Jun 20, 2024 Hilton Head Town Council Workshop

SO FOR 15 MINUTES WE WILL OPEN IT UP.

THAT IS BASICALLY FIVE PEOPLE THAT GET TO SPEAK.

SO MAYOR, MAYBE WE COULD ASK IF THOSE WHO SPOKE ON MONDAY COULD DEFER TO THOSE WHO DIDN'T GET US TO SPEAK TO.

IF YOU'LL KINDLY DO THAT, THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL.

YEP.

IS THERE SOMEBODY HERE THAT NOT GET TO SPEAK ON MONDAY? YES, SIR.

I DON'T THINK HE DID.

RICHARD, BUSY INDIGO RUN QUESTION EVERYTHING.

SO SAID ALBERT EINSTEIN.

HE WAS ENCOURAGING CURIOSITY AND AN EXPANSIVE MIND.

EINSTEIN UNDERSTOOD THAT QUESTIONING IS CRITICAL TO LEARNING AND SOLVING PROBLEMS. YOU WOULD THINK WITH THE EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND OF OUR TOWN COUNCIL, THREE LAW DEGREES, INCLUDING HARVARD LAW SCHOOL, TWO WITH MASTER'S DEGREES AND AN EQUALLY IMPRESSIVE COMMUNITY BACKGROUND, INCLUDING A LIFELONG RESIDENT, YOU WOULD THINK THERE WOULD BE LOTS OF QUESTIONS.

BUT OTHER THAN MS. BECKER AND MS. BRYSON, WHERE WERE THE QUESTIONS ON MONDAY NIGHT? PROBING QUESTIONS, THOUGHTFUL QUESTIONS.

WHERE ARE THEY? ONE COUNCIL MEMBER, MR. STANFORD, WHO'S NOT RUNNING FOR REELECTION SAYS HE'S GONNA LEAVE ALL THIS TO THE EXPERTS WITHOUT QUESTIONS.

I GUESS ONE COUNCIL MEMBER MR. AMES ALSO NOT RUNNING FOR REELECTION HAS SAID, WELL, THIS IS JUST LIKE THE DEBATE OVER THE CROSS ISLAND PARKWAY.

PEOPLE OPPOSED IT, IT GOT BUILT AND NOW PEOPLE LOVE IT.

SO I WILL SUPPORT THIS HALF A BILLION DOLLAR PROJECT AND THE PUBLIC BE DAMNED.

ONE COUNCILS MEMBER, MR. ALFRED HAS SAID JUST ABOUT NOTHING, EVEN THOUGH HE IS ATTENDED.

COUNTLESS ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETINGS, NO QUESTIONS, NO STATEMENTS.

CLOSE TO THE VEST ONE COUNCIL MEMBER.

MR. BROWN HAS HAD A FEW LIMITED QUESTIONS.

ALTHOUGH HE HAS SAID IN THE PAST THAT HE ABIDES BY AN OLD GULLAH SAYING TO TALK, SHOW AND LISTEN FAST.

I'M A MUCH BETTER LISTENER BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT I HAVE BEEN TAUGHT.

AND ONE COUNCIL MEMBER, MAYOR PERRY, SAID HE WOULD LEAVE NO STONE UNTURNED.

WELL, IT HASN'T TURNED OUT THAT WAY.

HERE ARE A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS.

THE FORECAST NUMBER BEING USED BY THE CONSULTANTS IS 3,100 VEHICLES PER HOUR IN 2018.

DOT SAYS WE HAD 3,208 YEARS AGO.

THE CONSULTANT HAS USED TWO OF THE LEADING SOFTWARE PROGRAMS

[00:05:01]

TO TRAFFIC SIMULATION.

ONE SHOWS A ROUGHLY 15 MINUTE IMPROVEMENT, ANOTHER SHOWS A SAVINGS OF LESS THAN TWO MINUTES, WHICH IS IT THE CONSULTANTS USE A GROWTH RATE OF 0.5.

THE STATE DOT USES A GROWTH RATE OF 1.19.

WHICH ONE SHOULD WE BELIEVE? IT INVALIDATES THE ENTIRE RATIONALE.

AND THE WORST PART OF THE PROPOSAL INCLUDES THE MISTAKEN IDEA THAT ADDING MORE LANES TO 2 78 WILL REDUCE CONGESTION.

THIS IS SIMPLY NOT TRUE.

AND WHAT IS THE REAL ISLAND CAPACITY? AND LET US NOT FORGET, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT AN MOU WITH BUFORT COUNTY NOTED COLUMNIST DAVID LAUDERDALE SAID RECENTLY, QUOTE, WE NEED TRANSPORTATION HELP, BUT WE NEED A COUNTY GOVERNMENT WE CAN TRUST.

IS THAT TOO MUCH TO ASK? AND YOUR FINAL QUESTION SHOULD SIMPLY BE, WILL YOU DECIDE FOR THE RESIDENTS OR THE DEVELOPERS? WHICH LEGACY WILL YOU LEAVE? ALRIGHT, THANK YOU.

DO WE HAVE ANYBODY ELSE THAT WAS HERE THAT WAS NOT ABLE TO SPEAK ON MONDAY NIGHT? YES, MA'AM.

HI, ASHLEY PHILLIPS, UM, INDIGO RUN.

UM, HOW ARE 11 LANES AESTHETICALLY PLEASING AND REFLECTION AND A REFLECTION OF HILTON HEAD ISLAND LOW COUNTRY VALUES? MR. MAYOR, HOW CAN YOU SAY HOW PRECIOUS THE CHARACTER OF THE ISLAND IS AND THEN ALLOW THIS HUGE SUPERSTRUCTURE TO BE BUILT AT THE ENTRANCE STAR ISLAND? HOW CAN ANY OF YOU VOTE YES TO MUNICIPAL CONSENT TO THIS PROJECT? WHEN THAT WILL BE TELLING THE GULLAH COMMUNITY, WE DON'T CARE ABOUT YOUR HISTORY OR YOUR PROPERTY.

NOTHING ELSE CAN REALLY BE SAID EXCEPT EVERY ONE OF YOU ARE GONNA BE REMEMBERED FOR GENERATIONS TO COME FOR THIS DEBACLE.

AND MY LAST STATEMENT IS, FOR THOSE PEOPLE WHO THINK THIS BRIDGE IS GONNA BRING HOARDS OF EMPLOYEES ONTO HILTON HEAD ISLAND, YOU BETTER START WORKING ON ANOTHER WAY TO ATTRACT EMPLOYEES BECAUSE BLUFFTON HARDY V AND JASPER CONTINUE TO GROW AND SO WILL BUSINESSES.

AND WHY WOULD SOMEONE COME FURTHER TO HILTON HEAD TO WORK? I CAN TELL YOU IT WON'T BE BECAUSE OF A NEW BRIDGE.

ALRIGHT, THANK YOU.

I I I'M GONNA NEED TO LEAVE EARLY.

CAN YOU CALL ME AT, I DON'T CARE IF I GO NUMBER FIVE OR CAN YOU CALL ME? I'M ON.

YOU MIND? I'LL GO AFTER YOU.

GO AHEAD.

I'LL JUST GO AFTER YOU.

STOP THE DESTRUCTION TO CHARLES FRAZIER VISION.

UH, SKIP POLAND WINDMILL HARBOR 50 YEAR RESIDENT.

WE HAVE HEARD FROM MANY PROFESSIONALS.

MY TAKE ON EVERYTHING I'VE HEARD IS PRO.

THE PROBLEM IS NOT CAUSED BY 45 LOCAL RESIDENTS.

IT'S CAUSED BY ALLOWING TOO MANY, MUCH TOO MUCH TOURISM FOR THE CAPACITY OF OUR INFRASTRUCTURE AND OUR ROAD SYSTEM.

THE CHALLENGE NOW IS FINDING SOLUTIONS TO BALANCE TOURISM SO IT DOES NOT DISRUPT THE LIVES OF 45,000 RESIDENTS.

WE ALL MOVED HERE FOR LITTLE TRAFFIC, A CLEAN, HEALTHY ENVIRONMENT FOR OUR FAMILIES AS WELL AS RETIRE AND ENJOY THE LAST YEARS OF OUR LIFE.

WE MOVED HERE FOR ISLAND LIFE, NOT MYRTLE BEACH, BIG CITY LIFE.

GOOGLE TOURISM ADVERSELY AFFECTS RESIDENTS AND QUALITY OF LIFE.

READ ALL ABOUT IT.

WE WILL NEED TO TAKE HARD ACTIONS, MORATORIUMS, STAGGER DAYS FOR CHECK IN, CHECKOUT, ET CETERA.

EVERY EVERYONE SIX POUNDS DOES NOT FIT IN A FIVE POUND BAG.

FURTHER, WE MUST STOP THIS COUNCIL FROM HANDING $7 MILLION OF OUR TAX MONEY TO PROMOTE MORE TOURISM BY THE HILTON BLUFFTON CHAMBER FOR ILLEGAL PROFITS AND MORE INSANITY AND JUST TAX THEFT.

THIS MUST END, ESPECIALLY WHEN TOURISM IS DONE FOR FREE TECHNOLOGY, LOCAL SEARCH, SOCIAL MEDIA, ET CETERA.

TO THINK A CHAMBER ILLEGALLY OPERATED PROVIDES MORE TOURISM THAN FACEBOOK IS MASSIVE INSANITY.

HAVE YOU EVER BOOKED A HOTEL ROOM ON A CHAMBER WEBSITE? THIS BIG CITY BRIDGE CORRIDOR IS NOT GOING TO SOLVE TRAFFIC.

IT'S SIMPLY LIKE A STICK FOR YOUR HEART.

YOU HAVE THE SAME FOUR LANES ALL THE WAY FROM I 95 ENTERING THE AND AFTER THE STENT, JUST MORE TWO AND FOUR LANE ROADS.

YOU WERE JUST SHIFTING TRAFFIC FROM THE ONE AREA TO ANOTHER AREA AND INCREASING THE TRAFFIC TO THE SOUTH END.

PLUS THE ROOT CAUSE TO ALL THIS WAS NO MASTER LAND PLAN DRAFTED FOR HILTON HEAD BLUFF AND HARDY VILLE OR BUFORD TO STOP THE DEVELOPERS AND THE CORRUPTED COUNCIL MEMBERS AND MAYORS INTO PERPETUITY TO STOP THEM FROM FAVORING SPECIAL INTEREST CHAMBER PROFITS OVER 45,000 RESIDENTS INTERESTS THE BIG CITY BRIDGE IS THE LARGEST, UH, SPECIAL INTEREST TAX SCAM IN BEAUFORT AND SOUTH CAROLINA HISTORY.

ANY COUNCIL MEMBER WHO VOTES FOR THIS INSANITY IN FAVOR OF THIS ILLEGALLY OPERATED CHAMBER IN SPECIAL INTEREST, THE PROFIT SHOULD BE HELD LIABLE AND WILL CERTAINLY BE BOOTED AND DISLIKED IN THIS COMMUNITY.

FOLKS, LET'S

[00:10:01]

JONI MITCHELL'S SONG, YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU GOT UNTIL IT'S GONE.

STOP 10 POUNDS IN A FIVE POUND BAG.

STOP.

MORE DESTRUCTION TO OUR ENVIRONMENT.

THE POLLUTED OYSTERS ARE THE FIRST BAD SIGN.

OUR CREEKS, OUR RIVERS, OUR MARSHES, AND EVEN OUR BEACH WATER.

AND OUR GROUNDWATER IS POLLUTED.

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH.

ALL RIGHT, THANK YOU.

ACTUALLY, THERE WAS A LADY BACK UP HERE.

HAND HER HAND, IF YOU DON'T MIND.

HERE.

SHE HAD HER HAND UP AS WELL.

SO IF YOU DON'T MIND, SIR.

MY NAME IS DARRIS GRANT AND I'M A NATIVE AND Y'ALL HAVE A MEETING AT THREE O'CLOCK IN THE DAY, AND ALL MY FRIENDS AND MY FAMILY GET OFF AT FIVE SIX.

SO THERE'S NO WAY.

AND THEN Y'ALL HAD, UH, SO-CALLED, WELL, WE ARE GONNA DO THIS TODAY.

BUT WHAT MY CONCERN IS, YOU SAID SOMETHING ABOUT CLOSING SQUIRE POPE, WHICH Y'ALL CALL LITTLE STONEY WHAT I DON'T KNOW, AND GOING ALL THE WAY DOWN TO GUMTREE.

I DON'T UNDERSTAND THAT.

MAKE ME UNDERSTAND THAT.

BECAUSE IF I LIVE ON QUI POPE, LET, LET ME GIVE YOU EXAMPLE.

MY SISTER LIVES AT INDIAN, UM, LANE THAT'S RIGHT THERE.

WHEN YOU TURN THE LIGHT, THAT'S THE FIRST ROAD.

NOW FROM EMERGENCY COME, SHE NEED HELP.

SO THAT EMERGENCY VEHICLE GOT TO GO ALL THE WAY AROUND TO GUMTREE ROAD.

I DON'T KNOW WHO DID THE TOUR OR WHO DROVE THAT ROUTE, BUT THAT'S RIDICULOUS.

I DON'T KNOW WHY Y'ALL CLOSING IT FOR WHAT REASON.

YOU HAVE ENOUGH.

AND SO YOU CLOSING IT, THAT MEANS THAT WE'LL HAVE TO, YOU ALREADY RAN US OFF OF STONEY, SO NOW YOU WANNA CLOSE THAT WHERE WE CAN'T GET HOME UNTIL WE GO ALL THE WAY AROUND.

I DON'T UNDERSTAND IT.

SO WHENEVER Y'ALL DECIDE, PLEASE HELP ME UNDERSTAND IT.

AMEN.

OF HILTON HEAD MUST, IN MY VIEW, MUST REMAIN AS DIRECT PARTICIPANTS IN THIS WAR OF IDEAS AND RESOURCES.

THANK YOU MAYOR PERRY, MEMBERS OF THE TOWN COUNCIL, FELLOW CITIZENS OF HILTON HEAD ISLAND.

GOOD AFTERNOON.

YEAH, MY NAME'S STEVEN WOODALL, MY WIFE NANCY AND I MIGRATED SOUTH TO HILTON HEAD, ESCAPING JUST IN TIME FROM NORTHERN VIRGINIA IN SEPTEMBER OF 2020.

WE CURRENTLY LIVE IN INDIGO RUN.

BY WAY OF MY PERSONAL BACKGROUND, I SERVED AS A NAVAL OFFICER FROM 1967 UNTIL 1994.

I DID A SECOND CAREER FROM 1994 THROUGH 2021 AS PRESIDENT OF MY OWN CONSULTING COMPANY AS A PRACTICING SYSTEMS ENGINEER, SYSTEMS ANALYST, AND SYSTEMS THINKER.

IN FULL DISCLOSURE, I HAVE BEEN A MEMBER OF THE NOTORIOUS AND EVER POPULAR TECHNICAL WORKING GROUP SINCE THE FALL OF 2021.

HAVING SAID THAT, I'LL FOCUS ON THE IMPORTANCE OF THE ABILITY OF THE LEADERSHIP OF THE TOWN OF HILMAN HEAD TO REMAIN IN THE CONVERSATIONS WITH THE COUNTY AND THE STATE TOWARD IDENTIFYING THE ULTIMATE AND IDEAL SOLUTIONS TO OUR QUITE SERIOUS AND STEADILY WORSENING CONGESTION CONCERNS ALONG THE ROUTE 2 78 COURT.

TOWARD THIS END, I STRONGLY ENCOURAGE YOU NOT TO VOTE FOR MUNICIPAL CONSENT.

NOT THIS WEEK, NOT ANYTIME SOON.

IN MY VIEW, A VOTE FOR MUNICIPAL CONSENT IS CLEARLY PASSING THE BUCK TO THE DEVELOPMENT PRO MEMBERS OF THE BEAUFORT COUNTY COUNCIL AND THE SOUTH CAROLINA DOT, LEAVING IT TO THEM TO DECIDE WHAT IS BEST FOR WE CITIZENS OF HILLHEAD ISLAND.

AND WE HAVE SEEN IN RECENT MONTHS, THEY ARE NOT NECESSARILY ON OUR SIDE AS OUR DUALLY ELECTED TOWN LEADERSHIP.

I CONSIDER THAT A VOTE OF MUNICIPAL CONSENT WOULD BE A CLEAR ABDICATION OF YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO REPRESENT AND SUPPORT THE VIEWS OF ALL THE CITIZENS THAT IS THE RESIDENTS OF HILTON HEAD ISLAND.

I BELIEVE THAT WE ARE IN A WAR BETWEEN THE RESIDENTS OF HILTON HEAD WHO WANT TO MAINTAIN OUR SPECIAL, UNIQUE QUALITY OF LIFE, AND THE DREADED DEVELOPERS WHO ARE PLOTTING TO INCREASE SIGNIFICANTLY THE ANNUAL INFLUX OF TOURISTS AND TO CONTINUE UNRESTRAINED GROWTH UNTIL WE ARE AS CONGESTED AS IN AS BIG A DUMP AS MYRTLE BEACH.

AS CITIZENS OF HILTON HEAD ISLAND, WE NEED YOU, OUR TOWN LEADERSHIP TO CONTINUE AS DIRECT PARTICIPANTS AND THE CONVERSATIONS WITH THE COUNTY AND STATE THAT WILL LEAD TO CORRECT SOLUTION SET FOR RESOLVING OUR ROUTE 2 78 CORRIDOR CON CONGESTION, WHILE SEEKING TO MAINTAIN AND PERHAPS EVEN BETTER TO IMPROVE OUR QUALITY OF LIFE.

YOU ARE LEADERSHIP

[00:15:01]

WE RESIDENTS UNITED VERSUS THE MANY ADVOCATES FOR CONTINUED GROWTH AND UNCONSTRAINED DEVELOPMENT.

AGAIN, I IMPLORE YOU ALL TO VOTE NO.

ALRIGHT, THANK YOU, SIR.

ON MUNICIPAL CONSENT.

THANK YOU FOR LISTENING.

THANK YOU, SIR.

SO, UM, THAT PLEASE, IF WE'RE GONNA CLAP EVERY TIME, IT'S GONNA DELAY THIS MEETING AND DELAY PEOPLE'S TIME TO SPEAK, PLEASE.

UM, SEAN, I'M GONNA ASK YOU, AND YOU CAN DO IT OVER THERE, BUT FOR THIS LADY'S QUESTION, IT WAS, UM, ABOUT CLOSING SQUIRE POPE ROAD.

CAN YOU RESPOND TO THAT? THERE, THERE ARE NO, UM, CLOSURES.

THERE HAS BEEN DISCUSSION ABOUT LIMITING PEAK HOUR LEFT TURNS WITHIN THE STONY COMMUNITY.

BUT THE PROJECT AS A, THE, THE CURRENT PROJECT DOES NOT INCLUDE, UM, ANY, ANY CLOSURE THAT WOULD REQUIRE YOU TO GO ALL THE WAY TO GUMTREE ROAD.

UH, YOU'D BE ABLE TO MAKE A LEFT TURN ONTO SQUIRE POPE ROAD LIKE YOU HAVE ALWAYS BEEN ABLE TO DO.

ALL RIGHT, THANK YOU.

SO THERE, OVER THE PAST SEVERAL MONTHS, THERE'S BEEN A CALL TO ACTION TO DELAY THE VOTE.

UM, DELAYING THE VOTE IS POLICY BY INACTION.

WE CAN'T OPERATE BY INACTION.

WE CAN ONLY OPERATE FROM ACTION.

I WAS ELECTED TO BE THE MAYOR OF THIS TOWN BY THE RESIDENTS OF THIS TOWN.

I KNEW THAT THIS PROJECT WAS GONNA COME FORWARD AND IT WAS GONNA BE VERY CHALLENGING.

OVER THE PAST SEVEN YEARS, THERE HAS BEEN GREAT COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT FOR THIS PROJECT FROM BOTH DOT, THE COUNTY AND THE TOWN.

THERE HAVE BEEN SEVERAL TECHNICAL STUDIES BY TRAFFIC ENGINEERS THAT HAVE PROVIDED INPUT AS TO WHAT THOUGHT THEY THOUGHT SHOULD BE DONE.

THEY ARE THE EXPERTS.

NONE OF US ARE TRAFFIC ENGINEERS.

THESE INCLUDES EFFORTS FROM THE TOWN OF THE COUNTY, SOUTH CAROLINA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION AND VARIOUS CONSULTANTS.

I'LL ADMIT IT'S A, IT'S A DIFFICULT DECISION FOR TOWN COUNCIL, BUT IT'S NO REASON FOR US TO HATE EACH OTHER.

THERE'S A BIG PH PHILOSOPHICAL QUESTION WHEN IT COMES TO THESE BRIDGES, AND THERE'S A LOT OF DIFFERENT ANSWERS.

AND IF YOU STUDIED PHILOSOPHY IN HIGH SCHOOL OR COLLEGE, YOU KNOW THAT IT'S BASED UPON DIFFERENCE OF OPINIONS.

THE PURPOSE OF THIS MEETING IS FOR ADDITIONAL DISCUSSION REGARDING THE PROJECT AND DECIDE WHAT IS APPROPRIATE FOR HILTON HEAD ISLAND.

WHAT SHOULD WE BE PROTECTING, IMPROVING, MAINTAINING, OR REMOVING? ABOUT 20 MINUTES AGO, LET ME BACK UP.

AFTER MONDAY'S MEETING, WE REACHED OUT TO SECRETARY JUSTIN POWELL TO SEE IF WE COULD GET AN EXTENSION.

WE'VE GOT A TIMETABLE IN FRONT OF US.

WE DID NOT IMPOSE THIS TIMETABLE.

I'M NOT HERE TO GAMBLE OUR FUTURE.

SO WE REACHED OUT TO DOT AND AGAIN, I RECEIVED THIS LETTER ABOUT 20 MINUTES AGO.

DEAR MAYOR PERRY, I WANTED TO FOLLOW UP ON INQUIRIES FROM THE TOWN OF HILTON HEAD ISLAND AS IT PERTAINS TO THE US 2 78 EASTBOUND BRIDGE OVER MACKEY CREEK AND THE SOUTH CAROLINA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION'S PLANS FOR IT.

THE BRIDGE WAS BUILT BY S-C-D-O-T IN 1956, AND IT WAS WIDENED IN 1984.

S-C-D-O-T INSPECTS ALL BRIDGE STRUCTURES IN THE STATE AT A MINIMUM MINIMUM OF EVERY TWO YEARS DUE TO THE AGE AND CONDITION OF THE BRIDGE.

S-C-D-O-T INSPECTS IT ANNUALLY.

AND THE LAST INSPECTION COMPLETED ON JANUARY 12TH, 2024, THE STRUCTURE AND SUBSTRUCTURE OF THE BRIDGE WAS RATED AT FOUR OR POOR ON A NINE POINT SCALE.

WHILE THE BRIDGE IS NOT LOAD POSTED.

WHILE THE BRIDGE IS NOT LOAD POSTED AND IS SAFE TO DRIVE OVER, IT IS APPROACHING THE END OF ITS DESIGN LIFE DUE TO THESE FACTORS.

S-C-D-O-T PLACED THE BRIDGE ON A, ON ITS STATEWIDE PRIORITY LIST.

AS BEAUFORT COUNTY DEVELOPED ITS SALES TAX PRO PROJECT TO BUILD A NEW SIX LANE BRIDGE BETWEEN THE MAINLAND AND HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S-C-D-O-T AGREED TO CONTRIBUTE 74,500 TOWARD BEAUFORT COUNTY'S PROJECT.

THIS WAS IN LIEU OF PURSUING A STANDALONE PROJECT TO REBUILD THE US 2 78 EASTBOUND BRIDGE

[00:20:01]

OVER MACKEY CREEK.

THIS CONTRIBUTION WAS BASED UPON THE ESTIMATED COST FOR SC DOT TO REPLACE THE 2 78 EASTBOUND BRIDGE WITH A NEW TWO LANE STRUCTURE.

THE EXISTING MACKEY CREEK BRIDGE CONTINUES TO AGE IN A CHALLENGING ENVIRONMENT WITH TIDES AND SALT WATER.

WHILE NOT LOAD POSTED TODAY, FUTURE INSPECTIONS MAY NECESSITATE S-C-D-O-T PUTTING A LOAD POSTING ON THE BRIDGE, WHICH WOULD IMPACT MOVEMENT OF TRUCKS, BUSES, AND EMERGENCY VEHICLES ONTO HILTON HEAD ISLAND.

SHOULD THE TOWN NOT PROVIDE MUNICIPAL CONSENT TO THE PROPOSED US 2 78 BRIDGE PRODUCT IN A TIMELY MANNER, S-C-D-O-T WILL BE PREPARED TO USE THOSE FUNDS ALLOCATED FOR THE PROJECT AND PRO PROCEED WITH A PROJECT FOCUSED SOLELY ON THE US 2 78 EASTBOUND BRIDGE AND INITIATING A PROJECT POST FOCUSED SOLELY ON THAT ONE STRUCTURE.

S-C-D-O-T WOULD FIRST EVALUATE IF REHABILITATION OR REPLACEMENT WOULD YIELD THE MOST COST EFFECTIVE OPTION AND DEVELOPED A PROJECT ACCORDINGLY.

IT SHOULD BE NOTED THAT AN SC CODE SECTION 57 DASH FIVE DASH EIGHT 20 CDOT IS NOT REQUIRED TO OBTAIN MUNICIPAL CONSENT FOR CONSTRUCTION WORK ON STRUCTURALLY DEFICIENT BRIDGES OVER THE INTER INTERCOASTAL WATERWAY, LIKE THE 2 78 EASTBOUND BRIDGE OVER MACKEY CREEK.

I HOPE THIS ADDRESSES THE QUESTIONS FROM THE TOWN OF HILTON HU ISLAND.

PLEASE DO NOT HESITATE TO REACH OUT TO MY OFFICE SHOULD YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS.

SINCERELY, JUSTIN PEOPLE SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTATION, I WOULD LIKE NOW TO ASK MR. SENATOR TOM DAVIS TO COME UP AND PROVIDE SOME INPUT FROM THE STATE'S PERSPECTIVE, MAYOR.

AND BEFORE WE MOVE ON, I CERTAINLY WILL RESPECT THE SENATORS, UM, TIME.

BUT, UM, I WOULD LIKE TO ADD TO, UM, THE COMMENTS THAT YOU MADE, MS. BECKER.

WE CAN DO THAT IN A LITTLE BIT.

WE WILL, WE WILL GET THROUGH.

WE HAVE ALLOWED EVERYBODY CHANCES TO SPEAK, SO PLEASE ALLOW US TO SPEAK AT THIS POINT IN TIME.

WELL, SO FAR YOU'VE DOMINATED THE CONVERSATION, BUT, OKAY.

UM, WELL, THANK YOU FOR, UM, INVITING ME TO SPEAK AND I, I THINK LISTENING TO THAT LETTER, THE FIRST THING THAT COMES TO MY MIND IS WHAT DOES IN A TIMELY MANNER MEAN? OKAY.

UM, AND I CAN OFFER MY THOUGHTS IN REGARD TO WHAT I THINK THAT MEANS.

UM, WE'VE BEEN OPERATING, UM, UNDER AN ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT PERIOD, UH, FOR THREE YEARS, WHICH TERMINATES ON, ON JUNE 28TH.

UM, I THINK ONCE THAT DEADLINE PASSES, IT'S MY UNDERSTANDING IT'S POSSIBLE TO OBTAIN AN EXTENSION OF THE EA.

UH, BUT THAT WOULD BE UP TO THE CORPS OF ENGINEERS AS TO WHETHER TO EXTEND THAT EA OR TO GO BACK TO ONE OF THE MORE BEGINNING PROCESS.

SO I DON'T, I DON'T KNOW WHAT WOULD HAPPEN.

IT CAN'T BE CO-MINGLED WITH GENERAL FUNDS OF THE, OF THE COUNTY.

IF MUNICIPAL CONSENT ISN'T GIVEN BY JUNE 28TH.

UM, I CAN TELL YOU THOUGH, THAT FOR PURPOSES OF WHAT SECRETARY POWELL IS SAYING, I THINK THAT'S WHAT HE'S REFERRING TO.

UM, I THINK WHEN HE SAYS IN A TIMELY MANNER, I THINK HE DOES MEAN, UM, A DECISION ONE WAY OR THE OTHER, OR YES OR NO AFFIRMATIVELY, UM, BY THAT DATE.

AND IT'S MY UNDERSTANDING FROM TALKING TO SECRETARY POWELL THAT, THAT IF IT'S NOT MUNICIPAL SENATE IS NOT GIVEN THAT HE FEELS LIKE HE HAS NO CHOICE BUT TO GO FORWARD AND TO ALLOCATE THE $74 MILLION THAT DOT HAD SET ASIDE FOR THAT FIRST SPAN AND BEGIN THE PROCESS OF DECIDING WHETHER OR NOT YOU'RE GONNA RE REHABILITATE IT OR REPLACE IT.

UM, AND SO I THINK ONE OF THE PRACTICAL CONSEQUENCES OF, UM, A MUNICIPAL CONSENT, UM, EITHER NOT BEING GIVEN BY DELAYING THE VOTE OR A NO AFFIRMATIVELY, I THINK WOULD BE DOT GOING FORWARD ON THAT PLAN B GOING FORWARD ON REPAIRING THAT FIRST SPAN.

UM, LET, LET ME SHARE A FEW OTHER THOUGHTS THAT MIGHT FACTOR IN YOUR DECISION MAKING, AND I JUST OFFER THESE AS MATTERS OF FACT.

UM, IF THE PROJECT DOESN'T GO FORWARD, UM, OR THE PROJECT AS, AS PRESENTED, DOESN'T GO FORWARD, UM, ONE QUESTION THAT ARISES IS, WHAT HAPPENS TO THE $80 MILLION THAT WAS RAISED IN THAT PENNY SALES TAX IN 2018 FOR THE PURPOSE OF THIS PROJECT? UM, YOU KNOW, I'M GONNA NEED TO LOOK CAREFULLY AT THAT, BUT I CAN IMAGINE A COUPLE OR THREE DIFFERENT SCENARIOS.

UM, ONE WOULD BE, UM, THAT THAT $80 MILLION IS WHAT'S USED FIRST TO REPAIR THAT SPAN IN LIEU OF THE $74 MILLION.

DOT HAS, UM, HAS SET ASIDE ANOTHER APPROACH MIGHT BE TO SAY, WELL, AS LONG AS THAT $80 MILLION IS BEING USED IN CONNECTION WITH THE CORRIDOR PROJECT IN GENERAL, THAT'S AN AUTHORIZED USE OF THAT MONEY.

I MEAN, IT'S IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND THAT THAT MONEY IS LIKE IN AN ESCROW ACCOUNT.

IT'S, IT'S THERE FOR A SPECIFIC PURPOSE.

[00:25:01]

SO THAT'S A QUESTION THAT ARISES.

UM, ANOTHER THING TO CONSIDER WOULD BE THIS, THAT IF MUNICIPAL CONSENT, UM, IS NOT GIVEN, AGAIN, IN MY OPINION, HAVING TALKED TO THE STATE INFRASTRUCTURE BANK CHAIRMAN BY JUNE 28TH, IT BECOMES VERY DIFFICULT TO CONTINUE TO HOLD ON TO THE $120 MILLION, UM, THAT WAS RANTED, UM, TO BEAUFORT COUNTY FOR THIS PARTICULAR PROJECT.

AND, AND I SAY THAT HAVING DISCUSSED THE MATTER WITH, UH, WITH, UH, DIRECTOR WHITE, UM, THE DIRECTOR OF THE STATE INFRASTRUCTURE BANK, UM, THE PROBLEM IS THE, THE INFRASTRUCTURE BANK IS UNDER A LOT OF PRESSURE, UM, TO UTILIZE FUNDS IN THIS POSSESSION TO ACTUALLY BEGIN CONSTRUCTION ON PROJECTS.

UM, IT, IT REALLY KIND OF RECEIVED A LOT OF CRITICISM FOR THE 5 26, UH, CHARLESTON PROJECT, HAVING SO MUCH MONEY THAT THEY AWARDED YEARS AGO, SET ASIDE AN ESCROW FOR THAT PURPOSE AND NOT BEING PUT TO USE COME UNDER A LOT OF CRITICISM FOR THAT.

UM, I I THINK IT'S LIKELY THAT IF THIS MATTER EXTENDS INTO, UM, INTO JULY WITHOUT A DECISION HAVEN'T BEEN MADE, OR IF THIS TOWN COUNCIL DECIDES AFTER HEARING THAT IT WANTS TO NOT GIVING US BOOK CONSENT, THAT THAT HUNDRED $20 MILLION MAY WELL CHEAT BACK INTO THE SIB, UM, ACCOUNT AND BE REALLOCATED DURING THIS NEXT ROUND OF PROJECTS.

THAT'S ON ONGOING.

THEY'VE GOT A NEW ROUND OF PROJECTS ONGOING.

UM, AGAIN, I DON'T SAY THAT TO, UM, TO SAY YOU SHOULD OR SHOULD NOT GIVE CONSENT.

I'M JUST GIVING YOU WHAT I'VE PERCEIVED TO BE SOME OF THE CONSEQUENCES OF THAT.

SO, UM, I, I'VE BEEN FOCUSING ON TWO THINGS THROUGHOUT THIS PROCESS.

ONE IS TRYING TO HOLD THE MONEY IN PLACE, WHETHER IT'S DOT MONEY, SIB MONEY GENERAL FUND MONEY, MONEY FROM THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, TRYING TO FIGURE OUT AND COBBLE TOGETHER ENOUGH MONEY TO MAKE THE PROJECT WORK.

FOCUSING ON THAT.

THE SECOND PIECE HAS BEEN TO GIVE YOU ALL ENOUGH TIME SO THAT IT BECOMES A DECISION YOU FEEL COMFORTABLE WITH.

IT BECOMES A DECISION THAT YOU FEEL IS REFLECTIVE OF WHAT THE PEOPLE OF HILTON HAD WANT.

NOT SOMETHING THAT THE DOT HAS PROPOSED, NOT SOMETHING THAT WAS PLACED UPON YOU.

THAT'S BEEN MY OBJECTIVE AND, AND, AND I KNOW THIS PROCESS HAS BEEN LONG.

I THINK IT'S BEEN A GOOD PROCESS.

UM, I THINK THIS HAS BEEN SOMETHING THAT PROBABLY HILTON HEAD HAS HAD TO HAVE A DISCUSSION ABOUT FOR A LONG TIME, ABOUT WHAT KIND OF ISLAND DOES IT WANT TO BE? WHAT, WHAT, WHAT WHAT SORT OF CHARACTER DOES IT WANT TO HAVE? AND SORT OF, IN MY OPINION, THIS DISCUSSION ABOUT THE BRIDGE IS A PROXY FOR THAT LARGER CONVERSATION IN MY OPINION.

AND, AND, AND THAT I THINK IS GOOD.

I THINK IT'S GOOD THAT PEOPLE ARE OUT HERE EXPRESSING THEIR OPINIONS.

AND, AND LEMME SAY THIS, UM, IRRESPECTIVE OF, OF WHAT YOUR VIEWS ARE ON THIS PARTICULAR MATTER, I AM FILLED WITH ADMIRATION FOR THE SEVEN MEMBERS OF THIS COUNCIL BECAUSE I KNOW HAVING WATCHED YOU ALL, HAVING TALKED WITH YOU ALL, ALL OF YOU ARE DIGGING INTO THIS VERY SERIOUSLY, VERY INTENTLY WITH THE OBJECTIVE BEING YOU WANT SOMETHING THAT'S BEST FOR THE PEOPLE OF HILTON HEAD ISLAND.

I, I AM CONVINCED OF THAT.

AND IN IRRESPECTIVE OF WHAT THE DECISION IS, UH, WHETHER IT'S TO GIVE THE MUNICIPAL CONSENT OR NOT TO GIVE THE MUNICIPAL CONSENT, I'LL STAND BEHIND THE TOWN OF HILTON HEAD AND I'LL TRY TO HELP YOU ACCOMPLISH WHAT YOU WANT TO ACCOMPLISH BY WORKING WITH THE DOT, WORKING WITH THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, WORKING WITH THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY AND THE GENERAL FINE.

SO, SO THAT'S, THAT'S SORT OF LIKE A, A BROAD SPECTRUM AS I SEE IT.

UM, I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT ANY OF THOSE PARTICULAR THINGS THAT YOU FEEL WANT ME TO ELABORATE UPON.

BUT THOSE ARE MY OBSERVATIONS.

MR. SENATOR DAVIS, THANK YOU FOR THAT.

UM, I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT THAT THE COMMUNITY HEARS EXACTLY WHAT YOU JUST SAID ALONG WITH SECRETARY POWELL.

ANY, ANY QUESTIONS FOR THE SENATOR, MS. BECKER? SURE.

UM, HI, SENATOR DAVIS.

KNOW I'VE HEARD YOU AND I HEARD YOU TODAY ASK A SIMPLE QUESTION, WHAT DOES HILTON HEAD WANT TO BE? I HAVE A SIMPLE ANSWER.

IT'S NICE TO SEE YOU.

UH, MS. BECKER, THANK YOU FOR COMING TODAY AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR PARTICIPATION IN THIS PROJECT AND THE RESIDENTS OF HILTON HEAD ISLAND, UM, SINCE FOREVER, BUT FOR THIS PROJECT, SINCE ITS BEGINNING, YOU'VE BEEN INVOLVED AND YOU'VE BEEN INCREDIBLY HELPFUL.

AND I THANK YOU FOR ALL OF THAT.

ONE OF THE THINGS I WANT TO HIGHLIGHT, IF I MAY, IS THAT, UM, NOVEMBER 6TH, 2018, THERE WAS PENNY TAX REFERENDUM BY THE, UH, COUNTY, BUFORT COUNTY THAT WAS PUT OUT.

AND THE PURPOSE OF THAT PENNY TAX WAS THIS FOR HILTON HEAD ISLAND.

IT WAS TO REPAIR AND OR REPLACE THE EXISTING SPANS OF THE BRIDGES TO HILTON HEAD ISLAND AND OTHER IMPROVEMENTS BETWEEN MOSS CREEK AND SQUIRE POPE.

YOU DIDN'T HEAR ANYTHING IN THERE ABOUT EXPANSION OF A BRIDGE OR THE, UH, TO SIX LANES OR A BIKE PED PATH OR ANYTHING THAT WE NOW ARE CURRENTLY DEBATING.

WHAT YOU HEARD IS SIMPLY REPAIR AND OR REPLACE THE EXISTING SPANS OF THE BRIDGE TO HILTON HEAD, VALLEY ISLAND, AND OTHER IMPROVEMENTS BETWEEN MOSS CREEK AND SQUIRE PO.

THAT'S WHAT YOU VOTED ON TO GET.

YOU DIDN'T VOTE ON WHAT WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT WITH A, WITH THE MOST RECENT ALTERNATE TO ONE THAT'S BEEN MODERATED.

SO THERE, THERE'S THAT.

AND I

[00:30:01]

HILTON HEAD WANTS TO BE WHAT IT IS THAT WE ALL MOVED HERE, THAT WE ALL CAME TO VISIT, MOVED HERE, CREATED OUR LIVES HERE, MAKE THIS OUR HOME.

AND THAT WAS NOT WHAT'S PROJECTED UP ON THE SCREEN FOR US ALL TO SEE 11 LANES BY PED PATH AND ALL OF THIS EXPANSION.

WE KNOW WHO WE ARE.

WE'VE BEEN GOOD AT BEING WHO WE ARE, AND WE WANT TO CONTINUE TO BE WHO WE ARE.

AND WHAT IS BEING PROJECTED IS NOT CONSISTENT WITH THOSE VALUES, IN MY HUMBLE OPINION.

AND I BELIEVE A BUNCH OF OTHERS TOO.

SO THE QUESTION IS EASILY ANSWERED.

HILTON HEAD KNOWS WHO IT IS.

WE'VE DONE A GREAT JOB, AND WE DON'T WANT WHAT'S BEING SOLD THAT IS INCONSISTENT WITH WHAT WE VOTED ON TO BEGIN WITH.

THE BRIDGE NEEDS TO BE REPAIRED.

NO QUESTION ABOUT IT.

WE HAVE MONEY TO DO IT, NO QUESTION ABOUT IT.

I DON'T KNOW WHERE ALL THIS OTHER STUFF CAME FROM, BUT WE ARE WAY ABOVE OUR HEADS ON ALL THAT.

PLEASE, Y'ALL, PLEASE ANY OTHER COMMENTS? AND MR. CAMPFORD? THANK YOU, SENATOR.

I WANT TO SECOND MS. BECKER'S COMPLIMENTS AND APPRECIATION TO YOU FOR ALL OF THE WORK THAT YOU'VE PUT IN ON THIS.

YOU HAVE REALLY TAKEN THE EXTRA MILE AND LISTENED TO ALL OF US, AND I SINCERELY APPRECIATE IT.

MY QUESTION IS, IT SEEMS TO ME THAT THERE, YOU'VE GIVEN TWO DIFFERENT TIMEFRAMES.

ONE IS THE TIMEFRAME FROM DOT, WHICH IS A TIMELY MANNER, WHATEVER THAT MEANS.

THE SECOND TIME TIMELINE IS THAT IMPOSED BY THE STATE INFRASTRUCTURE BANK, WHICH THEY'RE SAYING IS 6 28.

IF WE DON'T GIVE AN ANSWER BY 6 28, WHAT WE'RE TOLD IS THAT MONEY IS GOING TO EVAPORATE AND GO TO OTHER PARTS OF THE STATE.

AM I CORRECT IN THAT? UM, IT WOULDN'T, IT WOULDN'T OPERATE AS A MATTER OF LAW OR AUTOMATICALLY HAPPEN.

UM, IT WOULD, IT WOULD BE SOMETHING THAT THE DELEGATION WOULD HAVE TO PUT A FULL COURT PRESS ON THE INFRASTRUCTURE BANK TO KEEP THAT $120 MILLION SET ASIDE.

UM, I CAN TELL YOU, UM, BECAUSE I, I'VE CONSIDERED THAT TO BE ONE OF THE IMPORTANT ROLES I CAN PLAY HERE, IS GIVE YOU GOOD INFORMATION IN REGARD TO THAT.

UM, AND I'VE BEEN TALKING WITH THE CHAIRMAN OF THE INFRASTRUCTURE BANK FOR THE PAST SEVERAL MONTHS TO KIND OF GAUGE THAT.

UH, MOST RECENTLY WE WENT UP THERE, UM, YOU KNOW, A, A DELEGATION WENT UP ABOUT TWO OR THREE WEEKS AGO TO MEET WITH THE SECRETARY POWELL FROM DOT AND CHAIRMAN WIFE FROM THE S UM, MY IMPRESSION IS, UM, IT WILL BE DIFFICULT FOR THAT $120 MILLION TO BE SET ASIDE AND RESERVED FOR HILTON HEAD IF WE MOVE INTO JULY.

UM, EITHER WITH A DECISION NOT HAVING BEEN MADE OR WITH, OF COURSE, IF THE TOWN OR FIRMLY DECIDES IT DOES NOT WANT TO GIVE CONSENT.

UM, I, I CAN'T.

NOW THAT'S NOT TO SAY THAT IF, IF YOU ALL GIVE ME INSTRUCTION AND SAY WE NEED MORE TIME, UM, THAT I WOULDN'T GO UP THERE AND MAKE THE BEST CASE THAT I COULD ALONG WITH THE REST OF THE DELEGATION TO KEEP THAT $120 MILLION IN PLACE.

I CAN TELL YOU FROM TALKING TO CHAIRMAN WHITE, UM, IT'LL BE VERY DIFFICULT, UM, BECAUSE WE'RE, WE'RE WELL OVER A YEAR BEYOND WHEN HE ANTICIPATED HAVING THAT MONEY, UM, SPECIFICALLY, YOU KNOW, DIRECTED TOWARD THIS PARTICULAR PROJECT IN, IN, IN REALITY INSTEAD OF IN THEORY.

UM, THERE'S ANOTHER, SO THERE'S THREE CONSTRAINTS HERE, IN MY OPINION.

YOU KNOW, ONE IS THE DOT SAYING AT SOME POINT IN TIME IT NEEDS TO GO AHEAD AND START MAKING THOSE REPAIRS BECAUSE YOU'VE GOT A BRIDGE THAT'S STRUCTURALLY DEFICIENT.

FOUR ON A SCALE OF NINE HAS BEEN SAID.

THE SECOND WOULD BE THE, UM, HOW LONG CAN YOU HOLD ON TO THE $120 MILLION? I'VE ALREADY SPOKEN TO THAT.

THE THIRD THING IS THE ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT PROCESS.

AND, AND AGAIN, I'M NOT AN ENVIRONMENTAL LAWYER IN THAT REGARD, BUT IT'S MY UNDERSTANDING YOU WOULD HAVE TO PETITION THE CORPS OF ENGINEERS TO HAVE THAT EA THAT EA PERIOD EXTENDED, WHICH BEYOND THE INITIAL THREE YEARS, WHICH EXPIRES ON JUNE 28TH.

UM, AND THAT CAN BE GIVEN UNDER CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES.

I'M NOT SAYING IT'S AUTOMATIC, BUT IT'S PROBLEMATIC.

UM, SO, UM, I I, I THINK I WANNA GO BACK TO WHAT THE MAYOR SAID AT THE VERY BEGINNING.

AND I, AND I THINK THIS IS PROBABLY ALSO IMPORTANT, AND JUST AS A GENERAL OBSERVATION, THAT A DECISION BE MADE BY THE COUNCIL, EITHER YES OR NO, UM, AFFIRMATIVELY, UM, RATHER THAN SIMPLY CONTINUE THE MATTER AND, AND, AND HAVE ONE OF THOSE PARAMETERS, YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, DICTATE A RESULT FOR YOU, EITHER THE $120 MILLION IS CHEATING BACK TO THE SIP FUND, THE DOT SAYING, FORGET IT.

WE GOTTA GO FORWARD AND MAKE REPAIRS.

OR THE CORPS OF ENGINEERS NOT AGREEING TO EXTEND THE ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT.

THAT THAT WOULD BE A DECISION THEN BEING FOISTED UPON YOU.

UM, I, I THINK THAT THIS HAS BEEN A GOOD CONVERSATION.

I THINK THERE HAVE BEEN GREAT POINTS MADE ON ALL SIDES.

I THINK AS A MATTER OF

[00:35:01]

POLICY, I THINK THE MAYOR'S RIGHT.

UH, HAVING AN AFFIRMATIVE DECISION BY THE COUNCIL ONE WAY OR THE OTHER IS, IN MY OPINION, WOULD BE PREFERABLE.

OTHER QUESTIONS, MR. BECK? I MEAN, MR. BRYSON, SORRY.

ANOTHER B ANOTHER WOMAN WITH A B, HOPEFULLY NOT IN MY BONNET.

UM, THANK YOU SENATOR DAVIS.

FIRST, FIRST OF ALL, I, I ECHO THE THANKS YOU HAVE.

I REMEMBER, UH, UH, MEETING WITH YOU UNDER THE TREES AT SAILING AND ROWING CENTER A NUMBER OF YEARS AGO, AND YOU HAVE BEEN STEADFAST TO OUR COMMUNITY SINCE THEN.

THANK YOU FOR THAT.

AND I KNOW YOU WILL CONTINUE TO BE STEADFAST.

MY QUESTION IS ABOUT THE CURRENT MONEY GAP.

UM, I UNDERSTAND THE MONEY THAT WE HAVE AVAILABLE, AND I UNDERSTAND THAT THE CURRENT ESTIMATED COST IS $488 MILLION.

CAN YOU TELL US, I'VE HEARD RECENTLY WHAT THAT GAP IS, AND CAN YOU TELL THE COMMUNITY, THIS COMMUNITY, WHAT THAT GAP IS AND WHAT THOSE POSSIBILITIES MIGHT BE? YEAH.

UM, RIGHT NOW, MS. BRYSON, I THINK THAT I FEEL FAIRLY CONFIDENT SAYING THERE'S $300 MILLION SOLIDLY ALLOCATED.

THAT WOULD BE THE $80 MILLION FROM THE, UM, THE PENNY SALES TAX, $120 MILLION FROM THE STATE INFRASTRUCTURE BANK.

AND, AND THE DOT, YOU KNOW, IT HAS INCREASED THIS INITIAL $74 MILLION ALLOCATION FOR IT HAS INCREASED IT OVER TIME.

I FEEL LIKE THAT GETS US UP TO 300 MILLION.

SO THE QUESTION IS THEN BEGGED, WHERE DOES THE OTHER A HUNDRED, $180 MILLION COME FROM? UM, AND SO ONE OF MY TASKS WILL BE, I MEAN, IF, IF THE COUNCIL DECIDED IT WAS GOING TO MOVE FORWARD, OUR TASK WOULD BE TO WORK WITH YOU AND THE COUNTY ON FIGURING OUT HOW TO COVER THAT DELTA.

AND THERE'S ONLY CERTAIN SOURCES YOU CAN GO TO.

YOU CAN GO BACK TO THE SIB, UM, AND TRY TO GET MORE MONEY, BUT AS I'VE SAID, THERE'S ALREADY NEW PROJECTS QUEUING UP AND THEY WANT THAT MONEY, AND THEY'RE NOT GONNA BE SYMPATHETIC TO MORE OF IT BEING ALLOCATED DOWN HERE.

UH, THE SECOND WOULD BE IN REGARD TO THE DOT.

AND, AND I HAVE TALKED TO SECRETARY POWELL ABOUT THIS, AND, AND I BELIEVE MARK WOULD, MARK LINA WOULD ECHO THIS.

THERE WAS SOME WILLINGNESS ON THE PART OF THE DOT TO PLUS UP THEIR CONTRIBUTION TO MAKE THIS WORK IN RECOGNITION OF THE ESCALATION IN COSTS.

UM, BUT THAT STILL LEAVES YOU, LEAVES YOU SHORT.

UM, AND IT'S MY UNDERSTANDING THAT THE COUNTY IS PROPOSING, I THINK IT'S PROPOSING, UM, TO HAVE 80 MILLION OR SOME AMOUNT OF MONEY, UM, ALLOCATED VIA A FUTURE REFERENDUM THIS NOVEMBER.

UM, AND SO, I MEAN, IN ADDITION TO THOSE RESOURCES, I WOULD LOOK AT MAYBE THE GENERAL FUND BUDGET, THE LEGISLATURE, UM, YOU KNOW, PASSES EVERY YEAR, EITHER THE GENERAL FUND BUDGET OR THE CAPITAL RESERVE BUDGET THAT WE PASS.

UM, I THINK THERE'S ALSO AN OPPORTUNITY IF, IF WE WERE TO UNDERTAKE THAT TASK, UM, TO WORK WITH OUR CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION, WORK WITH SENATOR GRAHAM AND SENATOR SCOTT AND THE REST OF THE DELEGATION, UM, TO TRY TO GET AN APPROPRIATION INTO THE FEDERAL HIGHWAYS BUDGET.

UM, BUT, BUT AGAIN, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'D NEED TO MAKE UP THE $180 MILLION DELTA SOMEHOW.

THOSE ARE THE WAYS THAT I CAN THINK OF.

UM, IN ADDITION TO THE PENNY SALES TAX FROM THE COUNTY PERSPECTIVE, THEY DO HAVE BONDING CAPACITY.

AND IT'S MY UNDERSTANDING THAT THEY HAVE APPROXIMATELY $90 MILLION WORTH OF BONDING CAPACITY WITHOUT HAVING TO GO TO VOTERS FOR APPROVAL OR ADDITIONAL AUTHORIZATION.

NOW, OBVIOUSLY THEY HAVE OTHER USES OR THE THINGS THEY WANNA USE THAT BONDING CAPACITY FOR.

I'M SIMPLY IDENTIFYING FOR YOU HOW WE MIGHT MAKE UP THAT DELTA, IF THAT'S THE TASK BEFORE US.

UM, WE, WE, WE THANK THE GOOD SENATOR FOR ALL OF THIS GOOD WORK THROUGHOUT THIS PROCESS.

UM, IF YOU ALL ALREADY MADE YOUR MIND UP IN, IN FAVOR OF THIS PROJECT OR OPPOSED TO THIS PROJECT, I THINK WE ALL OWED A GOOD SENATOR GRATITUDE FOR STAYING IN IT WITH US.

HE'S BEEN A MEDIATOR, HE'S BEEN AN INFLUENCER, HE'S BEEN AN ADVOCATE REGARDLESS.

UM, SO YOUR, YOUR WORK IS NOT IN VAIN, SIR.

, UM, I DO HAVE TWO QUESTIONS.

OTHER QUESTIONS? ALRIGHT.

UM, ONE IS, AS WE DELIBERATE, UM, ON THIS TOPIC AND POTENTIALLY COME UP WITH A SET OF CONDITIONS THAT GO ALONG WITH CONSENT, UM, HOW WOULD YOU BEST ADVISE US AS TO WHAT THAT DOCUMENT SHOULD LOOK LIKE AS REGARDS TO OUR PARTNERSHIP WITH BEAUFORT COUNTY AND OR THE STATE? OKAY, THAT'S QUESTION NUMBER ONE.

AND THEN QUESTION NUMBER TWO, UM, OBVIOUSLY, UM, THERE ARE A LOT OF POINTS OF CONTENTION AROUND THIS BRIDGE.

HOW BIG IS IT? HOW WIDE IS IT? SO ON.

UM, BUT THE, UM, THE, THE CRITICAL POINT IS ABOUT A QUARTER OF A MILE THAT IS NOW STILL TWO LANES AND NOT THREE LANES.

AND WE ALL DESCRIBE THAT AS THE STONY COMMUNITY.

AND REGARDLESS OF ANYTHING HAPPENS, IT'S A BAD SITUATION THERE TODAY.

AND WE'VE ALL HAD DISCUSSIONS AROUND HOW WE CAN MAKE IT BETTER.

AND YOU, YOU HAVE HELPED US TO IMPLEMENT THE IDEA OF A COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION

[00:40:01]

TO ASSIST WITH THAT.

I NEED TO KNOW HOW DO YOU PLAN ON HELPING US IN THE FUTURE, REGARDLESS OF WHAT HAPPENS TO MAKE SURE THAT STONY IS IN A GOOD PLACE.

RIGHT? I GUESS THAT'S YOUR FIRST, UM, QUESTION.

IF THE MUNICIPAL CONSENT WERE GOING TO COME WITH CERTAIN CONDITIONS OR EXPECTATIONS ON YOUR PART TO BE PERFORMED, UM, IT WOULD NOT BE SUFFICIENT SIMPLY TO HAVE THEM IN THE MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING, BECAUSE THAT IS A BILATERAL CONTRACT BETWEEN THE TOWN AND THE COUNTY.

AND, AND WHAT YOU WOULD WANT, I THINK, IF, IF YOU WERE GIVING CONSENT WITH CONDITIONS, YOU'D WANT THAT TO BE WITH THE DOT YOU, YOU'D WANT THAT CONSENT, MUNICIPAL CONSENT, BECAUSE THAT'S WHO YOU'RE GIVING THE MUNICIPAL CONSENT TOO, IS TO THE DOT.

YOU WOULD WANT TO HAVE THOSE CONDITIONS, NOT ONLY BE IN THE MOU, BUT ALSO IN THE CONSENT THAT YOU PUT FORWARD.

UM, HOW THAT WOULD BE RECEIVED BY THE DOTI GUESS DEPENDS UPON THE NATURE OF THOSE CONDITIONS, UM, WHETHER THEY INVOLVED MONEY, WHETHER OR NOT THEY INVOLVED, UM, IMPACTS OUTSIDE OF THE, UM, OF THE EA DESIGNATED AREA.

I MEAN, BUT, BUT, UM, BUT TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION DIRECTLY, THOSE CONDITIONS, IN MY OPINION, IN ORDER TO BE ACCOMPLISHED, WHAT YOU WANNA ACCOMPLISH WOULD'VE TO BE PART OF THE MUNICIPAL CONSENT THAT YOU SEND, UH, TO THE DOT AND NOT JUST SIMPLY IN THE MOU.

UM, IN, IN REGARD TO, UM, THE SECOND QUESTION.

AND IN REGARD TO THE NORTH, UH, PART OF THE ISLAND IN GENERAL, UM, I HAVE FOCUSED, AS HAVE YOU, AS HAS THIS COUNCIL OVER THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS ON, ON REALLY TRYING TO REVERSE SOME PAST INJUSTICES THAT WERE DONE TO THE NORTHERN PART OF THE ISLAND.

UM, YOU KNOW, WE'VE WORKED ON, UH, WITH YOUR LEADERSHIP, YOU SET UP THE, UH, GULLAH GEECHEE, UM, COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CORRIDOR, UH, NETWORK COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CORRIDOR, AND SECURED, AND A $5 MILLION APPROPRIATION FROM THE STATE, UM, TO FUND IT, UM, ADDITIONAL MILLION DOLLARS, UH, IN THIS YEAR'S BUDGET I PUT IN TO FUND IT, IT WOULD BE MY INTENTION GOING FORWARD TO MAKE THAT A RECURRING APPROPRIATION TO THE CDC SO THAT IT CAN TAKE THESE AFFIRMATIVE ACTIONS IN REGARD TO RESTORING THAT COMMUNITY, REHABILITATING THAT COMMUNITY, UM, AND, AND WORKING WITH YOU.

AS YOU KNOW, WE'VE ALSO GOTTEN MONEY, UM, TO, TO RELOCATE THE ST.

JAMES CHURCH AND TO BUILD THEIR NEW SANCTUARY AND, AND FELLOWSHIP HALL.

UM, WE'VE GOTTEN MONEY FOR, FOR MITCHELLVILLE, UM, TO, TO RESTORE THAT.

UM, THERE IS CURRENTLY PENDING A CONTRACT WITH SOME OF THE GREEN SPACE DOLLARS TO PURCHASE THE MITCHELLVILLE TRACT.

UM, SO I THINK THERE IS A, A CAUTIOUS EFFORT BOTH AT THE LOCAL LEVEL AND THE STATE LEVEL, UH, UP IN THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY TO REALLY DO SOMETHING FOR THAT COMMUNITY THAT HISTORICALLY HASN'T BEEN DONE.

AND I, I ENVISION THAT CONTINUING, IRRESPECTIVE OF WHAT, WHAT DECISION HAS MADE IN REGARD TO THIS BRIDGE THAT WILL CONTINUE GOING FORWARD.

THAT'S A PRIORITY OF MINE.

THANK YOU, SIR.

THANK YOU MAYOR.

SENATOR DAVIS, THANK YOU SO MUCH.

APPRECIATE, UM, YOUR TIME AND BEING WITH US HERE TODAY.

SO, YOU KNOW, NOW WE, WE'VE GOTTA ASK THE QUESTION, HOW, HOW DID WE GET HERE? RIGHT? LET'S TRY TO UNDERSTAND HOW WE GOT HERE TO THIS POINT, WHAT HAS TRANSPIRED? AND FOR THAT, I'M GONNA ASK MR. ORLANDO TO CHIME IN AND, AND GIVE US SOME INSIGHT BECAUSE HE'S, HE AND THE STAFF ARE THE ONES THAT ARE WORKING WITH THE OTHER STAFFS, RIGHT? SO LET'S UNDERSTAND HOW WE GOT HERE.

MR. ORLANDO? YES.

THANK YOU, MAYOR PERRY.

AFTERNOON, MAYOR.

COUNCIL, GOOD AFTERNOON EVERYBODY.

UH, I WOULD LIKE TO JUST JUMP IN AS WELL AS SAY A SPECIAL THANK YOU TO SENATOR DAVIS.

BEEN SO GREAT WORKING WITH YOU AND HELPFUL EVERY TIME I, I CALL.

UM, I FEEL LIKE I, I LEARN SOMETHING.

I GET SMARTER EVERY TIME I I'M IN YOUR PRESENCE, SO THANK YOU, SIR.

UH, I DO THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO PROVIDE SOME INSIGHT INTO THIS CORRIDOR PROJECT.

REALLY, IF, IF NOTHING ELSE, TO REALLY SET THE TONE FOR WHAT SEAN, UH, WILL GET THROUGH IN A, IN A BRIEF PRESENTATION.

I THINK IT'S, I IMPORTANT THAT I PROVIDE SOME INSIGHT INTO THE PROJECT AND TO THE RATIONALE AND CONSIDERATIONS MADE TO DATE THAT LED US HERE.

AND SO, IF NOTHING ELSE, I THINK A, A, A BREATHER FOR A SECOND AND A REMINDER OF WHY WE'RE SITTING HERE AS A COLLECTIVE GROUP TODAY.

THE EASTBOUND MACKEY CREEK BRIDGE SHOWED STRUCTURAL DAMAGE, AND WE HEARD SOME OF THIS, BUT DURING AN S-C-D-O-T INSPECTION IN 2015.

SO THAT MEANS, AND IT'S KIND OF CRAZY TO THINK THE BRIDGE IS APPROXIMATELY 70 YEARS OLD.

HURRICANE MATTHEW FOUND US IN 2016.

AND THEN BEAUFORT COUNTY INITIATED A BRIDGE AND CORRIDOR IMPROVEMENT PROJECT THROUGH A VOTER REFERENDUM SALES TAX REFERENDUM IN 2018.

AND SO THROUGH THE REFERENDUM, THE TOWN BEAUFORT COUNTY RAISED $80 MILLION.

THIS WAS FOR AN INVESTMENT, AND MS. BECKER SAID IT SAID IT BEST INTO THE US 2 78 CORRIDOR TRAFFIC IMPROVEMENTS, INCLUDING REPAIRING AND REPLACING THE EXISTING SPANS OF THE BRIDGES TO HILTON HEAD ISLAND AND TO OTHER, AND OTHER IMPROVEMENTS BETWEEN MOSS CREEK DRIVE AND SQUIRE KOCH ROAD.

SO TO HELP STEER THE PROJECT AT THE TIME, TOWN COUNCIL CREATED, UH,

[00:45:01]

AT LEAST WHAT I'M CALLING A, A US 2 78 CORRIDOR COMMITTEE IN 2019, SO A YEAR LATER, AND SUBSEQUENTLY ADOPTED GUIDING PRINCIPLES FROM THE COMMITTEE TO ESTABLISH PROJECT EXPECTATIONS IN 2020.

SO THE TOWN COUNCIL ADOPTED THE COMMITTEE REPORT, BUT IT DID NOT ENDORSE AN ASSOCIATED PROPOSED MITIGATION PLAN AT THAT TIME.

SINCE THEN, THERE HAVE BEEN SEVERAL YEARS OF DISCUSSIONS AND PROJECT ASSESSMENTS RIGHT WITH TOWN COUNCIL, ALL OF YOU COMMUNITY MEMBERS DIRECTLY AFFECTED PROPERTY OWNERS.

HELLO.

IN THE BACK, THE STEWARD FAMILY MEMBERS, SIR, UM, DOT AND BUFORT COUNTY.

THE PROJECT SPONSOR IS BUFORT COUNTY, RIGHT? SO LET'S, LET'S KNOW THIS, THE PROJECT SPONSOR IS BUFORT COUNTY.

THE PROJECT IS BEING DESIGNED AND MANAGED BY S-C-D-O-T AND THEIR SELECTED DESIGN CONSULTANTS.

WE KNOW THAT MANY PROJECT ALTERNATIVES HAVE BEEN PRESENTED TO THE HILTON HEAD ISLAND COMMUNITY BY BUFORT COUNTY AND DOT OVER TIME.

UM, SOME MADE ABSOLUTELY NO SENSE AND SOME, ACCORDING TO TOWN COUNCIL AND OTHERS MADE SOME PRELIMINARY SENSE FOR FURTHER EXAMINATION ROADWAY CORRIDOR SCENARIOS AND PROPOSALS THAT NEGATIVELY IMPACTED HILTON HEAD ISLAND HAVE BEEN DECLINED OVER TIME.

WE KNOW THAT.

SO THIS HAS ALL STARTED WELL BEFORE MY TIME HERE, BUT, BUT I THINK IT'S ALSO IMPORTANT TO, TO REALIZE THAT MAYOR AND COUNCIL, THIS STARTED WELL BEFORE THE TIME THAT SEVERAL OF YOU HAVE BEEN ELECTED.

AND SO, AS I ARRIVED IN FEBRUARY, 2021, THERE WAS NOT ANY CONFIDENCE THAT HILTON HAD ISLAND'S EXPECTATIONS WERE CLEARLY BEING RESPONDED TO, UM, IN THE PLANS BEING DESIGNED AND PROPOSED.

SO, DIRECTION FROM COUNCIL TO ME AT THAT TIME WAS TO ESTABLISH A WAY TO BEST REPRESENT HILTON HEAD ISLAND AS THIS PROJECT WAS BEING CONSIDERED.

SO THERE HAS BEEN SOME TOWN COUNCIL FORMAL ACTION.

IN 2021, BUFORT COUNTY PRESENTED A PROJECT PLAN.

IF WE ALL CAN THINK BACK, THIS WAS A TOUGH, TOUGH TIME.

INCLUDED THE SUPER U-TURNS AT OLD WILDHORSE ROAD.

REMEMBER THAT, UM, SIGNIFICANT STONY NEIGHBORHOOD PROPERTY IMPACTS OCCURRED, INADEQUATE REPRESENTATION AND MITIGATION AS PART OF THE PUBLIC COMMENT PRESENTATION.

THOSE, THOSE MEASURES WERE PRESENTED IN.

THOSE COMMENTS WERE HEARD.

THE COMMUNITY COUNCIL, ALONG WITH THE STAFF, ALONG WITH THAT GUY SITTING IN THE FAR SIDE OF THE ROOM, SEAN SIGNIFICANTLY OBJECTED TO THIS PROPOSAL, MYSELF INCLUDED.

I, I COULDN'T BELIEVE WHAT I WAS LOOKING AT.

SO AS A RESPONSE TO THE OBJECTION, IN OCTOBER, 2021, TOWN COUNCIL APPROVED PROJECT RECOMMENDATIONS AND ASKED THAT I WORK DIRECTLY WITH BEAUFORT COUNTY AND DOT TO INCLUDE THE ELEMENTS INTO THE PROJECT BEING PROPOSED.

SO THIS WAS NOT A GUARANTEE, AND I THINK THAT'S IMPORTANT.

AND JUST SAY THAT TO TOWN COUNCIL, REALLY, THAT AT THE TIME, AND I REALIZE THIS, IT WAS NOT A GUARANTEE FOR MUNICIPAL CONSENT IF THEY WERE ACHIEVED, BUT IT WAS TO SEE IF WE CAN AFFECT THE PROJECT POSITIVELY AND BRING IT BACK TO CONSIDER MUNICIPAL CONSENT.

SO TO ADVANCE THE RES THE THE RECOMMENDATIONS, RIGHT, THE RECOMMENDATIONS SEAN TALKED ABOUT, HE'LL GO OVER 'EM VERY QUICKLY TODAY.

BEAUFORT COUNTY AND THE TOWN ENTERED INTO A MUTUAL AGREEMENT IN 2022.

THAT DOCUMENT WAS, WAS LOOKED AT AND IT REALLY SAID THAT WE WOULD ADDRESS THE TOWN COUNCIL RECOMMENDATIONS AND WORKED TOGETHER TO TRY TO ACHIEVE THOSE INITIATIVES.

THE PROJECT WAS FURTHER REFINED, FURTHER ASSESSED BY SEVERAL TRAFFIC ENGINEERS, DOT HIRED TRAFFIC ENGINEERS, BUFORT COUNTY HIRED TRAFFIC ENGINEERS, AND THEN SEPARATELY, THE TOWN OF HILTON HAD ISLAND HIRED TRAFFIC AND TRANSPORTATION ENGINEERS.

THESE ASSESSMENTS CONSIDER TRAFFIC VOLUMES, GROWTH RATES, RIGHT? AND SO I THINK SOME OF THAT ANSWER IS A LITTLE BIT OF THE DIFFERENTIAL.

IT'S DIFFERENT COMPANIES, DIFFERENT DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE, AND WE'RE ALWAYS GONNA GET THAT SECOND AND THIRD OPINION.

TRAFFIC VOLUMES, GROWTH RATES, LEVELS OF SERVICE, TRAVEL TIMES PROPERTY IMPACTS, ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS, REHAB, THE BRIDGE VERSUS NEW BRIDGE COST, LENGTH OF CONSTRUCTION, INTERSECTION CONFIGURATIONS, MOBILITY, SAFETY.

SO SINCE THE COUNCIL'S DIRECTIVE, I'VE MET WITH SECRETARY CHRISTIE HALL, WHO'S NOW RETIRED, AND NOW OUR NEWLY APPOINTED S-C-D-O-T SECRETARY JUSTIN POWELL TO EXPLAIN THE CHALLENGES TO, TO EXPLAIN THE PROJECT CHALLENGES FOR HILTON ISLAND.

AND SO I'VE DONE MY BEST TO REPRESENT WHAT TOWN COUNCIL THOUGHT AND WHAT I THOUGHT AND, AND WHAT WE COLLECTIVELY ARE TRYING TO ACCOMPLISH FROM, FROM THE COMMUNITY AS WELL TO DOT SECRETARY POWELL.

AND I, AND I DO NEED TO SAY THIS, AND SENATOR DAVIS, I THINK KNOWS THIS HAS BEEN TREMENDOUS TO WORK WITH AS HIS ENTIRE TEAM.

UM, HE'S VERY FORTHCOMING AND UPFRONT AND, AND VERY HELPFUL.

UH, MANY OF THE TOWN COUNCIL APPROVED RECOMMENDATIONS HAVE BEEN INCLUDED IN THE CURRENT PROJECT SCOPE AS AS PROPOSED.

AND YOU SAW A LITTLE BIT OF THAT.

AND SO, AGAIN, I'VE REMAINED CLEAR THAT JUST BECAUSE THESE ELEMENTS THOUGH WERE INCLUDED IN THE PROJECT, IT DIDN'T MEAN THAT I WOULD BRING THIS BACK FOR A PREDETERMINED

[00:50:01]

MUNICIPAL CONSENT.

SO TODAY, AND I THINK THAT'S IMPORTANT.

WHERE DO YOU GO? THERE YOU ARE.

SO THAT YOU CAN DISCUSS AND BEST CONSIDER THE BRIDGE AND THE CORRIDOR AND THE PROJECT, AND THE PROGRAM AND ALL OF THOSE VARIABLES THAT GO INTO THIS.

SO YOU CAN TALK, DISCUSS THE IMPACTS.

I REQUESTED THAT SEAN, BREAK DOWN THE PROJECT ELEMENTS FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION, RIGHT? SO IT'S JUST NOT THIS TMI, UH, BIT OF INFORMATION TO YOU.

AND I DO THINK THAT WE NEED TO BREAK IT DOWN AND, AND, AND BIFURCATE SOME OF THIS INFORMATION AND THEN COME BACK AND LOOK AT IT COLLECTIVELY.

AND SO SEAN WILL PROVIDE THAT IN A SLIDE DECK IN A, IN A MINUTE.

BUT MY ROLE AND RESPONSIBILITY TO TOWN COUNCIL, RIGHT, AS A TOWN MANAGER, IT'S MY JOB.

IT'S MY RESPONSIBILITY TO PROVIDE YOU WITH INFORMATION AND ADVICE AS YOU CONSIDER PUBLIC POLICY.

I BELIEVE WE'VE DONE OUR BEST TO PROVIDE YOU WITH AS MUCH CONSULTANT DATA AND ANALYSIS FROM S-C-D-O-T, FROM BEAUFORT COUNTY AND FROM TOWN TRAFFIC AND TRANSPORTATION CONSULTANTS.

AND, AND SO TODAY I AM GOING TO LOOK FOR A LITTLE BIT OF YOUR DIRECTION AND, AND IMPLORE YOU TO, TO, TO THINK ABOUT THIS A CERTAIN WAY.

SO YOUR, YOUR DECISION IS BASED UPON PROJECT FINDINGS, BUT I ALSO KNOW THIS, YOUR DECISION'S ALSO BASED UPON YOUR BELIEF SYSTEM FOR HILTON NET ISLAND.

AND I THINK THAT'S WHAT WE'RE STRUGGLING WITH.

THERE'S NO DATA I CAN PROVIDE ON THAT.

SO OVERALL, YOUR DECISION ON WHETHER TO SUPPORT OR OPPOSE THIS MAJOR CORRIDOR IN BRIDGE PROJECT TO AND FROM HILTON HEAD ISLAND MUST CONSIDER MANY FACTORS TO ENSURE THAT THE COLLECTIVE DECISION ALIGNS WITH THE COMMUNITY'S BEST INTEREST.

AND I KNOW YOU KNOW THIS, AND I JUST WANNA SET THE TABLE AS WE'RE THINKING THROUGH IT, BECAUSE I'VE ASKED SEAN TO LOOK AT THE PROJECT THIS WAY, TO LOOK AT THE PRESENTATION THIS WAY.

ENVIRONMENTAL ECONOMIC TRAFFIC AND TRANSPORTATION IMPACTS, COMMUNITY IMPACTS THE QUALITY OF LIFE.

HOW WILL THIS PROJECT AFFECT OUR DAILY LIVES AS RESIDENTS, INCLUDING NOISE POLLUTION, BUT ALSO CHANGES IN TRAFFIC PATTERNS, GOOD OR BAD COMMUNITY SUPPORT OR OPPOSITION, PROPERTY IMPACTS, RIGHT? DIRECT OR NEIGHBORHOOD OR THROUGH OUR ISLAND COST AND FUNDING VERSUS, AND COMPARED TO ECONOMIC LONG-TERM BENEFITS.

AND THEN WHAT ARE THOSE BENEFITS VERSUS THE INITIAL EXPENDITURES? AND THEN AT THE END OF THE DAY, ARE THE GROWTH PROJECTIONS PROPER? I KNOW THAT WE NEED TO BALANCE THE NEED FOR INFRASTRUCTURE WITH THE PRESERVATION OF THE TOWN'S, ENVIRONMENTAL, ECONOMIC, AND SOCIAL WELLBEING.

AND I THINK SOMEBODY SAID IT BEST EARLIER, IT'S A PROXY.

SENATOR DAVIS, I THINK YOU SAID THAT, UH, A PROXY FOR A LARGER CONVERSATION AND ADJUSTMENTS TO PUBLIC POLICY.

SO I WILL MAYOR, IF, IF, IF YOU'RE WILLING, THAT I COULD CALL UPON SEAN TO ABSOLUTELY WALK THROUGH SOME OF THIS.

COME HERE.

UM, AS MR. COLAN HAS GIVEN US THIS PRESENTATION, AND, AND IF I HAVE TO MAKE THIS A MOTION, I WILL, BUT I'M ASKING THAT WE ALLOW MR. COLAN TO GET THROUGH HIS ENTIRE PRESENTATION BEFORE WE START TO ASK QUESTIONS, BECAUSE SOME OF THE QUESTIONS MAY BE ANSWERED AS HE GOES THROUGH THE PRESENTATION.

THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT I'M GOING TO DO, IS REQUEST THAT FROM EVERYONE THAT ALLOW MR. CO TO FINISH HIS PRESENTATION.

WRONG, WRONG WAY, .

MAYOR, ARE WE READY? YES, SIR.

UH, MARK.

BRIDGES OVER THE INTERCOASTAL.

UM, MAYOR, TOWN MANAGER, UH, OR MAYOR OF COUNCIL.

I'M GONNA MOVE THROUGH THIS WITH, WITH PACE.

IT'S REALLY REINFORCING THE DETAIL WHAT, UH, THE TOWN MANAGER HAS HAS PRESENTED.

SO HERE ARE THE ITEMS I'M GONNA COVER.

UM, S-C-D-O-T, BUFORD COUNTY REQUEST FOR MUNICIPAL CONSENT.

I'M GONNA GIVE YOU A DESCRIPTION OF THE S-E-D-O-T PROPOSED PROJECT.

I'M GONNA TOUCH BRIEFLY ON, UH, AN OVERVIEW OF THE S-C-D-O-T ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT FOR THE PROJECT.

I'LL GO, I, I'M GONNA LIST OUT THOSE ITEMS THAT TOWN MANAGER MENTIONED.

THE GUIDING PRINCIPLES ADOPTED BY TOWN COUNCIL IN 2020, THE RECOMMENDATIONS FROM TOWN COUNCIL IN 21, AND THE, UM, MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT, UH, BETWEEN TOWN AND COUNTY AND 22.

UM, GOT A COUPLE SLIDES ON TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT ASSESSMENT, UM, AND THEN REALLY, UM, GET INTO DISCUSSION AT THE COUNCIL LEVEL, UM, FOR TOWN COUNCIL PROJECT CONSIDERATIONS.

FOLLOWING THAT, WE'LL, WE'LL GO AND TALK ABOUT NEXT STEPS.

ALRIGHT, SO THIS IS THE SECTION OF STATE CODE THAT REQUIRES THE MUNICIPAL CONSENT, UM, COMPONENT.

YOU CAN SEE THE WORD, THERE'S A WORD IN THERE THAT SAYS MAY REVIEW AND PROVIDE.

UM, BUT THIS IS A PART OF STATE STAKEHOLDER THAT, THAT HAS LED US TO THIS, UM, POINT IN TIME FOR A DECISION FROM TOWN COUNCIL ON MUNICIPAL CONSENT OF THE PROJECT.

UM, AS YOU CAN SEE, IF THE PROJECT WAS ONLY OVER THE BRIDGES, THIS WILL NOT BE REQUIRED.

THERE'S AN EXEMPTION FOR

[00:55:01]

SO I'M GONNA WALK THROUGH AND DESCRIBE THE PROJECT AS, AS IS TODAY.

UM, IT WOULD BE A NEW FULL BRIDGE CONSTRUCTION.

WE HAVE MADE REQUESTS IN THE PAST TO CONSIDER A FOUR-LANE BRIDGE, UH, A SINGLE FOUR LANE BRIDGE.

UM, AN S-C-D-O-T HAS PROVIDED, UM, FEEDBACK TO SAY IF A NEW SINGLE BRIDGE WAS BUILT, IT WOULD BE THREE LANES EACH WAY.

SO THE PROPOSED PROJECT IS A SINGLE SIX LANE BRIDGE, AND WE WOULD HAVE 12 FOOT TRAVEL LANES.

IT WOULD HAVE A 10 FOOT OUTSIDE SHOULDER AND A SIX FOOT INSIDE SHOULDER.

UM, IT WOULD BE A SINGLE SPAN THAT WOULD CONNECT THE MAINLAND WITH HILTON HEAD ISLAND.

UM, IT WOULD PROVIDE UNIFORM LIFESPAN OF 75 YEARS TO THE BRIDGE.

UM, IT WOULD BE DESIGNED FOR A SPEED OF 45 MILES AN HOUR WITH, WITH A REQUEST TO POST IT AT 40 MILES AN HOUR.

UM, I WANNA POINT OUT THAT THE CURRENT BRIDGES, AND I'VE MADE THIS COMMENT MONDAY, THE WIDTH, UM, OUTSIDE EDGE TO OUTSIDE EDGE OF THE BRIDGES THAT CONNECT THE CAUSEWAY TO PINCKNEY ISLAND ARE CURRENTLY A HUNDRED FEET WIDE.

THE BRIDGES FROM PICKNEY ISLAND TO JENKINS ISLAND ARE CURRENTLY 80 FEET WIDE.

THE PROJECT AS CURRENTLY DESIGNED, HAS A NEW BRIDGE, APPROXIMATELY 121 FEET WIDE, BUT THAT INCLUDES THE 14 FEET TO ACCOMMODATE THE SHARED USE PATHWAY.

SO WITHOUT THAT PATHWAY, IT'D BE 14 FEET LESS 107 FEET.

UM, TOWN COUNCIL RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WE'RE, UM, WHAT WE'RE, WERE APPROVED AND INCLUDED ALSO IN THE MOU INCLUDED A SHARED USE PATHWAY ALONG THE SOUTHERN SIDE OF THE BRIDGE AND INCLUDED A RECOMMENDATION TO HAVE TWO BALL BOUTS REFUGES, ONE OVER THE MACKEY CREEK WATERWAY AND ONE OVER SKULL CREEK.

UM, AND IT WOULD BE A SHARED PATH TO CONNECT TO MAINLAND AT BUCKINGHAM LANDING, UH, DRIVE OR BUCKINGHAM PLANTATION, UH, DRIVE TO THE, UH, PATHWAYS BUILT ON JENKINS ISLAND AS PART OF THE PROJECT, THE CONSTRUCTION METHOD WOULD SHIFT THE BRIDGE TO THE SOUTH OF THE CURRENT ALIGNMENT WITHIN THE POWER LINE EASEMENT.

THE BRIDGE CLEARANCE OVER SKULL CREEK WOULD REMAIN AT 65 FEET AS THE CURRENT BRIDGES, UM, OR, UH, THE CLEARANCE THERE.

UM, BRIDGE HEIGHT CLEARANCE OVER PICKNEY ISLAND AS, UH, THE BRIDGE OVER PICKNEY ISLAND WOULD NOT HAVE AN AT GRADE INTERSECTION.

UM, MINIMUM CLEARANCE OVER PICKNEY ISLAND WOULD BE 17.19 FEET.

UM, THE TOTAL LENGTH OF THE PROJECT IS JUST OVER 4.2 MILES, AND THE BRIDGE IS ALMOST 1.4 MILES OF THAT OVERALL PROJECT.

UH, NEW BRIDGE WOULD, UH, OR THE BRIDGES WOULD HAVE SEISMIC AND STORM, UH, ELEMENTS BUILT INTO THE OVERALL DESIGN STRUCTURE.

UM, AND THEY WOULD MEET THE HIGHEST SEISMIC STANDARDS AS WELL AS BE ABLE TO WITHSTAND A CATEGORY FIVE H HURRICANE.

AND AS I MENTIONED, THERE WOULD BE NO AT GRADE, UH, INTERSECTION ON PICNIC ISLAND AS WE MOVE FROM THE BRIDGES ONTO JENKINS ISLAND.

UM, SAME DESIGN SPEED OF 45 AND, AND POSTED SPEED OF 40 MILES AN HOUR.

UM, THE BRIDGE LANDING WOULD BE LOCATED, LOCATED WITHIN THE EXISTING RIGHT OF WAY.

THERE WOULD BE THREE FOOT TRA OR THREE 12 FOOT TRAVEL LANES, BOTH EASTBOUND AND WESTBOUND.

ALL JENKINS ISLAND TRAFFIC WOULD BE CONSOLIDATED AT THE WINDMILL HARBOR SIGNAL.

JENKINS ROAD ACCESS OFF WILLIAM HILTON PARKWAY WOULD BE REMOVED.

THERE WOULD BE NO PEDESTRIAN CROSSINGS AT WINDMILL HARBOR INTERSECTION.

UH, THEY WOULD BE REROUTED UNDER, UH, UNDER THE BRIDGE VIA PATHWAY CONNECTION.

THE WINDMILL HARBOR SIGNAL WOULD BE UPDATED TO THE ADAPTIVE TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT SYSTEM AND INTEGRATED INTO THE TOWN SYSTEM.

THE SHARED PATHWAY ON THE NORTHERN SIDE, UH, WOULD BE LOCATED ON TOWN PROPERTY ALONG THE NEW FRONTAGE ROAD, UH, CONNECTING TO THE RV, THE MARINA AND JENKINS ISLAND CEMETERY.

THE, UH, SHARED USE PATHWAY ON THE SOUTHERN SIDE WOULD CONNECT WINDMILL HARBOR TO THE BRIDGES AND ALSO TO THE UNDER BRIDGE PATHWAY CONNECTION ACCESS TO HOG ISLAND.

BLUE HERON POINT AND MARINERS COVE WOULD MOVE FROM THE SOUTHERN SIDE OF THE ROADWAY TO THE NORTHERN SIDE OF THE ROADWAY, UM, AND MAINTAIN THE EXISTING CONNECTION.

UH, UNDER THE BRIDGE.

JENKINS ISLAND WOULD HAVE LANDSCAPE MEDIANS WITH VARYING WIDTHS AND THERE WOULD BE, UH, EXISTING OR EXTERIOR CURBING TO HELP REDUCE RIGHT OF WAY AND HANDLE DRAINAGE IN THAT AREA.

AS WE MOVE FROM JENKINS ISLAND INTO THE STONY, UH, NEIGHBORHOOD SECTION OF THE PROJECT, AGAIN, DESIGN SPEED OF

[01:00:01]

45 MILES AN HOUR, POSTED SPEED OF 40.

UM, FOR THE MOST PART, THE PROJECT IS WITHIN THE CURRENT RIGHT OF WAY.

IT INCLUDES TWO 11 FOOT LANES EACH DIRECTION, ONE 12 FOOT LANE OUT ON THE OUTSIDE IN EACH DIRECTION.

IT INCLUDES ADDITIONAL TURN LANES WITHIN THE STONY COMMUNITY.

IF I MIGHT, I, I I JUST SEE SOME FOLKS TAKING PICTURES.

THIS WILL BE POSTED ON THE TOWN WEBSITE, SO YOU DON'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT TRYING TO GET A GOOD SHOT OF IT.

SO, CAN YOU WARM UP THE ROOM? IT'S FREEZING AGAIN.

I HEAR EVERYONE TALKING.

HOW COLD WE GONNA SAY? I KNOW OUR MAINTENANCE INDIVIDUAL IS HERE AND HE'S, HE IS LOOKING AT IT.

THIS HAPPENED ON MONDAY NIGHT.

BY 10 MINUTES AND THE OVERALL TRAVEL TIME BY 15 .

THANK YOU, SEAN.

CONTINUE.

YEAH, I'LL PICK BACK UP.

UM, IT'LL INCLUDE ADDITIONAL TURN LANES WITHIN THE STONY COMMUNITY, UM, CROSSWALKS AT ALL THE INTERSECTIONS.

UH, 10 FOOT WIDE PATHWAY, PUBLIC OPEN SPACE, STORMWATER MITIGATION AND LANDSCAPING.

UM, AS FAR AS IMPACTS, THERE'S POTENTIAL RELOCATION OR REMOVAL OF TWO CULTURALLY SENSITIVE STRUCTURES.

THAT INCLUDES THE OLD, UM, PATTERSON'S GROCERY STORE NOW, UH, WHERE WILLIE YOUNG'S UPHOLSTERY SHOP IS, UM, AND THE STRUCTURE THAT FORMERLY HOUSED THE ISLAND PSYCHIC, THERE WOULD BE REMOVAL OF A CURB CUT AT MEMORY MATTERS ALONG WILLIAM MILTON PARKWAY.

AND THE CURRENT PROJECT HAS RIGHT OF WAY IMPACTS A, A TOTAL RIGHT OF WAY IMPACTS OF 2.78 ACRES AND TOTAL PRIVATE PROPERTY, UH, IMPACTS OF 0.89 ACRES.

AND THAT'S COMPRISED OF 22 DIFFERENT PROPERTIES.

TO PROVIDE JUST A LITTLE BIT OF DEPTH OF WHAT IS WITHIN THE, UH, THE ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT FOR THIS PROJECT, UH, THAT WAS EVALUATED BY, UH, S-C-D-O-T AND THEIR CONSULTANTS.

UM, I PUT THIS UP ON THE SCREEN, UM, I DON'T WANNA COVER IT, UM, IN ANY MORE DETAIL THAN JUST PUT IT ON THE SCREEN.

IT'S BEEN AVAILABLE ON THE PROJECT WEBSITE SINCE 2021.

UM, I DO WANNA POINT OUT ECHOING THE, THE COMMENTS FROM, UM, SENATOR DAVIS THAT THE ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT DOES EXPIRE ON JUNE 28TH, 2024.

SO, MOVING AGAIN, HOW DID WE GET TO THE PROJECT? I JUST DEFINED, UM, IT WAS INFLUENCED BY THE GUIDING PRINCIPLES ADOPTED BY TOWN COUNCIL IN FEBRUARY OF 2020.

I READ THROUGH THESE ON, ON MONDAY NIGHT.

UM, BUT THEY'RE LISTED HERE AGAIN.

UM, THE NEXT, UH, ITEM ADOPTED BY TOWN COUNCIL WERE APPROVAL OF RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WERE, UM, THAT WERE USED IN DISCUSSION WITH BOTH BEAUFORT COUNTY AND S-C-D-O-T TO HELP SHAPE THE PROJECT.

AND THEY'RE LISTED HERE.

I WENT THROUGH THESE ON MONDAY NIGHT AS WELL.

THERE WERE CORRIDOR WIDE RECOMMENDATIONS, AND THEN THERE WERE SPECIFIC RECOMMENDATIONS THAT APPLIED TO SOME PARTS OF THE, UM, SOME PARTS OF THE PROJECT.

NEXT TOWN COUNCIL CONSIDERED A MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT WITH BUFORT COUNTY IN 2022.

UM, IT HAD 10, UH, PROVISIONS THAT WERE INCLUDED WITHIN THE MOU, UM, AND WE'VE BEEN WORKING THROUGH THOSE ITEMS, UM, AS APPROVED BY TOM COUNCIL.

I CAN SEE THOSE LISTED.

AND WE HAD THOSE, UM, IN THE PRESENTATION AS WELL ON ON MONDAY.

UM, A COUPLE OF OTHER THINGS TO HELP SUMMARIZE.

THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF QUESTIONS ABOUT DIFFERENT, UM, MODELING.

UM, I'M GONNA RELY ON THE TOWN PROCURED TRAFFIC ENGINEER WHO DID THE INDEPENDENT STUDY.

UM, THEIR FINDINGS ON TRAVEL TIME.

OUR ARE ON THE SCREEN HERE BEFORE YOU CURRENTLY TO GO FROM, IF YOU GO EASTBOUND, SO ON ISLAND FROM MOSS CREEK DRIVE TO INDIGO RUN DRIVE.

UM, THE SIMULATED TRAVEL TIME IS, IS 19, ALMOST 19 AND A HALF MINUTES.

IF NO IMPROVEMENT WERE TO BE MADE.

THE TRAVEL TIME IN THAT SAME SEGMENT COMING ON ISLAND EASTBOUND, UH, WOULD INCREASE A LITTLE OVER SEVEN MINUTES TO 26 MINUTES, 19 SECONDS WITH THE PROJECT.

THIS, THE TRAVEL SIMULATED TRAVEL TIME WOULD, UH, REDUCE THE 2045 CONDITION BY 15 AND A HALF MINUTES.

UM, BUT JUST AS IMPORTANTLY, IT WOULD REDUCE TODAY'S TRAVEL TIME IF IT WERE IN PLACE, UM, BY ALMOST NINE MINUTES.

AND THEN IN THE SAME, UH, THE SAME SIMULATION GOING WESTBOUND.

SO OFF ISLAND, YOU CAN SEE THAT SAME, UH, RUN FROM, FROM INGO RUN TO MOSS CREEK TAKES ALMOST 21 MINUTES TODAY.

IF, IF NO PROJECT IS BUILT, IT WOULD TAKE ABOUT FIVE MINUTES, UH, LONGER.

AND IF A PROJECT IS BUILT, IT WOULD REDUCE TODAY'S TRAVEL TIME

[01:05:01]

UH, NEXT FOR TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT ASSESSMENT, LOOKING AT THE EXISTING LEVELS OF SERVICE TODAY, YOU CAN SEE ON THE LEFT SIDE WHERE THERE ARE, UH, CURRENT, UH, INTERSECTIONS THAT, UH, WITH THEIR LEVEL OF SERVICE AND CERTAIN MOVEMENTS THAT, UH, ARE HIGHLIGHTED IN RED WITH A GRADE OF F.

AND THEN YOU CAN SEE THE 2045 BUILD CONDITION AND THE DIFF AND THE LEVELS OF SERVICE THAT RESULT FROM IMPLEMENTING THE PROJECT.

UH, YOU CAN SEE IMPROVEMENT AT ALMOST ALL OF THE SIGNALIZE INTERSECTIONS, UM, WITH THE EXCEPT, UH, EXCEPTION OF THE GUMTREE ROAD.

IS THAT D TODAY IT WOULD BE D UM, IN 2045.

UM, AND THE CONSULTANTS WENT THROUGH AND I PROVIDED SOME INFORMATION TO DEFINE A LEVEL OF SERVICE, AND YOU CAN SEE THAT ON THE RIGHT SIDE.

SO THAT'S WHAT'S HELPED DEFINE THE PROJECT TODAY.

THOSE ARE THE ACTIONS THAT COUNCIL HAS TAKEN.

AND, UM, THOSE ARE THE ITEMS THAT WE'VE WORKED THROUGH TO HELP SHAPE THE PROJECT.

UH, TO, TO DEFINE WHAT I'VE, WHAT I'VE OUTLINED TODAY.

UM, TOWN COUNCIL CONSIDERATIONS AS, UM, YOU BEGIN YOUR DISCUSSIONS, UM, ARE AROUND THESE QUESTIONS, I BELIEVE, UH, TO HELP, UM, HELP US, UH, IDENTIFY A POSITION AND, AND, UH, IDENTIFY A PATH FORWARD THAT WE CAN MOVE FORWARD ON THIS PROJECT.

SO I'M DONE WITH MY PRESENTATION MAYOR, BUT HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU MAY HAVE.

WELL, THANK YOU, SEAN.

COUNCIL, COUNCILMAN BRYSON.

APPRECIATE THAT.

UM, AND THIS IS JUST TRYING TO KIND OF SUMMARIZE A LITTLE BIT OF WHAT CAME OUT, UH, MONDAY NIGHT.

SO WHAT I'D LIKE TO DO IS TO TALK ABOUT THE BRIDGE.

WHAT IS IT THAT YOU LIKE? WHAT IS IT THAT YOU DON'T LIKE? AND YOU KNOW, I, I'VE SAID IT BEFORE AND I'LL SAY IT AGAIN.

I'D LOVE TO GO BACK TO THE, TO THE BURN BRIDGE, THE OLD, YOU KNOW, DRAW BRIDGE.

BUT THAT'S NOT REALISTIC.

OUR COMMUNITY DOESN'T ALLOW THAT.

SO, AND WHAT I THINK WE HAVE IS A BAD S-C-D-O-T PLAN ON THE CURRENT ROADWAY THAT WE HAVE NOW FROM MOSS CREEK TO THE FLYOVER.

IT'S, IT'S THREE LANES, THEN GOES TO TWO, THEN GOES BACK TO THREE, GOES BACK TO TWO, GOES BACK TO THREE.

WE'VE GOT AN HOURGLASS EFFECT.

THAT'S WHAT CAUSES THE PROBLEMS. SO IT'S NOT ABOUT, AND, AND OH BY THE WAY, ISN'T, ISN'T IN THE MAJORITY OF THE AREA.

IT GOES, YOU KNOW, FROM TWO, FROM FOUR LANES TO FIVE LANES TO SIX LANES TO EIGHT LANES.

I MEAN, SO THE REALISM OF WHAT WE'RE ADDING IS NOT A WHOLE LOT OF LANES .

SO LET'S TALK ABOUT AND ASK SEAN WHAT QUESTIONS YOU HAVE REGARDING THE DESIGN OF THE BRIDGE, THE WIDTH OF THE BRIDGE, THE, THE IMPACT OF THE BRIDGE.

MAYOR, CAN I ASK A, AN INITIAL QUESTION ON ONE OF YOUR FIRST SLIDES, YOU HAD A COPY OF A STATUTE.

CAN YOU GO BACK TO THAT STATUTE? SO YOU'RE CITING SECTION 57 DASH FIVE DASH EIGHT 30.

THAT IS THE WRONG STATUTE.

THE STATUTE IS 57 DASH FIVE DASH EIGHT 20.

THERE'S A DIFFERENCE IN THE LANGUAGE.

THIS SAYS MAY, WHAT I'M CITING SAYS MUST THE FIRST ONE, IF YOU LOOK AT THE VERY LAST TIME YEP.

THE TOWN GAVE MUNICIPAL CONSENT.

PARDON? THERE'S ALSO A SECOND PROVISION THAT YOU NEED TO PULL UP AND LOOK AT AS WELL, WHICH IS SECTION 57 DASH FIVE DASH EIGHT 20.

THAT'S THE ONE I JUST SAID, WHICH SAYS SHALL CORRECT.

THAT'S, IT IS MANDATORY IN TERMS OF REQUIRING MUNICIPAL CONSENT FOR THE PROJECT.

THAT IS CORRECT.

THIS ONE SAYS MAY, THAT'S WHY I'M SAYING IT'S WRONG.

AND, AND THAT IS THE DIFFERENCE WITHIN STATE CODE.

BUT WE'VE ADDRESSED BOTH WITHIN THE MOU TO REFERENCE BOTH SECTIONS.

DASH FIVE DASH EIGHT 20, UM, STATES TO, UH, TO, UH, TO BE FUNCTIONALLY OBSOLETE OR STRUCTURALLY DEFICIENT, AND IF THE BRIDGE CROSSES THE INTERCOSTAL WATERWAY, THAT'S, THAT COULD BE THE VARIANCE BETWEEN THE TWO.

BUT WHAT I'M SAYING IS THERE WAS A POINT MADE, THIS SAYS MAY IN THIS PRESENTATION, AND, AND YOU DO NOT HAVE THE CORRECT STATUTE UP THERE.

IF YOU LOOK AT THE VERY LAST TIME THE TOWN GAVE CONSENT TO S-C-D-O-T, IT WAS, UM, APRIL 6TH, 2021, WITH A CROSS ISLAND PARKWAY TOLL CONVERSION.

AND THIS IS USING THE S-E-D-O-T FORM AND IT ONLY CITE 57 DASH FIVE DASH EIGHT 20, WHICH IS THE ONE I BELIEVE IS APPLICABLE BECAUSE IT SAYS SHALL AND NOT MAY MS. PRICEY.

CAN I ASK YOU IF, IF THAT 57

[01:10:01]

WELL, FIRST OF ALL, I'LL DISCLOSE I'M A RETIRED ATTORNEY.

I'M NOT LICENSED IN THE STATE.

I'M NOT GIVING A LEGAL OPINION.

I'M NOT ALLOWED TO, UM, I'LL JUST READ THE LANGUAGE TO YOU OF 57 DASH FIVE DASH EIGHT 20 MM-HMM.

, WHICH IS THE ONE SIDED IN THE DOCUMENT REQUIRING MUNICIPAL CONSENT.

IT SAYS ALL WORK TO BE PERFORMED BY THE DEPARTMENT ON STATE HIGHWAYS WITHIN A MUNICIPALITY MUST BE WITH THE CONSENT AND APPROVAL OF THE PROPER MUNICIPAL AUTHORITIES.

IN THE EXCEPTION, EXCEPT THAT WORK PERFORMED OR TO BE PERFORMED ON A BRIDGE IN ITS APPROACHES CERTIFIED BY THE DEPARTMENT AS FUNCTIONALLY OBSOLETE OR STRUCTURALLY DEFICIENT TO REMOVE, REPLACE, OR IMPROVE SUCH BRIDGE IN ITS APPROACHES SHALL NOT REQUIRE PRIOR CONSENT AND APPROVAL OF MUNICIPAL AUTHORITY IF THE BRIDGE CROSSES THE INTERCOSTAL WATERWAY.

THAT EXCEPTION DOES NOT APPLY.

IF YOU LOOK AT THE, UM, RESOLUTION, UM, THAT S-E-D-O-T ASKED THE TOWN OF MOUNT PLEASANT FOR CROSSING OVER THE WADO BRIDGE, UM, THAT WAS OVER WATERWAY AND MUNICIPAL CONSENT WAS REQUIRED.

MS. BRYSON, IF I, THOSE ARE THE FACTS.

IF I COULD, IF YOU READ THE ENTIRETY OF 57 5 8 20 'CAUSE YOU READ A PORTION OF IT, I JUST DID.

NO, NO.

THE, THE ENTIRE SECTION SAYS, AND IT STARTS WITH AS USED IN THIS SECTION AND SECTION 57 DASH FIVE DASH EIGHT 30.

THERE'S ANOTHER STATUTE, PLEASE.

THAT'S ONLY THE DEFINITION PART.

I UNDERSTAND.

BUT, BUT THE ONE IS NOW INCORPORATED INTO THE OTHER.

AND SO THAT'S WHY WE'VE ADDRESSED IT IN THE SAME MANNER, ONLY THE DEFINITIONS ANYHOW.

BUT YOU AT, AT A MINIMUM, AT LEAST TELL THE PUBLIC THE TRUTH.

THAT'S ALL I CAN ASK MR. AMES.

YEAH, JOHN, I THINK I HEARD YOU SAY, UM, S-C-D-O-T, UM, SAID THAT THE BRIDGE MUST BE SIX LANES.

DID I HEAR YOU CORRECTLY? IS THAT WHAT YEAH.

IF A NEW SINGLE SPAN BRIDGE IS BUILT, IT WOULD NEED TO BE SIX LANES.

DO THEY HAVE THE AUTHORITY TO DO THAT UNILATERALLY OR DO THEY NEED OTHER, UH, AGREEMENT? THE WAY THE CURRENT PROJECT IS DEFINED, A FOUR LANE BRIDGE WOULD NOT ADDRESS CONGESTION, SO THEREFORE WOULD NOT MEET PROJECT GOALS.

THAT'S LED TO THEIR CONCLUSION THAT IF A NEW BRIDGE WAS BUILT, IT WOULD NEED TO BE SIX LANES TO MEET THE PROJECT PURPOSE.

WAS THERE A CAVEAT IN WHAT YOU JUST SAID THOUGH, UM, SEAN, THAT IT WOULD HAD TO BE A SINGLE SPAN BRIDGE WOULD REQUIRE SIX LANES.

UM, IT DID NOT NEED TO BE A SINGLE SIX LANE BRIDGE, BUT THAT'S THE POSITION THAT I DIDN'T THAT WHAT I THOUGHT YOU SAID, WROTE IT DOWN AS YOU WERE SAYING IT MM-HMM.

A SINGLE SPAN.

IF A NEW SINGLE SPAN BRIDGE WERE TO BE BUILT, THAT IT WOULD NEED TO BE SIX LANES.

HOWEVER, IF IT WAS, AS IT IS CURRENTLY DESIGNED TWO SEPARATE BRIDGES, IT WOULD NOT.

WELL, THAT'S A CERTAINLY A QUESTION FOR TOWN COUNCIL.

WELL, IF THEY WOULD LIKE, I'M JUST, IT IS A QUESTION FOR TOWN COUNCIL AND I DO APPRECIATE THAT.

SO YES, BUT THAT'S NOT WHAT I'M GETTING AT.

WHAT I'M GETTING AT IS THAT IF IT WERE NOT A SINGLE SPAN BRIDGE MM-HMM, , THEN IT WOULD NOT NEED TO BE SIX LANES.

SAME THING THAT'S GONNA GO ON FOR TWO OR THREE YEARS, WHERE YOU'VE GOTTA SLOW DOWN IN TRAFFIC.

AND SO WHY ARE WE REQUIRED, WHERE ARE WE AT NOW THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT A SINGLE SPAN BRIDGE? OH, I INSERT MYSELF, I MENTIONED IT THE OTHER EVENING.

IT IS BECAUSE THE COUNTY, YOU PUTT COUNTY COUNCIL ADMINISTRATOR SAID THAT IT HAD TO BE A SINGLE SPAN BRIDGE.

SO IF WE ACCEPT THAT THEY GIVE US DIRECTION AND DETERMINE WHAT IT IS OUR FUTURE IS, THEN I GET IT.

BUT IF IT IS TRUE THAT THE SEVEN OF US DETERMINE THE FUTURE OF HILTON HEAD ISLAND, THEN WE REJECT THE COUNTY'S DECISION THAT IT MUST BE A SINGLE SPAN BRIDGE AND THEREFORE WE CAN LOOK TO A FOUR LANE BRIDGE OPTION TO, TO ASK A QUESTION ON THAT, SEAN.

UM, YES SIR.

WHAT WOULD THAT REQUIRE IF, IF SUCH THING HAPPENED, WHAT WOULD IT REQUIRE FOR US TO GET BACK IN LINE TO GET FUNDING TO GO THROUGH THE WHOLE PROCESS AGAIN? WELL, IF, IF TOWN COUNCIL DOES, IF THEIR RECOMMENDATION IS TO BUILD A FOUR LANE BRIDGE, THEY'RE REJECTING THE CURRENT PROJECT, WHETHER IT'S NOT GRANTING MUNICIPAL CONSENT OR REJECTING IT

[01:15:01]

WHOLEHEARTEDLY.

SO IT'D HAVE TO GO BACK, REDEFINE THE PROJECT AS SOMETHING DIFFERENT.

UM, THE CURRENT, THE CURRENT PURPOSE AND NEED OF THE, THAT WAS THE BASIS FOR THE ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT IN THE LAST SEVEN YEARS OF DISCUSSION HAVE BEEN TO REPLACE A DEFICIENT BRIDGE AND TO REDUCE CONGESTION.

I DO WANNA CLARIFY THAT, UM, THAT TOWN COUNCIL WENT, TOWN COUNCIL MADE A RECOMMENDATION AS, AS PART OF THE, THE LIST TO CONSIDER TWO BRIDGES, 2, 2 3 LANE BRIDGES VERSUS ONE SINGLE LANE BRIDGE.

THE RESPONSE FROM S-C-D-O-T PROVIDED ADDITIONAL COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH THAT.

AND THE RESPONSE FROM THE COUNTY WAS THEY DID NOT SUPPORT THAT BECAUSE THE ADDITIONAL, ADDITIONAL COST, THEY DID NOT SEE THE BENEFIT.

SO THAT WAS THE RESPONSE, THAT OFFICIAL RESPONSE THAT WAS PROVIDED ON, ON THAT MR. AMES, JOHN, UH, THE COUNTY IS THE SPONSOR OF THE BRIDGE PROJECT.

I MEAN, THE BROADER PROJECT, IF THE COUNCIL WERE TO TAKE THE POSITION THAT WE DIDN'T WANT TO GIVE MUNICIPAL CONSENT, I UNDERSTAND THAT THERE MAY BE A DESIRE TO RECONFIGURE THE PROJECT, BUT WOULD THE COUNTY BE ABLE TO PROCEED WITHOUT RECONFIGURING AND JUST LEAVING OUR PORTION OF THE PROJECT OUT? NO, SIR.

MY UNDERSTANDING IS IF CON IF MUNICIPAL CONSENT IS NOT PROVIDED AND THIS PROJECT IS NOT, IS NOT SUBMITTED AS DEFINED WITH THE CURRENT PURPOSE AND NEED AND, AND A SOLUTION, THIS PROJECT WOULD DIE.

AND THEY'D HAVE TO REDEFINE A NEW PROJECT, UM, LIKELY FOCUSING ON THE DEFICIENT BRIDGES.

UM, BUT THEY'D HAVE TO GO THROUGH THE FULL, THE FULL PROCESS.

I WAS TALKING TO THE COUNTY AND DOT THIS MORNING.

THEY BELIEVE IT'S ANOTHER, UM, EA PROCESS.

AND SO, UM, NOW IN THAT, IF IT'S JUST, IF IT'S JUST TO REPLACE THE BRIDGE, WELL REHAB OR REPLACE THE BRIDGE, WE HAVE NO ROLE.

AS YOU CAN SEE, WE'RE EXEMPT FROM OUR THANK YOU, UH, IN THE STATUTE.

MR. BROWN.

UM, SO MR. COLAN, IF THE STATE WAS TO DECIDE TO REPAIR OR REPLACE THE CURRENT DEFICIENT BRIDGE, HAVE YOU HAD DISCUSSIONS WITH THEM AS TO HOW THAT WOULD LOOK? I MEAN, CONSTRUCTION PROJECT TIME AND AND SO ON? YEAH, UH, UH, YES, YES, TO SOME EXTENT.

UM, THEY HAVE NOT GONE IN A DEEP EVALUATION BECAUSE THEY HAVE A PROJECT THAT, THAT, THAT REPLACES ALL THE BRIDGES WITH ONE.

IF, IF THE DECISION, UM, ULTIMATELY IS FOR DOT, RIGHT, THIS PROJECT DOESN'T MOVE FORWARD, THEN S-C-D-O-T, UH, WOULD WORK, UM, TO IDENTIFY WHICH PATH WAS THE MOST EFFICIENT AND BEST USE OF FUNDS, WHETHER IT'S TO REHABILITATE THE BRIDGE OR TO, OR TO REPLACE THE, THE EASTBOUND MACKEY CREEK BRIDGE.

IN BOTH SCENARIOS, IT WOULD BE REPLACEMENT WITH TWO LANES.

IT WOULD, UM, IF IT'S A REHABILITATION, IT WOULD NOT INCLUDE THE SEISMIC UPGRADES.

IF IT'S A REPLACEMENT, IT WOULD HAVE SEISMIC COMPONENTS.

BUT YOU'D HAVE ONE OF FOUR BRIDGES THAT THEN WOULD MEET THAT CONDITION.

UM, THERE'S LIKELY TO BE SIGNIFICANT, UM, TRAVEL INTERRUPTIONS OR DISRUPTIONS IF YOU REPLACE, UM, JUST THE EASTBOUND MACKEY CREEK BRIDGE AND THAT IT'S, THERE'S TWO LANES ON AND OFF ON THE CAUSEWAY SECTION OF THOSE BRIDGES.

UM, AND LIKELY HAVE TO EITHER SHIFT SOME TRAFFIC TO THE WESTBOUND WHILE PART OF THE BRIDGE IS BEING REHABBED.

UM, AND, AND, UM, AND THAT, THAT WAS AS OF THIS MORNING TO CONFIRM THAT THOSE DETAILS WERE WERE ACCURATE.

THANK YOU, MR. OFF, UH, FOLLOWING UP ON THE, UH, QUESTION THAT MR. BROWN RAISED, UH, WE HAVE NOT HAD A LOT OF PUBLIC DISCUSSION ON THIS VERY VEIN OF WHAT HAPPENS IF WE DO NOT GIVE MUNICIPAL CONSENT.

AND THERE HAS TO BE A A, AN SEDO APPROACH THAT DEALS ONLY WITH THE MACKEY BRIDGE.

UH, I WISH YOU WOULD CONFIRM WHAT, WHAT I PERCEIVE TO BE THE CASE HERE.

THIS IS NOT LIKE TAKING A RELATIVELY OLD CAR WITH FOUR WORN OUT TIRES GOING TO THE TIRE SHOP, GET FOUR NEW ONES, AND YOU'RE OKAY.

EVERYTHING'S FINE.

THIS IS REALLY DIFFERENT.

UH, IF WE HAVE TO, UH, REPAIR OR REHAB THE MACKEY BRIDGE, AS YOU'VE JUST INDICATED, WE'VE GOT ONE TWO LANE BRIDGE OUT OF SERVICE FOR YEARS WITH ONLY ONE LANE, OR WE MOVE IT TO THE WESTBOUND, WHICH PRODUCES THE

[01:20:01]

OUR CONSULTING ENGINEERS HAVE TOLD US THAT, THAT TO DO IT THAT WAY MEANS THAT EVERY FIVE YEARS, 10 YEARS, WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO REPLACE ONE MORE OF THE OTHER THREE BRIDGES.

THE COST OF DOING IT THAT WAY IS SUBSTANTIALLY MORE THAN PUTTING IN A NEW BRIDGE.

UH, WE END UP WITH A REHABILITATED BRIDGE.

THERE'S ONE POSSIBILITY, IT'S HOW LONG IS IT GONNA LAST, AND THEN WE'VE GOTTA DO IT AGAIN.

UH, AS MR. COHEN HAS INDICATED, THE CURRENT BRIDGE HAS PILLARS BASED IN THE SAND UNDER ENVIRONMENTAL RULES.

IF WE DO A NEW BRIDGE, THE PILLARS WILL BE BASED IN BEDROCK.

THERE'LL BE HURRICANE PROOF.

THAT'S NOT THE CASE.

NOW, IF WE REHAB THE MACKEY BRIDGE, WE'RE STILL GONNA HAVE IT IN SAND AND BE IN ADDITION TO THAT.

MR. COLLIN OUTLINED A WHOLE LIST OF THINGS THAT WOULD BE IMPROVED IF WE DO A NEW CONSTRUCTION THAT WE WOULD NOT HAVE IF WE SIMPLY TRIED TO DO A REHABILITATION.

AND WE WON'T HAVE ANY REAL IMPROVEMENT IN OUR CONCERNS TODAY ABOUT THE TRAFFIC FLOW OR SAFETY.

I, I JUST THINK WE HAVE NOT THOUGHT AN AWFUL LOT ABOUT WHAT IT MEANS TO DO NOTHING, BECAUSE IT'S ACTUALLY A SIGNIFICANT STEP BACK.

MR. COLLIN, UM, TO THAT POINT, WAS THERE NOT A STUDY DONE THAT SAID, OR INFORMATION PROVIDED THAT IF THAT EASTBOUND LANE O OVER THE MACKEY'S CREEK IS REHABILITATED AT A COST OF, I'LL LET YOU ANSWER THAT ROUGHLY.

REHABILITATION IS 20, 25 TO 30 REPLACEMENT IS THE $75 MILLION NUMBER.

THAT WAS PART OF THAT.

WHAT, WHAT, WHAT WAS THAT LIFESPAN AFTER A REHAB REHABILITATION? UM, IT IS A, WHAT, WHAT I HEARD TODAY, WHAT OUR CONSULTANTS SAID WAS BETWEEN 10 AND 20 YEARS.

UM, SO, AND I MEAN, I KNOW IT'S A WIDE RANGE, BUT MM-HMM.

, I'M RELYING ON THEM.

I, MY CONVERSATIONS THIS MORNING WOULD BE MAYBE EVEN SHORTER.

NO COMMENT.

MR. SANFORD? THANK YOU, SEAN.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR REPORT.

UM, TO TRY TO ANSWER THE MAYOR'S QUESTION, IT SEEMS TO ME THAT THE PROBLEM WE'RE TRYING TO SOLVE IS THE CONGESTION THAT IS CAUSED BY THREE LANES OF TRAFFIC, UH, COMING OFF, OFF THE MAINLAND, GOING TO A TWO LANE BRIDGE, OPENING BACK UP, CLOSING BACK DOWN, THAT'S CAUSING CONGESTION ACCORDING TO OUR EXPERTS.

THAT'S THE PROBLEM WE'RE TRYING TO SOLVE.

UM, AND WE'VE DONE EVERYTHING WE CAN TO TRY TO LIMIT THE IMPACTS ON ADJACENT PROPERTIES.

UM, AND SO IT SEEMS TO ME THAT THE CONGESTION THAT'S OUT THERE IS THE PROBLEM THAT NEEDS TO BE SOLVED, AND FOUR LANES WILL NOT SOLVE IT ACCORDING TO OUR EXPERTS.

THAT IS CORRECT.

BUT I DO WANNA POINT OUT THAT IT'S CONGESTION IN BOTH DIRECTIONS.

AS MANY OF MY COWORKERS WHO LIVE IN BLUFFTON WOULD TELL YOU THERE'S CONGESTION LEAVING THE ISLAND IN THE PM PEAK HOUR.

UM, AND IT'S PRIMARILY DUE TO THE LACK OF CAPACITY THROUGH THE FOUR LANE SECTION THAT WOULD CONNECT OUT TO THE MAINLAND.

THANK YOU, MS. BECKER.

SO, UM, THANK YOU SEAN.

UM, AND THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR YOUR QUESTIONS THIS EVENING.

APPRECIATE HEARING THEM AND HEARING THE RESPONSES.

CAN YOU CONFIRM FOR ME, UM, WHAT I THINK I HEARD YOU SAY THAT WE REALLY HAVE ONLY TWO CHOICES THAT WERE BEING PRESENTED WITH, OR THERE ARE OTHER, UM, THINGS THAT HAVE TO BE DONE AND THOSE TWO CHOICES BEING ACCEPT WHAT WE'RE BEING GIVEN WITH REGARD TO A BRIDGE, A COD T'S, UM, ALTERNATE ONE WITH MODIFICATIONS OR DO NOTHING, AND THEN LET THE BRIDGES BE REPAIRED AT AS THEY CAN BE.

ANYWAY, 248,000,006, $613.

UM, THOSE ARE, THOSE ARE NOT ACCEPTABLE .

UM, THOSE ARE JUST NOT ACCEPTABLE.

SO, BECAUSE TO ME, WHAT IT'S, YOU EITHER TAKE WHAT WE'RE GIVING YOU OR, YOU KNOW, THAT'S THE END.

UM, WE'LL JUST DO WHAT WE WANT AND WITH THE ONE BRIDGE, AND THAT'S FINE BECAUSE IT NEEDS TO BE REPAIRABLE.

WE CAN ALL AGREE ON THAT.

UM, SO THANKS FOR CONCERN, UH, CONFIRMING THAT FOR ME.

A COUPLE OF THINGS THOUGH, THAT I WANNA TALK ABOUT, UM, AGAIN, REFERRING BACK TO THE 2018 REFERENDUM, THE DIRECT LANGUAGE, UM, IS REPAIR AND OR REPLACE THE EXISTING SPANS WITH AN

[01:25:01]

S NOT SPAN.

SO I'M WONDERING WHETHER OR NOT, UM, THAT LIMITATION IS REALLY, THAT MONIES CAN ONLY BE SPENT ON THAT ONE PORTION OF THE BRIDGE, BUT RATHER THAT MONEY CAN BE SPENT ON ALL FOUR SECTIONS OF THE BRIDGE TO BRING THEM UP TO CURRENT STANDARDS WITH REGARD TO SEISMIC ACTIVITY AND EARTHQUAKES AND ALL OF THOSE THINGS.

AND IF THAT'S THE CASE, AS HUSBAND POINTED OUT, THAT WOULD BE MONEY WELL SPENT.

AND, UM, THE LOCK MUELLER GROUP GAVE US THE INFORMATION ON THAT.

AND, AND I CAN AGREE THAT IT'S WISE TO SPEND MONEY TO REPLACE AND BRING UP TO CURRENT STANDARDS, ALL FOUR SEGMENTS OF THE BRIDGE.

UM, AND I'M JUST GONNA LET EVERYONE HERE KNOW THAT ON THE DATE OF THIS MEMO IS MAY 31ST.

AND, UM, THOSE DATES, UM, THOSE FIGURES BETWEEN AN OPTION ONE, WHICH IS TO CONSTRUCT A NEW EASTBOUND BRIDGE OVER THE MCKAY, UH, CREEK AND SKULL CREEK, UM, WIDEN THE EXISTING WESTBOUND BRIDGE OVER THE CREEK AND MODIFY THE EXISTING SKULL CREEK BRIDGES, UM, WOULD TAKE ABOUT FIVE YEARS AND COST ABOUT, ACCORDING TO THEM 248.

IS THAT CORRECT? THAT CAN'T BE RIGHT.

AND THEN WE COME TO OPTION THREE, CONSTRUCT A NEW SIX LANE BRIDGE BETWEEN BLUFFTON AND HILTON HEAD ISLAND, AND THEN REMOVE ALL EXISTING BRIDGE ACCESS BETWEEN MCKAY AND SKULL CREEK.

AND THAT'S 36 MONTHS AT, UM, $182 MILLION PLUS.

IT JUST SEEMS TO ME THAT IF WE JUST FOCUS ON WHAT'S IMPORTANT TO THE RESIDENTS, WHICH IS THE SAFETY THAT THE REFERENDUM GIVES US, THE OPPORTUNITY TO, UM, REPAIR, TO REPLACE ALL FOUR SEGMENTS OF THE BRIDGE AND TO PROVIDE THAT, UM, BACK TO THE CITIZENS, THAT'S A GOOD USE OF THEIR MONEY.

SO I WANTED TO, UM, POINT THAT OUT.

I HAVE QUESTIONS ON YOUR PRESENTATION, BUT MAYBE OTHERS ARE BETTER AT THIS THAN I AM.

I'M NOT A GOOD NAME TAKER.

UM, I, UM, TRIED TO TAKE NOTES AS YOU WERE GOING THROUGH THE PRESENTATION.

UM, IT WOULD BE EASIER FOR ME TO ASK QUESTIONS AS WE GO ALONG.

BUT ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I CERTAINLY WANTED TO, UM, THAT I JOTTED DOWN IS TO THANK WHOEVER PUT THAT PRESENTATION TOGETHER AND HIGHLIGHTED THE VOTES, UM, THAT WERE TAKEN AT DIFFERENT POINTS.

UM, AND YOU NEVER SEE THAT IT WAS A UNANIMOUS VOTE OR THREE VOTE, FIVE, TWO VOTE.

UM, SOME OF THOSE PEOPLE ARE GONE NOW.

AND AS OUR TOWN MANAGER ACCURATELY, UM, POINTED OUT, THOSE DECISIONS DO NOT BIND THIS COUNCIL TO ANYTHING.

SO THEY'RE GOOD TO KNOW WITH REFERENCE, BUT DO HIGHLIGHT THE FACT THAT IT WAS NOT A UNANIMOUS, UM, VOTE AT ANY POINT GOING THROUGH THERE.

AND I DOUBT IT WILL BE AMONG OURSELVES HERE.

BUT IT BRINGS ME TO THINK THAT WITH ONLY THREE MONTHS LEFT IN, UH, THE TERM OF SOME COUNCIL MEMBERS, IS IT FAIR TO MAKE A DECISION, UM, OF THIS, UM, SIZE OF THIS MAGNITUDE, OF THIS IMPORTANCE THAT, UM, IF WE SHOULD BE DOING THAT, OR SHOULD WE WAIT FOR ANOTHER COUNCIL WHO CAN COME TO AN AGREEMENT TOGETHER? AND THAT IS, THOSE PEOPLE WILL BE ELECTED BASED ON THEIR POSITION LARGELY OF WHAT WE DECIDE ON THE BRIDGES.

AND SO TO ME, THIS, WE SHOULD ASK OUR SENATOR TO DO THE GOOD WORK, CONTINUE HIS GOOD WORK, AND ASK FOR AN EXTENSION.

MS. BECKER, I NO, NO, NO.

PLEASE DON'T.

NO, NO.

IF YOU DON'T LIKE WHAT I'M SAYING, THAT'S OKAY.

BUT DON'T INTERRUPT ME.

SO I'M GONNA ASK YOU NOT TO TURN THIS INTO A CAMPAIGN.

IT'S NOT A CAMPAIGN SPEECH 'CAUSE YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT THE ELECTION AND, AND NEW PEOPLE THAT ARE RUNNING.

SO NO, MS. BECKER, LET BECKER FINISH.

NO, DON'T INTERRUPT.

NO, THAT'S NOT WHAT I'M SAYING.

UH, MAYOR WITH RESPECT MAKE, THAT'S NOT WHAT I'M SAYING.

AND THIS IS WHY I DON'T LIKE THE ORDINANCE WE JUST PASSED.

WITHIN THREE MONTHS WILL HAVE NEW COUNCIL MEMBERS.

UM, WHAT I WAS SAYING IS THAT WITH THREE MONTHS TO GO AND THE HISTORY OF THE VOTES THAT HAVE BEEN TAKEN AND HOW THIS, THIS COUNCIL, AS WE'RE COMPRISED HERE TODAY, UM, WOULD VOTE DIFFERENTLY PERHAPS THAN THE PREVIOUS COUNCIL

[01:30:01]

AND I BELIEVE THAT THIS CONVERSATION THAT WE'RE HAVING HERE NOW IS ONE THAT'S BEING HELD THROUGHOUT THE COMMUNITY OF HILTON HEAD ISLAND AND BEYOND, UM, SUFFICIENTLY THAT THOSE WHO WILL BE MAKING THE DECISION ABOUT WHO WILL BE SITTING UP HERE SHOULD, UM, BE ABLE TO HAVE THOSE NEW REPRESENTATIVES SITTING ON THIS DAIS WHEN THE DECISION IS MADE ABOUT MUNICIPAL CONSENT, GIVEN HOW IMPORTANT IT IS TO THE FUTURE OF THIS ISLAND.

NOW, I DON'T KNOW WHAT THEY WILL SAY QUITE HONESTLY, BUT I WILL SAY THIS, THAT GIVEN THE HISTORY IS A FAIR STATEMENT TO MAKE AND A REQUEST THAT OWEN MAKE, AND ALONG WITH THE REQUEST THAT WE ASK OUR GOOD SENATOR TO CONTINUE HIS, UM, WORK AND TO ASK FOR AN EXTENSION ON THE EA AND, UM, THE $120 MILLION, TO ME, IT SEEMS THAT WE'RE THREE, UH, THAT WE'RE 180 AS OF WHAT DATE? I DON'T KNOW WHEN THE LAST ESTIMATE ON COST WAS GIVEN, BUT WHATEVER THAT DATE WAS, WE'RE $180 MILLION SHY OF THE NEEDED FUNDS.

SO, UM, NOW THIS IS GONNA SOUND A LITTLE QUIP, BUT, UM, I WILL SAY IT, AND PLEASE TAKE IT FOR WHAT I MEAN IT TO BE, WHAT'S ANOTHER $120 MILLION? SO, UM, IF THAT WERE TO BE TRULY IN JEOPARDY, UM, AT ANY POINT, BUT I CAN, I CAN THINK OF, WE CAN USE THE RATIONALE THAT I JUST PROVIDED WITH REGARD TO THE HISTORY OF THE VOTES TAKEN THROUGHOUT THIS PROCESS AND THE, THE STRONG DESIRE TO MAKE SURE THAT ALL OF THE RESIDENTS ARE HEARD ADEQUATELY, UM, WHEN THE NEW COUNCIL IS SEATED.

SO, UM, I DO HAVE OTHER QUESTIONS, BUT I THINK I'M GONNA LEAVE ALL THAT ALONE RIGHT NOW AND JUST LEAVE MY STATEMENT.

SO I WANNA I WANNA ASK YOU A QUESTION.

THE, THE, THE VOTE IN OCTOBER OF 2022 WAS FOUR TO THREE, THE THREE NO VOTES FOR THAT MEMORANDUM UNDERSTANDING WERE MRS. BECKER, MR. AMES, AND MR. BROWN.

UM, IF YOU CAN, WHAT'S TRANSPIRED SINCE THEN THAT YOU'VE SEEN AS A POSITIVE IN THIS ASPECT IN, IN THIS PROJECT, UM, THAT WOULD BE BENEFICIAL? UM, LET ME QUESTION.

YEAH, I THINK THAT IS AN UNFAIR QUESTION.

NO, THAT SPEAKS RIGHT TO WHERE YOU WERE GOING.

IT REALLY DOESN'T, BUT OKAY.

I, I DID HAVE A THOUGHT THAT I WANTED TO SHARE.

UH, AND IT, IT IS RELEVANT TO THE, WHAT YOU JUST SAID.

UH, I THINK THOSE OF YOU WHO HAVE BEEN WATCHING THIS PROCESS MAY REMEMBER WHEN I SAID SOMETHING ABOUT KEY WEST AND THE BRIDGES TO KEY WEST.

I'VE HAD A, AN EVOLVING THOUGHT PROCESS, LARGELY BECAUSE I AM LEARNING MORE AND MORE OF WHAT IS AVAILABLE DATA AND ALSO THE CRITICALITY OF SOME OF THE ISSUES THAT WE'RE TRYING TO DEAL WITH.

BUT I WANT TO EMPHASIZE I'M STILL THE SAME GUY.

I HAVE THE SAME VALUES FOR THIS ISLAND THAT I'VE BEEN ADVOCATING FOR AND DEMANDING FOR OVER 51 YEARS.

I HAVE NOT CHANGED MY POINT OF VIEW OR MY VALUES OF WHAT'S IMPORTANT TO THE CHARACTER OF THIS ISLAND.

I THINK THERE ARE THREE GIVENS IN MY PRO IN, IN, IN MY THOUGHT PROCESS TO GET TO A POINT WHERE I HAD A DECISION TO MAKE.

WE KNOW THAT THE MACKEY'S BRIDGE REPLACEMENT IS IMMINENT.

WE HAVE UNACCEPTABLE RATES AND UNTENABLE DELAYS BECAUSE OF ACCIDENTS, AND THERE'S GOING TO BE SOME LEVEL OF GROWTH IN THE REGION.

IN MY OPINION.

THOSE ARE THE THREE THINGS THAT ARE MAKING US DEBATE THIS ISSUE.

DO WE REPLACE THREE, THE THREE OTHER BRIDGES I CAME TO THE CONCLUSION YES, ARE THE BRIDGES TWO OR THREE LANES? I SAY THREE LANES IS PRUDENT AND A LONG-TERM SOLUTION.

AND JUST THINK FOR A MOMENT, THIS IS, THIS IS ON TOPIC AND WE'VE TALKED ABOUT TRANSPORTATION MODES AND SO ON AND SO FORTH.

THREE LANES GIVES US THE OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE, UH, HOV LANE, WE CAN BEGIN TO MOVE PEOPLE THROUGH THE, UM, CORRIDOR MORE QUICKLY.

IS THE SOLUTION ONE BRIDGE OR TWO BRIDGES? NOW, I'M NOT SURE THAT'S EVEN STILL A DEBATE, BUT IT'S ONE BRIDGE FOR COST AND FOR, UH, TO MINIMIZE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS.

AND THEN THERE'S THE QUESTION IN THE COMMUNITY, SHOULD THERE BE A DEDICATED BIKE LANE? AND I SAY ABSOLUTELY, YES, BECAUSE THIS ISLAND CANNOT SURVIVE

[01:35:01]

WITH ONLY USING CARS.

WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO FIGURE OUT WAYS THAT WE HAVE OPTIONS OF HOW PEOPLE ARE GONNA GET AROUND.

NOW, I, I SEE YOU, I SEE YOU SMILING AND GIVING ME THUMBS DOWN.

I'M PREDICTING THAT OUR PARKING ISSUE ON THIS ISLAND IS GOING TO BE SO CRITICAL THAT WE AREN'T GOING TO BE ABLE TO GET TO THE BEACH.

WE AREN'T GONNA FIND A PLACE TO PARK IN KIG.

WE ABSOLUTELY HAVE TO FIND A DIFFERENT WAY TO MOVE PEOPLE AROUND THIS COMMUNITY.

YOU MAY CHOOSE TO USE YOUR CAR, BUT OTHER PEOPLE MAY CHOOSE OTHER MEANS OF MOVING AROUND THE ISLAND.

SO THAT BIKE LANE IS GOING TO BE AN ALTERNATIVE FOR PEOPLE WHO WANT TO GET ON THEIR MOTORIZED BIKE OR THEIR E-BIKE, WHATEVER YOU WANT TO CALL IT, AND GET FROM BLUFFTON TO HILTON HEAD OR HILTON HEAD TO BLUFFTON.

SO DON'T, DON'T MINIMIZE THAT 12 FEET OF EXTRA PAVEMENT.

YOU KNOW, I I, IF I COULD EXPAND ON THAT FOR JUST A SECOND.

UM, AS I'M LOOKING AT THE SLIDE UP HERE, THIS IS TRAFFIC.

IT SAYS TRAFFIC AND TRANSPORTATION, TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT LEVEL OF SERVICE.

HERE'S HOW WE'RE NOT MANAGING OUR TRAFFIC.

WE DON'T HAVE OCCUPANCY RATES ON OUR, ON OUR SHORT TERM RENTALS, OCCUPANCY, UM, CONTROL CAPS.

WE DON'T HAVE A PARKING PLAN IN PLACE.

WE NEED TO ADDRESS OUR LMO AND GET RID OF EIGHT UNITS AN ACRE.

WE PLEASE DON'T DO IT ON ME, PLEASE.

UM, WE DON'T HAVE A MUNICIPAL COURT AND THE TOWN OF HILTON HEAD ISLAND SO THAT WE CAN ISSUE PARKING TICKETS.

WE DON'T CONTROL WHAT WE ARE.

SO IF WE TALK ABOUT HOW TO REDUCE TRAFFIC, WE'VE GOTTA PUT THOSE POLICIES IN PLACE TO MAKE CERTAIN THAT WE ARE ADDRESSING IT.

THERE'S SOME OTHER THINGS THAT WE CAN DO, WHICH I'VE, I'VE TALKED TO THE TOWN MANAGER ABOUT WHY DON'T WE HAVE CAMERAS AT OUR BEACH PARKS TO SHOW WHAT PARKING IS AVAILABLE? I'M GONNA USE MARK'S PHONE HERE REAL QUICK.

WE'VE GOTTA GET THE APP UP AND RUNNING SO PEOPLE CAN SEE THAT THERE'S NO PARKING AVAILABLE.

BUT YOU CAN BUY THE MOBILE APP, PARKING, PARKING APP WITH A VIDEO CAMERA.

THEY CAN PULL UP AND SEE THE TRAFFIC THAT'S THERE.

GUESS WHAT THAT DAY TRIPPER, WHO WE LOVE MAY SAY, YOU KNOW WHAT, I'M NOT GOING OVER TODAY.

THERE'S OTHER THINGS OUTSIDE OF WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT.

THE BRIDGE IS NOT GONNA SOLVE OUR TRAFFIC PROBLEMS. AND WE KNOW THAT WE'VE GOTTA LOOK AT OTHER THINGS TO MAKE CERTAIN THAT WE'RE ADDRESSING THEM HOLISTICALLY IN A POLICY FORM AND FORMAT.

THE GROWTH OFF ISLAND, WHEN WE WENT TO COLUMBIA TO, TO MEET WITH DOT, IT WAS SIX 30 IN THE MORNING.

THE TRAFFIC WAS BACKED UP ALL THE WAY FROM ONE 70 ALL THE WAY UP TO THE BROAD RIVER BRIDGE.

THAT'S REAL IMPACT.

THOSE ARE PEOPLE THAT HAVE MOVED TO THIS AREA GOING, WE LOVE IT AND WE'RE GOING TO BE HERE AND WE'RE GONNA OPEN UP BUSINESSES AND WE'RE GONNA MAKE MONEY.

AND GUESS WHAT? I'M GONNA GO TO HILTON HEAD TO MAKE MONEY BECAUSE THAT'S WHERE I CAN MAKE MORE MONEY.

I WAS AT THE BEACH HOUSE, THIS WAS EARLIER THIS, THIS YEAR IN THE, IN THE LATE WINTER.

AND A LADY WHO LIVES ON LADIES ISLAND SAID, YEAH, I DRIVE TWO HOURS EVERY DAY.

WHY? BECAUSE SHE CAN MAKE THE MONEY OVER HERE.

THAT'S NOT GONNA CHANGE.

WHAT WE HAVE TO DO IS TAKE AT A LOOK AT A FOUR MILE STRETCH TO MAKE CERTAIN THAT TRAFFIC FLOWS IN A WAY THAT IS ACCEPTABLE IN THE WAY S-C-D-O-T HAS SET US UP IN THE PAST IS NOT ACCEPTABLE.

THE CROSS ISLAND BRIDGE RIGHT NOW IS WIDER AS A BIGGER SHOULDER THAN THE BRIDGE IS COMING ONTO THE ISLAND.

THERE ARE A LOT OF THINGS THAT ARE WRONG.

WE HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE A VOICE, WHETHER IT'S YAY OR NAY OR NAY, BUT WE HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE A VOICE.

AND I'M GONNA GO BACK TO WHAT I SAID IN THE BEGINNING.

WE NEED TO HAVE POLICY BY ACTION, NOT INACTION.

MAYOR, MAY I ADDRESS A LOT OF WHAT YOU SAID? BECAUSE I LIKED A LOT OF IT? ABSOLUTELY.

AS WHERE WE ARE NOW AND WHEN I VOTED AGAINST, IS THAT WE CONTINUE TO ATTEMPT TO HAVE QUALITY DISCUSSIONS.

FIGURED THAT WOULD BE GOOD POINT.

ORDER YOU YOU DID ASK.

I DID, I DID.

I DID.

IF DON'T MIND OPPOSITION.

OH, IS JUST SPEAK.

I DID NOT HAVE A CHANCE.

I DID.

I'M SORRY.

MY, MY BAD.

BUT WHEN YOU'RE DONE DOING THAT, I DO WANNA PICK UP ON A LOT OF THE POSITIVE THINGS THAT, UM, YOU SAID, AND I WANNA DISCUSS THEM.

MR. MAYOR, I ONLY COMMENT I HAVE AS FAR

[01:40:01]

AND I REALLY WOULD WISH COUNCILWOMAN BECCA WOULD STOP TRYING TO MAKE THIS POLITICAL.

WE, WE ARE A COMMUNITY THAT ARE FACED WITH ONE OF THE BIGGEST DECISIONS IN THIS COMMUNITY'S LIFETIME.

AND WE NEED TO STAY FOCUSED ON THAT.

AND I THINK IF WE, I WANT YOU TO KNOW, PLEASE CONTINUE.

SO I'M ASKING THAT WE TRY TO CONTINUE TO STAY ON TOPIC AND HAVE THIS DISCUSSION.

I THINK WE'RE TALKING ABOUT BRIDGES RIGHT NOW.

THAT'S RIGHT.

THAT'S BACKWARDS BACK MY TURN.

GREAT.

UM, SO MAYOR, YOU'RE RIGHT.

YOU LISTED 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 5 THINGS AS SHORT TERM RENTALS, OCCUPANCY PARKING, LMO MUNICIPAL COURT.

AND BECAUSE WE DON'T HAVE A HANDLE ON THOSE YOUR WORDS, WE DON'T CONTROL WHO WE ARE.

SO INSTEAD OF SITTING HERE TALKING ABOUT CHANGING SOMETHING THAT WILL TRULY TAKE THE CONTROL OF WHO WE ARE OUT OF OUR HANDS, LET'S GO BACK AS WE HAVE BEEN, AS I CERTAINLY HAVE BEEN, WELL BEFORE I WAS EVEN ELECTED THE FIRST TIME, AND DEAL WITH THESE ISSUES AND FIX THESE SO THAT WE'RE NOT TALKING ABOUT THINGS THAT WE CAN'T CONTROL.

LET'S CONTROL WHAT WE CAN.

THANKS.

YOU SAID THE BRIDGE WILL NOT SOLVE OUR TRAFFIC PROBLEMS. THAT IS AN ABSOLUTE TRUTH.

THAT SUSTAIN OUR WAY OF LIFE.

AND IT HAS BEEN BORN AND THE FACTS HAVE BEEN BORNE OUT IN THE LOCK MUELLER REPORT.

I, I READ AND THE REPORTS THAT CAME BEFORE, UH, WITH OTHER CONSULTANTS.

I, AS I READ, REREAD YET AGAIN, THE LOCK MILLER REPORT.

I SEE OVER AND OVER, AND THIS IS NOT A CRITICISM BY THE WAY.

I SEE OVER AND OVER BENT, UM, THAT ACCEPTABILITY WE HAVE TO GET TO HERE TO HAVE AN ACCEPTABLE RATE WHOSE DETERMINATION IS ACCEPTABILITY.

RIGHT? I THINK THE RESIDENTS HAVE BEEN SPEAKING LOUD AND CLEAR THAT THE ACCEPTABILITY IS WHAT THEY'VE DETERMINED.

AND YOU SEE THEM AND YOU HEAR THEM.

AND I WANT TO POINT OUT, UM, AGAIN, THAT THERE IS AN 11,000 PLUS PETITION WITH SIGNATURES OF PEOPLE WHO HAVE STOOD UP AND SAID NO.

AND I SUSPECT BY THIS TIME, THERE IS ALSO A LARGE NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO ARE RESPONDING TO AN INTERESTING SURVEY THAT JUST CAME OUT THIS MORNING FROM THE CHAMBER TO TELL THEM NO TOO, WE'RE NOT INTERESTED IN DOING WHAT SERVES OUR VISITORS AND OTHERS BEFORE.

WE'RE INTERESTED IN DOING WHAT SERVES US, THE RESIDENTS.

AND, AND YOU MAY CALL THAT POLITICAL, I DON'T, I CALL IT DOING WHAT I WAS HIRED HERE TO DO OR ELECTED HERE TO DO.

AND THAT'S TO REPRESENT THE VOICES OF THE PEOPLE WHO I'VE HEARD FROM.

AND THERE IS NO DOUBT OUR SINCERE AND THEIR DESIRE TO TELL US ALL.

WE KNOW WHO WE ARE.

WE LIKE WHO WE ARE.

THAT'S WHAT BROUGHT US HERE.

THAT'S WHAT'S KEPT US HERE.

AND I'LL GUARANTEE YOU RIGHT NOW, IT'S WHAT'S BRINGING MORE VISITORS HERE AND AS, UM, LETTING THEM DECIDE THAT THIS WILL BE THEIR HOME IN THE FUTURE TOO.

BUT IT WON'T BE IF WE MOVE FORWARD WITH THIS BRIDGE.

I WANNA ALSO JUST, AND I SAY THIS, THANK YOU.

AT THE LAST MEETING, WE RECEIVED A TWO PAGE LETTER FROM DR. COHEN AND THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE GOLUM MUSEUM OF HILTON HEAD ISLAND.

AND WHAT THEY SAY, AND WHAT THEY SAY IS, WE BELIEVE THAT THE PROPOSED HIGHWAY 2 78 EXPANSION POSES A GRAVE THREAT TO THE INTEGRITY AND VITALITY OF THE STONY COMMUNITY.

THE CONSTRUCTION OF ADDITIONAL LANES AND INFRASTRUCTURE MAY RESULT IN THE DISPLACEMENT OF RESIDENTS DESTRUCTION OF CULTURAL LANDMARKS AND IRREPARABLE HARM TO THE SOCIAL FABRIC OF THE COMMUNITY.

MOREOVER, THE INCREASED TRAFFIC, I WANNA REDUCE CONGESTION.

THAT MEANS INCREASED TRAFFIC AND DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATED WITH THE EXPANSION COULD FURTHER EXASPERATE THE ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION AND DISPUTE, DISRUPT THE DELICATE BALANCE OF ECONO ECOSYSTEMS

[01:45:01]

I HAVE HEARD THE STONY COMMUNITY COME TO THESE MEETINGS FROM DAY ONE AND THEY HAVE SAID, WITHOUT CHANGE, WE SAY NO.

WE SAY NO.

SO WHEN WE LOOK AT THE PRETTY PICTURES AND WE SEE THAT, YOU KNOW, WITH THE MITIGATION THERE'S MORE LAND IMPACTS AND WE'RE GOING TO ONLY MOVE TWO BUILDINGS, RIGHT? THE, UM, PALM READER AND MR. YOUNG'S UPHOLSTERY BUSINESS.

AND, AND THAT'S ALL IT IS.

THAT'S NOT ALL IT IS.

THAT'S THEIR WAY OF LIFE IN THAT COMMUNITY.

IT'S BEEN SITTING THERE.

THAT'S NOT NOTHING.

THAT'S SOMETHING.

AND SO IF WE WANT TO DO WHAT THE OTHER PART OF THE REFERENDUM AUTHORIZED THE COUNTY TO DO, WHICH IS TO IMPROVE THE ROADWAYS, RIGHT? AND OTHER IMPROVEMENTS BETWEEN MO CREEK AND SQUIRE POPE, THEN LET'S TAKE, UM, MKSK AND MR. KINSEL MAN'S, UM, DESIGNS, AND LET'S TAKE THAT MONEY AND LET'S IMPLEMENT THEM.

IMPLEMENT THOSE DESIGNS, SAVE THOSE BUILDINGS, SAVE WHAT IT IS THAT THEY'VE SAID NO TO, THAT IS VALUABLE AND CREATE WHAT WILLIAM HILTON PARKWAY IS.

IT'S NOT A THOROUGH PRAYER FOR FOLKS TO GET TO THE END OF THE ISLAND, TO THE DEAD END.

IT IS PEOPLE'S LIVES WHO ARE RESIDENTS WHO ARE COMMITTED TO THIS ISLAND.

AND WE CANNOT CHANGE THAT.

SO LET'S GO BACK, USE THAT MONEY AND CREATE THAT PARKWAY, CREATE THAT ONE ISLAND COMMUNITY, GREEN IT UP, PUT THE LANDSCAPING IN, PUT THE MEDIANS IN, DO THE BICYCLE ROUTES.

BUT DO I BELIEVE THAT PEOPLE ARE GONNA COME FROM BLUFFTON TO RIDE THEIR BIKE ACROSS, TO GET TO WORK IN A MEANINGFUL MANNER? AND IF I WANNA RETURN BACK YET TO THE LUCK MUELLER REPORT, THEY DON'T WANNA TALK.

THEY CONCLUDED IN THEIR REPORT THAT THE TRANSPORTATION, AS THEY LOOKED AT IT IN THEIR FRAME OF LESS THAN 1%, AND BY THE WAY, THERE'S, WITH ALL RESPECT SOME FLAWS THAT I THINK EXIST IN THAT, UM, LESS THAN 1% IS INSIGNIFICANT.

SO WHY DO IT? WELL, I'LL TELL YOU THAT IN MY MIND AS I SIT HERE, MAYBE SOME OF YOU MIGHT AGREE WITH ME, A BIKE PATH FROM BLUFFTON TO THE, UM, ISLAND THAT MIGHT BE USED BY A HANDFUL OF PEOPLE TO GET TO WORK, UM, IN AN UNSAFE MANNER.

I THINK WE POINTED OUT THE OTHER EVENING, IS EQUALLY NOT WORTH THE EFFORT.

SO I WILL SAY, MR. MAYOR, YOU'RE RIGHT.

LET'S WORK ON THE THINGS THAT WE CAN CONTROL AND LET'S NOT BUILD SOMETHING THAT PUTS US MORE AND MORE OUT OF CONTROL AND DAMAGES THIS ISLAND AND OUR LEGACY.

THANK YOU, MR. I APPRECIATE THE VIGOR AND EFFORT THAT MY COLLEAGUE HERE PURSUES HER POSITION ON WHAT WE SHOULD BE DOING WITH THESE BRIDGES.

BUT SHE AND I HAVE A VERY DIFFERENT INTERPRETATION OF WHAT THE FACTS ARE AND WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS.

I HAVE ALREADY INDICATED THAT IF WE DO NOTHING, WE ARE GOING TO HAVE YEARS AND YEARS AND YEARS OF ADDITIONAL DELAY WHILE EACH OF THE FOUR BRIDGE IS SEPARATELY RECONSTRUCTED AND WE WON'T HAVE THE, UH, HURRICANE EARTHQUAKE ADVANTAGE OF PIERS BEING IN BEDROCK.

I THINK IT HAS BEEN VERY CLEAR THAT THIS IS NOT A TOWN PROJECT.

WE CAN'T DO THIS PROJECT THE WAY THIS COUNCIL WOULD LIKE OR THE WAY MANY PEOPLE IN, IN OUR COMMUNITY WOULD LIKE.

IT IS A PROJECT THAT THE COUNTY IS IN CHARGE OF THAT WILL BE EXECUTED BY THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION AND REQUIRES APPROVAL BY THE FEDERAL HIGHWAY AUTHORITY.

THIS IS NOT JUST OUR DECISION.

WE HAVE TO, TO BASED ON MUNICIPAL CONSENT, THOUGH STEVE, IT IS, IT'S EITHER WE DO NOTHING OR WE DO THE WAY I DON'T, I DON'T BUY THAT BINARY CHOICE.

I KNOW.

EXCUSE ME, BUT I DON'T BUY THAT INTERRUPTING ME.

I AM.

AND I DON'T THINK THAT'S APPROPRIATE.

IT IS RUDE AND I APOLOGIZE.

WE HAVE HEARD ENDLESS NUMBERS OF PROPOSALS OF ITEMS THAT HAVE ALREADY PUBLICLY BEEN STATED, WOULD NOT GET THE APPROVAL OF ANY OTHER ENTITY THAT IS INVOLVED IN THIS PROJECT.

AS INDICATED, I DO NOT BELIEVE THAT IF WE DO NOTHING, WE ARE GONNA DO ANYTHING EXCEPT STEP BACKWARDS, WHICH MEANS WE HAVE TO DEAL WITH THE SITUATION THAT WE FIND.

AND THAT IS, IT'S NOT OUR PROJECT.

WE CAN ONLY SAY NO IF WE SAY NO, WE'RE GONNA BE A LOT WORSE OFF THAN WE ARE NOW, AND A LOT WORSE, CONSIDERABLY FAR WORSE OFF THAN IF WE HAD A NEW BRIDGE.

UH,

[01:50:01]

IT WILL SIMPLY, IT CANNOT HAPPEN.

SO WHY DO WE CONTINUE TO HAVE PEOPLE PUSHING IT FORWARD WHEN THEY KNOW? AND WE KNOW IT IS, THERE'S NO WAY IT CAN HAPPEN.

IT MAKES YOU WONDER WHETHER IT THAT THERE'S SIMPLY AN EFFORT TO, UH, PUT OFF BEYOND JUNE 28, A DECISION AND THUS FORCES INTO WHAT I CONSIDER TO BE A VERY UNFAVORABLE POSITION OF HAVING TO DEAL WITH CONSTANT IMPROVEMENTS OF THE BRIDGES.

LET'S LOOK AT THE, SOME OF THE PARTICULARS, FOUR LANES VERSUS SIX.

IT'S BEEN VERY CLEAR THAT FOUR DOES ACTUALLY NOTHING TO WAY OF IMPROVING ANYTHING.

UH, PATHWAYS FOR PEDESTRIANS AND BICYCLES ARE IMPORTANT TO A VERY LARGE SEGMENT OF THE COMMUNITY.

IT IS PART OF THE ATTRACTION OF, OF HILTON HEAD IS BICYCLING.

AND THE CHAMBER HAS MADE THAT VERY CLEAR.

IT'S ONE OF THE MOST BIGGEST ATTRACTIONS THAT WE HAVE HERE.

UH, THE TIME, THE TIME REDUCTION.

IT'S NOT UNCLEAR.

THE OUTSIDE CONSULTANTS HAVE SAID THE VIS STUDY IS THE ONLY RELIABLE TIME STUDY THAT WE CAN USE.

THAT'S BECAUSE WE REJECTED THE ARE OTHER STUDIES.

PLEASE, PLEASE, THE QUESTIONS ABOUT STONY, UH, THE LETTER THAT WAS JUST READ WITH ALL DUE RESPECT TO DR. COHEN IS NOT ACCURATE.

UH, IT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO EVERY MEMBER OF THIS COUNCIL, EVERY SINGLE ONE OF US, THAT WE DO THE BEST WE CAN TO FOR THE STONY COMMUNITY.

IF WE HAVE TO, AS I BELIEVE WE DO REPLACE THE BRIDGES, THEN WE NEED TO FIND OUT HOW CAN WE BEST PROTECT THE INTEREST OF THE STONY COMMUNITY.

OUR STAFF HAS DONE AN EXTRAORDINARILY JOB IN TRYING TO DISCUSS THE INTERESTS OF MEMBERS OF THE STONY COMMUNITY AND FIND OUT WHAT WOULD BE APPROPRIATE.

TWO BUSINESSES MAY HAVE TO GO.

WE ARE NOT GONNA TAKE A TRAFFIC LINE RIGHT THROUGH ANYBODY'S HOUSES OR THROUGH THE MIDDLE OF ANYTHING.

AT MOST, THERE WILL BE UP TO TWO FEET TAKEN FROM THE FRONT YARDS OF SOME HOUSES.

SO THE ACTUAL IMPACT IN STONY IS GONNA BE RELATIVELY MINIMAL.

AND WE'VE MADE VERY EXTENSIVE EFFORTS TO DO THE BEST WE CAN.

I'M, I'M UNDER NO, UH, IMPRESSION THAT MY REMARKS ARE GONNA BE PLEASING TO ALL THE PEOPLE IN THIS AUDIENCE, BUT IT IS MY BELIEF AS TERMS OF WHAT'S BEST FOR THE FUTURE OF THIS ISLAND.

AND I FEEL THAT YOU SHOULD BE RESPECTFUL AND AT LEAST LISTEN, AS I HAVE LISTENED TO YOU, I HAVE GONE TO EVERY MEETING OF THE COMMITTEE AND HEARD EVERY PRESENTATION THAT LOCH MUELLER MEANT MADE.

UH, AND THIS IS WHERE I COME OUT.

UH, THERE'S BEEN SUGGESTIONS OF ALTERNATE IMPROVEMENTS LIKE A SECOND BRIDGE FROM ANOTHER LOCATION.

THAT'S A GOOD IDEA.

AND WE NEED TO, TO PURSUE IT.

AND IT IS IN THE MOU AS I UNDERSTAND IT, THAT WE WILL TRY TO PURSUE A SECOND BRIDGE FROM ANOTHER LOCATION, BUT IT CAN'T HAPPEN IN ANY REASONABLE TIME PERIOD.

A COUPLE OF DECADES IS LIKELY, UH, OTHER FORMS OF TRANSPORTATION.

YES, WE NEED TO PURSUE ALL OF 'EM, BUT THEY'RE NOT GONNA MAKE MUCH OF AN IMPACT.

I THINK, YOU KNOW, WHERE I'M COMING OUT.

I THINK THIS IS AN IDEA THAT IS FOR THE BENEFIT OF US NOW AND MOSTLY FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE FUTURE.

MR, GO AHEAD.

I HAVE A COUPLE OF, I HAVE A COUPLE OF TECHNICAL QUESTIONS FOR MR. COLLEN HEARING.

HEAR YOU.

UH, RED LIGHT'S ON.

HELP ME OUT.

CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW? I FEEL LIKE I'M A COMMERCIAL.

NO, CAN'T HEAR YOU.

PAT.

I'LL TRY AGAIN.

IS THAT BETTER? SOMEBODY GAVE ME A BOOST.

YEEHAW.

ANYBODY ELSE GOT ANOTHER BOOST? .

MY TECHNICAL QUESTIONS ARE THE FOLLOWING.

UH, FIRST OF ALL WITH REGARD TO THE CAUSEWAYS, YOU TALKED ABOUT THE BRIDGE, BUT I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO TALK ABOUT THE CAUSEWAYS THAT'S PART OF WHAT FOLKS CONSIDER THE BRIDGE.

IT'S MY UNDERSTANDING THERE ARE THREE CAUSEWAYS.

THERE'S A CAUSEWAY WHEN YOU LEAVE MOSS CREEK TO COME OVER TO PINKNEY ISLAND, AND THEN THERE'S ANOTHER CAUSEWAY WHEN YOU COME FROM HOG ISLAND TO JENKINS ISLAND.

YES,

[01:55:01]

MA'AM.

AND THEN THERE'S A THIRD CAUSEWAY FROM JENKINS ISLAND TO HILTON HEAD ISLAND PROPER.

SO THERE ARE THREE CAUSEWAYS.

SO WHERE IN THE PLANS FOR PROMOTED BY S-C-D-O-T ARE THERE, UH, METHODS OF ADDRESSING POSSIBLE FUTURE IMPACTS TO THE CAUSEWAYS FROM STORM SURGES, DAMAGES FROM STORM SURGES, AND I THINK A LOT OF US THINK ABOUT SANIBEL ISLAND.

SO WHERE HA WHERE HAS S-E-D-O-T GUARANTEED THAT THERE WILL BE SOME WAY TO ADDRESS POSSIBLE STORM SURGES? I HAVE NOT SEEN THAT DOCUMENT.

YEAH, AND THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION.

UM, AS DISCUSSED ON MONDAY NIGHT, THE THE DESIGN IS 30%.

THERE'S A MUCH DEEPER DIVE TO GO TO 60% AND A HUNDRED PERCENT OF DESIGN THAT WILL LOOK INTO THOSE THINGS TO ADDRESS WHETHER OR NOT CAUSEWAYS NEED TO BE ELEVATED.

UM, AS, UH, MR. FRA FROM BUFORT COUNTY MENTIONED, THEY CANNOT GO BEYOND THE 30% DESIGN STAGE PER THE FEDERAL HIGHWAY.

UM, FOR PER FEDERAL HIGHWAYS.

THAT'S INFORMATION THAT WILL BE INCLUDED AS YOU MOVE INTO THE NEXT PHASES OF DESIGN.

UM, I BELIEVE THAT THE DRAFT, MOU HAD A PROVISION IN THERE TO MAKE SURE THAT THE RESILIENCE AND, UM, AND IMPACT OF STORM SURGES WERE PART OF CONSIDERATION AS THAT, AS THE PROJECT WERE TO MOVE FORWARD IF IT WERE TO MOVE FORWARD.

AND THAT WAS CERTAINLY AT MY REQUEST THAT THAT WAS INCLUDED.

IT, IT, IT BEGS THE QUESTION FOR ME, AT 30% IF WE'VE DONE SEISMIC STUDIES TO DECIDE ABOUT THE BRIDGE PILLARS, WHY ON EARTH DID S-E-D-O-T INCLUDE IN THAT DESIGN, THE IMPACT ON THE CAUSEWAYS? UM, 'CAUSE THAT'S PART OF THE, SO IT SOUNDS LIKE WE'RE LOOKING AT EXTRA COSTS IF WE HAVE TO ELEVATE THE CAUSEWAYS, WOULDN'T THAT BE ACCURATE? THERE'S A POT, A POTENTIAL COST IMPLICATION BASED ON THE FINDINGS AS THEY MOVE INTO THE NEXT PHASES OF DESIGN.

AND MY NEXT TECHNICAL QUESTION HAS TO DO WITH THE NUMBERS YOU'RE USING BASED UPON, UH, THE CURRENT WIDTH OF THE BRIDGES, UM, AND THE PROPOSED WIDTH OF THE BRIDGES.

AND I WAS TRYING TO KEEP UP WITH YOU, UM, WHAT I THINK I HEARD YOU SAY IS THE CURRENT WIDTH OF THE BRIDGE, IS THIS FROM, UH, GOING, UH, EAST FROM MOSS CREEK TO PINCKNEY? IS THAT THE 80 FEET? CURRENTLY? THE, WHAT I, WHAT I MENTIONED IS THE BRIDGES THAT CONNECT THE CAUSEWAY FROM MOSS CREEK TO PINCKNEY ISLAND, FROM OUTSIDE EDGE TO OUTSIDE EDGE OF THE, OF THE LANES WHERE THE JERSEY BARRIER EXISTS.

IT'S A HUNDRED FEET TODAY.

THAT'S A HUNDRED FEET.

UM, AND, AND THAT INCLUDES THE SPACE IN BETWEEN THE TWO BRIDGE STRUCTURES? YES, MA'AM.

SO WHAT IS THE SPACE IN BETWEEN THE TWO BRIDGE STRUCTURES? IT'S APPROXIMATELY 24 FEET.

24 FEET.

SO IN ESSENCE, THE BRIDGE STRUCTURES THEMSELVES ARE 100 MINUS 20 FEET? CORRECT.

AND, AND THEN THE NEW STRUCTURE, A SINGLE STRUCTURE THERE, AS I UNDERSTAND IT, WOULD BE 121 FEET.

AND THAT WOULD INCLUDE THE, THE SHARED, UH, USE PATHWAY PART OF THE BRIDGE AS WELL.

SO I'M, I'M NOT ADVOCATING FOR THIS, BUT IF YOU SUBTRACT THAT, AS I UNDERSTAND THAT SHARED USE PATHWAY FOR PEDESTRIANS AND BICYCLISTS IS 14 FEET WIDE.

I'VE SEEN 12, I'VE SEEN 14, CORRECT.

14 FEET OF WIDTH TO ACCOMMODATE THE, THE, THE PATHWAY.

SO IF WE, IF WE TAKE OFF, UM, WAS IT 1 21 MINUS 14? WE GET TO ONE 17, UH, 1 0 1 0 7.

I WAS TRYING TO WRITE FAST.

UM, SO, SO NOW THAT WIDTH OF THE NEW STRUCTURE IS INCREASED BY 27 FEET.

IF YOU TAKE 1 0 7 MINUS 80, IT'S INCREASED BY 27 FEET.

WHICH ACCOUNTS FOR, UM, TWO 12 FOOT LANES OF 24 FEET.

I REMEMBER THE DIFFERENCES.

27 FEET.

SO THERE'S TWO LANES, UM, OF 12 FEET EACH.

THAT'S 24 FEET.

THEN THERE IS A BREAKDOWN LANE.

ANOTHER 10 FEET.

NOW WE'VE GOTTEN BEYOND THE 27 FEET, AND THEN THERE IS A SHOULDER OF SIX FEET.

SO YOU KEEP ADDING UP THAT THE NUMBERS AREN'T WORKING FOR ME.

NOW, I KNOW THERE ARE SOME SHOULDERS ON EITHER SIDE.

BUT I THINK YOU'VE INCLUDED THAT IN THE NUMBERS YOU'VE GIVEN.

SO CORRECT.

MY QUESTION, MY QUESTION IS, I DON'T, IT'S NOT MY QUESTION.

I DON'T UNDERSTAND THE NUMBER DIFFERENCE.

UM, I'M JUST SAYING IT SEEMS LIKE THAT THERE IS A, A GREATER INCREASE THAN THOSE NUMBERS ARE DESCRIBING TO US.

I CONFIRMED BY THE, THE LATEST LINE INFORMATION FROM S-C-D-O-T THAT THE BRIDGE WIDTH FOR UNIFORM, UM, EXCEPT FOR THE BALL BELT SECTIONS IS 121 FEET, FOUR INCHES.

AND WHAT I'M TRYING TO DO IS COMPARE THAT VISUALLY TO WHAT

[02:00:01]

EXISTS ON THE GROUND.

AND, AND, AND I, ANYHOW, IT DOESN'T MAKE MATHEMATICAL SENSE TO ME.

I'M NOT GONNA GO ACROSS THE NEXT SPAN BECAUSE I HAVE THE SAME KIND OF QUESTIONS.

THE THIRD TECHNICAL QUESTION IS, IT'S BEEN DESCRIBED AS THOUGH WE HAVE TWO CHOICES.

ONE IS SAY YES.

THE OTHER ONE IS SAY NO.

AS I UNDERSTAND, WHEN THE CROSS ISLAND PARKWAY WAS APPROVED, THE TOWN COUNCIL GAVE CONDITIONAL CONSENT WITH THE NUMBER OF CONDITIONS THAT WERE DEBATED OVER TIME ABOUT WHERE IT SHOULD BE LOCATED, AVOIDING SOME, UH, GULLAH PROPERTY AND A NUMBER OF OTHER CONDITIONS, INCLUDING SOME LANDSCAPING PROVISIONS.

SO THERE WERE A NUMBER, I, I CAN'T REMEMBER.

IT'S LIKE A THROUGH I OR SOMETHING.

I CAN'T, I'VE GOT A COPY OF IT HERE.

BUT IN OTHER WORDS, THERE IS ANOTHER POSSIBILITY.

IT'S NOT JUST YES OR NO.

IT IS YES.

BUT WITH A NUMBER OF CONDITIONS.

AND I UNDERSTAND THAT'S WHAT WE CAN ALSO CONSIDER.

IS THAT CORRECT? I BELIEVE THAT THE MOU WITH THE COUNTY IS THE MECHANISM TO LAY OUT THOSE CONDITIONS AND TO INCLUDE IN THE MUNICIPAL CONSENT AGREEMENT TO THE STATE.

SO I UNDERSTOOD FROM SENATOR DAVIS THAT THE KEY DOCUMENT REGARDING MUNICIPAL CONSENT IS OUR AGREEMENT WITH S-E-D-O-T, NOT WITH THE COUNTY.

I WOULD SAY IF YOU HAVE ANY CONDITIONS TO THE PROJECT SPONSOR, WHICH IS BEAUFORT COUNTY, THAT THOSE CONDITIONS SHOULD BE INCLUDED IN THE CONSENT DOCUMENT THAT SUBMITTED TO CDOT.

WELL, WELL, MINIMAL QUESTIONS.

AND, AND THE, THE EARLIER DRAFT, AND, AND IT'S, IT'S A BIT CONFUSING BECAUSE, UH, THERE WAS A DRAFT ATTACHED TO THE PROPOSED AGENDA FOR TODAY WITH AN MOU, WITH THE COUNTY.

AND THEN THERE WAS A SEPARATE DOCUMENT THAT WAS MUNICIPAL CONSENT WITH THE STATE, WHICH IS WHAT IS REQUIRED BY STATUTE, WHICH IS WHY WE'RE PROBABLY HERE TODAY.

UM, AND SO THERE WERE TWO SEPARATE DOCUMENTS.

AND, AND, AND, AND MY PUZZLE IS THAT THE, THE DOCUMENT THAT IS THE PURPORTED MUNICIPAL CONSENT MERELY REFERS YOU TO THE AGREEMENT WITH THE COUNTY.

AND IN THE DRAFT THAT I SAW, THERE ARE A LOT OF, WE AGREE TO WORK TOGETHER TO DO BLANK.

LET'S DEVELOP A PLAN TO DO BLANK.

LET'S DO THIS, LET'S CONSIDER, YOU KNOW, KUMBAYA.

UM, SURE.

BUT, BUT WE NEED SPECIFIC CONDITIONS.

THAT'S THE ONLY WAY TO HOLD THE FEET TO THE FIRE OF S-E-D-O-T ON WHAT MIGHT BE BUILT.

ISN'T THAT CORRECT? YES, MA'AM.

AND I'D LOVE TO HEAR TOWN COUNCIL'S FEEDBACK ON THAT.

SEAN, CAN, CAN YOU PULL UP, UM, THAT MOU THAT WAS PROVIDED THE OTHER DAY? AND WHILE YOU'RE DOING THAT, MR. BEN, I THINK YOU WERE ABOUT TO HAVE A COMMENT AND, AND, AND, OH, I'M SORRY.

LET'S MAKE SURE, SORRY.

THERE WERE TWO MOUS I'VE SEEN.

ONE IS WHAT WAS INITIALLY ATTACHED TO THE AGENDA FOR TODAY, AND THE OTHER IS WHAT WAS INCLUDED ON THE WEBSITE, BUT NOT PROVIDED TO THE TOWN COUNCIL IN AN EMAIL, A PROPOSED MOU AS OF MONDAY NIGHT.

SO THERE'S TWO DIFFERENT MOUS I'VE SEEN FLOATED AROUND, ATTACHED TO VARIOUS AGENDAS.

AND I'M SORRY.

SO I, I'LL MAKE A COMMENT TO THAT.

AND, AND YOU'RE RIGHT, THAT'S GOTTA BE, UM, CLEANED UP, OUTLINED MORE, UH, HARDLINED AND DIRECT, NOT WITH A BUNCH OF FLUFF IN THERE, BUT SOMETHING THAT, THAT TIES EVERYBODY TO IT.

I AGREE WITH THAT.

SO, MR. ORLANDO, IS IT POSSIBLE TO HAVE, WE'RE NOT GONNA GO THROUGH THE WHOLE MOU RIGHT NOW.

I'M NOT LOOKING TO DO THAT.

I JUST WANT YOU TO PULL IT UP.

BUT CAN, CAN YOU AND AND CURTIS WORK ON THIS TONIGHT? TOMORROW, GET IT OUT TOMORROW SO THAT PEOPLE WE CAN HAVE IT IN, IN, IN A WAY THAT IS, THAT IS OUTLINED WITH NO QUESTIONS? YES.

WELL, I DON'T KNOW ABOUT NO QUESTIONS.

I, I'LL GIVE, I'LL GIVE YOU THAT ONE TAMMY, WITHOUT DUE RESPECT.

YES, GO AHEAD.

I, WELL, I TOOK THAT TO MEAN TO, TO REORGANIZE THIS.

THERE'S, YES, THERE'S REALLY A MUNICIPAL CONSENT DOCUMENT WITH THE STATE THAT, THAT, THAT WE HAVEN'T CONDITIONED.

BUT WHAT WE CONDITIONED WAS THE AGREEMENT THAT WE HAVE WITH OUR PROJECT SPONSOR.

UM, BUT IF I'M HEARING TOWN COUNSEL CLEARLY, UM, AT LEAST MS. BRYSON IS SAYING THAT THE DOCUMENT TO THE STATE MUST HAVE THOSE CONDITIONS.

WE STILL NEED AN AGREEMENT WITH BUFORT COUNTY.

THEY ARE OUR PROJECT SPONSOR.

UM, WE HAVE TO RESPECT AND REGARD THAT THIS IS BUFORT COUNTY'S PROJECT.

AND, UH, I THINK PERHAPS IF THERE ARE CONDITIONS, AND I DIDN'T HEAR YOU ALL GET THERE YET, BUT THAT, UM, THEY, THEY, THEY READ THE SAME.

I THINK IT'S VERY IMPORTANT THAT OUR COMMUNICATION IS DIRECTLY TO S-C-D-O-T AND THEY UNDERSTAND THAT WE ARE ALSO WORKING COLLABORATIVELY AND COOPERATIVELY WITH BEAUFORT COUNTY, BUT I THINK WE SHOULD

[02:05:01]

BE DIRECTING OUR ATTENTION TO COMMUNICATION WITH S-C-D-O-T, MR. BROWN.

UM, ON, ON THAT PARTICULAR TOPIC, IF MR. ORLANDO IS LOOKING FOR DIRECTION, I AGREE WITH, UH, COUNCILMAN'S, BRYSON'S, UH, IDEA OF US HAVING, UH, CONSENT THAT'S CONDITIONED WITH S-C-D-O-T, AND THERE'LL ALSO BE A MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING WITH THE COUNTY.

I'M IN AGREEMENT WITH HER AND MR. AMES ON THAT TOPIC, I WANT TO GET BACK TO FOLLOW UP ON THE, THE, THE TECHNICAL QUESTION THAT MS. BRYSON WAS ASKING.

UM, THE 121 FEET AND FOUR INCHES, I THINK YOU SAID.

UM, IS THAT THE WIDTH OF THE ORIGINAL PROPOSED BRIDGE THAT S-C-D-L-T HAD COME FORTH, UH, BEFORE OR IS THAT, HAS, OR HAS THAT BEEN ADJUSTED? THAT HAS BEEN ADJUSTED.

THIS IS THE CURRENT PROJECT, UH, WIDTH.

AND CAN YOU GIVE US ANY DETAILS AS TO WHAT THE ADJUSTMENT HAS BEEN? YEAH.

IN THE ORIGINAL PROJECT, THERE WERE TWO 10 FOOT SHOULDERS IN EACH DIRECTION.

THEY'VE BEEN REDUCED TO ONE 10 FOOT SECTION AND ONE SIX FOOT SECTION IN EACH DIRECTION.

SO THERE'S BEEN A REDUCTION OF EIGHT FEET THERE, THERE WAS TWO FEET ADDED INTO AN ORIGINAL 10 FOOT PATHWAY.

SO THERE'S A REDUCTION IN OVERALL WIDTH OF SIX FEET.

AND I AGREE WITH COUNCILWOMAN BRYSON.

UM, YOU KNOW, VISUALS MAKE A WHOLE LOT MORE SENSE THAN NUMBERS SOMETIMES.

AND IF WE ARE GOING TO BE AT SOME POINT DELIBERATING ON HOW BIG THE BRIDGE IS ACTUALLY GOING TO BE, I THINK WE NEED TO UNDERSTAND THAT CONFIDENTLY.

UM, SO ALSO IN ADDITION TO THOSE DIMENSIONS THAT Y'ALL HAVE BEEN DISCUSSING, UM, YOU, YOU, THERE ARE THESE BUMPOUTS, THE BUMPOUTS ARE 20 BY 50, CORRECT? THAT'S CORRECT.

SO THERE'S ALSO A VISUAL IMPACT, AND I ASSUME THAT'S WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT WITH REGARD TO SIZE.

THERE'S A VISUAL IMPACT OF HAVING BUMP OUTS THAT ARE 20 BY 50, SO 20 BEING ADDITIONAL WIDTH.

SO THE 1 21 4 INCHES PLUS 20 IN SEGMENTS OF THIS, UM, THIS BRIDGE.

SO KEEP THAT IN MIND, RIGHT? SO IF YOU LEAVE THE PEDESTRIAN PATH AND THE BUMP OUTS, YOU ESSENTIALLY HAVE A VISUAL IMPACT OF 32 34 FEET EXTRA FEET.

SO WHAT THEY HIGHLIGHTED, THAT'S AN ADDITIONAL VISUAL IMPACT OF 34 FEET IF THE BIKE PED PATH IS LEFT ON.

SO, UM, LET'S NOT BE CONFUSED BY, YOU KNOW, TRYING TO REDUCE THE NUMBERS.

SO IT SEEMS AS THOUGH, WHAT ARE WE ARGUING ABOUT HERE? UM, ADDITIONALLY, THE, UM, WITH THE MOST ABSOLUTE RESPECT, IF THAT ROADWAY WAS COMING THROUGH SEA PINES, I'M PRETTY SURE THIS WOULD BE A VERY DIFFERENT CONVERSATION.

SO, AND, AND, AND, AND SO I, YOU KNOW, RESPECTFULLY ASK ALL OF US TO THINK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHO'S WHO, WHO ARE WE REPRESENTING? ARE WE REPRESENTING THE BUSINESSES? ARE WE REPRESENTING THE, UM, SHORT TERM RENTAL PROPERTY MANAGERS? ARE WE REPRESENTING THE REAL ESTATE AGENTS? ARE WE REPRESENTING THE BUILDERS ASSOCIATION? ARE WE REPRESENTING THE CHAMBER? ARE WE REPRESENTING SEA PINES CORPORATION? NO, WE'RE NOT.

WE WERE ELECTED BY THE 37,000 PLUS PEOPLE WHO RESIDE ON THIS ISLAND.

THAT'S WHO VOTED US IN.

AND, UM, WE SHOULD NOT FORGET THAT BECAUSE WHETHER WE MADE A VOTE IN THE PAST AND NOW HAVE SOMEHOW CHANGED OUR MINDS, UM, OR WHATEVER THE CASE MAY BE, IT DOESN'T CHANGE THE FACT THAT WE WORK FOR THE RESIDENTS AND NOT THOSE INDIVIDUALS THAT I STATED PREVIOUSLY.

AND IF WE DO, THEN WE'RE DOING THE WRONG JOB AND WE SHOULD FIND SOMETHING ELSE TO DO BEFORE WE CAUSE TOO MUCH DAMAGE TO THE PEOPLE WHO LIVE HERE.

ALL RIGHT, COUNSEL, DO WE HAVE ANY OTHER YES, MR. TAYLOR? I JUST WANTED TO SAY THAT I AGREE WITH THE CONCEPT THAT WE HAVE TO HAVE CONDITIONS IN THE MOU WITH THE COUNTY AND THE SAME CONDITIONS IN

[02:10:01]

THE MUNICIPAL CONSENT.

IF IT'S GRANTED, I WOULD AGREE 110% WITH THAT.

AND IF, IF IT DOES GO, THERE'S GOTTA BE, UM, CONDITIONS IN REGARDS TO DESIGN FUNCTIONALITY, THE, THE IMPACT IN THE STONY AREA AND WHAT THOSE ELEMENTS ARE.

AND, AND I, AND I'M GONNA BRING THIS UP, AND THE CONVERSATIONS THAT HAVE BEEN GOING ON WITH THE FAMILIES, YOU KNOW, IN THE STONY AREA HAS BEEN GOING ON FOR MONTHS, AND THERE HAS BEEN A LOT OF CARE TAKEN.

AND MR. MR. THOMAS BOXLEY, I DON'T SEE HIM RIGHT NOW, BUT OH, THERE HE IS OVER THERE.

UM, HE HAS BEEN WORKING DILIGENTLY WITH THE GULLAH GEECHEE HISTORIC NEIGHBORHOOD COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION, SAY THAT 10 TIMES FAST.

UM, BUT HE HAS BEEN DILIGENTLY WORKING WITH THOSE FAMILIES, AND IT'S BEEN HIS RESPONSIBILITY TO, TO HAVE THOSE CONVERSATIONS AND THEY'VE GONE WELL, WOW.

AND THEY'RE, IF IT PASSES, WHAT I'VE GOTTA SEE IN THIS M-O-U-M-O-A IS NO LAND TAKEN, SHORTEN, YOU KNOW, NARROW THE MEDIAN, HAVE THE BEAUTIFICATION, CREATE OTHER OPPORTUNITIES FOR THOSE RESIDENTS.

MAINLY FIRST AND FOREMOST, IT NEEDS TO BE DONE BEFORE THE, THE ROADWAY WOULD EVER START, CREATE BETTER ACCESS TO THEIR HOMES, NOT OFF A 2 78, BUT OFF A SQUARE POPE ROAD.

YOU KNOW, WHAT, WHAT, THOSE ARE THE THINGS THAT CAN BE DONE TO IMPROVE QUALITY OF LIFE.

SO I'M HERE TO TELL YOU THAT EVERY SINGLE MEMBER ON THIS COUNCIL IN THIS DIOCESE HAS PUT, HAS GIVEN INPUT OUT HIM, MAKE CERTAIN THAT WHATEVER HAPPENS IN THAT STONY AREA IS MINIMAL AND ACTUALLY BETTER OVERALL.

AND THERE'S BEEN TALKS ABOUT OTHER ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES, UM, YOU KNOW, UH, A WELCOME CENTER, DIFFERENT THINGS TO PROMOTE THE AREA, BUT HOW CAN WE WORK WITH THE GALLAH COMMUNITY TO MAKE CERTAIN THAT THEY'RE HAVING LONG TERM AND, AND, UH, WEALTH GENERATED FROM THEIR PROPERTIES.

ALEX, UM, MR. MAYOR, UM, JUST SORT OF KEEPING IN LINES OF US, UH, TRYING TO GIVE DIRECTION HERE SO THAT WE CAN ULTIMATELY MAKE A DECISION, UM, WANTED TO, UH, MAKE SOME OTHER COMMENTS ON OTHER COMPONENTS OF THE SUMMARY THAT MR. COLIN HAS PROVIDED US.

UH, SO THE, UH, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT IS VERY GLARING IN THE, UH, LOCK MUELLER REPORT IS, YOU KNOW, THEY WERE, UH, THEY WERE ANSWERING THE CALL OF OF SAFETY, YOU KNOW, AND THAT'S ONE OF OUR GUIDING PRINCIPLES HERE.

UH, AND THE, THE KEY WORD THERE IS IMPROVE.

UM, THE, THE, THE CURRENT ALTERNATIVE HAS A NUMBER OF CONFLICT POINTS, RIGHT? AND, UH, THOSE CONFLICT POINTS ARE EVEN MORE DRAMATIC WHEN YOU START TO TALK ABOUT PEDESTRIAN TRAFFIC.

I ALSO, UH, REMEMBER, UH, MR. JARED FRE AS HE WAS SPEAKING TO THE CONTINGENCY FUND THAT IS ASSOCIATED WITH THE PROJECT.

AND I UNDERSTAND THAT WE ONLY HAD 30% IN COUNCILMAN BRYSON'S, RIGHT? WE'RE PROBABLY GONNA SEE SOME, SOME, UH, SOME CHANGES IN WHATEVER THE NUMBER IS.

BUT THE SAFETY COMPONENT, PARTICULARLY WHEN IT COMES TO PEDESTRIANS, I THINK IS IMPORTANT FOR US, UH, TO DISCUSS.

MM-HMM, , UM, THE MOU, UM, WELL, I THINK BOTH OF 'EM MAY SPEAK TO IT , BUT WE ARE NOW GIVEN DIRECTION TO MR. ORLANDO AS TO WHAT WE WOULD WANT TO SEE TO MAKE A DECISION ON.

UM, THE PEDESTRIAN PIECE IS, IS, IS CRITICAL.

AND I'M OF THE OPINION THAT IF WE ARE GOING TO HAVE DISCUSSIONS AROUND YES OR NO, UM, THE PEDESTRIAN PIECE HAS TO CHANGE.

OKAY? UM, AND THAT'S NOT JUST FOR, IF IT'S THREE LANES OR FOUR LANES, IT'S RIGHT NOW TODAY, THERE'S NO WAY THAT ANYONE WOULD FEEL SAFE CROSSING THAT ROAD, WALKING ACROSS THOSE LANES.

SO I AM PROPOSING THAT IN OUR CONDITIONS TO S-C-D-O-T THAT WE ARE TO DEVELOP, CONSTRUCT A WALKABLE OVERPASS FOR PEOPLE TO WALK ACROSS THAT HIGHWAY SAFELY.

REMEMBERING ALL THE PEOPLE IN THE COMMUNITY WE SHARE, AND TO BE A STEWARD OF THE PLACE WE CALL HOME.

THANK YOU, MAYOR.

I MIGHT, YES.

UM, I'M, I'M GOING TO READ SOME OF WHAT I SAY BECAUSE IT'S THE ONLY WAY I CAN MAKE SURE I CONVEY ALL THIS INFORMATION.

THE ACTION WE'RE ABOUT TO CONSIDER IS A ONCE IN A LIFETIME DECISION ABOUT THE FUTURE OF HILTON HEAD ISLAND.

AS AN ELECTED MEMBER OF THE TOWN COUNCIL, I FEEL THE WEIGHTY RESPONSIBILITY TO BE VERY DELIBERATE BY

[02:15:01]

WHENEVER I MAKE A DECISION, I LOOK TO CERTAIN PRINCIPLES I VALUE, AND I HOPE YOU SHARE THEM AS WELL.

THOSE PRINCIPLES OR AN EQUAL RANKING, AND ANY DECISION THAT I MAKE MUST MEET THE FOLLOWING.

TEST NUMBER ONE, I'M GLAD MR. BROWN JUST TALKED ABOUT PEDESTRIAN SAFETY.

DOES IT PROTECT THE SAFETY OF RESIDENTS, WORKFORCE, AND VISITORS? NUMBER TWO, AGAIN, THEIR EQUAL RANKING.

DOES IT RESPECT AND PROTECT THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT? NUMBER THREE, DOES IT REFLECT STEWARDSHIP OF ALL RESOURCES? NUMBER FOUR, DOES IT PROMOTE AND PROTECT THE QUALITY OF LIFE FOR ALL INHABITANTS? AND NUMBER FIVE, JUST AS IT IS, NUMBER ONE, DOES IT RESPECT THE CULTURE AND PROTECT THE LAND OF THE GULLAH GEECHEE? I HAVE FOLLOWED THIS MATTER SINCE THE 2018 REFERENDUM WAS PLACED ON THE BALLOT.

AT THAT TIME, I ASKED THE THEN TOWN MANAGER TO SEE THE PLANS FOR CONSTRUCTION OF THE PROPOSED IMPROVEMENTS TO THE 2 78 QUARTER.

THERE WERE NO PLANS SINCE THEN.

PLANS HAVE BEEN DEVELOPED BY S-E-D-O-T, AND I HAVE ATTENDED AS MANY MEETINGS AS I COULD.

I'VE REVIEWED THE MINUTES OF MEETINGS, WHICH I COULD NOT ATTEND.

I'VE WATCHED MEETINGS OF THE STATE INFRASTRUCTURE BANK WHEN THE APPLICATION FOR FUNDING WAS PRESENTED.

I'VE SPOKEN AT PUBLIC HEARINGS OF S-E-D-O-T, HAVE READ ALL OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT AND MOST OF THE APPENDICES, NOT ONCE, BUT TWICE.

LAST WEEKEND, I DID THAT AGAIN, I PROVIDED ORAL AND WRITTEN COMMENTS TO S-C-D-O-T ON BEHALF OF THE COALITION OF ISLAND NEIGHBORS.

AND ON BEHALF OF MYSELF AS AN INDIVIDUAL, I'VE REVIEWED ALTERNATIVE PLANS OF S-C-D-O-T, I'VE REVIEWED REPORTS OF CONSULTING ENGINEERS I'VE LISTENED TO AND READ COMMENTS OF RESIDENTS.

AND NOW SIT BEFORE YOU AS A TOWN COUNCIL MEMBER CHARGED WITH THIS VERY SERIOUS DECISION.

I DO NOT MAKE THIS DECISION LIGHTLY.

AND WITHOUT ACKNOWLEDGING THE NEED FOR IMPROVEMENTS, WITHOUT RECOGNIZING THE IMPASSIONED PLEAS OF THOSE AFFECTED BY THE DECISION, WITHOUT EXAMINING THE COMMENTS OF THOSE WHO ADVOCATE FOR THE VARIOUS POSITIONS ON THE PROJECT.

AND WITHOUT RECOGNIZING IT'S ONE ONCE IN A GENERATION SIGNIFICANCE.

SO NOW I TURN TO THE FIVE PART TEST I'VE DESCRIBED.

I FIRST LOOK AT THE IMPACT ON THE HISTORIC GULLAH NEIGHBORHOOD OF STONY, WHICH HAS ALWAYS BEEN A GREAT CONCERN TO ME.

I BASICALLY HAVE FOUR ISSUES.

WHAT'S THE IMPACT ON STONY? WHAT'S THE IMPACT ON THE APPEARANCE, THE AESTHETICS OF THE ISLAND AND ITS GATEWAY ENTRANCE? WHAT ABOUT SAFETY? WHAT ABOUT PERFORMANCE VERSUS COST? SO IN LOOKING AT STONY, THERE HAVE BEEN, AND THERE WILL CONTINUE TO BE SIGNIFICANT IMPACTS ON STONY, I DISAGREE WITH ON REPREHENSIBLE AND QUESTION THE LEGALITY OF THE STATEMENT BY S-E-D-O-T IN THE ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT OF THE FINDING OF NO ADVERSE EFFECT ON STONY.

IN FACT, THE FINDING WAS BASED ON THE MEETING OF THE GULLAH GEECHEE CULTURAL HERITAGE COMMISSION ON MAY 25TH, 2021.

THERE WAS NO QUORUM OF THE COMMISSION.

13 MEMBERS, ONLY TWO MEMBERS OF THE COMMISSION WERE PRESENT.

THERE WERE THREE STAFF MEMBERS FROM S-C-D-O-T AND FIVE MEMBERS PRESENT FROM SED T'S CONSULTANT, KCI, THAT'S FOUND IN APPENDIX, SORRY, IN THE ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT, APPENDIX O, THAT WAS WHAT THE BASIS OF NO ADVERSE IMPACT WAS.

IF YOU LOOK AT APPENDIX O, SECTION FOUR F COORDINATION, I READ SOME OF THIS LANGUAGE OUT MONDAY NIGHT, I'M NOT GONNA READ IT AGAIN.

AND THEN IF YOU LOOK AT APPENDIX E, ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE ANALYSIS, THAT'S WHERE I READ THE FOLLOWING LANGUAGE FROM SECTION 5.0.

STONY COMMUNITY IMPACTS.

THIS IS WHAT, THIS IS A STATEMENT MADE BY A-C-D-O-T TO MINIMIZE IMPACTS THROUGH THE STONY COMMUNITY.

AND THAT'S TO MINIMIZE THE IMPACTS, WIDENING IT THROUGH STONY.

[02:20:01]

THAT'S NOT THEIR LANGUAGE, THAT'S MINE.

THEN AS TO COMMUNITY COHESION, AND I SAID THIS THE OTHER NIGHT, THAT'S MY ONE OF MY FAVORITE PARTS, TONGUE IN CHEEK, THE RECOMMENDED PREFERRED ALTERNATIVE, FOUR A WOULD NOT DISRUPT COMMUNITY COHESION CAUSING ISOLATION OR ALTERING OR HINDERING ACCESS TO COMMUNITY SERVICES AND FACILITIES.

ADDITIONALLY, THE PROJECT WOULD ULTIMATELY IMPROVE COMMUNITY COHESION THROUGHOUT THE US TWO TO 78 CORRIDOR BY PROVIDING A MULTI-USE PATH LANDSCAPING IMPROVED SIGNAGE, AS WELL AS IMPROVING ACCESS TO COMMERCIAL, RESIDENTIAL, AND RECREATIONAL PROJECT PROPERTIES.

THE PROJECT WILL INCLUDE THE CONSTRUCTION OF AN OPEN AIR PAVILION TO HIGHLIGHT THE HISTORY, AT LEAST S-C-D-O-T OWES THE STONY COMMUNITY AN APOLOGY, AND I APOLOGIZE THAT THERE IS THIS ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT BEFORE US WITH THAT KIND OF LANGUAGE, I, I, I'M SORRY.

THE CONTINUOUS EXPANSIONS, PLURAL OF BUSINESS 2 78 THROUGH STONY HAVE SEPARATED FAMILIES, DIVIDED THE COMMUNITY IN HALF, DESTROYED BUSINESSES AND ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES, AND CREATED GRAVE DANGERS TO PEDESTRIANS.

I DON'T KNOW WHETHER MR. BARNWELL, MR. THOMAS C BARNELL JR.

IS HERE OR LISTENING ONLINE, BUT HE TOLD ME, AND I FULLY BELIEVE HIM, SEVEN COMMUNITY MEMBERS IN STONY WERE KILLED WHILE CROSSING 2 78.

AND I'M GOING TO READ THEIR NAMES.

ANN GREEN, JOE FORD, JIMMY MURRAY, WALTER HOLMES LO LAW, AND TWO UNNAMED MEMBERS.

HE DIDN'T KNOW THEIR NAMES OF THE HISPANIC COMMUNITY WHO LIVED IN THAT AREA.

THE EXPANSION OF 2 78 IS AND WILL CONTINUE TO BE DANGEROUS BY DESIGN, AS DESCRIBED BY SMART GROWTH AMERICA IN ITS 2021 PUBLICATION, LOOKING AT 10 YEARS OF HISTORY OF PEDESTRIANS BEING KILLED.

AND THAT'S IN SUPPORT OF THE NATIONAL COMPLETE STREETS COALITION.

THE EXPANSIONS OF 2 78 CREATE A WIDE, DIVISIVE AND HEAVILY TRAFFICKED ROAD, WHICH SEPARATES THE HISTORIC GULLAH NEIGHBORHOOD OF STONY.

AND ACCORDING TO ANOTHER PUBLICATION OF SMART GROWTH, DESIGN IS DIVIDED BY DESIGN.

WE MUST RECOGNIZE THAT THIS PROPOSED PROJECT IS AN OPPORTUNITY TO REIMAGINE A ROADWAY RATHER THAN ONE TO FURTHER DIVIDE AN ENDANGERED COMMUNITY.

WE HAVE A DUTY TO ADDRESS THE POWER IMPACTS AND IMPROVE THE STONY NEIGHBORHOOD.

IT IS NOT DONE BY MERELY ADDING SIGNAGE, A PAVILION, AND AN ONLINE INTERACTIVE MAP AS PROPOSED BY S-E-D-O-T AND THE ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT IN THE ESTONIA INITIATIVE AREA PLAN ADOPTED BY THE TOWN ON MARCH 4TH, 2003, SEVERAL INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENTS WERE LISTED AS GOALS.

THOSE INCLUDE IMPROVING SAFETY CONDITIONS FOR PEDESTRIANS BY CONSTRUCTING A PEDESTRIAN OVERPASS.

THIS IS MY COLLEAGUE MR. BROWN MENTIONED, WHICH I WHOLEHEARTEDLY SUPPORT HAVING LANDSCAPE MEDIANS FOR PEDESTRIAN REFUGE AND SETTING BACK PATHWAYS.

THE PLAN ALSO STATES THAT WIDENING 2 78 STONY SHOULD NOT BE A GIVEN.

SO, SO I SAY YES TO SUPPORT THE STONY NEIGHBORHOOD BY INSISTING ON NO EXPANSION OF TRAVEL OR OTHER LANES WITHIN STONY.

AND I DON'T AGREE TO EXTEND THE PAVEMENT WITHIN EXISTING RIGHT OF WAY BY INCLUDING OVERHEAD CROSSINGS, BY REPLACING CONCRETE WITH LANDSCAPE MEDIANS AND PEDESTRIAN REFUGE BY SETTING BACK PATHWAYS AND PROVIDING EQUAL AND SAFE ACCESS TO HOMES AND BUSINESSES.

AND BY RETURNING GULLAH LAND FOR ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY TO PRESERVE AND PROTECT THE CULTURE OF THIS AND FUTURE GENERATIONS IN CONCERT WITH THE PLANS OF THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION.

NEXT IN ANSWER, AND I WON'T BE AS LONG ON THESE NEXT PARTS, IN ANSWER TO THE QUESTION ABOUT RESPECT FOR AND PROTECT PROTECTION OF THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT, I SAY YES TO PROTECTING THE TREE LINE ENTRANCE TO HOG JENKINS AND HILTON NET ISLANDS BY NO EXPANSION OF ANY PAVED AREAS EXCEPT FOR SAFE BIKE AND PEDESTRIAN PATHWAYS BY PROTECTING TOWN ON LAND FROM S-E-D-O-T RIGHT OF EXPANSION.

IN ADDITION, THE BRIDGE DESIGN MUST HONOR THE ENVIRONMENT WHILE ADDRESSING SAFETY CONCERNS, AND THAT REQUIRES CONSENT OF THE DESIGN ELEMENTS BY THE TOWN COUNCIL.

IN ANSWER THE QUESTION ABOUT PROTECTING THE SAFETY OF RESIDENTS, WORKFORCE AND

[02:25:01]

VISITORS, I SAY YES TO REPLACING THE BRIDGESPAN OVER MACKEY CREEK.

I'VE NEVER SAID NO.

BUILD THE COMPARISON OF NO BUILD IN ALL THE DOCUMENTS WE'VE BEEN PROVIDED IS INACCURATE.

WE'VE ALWAYS KNOWN WE NEED TO REPLACE THAT SPAN AND ALSO SAY YES TO BUILDING NEW SPANS AT THE SAME TIME, IT MAKES MORE SENSE TO DO IT AT THE SAME TIME, THEN THEY'LL HAVE THE SAME USEFUL LIFE AND, AND BE BUILT TO CURRENT STANDARDS, SAFER STANDARDS PROVIDED.

HOWEVER, I'M NOT IN FAVOR OF EXPANDING THE WIDTH OF THE BRIDGES.

I THINK TWO TRAVEL LANES AND A BREAKDOWN LANE, WHICH WE DON'T HAVE NOW, AND ONE SHOULDER IN EACH DIRECTION.

AND THAT WILL REDUCE THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT.

AND GUESS WHAT? IT'LL REDUCE THE COST.

WE NOW HAVE A LARGE GAP, AND AS I SAID, THE TOWN MUST HAVE APPROVAL OF THE DESIGN ELEMENTS OF THE BRIDGE.

SO IT LOOKS BETTER THAN A BUNCH OF JERSEY BARRIERS AND THAT CONSTRUCTION BE DONE TO PROTECT THE CAUSEWAY PORTIONS.

I'M VERY CONCERNED ABOUT THE PURPOSE AND NEED OF S-E-D-O-T BEING TO INCREASE CAPACITY, WHICH HAS NOW SOMEHOW BEEN COMBINED WITH THE OTHER INITIAL PURPOSE TO REDUCE CONGESTION SO THAT NOW IT ONLY TALKS ABOUT REDUCING CONGESTION.

IN APPENDIX B OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT, THERE IS A TRAFFIC REPORT, WHICH INCLUDES DETAILED ANALYSIS OF TRAFFIC VOLUMES, TRASH DATA, WHICH WE WERE NOT PROVIDED MONDAY NIGHT.

THE HEAT MAP ON CRASH DATA SHOWS, AND THIS IS FROM TECHNICAL MEMORANDUM, PHASE ONE, TRAFFIC REPORT 5.0 CRASH ANALYSIS ON THE S-E-D-O-T WEBSITE.

IT, THE HEAT MAP SHOWS THAT MOST ACCIDENTS OCCUR AT THE STOPLIGHTS IN MOSS CREEK STOPLIGHTS AT SQUARE POPE, AND THE STOPLIGHT, SORRY, STOPLIGHT AT SPANISH WELLS WILD FOREST.

THE OTHER AREAS OF TRA THE HIGHER TRAFFIC INCIDENTS ARE ON THE TURNS ON PINKNEY ISLAND AND WINDMILL HARBOR.

IT'S NOT, THERE ARE ACCIDENTS ON THE BRIDGES AND WE NEED A BREAKDOWN LANE, BUT THE HIGH INSTANCE OF TRA UH CRASHES IS LOCATED AT STOPLIGHTS AND THAT PING THE ISLAND TURN.

SO LOOKING AT THE AVERAGE, UH, ANNUAL AVERAGE DAILY TRAFFIC, THE INFORMATION, UM, IN THE S-E-D-O-T TRAFFIC REPORTS ON THEIR WEBSITE, SAY THE A A DT OR AVERAGE, I'M SORRY, ANNUAL AVERAGE DAILY TRAFFIC IN 2017 WAS 56,300 AND SAYS THREE LANES PER DIRECTION ARE NEEDED TO MEET THE 24 5 TRAFFIC LEVEL OF SERVICE.

NOW, I KNOW THEY USED A DIFFERENT GROWTH MODEL THAN LOCK MUELLER DID, BUT GET THIS, WE NEED THOSE LANES IN ORDER TO MEET THE MOBILITY NEEDS OF 78,500 AS AN INCREASE OF OVER 20,000 ANNUAL AVERAGE DAILY TRAFFIC.

AND THAT'S NOT PEAK HOUR.

THE REPORT, HOWEVER, CONCLUDES THAT EVEN WITH THE ADDITION OF LANES AT THE SIGNALED INTERSECTIONS OF 2 78 AT SQUIRE, POPE AND SPANISH WELLS ROAD, THERE WILL ONLY BE LEVEL OF SERVICE E AND I THINK THAT'S NOT GOOD ENOUGH.

AND 24 5, BUT GOES ON TO SAY, GUESS WHAT LEVEL E IS ACCEPTABLE.

AND IN OUR 15 STRATEGIES, ONE OF OUR STRATEGIES IS TO, TO ADDRESS ADDRESS GROWTH MANAGEMENT.

WE NEED TO GET ON THE STICK ABOUT THAT.

AND WHAT I WANNA KNOW IS, AFTER SPENDING NEARLY A HALF A BILLION DOLLARS PLUS, DO WE WANNA ACCOMMODATE A CAPACITY OF 78,500 AVERAGE DAILY TRAFFIC COUNT? IN RESPONSE TO THE QUESTION OF STEWARDSHIP OF RESOURCES, I SAY YES TO REDUCING THE SIZE OF THE BRIDGES AND EXPANSION OF LANES IN ORDER TO FILL THE LARGE GAP IN FUNDING, BE MORE FISCALLY RESPONSIBLE IN THE COST OF THE PROJECT.

LET'S, FOR HEAVEN'S SAKE, ADDRESS THE CAUSEWAYS OVER ADDING LANES AND PLACE THE VALUE ON THE COST EXPENDED ON THE QUALITY OF THE RESULTS INSTEAD OF WHAT WE'VE BEEN GIVEN.

AND SO, BASED UPON THE FOLLOWING, FOLLOWING, I PROPOSE THAT WE DO THE FOLLOWING.

I PROPOSE THAT WE PROVIDE CONDITIONAL MUNICIPAL CONSENT, AND HERE ARE THE FOLLOWING CONDITIONS INCLUDE A STONY IMPROVEMENT PLAN BY REDUCING THE PROPOSED NUMBER AND SIZE OF LANES.

SO NO INCREASE IN THE PAVED AREA FOR PEDESTRIANS

[02:30:01]

TO CROSS BY, INCLUDING SAFE PEDESTRIAN AND BICY BICYCLIST CROSSINGS, INCLUDING AT LEAST ONE OVERPASS.

AND AFTER LOOKING AT IT AGAIN, WE NEED TWO.

WE NEED A PEDESTRIAN OVERPASS AT THE INTERSECTION OF SPANISH WELLS IN 2 78 BECAUSE I AS A PEDESTRIAN AND BICYCLIST WILL NEVER CROSS THAT AREA AGAIN.

I'VE, I'VE DONE IT A NUMBER OF TIMES AND WON'T DO IT.

WE NEED TO REPLACE THE CONCRETE PAVED MEDIANS WITH LANDSCAPE MEDIANS EXCEPT FOR WHERE TURN LANES ARE ABSOLUTELY NEEDED.

WE NEED IMPROVED AN ACCE SAFE ACCESS TO ALL GULLAH PROPERTIES AND GULLAH BUSINESSES, NO TAKING OF GULLAH PROPERTY DRAINAGE IMPROVEMENTS TO PREVENT FLOODING ON THE PROPERTIES ADJACENT TO 2 78.

WE NEED TO INCORPORATE THE MKSK PLANS FOR STONY.

AND HERE'S A REALLY CRITICAL PART.

WHENEVER THESE PROJECTS ARE DONE, SOME THINGS ARE LEFT TO THE VERY END, LIKE LANDSCAPING, LIKE SAFE PEDESTRIAN ACCESS, AND LIKE OTHER KINDS OF PROMISES MADE, CONSTRUCTION KEEPS GOING UP AND UP AND UP AND YOU GET TO THE END AND YOU SAY, WELL, GUESS WHAT? WE CAN'T PUT IN THAT LANDSCAPING.

WE CAN'T PUT IN THE PEDESTRIAN OVERPASS.

SO WE NEED TO INCLUDE WITHIN THE PROJECT COST AN ESCROW ACCOUNT OF AT LEAST $10 MILLION FOR THOSE STONY IMPROVEMENTS.

WE NEED TO INCLUDE A PEDESTRIAN BICYCLIST SAFETY PLAN.

THERE ISN'T ONE NOW, I DON'T KNOW OF A ROAD SAFETY AUDIT.

WE NEED TO HAVE THAT.

AND, AND THERE'S A LIST OF THE THINGS I'VE TALKED ABOUT BEFORE.

SAFE REFUGES, OVERPASSES REDUCING THE PRO NUMBER OF PROPOSED LANES BECAUSE IN DANGEROUS BY DESIGN, WHEN YOU INCREASE THE NUMBER OF LANES FOR A PEDESTRIAN CROSS INCREASES THE LIKELIHOOD OF FATALITY.

WE NEED TO INCLUDE AESTHETIC AND DESIGN ELEMENTS.

LANDSCAPE MEETINGS, I'VE MENTIONED THAT A COUPLE TIMES.

MKS DESIGNS, REDUCING THE SIZE OF THE BRIDGE AND HAVING BRIDGE DESIGN AND QUARTER ENTRANCE ELEMENTS APPROVED ACCORDING TO THE HILTON HEAD ISLAND DESIGN REVIEW BOT GUIDELINES AND MUST BE APPROVED BY THE TOWN COUNCIL.

ALL COSTS WITHIN THE PROJECT BUDGET.

AND WE CAN MAKE CURRENTLY SOME IMPROVEMENTS TO OUR TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT SYSTEM, ONE OF WHICH IS TO INCLUDE THAT WINDMILL HARBOR IN THE ADAPTIVE TRAFFIC SIGNAL SYSTEM.

AND LET'S TEST THE TIME OF DAY LIMITATIONS ON LEFT TURNS.

LET'S CLOSE THOSE DANGEROUS LEFT TURNS ON PINKNEY ISLAND.

LET'S NOW REDUCE THE SPEED LIMIT THROUGHOUT THE PROJECT AREA TO 40, NO MORE THAN 40 MILES PER HOUR.

SLOW THE TRAFFIC DOWN, LET'S IMPROVE THE PERFORMANCE IN THE INTERSECTIONS.

LET'S INCLUDE PLANS TO ADDRESS STORM SURGES ON THE CAUSEWAYS AND LET'S ADDRESS THAT BOTTLENECK OF MERGER WHEN YOU COME OFF THE CROSS ISLAND, UH, PARKWAY.

SO MY LAST QUESTION IS, WHAT IS THE MEASURE OF PERFORMANCE? IS IT LEVEL OF SERVICE? IS IT SAVING TIME? AND HOW MUCH TIME DO WE SAVE FOR HALF A BILLION DOLLARS? OR IS IT MEETING THE THREE GUIDING PRINCIPLES ADOPTED BY THE TOWN COUNCIL? THANKS TO THAT INITIAL CORRIDOR COMMITTEE, ONE OF WHICH IS FIX THE TRAFFIC, UH, FIX THE TRANSPORTATION ISSUES IN THE COURT IN A WAY THAT IMPROVES THE SAFETY AND QUALITY OF LIFE FOR ALL RESIDENTS, WORKERS, INVESTORS.

NUMBER TWO, IMPROVE THE SAFETY AND QUALITY OF LIFE WHERE THE RESIDENTS OF THE NEIGHBORHOODS AND BUSINESSES DIRECTLY IMPACTED BY US 2 78 QUARTER, MOST OF WHICH IS IN THE STONY AREA.

AND FINALLY HAVE A GATEWAY TO AND FROM HILTON ISLAND THAT THE REGION WILL BE PROUD OF.

AND CERTAINLY THAT WE WILL BE.

I'M COMMITTED TO MAKING THE BEST DECISION POSSIBLE BASED ON THE FIVE TEST STANDARD I'VE LISTED AND ALL THOSE PRINCIPLES.

AND MAYOR, I KNOW THAT'S A LONG LIST.

I PROVIDED THIS LIST TO OTHER COUNCIL MEMBERS, TO THE TOWN MANAGER, AND I HOPE WE CAN WORK TOWARDS SOME TYPE OF CONDITIONAL CONSENT, WHICH INCLUDES THOSE KEY ELEMENTS SO THAT WE CAN, CAN MAINTAIN FUNDING, IMPROVE THE CONDITIONS, AND HAVE SOMETHING WE WILL BE PROUD OF.

THE WAY, ADOPTED IN 2003, BY THE WAY, ADOPTED IN 2003.

THANK YOU MATTHEW.

MR. BROWN.

THANK YOU, MR. MAYOR.

UM, I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN THAT COUNCILMAN BRYSON WOULD'VE READ ESTONIA INITIATIVE PLAN, UM, ADOPTED IN 2003, BY

[02:35:01]

WHAT IS IT? THE STONY INITIATIVE PLAN 20 YEARS AGO.

MOST OF WHAT SHE JUST DESCRIBED IS IN THAT INITIATIVE PLAN.

AND THE QUESTION BECOMES WHERE ARE THE RESULTS FROM THAT? IT'S UM, IT'S VERY INTERESTING, SOME OF THE STUFF THAT'S IN THAT PLAN.

PAGE 26 SPEAKS TO THE ACTION ITEM OF AN OVERPASS.

BY THE WAY, THE STONY NEIGHBORHOOD IS SITUATED IN ONE OF THE BEST YET AT THE SAME TIME, WORST AREAS OF THE ISLAND IN REGARDS TO POTENTIAL FOR REDEVELOPMENT.

I'M MAKING THESE STATEMENTS BECAUSE I WANNA SUPPORT IDEAS THAT WOULD BE INCLUDED IN THE MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING AND THE CONDITIONAL CONSENT.

ONE OF THE KEY COMPONENTS THAT WERE MISSING FROM THIS PLAN WAS MONEY.

THE TOWN INVESTED A LOT OF MONEY IN BUYING PROPERTY IN THE STONY AREA, BUT THEY DID NOT INVEST THE INFRASTRUCTURE FOR REDEVELOPMENT, AS WE HAVE STATED HERE.

SO I AGREE WITH COUNCILWOMAN BRYSON, THAT WE NEED TO BE VERY, VERY SPECIFIC ABOUT FUNDING OPPORTUNITY TO GET THIS DONE.

SHE SAID $10 MILLION.

I'M ALSO SUGGESTING THAT A TIF DISTRICT IS INCLUDED AND NOT JUST TALK ABOUT A TIF DISTRICT, BUT EMPLOY A TIF DISTRICT WITHIN A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF TIME.

I ALSO THINK THAT THE INVESTMENT THAT THE TOWN HAS MADE IN BUYING PROPERTY IN THAT AREA, THAT WE USE THAT PROPERTY TO ACCOMPLISH SOME OF THE GOALS THAT SHE HAS SUGGESTED.

SAFE ACCESS TO RESIDENTS AND BUSINESSES, INCREASED INFRASTRUCTURE AND SO ON.

AND WE MAY ARGUE ABOUT HOW WE BOUGHT THE LAND AND WHAT THE LAND WAS BOUGHT FOR.

WE HAVE ENOUGH LAND IN ESTONIA AREA THAT IS UNRESTRICTED FOR US TO ACCOMPLISH THESE GOALS.

AND IT WOULD, IT IS PROBABLY EASIER TO DO NOW THAN IT WAS BEFORE BECAUSE THE TOWN DIDN'T OWN MOST OF THE PROPERTY WHEN THIS PLAN WAS ADOPTED.

I WANNA MAKE SURE EVERYBODY UNDERSTANDS THAT IT WAS A PROMISE MADE AND THERE WAS INTENT IN PURCHASING PROPERTY AND WE DID NOT MAKE A REALITY OF WHAT WE HAD PROMISED.

HERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO FIX THAT.

SO I SUPPORT MS. BRYSON AND MANY OF WHAT SHE SAID, BUT IN PARTICULAR, THE FUNDING PIECE NEEDS TO BE AVAILABLE.

THE OVERPASS NEEDS TO BE AVAILABLE AND THE CONVEYANCE OF THE LAND BACK TO THE COMMUNITY FOR THE PURPOSES OF REDEVELOPMENT, UH, PUTTING STONY BACK TOGETHER NEEDS TO BE IN THIS, UH, AGREEMENT.

THANK YOU MR. BROWNS OTHER COMMENTS BY COUNCIL MS. BECKER BECKER? I DO.

AND THEY'RE NOT GONNA BE QUITE AS ELOQUENT AND I AM.

I APPRECIATE AND RESPECT EVERYTHING THAT I'VE HEARD.

AND PATSY, YOU'VE DONE A REMARKABLE JOB AND I WANT TO COMMEND YOU ON, UM, YOUR THOUGHTFUL RESEARCH AND ORGANIZATION, UM, MUCH OF WHICH, UM, I WOULD SAY MYSELF AND AGREE WITH.

I DO HAVE A QUESTION.

UM, I HAVE A NUMBER OF THINGS, BUT I DO HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT THESE CONDITIONS THOUGH.

UM, IT'S GONNA TAKE A WHILE FOR US TO PUT THOSE CONDITIONS TOGETHER, IF THEY WERE, IF THAT WAS THE APPROACH WE WANTED TO TAKE.

BUT GIVEN THE CONVERSATION THAT WE HAD WITH REGARD TO, UM, IT'S A BINARY CHOICE, YOU EITHER TO ACCEPTING OUR SIX LANE BRIDGE, UNI BRIDGE OR NO.

ONE OF THE CONDITIONS THAT I HEARD PER PATSY MENTION THAT I AGREE WITH AND UM, IS THAT IT HAS TO, WE HAVE TO REMOVE ONE OF THOSE LANES EACH DIRECTION.

SO IT'S FOUR TRAVEL LANES,

[02:40:01]

IT'S ONE BREAKDOWN LANE LANG.

UM, WHAT HAPPENS IF THAT'S AN UNMOVABLE CONDITION? YEAH, AS I, AS I MENTIONED EARLIER, THAT IF THE, UM, IF, IF YOU'RE NOT GONNA APPROVE THE PROJECT AS DEFINED RIGHT NOW WITH SIX LANES ON THE BRIDGE, THEN YOU ARE NOT APPROVING, YOU'RE NOT PROVIDING MUNICIPAL CONSENT FOR THAT PROJECT.

SO ANY CONDITIONS THAT WE SHOULD SUGGEST, UM, AREN'T NECESSARILY, I MEAN, THERE'S NO NEGOTIATION IS WHAT YOU'RE TELLING ME.

IF, IF A COUN COUNCIL OR COUNCIL MEMBER'S POSITION IS FOUR LANES ON THE BRIDGE, THEN THEY'RE NOT IN SUPPORT OF CONSENT FOR THE PROPERTY.

I DON'T THINK WE CAN MOVE FORWARD WITHOUT AN KNOWING THAT ANSWER.

I JUST WANNA MAKE THAT CLEAR.

YES MA'AM.

WHILE WE'RE DOING THE GOOD WORK THAT WE'RE DOING, WE HAVE, WE HAVE CONDITIONS, RIGHT? WE HAVE COMPROMISE TO MAKE CORRECT.

I HAVE COMPROMISE TO MAKE, I'D ACCEPT TWO LANES, UM, EACH WAY IN A BREAKDOWN LANE.

THE TWO LANES WITH THE NEW BRIDGES PROVIDE SAFETY.

THE TWO LANES MAINTAINS THE INTEGRITY OF OUR, UH, WHO WE ARE.

AND THE BREAKDOWN LANE GIVES US SPACE FOR FOLKS TO BE ABLE TO MOVE OVER IF THERE WAS AN ACCIDENT OR SOME REPAIR THAT NEEDED TO BE DONE SO THAT WE DIDN'T HAVE THE TIME DELAYS FOR FOLKS TO COME TO WORK, ET CETERA, BECAUSE OF AN ACCIDENT.

AND THIRDLY, THAT THIRD LANE MAXIMUM WIDTH OF 10 FEET, WHICH I THINK IS THE MINIMUM WIDTH YOU CAN HAVE FOR A TRAVEL LANE COULD IN THE EVENT OF AN EVACUATION FROM THE ISLAND, PROVIDES SIX LANES OFF.

AND THAT'S IT.

UM, MANY OF THE, UM, ISSUES AS YOU'RE COMING ONTO THE ISLAND THAT HAVE BEEN MENTIONED, UM, I CAN, I CAN DISCUSS SOME, I CAN'T.

UM, SOME OF THE, UM, THOUGHTS AROUND SOME STATEMENTS THAT I'VE HEARD THAT WITH REGARD TO THE NEGOTIATIONS OR WHATEVER THEY ARE THAT'S BEEN HAPPENING IN LIVING ROOMS, ET CETERA, THAT TOWN COUNCIL HAS BEEN AWARE OF.

ONLY RECENTLY HAVE WE BEEN MADE AWARE OF THE EFFORTS BY THE CDC, THAT HISTORICAL, UM, GULLAH GEECHEE CORPORATION, UM, HAVE BEEN MADE, UH, HAVE NOTICED, BEEN NOTICED TO US.

BUT I FIND IT INTERESTING THAT WHEN YOU HAVE A COMMUNITY WHO SAID NO, THAT WE'RE SENDING FOLKS IN TO TRY TO CONVINCE THEM TO SAY YES.

AND I AM VERY BOTHERED BY THAT .

UM, AND SO I NEED TO SAY THAT OUT LOUD AS WELL.

WE TALK ABOUT AS ONE OF THE, UM, ONE OF THE THREE GUIDING PRINCIPLES COMING OUT OF THAT CORRIDOR, UM, COMMITTEE ORIGINALLY WAS WITH REGARD TO QUALITY OF LIFE, NEED TO STOP AND TALK ABOUT THE QUALITY OF LIFE, RIGHT? SO THERE'S DIFFERENT TYPES OF QUALITY OF LIFE.

SOME MAY SAY IT'S QUALITY.

MY QUALITY OF LIFE IS, IS HARMED IF I CAN'T GET SOMEONE TO CUT MY GRASS OR CLEAN MY TOILETS OR SERVE ME FOOD.

IT'S NOT THE WAY I LOOK AT QUALITY OF LIFE.

I LOOK AT QUALITY OF LIFE AS, CAN YOU STAND OUTSIDE IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD AND FEEL AT PEACE? CAN YOU DRIVE DOWN THE ROAD WITHOUT THE CONGESTED TRAFFIC OF ALL THE ADDITIONAL CARS THAT MIGHT COME OVER? DO I HAVE QUALITY OF LIFE WHEN I LOOK AROUND AND I SEE THE DAMAGE TO THE ENVIRONMENT? I THINK THE ANSWER FOR MOST OF THOSE WHO CALL HILTON HEAD HOME IS NO.

THOSE ARE THE QUALITY OF LIFE ISSUES THAT WE'RE REFERRING TO.

AND SO THE RUSH TO BE ABLE TO SAVE UP TO 15 MINUTES SO WE CAN GET PEOPLE HERE TO DO THOSE TESTS THAT WE DON'T WANT TO DO, THERE'S NO VALUE IN THAT AT FIVE, HALF A BILLION DOLLARS.

THAT DOESN'T CHANGE THE QUALITY OF LIFE THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT.

AND SO THERE'S NO VALUE IN THAT.

UM, THE IMPACTS ARE REAL FOR STONY AND THE IMPACTS OF THIS BRIDGE AS IT'S BEING DICTATED TO US ARE REAL FOR EACH AND EVERY ONE OF US AND OUR QUALITY OF LIFE.

SO ADDITIONALLY TO THAT, I HEAR A LOT OF EXTRA COSTS BUILDING UP AND WE HAD A GREAT SUMMARY EARLY ON ABOUT THE, UM, COSTS AND THE MONIES AVAILABLE AND THE NEED FOR, UM, COMING UP WITH ADDITIONAL MONIES.

UM, AND NOW I'M HERE ADDITIONAL MONEY, WHICH WE ALL KNEW WE TALKED ABOUT THIS MONDAY, UM, WOULD COME ALONG.

I DON'T KNOW WHOSE POCKETS ARE DEEP AND, AND AS AND AS GOOD AS OUR SENATOR IS, HOW HE'S GONNA COME UP WITH ALL THAT MONEY.

[02:45:01]

UM, SO THOSE ARE JUST SOME OF MY THOUGHTS.

CAPACITY.

ALAN, MAYOR, YOU MENTIONED THAT EARLIER AND YOU HAD THOSE FIVE POINTS THAT YOU, THAT YOU MENTIONED THAT WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON SOME OF WHICH HAVE HIT ROADBLOCKS, BUT, UM, THAT WE CAN KEEP WORKING ON THAT WILL HELP TO ALLEVIATE THE PROBLEMS ON THIS ISLAND.

WE NEED TO DO THAT FIRST.

WE NEED TO DO THAT FIRST BEFORE WE SAY THERE'S NO OTHER ALTERNATIVE.

WE HAVE ALTERNATIVES TO A SIX LANE BRIDGE AND WE HAVE DONE NOTHING TO REALLY MAKE SURE THAT WE GET THOSE IMPLEMENTED.

TALK ABOUT THE SECOND BRIDGE THAT'S IN EVERY ONE OF THESE, UM, UM, DOCUMENTS AND LATS TALKS ABOUT THAT MIGHT TAKE 20 YEARS.

WELL, WE ALSO HEARD THAT THE REHAB LIFE OF ANY ONE OF THE BRIDGE IF WE WANTED TO JUST REHAB, WOULD BE 10 TO 20 YEARS.

SO LET'S GET BUSY, YOU KNOW, LET'S GET BUSY ON THAT SECOND BRIDGE.

YOU'VE GOT 20 YEARS TO GET IT DONE APPARENTLY.

SO WHAT I'M SAYING IS VERY SIMPLE.

THE CONDITIONS WE CAN WORK ON ALL DAY LONG, BUT WHAT WE'VE HEARD IS THAT WE HAVE A BINARY CHOICE, WE'VE HEARD IS WE DON'T HAVE ENOUGH MONEY TO ACCOMPLISH ANY OF THIS ANYWAY.

WHAT WE'VE HEARD IS THE TIME SAVINGS TO PROVIDE THE QUALITY OF LIFE ISN'T REALLY SIGNIFICANT FOR ANYONE, REGARDLESS OF YOUR DEFINITION OF QUALITY OF LIFE.

NO ONE IS GOING TO COME TO WORK ON THIS ISLAND BECAUSE THEY SAVED 15 UP TO 15 MINUTES IN A CAR COMMUTING.

THAT'S NOT GOING TO BE WHAT CONVINCES THEM TO COME HERE.

I LONG AGO SAID AND USED OUR OWN PERSONAL LIFE.

MY HUSBAND'S AND MINE AS AN EXAMPLE, AND I KNOW IT'S NOT POPULAR, BUT HILTON HEAD IS A GREAT COMMUNITY WITH A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO ARE INCREDIBLY GENEROUS AND WHEN THEY GO OUT, SPEND A LOT OF MONEY, WOULD IT REALLY HURT IF IF EMPLOYERS PAID THEIR EMPLOYEES A LITTLE BIT MORE? WOULD IT REALLY? AND BY WAY OF EXAMPLE, WHEN WE MOVED DOWN, TOOK ABOUT A 50% PAY CUT, MY HUSBAND DID, CAME TO THE ISLAND WITH HIS SKILLS OF 50 YEARS AND EVERY CERTIFICATION AND ALL OF WHAT HE HAS DONE IN HIS CAREER CAN GET A JOB ANYWHERE.

AND I'M SURE THAT, UM, WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN A HARD THING TO DO, BUT WHEN YOU STARTED LOOKING AT WHAT THEY WERE GOING TO PAY HIM ON THE ISLAND, THAT DOESN'T, YOU, YOU JUST CAN'T DO THAT.

GO TO BUFORT AND YOU MAKE TWICE AS MUCH.

SO HE DROVE FOR SIX DAYS A WEEK UNTIL HE RECENTLY HAD, UM, UNTIL RECENTLY.

UM, BECAUSE THEY PAY MORE IN BEAUFORT.

DO YOU THINK IT'S A FUN DRIVE TO DRIVE HERE TO BEAUFORT EVERY SIX DAYS A WEEK? IT'S NOT.

SO HOPEFULLY THAT MAKES SENSE IN TERMS OF DO YOU THINK PEOPLE ARE GOING TO COME HERE BECAUSE THEY SAVE 15 MINUTES WORTH OF TIME? I THINK THEY'LL COME HERE IF THAT'S THE REAL QUESTION, BECAUSE YOU'RE PAYING THEM A FEW EXTRA DOLLARS AND I, OR GIVING THEM ADDITIONAL BENEFITS OR SOMETHING ALONG THOSE LINES THAT HILTON HAD BUSINESSES SHOULD CONSIDER DOING.

AND I'VE HEARD FROM SOME THAT THEY'VE PAID, THEY GIVE GAS CARDS THEY'VE DONE, DONE, DONE, AND THEY STILL HAVE TROUBLE, BUT THEY NEED THAT DGU SIX LANE BRIDGE.

'CAUSE THAT'S THE ONLY THING THAT'S GONNA MAKE A DIFFERENCE.

I HOPE YOU'VE ALL HEARD.

I HOPE WE'VE ALL HEARD WE HAVE WORKED TO DO BEFORE WE CAN ACCEPT OUR BINARY CHOICE.

THANK YOU, MR. THANK YOU.

MAY I ASK WHAT YOUR PLANS ARE FOR PUBLIC DISCUSSION? YEAH, ABSOLUTELY.

UM, REAL QUICK, I WANT IF I JUST ASK YOU A COUPLE QUICK QUESTIONS AND I'LL COME TO THAT AND THEN ONE OTHER THING.

UM, SO CAN YOU ADDRESS THE, IF IT'S A NO VOTE, WHAT THAT MEANS FOR THE STONY ENHANCEMENT? WELL, AGAIN, IF IT'S A NO VOTE, THEN THE CURRENT PROJECT AND THE FUNDING OKAY.

IS REALLOCATED.

I, I CAN'T SPEAK TO THE REFERENDUM MONEY BECAUSE I THINK THAT'S A LEGAL QUESTION ON WHERE BUFORT COUNTY COULD UTILIZE THOSE FUNDS.

AND I KNOW WE'VE TALKED ABOUT FUNDING IN GENERAL.

GRANTS FROM THE FEDS OR THE STATE OR WHATEVER ELSE.

UM, THE PROCESS AS I UNDERSTAND IT, TO MAKE UP THAT DELTA IS, WHICH IS, I I DON'T AGREE WITH, BUT YOU'VE GOTTA HAVE PLANS IN PLACE THEN YOU CAN GO OUT AND FIND THOSE DIFFERENT, UH, SOURCES OF FUNDING, THE ADDITIONAL SOURCES, WHETHER IT BE

[02:50:01]

SO IF YOU COULD JUST, YOU KNOW, YEAH.

THAT THAT IS CORRECT, CORRECT.

IF I'M WRONG ON THAT, IF THE PROJECT IS ABLE TO ADVANCE, UM, UH, SECURING THE GAP IN FUNDING THAT'S CURRENTLY 180 OR $90 MILLION CAN MOVE FORWARD, UM, THERE, IT DOESN'T MAKE SENSE TO TRY TO SECURE THE PROJECT BUDGET IN ADVANCE OF WHETHER OR NOT IT'S GONNA BREAK FORWARD.

UM, SO, SO, UM, CAN I CLARIFY WITH HIM? CAN I, CAN I ASK A QUESTION? SURE.

BECAUSE THE REFERENDUM, THE 28 PERSONAL PRIVILEGE.

YES, YOU CAN.

OH, I'M SORRY.

OH, I THOUGHT YOU WERE GONNA GO TO THE RESTROOM.

WE'RE ALL GONNA GO TO THE RESTROOM.

, I WAS GONNA TAKE A BREAK IN A MINUTE.

OH, OKAY.

WELL, I WASN'T SURE HOW LONG IT TAKES .

GO AHEAD.

IS THAT A QUESTION GONNA TAKE? OKAY, SO JUST POINT OF CLARIFICATION, PLEASE.

I THOUGHT I WOULD AND I, I APPRECIATED THE QUESTION, RIGHT, BECAUSE WE HAVE BEEN WORKING FOR QUITE SOME TIME NOW ON ROAD IMPROVEMENTS, IMPORTANT ROAD IMPROVEMENTS TO CREATE A PARKWAY ON THIS ISLAND.

AND THAT DOES INCLUDE OBVIOUSLY STONY BECAUSE WE'RE ONE COMMUNITY IN ONE ISLAND AND IT SHOULD LOOK LIKE THAT.

SO WE'VE LONG BEEN TALKING ABOUT THAT, BUT IN AND WHEN IT NEEDS TO BE DONE, LET'S KEEP THAT DISCUSSION.

IT'S ANOTHER 2018 REFERENDUM, COUNTY REFERENDUM.

THE PROJECT DESCRIPTION THAT WAS APPROVED WAS TO REPAIR AND OR REPLACE THE EXISTING SPANS OF THE BRIDGES IN HILTON HEAD ISLAND AND OTHER IMPROVEMENTS BETWEEN MOSS CREEK AND SQUARE POPE ROAD.

SO WHY WOULDN'T THOSE MONIES THAT WE APPROVED BE AVAILABLE TO ENHANCE STONY AS A START? YEAH.

DID I MISUNDERSTAND THAT YOU THAT NO, I, I'M SAYING THERE WOULD NEED TO BE A DECISION MADE ON WHERE THOSE, WHAT PROJECTS THOSE FUNDS, , BUT THOSE AREN'T OUR DECISIONS.

I MEAN, WE VOTED ON THAT, THAT WAS WHAT THE, THE VOTE WAS TO REPAIR OR LEMME ASK THIS QUESTION MAYBE A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENTLY.

SURE, PLEASE DO.

UM, FOR THE, UM, MACKEY'S CREEK, IF, IF IT'S A NO VOTE AND THERE'S $80 MILLION, DOT IS GONNA UTILIZE WHAT FUNDS FIRST.

I UNDERSTAND THAT THEIR ALLOCATION OF THE 74 AND A HALF MILLION DOLLARS THAT THEY PLEDGED TOWARD THE PROJECT, IT'S THEIR BRIDGE.

THEY WOULD REPLACE THE BRIDGE, BUT IT COMES AFTER OUR 80 MILLION.

I, I DON'T BELIEVE SO.

UM, BUT THAT A QUESTION.

WE, WE JUST NEED TO FIND THAT OUT.

YEAH, WE WILL.

AND YOU KNOW, FROM WHAT I, WHAT WHAT I HEARD FROM SEAN IS THAT IF IT'S NOT BASED OFF OF MRS. BECKER'S QUESTION, THAT IF IF IT IS NOT UP TO THE PROJECT THEN AND IT'S TURNED DOWN, THEN IT'S, YOU KNOW, THEN IT DOESN'T MEET THE, THE CURRENT, UM, PROJECT.

AND IF I COULD HELP AND, AND WE WILL FIND OUT.

I THINK IT'S ALSO A BUFORT COUNTY QUESTION BECAUSE THE BUFORT COUNTY WAS THE ONE WHO REALLY RIGHT BEHIND AND, AND THE REFERENDUM WAS THE BUFORT COUNTY REFERENDUM.

THE, THE $80 MILLION IS NOT FOR THE DOT TO DECIDE HOW IT'S USED DIRECTLY, CORRECT? UH, I THINK INDIRECTLY, BUT IT, IT IS REALLY A BUFORT COUNTY DECISION, SO TO SPEAK, IN MY OPINION, UM, OF HOW AND WHERE THOSE DOLLARS WERE ALREADY BE USED.

WE NEED TO DO A LITTLE RESEARCH ON THAT.

THAT'S FINE.

UM, SO IF WE CAN, UM, TAKE A BREAK AND WE'LL COME BACK WITH PUBLIC COMMENT.

SO IF YOU WANNA COME BACK AT SIX O'CLOCK AND THEN WE'LL HAVE PUBLIC COMMENT, THEN IT'S A BEAUTIFUL DAY OUT HERE, SUNNY TODAY WITH LIGHT BREEZES GIVING WAY TO CLOUDS IN THE AFTERNOON.

WE COULD SEE SOME LIGHT PRECIPITATION TO MODERATE PRECIPITATION LATER ON, FOLLOWED BY POWERFUL STORM LIGHT CONDITIONS.

EVERYONE.

HI, I AM TONY MILLS.

I'M A NATURALIST AND EDUCATOR HERE IN THE LOW COUNTRY.

YOU KNOW, BEAUFORT COUNTY IS AN AMAZING PLACE TO LIVE.

NOT ONLY IS IT BEAUTIFUL HERE, BUT WE HAVE AN AMAZING DIVERSITY OF LIVING THINGS IN THIS SERIES.

WE'RE NOT GONNA TRAVEL TO OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD LIKE A AFRICA OR ASIA TO SEE NEAT THINGS.

WE'RE GONNA LOOK AT HABITATS RIGHT HERE IN BEAUFORT COUNTY, AND WE'RE GONNA LOOK AT SOME OF THE ANIMALS AND PLANTS THAT MAKE THIS AREA SO SPECIAL.

JOIN ME FOR COASTAL KINGDOM ON THE COUNTY CHANNEL.

MR. ALFRED, WE'RE WAITING ON YOU.

SPEED TANK.

SO, SO BEFORE, UM, A COUPLE THINGS BEFORE WE GO TO, TO, UM, PUBLIC COMMENT.

ONE, PLEASE NOTE THERE'S NOT GONNA BE A VOTE TONIGHT.

THIS IS ALL ABOUT PUTTING INFORMATION OUT AND HAVING THIS PUBLIC DISCUSSION.

SO IF YOU'RE HERE THINKING THERE'S GONNA BE A VOTE, THERE'S NOT GONNA BE, UH, SECOND OF ALL, MRS. BRYSON, WHEN, WHEN YOU WERE GOING THROUGH YOUR LIST OF ITEMS, UM, YOU MADE RECOMMENDATION AND WE'RE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO, TO WRITE THE, UM, M-O-U-M-O-A AND YOU HAD INDICATED, SO I JUST NEED TO FROM EVERYBODY ELSE WHERE THEY STAND ON THIS, UM, THE, THE TWO LANES VERSUS THE THREE LANES.

[02:55:01]

SO I, I NEED TO UNDERSTAND FROM REST OF COUNCIL, UM, WHERE THEY STAND ON THAT TWO VERSUS THREE SO THAT WE CAN FIGURE OUT THE MOA MAYOR IF I, I, Y'ALL HEAR ME TALK A LITTLE LOUDER.

I NEED MY BOOST AGAIN.

, LET'S SEE.

DOES THIS WORK ANY BETTER? HE'S GOT IT.

OKAY, THANK YOU.

I DON'T WANNA SHOUT AT PEOPLE.

UM, WELL, AS I UNDERSTAND IT, THERE'S ALREADY BEEN SOME MODIFICATIONS FROM THE ORIGINAL, UH, BRIDGE PROPOSAL, UM, FROM TWO BREAKDOWN LANES TO ONE BREAKDOWN LANE AND A SHOULDER AND REDUCTION IN LANES.

SO IT SEEMS AS THOUGH THIS IS YET ANOTHER REQUEST FOR A REDUCTION.

GRANTED, IT'S A LANE, UH, BUT THERE WAS A CHANGE FROM A SECOND BREAKDOWN LANE IN BOTH DIRECTIONS TO A SHOULDER.

SO THAT'S WHY I'M WONDERING IF, IF MAYBE THERE STILL IS A LITTLE WIGGLE ROOM.

WELL IT, IF, UM, WE WILL DEFINITELY, OH, Y'ALL WILL DEFINITELY NOT.

WE, Y'ALL WILL DEFINITELY, Y'ALL WILL WRITE IT, UH, PUT IN THERE TO, TO MINIMIZE AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE.

UM, AND, AND I'M I'M HOPING THAT A REDUCTION IN SPEED CAN EQUAL A REDUCTION IN LANE WIDTH AN ACCIDENT .

SO FOR ME, UM, CAN YOU JUST REPEAT THAT FOR ME? SO I'M, I'M HOPING THAT THERE IS AN OPPORTUNITY TO REDUCE THE SIZE OF THE BRIDGE, NOT THE NUMBER OF LANES, BUT THE SIZE OF THE BRIDGE BASED OFF OF A LOWER SPEED.

SO IF IT'S DESIGNED FOR 45 AND IT'S POSTED AT 40, IS THERE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR DOT TO COME IN AND GET AWAY FROM THE 12 FOOT LANES? SO AS I'VE UNDERSTOOD THE CONVERSATION UP TO THIS POINT, UM, THEY'VE SAID NO, THEY'VE SAID THAT THE STANDARD IS IT'S 12, IT'S 12 FEET.

AND YOU CAN REDUCE IT BY 24 FEET, ONE LANE EACH DIRECTION.

THEN YOU'VE GOT ME A LITTLE BIT CLOSER TO, TO WHAT IT IS THAT SOME FOLKS WANT.

BUT, UM, IT'S TWO LANES, IT'S NOT THREE LANES WITH A BREAKDOWN LANE THAT CAN BE REVERSED WHEN WE NEED IT.

WELL, FOR THE, FOR THE PURPOSE OF, OF WRITING THE MOA, I'M JUST TRYING TO GET A, YOU KNOW, FEEL AS TO WHAT PEOPLE ARE LOOKING FOR.

SO NOT, NOT A VOTE, I GET IT WITH I GET WHAT YOU'RE DOING.

I'M JUST SAYING THOUGH THAT I THINK MS. BRYSON CAN SPEAK FOR HERSELF.

I CERTAINLY DON'T WANNA PUT WORDS IN HER MOUTH, BUT I HEARD WHAT SHE SAID AND WHAT SHE SAID WAS TWO LANES.

THAT'S ACCURATE.

I SAID, UH, TWO TRAVEL LANES IN EACH DIRECTION.

ONE BREAKDOWN LANE IN EACH DIRECTION AND THE SHOULDER IN EACH DIRECTION.

UM, AND THAT'S WHAT I SAID.

, UM, IT, AND THE CONCERN COMES OUT OF THE APPEARANCE OF A LARGE MONOLITHIC STRUCTURE WITH ALL THOSE LANES AND THE WIDTH OF THE BRIDGE.

AND THAT'S WHY I ALSO ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT THE CHANGE IN THE WIDTH OF THE BRIDGE, UH, FROM WHAT IS CURRENT TO WHAT IS PROPOSED.

BECAUSE I, I'VE HEARD A LOT OF NUMBERS, THEY STILL DON'T WORK AND, AND I ALMOST MAJORED IN MATH .

UM, BUT ANY RATE, UM, THAT'S MY GOAL IS TO IMPROVE WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE.

UM, SO WE DON'T HAVE A MASSIVE MONOLITHIC STRUCTURE.

THAT'S MY GOAL.

MY, MY BACKGROUND IS DESIGN.

I, I WOULD, I THINK THE OBJECTIVES THAT MS. BREON HAS IN MINE ARE VERY GOOD, BUT I THINK, UH, WE'RE TILTING THE WINDMILLS TO TRY TO GO TO TWO LANES.

SO I WOULD NOT BE IN FAVOR OF THAT.

I BELIEVE THAT THE FUNDAMENTAL NATURE OF THE DOT PROJECT, UH, IS BASED UPON THREE LANES AND FURTHER, UM, OUR EXPERT LOCK MILLER.

AS LONG AS, AS, AS OTHERS HAVE SAID, THAT IS NECESSARY TO GO THROUGH THERE, I'D BE VERY PLEASED IF THE WIDTH OF THE LANES COULD BE REDUCED.

AND I THINK IT NEEDS TO BE A THREE TRAVEL LANE BRIDGE.

IT NEEDS DIRECTION.

OKAY, THANK YOU.

CAN I HIGHLIGHT SOMETHING? CAN I HIGHLIGHT THAT S-C-D-O-T HAS GIVEN US THOSE PARAMETERS TO ACCOMPLISH THEIR GOALS BASED ON THEIR NUMBERS.

UM, AND IN WITH RESPECT TO THE CONSULTANTS, THEY HAVE TO FIGHTING FOLLOWING THAT SAME PATTERN THAT IS NOT CONSISTENT WITH WHAT IT IS THAT HILTON HEAD IS SAYING THAT THEY WANT.

AND I DON'T MEAN ME, I MEAN Y'ALL, THAT IS NOT CONSISTENT.

SO WHO ARE WE RESPONDING TO? ARE WE RESPONDING TO S-C-D-O-T OR ARE WE RESPONDING TO THE RESIDENTS? WHO ARE WE RESPONDING TO? WHO ARE WE WORKING FOR? MR. AMS?

[03:00:02]

UM, AND WHEN I LOOK AT THE VIDEO THAT WE ALL SEEN, I THINK THE GREATEST DIFFERENCE BETWEEN WHAT WE HAVE TODAY AND WHAT WE ARE GOING TO HAVE IF THIS GOES THROUGH IS THE, THE TWO BRIDGES OVER THE MACKEY CREEK.

THEY'RE SPLIT A APART.

AND AS YOU DRIVE FROM BLUFFTON ONTO THE ROADWAY, YOU'RE MORE AWARE OF A REALLY LIMITED PAVEMENT.

AND WHAT'S BEING PROPOSED IS THOSE ARE NOW GOING TO COME TOGETHER.

SO YOU'RE GONNA BE SHOCKED WITH THAT TRANSITION FROM WHERE WE ARE TODAY TO WHERE WE MAY END UP.

BUT I WILL SAY, AND AND SOME OF YOU MAY NOT AGREE WITH ME, THAT ONCE YOU GET OVER THE TALL BRIDGES, THE DIFFERENCE IN DIMENSION OF 20 PLUS FEET, WHATEVER IT IS, UM, IS GOING TO BE LESS PERCEPTIBLE.

AND I WILL MAKE THE PREDICTION, ONCE YOU'VE DRIVEN OVER IT FOR A COUPLE OF MONTHS, YOU'RE NOT GONNA SEE THE DIFFERENCE.

IT'S THE SAME KIND OF SITUATION WHEN YOU DROVE OVER THE CROSS ISLAND EXPRESSWAY THE FIRST TIME.

THAT WAS A BIG HIGHWAY AND THE BRIDGE WAS A BIG BRIDGE, BUT IT'S, IT'S, BUT THE, THE IMPORTANT THING IS THAT YOU'RE GOING TO BE, I THINK, SHOCKED BY THE MA MACKEY CREEK CHANGE.

THAT'S, THAT'S THE BIG ONE.

AND OUR, AND, AND I'M COMFORTABLE AND I'M, I'M COMFORTABLE MAYOR, MOVING AHEAD ON THE THREE PLUS THREE.

ANY OTHER COMMENTS? COMMENTS? JUST ONE.

AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR, UM, PATIENCE WITH ME.

SO WE ALL HAVE THAT EXPERIENCE OF COMING ON TO UM, OR GETTING RE ARRIVING AT HILTON HEAD.

WE CONSIDER ARRIVING AT HILTON HEAD IS WHEN YOU START, WHEN, WHEN YOU LEAVE THE MAINLAND, RIGHT? AND SO OUR EMOTIONAL REACTIONS THAT HAVE BEEN AND THAT AND WELL BEFORE US, UM, CONSISTENT WITH GOOSE FLESH AND EXCITEMENT AND ALL OF THAT, YOU KNOW, FOR WHAT REASON ARE WE GIVING UP ANY OF THAT SO THAT NOW THAT REACTION, THAT FEELING OF COMING HOME DOESN'T BEGIN UNTIL YOU GET PAST THOSE MASSIVE BRIDGES.

THAT WILL SHOCK US.

I, I I I DON'T NEED TO SAY ANYMORE.

I'M PRETTY SURE MY POINT IS WELL TAKEN.

THANK YOU MAYOR.

IF I COULD ADD ONE MORE POINT OF CLARIFICATION.

YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT THE BRIDGES, BUT ALSO HAVE CONCERN ABOUT THE IMPACT OF, OF CHANGING SOME OF THAT GREEN SPACE WHEN YOU COME ON THE ISLAND FROM THE PARKWAY FEEL TO A, A WIDE BOULEVARD AN EXPRESSWAY.

SO IF FOR SOME REASON WE HAVE TO GIVE IN TO YOU CAN'T BUILD THE BRIDGES WITHOUT BEING SIX LANES PLUS, PLUS PLUS, UM, THEN AT LEAST LET'S LOOK AT, UM, REDUCING THAT SPACE ONCE YOU GET ON THE ISLAND AND IMPROVING, UH, THE APPEARANCE.

AND THAT'S WHY I KEPT, I THINK I SAID SEVERAL TIMES, UH, INCLUDING LANDSCAPE MEDIANS, WHICH WE NEED TO PROVIDE THE FUNDING FOR , UM, AND NOT HAVE IT GET TO THE END AND ALL THE CONSTRUCTION MONEY RUN OUT AND WE DON'T GET LANDSCAPING, BUT WE NEED TO PROTECT THAT AREA AS WELL.

UM, AND, AND IT ALSO DOES HELP TO GO FROM LARGER, UM, STRUCTURES TO SMALLER PASSAGEWAYS FOR A COUPLE OF REASONS AND IMPROVES THE PEDESTRIAN CROSSING AND IMPROVES THE FEEL IT SLOWS DOWN THE SPEED, IT MAKES IT ALSO SAFER FOR VEHICLES.

AND JUST AS A QUICK REMINDER, THAT CONCEPTUAL VIDEO THAT WAS PLAYED MONDAY NIGHT CONCEPTUAL VIDEO, IT'S NOT THE FINAL DESIGN.

SO, AND, AND AS HAS BEEN TALKED ABOUT, UM, THROUGH THE RECOMMENDATIONS IN THE MOAS THAT IT HAS TO MEET HILTON HEAD DESIGN REVIEW.

SO, UM, SORRY MAYOR, I NEED TO ADD ONE.

WHATEVER CONDITIONS WE SEEM TO BE COMING TOWARDS, UM, I THINK WE NEED TO ALLOW A LITTLE MORE GRACE FOR OUR STAFF TO COME BACK TO US WITH AN AGREEMENT BECAUSE OUR TOWN ATTORNEY'S NOT EVEN HERE TONIGHT.

WORDS, UM, OF MY COLLEAGUE.

AND I DON'T THINK WE NEED TO, UM, GIVE IN TO USE THE

[03:05:01]

WE DON'T NEED TO GIVE IN, WE CAN GET FOUR NEW BRIDGES UNLESS SOMEBODY TELLS ME A DIFFERENT INTERPRETATION OF THAT PROJECT DESCRIPTION FROM THE COUNTY 2018 REFERENDUM.

AND WE CAN LOOK AT THE PROJECTS THAT WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT DOING.

UM, AND, AND THAT BY THE WAY GOES ALL THE WAY TO SQUARE POPE THROUGH STONY AND THEN THE REST OF THE ISLAND AS WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT DOING, UM, AND HAVE ALL AGREED WE SHOULD BE DOING, UM, WE CAN GET BUSY ON.

SO THERE'S NO REASON TO GIVE IN ON THE SIX LANE BRIDGE.

THERE'S JUST NO REASON.

ANY OTHER COMMENTS? I I, I SHOULD HAVE ADDED A STATEMENT WHEN I SAID I WOULD IN FAVOR OF THE THREE PLUS THREE.

UM, I THINK THE CONDITIONS THAT ARE APPLIED TO OUR CONSENT ARE PIVOTAL, STONY, AND THE APPEARANCE OF OUR ENTRYWAY ARE THE TWO THINGS THAT I'M LOOKING AT.

AND I THINK WE'VE HEARD A LOT OF IDEAS AROUND STONY, SO I'D CERTAINLY MOVE IN THAT DIRECTION.

SUPPORT THAT WE HAVE LESS CONTROL OF THE ENGINEERING DESIGN THAN WE WOULD LIKE, BUT WE DO HAVE CONTROL OF WHAT THE ROAD EDGES ARE GOING TO BE, WHAT THE MEDIANS ARE GOING TO BE, WHAT THE SIGNAGE IS GOING TO BE, AND SO ON AND SO FORTH.

THOSE ARE THE THINGS THAT WE CAN MATERIALLY INFLUENCE.

ANY OTHER COMMENTS BEFORE I GO TO PUBLIC COMMENT? OH, DO WHAT? GO TO THEM? YEAH.

NO.

NO.

KIM, DO WE HAVE ANYBODY THAT SIGNED UP FOR PUBLIC COMMENT? HANG, HANG, HANG, HANG ON A SECOND.

SO JUST AS A QUICK REMINDER, THE ORDINANCE HAS CHANGED.

WE'VE GOT A, WE'VE GOT A GRACE PERIOD, BUT, BUT I SAY THAT SO THAT YOU KNOW THAT THE ORDINANCE HAS CHANGED.

SO WHEN THE FUTURE IT WILL BE DIFFERENT.

BUT KIM, DO WE HAVE ANYBODY THAT HAS SIGNED UP? WE HAVE ONE PERSON THAT SIGNED UP.

THAT'S ALL I HAVE THAT'S SIGNED UP.

ALRIGHT, SEAN, THANK YOU, UM, FOR YOUR, YOUR WORK AND EVERYTHING YOU'VE DONE.

IF YOU WOULD TAKE SOME NOTES AS THE, AS COMMENTS ARE BEING MADE AND, AND COME BACK AT THE END AND SEE IF WE HAVE TO NEED TO ANSWER A COUPLE OF 'EM.

SO PUBLIC COMMENTS AND I THINK I WILL THE ROAD.

YEAH, I, I'M JUST GO RIGHT DOWN THE ROAD.

I'M GONNA WORK MY WAY BACK.

UM, BEFORE I MAKE ANY COMMENTS, I, I'D LIKE TO MENTION THAT THE VARIOUS MEETINGS I'VE BEEN TO THERE HAVE BEEN A LOT OF PRAISE FOR YOUR HIRED CONSULTANTS AND VERY LITTLE PRAISE FOR SEAN AND HIS TEAM.

I THINK SEAN AND HIS TEAM HAS DONE A, A GREAT JOB.

UM, AND I COMPLIMENT THEM ALL.

UM, NOT MANY OF THEM WE SEE THEM AT AT THESE MEETINGS, BUT WELL DONE.

TOWN'S CONSULTANT EXPERT LAND PLANNER CONFIRMED THE TOWN WILL DESTROY ICONIC BUILDINGS, DISPLACE AND INTRUDE ON GUAG GCI FAMILIES.

UM, I, I AGREE WITH THE MAYOR.

THE, UH, THE, THE, THE PROPOSAL IN FRONT OF US DOESN'T SOLVE SOLVE OUR TRAFFIC PROBLEMS. UM, THERE'S BEEN VARIOUS DISCUSSIONS ABOUT TRAFFIC FORECASTS IN MY EXPERIENCE, FORECAST AND RELIABLE AND USING MODERN STATISTICAL ANALYSIS AND PREPARATION TOOLS, YOU CAN GIVE ANY CUSTOMER PLAUSIBLE EVIDENCE TO SUPPORT THEIR END OBJECTIVE.

AND THIS IS A CLASSIC WE'VE SEEN TONIGHT, UH, TRAVEL TIMES BASED ON A CHOSEN SOFTWARE, WHICH THE CONSULTANTS REJECTED THEIR OTHER SOFTWARE AND THEY'VE ALREADY PRESENTED ONE.

UM, IT'S AN OLD TRICK.

WE'VE ALL DONE IT.

UM, I HAVE MONTHLY DATA FROM JANUARY, 2008, 2018, WHICH SHOWS CLEARLY THAT THE ECONOMY AND WEATHER AFFECT TRAFFIC MORE THAN ANYTHING ELSE.

UM, THIS MORNING I CHECKED THE STATUS OF AL ISLAND, WHICH IS ROUGHLY TWO YEARS AFTER HURRICANE IAN.

AND ACCORDING TO THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, ROUGHLY 25% OF DISPLACED RESIDENTS ARE BACK AND BUSINESSES LIKEWISE.

AND YET WE'RE BEING TOLD THAT ONE BRIDGE IS A GOOD IDEA.

BLACK SWAN EVENTS HAPPENED.

FOR EXAMPLE, COVID A CARGO SHIP HITS UH, BALTIMORE BRIDGE.

WE ESCAPED WITH HURRICANE MATTHEW BUT GETTING OFF THE ISLAND BACK ON WAS NOT EASY AND THERE WERE SIGNIFICANT ISSUES WHICH THE SHERIFF WAS DEALING WITH MONDAY NIGHT.

IMAGINE A SCENARIO.

WE HAVE A RIALTO OF 30 YEARS EXPERIENCE ON THE ISLAND PLEADING WITH THE COUNCIL NOT TO TURN OUR ICONIC ISLAND INTO A FLORIDA.

THIS WAS A WELCOME SURPRISE COMING AFTER THE

[03:10:01]

BUT HEY, PRESTO WOULDN'T HAVE SOME NEW PALM TREES AND WE'RE GONNA INSTALL A LEISURE TRAIL.

SO WE SHOULD ALL BE HAPPY WITH THAT.

I THINK THIS PROJECT WILL, WILL DESTROY THE CACHE OF THE ISLAND AND IN TURN, I THINK THAT WILL HAVE AN IMPACT ON OUR PROPERTY VALUES.

AND I THINK YOU NEED TO THINK ABOUT THAT CAREFULLY.

APPARENTLY THE CURRENT ESTIMATED COST IS 488 MILLION BASED ON A 30% COMPLETE DESIGN.

BUT THERE WAS HUGE AMBIGUITY ABOUT WHAT'S IN AND WHAT'S OUT.

UM, LAST COMMENT I'D MAKE IS I'VE HEARD LOTS OF COMMENTS ABOUT GIVE ME A SIX LINE BRIDGE AND MY RECRUITMENT CHALLENGES GO AWAY.

OTHERS SAY BUILD WORKFORCE HOUSING.

MY RECRUITMENT CHALLENGES GO AWAY, BUT MY HOA THE BIGGEST ON THE ISLAND RECENTLY ANNOUNCED IT NO LONGER HAS STAFF SORTS AFTER SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASING PAY RATES TO MEET THE CHALLENGE OF MAINLAND EMPLOYERS.

NO MENTION OF THE BRIDGE.

I NEED TO STOP YOU OFF THERE SIR.

OTHER PUBLIC COMMENTS? YES MA'AM.

AND, AND DON'T FORGET TO STATE YOUR NAME AND ADDRESS PLEASE.

HI CHRIS RE UM, THANK YOU FOR ALL THAT YOU ALL DO AND TAMMY AND PATSY SPECIFICALLY THANK YOU FOR CHALLENGING EVERYBODY ON ALL THE QUESTIONS AND ALL YOUR THOUGHTS.

SO THANK YOU FOR THAT.

UM, REAL QUICK, I HAVE THOUGHTS ALL OVER THE PLACE AND THEN I LISTENED MONDAY NIGHT, BUT I HAVE A LOT MORE THINGS THAT HAVE COME UP, BUT I'LL JUST STATE A COUPLE OF THINGS.

FIRST, LET'S TALK ABOUT THE PEDESTRIAN AND BIKE PATH THAT THEY'RE TALKING ABOUT GOING OVER THE BRIDGE, THE LANE.

UM, I DON'T NECESSARILY AGREE WITH THAT BECAUSE I'M CURIOUS WHAT KIND OF MUNICIPAL PARKING LOT YOU'RE GONNA PUT ON THE MAINLAND WHERE PEOPLE CAN DRIVE TO AND THEN BIKE OVER TO GO TO WORK.

SO I DON'T SEE IT SOLVING A WORKER TRANSPORTATION PROBLEM.

UM, OR MAYBE YOU'RE HOPING THAT THEY'RE GONNA BIKE IN FROM DOWNTOWN BLUFFTON OR OUT IN HARDY WHERE THERE ARE NO BIKE PATHS.

SO THAT'S SOMETHING THAT EITHER MAYBE HASN'T BEEN THOUGHT ABOUT OR NEEDS TO BE.

'CAUSE IF WE'RE NOT GONNA HAVE A PLACE FOR THEM TO KIND OF TRUCK THEIR CAR ON OVER TO A PARKING LOT FOR AND THEN BE ABLE TO GET OVER THE ISLAND, IT DOESN'T SOLVE THE PROBLEM.

SO I THINK WE NEED TO THINK A LITTLE BEYOND THE BRIDGE TO SOLVE WORKER TRANSPORTATION ISSUES AND WORK ON SOME OTHER, UH, COMMUTER LOTS THROUGHOUT THAT END OF, UH, THE MAINLAND TO GET PEOPLE OVER HERE.

'CAUSE WE DO HAVE A WORKFORCE PROBLEM.

THE OTHER THING I WANNA SAY ABOUT SEAN'S, UM, RAPPORT AND THINGS THAT THEY'VE TALKED ABOUT IS THE TIME SAVINGS.

IT DOESN'T SAVE MUCH TIME IN THE REALITY OF THINGS.

IT REALLY DOESN'T.

UM, AND I'M WONDERING WHY THE TIMEFRAME THEY'VE PICKED IS 20 YEARS FROM NOW.

SO IF WE WANNA CONVINCE EVERYONE THAT THIS BRIDGE IS A GOOD IDEA, WHY ARE WE NOT TELLING THEM HOW MUCH TIME THEY'RE GONNA SAVE ONCE THE BRIDGE IS COMPLETED? WHY ARE WE TELLING THEM WHAT THEY'RE GONNA SAVE IN 20 YEARS? SO I WORK WITH A LOT OF PEOPLE EVERY DAY WHO COMMUTE OVER TO THIS ISLAND.

AND WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT THIS BRIDGE FOR A LONG TIME, ESPECIALLY AFTER THE MEETING MONDAY NIGHT.

AND WHEN I TOLD THEM SOME OF THE NUMBERS AND I MADE SOME OF THEM GO BACK AND WATCH, THEY WERE SHOCKED BECAUSE THEY WERE THINKING, YOU KNOW, THEY WERE JUST GONNA FLY RIGHT OVER THE BRIDGE.

THE BRIDGE DOESN'T SOLVE THE CONGESTION PROBLEM BECAUSE OF WHAT HAPPENS AT SPANISH WELLS ROAD AND ALL THE OTHER TRAFFIC LIGHTS THAT WE HAVE ON THAT LITTLE STRETCH OF CORRIDOR.

UM, ANOTHER THOUGHT, I KNOW WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE STONY COMMUNITY.

WE HAVE TO PROTECT THEM.

WE HAVE TO PROTECT THE CULTURE AND ALL THEY'VE BROUGHT TO OUR ISLAND AND OUR COMMUNITY.

SO THAT'S A BRAINER.

YOU GUYS HAVE ALL ADDRESSED THAT ENOUGH.

BUT I THINK WE HAVE TO TALK ABOUT SAFETY THROUGH THAT CORRIDOR.

AND I KNOW PATSY TALKED ABOUT THAT A LOT, BUT PEOPLE ARE DRIVING THROUGH THEIR 60, 70 MILES AN HOUR.

WE ALL KNOW THAT.

WE'VE SEEN 'EM, WE RIDE ALONG WITH THEM EVEN DURING CONGESTION TIMES.

YOU HAVE PEOPLE RIDING UP THE RIGHT HAND LANES DRIVING FAST.

SO WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO IF WE DO GO AHEAD WITH THIS PROJECT AND IT'S GOING TO HAPPEN AND WE BUILD THIS BEAUTIFUL AREA WITH THE MEDIANS THAT ARE ALL LANDSCAPED? WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO TO SLOW PEOPLE, EXCUSE ME, SLOW PEOPLE DOWN.

ARE WE GOING TO INSTALL TRAFFIC CAMERAS SO THAT THERE CAN BE ELECTRONIC VIOLATIONS SENT TO THESE PEOPLE? WE HAVE TO DO THE WHOLE PICTURE.

IF WE'RE GONNA DO IT 45 MILES AN HOUR OVER THE BRIDGE, LIKE SEAN WAS SAYING, I JUST CAN'T SEE IT UNLESS THEY'RE AT A DEAD STOP.

SO ANYWAY, JUST SOME THOUGHTS.

ALL RIGHT, THANK YOU.

THANKS.

OTHER COMMENTS GOING DOWN THIS, WE'RE GOING DOWN THIS SIDE.

YES MA'AM.

CHRIS RUFFNER WINDMILL HARBOR.

UM, THANK YOU, UH, PATSY AND TAMMY, UH, FOR SPEAKING FOR US.

UM, SOME OF THE THINGS THAT I WANTED TO SAY, UM, WERE, THE REASON I KIND OF GOT INVOLVED IN THIS AT THE LAST MINUTE, LET'S SAY, WAS 'CAUSE I WAS FOR THE BRIDGE FOR THE LONGEST TIME.

NOBODY, MY FRIENDS DIDN'T KNOW THAT.

AND SOMETIMES I CAME HERE JUST TO SUPPORT THEM.

BUT THEN SITTING HERE AND ACTUALLY SEEING EVERYTHING, NOW I'M TURNED AROUND BECAUSE NOW I KNOW, ACTUALLY EDUCATED MYSELF AND FOUND OUT THAT FIRST, BY

[03:15:01]

DOING SOME EASY RESEARCH, WHICH I EMAILED TO ALL OF YOU, IT SHOWS THAT ACTUALLY MORE LANES DOES NOT HELP WITH TRAFFIC.

ALSO, UM, AS FAR AS CH CHANGING THE BEHAVIOR AND SLOWING TRAFFIC, S UH, NARROWER LANES ARE ACTUALLY SAFER BECAUSE IT FORCES PEOPLE TO GO SLOWER.

THAT'S LIKE A BEHAVIOR.

SO I JUST SENT THAT TO ALL OF YOU AS WELL, AND IT'S FROM JOHN HOPKINS.

UM, I USED TO LIVE IN OLDFIELD, WHICH WAS A NIGHTMARE TO GET IN AND OUT OF.

BUT UM, NOW I, AND I LOVE MY HOUSE THERE.

I LOVED OLDFIELD AND I HAD TO MAKE A SACRIFICE BECAUSE I WANTED TO COME TO THE BEACH EVERY DAY.

SO GUESS WHAT? I MOVED TO THE ISLAND.

SO YOU HAVE TO MAKE SACRIFICES.

AND I LIVED IN CHICAGO, AS I KNOW YOU ALL KNOW ALREADY, BUT, UM, THE TRAFFIC HERE IS NOTHING IN COMPARISON.

IT WAS 15 MINUTES FOR ME TO GO TO THE END OF MY BLOCK.

SO SPENDING A LITTLE EXTRA TIME TO GO ON AND OFF AN ISLAND, I'M WILLING TO DO THAT.

I'M MAKING A SACRIFICE SO I CAN LIVE HERE.

A LOT OF PEOPLE WORK THEIR WHOLE LIVES.

THEY MADE SACRIFICES.

THEY'RE LIVING IN HOMES THAT ARE, UH, NOT AS GOOD AS WHAT THEY LEFT BECAUSE THEY WERE MAKING SACRIFICES.

AND NOW WE'RE TRYING TO TURN THIS INTO JUST EVERYONE POUR ON THE ISLAND.

UM, AND ORIGINALLY I THOUGHT OUR, OUR BRIDGE IS SO UGLY, THANK GOD WE'RE REPLACING IT.

I'M PICTURING LIKE, UH, PALM TREES AND ALL THESE PLANTINGS AND MEANDERING, GREENWAYS.

AND THEN I SAW IT AND I WAS LIKE, WHAT THE HELL? I, IT LOOKS LIKE I 95.

IT LOOKS TERRIBLE.

IT'S NOT GONNA WORK.

WE'RE DESTROYING PEOPLE'S NEIGHBORHOODS.

WE DON'T EVEN HAVE THE MONEY FOR IT.

AND I WAS ACTUALLY GOOD IN MATH, BUT I MUST BE WAY OFF BECAUSE IT LOOKS LIKE IN AT BEST WE'RE, UH, 30 OVER 38% SHORT.

SO WHAT ARE WE EVEN FIGHTING OVER? WE CAN'T EVEN AFFORD IT.

AND THAT'S NOT EVEN INCLUDING ALL THESE THINGS THAT AREN'T EVEN ACCOUNTED FOR.

PEDESTRIAN BRIDGES AND, UM, CAUSEWAYS AND, OH YEAH, WE FORGOT ABOUT THAT.

WE'RE GONNA DO THAT LATER.

WELL, NO, WE GOTTA FIGURE IT OUT NOW BECAUSE WE ALREADY DON'T DO IT UNLESS THE LATER IS WE'LL JUST TAX YOU LATER LIKE WE ALWAYS DO.

SO I, YOU KNOW, I DON'T LIKE THAT.

AND, UM, JUST THINK ABOUT WHAT YOU'RE DOING.

WE CAN'T GO BACK.

THIS, THIS IS ONE AND DONE.

THIS IS, I KNOW.

HURRY UP AND GET IT DONE.

HURRY.

YOU KNOW, GOTTA BE, WELL, IF IT'S NOT GONNA HELP, WE'RE ALL GONNA COME LOOKING FOR ALL OF YOU WHEN WE'RE NOT SAVING ANYTHING.

AND I HEARD IN THIS MEETING, YOU KNOW, SAVE ONE MINUTE, THEN IT'S 10 MINUTES.

WE'RE SAVING.

THEY SAID, OH, NOW LOOK AT THIS TRAFFIC.

WHEN YOU GO FROM MOSS CREEK TO INDIGO RUN, YOU'RE, IT'S ONLY 10 MINUTES.

WHY? I'M IN WINDMILL HARBOR AND IT TAKES ME 10 MINUTES AND YOU CAN DO A GOOGLE MAP, RIGHT? AND WITHOUT TRAFFIC IT'S 10 MINUTES.

THERE'S NO WAY BY DOING THE BRIDGE, THANK YOU MR. DURING TRAFFIC THAT IT'S GONNA BE THAT.

SO ANYWAY, THANK YOU.

TRAFFIC STILL STILL BE COMING THROUGH AND PEOPLE ARE STILL NOT GONNA BE ABLE TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE OPPORTUNITY THAT EXISTS HERE ON HILTON HEAD BECAUSE THE TRAFFIC FLOWING THROUGH STONY.

I THINK YOU HAD YOUR HAND UP NEXT, SIR.

SIR, GOOD EVENING.

UH, MAYOR TOWN COUNCIL.

I'M MEL CAMPBELL.

I'M A NATIVE ISLAND.

OTHERS BORN RIGHT HERE ON HILTON AT ISLAND, 1949.

AND, UM, MY THOUGHT ON THE WHOLE IDEA IS THAT WE HAVE TO, WE HAVE TO BE TAKING FUTURISTIC, UH, NO DOUBT.

I DON'T CARE WHAT KIND OF BRIDGE.

WE NEED A BRIDGE, WE NEED A BRIDGE THAT, YOU KNOW, KIND OF DEFINES WHAT THE ISLAND'S GOING TO LOOK LIKE 25, 30, 50 YEARS FROM NOW.

BUT WE CAN'T LOOK AHEAD UNLESS WE LOOK BACKWARDS.

THAT'S GENERALLY THE TREND.

AND FOR, YOU KNOW, SOME 50 YEARS HILTON HEAD HAVE DEVELOPED, OR MORE THAN 50 YEARS, ACTUALLY FROM THE 1960S TO NOW.

IT'S GOTTEN TO WHERE IT IS TODAY.

A LOT OF MISTAKES.

AND A LOT OF TIMES THOSE MISTAKES WERE DESIGNED TO BE EXACTLY WHAT IT TURNED OUT TO BE MISTAKES, BUT IT WAS WITHOUT ANY CONSIDERATION FOR THE PEOPLE WHO WERE BEING IMPACTED.

SO STONY JUST DIDN'T HAPPEN OVERNIGHT.

STONY HAPPENED AFTER A, A LONG SERIES OF CHANGES.

AND NOW WE'VE GOT WHAT WE'VE GOT.

AND THE IDEA OF, OF USING STONEY AS THE CATALYST FOR THIS DISCUSSION, YOU KNOW, I THINK IS IS DISINGENUOUS AT LEAST BECAUSE WE KNOW THAT THERE THINGS CAN BE DONE WITH STONEY, COULD HAVE BEEN DONE WITH STONEY FOR THE LAST 50 YEARS, IT HADN'T BEEN DONE, AND THIS ROAD NOT GONNA BE WIDENED OR TO THE EFFECT WHERE IT'S REALLY GOING TO CHANGE THE LIVES OF STONEY.

IF IT'S NOT WIDENED.

IF IT'S NOT WIDENED, STONEY'S GONNA STILL BE THERE AND THE

[03:20:01]

SO IF WE ARE TRYING TO DO SOMETHING'S RIGHT, THEN WE DO HAVE TO PLAN STONY, NOT PLAN STONY AROUND THE ROAD.

WE HAVE TO PLAN STONY.

AND IN ORDER FOR THE FAMILIES THERE TO FEEL REALLY COMFORTABLE ABOUT THAT PLAN, IT'S GOTTA BE DISRESPECTIVE OF WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN.

OTHERWISE WE DON'T HAVE TO, YOU KNOW, TALK ABOUT THE BRIDGES AND WHETHER IT'S SIX LANDS OR FOUR LANDS OR THREE LANDS, THAT TRAFFIC'S STILL GONNA COME THROUGH STONY REGARDLESS.

AND YOU'RE NOT GONNA MOVE THAT ROAD.

SO WHAT STONY GONNA LOOK LIKE 50 YEARS FROM NOW IS MY CONCERN.

AND I THINK IT IT'LL BE THE CONCERN THAT PEOPLE WHO ARE SUPPOSEDLY GONNA BE IMPACTED IN STONY NOW WHO, WHO HAVE BEEN IMPACTED FOR THE LAST 70 YEARS.

SO I APPLAUD THE FACT THAT STONY IS IN THE CONVERSATION.

THE GULLAH GEECHEE COMMUNITIES ARE IN THE CONVERSATION, BUT I WANT YOU TO LOOK AT IT, YOU KNOW, THROUGH MY LENS.

THANK YOU, THANK YOU SO MUCH.

GOING BACK.

YES SIR.

GOOD EVENING.

UH, MY NAME IS RAY DEAL, IN ADDITION TO BEING THE CONTROLLER AT THE HILTON NET ISLAND, BLUFFTON CHAMBER OF COMMERCE.

UH, ON JULY 1ST, UH, IS ACTUALLY MY ANNIVERSARY.

I'LL BE A 20 YEAR RESIDENT OF HILTON HEAD PLANTATION.

UM, I'M A NUMBERS GUY, SO I'M GONNA THROW OUT A FEW NUMBERS FOR YOU.

UM, MANY OF YOU KNOW THIS, UH, WE'VE SUBMITTED THE 2023 ECONOMIC IMPACT STUDY, BUT HILTON HEAD TOURISM HAS AN ECONOMIC IMPACT OF $3.61 BILLION A YEAR.

HILTON HEAD TOURISM SUPPORTS OVER 40,000 JOBS IN BEAUFORT COUNTY.

THE TOWN COLLECTS ABOUT $45 MILLION ANNUALLY FROM H TAX.

AND AT TAX, OUR CHAMBER HAS A MEMBERSHIP OF ABOUT 1300 BUSINESSES.

ON OUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS, WE'VE HAD, WE HAVE PRESIDENTS AND GENERAL MANAGERS OF THE HOSPITAL, SEA PINES SURGE GROUP, WESTIN BEACH HOUSE, ESTA PALMETTO ELECTRIC, HILTON GARDEN INN, HUDSON'S REALTORS ASSOCIATION, PALMETTO DUNES, BOTH AIRPORTS, MITCHELLVILLE, AS WELL AS MANY OTHER SMALL RETAILERS, LAW FIRMS AND FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS.

CONSEQUENTLY, OUR ORGANIZATION IS A SIGNIFICANT VOICE FOR MANY OF THE BUSINESSES HERE IN THE LOW COUNTRY AND HILTON HEAD.

THOSE ARE NUMBERS.

AND FORTUNATELY I DO MORE THAN NUMBERS.

UM, I AM PRETTY SURE OF THE LAST 15 TO 17 YEARS I HAVE ATTENDED AND OR SPOKEN AT MORE RIBBON CUTTINGS THAN ANYBODY ON THIS ISLAND.

UM, THAT HAS AFFORDED ME THE OPPORTUNITY TO MEET MANY, MANY BUSINESS LEADERS.

HUNDREDS OF THEM, HUNDREDS OF THEM OVER THE LAST TWO DECADES.

THE ONE FACT THAT IS VERY CLEAR OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS THAT WORKFORCE IS THEIR NUMBER ONE CONCERN AT THIS POINT.

IF EVERY EVENT THAT I GO TO, EVERY BOARD MEETING THAT WE HAVE, IT IS TOP OF MIND FOR EVERYONE.

AND WHILE I SUPPORT THE WORKFORCE HOUSING ON THE ISLAND, THIS WILL ONLY PUT A SMALL DENT AND A HUGE PROBLEM.

THE CORRIDOR AND THE BRIDGE IS LITERALLY AND FIGURATIVELY THE CONNECTION TO OUR COLLECTIVE LIVELIHOODS.

WHILE THERE MAY BE A FAIR NUMBER OF PEOPLE IN THIS ROOM WHO OPPOSE THIS PROJECT, AND I WILL SCRATCH THE MAY, THERE IS A FAIR NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO DO NOT LIKE THIS PROJECT.

I CAN TELL YOU WITH A HIGH DEGREE OF CERTAINTY THAT THE SENTIMENT IS NOT SHARED AMONG THE OVERWHELMING MA MAJORITY OF OUR MEMBERS.

PROVIDING OUR BUSINESSES WHO SERVICE BOTH THE RESIDENTS AND VISITORS, THE NECESSARY WORKFORCE THAT THEY NEED IS CRITICAL.

IN SHORT, IF WE HAVE TO ENDURE YEARS OF CONSTRUCTION ON THE CURRENT BRIDGES THAT ARE 70 YEARS OLD, OUR ECONOMY AND QUALITY OF LIFE WILL BE NEGATIVELY AND PERMANENTLY AFFECTED.

THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT VOTE IN MY 20 YEARS HERE AND MAYBE EVER.

IT DOESN'T AFFECT JUST THE PEOPLE IN THIS ROOM.

IT HAS GENERATIONAL EFFECTS, THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY.

AND I STRONGLY SUPPORT THE HIGHWAY 2 78 CORRIDOR PROJECT IN ORANGETOWN COUNCIL MEMBERS TO APPROVE MUNICIPAL CONSENT.

IT IS A VOTE OF CONFIDENCE FOR THIS ISLAND FOR THE NEXT 100 YEARS.

BE SOMEWHERE AROUND 40, 50 YEARS, SOMEWHERE AROUND THERE.

GOING ALL THE WAY TO THE BACK.

WILLIAM STEWART, LIFETIME RESIDENT AND YOUNG MAN.

JUST SAY 70 YEARS.

AND I THINK SOMEONE ON THE BRIDGE WASN'T THERE 70 YEARS.

THERE WAS ANOTHER BRIDGE HERE THAT WAS BUILT THEN.

THAT BRIDGE IS NOT OLDER THAN ME, SO I'M ONLY 62.

THAT BRIDGE GOTTA

[03:25:01]

SO THAT'S ONE MISTAKE YOU GOTTA TAKE OUT OF YOUR LITERATURE 'CAUSE IT'S NOT A 70-YEAR-OLD BRIDGE.

AM I RIGHT ALEX? THE BRIDGE BUILT TO HILTON HAS PROBABLY 70 YEARS OLD.

YEAH, A COUPLE YEARS OLDER THAN ME.

BUT MOVING FORWARD, I'VE MADE SUGGESTION WITH THE TOWN TO COME INTO PARTNERSHIP WITH THE STONY COMMUNITY TO HELP CREATE FINANCIAL WEALTH AND DEVELOPMENT IN A TASTEFUL, BENEFICIAL WAY FOR THE RESIDENT.

THAT WILL SOLVE A LOT OF PROBLEMS RIGHT THERE.

BECOME PARTNERSHIP WITH THE COMMUNITY.

'CAUSE THE COMMUNITY IS SMALL ENOUGH NOW.

AND LIKE SOMEONE SAID, TOWN OWNED MOST OF ALL OF THE STONY COMMUNITY.

SO IT SHOULD, IT WOULD BE A GREAT WIN-WIN SITUATION, SAFETY ISSUE.

I'VE HAD TWO BROTHERS TO DIE ON THIS HIGHWAY OF HILTON HEAD, MY OLDEST AND MY YOUNGEST.

AND I'M IN A HISTORY BOOK SHRIMPING.

AND IF IT WASN'T FOR THOSE TWO GUYS, I WOULD'VE NEVER MADE IT.

'CAUSE ARTHUR WHO DIED IN SQUIRE PO AREA, TAUGHT ME HOW TO BECOME A CAPTAIN.

ERIC, MY BABY BROTHER, WITHOUT HIS KNOWLEDGE OF SHRIMP.

AND I COULD HAVE NEVER MADE THE HISTORY BOOK.

AND JOHN WAS WITH ME AND THEY WERE LOST.

LIFE WAS LOST, ERIC LIFE WAS LOST ON THIS ISLAND DUE TO TRAFFIC.

AND I'VE ONLY MENTIONED THIS TWICE IN MEETING AND IT GOES UNHEARD.

SO WHEN YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT SAFETY, ENVIRONMENTAL HISTORY, ENVIRONMENTAL SAFETY, HISTORICAL FACT, I GREW, WENT TO SCHOOL IN THE STONY COMMUNITY, WAS A KID OF DESEGREGATION.

I KNEW NOTHING ABOUT DESEGREGATION UNTIL I WENT TO SCHOOL.

AND THE DIFFERENT THING WHITE KIDS CAME TO MY SCHOOL.

I WAS THE LAST STUDENT TO ATTEND THAT SCHOOL.

I OPENED UP THE NEW SCHOOL AND THE TOWN OF HILTON HEAD IS WHERE I LIVE.

I ASKED HER THE NEWEST ONE OF TOWN EMPLOYEES THAT I MET, I GO, DID YOUR BOSS TELL YOU WHERE THE TONGUE OF HIL 10 IS? AND I REMEMBER PRESENTING SOME QUESTION TO A EX, WHAT? HE WAS ASSISTANT MANAGER AND HE COULDN'T ANSWER.

THE STONY COMMUNITY IS THE TOWN OF HIL HEAD.

AND IS THIS THE WAY YOU'RE GOING TO TREAT THE TOWN? I DON'T THINK NONE OF Y'ALL DESERVE Y'ALL JOB, HONESTLY.

THANK YOU MR. STEWART.

THAT'S ALL I GOTTA SAY.

GOOD EVENING, UH, STEVE ROBINSON, AND YOU GO RUN.

FIRST OF ALL, I'D LIKE TO THANK THE TOMATO MAN.

EXCELLENT.

I'M GONNA ADDRESS ALEX BROWN IN THAT.

HE ALREADY TOLD ALL YOU FOLKS AND US THAT YOU'VE HAD SOMETHING ON THE BOOKS SINCE, WHAT, 20 YEARS? 2003 OR SOMETHING.

WHERE IS IT? WHY ARE WE EVEN DISCUSSING THAT NOW? WHY ISN'T THAT DONE? I JUST WANTED TO GET THAT OUT.

NUMBER TWO, I CANNOT BELIEVE I CHATTED JUST A TAD WITH DAVID, UH, WHO I HAD NEVER MET.

BUT I CANNOT BELIEVE THAT THIS TOWN COUNCIL IS ASKING OUR ASSISTANT TOWN MANAGER WHAT HAPPENS IF WE VOTE.

NO ME TO TELL ME.

NONE OF YOU PEOPLE KNEW WHAT HAPPENS IF WE VOTE? NO.

NONE OF YOU DID.

YOU DID KNOW.

OKAY, SO IT WAS FOR THE, FOR THE MM-HMM, , OKAY.

THAT MATCHES UP.

THAT'S WHAT DAVID SAID.

ALRIGHTY.

UM, IT SEEMS TO ME THAT RIGHT IN THE BEGINNING, UH, WHEN ALAN TALKED THAT, UM, IF I UNDERSTOOD IT CORRECTLY, UM, OR MAYBE IT WAS, UH, THE ASSISTANT TOWN MANAGER, UM, IT SEEMS TO ME THAT THE COG IN THIS THING WAS NOT THE STATE.

NOW, CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG, IT'S BEAUFORT COUNTY.

THEY'RE THE ONE THAT SAID, NO, YOU'RE NOT HAVING A TWO BRIDGE, TWO LANE BRIDGE.

YOU'RE HAVING A ONE SPAN, SIX LANE BRIDGE.

IS THAT TRUE? I GOT QUESTIONS FOR YOU.

IS THAT TRUE? UH, UH, SEAN WILL ANSWER THOSE WHEN, WHEN YOU'RE, WHEN WE'RE DONE WITH PUBLIC COMMENT.

THE TOWN THAT WE ARE NOT, WE REALLY DON'T WANT CONCRETE AND TALK TO BUFORT COUNTY COUNCIL AND SAY, WHY DO YOU WANT ONE SPAN? SIX? WHY DO YOU REALIZE WHAT HILTON HEAD DOES FOR YOU? DO YOU REALIZE WHAT HILTON HEAD DOES FOR YOU? MR. GOVERNOR HILTON HEAD DOES A HELL OF A LOT FOR THIS STATE AND PARTICULARLY FOR THIS COUNTY.

UM, SO IF THAT'S TRUE, I'M SURE THAT'S BEEN KNOWN FOR OVER A YEAR.

WHY HAVEN'T YOU FOLKS TAKEN A TEMPERATURE OF THE AUDIENCE AND

[03:30:01]

AND WHY ARE WE ON THE TAIL END OF SOMETHING AS MAJOR AS THIS? AND IF BEAUFORT COUNTY CAUSED THIS SHAME ON YOU FOR NOT GOING AFTER THEM A YEAR AGO JUST TO SEE WHAT IF WE DON'T WANT IT NOW.

OKAY, WE WANT TO GET ANOTHER TEMPERATURE OF OF, OF THE PEOPLE.

OKAY? I'M JUST GONNA FINISH WITH THIS.

IF YOU'RE GONNA GO WITH THE BRI, THE BIGGER BRIDGE ONE, DITCH THE BICYCLE DEAL, DITCH IT.

NUMBER TWO, DO NOT SHOW.

I KNOW IT WAS ONLY A MOVIE.

DO NOT PUT CONCRETE IN THE MIDDLE.

PUT PALM TREES, SOMETHING NICE TO BEAUTIFY IT.

OKAY? AND THEN FINALLY, I'VE TOLD YOU ON MONDAY, THREE LANES, FOUR LANES IS NOT GOING TO CHANGE ANYTHING WITH TRAFFIC.

ONE THING AND ONE THING ONLY.

THOSE ARE THE STOPLIGHTS.

THANK, THANK YOU.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

ALRIGHT, ANYBODY ELSE IN THE BACK ROW? ALL THE WAY BACK LEFT.

MS. JOHNSON? I'M WORKING MY WAY UP, Y'ALL.

GOOD EVENING.

I'M DAVID JOHNSON.

UH, IN PORT ROYAL, I REALLY APPRECIATE HOW DIFFICULT TOWNS COUNCIL'S JOB IS.

YOU MUST BALANCE THE NEEDS OF RESIDENTS, WORKERS, AND VISITORS.

WHILE EACH OF THESE GROUPS IS VITAL TO THE ISLAND'S, OUR ISLAND'S PROSPERITY, YOU DO NOT, YOU DO NOT HEAR FROM 'EM ALL EQUALLY, RESIDENTS WITH CONCERNS ABOUT THE PROJECT HAVE MADE THEIR VIEWS KNOWN.

AND WHILE I'VE NOT ALWAYS AGREED WITH THEIR TACTICS, THEIR CONCERNS HAVE HELPED US THOROUGHLY VET AND IMPROVE THIS PROJECT.

AS IT NOW STANDS LESS THAN AN ACRE OF PRIVATE PROPERTY IN STONY, STILL AN ACRE TOO MUCH, BUT LESS THAN AN ACRE HAS BEEN HONED DOWN TO LESS THAN AN ACRE WILL BE IMPACTED IN.

IN ADDITION, THE GULLAH GEECHEE DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION IS FOCUSED ON THE HELP OF OUR HISTORIC NEIGHBORHOODS.

AND I COULDN'T AGREE MORE WITH WHAT THE DISCUSSION ABOUT STONY NEEDS TO BE.

THE STONY PLAN, WHICH I READ EARLY ON IN THE 2 78 PROJECT, NEEDS TO BE INITIATED.

THE ISLAND'S LARGEST BUSINESSES SUPPORT GENEROUS MITIGATION IN THE STONY AREA.

WHAT ABOUT THE RESIDENTS WHO ARE IN FAVOR OF THE PROJECT? WE'VE HEARD FROM SOME OF OUR LARGEST EMPLOYEES, AS WELL AS SOME INDIVIDUAL VOICES, WE CAN LOOK AT THE FACT THAT 62% OF THE RESIDENTS OF HILTON HEAD VOTED TO TAX THEMSELVES IN THE SALES REFERENDUM IN 2018.

THAT RAISED $80 MILLION TO FIX THE PROBLEMS ALONG THE 2 78 CORRIDOR.

NOW WE GET TO THOSE THAT WE DON'T HEAR FROM, OR NOT LEAST AS CLEARLY, THE WORKERS, 60% OF THEM COMMUTE OVER THE BRIDGE EVERY DAY.

MOST OF THEM IE YOUR LANDSCAPER, YOUR ROOF REPAIR A PERSON, THE WAITRESS IS YOUR FAVORITE RESTAURANT, DO NOT HAVE THE LUXURY OF CHOOSING WHAT TIME THEY GET HERE.

SO THEIR ONLY OPTION IS TO SIT AND RUSH HOUR TRAFFIC BOTH MORNING AND EVENING.

SECOND, THERE ARE THE VISITORS OF THE ISLAND.

NOW THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO COMPLAIN ABOUT ALL THE TOURISTS, BUT LET'S GET REAL TOURISM ACCOUNTS FOR 50% OF THE REVENUES IN THE HILTON HEAD BUDGET AND, AND EVEN GREATER SHARE OF OUR ECONOMIC ACTIVITY.

THEY'RE THE LIFEBLOOD OF OUR ISLAND'S ECONOMY.

AND WHEN THEY GET FED UP WITH LONG TRAFFIC DELAYS AND SAFETY ISSUES, THEY CAN CHOOSE TO VACATION SOMEWHERE ELSE.

WE HAVE THE DATA ON SAFETY.

I TALKED ABOUT THAT MONDAY NIGHT ABOUT THE PEOPLE THAT ARE GETTING INJURED AND HURT AND AND KILLED.

BUT AS I SAID AT THE BEGINNING, IT'S A CHALLENGE TO BALANCE THE NEEDS OF ALL THE DIFFERENT CONSTITUENCIES, PARTICULARLY WHEN SOME VOICES ARE LOUDER THAN OTHERS.

BUT WHEN, BUT THE SAFETY AND TRAFFIC ISSUES WILL ONLY GET WORSE OVER TIME.

A YES VOTE ON MUNICIPAL CONSENT MOVES US ONE STEP CLOSER TO SOLVING THEM FOR EVERYONE, RESIDENTS, WORKERS, AND VISITORS.

UP YOUR EYES TO WHAT IS GOING ON AND GETTING ALL THE FACTS YOU POSSIBLY CAN ON THIS THING.

THANK YOU MR. JOHNSON.

NEXT, MR. BABEL, MY NAME IS FRANK BRAVEL.

I LIVE IN SEA PINES.

AND, UH, UH, MY ASS OFF TO SEAN AND YOU FOLKS FOR OPENING

[03:35:01]

UH, THIS IS A VERY COMPLICATED THING, BUT I WOULD SAY THAT THE MEMBERS OF THIS COUNCIL WHO HAVE BEEN INVOLVED IN THIS A LOT, HAVE A LOT OF WISDOM.

THEY WERE INVOLVED IN MOST OF OUR MEETINGS FOR YEARS AND BEFORE IT BECAME POLITICAL, THEY LISTENED.

UM, STONY, I REALLY OBJECT TO THE SAVE STONY THINGS THAT TELLS PEOPLE THAT THINGS ARE BAD.

WELL, THINGS AREN'T GREAT AT STONY, BUT THIS PROJECT OFFERS AN OPPORTUNITY TO REALLY CHANGE A LOT.

YOU'VE GOT THE TENSION OF THE TOWN, THEY'VE GOT THE INTENTION OF S-E-D-O-T, THEY'VE GOT THE INTENTION OF A LOT OF THINGS.

IT CAN REVITALIZE STONY.

IT CHANGES FROM A GLASS HALF FULL TO A GLASS REALLY FULL.

AND IT MAKES A BIG DIFFERENCE.

IT'S A POSITIVE THING.

AND I, I WISH MORE PEOPLE THOUGHT THAT WAY.

THE BOTTOM LINE, WE, WE NEED A, A STRUCTURE THAT IS HURRICANE AND EARTHQUAKE PROOF.

WE NEED TO FIX OUR TRAFFIC CAPACITY PROBLEMS. WE NEED TO AVOID AN APPROACH THAT'LL GIVE US ENDLESS SINGLE LANE, DOUBLE LANE FIXES AS WE HAVE TO KEEP ON REPLACING INDIVIDUAL STRUCTURES.

WE NEED TO FIX OUR SAFETY PROBLEM.

WE NEED TO GET COMMUTERS AND VISITORS AND EVERYBODY GOING ACROSS THE BRIDGE WITHOUT HORRENDOUS DELAYS, CRASHES AND DEATHS.

WE NEED MORE CONNECTIVITY WITH BLUFFTON.

WE NEED TO GET TO HEALTHCARE BECAUSE THAT'S WHERE MOST OF IT IS NOW.

AND THAT'S WHERE THE AIRPORT IS FOR MOST OF US.

AND THAT'S WHERE THE BIG BOXES AND PICKNEY AND A LOT OF OTHER PLACES ARE.

WE NEED TO GET TO THEM AND THEY NEED TO COME TO US.

WE NEED CONNECTIVITY.

WE NEED WORKERS ON OUR ISLAND TO SUPPORT OUR LIFESTYLE.

I GET HEAR PEOPLE ALL THE TIME VERY WORRIED ABOUT THIS.

WE CAN'T GET HELP, CAN'T GET A PLUMBER.

I HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO GET A PLUMBER.

I CAN SAY A LOT MORE, BUT I'D LIKE TO SAY, PLEASE APPROVE THIS PROJECT.

IT'S A LONG-TERM.

VERY IMPORTANT, SIGNIFICANT OPPORTUNITY TO CHANGE WHAT WE HAVE AND GUARANTEE OUR FUTURE.

AND AS DR.

DEMI SAYS, WHEN YOU LOOK AT A PROJECT LIKE THIS, THOSE WHO HAVE TO GET ALL THE ANSWERS BEFORE THEY DO IT ARE THE PEOPLE AND THE PLACES AND THE PROJECTS THAT NEVER, EVER GET DONE.

BECAUSE EVERYBODY'S ALWAYS TRYING TO ANSWER EVERY QUESTION THAT'S OUT THERE.

THIS PROJECT WILL GET GOING, YOU'LL FIND THINGS AND IT'LL IMPROVE AS IT GOES.

ERIC, ERIC SUMMERVILLE, PALMETTO BAY, MARINA VILLAGE, AND HELLO TOWN COUNCIL AND TOWN MANAGER.

SO I AM IN FAVOR OF MOVING FORWARD, BUT HOW DO WE DO THAT? I WILL SAY FROM MY OWN PERSONAL EXPERIENCE, SINCE 1978, I HAVE VISITED HILTON HEAD ISLAND AT LEAST TWICE A YEAR, UH, FOR MANY YEARS AND MOVED HERE IN 2010.

I'VE ALWAYS ENJOYED COMING OVER THE BRIDGE, ALBEIT IN 1978, IT WAS A TURNSTILE BRIDGE AND HAD TO WAIT TILL, WENT STRAIGHT TO GO OVER.

BUT THE BRIDGES HAVE IMPROVED AND THAT'S GREAT.

I'M NOT IN FAVOR OF RUINING ANYTHING ALONG THE STONY PATHWAY AND DOING EVERYTHING.

AS PATSY HAS MENTIONED TO OUTLINE, TO HELP THE STONY PROJECT.

UH, MY ONLY CONCERN, I IN A SENSE WOULD SAY I DON'T CARE WHAT SIZE THE BRIDGE IS, AS LONG AS IT COMES DOWN TO TWO LANES FOR A WHILE INTO HILTON HEAD.

AND DURING THE TIMEFRAME THAT WE FIGURE OUT HOW THREE LANES GOES TO TWO LANES OR ANYTHING ELSE, DO ALL THE THE FIVE THINGS THAT YOU MENTIONED, ALAN, AND THE ONE THING YOU MENTIONED, ALEX, UH, TO ACTUALLY GET THOSE OTHER THINGS DONE ON THE ISLAND.

BECAUSE MY BIGGEST CONCERN IS IF WE BRING TOO MUCH TRAFFIC IN, YOU KNOW, THESE BRIDGE PEOPLE BUILD BRIDGES FOR MUCH BIGGER COMMUNITIES, NOT FOR AN ISLAND.

THEY'RE GONNA FLOOD TRAFFIC IN HERE IN A WAY WE WON'T HAVE SPACE FOR IT TO PARK VERY QUICKLY.

THERE'LL BE TOO MANY CARS COMING IN ALL AT ONCE.

AND IT'S ALL VERY, EVEN BY THE CONSULTANT, IT'S BEEN IDENTIFIED THAT, UH, THE, UH, UH, THE, THE, THE, I GUESS THE ENTRANCE TO, UH, UH, YOU KNOW WHAT, I'M GETTING OLDER AND THE MEMORY'S GOING.

I EVEN FORGOT I WAS GOING TO GIVE HIM MY THREE MINUTES.

BUT YOU KNOW, FORGET ABOUT THAT JACKET.

SO THE ENTRANCE IS BEAUTIFUL.

IT'S NICE, IT WIGGLES A LITTLE BIT.

AND SINCE MY VERY FIRST TRIP HERE, I'VE ENJOYED THAT LITTLE VIEW THROUGH STONY.

[03:40:01]

WAS DIDN'T EVEN KNOW ABOUT STONY.

I JUST WENT THROUGH THERE.

DIDN'T KNOW THAT GOT MESSED UP BEFORE WHEN THEY PUT THE BOAT.

BUT DO THE BEST YOU CAN.

THE STONY COMMUNITY IS FANTASTIC AND WITHIN MITCHELLVILLE ITSELF, THEY'RE DOING EXCELLENT THINGS.

THEY'VE GOT CONTRACTS AND THINGS TO GROW IT.

IT'S NICE.

IT'S, YOU KNOW, HELL, THE BLACK PEOPLE SHOULD HAVE OWNED THE WHOLE ISLAND TO BEGIN WITH.

UH, MINE, I JUST, I'VE GONE OFF PATH HERE.

, ANY EVENT.

ALL RIGHT, THAT'S ALL I HAVE TO SAY.

AND I GOT 37 SECONDS LEFT.

, I'M OUTTA HERE.

THANK YOU MR. SOMERVILLE.

MR. CHRISTIAN, GOOD JOB.

GOOD EVENING, MR. MAYOR.

MEMBERS OF THE TOWN COUNCIL, MR. TOWN MANAGER.

HEY.

DROPS UP.

THEY DON'T PAY ENOUGH.

THANK YOU, MR. CHRISTIAN.

YOU'RE WELCOME.

YOU FOLKS HAVE GIVEN ME THE PRIVILEGE OF SERVING THE TOWN IN MANY, MANY WAYS.

I SERVED WITH DAVID AMES ON THE MAYOR'S TASK FOR THE FUTURE OF BACK IN PROBABLY 2010.

DAVID, WHEN WE HAD TO SOLVE A PROBLEM, YOU'VE ALLOWED ME TO BE ON THE BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS.

YOU'VE ALLOWED ME TO BE ON THE PLANNING COMMISSION, AND I'M PRESENTLY SERVING WITH SENATOR DAVIS ON THE GREEN SPACE COMMITTEE.

AND WE ARE CONSIDERING SEVERAL PIECES OF PROPERTY IN THE STONY COMMUNITY AT THIS TIME.

I'M IN FAVOR, VERY MUCH SO AS I MANAGE HILTON HEAD PLANTATION, AND I'VE MANAGED IT FOR 25 YEARS.

I AM THE PRESIDENT OF MY HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION BECAUSE I'M A GLUTTON FOR PUNISHMENT.

MY HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION IS ON SPANISH WELLS ROAD.

I'M VERY FAMILIAR WITH THE TRAFFIC PATTERNS ON THE BRIDGE.

IT NEEDS TO BE A SIX LANE BRIDGE, AND WE NEED TO HAVE SIX LANES ALL THE WAY ACROSS, THREE IN EACH DIRECTION.

SIMPLE MAP.

YOU HAVE FIVE LANES, TWO FROM THE BLUFFTON PARKWAY, THREE FROM 2 78 ON MAINLAND COMING ACROSS.

YOU HAVE CROSS ISLAND PARKWAY, TWO LANES, AND YOU HAVE THREE LANES COMING ACROSS ON 2 78.

GOING INTO TWO LANES DOESN'T WORK.

YOU NEED TO IMPROVE IT.

THE IMPROVEMENT IN HOW YOU DO IT IS NOT UP TO ME.

THERE'S MUCH SMARTER PEOPLE TO DO THAT.

I EMPLOY A HUNDRED PEOPLE.

THEY COME OVER THE BRIDGE, MOST OF THEM.

I MET WITH THE COUNTRY CLUB OF HILTON HEAD MANAGER YESTERDAY.

HE EMPLOYS A HUNDRED PEOPLE.

I'M NOT EVEN TALKING ABOUT THE CYPRESS.

I'M NOT EVEN TALKING ABOUT THE GOLF COURSES WHO EMPLOY PEOPLE.

15 MINUTES IS 78 HOURS A YEAR.

IT MEANS SOMETHING IN PRODUCTIVITY.

YOU HAVE TO HAVE A BIKE LANE BECAUSE I AGREE A HUNDRED PERCENT WITH DAVID AMES.

ELECTRIC BIKES AND OTHER MODES OF ALTERNATIVE TRANSPORTATION ARE GONNA COME ACROSS THAT WAY, AND IT'S GOING TO GET MOTOR VEHICLES OFF THE ROAD.

YOU NEED TO THINK ABOUT THE FUTURE.

SOMEONE SAID ON THIS DAY IS, WHO DO YOU REPRESENT? YOU REPRESENT EVERYONE.

AND THAT INCLUDES THE BUSINESS OWNERS, THE SERVERS, THE CARPENTERS, THE HVAC FOLKS, THE ELECTRICIANS, THE POOL PEOPLE, THE EXTERMINATORS, EVERYBODY, BECAUSE IT'S A PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN THE FOLKS WHO WORK HERE AND THE FOLKS WHO LIVE HERE.

AND IF THAT PARTNERSHIP DEVIATES, YOU LOSE IT.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME.

MS. NORRIS.

HELLO.

I'M CHERRY NORRIS SHIPYARD.

UM, LAST NIGHT, SENATOR DAVIS SAID TO ME, THE SOLUTION IN DE DETERMINING WHAT THE BRIDGE NEEDS TO BE IS WHO IS THE BRIDGE BUILT FOR? LIKE, WHO ARE YOU AS HILTON HEAD ISLAND? AND WHEN MS. BECKER ELOQUENTLY DESCRIBED WHAT I THINK MANY OF US CAME HERE FOR, IT IS A PLACE, A SANCTUARY, A BEAUTIFUL ISLAND, A LOCATION THAT I I'VE BEEN COMING TO OVER 50 YEARS WITH MY FAMILY.

MY PARENTS BOUGHT A PLACE IN 84, AND EVEN THOUGH I LIVED ON THE WEST COAST IN CALIFORNIA FOR 30 YEARS, WHAT I LOVE ABOUT HILTON HEAD IS THAT IT'S MAINTAINED AN AESTHETIC.

IT IS A REALLY SPECIAL PLACE IN THE WORLD.

AND YOU CAN'T SAY THAT ABOUT A LOT OF PLACES THAT ARE OVERDEVELOPED AND HAVE STARBUCKS ON EVERY CORNER AND JUST LOOK LIKE EVERY OTHER CITY IN THE WORLD.

I JUST WENT FROM MIAMI TO KEY WEST.

IT'S A TWO LANE ROAD.

IT'S A THREE AND A HALF HOUR TRIP

[03:45:01]

THAT TOOK FOUR AND A HALF HOURS.

DID I MIND? NO, I DID NOT.

BECAUSE IT'S AESTHETIC.

IT IS BEAUTIFUL.

IT'S WHAT YOU SIGN UP FOR WHEN YOU DRIVE TO KEY WEST.

I GO INTO SAVANNAH, THERE IS ONE LANE TO GET ON THE BRIDGE, ONE LANE TO COME OFF THE BRIDGE.

AND THIS IS TO SAVANNAH, A MAJOR CITY I THINK OF IN GEORGIA.

WHEN I FIRST HEARD ABOUT THE 11 LANE BRIDGE COMING HERE, COSTING CLOSE TO A HALF A BILLION DOLLARS, IT JUST SOUNDED OUTRAGEOUS.

THIS IS, UH, TO A 40,000 DO 40,000 PERSON ISLAND RESIDENCY, 11 LANES.

IT'S, IT'S SOUNDS INSANE.

BUT I WAS CONSIDERING, YOU KNOW, AS A, AS A RESIDENT HERE, THIS IS NOT WHAT I SIGNED UP FOR.

THIS IS NOT WHAT I WANT.

BUT I CAN SEE HOW THERE'S ANOTHER VIEWPOINT.

I DEFINITELY LIKE THE IDEA OF MOVING FORWARD, THINKING OF BETTER FOR OUR ISLAND.

I ALSO HAVE A CONCERN, AND THAT IS WITH THE IMPLEMENTATION OF A REALLY BIG BRIDGE, DOES THAT SET THE GROUNDWORK FOR BIGGER DEVELOPMENT, MORE SHORT TERM RENTALS, ISLANDERS GETTING VERY RESIDENTS, GETTING FRUSTRATED WITH CONSTRUCTION AND NOISE.

AND, AND THEN DOES IT GET US OUT OF OUR POSITIONS SO THAT OUR SINGLE FAMILY HOMES ARE BOUGHT UP BY CORPORATIONS THAT ARE THEN TURNED INTO MORE SHORT TERM RENTALS? AND THEN WHERE DOES THAT LEAVE US AS A COMMUNITY AND AS AN ISLAND? AND SO THOSE ARE THE KINDS OF THINGS THAT I WAS CONSIDERING LAST NIGHT AND I THINK SHOULD BE CONSIDERED IN THIS PROPOSAL MOVING FORWARD.

MR. BECKER.

MR. BECKER , DID YOU AUTHORIZE THIS? I DON'T.

THIS IS HIS OWN LIFE.

DO THE RESIDENTS GET CONDITIONS? CAN WE PUT OUR CONDITIONS IN THERE? I MEAN, YOU GUYS WERE ELECTED TO REPRESENT US, THE RESIDENTS.

SO ANYBODY WHO KNOWS ME KNOWS I DON'T GET UP AND SPEAK.

I'M, I'M A QUIET GUY.

UH, FIRSTLY, I WANT TO COMMEND MS. BRALY AND MS. BECKER FOR THEIR PARTICIPATION IN MONDAY NIGHT'S MEETING WHEN THE REST OF COUNCIL SAT THERE, PRETTY MUCH STONE FACED WITH THEIR ARMS FOLDED AND HAD NO COMMENTS.

I DON'T KNOW IF THEY DIDN'T READ THE MATERIALS OR WHAT THE DEAL WAS, BUT THAT'S MY FIRST COMMENT TO, UH, PIGGYBACK ON WHAT CHERRY JUST SAID.

UH, KEY WEST HAS 5 MILLION VISITORS A YEAR, 2 MILLION MORE THAN WE DO.

AND THEY GET BY WITH TWO LANES EACH WAY, 38 FEET WIDE, SEVEN MILES LONG.

SO I DON'T, I DON'T KNOW WHY WE NEED SIX LANES TO COVER WHATEVER IT IS, MILE AND A HALF, TWO MILES TO GET OVER TO THOSE TWO PIECES OF WATER.

UH, SECONDLY, LOOK AROUND THIS ROOM ON THE WALLS, WHAT'S ON, HANGING ON THE WALLS ALL AROUND THIS ROOM.

GULLAH CELEBRATIONS, ALL THINGS RELATED TO GULLAH.

AND WE'RE NOT GONNA HONOR THEM.

WE'RE NOT GONNA TAKE CARE OF THEM.

WE'RE GONNA, YOU KNOW, PUSH THEM TO THE SIDE.

I MEAN, IT'S TO ME THAT IT SEEMS RIDICULOUS.

YOU KNOW, THEIR CULTURE, THEIR HERITAGE, THEIR LONGEVITY HERE, AND THE IMPACT IT'S GONNA HAVE ON THOSE FAMILIES.

I MEAN, IF IT, IF IT WAS MY FAMILY, IT'S NOT MY FAMILY, BUT I'M OUTRAGED AT THE IMPACT IT'S GONNA HAVE ON THEIR FAMILIES, AND WE DON'T SEEM TO REALLY CARE.

UM, THE BIKE LANES, PEOPLE AREN'T GONNA COME OVER HERE ON A BIKE WITH THEIR CHAIRS AND THEIR COOLERS TO GO TO THE BEACH .

IT'S NOT GONNA HAPPEN.

SO WE'RE GONNA SPEND A TON OF MONEY FOR A MINIMAL AMOUNT OF TRAFFIC TO USE THOSE LANES.

AND AS FAR AS THE TRAFFIC ISSUES GO, WE MOVED DOWN HERE.

I LOOKED FOR A JOB HERE.

I LOOKED FOR A JOB IN HARDY VI FOUND THE BEST PAYING JOB I COULD FIND WAS IN BUFORT.

SO I TRAVELED AN HOUR EACH WAY, AND I TRAVELED SOMETIMES THREE HOURS TO GET HOME ON THE SATURDAY THAT I HAD TO WORK.

I DEALT WITH IT.

IF YOU PAY PEOPLE, THEY'LL COME, THEY'LL SIT IN TRAFFIC FOR 15 MORE MINUTES IF YOU PAY THEM PROPERLY.

UH, AND THEN, UH, EVERYBODY UP THERE SEEMS TO HAVE CONDITIONS.

[03:50:01]

SO OUR CONDITIONS SHOULD BE, YOU KNOW, AT YOUR TOP OF YOUR, UH, YOUR HEAD.

PERFECT.

SO THANK YOU, DEB.

PERFECT.

ANGIE, CAN I HAVE A FRIEND? HOLD.

PARDON? POSTERS.

I BROUGHT VISUALS.

OH, THE HOLD.

SHE CAN COME UP AND HOLD THEM.

THANK YOU, ANGIE.

WHILE YOU'RE GETTING SET UP, I JUST WANNA TELL MY HUSBAND HOW PROUD I AM.

AN OPEN FORM THAT NEITHER OF THE TRAFFIC PROGRAMS THEY USED WERE SUFFICIENT ENOUGH TO GIVE US FIRM ANSWERS TO OUR QUESTIONS ON A SPECIFIC TO TOPIC WAS UNACCEPTABLE.

SO, AND THIS IS FOR Y'ALL AND WHATEVER, 'CAUSE YOU'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO TALK TO THE AUDIENCE, RIGHT? I'M ANGIE HUTCHINS SHIPYARD, AND I LIKE VISUALS.

UM, I HAVE A QUESTION ON THE PROCEDURE AND I, MAYBE I NEED TO DO THAT.

UM, I KINDA LIKE THE CLAPPING BECAUSE I FEEL LIKE THAT COULD SHORTEN TO THINGS POSSIBLY AS A PROCEDURAL QUESTION FOR YOU ALL.

UM, THERE'S A LOT OF PEOPLE THAT COME TO THESE THAT DON'T WANNA STAND UP HERE AND SPEAK, OR THAT DON'T WANNA SAY THE SAME THINGS THAT HAVE ALREADY BEEN SAID 10 TIMES AND CLAPPING IS, OR SOMETHING WOULD BE ONE WAY TO SAY, HEY, THAT THAT RESONATES WITH ME.

AND THAT'S CULTURALLY WHAT WE ALL KNOW AND DO.

I JUST THINK IT'S KIND OF A NEAT IDEA.

I DON'T, I'M, I'M VERY APPRECIATIVE, MR. MAYOR, OF TRYING TO KEEP DECORUM AND KEEP NEGATIVE NEGATIVITY DOWN.

SO THAT'S ONE THING.

SOMETHING THAT'S NOT BEEN SAID TODAY.

UM, I THINK PART OF THIS AND FINALLY GIVING OVER THE MUNICIPAL CONSENT TO BEAUFORT COUNTY IS, BEAUFORT COUNTY DOESN'T HAVE A GREAT TRACK RECORD RIGHT NOW.

I'M NOT EVEN GONNA GO INTO ALL THAT.

AND WHY TRUST THEM WITH HALF A BILLION? UM, MY, MY THINGS HERE.

SO I LIKE MEASURING OUTCOMES.

I TAUGHT SCIENCE FOR MANY, MANY YEARS.

20 YEARS OF HOMESCHOOLING.

AND I WAS A NURSE AND I GOT TO DO A LOT OF THINGS BEFORE REAL ESTATE.

SO I GET TO SEE A WIDE VARIETY OF PEOPLE.

YOUR OWN OUTLINE OF YOUR PROJECT INFLUENCES WAS HERE, AND I'M GONNA SUM THOSE UP WITH, NUMBER ONE WAS FIXED TRANSPORTATION AND RESILIENCY.

SO I GOT REALLY CURIOUS 'CAUSE TWO OF MY KIDS WENT TO SCHOOL IN, IN MANHATTAN.

AND, UM, I'VE BIKED ACROSS THE BROOKLYN BRIDGE.

I LOVED IT, BUT I'M NOT GONNA GO THERE.

UM, AS FAR AS RESILIENCY, THE BRIDGE IS THE FOUR.

I'M ONLY TALKING ABOUT THE FOUR BRIDGES ON THE EAST SIDE OF MANHATTAN, BECAUSE THERE WAS A GREAT ARTICLE IN THE ISLAND PACKET THAT TALKED ABOUT, WE'RE ACTUALLY GEOGRAPHICALLY THE SAME SIZE AS MANHATTAN, BUT SO MUCH DIFFERENCE.

UM, THE BROOKLYN BRIDGE WAS BUILT IN 1883.

THE MANHATTAN BRIDGE WAS BUILT IN 1909, THE WILLIAMSBURG BRIDGE, 1903.

AND THE, UH, QUEENS BRIDGE WAS 1901.

GUESS WHAT? THIS NEW BRIDGE YOU'RE PROPOSING IS WIDER THAN ALL OF THEM.

AND THAT JUST BLOWS MY MIND.

THERE'S LOTS OF OTHER STATISTICS ON HERE.

SO, AND THEY HAVE, UM, THE BROOKLYN BRIDGE IS 85 FEET WIDE.

THE MANHATTAN IS 120.

WILLIAMSBURG IS 118.

EDCOCK IS, UH, THE 19, OH, UM, SORRY, A HUNDRED FEET WIDE.

UM, SO FOR TRANSPORTATION RESILIENCY, I THINK THAT'S A NO NO, NO.

UM, IMPROVE SAFETY AND QUALITY OF LIFE.

I'M USING THE, THE, THE DIAGRAM THAT MS. BRYSON TALKED ABOUT, BECAUSE I DO THINK THE AREAS WHERE THE WRECKS ARE ALMOST NOTHING HAS VIRTUALLY CHANGED.

I WAS SO EXCITED TO HEAR YOU GUYS TALKING ABOUT THE PEDESTRIAN WALKWAY THAT WAS BEAUTIFUL.

TODAY WAS WONDERFUL.

ALSO, I'VE ONLY GOT 18 SECONDS, UM, BECAUSE I FOUND ALMOST A POINT OF AGREEMENT WITH EVERYBODY UP THERE, WHICH I WAS REALLY EXCITED ABOUT.

TWO BRIDGES, TWO BRIDGES.

IF WE'RE REALLY WORRIED ABOUT SAFETY, TWO BRIDGES IS A NO NO-BRAINER.

I DON'T CARE WHAT THE BEAUFORT COUNTY SAYS.

THEY DON'T KNOW WHAT THEY'RE THE AESTHETICALLY PLEASING WE ARE NOT MANHATTAN.

WHAT IS THE CHARACTER OF IRELAND? AND HOW WILL THIS PROPOSAL IRREVOCABLY ALTER THAT? I ALSO THINK THERE'S A CONFIRMATION BIAS HERE THAT WHEN WE WANNA PROPOSE, WHEN WE WANNA APPROVE ONE THING, THEN WE'RE ONLY LOOKING FOR WAYS TO APPROVE IT AND WE'RE NOT THINKING CRITICALLY.

AND AGAIN, THANK YOU.

THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR HARD QUESTIONS MS. PRESIDENT.

I'M LINDA HARRINGTON FROM INDIGO RUN.

UM, THE THING THAT, THE, THE THING THAT STRUCK ME THE MOST HERE IS HOW MUCH DO WE PAY OUR ATTORNEY FOR THE TOWN? FIRST OF ALL, HE SHOULD BE HERE.

SECOND OF ALL, HE SHOULD HAVE COME UP WITH THE QUESTIONS.

MS. BRYSON CAME UP WITH, WHAT DOES HE DO? .

OKAY, NOW, NOW I WILL GO ON TO READ WHAT I, I MEAN, IT STRUCK ME AS KIND OF RIDICULOUS, BUT PLEASE DO VOTE.

DO NOT VOTE YES FOR THIS PLAN.

OUR INDEPENDENT STUDY IS NOT COMPLETE.

TRAFFIC INFORMATION I HEARD AT THE LAST MEETING WAS POOR AT BEST FOR A CONSULTING FIRM WHO'S BEEN PAID HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS TO SAY IN

[03:55:01]

TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE.

YOUR SOFTWARE PROBLEMS SHOULDN'T BE THE TOWNS.

THE S-C-D-O-T ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT IS FATALLY FLAWED.

WHERE IS THE INFORMATION AS TO HOW MUCH IMPERVIOUS SURFACE YOU ARE ADDING? AND IF YOU KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT THE ENVIRONMENT, EVERY SQUARE INCH OF IMPERVIOUS SURFACE HAS A, USUALLY HAS A DELETERIOUS EFFECT ON WHAT'S UNDER IT.

NOW, AS FAR AS THE BRIDGE, YOU KNOW, MANY TRUCKS AND AUTOS HERE ARE IN DISREPAIR.

THEY SPEW SMOKE AND LITTLE BITS OF OIL AND CHEMICALS THAT WILL NOW CONTRIBUTE TO MORE RUNOFF INTO THE INTERCOASTAL FROM THIS MASSIVE CONCRETE STRUCTURE.

ARE WE TRYING TO OVERWHELM THE INTERCOASTAL WATERWAY AND THE LAND UNDER THE BRIDGE? WHERE'S THE ENVIRONMENTAL REPORT ON THAT ISSUE ALONE? WE ALL KNOW THE BEST LAID PLANS ALSO OFTEN HAVE TO BE TWEAKED IN A MANNER THAT COULD MATERIALLY CHANGE THE RESULTS OF THEIR ASSESSMENT.

AND AN ASSESSMENT IS NOT GOOD ENOUGH.

YOU NEED AN ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT.

I DON'T CARE WHAT THEY SAY.

I'VE DONE THIS FOR A LONG TIME.

THERE IS NO ONE WHO WILL BE MORE DIRECTLY IMPACTED BY THIS BRIDGE THAN HILTON HEAD RESIDENTS, INCLUDING THE OFF ISLAND HILTON HEAD ADDRESSES.

I'M SO SICK OF HEARING THE MANTRA TOURISTS PAY OUR TAXES.

WHILE THAT IS TRUE TO A CERTAIN EXTENT, IT'S ALSO TRUE THAT THE MORE TOURISTS WE CRAM ONTO THIS ISLAND, THE MORE OUR ENVIRONMENT AND INFRASTRUCTURE SUFFERS.

HOWEVER, PE PEOPLE MAKING MONEY FROM THE INDUSTRY WILL GIVE YOU A HUNDRED REASONS WHY YOU ARE WRONG.

AND THEY'RE GOOD CUSTODIANS.

STATISTICS DON'T BEAR THAT OUT.

IN CONCLUSION, AFTER SEEING YOUR SHINY NEW VIDEO, I AM MORE CONVINCED THAN EVER THAT THIS PLAN SHOULD NOT BE GIVEN MUNICIPAL CONSENT.

EVERY SINGLE YEAR, THE HERITAGE ROLLS AROUND AND WE HEAR ABOUT CHARLES FRAZIER'S WONDERFUL, INNOVATIVE VISION.

HOWEVER, WHEN THE CAMERAS ARE TURNED OFF AND THE LIGHTS ARE SHUT DOWN, FRAZIER'S VISION IS FORGOTTEN UNTIL THE NEXT HERITAGE.

THANK YOU MR. SMITH.

GRAY SMITH INDIGO RUN.

UH, I'VE TAKEN THESE NOTES DURING THIS MEETING.

I DIDN'T PREP ANYTHING.

UH, AND THEY SORT OF, IT RUBS ME THE WRONG WAY WHEN I SEE HILTON HEAD, UH, BEING ASKED TO GIVE UP AUTONOMY AND POWER TO OTHER ENTITIES.

SO THESE ARE WHERE MY COMMENTS CAME FROM.

NUMBER ONE, UH, IT DEFIES CREDIBILITY THAT A PROJECT IS FEDERALLY, FEDERALLY PROHIBITED FROM PROCEEDING FURTHER THAN A 30% DESIGN COMPLETION, UH, RATIO.

HOW COULD OUR TOWN COUNCIL POSSIBLY CONSIDER COMMITTING THE CITIZENS OF THIS SPECIAL ISLAND TO A PROJECT THAT IS 70%, UH, CAN'T READ, UH, UNKNOWN IN ITS DESIGN SPECIFICS.

JUST A POINT TO BRING UP.

SECOND POINT, UH, REGARDING BEAUFORT COUNTY BEING THE SPONSOR OF THE 2 78 PROJECT? NO, UH, FIRST OF ALL, SENATOR DAVIS, UH, LONG AGO TOLD US PUBLICLY THAT THE THEN SC DOT SECRETARY CHRISTIE HALL HAS STATED QUOTE, THIS IS HILTON HEAD ISLAND'S PROJECT.

IF HILTON HEAD DOESN'T WANT IT, IT DOESN'T GET DONE.

AND SO WE NEED TO MAINTAIN THE AUTONOMY AND THE AUTHORITY ABOUT THIS PROJECT.

UH, SECOND THING, SECOND POINT I WANTED TO BRING UP ABOUT BEAUFORT COUNTY.

UH, IT SEES HILTON HEAD ISLAND AS A TAX INCOME PRODUCING CASH COW.

AS SUCH, THE COUNTY IS FUNDAMENTALLY POSITIONED TO NOT WATCH OUT FOR THE BEST INTERESTS OF THE RESIDENTS OF HILTON HEAD ISLAND.

THAT'S WHY IT IS CRITICALLY IMPORTANT FOR THE HILTON HEAD TOWN COUNCIL TO STEP UP AND FULFILL THAT ROLE.

AND FINALLY, I HAVE A FUNDAMENTAL PROBLEM WITH S-C-D-O-T, UH, FORCING AND ENVIRONMENTALLY AND AESTHETICALLY, UH, ABHORRENT UNI BRIDGE ON WE THE RESIDENTS SIMPLY BECAUSE IT IS THE CHEAPEST ALTERNATIVE.

YET YOU ALL REPRESENT ALL OF US.

OTHER COMMENTS? QUESTION? WELL, CAROL BUCKER, I WASN'T GONNA SPEAK BECAUSE I DO HAVE LARYNGITIS, BUT I WANT TO COMMAND ALL OF YOU ACTUALLY.

BUT THEN, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE OUR OWN INDIVIDUAL AREAS THAT YOU ALL REPRESENT US, BUT

[04:00:01]

AND SO SOME OF YOU, I HEAR THAT YOU DO REPRESENT ALL OF THE WHOLE ISLAND.

SOME DON'T.

AND I'M NOT GONNA POINT PUT FINGERS AT ANYBODY OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT.

BUT I DO HAVE A DITTO, DITTO, DITTO FOR A LOT OF THESE PEOPLE HERE BECAUSE THEY'RE, THEY SAY EXACTLY HOW I FEEL.

AND I, AND YOU'VE ALREADY HEARD ME BEFORE THAT I AM AGAINST THE, THAT BIG OF A LANE MONSTROSITY OF A BRIDGE.

AND YOU ALSO SAID ABOUT THE BIKES THAT GOING ACROSS THERE AND EVERYTHING, E-BIKES.

I DON'T KNOW OF ANYBODY THAT HAS THAT'S GONNA BE CALLING, GOING ACROSS THAT BRIDGE EXCEPT FOR ACTUALLY THE BIKE CLUBS AND YOU KNOW WHO THEY ARE BECAUSE THEY WILL GO ON THE MAIN HIGHWAY INSTEAD OF ON THE BIKE PATH THAT WE SPENT TO BUILD FOR THEM.

AND BECAUSE, OH, THEY'RE SPATIAL.

AND SO I AM TOTALLY AGAINST THE BIKE PASS AND I'M DEFINITELY AGAINST THAT BUMP HOUSE ON, ON TWO BRIDGES BECAUSE THAT WOULD GIVE THE PEOPLE THAT YOU SAY THAT'S GONNA WALK ACROSS OR BIKE ACROSS AN EASIER PATH TO GO AND JUMP OFF THE BRIDGE AND COMMIT SUICIDE.

AND SO, AND I SAID THE OTHER DAY ALSO ABOUT THE PIC PICTURES, JUST LIKE DALE SAID, THAT, YOU KNOW, Y'ALL CELEBRATE, WHICH IS IN YOUR DISTRICT, THAT WE CELEBRATE THE STONY AREA, THE GOAL COM COMMITTEE AND COMMUNITY.

AND UH, AND THE TOURISTS THEN COME AND THEY ACTUALLY ASK, CAN WE GO AND SEE THE AREA? CAN WE GO AND DO ANYTHING? WE SAY, YEAH, THERE'S TOUR THAT YOU CAN DO.

THERE'S A MUSEUM THAT YOU COULD GO TO, YOU KNOW, CHECK IT OUT.

IT'S GREAT.

AND SO WHY DO WE EVEN WANT TO DISTURB ANY OF THAT OTHER THAN WHAT MS. BRYSON SAID? I THINK THAT'S GREAT WHAT SHE SAID.

AND I DID POINT OUT HER, BUT SHE PUT, 'CAUSE SHE DID DO A GREAT JOB.

AND, AND MS. BECKER DID TOO.

UH, BUT I'M JUST UPSET WITH THIS WHOLE THING.

'CAUSE I DON'T THINK WE NEED THREE LANES ACROSS.

AND I'M SORRY, WITH THE, UH, SOUTH CAROLINA DOTI THINK THEY ARE TOTALLY WRONG THAT THEY ARE NOT SEEN.

THEY DO THEY ANY OF THEM LIVE HERE ON THE ISLAND.

AND SO THEY'RE NOT SEEING WHAT THE COMMUNITY, WHICH IS WHAT WE ARE ALL COMMUNITY STONY AND ALL OF US THAT LIVE NO MATTER WHERE YOU LIVE ON THE ISLAND.

WE ARE A COMMUNITY THAT WE DON'T NEED.

AND THE ALSO THE PEOPLE THAT, I ACTUALLY TALKED TO SOMEBODY THIS MORNING ABOUT THE BIKE PATH AND EVERYTHING, DO WE NEED A BIKE PATH? AND JAY, THEY LIVE IN, UH, BLUFFTON THERE AND THEY SAID NO, THEY WOULD NEVER USE IT.

RIGHT? SO THANK YOU.

THANK YOU MISS.

HOW YOU, HOPE YOU FEEL BETTER.

HOPE YOU FEEL BETTER.

OTHER, OTHER PUBLIC COMMENT? COMMENT, MR. STEWART.

I THINK I TALKED TOO MUCH THE OTHER DAY.

I REMAIN MINE.

OH, YOU DO.

WE'VE GOT MR. STEWART COMING UP.

SORRY.

GOOD AFTERNOON.

HOW Y'ALL DOING TODAY? GOOD, HOW ARE YOU? UH, THERE, THERE, THERE'S SOME PROBLEMS RIGHT HERE.

AND UH, FIRST I WOULD LIKE TO SAY EVERYBODY NEED TO COME AS ONE.

YOU KNOW, UP THERE, OUT HERE, EVERYBODY ACTING A LITTLE, MIXING THE, STIRRING THE SOUP, STIRRING IT UP.

I LIKE IT THOUGH.

I LIKE IT.

BUT I LIVED ON A 2 78 STONY COMMUNITY.

GREW UP THERE.

MY SISTER, MY BROTHER, WE RAISED UP THERE.

AND, UH, FROM THE LAST ROAD, DOT YOU KNOW, I DON'T TRUST DOTI DON'T TRUST A LOT OF PEOPLE TO TELL YOU THE TRUTH, HONESTLY, BECAUSE HEY, FROM A LIFETIME I'LL BE 60 NEXT MONTH IF I LIVE.

UH, AND THE FIRST TIME THEY COME, HEY, WE ARE STILL HAVING PROBLEM FROM THE FIRST ROAD, YOU KNOW, FROM THE VERY FIRST ROAD.

SO, YOU KNOW, I KNOW Y'ALL BUSTING YOUR BUTT UP HERE.

YOU KNOW, I, I HONESTLY, BUT WHEN THE JOB IS DONE, WE ARE HOLDING THE WI OF THE PROBLEM.

NOBODY.

OH YEAH, WE GONNA GET THIS DONE, YOU KNOW? ALL RIGHT.

IT DON'T GET DONE UP UNTIL

[04:05:01]

JUST DAY.

HOW DOES THAT HAPPEN WHEN YOU COMPLAIN, COMPLAIN.

BUT THE PROBLEM THAT AFTER YOU COME THROUGH YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD AND DESTROY MY NEIGHBORHOOD DRAINAGE EVERY TIME IT RAIN, YOU KNOW, RAIN COME CAUSE SPLASH ON THE HOUSE IN THE YARD, KILL THE GRASS.

IT'S WORK, GUYS.

IT'S A LOT OF WORK NOW.

HEY, WHATEVER THE ROAD, COME TO THE ROAD, DON'T COME.

WE, WE STILL IMPACTED IT EVERY DAY, EVERY NIGHT.

IT DON'T GO AWAY.

MAYBE SOME AREAS MIGHT GET A LITTLE BREAK OUTTA THE TRAFFIC OF IT.

WE GET IT ALL DAY.

IF WE COME DOWN WITH THIS STUFF, WE GOTTA DO SOMETHING BETTER FOR THE STUDENT COMMUNITY.

YOU KNOW, WE HAVE TO DO SOMETHING BETTER.

WE GOT SOMEBODY GOTTA PAY ATTENTION.

YOU KNOW, BECAUSE, BECAUSE LIKE I SAY, MY MAMA IS A OLD LADY.

SHE'S SCARED TO COME OUT IN HER YARD AND DO HER USUALLY DUTIES.

THANK YOU MR. STEWART.

APPRECIATE VERY MUCH GREELEY.

OOPS.

I GUESS THAT'S NOT MOVING.

HI, LYNN GREELEY, MOSS CREEK.

UM, WHAT I DON'T UNDERSTAND IS HOW WE COULD GET THIS FAR AND NOT LOOK AT OTHER OPTIONS.

AND EVEN THE, WE HAVE KEEP THE BRIDGE AS IT IS, WHICH ACTUALLY THE STATE WOULD COME IN AND PAY FOR THAT WE WOULDN'T EVEN HAVE TO PAY FOR, FOR FIXING THAT.

I DON'T KNOW THAT PEOPLE REALIZE THAT.

UH, THE SECOND ONE IS TO DO MAYBE A LITTLE BETTER AND BEAUTIFY IT AND MAKE A NICE ENTRY.

AND, BUT WE, WE DIDN'T, WE NEVER EVEN LOOKED AT THAT.

AND THEN WE'RE JUST JUMPING TO THIS HUGE MASS CEMENT SLAB THAT NOBODY REALLY WANTS.

AND THAT'S WHAT YOU WANNA VOTE YES ON.

AND THAT'S WHAT I DON'T UNDERSTAND.

THIS IS, YOU KNOW, I CAME ALL THE WAY FROM CALIFORNIA, WHICH IS A BEAUTIFUL PLACE, BUT I CAME HERE 'CAUSE IT WAS BEAUTIFUL.

BUT I'M GETTING TO THINK IT'S NOT SO PRETTY ANYMORE IF WE PUT THIS THING IN.

AND, UM, I TELL YOU IT, IT'S NOT SO PRETTY BECAUSE WE HAVE SO MANY TOURISTS HERE THAT IT'S NOT REALLY THE GREATEST PLACE TO LIVE ANYMORE.

AND IT'S SUCH A PRETTY, A BEAUTIFUL PLACE.

AND THERE'S NOT THAT MANY BEAUTIFUL PLACE LEFT BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, MYRTLE BEACH AND, AND, UM, EVEN CHARLESTON AND, AND MOUNT PLEASANT, THEY'VE ALL BEEN RUINED BY TOWN COUNCILS.

UH, PROBABLY JUST VOTING ALL OF THIS STUFF IN AND NOT KEEPING IT LIKE A KEY WEST OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.

THERE COMES A TIME WHEN IT, YOU KNOW, THE AT TAX MONEY AND YOU KNOW, THE MONEY THAT WE'RE GETTING FROM TAXES, WHO GIVES A DAMN ABOUT ALL THAT STUFF? REALLY? IT, IT, WE WANT TO KEEP A NICE PLACE AND WE WANNA KEEP IT THE WAY IT IS.

AND IT'S NOT GONNA BE THE SAME PLACE IF YOU BRING THIS IN.

AND WE'VE, AND THEY'VE ALREADY PROVEN IT.

THEY'VE ALREADY PROVEN THE, THE CONSULTANTS HAVE PROVED THAT IT'S GONNA SAVE AT THE MOST.

IT WAS REALLY ONE TO FOUR MINUTES MOST OF THE TIME.

BUT ONCE IN A WHILE, IT'LL SAVE 15 MINUTES.

HOW CAN YOU EVEN CONSIDER, UH, OH, IT'S GONNA BE OVER HALF A BILLION DOLLARS.

I COULD TELL YOU THAT RIGHT NOW.

YOU DON'T HAVE THE, THE BEGINNING AND YOU DON'T HAVE THE END AND YOU DON'T HAVE ALL THE THINGS THAT MS. BRYSON REALLY WANTS ON THAT LIST.

AND PROBABLY A LOT OF OTHER THINGS ON THAT LIST AS WELL.

AND WE KNOW HOW THESE THINGS GO.

AND AS TIME GOES ON, IT'S GONNA BE A FORTUNE.

SO, YOU KNOW, IT COULD, IT COULD BE A BILLION DOLLARS BY THE TIME EVERYBODY GETS WHAT THEY WANT.

AND THEN WHERE'S IT GONNA BE IS ON THE TAXPAYER, THE PEOPLE THAT LIVE HERE, THE TAXPAYERS AND, AND POSSIBLY UPPING SOME OF THE THINGS FOR THE TOURISTS.

BUT WE DON'T REALLY WANT ANY MORE TOURISTS HERE ANYWAY.

I MEAN, LIKE I WAS SAYING THE OTHER DAY, COULDN'T EVEN GET A PLACE ON THE BEACH DOWN, DOWN THERE AND CAN HARDLY GET A PARKING SPOT ANYMORE.

SO I THINK THINGS HAVE TO BE LOOKED AT A LOT BETTER.

AND I THINK WE NEED TO STOP RIGHT NOW AND, UH, FIGURE OUT WHAT WE REALLY WANT.

AND IF YOU VOTE THIS IN , I TELL YOU EVERYBODY ON THE BOARD RIGHT HERE, EXCEPT FOR PROBABLY TAMMY AND PATSY, UM, I DON'T KNOW IF ANYBODY'S GONNA WANNA TALK TO YOU ANYMORE BECAUSE IT'S, IT'S GONNA BE A MESS HERE.

AND, AND THAT'S REALLY ON YOUR SHOULDERS AND WHAT YOU HAVE TO LIVE WITH.

WELL, THANK YOU MS. BRALEY.

I, I, I WASN'T GONNA SPEAK, BUT I, I, UM, FIRST OF ALL, THANK EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU, REGARDLESS WHETHER YOU AGREE WITH ME OR I AGREE WITH YOU, I APPRECIATE THE

[04:10:01]

THOUGHT YOU'RE GIVING TO THIS.

UH, I'M A, A COMEYA AND I'M GONNA GIVE A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE THAT THE PERSON THAT JUST SPOKE EVERY YEAR I'VE BEEN HERE, THIS PLACE GETS PRETTIER AND PRETTIER.

SO I THINK YOU'RE DOING GREAT THINGS AND I TRUST YOU'LL CONTINUE TO DO THAT.

UH, I SPOKE THE OTHER NIGHT ABOUT THE QUALITY OF LIFE.

SO IF THESE FOLKS ARE IN TRAFFIC TO 15 MINUTES EACH WAY, IT'S, IT'S, IT'S BASICALLY TWO AND A HALF HOURS EVERY WEEK.

IT ADDS UP TO ABOUT FIVE DAYS OUT OF THE YEAR THEY'RE SITTING IN THEIR CAR.

THERE'S, UH, THERE'S SOME SCIENCE TO THE FACT THERE'S SOME SCIENCE, AND I WANT TO BEAT THAT ALARM.

I THINK IT MIGHT CAUSE A CO A CORONARY.

SO I'M GONNA BEAT THAT.

BUT, UM, THERE'S SOME SCIENCE OUT THERE THAT SAYS A CAR IN STANDSTILL TRAFFIC FOR 42 HOURS.

AND THE NUMBERS I JUST GAVE YOU, THE CARS HERE IN YOUR TRAFFIC PATTERN.

EACH ONE IS CONTRIBUTING 180 SE SEVEN POUNDS OF CARBON DIOXIDE PARTICLES CONTRIBUTING FIVE POUNDS OF CARBON MONOXIDE, ONE POUND OF, OF, UH, NITROUS OXIDE AND A HALF POUND OF VOLATILE ORGANICS.

NOW, I I, ANOTHER POINT I WANT YOU TO CONSIDER TOO, 'CAUSE YOU, YOU SEE THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE THAT SHOW UP HERE, BUT THE, THE REFERENDUM WAS CONSIDERED BY ALL OF YOUR RESIDENTS AND AT ONE WITH 62% IN FAVOR OF IT.

NO, I'M NOT AN ENGINEER, SO I HAVE TO TRUST ENGINEERS.

SO I, I'D ASK YOU TO DO THE SAME.

NOW, THE OTHER THING I WANTED TO TOUCH ON IS CERTAIN CONFIDENCES THAT I HAVE AS A, A HILTON HEAD RESIDENT.

I LIVE, I MEANT, FORGOT TO MENTION, I LIVE AT 26 3 MASS LIEN.

BUT I HAVE CONFIDENCE THAT THIS COUNCIL WILL LOOK OUT FOR THE IMPACTED FAMILIES, THE STEWART FAMILY, ANY OF THE, UH, UH, IMPACTED FAMILIES SHOULD GET BETTER THAN A GOOD DEAL.

AND I TRUST YOU'LL LOOK AT THAT WHEN IT COMES TO THE ECONOMY IN THE STONY COMMUNITY WITH THE WORK THAT SENATOR DAVIS DID IN STANDING UP THE, THE CORPORATION.

I KNOW THAT, UH, UH, THOMAS BOXLEY AND, AND THE, UH, UH, COUNSEL IS GONNA LOOK OUT FOR THESE PEOPLE.

AND LAST THOUGHT I HAVE IS WHEN IT COMES TO THE BEAUTIFICATION OF THE BRIDGE, WHEN IT COMES TO THE BEAUTIFICATION OF THE ENTRYWAY, I HAVE CONFIDENCE THAT THE COUNTY AND THE TOWN COUNCIL AND THIS ADMINISTRATION AND THE STAFF WILL MAKE THIS A PROJECT THAT REFLECTS WELL ON HILTON HEAD.

AND THEN THE LAST THING I'LL SAY IS, IS THAT WITH THE CHAMBER AND ALL OF YOUR MARKETING, I THINK WE SHOULD FOCUS ON MITIGATING TRAFFIC.

AND I THINK MORE EFFORTS SHOULD BE GIVEN TO HEALTHY VACATIONS WHERE PEOPLE COULD EXPECT TO GET HERE AND NOT HAVE TO USE A CART.

OTHER COMMENTS? OTHER COMMENTS? ALL RIGHT.

SEEING, UH, SEAN, THERE WERE A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS, UM, THAT IF YOU COULD ADDRESS THAT WOULD BE GREAT.

INFORMATION THAT IS MADE AVAILABLE.

THANK YOU, MAYOR.

THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR YOUR INPUT.

UH, AS WELL BEHIND ME, UH, THERE WAS A QUESTION ABOUT WHAT WOULD BE, WHAT WAS THE TIME SAVINGS TODAY IF A BRIDGE WAS IN PLACE? UH, THAT WAS WITH THE FIRST QUESTION.

IF A, IF A NEW BRIDGE, SIX LANE BRIDGE WAS PUT IN PLACE, THE CURRENT PROJECT WAS IN PLACE, UM, IT WOULD SAVE EIGHT MINUTES AND 49 SECONDS EASTBOUND.

SO IN THE AM COMING ON THEM ON THE ISLAND AND WESTBOUND, IT WOULD SAVE, UH, GOING OFF THE ISLAND IN THE PM 10 MINUTES AND 36 SECONDS.

ALSO HAD A QUESTION ABOUT THE AGE OF THE BRIDGE.

THE MACKEY CREEK EASTBOUND MACKEY CREEK BRIDGE WAS THE ONE THAT WAS BUILT IN 1956.

THAT'S THE ONE THAT'S APPROACHING 70 YEARS IN LIFE.

THE OTHER THREE BRIDGES WERE BUILT, UM, AND ARE AND REPRESENTING THE CURRENT EXISTING BRIDGE IN THE EARLY 1980S.

UM, THERE WAS A QUESTION ABOUT WHO SAID NO TO THE TWO LANE BRIDGE, S-C-D-O-T OR BEAUFORT COUNTY.

THE, THE PURPOSE AND NEED FOR THE PROJECT IDENTIFIED TWO PURPOSE OR TWO ITEMS REPLACE THE DEFICIENT BRIDGE AND REDUCE CONGESTION THROUGH THE DIFFERENT ENGINEERING STUDIES.

A FOUR LANE BRIDGE DOES NOT ACHIEVE THE PURPOSE OF REDUCING CONGESTION, THEREFORE IT'S RE IT'S REJECTED BY THE PROJECT.

UM, THERE WAS A QUESTION ABOUT WHERE IS IMPERIA IMPERVIOUS SURFACE INFORMATION THERE? UM, UM, COUNCILWOMAN BRYSON MENTIONED THE ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT THAT'S BEEN ON THE PROJECT WEBSITE, US 2 2 78 CORRIDOR.COM SINCE 2001.

IT INCLUDES ALL THE PRELIMINARY, UH, EVALUATION AND ASSESSMENT, UH, FOR ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS.

THE, YOU KNOW, AS THE PROJECT MOVES FORWARD WITH, WITH DESIGN, THERE'LL BE ADDITIONAL

[04:15:01]

THOSE ARE THE QUESTIONS THAT I WROTE DOWN.

I THINK EVERYTHING ELSE WAS A COMMENT.

APPRECIATE THAT CLARIFICATION.

EXCUSE ME, CLARIFICATION ON ONE POINT THAT YOU MADE, UM, IN ANSWERING THOSE QUESTIONS.

TIME SAVINGS, IF THE BRIDGE WAS BUILT TODAY, IF THE CURRENT STATUS WAS THAT THE, WE HAD SIX LANES COMING ONTO THIS ISLAND.

YES MA'AM.

YEAH, IF THE BRIDGE WERE IN PLACE TODAY, UM, THE SIMULATIONS WOULD, UM, PROJECT THAT IN THE MORNING YOU WOULD SAVE EIGHT MINUTES AND 49 SECONDS.

TODAY, BASED ON TODAY'S VOLUMES AND IN THE, IN THE PM GOING OFF ISLAND 10 MINUTES AND 36 SECONDS, THE BRI THE PROJECT, IF IT WAS BUILT IN 2045 BASED ON THE PROJECTED VOLUMES IN 2045, WOULD SAVE 15 MINUTES, 51 SECONDS IN THE AM COMING ON THE ISLAND AND 15 MINUTES, 28 SECONDS GOING WESTBOUND OFF ISLAND.

THANK YOU FOR THE CLARIFICATION, MA'AM.

ANY OTHER CLARIFICATION POINTS NEEDED? ALRIGHT, UM, IN CLOSING, WELL, WHAT'S THAT? WE'RE CLOSING.

OKAY, WELL THEN I'M GONNA GO BACK AND JUST MAKE ANOTHER POINT AND, AND I HOPE WE'RE NOT CLOSING.

BUT, UM, WITH REGARD TO, UM, THE TWO BRIDGE ISSUE WITHIN THE RESPONSES, UM, WITHIN THE RESPONSES BOTH FROM S-C-D-O-T AND BEAUFORT COUNTY, UM, IT WAS BUFORT COUNTY WHO SAID, DUE TO FUNDING, THEY, THE COUNTY DOES NOT SUPPORT THE IDEA OF TWO BRIDGES.

I MEAN, THAT'S IN, IN THEIR ANSWER.

SO YEAH, AND I CAN CERTAINLY CLARIFY THAT POINT.

MM-HMM, THE, UM, THE TWO BRIDGES WAS BASED ON A REQUEST TO CONSIDER TWO THREE LANE BRIDGES VERSUS ONE SIX LANE BRIDGE.

SCD TD AN EVALUATION AT THE REQUEST OF THE COUNTY WHO DETERMINED IT WAS ANOTHER $27 MILLION MM-HMM.

, I THINK I HAVE THAT NUMBER ABOUT RIGHT.

AND THEY PROVIDED THAT INFORMATION TO THE COUNTY.

THE COUNTY AND THEIR RESPONSE TO THE TOWN SAID THEY DON'T SUPPORT THE TWO VER TWO BRIDGES VERSUS ONE BRIDGE DUE TO THE COST AND THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS.

SO THAT'S, IT'S DIFFERENT THAN, UM, THE OTHER POSITION ABOUT THE FOUR, ABOUT FOUR LANES VERSUS SIX LANES.

SIX LANES ARE REQUIRED TO MEET THE PURPOSE STATEMENT.

THAT'S, THAT'S CONCLUDED IN THE EA FOR THE PROJECT.

COULD IT BE DONE WITH TWO THREE LANE BRIDGES? YES.

BUT THAT QUESTION WAS ASKED.

S-C-D-O-T SAID IT COSTS MORE, HAS MORE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT.

THE COUNTY REVIEWED THAT PROVIDED A RESPONSE AND SAID THEY DON'T SUPPORT THAT SEAN.

SO, SO WE'RE DICTATED BY S-C-D-O-T THAT WE HAVE TO HAVE SIX LANES MONOLITHIC GRUDGE, AND WE'RE DICTATED BY THE COUNTY THAT WE HAVE TO HAVE ONE BRIDGE BECAUSE OF THE COST.

IT JUST, UM, AND, AND I'M GOING TO HAVE A CLOSING STATEMENT, I HOPE, UM, SPEAKS FOR ITSELF RIGHT NOW, JOHN, UM, I MAY HAVE BEEN ONE OF MANY PEOPLE WHO SUGGESTED THE TWO BRIDGE IDEA, SIR, EARLY ON IN MY CONCEPT IN MY VISION OF WHAT THAT WOULD LOOK LIKE IS THAT THERE'D BE A FAIRLY SUBSTANTIAL SPACE BETWEEN THE TWO BRIDGES.

NO, SIR.

AND WHEN THE ANALYSIS WAS DONE, IT GOT DOWN TO MAYBE THERE WOULD BE SIX FEET IN BETWEEN THE TWO BRIDGES.

THAT DOESN'T MEET THE OBJECTIVE IN MY MIND THAT WE ARE TRYING TO ACHIEVE AND IT'S SORT OF A FALSE ASSUMPTION AT THAT POINT.

THE, UH, THE, THE MOU THAT'S, THAT'S, UH, ON THE TOWN WEBSITE, UH, GETS REALLY SPECIFIC AS FAR AS SOME CURB CUT CLOSINGS.

AND I, I DO WANNA EXPAND JUST, I KNOW WE'RE RUNNING LATE IN TIME HERE, BUT THERE ARE OTHER COORDINATING AGENCIES THAT PLAY A ROLE.

SO US FISH AND WILDLIFE, UM, THEIR REQUEST WAS THAT ON PINCKNEY ISLAND, THE BRIDGES BE AS NARROW AS POSSIBLE THROUGH THAT TO, TO MINIMIZE INTERRUPTION AND AND DEGRADATION TO PINNEY ISLAND.

THAT ASSET ALSO THE COAST GUARD FOR NAVIGATION, UM, OVER THE INTERCOASTAL DID NOT WANT WIDE SEPARATION OF THE BRIDGES.

IT'S HARDER TO NAVIGATE THROUGH THOSE WIDE SEPARATION, UH, UH, BRIDGES.

THERE'S ALSO UTILITIES THAT ARE AT THE, THE, UH, THE BED OF THE WATER BODY THAT NEED TO BE TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT AS WELL.

AND SO I THINK ALL THOSE FACTORS AND ALSO THE ADDITIONAL COSTS, WHICH WAS ESTIMATED ABOUT 27 MILLION JUST FOR THE STRUCTURES, FACTORED INTO THE DECISION FROM BUFORT COUNTY AS THE SPONSOR TO SAY, WE DO NOT SUPPORT THAT.

AND THAT WAS A RESPONSE PROVIDED TO THE TOWN.

MR. BROWN.

THANK YOU, MR. MAYOR.

UM, IT'S A COUPLE OF THE POINTS AS FAR AS MOU CONDITION.

UM,

[04:20:01]

UM, I'M ASKING THAT WE REMOVE THAT UNTIL WE HAVE FURTHER DISCUSSION AROUND THE WHOLE, UH, STONY ECONOMIC PLAN BECAUSE I THINK THAT THERE MAY BE SOME OTHER OPPORTUNITIES THERE IF WE'RE GOING TO SORT OF MASTER PLAN.

UM, I THINK IT'S SECTION I LEFT MY NEW GLASSES AT HOME SECTION D ON PAGE FOUR.

UM, ALSO, UM, TO, TO THE POINT THAT WAS MADE ON MONDAY ABOUT THE, UH, THE EA AND THE COMMENTS THAT THE S-E-D-O-T HAS MADE WITHIN THE EA DOCUMENT.

I THINK IT'S VERY IMPORTANT THAT, UM, WE STATE, UH, VERY DISTINCTLY IN THE CONDITIONS THAT WE, WE ARE NOT IN AGREEANCE THAT THERE'S NOT IMPACT, OKAY.

UM, THAT THIS IS A TRADITIONAL CULTURAL PROPERTY THAT WE ARE LOOKING TO PROTECT.

UM, I THINK THAT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE INCLUDE THAT, THAT LANGUAGE ALONG THE WAY.

UM, THE OTHER ONE, UM, AND, YOU KNOW, MAYBE WE CAN FIND OUT A LITTLE BIT MORE INFORMATION FROM S-E-D-O-T, UM, TO HAVE A BIGGER DISCUSSION ON THIS.

BUT, YOU KNOW, I'M, I'M REALLY APPALLED ON THE SIGNAGE THAT IS CURRENTLY THERE.

, WE'VE GOT INTERSTATE SIGNAGE COMING THROUGH A COMMUNITY.

UM, SO TO ME THAT IS NOT HILTON HEAD.

UM, SO A DISCUSSION AROUND THAT I THINK IS, IS, IS APPROPRIATE.

AND, UH, LASTLY, UM, YES, OUR, OUR TOWN ATTORNEY IS NOT HERE.

UM, BUT I WOULD LIKE ON MONDAY, UM, OR TUESDAY OR WEDNESDAY OR WHENEVER WE WANNA HAVE THE NEXT DISCUSSION, UM, THAT HE DOES PROVIDE US HIS STANCE AS FAR AS THE AGREEMENTS ARE CONCERNED.

BECAUSE I THINK WE AS A COUNSEL NEED TO UNDERSTAND WHAT ARE THE CLAWBACKS, WHAT ARE THE LEGAL, UH, OPPORTUNITIES DOWN THE ROAD, IF INDEED ANY OF US ARE DRAWN OUTSIDE OF THE LINES OF THAT AGREEMENT.

THANK YOU, MS. JAMES.

THANK YOU, MAYOR.

UH, TWO QUESTIONS.

ONE IS, WHAT'S THE NEXT STEP VIS-A-VIS THE WRITING OF THE CONDITIONS? AND THEN SECONDLY, WE TALKED ABOUT CONNECTING, UH, OUR CONDITIONS TO THE, UH, CONSENT AGREEMENT WITH S-C-D-O-T.

HOW IS THAT DELIVERED AND NEGOTIATED OR DISCUSSED? THAT NEEDS TO BE ANSWERED BY BOTH, UH, EITHER TOWN MANAGER, ASSISTANT TOWN MANAGER, OR, UH, CURTIS COLTRAN.

DAVID, SAY, SAY THAT AGAIN.

I WAS WRITING, I WAS, I WAS TAKING NOTES.

I WAS CATCHING UP TO WHAT ALEX SAID FOR YOU, SO THAT I ASKED, UH, TWO QUESTIONS.

ONE WAS, WHAT'S THE NEXT STEP? YES.

UH, VIS-A-VIS WRITING THE CONDITIONS THAT HAVE BEEN SPOKEN TO BY ALL OF US.

AND THEN SECONDARILY, UH, OR SECOND, UM, HOW DO WE DELIVER THE S-C-D-O-T UH, CONDITIONS WITH OUR CONSENT IF IT GETS TO THAT POINT? AND HOW IS THAT DISCUSSED AND NEGOTIATED WITH S-C-D-O-T? THERE, THERE'S A, THERE'S A COUPLE NEXT STEPS ON CONDITIONS.

WE'VE HAD THIS UP ON THE SCREEN.

OH, SORRY, WHAT I JUST WAS SAYING.

AND IT WOULD BE AN ASSOCIATED, IN A VERY SIMILAR LANGUAGE, WHAT'S VERY SIMILAR LANGUAGE, A SEPARATE DOCUMENT AS A MOA MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING.

PROJECT SCOPE.

SO SOME, SOME REAL CLEAR CLARITY FOR ME SO THAT WHEN I GO HOME TONIGHT AND WAKE UP TOMORROW AND START TRYING TO THINK THROUGH WHAT THE, A REVISED AGREEMENT, A MUCH MORE DEFINITIVE AGREEMENT OR CONDITIONS WOULD LOOK LIKE.

AND I NEED TO HEAR THAT FROM YOU TO TELL ME TO GO DO THAT COLLECTIVELY.

IS IT TWO LANES OF A BRIDGE? IS IT THREE LANES OF A BRIDGE? IS THE PATHWAY THERE OR NOT? I JUST THINK THAT FROM A, FROM A BIG PICTURE STANDPOINT, LET ME KNOW WHAT THAT IS OR ISN'T, BECAUSE THAT WILL DRIVE, UH, NO PUN INTENDED, THE REST OF THE AGREEMENT WHEN WE HAVE THAT AGREEMENT LANGUAGE, WHICH WILL BE PUT TOGETHER OVER FRIDAY AND PROBABLY, YOU KNOW, READY FOR, UH, A GOOD REVIEW ON MONDAY.

CURTIS IS OUT OF TOWN.

IT'S WHY HE'S NOT HERE.

UM, I CAN COME BACK AND START, START MAKING SENSE OF IT.

I'M PRETTY SURE THAT ONCE WE SHOW YOU THE AGREEMENT, YOU MAY HAVE COMMENTS, YOU MAY HAVE QUESTIONS, WE MAY DISAGREE ON ALL OF THE LANGUAGE, UM, PEDESTRIAN ELEMENTS, EASY, BUT SOME OF THIS OTHER LANGUAGE ABOUT ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY PLANS AND SOME OF THIS, THIS OTHER WORK, I CAN IMAGINE SOME, SOME, SOME REVIEW.

UM, ONE, ONCE WE GET TO THAT, AND I THINK WE CAN GET TO THAT AS, AS WE ALWAYS HAVE AND ALWAYS DO.

UM, YOU NEED TO VOTE, IF YOU VOTE ON THE DOCUMENT AS PROPOSED, I WOULD TAKE THAT DOCUMENT AND IT WOULD BE THE MUNICIPAL CONSENT AGREEMENT WITH SC DOT,

[04:25:01]

ARGUABLY IT'S AN AGREEMENT WITH BUFORT COUNTY, NO DIFFERENT THAN THE ONE WE ALREADY HAVE.

I WOULD, I WOULD MIRROR THOSE DOCUMENTS AS MUCH AS WOULD MAKE SENSE.

RIGHT? THERE'S SOME THINGS IN THERE FOR BUFORT COUNTY THAT MAY NOT MAKE SENSE FOR, FOR DOT, BUT AS THOSE DOCUMENTS ARE MIRRORED AND COMBINED, MORE OR LESS, YOU VOTE, I GO TO BUFORT COUNTY, OUR PROJECT SPONSOR, OUR PROJECT SPONSOR, AND I, LIKE, WE HAVE IN THE PAST MEET WITH S-C-D-O-T, MR. POWELL, PERHAPS MOST LIKELY, AND GO FROM THERE.

UM, I DO KNOW THAT THE, WITH THE CONDITIONS, WE WILL STILL NEED TO HEAR FROM DOTI, I DON'T THINK, AND I'M NOT GONNA PUT WORDS IN, IN, IN, IN THE MO OF BUFORD COUNTY.

JARED'S HERE, THANK YOU.

AND THANK YOU, BRITTANY, FOR BEING HERE.

I I DO KNOW THAT THE, THE, THE AGREEMENT OF THE PROJECT WILL HAVE TO BE A LOT TO DO ABOUT WHAT DOT IS GOING TO SAY.

PROBABLY A LOT LESS ABOUT WHAT BUFORT COUNTY IS GOING TO SAY.

UM, AND THEN I MISS, I KNOW SENATOR DAVIS WILL, WILL PROBABLY GET INVOLVED IN AND HELP ALIGN US AT LEAST WITH A, WITH GOOD CONVERSATION WITH BUFORT COUNTY.

BUT BEFORE I EVEN CAN GET TO THAT, AM I WRITING AN AGREEMENT? I'LL, I'LL HELP.

UH, AM I WRITING AN AGREEMENT WITH A TWO LANE BRIDGE OR AM I WRITING AN AGREEMENT? I I MEAN TWO LANES EACH WAY WITH THE 10 FOOT AND THE SIX FOOT SHOULDER.

OR AM I WRITING AN AGREEMENT WITH THREE LANES? WHEN, WHEN, WHEN WE BROUGHT THAT UP EARLIER, YOU KNOW, UM, WE HEARD FROM, WE HEARD FROM I THINK SIX OF US, AND I THINK FOUR WE'RE DEFINITE TO A SIX LANE, THREE LANE EACH WAY.

IS WHAT I RECALL.

I THINK, I THINK THAT'S ACCURATE.

SOMEWHAT CONTINGENT ON THE CONDITIONS THAT WE APPLY.

YEAH, ABSOLUTELY.

THOSE, THOSE ARE THE THINGS THAT MAKE THE DIFFERENCE, UH, VIS-A-VIS HILTON HEAD.

WELL, THAT'S WHAT I, SORRY, DIDN'T GO NO, THAT'S OKAY.

I, IT JUST, I THINK WE SHOULD REVISIT THAT BECAUSE, UM, THE GOAL WAS TO REDUCE THE SIZE OF THE BRIDGE AND WHICH REQUIRED A REDUCTION IN LANE SIZES.

AND SO THERE ARE CONDITION THAT CONDITIONS WITH THE THREE LANE BRIDGE, THREE LANES EACH WAY, UM, THAT REQUIRE MODIFICATION TO CREATE THAT SCENARIO.

SO, UM, I THINK THAT FIRST, BEFORE WE SHOULD BE SITTING HERE GIVING OUR OPINIONS ON ANY OF THIS, IS THIS HAS BEEN A WORKSHOP WHERE THERE ARE OTHER PEOPLE LISTENING AND WHOSE VOICES WE NEED TO HEAR.

SO THAT WHEN THOSE, AS IT WAS POINTED OUT, WHERE ARE THE RESIDENTS CONDITIONS, UM, WE NEED TO HEAR FROM THEM, UH, AS WELL.

SO I, I DON'T THINK THAT YOU MIGHT WANNA GIVE A DATE WHEN YOU WANT THE CONDITIONS BY, BUT WE NEED SOME TIME TO TALK TO THE PEOPLE THAT WE REPRESENT AND MAKE SURE THAT ANYTHING THAT'S WRITTEN IN THERE IS, UH, REFLECTING THEIR WISHES.

I, I, UM, RESPECTFULLY DISAGREE IN THAT, UM, WE, SEVEN OF US HAVE BEEN ASKED TO MOVE THIS FORWARD BECAUSE OF A TIMELINE.

WE DON'T HAVE A LOT OF, UM, FLEXIBILITY.

I THINK, UM, YOU HAVE SPOKEN VERY ACCURATELY IN YOUR OPINION.

MS. BRYSON HAS DONE THE SAME IN HERS.

I THINK, UM, THE TOWN MANAGER AND THE MAYOR HAVE ASKED US TO GIVE US OUR OPINION AT THIS TIME SO THAT THE TOWN MANAGER CAN BEGIN DRAFTING A, UH, DOCUMENT THAT REFLECTS WHAT THE CONSENSUS OF THIS BODY IS.

I, UM, I, UM, PICK UP ON MORE LANES MEANS MORE CARS COMING ONTO THE ISLAND, AND AS THEY COME THROUGH THE ISLAND AND WE HAVE THE, WE HAVE THE CONDITIONS THAT WE CURRENTLY HAVE, WE WILL NOT BE ABLE TO CONTAIN AND ACCOMMODATE ALL THOSE ADDITIONAL CARS.

AND I THINK SENATOR DAVIS MENTIONED TO US THAT HE WAS NOT OPPOSED TO GOING TO ASK FOR AN EXTENSION ON THAT JUNE 28TH DATE.

AND IF I RECALL FROM OTHER CONVERSATIONS THAT HE'S HAD WITH, UM, THE STATE, THEY WERE WILLING TO GIVE TIME FOR US TO WORK AS LONG AS WE WERE WORKING DILIGENTLY TO A CONCLUSION.

AND I BELIEVE THAT WE ARE, I THINK WE'VE DEMONSTRATED THAT TO EVERYONE, SPENT MANY HOURS, UM, HAVING CONVERSATIONS.

UM, BUT WE NEED TO HEAR FROM THE PEOPLE WHO, UM, WE REPRESENT.

AND SOME OF YOU MAY HAVE COME HERE JUST AS I DID WITH YOUR MIND MADE UP.

BUT, UM, THE PROPER THING TO DO IS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'VE TAKEN SOME TIME TO GET IT RIGHT, UM, WHICHEVER SIDE YOU HAPPEN TO BE ON.

AND, UM, THERE WERE A COUPLE OF COMMENTS MADE BY RESIDENTS THAT I WANNA MAKE SURE

[04:30:01]

THE TIMEFRAME THAT WAS GIVEN TODAY WITH THE, UM, TIME SAVINGS, UM, WITH THESE CONDITIONS VERSUS 45 BECK TO THAT.

WITH ALL DUE RESPECT, UM, WITH ALL DUE RESPECT, I'M TRYING TO DO MY JOB.

NO, I UNDERSTAND THAT.

AND, AND I AM TOO, IT'S A FILIBUSTER.

IT'S A FILIBUSTER IF YOU WANNA CALL IT THAT, BUT IT'S ALSO TRYING TO DRIVE HOME THE POINTS AND THE FACTS AND NOT, UM, THE EMOTIONAL DECISIONS THAT SOME OF YOU ARE MAKING.

MS. BRYSON MAYOR, MIGHT I, I SEE.

CAN FOLKS HEAR ME NOW? NO.

I NEED A BOOST AGAIN.

AND I'M DRINKING WATER, BY THE WAY, , BUT I'M GONNA NEED ANOTHER COUPLE OF WATER IF WE DON'T QUIT SOON.

UM, MATT, I SUGGEST SOME, HOPEFULLY COMPROMISING LANGUAGE AND THAT IS, UM, UH, TO INCLUDE SOME SORT OF RECOGNITION THAT THE RECOMMENDATION IS SIX EXPLAINS, BUT WE WILL WORK, UM, AS HARD AS WE CAN TO REDUCE THE SIZE OF THE BRIDGE.

SO SOMETHING THAT MIGHT BE A WAY TO COMPROMISE THAT.

I THINK THAT VERBIAGE IS ACTUALLY IN THERE.

IN THE LAST DRAFT I SAW, BUT I'VE SEEN TWO DIFFERENT DRAFTS RECENTLY, SO, UNDERSTOOD.

UNDERSTOOD.

MAYOR.

WHAT, WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY THAT? MAYOR? ANY, ANY ACTION REQUIRES A VOTE AND YOU CANNOT TAKE A VOTE AT TIME.

COUNCIL WORKSHOP, YOU KNOW, WE'RE NOT TAKING A VOTE.

YEAH, BUT YOU CAN'T MAKE A DECISION.

WE'RE NOT, WE'RE NOT MAKING A DECISION.

YOU ARE, YOU'RE TRYING TO.

VERY MUCH SO.

MAYOR, MAYOR, SORRY, I HAVE ONE LEGAL QUESTION FOR THE TOWN ATTORNEY WHEN HE RETURNS, UM, IN THE S SUB APPLICATION, UM, THERE, UH, WERE SOME, UH, UM, ATTESTATIONS BY THE FORMER COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR THAT $3,350,000 WORTH OF TOWN OF HILTON HEAD PROPERTY WAS PLEDGED FOR THE S-E-D-O-T PROJECT.

UM, I'VE ASKED ABOUT THAT AND, AND I WAS TOLD COULDN'T FIND IT, BUT, UM, I DID RECEIVE SOME INFORMATION, WHICH HELPED ME TO FIND IT.

AND THE ACTION, UH, SECOND READING OF AN ORDINANCE WAS TAKEN IN OCTOBER OF 2019.

I DON'T REMEMBER THE SPECIFIC DATE, BUT IT'S OCTOBER OF 2019.

UM, AND I DO NOT BELIEVE THAT PROPERTY HAS BEEN CONVEYED YET.

JESSE, DOTI WOULD LIKE AN ANSWER TO THAT QUESTION.

I CAN ANSWER THAT HAS NOT, BUT I WILL MAKE SURE THAT I'M, I'M TAKING NOTE FOR CURTIS AS WELL.

LET'S NOT CONVEY THAT UNTIL WE HAVE A DEAL.

ABSOLUTELY.

SO I'M NOT SURE IF THOSE STATISTICS ARE WORTH THE PAPER THEY WERE WRITTEN ON, BUT, UM, I THINK WE'RE MAKING A MISTAKE MOVING AS RAPIDLY AS YOU'RE TRYING TO, WE HAVE AN OPTION AS WE HEARD, UM, TO TAKE A LITTLE BIT MORE TIME.

WHERE DID THE WELCOME CENTER COME FROM? WHERE DID THAT IDEA FOR A WELCOME CENTER? SO ARE THERE ANY OTHER COMMENTS, CLOSING COMMENTS? ALL RIGHT.

I WANT, I, I WANT TO THANK YOU ALL FOR SHOWING UP.

UM, THIS HAS BEEN VERY, VERY, THE QUESTION AND I, A CLOSING COMMENT I ASKED, AND I DID NOT GET A RESPONSE.

LET'S CLOSE.

NOW'S BUSY.

WE'VE BEEN HERE LONG ENOUGH, STEVE, I HEAR YOU AND I KNOW WHO YOU REPRESENT AND I KNOW WHAT YOU'RE TRYING TO ACCOMPLISH.

IF YOU'LL GO AHEAD AND MAKE YOUR CLOSING COMMENTS WOULD BE GREAT.

MY CLOSING COMMENTS IS THIS, THE FACTS AND THE DATA THAT WAS PRESENTED THROUGH LMU AND OTHER CONSULTANTS CLEARLY INDICATE THAT THE, UM, SAVINGS AND TIME VERSUS THE COST FOR THE BRIDGE THAT S-C-D-O-T AND THE COUNTY, UM, HAS PRESENTED DO NOT MAKE COMMON SENSE.

I ALSO, UM, WANT TO SAY THAT WHEN YOU GO BEYOND THAT TO THE PEOPLE, WHICH IS WHAT'S THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF THIS, IT SOUNDS THAT THOUGH TO ME, UM, WITH COMMENTS LIKE FOLKS WILL BEGIN TO VACATION ELSEWHERE, I'M IN MORE CONCERNED ABOUT THE FACT THAT THE RESIDENTS ARE GOING TO DECIDE TO LIVE ELSEWHERE AND WE WILL BECOME NOTHING MORE THAN A VACATION DESTINATION FOR OTHERS.

AND NOT, AND NOT WELL THAT MAY BE, UM, AND NOT A RESIDENTIAL COMMUNITY.

AND IF THAT IS THE GOAL THEY'RE HEADING AND YOU'RE HELPING THEM TO GET RIGHT THERE IN A HURRY.

I ALSO WANT TO MENTION SOMETHING THAT, UM, WITH REGARD TO THE POLLUTION COMMENT THAT WAS PROVIDED AND THE DATA, UH, STATISTICS THAT WERE, UM, GIVEN, UM, THAT MORE AND MORE SO TODAY'S VEHICLES HAVE AN ELECTRIC ON AND OFF, SO THAT WHEN YOU STOP AND YOU'RE IDLING AND YOU'RE SITTING, YOUR CAR IS ACTUALLY STOPPED.

IT'S NOT ADMITTING THOSE EMISSIONS THAT WERE REFERRED TO.

[04:35:01]

UM, WE'RE CONCEDING GIVING IN ACQUIESCING TO A STATE TO THE S-D-O-D-O-T IN THE COUNTY, AND IT'S NOT IN OUR BEST INTEREST, UM, TO DO SO, BUT WE CAN OBVIOUSLY SEE THAT IT IS THEIR BEST INTEREST TO DO SO.

AND LASTLY, 30% OF THIS ISLAND IS OUTSIDE OF THE GATES.

70% OF THIS ISLAND IS BEHIND THE GATES.

THIS IMPACTS DIRECTLY THAT 30%.

AND I'M, FOR 1:00 AM TIRED OF THE OUTSIDE OF THE GATES COMMUNITIES, WHICH THERE ARE MANY NOW, IN ADDITION TO STONY BEING THE THROWAWAY LAND OF THIS ISLAND, WHILE EVERYONE ELSE DRIVES DOWN THE ROAD, GOES BEHIND THEIR GATES AND FORGETS THAT THE REST, THAT THE DISASTER THAT'S BEEN CREATED EXISTS.

ALRIGHT, THANK YOU.

ONE MORE THING.

I RECEIVED AN EMAIL.

I RECEIVED AN EMAIL WITH REGARD TO NOTICE, WHICH IS ANOTHER THING THAT WE NEED TO SLOW DOWN ON, BECAUSE WHEN THE TOWN OF HILTON HEAD GIVES, SHOULD IT BE SO, UM, WRONGHEADED TO DO SO, MUNICIPAL CONSENT, IT IMPACTS COMMUNITIES OUTSIDE THE TOWN LIMITS LIKE WINDMILL HARBOR AND MARINERS COVE AND LOU HERRON AS EXAMPLES.

AND I HEARD DURING THE LAST MEETING THAT 150, WHATEVER THE NUMBER WAS, IF CERTIFIED LETTERS WERE SENT OUT TO THOSE COMMUNITIES TO INFORM THEM OF WHAT WAS TAKING PLACE.

AND, UM, I RECEIVED AN EMAIL THAT INDICATES FROM SOMEONE WHO LIVES IN OLD STONY VILLAGE, THEY WANNA MAKE SURE THAT SOMEONE IS AWARE THAT THE CERTIFIED LETTERS THAT SUPPOSEDLY WENT OUT TO ALL THE RESIDENTS AFFECTED HAVE NOT SHOWN UP.

SEVERAL OF US IN THIS NEIGHBORHOOD RECEIVED A NOTICE FROM US, THE UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE INFORMED DELIVERY THAT THEY WERE COMING, MINE SHOWED ON JUNE 10TH.

JUNE 10TH, AND THEY NEVER ARRIVED.

THERE ARE AT LEAST THREE OF US THAT WORK FROM HOME AND HAD NO ONE TRIED TO DELIVER A CERTIFIED LETTER OR LEAVE NOTICE THAT THEY HAD TRIED.

THERE ARE AT LEAST EIGHT RESIDENTS THAT I KNOW OF THAT RECEIVED, NEVER RECEIVED ANYTHING.

NOT SURE WHAT THE DEAL IS, BUT WOULD LOVE TO KNOW HOW MANY THE TOWN SHOWS WERE ACTUALLY DELIVERED.

SO NOTICE IS IMPORTANT.

2021 WAS THE LAST TIME THEY WERE INFORMED.

APPARENTLY JUNE 10TH, THERE WERE CERTIFIED LETTERS THAT WERE SENT TO SOME THAT HAVE NOT SHOWN UP.

WE HAVE NEIGHBORS.

THANK YOU FOR BRINGING THAT TO OUR ATTENTION.

WE HAVE NEIGHBORS AND WE ARE RUSHING TO THE DESTRUCTION OF OUR OWN ISLAND AS IT MOVES THROUGH THEIR COMMUNITIES.

I'M I, I'LL BE, I'LL BE FOREVER ASHAMED OF THE ACTION THAT THIS TOWN TAKES IF WE MOVE FORWARD ON PROVIDING MUNICIPAL CONSENT.

PARKS MANAGER, AND I AM SO THRILLED TO BE ABLE TO OFFER THIS OPPORTUNITY TO EVERYBODY.

THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR TIME, UM, AND, AND COMING OUT AND SPENDING AS MUCH TIME AS YOU HAVE WITH US THIS WEEK.

UM, IT'S VERY IMPORTANT AND HOPEFULLY, UM, WE'LL GET THROUGH THIS, BUT WE'RE ADJOURNED.

YOU ARE WATCHING BEAUFORT COUNTY TV, LIVE, WORK, PLAY.

GOOD MORNING.

THANK YOU ALL FOR ATTENDING THE GRAND OPENING OF WHITEHALL PARK.

I'M STEPHANIE NAJE, THE BEAUFORT COUNTY PASSIVE

[04:40:01]

IT HAS BEEN A LONG TIME COMING, I KNOW, AND I AM VERY HAPPY AND PROUD OF THE WORK THAT'S BEEN DONE HERE AND ALL OF THE CITIZEN INPUT WE'VE GOTTEN DURING THE PLANNING PROCESS.

AND, UM, I DO WANNA GIVE SOME BRIEF THANKS TO A FEW FOLKS BEFORE I TURN THIS OVER TO OUR DISTINGUISHED GUEST, COUNCILMAN YORK GLOVER AND CITY OF BEAUFORT, MAYOR STEVEN MURRAY.

SO, FIRST I WOULD LIKE TO THANK, UM, MAMIE AND MODS FOR, UM, PROVIDING OUR REFRESHMENTS AND COFFEE TODAY, AND ALSO THE FRIENDS OF WHITEHALL PARK FOR THEIR DONATION IN THE, UM, IN THE PROVIDING OF THOSE REFRESHMENTS.

SO THAT IS REALLY GREAT.

THANK YOU SO MUCH.

I ALSO WANNA THANK, UM, FORMER COUNCIL MEMBER PAUL SOMERVILLE.

HE'S BEEN VERY INSTRUMENTAL DURING THE ENTIRE ACQUISITION PROCESS.

UM, WITHOUT HIM, I THINK THE, THE VISION HERE WOULD BE, UH, QUITE A BIT DIFFERENT.

AND ALSO, ALICE HOWARD FOR HER SUPPORT AND GUIDANCE AS THE NATURAL RESOURCE COMMITTEE CHAIR, SHE'S BEEN, UM, A REALLY GREAT SUPPORT OF PASSIVE PARKS.

ALSO IN GENERAL, I ALSO WANNA THANK ERIC GREENWAY.

HE'S THE BEAUFORT COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR.

HE HAS BEEN A TREMENDOUS GUIDANCE TO ME PERSONALLY IN MY CAREER HERE OVER THE LAST FIVE YEARS.

AND WITH HIS LEADERSHIP AND SUPPORT, I'VE, I'VE BEEN REALLY APPRECIATIVE OF THAT.

WE HAVE SEVERAL PARTNERING ORGANIZATIONS THAT I WANT TO GIVE A LITTLE SHOUT OUT TO THE CITY OF BEAUFORT AND ALL OF THEIR WONDERFUL STAFF, WHEREVER THEY'RE KIND OF HIDING IN THE BACK FOR THEIR MANAGEMENT AND MAINTENANCE OF THE PROPERTY, THE OPEN LAND TRUST, WHO HAS COMMITTED TO, UM, PROVIDING ASSISTANCE WITH THE TREE HEALTH ON THE PROPERTY.

AND THEN OF COURSE, THE FRIENDS OF WHITEHALL PARK FOR ALL OF THEIR PROMOTION AND VOLUNTEERING ACTIVITIES ON THE PROPERTY.

UM, WITHOUT PARTNERING AGENCIES AND ORGANIZATIONS, MY JOB WOULD BE MUCH, MUCH MORE DIFFICULT.

SO THANK YOU TO ALL THOSE FOLKS.

AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST, I CANNOT LEAVE OUT MY PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT TEAM WITHOUT THEM.

LITERALLY NONE OF THIS WOULD BE HERE RIGHT NOW.

SO THAT INCLUDES THE BEAUFORT COUNTY CAPITAL PROJECTS DEPARTMENT, OUR, UM, CONTRACTORS, WOODEN PARTNERS FOR THEIR PLANNING AND CONSTRUCTION OVERSIGHT SERVICES.

AND THEN OF COURSE, NICK'S CONSTRUCTION, WHO DID A BEAUTIFUL JOB AND PAID ATTENTION TO ALL OF THE TINY DETAILS THAT I GREATLY APPRECIATE THEM FOR.

SO THANK YOU TO ALL OF YOU GUYS TOO.

SO WE ARE GOING TO HEAR FROM COUNCILMAN YORK GLOVER AND CITY MAYOR STEPHEN MURRAY.

AND I WILL INTRODUCE MR. GLOVER FIRST.

THANK YOU, STEPHANIE.

UM, I WANNA CONTINUE IN THE SAME VEIN, UM, THAT STEPHANIE STARTED, JUST TO ADD A FEW OTHER PEOPLE OF THANK YOU.

UM, SHE'S NAMED SOME OF THE PEOPLE ONE OF THE KEY, UM, GROUPS, UH, OF PEOPLE.

AND I, THEY'RE NOT GONNA LIKE THIS, UH, THEY'RE NOT GONNA EXPECT THIS FROM ME, UH, BECAUSE I'VE ACTUALLY SAID THAT I DON'T LIKE THEM AT ALL, .

BUT I WANT TO THANK OUR LEGAL DEPARTMENT, UH, FOR BEFORD COUNTY.

UM, AND IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THEM.

THEY DO A GOOD JOB, A GREAT JOB, REALLY FOR US.

BUT I JUST DON'T LIKE LAWYERS.

SO I WANNA SAY THANK YOU TO THE LEGAL DEPARTMENT BECAUSE THEY MADE SURE THAT EVERY INCH OF PROPERTY THAT WE PURCHASE IS YOURS.

AND SO I WANT TO THANK THEM FOR THAT.

UM, YEAH, I'M GOING TO, UM, QUOTE, UM, PRESIDENT BIDEN, UM, WHEN HE SAID, THIS IS A BIG FREAKING DEAL.

, THIS IS A BIG FREAKING DEAL.

UM, BEAUFORT COUNTY HAS PURCHASED THIS PROPERTY FOR YOU.

UM, WHATEVER IS SAID AND DONE FOR THE FUTURE, UM, THIS PROPERTY IS THE CITIZENS OF BEAUFORT COUNTY.

AND FOR THAT, WE THANK YOU, UM, FOR THIS.

UM, WE, WE HAVE A PARTNERSHIP HERE BETWEEN THE CITY OF BEAUFORT AND THE COUNTY.

AND IN THAT PARTNERSHIP, UM, THE COUNTY OWNS THE PROPERTY, OKAY? UH, WHICH MEANS THAT IT COULD NEVER BE CLAIMED BY THE CITY, BUT

[04:45:01]

THE CITY IS GONNA MANAGE IT.

AND SO, UH, THE EXPENSE OF MAINTAINING IS ALL OF THE CITY.

BUT, UM, IT'S A GREAT PARTNERSHIP.

ONE OF THE THINGS THAT THE CITY, UM, WANTED WAS A BOARDWALK.

AND THEY CAME TO THE COUNTY FOR THAT BOARDWALK.

AND, UH, WE APPROPRIATED FUNDS FOR THAT.

AND THEY CAME BACK AND SAID, THAT'S NOT ENOUGH.

AND WE APPROPRIATED MORE FUNDS FOR THAT.

SO WE HAVE A LOVELY BOARDWALK THAT CONNECTS DOWNTOWN BEAUFORD WITH THIS PARK HERE.

AND FOR THAT, UM, IT MAKES A GOOD PARTNERSHIP.

I CALL THIS PARK, UH, THE CONNECTOR.

IT CONNECTS THE SPANISH MOSS TRAIL TO HUNTING ISLAND.

YOU MAY NOT SEE THAT NOW, BUT THIS HERE IS CENTRAL TO THAT CON CON, THE CONNECTION, THE CONNECTIVITY.

WE HAVE A PLAN FOR PATHWAYS ALL OVER THIS COUNTY, AND THIS IS A CONNECTOR IN THE MIDDLE OF YEE AND HUNTING ISLAND.

UM, AND I, THAT'S WHAT I SEE.

THAT'S WHAT I ENVISION, UH, COMING BEFORE US.

UM, I'M GONNA ALLOW, IF YOU DON'T MIND, UM, PAUL SOMERVILLE AND SOMEONE ELSE, UM, LARRY, UH, WHITE TO MAKE SOME COMMENTS ON MY BEHALF.

SO IF PAUL, YOU WOULD COME FIRST AND MAKE SOME COMMENTS, BECAUSE WITHOUT PAUL'S LEADERSHIP, THIS WOULD NOT HAVE HAPPENED.

AND I WANNA PERSONALLY SAY TO HIM NOW, THANK YOU.

WELL, THIS IS, UH, CERTAINLY AN UNEXPECTED PLEASURE.

I APPRECIATE THE OPPORTUNITY TO SAY A FEW WORDS.

IT KIND OF REMINDS ME OF YEARS AGO, THERE WAS A KIND OF A STANDING JOKE IS HOW TO BECOME A MILLIONAIRE.

FIRST THING YOU DO IS GO OUT AND EARN A MILLION DOLLARS.

WELL, IF YOU WANNA HAVE A 10 ACRE PARK, THE FIRST THING YOU GOTTA DO IS COME UP, COME UP WITH 10 ACRES.

IT TURNS OUT THERE WERE SOME OBSTACLES TO THAT.

QUITE A FEW ACTUALLY.

AND A LOT OF PEOPLE WORKED VERY HARD TO OVERCOME THOSE OBSTACLES.

SO WE COULD OWN THIS PROPERTY JOINTLY WITH CITY OF BUFORT TO MAINTAIN IT.

AND, UM, AND HERE WE ARE TODAY.

UM, I HAVE SUCH A SENTIMENTAL ATTACHMENT TO THIS PROPERTY BECAUSE WHEN I WAS A LITTLE BOY, MY GRANDFATHER AND I USED TO COME HERE ON SUNDAY AFTERNOONS AND SIT OUT ON THE SEA WALL.

MY GRANDFATHER WAS A FOIST.

NO, THAT'S NOT WHAT IT MEANS.

A FOIST IS A STAMP COLLECTOR.

AND, UH, SIT OUT ON THE WALL OUT THERE AND SWAP STAMPS WITH THE GENTLEMAN WHO OWNED THIS PROPERTY.

I CAN'T REMEMBER HIS NAME.

HE WAS AN OLDER GUY IN 1950, SO YOU CAN IMAGINE HOW OLD HE'D BE TODAY.

AND SO I DEVELOPED A REAL WARM SPOT IN MY HEART FOR THIS PARTICULAR SPOT.

AND, UH, WHEN IT WAS TIME TO EITHER DEVELOP IT OR NOT, UM, I JUST COULDN'T, I JUST COULDN'T ALLOW THAT TO HAPPEN.

SO I WENT INTO ACTION WITH A LOT OF OTHER PEOPLE.

AND, UH, WE WORKED REALLY HARD TO GET THIS 10 ACRES, GIVE OR TAKE.

AND TODAY IT'S PROBABLY GONNA BE ONE, IT'S ONE OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL SPOTS IN THE WHOLE COUNTY, I THINK.

SO THANK EVERYONE WHO WORKED HARD TO MAKE THIS HAPPEN, AND I'M GLAD I WAS A SMALL PART OF IT.

AND THANKS FOR BEING HERE TODAY.

THANK YOU, PAUL.

UM, I'M GONNA ASK, UM, LARRY WHITE, UM, WHO'S WITH THE FEL BURN FOUNDATION, WHO WAS VERY GRACIOUS, UM, AND MAKING A DONATION, A LARGE DONATION, UH, TO THIS CAUSE.

SO MR. WHITE, IF YOU WOULD COME AND JUST MAKE SOME REMARK AND CLOSE US OUT, UM, I APPRECIATE IT.

THANK YOU, MR. WHITE.

GOOD MORNING.

ONE THING THAT STRIKES ME AS WE GATHER HERE, THIS PLACE LOOKS A LOT BIGGER IN PERSON THAN IT LOOKED ON THOSE PLATS, .

UH, AND IT'S A, IT'S A WONDERFUL REALITY, UH, TO REACH.

I AM WITH THE FELBER FOUNDATION.

WE ARE A GRANT MAKING PRIVATE FOUNDATION WITH HEADQUARTERS IN OCALA, FLORIDA.

AND I WAS REMINDED ABOUT FIVE YEARS AGO, WE, UH, HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO, UH, MAKE A GRANT, UH, TO ASSIST IN THE PURCHASE OF THIS PROPERTY BY THE COUNTY.

UH, UH, FELDEN TAKES A LOT OF PRIDE IN WHAT THAT HAS PRODUCED.

UH, AND IT WAS REALLY PRODUCED BY THE CITY, THE COUNTY, AND ALL OF YOU AND ALL OF THE PARTNERS WHO CAME TOGETHER TO MAKE IT HAPPEN.

UH, UH, CARTER AND I HAVE BEEN IN BEAUFORT FOR A LITTLE OVER 10 YEARS.

UH, WE FEEL LIKE, UH, WE'VE LIVED HERE FOREVER AND WE, UH, ARE GRATEFUL FOR

[04:50:01]

THE LONG RANGE BROAD PERSPECTIVE VIEW THAT THE COUNTY BRINGS TO PROJECTS SUCH AS THIS.

AND WE ARE VERY, VERY GLAD TO BE A PART OF IT.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

NOW WE'RE GONNA HEAR A FEW WORDS FROM CITY OF BEAUFORT, MAYOR STEVEN MURRAY.

WELL, GOOD MORNING, FAM.

WHAT A, WHAT AN EXCITING DAY IT IS.

I, UM, SOME OF THE GRAY HAIRS THAT YOU SEE ON ME ARE PROBABLY A RESULT OF THIS PROJECT, .

AND, UH, YOU KNOW, AFTER THE, THE CUSSING, THE FUSSING, THE SUING THE PUBLIC MEETINGS, HERE WE ARE.

AND I'LL BE CANDID AND SAY THAT WHEN I WAS THINKING ABOUT THE THOUGHT, THE COMMENTS THAT I WOULD MAKE THIS MORNING, I, I STRUGGLED A LITTLE BIT GIVEN HOW SORT OF DISJOINTED AND SAUSAGE MAKING THE PROCESS TO GET HERE TODAY HAS BEEN.

BUT I WAS COMING ACROSS THE BRIDGE, LOOKING AT OUR GREAT CONNECTOR, SEEING ALL OF YOU, MANY OF WHO I CONSIDER CLOSE FRIENDS AND PEOPLE I'VE ADMIRED AND RESPECTED FOR A LOT OF MY LIFE, THERE WAS A REALIZATION THAT ALL OF THAT WAS WORTH IT BECAUSE THIS PARK WILL OUTLIVE ALL OF US AND MY GRANDKIDS AND MAYBE GREAT GRANDKIDS WILL CRAB FROM THAT DOCK AND KICK A BALL IN THIS PARK.

AND SO TO ALL OF THE PARTNERS INVOLVED, AND THERE ARE SO MANY, AND I THINK STEPHANIE DID A GREAT JOB, AND YORK AS WELL, OF NAMING PEOPLE THAT EACH LIFTED A HAND.

AND AS THE GOOD BOOK SAYS, MANY HANDS MAKE LIGHT WORK.

AND SO I'M GRATEFUL TO, TO EACH OF YOU FOR WHAT YOU'VE DONE TO BRING THIS AMAZING ASSET TO BEAR.

UM, I DO WANT TO GIVE A SPECIAL SHOUT OUT TO STEPHANIE AT THE, AT THE COUNTY FOR HER HARD WORK, NOT JUST ON THIS PARK, BUT OPENING UP SO MANY OF OUR PUBLIC LANDS ACROSS THE COUNTY, WHICH I THINK CITIZENS NEED GREATER ACCESS TO.

AND I DON'T THINK WITHOUT HER LEADERSHIP, WE'D BE WHERE WE ARE TODAY.

I ALSO GOTTA GIVE A SHOUT OUT TO MY SQUAD.

SO WE GOT CITY MANAGER SCOTT MARSHALL, AND, UH, FORMER MAYOR BILLY LING WAS A INSTRUMENTAL PART OF THIS PROJECT, UH, WHEN I WAS JUST A, A COUNCIL MEMBER.

UH, BUT I'VE GOT MAYOR PRO TIMM, MIKE MCFEE HERE, COUNCILMAN MITCH MITCHELL.

UH, COUNCILMAN NEIL LIPITZ IS HERE WITH US IN CARDBOARD.

UH, COUNCILMAN JOSH TI.

UH, AND THEN I BELIEVE COUNCILMAN, UH, PHIL CROMER AND COUNCILWOMAN NAN SUTTON.

WERE ALSO A PART OF THIS, OF THIS PROJECT.

GOTTA GIVE A HUGE SHOUT OUT TO MY DOWNTOWN DIRECTOR, LENDER ROPER, WHO'S DOES EVERYTHING AND JESSICA AND DOWNTOWN OPERATIONS.

AGAIN, MANY HANDS MAKE, MAKE LIGHT WORK.

AND I CAN'T FORGET THE FEARLESS LEADER OF FRIENDS OF WHITEHALL, PAUL BUTER, WHO WAS ABSOLUTELY DOGGED IN HIS APPROACH, , BUT ALWAYS WITH A SMILE, ALWAYS WITH CIVILITY, AND ALWAYS WITH RESPECT FOR WHOEVER HE WAS IN FRONT OF ADVOCATING FOR.

WE NEED MORE PAUL BUTER IN THE WORLD.

ALRIGHT, AND I GOTTA THANK COUNTY COUNCIL, UH, FOR THEIR PARTNERSHIP AND THEIR INVESTMENT IN THIS PARK.

AND I'LL LEAVE YOU WITH ONE OF MY FAVORITE QUOTES, AND THAT'S A GREEK PROVERB THAT SAYS THAT A SOCIETY GROWS GREAT WHEN OLD MEN PLANT TREES WHO SHADE THEY KNOW THEY SHALL NEVER SIT UNDER.

AND SO AGAIN, WHILE ALL THE CUSSING AND FUSSING AND SUEING AND HAND RINGING AND NAME CALLING, IT WAS WORTH IT.

AND TODAY, I'LL LEAVE HERE AND I HOPE EACH OF YOU DO TOO, WITH A GREATER COMMITMENT TO THIS COMMUNITY IN THE KNOWLEDGE THAT WHEN WE WORK TOGETHER AND LEVERAGE OUR INDIVIDUAL RESOURCES, WE CAN ACCOMPLISH AMAZING THINGS THAT WILL PRODUCE SHADE FOR GENERATIONS TO COME

[04:55:02]

LONG PAST OUR TIME HERE.

AND HOW AMAZING IS THAT, ? I HOPE YOU ALL HAVE A VERY BEAUTIFUL BEAUFORT DAY.

AND AS ALWAYS, IF THERE'S ANYTHING THAT I OR ANYONE FROM TEAM BEAUFORT CAN EVER DO FOR YOU, PLEASE DON'T HESITATE TO REACH OUT.