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CLOSED CAPTIONING PROVIDED BY BUFORT COUNTY 2024
[1. Call to Order]
TO ORDER.WILL YOU JOIN ME IN SAYING THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE? I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND TO THE REPUBLIC FOR WHICH STANCE, ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE WILL NEVER BE INJUSTICE FOR ALL.
IF YOU'LL CONTINUE STANDING FOR THE INVOCATION, RABBI BLOOM, CONGREGATION
INSPIRE US TO LOVE AND PROTECT OUR PRECIOUS DEMOCRACY.
LET EVERY CITIZEN TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS WE CHERISH.
WE PRAY FOR COURAGE AND CONSCIENCE AS WE AIM TO SUPPORT OUR COUNTRY'S HIGHEST VALUES AND ASPIRATIONS, HARD WON RIGHTS THAT DEFINE US AS AN AMERICAN PEOPLE, RESPONSIBILITIES THAT THEY ENTAIL.
WE PRAY FOR ALL WHO SERVE OUR COUNTRY AND OUR COMMUNITY WITH SELFLESS DEVOTION TO MAKE OUR TOWN HILTON HEAD A SAFE PLACE TO LIVE IN.
WE PRAY FOR THE ELECTED OFFICIALS AND THEIR GOOD HEALTH, AND FOR THEM TO HAVE THE WISDOM TO MAKE SOUND DECISIONS BASED SOLELY UPON THE WELFARE OF THE COMMUNITY THAT THEY WERE ELECTED TO SERVE.
WE ALSO PRAY FOR AND GIVE THANKS TO THE STAFF OF THIS TOWN WHO SUPPORT THE WORK OF OUR ELECTED LEADERS, AND MAY THEY MAINTAIN THE COMMITMENT TO PUT SERVICE ABOVE SELF AS WELL.
WE ARE GRATEFUL, DEAR GOD, FOR THE RIGHTS OF LIBERTY LIFE AND THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS THAT OUR FOUNDERS ATTRIBUTED TO YOU, OUR CREATOR.
WE PRAY FOR THEIR WISDOM AND MORAL STRENGTH THAT THEY, AND THAT ALL OF US WILL BE GUARDIANS OF THESE RIGHTS FOR OURSELVES AND FOR THE SAKE OF ALL THE PEOPLE IN HILTON HEAD NOW AND FOREVER.
[4. Adoption of the Agenda]
DO YOU, ARE THERE ANY CHANGES IN TODAY'S AGENDA? NO, SIR.CAN I HAVE A MOTION TO ACCEPT THE AGENDA AS, AS IS I MOVED? SECOND.
ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, PLEASE SIGNIFY BY RAISING YOUR RIGHT HAND.
I'M TRYING TO GET BACK ON TRACK HERE.
UH, NEXT WE'LL HAVE AN APPROVAL OF THE
[5. Approval of the Minutes]
MINUTES FOR JUNE 18TH, JULY 23RD AND AUGUST 6TH.WE'VE GOT A FIRST AND A SECOND.
UH, ALL THOSE IN FAVOR OF APPROVING THE MINUTES AS STATED, PLEASE SIGNIFY BY RAISING YOUR RIGHT HAND.
THAT PASSES SEVEN ZERO REPORT TO
[6. Presentations and Recognitions]
THE TOWN MANAGER, MR. ORLANDO? YES, SIR.GOOD AFTERNOON, MAYOR AND COUNCIL AND MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC.
UH, I WOULD LIKE TO TODAY, UM, PROVIDE A LITTLE BIT OF A SYNOPSIS AND SOME AFTER ACTION DISCUSSION, UH, REPORT ON OUR RECENT TROPICAL STORM, DEBBIE.
SO, UH, A BIG THANK YOU TO ALL OF YOU TOWN COUNCIL, A, A, A THANK YOU TO OUR COMMUNITY AND AS WELL, A A VERY IMPORTANT THANK YOU TO OUR TOWN STAFF.
UM, A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE EVENT, A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT WE SAW AS A TEAM AND THEN SOME AFTER ACTION.
SO PRIOR TO THE EVENT, UH, BEGINNING FRIDAY, AUGUST 2ND, STAFF INITIATED COMMUNICATION WITH PRIVATE COMMUNITIES AND GOLF COURSES AND EVERYBODY THAT, UH, THAT HAD ANY, ANY TO DO ABOUT PROPERTY MANAGEMENT AND MAINTENANCE.
UM, TO WARN THEM OF THE POTENTIAL RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH DEBBIE, URGING THEM TO LOWER WATER SURFACE ELEVATIONS IN THE LAGOON SYSTEMS TO MAXIMIZE STORMWATER STORAGE CAPACITY AND TO CLEAN ALL DRAINAGE SYSTEM INTAKES.
UM, WE INSPECTED CRITICAL COMPONENTS OF THE TOWN'S DRAINAGE INFRASTRUCTURE, INCLUDING THE FOUR PUMP STATIONS, MAJOR CONTROL STRUCTURES AND PRIMARY CHANNELS AND OUTFALLS, AND THEN THE BASICS.
WE REMOVED TRASH CANS, BEACH CHAIRS, UMBRELLAS, AND EVERY OTHER THING THAT WE COULD FIND FROM OUR BEACH, INCLUDING, UM, STABILIZED OUR OWN FACILITIES AND, AND PARKS.
DEBBIE BEGAN AFFECTING HILTON HEAD ON THE EVENING OF SUNDAY, AUGUST 4TH.
AND, AND WE ALL HEARD, WE ALL HEARD THE NEWS.
WE WERE, WE WERE ANTICIPATING, OR AT LEAST BEING WARNED, UH, FOR UP TO 30 INCHES OF RAINFALL WHILE HER, UH, TROPICAL STORM, DEBBIE DIDN'T BRING 30 INCHES OF RAIN.
THANKFULLY, WE DID SAY 10 INCHES OF RAINFALL FROM SUNDAY TO WEDNESDAY AND TWO FEET OF STORM SURGE IN AND AROUND THE SAME TIME AT HIGH TIDE
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PALMETTO ELECTRIC REPORTED THREE OUTAGES.SO THAT'S, THAT'S, THAT'S A LOT.
THERE WERE 5,700 CUSTOMERS WITHOUT SERVICE, BUT IT WAS RETURNED SERVICE, UH, QUICKLY.
BUT THAT IS NOT A LOT OF POWER OUTAGES ON OUR ISLAND FOR A LONG PERIOD OF TIME WITH A STORM LIKE THAT, WE DO HAVE AN APP.
MY HHI, IT'S A C CLICK FIX ACT.
IT'S A, IT'S AN APP THAT YOU CAN GET ON AND LET US KNOW WHAT THE ISSUES ARE.
WE HAD CLOSE TO 30 REQUESTS, AND THEY WERE ALL ADDRESSED BEFORE THE EOC CLOSED.
SO FOLKS WOULD CALL US AND SAY, THE STOREMAN THAT WAS BLOCKED, WE WOULD GET OUT THERE AND FIX IT.
WE WOULD GET OUT THERE AND REMOVE IT.
AND THEN THROUGH A REQUEST PROVIDED BY OUR GULLAH GEECHEE HISTORIC NEIGHBORHOOD COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CORP, AS WELL AS TOWN FIRE RESCUE STAFF, WE CONDUCTED SEVERAL WELLNESS CHECKS.
UM, WE RESPONDED TO REPORTS OF FLOODING ACROSS THE ISLAND, AND WE LOOKED, WE, WE GOT THERE AS QUICK AS WE COULD TO VERIFY, ASSESS, DOCUMENT, AND HELP.
UM, A COUPLE EXAMPLES OF THAT WAS ON HELMSMAN WAY AT PALMETTO BAY MARINA AND ON SEA OLIVE ROAD AND POINT COMFORT.
SO A LITTLE BIT ABOUT BOTH THE TOWN CONTRACTORS AND S-C-D-O-T FROM GREENVILLE.
WE WERE VERY FORTUNATE TO HAVE THE STAFF AND THE TEAM FROM SOUTH CAROLINA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION HERE FROM GREENVILLE.
DURING THIS STORM STAFF AND THE DOT STAFF, OUR STAFF WERE ABLE TO RESTORE FLOW TO THE DRAINAGE INFRASTRUCTURE ON HELMSMAN WAY.
AND THEN ON SEA OLIVE ROAD, THERE WAS GOING UPWARD OF SIX INCHES OF RAINWATER IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD.
AND IT STARTED TO CREEP INTO THE RESIDENTIAL STRUCTURES.
AND ONCE WE DETERMINED WHERE THE DOWNSTREAM OUTFALL WAS, UM, SOMEWHERE NEAR THE MARSH OF POINT COMFORT, UM, WHILE IT SAYS THE, THE MARSH OF POINT COMFORT CREEK WAS PLUGGED OR CLOGGED, STAFF CONTACTED THE DOT BUFORT MAINTENANCE OFFICE.
AND WITHIN 10 MINUTES, THAT MAINTENANCE OFFICE, ALONG WITH DOT WERE ON SEA OLIVE ROAD, UM, CLEARING, CLEARING WITH A JET VAC TRUCK TO CLEAR THE BLOCKAGE.
AND WITHIN ABOUT 15 MINUTES WAS LIKE A BATHTUB.
THE WATER, THE WATER DIS DISAPPEARED.
DURING THIS TIME, OUR SEVERAL PUMP STATIONS, OUR LAWTON, JARVIS CREEK AND WEXFORD PUMP STATIONS IN OVER ABOUT 161 TOTAL HOURS, PUMPED 441 MILLION GALLONS OF WATER, UM, SEVEN DAMAGE STRUCTURES, FIVE RESIDENTIAL, TWO COMMERCIAL, MOSTLY FLOOD ISSUES, AND THEN SOME AFTER ACTION.
AND WE'RE ALWAYS TRYING TO LEARN.
AND SO AFTER ACTION, I'M VERY PROUD OF TOM DUNN, UH, CHIEF BLANKENSHIP, JEFF NICKING, SEAN COLEN, SEAN LEININGER, AND A WHOLE BUNCH OF OTHERS.
DEREK COSO, I CAN'T SAY ALL THEIR NAMES.
WE HAVE MORE THAN 75 AFTER ACTION ITEMS JUST FROM STAFF ALONE.
AND SO SOME OF THOSE ARE TO EVALUATE THE DEVELOPMENT OF A SANDBAG PROGRAM FOR THE TOWN.
WE KNOW THAT SANDBAGS WERE DROPPED BY BUFORT COUNTY IN BLUFFTON AND THEN NORTHERN BEAUFORT COUNTY, BUT NOT ON HILTON HEAD.
AND SO WE CONTACTED THE COUNTY AND WE REALIZED THAT THEY HAD LIMITED RESOURCES, LIMITED STAFF, AND WE KNOW THAT IF WE'RE GONNA HAVE SANDBAGS ON OUR ISLAND, A PARTNERSHIP WITH THEM IS, IS, IS, IS, IS NEEDED.
WE COORDINATED WITH BEFORD COUNTY AND S-C-D-O-T ON PREVENTATIVE DITCH MAINTENANCE.
I SAW A COUPLE EMAILS TODAY, UM, ON ADDITIONAL DITCH MAINTENANCE ISSUES, EVEN AFTER THE STORM, UM, THAT WE ARE ALREADY OUT THERE TO, UM, IMPROVE UPON.
WE WILL HAVE A MORE IMPROVED EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT D DASHBOARD FOR TOWN COUNCIL FOR YOU TO USE, FOR ME TO USE AND, AND FOR THE STAFF TO USE.
UM, AND ALSO FOR THE PUBLIC TO KEY IN AND KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON IN IN THE COMMUNITY.
WE ARE WORKING ON THAT EM DASHBOARD AS WE SPEAK.
UH, WE'LL PREPARE A DAILY SITUATION, REPORT WITH YOU AND FOR YOU, AND THEN SHARE THAT WITH THE COMMUNITY.
UM, SO EVERYTHING IS COMPREHENSIVE AND ALL IN ONE PLACE.
UH, AND I WOULD LIKE YOUR FEEDBACK OVER TIME ON OUR NEW AND IMPROVED HURRICANE PREPAREDNESS GUY THAT THE STAFF THAT TOM DUNN PREPARED FOR MAYOR TOWN COUNCIL IN THE COMMUNITY.
SO I WAS, I KNOW TOM'S CURIOUS, I'M CURIOUS, WAS THE INFORMATION USEFUL AND DID HELP YOU DURING, DURING THE STORM? I THINK WE NEED TO REALLY ASSESS SOME OPTIONS TO POSITION THAT JET, A JET VAC TRUCK TO PROVIDE THESE QUICKLY, THESE QUICK RESPONSES.
HAD WE NOT HAD THAT JET VAC TRUCK, I WOULD BE TELLING YOU ABOUT MANY MORE SIGNIFICANT FLOODING UH, ISSUES.
SO AGAIN, THANK YOU TO DOT FOR HAVING THAT CLOSE BY.
AND THANK YOU TO BEAVER COUNTY FOR, FOR MOBILIZING WITH US.
UM, LITTLE BIT ABOUT OUR PUMP STATION, JUST REAL QUICK 'CAUSE I I MENTIONED THEM A COUPLE TIMES.
JARVIS CREEK PUMP STATION AT WON OF MUNICIPAL ASSOCIATION AWARD IN 21 LOTTON STATION AND WEXFORD STATION AND THE SHIPYARD BOOSTER STATION.
THEIR KEY PLAYERS, THEIR KEY PUMPS IN OUR LINE OF DEFENSE AGAINST PLUMP,
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UH, AGAINST FLOODING.JARVIS CREEK PUMPS WATER FROM A THOUSAND ACRES INTO JARVIS CREEK.
LOTTON STATION PROTECTS 2000 ACRES BY PUMPING TO LAWTON CREEK, AND WEXFORD MANAGES WATER FLOW INTO BROAD CREEK, AND THAT SERVES A 1500 ACRE WATERSHED.
AND SO WHEN I SAY THOSE PUMP STATIONS, IT'S NOT JUST FOR THOSE IMMEDIATE AREAS, BUT IT'S FOR SIGNIFICANT AREAS SURROUNDING THEM.
AND THOSE STATIONS ARE SPECIFICALLY DESIGNED TO OPERATE DURING THESE EXTREME EVENTS DEMONSTRATING RESILIENCE AND PREPAREDNESS OF OUR COMMUNITY.
AND I SAY THIS TO, TO SAY THANK YOU TO EVERYBODY, TO LET THE FOLKS KNOW THAT WE'RE IMPACTED, THAT WE'RE, WE'RE, WE'RE WORKING TOWARDS LITTLE SOLUTIONS AND BIG SOLUTIONS.
AND I JUST WANT TO SAY TO THE STAFF, THE LEADERSHIP OF CHIEF, THE LEADERSHIP OF TOM DUNNA, A A BIG THANK YOU.
AND, AND HOPEFULLY WE WON'T HAVE TO EXPERIENCE ANYMORE THIS YEAR OR NEXT YEAR OR THE YEARS TO COME.
UH, MOVING ON TO THE, UH, HILTON HEAD ISLAND DESTINATION MARKETING ORGANIZATION QUARTERLY REPORT.
GOOD AFTERNOON, MAYOR TOWN COUNCIL, THANK YOU FOR ALLOWING ME TO BE HERE TODAY.
UM, IN MARCH, WE BEGAN DOING QUARTERLY REPORTS OF, UH, THE D O'S EFFORTS ON OUR BEHALF TO MARKET THE DESTINATION.
AND I THINK THOSE HAVE BEEN, BEEN VERY SUCCESSFUL.
THESE REPORTS OCCUR ABOUT 45 DAYS AFTER THE CLOSE OF EACH QUARTER.
SO THE ONE THAT YOU'LL RECEIVE TODAY, UH, IS FOR THE QUARTER ENDING JUNE 30TH.
UH, OUR TEAM, UH, HAS WORKED CLOSELY WITH THE DMO TO ENSURE ALIGNMENT OF THEIR EFFORTS ON OUR BEHALF WITH THE, UM, DESTINATIONS VALUES THAT YOU ALL HAVE ARTICULATED.
UH, THESE REPORTS PROVIDE YOU NOT ONLY WITH A, UH, AN INSIGHT INTO THE ACTIVITIES THE DMO IS TAKING ON OUR BEHALF, BUT ALSO GIVE YOU AN OPPORTUNITY TO ASK QUESTIONS OF THE DMO LEADERSHIP.
SO WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, I'D LIKE TO INTRODUCE ARIANA CORNICE, THE VICE PRESIDENT OF THE VISITORS AND CONVENTION BUREAU.
GOOD AFTERNOON, COUNCIL MAYOR, TOWN MANAGER.
THANK YOU ALL FOR HAVING ME THIS AFTERNOON.
ON BEHALF OF, UM, THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND DMO, WE'RE EXCITED TO PRESENT WHAT SEEMS LIKE IT HAS BEEN A LITTLE BIT AGO WAS 2004 Q4 RESULTS
SO, UM, IF YOU WILL, I HAVE A PRESENTATION AND WE CAN GO THROUGH THAT AND STOP ME ALONG THE WAY IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS.
SO, AGAIN, THE TIMEFRAME WE'RE LOOKING AT HERE IS APRIL THROUGH JUNE OF 2024, WHICH WOULD'VE BEEN FISCAL YEAR Q4 FOR US.
AGAIN, DRIVING ALL OF OUR EFFORTS IN THE OUT MARKET DETERMINED BY 50 MILES OR FURTHER.
WE ARE DRIVEN BY, UM, OUR CORE DESTINATION VALUES, WHICH AGAIN, WE HELD HANDS TO DETERMINE WHAT THOSE WERE, UM, TOGETHER, UM, A COUPLE YEARS BACK AND HAVE BEEN CHARTING THAT COR COURSE EVER SINCE.
SO THAT'S ECOTOURISM HISTORY, ARTS AND CULTURE, RECREATION AND WELLNESS.
WE'RE GONNA DIVIDE THE, UM, INFORMATION THAT WE'RE PROVIDING THIS QUARTER, UM, INTO SECTION.
SO THIS IS OUR QUARTERLY HIGHLIGHT.
WHAT WAS THE ONE OR TWO BIG THINGS THAT HAPPENED OVER THE PAST? UM, THREE MONTHS, JUNE, UH, APRIL, MAY AND JUNE, EXCUSE ME.
I HAD TO GET MY MONTHS RIGHT, APRIL, MAY, AND JUNE, UM, THAT WE WANTED TO BRING FORWARD TO LET YOU KNOW THAT WERE HAPPENING.
UM, AND THESE TWO ACTUALLY HAPPENED IN THE PR WORLD, AND VERY EXCITED TO BRING FORWARD THAT.
UM, THE TIMES WAS NEW YORK TIMES WAS ABLE TO HIGHLIGHT, UM, ANDREW CARMINES AND ALL OF HIS EFFORTS SURROUNDING MARICULTURE AND HOW HE BRINGS THAT FORWARD EVERY SINGLE DAY THROUGH HIS EFFORTS AND TOUCHES ON JUST OUR ECOTOURISM HERE IN THE DESTINATION.
UM, THIS IS NO SMALL GET, THIS IS A REALLY BIG OPPORTUNITY AND ONE THAT CHARLIE CLARK AND HER TEAM, UM, HAVE WORKED REALLY HARD AND, AND MANAGE THAT RELATIONSHIP TO BRING ANDREW AND HIS STORY, BUT REALLY MORE IMPORTANTLY, THE STORY OF THE DESTINATION FORWARD.
AND SO THIS WAS A BIG OPPORTUNITY, AS YOU SEE HERE, 1.4 MILLION JUST WITHIN THEIR DIGITAL AUDIENCE.
SO EXCITED THAT WE WERE ABLE TO BRING THAT FORWARD.
AS YOU CAN SEE, SOME OF THE IMAGERY THERE WHERE HE'S TALKING ABOUT HIS CUISINE, UM, AND HAD THAT TIME WITH THE EDITOR.
IN ADDITION, CHARLIE AND OUR TEAM WERE IN NEW YORK, AND THEY, UM, AGAIN, WERE ON, UM, THE EFFORT OF BRINGING FORWARD, UM, ECOTOURISM THE IMPORTANCE OF OUR ENVIRONMENT TO ALL THE EDITORS THAT THEY CAN ROUND UP AND HAVE AND HOST IN ONE SPACE.
AND THESE ARE JUST A SNAPSHOT OF WHO WAS THERE IN ATTENDANCE DURING THIS EVENT.
UM, SHE DOES THESE ONCE, UM, POSSIBLY TWO TIMES A YEAR, AND IT'S A REALLY GOOD OPPORTUNITY TO BRING THE DESTINATION TO LIFE, UM, AND A ONE STOP SHOP FOR, UM, THESE EDITORS THAT, UM, AGAIN, THAT SHE'S CURATED WITH HER TEAM TO BRING FORWARD AND TELL THAT DEEP, UM, AND IMPORTANT STORY OF HILTON
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HEAD ISLAND IN TERMS OF PAID MEDIA PARTNERSHIPS.AGAIN, CHARTING THAT, UM, EFFORT OF OUR, UM, YOU KNOW, FIVE IMPORTANT PIECES THAT WE WANNA BRING FORWARD.
WE'RE WORKING CLOSELY WITH KINGDOM MAGAZINE.
UM, THIS PIECE THAT WE HAD WAS A THREE PAGE, UM, RUN, AND THAT WAS IN THERE FROM APRIL THROUGH JULY.
THE DISTRIBUTION WAS OVER 205,000.
THE READERSHIP IS OVER 780,000.
BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY, THIS PIECE SPEAKS TO THAT HIGH END CONSUMER THAT WE'RE LOOKING TO REACH.
AND WE'VE DEFINED THAT CONSUMER FOR YOU IN PREVIOUS, UM, CONVERSATIONS.
BUT 250,000 HOUSEHOLD INCOME OR HIGHER HAS THE PROPENSITY OF TRAVEL.
UM, THEY LOVE THE LUXURY LIFESTYLE.
IF THEY LOVE LUXURY IN TERMS OF TRAVEL, THEY ALSO HAVE OTHER LUXURY GOODS, AND WE'RE BRINGING THAT FORWARD AND AGAIN, IN PUBLICATIONS IN WHICH THEY MIGHT READ.
UM, AND SO THIS WAS ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO, TO BUILD THAT BRAND AWARENESS WITHIN THIS READERSHIP GROUP.
AND SMITHSONIAN HAS BEEN A GREAT PARTNER.
AGAIN, WE HAVE THE SMITHSONIAN AFFILIATE HERE ON THE ISLAND WITH THE COASTAL DISCOVERY MUSEUM.
SO IT'S A GREAT, UM, PIECE AND ONE I THINK I MENTIONED IN MY LAST EFFORT.
BUT WE ACTUALLY WORKED VERY CLOSELY WITH REX AND HIS TEAM TO HELP US BRING THIS STORY TO LIFE EVEN MORE.
UM, I HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO MEET WITH OUR POINT OF CONTACT AT SMITHSONIAN JUST A WEEK AGO, AND SHE SAID IN PARTICULAR, HOW WELL THIS ONLINE PIECE, WHICH IS STILL RUNNING AND WILL RUN TO THE END OF THIS MONTH, IS DOING, THEY HAVE A, UM, AN INTEREST IN THEIR READERSHIP GROUP HAS AN OPPORTUNITY TO SPEND, THEY SPEND ADDITIONAL TIME THAN YOU WOULD SEE ON ANY OTHER DIGITAL OR OR PRINT PIECE FOR THAT MATTER.
THEY'RE SPENDING, YOU KNOW, ANYWHERE FROM 3, 5, 6, 8 MINUTES ON, YOU KNOW, READING DIFFERENT ARTICLES.
AND IT'S REALLY THAT ENGAGEMENT THAT YOU JUST REALLY CAN'T, UM, IMAGINE IS HAPPENING.
BUT THEIR, THEIR READERSHIP IS VERY ENGAGED.
AND IN THIS INSTANCE, IT'S NOT, UM, ANYTHING DIFFERENT THAN THAT.
WE ARE GETTING GREAT ENGAGEMENT.
UM, TO DATE, WE'D HAD OVER A MILLION IMPRESSIONS TO THIS ARTICLE ITSELF.
AND IT REALLY, IT'S REALLY A WONDERFUL PIECE.
THE LINK IS THERE FOR YOU TO ACCESS, UM, AND JUST ONE THAT WE HOPE TO TAKE FROM HERE AND, AND SHARE THAT OVER OTHER CONTENT, UM, OUTLETS THAT WE HAVE AS WELL.
UM, DOMESTICALLY WE'VE BEEN WORKING REALLY HARD, BUT ALSO INTERNATIONALLY, AND I DON'T THINK WE TALK ABOUT THAT A LOT.
YOU KNOW, BEFORE COD WE TALKED ABOUT, IT WAS JUST PART OF OUR MIX AND TO OUR, AND WHO OUR CUSTOMER BASE WAS.
UM, OUR CUSTOMER BASE, UM, DOES INCLUDE INTERNATIONAL, I THINK DURING COVID AND POST COVID, IMMEDIATELY AFTER WE FOCUSED SO MUCH ON THE DOMESTIC BECAUSE IT WAS HERE AND, YOU KNOW, THEY REALLY COULDN'T GO ANYWHERE ELSE.
AND WE WERE OPEN AND IT WAS A WONDERFUL OPPORTUNITY.
BUT AS WE GET FURTHER AND FURTHER AWAY FROM COVID AND, AND THE CLOSURES AND PEOPLE ARE OPENING BACK UP, YOU KNOW, INTERNATIONAL IS SUCH AN IMPORTANT PIECE TO THIS WHOLE CONVERSATION OF TRAVEL AND TOURISM, ESPECIALLY DURING OUR NEED TIMEFRAMES OF FALL, UM, AND WINTER.
AND, YOU KNOW, FROM HISTORICALLY SPEAKING AND, AND WHAT WE'RE SEEING FROM A MEASUREMENT STANDPOINT.
UM, CANADA IS OUR, A GREAT FRIEND OF OURS.
ALSO, THE UK AND GERMANY ARE GREAT, UM, TRAVEL PARTNERS THAT LOVE TO COME AND VISIT ON THE DESTINATION AND SPEND A A A BIT OF TIME HERE.
THEY'RE NOT JUST SPENDING A WEEK, THEY'RE SPENDING TWO WEEKS, TWO MONTHS.
BUT THEY HAVE THE TIME TO TRAVEL AND THEY'RE DOING IT HERE ON HILTON HEAD ISLAND.
SO IT IS SOMETHING THAT WE'RE RE-ENGAGING AND, AND MAKING, UM, AN EFFORT WITH IS THAT INTERNATIONAL MARKETPLACE WITHIN THOSE THREE MARKETS.
AND IT ISN'T AN INITIATIVE FROM THE STATE DOWN FROM THE STATE TOURISM THAT WE'RE FOLLOWING AND SUPPORTING, BUT REALLY HONING IN ON THE AREAS THAT WE KNOW WORK WELL FOR US.
SO THIS IS ONE PIECE, UM, THAT WE'RE WORKING WITH IT'S WALLPAPER, UM, AGAIN, A LUXURY LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE.
AND WE'RE TALKING ABOUT OUR DESTINATION, AND WE'VE JUST STARTED TO BROACH THAT CONVERSATION WITH THEIR READERSHIP.
SO THIS IS OUR, ONE OF OUR FIRST EFFORTS WITH THEM.
BUT WE HAVE, UM, A SECOND BUY COMING DOWN THE LINE AGAIN, 1.7 MILLION IN THEIR DIGITAL AUDIENCE AND A HUNDRED THOUSAND WITH THEIR PRINT CIRCULATION.
WE'LL HAVE SOME RESULTS OF THAT, UM, SHORTLY.
UM, THEY'RE JUST FINALIZING THOSE DETAILS NOW.
AND WE'VE SPOKEN ABOUT THIS PIECE.
IT WAS A VERY LONG MEDIA BUY IN TERMS OF OUR CAMPAIGN DATES.
CONDE NAST TRAVELER, WHO HAS BEEN A GREAT PARTNER OF THE DESTINATION FOR MANY YEARS.
UM, THIS PARTICULAR CAMPAIGN WAS A DIGITAL AND SOCIAL CAMPAIGN THAT RAN FROM OCTOBER OF 23 THROUGH JUNE OF 24 IN DIFFERENT ITERATIONS, WHICH IS QUITE UNUSUAL IN THE SENSE THAT IT WAS SUCH A LONG FLIGHT, UM, IN TERMS OF I MEDIA BUY, BUT IT WAS REALLY DOING SO WELL THAT THE CONTENT WAS THERE AND WE JUST REPURPOSED IT IN SEVERAL DIFFERENT CAPACITIES TO REALLY MAKE IT WORK AS HARD AS WE POSSIBLY COULD, UM, TO ENGAGE, UM, OUR CONSUMERS AND, AND READERSHIP ON, ON THE CONDE NAST SIDE.
SO WHO IS THAT? CONDE NAST CONSUMER AND READER.
UM, THEY SPEND 11 BILLION ON TRAVEL.
AND, UM, UH, 9 MILLION ARE ENGAGING ON THEIR SOCIAL MEDIA CHANNELS.
AND WHAT WE'VE SEEN IN THEIR READERSHIP IS THEY DO THESE POLLS EVERY YEAR WITH THE READERSHIP, AND IT'S LIKE, WHAT DO THEY HAVE A PROPENSITY TO DO? LIKE, WHY ARE WE SPEAKING TO THEM? AND WE'VE SEEN AN UPTICK IN THEIR INTEREST IN CULTURAL TRAVEL AS WELL AS CULINARY TRAVEL.
SO THOSE DETAILS THAT WE, YOU KNOW, GET
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REAL TIME FROM OUR PARTNER AT CONDE NAST REALLY ALLOW US TO CARVE AND SHAPE OUR MESSAGING TO REALLY HIT HOME ON WHAT'S IMPORTANT TO US.AND THESE HAPPEN TO ALIGN WITH TWO OF THE FIVE, UM, PILLARS THAT WE ARE, ARE PUSHING AS WELL.
AND EACH ONE OF THESE ARE LINKED AS WELL.
AND AGAIN, I ENCOURAGE YOU TO WATCH THEM.
WE'VE SHOWN THEM A COUPLE DIFFERENT TIMES.
UM, BUT THEY'RE GREAT AND THEY, THEY KIND OF LIVE FOREVER.
SO I THINK THAT'S AMAZING AND WE CAN REUSE THIS CONTENT IN OTHER WAYS WITH CONDE NAST, UM, FURTHER DOWN THE LINE.
BUT WHAT DID THIS PARTNERSHIP DO FOR US? SO WITH THE LONG FLIGHT TIME OF OCTOBER THROUGH, UM, JUNE, IF I'M NOT MISTAKEN, IF I READ THAT RIGHT.
SO OCTOBER THROUGH JUNE, UM, WE DELIVERED OVER 21.5 MILLION IMPRESSIONS.
SO PEOPLE WHO HAD, WERE ABLE TO SEE OUR CONTENT, THAT'S, THAT'S A REALLY GREAT REACH AND INTENSE DEEP REACH WITH OUR, UM, CON NAT TRAVEL READERSHIP.
WE HAD OVER 1.9 MILLION VIEWS OF OUR VIDEO.
THEY ARE ACTIVE AND ACTIVE, UM, READILY ON TIKTOKS.
THEY HAD OVER 214,000 TIKTOK COMPLETES.
AGAIN, WATCH THE VIDEO ALL THE WAY THROUGH.
AS YOU KNOW, YOU CAN SCROLL AND SKIP CONTENT, BUT, UM, THEY WATCH THE COMPLETE, UM, VIDEO AND THEN HIGH IMPACT ENGAGEMENT.
SO TAKING ALL THE WAYS YOU CAN INTERACT WITH SOCIAL MEDIA, LIKE IT, COMMENT, IT, SHARE WHAT HAVE YOU WITH IT, THAT'S KIND OF AN ALL ENCOMPASSING METRIC OF 792,000.
SO AGAIN, THIS ONE WORKED REALLY HARD FOR US AND WE'RE REALLY PROUD OF IT.
AND, UM, WE HOPE THAT YOU'RE, UM, ABLE TO STILL ACCESS THOSE LINKS AND, AND, AND TALK ABOUT THEM BECAUSE THEY'RE, THEY'RE PRETTY GOOD THINGS IN THERE.
AND HEADING BACK TO PUBLIC RELATIONS, UM, CHARLIE AND HER TEAM, AGAIN, HAVE DONE AN AMAZING JOB OF JUST CONSTANT DRUMBEAT AT THE DESTINATION.
AND, YOU KNOW, OUR PILLARS OF WHAT WE'RE OFFERING AND FOCUSED ON, IF YOU JUST LOOK AT THESE IMPRESSIONS AND AD VALUES, OVER A THOUSAND STORIES AND MENTIONS, SHE'S WORKING HAND IN HAND WITH THESE EDITORS AND PUBLICATIONS BOTH ONLINE AND PRINT TO BRING FORWARD ALL THE THINGS THAT WE'RE SO EXCITED TO TALK ABOUT.
AND SO THAT'S A, A, YOU KNOW, EVERY DAY, EVERY TIME SHE GETS THE OPPORTUNITY, SHE'S TALKING WITH PEOPLE FROM TRAVEL NOIR.
IN THIS INSTANCE, SHE'S HIGHLIGHTING HERE THAT THEY WERE TALKING ABOUT THE HILTON ISLAND SEA SEAFOOD FESTIVAL.
UM, IN MAY, SHE HIGHLIGHTS FORBES AND IN JUNE, THE NEW YORK TIMES PIECE.
UM, AND THAT WAS THE ANDREW CARMINE'S OPPORTUNITY.
BUT AGAIN, THERE'S SO MANY MORE WITHIN EACH MONTH THAT, THAT ARE LISTED.
THIS IS JUST A SNAPSHOT, BUT AGAIN, REALLY PUMPING OUT EVERY SINGLE DAY THE IMPORTANCE OF THIS DESTINATION AND HOW WE WANT YOU AS VISITOR TO BE A GREAT STEWARD.
JUST LIKE WE AS COMMUNITY MEMBERS, OUR GREAT STEWARDS OF OUR, OF OUR COMMUNITY AND OUR VACATION PLANNER.
SO OUR VACATION PLANNER IS, UM, ONE THAT WE PRODUCE ANNUALLY CALENDAR YEAR, AND THERE'S 85,000 UNITS THAT WE PRODUCE, AND WE FULFILL THEM IN MANY DIFFERENT WAYS.
BUT, UM, AGAIN, YOU CAN ORDER THOSE ONLINE.
THEY'RE AT THE HOTELS, AAA OFFICES, AND THE WELCOME CENTERS FOR SOUTH CAROLINA.
BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY, IT'S A COFFEE TABLE BOOK THAT SPEAKS SO HIGHLY OF EVERYTHING THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT.
IT REALLY PULLS PEOPLE IN, TELLS THAT COMPLETE STORY OF WHAT OUR PILLARS ARE ASKING US TO DO, RIGHT? TELL THE DEEPER STORY BEYOND BEACH, UM, BEYOND THE FACT THAT WE'RE A BEAUTIFUL ISLAND AND HALF GOLF, BUT TELL THAT DEEPER STORY.
AND, UM, WE ARE VERY EXCITED TO ANNOUNCE THAT WE WERE JUST RECOGNIZED FOR THIS BOOK FOR THE BEST IN THE COUNTRY.
AND WE WERE, UM, EXCITED ABOUT THAT, THAT RECOGNITION AND BRINGING THAT BOOK FORWARD BECAUSE WE KNOW WE'RE VERY PROUD OF IT COLLECTIVELY.
WE'VE ALL APPROVED IT, UM, AND WE LOVE THE WAY IT IS, UM, WORKING FOR US.
BUT TO BE RECOGNIZED ON THE NATIONAL LEVEL WAS, UM, A VERY EXCITING OPPORTUNITY AS WELL.
AND WE'RE VERY EXCITED TO KEEP MOVING FORWARD WITH THAT PIECE.
SO IF, UH, WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THE WEBSITE AND SOCIAL MEDIA BEING KIND OF THIS COMBINED EFFORT OF HOW IN A, YOU KNOW, PRINT IN A SENSE OF THE THINGS THAT WE MANAGE, IT REALLY IS THE VACATION PLANNER THAT WE ARE PRODUCING AND PUTTING, UM, THOSE THOUGHT EFFORTS INTO IN TERMS OF THE PILLARS AND TELLING THAT DEEPER STORY.
BUT REALLY THE WEBSITE IS THAT VIRTUAL FRONT DOOR THAT HELPS, UM, TELL THAT STORY FOR US, 365 DAYS A YEAR.
24 HOURS A DAY, AND PEOPLE WE'RE HOPING ARE TAKING THAT, UM, TOP OF FUNNEL OPPORTUNITY OF BEING AWARE OF HILTON PENN AND TAKING THAT NEXT STEP OF COMING TO THE WEBSITE AND SHAKING THE HANDS OF ONE OF OUR BUSINESS MEMBERS HERE IN THE COMMUNITY.
SO IF YOU LOOK AT OUR VISITS OR SESSIONS, UM, THAT'S A 986,000 FOR THE QUARTER, AND WE'VE HAD OVER 789,000 USERS, UM, AND CLICKING OUT, AND IT'S, I'M SORRY, THAT'S BLOCKED BY THE IMAGE, BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, OVER 400,000, UM, ARE CLICKING OUT.
ONCE THEY COME TO THE SITE, THEY'RE CLICKING OUT TO OUR, UM, PARTNER BUSINESSES.
AND IT'S REALLY AN OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO, UM, CONNECT BUSINESSES WITH OUR VISITORS AND, AND ENGAGE THEM WITH WHAT IS IMPORTANT TO
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US AS A COMMUNITY MEMBER.AND IT'S TO SEE OUR BUSINESSES THRIVE, OUR WEBSITE PERFORMANCE, UM, FROM HILTON HEAD ISLAND.ORG, WE WENT A LITTLE DEEPER THIS TIME.
UM, JUST TRYING AGAIN TO SHARE AS MUCH INFORMATION ABOUT, UM, THE PERFORMANCE FROM THE QUARTERLY STANDPOINT.
SO WHAT WERE THE TOP PAGES WHEN I SAID THAT WE HAD OVER 204,000 VISITS OR SESSIONS? WHERE DID THEY GO? SO THE HOMEPAGE, THAT'S A, A GREAT PLACE TO START.
WE LOVE IT THERE, BUT THEY'RE ALSO INTERESTED IN THINGS TO DO, WHERE TO DINE AND THE OFFERS.
SO THAT'S, AGAIN, A QUARTERLY SNAPSHOT.
THAT'S NOT COMPREHENSIVE OF THE YEAR TO DATE, BUT WE'LL CONTINUE.
AND WE DO THIS, WE'RE ALREADY DOING THIS, BUT TRACKING AND WATCHING WHERE PEOPLE ARE GOING AND, YOU KNOW, ADJUSTING OUR EFFORTS AS NEEDED.
BUT I THOUGHT THIS WAS A GOOD PLACE TO START IN TERMS OF CONVERSATION.
UM, THE WOMAN, UH, SKEWS A LITTLE HEAVIER IN TERMS OF BEING THE ONE WHO IS VISITING THE WEBSITE, 58% TO 42%, AND THE LEADER WITHIN THE AGE RANGE IS 55 TO 64.
SO, BUT I THOUGHT WAS ENCOURAGING TO SEE THAT, YOU KNOW, THE 35 TO 44 AND 45 TO 54 ARE ALSO IN THE MIX IN TERMS OF ENGAGING.
SO NOT ONLY, UM, THE DECISION MAKER, BUT PERHAPS IT'S A BIGGER CONVERSATION AMONGST THE FAMILY, WHICH IS GOOD TO SEE.
I MEAN, YOU LOOK AT SOCIAL ENGAGEMENT, THIS IS OUR ORGANIC SOCIAL.
IF YOU'RE NOT FOLLOWING, WE ENCOURAGE YOU TO FOLLOW.
AGAIN, YOUTUBE, TIKTOK, FACEBOOK X, PINTEREST, AND INSTAGRAM.
UM, AND OUR SOCIAL SESSIONS, OUR TOTAL AUDIENCE, 355,000 SOCIAL SESSIONS AT 115,000.
THIS IS WHERE WE CAN GET THOSE QUICK LITTLE SNACKS AND BITES OF WHAT THE DESTINATION IS DOING.
AND IT'S REALLY PROVEN TO HELP PUSH SOMEBODY, A CONSUMER FROM, UM, THE, THE SOCIAL SPACE INTO THE WEBSITE.
AND IT'S BEEN A REALLY, IT'S BEEN A REALLY GREAT PARTNERSHIP TO SEE THOSE TWO PIECES WORKING TOGETHER.
BUT LET'S DIVE A LITTLE DEEPER INTO SOCIAL.
I THINK, UM, IN THE PAST PRESENTATION WE HAD TALKED ABOUT TRACKING OF OUR SOCIAL EFFORTS AGAINST OUR PILLARS OF, UM, THAT WE FOCUSED ON OF WELLNESS, RECREATION, ARTS AND CULTURE ECOTOURISM AND HISTORY.
SO IF YOU CAN SEE HERE, AND I, I APOLOGIZE FOR THE FINE PRINT, BUT WE JUST HAVE STARTED TO, UM, CAPTURE HOW MANY POSTS WITHIN EACH OF THESE CATEGORIES THAT WE'RE DOING, RIGHT? SO YOU MAY NOT SEE EVERY SINGLE ONE JUST BASED ON THE ALGORITHMS THAT ARE OUT THERE, BUT WE WANTED TO LET YOU KNOW THAT THOSE ARE HAPPENING.
SO OUT JUST TAKING WELLNESS, WE HAD 167 POSTS IN THAT Q4 TIMEFRAME, WHICH IS AN ENGAGEMENT OF OVER 251,000 AND OVER 4.2 MILLION IMPRESSIONS.
SO THOSE NUMBERS ARE REALLY ENCOURAGING TO SEE JUST WITHIN THREE MONTHS HOW MUCH OUR VISITOR OR POTENTIAL VISITOR IS ENGAGED WITH OUR BRAND.
UM, WE HAD A RESOUNDING ALL THREE WERE SEA TURTLES, IT DIDN'T MATTER THE PLATFORM.
AND I KNOW WE'RE SPREADING THE WORDS ABOUT DOLPHINS AND PIPING CLOVERS AND ALL OF OUR SWEET ANIMALS THAT WE HAVE HERE IN WILDLIFE, BUT SEA TURTLES, ONE FOR Q4, UM, ACROSS
AGAIN, JUST THE STRONGEST ENGAGEMENT.
AGAIN, WHO WAS WATCHING? HOW WERE THEY WATCHING AND WERE THEY LIKING SHARING WHAT HA OR COMMENTING AND THESE THREE ONE.
BUT WHEN WE LOOK AT HOTEL HOME AND VILLA OCCUPANCY COMBINED, UM, AND THAT IS OUR KEY DATA EFFORTS, UM, AND STR, UM, WE'RE LOOKING AT OCCUPANCY BEING FOR Q4, FISCAL YEAR Q4, APRIL, MAY, AND JUNE DOWN 8%.
UM, A DR WAS UP 2%, BUT UNFORTUNATELY OUR REVPAR WAS DOWN 6%.
AGAIN, NOT DRAMATICALLY DOWN, BUT WE ARE AWARE OF THESE, UM, UH, CONCERNS IN THE DOWN, UM, IS NEVER SOMETHING WE LIKE TO SEE, BUT ESPECIALLY WITHIN THAT REVPAR, UM, COLUMN.
BUT IT IS SOMETHING WE'RE MONITORING AND WATCHING AND WE'RE WALKING VERY CLOSELY WITH OUR HOTELIERS.
WE'RE MAKING ADJUSTMENTS AND OUR CONTENT, UM, AND IT IS SOMETHING WE'RE TRACKING AND ARTICULATING AND COMMUNICATING OUT.
SO, UM, YOU KNOW, WITHIN OUR REPORTING, WE DO GET WHAT'S ON THE BOOKS, AND WE ARE SEEING AND HAVING CONVERSATIONS REGULARLY WITH OUR PARTNERS IN THE COMMUNITY REGARDING, UM, EFFORTS THAT WE CAN DO TO ADJUST, UM, AS WELL AS WHAT THEY CAN DO TO HELP SUPPORT THESE NEEDS IN THE MARKETPLACE.
UM, WE KNOW THAT HEADS AND BEDS MEANS, UM, PEOPLE IN RETAIL STORES AND ALSO AT RESTAURANTS AND VISITING OUR EXCURSIONS.
SO WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT THIS COMPONENT OF THESE THREE EFFORTS, UM, STAY VERY HEALTHY.
ANY QUESTIONS FROM COUNCIL? I, I DO HAVE A CON MS. MS. DRAKE COUNCIL NAMES AS ALWAYS,
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VERY PROFESSIONALLY PRESENTED.UM, I REALLY APPRECIATE THAT THE CHAMBER IS NOW HIGHLIGHTING, UM, OUR COMMUNITY VALUES THAT AS YOU REFER TO 'EM AS PILLARS SO THAT PEOPLE KNOW WHAT'S IMPORTANT TO US.
UM, ANDREW CARMINE'S SHARING HIS THOUGHTS AND PASSIONS ON THE VALUE OF ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP.
HE'S INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT, UH, NOT ONLY FOR THIS COMMUNITY TO BE REMINDED OF, BUT ALSO FOR PEOPLE POTENTIAL VISITORS TO THE ISLAND AND ALSO THE HISTORY STORY.
UM, IF, AND I THINK WHAT'S IMPORTANT ABOUT THAT IS THAT BY BEING MORE UPFRONT WITH WHAT MAKES US DIFFERENT, WHAT MAKES WHAT VALUES WE SHARE, WE ARE ATTRACTING VISITORS WHO ALSO SHARE THEM, AND THEY'RE THE ONES COMING TO THIS ISLAND WHO PROSPECTIVELY MIGHT PURCHASE REAL ESTATE AND BECOME OUR NEIGHBORS.
HAVING THEM SHARE OUR VALUES AT THE OUTSET IS INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT TO THE FUTURE OF THIS COMMUNITY.
UM, DO YOU HAVE THE CAPABILITY OR ARE YOU ALREADY GETTING FEEDBACK THAT IS VALUABLE IN ENHANCING THE MESSAGING FROM THE PEOPLE WHO ARE RESPONDING TO YOUR CURRENT, UM, MEDIA MARKETING AND SOCIAL MEDIA AND SO ON? GET THAT FEEDBACK IN ANY WAY? WE DO.
AND, UM, PROBABLY NOT AS COMPREHENSIVELY AS WE'RE HOPING TO BE IN A, UM, SIX MONTHS OR A YEAR FROM NOW, BECAUSE WE'VE STARTED KIND OF TRACKING THIS, UM, JUST WHEN WE STARTED OUR FISCAL YEAR.
UM, BUT AS YOU SEE WITHIN THE TRACKING OF THE SOCIAL MEDIA AS WELL AS SOME OF THE REPORTING THAT WE GOT BACK FROM CONDE NAST TRAVELER AND OTHER MEDIA OUTLETS, THE CONSUMER IS REALLY UNDERSTANDING AND APPRECIATING WHAT WE'RE PUTTING FORTH.
AND SO WHETHER IT BE THROUGH THEIR OWN RESEARCH THAT THEY'RE SHARING BACK WITH US, OR EVEN FROM COMMENTS THAT WE RECEIVE ON OUR OWN SOCIAL MEDIA PAGES, AND THEN THE TRACKING OF THAT, UM, WE ARE STARTING TO SOMEWHAT, SOMEWHAT ANECDOTALLY, BUT, YOU KNOW, WE'RE PULLING THAT TOGETHER TO BE A FORMAL RESEARCH.
IF YOU CAN ENHANCE THAT AND INCLUDE A SUMMARIZED REPORT TO COUNCIL IN THE FUTURE, I THINK THAT WOULD BE VALUABLE.
OTHER COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS? I DO, MR. MAYOR, MR. TAPER? I'M SORRY.
YEAH, I'M SPEAKING YOU SOME, SOME FROM SOME DISTANCE AWAY.
FIRST ARIANA, AGAIN, GREAT PRESENTATION, A GREAT, A GREAT REPORT.
UH, AND CONGRATULATIONS ON THE AWARD FOR, FOR THE BEST, UH, TRAVEL TRAVEL PLANET IN THE COUNTRY.
AND, AND WE APPLAUD YOU FOR THAT.
UM, WE HAVE, WE HAVE FOCUSED IN THE PAST, OR YOU SAID THERE'S BEEN A FOCUS IN THE PAST ON SHOULDER, SHOULDER TRAVEL VERSUS SUMMER TRAVEL.
UM, COUNCILMAN STANFORD, THEY EXACTLY, WE ARE NOT FOCUSED ON BRINGING, UH, VISITORS HERE DURING THE SUMMER TIMEFRAME.
THAT'S KIND OF BEEN A, AN UNDERSTANDING AS WE'VE, UH, WORKED TOGETHER FOR THE PAST NINE YEARS AND, AND PRIOR TO MY TIME HERE, THE SUMMER IS, IS HEALTHY.
IT TAKES CARE OF ITSELF FOR THE MOST PART.
SO OUR EFFORTS FOR THE DMO ARE REALLY FOCUSED ON THE SHOULDER AND OFF SEASON, EARLY SPRING TIMEFRAME TO ENSURE THAT THE, UM, BRAND AWARENESS EFFORTS THAT WE HAVE IN MARKET ARE REALLY WORKING HARD FOR US TO BRING THAT CONSUMER DESIRED CONSUMER HERE DURING THOSE TIMEFRAMES.
SO THAT'S, THAT IS OUR EFFORT.
WE'RE PUSHING THOSE TIMEFRAMES CONSTANTLY.
AND NOW WITH THE FIVE PILLARS THAT WE'RE USING TO, TO CREATE THAT MESSAGING AND THE OUT MARKETS, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'RE TRACKING AND WE SEE THAT THROUGH SOME OF OUR REPORTING THAT, YOU KNOW, THOSE MESSAGE POINTS ARE REFLECTED IN IMAGERY, THEY'RE REFLECTED IN OUR COPY, THEY'RE REFLECTED IN THE PAGES THAT THEY'RE BROUGHT TO IN TERMS OF PERHAPS, UM, THINGS TO DO OR EVEN SOME OF OUR JUST REGULAR BLOG OR SOCIAL CONTENT'S ABOUT WHAT TO DO AND HOW GREAT THOSE, THOSE SEASONS ARE.
SO AGAIN, WE'RE REALLY FOCUSED ON THAT.
AND, UM, YOU KNOW, ADJUSTING TO THE NEEDS OBVIOUSLY OF IN REAL TIME OF WHAT THE, UM, THE REPORTING SAYS.
AS YOU CAN SEE, UM, WE'RE DOING THAT WITH OUR, WITH OUR, UH, REPORTING THAT I JUST SHARED.
BUT YES, WE DO ADJUST TO THOSE TIMEFRAMES.
AND THEN USING NOT JUST DOMESTIC EFFORTS, BUT ALSO WORKING IN THAT INTERNATIONAL COMPONENT, WORKING IN KEY MARKETS THAT WE KNOW WORK FOR US, BUT ALSO TAKING CARE OF EMERGING MARKETS,
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UM, THAT MIGHT BE NEW VISITORS TO US.SO WE'RE CONSTANTLY FILLING, UM, OUR FUNNEL OF POTENTIAL VISITORS TO THE DESTINATION.
UM, A LOT OF WHAT YOU'VE SAID HERE IS CONCLUSIONS.
I WOULD, I THINK IT WOULD BE USEFUL FOR US TO SEE HOW YOU ARE DOING THAT FOCUS.
THAT IS, WHAT IS THE TEXT, WHAT ARE THE PHOTOGRAPHS? OKAY, WHAT, WHAT IS THE EMPHASIS ON THE WONDERFUL SPRING AND FALL WEATHER? THOSE SORTS OF THINGS THAT TO ME ARE WHAT, HIGHLIGHT THE SHOULDER SEASON, UH, IN OUR COMMUNITY.
AND MY SECOND QUESTION HAS TO DO WITH THE DECLINE THAT YOU MENTIONED AND OCCUPANCY IN THE LAST QUARTER.
UH, IS THAT SOMETHING THAT HAS OCCURRED THROUGHOUT THE RESORT COMMUNITY IN THE COUNTRY, OR IS THAT SOMETHING THAT IS SPECIFIC TO HILTON HEAD ISLAND? HEY, HEY, GLENN, COULD YOU, UH, GO BACK AND REPEAT THAT? WE WERE HAVING A HARD TIME HEARING YOU ON THIS SIDE.
UH, I'LL SPEAK DOWN AND TRY TO DO THE BEST I CAN.
UM, YOU HAVE EMPHASIZED THE, UH, YOU'VE TOLD US ABOUT THE DECLINE IN OCCUPANCY.
MY QUESTION IS, DO WE KNOW, IS THAT SOMETHING THAT IS SPECIFIC TO THE HILTON HEAD ISLAND COMMUNITY, OR IS IT SOMETHING THAT IS INDUSTRY-WIDE, I THINK YOU WOULD SAY? AND IF IN EITHER CASE, WHAT ARE THE REASONS FOR THAT? YEAH.
IS IT THE ECONOMY, UM, HAS TRAVEL JUST LEVELED OFF? WHAT ARE THE REASONS COUNCILMAN STANFORD? GREAT QUESTIONS.
AND IT IS REALLY, UM, NATIONAL, IT'S NOT JUST US.
IT IS SOMETHING THAT, UM, I AM GRATEFUL THAT WE ARE ON THIS SIDE OF, IN TERMS OF THERE ARE OTHER DESTINATIONS DOMESTICALLY THAT HAVE BIGGER CHALLENGES, UM, IN FRONT OF THEM REGARDING, AND, AND, WELL, LET'S LOOK NOT JUST AT OCCUPANCY, BUT AVERAGE DAILY RATE, WHICH GIVES US THE REVPAR.
I THINK WE HAVE TO LOOK AT THOSE HOLISTICALLY, UM, UH, UH, TO, AND TOGETHER.
UM, I THINK IT REALLY COMES DOWN TO THE ECONOMY, RIGHT? SO THINGS HAVE SHIFTED AND THERE'S BEEN A LITTLE BIT OF THIS ECONOMIC UNCERTAINTY DOMESTICALLY.
UM, PEOPLE MOST, UH, RECENTLY WITH, WE'VE DONE SOME RECENT, UM, RESEARCH AND FOUND THAT THERE IS A, A LARGE PERCENTAGE OF AMERICANS WHO ARE A LITTLE SHY TO PUT FORTH THEIR DISPOSABLE INCOME FOR TRAVEL.
SO WE'RE WORKING REALLY HARD AND TO GET IN FRONT OF THOSE THAT HAVE THE PROPENSITY TO TRAVEL, UM, TO PUSH THEM OVER TO SAY, HEY, LET'S CONTINUE TAKING THAT TRIP.
UM, AND, YOU KNOW, REALLY PUSHING FORWARD OUR FIVE PILLARS, YOU KNOW, IN, IN ADDITION TO JUST THE ECONOMIC CHALLENGES THAT WE'RE FACING DOMESTICALLY, INTERNATIONALLY, UM, EVERYTHING IS OPEN.
IT'S A BIT MORE AFFORDABLE TO GO OVERSEAS RIGHT NOW.
UM, AND IT'S, UM, IT'S A CHALLENGE THAT DOMESTIC TOURISM AND DOMESTIC PARTNERS ARE, ARE FACING RIGHT NOW IN TERMS OF THOSE CHALLENGES.
BUT I THINK WE KNOW EVERY SINGLE DAY WE'RE OUT THERE, UM, TRYING TO UNDERSTAND WHAT IS OUR FAIR SHARE THAT WE NEED TO HAVE IN THIS DESTINATION AND WHAT WE CAN DO TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE GETTING THOSE, THAT FAIR SHARE TO LOOK AT THIS DESTINATION AND MAKE THAT DECISION TO TRAVEL HERE.
SO THAT'S WHERE THAT CONSTANT DRUMBEAT THE GOOD WORK OF WHAT CHARLIE'S DOING, THE GOOD WORK OF WHAT OUR PARTNERS ARE DOING, BUT ALSO AS A WHOLE, THE DMO PUTTING OUT THAT MESSAGE 365 DAYS OF, HEY, WE'RE HERE, WE'RE A LUXURY DESTINATION THAT WE WOULD LIKE YOU TO TRAVEL TO.
SO IT'S ADJUSTING IN THOSE ASSETS REAL TIME.
I WOULD LIKE TO SEE A REPORT ON THE COMPARATIVE RESULTS OF OUR COMPETITIVE, UH, MARKETS, UH, FOR THAT SAME PERIOD, OR WHAT ARE THE PERIODS YOU'VE GOT THE DATA FOR.
I JUST WANNA KNOW WE'RE FOLLOWING MARKET TRENDS HERE.
OTHER COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS? MR. BROWN? THANK YOU, MR. MAYOR.
UH, PARTICULARLY FOR YOUR, UH, ESO EVOLUTION AND YOUR PRESENTATIONS TO US.
I THINK YOU HAVE BEEN RESPONDING TO COUNSEL WITH QUESTIONS ALONG THE WAY, UM, TO, TO TO FOLLOW UP ON, UM, MR. STANFORD'S THOUGHTS.
UM, THE DECREASE IN OCCUPANCY AND REVPAR THAT YOU STATED.
IS THAT Q4 VERSUS Q4 OR ARE WE LOOKING AT YEAR TO DATE NUMBERS? WE'RE LOOKING AT Q4.
I'M JUST REPORTING ON Q4 VERSUS Q4.
SO, UM, IF WE'RE LOOKING AT, AND I HAVE PAPERS THAT YOU DON'T, I WILL SHARE THEM.
UM, THAT IF YOU'RE LOOKING AT THE THREE COMBINED OCCUPANCY, A, DR AND REVPAR, UM, WHEN YOU'RE LOOKING AGAINST Q4 OF 23 FISCAL YEAR, UM, 23 WE'RE DOWN 8% IN OCCUPANCY.
WHEN YOU LOOK AT FISCAL YEAR 24 TO 23 Q, YEAR,
[00:40:01]
Q4 COMPARISON, WE'RE UP ACTUALLY 2% IN AVERAGE DAILY RATE, WHICH IS GREAT.SO WE LIKE TO SEE THAT CONTINUAL CLIMB, BUT IF YOU HAVE ANY DRAMATIC UP OR DOWN IN EITHER ONE OF THOSE COLUMNS, IT COULD IMPACT WHERE YOU ARE REVPAR WISE.
RIGHT? SO WITH THAT DOWN IN OCCUPANCY, WE ARE DOWN TO Q4 OF LAST YEAR, 6% FOR REVPAR.
SO AGAIN, NUMBERS THAT WE PRESENTED, BUT IT'S SOMETHING YOU WANNA BE MINDFUL OF, RIGHT? WE'RE CONSTANTLY MAKING SURE THAT, YOU KNOW, WHAT ARE OUR, IN OUR, JUST SPEAKING TO OUR HO HOTELS DAILY ABOUT IT AND, AND OUR PROPERTY MANAGEMENT COMPANIES, THEY'RE OUT THERE AND THEY'RE WORKING VERY HARD THEMSELVES TO ENSURE THAT THEY'RE, THEY'RE HAVE, YOU KNOW, HEADS AND BEDS.
UM, AND I THINK THAT THERE IS AN ARMS RACE FOR THAT CONSUMER TO, TO TAKE NOTICE.
AND THE WORLD IS DIFFERENT TODAY.
THERE'S, AND IT'S, UH, THOSE ARE JUST THINGS THAT WE HAVE TO BE MINDFUL OF, UM, AND THAT WE HAVE TO WORK REALLY HARD FOR OUR FAIR SHARE RIGHT NOW, BUT IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE CAN DO.
AND WE'RE NOT SO FAR DOWN DOWN 6%, BUT IT IS SOMETHING THAT WE'RE WATCHING WE WANNA BE AWARE OF.
AND, UH, WITH US SORT OF MEASURING THE, THE NEW PILLAR MM-HMM.
UM, WHEN YOU SHOW UP NEXT, COULD YOU POSSIBLY START TO COMPARE QUARTER TO QUARTER AS FAR AS THE PILLARS ARE CONCERNED WHEN YOU GET INTO, UM, SOME OF THE EFFORTS WHEN IT COMES TO PARTICULARLY THE SOCIAL MEDIA EFFORTS AND WHATNOT? MM-HMM.
BUT AGAIN, SINCE THIS IS SO NEW, I'M NOT QUITE SURE THAT WE UNDERSTAND WHEN THAT CUSTOMER IS COMING OR NOT COMING.
AND I THINK THAT'S IMPORTANT FOR US TO TRY TO REALIZE.
THIS AS ALWAYS, VERY, UM, WELL DONE.
AND WE APPRECIATE THE INFORMATION.
IN TERMS OF THE COMPARISON BETWEEN THIS YEAR AND THE 2023 THAT YOU JUST, UM, DESCRIBED FOR US, I WOULD BE INTERESTED IN KNOWING WHAT THAT COMPARISON IS, PRE COVID MM-HMM.
AND THEN THE OTHER PIECE IS, I KNOW THAT, UM, WE, WE TALK ABOUT, AND WE'RE VERY HAPPY THAT WE'RE, UM, WORKING TOWARDS, UM, LOOKING AT RESIDENT SATISFACTION MM-HMM.
AND WE GET THAT REPORT I THINK ONCE A YEAR FROM A SURVEY, BUT I'M JUST WONDERING THROUGHOUT THE YEAR, ARE THERE ANY EFFORTS IN IDENTIFYING HOW THE RESIDENTS ARE FEELING ABOUT THE QUALITY OF VISITOR, THE NUMBER OF VISITORS, UH, ALL OF THE REST? SO IF WE CAN GET SOME INFORMATION MORE, UM, THROUGHOUT THE YEAR ABOUT THE RESIDENTS POSITION, UM, VIS-A-VIS THE, UM, VISITOR, I WOULD APPRECIATE IT.
I JOINED MY COLLEAGUES IN THANKING YOU AND, AND, UM, I, I THINK MR. AM MENTIONED THE, THE FIVE PILLARS ARE A FIVE COMMUNITY VALUES, AND I REALLY LIKE SEEING THE ICONS LINKED TO THE SPECIFIC AREAS OF YOUR REPORT.
UM, WHICH LEADS ME TO A QUESTION ABOUT YOUR PAGE ON, UH, THE SOCIAL ENGAGEMENT BREAKDOWN.
UM, I KNOW WHETHER WE CAN SHOW THAT ON THE SCREEN AGAIN, AND MAYBE YOU HAVE A HARD COPY IN FRONT OF YOU, UM, BUT ORGANIZED BY CAL COMMUNITY VALUE AND IT, IT REFERS TO THE NUMBER OF POSTS.
SO I'LL WAIT TILL YOU BRING THAT UP.
AND MAYBE YOU PROBABLY HAVE A HARD COPY.
UM, BUT THERE, THE NUMBER OF POSTS VARY, UM, AND, AND IT LOOKS LIKE WELLNESS IS THE HIGHEST RECREATION.
UM, SO ARE THOSE POSTS THAT SOMEONE ELSE MAKES AND AND WE'RE CAPTURING ARE THOSE POSTS THAT THE CHAMBER IS MAKING ON ITS OWN SOCIAL MEDIA.
UH, THESE ARE POSTS THAT ARE GOING OUT ON OUR SOCIAL MEDIA CHANNELS.
UM, THAT COULD BE A COMBINATION OF USER GENERATED CONTENT OR IT COULD BE OUR OWN ASSET.
SO IT'S A COMBINATION OF, BUT THOSE POSTS ARE ONES THAT FALL UNDER THOSE COLUMNS.
SO, UM, AND AGAIN, ACROSS ALL THOSE CHANNELS THAT WE SHOW ON THE PREVIOUS SCREEN, AND, UM, AGAIN, ACROSS ALL THE CHANNELS, AND THIS IS ORGANIC, SO YEP.
YEAH, I ASK ABOUT IT BECAUSE I WANNA KNOW WHO'S, WHO WAS POSTING AND WHERE.
UM, BUT ALSO KNOW THAT HISTORY ONLY HAS 33 FOR THAT QUARTER.
ARTS AND CULTURE 51, SO, MM-HMM.
[00:45:01]
IT SEEMS LIKE IT MIGHT BE HELPFUL TO DRIVE THEM EVENLY OR SOMEHOW FOCUS ON ONES THAT AREN'T HAVING AS MANY POSTS.UM, JUST WONDERING ABOUT THAT.
I KNOW THIS IS OUR FIRST REPORT, I THINK SEEING THIS DATA, BUT MAYBE TAKE A LOOK AT THAT.
'CAUSE IT, IT SEEMS LIKE MAYBE HISTORY DOESN'T GET TREATED AS WELL,
UM, SO ANYHOW, QUESTION ABOUT THAT.
UM, THEN, UM, I, I WAS CURIOUS ABOUT THE CONDO NAST, UM, APP.
UM, AND UM, THE TITLE THAT I SAW THERE WAS CALLED THE FEEL GOOD ITINERARY.
UM, AND I CAN IMAGINE CHUCK MANCINI'S FEEL GOOD PLAYING IN THE BACKGROUND, BUT, UM, IS THAT AN APP THAT, UH, LIKE CAN I ADD THE CONDE NAST APP TO MY PHONE AND LOOK AT THE FEEL GOOD ITINERARY? OR IS THAT SOMETHING YOU CAN PROVIDE A LINK TO US? UM, IT'S NOT AN APP.
JUST TO CLARIFY, IT'S ON THEIR SOCIAL MEDIA CHANNELS.
SO CONDE NAST HANDLE, UM, ON, UH, FACEBOOK AND INSTAGRAM, SO, AND TIKTOK THAT THEY WERE SHARING THOSE VIDEOS THAT WE CREATED, THEY PUT 'EM OUT ON THAT.
NOW WE DID CREATE OUR OWN HILTON HEAD ISLAND, WHERE WE CALL IT A HUB, BUT BASICALLY A LANDING SPOT FOR ALL THE CONTENT THAT WE'VE EVER DONE WITH CONDE NAST TRAVEL THROUGHOUT THE YEARS.
AND THESE VIDEOS DO LIVE ON THAT.
SO YOU CAN ACCESS THESE VIDEOS ON THE CONDE NAST CHANNEL, UH, SOCIAL MEDIA CHANNELS.
AND THEN I WILL ALSO SEND ALONG THE LINK TO THE HUB THAT WE HAVE THAT YOU CAN SEE THE BREADTH OF CONTENT THAT WE'VE CREATED OVER THE YEARS.
AND THESE VIDEOS ARE INCLUDED IN THAT.
AND WHERE I'M HEADED IS THAT, UM, IF THERE IS AN, UH, FOR INSTANCE IN ITINERARY FOR ECOTOURISM, UM, IF THERE HADN'T BEEN, I'VE BEEN FLOATING THIS IDEA FOR A COUPLE YEARS NOW.
I CALL IT THE HILTON HEAD EXPERIENCE.
UM, AND SO IF I WANT TO HAVE A WELLNESS EXPERIENCE, WHERE DO I GO TO FIND THAT IN MY WEEK ON HILTON HEAD? MM-HMM.
UH, YOU KNOW, I COMPARE IT TO RICK STEVE'S WALKING TOUR OF LONDON.
UM, SO, AND THERE'S DIFFERENT ONES IF YOU WANNA GO TO MUSEUMS, IF YOU WANT TO, YOU KNOW, SEE, UH, SPORTING EVENTS, ET CETERA.
UM, SO IT SEEMS AS THOUGH WE CAN PROMOTE MORE OF THOSE AREAS BY SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
I'M NOT TRYING TO BE THE MARKETING EXPERT HERE, I'M JUST ASKING QUESTIONS.
AND, AND WE ARE, UH, VISITOR LOVES AND ITINERARY, SO WE WILL TAKE THAT AWAY.
WE DO HAVE A ITINERARY SECTION ON OUR WEBSITE, HILTON HEAD ISLAND.ORG.
SO WE WILL ADD TO THAT AND THEN USE SOME OF OUR PARTNER CONTENT TO EVEN BUILD UPON THOSE.
AND, AND I LOVE THOSE IDEAS, SO WE WILL DEFINITELY MOVE FORWARD WITH THIS.
I, I KNOW THERE'S OFTEN BEEN MARKETING ABOUT GREAT PLACES TO EAT IN OUR FOOD CULTURE.
AND, AND SO SOME, YOU KNOW, I'M NOT SAYING EXACTLY LIKE THAT, BUT SOMETHING SIMILAR SURE.
UM, AND THEN, UM, THE MEDIA THAT'S PURCHASED FOR MARKETING, PARTICULARLY THESE COMMUNITY VALUES, UM, MAYBE WE'RE NOT THERE YET, BUT CAN WE GET AN ROI LIKE IF YOU SPEND X AMOUNT OF DOLLARS, DO WE SEE THE RETURN ON THE INVESTMENT TO PROMOTE OUR COMMUNITY VALUE OF HISTORY, OUR COMMUNITY VALUE OF ECOTOURISM SOMEHOW TO MEASURE THE MARKETING PRODUCES THE, UH, THE RESPECT FOR OUR COMMUNITY VALUES.
UM, AND, AND THE LAST THING TO ASK ABOUT IS, UM, AT OUR COMMUNITY SERVICES AND PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE MEETING YESTERDAY, WE TALKED A LITTLE BIT ABOUT DAY TRIPPERS.
UM, AND SO I DON'T SEE ANY KIND OF REFLECTION OF DATA, BUT I KNOW MR. WENDELL BROUGHT TO US AND I RECEIVED IT YESTERDAY AFTERNOON, SOME SORT OF DATA ABOUT DAY TRIPPERS.
UM, AND SO I DON'T KNOW IF THERE'S ANY MARKETING OR IF THERE'S A PARTICULAR KIND OF MARKETING TO, TO DAY TRIPPERS.
UM, AND I'M NOT NECESSARILY SUGGESTING THAT.
I'M JUST WONDERING BECAUSE THERE WAS A LOT OF DATA ABOUT DAY TRIPPERS
YOU KNOW, IF WE, UM, IF THESE ARE OUR COMMUNITY VALUES, THEN PERHAPS DAY TRIPPERS OUGHT TO KNOW ABOUT THEM AS WELL.
MR. TI GO BACK JUST WITH A LITTLE BIT OF HISTORY.
A YEAR AND A TO A YEAR AND A HALF AGO WHEN THE TOWN OF OFFICIALS AND THE CHAMBER OFFICIALS MET VERY EXTENSIVELY TO THINK ABOUT WHERE WE ARE GOING IN THE FUTURE WITH REGARD TO THE ROLE OF THE CHAMBER AS OUR DIRECT MARKETING ORGANIZATION.
AND THERE WERE SEVERAL GOALS THAT THE TOWN WAS VERY MUCH INTERESTED IN THE CHAMBERS PURSUING, WHICH INCLUDED, UH, FEWER TOURS SPENDING MORE MONEY AND MORE TOURISTS SOUGHT FOR THE SHOULDER SEASONS RATHER THAN THE SUMMER.
UH, I AM VERY PLEASED TO SEE THAT THAT'S THE WAY THE TRENDS ARE
[00:50:01]
GOING AND WITH THE ADJUSTMENTS THAT THE CHAMBER HAS MADE TO THOSE EXTENSIVE DISCUSSIONS A YEAR AND A HALF AGO, EVEN IF IT MEANS THAT THE CHAMBER IS INFLUENCING THE NATIONAL ECONOMY.UM, I, I KNOW WE DID ASK YOU TO PREPARE THIS, BUT I'M GONNA ASK THE QUESTION, UM, HOW'S JULY AUGUST SHAPING UP AND WHAT'S THE FUTURE, YOU KNOW, THREE MONTHS LOOK LIKE? DO YOU HAVE ANY PROJECTIONS THERE AS TO WHAT WE'RE SEEING? I HAVE SOME PAPERS.
UM, SO WE JUST HAD OUR, UM, Q4 DATA, WHICH WOULD HAVE, UM, YOU KNOW, ENCOMPASSED APRIL, MAY, AND JUNE.
UM, WHEN WE LOOK AT JULY FROM HOMEVILLE AND I HAVE 'EM SEPARATELY, WE ARE, UM, HOMAN VILLA AND HOTEL.
SO MAKE SURE I GET 'EM CORRECT.
IT'S A LITTLE SOFTER THAN UM, WE ANTICIPATED.
UM, SO FOR HOTELS, WHEN WE LOOK AT AVERAGE DAILY RATE, IT IS DOWN 4%.
UM, IN TERMS OF COMPARING Q1 25 TO Q1 24, SO JULY, AUGUST, AND SEPTEMBER.
AND WHEN YOU LOOK AT REVPAR FOR HOTELS, IT'S DOWN AGAIN FROM WHAT'S ON THE BOOKS TODAY DOWN 8%.
UM, AND THEN THE OCCUPANCY WOULD BE DOWN 5% FOR THE QUARTER.
AND AGAIN, THAT'S LOOKING AT JUST WHAT'S ON THE BOOKS VERSUS TRADITIONALLY WE LOOKED AT FORECASTS AND WITH OUR NEW RESEARCH PLATFORM, IT SHOWS US ON THE BOOKS, WHICH IS GREAT 'CAUSE THAT'S WHAT THE HOTELS ARE SEEING IN THEIR BOOKS, RIGHT.
NOW'S WHAT WE'RE SEEING IN REAL TIME.
UM, BUT YOU KNOW, WHAT WE'RE ALSO SEEING IS A TREND OF BOOKING CLOSER IN.
AND SO WHERE IN THE PAST WE HAD HAD EITHER SIX MONTHS OR THREE MONTHS WITH A CONSUMER TO TALK TO 'EM ABOUT THE BRAND AND COMING HERE TO VISIT PEOPLE ARE MAKING DECISIONS WITHIN A WEEK, WITHIN A WEEK AND A HALF.
UM, AND SO, YOU KNOW, WHAT I REPORT TODAY I THINK IS SOMETHING THAT WE SHOULD KEEP, YOU KNOW, CLOSE CONTACT ON.
WELL THAT'S THE, THAT'S REALLY WHAT I WANNA DO.
UM, WE'RE GONNA BE, MARK AND I WILL BE MEETING LATER, UH, THIS MONTH TO KIND OF GO OVER THE, THE REVENUE PROJECTIONS, UH, FROM HA TAX AND AGE TAX.
SO HAVING THAT INFORMATION GOING FORWARD ON A MORE REGULAR BASIS WILL BE VERY BENEFICIAL FOR US AND ESPECIALLY FOR, UH, FOR FINANCE AS WE START TO LOOK AT, YOU KNOW, BUDGETS AND, AND WHERE CUTS MAY NEED TO HAPPEN OR NOT NEED TO HAPPEN.
HAPPY TO BRING THAT FORWARD TOO.
ALRIGHT, SO NOW WE'LL MOVE ON TO, UH, GENERAL REPORTS FROM TOWN
[7. Reports from Members of Town Council]
COUNCIL.DO WE HAVE ANY GENERAL REPORTS? MS. BRYSON? JUST ONE QUICK ONE.
I, UH, LOOKING OVER AT THE FIRE CHIEF 'CAUSE I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT I HAVE THE RIGHT KIND OF AWARD.
BUT, UH, DEPUTY CHIEF FIST, UH, WAS WE GOT SOME SORT OF PRESENCE AWARD, UH, AND I CAN'T REMEMBER THE NAME OF THE ASSOCIATION, BUT I WANTED TO CONGRATULATE HER AND, AND TO POINT OUT THAT ONE OF OUR GREAT EMPLOYEES HAS RECEIVED RECOGNITION.
AND I'D ASK THE CHIEF TO, TO TELL US THE NAME OF THE ORGANIZATION 'CAUSE I'M SORRY, I CAN'T REMEMBER.
IT IS, UH, APCO NINA, WHICH IS, UH, THE 9 1 1 COMMUNICATIONS COUNCIL THAT OVERSEES, UH, NINE ONE COMMUNICATIONS CENTERS.
I WONDER, I COULDN'T REMEMBER THE NAME.
ANY OTHER GENERAL REPORTS? ALRIGHT, I, I DO HAVE SOME, UH, JUST QUICK, QUICK THINGS.
UM, WE'VE GOT A COUPLE OF WORKSHOPS THAT ARE COMING UP.
I JUST WANNA MAKE Y'ALL AWARE SO YOU CAN PUT ON YOUR CALENDARS NOW.
UM, IN SEPTEMBER WE'VE GOT TWO, ONE ON THE 16TH, ONE ON THE 24TH.
THE FIRST ONE WILL BE THE PRIORITY AMENDMENTS TO THE LMO, THE SECOND ONE.
SECOND ONE WILL BE REVIEW OF DISTRICT PLANS.
AND THEN IN OCTOBER WE'VE GOT ONE ON THE EIGHTH AND THE 22ND.
AND THE EIGHTH WILL BE MAJOR THOROUGHFARE PLAN AND AN UPDATE ON THE ADAPTIVE SIGNALS.
AND ON THE 22ND, THE WORKSHOP WILL BE ON BEACH TREE NOURISHMENT, RESILIENCY UPDATE AND STORM WATER UTILITY UPDATE.
SO ANYTHING ELSE BEFORE WE GO? AWESOME.
WE'VE GOT REPORTS OF THE LOW COUNTRY AREA TRANSPORTATION STUDY.
I'M SPEAKING TO YOU FROM JUST UNDER 5,000 FEET IN THE NORTH CAROLINA MOUNTAINS WHERE IT'S FREEZING COLD.
AND I DON'T MEAN TO RUB IT IN, BUT I GUESS I AM APPRECIATE THAT THE LAPS LATS AT ITS RE RECENT MEETING, UH, DID A LOT OF REVIEW OF LONG-TERM PLANS.
ONE OF THE THINGS THAT'S GOING ON WITH LATS RIGHT NOW IS THEY'RE SEEKING PUBLIC INPUT ON TRANSPORTATION ISSUES.
SO IF YOU HAVE THOUGHTS ABOUT THAT, THERE IS A SURVEY YOU WOULD GO TO THE, LETS THAT'S LOCAL AREA OF TRANSPORTATION STUDY.
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YOU WOULD GO TO THEIR WEBSITE AND YOU CAN GET THAT, UH, SURVEY AND TAKE IT AND HAVE YOUR OPINION COUNT.THEN SPECIFICALLY ON, ON HIGHWAYS AND ROADS.
THERE WAS AN EMPHASIS ON WHAT'S GOING ON WITH THE, UH, EXPANSION, UH, WIDENING OF I 95.
THERE ARE PLANS AFOOT TO WIDEN I 95 FROM THE GEORGIA BORDER UP TO EXIT EIGHT, WHICH IS THE HILTON HEAD ISLAND EXIT.
UM, THOSE PLANS ARE MOVING FORWARD.
IT'S ANTICIPATED THAT THAT PROJECT, WHICH INCLUDES A WHOLE LOT OF WORK, WOULD BE COMPLETED IN SIX YEARS.
SO IT'S GONNA BE A WHILE, BUT AT LEAST WE'RE MOVING FORWARD WITH WIDENING THAT HIGHWAY.
THEN, UH, US 17 CONNECTING OVER TO THE TALMAGE BRIDGE.
UH, I THINK YOU'RE AWARE THAT THERE'S BEEN A, AN EFFORT THERE TO CREATE FIRMER SOIL SO THAT YOU CAN WIDEN THE ROAD.
IT'S BEEN GOING ON FOR YEARS NOW, AND DOT REPORTS THAT THOSE EFFORTS HAVE BEEN SUCCESSFUL AND THEY'RE GOING TO START, UH, PAVING THE OTHER SIDE OF THE ROAD SO THAT THERE WILL BE ADEQUATE SPACE TO MOVE DOWN THAT DANGEROUS HIGHWAY.
UM, I, I DID FAIL TO RECOGNIZE SENATOR DAVIS THAT IS HERE.
SO WE THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE TODAY.
UH, REPORT OF LOW COUNTRY COUNCIL OF GOVERNMENTS, MS. BECKER.
I DO NOT HAVE A REPORT FOR THE, UM, LOW COUNS LOWCOUNTRY COUNCIL OF GOVERNANCE.
BEAUFORT COUNTY AIRPORTS BOARD.
REPORT OF THE SOUTHERN LOCO, SOUTHERN LOW COUNTRY REGIONAL BOARD.
MR. STANFORD, WE DID THAT REPORT LAST TIME.
WE DID BEFORE THE HONOR RECREATIONS ASSOCIATION BOARD.
MR. MAYOR, THE ISLAND REC CENTER, UH, BOARD AND STAFF MEMBERS MET ON LAST FRIDAY FOR THE ANNUAL PLANNING SESSION.
UH, LAST DISCUSSION AROUND, UH, SHORT TERM AND LONG TERM GOALS.
THE BIG CHANGE COMING ABOUT WILL BE MORE WORKING COMMITTEES AT THE ISLAND REC CENTER AT, AND THE ONE THING THAT THEY WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT I REPORTED ON WAS IN THE SPIRIT OF BEING ALL INCLUSIVE.
THEIR WEBSITE IS NOW IN ENGLISH AND SPANISH.
REPORTED THE COMMUNITY SERVICES AND PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE, MS. BECKER.
UM, THE COMMUNITY SERVICES AND PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE MET YESTERDAY.
UM, WE HAD ONE ITEM ON OUR AGENDA.
IT WAS A DISCUSSION WITH REGARD TO, UM, A PARKING FEE, IMPLE, UM, IMPLEMENTATION AT THE BEACH PARKS.
UM, AFTER A GREAT PRESENTATION, UM, BY MR. GRUBER, UM, WE HAD A CONVERSATION AMONGST HERSELF AND HEARD COMMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC AND PASSED A RESOLUTION TO MOVE THE, UM, IDEA, UM, WITH SOME SPECIFICS ON TO TOWN COUNCIL.
WE LOOK FORWARD TO THE FULL TOWN COUNCIL, UM, CONSIDERING IN THE NEAR FUTURE THANK YOU PUBLIC PLANNING COMMITTEE, MR. AMES? YES, I'VE BEEN ASKED TO, UM, REPEAT MY REPORT FOR THE JULY 11TH PUBLIC PLANNING COMMITTEE AT ITS MEETING ON JULY 11TH, 2024, THE PUBLIC PLANNING COMMITTEE HEARD A REPORT FROM THE LOW COUNTRY REGIONAL TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY REGARDING THE PALMETTO BREEZE ANNUAL SERVICE PLAN.
THIS REPORT INCLUDED UPDATES ON BOTH THE TROLLEY SERVICE AND BEACH SHUTTLE SERVICE, AS WELL AS THE POTENTIAL FUTURE CAPITAL AND SYSTEMS IMPROVEMENT.
FOLLOWING THE REPORT, THE COMMITTEE VOTED TO REQUEST THE TOWN MANAGER INVESTIGATE ALTERNATIVE STRATEGIES TO ADDRESS TRANSPORTATION CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR REGIONAL AND ISLAND SERVICES WITH THE GOAL OF INCREASING RIDERSHIP.
FINANCE ADMINISTRATIVE COMMITTEE.
WE WILL NOW MOVE ON TO UNFINISHED
[8.a. Consideration of an Ordinance of the Town of Hilton Head Island, South Carolina Authorizing the Execution and Delivery of Easements to the Hilton Head Public Service District Encumbering Real Estate Owned by the Town of Hilton Head Island, South Carolina Under the Authority of S.C. Code Ann. Section 5-7-40 and Section 2-7-20, Municipal Code of the Town of Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, and Providing for Severability and an Effective Date - Second and Final Reading - Josh Gruber, Deputy Town Manager]
BUSINESS.THE SECOND AND FINAL READING OF AN ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING THE EXECUTION AND DELIVERY OF, OF EASEMENTS TO THE HILTON HEAD PUBLIC SERVICE DISTRICT, ENCUMBERING REAL ESTATE OWNED BY THE TOWN OF HILTON HEAD ISLAND, SOUTH CAROLINA, UNDER THE AUTHORITY OF SC CODE, UH, SECTION FIVE DASH SEVEN DASH 40 AND SECTION TWO DASH SEVEN DASH 20 MUNICIPAL CODE OF THE TOWN OF HILTON, HEAD ISLAND, SOUTH CAROLINA, AND PROVIDING SEVERABILITY AND AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
THIS WAS ITEM WAS APPROVED UNANIMOUSLY AT THE FIRST READING ON JULY 23RD.
DO WE NEED ANY PRESENTATION AT THIS TIME FOR COUNSEL? SEEING NONE, DO WE HAVE A MOTION? YES, I MOVE.
COUNSEL, ADOPT AN ORDINANCE OF THE TOWN OF HILTON HEAD ISLAND, SOUTH CAROLINA, AUTHORIZING THE EXECUTION AND DELIVERY OF EASEMENTS TO THE HILTON HEAD PUBLIC SERVICE DISTRICT, ENCUMBERING REAL ESTATE OWNED BY THE TOWN OF HILTON HEAD ISLAND, SOUTH CAROLINA, UNDER THE AUTHORITY OF SC CODE A AND SECTION 5 7 40, SECTION 2 7 20, MUNICIPAL CODE OF THE TOWN OF HILTON HEAD ISLAND, SOUTH CAROLINA, PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY AND EFFECTIVE DATE.
THIS IS A SECOND AND FINAL READING.
ALL I'D LIKE TO REMIND EVERYONE THAT THE PUBLIC COMMENT ORDINANCE THAT WE ADOPTED, UH, AND WAS ADOPTED IN
[01:00:01]
JUNE, IT STATES THAT ANYONE WISHING TO SIGN UP, MAKE A PUBLIC COMMENT MUST FILL OUT A FORM PRIOR TO THE MEETING.KIM, HAS ANYONE SIGNED UP TO SPEAK? NO, SIR.
SO WE'VE GOT A FIRST AND SECOND.
ANY DISCUSSION FROM COUNSEL? SEEING NONE.
ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, PLEASE SIGNIFY BY RAISING YOUR RIGHT HAND.
[9.a. Consideration of a Resolution Authorizing the Town Manager to Execute an Intergovernmental Agreement with Beaufort County for the William Hilton Parkway Safety and Pedestrian Improvements from Beach City Road to Dillon Road and along Palmetto Bay Road - Shawn Colin, Assistant Town Manager]
WE WILL HAVE CONSIDERATION OF A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE TOWN MANAGER TO EXECUTE AN INTERGOVERNMENTAL INTERGOVERNMENTAL AGREEMENT WITH BEAUFORT COUNTY FOR THE WILLIAM HILTON PARKWAY SAFETY AND PEDESTRIAN IMPROVEMENTS FROM BEACH CITY ROAD TO DILLON ROAD AND ALONG PAMELA BAY ROAD.THIS ITEM WAS PRESENTED TO THE FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE COMMITTEE COMMITTEE ON JULY 9TH AND WAS UNANIMOUSLY VOTED TO RECOMMEND FOR APPROVAL TO FULL COUNSEL, MR. COLMAN.
UM, SO IF IT'S A WILL OF COUNSEL, I, I HAVE A BRIEF PRESENTATION THAT I CAN RUN THROUGH.
UM, I WANT, I WANNA POINT OUT THAT THIS IS, UM, AN EXECUTION STEP IN A PROJECT THAT TOWN COUNCIL HAS ALREADY SUPPORTED.
UH, BUT I'LL RUN THROUGH, UM, UH, THE BACKGROUND OF WHAT, WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO ACCOMPLISH HERE.
SO IT'S AN INTER INTERGOVERNMENT AGREEMENT WITH BUFORT COUNTY, UM, AND WE'RE ASKING FOR YOU TO CONSIDER, UH, RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING, UH, THE TOWN MANAGER TO EXECUTE IT WITH THE COUNTY.
THEY'VE APPROVED IT AND, UM, AND, AND THEY'RE ASKING FOR OUR SIGNATURE AND APPROVAL ON THE, ON THE RESOLUTION.
SO, UM, IN COORDINATION WITH BUFORT COUNTY, UH, BEGINNING, UH, EARLY THIS CALENDAR YEAR, UM, WE STARTED DISCUSSIONS ABOUT WAYS WE COULD, UH, SECURE SOME ADDITIONAL FUNDING FROM THE COUNTY.
THEY HAVE IMPACT FEES THAT THEY COLLECT COUNTYWIDE.
UH, MANY OF THOSE ARE FROM, UH, WITHIN
UH, AS YOU RECALL, THE ADAPTIVE SIGNAL, UH, SYSTEM THAT WAS INSTALLED, WE RECEIVED $3 MILLION PLUS OR MINUS FROM BEAUFORT COUNTY TO DO THAT.
UH, SO WE CONTINUED THE CONVERSATION, UM, AND BEAUFORT COUNTY, UH, GAVE US A NUMBER BETWEEN 500, $600,000 THAT WE COULD USE TOWARD CAPACITY BUILDING OR SAFETY IMPROVEMENTS TO ENHANCE OUR SYSTEM.
UM, KNOWING THE PRIORITY AND WHAT WE CALL SEGMENT THREE IN THE NORTHRIDGE AREA FROM BEACH CITY ROAD TO DILLON ROAD, UH, CROSSWALK, LIGHTING, LANDSCAPING, UM, RECTANGULAR RAPID FLASHING BEACONS, UH, SPEED LIMIT REDUCTION, UM, PATHWAY LIGHTING, UH, UPLIGHTING, UM, ALL OF THOSE THINGS ARE BEING PURSUED WITH, UH, S-C-D-O-T AND MOST, NOT ALL, BUT MOST OF THOSE HAVE BEEN APPROVED AND WERE GETTING READY TO EXECUTE A, A PROJECT.
WE ALSO KNEW ANOTHER PROJECT WAS ON PALMETTO BAY ROAD TO IMPROVE, UM, OUR PAVE MARKINGS AND STRIPING AND INTERSECTION DESIGN THERE, SIMILAR TO WHAT WE DID AT THE PALMETTO BAY ARROW ROAD POINT COMFORT ROAD.
SO THOSE WERE TWO PROJECTS THAT WE, UM, SUPPORTED AT STAFF LEVEL, UM, AND RAN THOSE THROUGH, UH, THE TOWN MANAGER AND SUBMITTED THOSE TO BEAUFORT COUNTY AS OUR TWO PROJECTS FOR CONSIDERATION.
UH, THEY'RE BOTH ELIGIBLE FOR THE IMPACT FEE CRITERIA, AS I MENTIONED, CAPACITY BUILDING FOR SAFETY IMPROVEMENTS TO IMPROVE, UM, EFFICIENCY OF THE SYSTEM.
UM, REAL CREW DRAWING HERE, BUT IT GOES FROM ROUGHLY BEACH CITY ROAD TO DILLON ROAD.
THIS IS WHAT'S BEEN PRESENTED AT CORRIDOR WORKSHOPS AS THE SORT OF STUDY AREA FOR THE, THE NORTHRIDGE IMPROVEMENTS.
UH, WE SHARED AT THE WORKSHOP TOO THAT THIS AREA, WHICH IS IDENTIFIED BY THIS RECTANGULAR RECTANGLE AT THE TOP, IS OUR MOST PROBLEMATIC AREA FROM, UH, CRASHES, FATAL AND FATALITIES, ESPECIALLY WITH BIKE AND PAD, WITH MOTOR VEHICLES.
SO THE INTERGOVERNMENTAL AGREEMENT AND THE AMOUNT OF 600,000 WHERE WE, WE ENDED UP AT THE TOP END FROM BUFORT COUNTY AND WE'RE THANKFUL FOR THEIR PARTNERSHIP AND COOPERATION WAS APPROVED BY THE COUNTY COUNCIL ON A, ON APRIL 8TH, UM, ON JULY 9TH, UH, OUR F AND A COMMITTEE, UM, UNANIMOUSLY SUPPORTED THIS, UM, RESOLUTION OR REQUEST FOR RESOLUTION TO MOVE FORWARD.
AND, UM, WE PLAN TO EXECUTE THE PROJECT AND BEGIN IN SEPTEMBER AND COMPLETE BY THE END OF OCTOBER, WHICH IS THE, THE DEADLINE.
UM, AND THIS ALLOWS THE TOWN MANAGER, UM, TO REQUEST REIMBURSEMENT GRANT FUNDING FROM THE, FROM THE COUNTY FOR THE $600,000 TO FUND THESE PROJECTS.
SO I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU, THAT YOU HAVE.
I MOVE COUNSEL, APPROVE A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE TOWN MANAGER TO EXECUTE ANY GOVERNMENTAL AGREEMENT WITH BEAUFORT COUNTY FOR THE WILLIAM MILTON PARKWAY SAFETY AND PEDESTRIAN IMPROVEMENTS FROM BEACH CITY ROAD TO DILLON ROAD AND ALONG PALMETTO BAY ROAD.
WE HAVE SECOND, FIRST AND A SECOND.
KEN, DO WE HAVE ANYBODY SIGNED UP TO SPEAK ON THIS ITEM? THANK YOU.
ANY DISCUSSION FROM COUNSEL? YES, SIR.
FIRST OF ALL, UH, WE'VE BEEN LOOKING FORWARD TO MAKING THESE IMPROVEMENTS.
UH, AS YOU SHOWED IN THAT HEAT MAP, UNFORTUNATELY, WE'VE HAD A LOT OF ACCIDENTS, UM, AND, UH, SERIOUS
[01:05:01]
INJURIES INCLUDING FATALITIES IN THAT AREA.UM, SO I'M VERY GRATEFUL TO THE STAFF FOR PUSHING THIS FORWARD.
FINALLY, I KNOW IT'S BEEN A BIT OF A HAUL TO GET THE PERMITTING FROM S-E-D-O-T, UM, BUT, UH, IT, IT LOOKS LIKE WE'RE ALMOST THERE.
UM, AND ALSO WANT TO THANK, UM, OUR NEIGHBORS, THE COUNTY COUNCIL FOR PROVIDING FUNDING FOR THIS PROJECT.
UM, I THINK IT'S ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL AND I'M GLAD WE'RE MOVING FORWARD.
UM, MY ONLY QUESTION IS YOUR, UH, I THINK IT WAS THE PREVIOUS SLIDE WHERE YOU SAID THERE WAS AN S-E-D-O-P PERMITS, SORRY, FOR MOST ELEMENTS.
SO WHAT ARE THE REMAINING ELEMENTS WE DON'T YET HAVE APPROVAL FOR? AND SO, UM, AND I CAN SUM UP AND WE, I JUST HAD A CALL WITH OUR TRANSPORTATION TEAM AND SIX PEOPLE FROM DOT INCLUDING HEADQUARTERS AT TWO O'CLOCK TODAY.
SO WE HAD REQUESTED THE IN IN PAVEMENT PUCK LIGHTING, UPLIGHTING FOR THE CROSSWALK.
AH, WE'VE RECEIVED APPROVAL FOR THOSE, UH, RECTANGULAR RAPID FLASHING BA BEACONS, RF BS, WHICH, UM, ARE THE CROSSWALK SIGNS THAT LIGHT UP.
UM, BUT WE, WE WANT THE PUCKS THAT LIGHT UP IN THE CROSSWALK IN THOSE NONS SIGNALIZED INTERSECTIONS IN PAVEMENT ITSELF.
AND SO THERE HASN'T BEEN A LOT OF APPLICATION OF THOSE.
IT'S ALLOWED IN THE M-U-T-C-D, THE MANUAL UNIFORM TRANSPORTATION CONTROL MANUAL.
UM, BUT THERE HAVEN'T BEEN A LOT, SO THEY, THEY'VE BEEN HESITANT TO APPROVE THOSE.
WE HAD, UM, A MEETING TODAY, UM, ALL THE WAY UP TO THE HEADQUARTERS LEVEL AND WE'VE SUBMITTED A LETTER, UM, TO SECRETARY POWELL, ALSO REQUESTING CONSIDERATION FOR THE PUCK LIGHTING.
WE ALSO WERE ABLE TO GET A REDUCTION IN POSTED SPEED LIMIT DOWN TO 40.
AND SO THAT'S THE ONLY OTHER ELEMENT THAT WE'D LIKE TO, UM, TO TRY TO PUSH, UH, UH, THE, UH, UH, ON THE PEDAL A LITTLE BIT MORE TO GET THOSE TWO CONSIDERATIONS APPROVED.
JUST CURIOUS, THE, UM, SOUTH CAROLINA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION HAS ADOPTED A COMPLETE STREETS POLICY.
UM, DO THOSE IN THE PAYMENT PUCKS OR THERE MIGHT THOSE BE INCLUDED IN THE LIST OF, UH, COMPLETE STREET POLICY? WELL, THEY'RE IN THEIR, UH, THEY'RE IN THEIR MANUAL FOR CONTROL DEVICES.
THE, THE BIG, THE BIG RUB WITH BOTH THE RF, BS AND THE NPAC LIGHTING IS THEY'RE HESITANT TO INSTALL 'EM BOTH AT THE SAME TIME BECAUSE THEY DON'T KNOW WHICH IS WHICH ONE IS EFFECTIVE.
AND SO THEIR INITIAL, UH, PRELIMINARY OR THEIR INITIAL RESPONSE WAS A PREFERENCE TO ALLOW THE RF BS AND THEN PUT THE PUCKS IN AT A LATER DATE TO SEE IF THE RF BS WERE AFFECTED.
IF WE PUT 'EM IN TOGETHER ON THE CALL TODAY, THEY SAID THEY WOULDN'T KNOW WHICH ONE HAD MORE EFFECT OR IF ONE HAD ANY EFFECT AT ALL IF THEY'RE COMBINED.
SO, BUT OUR, OUR PREFERENCE IS TO DO THEM BOTH AND WE'LL CONTINUE TO, TO PUSH THAT FORWARD.
AND I, I THINK IT MIGHT BE HELPFUL, MAYOR, FOR, UH, MR. COLLIN TO EXPLAIN EXACTLY WHAT AN R-R-F-F-B IS, AN RRFB.
SO JUST, WE HAVE, UM, UNSIGNED CROSSWALKS OUT THERE TODAY.
AND YOU'LL SEE THE, UM, THE YELLOW BRIGHT YELLOW DIAMOND SIGN THAT HAS A PERSON WALKING AND THEN AN ARROW BELOW THAT POINTING TO THE CROSSWALK.
THE RF BS ALLOW FOR A PUSH BUTTON TO ACTIVATE LIGHTS THAT FLASH AROUND THE OUTSIDE OF THE SIGN.
SO AS A VEHICLE IS APPROACHING THAT CROSSWALK, IF SOMEONE PUSHES THE BUTTON, THOSE LIGHTS START TO FLASH TO ALERT SOME OF THE, TO ALERT A MOTORIST THAT A PEDESTRIAN CYCLIST IS POTENTIALLY READY TO ENTER THAT CROSSWALK.
IS THAT SIMILAR TO WHAT TYBEE ISLAND HAS HAD FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS? PARDON ME? TYBEE ISLAND HAS HAD SOMETHING LIKE THAT, I BELIEVE SO.
I KNOW THAT THEY HAVE THEM IN SAVANNAH AND OTHER, AND OTHER LO LOCATIONS THAT ARE NOT, THAT ARE NEARBY.
IF SOMEONE WANTED TO SEE THAT, THEY MIGHT COULD GO TO ONE OF THOSE JURISDICTIONS OR LOOK AT THEIR DATA.
THE MAYOR'S MADE A YOUTUBE VIDEO.
AND THEN OUR UPCOMING WORKSHOP ON OCTOBER 8TH, WE'LL MAKE SURE TO SHOW AN IMAGE OF THAT OR MAYBE A VIDEO OF WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE.
THAT'D BE VERY HELPFUL, I THINK.
MR. AMES? YES, I CAN MOVE COUNSEL, APPROVE A RESOLUTION SUPPORTING, I BEG YOU.
PARDON? YOU WANT DONE THAT? NO, I DON'T.
NO, I HAVEN'T DONE THAT ONE, BUT I'VE ALREADY READ THE FIRST ONE.
ALRIGHT, ANY OTHER DISCUSSION? I CERTAINLY AM.
ANY OTHER COMMENTS OR DISCUSSION? SEEING NONE.
ALL THOSE IN FA FAVOR, PLEASE SIGNIFY BY RAISING YOUR RIGHT HAND.
[9.b. Consideration of a Resolution to Support a Best Buddies Certified Inclusive Playground at Shelter Cove Community Park - Shawn Colin, Assistant Town Manager]
TO SUPPORT BA BEST BUDDIES CERTIFIED INCLUSIVE PLAYGROUND AT SHELTER COVE COMMUNITY PARK.OUR PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION VOTED UNANIMOUSLY TO RECOMMEND THAT THE TOWN COUNCIL CONSIDER SUPPORTING THE BEST BUDDIES CERTIFIED PLAYGROUND.
[01:10:01]
HAPPY TO BE UP HERE AGAIN.UM, I THANK YOU FOR HAVING THESE BACK TO BACK, SO I DON'T NEED TO GET MY TOO MANY STEPS IN TODAY.
AND KIM'S PULLING IT UP HERE AGAIN.
I HAVE A BRIEF PRESENTATION, UM, UH, AS IT RELATES TO THE EXECUTION OF, UH, COUNCIL APPROVED MASTER PLAN AT SHELTER COVE COMMUNITY PARK.
AND, UH, I'LL RUN THROUGH IT RELATIVELY QUICKLY.
AND THE REQUEST IS, UH, FOR COUNCIL TO CONSIDER A PARTNERSHIP OPPORTUNITY WITH BEST BUDDIES FOR AN INCLUSIVE PLAYGROUND AT THAT PARK LOCATION.
UM, SO, SO JUST SOME BACKGROUND.
SO WE BEGAN WORKING ON, UH, WHAT WE CALLED SHELTER COVE PARK EXPANSION IN APRIL OF 2022, AND WORKING WITH TOWN COUNCIL THROUGH A SERIES OF MEETINGS AND WORKSHOPS TO DEFINE THE PROGRAM FOR WHAT WE WOULD CALL THAT PARK EXPANSION.
UM, THERE EXISTS A COMMUNITY PARK OUT THERE TODAY.
LET ME SKIP AHEAD JUST ONE SIDE AND GO BACK.
SO THE COMMUNITY PARK IS, IT EXISTS TODAY.
UM, WATER WALK APARTMENTS ARE JUST OFF THE RIGHT SIDE OF WHERE MY CURSOR IS.
AND, UM, AND THEN THIS IS LAGOON.
THIS IS THE EVENT PAVILION, THE, UH, THE EVENT SPACE AND, UH, AND THEN THE PROMENADE ALONG THE WATER.
CURRENTLY THE PARK ENDS, UH, THE, THIS IS A PLAYGROUND AREA, AND I'LL GO TO THE BLOW UP HERE.
CURRENTLY THE PLAYGROUND IS ABOUT HALF THE SIZE OF WHAT'S SHOWN ON THIS, UM, THE MASTER PLAN THAT COUNCIL APPROVED.
AND SO, UM, IT'S EXPANSION BASICALLY FROM THIS SECTION, UM, TO THE SOUTH.
UH, IT INCLUDES THE, UM, THE OVERLOOK, UM, DECKING AND, AND AND LEVELS THERE, UM, EXPANDED PLAYGROUND PARKING AND, AND A FEW OTHER ELEMENTS THAT ARE SHOWN HERE.
SO AS PART OF THAT PROGRAM THAT WAS PRESENTED TO COUNCIL WAS EXTEND THE PROMENADE FURTHER, UH, FURTHER ALL THE WAY DOWN TOWARD NEW NEWPORT PATH PATHWAYS THROUGH THE WOODS.
UM, EXPAND THE PASSIVE OPEN LAWN.
A LARGER MORE INCLUSIVE PLAYGROUND, ADD MORE PARKING, AND THEN HAVE THE ICONIC OVERLOOK STRUCTURE WITH USE OF BROAD CREEK.
AND THAT'S, I WOULDN'T CALL IT A TREE HOUSE, BUT THERE WERE OBSERVATION DECKS THAT WERE DIFFERENT LEVELS THAT YOU GOT UP INTO THE TREES.
UM, SO ON APRIL 18TH, A LITTLE OVER A YEAR AGO, TOWN COUNCIL VOTED UNANIMOUSLY, UH, TO ADOPT THAT MASTER PLAN.
AND THAT'S WHAT, UH, IS SEEN HERE.
SO THIS IS THIS NEW SECTION, UM, THAT'S PART OF IT.
AND AGAIN, THE PLAYGROUND IS ABOUT TWICE THE SIZE OF THE PLAYGROUND THAT EXISTS OUT THERE TODAY.
SO MOVING FORWARD, UM, IN, UH, APRIL OF THIS YEAR, WE WERE APPROACHED, WE HAVE CHURCH EACH YEAR, SUE AND HER TEAM.
UM, WE MET WITH 'EM IN APRIL, I THINK APRIL 11TH, UH, TO TALK ABOUT, UM, BEST BUDDIES AND MIRACLE RECREATION.
BEST BUDDIES HAS BEEN AROUND FOR 35 PLUS YEARS, AND MIRACLE RECREATION OVER A HUNDRED.
UH, MIRACLE RECREATION HAS BEEN BUILDING, UH, COMMERCIAL INCLUSIVE PLAYGROUND EQUIPMENT, UM, FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS AND ARE A LEADER IN THAT INDUSTRY.
AND BEST BUDDIES HAS BEEN, UM, AT THE FOREFRONT, UM, IN PROMOTING INTEGRATION OF INTELLECTUAL AND DEVELOPMENTAL DIS DISABLED FOLKS THROUGH PARKS AND THEIR BEST BUDDY CONCEPT.
UM, IT WAS CREATED THROUGH, UM, WITH ANTHONY SHRIVER, ANTHONY KENNEDY SHRIVER, I GET THAT RIGHT.
UM, HIS MOTHER, OF COURSE, WAS PARAMOUNT IN BEGINNING THE SPECIAL OLYMPICS IN THE UNITED STATES AND ALLWOOD CHICAGO PARK SYSTEM.
AND SO THAT HAS TRANSLATED OUT INTO THIS BEST BUDDY INTERNATIONAL.
UM, THEY'VE BEEN, UM, UTILIZING A PROGRAM WITH SCHOOLS THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY AND ARE TRYING TO PARTNER NOW WITH COMMUNITIES FOR THESE BEST BUDDY INCLUSIVE PLAYGROUNDS.
AND SO I THINK I'VE CAPTURED THE, KIND OF THE POINTS THAT ARE ON THE SCREEN.
UM, BUT KNOWING THAT COUNCIL'S APPROVED AN INCLUSIVE, A LARGER INCLUSIVE PLAYGROUND, UM, WE WANTED TO BRING FORWARD THIS REQUEST, THE TOWN COUNCIL THROUGH PARKS AND REC TO GET THEIR RECOMMENDATION TO SEE IF YOU'RE INTERESTED IN EXPLORING THIS PARTNERSHIP.
UH, ONE, UM, CRITICAL COMPONENT OF THESE PLAYGROUNDS ARE WHAT THEY CALL THE BUDDY BENCHES.
UM, AND THESE ARE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR FOLKS WITH ALL DIFFERENT ABILITIES TO INTERACT.
UM, AND, UH, THERE, THERE, THERE'S MENTORING OPPORTUNITIES, EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES, BUT THEY'RE BUDDY BENCHES, UH, THROUGH THE, THE BEST BUDDIES PROGRAM THAT ARE INCLUDED, UH, IN THE PLAYGROUND.
UM, WHAT THE PARTNERSHIP WOULD ALLOW US TO DO IS TO LEVERAGE SOME MARKETING AND BRANDING.
UM, YOU KNOW, UH, IN, UH, BEING INCLUSIVE IS A, IS A CORE VALUE PART OF OUR, UH, OUR PLAN CORE VALUE BEING CONNECTED, UM, AND BEST IN CLASS.
AND SO I THINK, UH, WHAT MIRACLE RECREATION PROVIDES THE PARTNERSHIP WITH BEST BUDDY IS CONSISTENT WITH THOSE GOALS.
UM, AND THIS WOULD ALLOW US TO BE ONE OF THE FIRST COMMUNITIES, IF NOT THE FIRST COMMUNITY TO EXECUTE THIS PARTNERSHIP, UM, IN THE COUNTRY.
SO PLEASE DON'T GET CAUGHT UP IN THE COLORS BECAUSE I'M NOT A LOS ANGELES
[01:15:01]
LAKERS FAN, BUT IT LOOKS LIKE SOMEONE WAS THAT PUT THIS GRAPHIC TOGETHER.UM, BUT YOU KNOW, THE IDEA IS THAT IT, THAT THESE ARE NOT DESIGNED BASED ON RESEARCH BASED, UH, INTERACTION FOR THOSE, UM, THAT MAY HAVE SPECIAL NEEDS.
AND SO THE PROGRAMMING COMPONENTS HERE ARE, ARE, ARE DESIGNED AND BUILT IN A WAY THAT THAT PROMOTES, UM, INCLUSIVITY.
AND THEN YOU CAN SEE THESE BENCHES, UM, IN THIS, IN THIS, UH, RENDERING ARE LOCATED THROUGHOUT THE PARK TO PROMOTE THAT, UH, INTERACTION AND, UM, AND BEST BUDDY, UM, CONCEPT.
SO, YOU KNOW, UNDER THIS IT WOULD PUT HILTON HEAD IN A LEADERSHIP POSITION WITH BEST BUDDIES TO EXECUTE THIS PROJECT AND, AND MOVE THE PARTNERSHIP FORWARD.
UM, I DO WANT TO POINT OUT NEXT STEPS.
YOU KNOW, IF COUNCIL WERE TO SUPPORT THIS, WE WOULD COORDINATE WITH BEST BUDDIES ON A PARTNERSHIP ANNOUNCEMENT.
UM, WE WOULD COORDINATE WITH MIRACLE RECREATION OF BEST BUDDIES TO DESIGN THE PROGRAM OF THE EQUIPMENT AND, UM, AND PROGRAMMING FOR THE PARK PLAYGROUND ITSELF.
UM, IN THE CURRENT FISCAL YEAR CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM, WE HAVE $500,000 AND WE ARE ACTIVELY, UH, RIGHT NOW ACTIVELY WORKING TO GET SCHEMATIC DESIGN COMPLETE IN BY FALL OF THIS YEAR.
I THINK NOVEMBER IS OUR TARGET AND THEN DETAILED DESIGN IN SPRING OF NEXT SPRING AND APRIL.
SO WE PUT SPRING OF 2025, WE WOULD NEED TO PROGRAM THE CONSTRUCTION DOLLARS FOR THIS PARK EXPANSION WITH THE TOWN MANAGER AND HIS BUDGET DEVELOPMENT AND COUNCIL THROUGH THEIR CONSIDERATION, UM, AS EARLY AS FISCAL 26.
UM, WE PLAN TO MOVE INTO PERMITTING AND HAVE THAT COMPLETE NEXT FALL.
AND THEN CONSTRUCTION COULD OCCUR LATE 25, BUT WE'VE GOT IT SHOWN BASICALLY THROUGH THE CALENDAR OF 26TH TO, TO BE DONE, UM, IF WE, IF WE KIND OF STICK TO THIS PROGRAM.
UM, SO I WANTED TO SHARE THAT WITH COUNTY COUNCIL, UM, FOR AWARENESS.
UM, I'M HERE TO ANSWER ANY MORE QUESTIONS.
I KNOW WE HAVE SUE FROM CHURCHES THAT CAN PROBABLY GIVE YOU A LITTLE BIT MORE COLOR ON IT THAN I CAN.
UM, BUT I'M, I'M HAPPY TO PRESENT THIS TO YOU AND, AND LISTEN TO YOUR CONSIDERATION PRIOR TO, TO MAKING A MOTION.
SUE, WOULD YOU LIKE TO MAKE ANY COMMENTS REGARDING THIS? ANY DETAILS THAT WE'VE MISSED? UM, SEAN COVERED IT REALLY VERY WELL.
UM, BEST BUDDIES, LIKE HE SAID, HAS BEEN AROUND FOR 35 YEARS, WAS STARTED BY ANTHONY KENNEDY SCHRIVER.
UH, THEY'VE BEEN SUPPORTING THE IDD COMMUNITY, WHICH IN THE UNITED STATES WE HAVE OVER 7 MILLION PEOPLE WITH EITHER AUTISM OR CEREBRAL PALSY OR SOME SORT OF MAJOR BRAIN, UM, DYSFUNCTION THAT, YOU KNOW, IS, UM, IT'S, IT'S BEYOND THE PHYSICAL INCLUSIVENESS FOR PLAYGROUNDS.
UM, AND THEY'VE BEEN SUPPORTING THAT COMMUNITY BY, UH, GETTING THEM EDUCATION, GIVING THEM CAREGIVERS, PLACES TO LIVE AND PROMOTING WORK AND JOBS FOR THESE FOLKS.
BUT, UM, MIRACLE AND BEST BUDDIES CAME TOGETHER EARLY THIS SPRING OR BEGINNING OF THE YEAR AND JUST SAID IT, THIS IS SO PERFECT FOR US TO PARTNER UP AND BE A PLAYGROUND.
UM, A VERY BEST BUDDY SPECIFIC PLAYGROUND.
AND I THINK WHEN WE APPROACHED TOWN, UM, PART OF IT WAS BECAUSE WE KNEW THAT YOU ALREADY HAD A PLAYGROUND PLANS, UM, TO IMPROVE SOME OF THE PLAYGROUNDS, BUT ALSO BECAUSE YOU JUST SAT THROUGH A 30 MINUTE BEAUTIFUL DISSERTATION ABOUT THE MARKETING OF HILTON HEAD, THIS WOULD ADD TO THAT SOCIAL MEDIA BLAST AND CREATE ALSO ANOTHER IDENTITY FOR THE TOWN OF HILTON HEAD TO BRING MORE PEOPLE HERE.
SO BEING THE BEST BUDDIES COMMUNITY, BUT I'M HERE.
ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS IF YOU'ALL, Y'ALL HAVE ANY MR. AMES? UH, NO.
I HAVE A COMMENT ON A, ON A QUESTION.
BUT IT DOES GO ON EXACTLY WITH WHAT YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT.
UM, THIS IS IMPORTANT TO THE COMMUNITY, UM, AND IT'S IMPORTANT TO THE PEOPLE WHO WILL EVENTUALLY ENJOY IT.
HE USE THE WORD WHOSE BRAINS, UM, HOW DID YOU SAY? NOT DYSFUNCTION, BUT, UH, NOT FUNCTION PROPERLY.
YEAH, I, I I I'M INCLINED TO SAY THAT FUNCTION IN A DIFFERENT WAY.
I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT FOR THE LARGER COMMUNITY TO LOOK AT THESE PEOPLE AS POTENTIAL SOURCES OF INFORMATION RATHER THAN SOMEONE WHO NEEDS OUR HELP.
SO I PREFER THAT WE LOOK AT IT AS MINDS AND BRAINS THAT FUNCTION DIFFERENTLY.
UM, ANY MOTION? YES, I DO HAVE A MOTION.
I MOVE COUNSEL, APPROVE A RESOLUTION TO SUPPORT A BUS BUDDY CERTIFI, CERTIFIED INCLUSIVE PLAYGROUND AT SHELTER GROVE PARK.
SECOND KIM, DO WE HAVE ANYBODY THAT SIGNED UP TO SPEAK ON THIS ITEM?
[01:20:01]
NO, SIR.DISCUSSION FROM COUNSEL, COMMENTS, QUESTIONS, JUST, UH, SOME QUICK COMMENTS.
THANK YOU FOR BRINGING IT TO US.
SHELTER CODE WOULD, I THINK, WOULD BE AN EXCELLENT LOCATION.
THAT'S A, DEFINITELY A HIGH USE PLAYGROUND AREA.
UM, AND IT'S A BEAUTIFUL SETTING, A GREAT OPPORTUNITY.
AND YES, MAYOR, I WORKED AT A DAY CAMP, UH, FOR CHILDREN.
REALLY? DO, I HAVEN'T HEARD THAT IN A WHILE.
UM, MY MOM WAS THE DEAD CAMP DIRECTOR AND WHEN I WAS IN HIGH SCHOOL AND WE PAIRED UP WITH CHILDREN WITH, UH, INTELLECTUAL DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES, UM, OUR MAIN RECREATIONAL ACTIVITY WAS TAKING THEM TO SWIMMING.
UM, WE DIDN'T HAVE A PLAYGROUND AND TO TAKE THEM TO, UM, BUT IT, IT'S JUST INCREDIBLE.
UM, AND I LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING IT, IT ACTION.
AND I LOOK FORWARD TO ALL THE COLORS
I'M NOT SURE WHAT ALL THOSE LITTLE SIGNS WERE, UM, BUT I'M SURE THERE'S A WAY TO LEARN HOW TO USE IT IF, IF SOMEONE DIDN'T KNOW THE SIGNS WERE, ARE BASICALLY THE, THE PILLARS, THE FIVE PILLARS OF BEST BUDDIES AND WHAT THEY STAND FOR, WHICH WAS THAT, UH, CREATING EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES, FINDING CAREGIVERS, UM, ON, ON DOWN THE LINE.
AND THE COLORS ARE THE BEST BUDDIES BRANDED COLORS, BUT THEY DON'T HAVE TO BE USED.
UM, THERE ARE CERTAIN, THERE IS A CERTAIN NUMBER OF CRITERIA THAT WE DO HAVE TO INCLUDE TO MAKE IT A BEST BUDDY CERTIFIED PLAYGROUND.
THEY DO SUGGEST SOME OF THE COLORS, SO WE MAY HAVE SOME OF THE COLORS, BUT WE DON'T HAVE TO HAVE ALL FIVE OF THEM.
SO WE KNOW THE KENNEDYS WERE CELTICS FANS, AND I JUST WANT TO ADD SEAN, SEAN, UH, PREPARED ON, ON THE SCREEN A LITTLE, A FEW SLIDES EARLIER THIS SCHEDULE, AND WE'LL TALK ABOUT THAT AT BUDGET.
BUT PLEASE KNOW, IN THE MEANTIME, WE ARE ALL SEEKING, WE'RE ALSO SEEKING GRANT OPPORTUNITIES FOR THIS THROUGH SOUTH CAROLINA PARK REC AND TOURISM AND ANY OTHER OPPORTUNITIES WE HAVE FOR GRANTS FOR THIS TYPE OF PLAYGROUND IN THIS TYPE OF PARK.
MR. MR. STANFORD, MR. MAYOR, I HAVE A QUESTION.
I THINK IT'S AN OUTSTANDING IDEA.
IT WOULD PROVIDE A FACILITY TO TAKE CARE OF SOME OF OUR CITIZENS THAT WE'RE REALLY NOT GIVING ENOUGH ATTENTION TO.
I DON'T UNDERSTAND PARTNERSHIP HERE.
IN THE CASE OF PARTNERSHIP, IS THE TOWN PUTTING UP ALL OF THE MONEY AND ALL OF THE LAND AND WE'RE USING THE EXPERTISE OF BEST BUDDIES? UH, ARE WE GIVING UP ANY CONTROL OF OUR PARK FACILITIES TO BEST BUDDIES OR ANYONE ELSE? SO IT'S AN, UH, CONSTABLE SANDBERG EXCELLENT QUESTION.
UM, THE TOWN WOULD FUND THE ENTIRE PROJECT, UM, AS I MENTIONED IN ONE OF THE LAST SLIDES, UH, THE BENEFIT OF THE PARTNERSHIP IS, UM, IS THE PROMOTIONAL OPPORTUNITY TO BRAND AS A LEADER AND PARTNER WITH THE BEST BUDDIES IN MIRACLE RECREATION ON THIS NEW CONCEPT.
UM, I DON'T THINK WE LOSE ANY ABILITY OR CONTROL, UM, BUT WE DO HAVE TO INCLUDE THOSE, UH, THOSE PROGRAMMING ELEMENTS FROM BEST BUDDIES WITHIN THE PLAYGROUND, UH, TO MAKE, TO KEEP IT, UM, CONSISTENT WITH THEIR, WITH THEIR PROGRAM.
SO THERE WILL BE A PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT, I ASSUME, THAT WILL BE REVIEWED BY COUNSEL IN THE FUTURE? UM, WELL THAT'S A GOOD QUESTION.
I, WE, UH, WITH THIS SUPPORT, WE'D LIKE TO JUST INCORPORATE THE BEST BUDDY CONCEPT INTO THE PROGRAMMING FOR THE PLAYGROUND FEATURE, UM, OF THE APPROVED MASTER PLAN.
UM, THE, THE TOWN WOULD, UH, BE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE COST AND MAINTENANCE AND OPERATION.
UM, BUT WE WOULD COORDINATE ON THE DESIGN AND INTEGRATION OF THE PROGRAM ELEMENTS WITHIN THE PARK PLAYGROUND BEFORE, UH, EXECUTING THE PROJECT.
THE PROBLEM HERE IS THAT YOU'RE DEALING WITH A RECOVERING LAWYER, AND WHEN PEOPLE TALK ABOUT PARTNERSHIPS, YOU THINK ABOUT A PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT.
SO I'M SURE THAT'LL BE DEVELOPED ADEQUATELY IN THE FUTURE AND I'LL SUPPORT THE PROJECT.
IN, IN THE RESOLUTION IT SAYS TO SUPPORT A BEST BUDDIES CERTIFIED INCLUSIVE PLAYGROUND.
SO IT IS JUST SHOWING OUR COUNCIL SUPPORT.
UH, THIS COMMUNITY, UM, WORKED VERY HARD WHEN WE WERE DEVELOPING OUR, UH, OUR COMPREHENSIVE PLAN, WHICH I'M PROUD TO SAY THAT WHEN WE DO THINGS LIKE THIS, IT'S NOT JUST WORDS ON PAPER.
UM, THERE'S A WHOLE SECTION IN OUR COMP PLAN THAT TALKS ABOUT US BEING A, AN INCLUSIVE COMMUNITY, AND, AND THIS DOES THAT.
AND, UM, TO BE THE FIRST IS ALSO SOMETHING TO BE CELEBRATED.
[01:25:01]
UM, KUDOS TO THE TALENT MANAGER AND HIS STAFF FOR, UH, EXPLORING THESE TYPE OF OPPORTUNITIES AND LOOKING FORWARD TO SUPPORTING IT TODAY AND ALSO IN THE FUTURE WITH THE BUDGET APPROVAL.ALRIGHT, OTHER COMMENTS, QUESTIONS? MS. BECKER? NOTHING MORE THAN THANK YOU FOR COMING FORWARD AND INTRODUCING THE PROGRAM TO US.
UM, IT IS DEFINITELY IN LINE WITH OUR VALUES.
SHELTER CO IS AN EXCELLENT PARK FOR THIS TO BE INCORPORATED INTO.
SO I, I WILL SAY, YOU KNOW, UM, THROUGH THE CHALLENGE CAMP OF THE RACK CENTER THROUGH, THERE'S ANOTHER ORGANIZATION THAT'S ESCAP MY MIND RIGHT NOW, BUT YOU KNOW, THE NEED FOR THE RECREATIONAL COMPONENTS EXISTS AND HAVING THAT HERE FOR US TO BE ONE OF THE FIRST COMMUNITIES IS REALLY A VERY SPECIAL THING.
SO, AND MY MIC IS, THERE WE GO.
AND, UH, SO WITH THAT BEING SAID, ARE THE OTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? SEEING NONE.
BY RAISING YOUR RIGHT HAND, THAT WOULD BE SEVEN TO ZERO.
[10. Public Comment - Non Agenda Items]
COMMENTS, SECTION TWO DASH FIVE DASH 70 OF THE TOWN'S CODE LIMITS EACH PERSON TO THREE MINUTES.WHEN ADDRESSING TOWN COUNCIL, AT THE END OF THE THREE MINUTES, YOU'RE ASKED TO INCLUDE YOUR COMMENTS.
PLEASE MAINTAIN A DECORUM SUITABLE FOR THE MEETING AND REFRAIN FROM USING ANY PROFANE, ABUSIVE, OR OBSCENE LANGUAGE.
IF YOU HAVE ANY MATERIALS YOU'D LIKE TO GIVE AT TOWN COUNCIL, PLEASE GIVE THEM TO THE TOWN CLERK AFTER YOU ARE FINISHED SPEAKING.
KIMBERLY, DO WE HAVE ANYBODY SIGNED UP TO SPEAK? WE HAVE TWO PEOPLE.
WHAT THIS COUNCIL DID ON JUNE 28TH IN GRANTING MUNICIPAL CONSENT TO A DEEPLY FLAWED PROJECT WILL GO DOWN IN HISTORY, BUT FOR ALL THE WRONG REASONS.
WITH ONE EXCEPTION, TAMMY BECKER, THE COUNCIL, IGNORED THE VOICES OF LARGE NUMBERS OF HILTON HEAD RESIDENTS WHO EXPRESSED OPPOSITION TO AN 11 LANE AIRCRAFT CARRIER SLAB OF A BRIDGE AND A SIX LANE EXPRESSWAY THROUGH THE NORTH END OF THE ISLAND.
THE DESIGN WORK, AS YOU WELL KNOW FOR THIS PROJECT, IS ONLY AT 30% IN THE ESTIMATED SHORTFALL TO FINANCE.
THIS PROJECT IS ABOUT $200 MILLION IN GROWING.
AND YET AFTER A SIX HOUR PLUS MEETING, THE COUNCIL GAVE ITS APPROVAL ON A SIX TO ONE VOTE.
THE FAILURE OF TOWN COUNCIL MEMBERS TO PERFORM HONEST SYSTEMS ANALYSIS OF OUR SERIOUS CONGESTION AND GROWTH ISSUES, BORDERS ON THE CRIMINAL.
THE PROJECT SPONSOR IS BEAUFORT COUNTY NOTED COLUMNIST DAVID LAUDERDALE SAID RECENTLY, AND I QUOTE, WE NEED TRANSPORTATION HELP, BUT WE NEED A COUNTY GOVERNMENT.
A DISTINGUISHED SOUTH CAROLINA JOURNALIST FOR 30 YEARS SAID RECENTLY, AND I QUOTE AGAIN, IT'S IMPOSSIBLE TO OVERSTATE HOW LITTLE TRUST BUFORD COUNTY GOVERNMENT DESERVES RIGHT NOW.
AND YET, BUFORD COUNTY IS THE PROJECT SPONSOR.
HOW INSANE IS THAT? THREE OF YOU ARE UP FOR REELECTION, BUT TWO OF YOU ARE STEPPING DOWN.
MR. AMES TOLD US IT'S GONNA BE JUST LIKE THE CROSS ISLAND PARKWAY CONTROVERSY.
ONCE THE PROJECT IS COMPLETED, PEOPLE WILL BEGIN TO LOVE IT.
MR. STANFORD TOLD US THAT HE WOULD RELY ON THE EXPERTS, BUT THE TOWN MANIPULATED THOSE EXPERTS TO HIDE THE FACT THAT THE DOT PLAN WILL NOT SOLVE OUR PROBLEMS. THE TWO OF YOU WILL HAVE PLENTY OF TIME TO REFLECT ON YOUR WORDS OF WISDOM AND YOUR SOON TO BE RETIREMENT.
AND MR. BROWN WILL HAVE TO WONDER IF $10 MILLION WAS ENOUGH TO ENSURE HIS REELECTION AND THE MAYOR STILL NEEDS TO EXPLAIN WHAT I CALL IS RICHARD NIXON.
YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU SAID I WASN'T BLACKMAILED AND I WASN'T PAID OFF, WHY DID YOU FEEL COMPELLED TO MAKE SUCH A STATEMENT? MARK MY WORDS.
WE MAY HAVE LOST THIS BATTLE, BUT WE HAVE NOT LOST THE WAR.
OUR FIGHT TO PRESERVE AND PROTECT THIS ISLAND IS NOT OVER.
UM, GIVING MUNICIPAL CONSENT IS JUST ONE STEP IN A VERY LONG PROCESS IN THE BUILDING OF A NEW BRIDGE AND ROADWAYS.
AND THE LATEST ESTIMATE I HEARD WAS THAT IT WOULD BE COMPLETED BY THE END OF 20 20, 20 30.
UH, WHEN YOU TAKE INTO ACCOUNT THE DESIGN PERMITTING AND CONSTRUCTION PROCESS, WHILE WE WAIT, WE SHOULD FOCUS ON THINGS WE CAN DO TO IMPROVE TRAFFIC FLOW.
FOR EXAMPLE, CONTINUED FOCUS ON IMPROVING THE PERFORMANCE OF THE INTEGRATED TRAFFIC LIGHTS WITH REGULAR UPDATES TO THE PUBLIC, INTEGRATING THE LIGHT AT WINDMILL HARBOR, WHICH
[01:30:01]
IS SUPPOSED TO BE DONE WITHIN 30 DAYS, AND EXPLORING OTHER TRANSPORTATION AND TRAFFIC STRATEGIES AS IDENTIFIED IN THE STUDY.LET'S NOT WAIT TO MAKE TRAFFIC FLOW IMPROVEMENTS THAT ALIGN TO THE LONG-TERM PLAN.
I ALSO HAVE A NUMBER OF QUESTIONS ABOUT HOW THE PUBLIC WILL BE KEPT UP TO DATE REGARDING THE PROJECT.
WHEN IS BEAUFORT COUNTY EXPECTED TO VOTE ON THE MOA, WHICH IS THE TOWN'S EXPECTATIONS REGARDING A NUMBER OF SIGNIFICANT ITEMS? WHAT WILL HAPPEN IF BEAUFORT COUNTY DOES NOT AGREE TO APPROVE THE MOA OR SPECIFIC ITEMS ARE REMOVED? WHAT WILL BE THE MECHANISM TO KEEP THE PUBLIC INFORMED OF THE PROGRESS? HOW WILL THE TOWN ORGANIZE ITS RESOURCES AROUND THIS AND WORK TOGETHER WITH THE COUNTY AND WILL FUTURE DECISIONS THAT ARE MADE BY TOWN COUNCIL BE PART OF THE PUBLIC TOWN COUNCIL PROCESS? THANK YOU.
MR. IF, IF I CAN JUMP IN JUST FOR A SECOND.
WE, UH, WE WE'RE NOT GONNA NO, I'M, I'M JUST ASKING YOU A QUESTION.
AS A COUNCIL MEMBER WHO'S JUST LISTENED TO, UM, COMMENTS FROM OUR RESIDENTS, AND IT SEEMS TO ME THAT WE HAVE OFTEN SAT AND LISTENED, UM, WITH, WITH ALL EARS AND INTEREST TO OUR RESIDENTS, MAKE COMMENTS AND ASKED SPECIFIC QUESTIONS.
AND THERE'S NEVER A TIME WHEN THOSE QUESTIONS GET ANSWERED TO OUR RESIDENTS.
AND I THINK THEY'RE, I THINK THAT THEY'RE DO AN ANSWER.
I THINK WHEN THEY ASK US FOR INFORMATION THAT THEY'RE, DO AN ANSWER, PERHAPS NOT.
ALL THOSE ANSWERS CAN COME IMMEDIATELY AT THE MOMENT THEY'RE ASKED.
I UNDERSTAND THAT, BUT I'D LIKE TO KNOW WHAT THE MECHANISM IS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE NOT RESIDENTS ARE INTERESTED.
I'LL LET MR. ORLANDO ADDRESS THAT.
THAT, THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION.
AS MS. TANNER WAS SPEAKING, I WAS UP HERE TYPING, I THINK I GOT SEVEN OUT OF HER EIGHT QUESTIONS.
AND I'LL GO BACK WITH OUR TOWN CLERK AND FOLLOW UP.
SO MOST OF THE TIME IF A MEMBER OF THE PUBLIC ASKS A QUESTION WHERE THERE'S, THERE'S A, THERE'S AN ANSWER WE CAN PROVIDE VERSUS A STATEMENT, WE WILL GET THEIR NAME, THEIR NUMBER, AND THEIR CONTACT INFORMATION IF WE DON'T ALREADY HAVE IT THROUGH OUR TOWN CLERK, AND WE WILL, WE, WE WILL DO OUR BEST TO, TO ANSWER THAT.
A LOT OF TIMES DURING PUBLIC COMMENT, THOUGH, I'M NOT SITTING UP HERE TO, TO PROVIDE ANSWERS RIGHT.
I WILL JUST ASSURE THIS COUNCIL AND AND THE PUBLIC THAT I AM TAKING THOSE GOOD NOTES.
THAT'S WHY I'M UP HERE TYPING AND BACK AND FORTH WITH KIM DURING THIS ENTIRE MEETING AND AFTERWARDS.
I, I ASSURE YOU, I MIGHT HAVE TO ASK YOU WHAT YOUR EIGHTH QUESTION IS,
UM, BUT I GOT, I RECEIVED SEVEN OF 'EM, SO THANK YOU.
AND IT WOULD BE GREAT IF WE COULD DEVELOP A PLACE, UM, BECAUSE OTHER PEOPLE HEARING THOSE QUESTIONS MAY ALSO HAVE THE SAME QUESTIONS AND WANT THE ANSWERS TO.
SO IF THERE'S A PLACE WE CAN DEVELOP WHERE PUBLIC CAN LOOK TO GET THOSE ANSWERS, WHEN A NEW COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR COMES IN, WE'LL ADDRESS THAT WITH HER.
[11. Executive Session]
EXECUTIVE SESSION? MR. ORLANDO? YES, SIR.AS SHOWN ON, UH, THE TOWN COUNCIL AGENDA.
ITEM 11, EXEC SESSION, EXECUTIVE SESSION ITEMS A AND B.
WE HAVE A MOTION, I MOVE, WE GO INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION FOR THE REASONS CITED BY THE GENERAL THE TOWN MANAGER.
ALL THOSE IN FAVOR PLEASE SIGNIFY BY RAISING YOUR RIGHT HAND.
HEY GUYS, I'M ADAM FARBER WITH BEAUFORT COUNTY LIBRARIES AND I WANTED TO TELL YOU ABOUT OUR NEW STREAMING SERVICE CALLED HOOPLA.
IT'S A FREE SERVICE FROM BEAUFORT COUNTY LIBRARIES.
ALL YOU NEED IS A LIBRARY CARD AND IT'S AVAILABLE ON IOS, ANDROID, AND DESKTOP COMPUTERS.
I HAVE AN IPAD AND WE'LL DOWNLOAD THE HOOPLA APP.
YOU CAN GET UP TO 10 TITLES PER MONTH FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT US@BEAUFORTCOUNTYLIBRARY.ORG.
[01:35:01]
TO COME OUT OF EXECUTIVE SESSION.WE'VE GOT A FIRST AND A SECOND.
WE ARE OUT OF EXECUTIVE SESSION.
JOSH, ANY HELP? YOU OKAY WITH ANYBODY? YES, SIR.
[12. Action from Executive Session]
ACTIONS COMING OUT OF EXECUTIVE SESSION.MAYOR, THERE ARE TWO ACTION ITEMS. THE FIRST IS I MOVE THAT THE TOWN COUNCIL AUTHORIZED, I BEG YOUR PARDON.
I MOVE THAT THE TOWN COUNCIL AUTHORIZED THE TOWN MANAGER BE AUTHORIZED TO EXECUTE AND DELIVER A REVOCABLE LICENSE AGREEMENT BY AND BETWEEN THE TOWN OF HILTON, HEAD ISLAND, SOUTH CAROLINA AND THE BEACH HOUSE OWNER LLC GRANTING THE TOWN AND ITS CONTRACTORS A RIGHT OF ENTRY OVER THE PROPERTY OF THE BEACH HOUSE OWNER LLC FOR ACCESS TO THE BEACHES OF THE ATLANTIC OCEAN.
SECOND FILE BY RAISING YOUR RIGHT HAND.
THE SECOND MOTION IS I MOVE THAT THE TOWN COUNCIL AUTHORIZED THE MAYOR AND THE TOWN MANAGER BE AUTHORIZED TO EXECUTE AND DELIVER THE AGREEMENT BY BETWEEN THE TOWN OF HILTON, HEAD ISLAND, SOUTH CAROLINA AND 69 POPE AVENUE, LLC, FOR THE PURCHASE AND SALE OF 1.286 ACRES, MORE OR LESS ON POPE AVENUE.
AND TO TAKE SUCH OTHER AND FURTHER ACTIONS AS MAY BE NECESSARY TO COMPLETE THE TRANSACTIONS DE DESCRIBED IN THE AGREEMENT.
DO WE HAVE A SECOND OBJECTION, MR. ALFRED? ANY DISCUSSION SAYING NONE.
ALL THOSE IN FAVOR SIGNIFY BY RAISING YOUR RIGHT HAND.
THE THIRD MOTION IS I MOVE THE TOWN COUNCIL, EXTEND THE CONTRACT WITH THE TOWN, UM, OF HILL NET ISLAND ATTORNEY FOR THE ADDITIONAL 12 MONTHS UNDER THE SAME TERMS AND CONDITIONS.
ALL THOSE IN FAVOR SIGNIFY BY RAISING YOUR RIGHT HAND.
SECOND MOTION TO ADJOURN ADJOURNED.
THANK YOU ALL FOR ATTENDING THE GRAND OPENING OF WHITEHALL PARK.
I'M STEPHANIE NAJI, THE BEAUFORT COUNTY PASSIVE PARKS MANAGER.
AND I AM SO THRILLED TO BE ABLE TO OFFER THIS OPPORTUNITY TO EVERYBODY.
IT HAS BEEN A LONG TIME COMING.
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 NEW YORK GLOVER AND CITY OF BEAUFORT MAYOR STEPHEN 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.
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.
[01:40:01]
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 STEVEN MURRAY.
AND I WILL INTRODUCE MR. GLOVER FIRST.
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, UH, 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, I'M GOING TO, UM, QUOTE, UM, PRESIDENT BIDEN, UM, WHEN HE SAID, 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 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.
THAT'S WHAT I ENVISION, UH, COMING BEFORE US.
[01:45:01]
YOU DON'T MIND, UH, PAUL SUMMERVILLE 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.
WELL, THIS IS, UH, CERTAINLY AN UNEXPECTED PLEASURE.
I APPRECIATE THE OPPORTUNITY TO SAY A FEW WORDS.
IT KIND OF REMINDS ME, UH, 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.
AND A LOT OF PEOPLE WORKED VERY HARD TO OVERCOME THOSE OBSTACLES.
SO WE COULD OWN THIS PROPERTY JOINTLY WITH CITY OF BEAUFORT 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.
AND, UH, SIT OUT ON THE WALL OUT THERE AND SWAP STAMPS WITH THE GENTLEMAN WHO OWNED THIS PROPERTY.
HE WAS AN OLDER GUY IN 1950, SO YOU CAN IMAGINE HOW OLD HE'D BE TODAY.
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.
UM, I'M GONNA ASK, UM, LARRY WHITE, UM, WHO'S WITH THE FEL BURN FOUNDATION, WHO'S VERY GRACIOUS, UM, IN 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.
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 FELDEN 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 TO 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 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.
NOW WE'RE GONNA HEAR A FEW WORDS FROM CITY OF BEAUFORD MAYOR STEVEN MURRAY.
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
[01:50:01]
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 KEISLING 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 MCPHEE HERE, COUNCILMAN MITCH MITCHELL.
UH, COUNCILMAN NEIL LIPITZ IS HERE WITH US IN CARDBOARD,
UH, AND THEN I BELIEVE COUNCILMAN, UH, PHIL CROMER AND COUNCILWOMAN NAN SUTTON.
WERE ALSO A PART OF THIS, OF THIS PROJECT.
I GOTTA GIVE A HUGE SHOUT OUT TO MY DOWNTOWN DIRECTOR, LINDA ROPER, WHO'S DOES EVERYTHING
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,
WE NEED MORE PAUL BUTER IN THE WORLD ALL.
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 SUING 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 AND 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 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.
WE'VE GOT BIG SCISSORS FOR MR. GLOVER AND MS. MURRAY TO COME AND CUT OUR BEAUTIFUL BLUE RIBBON.
[01:58:16]
I AM FROM NEWBURY, SOUTH CAROLINA.WENT TO USC BEAUFORT AND PLAYED BASEBALL.
UH, LEFT THERE, GRADUATED, AND NEVER LEFT.
ENDED UP HERE IN LAW ENFORCEMENT PROBABLY EIGHT YEARS LATER.
I'VE ALWAYS WANTED TO GO IN LAW ENFORCEMENT TO BE HONEST.
I MEAN, WHO DOESN'T LIKE GOING FAST AND HAVING FUN, BUT, AND AT THE END OF THE DAY, IT'S TRYING TO MAKE THINGS BETTER FOR PEOPLE.
UM, BEING AN ALMOST BEING AN ANSWER OR BEING SOMETHING FOR SOMEBODY THAT DOESN'T HAVE A VOICE, FOR PEOPLE THAT CAN'T GO OUT AND DEFEND THEMSELVES, SOMEBODY'S GOTTA STEP UP AND DO IT FOR 'EM.
ALL RIGHT, JUST GIMME ONE SECOND.
YOU CAN TELL A LOT OF THE PEOPLE STILL ARE HAPPY THAT WE'RE HERE, HAPPY THAT WE SHOW UP THINGS AND PLUS IT'S A BEAUTIFUL PLACE TO WORK AND YOU CAN'T ASK FOR BETTER SCENERY.
UM, WORKING AT THE SHERIFF'S OFFICE, MY FOUR YEARS, I HAVE NO COMPLAINTS.
WE GOT A LOT OF CAMARADERIE HERE, A LOT OF PEOPLE THAT I'VE CAME UP WITH AND SOME OF THE BEST, I'VE TAUGHT ME A LOT OF LIFE LESSONS ALONG WITH, YOU KNOW, HOW TO BE A GOOD POLICE OFFICER.