LOOK AT THE SURGE, YOU KNOW, FOR INSTANCE, YOU KNOW, WHEN HE END CAME, WE COULD SAY, HERE'S HOW HOT IT WAS.
THEY LOOK UP IN GEORGETOWN, HERE'S HOW IT WAS THERE, ET CETERA.
SO NOTHING REAL EVENTFUL THUS FAR.
YOU KNOW, IAN CAME, BUT, BUT OTHERWISE, IT'S JUST CHECKING THE DAILY TIDES.
YOU MEASURE WATER LEVELS ROUTINELY, RIGHT? SAY AGAIN? YOU MEASURE THE LEVEL OF WATER ROUTINELY THROUGH, THROUGH THIS TIDE GAUGE WE DO THERE, BUT, UH, THERE ARE NOT NECESSARILY STREAM GAUGES THROUGHOUT THE SYSTEM.
UM, SO, SO THERE ARE NOT A, A NETWORK OF GAUGES WITH TELEMETRY, ET CETERA.
WE HAVE GAUGES AT THE PUMP STATIONS AND, AND WE KNOW, BUT, BUT THIS TIDE GAUGE IS MEASURING, I THOUGHT A WHILE BACK, WE, WE HAD DATA OR COMMENTS FROM, UH, FROM STAFF THAT, UH, YOU HAVE BEEN TRACKING THE WATER LEVEL FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS.
WE, WE HAVE WATER QUALITY, UH, WATER QUALITY MONITORING WITH, WRONG.
UM, TOWN ORDINANCES, UM, YOU KNOW, WENT THROUGH AND LOOKED AT THE ONES RELATED TO, UH, RESILIENCY, ANYTHING, YOU KNOW, WITH BUILDING DEVELOPMENT WELL, AND PROTECTIONS, FLOOD ZONES, ET CETERA.
SO I THINK THERE'S OPPORTUNITY ROOM THERE TO, TO REVIEW ALL OF THESE, UPDATE THESE, UM, BETTER PROTECT, UH, FUTURE DEVELOPMENT, ET CETERA.
JEFF, BACK TO THE TIDE GAUGE, WE ONLY HAD TO SPEND $500.
IT SEEMS TO ME WE SHOULD FIND TWO OR THREE OTHER LOCATIONS TO DO THAT SO THAT WE CAN GET BETTER DATA.
[00:25:01]
TO BE DAMAGED OR WHATEVER, THEN WE'LL STILL HAVE THE DATA COMING IN.SO FOR THAT KIND OF INVESTMENT, UM, LET'S SERIOUSLY LOOK AT GETTING MORE.
YEAH, WE'D LIKE TO GET ONE ON THE NORTH END AND ONE DOWN NEAR THE, THE TOE OF THE ISLAND.
I WAS, PART OF MY COMMENTS THAT I WAS GOING TO MAKE IS THAT ONE LOCATION ON THE ISLAND ISN'T PROBABLY OUR BEST MEASURE, BUT IF WE TAKE THE COASTLINE, THAT WOULD BE, UM, A GOOD PLACE TO MAYBE PUT TWO OR THREE AROUND THE FOOT OF THE SHOE.
THE, UM, OTHER THING IS ON 16, 10, 12 RULES OF MEASUREMENT, HOW DOES THAT RELATE TO, TO THIS? THAT'S GENERALLY THE WAY I KNOW THAT PARTICULAR, UM, ORDINANCE.
IT HAS TO DO WITH, UM, THE HEIGHT OF BUILDINGS WHERE WE START MEASURING FROM C LEVEL, UM, MEAN C LEVEL.
HOW DOES THAT RELATE TO THIS IN PARTICULAR? THAT, YOU KNOW, WE BOTH BASED THOSE ON THE, UM, N F I P, THE, THE FIRM FEDERAL INSURANCE MM-HMM.
UH, SO, SO WE'LL LOOK AND SEE WHAT THE BUILDING ELEVATIONS ARE BEING SET AT.
YOU KNOW, THOSE MODELS AND MAPPING WERE REDONE MM-HMM.
I, I THINK IT'S PRUDENT DURING THIS EXERCISE TO LOOK AT THAT.
UH, THIS IS THE SWAT, YOU KNOW, THIS THING'S CALLED A SWAT ANALYSIS.
AND SO THE S IS FOR STRENGTHS, W'S FOR WEAKNESSES.
UH, O IS FOR OPPORTUNITIES, AND T IS FOR THREATS.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE STRENGTHS AND, AND, AND SAY, WELL, WE HAVE GOOD PUBLIC INTEREST.
WE, WE HAVE PEOPLE AND STAFF, FLOOD PLAIN MANAGERS, STORMWATER ENGINEERS, ET CETERA.
UM, AND WE'LL BE TALKING ABOUT A CONSULTING FIRM LATER TO HELP DEVELOP THE PLAN.
UM, CURRENT FUNDING FOR INITIAL STUDIES, WE BUDGETED 250,000 IN OUR STORMWATER UTILITY BUDGET LAST YEAR, THIS FISCAL YEAR.
THAT IS, SO WE HAVE THAT MONEY RIGHT NOW.
WE'VE APPLIED FOR THE FEMA GRANT, WHICH IS, UH, 56,000 IF WE'RE SUCCESSFUL.
AND, AND WE'LL TRY TO LEVERAGE THAT MONEY WITH OTHER GRANTS IF, IF WE HAVE OPPORTUNITY TO DO SO.
UM, GIS AND SURVEY DATA, WHEN, WHEN OTHER ENGINEERS AND PEOPLE COME HERE TO DO PROJECTS, THEY'RE ALWAYS VERY COMPLIMENTARY OF OUR GOOD DATA.
UM, WE'VE DONE A GOOD JOB, YOU KNOW, WITH, UH, LIDAR AND TOPOGRAPHY DATA.
YOU KNOW, MISS MISSY WAS MENTIONING PARCEL DATA.
WHEN THESE FOLKS COME HERE, THEY SAY A LOT OF TIMES WHEN THEY DO THESE STUDIES OR THESE PLANS, HALF THE BATTLE IS DEVELOPMENT OF DATA AND IT'S COSTLY AND, AND TIMELY.
AND SO WE HAVE GOOD DATA, AND AS WE GO FORWARD, A LOT OF THIS ANALYSIS WILL DO WITH ECONOMIC IMPACTS, RIGHT? SO WE'LL DO COST BENEFITS IF YOU PROTECT ALL OF THESE PROPERTIES WITH THESE TYPES OF DEVELOPMENTS ON THEM, YOU KNOW, YOU COULD SPEND X TO PROTECT Y AND LOOK AT THE COST BENEFITS.
AND SO I THINK THAT'S A, A REALLY STRONG PIECE OF OUR, UH, ARSENAL HERE AS WE DO THIS.
IT IS OUR GOOD DATA ESTABLISH BEAST RE NOURISHMENT PROGRAM.
YOU KNOW, SOME FOLKS DON'T HAVE IT.
UM, LIKE WE, WE WERE TALKING ABOUT THE OTHER DAY, SOME COMMUNITIES, IT'S KIND OF EVERY PROPERTY OWNER FOR THEMSELVES, OR THEY RELY, YOU KNOW, ON THE GOVERNMENT, THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT THAT IS TO COME IN.
AND RENE, WITH THE CORE OF ENGINEERS, WE HAVE A PROGRAM, WE HAVE A FUNDING SOURCE, SO THE ATLANTIC FRONT OF THE ISLAND, UM, IS PROTECTED AND WE CAN INCORPORATE SEA LEVEL RISE INTO THOSE FUTURE PROJECTS.
UH, THE STORMWATER UTILITY, YOU KNOW, WE'VE HAD THAT PROGRAM FOR, FOR 20 YEARS.
JEFF, BACK TO MY ORIGINAL QUESTION, WHAT DATA DO WE HAVE RELATIVE TO SEA LEVEL RISE ON THE ISLAND? WELL, I MEAN, WE HAVE TIDE GAUGES.
UH, THE, THE NEAREST ONE WAS FORT PULASKI DOWN THERE, SO WE WOULD RELY ON THAT.
AND WHAT THE WEATHER SERVICE HAS, WE HAVE THIS NEW ONE WE'VE INSTALLED BACK AT WEXFORD, AND SO WE'RE PART OF THIS GROUP, THIS CONSORTIUMS THAT'S TRYING TO BUILD DATA, GET BETTER DATA.
SO, SO WE HAVE THAT GOING FORWARD, BUT WE, WHAT'S IT TELL US? WELL, IT'S TELLING US WHAT, WHAT THE TIDES ARE EACH DAY, AND YOU KNOW, WHEN ONE OF THE, THE MEASURES THEY USE AS A MAIN HIGH, HIGH WATER TIDE, AND SO EACH DAY THERE'S TWO HIGH TIDES, IT'LL TAKE THE HIGHEST OF THAT, AND THEN IT'LL AVERAGE 'EM OUT, AND THEY'LL SAY, THIS IS THE MAIN HIGH, HIGH WATER IS THE AVERAGE INCREASING.
UM, WELL, WE'VE ONLY HAD THIS ONE A YEAR.
I MEAN, ALL THE PROJECTIONS AND NOAH PROJECTIONS ARE, THAT IS INCREASING.
BUT YEAH, THIS, THIS IS PART OF A, A GROUP OF, OF DATA SETS, A GROUP OF GAUGES, AND SO IT, IT'S HELPING THE FOLKS UP AND DOWN THE COAST TO, TO GET THIS.
BUT YEAH, LIKE YOU WERE SAYING, WE WILL ADD A COUPLE MORE JUST FOR REDUNDANCY AND, AND MORE DATA.
I THINK IT GIVES US A LOT OF, UM, INFORMATION THAT'S SPECIFIC TO OUR ISLAND, WHICH, YOU KNOW, GRANTED, I UNDERSTAND PEOPLE ARE DOING IT UP AND DOWN THE COAST, BUT WHEN WE LOOK AT WHAT'S SPECIFICALLY HAPPENING HERE, WE CAN MORE UNDERSTAND IT AND BE PREPARED TO, AND YEAH, THERE IS A, A BIT OF A VARIANCE FROM FORT, UH, FORT PULASKI, UH, THROUGH HERE.
THIS IS VERY, VERY SITE SPECIFIC.
WOULDN'T WE BE ABLE ALSO TO COLLECT SOME DATA FROM THE BEACH NE
[00:30:01]
RE NOURISHMENT PROJECTS IN TERMS OF WHERE WE SEE THAT HIGH TIDE, THAT HIGH WATER MARK BEING THE AMOUNT OF SAND THAT'S BEEN ADDED INTO CALCULATIONS WITHIN THAT.IT SEEMS TO ME THERE BE SOME RELATIONSHIP THERE THAT WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO GAIN SOME INSIGHT INTO OUR OWN BEACHES AND WHERE THE WATERLINE IS.
THEY, THEY'LL DO, THEY DO HYDROGRAPHIC SURVEYS AND WE DO A PROFILE OF THE BEACH, YOU KNOW, WHERE THE SAND IS, HOW FAR OUT.
BUT, BUT I REMEMBER, BUT THEY LOOK RIGHT.
ONE OF THE MEASURES IS THE MEAN HIGH, HIGH WATER, AND THEY SAY THAT'S ON AVERAGE WHERE THE HIGH TIDE GETS TO.
BUT OVER TIME, WE SHOULD BE ABLE TO SEE WHETHER OR NOT THAT THAT MOVES.
SO WITHIN THAT DATA, FROM HAVING DONE THIS SEVERAL TIMES, THERE MUST BE SOMETHING THERE THAT WOULD TELL US, GIVE US SOME INSIGHT.
MAYBE NOT GREAT INSIGHT, BUT SOME INSIGHT YEAH.
AS A STARTING, AND THAT WITH THIS GAUGE YES.
UM, JUST FOLLOWING UP ON THE LINE OF, OF THOUGHT HERE.
UM, I GUESS WHEN I, WHEN I READ STRENGTHS, WEAKNESSES, AND OPPORTUNITIES, UM, I GUESS I'M SOMEWHAT, I'M BEING PUSHY A LITTLE BIT HERE.
UM, I'M, I'M NOT SOLD ON OUR STRENGTHS BEING ACTUAL STRENGTHS.
AND BACK TO THE LINE OF, OF THOUGHT AND QUESTIONING THIS COMING BEFORE YOU, THE, THE ORIGINAL, THE FIRST SLIDE THAT YOU SHOWED US WAS ONE OF, UH, SINGLETON BEACH.
AND I CAN REMEMBER WHEN THAT DEVELOPMENT WAS NOT THERE, AND THAT TWO LITTLE CLUBS DOWN THERE, ONE WAS CALLED WALTER'S PLACE, AND ON KING TIDE, YOU COULDN'T GO TO WALTER'S PLACE.
UM, BECAUSE HE HAD TIDE IN THE BUILDING INSIDE THE BUILDING.
UM, SO I'M NOT SURE THAT WE HAVE ESTABLISHED A TRUE BASELINE TO MEASURE AGAINST.
BECAUSE WHAT I SAW IN THAT, THAT, THAT PICTURE WAS SOMETHING THAT I AM VERY REMEMBERABLE OF BACK IN THE EIGHTIES AND NINETIES.
OKAY? BUT FROM A HOW MANY INCHES OR FEET, WE HAVE NO IDEA.
RIGHT? AND I THINK AS WE START TO TALK ABOUT RESILIENCY OVER THE NEXT 20, 30, 40 YEARS, THAT BASELINE OF DATA, WHICH IT SAYS WE HAVE, I THINK WE NEED TO BE VERY CONCRETE AND CERTAIN ABOUT WHAT THAT IS.
AND, AND HOW WE ARE REALLY GOING TO MEASURE IT.
UM, AND THE, THE THE OTHER ONE THAT I'M, UH, I'M, I'M REALLY PAYING ATTENTION TO IS THIS STORM WATER UTILITY FLOOD PROTECTION INFRASTRUCTURE.
UM, NOW THERE'S BEEN, UM, THERE'S BEEN TALK, UM, AS, AS I'VE ATTENDED MOST OF THE CANDIDATE FORMS ABOUT, YOU KNOW, OUR INFRASTRUCTURE, UH, CONDITION, ALL RIGHT? MATTER OF FACT, THERE'S BEEN A NUMBER THROWN OUT A FEW TIMES AS TO HOW MUCH IT WOULD COST US TO REPAIR OUR CURRENT INFRASTRUCTURE SYSTEM AROUND STORMWATER.
I'M NOT SURE IF YOU'VE GOT THAT NUMBER, JEFF, BUT THE FACT THAT THE NUMBERS BEING CALLED OUT LOUD IS CONCERNING TO ME BECAUSE I'VE NEVER HEARD WHAT IT'S GONNA COST US TO BRING OUR INFRASTRUCTURE UP TO PAR.
UM, SO, UM, I, I THINK THERE'S OPPORTUNITY IN THE INFRASTRUCTURE SYSTEM THAT WE CURRENTLY HAVE, BUT, UM, BY NO MEANS ARE WE CUTTING EDGE OR STATE OF THE ART AT THE MOMENT, RIGHT? I THINK WE WANT TO GET THERE.
AND WHEN YOU LOOK AT OUR, UH, OUR BUDGET, I MEAN THAT SLITHER OF STORM WATER, I MEAN, THAT'S, THAT'S NOT GONNA GET US ANYWHERE.
UH, SO I, I THINK I'M LOOKING AT STRENGTHS, AT LEAST ON THIS SCREEN, AS MORE OPPORTUNITIES AS WE START TO DIVE INTO THIS CONVERSATION, BECAUSE LET'S FACE IT, UM, IT'S IN A STRATEGIC PLAN TO SOME DEGREE IS BRAND NEW FOR US.
UM, SO I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT THE, THE EMPHASIS IS PUT ON THAT WE ARE BEHIND.
WE JUST DON'T KNOW HOW FAR BEHIND WE ARE.
I'VE HEARD THAT THROWN OUT AS WELL.
IS IT, IS THERE ANY PLACE THAT WE HAVE A ROUGH ESTIMATE OR THOUGHT, OR ARE THESE JUST PEOPLE WHO ARE MAKING ASSUMPTIONS? WHEN YOU SAY FIX THE STORMWATER SYSTEM, I MEAN, IS THAT YEAH.
YOU KNOW, IT'S A SYSTEM THAT, THAT WILL BREAK DOWN AND FAIL OVER TIME.
THERE MAY BE A PIPE AND C PINES IS FINE TODAY AND FIVE YEARS NOW, IT, IT FAILS AND CORRODES AND NEEDS REPLACED.
AND SO WE OVER 20 YEARS HAVE DONE, YOU KNOW, DOZENS OF CAPITAL PROJECTS, YOU KNOW MM-HMM.
AND SO, SO WE, FROM THE ORIGINAL MASTER STORMWATER STUDY BACK IN 1995, WE DEVELOPED THIS BIG PROJECT LIST OF DEFICIENCIES MM-HMM.
AND SO OVER THE DECADES, WE'VE DONE DOZENS OF, OF THESE PROJECTS MM-HMM.
[00:35:01]
HAVE FOUND, YOU KNOW, PIPES TOO SMALL, NEED A BIG PIPE, YOU KNOW, CAN'T RELY ON GRAVITY, PIPES AND DITCHES.WE NEED TO BUILD PUMP STATIONS.
AND OVER TIME, YES, IT, IT'S A RECURRING PROGRAM.
YOU NEED, YOU KNOW, LIKE MAINTAINING YOUR CAR OR, OR ANYTHING, YOUR HOUSE.
SO, SO YES, THERE WILL BE OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE COSTS AS WE DO THIS.
AND TO BUILD RESILIENCY THAT MAY, YOU KNOW, BE A LOT MORE CAPITAL UPGRADES OF, WE USED TO THINK, WE CALL IT A TAILWATER CONDITION, WHERE DO, DO ALL THESE SYSTEMS EMPTY OUT INTO, AND THAT'S YOUR STARTING POINT.
SO IF YOU PICK A MEAN HIGH TIDE AND SAY, WELL ASSUME THE WATER'S GONNA BE THIS HIGH.
WE NEED TO GET ALL THIS RUNOFF FROM OUR DEVELOPED LANDS OUT THERE INTO THE OCEAN.
AND SO IF WE'RE GONNA PUT A NEW STANDARD AND SAY, YOU KNOW, WE USED TO THINK IT WAS THIS HIGH, WELL NOW LET'S SAY, YOU KNOW, 30 YEARS FROM NOW, IT'S GONNA BE THIS HIGH.
SO ALL NEW DEVELOPMENTS, ALL NEW DESIGNS ARE GONNA HAVE TO BE PREDICATED ON THAT, THEN WE'RE GONNA BE UPGRADING SOME OF THE SYSTEM.
BUT, BUT YEAH, I DON'T HAVE A GOOD NUMBER TO SAY, YEAH, THANK YOU KNOW, X MILLION COULD JUST SOLVE IT.
AND THERE IS NO NUMBER WHEN I LISTED IT AS A STRENGTH, UM, YOU KNOW, I SEE WHAT A LOT OF OTHER COMMUNITIES DO.
AND, AND WE HAVE TAKEN THE INITIATIVE TO MAKE AGREEMENTS WITH, YOU KNOW, PRIVATE COMMUNITIES.
USUALLY THE, THE PREMISE OF MOST STORMWATER UTILITIES IS WHAT QUALIFIES FOR SERVICE IS ANY SYSTEM THAT CONVEYS PUBLIC RUNOFFS.
SO A DROP OF RAIN FALLS ON A PUBLIC ROAD RIGHT AWAY, AND YOU TRACE THAT, WHERE IT GOES, IT LEAVES THE RIGHT AWAY, IT GOES THROUGH MR. BROWN'S PROPERTY, THEN IT COMES THROUGH MS. BECKER'S PROPERTY, AND WE SAY, YOUR SYSTEMS QUALIFY, YOU KNOW, IF YOU'D LIKE TO GIVE US AN EASEMENT AND THE GOVERNMENT HAS A PROGRAM WILL MAINTAIN THAT SYSTEM UPGRADED, ET CETERA.
SO WHAT MOST COMMUNITIES THAT HAVE, YOU KNOW, MOST, UH, I'LL SAY CITIES OR COUNTIES THAT HAVE PRIVATE COMMUNITIES, THEY DON'T GO IN THERE.
THEY SAY, YOU CHOSE TO LIVE IN A PRIVATE COMMUNITY, MAINTAIN YOUR OWN INFRASTRUCTURE.
WHAT WE HAVE DONE THOUGH, WE, WE HAVE AGREEMENTS AND WE GO INTO COMMUNITIES AND WE MAINTAIN THEIR SYSTEMS. SO FOR US, LOOKING AT A, A ISLAND WIDE APPROACH, AND WE HAVE THESE AGREEMENTS, AND I THINK IT'S A GOOD THING, RIGHT? AND WE HAVE A DEVOTED STORMWATER FEE, UH, YEAH.
WE COULD UP THAT IF WE NEED TO, RIGHT? BUT IT'S A GOOD THING.
I THINK WE'RE STARTING FROM A GOOD POINT THAT WE CAN ADDRESS RESILIENCY THROUGH THESE MEASURES.
YOU KNOW, JEFF, I HAVEN'T HEARD AN ANSWER YET ON DO WE HAVE A MEASURE OF SEA LEVEL RISE? UH, AND IS THAT CORRECT? WELL, I MEAN, THERE, THERE ARE NOAH PROJECTIONS.
I MEAN, YOU KNOW, WE PUT THIS GAUGE IN LAST YEAR AND, AND WE CAN GO TO THE CHARTS AND SEE WHAT NOAH IS PROJECTING, ET CETERA.
BUT I THINK IT IS INCUMBENT ON THE TOWN TO DRAW A BASELINE.
WE CAN CALL IT JANUARY 1ST, 2023.
UH, WHERE THAT TIDE GAUGE OR THOSE TIDE GAUGES ARE READING, AND THEN WE CAN LOOK AT THAT WITH A REPORT FROM YOU PERIODICALLY SAYING THAT, YOU KNOW, IT'S RISEN BY A QUARTER OF AN INCH IN THE PAST YEAR.
THAT IS THE KIND OF DATA THAT WE NEED YES.
IN ORDER TO DO PROPER PLANNING.
SO I SUGGEST THAT YOU DRAW THAT BASELINE.
NOW WE HAVE, YEAH, WE HAVE THAT IN NOAH.
WE'RE GONNA PICK A, A 2020 BASELINE AND SAY, ALL RIGHT, 2030, THEY'RE PROJECTING, YOU KNOW, THE INTERMEDIATE SCENARIO GOES UP THIS MUCH, 2050, IT GOES UP THIS MUCH.
SO YES, SIR, WE, I HAVE CONFIDENCE IN NOAH, BUT I WANT THE TOWN DATA.
AND WE WILL, WE WILL BUY SOME MORE GAUGES, HAVE THOSE IN STOCK, UM, YOU KNOW, WEAKNESSES, LACK OF A REGIONAL PLAN.
I THINK AS WE DO THESE TYPES OF THINGS, UM, WORKING WITH OTHER FOLKS AND, AND BELIEVE ME, I'M GONNA TALK TO BEAUFORT COUNTY AND BLUFFTON AND SHARE OUR INFORMATION AND DATA AND IF THEY WANNA, IF THEY WANNA DO SIMILAR THINGS.
SO LOCO OTHER GROUPS TALK OF SOLO.
I, I THINK, YOU KNOW, WE DON'T WANNA WASTE INDIVIDUAL EFFORTS.
WE DO SOMETHING, THEY DO SOMETHING.
SO I THINK WE CAN WORK TOGETHER AND GET SOME, UH, SYNERGY.
YOU KNOW, THE ORDINANCE UPDATES, WE, WE'LL LOOK AT OURS.
UH, WE'LL DO, DO SO WITH THE COUNTY AS WELL, YOU KNOW, TALKING ABOUT RAINFALL AND STATISTICS.
I'M SURE ALL OF YOU WATCH THE NEWS AND THE WEATHER CHANNEL AND YOU THINK, GOSH, YOU KNOW, I'VE HAD 300 YEAR STORMS IN THE LAST FIVE YEARS.
UM, AND, AND WHAT THE, YOU KNOW, THE CLIMATOLOGISTS AND, AND HYDROLOGISTS AND FOLKS WILL, YOU KNOW, THEY HAVE THESE STATISTICS, AND SO YOU HAVE THESE RAINFALL CURVES AND YOU SAY, WELL, IN ANY GIVEN YEAR, THERE'S A 1% CHANCE WE'LL GET THIS MUCH RAIN.
AND, YOU KNOW, FOLKS WILL CALL THAT A HUNDRED YEAR STORM.
AND SO THERE IS, UH, YOU KNOW, ACTIONS AFOOT TO UPDATE THOSE CURVES BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, WITH THE CLIMATE CHANGE, AS WE ARE SEEING MORE AND MORE, UH, FREQUENT AND INTENSE STORMS, SO WHEN THERE IS A, YOU KNOW, WHEN THE FEDS IN THE STATE, WHEN, WHEN FOLKS AGREE ON ADJUSTING THESE CURVES AND THESE PROJECTIONS AND SCENARIOS, WE'LL MAKE THAT PART OF OUR STORM WATER REGULATIONS, UH, MOST LIKELY AS WELL.
YOU KNOW, THE, THE 25 YEAR STORM USED TO MEAN THIS MUCH RAIN IN 24 HOURS.
AND, AND SO WE'LL LOOK AT ALL OF THAT AS WE, UH, UPDATE OUR ORDINANCES, UM, OPPORTUNITIES.
UH, OF COURSE, WE'RE ALWAYS GONNA BE LOOKING, UH, SEEKING OUT GRANTS FROM THE STATE AND FEDERAL AGENCIES, UM, OPPORTUNITY TO, YOU KNOW, PROVIDE NEW GUIDANCE ON DEVELOPMENT.
UM, OUR LAND ACQUISITION PROGRAM, WE COULD TARGET
[00:40:01]
LOWLYING LANDS, HOPE TO, YOU KNOW, WHETHER THEY'RE WETLANDS OR WHAT, OR OTHER MEANS THERE MIGHT BE FROM KEEPING THEM BEING DEVELOPED.UH, THIS MIGHT BE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO GO AHEAD AND BUY THEM.
AND, AND THAT STORAGE, YOU KNOW, WE LOOK AT WHERE'S THE WATER WANT TO GO.
IF THERE ARE AREAS IT'S NEVER GONNA BE DEVELOPED, THE WATER CAN BE STORED THERE NO HARM TO ANYONE, THEN, THEN THAT'S A GOOD THING.
UH, DEGRADATION FAILURE, THE INFRASTRUCTURE, OF COURSE.
UM, LOSSES OF PROPERTY, INCREASED FLOOD INSURANCE RATES, UH, COASTAL EROSION.
THAT'S SOMETHING WE'RE COMBATING, UH, WITH OUR BEACH MANAGEMENT PLAN.
UM, INCREASE FREQUENCY AND SEVERITY OF, OF ALL SORTS OF FLOODING.
I THINK THAT'S WHAT YOU, YOU SEE IN THE NEWS.
AND WHEN YOU LOOK AT NO AND CLIMATOLOGISTS REPORTS, UM, INCREASED FREQUENCY AND SEVERITY OF SALINE INTRUSION.
I MEAN, THE PSDS HAVE ALREADY BEEN COMBATING THAT AND, AND HAVE RESILIENT PLANS.
I THINK, UM, YOU KNOW, YOU HAVE THE OSMOSIS PLANTS UP AT THE JENKINS ISLAND AND, UH, SOUTH ISLAND PST HAS THOSE, SO THEY'VE ALREADY BEEN DEALING WITH THAT.
UM, MAKING SURE OUR, OUR, YOU KNOW, FRESH WATER AQUIFERS ARE NOT, UH, CONTAMINATED WITH SALT WATER AND, AND WE HAVE PLENTY OF DRINKING WATER.
AND THEN DELAYS IN, IN, UH, FUNDING ISSUES GOING FORWARD.
JUST BEING DILIGENT TO KEEP ON SCHEDULE AND TRY TO PLAN ACCORDINGLY SO WE HAVE FUNDING TO IMPLEMENT THESE THINGS.
UM, JEFF, JUST A QUESTION ON THE, UH, THE, THE, THE FUNDING OPPORTUNITY AND, UH, ENGAGING WITH STATE AND FEDERAL PROGRAMS. I, I KNOW THE, UM, I THINK THE C SOUTH CAROLINA SEA GRANT CONSORTIUM THAT YOU MENTIONED EARLIER, THERE'S, UH, I THINK IT'S CALLED ENVIRONMENTAL SOCIAL JUSTICE, UM, WHERE THERE'S FEDERAL MONIES THAT ARE FLOWING DOWN, RIGHT? AND, AND I GUESS I'M CURIOUS TO KNOW HOW WE ENGAGE WITH THE REGION, PARTICULARLY THE COUNTY, BECAUSE I THINK THE COUNTY WOULD BE ABLE TO SUPPORT MORE OF A NEED IN RURAL AREAS LIKE, UH, ST.
HELENA, LADIES ISLAND AND THAT SORT AS FAR AS RESILIENCY.
UM, UH, PARTICULARLY WHEN YOU START TO LOOK AT THE, UH, THE ECONOMICS AND THE, THE INCOME LEVELS AND THAT SORT OF THING, WHERE ON HILTON HEAD, IT IS SOMEWHAT MORE IZED, RIGHT? I MEAN, WE KNOW WE HAVE LEVELS OF POVERTY THAT JUST IN SMALL POCKETS, AND A LOT OF TIMES WE KIND OF IGNORE THAT
UM, SO I'M, I'M JUST CURIOUS HOW THAT RELATIONSHIP WITH THE COUNTY WILL SUBMIT ITSELF SO THAT WE ARE ALSO ELIGIBLE FOR THESE FUNDS THAT ARE, THAT ARE COMING DOWN.
YOU DON'T HAVE TO ANSWER ME TODAY, BUT I THINK THAT'S IMPORTANT, UM, THAT, YOU KNOW, WE GET OUR FAIR SHARE AS TO, UH, MONEY THAT'S COMING DOWN WILL HELP US WITH, WITH THIS, THIS, UH, THIS THREAT AND, AND THE OPPORTUNITY PART AS FAR AS FUNDING FROM, FROM THE FEDS, YES, SIR.
NOW I'LL GET WITH THE GRANTS ADMINISTRATOR AND SEE IF WE CAN WORK WITH THE COUNTY AND HOPEFULLY SPREAD MONEY THEY MAY BE SUCCESSFUL IN GETTING AS WELL.
UM, HERE, HERE'S THE SCHEDULE.
UM, YOU KNOW, SO WE'VE BEEN COMPILING OTHER, OTHER FOLKS' PLANS, AND I WANNA DO A BENCHMARKING ANALYSIS AND REPORT, TAKE THE BEST PIECES AND PRACTICES OUT OF THOSE PLANS, UH, PUT INTO OURS.
UM, YOU KNOW, I'VE GOT THIS TODD GAUGE.
I'LL MAKE THAT A, A CRITICAL SECTION OF THE REPORT THAT, UH, HERE'S WHAT THE GAUGES ARE SHOWING, HERE'S THE PROJECTIONS, ET CETERA, UH, LAYING OUT, YOU KNOW, WHICH ORDINANCES DO WE NEED TO LOOK AT AND, AND RECONSIDER.
UM, THEN GOING FORWARD, UH, CRITICAL STRUCTURE IDENTIFICATION.
UH, WE'LL GET THE, UH, GOALS, OBJECTIVES, UH, EXTENDS MORE, MORE COMPLETE AND, AND FLESHED OUT.
AND, UM, COMPILING ALL THE, THE DATA THAT A CONSULTANT WILL NEED TO WORK WITH AND, UH, WORK WITH OTHER, OTHER COMMUNITIES.
I EXPECT A REPORT BACK, YOU KNOW, TO, TO THIS COMMITTEE OR TOWN COUNCIL, PROBABLY EARLY IN, IN 23, SOMETIME IN THE SPRING, WE'LL SAY, UH, WHERE WE ARE AND WHERE WE'RE GOING AT THAT POINT.
UM, I MENTIONED WE HAVE 250,000 IN THE STORMWATER BUDGET FOR, YOU KNOW, CONSULTANT OR OUTSIDE WORK THIS YEAR, AND WE'RE TRYING TO GET MORE MONIES THROUGH GRANTS.
UM, THEN BY NEXT, UH, SUMMER LOOKING AT CODE CHANGES, WE'LL GO THROUGH THE PROPER COMMITTEES AND MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS, OF COURSE, UM, USING OUR WONDERFUL COMMUNICATIONS GROUP TO PUT THE WORD OUT TO FOLKS.
UM, HERE'S WHAT TO EXPECT, YOU KNOW, WHERE DO WE HAVE THAT DATA? AND WE ARE HONING IN ON, ON THESE, THIS IS THE SCENARIO WE ARE GONNA TARGET AND USE IN OUR PLAN.
AND, UM, RECOMMENDATIONS AND BUDGETS.
UM, THAT'S GONNA BE A KEY PART OF THIS PLAN, RIGHT? THEY'RE GONNA DO THE ECONOMIC ANALYSIS.
AND WHEN WE SHOW INUNDATION FOR CERTAIN MILESTONES OR YEARS UNDER CERTAIN, UH, SCENARIOS, YOU KNOW, THE COST IS GONNA TAKE, WHAT ARE THE BEST ACTIONS TO TAKE TO PROTECT, UH, THOSE AREAS FROM FLOODING? AND, AND, AND WE'LL HAVE A COST BENEFITS ANALYSIS FOR OUR COUNCIL TO, TO SELECT AND MAKE DECISIONS ON.
[00:45:01]
THEN CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS PROGRAM WILL, WILL BE THE VEHICLE TO, TO BUILD THOSE THINGS.UM, IDENTIFY PRO UH, PROACTIVE INVESTMENTS IN PUBLIC ACTIONS, UH, DO ENHANCE RESISTANCE.
AND, UM, WE'LL WORK WITH THE FINANCE DEPARTMENT AS SAY, GOING FORWARD, ONCE WE DO COME UP WITH IDEAS AND PLANS, AND, AND I'M SURE, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF THOSE PROJECTS WILL BE, UH, COSTLY, INEXPENSIVE.
WE'LL HAVE TO DEVELOP, UH, A FUNDING, YOU KNOW, SEE WHAT THE BEST FUNDING SOURCE IS FOR THAT, WHERE WE HAVE TO BOND OR GET GRANTS OR, OR SO ON AND SO FORTH.
AND SO, UH, YEAH, THERE'S A PICTURE OF, UH, HUNTING ISLAND.
BUT, UH, THAT CONCLUDES, UH, MY PRESENTATION.
AND IF THERE'S ANY MORE QUESTIONS, BE GLAD TO ANSWER THEM.
WHAT ARE YOUR COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS? I WOULD SAY THANK YOU FOR YOUR REPORT.
I THINK WE, WE'VE POSED SEVERAL QUESTIONS TO YOU ALREADY.
AND WE'LL LOOK FORWARD TO THOSE, THE OUTCOMES.
IS THE FISCAL 2022 STORM WATER ANNUAL REPORT COMPLETED YET? UM, YES.
WE'RE GONNA DO A, A WORKSHOP, UM, SOME TO GOING TO PRESENT THE KIND OF THE STATE OF, OF THE PROGRAM.
I THINK THERE'S AN INCREDIBLE AMOUNT OF VALUABLE INFORMATION IN THAT, GET THAT TO COUNCIL IN ADVANCE OF YOUR WORKSHOP.
AND STORM WATER SYSTEM IS A TARGET OF FREQUENT CONVERSATION, AND I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO RECALL THAT IN 2016, 1718, WE HAD BACK TO BACK TO BACK STORMS, AND THE SYSTEM HELD UP.
UH, THERE WAS THE BLACK SONG SWAN EVENT THAT YOU TALKED ABOUT, WHERE THAT, UH, PIECE OF PLYWOOD C CLOGGED THE ONE, UH, SYSTEM.
BUT, UH, OTHER THAN THAT, THE SYSTEM HELD UP.
SO I DON'T, I DON'T SEE STORM WATER RISING TO THE LEVEL OF CRISIS.
WE'RE, WE'RE IN GOOD STEAD, I THINK COMPARED TO MOST OTHER FOLKS.
WE, WE HAVE FUNDING, WE'VE BEEN BUILDING CAPITAL PROJECTS, WE'VE BEEN MAINTAINING THE SYSTEMS AND, AND A LOT OF THE LOCALIZED FLOODING, YOU KNOW, WHEN, WHEN WE HAVE THESE EVENTS, IT COULD BE PINE STRAW ON THE INLETS DOWN THE STREET FROM YOUR HOUSE, THAT IS THE CULPRIT.
YOU KNOW, THE PIPES ARE BIG ENOUGH, THE CATCHMENT SYSTEM IS IN PLACE, AND, AND IT'S JUST DEBRIS FLOW INTO IT.
BUT IT, YOU KNOW, KIND OF THE NATURE OF OUR DEVELOPMENTS AND HOW WE LIVE WITH THE, YOU KNOW, A NATURAL ENVIRONMENT.
THERE'S, THERE'S A LOT OF LEAVES AND POND STRAWS AROUND THE SYSTEMS. I THINK FOR THE PUBLIC'S BENEFIT, THE STORM WATER, UH, FEE GENERATES A LITTLE OVER $5 MILLION A YEAR.
OF THAT 5 MILLION, APPROXIMATELY HALF IS NEW CONSTRUCTION AND MAINTENANCE, AND THE BALANCE IS DEBT SERVICE AND OPERATING COSTS.
SO IT GENERATES SOME INCOME, UH, CERTAINLY NOT ENOUGH TO ALLOW US TO CATCH UP WITH ALL THE DEFERRED MAINTENANCE THAT'S, THAT'S NEEDED.
BUT IT KEEPS THE SU SYSTEM RUNNING.
AND YES, GOING FORWARD, YOU KNOW, AS WE GO THROUGH BUDGET SEASON IN THE SPRING OF THE YEAR, ONE, ONE OF THE THINGS WE LOOK AT, YOU KNOW, PROJECTING OUT, UM, FIVE YEARS OUT, DO WE NEED TO RAISE THE FEE? YOU KNOW, WE HAVE NOT RAISED IT, UH, IN SEVERAL, SEVERAL YEARS.
I FORGET THE LAST TIME, SEVEN OR EIGHT YEARS.
BUT, BUT WE LOOK AT THAT AND, AND IF WE FEEL THERE'S A NEED, A JUSTIFIABLE NEED, UM, WE WOULD RECOMMEND THAT THROUGH THE BUDGET PROCESS.
ANY COMMENTS OR QUESTION FROM THE PUBLIC, I'LL BRING UP THAT.
THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY OF COMMENTING.
UM, WHEN I SAW MR. BUCKLER THIS MORNING, I SAID, YOU KNOW, I WANTED TO GIVE YOU A VIRTUAL HUG TO SEE THIS ON THE AGENDA.
UM, AND WHEN I APPEARED AT YOUR STRATEGIC PLAN WORKSHOP, I SAW THIS, UH, PROPOSED FOR THE FIRST QUARTER, 2023, AND I SUGGESTED IT BE ACCELERATED.
SO THE FIRST COMMENTS I SHOULD HAVE SAID ARE, THANK YOU.
UM, I HAVE POINTED OUT A NUMBER OF TIMES THAT BEAUFORT COUNTY ADOPTED A SEA LEVEL RISE ADAPTATION PLAN IN 2015, FOLLEY BEACH IN 2017.
AS MR. BUCKLEY MENTIONED, A NUMBER OF COASTAL JURISDICTIONS HAVE ALREADY ADOPTED A RESILIENCY PLAN.
SO I'M, I'M REALLY EXCITED TODAY TO SEE THAT WE ARE MOVING FORWARD WITH THIS.
UM, AND I STAND READY TO ASSIST WITH IT.
UM, I KNOW THAT THERE'S A GROUP WORKING ON A CONSORTIUM, UM, ON SEA LEVEL RISE AT ADAPTATION, UH, FOR NEXT SPRING.
I THINK THAT'S A, WILL BE A GREAT ASSET.
ANOTHER THING I'VE ADVOCATED FOR IS AN ECO INSTITUTE IN COOPERATION WITH U S C B.
WE HAVE EXCELLENT RESOURCES HERE.
THE SEA ISLAND CONSORTIUM HAS ALREADY BEEN MENTIONED, AND THAT'S A GREAT RESOURCE.
THE, THE FINAL SUGGESTION, THE FINAL THING I'LL SAY IS A SUGGESTION, AND THAT IS INCLUDED IN THIS TIMELINE, IS HIRING A CONSULTANT.
CONSULTANTS CAN BE GREAT, BUT WHAT I'M CONCERNED ABOUT IS NOT THE COST.
I UNDERSTAND THERE'S FUNDING FOR THAT, BUT THE DELAY IN COMING UP WITH A PLAN, THERE ARE LOTS
[00:50:01]
OF WONDERFUL PLANS OUT THERE NOW THAT CAN BE ADAPTED SPECIFICALLY FOR HILTON HEAD ISLAND, BECAUSE WE HAVE SOME EXPERTISE HERE TO DO THAT.SO I WOULD URGE US TO MOVE FORWARD WITH A PLAN AND, AND TO CALL UPON THE EXPERTISE THAT WE HAVE HERE IN SOUTH CAROLINA TO DEVELOP THAT PLAN.
AND IF WE NEED TO HIRE SOMEONE IN THE FUTURE TO HELP US TO COME UP WITH SYSTEMS, FINE.
AND ANY OF THOSE PLANS YOU HAVE IN FRONT OF YOU? IS THERE ANY DATA SUPPORTING SEA LEVEL RISE? UM, I DON'T HAVE THE FULL BEAUFORT COUNTY PLAN.
UM, BUT THEY, THEY ARE BASED ON DATA.
UM, I DON'T HAVE, UM, JUST LOOKING TO SEE, UH, THERE'S A RESEARCH IN MONITORING.
I, ALL I PRINTED OUT WAS THE TABLE OF CONTEXT, THE CITY OF FOLLEY BEACH PLAN.
UM, WHEN DO WE HAVE ANY DATA? DOES HAVE, YEAH.
SEE OF FOLLEY BEACH HAS OBSERVED LOCAL TIDE GAUGE DATA, FUTURE SEA LEVEL, AND NUISANCE FLOODING RATES AND FLOOD MAPPING.
SO THERE IS SOME DATA, UM, AND I THINK THAT THERE ARE RESOURCES IN, IN DEVELOPING LOCAL DATA AS WELL AS THE INCREASING THE NUMBER OF GAUGES THAT'S BEEN MENTIONED.
UM, BUT I THINK WE HAVE ACCESS THROUGH U S C B AND, UH, UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA TO ASSISTANCE WITH RESEARCH FOR DATA.
SORRY, I APOLOGIZE FOR RUNNING IN AND THEN RUNNING OUT.
COUNCILMAN LENNOX, I APPRECIATE YOU BRINGING THIS TO THE AGENDA.
UM, AND FOR Y'ALL'S LEADERSHIP ON THIS.
SO ONE OF THE THINGS, I HAVE EXTENSIVE EXPERIENCE IN THIS ACROSS THE STATE AND IN OTHER AREAS, YOU REALLY WANNA LOOK AT AREAS OF PERSISTENT POVERTY WHEN YOU'RE LOOKING TO GET FUNDING FOR THIS.
THOSE ARE NOT COMPETITIVE AREAS, AND THAT IS SOMETHING THAT THE FUNDING IS AVAILABLE FOR.
WE HAVE TWO, MAYBE THREE ON HILTON HEAD.
I THINK THAT THERE'S ONLY TWO AND THERE'S ONLY NINE IN THE ENTIRE COUNTY.
SO THAT'S WHERE YOU WANT TO FOCUS IN ON FIRST TO GET THAT MONEY FLOWING FROM THE FEDS.
ONCE YOU GET THAT GOING, YOU CAN ATTACH IT TO ALL OF THE OTHER DIFFERENT FACTORS THAT YOU'RE WORKING WITH.
UM, MR. CHAIRMAN, UM, WHAT JEFF ALLUDED TO FOR THAT PUMP STATION OVER AT MAIN STREET, IT WAS CARED BY A BED LINER FROM A TRUCK.
IF YOU, IF YOU HAVE A FLAT SURFACE, ANYTHING'S GONNA GO UP AGAINST IT.
AND I THINK THEY ABANDONED THAT DESIGN BECAUSE IT, IT DEEMED TO BE TOO EXPENSIVE.
BUT THE SAME THING CAN HAPPEN AGAIN.
UM, AND YOU NEED SOMETHING THERE THAT'S GONNA HAVE THE DEBRIS SLIDE UP.
THE STORMWATER MANAGEMENT SYSTEM WE HAVE IN PLACE NOW IN A STATIC SITUATION EVERY DAY, RAINSTORMS WORKS.
AS JEFF POINTED OUT, WHEN YOU HAVE A MAJOR STORM, WATER DOES NOT FLOW UP HILL.
I STAYED HERE WITH MY STAFF DURING IRMA AND THE, THE STORM DRAIN REVERSED KNOW ABOUT A FLOODGATE'S.
CONTRAPTIONS ARE GONNA STOP THE WATER FROM A TIDAL SURGE COMING IN.
AND THAT'S JUST A FACT OF LIFE.
UNLESS YOU'RE GOING TO PUMP THE WATER UP TO A RESERVOIR THAT HAS MILLIONS AND MILLIONS OF GALLONS OF CAPACITY WITH THE EXPECTATION THAT ELECTRICITY IS GONNA BE AVAILABLE TO RUN THOSE PUMPS.
I MEAN, THAT'S JUST COMMON SENSE.
THE THING THAT DISTURBED ME IS THAT WHEN THE FEMA MAPS CAME OUT, THE REVISED FEMA MAPS, THEY WERE, THEY WERE BASED ON PREMA DATA AND THEY TOOK A HUGE NUMBER OF HOMES OUT OF FLOOD ZONES AND MORTGAGE COMPANIES NOTIFIED THOSE PROPERTY OWNERS SAYS, WE ARE NO LONGER GOING TO ESCROW YOUR FLOOD INSURANCE PAYMENTS CUZ YOU ARE NOT REQUIRED.
AND IF YOU'RE NOT REQUIRED, WE'RE NOT GONNA ESCROW THEM.
SO IF YOU WANNA BUY FLOOD INSURANCE AND YOU WANNA FUND IT, YOU HAVE TO DO IT YOURSELF.
TOO MANY PEOPLE DROPPED THEIR FLOOD INSURANCE AND YOU SAW WHAT HAPPENED DOWN IN FLORIDA WHERE MANY PEOPLE DIDN'T HAVE FLOOD INSURANCE AND NOW THEY HAVE THE HANDOUT.
WHAT ARE WE GONNA DO? I MEAN, THAT SHOULD BE SOMETHING THAT CONCERNS US.
THERE SHOULD NOT BE ANYONE ON THIS ISLAND WHO DOESN'T CARRY FLOOD INSURANCE.
I DON'T CARE HOW HIGH THEIR HOME IS.
AND THE OTHER THING WE NEED TO DO IS LOOK AT BASE FLOOR ELEVATION.
YOU KNOW, MOST OF OUR ISLAND IS BUILT OUT, BUT WHEN THEY REBUILD OR THERE'S A NEW DEVELOPMENT, LOOKING AT SETTING IT HIGHER, SIX INCHES WOULD'VE MADE A DIFFERENCE WITH THE PEOPLE WHO FLUTTERED IN THE HEADLANDS BECAUSE OF THAT BED LINER.
ONCE THAT WATER GETS INTO THE FIRST FLOOR AND STARTS TO W UP, THAT'S WHEN ALL THE DAMAGE OCCURS.
AND YOU GET THAT WATER THAT GOES UP, YOU GET MOLD, YOU GET MILDEW, AND YOU GET ALL THOSE OTHER NASTY THINGS GOING ON.
SO THOSE ARE THINGS THAT WE NEED TO ADVERTISE THAT IF YOU ARE IN THIS TOWN, YOU HAVE TO HAVE FLOOD INSURANCE.
[00:55:03]
THANK YOU.ANY OTHER COMMENTS, ALEX? MY MIND STARTED, UH, FLOWING BASED ON SOME OF THE COMMENTS THAT CAME FROM THE PUBLIC MR. CHANCE.
SO I SAID, UH, REGAIN MY ORIGINAL COMMENT.
UM, YEAH, I'M GONNA PICK UP ON SOMETHING THAT MR. CHRISTIAN JUST SAID.
YOU KNOW, AS WE START TO LOOK AT NEW DEVELOPMENT AND CHANGING POTENTIAL, UM, HEIGHTS, UM, YEAH, THE OTHER CONSIDERATION THERE IS BECAUSE WE ARE SO CLOSE TO BUILD OUT AND THE ENVIRONMENT THAT HAS BEEN BUILT AT THE LOWER HEIGHT COULD POTENTIALLY START TO GET NEGATIVE EFFECTS FROM THE HIGHER HEIGHT.
SO, YOU KNOW, THAT'S A BALANCE THAT WE HAVE TO DEFINITELY KEEP IN MIND.
AS, YOU KNOW, THE ENGINEERS LOOK AT APPROVING FUTURE DEVELOPMENT.
UM, YEAH, I I WAS JUST GONNA GO BACK TO THE, TO THE MAINTENANCE PIECE.
I THINK WHEN WE GET TO OUR WORKSHOP, WE'LL SEE THAT, UM, THERE'S BEEN FAIR SPENDING FROM THAT FUND INSIDE THE GATED COMMUNITIES, OUTSIDE THE GATED COMMUNITIES, OKAY? MM-HMM.
UM, BUT I THINK THERE'S A, THERE'S A DISTINCT DIFFERENCE BECAUSE THE PLAN UNIT DEVELOPMENT SYSTEM HAS A MANAGEMENT PIECE THAT IS EMBEDDED IN THEIR WAY OF DOING BUSINESS.
AND THAT DOESN'T NECESSARILY HAPPEN OUTSIDE OF THE GATES.
AND I THINK THAT'S WHERE WE START TO SEE SOME OF THE, UM, THE DISCONNECT AS FAR AS THE, THE NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF, OF OUR STORM WATER SYSTEM.
UM, SO I MEAN, IN MY MIND, THAT FALLS INTO RESILIENCY ALSO IN TERMS OF THE QUALITY OF LIFE OUTSIDE OF THE GATES.
YOU WANTED US TO ACCEPT INFORMATION AND PROVIDE YOU FEEDBACK ON STRATEGIES FOR THE PLANT.
I, I'VE NOTED, UH, YOUR COMMENTS AND QUESTIONS.
ANYTHING TO CONCLUDE OR WRAP UP WITH? UM, NO SIR.
I THINK THERE'S SOME GOOD NEWS AND JUST CORRECT ME, UM, PETER'S POINTS ARE WELL TAKEN, BUT IT WASN'T THAT LONG AGO THAT WHEN WE WERE LOOKING AT THOSE FLOOD MAPS THAT WE ACKNOWLEDGED AND WE, UM, MAINTAINED OUR LMO IN FACT, CHANGED IT JUST A BIT TO ENSURE THAT EVERYONE ACROSS THE ISLAND WAS, UM, PREPARING TO, FOR AN EVENTUAL FLOOD, REGARDLESS OF WHERE THEIR HOME WAS, AND THAT THE HEIGHT WAS ADJUSTED ACCORDINGLY SO THAT, UM, WE DID NOT LOWER ANY HEIGHTS BECAUSE OF THOSE, UM, THOSE PROJECTIONS THAT PEOPLE WERE TAKING OUT.
THOSE FLOOD PLAN PROJECTIONS THAT WERE PEOPLE WERE TAKEN OUT OF THE FLOOD PLAIN.
WE MAINTAINED THAT HEIGHT LEVEL, UM, ACROSS THE BOARD AND MADE NO CHANGES TO THAT.
SO THERE'S SOME GOOD NEWS THAT WE DID NOT FALL, UM, IN LINE WITH THOSE CHANGES WITH THE FLOOD MAP, BUT INSTEAD MAINTAINED OUR HEIGHT RESTRICTIONS.
SO JUST WANTED TO POINT THAT OUT FOR EVERYONE.
UNDER NEW BUSINESS, UH, A SWAT ANALYSIS ON THE ISLANDS, UH, SOLID WASTE AND RECYCLING COMMITTEE.
WE ARE BEING ASKED TO ACCEPT AND REVIEW THE INFORMATION AND LIKEWISE PROVIDE FEEDBACK.
UM, LET ME PULL THAT UP ON MY COMPUTER.
YEAH, THIS IS, UH, SIMILAR TO THE, UH, THE LAST ONE, THE SAME, SAME OBJECTIVES AND SAME, SAME REQUEST.
WHAT'D YOU DO TO YOUR COMPUTER?
IT WAS NICE ENOUGH TO GIVE US A OKAY.
BUT YEAH, THIS ITEM AS WELL COMES FROM THE, UH, STRATEGIC INITIATIVE PLAN.
UM, YEAH, SAME, SAME TYPE OF DEAL.
THERE IS A PURPOSE STATEMENT IN THE STRATEGIC ACTION PLAN, UM, WHICH BASICALLY, YOU KNOW, WANTS US TO DO A BETTER JOB MANAGING SOLID WASTE AND RECYCLING WORK WITH THE COUNTY, UM, GET A BETTER HANDLE ON IT.
WHAT IS OUR FUTURE GOING FORWARD WITH THE LANDFILL, HOW THE, UH, WASTE AND RECYCLING IS, IS COLLECTED
[01:00:01]
AND, AND TO DO A BETTER JOB.UM, THIS, UH, LET ME SEE ONE SECOND.
I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE WHERE I WAS AT, UM, THIS WHAT'S COME COMES OUTTA THE PLAN.
UM, AGAIN, WE STARTED AT THE SAME TIME, UH, HERE IN THE FALL.
UM, YOU SEE THE FOUR BULLET ITEMS IN THE PLAN, UH, PROMOTE EDUCATIONAL EFFORTS, UH, TO FOSTER MORE RECYCLING, COMPOSTING, AND LITTER CONTROL.
UM, WE, UH, DEFINITELY, UH, YOU COULD DO A BETTER JOB IN THAT REGARD.
AND THE COUNTY MANAGES, THEY HAVE A SOLID WASTE, UH, DEPARTMENT DIVISION.
I KNOW THEY'VE MADE SOME RECENT HIRES, UM, TO, TO PUT PEOPLE AT THE LANDFILL TO INSPECT WHAT'S BEING DUMPED OFF AND DROPPED OFF.
UH, THERE'S A COMMUNICATION, I THINK A PUBLIC INFORMATION PERSON THAT'S GONNA HELP AS WELL.
UM, AND WE ARE ENGAGING WITH THEM.
THEY JUST, UH, APPROVED A, A LONG RANGE, UM, SOLID WASTE AND RECYCLING PAN HERE LAST SUMMER.
AND SO THAT'S NEW AND APPROVED BY COUNTY COUNCIL.
UM, WE'RE GONNA LOOK AT IT AND, AND WORK WITHIN IT.
UH, IF THERE'S ANY CHANGES WE WANT ON HILTON HEAD, YOU KNOW, WE'LL MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS, UH, TO HAVE THAT UPGRADED AS THEY GO.
UM, CREATION OF AN ALL FILING MATERIALS PROCESSING CENTER, UH, THAT WOULD FACILITATE, UH, BETTER RECYCLING RATE AND, AND IT WOULD REALLY HELP THE WHOLE PROGRAM.
THEY CALL THIS A MURF MATERIALS RECOVERY FACILITY, MATERIALS RECYCLING FACILITY, MATERIALS RECLAMATION FACILITY, BUT IT'S CALLED MURF IN THE INDUSTRY.
AND, AND WHAT I'VE LEARNED TALKING WITH THESE FOLKS IS THAT IS A KEY TO HAVE ONE OF THOSE FACILITIES IN SOUTHERN BEAUFORT COUNTY AND HAVE IT UP AND RUNNING, AND IT IS A LIVE PROJECT.
UM, WE GOT NEIL DESAI OVER HERE.
HE IS THE BEAUFORT COUNTY PUBLIC WORKS DIRECTOR, AND HIS SOLID WASTE, UH, AND RECYCLING DIVISION HAS A PROJECT WHERE THEY'RE LOOKING OVER AT SIMMONS VILLA ROAD TO ACQUIRE MORE LAND AND EXPAND THAT INTO A PROPER MERF FACILITY THAT, UM, ONCE THAT'S UP AND RUNNING, I THINK IT'LL BE A BIG BOON TO, TO THE BUSINESSES AND HAULERS THAT, YOU KNOW, THEY HAVE TO GO TO THE LANDFILL OR COME BACK NOW.
I THINK FOR EVERYONE TO HAVE A, A PLACE CLOSER BY, I THINK WE'LL GET GREATER EFFICIENCIES AND, YOU KNOW, HOPEFULLY MAY EVEN REDUCE COST, ET CETERA.
GIVE US A BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF WHAT A MERF DOES.
IT, IT PROCESSES ALL THESE, THESE SEPARATE.
IS THAT WHAT IT DOES? UM, YES, THAT'S MY UNDERSTANDING.
SO IT'LL BE ABLE TO DO RECYCLABLES AND SOLID WAYS TO, TO SORT AND COMPACT AND PROCESS AND THEN MOVE THEM ON EITHER TO OTHER OUTLETS WHERE THEY SELL, YOU KNOW, RECYCLABLE PRODUCTS OR STUFF THAT GOES IN THE LANDFILL WILL THEN BE TRANSPORTED THERE.
BUT FOR THE TRUCKS TO HAVE TO MAKE A ROUND TRIP TO HICKORY HILL AND BACK, ET CETERA, IT, IT IS JUST GONNA HELP MAKE THINGS MORE EFFICIENT.
MAY I ASK A QUESTION? UM, SO IT WAS MY UNDERSTANDING FROM PAST, PAST PRESENTATIONS THAT THE, THE, THE MARKET FOR THOSE RECYCLABLES REALLY WASN'T THERE.
AND SO THE COST, UM, BENEFIT RATIO WASN'T, UM, HIGH ENOUGH TO MAKE IT SOMETHING THAT ANY BUSINESS WANTED TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF IT.
ARE WE STILL IN THAT, OR HAS THAT CHANGED ON, ON THE MARKETS TO DATE? UM, GOT A FELL IN THE AUDIENCE THAT I HATE TO, TO ASK HIM, BUT IF THAT'S OKAY.
MIKE BENNETT IS, IS THE ISLAND'S REPRESENTATIVE ON THE COUNTY SOLID WASTE AND RECYCLING BOARD.
HE RUNS A RECYCLING COMPANY AND, AND I THINK HE WOULD KNOW MUCH BETTER THAN I, THE THE CURRENT STATE OF THE MARKETS.
IF YOU CAN, IS THAT OKAY? YEAH, NO, IT'S FINE.
I JUST, HE'S THE EXPERT AND HE'S BEEN HERE FOR DECADES AND HE KNOWS THAT BUSINESS.
DID THEY HAVE THAT INFORMATION WRONG FROM, FROM PRIOR PRESENTATIONS? YEAH.
SO IT IS A MARKET DRIVEN, UM, UH, BUSINESS INDUSTRY ALL THE WAY AROUND.
UM, THE WAY TO DO IT THOUGH IS YOU, YOU FUNCTION OFF OF, UH, SERVICE FEES AND THINGS LIKE THAT TO BUFFER THAT MARKET.
AND SO YEAH, YOU DEFINITELY HAVE TO PLAN ACCORDINGLY.
UM, THERE ARE OPPORTUNITIES IN, UM, IN THE RECYCLE MARKETS.
WE JUST CAME OFF A HIGH SWING, THE MIKE, PLEASE.
WELL, NOT, I SHOULD HAVE LEARNED THAT
SO THE, UH, LIKE WE JUST CAME OFF A REAL HIGH SWING, YOU KNOW, WHERE MARKETS WHERE THEY'RE ABSOLUTE HIGHEST THAT WE'VE SEEN IN ABOUT 15 YEARS.
UM, AND NOW WE'RE GONE DOWN TO A DOWNS SWING, SO YOU CAN LOOK AT IT ANY, ANY STRING OF TIME BEING THREE, FIVE YEARS, AND IT'S GONNA GO UP AND DOWN.
THE TRICK IS TO BUFFER THAT OR, UH, MAKE THE BUSINESS RESILIENT ENOUGH SO THAT, UH, THROUGH SERVICE FEES, UM, AND TIMING AND PLANNING THAT, UH, UM, THAT YOU CAN, YOU CAN GO THROUGH THOSE WAVES.
SO IF YOU LOOK AT IT IN A SMALL TIME, YEAH, SOMETIMES IT DOESN'T MAKE SENSE.
UM, I OWN A BUSINESS AND THAT'S, THAT'S WHAT WE DO IS RECYCLING.
SO, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'VE LEARNED TO, UH, ADDRESS IT THROUGH SERVICE FEES, PROCESSING FEES, THINGS LIKE THAT.
AND SO, UM, THERE IS DEFINITELY A BUSINESS TO BE, TO BE, TO MAKE SENSE OF IT.
RIGHT NOW, THE CURRENT SYSTEM DOESN'T WORK AT ALL,
SO THAT'S, IT'S VERY DYSFUNCTIONAL,
[01:05:01]
UH, JUST THROUGH CONTRACTS AND THE WAY THAT, UH, WASTE MANAGEMENT ACTUALLY MOVES THEIR MATERIAL AROUND.SO THE RECOVERY FACILITY ON THIS AGENDA AND THE PLAN MOVING FORWARD WITH THE COUNTY IS A VERY, VERY GOOD SOLUTION, UM, TO MAKE IT VIABLE FOR OUR AREA TO RECYCLE PROPERLY.
SO THANK YOU FOR THE EXTRA INFORMATION.
AND OOPS, GO TO THE NEXT, IS IT HMM.
AND, AND THIS CAME STRAIGHT OUT OF THE, UH, COMPREHENSIVE PLAN, LIKE THE LAST, UM, ACTION PLAN ITEM, STRATEGIC ACTION PLAN ITEM.
WE HAD, YOU KNOW, IT WAS BORN OUT OF THE COMP PLAN.
UM, YOU KNOW, THE COMP PLAN AND THE ENVIRONMENTAL SECTION SAID, WE OUGHT TO WORK TOWARDS A ZERO WASTE MODEL AND, AND ZERO WASTE.
YOU KNOW, THAT'S A VERY, VERY LOFTY GOAL.
UM, YOU KNOW, THE WAY YOU GET THERE, YOU TRY TO, YOU, YOU HAVE TO HAVE CONSUMERS, YOU KNOW, DON'T BUY AS MUCH, DON'T BUY THINGS YOU DON'T NEED, REUSE THINGS, RECYCLE, COMPOST, ET CETERA.
AND SO, UM, I THINK SO MUCH OF THIS, WHAT WE CAN DO GOOD IN THIS RESPECT IS A LOT OF EDUCATION IS TEACH PEOPLE HOW TO DO IT, UH, WAYS TO DO IT.
UH, I'LL TALK ABOUT SOME THINGS, UH, LATER IN THE PRESENTATION THAT WE WILL BE, UH, DOING HERE TO HELP, HELP IN THAT REGARD.
AND THE, THE PARTNERING MENTIONED, UH, NEIL IS HERE.
UM, WE HAVE BEEN MEETING MONTHLY WITH THE GREATER ISLAND COMMITTEE, MIKE BENNETT, UH, PETER CHRISTIAN, NEIL DESAI, AND CINDY CARTER, WHO IS THE COUNTY'S PUBLIC, UH, SOLID WASTE DIRECTOR.
AND SO WE, WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT THINGS IN THIS ACTION PLAN, UH, TALKING ABOUT HOW THE MURF IS MAKING PROGRESS, UM, TALKING ABOUT THE LANDFILL, UH, COUNTY'S NEGOTIATING A CONTRACT WITH HICKORY HILL WASTE MANAGEMENT, UH, THOSE TYPES OF THINGS.
IT'S A GOOD GROUP OF PEOPLE, UM, LIKE I SAY, MIKE AND, AND THESE FOLKS, UH, VERY SMART ON THE INDUSTRY AND, AND KNOW WHAT WE'RE DOING.
UH, THE GREATER ISLAND COUNCIL HAS BEEN MOST HELPFUL.
THE NEXT ITEM ON THE AGENDA AFTER THIS, UH, THEY HAVE A SUSTAINABILITY AND ADVISORY COMMITTEE, WHICH PETER CHAIRS AND, AND THEY DO A LOT OF GOOD WORK, HAVE A LOT OF SMART FOLKS, UH, INVOLVED.
UM, I MENTIONED THE SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT PLAN THAT WAS APPROVED THIS PAST SUMMER BY BEFOR COUNTY.
UH, IT'S ONLINE, IT'S ON THEIR WEBSITE, YOU CAN LOOK AT IT.
UM, THEY HAVE FIVE MAJOR DISTINCT GOALS YOU CAN SEE THERE, UH, SECURED DISPOSAL CAPACITY.
THAT'S THE, UH, THE LANDFILL THERE.
UM, WASTE MANAGEMENT HAS PLANNED TO, TO EXPAND.
THEY CAN BUILD MORE SALES AND BUILD UP 20 MORE YEARS OF LIFE, BUT, BUT WE WANNA BE IN A POSITION WHERE WE, YOU KNOW, HAVE OPPORTUNITIES AND, AND NEGOTIATE FROM A STRONG, UH, POINT THERE.
AND I THINK THE MERF OVER HERE WILL HELP WITH THAT.
UM, DIVERT ITEMS BANNED FROM THE LANDFILL, UM, TRANSITION TO CURBSIDE COLLECTION FOR RESIDENTS, YOU KNOW, ON HILTON HEAD RIGHT NOW, IT, IT IS COMPLETELY A PRIVATE MARKET.
UH, WE TRIED TO, TO RUN THE, UH, CURBSIDE, YOU KNOW, SOLID WASTE RECYCLING PICKUP MANY YEARS AGO.
THAT'S WHEN OUR TOWN CODE WAS LAST UPDATED IN 2014.
WE NEED TO UPDATE OUR TOWN CODE TO BE MORE CURRENT AND WOULD LIKE IT TO BE, YOU KNOW, IN SYNC WITH THE COUNTY CODE AS WELL.
BUT GOING FORWARD, YOU KNOW, THAT'S A DECISION TO MAKE ABOUT TRASH PICKUP ON HILTON NET ISLAND.
LEAVE IT TO THE PRIVATE MARKET.
UH, I THINK THE COUNTY HAS GOALS OF WANTING TO MANAGE CURBSIDE PICKUP THROUGHOUT THE COUNTY.
UM, SO THAT'S A DECISION WHAT WE DO HERE ON HILTON HEAD GOING FORWARD.
UM, CONSIDER USER FEES FOR, UH, FUNDING CERTAIN ACTIVITIES.
AND, AND A BIT ABOUT PETER'S COMMITTEE AGAIN, UM, THERE'S THEIR MISSION STATEMENT.
UH, YOU KNOW, THOSE FOLKS ARE ALL VOLUNTEERS AND, AND THEY DO ALL THIS GOOD WORK TO ASSIST THE TOWN AND THE COUNTY, UM, TO EDUCATE THE RESIDENTS AND, AND TRY TO HELP OUR ENVIRONMENT.
UM, SAID THIS PARTICULAR COMMITTEE WAS COM, UH, CREATED IN 2011 BY A MAYOR'S TASK FORCE, UM, STRATEGIC, UH, SUSTAINABILITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE.
I MEAN, THEY'VE BEEN WORKING WITH THE COUNTY IN A TOWN.
PETER AND MIKE HAVE BEEN, UH, MOST HELPFUL, GOOD IDEAS, UM, LIKE I SAY SMART, SMART PEOPLE WITH, WITH, UH, EAGERNESS TO, TO HELP THE COMMUNITY.
UM, I JUST MENTIONED THIS, BUT OUR TOWN CODE IS OUTDATED.
YOU KNOW, IT SPEAKS TO A TIME WHEN WE WERE MANAGING THE SOLID WASTE, UH, CURBSIDE PICKUP HERE ON, ON HILTON HEAD ISLAND.
AND SO, UH, I THINK WE WANT TO AMEND THAT.
UH, I DID A RECENT, UM, INQUIRY WITH ALL OF THE HAULERS.
YOU KNOW, THERE ARE SIX LICENSED HAULERS
[01:10:01]
ON HILTON NET ISLAND RIGHT NOW.FOUR OF THEM DO THE RESIDENTIAL, UH, SOLID WASTE AND RECYCLING HOLLAND.
AND SO I WAS COLLECTING DATA, YOU KNOW, TELL ME HOW MANY CUSTOMERS YOU HAVE, HOW MANY TONS YOU'RE PICKING UP EACH MONTH, ET CETERA.
AND PART OF THE INQUIRIES, UM, YOU KNOW, IT'S IN THE TOWN CODE, THEY HAVE TO SUPPLY THIS DATA.
BUT PART OF THE INQUIRIES WERE FROM COUNCILMAN NAMES WHO HAD ASKED ABOUT, I'M HEARING CONSTITUENTS WHO SAY, I WONDER IF THE RECYCLING IS BEING DONE PROPERLY.
AND, AND WHAT I FOUND, I MEAN, A LOT OF IT IS AN EDUCATION AND INFORMATION PROBLEM.
AND I TALKED TO THE COMPANIES THAT RUN THESE BUSINESSES, AND THEY WILL TELL ME THEIR PROTOCOLS AND PROCEDURES.
AND I THINK THE PUBLIC PERCEPTION MAY BE, YOU LOOK OUT YOUR KITCHEN WINDOW, YOU SEE SOMEONE PUTTING EVERYTHING IN ONE BIN AND TAKING IT TO THE TRUCK.
WELL, WHAT, WHAT THE BUSINESS OWNERS WOULD TELL ME IS IF, IF SOMEONE RECYCLES AND HAS TRASH PICKUP, UH, THE DRIVER MAY GO OUT BACK AND HE HAS A SINGULAR BIN.
IF THEY ARE DOING THINGS PROPERLY, THEY PUT THEIR LOOSE RECYCLABLES IN A BIN, GLASS, PLASTIC PAPER, ALUMINUM, ET CETERA.
HE WOULD DUMP THAT IN A BIN AND THEN BAG THE GARBAGE.
HE WOULD JUST THROW ON TOP OF IT, GO BACK TO THE TRUCK.
YOU PUT THE TRASH HOUSEHOLD GARBAGE ON ONE, ONE SIDE, YOU GO PUT THE RECYCLABLES ON THE OTHER SIDE.
BUT FOR THE PERSON LOOKING OUT THE WINDOW SAYS THE DRIVER PUT ALL THAT IN THE SAME BIN, OR HE WENT OUT AND HE PUT ALL THAT IN THE SAME TRUCK.
SO I'M NOT, I DON'T THINK THEY'RE DOING IT RIGHT.
I DON'T THINK THEY'RE SEPARATING IT.
UM, SO BETTER EDUCATION, THEY NEED TO PUT THE HAULERS THAT IS, I THINK, PUT THE INFORMATION ON THEIR WEBSITE, YOU KNOW, SEND PAMPHLETS IN THEIR INVOICING.
HERE'S WHAT WE DO, AND HERE'S HOW WE DO IT.
SO THERE'S NO CONFUSION OR FALSE PERCEPTIONS.
UM, ONE PROBLEM THOUGH, WHEN THEY GET TO THE LANDFILL OR, OR THE PROCESSING CENTER TO TAKE THE MATERIALS, UH, THE COUNTY SUBSIDIZES THE TIPPING FEEDS.
SO WHEN THEY DUMP HOUSEHOLD TRASH, THEY GET REIMBURSED IN THE COUNTY FOR DUMPING THAT TRASH.
WHEN THEY'RE DUMPING THE RECYCLABLES, THEY DON'T, THEY HAVE TO PAY A FEE.
UM, SO YOU SAY, WELL, COULD THEY, YOU KNOW, AS A BUSINESS PRACTICE, SAY, I'M, I'M GONNA TAKE IT HERE AND GET REIMBURSED.
WELL, THAT, THAT POTENTIALLY COULD HAPPEN, RIGHT? UM, PART OF IT THOUGH, THE, THE HOLLAND COMPANIES WOULD TELL ME, CONTAMINATION OF THE RECYCLABLES.
IF THE, THE CONSUMERS, IF THE CUSTOMERS ARE PUTTING STUFF IN THERE, THEY SHOULDN'T, AND THE LOAD GETS CONTAMINATED, THEN THE PROCESSING CENTER WON'T TAKE IT.
SO IF NINE PEOPLE ON THE ROAD DO IT PROPERLY AND EVERYTHING'S CLEAN, AND IT GOES IN, THE 10TH PERSON HAS A FULL KETCHUP BOTTLE AND SOME OTHER THINGS THAT EXPLODE, AND THEY GET TO THE SITE, THE DRIVER WILL EITHER HAVE DISCRETION TO SAY, THIS IS CONTAMINATED, OR IF THE PROCESSING CENTER WON'T TAKE IT, IT GOES TO THE LANDFILL.
SO THE, THERE, THERE'S, I THINK EDUCATION, AS LONG AS FOLKS KNOW WHAT THE PROTOCOLS ARE, IF WE COULD HAVE SOME OVERSIGHT AND REGULATION, UH, AS I SAID, THE COUNTY IS HIRING A FULL-TIME EMPLOYEE WHO'S GONNA BE POSITIONED OUT THERE AT THE LANDFILL TO HELP IN THAT REGARD.
SO THERE, THERE'S, THERE'S DEFINITELY ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT.
UM, IF WE GO TO THE NEXT, UH, HERE, HERE'S THE SWAT AGAIN.
UM, YOU KNOW, I MENTIONED THE GOOD WORK, UH, PETER AND MIKE AND, AND THE FOLKS AT THE COUNTY, UH, ARE GOING TO HELP US.
UM, WEAKNESSES, YOU KNOW, EVER SINCE I'VE STARTED, UH, WORKING ON THIS, THE, THE, THE TALK OF THE SOUTHERN COUNTY MERF IS, IS JUST HUGE.
AND WE'LL DO A LOT OF GOOD, AS YOU HEARD MIKE SAY, UM, UPDATING OUR ORDINANCE, UH, WANNA MAKE IT CONSISTENT WITH THE COUNTY ORDINANCES.
I THINK THAT HELPS THE HAULERS AND THE BUSINESSES, RIGHT? IF WE HAVE A SIMILAR ORDINANCE TO BLUFFTON, TO THE COUNTY, IF THEY HAVE TO DO DIFFERENT THINGS FOR DIFFERENT PEOPLE, THEY'RE GOING TO ADJUST THEIR PRICES.
AND IT MAY GET CONFUSING AND, AND, AND NOT WORK AS WELL ON THE WAY.
UM, WHEN A LONG TERM AGREEMENT WITH THE COUNTY TO RUN THE CONVENIENCE CENTER AT SUMMIT DRIVE, I THINK THAT'S IMPORTANT.
UH, WE OWN THE LAND AND, AND WE LEASE IT TO THE COUNTY TO OPERATE, UH, THAT FACILITY THERE.
BUT, UH, BUT I THINK WE NEED A BETTER LONG TERM AGREEMENT TO ENSURE THAT WILL HAPPEN FOR, UH, FOR A LONG TIME.
AND IN PUBLIC EDUCATION, WE HAVE A GOOD, UH, COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT.
I MENTIONED EARLIER, UM, GETTING THE WORD OUT ON WHAT TO DO AND HOW TO DO IT.
UM, I THINK IN GENERAL, THE, THE NATURE OF OUR CITIZENS OF RESIDENTS ARE, THEY WANNA DO THE RIGHT THING, THEY WANNA DO GOOD, UH, AND WITH REGARDS TO RECYCLING, BUT, BUT WHAT ARE THE RULES? HOW DO YOU DO IT? MAKE IT EASY FOR THE HAULERS TO COLLECT IT AND PROCESS IT THE RIGHT WAY.
AND A LOT OF THAT'S JUST EDUCATION, COMMUNICATION.
UM, THE MURF, UH, NEIL'S HERE, HE CAN, UH, GIVE AN UPDATE IF, IF DESIRE, BUT THAT IS A, A KEY PROJECT.
THEY'VE HAD FUNDING, THEY'RE WORKING ON IT.
UH, COMMERCIAL RECYCLING IS AN ISSUE.
THE, THE SHORT TERM RENTALS, THE TURNOVER, YOU KNOW, FOLKS FROM OUT OF TOWN DO THEY CARE AS MUCH.
THEY'RE, THEY'RE JUST IN AND OUT AND, AND THEY THROW EVERYTHING IN ONE BAG.
I THINK IF, UH, IF WE CAN HELP WITH EDUCATION AND GET FOLKS TO DO A BETTER JOB IN THAT REGARD, UM, AND THE PUBLIC EDUCATION I MENTIONED, AND, UM, HERE WE ARE ON THE SWAT SCHEDULE GOING FORWARD.
[01:15:02]
BEEN MEETING WITH THESE FOLKS, UH, EACH MONTH AND, AND I THINK THAT'S A GOOD THING.UM, THE LONG TERM AGREEMENT TO KEEP THE CONVENIENCE CENTER IN OPERATIONS LONG TERM IS, IS SOMETHING, UM, I'M WORKING ON.
I'LL WORK WITH OUR LEGAL DEPARTMENT ON THAT, AND WE'LL GET THAT READY AND PRESENT TO THE COUNTY.
UM, UPDATING THE ORDINANCES, UH, I'VE GOT SOME IDEAS.
WE'VE LOOKED AT IT AND TALKING WITH THE COUNTY.
WE'LL GET THAT, UH, IN BETTER SHAPE AND GET THOSE TO MATCH.
UM, THE NEXT ITEM ON THE AGENDA IS A, UH, GREATER ISLAND COUNCIL RESOLUTION, YOU KNOW, WANTED TO GET IT DONE BY THE END OF THE YEAR, BY JANUARY.
THAT'S WHY THAT DATE WAS UP THERE.
AND, UM, I'LL WORK WITH OUR COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT TO GET A FULL-FLEDGED CAMPAIGN.
THE COUNTY HAS A PERSON WHO, YOU KNOW, THAT IS HER JOB AS WELL.
AND SO WE'LL PUT THAT ON THE WEBSITE AND, AND SOCIAL MEDIA, AND WE'LL TRY TO DO A MUCH BETTER JOB GETTING THE WORD OUT FOR WHAT PEOPLE SHOULD DO IN THAT REGARD.
AND, UM, WORK WITH BEAUFORD COUNTY ON, ON OPPORTUNITIES FOR IMPROVEMENT.
UH, AGAIN, IF THERE'S SOMETHING WE WOULD LIKE THEM WHEN THEY UPDATE OR AMEND THEIR SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT PLAN TO INCLUDE, UM, WE CAN DO THAT.
AND I MENTIONED SOMETHING ON THE END, THERE WAS A PROJECT, YOU KNOW, IN WHICH WE WERE GOING TO DO ROADWAY MODIFICATIONS, UM, I DON'T KNOW, A YEAR AND A HALF, TWO YEARS AGO.
AND WE WERE LOOKING AT PUTTING A, A ROUNDABOUT OUT THERE AT GATEWAY AND SUMMIT AND, AND WE OWN SUMMIT DRIVE, AND WE OWN THE PROPERTY THERE.
UM, THE FEAR WAS THAT WITH THE NEW DECAL SYSTEM, IT MAY CAUSE TRAFFIC BACKUPS AND, AND, YOU KNOW, IT HAS NOT TRANSPIRED TO BE AS BAD AS THOUGHT.
UM, YOU KNOW, WE DON'T SEE PEOPLE OUT THE DI ROAD NECESSARILY, MAYBE ON A BUSY SATURDAY MORNING, BUT FOR THE MOST PART, UM, THE COUNTY HAS MADE DO WITH THE EXISTING INFRASTRUCTURE AND IS MAKING IT WORK.
THE, YOU KNOW, THERE, THERE'S A, AN INTERSECTION THAT, THAT A ROUNDABOUT WOULD BE MADE BETTER.
THERE'S DEVELOPABLE LAND STILL DOWN AT THE END.
YOU HAVE AR NATURE AT THE END WITH A LOT OF BIG TRUCKS COMING AROUND THAT CURVE.
UM, SO ANYWAY, I THINK THAT'S A WORTHWHILE PROJECT GOING FORWARD.
UM, YOU KNOW, MR. BROWN MENTIONED BEFORE ABOUT THE ABILITY FOR ANYONE TO RECYCLE, NOT JUST DECAL HOLDERS, UM, YOU KNOW, RENTERS, WHOEVER, IF YOU WANTED, WANTED TO GO DO A GOOD THING AND, AND HELP THE ENVIRONMENT AND RECYCLE, YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO.
AND SO THE COUNTY HAS STATIONED THEIR, UH, SCANNER, THE DECAL SCANNER EMPLOYEE UP AT THE TOP OF THE HILL.
SO, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S, IT IS A WORK AROUND.
UM, I THINK RECONFIGURING THAT FACILITY AND DOING SOME INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENTS COULD MAKE IT BETTER.
UM, THERE'S TALK ABOUT, YOU KNOW, IF WE COULD DO MORE ORGANIC RECYCLING, COMPOSTING IN AN AREA.
SO IN A FUTURE C I P I THINK, YOU KNOW, THERE'S A WORTHWHILE PROJECT OUT THERE AT THE CONVENIENCE CENTER THAT WE SHOULD LOOK AT.
AND, AND THAT'S WHAT I HAVE QUESTIONS FROM.
THE COMMITTEE, I WOULD LIKE TO HEAR FROM OUR FRIEND FROM THE COUNTY ABOUT THE SYSTEMS THAT ARE IN PLACE AND THE EFFORTS THAT ARE UNDERWAY BETWEEN THE TOWN AND THE COUNTY.
HE IS THE PUBLIC WORKS DIRECTOR.
SO CURRENTLY WE'RE WORKING WITH JEFF, UH, PETER, AS WELL AS MIKE ON THE RESOLUTION.
AND SO OUR GOAL IS IF THE RESOLUTION, UH, CONTINUES TO MOVE FORWARD TODAY, OUR GOAL IS THEN TO TAKE, MY GOAL IS TO TAKE IT TO COUNTY COUNCIL AND, AND HAVE IT, UH, JOINTLY, UH, APPROVED BY COUNCIL AS WELL.
UM, AS JEFF MENTIONED, THE MERF PROJECT IS MOVING FORWARD.
UH, THERE'S TWO COMPONENTS TO THE MURF PROJECT.
ONE IS THE SITE, AND THAT'S RIGHT NOW AT THE, UM, I WOULD SAY PROBABLY BEHIND THE SIMMONS VILLA DROPOFF CENTER.
UH, THERE'S A PROPERTY THAT WE WOULD BE ACQUIRING, AND THEN THERE'S A COUNTY PROPERTY.
SO WE'D BE COMBINING THOSE TWO TO MAKE THAT FACILITY WORK.
UM, AND SO THE SITE IS BEING WORKED ON, WE'RE ENGAGING WITH A AND E CONSULTANT RIGHT NOW TO KIND OF DO A SITE PLAN, A CONCEPTUAL SITE PLAN, AND WE'RE WORKING THROUGH SOME OF THAT.
UM, THE OTHER COMPONENT IS THE ACTUAL MATERIAL, UH, EQUIPMENT THAT SORTS THE, UH, RECYCLABLE GOODS.
AND SO WE'RE WORKING WITH A VENDOR RIGHT NOW.
IN FACT, UM, STAFF IS, UH, BECAUSE OF MY ATTENDANCE HERE, THEY'RE WORKING WITH A STAFF, UH, THE EQUIPMENT PROVIDER TO, UH, FINALIZE THAT AND TO MAKE A DECISION ON, ON THE EQUIPMENT AS WELL.
SO ONCE WE PICK THE EQUIPMENT, WE'LL BE ABLE TO TAKE THE EQUIPMENT WITH THE SORTING LINES AND THE CONVEYOR BELTS, AND THEN PUT IT INTO THE SITE AS WELL.
SO IT'S KIND OF, EVERYTHING'S HAPPENING CONCURRENTLY AND IT'S MOVING FORWARD, UH, NICELY.
WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE MERF AND THE CONVENIENCE CENTER? SO THE CON CONVEN DOING SOME SEPARATION AT THE CONVENIENCE CENTER THERE, THERE IS, AT THE CONVENIENCE CENTERS, CURRENTLY, WE HAVE RECYCLING BINS WHERE CITIZENS CAN COME IN AND PUT RECYCLE GOODS INTO THE INDIVIDUAL BINS AT THE MERF, THE GOODS COME IN IN ONE ONE PILE, AND THEY'RE SORTED AT, AT THE CENTER.
THE, AND THAT'S THE NEED FOR THE EQUIPMENT AND WHATNOT, AND THE ASSEMBLY LINES AND THE STAFF TO KIND OF, UH, SEPARATE THE GOODS.
[01:20:01]
LIKE YOU'RE MAKING PROGRESS.ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FOR NEIL OR JEFF? HOW IS THIS DIFFERENT, IF AT ALL, FROM THE PROGRAM? JUST A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO WHERE WE, THE TOWN CONTRACTED WITH ONE GARBAGE COLLECTION AND THEN HAD TO BACKTRACK ON THAT? I SEE PETER HAS SOME THINGS THAT HE'S ANXIOUS TO CONTRIBUTE.
AND, AND LIKE I SAY, I'VE HEARD, AND, AND I THINK PETER WAS WIRED IN YEP.
AND, AND HAS FIRSTHAND EXPERIENCE.
AND, AND THIS IS ABOUT EFFICIENCY AND PROVIDING AN ENVIRONMENTALLY SOUND SERVICE TO OUR RESIDENTS MM-HMM.
AND RIGHT NOW, THE, THE WHOLE PROCESS IS CONTROLLED BY THE HICKORY HILL LANDFILL THAT CLOSES ON TWO O'CLOCK ON SUN ON SATURDAY AFTERNOON.
AND PART OF THE PROBLEM, WHY THAT SYSTEM FAILED IS BECAUSE, AS I MENTIONED BEFORE, EVERY SHORT TERM RENTAL GETS CLEANED BETWEEN 10 O'CLOCK AND FOUR O'CLOCK IN THE AFTERNOON FOR CHECK IN.
WELL, WHERE DO YOU THINK ALL THE TRASH GOES? THE LANDFILL WAS CLOSED THEN NO PLACE TO PUT THE TRASH.
YOU CAN'T MOVE IT ON A SATURDAY OUT, EVEN OUT OF THE CONVENIENCE CENTER.
AND IN FACT, THERE WERE DAYS WHEN THEY HAD TO CLOSE IT BECAUSE THEY HAD NO PLACE TO PUT IT.
AND THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE MURF AND THE CONVENIENCE CENTER IS THEY REDUCE IT.
THEY TAKE THE PLASTIC AND THEY CAN PRESS IT AND BA IT, THEY TAKE THE GLASS AND THEY CRUSH IT, AND THEY MAKE IT MUCH MORE CONVENIENT TO TRANSPORT.
HAVING THE MOVE THE SOUTH OF THE BROAD MEANS THAT THEY, SOMEONE WHO HAS, WHO'S A TRASH HAULER, DOES NOT HAVE TO GO ALL THE WAY TO HICKORY HILL.
THE OTHER PIECE OF, OF THE CRAZY PUZZLE IS FOREVER YOU BROUGHT RECYCLING TO HICKORY HILL, YOU PAID A TIPPING FEE, YOU BRING TRASH TO THE, TO THE LANDFILL.
THE COUNTY PICKS UP THE TAB, IT'S TAILED BACKWARDS.
SO THERE WAS NO INCENTIVE TO RECYCLE.
THIS MERF WILL GIVE THE COUNTY THE OPPORTUNITY TO MARKET THAT PRODUCT DIRECTLY WITHOUT HAVING THE COUNTY PROCESS IT AND HAVING TO PAY THE COUNTY A FEE TO DO IT.
IT WOULD BE DONE BY THE, BY THE COUNTY.
IT'LL ALSO REDUCE THE TURNAROUND TIME FOR A PRIVATE HAULER TO DUMP THEIR TRASH.
IT'LL ALSO MEAN IT'LL BE OPEN ON SATURDAYS AND SUNDAYS BECAUSE IT'LL BE UNDER THE AUSPICES OF THE COUNTY, NOT WASTE MANAGEMENT.
AND THE REASON WHY THAT FAILED IS BECAUSE IT WAS A SINGLE, SINGLE HAULER.
THE EXPECTATIONS WERE SET WAY TOO HIGH.
THE PRICE WAS SET, UNFORTUNATELY, TOO, TOO LOW.
IT WAS A GREAT IDEA, BUT THE ULTIMATE END WAS CONTROLLED BY THE HICKORY HILL LANDFILL.
WHEN YOU FILLED UP A TRUCK AND IT WAS TWO O'CLOCK ON A SATURDAY AFTERNOON, YOU STOPPED.
AND THE CONVENIENCE PIECE OF IT, I HAVE AT LEAST SIX TRASH HAULERS GOING THROUGH HILTON HEAD PLANTATION ON A WEEKLY BASIS.
WEAR AND TEAR ON THE ROADS, HYDRAULIC OIL SPILLS, ACCOUNTABILITY, JUST EFFICIENCY TO HAVE ONE TRASH HAULER GO THROUGH AND DO IT ALL AND HAVE THAT ACCOUNTABILITY.
IT'S JUST MUCH MORE EFFICIENT.
NOW, THIS WOULD BE DONE UNDER THE COUNTY.
IT WOULDN'T BE DONE UNDER THE TOWN, BUT WE NEED THE COUNTY TO PARTNER.
AND HAVING THE CONVENIENCE CENTER HERE, BEING ABLE TO TAKE LANDSCAPE WASTE AND REDUCE IT ON SITE BY EXPANDING IT AGAIN, YOU COULD PROBABLY COME UP WITH A USABLE MULCH PRODUCT THAT YOU MAY BE ABLE TO EVEN MARKET AND GIVE AWAY OR DELIVER, UM, OR REDUCE IT TO AN AMOUNT WHERE YOU CAN HAUL IT AT A MUCH MORE EFFICIENT RATE.
IS IT ALL ABOUT YOU'RE CARRYING RIGHT NOW FROM THE CONVENIENCE, MOSTLY AIR? SO A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS, MORE QUESTIONS SINCE YOU HAVE ALL THE GREAT INFORMATION TO SHARE WITH US.
IN TERMS OF THE COST, CURRENTLY, SOME OF THE TRASH HAULERS ON HILTON HEAD WILL CHARGE AN EXTRA FEE TO COVER THE RECYCLING.
AND SO FOR THOSE, UM, I PAY MIKE TO RECYCLE AT, FOR ALL OF OUR COMMERCIAL RECYCLABLES IN HILTON HEAD PLANTATION.
SO INDIVIDUALLY, EACH HOMEOWNER CAN MAKE THAT CHOICE, LIKE AT LEAST WITH OUR COMPANY, YOU CAN.
AND THEN, BUT IT DOES CONCERN ME GOING BACK TO THE QUESTION WITH CONTAMINATION AND THE PERCEPTION MAYBE, OR THE REALITY THAT THE GARBAGE GETS PICKED UP AND PUT INTO ONE, UM,
[01:25:01]
TRUCK ALTOGETHER.AND THEN THAT, AND THE WAY I HAD PREVIOUSLY UNDERSTOOD IT, THAT CONTAMINATION LITERALLY HAPPENS WITH, WITH THE VERY SMALLEST AMOUNT OF MM-HMM.
SO HOW, HOW DOES THAT PIECE GET SOLVED AND, UM, PREVENTED, PREVENTING SOLVED? WELL, IF YOU HAVE ONE TRASH HAUL, YOU HAVE MUCH MORE ACCOUNTABILITY.
AND THE TOWN, ACTUALLY, BELIEVE IT OR NOT, HAS THE ABILITY TO FIND IF SOMEONE DOESN'T RECYCLE THE RIGHT WAY.
YOU NEED TO HAVE A TIPPING FEE FOR CHARGE FOR THE TRASH AND ENCOURAGE THE RECYCLING.
AND I THINK BOTH, UM, THE HAULERS, UM, AND THE RESIDENTS WILL BE MUCH MORE CONSCIENTIOUS ABOUT DOING IT IF THEY KNOW THAT THE MORE THEY PUT IN RECYCLING, IT'S GONNA BE A LOWER FEE.
BUT THE, THE MORE THEY PUT IN TRASH, IT'S GONNA BE A HIGHER FEE.
AND IT NEEDS TO BE INCENTIVIZED THAT WAY.
AND I THINK YOU'LL, YOU'LL SEE A BIG TURNAROUND.
HAS THERE BEEN ANY ANALYSIS IN TERMS OF THAT COST? WHAT THE, THE COST WOULD BE UNDER THIS PLAN VERSUS WHAT NO, A QUESTION MIGHT BETTER THAN? WELL, JUST OVERALL FROM, IF YOU'RE PAYING YOUR MONTHLY TRASH PICKUP FEE, WHICH WE'VE ONLY GONE TO RECENTLY CUZ WE MANAGED TO DO OUR RECYCLING AND GARBAGE AT THE CONVENIENCE CENTER.
BUT, UM, BUT MOST PEOPLE WHO PAY THAT MONTHLY FEE FOR THEIR GARBAGE COLLECTION AND THEIR, UM, RECYCLING THAT ADDITIONAL FEE, HOW WOULD THAT COST COMPARE TO A NEW COST UNDER THIS COUNTY PLAN? UH, THE SHORT ANSWER, THERE HAS NOT BEEN AN ANALYSIS.
THAT ANALYSIS WILL COME WHEN WE DID THE MER DESIGN ON CAPACITY HAULING.
AND THEN WHEN THE CONTRACT COMES UP, UM, YOU CAN'T REALLY PUT A, PUT A ANALYSIS ON WITHOUT KNOWING THE, THE LOGISTICS OF IT.
NO, I, NO IDEAS WHAT WHATSOEVER.
I MEAN, YOU CAN, NO, I COULDN'T, I COULDN'T EVEN PUT IT, PUT IT IN THERE.
I DON'T DO RESIDENTIAL, I DO COMMERCIAL MM-HMM.
UM, BUT WHAT'S YOUR, WHAT'S YOUR, WHAT'S YOUR TOUCH AND BASE ON IS, IS THE COMPLEXITY OF THIS ISSUE? MM-HMM.
MERF ALLOWS YOU TO HAVE STANDARDS.
ONCE YOU CAN UPHOLD THEM, NOW YOU CAN IMPLEMENT, UH, THEN YOUR COLLECTION RATES, YOUR CONTAMINATION RATES AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
AND THAT NOW YOU HAVE A WAY OF MAKING SURE THAT THAT GOES, UH, THAT THE RECYCLINGS ARE AS CLEAN AS THEY POSSIBLY CAN.
RIGHT NOW, THERE'S NO STANDARDS, YOU KNOW, THERE'S NO, THERE'S MILLION DIFFERENT HAULERS DOING A MILLION DIFFERENT THINGS.
IT'S NOT FAIR THAT PEOPLE ARE PAYING MM-HMM.
SO WE HAVE SOME ROUGH IDEAS SO THAT, UNLIKE BEFORE WHEN QUESTIONS WEREN'T ANSWERED AND IT WAS A FAILURE, THAT IF WE PROCEED THAT IT'S A SUCCESS AND WE KNOW WHAT WE'RE GETTING OURSELVES INTO.
AND THE KEY IS CONTROL AND TO MAKE IT MORE EFFICIENT.
AND IT INCENTIVIZE RECYCLING OVER PUTTING YOUR SOLID WASTE MM-HMM.
THANK YOU ALL FOR ANSWERING MY QUESTION.
I APPRECIATE THAT ABOUT THE COLLABORATION WE'VE HAD WITH, WITH NEIL AND CINDY AT THE COUNTY.
AND MIKE AND JEFF IS ABSOLUTELY ACCURATE.
WE, WE MEET ON A MONTHLY BASIS AND WE SOLVE ALL THE PROBLEMS FOR THE WORLD.
ANY OTHER COMMENTS FROM THE COMMITTEE? ANY PUBLIC QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? MIKE? UM, CUZ YOU STARTED THE
UM, I DO, I DO WANT TO KIND OF EMPHASIZE, I THINK, UM, YOU KNOW, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT THOSE, THE COMPLEXITY OF THE ISSUES, THE ISSUES ACTUALLY HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED, UM, AND THESE RESOLUTIONS THAT ARE COMING FORWARD ARE STEPS IN THEM.
IT IS COMPLEX, BUT IF YOU'D LIKE A DIFFERENT REPORT ON ACTUALLY THE, THE LITERALLY THE ISSUES THAT COME DOWN THE LINE, THAT WOULD BE ANOTHER TIME FOR ANOTHER PLACE.
BUT THEY HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED, WE ACTUALLY DO KNOW THEM.
AND THIS RESOLUTION THAT'S ABOUT TO COME FORWARD IS ADDRESSING THOSE STEP BY STEP.
UM, WHEN WE, WE EXPLAIN, I'LL STEP BACK UP WHEN, WHEN THE, UH, AFTER THE RESOLUTION'S BEEN, UH, YOU KNOW, DISCUSSED AND WE'LL WE'LL TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE, BUT THEY ARE ADDRESSING THOSE ISSUES, UM, YOU KNOW, SINGULARLY IN A STEP BY STEP FORM.
WELL, I, FOR ONE, WOULD LOVE IF THERE'S ADDITIONAL DATA AND REPORT REPORTING ON THAT TO HAVE IT SO THAT I'M FULLY INFORMED.
IF THERE IS NO OTHER DISCUSSION THAT THEN SEGUES INTO OUR PATSY, SORRY, SORRY.
PATSY BRY ON WENDY, THE EXPERTS TO TALK FIRST, I JUST RISE IN SUPPORT OF THE RESOLUTION AND WITH THANKS TO THE SAC OF THE GIC, UH, TO HELP US CARRY FORWARD PART OF THE, UH, STRATEGIC ACTION PLAN.
THAT SEGUES INTO OUR FINAL AGENDA ITEM AND THAT IS THE PROPOSED RESOLUTION.
[01:30:01]
I THINK THE RESOLUTION WE HAVE, JEFF, UH, IS BORN OUT OF A DRAFT RESOLUTION FROM GIC.UM, RESOLUTION IN THE PACKET, UH, DON'T REALLY HAVE A PRESENTATION SO TO SPEAK, BUT WHAT WAS IN YOUR PACKET WAS PUT TOGETHER BY THE SUSTAINABILITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE OF THE GIC, UM, AT A RESOLUTION CAME FORTH BACK IN THE SPRING THAT WAS APPROVED BY TOWN COUNCIL, UH, BACK IN MARCH.
UM, HOW IS THIS ONE DIFFERENT? UH, THIS NEW RESOLUTION MAINLY FOCUSES TO SUPPORT INITIATIVES ON THE SOUTH OF THE BROAD MURF, WHICH YOU'VE BEEN HEARING ABOUT, UM, CAPABILITIES TO PROCESS AND DISPOSE OF, OR I SHOULDN'T SAY DISPOSED RIGHT, MY PROCESS AND, AND, AND, UH, REDISTRIBUTE OF RECYCLABLE MATERIALS, ORGANIC WASTE, UM, REDUCING WASTE DEPOSITED IN THE, UH, WASTE MANAGEMENT'S LANDFILL.
UM, ALSO LOOKING AT, UH, INITIATIVES FOR A SINGLE STREAM, UH, RECYCLING AND ORGANIC WASTE HAULERS FOR SINGLE, SINGLE FAMILY RESIDENTIAL PROPERTIES, UH, TO REDUCE THE NUMBER OF THE TRUCKS ON HILTON HEAD.
YOU KNOW, PETER MENTIONED THE COUNTY COULD MANAGE THAT.
UH, THERE'S DIFFERENT WAYS TO GO, BUT THEY HAVE A DIVISION DEPARTMENT, UH, THAT DEALS WITH SOLID WASTE.
UM, ONE OF THE OTHER, UH, ITEMS IN THE RESOLUTION TO IMPROVE AND EXPAND THE HILTON HEAD ISLAND CONVENIENCE CENTER TO INCLUDE RECYCLING AND COMPOSTING OF ORGANIC MATERIALS.
THAT'S WHAT PETER WAS MENTIONING, YOU KNOW, THE YARD WASTE, ET CETERA.
UH, COMPOSTING CAN BE A MESSY BUSINESS, I'M SURE WHEN YOU LOOK AT WILDLIFE AND HOW TO PROTECT IT AND KEEP THINGS, UH, NEAT AND TIDY.
AND THEN, UM, CONSIDER EXPANDING THE HILTON HEAD CONVENIENCE CENTER INTO A, A SIDE WASTE AND RECYCLING TRANSFER STATION.
UM, IT ESSENTIALLY ACTS AS THAT.
NOW NEIL MENTIONED THEY HAVE THE, THE BINS SEGREGATED FOR GLASS, PAPER, ALUMINUM, ET CETERA.
BUT IF, UM, IF THAT FACILITY COULD BE MADE BIGGER AND BETTER TO DO, DO MORE, THAT COULD, UH, HELP BENEFIT THE WHOLE PROGRAM.
AND IF YOU GENTLEMEN HAVE ANYTHING TO ADD ABOUT THE RESOLUTION OR, OR NOT? I THINK WHAT WE HAVE BEFORE US IS THE RECOMMENDATION TO FORWARD A PROPOSED RESOLUTION TO TOWN COUNCIL WITH THE GRC RESOLUTION ATTACHED.
BY TOWN COUNCIL, ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS FROM THE COMMITTEE? ALEX? YES, SIR.
UM, I'M JUST, I'M JUST CURIOUS TO KNOW, UM, WHAT THIS RESOLUTION ACTUALLY DOES AS FAR AS THE ACTION BETWEEN THE COUNTY AND THE TOWN.
UM, I MEAN, A LOT OF WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT IS ALREADY BEING WORKED ON.
UM, SO I'M JUST, I'M CURIOUS TO KNOW WHAT, WHAT, WHAT DOES THIS DO FOR US? WHAT DOES THIS REALLY GET US? IT IS, UM, TO SUPPORT AND ENCOURAGE THE EFFORTS OF THE TOWN AND COUNTY.
SO I WOULD SAY GUIDANCE AND SUPPORT AND ENCOURAGEMENT OF THE GREATER ISLAND COUNCIL, UH, FOR NEIL AND US AND COUNTY COUNCIL AND TOWN COUNCIL TO WORK TOGETHER TO DO BETTER WITH REGARDS TO SOLID WASTE AND RECYCLING MANAGEMENT WITHIN THE AREA.
THAT'S THE, SO, SO YEAH, I WOULDN'T SAY ANYTHING BINDING NECESSARILY, BUT IT'S MORE GUIDANCE AND ENCOURAGEMENT TO DO THESE THINGS, IF THAT MAKES SENSE.
IS THAT FAIR? YEAH, ALEX, THESE ARE SETTING UP THE TOOLS THAT WE'RE GONNA NEED TO ULTIMATELY AND HOPEFULLY SET UP A RESIDENTIAL PROGRAM THAT'S FAR MORE EFFICIENT.
AND THE MAYOR, PROBABLY WELL OVER A YEAR AGO, CAME TO US AND SAID, LOOK, THIS IS NOT SOMETHING THAT STAFF OR THE COUNCIL CAN DO ALONE.
WE, WE'D REALLY LIKE YOU GUYS TO TAKE THE LEAD ON THIS AND BRING US BACK, YOU KNOW, IN INFORMATION AND, AND, AND, AND WORK THAT WE CAN ADOPT.
AND THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT WE'RE, WE'RE WE'RE DOING.
WE HAVE WORKED TREMENDOUSLY COLLABORATIVELY WITH THE COUNTY.
AND THAT WAS, THAT WAS AN AN ASK.
AND GETTING THESE DOWN TO THESE FINE POINTS ON A COLLABORATIVE BASIS AND ASKING ABOUT THE CONVENIENCE CENTER BEING EXPANDED IN IN THE FUTURE, THE, THE MURF SUPPORT FOR THAT BY THE TOWN.
THOSE ARE ALL KEY PIECES TO THIS.
SO THAT EVENTUALLY WE WILL GET TO A MUCH MORE EFFICIENT SYSTEM.
AND IF WE GO TO, WHETHER IT'S THE COUNTY OR THE TOWN TO A, A SINGLE HALL OR SYSTEM WHERE EVERYBODY GETS, GETS A, A RESIDENTIAL SERVICE, IT IS NOT GOING TO FAIL BECAUSE THE RIGHT TOOLS WERE NOT IN PLACE.
THIS PUTS THOSE TOOLS IN PLACE AND MAKES IT MUCH MORE EFFICIENT.
I APPRECIATE THE, UH, THE EXPERTISE THAT ARE AT THE TABLE.
I GUESS WHERE I'M GOING IS I WANNA MAKE, DOES, DOES THE RESOLUTION PASSING HERE AND AT THE COUNTY GIVE US SOME ABSOLUTES THAT THE DISCUSSION
[01:35:01]
CONTINUES AND THAT THE REPORTING WILL CONTINUE TO COME BACK FOR US ICONTINUE TO ANNOY YOU AT THIS ITEM FOR AS LONG AS YOU'LL PUT UP WITH MEAND I'M JUST GONNA MAKE ONE GENERAL COMMENT AS, BECAUSE I KEEP HEARING THE EXPANSION OF THE, THE CONVENIENCE CENTER HERE AND, UM, I, I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT I'M ON RECORD THAT AS IF ANYTHING WERE TO EXPAND OR TO BE REDEVELOPED THERE, THAT THE TOWN WILL REMAIN COGNIZANT OF THE RESIDENTS FIRST POLICY, THOUGH THAT CONVENIENCE CENTER IS AROUND NEIGHBORHOODS AND AROUND PEOPLE'S LIVES.
AND SO THAT FIRST, AND THEN WE ACCOMMODATE WHAT WE CAN WITH THE CONVENIENCE CENTER, BUT ALWAYS KEEPING IN MIND THOSE FOLKS WHO ARE RESIDENTIAL POSITIONED AROUND THE CONVENIENCE CENTER.
AND THERE IS ENOUGH PROPERTY AROUND THEIR COUNCIL, REMEMBER BECKER TO DO THAT EFFICIENTLY.
UM, AND THERE WERE ORIGINALLY PLANS, UH, AND THEN THERE WAS A LITTLE SPAT BETWEEN THE COUNTY AS YOU, YOU KNOW, ABOUT, YOU KNOW, THE LONGEVITY OF THAT, THAT THAT CENTER.
AND I THINK SOMETHING LIKE THIS TYPE OF EXPANSION WOULD ENSURE THE LONGEVITY OF, OF THAT, THAT PARTICULAR ITEM.
AND COUNCIL MEMBER BROWN, YOU BROUGHT UP, UM, A WHILE AGO ABOUT RECYCLING AND BEING ALLOWED, AND PERSONALLY I USE IT AND I'VE SEEN EXACTLY WHAT JEFF HAS SAID AND I WANT TO COMMEND JEFF FOR WORKING WITH THE COUNTY TO GET THAT STATION MOVED UP, UM, IN, IN FRONT OF WHERE THE TRASH IS PUT OUT SO THAT PEOPLE CAN COME IN AND RECYCLE WHETHER THEY HAVE THE DECAL OR NOT.
MY ONLY QUESTION OF THE RESOLUTION IS BECAUSE I GUESS THIS IS A MESSAGE TO OUR FOLKS.
NO, BUT YOU WERE RIGHT BEFORE THEY WERE POSITIONING THEMSELVES RIGHT AT THE GATE.
I THINK THAT THIS IS AN ONGOING DISCUSSION THAT SHOULD BE HAPPENING WITHOUT A RESOLUTION BEING IN PLACE.
IT'S JUST A NATURAL AND RIGHT.
NO, THAT'S, THAT'S JUST COMMON SENSE.
AND WE JUST ASKED YOU TO SUPPORT THIS RESOLUTION SO WE CAN CONTINUE TO WORK WITH THE COUNTY.
THEY WILL BRING THE SAME RESOLUTION TO THE COUNTY COUNCIL AND WE WILL SUPPORT THAT AND GET IT PASSED.
AND IT'S JUST WORKING TOGETHER TO GET THESE, THESE TOOLS IN PLACE, UM, SO WE CAN PROVIDE A BETTER SERVICE TO OUR RESIDENTS.
MR. CHAIRMAN, I WOULD MOVE THAT WE MOVE THIS RESOLUTION FORWARD TO THE TOWN COUNCIL WITH A RECOMMENDATION THAT THE TOWN COUNCIL ADOPT THIS RESOLUTION.
IS THERE A SECOND? SECOND? ANY ADDITIONAL COMMENT FROM THE PUBLIC MIKE? SO, UM, THE, THE RESOLUTION YEAH, RIGHT THERE.
AND, UH, YOUR POINT IS EXACTLY SPOT ON.
THIS ISN'T A RESOLUTION OF OF FIRM ACTION.
IT'S NOT A RESOLUTION OF ACTION, IT'S A REVOLUTION OF, UH, RESOLUTION OF SUPPORT.
UM, AND IT'S REALLY THE TOWN STATING THAT WE'RE GONNA TAKE A LEADERSHIP ROLE IN THE COUNTY AND WORK IN CONJUNCTION WITH THEM ON THESE FOUR STEPS THAT AS A COUNTY AND AS AS COMMITTEES HAVE DEVELOPED TO, TO WORK THROUGH THE ISSUES AND THEN THE PROPER STEPS MOVING FORWARD.
UM, I THINK IT IS A, A GREAT SIGNAL.
I'VE BEEN DOING THIS FOR A LONG TIME.
I'VE BEEN ON THE ISLAND FOR A WHILE.
IT'S THE FIRST SIGNAL THAT I'VE SEEN THAT THE TOWN IS REALLY MOVING FORWARD IN REALLY TRYING TO LOOK AT THIS ISSUE, SOLID WASTE AND RECYCLING, UM, AND THROWING ACTUAL EFFORTS TOWARD, YOU KNOW, PUTTING JEFF ON THIS AND THINGS, UH, THINGS OF THAT NATURE WHERE THEY'RE REALLY ACTUALLY SHOWING PHYSICAL SUPPORT TOWARD, UH, TOWARDS IT.
THE, UH, THIS RESOLUTION JUST PUSHES THAT FORWARD AND SAYS, YOU KNOW WHAT? WE ARE GONNA TAKE A LEADERSHIP STANCE.
YOU KNOW, WE'RE GONNA GO, WE'RE GONNA MOVE FORWARD.
RECYCLING IS ONE OF THE MOST VISIBLE THINGS WE CAN DO AS A, AS A TOWN, AS A COMMUNITY, AS A COUNTY.
IF WE CAN PERFECT IT AND GET IT RIGHT, IT'S VERY MARKETABLE.
I MEAN, THERE'S NUMEROUS BENEFITS TO IT.
UM, AND SO THE TOWN TAKES STEPPING UP AND, AND TAKING THAT POSITION, I FEEL IS HUGELY IMPORTANT.
YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY IT'S HILTON HEAD, IT'S, YOU KNOW, IN BEAUFORD COUNTY.
AND, UM, I THINK IT'S AN OPPORTUNITY THAT WE SHOULDN'T PASS UP ON.
SO, UM, I DEFINITELY APPRECIATE THE SUPPORT ON IT AND WE'RE DEFINITELY LOOKING FOR, WE'RE WORKING HARD BEHIND THE SCENES TO MAKE THIS HAPPEN AND TO FIX A LOT OF PROBLEMS THAT HAVE BEEN ONGOING FOR MANY, MANY YEARS.
UM, AND THIS IS LITERALLY JUST A, JUST A, A SHOW OF SUPPORT.
SO, UH, I WOULD MOVE THAT YOU GUYS TAKE A LOOK AT THIS, UM, AND, UH, MOVE IT FORWARD TO THE TOWN FOR APPROVAL SO THAT WE CAN MOVE AT THE COUNTY AND, AND KEEP, KEEP ON AND UPWARD AND, AND GET THIS PROBLEM SOLVED.
AND MR. CHAIRMAN, I WOULD JUST LIKE TO SAY ONE MORE WORD OF RECOGNITION.
SALLY MCGARRY IS HERE AND SHE'S PART OF OUR COMMITTEE.
SHE'S ALSO A WONDERFUL MODERATOR WITH THE LEGAL WOMEN VOTERS AND JUST WANTED TO HAVE HER RECOGNIZE THAT IS HERE FOR SUPPORTING US.
IS THERE ANYONE IN THE AUDIENCE THAT HASN'T BEEN RECOGNIZED YET?
[01:40:01]
UH, I, I, I THINK THE POWER OF THIS RESOLUTION AND THE RESOLUTION IS THE COLLABORATION, UH, BETWEEN THE ENTITIES, GRC, THE COUNTY.
THANKS FOR YOUR LEADERSHIP, JEFF.
UH, AND UM, IF THERE ARE NO OTHER COMMENTS, UM, WOULD YOU CALL THE ROLE KRISTA? YES, SIR.
MR. STANFORD OR THE MOTION? MR. LENNOX? YES.
IS THERE ANY OTHER BUSINESS TO COME BEFORE THIS COMMITTEE? MOVE TO ADJOURN.