* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting. [00:00:01] CLOSED CAPTIONING PROVIDED BY BUFORT COUNTY [1. Call to Order] MORNING. I'D LIKE TO CALL THE GULLAH GEECHEE HISTORICAL NEIGHBORHOODS COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION MEETING TO ORDER. UH, I NEED A MOTION [2. Adoption of the Agenda] TO ADOPT THE AGENDA. SO MOVED. SECOND. ANY OPPOSED? I'D LIKE TO WELCOME OUR NEWEST MEMBER, UH, MARY ALLEN PERRY. THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR HAPPY TO BE HERE. SIT ON HERE. BE THANK YOU. ALRIGHT. [3. Approval of the Minutes] UH, I NEED A MOTION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES FROM NOVEMBER 20TH. I HOPE YOU'VE HAD A CHANCE TO REVIEW THOUGH. MOVE AS ADOPT, UH, PRESENTED. ANY OPPOSED? ALL RIGHT. WE'RE GONNA GO RIGHT INTO OUR UNFINISHED BUSINESS. UM, MR. BOXLEY, GOOD MORNING. MORNING, LIKE THE BOW TIE. THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH. CAN I SEE YOU? THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH. AND GO INTO THE UNFINISHED BUSINESS. YES, ABSOLUTELY. THANK YOU SO MUCH. AND I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO EXTEND A, A VERY WARM WELCOME TO, UH, MAYOR PERRY, AND THANK HIM FOR HIS TIME AND CONSIDERATION AND, UH, JOINING US ON THE CDC BOARD. UM, I KNOW YOUR COMMITMENT, UH, TO THE TOWN OF HILTON HEAD, UH, RUNS VERY DEEP, AND WE REALLY APPRECIATE YOU MAKING OUR BOARD A PRIORITY, SO THANK YOU FOR THAT. AND THANK YOU. I ALSO WANT TO ASK THIS MORNING THAT WE KEEP, UM, OUR BOARD MEMBER TERRY BRUBAKER AND OUR THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS AS HE IS, UH, DEALING WITH SOME, SOME FAMILY RELATED ISSUES, HEALTH ISSUES. AND SO, UH, PLEASE KEEP HIM IN YOUR THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS AS WE MOVE FORWARD. UM, I, I HAD, UM, I'VE BEEN TEXTING WITH HIM, UM, AS RECENTLY AS THIS MORNING. SO, UH, HE'S VERY WELL AWARE OF OUR ONGOING INITIATIVES. AND, UH, JUST AGAIN, PLEASE KEEPING ME YOUR THOUGHT, HE, HE AND HIS FAMILY IN YOUR THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS, UM, AS WE MOVE INTO OUR UNFINISHED [4.a. 2024-19 Wayfinding Solution Development Update - Thomas Boxley, Executive Director for the Gullah Geechee Historic Neighborhoods Community Development Corporation] BUSINESS, THE FIRST ITEM FOUR A IS RELATED TO OUR WAYFINDING APPLICATION. AND ALL THREE OF THESE AGENDA ITEMS THAT WE WILL ADDRESS FIRST ARE DIRECTLY RELATED TO THE ACHIEVEMENT OF OUR STRATEGIC ACTION ITEMS. ONE, TO SUPPORT THE STABILIZATION AND PRESERVATION OF HISTORIC NEIGHBORHOODS AND CULTURAL SITES. UH, TWO, SUPPORTING AND PROVIDING ACCESS TO CAPITAL FOR BOTH SMALL BUSINESSES AND FOR REAL ESTATE, UH, WHICH AGAIN, STABILIZES THE HISTORIC NEIGHBORHOODS. AND THEN ALSO PROVIDING TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES FOR GULLAH YOUTH. SO AS WE LOOK AT, UM, UH, ITEM NUMBER, ITEM A, UM, OUR WAY FINDING APPLICATION IS MOVING THROUGH, MOVING ALONG, WE HAVE IDENTIFIED, AS YOU SEE IN OUR NOTES, WE HAVE IDENTIFIED ALL OF THE SITES THAT WILL BE IDENTIFIED THROUGH THIS APPLICATION. ONE IS OLD SCHOOL, HOUSE PARK ROBINSON JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL, FISH CAMP, ROWING AND SAILING CENTER, AND THE FISHING CO-OP, ROWING, ROWING AND SAILING CENTER. AND THE AFRICAN BEACHES, AFRICAN AMERICAN BEACHES TO BE COMMEMORATED AT DREESEN BEACH PARK, AS WELL AS MITCHELLVILLE. UM, THESE SITES HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED DUE TO THEIR CULTURAL SIGNIFICANCE AND, AND ALSO, UM, THE EDUCATIONAL SIGNIFICANCE OF OLD SCHOOL HOUSE PARK AS WELL AS ROBINSON JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL. BY THE WAY, ROBINSON JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL, I WOULD LIKE TO ADD WAS ONE OF THE SITES THAT WAS IDENTIFIED BY THE ELDERS IN THE COMMUNITY AS SOMETHING THAT WAS IMPORTANT THAT WE COULD COMMEMORATE IN THIS FIRST ROUND. UH, WE WILL ALSO WORK TO, UM, INCLUDE A STOP AT THE AIRPORT SO THAT WE HAVE AN INITIAL SPLASH FOR OUR VISITORS THAT ARRIVE BY PLANE DURING, UM, DURING OUR, SPECIFICALLY DURING OUR TOURISM SEASONS, SO THAT WE CAN PROVIDE AN INITIAL INTRODUCTION TO THE CULTURE. UM, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WILL REQUIRE SOME ADDITIONAL, UM, SOME ADDITIONAL SUPPORT AND WORK. UM, OUR NEXT STEPS, SOOS SHOULD BE FINISHED AND COMPLETE WITH THIS DEVELOPMENT WITHIN THE NEXT TWO WEEKS. UM, I WAS ON THE PHONE WITH THEM ACTUALLY YESTERDAY. UM, AND SO UPON COMPLETION, WE WILL BE SCHEDULING, UM, A TIME FOR THEM TO COME BACK AND DO FURTHER CULTURAL ASSET AGGREGATION. SO WE STILL HAVE SOME, SOME AREAS, SOME PHOTOS THAT WE CAN TAKE AND UPLOAD INTO THE APPLICATION TO DO A FORMAL PRESENTATION TO THE BOARD AND THE COMMUNITY AS WELL. AND SO THESE ARE THE ITEMS THAT WE HAVE REMAINING, AS WELL AS, UM, AT EACH LOCATION [00:05:01] WE WILL HAVE TO DESIGNATE SIGNAGE. UM, AND I SEE MELISSA, UH, JUST WALKED IN. HELLO, MELISSA. UM, AND SHE AND I WILL BE WORKING TO FINALIZE SOME OF THE SIGNAGE. SO BY SIGNAGE, I MEAN, WE WILL HAVE TO HAVE SOME PHYSICAL SIGNAGE LOCATED THAT WILL ACTUALLY HAVE THE QR CODES AT EACH LOCATION THAT OUR VISITORS CAN SCAN. AND IF YOU THINK ABOUT WHAT THAT MIGHT LOOK LIKE AS YOU VISIT DIFFERENT AREAS AROUND TOWN, WE HAVE THE CULTURAL POETRY TRAIL THAT, UM, IS PART OF CULTURE, HHI, AS WELL AS, UM, SOME OF THE SIGNAGE AT MITCHELLVILLE THAT DESIGNATES THE QR CODES, BUT WE WILL NEED TO DESIGNATE, UH, SIGNAGE AS WELL. SO THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE WILL BE WORKING, THAT I'LL BE WORKING WITH MELISSA TO, UH, DEVELOP, DESIGN AND BE APPROVED BY THE TOWN. UM, ANY QUESTIONS? I DO HAVE A QUESTION. WILL YOU BE DOING A, A ROUGH, I GUESS, DRAFT OF THAT MEETING? WILL YOU BE TAKING PEOPLE THROUGH THE STOPS AND ALLOWING THEM TO, TO ACTUALLY SEE THEMSELVES? OR WILL YOU JUST BE DURING A PRE SO DURING THE TIME THAT, UM, THAT ARE YOU SPEAKING OF WHEN OUR CONTRACTORS COME BACK? YES. YES. WE CAN DEFINITELY SCHEDULE A TOUR THAT WOULD ACTUALLY IDENTIFY THE SITES. HOWEVER, WHAT WE WILL HAVE TO WORK THROUGH IS THE ACTUAL, THE PROCESS OF SIGNAGE. SO THAT MAY, YOU KNOW, THAT MAY TAKE A LITTLE BIT LONGER TO GO THROUGH THE APPROVAL PROCESS AND TO ACTUALLY GET THE SIGNAGE LOCATED. BUT WE CAN DEFINITELY, ALL OF THE, THE TECHNOLOGY WILL BE COMPLETE, SO YOU WILL BE ABLE TO ACTUALLY SEE WHAT A VISITOR WILL SEE ONCE THEY ARRIVE. I HAVE A COUPLE QUESTIONS, COMMENTS. ONE, UM, ON THE SIGNAGE, IS IT, ARE WE GONNA BE ABLE TO SEE IT OR IS IT GONNA BE LIKE, SHARED FOR FEEDBACK PRIOR TO COMPLETION? YES, WE WILL DEFINITELY, I WILL DEFINITELY BE SURE. AND ONCE WE ARRIVE AT, YOU KNOW, A, A FINAL MOCKUP, WE'LL SHARE IT OUT WITH, WITH THE BOARD FOR FINAL APPROVAL. AND THE SECOND, UH, COMMENT QUESTION ON THE, THE, THE BEACHES, UM, COMMEMORATED AT ESON BEACH, LIKE, CAN YOU, CAN YOU SHED A LITTLE LIGHT IN THAT? IS IT, YOU'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT ALL OF THEM AND THEN IT'S JUST THE SIGNAGE WILL BE AT DREESEN BEACH, IS THAT WHAT YOU'RE SAYING? YES. SO VERY GOOD QUESTION, BECAUSE A LOT OF THE BEACHES NOW HAVE BEEN DEVELOPED, UM, AS I DISCUSSED THIS WITH, WITH VARIOUS, UM, VARIOUS TEAM MEMBERS AT THE TOWN AS WELL AS SOME COMMUNITY MEMBERS. WE CAME TO THE CONCLUSION THAT IT WOULD BE BEST, UH, COMMEMORATED THERE AT DREESEN BEACH BECAUSE OF THE EXISTING IT, FOR ONE, IT'S AN EXISTING TOWN RESOURCE, AND WE WOULDN'T HAVE TO, UM, TO GO THROUGH A PROCESS OF LOCATING, UH, SOMEWHERE WITHIN THE PRIVATE BEACHES, UH, OR NOT PRIVATE BEACHES, BUT ALONG THE BEACH TO COMMEMORATE, YOU KNOW, TO COMMEMORATE THIS WITH A SIGN. UM, SO YEAH, THAT, THAT WAS THE THOUGHT PROCESS. THANKS. THAT MAKES SENSE. THANK YOU. UM, JUST ONE THING THAT'S JUMPING OUT OF THE PAGE WITH ME HERE, AND I PROBABLY NEED TO TAKE THIS UP OFFLINE AT SOME POINT, BUT, UH, THE FISHING CO-OP SLASH ROWING AND SAILING CENTER, I KNOW WE'VE SORT OF HAD A CONVERSATION ABOUT POTENTIALLY CHANGING THAT NAME OVER THERE, AND I DON'T WANT US TO GET TOO FAR DOWN THE ROAD WITH SIGNAGE AND WHATNOT UNTIL WE PROBABLY NEED TO TALK ABOUT THAT. YEP, YEP. WE'LL, WE'LL, WE'LL DO THAT. THANK YOU. CAN I ASK A QUESTION? SURE, SURE. UM, ABOUT COMMUNICATION, I, I'M CERTAIN THAT YOU HAVE BUILT INTO THE PROCESS BECAUSE I THINK COMMUNICATION IS GONNA BE IMPERATIVE FOR IT TO BE SUCCESSFUL. CERTAINLY WE WANT OUR VISITORS TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF IT, BUT WE WANT THE PEOPLE WHO ARE HERE ON A REGULAR BASIS TO KNOW THAT IT'S THERE AND TO BE ABLE TO ACCESS IT. SO IS THAT SOMETHING THAT IS GONNA BE INCUMBENT UPON US TO DO, OR IS THAT PART OF THE DUE DILIGENCE OF, OF, OF THE PEOPLE? I ACTUALLY WILL, THAT IS PART OF MY ROLE. AND SO WHAT I WILL DO IS MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE A, A ROLLOUT THAT WILL FEATURE, YOU KNOW, OUTREACH TO THE COMMUNITY HERE AS WELL AS TO THE COMMUNITY OF BLUFFTON, BECAUSE I'D LIKE FOR FOLKS TO, TO BE ABLE TO COME IN AND SEE WHAT WE'VE, YOU KNOW, WHAT WE'VE WORKED ON. THIS IS A PRETTY EXCITING PROJECT. UM, I WILL ALSO ADD ONE, ONE POINT, UM, THAT OUR CONTRACTOR HAD INITIALLY COMMITTED TO PROVIDING, UM, INTERNSHIP OPPORTUNITIES FOR FOUR YOUNG PEOPLE TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS PROJECT. UM, BUT AS THEY WENT THROUGH THE APPLICATION PROCESS, THEY HAD A VERY GOOD, UH, RESPONSE. AND WHAT THEY DID IS BUILT OUT, UM, MORE INTERNSHIP OPPORTUNITIES. SO WE ACTUALLY HAVE NINE YOUTH [00:10:01] WORKING IN THREE TEAMS, UM, TO BRING THIS APPLICATION TO LIFE. SO THOSE TEAMS, WE'VE GOT THREE TEAMS, ONE OF WHICH IS THE CONTENT CREATION TEAM, THE WEB DEVELOPMENT TEAM, AND THEN THERE'S A TEAM THAT'S WORKING ON THE, UM, AUGMENTED REALITY DEVELOPMENT. SO THERE ARE NINE YOUNG PEOPLE, UM, THAT ARE ACTUALLY HAVING AN OPPORTUNITY TO WORK ON THIS PROJECT. SO THAT'S, THAT'S, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT I THINK, UH, AGAIN, MEETING OUR STRATEGIC ACTION GOALS, UM, OF, OF PROVIDING OPPORTUNITIES FOR YOUNG PEOPLE. THAT'S SOMETHING THAT'S PRETTY EXCITING. I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO, UH, WHEN WE DO HAVE THAT ROLLOUT AND LAUNCH, IT WILL, IT WILL PROBABLY, MY TARGET IS GOING TO BE A EVENING MEETING SO THAT WE ARE ABLE TO INVITE THOSE YOUNG PEOPLE THERE AS WELL. GOOD. I THINK THAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT. THOMAS, WILL YOU MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE A TIMETABLE OF YOUR ROLLOUT OF THE INFORMATION TO THE PUBLIC? ABSOLUTELY. BEFORE YOU DO THAT. THANK YOU. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? OKAY, THANK YOU. UM, WE'LL MOVE ON INTO, YES, ARE THERE ANY PUBLIC COMMENTS ON THIS ITEM BEFORE WE MOVE ON? THANK YOU. HEARING NONE, GO ON TOP. ALRIGHT, THANK YOU. SO WE'LL [4.b. Small Business Loan Program Update - Thomas Boxley, Executive Director for the Gullah Geechee Historic Neighborhoods Community Development Corporation] MOVE INTO ITEM, UM, FOUR B AS WE MOVE INTO ITEM FOUR B. AGAIN, PLEASE KEEP IN MIND THAT THESE, UH, FOUR B AND C ARE, ARE BOTH ITEMS THAT, AGAIN, ARE DIRECTLY RELATED TO THE ACHIEVEMENT OF OUR STRATEGIC ACTION ITEMS. SO THESE ITEMS ARE THE SMALL BUSINESS AND THE REAL ESTATE DEVELOPMENT LOAN PROGRAMS. I'D ALSO LIKE TO TAKE A MOMENT AND, AND ACKNOWLEDGE COUNCILWOMAN TURNER. THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE TODAY. UM, SO OUR SMALL BUSINESS AND REAL ESTATE DEVELOPMENT LOAN FUNDS, AS YOU, UM, FOLLOW ALONG THE PRESENTATION THAT YOU SEE ON THE SCREEN. UM, SO OUR REQUIREMENTS, WE, WE DEVELOPED THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THIS PROGRAM, UM, ONE THAT THEY OPERATE, THAT A BUSINESS OPERATE IN THEIR, IN OUR IDENTIFIED CULTURALLY SENSITIVE COMMUNITIES. UM, TWO, THAT A REAL ESTATE OR LAND DEVELOPMENT PROJECT PROJECT, UM, EXISTS WITHIN IDENTIFIED, UH, CULTURALLY SENSITIVE COMMUNITY, WHICH ARE OUR GULLAH NEIGHBORHOODS. UM, THREE, OUR APPLICANTS MUST PROVIDE, YOU KNOW, CREDIT INFORMATION, BUT WE DIDN'T WANT TO HAVE, UH, CREDIT AS A DISQUALIFIER. SO AGAIN, OUR GOAL IS TO STRENGTHEN BUSINESSES AND STRENGTHEN OUR COMMUNITY. SO AS WE LOOK AT AND REVIEW THE APPLICANTS, WE, WE WILL NOT ALLOW CREDIT TO BE A DISQUALIFIER. UM, IF THERE ARE APPLICANTS, AND AS YOU'LL SEE A LITTLE BIT LATER, IF THERE ARE APPLICANTS THAT WE, UM, HAPPEN TO DECLINE, WE WILL OFFER THEM AN OPPORTUNITY TO REAPPLY LATER AS WELL AS FEEDBACK ON HOW THEY MIGHT STRENGTHEN THEIR APPLICATION FOR FUTURE REFERENCE. UM, OUR APPLICANTS MUST ALSO, UM, PROVIDE DOCUMENTATION OF THEIR LEGAL BUSINESS STATUS AND, UH, LAND OWNERSHIP STATUS. AND THEN, UH, WE, WE WOULD REQUIRE THAT THEY HAVE A STRONG LOAN REPAYMENT PLAN. SO ELIGIBLE USE OF FUNDING WHEN WE TALK ABOUT OUR SMALL BUSINESS PROJECT, UM, STARTUP CAPITAL STARTUP FUNDING, UH, CAPITAL INFUSION INTO THE BUSINESS EQUIPMENT PURCHASE, INVENTORY PURCHASE, UM, THE PURCHASE OF AN EXISTING BUSINESS. SO WE HAVE MINIMUM AND MAXIMUM, UH, WE, OUR GOAL IS TO PROVIDE A MICRO LENDING SITUATION, SO BETWEEN 5,000 AND $50,000. AND WE ALSO WANT TO, UH, WE ALSO WANT TO REQUIRE THAT FOR EVERY $50,000 BORROWED THAT WE ARE SUPPORTING A LIVING WAGE JOB. NOT SAYING THAT THAT HAS TO BE THE SALARY, BUT THAT IT SUPPORTS A LIVING WAGE JOB. UM, THAT WAY, YOU KNOW, OUR GOAL BEING TO, TO, UM, AGAIN, CREATE ACCESS TO OPPORTUNITIES TO JOB OPPORTUNITIES HERE ON THE ISLAND AS WELL AS ACCESS TO CAPITAL. SO FOR, UM, OUR REAL ESTATE DEVELOPMENT LOAN FUND USES SITE DEVELOPMENT AND CONSTRUCTION, NEW CONSTRUCTION, UM, SUPPORT EXISTING PROPERTY ACQUISITION, UTILITY CONNECTION AND INFRASTRUCTURE. AND FOR THIS PARTICULAR PROGRAM, OUR OBJECTIVE IS TO PROVIDE A MINIMUM OF 50 AND A MAXIMUM OF 200,000 BASED ON OUR FUNDING AVAILABILITY FOR OUR SMALL BUSINESS LOAN PROGRAM. AND WE'LL DISCUSS BUDGET IN OUR NEXT MONTH'S MEETING. UM, BUT FOR OUR SMALL [00:15:01] BUSINESS LOAN PROGRAM, WE ARE DESIGNATING 500,000 FOR THAT PROGRAM AND FOR OUR REAL ESTATE DEVELOPMENT LOAN PROGRAM, A MILLION DESIGNATED FOR THAT. SO AGAIN, WITH THE MINIMUM FOR THE SMALL BUSINESS PROGRAM, BETWEEN FIVE AND 50,000, AND FOR OUR REAL ESTATE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM, 50 TO 200,000. NOW, I WILL ALSO, UM, ADD THE CAVEAT THAT DEPENDING ON OUR FUNDING AVAILABILITY, UM, AND THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WE WILL CONTINUE. WE WILL BE WORKING TO RAISE FUNDS TO KEEP THIS PROJECT ROLLING. HOWEVER, I ALSO DESIGNATED THIS AS A LOAN PROGRAM SO THAT THE MONEY CONTINUES TO COME BACK IN, EVEN IF WE DO NOT LEVY INTEREST, SO THAT THE MONEY COMES BACK IN AND WE CAN REDISTRIBUTE THOSE FUNDS INTO THE COMMUNITY AGAIN. SO THAT'S WHY, UM, MY PREFERENCE FOR THIS WAS A LOAN PROGRAM. I'M GONNA PAUSE RIGHT THERE AND ASK IF ANYONE HAS ANY QUESTIONS BEFORE I MOVE FORWARD, ALAN? YEAH. UM, SO I'M REALLY CURIOUS ABOUT THE UNDERWRITING SIDE OF IT. YOU KNOW, WHO, WHO, WHO WILL HANDLE THE UNDERWRITING, RIGHT? SO WHEN SOMEBODY MAKES AN APPLICATION, WHO UNDERWRITES THAT? UM, YOU KNOW, IS IT, IS IT THE BOARD? IS IT, YOU KNOW, ARE YOU WORKING WITH ANOTHER FINANCIAL INSTITUTION SO THAT THEY CAN REVIEW IT? UM, SO IF YOU START WITH THAT, I GOT A COUPLE OTHER QUESTIONS AS WELL. GOOD QUESTION. SO I'M DI DIRECTLY WORKING WITH OUR FINANCE DEPARTMENT TO PROVIDE SUPPORT IN THAT AREA. UM, WE HAVE NOT DESIGNATED EXACTLY WHO I HAVE HAD CONVERSATIONS WITH, WITH, UM, WITH, UH, MS. BURNETT TO DETERMINE WHAT STAFF MEMBER WOULD BE DIRECTLY ENGAGED IN THAT. BUT I DO HAVE A COMMITMENT FROM MY FINANCE DEPARTMENT TO SUPPORT ARE, ARE THERE GONNA BE UNDERWRITING GUIDELINES THAT WILL WE PUT INTO PLACE SO THAT WE MAKE CERTAIN THAT, YOU KNOW, ONE'S NOT BEING FAVORED OVER ANOTHER ONE THAT IT'S ALL STATUS QUO ACROSS THE BOARD AND, YOU KNOW, YOU YOU, YOU FILL IN THE BOXES. ABSOLUTELY. OKAY. ABSOLUTELY. HAVE YOU HAD ANY THOUGHTS, UM, GREAT PROGRAM, UM, ANY THOUGHTS OF OF WORKING WITH A LOCAL BANK THAT OFFERS SBA, UM, TO HELP MAYBE EXTEND THE DOLLARS A LITTLE BIT FURTHER MATCHING DOLLARS? ABSOLUTELY, ABSOLUTELY. SO, UH, ONE OF OUR PROGRAMS, UH, THAT WE WRAPPED UP IN NOVEMBER OF LAST YEAR INCLUDED, UH, TD BANK AS ONE POTENTIAL OUTSIDE LENDING INSTITUTION. I'VE ALSO HAD, UM, CONVERSATIONS WITH SOME OF THE OTHER LENDING INSTITUTIONS AROUND THE ISLAND. UM, AND I HAVEN'T HAD A FIRM COMMITMENT JUST YET, BUT THEY HAVE EXPRESSED INTEREST. SO I, I, I WON'T NAME THOSE INDIVIDUALS, BUT, BUT YES. AND THEN THE ONE, ONE LAST QUESTION, UM, YOU DON'T WANT CREDIT AS A DISQUALIFIER, BUT WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO, WHAT IS THE AVENUE TO HELP THEM UNDERSTAND WHAT THEIR CREDIT MEANS AND HOW TO IMPROVE, YOU KNOW, TO SET 'EM ON THE RIGHT PATH, YOU KNOW, SO, YOU KNOW, CREDIT ANALYSIS, UM, YOU KNOW, THERE'S WAYFINDERS FOR THAT AS WELL, BUT, UM, ALSO, UM, GROUPS THAT WILL HELP FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ABSOLUTELY. EVEN REPAIR YES. IF NECESSARY. GOOD QUESTION. AND SO, PART OF OUR GOAL IS TO BE A PARTNER IN THE COMMUNITY. SO SOME OF THOSE SAME LENDING INSTITUTIONS OFFER SOME OF THOSE, UH, CREDIT, UH, SUPPORT SERVICES. AND THEY HAVE COMMITTED TO WORKING TOWARDS THAT. A MATTER OF FACT, I WANT TO BEGIN A, UH, REAL ESTATE, UH, DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM WITH ONE OF THOSE LENDING INSTITUTIONS IN THE COMING MONTHS TO KIND OF TEE UP THIS PROGRAM AS WELL. SO WE DO HAVE A PRETTY STRONG COMMITMENT FROM SOME FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS TO SUPPORT THIS. I'M ALSO GOING TO, UM, TO LEAN INTO, UH, INTO OTHER ENTITIES AROUND THE ISLAND THAT CAN SUPPORT THAT SUCH AS, YOU KNOW, I MEAN, THERE ARE, YOU KNOW, YOU'VE GOT SCORE OUT THERE, YOU'VE GOT SEVERAL, UM, EVEN SEVERAL RETIRED EXECUTIVES THAT, UM, THAT HAVE OFFERED SOME, YOU KNOW, TO VOLUNTEER SOME TIME AND SUPPORT OF, OF OUR BUSINESSES HERE ON THE ISLAND. YEAH, I, I, I WOULD, UM, I'LL VOLUNTEER HIM , BUT TOM PENNS COULD BE A GREAT INDIVIDUAL TO HAVE CONVERSATIONS WITH AS WELL. OKAY. OKAY. THANK YOU. ALRIGHT, SO I HAVE A QUESTION AS TO ECHO WHAT THE MAYOR SAYS. UM, WHAT'S BEING PROPOSED IS, IS EXCELLENT. UM, BUT I HAVE A QUESTION, UM, FROM THE VIEWPOINT OF THE APPLICANTS, FOR THOSE WHO THIS IS THE FIRST TIME, IT, IT COULD BE INTIMIDATING FOR 'EM. UM, SO WHAT TYPE OF, UM, SESSIONS ARE, IS IS THERE PLAN AND EDUCATION PIECE SO THAT THEY COULD KNOW GOING INTO IT, UM, WHAT WE EXPECT FOR, FOR THEM TO DO IN ORDER TO BE SUCCESSFUL, TO TO TALK THEM THROUGH THEM SO THAT THEY WON'T APPEAR TO BE SO DAUNTING TO THEM SO THAT IT, THERE NEEDS TO BE AN EDUCATION PIECE, WHETHER JUST AS OPPOSED IN ADDITION TO JUST PUTTING THE INFORMATION OUT. [00:20:01] UM, IS THAT SOMETHING THAT'S PLANNED TO GET THEM IN TO HAVE THIS CONVERSATION? BECAUSE IF, FOR ME, IF IT WAS MY FIRST TIME DOING IT, AND IT IS JUST OVERWHELMING, I MEAN, IS THE, IS THAT A PART OF THE PLANNING AS WELL? CAN DEFINITELY MAKE THAT PART OF THE PLAN, YOU KNOW, IN SUPPORT OF WHAT PASTOR JOHNSON SAID? I THINK IT SHOULD BE, BECAUSE I THINK YOU WILL HAVE MORE OF A CHANCE OF SUCCESS AND IT MIGHT JUST BE AN INFORMATION SESSION. AND I'VE BEEN INVOLVED WITH THOSE WITH, WHEN WE'VE DONE GRANTS THROUGH THE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION TO SAY THAT THIS IS SOMETHING THAT YOU HAVE TO GO TO BEFORE YOU EVEN APPLY. ONE SECOND. THANK YOU FOR THE FEEDBACK. ANY OTHER FEEDBACK OR QUESTIONS? QUESTIONS? COUPLE. WAIT, GO AHEAD. MR. WHITE. SO THOMAS, UH, CAN YOU, WHAT'S THE LIVING WAGE? ARE WE GONNA DEFINE THAT AS LIKE A, IS IT A DOLLAR PER HOUR OR IS IT, YOU KNOW, NUMBER HOURS PER WEEK OR IS IT A SALARY? I HAVE NOT DEFINED THAT. OKAY. AND I, I REALLY DID NOT WANT TO GO DOWN THAT RABBIT HOLE. UM, BECAUSE THAT, FOR ME, THAT KIND OF GETS INTO BUSINESS OPERATIONS. I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT FOR THE MONEY THAT WE ARE LENDING, THAT IT IS SUPPORTIVE OF A JOB THAT THAT IS MAINTAINED HERE ON, ON HILTON HEAD ISLAND. OKAY. AND I, AND SOME OF THESE, I GUESS COULD BE, THEY'RE MORE UNDERWRITING ORIENTED AND I'M, I KNOW WE'RE NOT THERE. UM, SO IS IS THERE AN EXPECTATION LIKE OF WHAT THE DURATION OF THE LOANS WILL BE? YES. GOOD QUESTION. UM, IN MY MIND, AND THIS CAVEAT IS IT IS CURRENTLY BEING REVIEWED, UH, BY LEGAL CONSULT RIGHT NOW. SO, UH, BUT MY GOAL IS TO HAVE A LOAN PERIOD NOT TO EXCEED THREE YEARS DEPENDING ON LOAN AMOUNT. OF COURSE. IS IT, IS IT, AND IS THE EXPECTATION PRINCIPLE AND INTEREST EVERY MONTH, OR INTEREST ONLY? UM, I, I HAVE NOT EXPLORED THAT DEEP, THAT DEEP INTO, UH, INTO, UH, PRINCIPLE AND INTEREST ONLY, JUST, JUST YET. I'M NOT, I'M NOT QUITE THERE YET. OKAY. AND THEN LAST THING, 'CAUSE I KNOW YOU'RE NOT, WE'RE NOT QUITE THERE YET. WHEN, WHEN THINKING ABOUT FOLKS THAT, YOU KNOW, WHOSE CREDIT COULD BE SUBPAR, UM, I GUESS IF THEIR BUSINESS BUSINESSES NET INCOME OR PROJECTED NET INCOME CAN SERVICE THE LOAN, THAT'S SORT OF MORE OF A QUALIFIER FOR THOSE THAT, YOU KNOW, SAME WITH THE REAL ESTATE PROJECT. LIKE IF THEY'RE PROJECTED INCOME RIGHT. CAN ACTUALLY SERVICE IT. I MEAN, THAT KIND OF CAN HELP TO OFFSET THE LOWER CREDIT, IF, YOU KNOW, AND THEN THERE'S A REQUIREMENT THAT THEY HAVE TO GO THROUGH THE CREDIT REPAIR PROCESS, NOT A, IT'S NOT OPTIONAL. IT'S LIKE, WELL, YEAH, YEAH, YOU GOTTA, YOU GOTTA CLEAN THIS UP. RIGHT? RIGHT. IT, IT, IT'S, IT IS NOT MEANT TO BE, YOU KNOW, UM, EXCLUDE, YOU KNOW, TO EXCLUDE ANYONE. YEAH. BUT JUST TO KIND OF, YOU KNOW, WORK TO SUPPORT THEM AS THEY GROW AND DEVELOP THEIR BUSINESS. AND I GUESS, ARE WE, I KNOW WE TALKED A LITTLE BIT ABOUT, UH, POTENTIAL EQUITY PARTICIPATION, BUT IS THAT WE'RE NOT THERE YET? NO, THAT WILL BE DEFINITELY WRITTEN INTO, INTO, UM, INTO THE ACTUAL LOAN PROGRAM. YOU KNOW, THO THOSE ARE SOME OF THE, THE, UM, THE INVESTMENT OR, OR THE OPPORTUNITIES THAT WE WILL HAVE AS A CDC IN SUPPORT OF BUSINESSES. SO, SO, YOU KNOW, UPON APPLICATION THAT INDIVIDUAL COULD DETERMINE, YOU KNOW, HOW THEY WANT TO PURSUE THIS. WOULD THEY LIKE TO PURSUE THIS AS A STRAIGHT LOAN, OR WOULD THEY LIKE TO PURSUE THIS WITH THE CDC? MAYBE TAKING AN EQUITY POSITION AT WHAT, AT SOME POINT, UM, THAT BUSINESS COULD, YOU KNOW, CASH US OUT OF, OF THE OPPORTUNITY. SO YEAH, THOSE, THOSE ARE ACTUALLY OPTIONS THAT WE CAN CONSIDER. MM-HMM. I THINK WE HAVE A, A, A WIDE RANGE OF FLEXIBILITY AS A COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION TO DO THAT. AND ON THE DEVELOPMENT SIDE, ARE WE, I MEAN, IS IT, ARE WE PRIORITIZING PROJECTS THAT ARE GOING TO BE LIKE RENTAL, LIKE COMMERCIAL AND RESIDENTIAL RENTAL AS OPPOSED TO, UM, THEY'RE JUST DEVELOPING TO, YOU KNOW, TO, TO SELL EITHER LOTS OR HOMES OR WE'RE JUST OPEN TO ALL? WELL, MY, MY GOAL, MY PERSONAL GOAL, BECAUSE WE HAVE SUCH, UM, A NEED FOR LONG-TERM RENTAL HERE ON THE ISLAND INSTITUTE, IS TO DEFINITELY SUPPORT, UM, THOSE PROJECTS THAT, UM, THAT, UH, PROVIDE THE LONGER TERM RENTAL OPPORTUNITY, AS WELL AS, UM, SOME HOME OWNERSHIP OPPORTUNITIES. THAT'S ACTUALLY ONE OF THE, ONE OF THE FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS THAT I'M IN COMMUNICATION WITH IS, UM, IS ACTUALLY VERY INTERESTED IN, UH, WORKING ON HOME OWNERSHIP. SO I DEFINITELY WANT TO PRIORITIZE [00:25:01] THAT SPECIFICALLY FOR, UH, FIRST TIME HOME BUYERS AT A LATER, AT A LATER DATE. I DO HAVE SOME OTHER INFORMATION THAT WE'LL SHARE, UH, RELATED TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF, OF, UM, OF, UM, HOMES. I WONDER IF WE MAKE IT AT LEAST ON THE, THE REAL ESTATE DEVELOPMENT SIDE THAT IT'S CLEAR THAT, YOU KNOW, THE PRIORITY OR IT'S FOR IF YOU'RE DEVELOPING YOUR SITE FOR RENTAL VERSUS, RIGHT. 'CAUSE YOU KNOW, IT COULD BE, IF, IF, IF THE INTENT IS NOT TO ALLOW FOLKS TO FLIP, THEN WE PROBABLY WANT TO, YOU KNOW, EITHER YOU'RE CREATING, I GUESS IT'S TOUGH, RIGHT? 'CAUSE WE WANT RENTAL, BUT THEN, YOU KNOW, SOMEONE WANTS TO BUILD A, A FOR SALE HELP PROJECT ON THEIR PROPERTY, UH, WE COULD DEFINITELY HELP THEM THERE AS WELL. SO YEAH, SOMETHING FOR US TO THINK ABOUT, LIKE WHAT TYPE OF DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS DO WE WANNA SUPPORT? ABSOLUTELY. YES, SIR. SO, SO THE FOLLOW UP ON MY, ON MY QUESTION. SAY FOR EXAMPLE, YOU HAVE A PERSON WHO CHECKS ALL OF THE BOXES THAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR TO GET THIS DONE, BUT HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO CLUE HOW TO, IS THERE AN AN AVENUE FOR TEACHING, FOR TRAINING, FOR WHATEVER WORD YOU WANNA USE FOR THIS PERSON TO BE CERTAIN THAT THIS PERSON KNOWS WHAT TO DO TO PUT ONE FOOT IN FRONT OF THE OTHER, GET IT DONE? WE CAN DEFINITELY WORK WITH SOME OF OUR COMMUNITY BASED PARTNERS, AGAIN, WITH SOME OF THE LENDING INSTITUTIONS THAT WE, UM, THAT WE HAVE RELATIONSHIPS WITH TO PROVIDE THAT LEVEL A, A LEVEL OF, OF TRAINING, A LEVEL OF, OF EDUCATION, FINANCIAL EDUCATION. UM, YES, WE CAN DO THAT. I DON'T, UH, YOU KNOW, AS A, AS A LENDING, YOU KNOW, AS, AS THE LENDER AND, AND AS THE CDC, UM, I DON'T KNOW, ESPECIALLY RIGHT NOW, I DON'T KNOW IF THAT WE HAVE, WE DO NOT HAVE THE DIRECT RESOURCES TO ENGAGE IN A LONG-TERM EDUCATIONAL PROCESS, BUT WE DO HAVE THE RELATIONSHIPS WITH COMMUNITY-BASED PARTNERS TO SUPPORT THAT. AND THEY WOULD BE WILLING TO DO THAT. THEY ARE WILLING TO DO THAT. AGAIN, WE HAD A A A SIX PART SERIES, UM, LAST YEAR MONEY TALKS, THE MONEY TALK SERIES. SO THAT WAS A SOFT KICKOFF TO, TO THESE PROJECTS THAT WE'RE PUSHING IN 2025. SO I'M CONFIDENT THAT WE HAVE THE RELATIONSHIPS IN THE COMMUNITY TO MOVE THESE, UH, TO MOVE THESE THINGS FORWARD, SPECIFICALLY WITH SOME OF THE LENDING INSTITUTIONS. THE, THERE ARE THIRD PARTY EDUCATIONAL SERVICES THAT ARE OUT THERE THAT CAN BE UTILIZED EITHER FOR BUSINESS, UH, DEVELOPMENT OR HOME OWNERSHIP. SO THOSE, THOSE PARTIES DO EXIST. I'M CONFIDENT THAT WE'LL BE ABLE TO PUT IT TOGETHER. HAD SOMETHING I SORT OF, UM, A FOLLOW UP ON A LOT OF WHAT'S BEEN SAID. UH, I'D ASK THAT MR. BOXLEY FIRM UP THOSE, UH, THIRD PARTY RESOURCES AT THE MOMENT. YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY, UM, IT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT WE WANT TO TAKE IN, IN-HOUSE OR AT LEAST NOT YET, RIGHT. UM, BUT IF, IF WE SORT OF FIRM THEM, FIRM THAT UP AND FORMALIZE IT, I THINK IT'S, IT, IT GETS BACK TO PASTOR'S POINT OF AS PEOPLE APPROACH, YOU KNOW, I, I WOULD RATHER BE OKAY, YOU'RE COMING, YOU'RE ASKING, YOU'RE NOT QUITE SURE, ALTHOUGH THE CDC DOESN'T HAVE IT AS AN IN-HOUSE, UH, OFFERING, BUT WE ARE PARTNERS WITH SO AND SO. OKAY. THAT WAY YOU STILL DON'T HAVE TO DEAL WITH THIS SORT OF MISTRUST THAT WE KNOW CONTINUES TO PERPETUATE ITSELF. UM, THE, UH, AS FAR AS, UH, YOU KNOW, COMING UP WITH CRITERIA, I THINK WE NEED TO OBVIOUSLY MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE VERY TIGHT ON THAT. UM, BUT TO MR. WHITE'S POINT, UM, SO I GOT AN EMAIL THE OTHER DAY THAT SAID THAT, UM, THEY KNOW THAT I AM, UM, NOT ONLY FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING, BUT THAT'S THE MOST IMPORTANT THING TO ME. OKAY. UM, NOT QUITE SURE THAT THAT'S A HUNDRED PERCENT TRUE, BUT IT IS IMPORTANT TO ME. AND PART OF THAT, UH, CORRESPONDENCE WAS, UH, UM, ALSO RECOGNIZING, COMPLAINING ABOUT THE APPEARANCE OF MOBILE HOMES ON OUR ISLAND, AND PARTICULARLY ON THEIR STREET IN THIS PARTICULAR CASE. RIGHT. UM, AND WE'VE ALWAYS SAID THAT WE KNOW THAT FOLKS ARE PARTICIPATING IN THE DEMAND FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING THROUGH THE RENTAL OF THEIR PROPERTY AND HAVING MOBILE HOMES. OKAY. IT'S A THING THAT WORKS. UM, [00:30:01] THIS, THIS PROGRAM WILL HELP US MOVE AWAY FROM THAT PRODUCT ON HILTON HEAD IF WE PERFORM IN THE RIGHT WAY. OKAY. UM, SO THE POINT OF CRITERIA AND QUALIFICATION, UH, I THINK WE NEED TO PUT A LITTLE BIT MORE THOUGHT INTO MAYBE THERE'S A, UM, YOU KNOW, SORT OF BONUS POINTS , IF YOU ARE PROVIDING NOT JUST LONG-TERM RENTAL, BUT ONE THAT IS AFFORDABLE FOR FOLKS. OKAY. UM, THROWING THAT OUT TO SORT OF PROVOKE THOUGHT WITH THE COMMITTEE ON THAT ONE. UM, BECAUSE, UM, OBVIOUSLY WE DON'T WANT TO SAY TO PEOPLE, DON'T BRING A MOBILE HOME ONTO YOUR PROPERTY, BUT TO ME THIS IS AN ALTERNATIVE AND GIVEN SOME BONUS POINTS FOR THAT ALTERNATIVE, MAYBE FOLKS WOULD BE MORE PRONE TO GO IN THIS DIRECTION. AFFORDABLE. YOU MEAN THAT THE THE RENT WOULD BE AFFORDABLE? YES. SO THEN, SO THEN WE'RE INTO THE, THE AMIS, RIGHT? LIKE THE AREA MEETING INCOME CAPS OF LIKE IF IT'S A THREE BEDROOM HOME, RIGHT? YOU'RE, YOU KNOW, THERE'S, THERE'S THE RENT LIMIT. SO THEN YOU GET INTO THE, LIKE, SORT OF THE REASON WHY I THINK IT'S HARD, LIKE WHY THE MOBILE HOME PRODUCT WORKS FOR AFFORDABLE VERSUS MARKET RATE IS BECAUSE MARKET RATE COST DOESN'T SUPPORT AFFORDABLE. I THINK THAT WE WOULD BE IN THE SAME, YOU KNOW, I THOUGHT THINKING LOUD WE'LL BE IN THE SAME POSITION OR AS THE MARKET RATE COSTS POTENTIALLY FOR, UH, A UNIT IS GREATER THAN THE AFFORDABLE RENT. SO TYPICALLY THE, THE, THE CDCS THAT ARE MY CLIENTS, WHAT HAPPENS HERE IS THAT THAT'S WHERE LIKE THE CITY COMES IN, LIKE, WELL, WELL, IF IT COSTS 300,000 TO DO THIS PROJECT FOR THIS UNIT AND THE AFFORDABLE RENT TO MAKE IT AFFORDABLE, IT NEEDS TO BE ONE 50, THEN IT'S SUBSIDIZED BY WHAT YOU SUBSIDIZED DOWN TO ONE 50. SO IT COSTS THE DEVELOPER ONE 50, RIGHT? AND THEN THEY CAN CHARGE THAT. SO I WONDER IN TANDEM WITH, YOU KNOW, THE FUND THAT YOU GUYS HAVE THAT YOU THAT OR THAT WE HAVE AS A TOWN, COULD THERE BE, IF WE'RE ASKING OR PUTTING THAT OUT THERE, WERE WE WILLING TO DO THE SUBSIDY MARKDOWN TO WHERE THAT UNIT COULD BE AFFORDABLE? BECAUSE I THINK IT'S ASKING A LOT TO PAY MARKET RATE AND THEN CHARGING AFFORDABLE RENT WHEN THE MARKET'S TELLING US THAT THE TRAILERS, RIGHT. 'CAUSE THE TRAILER'S 35,000, 35,000, I CAN CHARGE A 40,000, I CAN CHARGE 1500, 300,000 OR TWO 50 TO BUILD THAT UNIT. I CAN'T CHARGE 1500. THAT'S A VERY GOOD POINT. AND I THINK THAT THIS IS SOMETHING THAT AS WE MOVE FORWARD, UM, WE CAN DEFINITELY WORK WITH OUR, WITH OUR TOWN GOVERNMENT TO, TO SEE WHAT THE, WHAT TYPE OF OPPORTUNITY, UH, EXISTS IN THE FUTURE. BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT THE, THAT'S WHAT THE, I BELIEVE THE, THE TOWN INVESTED IN THE PROJECT THAT YOU'RE THE CDC THAT STARTED BY SOME OF THE LOCAL HOSPITALITY GROUPS WHERE THEY'RE ACQUIRING CONDOS OR HOUSES AND THEY'RE ASKING FOR SUPPORT TO BE ABLE TO BUY THAT DOWN, TO BE ABLE TO CHARGE THE AFFORDABLE RENT. SO I WOULD, THIS SEEMS LIKE IT WOULD BE SOMETHING SIMILAR WHERE IT'S A-A-C-D-C SPONSORED PROJECT, IT'S A DEAL, AND WE'RE ABLE TO GET UNITS, BUT WE NEED TO BUY THEM DOWN TO THE AFFORDABLE RENT. THANK YOU. THANK YOU FOR THAT, FOR THAT FEEDBACK. UH, ANDRE, AND I THINK, I THINK THAT THERE'S DEFINITELY ROOM FOR THAT. UM, AND WE JUST ARE SO FORTUNATE, AGAIN, TO HAVE, UM, OUR MAYOR AND, UH, OUR MAYOR PRO TEM ON OUR BOARD. SO WE, WE'VE GOT SOME DIRECT ACCESS AND WE'VE GOT COUNCILWOMAN TURNER HERE, UM, LISTENING AS WELL AND LISTENING IN AND THERE, THERE TO HELP US AS WELL WITH, WITH SOME OF THESE. SO I, I, I THINK THAT IN THE FUTURE WE CAN DEFINITELY WORK TOWARDS SOME TYPE OF A AMICABLE, UH, SOLUTION. YEAH. THE OTHER PIECE I WANTED TO BRING UP, UM, AND SO WE TALK ABOUT, YOU KNOW, SORT OF THIRD PARTIES THAT WILL HELP WITH SUCCESS. UM, AND I'M ON THE REAL REAL ESTATE SIDE NOW. UM, THE TOWN DOES HAVE THE DESIGN STUDIO. I'M JUST WANTING TO UNDERSTAND OUT LOUD HOW CLOSELY THIS POTENTIAL PROGRAM WILL BE WORKING WITH THE TOWN DESIGN STUDIO ON A POTENTIAL SITE IF WE'RE GOING TO, YOU KNOW, HELP SOMEONE DEVELOP IT. YEAH, ABSOLUTELY. I SEE THIS AS A, A FURTHER COLLABORATIVE POINT FOR THE DESIGN STUDIO. AND WE HAVE, UM, MS. MS. STEWART HERE, MRS. STEWART HERE, UM, THAT WORKS HEAVILY, UH, AS HEAVILY ENGAGED IN, UH, THE COMMUNITY AND MAKING REFERRALS TO THE DESIGN STUDIO. UM, AND SHE'S ACTUALLY, UH, PART OF, OF THE, UM, THE COMMITTEE THAT WILL PERFORM THE, UM, OUR ACTUAL [00:35:01] VETTING OF THE APPLICANT. SO, SO AGAIN, WE HAVE THAT CLOSE CONNECTIVITY TO THE DESIGN STUDIO. THIS CAN ALSO WORK TO, UH, TO YOUR POINT, UH, MR. BROWN WORKED TO ALLEVIATE, UH, SOME OF THE COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH DEVELOPMENT AS WELL, UH, TO BE ABLE TO HAVE SOME PRELIMINARY, UH, SITE LAYOUTS THAT ARE, THAT ARE DONE, YOU KNOW, THAT CAN KIND OF, UM, SAVE SOME, SOME MONEY ON THE PART OF, OF THE DEVELOPER SPECIFICALLY IN THE HISTORIC NEIGHBORHOODS. MR. BOXLEY, I JUST WANT TO TOUCH ON PRODUCT OFFERING. YOU KNOW, WHAT, WHAT IS IT THAT YOU'RE GONNA, YOU KNOW, WHAT IS GONNA BE OFFERED WITHIN THE BUSINESS SIDE, THE REAL ESTATE SIDE? UM, WHEN, WHEN I TALK REALLY ABOUT THE, THE REAL ESTATE SIDE, IT NEEDS TO, TO IDENTIFY EVERYTHING, RIGHT? AND A PRODUCT OFFERING IS TO, TO WHAT IT IS THAT WE WILL DO, WHAT WE WON'T DO, UM, WHAT IS IMMEDIATELY A NO, UM, IT, YOU KNOW, I DON'T WANNA BE HAPHAZARD IN THE, IN THE DECISIONS THAT ARE MADE, UM, ON THE REAL ESTATE, BUT THEN ALSO, YOU KNOW, HOW DO YOU FILE YOUR, THE LIENS ON THE PROPERTY SO THAT YOU, YOU MAKE CERTAIN YOU'VE GOT A VESTED INTEREST IN IT. UM, WHAT IS, UM, YOU KNOW, WHAT ARE THE TERMS, YOU KNOW, EVERYTHING ABOUT IT. BECAUSE IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WHEN SOMEBODY GOES IN, UM, AGAIN, I DO THIS FOR A LIVING AND, AND I'VE GOT THOUSANDS OF PRODUCTS WHICH I REVIEW, UM, TO MAKE CERTAIN I FIND THE BEST HOME FOR SOMEBODY. AND IT, IT IS A DAUNTING TASK TO HAVE ALL OF THAT PULLED TOGETHER. SO WHEN WE, WHEN WE LOOK TO CREATE THE FULL PRODUCT OFFERING AND THE FULL UNDERWRITING GUIDES, YOU KNOW, HAVING THAT THIRD PARTY EXPERTISE, THEY'RE, YOU KNOW, FINANCE IS GREAT, BUT THEY'RE NOT IN THE WORLD OF UNDERWRITING. UM, TOTALLY DIFFERENT ASPECT. AND THE, THE ABILITY TO REPAY, UM, IS REALLY IMPORTANT BECAUSE THE LAST THING YOU WANT TO DO IS PUT SOMEBODY IN A POSITION WHERE YOU'RE ACTUALLY CAUSING MORE HARM THAN GOOD. UM, SO I, I, I, I THINK THAT, THAT THOSE GUIDELINES NEED TO BE CREATED AND REALLY VETTED, UM, SO THAT WE'RE DOING THE, THE RIGHT JOB. UM, AND I WOULD, I WOULD IMAGINE IT WOULD TAKE SEVERAL MONTHS TO CREATE THAT PRODUCT GUIDELINE. UM, SO THAT IT'S FAIR LENDING. I MEAN, YOU'VE GOT ALL THAT, YOU'VE GOT A LOT OF IT THAT COMES INTO PLAY, EVEN THOUGH IT'S MAYBE A GRANT TYPE SITUATION. BUT, UM, EVEN, EVEN FROM OUR, YOU KNOW, IF IT'S MR. COLTRANE THAT'S REVIEWING IT, HE UNDERSTANDS THAT REAL ESTATE WORLD WELL. UM, BUT, BUT I JUST, I WANNA BE CAREFUL THAT WE'RE NOT CREATING SOMETHING THAT COULD CAUSE SOME ISSUES, UM, OR THOSE UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES. UM, SO I JUST THANK YOU. IT, IT, IT'S A, IT'S A VERY TIGHT WORLD, UM, WHEN YOU START LENDING FUNDS OUT AND WHAT YOU EXPECT FROM, FROM THE BORROWER. SO THANK YOU FOR THAT FEEDBACK AND POINT WELL TAKEN. UM, OH, GO AHEAD. I THINK WHAT I, WHAT I'M HEARING, THE, THE, THE MAYOR SAY, UM, AND, UM, COME BACK FORWARD WITH YOUR BUDGET THAT, YOU KNOW, YOU DO HAVE A RESOURCE SET ASIDE SO THAT YOU CAN ENGAGE WITH THAT SUBJECT MATTER EXPERT TO GIVE THE CONFIDENCE THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT. RIGHT. OKAY. FAIR ENOUGH. AND THOMAS, I BELIEVE THAT WHEN YOU DO COME BACK, ALL OF THOSE ELEMENTS, I KNOW WE KEEP TALKING ABOUT IT, BUT YOU HAVE TO HAVE IT TIGHT TO THE POINT AND, AND VETTED BY A THIRD PARTY BEFORE YOU COME BACK TO US SAYING, THIS IS IT. WE NEED TO DON'T DETAIL. AND I THINK PEOPLE ARE JUMPING AHEAD. AND I KNOW THAT'S IN YOUR MIND 'CAUSE YOU AND I HAVE TALKED ABOUT THESE THINGS, BUT THEY NEED BE PUT ON PAPER. THANK YOU. WHAT OTHER COMMENTS DO WE HAVE FROM MITTY? UH, I'D LIKE TO OPEN THIS ITEM UP FOR PUBLIC COMMENT IF THERE'S ANY. ALRIGHT, THOMAS, WE CAN MOVE [4.c. Real-Estate Loan Program Update - Thomas Boxley, Executive Director for the Gullah Geechee Historic Neighborhoods Community Development Corporation] ON. ALRIGHT, SO, UM, MOVING ON. UM, THERE ARE A COUPLE OF JUST A, A COUPLE OF SLIDES REMAINING RELATED TO THE PROCESS. SO OUR INITIAL, UH, THE FUNDING PROCESS, UM, WE, WE, THE APPLICATION IS SUBMITTED. UH, WE HAVE AN INITIAL REVIEW AT WHICH POINT WE, WE CHECK FOR ALL ITEMS, UM, THAT ARE REQUIRED WITHIN THE APPLICATION. UH, AND THEN WE SUBMIT IT TO THE COMMITTEE THAT WOULD CONSIST OF, YOU KNOW, THE INTERNAL COMMITTEE OF MYSELF, UM, MS. MRS. STEWART, AND A MEMBER OF THE FINANCE TEAM. BUT I'M ALSO HEARING FROM, UM, FROM TODAY'S DISCUSSION THAT I MAY, UM, EVEN NEED TO CONSIDER, YOU KNOW, SOMEONE WITH THE EXPERTISE [00:40:01] IN UNDERWRITING TO MAKE PART OF THAT COMMITTEE FROM, FROM THE OUTSIDE. SO, UM, SO I'VE MADE NOTE OF THAT AS WELL. UM, AND WE, UM, THE COMMITTEE WILL REVIEW AND SCORE BASED ON OUR CRITERIA. UH, THRESHOLD SCORES WILL MOVE FORWARD FOR A DISPOSITION OF EITHER, UM, UH, FUNDED OR DECLINED. UM, AND ONCE A APPLICANT, UM, IS APPROVED FOR FUNDING, THEY'LL MOVE INTO THE CLOSING PHASE, WHICH WILL INVOLVE, UM, A DEEP DIVE INTO THE REQUIREMENTS, THE UNDERWRITING REQUIREMENTS, ET CETERA. UM, UM, THAT WILL ALSO INCLUDE, YOU KNOW, THE TERMS OF THE LOAN, ALL, ALL OF THOSE DETAILS. UM, AND IF DECLINED, THE APPLICANT WILL BE GIVEN FEEDBACK FOR THE IMPROVEMENT OF THEIR APPLICATION FOR A FUTURE FUNDING ROUND. AND THEN WE'LL, UM, FINAL, FINAL PORTIONS OF THOSE IS, UM, THE APPLICANT AND OR AWARDEE POTENTIAL AWARDEE PRESENTING TO THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS, THE FULL BOARD, AND THEN, UM, THE AWARDEE CLOSING THE LOAN. UM, NEXT UP. UM, SO AGAIN, IF WE HAVE, UM, AGAIN, SPECIFICALLY ON THE DENIAL SIDE, BECAUSE I REALLY WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE STRENGTHENING AND PROVIDING OPPORTUNITIES FOR FOLKS TO GROW. SO, AND I KNOW THAT, UM, UM, UM, MR. JOHNSON MADE, MADE A, UM, A, A BASICALLY A PLEA FOR INDIVIDUALS TO BE ABLE TO HAVE THAT EDUCATION AND SUPPORT SO THAT IT'S NOT SUCH A DAUNTING TASK ON THE FRONT END, BUT ALSO ON THE BACK END, IF AN INDIVIDUAL IS, IS DECLINED IN THE FIRST ROUND, WE WANNA BE ABLE TO PROVIDE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR THEM TO STRENGTHEN THEIR APPLICATION AND, UM, AND REAPPLY IN THE FUTURE. SO, SO THAT'S SOMETHING THAT I THINK IS VERY, VERY IMPORTANT. UM, SO, UM, OUR GOAL IS TO, UM, AGAIN, NOT TO BE OVER SO OVERWHELMED WITH, WITH APPLICATIONS, BECAUSE I DO ANTICIPATE THAT ONCE WE OPEN THIS UP, WE, THERE, THERE IS A SIGNIFICANT NEED IN THE COMMUNITY FOR, UH, SUPPORT OF SMALL BUSINESSES AS WELL AS FOR REAL ESTATE DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS. SO, UM, WE'LL RECEIVE THOSE APPLICATIONS ON A ROLLING BASIS. WE'LL FORMALLY REVIEW THEM IN, IN, UH, MARCH, JUNE, SEPTEMBER IN DECEMBER AND LOOK TO AWARD THEM, UH, APRIL, JULY, OCTOBER AND JANUARY. UM, SO THAT'S A PRELIMINARY TYPE OF SCHEDULE TO LOOK AT FOR THE WAY THAT WE REVIEW AND THE WAY THAT WE AWARD, WHICH GIVES US BASICALLY A MONTH, A MONTH IN BETWEEN CYCLES TO, UM, YOU KNOW, TO KIND OF FINALIZE AND HASH OUT THE, THE DETAILS RELATED TO UNDERWRITING, ET CETERA, FOR THOSE APPLICANTS THAT ARE AWARDED. UH, SO THAT'S KIND OF THE THOUGHT PROCESS ON THE, ON THE PROCESS AND CYCLES. UM, AND THEN OUR, AGAIN, UM, OUR TEAM WOULD, THE INTERNAL REVIEW TEAM WOULD CONSIST OF A REPRESENTATIVE OF THE FINANCIAL DEPART OF THE FINANCE DEPARTMENT, MYSELF AND MS. STEWART. AND AGAIN, I, I DEFINITELY HEARD WHAT, WHAT IS BEING SAID TODAY AND WOULD WORK TO INCLUDE SOMEONE THAT HAS A SPECIFIC AREA OF EXPERTISE IN UNDERWRITING. SO THANK YOU FOR THAT FEEDBACK. ANY FURTHER QUESTIONS? YES, SIR. A QUICK QUESTION ON THE, THE FUNDING PROCESS. THERE ARE SEVERAL STEPS IN BETWEEN INITIATING THE APPLICATION AND AWARDEE CLOSES LOAN. WHAT TIMEFRAME ARE WE TALKING ABOUT? 'CAUSE THAT COULD CONCEIVABLY MONTHS. I MEAN, WE, ARE WE TALKING THIS SIX WEEKS? I MEAN, BECAUSE THERE TO BE SOME EXPECTATION ON THE FRONT END OF THE APPLICANT AS WELL AS TO HOW LONG IS THIS GONNA TAKE? I DON'T ANTICIPATE THAT IT WOULD, IT WOULD TAKE MORE THAN FOUR WEEKS ACTUALLY. I THINK THAT WE CAN MOVE THROUGH THAT PROCESS. UM, I THINK WE CAN MOVE THROUGH THE PROCESS. I I WOULD ALMOST SAY THAT, UM, THE RESPONSIVENESS OF THE APPLICANT WOULD DETERMINE THE TIMEFRAME THAT IT WOULD TAKE. WELL THAT'S, AND THAT'S A VERY GOOD POINT TOO, RIGHT? SPEAKING FROM HISTORY. YEAH. YEAH. I'VE DONE 'EM AS QUICK AS 11 DAYS AND AS LONG AS 90 DAYS AND BLAH. OKAY. AND THE GOAL IS TO STAY AWAY FROM THE 90 DAYS . , YES. BUT THANK YOU. THANK YOU FOR THAT. BRINGING THAT TO LIGHT. THE WHAT? ANDRE? OH, OKAY. I WAS JUST THINKING THAT 11 TO 90, LIKE, PEOPLE WANT , RIGHT? YEAH. THEY WANT, THEY WANT A BUSINESS INVESTMENT, THEY WANT A LOAN, BUT THEN THEY DON'T PROVIDE DOCUMENTATION, RIGHT? THAT'S IT. AND THAT'S PART OF THE EDUCATION PIECE. THAT'S SO THAT THEY, THEY WILL GO IN IT DEPENDING ON, ON YOU HOW QUICK THIS THING [00:45:01] HAPPENS. SO THAT'S PART OF THE EDUCATION PIECE AS WELL. THAT'S PART OF THE EDUCATION PIECE. AND THAT'S AN OPPORTUNITY FOR LEARNING AND GROW AND AN OPPORTUNITY TO APPLY IN THE FUTURE, SHOULD, YOU KNOW, SHOULD THAT NOT, YOU KNOW, SHOULD THEY NOT SUBMIT INFORMATION IN A TIMELY FASHION. AND I'LL ALSO STATE IT, IT IT IS UNDERSTANDING WHAT INFORMATION IS NEEDED UPFRONT TO BE ABLE TO MAKE A DECISION. AND SOMETIMES YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT IS UNTIL YOU GET INTO IT. SO AGAIN, IT IS PART OF THAT, THAT EDUCATION PIECE, UM, AND HAVING THE PERSON THAT IS REVIEWING IT, THAT HAS THAT KNOWLEDGE, RIGHT? BECAUSE ONE THING THAT YOU SEE MIGHT CREATE A QUESTION ON SOMETHING ELSE THAT YOU WOULD NEVER THINK OF, BUT IT, IT TAKES THAT THIRD EYE THAT TAKES A LOOK AT IT AND GOES, WELL, THIS IS TELLING ME SOMETHING ELSE. SO THAT, THAT'S WHERE YOU'VE JUST GOTTA BE A LITTLE BIT DILIGENT IN HOW YOU, YOU PROCESS THE UNDERWRITING ASPECT. AGAIN, THANK YOU, UH, MAYOR PERRY FOR YOUR EXPERTISE IN THIS. AND AGAIN, I, I SEE STRONG VALUE IN YOU BEING HERE, . AND I'LL DO MY BEST, BEST TO NOT OVERWHELM YOU BECAUSE I KNOW YOU, YOU, YOU'RE BUSY WITH, UH, YOUR DAY JOB FOR ONE AND, UM, THE BUSINESS OF THE TOWN. SO THANK YOU, MR. BOXY WILL CALL ON YOU. TAKE MY WORD FOR IT. I DID HAVE ONE ITEM. UM, DEWEY, AS, AS LONG AS THE, THE ZONING CODE ALLOWS FOR THE TYPE OF BUSINESS TO BE OPERATED ON THAT PROPERTY, WE'RE OKAY WITH ANY TYPE OF, SO LONG AS THE ZONING CODE. YES, ABSOLUTELY. OKAY. I'M GONNA AGAIN, OPEN IT UP FOR PUBLIC COMMENT 'CAUSE THOMAS HAD A ENDING TO HIS PRESENTATION AND WE MOVED RIGHT ALONG. ANY HEARING? NONE. THEN THOMAS, WE'RE READY FOR YOUR FINAL ITEM. MOVING INTO ITEM, UH, WE'RE [5. Consideration of Proposed Meeting Dates for 2025] MOVING TO ITEM FIVE A, WHICH IS OUR, UM, UM, MEETINGS FOR THE, UM, CALENDAR YEAR, UH, 2025. UM, YOU SHOULD HAVE AN HOUR. OH, THERE IT IS ON THE SCREEN. OUR MEETING DATES, OUR REMAINING MEETING DATES AS SCHEDULED. UM, MARCH THROUGH, UH, YOU KNOW, TODAY'S THE 19TH, SO MARCH THROUGH JANUARY 21ST, 2026. AND WE DO HAVE, AGAIN, A SCHEDULE THAT WILL INCLUDE SOME COMMUNITY BASED MEETINGS. NOW WE'LL ADD THE CAVEAT THAT OUR APRIL 16TH MEETING, UH, AS IS SCHEDULED IS THE WEEK OF HERITAGE. SO WE WILL NEED TO FIGURE OUT AN ALTERNATIVE DATE FOR THAT MEETING. UH, THAT, AGAIN, THAT'S THE WEEK OF HERITAGE. I DON'T WANT TO GET INTO , GET INTO, UH, INTO THAT. I CAN'T MAKE THAT WEEK. YES. . YES. SO, SO WE'LL NEED TO EVEN JUST MAKING THAT NUMBER RIGHT, RIGHT, RIGHT. MAKE IT KNOWN UP FRONT. SO I, UH, HAVE THE, LET'S HAVE THE MEETING AT THE HERITAGE . YEAH. 18TH HOLE. WE'LL FIGURE OUT HOW PRODUCTIVE THAT WOULD BE. UM, BUT IF, IF ANYONE, AND WE CAN, WE DON'T HAVE TO ADDRESS THAT DATE, BUT WHAT I, WHAT I WILL DO, AND, UH, WHAT, UM, MS. IRVIN AND I WILL DO IS PROPOSE A COUPLE OF DIFFERENT DATES, UH, THAT WE COULD HAVE AN ALTERNATIVE MEETING OR WHERE WE CAN FOREGO THAT MEETING IN APRIL. SO AS I'M LOOKING AT THESE MEETING DATES, I, I UNDERSTAND THOMAS, AND YOU'VE DONE THIS, IF WE DO NOT NEED TO MEET, UM, THEN YOU NEED TO MAKE SURE THIS COMMITTEE, 'CAUSE ALL OF US HAVE OTHER OBLIGATIONS. YES. SO WE NEED TO, AS WE HAVE BEEN DOING, LOOK AT THE AGENDA EACH TIME TO SEE IF IT'S SUFFICIENT TO HAVE A MEETING. ABSOLUTELY. OTHER THAN THE EVENING MEETINGS WITH THE COMMUNITY BASE. YES. MM-HMM . I I WANTED TO JUST PAUSE A MOMENT ON THE ASTERISK, THE EVENING MEETINGS. UM, I, I FOUND, UH, GREAT SUCCESS IN SOME OF THE COMMUNITY MEETINGS THAT THE TOWN HAS DONE, UM, IN, IN MY DISTRICT. OKAY. UM, OBVIOUSLY SOME OF THOSE HAVE BEEN WELL ATTENDED DUE TO, UH, MAYBE A, A MINDSET OF CRISIS. OKAY. . UM, AND I GUESS WHAT I'M WANTING US TO SORT OF THINK THROUGH HERE IS HOW DO WE USE THOSE DATES AS OPPORTUNITIES TO MILESTONES VERSUS JUST SAYING WE'RE HAVING AN EVENING MEETING SO THAT EVERYBODY CAN ATTEND. OKAY. AND I MEAN, IF WE WERE TO ADVERTISE THAT THE SKY WAS FALLING IN, YOU BETTER COME ON JUNE 16TH. THEY WOULD PROBABLY SHOW UP RIGHT? FIRST. UM, SO [00:50:01] I, I'M JUST WANT US TO SORT OF THINK THROUGH HOW WE SEND A POSITIVE MESSAGE THAT WILL GET A LOT OF PEOPLE THERE, SO THEY UNDERSTAND WHAT WE'VE DONE AND WHERE WE ARE GOING. UM, BECAUSE ALMOST A CLICHE FOR FOLKS TO SAY, WELL, YOU'RE MEETING AT THE TIMES WHERE I CAN'T BE THERE, AND THEN YOU CHANGE THE MEETING DATE AND THEN THEY STILL DON'T SHOW UP, RIGHT? SO WE'VE GOT TO PUT SOME TYPE OF BAIT OUT THERE TO MAKE SURE THAT FOLKS ARE, ARE SHOWING UP BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, AS WE HAVE GONE THROUGH AN AGENDA TODAY, I MEAN, WE'VE GOT SOME GOOD STUFF THAT WILL ULTIMATELY BENEFIT THE COMMUNITY. UM, WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT THEY ARE WELL AWARE OF IT AND ARE ABLE TO TAKE THAT BACK TO THEIR RESPECTIVE POCKETS. UM, SO JUST SORT OF THINK THROUGH THAT. UH, I WANT IT TO BE MORE THAN JUST AN ASTERISK ON THE SCREEN. VERY GOOD. VERY GOOD POINT. I, I, I'D SUGGEST THAT YOU MAYBE MAYBE HAVE A CONVERSATION, UH, WITH MS. WOOLWINE, UM, TO HELP FORMULATE, UM, THE DRIVE THAT WOULD BRING PEOPLE IN, YOU KNOW, UPDATES ON, ON PROGRESS THAT'S BEEN MADE ON, ON THESE, THESE ELEMENTS. BUT, UH, UTILIZE THAT EXPERTISE ON THE MARKETING SIDE OF THE COMPANY. THANK YOU. I, I ALSO HAVE, UM, AND I'M GLAD THAT SHE'S HERE TODAY. UM, UM, MS. STEWART AND I HAVE BEEN COLLABORATING AND KIND OF TOSSING IDEAS AROUND AND, UM, SPECIFICALLY ON HOW TO ENGAGE, UM, YOUNG PROFESSIONALS, BECAUSE THIS IS A, A VERY IMPORTANT, UM, SECTOR THAT, THAT WE REALLY NEED TO WRAP OUR ARMS AROUND, ESPECIALLY AS WE TALK ABOUT, TO YOUR POINT, UH, MR. BROWN, UM, THE THINGS THAT WE'RE OFFERING, UH, TODAY. UM, YOU KNOW, WE NEED OUR YOUNG PROFESSIONALS TO BE ENGAGED AND SO THAT THEY KNOW AND CAN CARRY THIS MESSAGE FORWARD TO THE, THE FOLKS IN THEIR, UH, INNER CIRCLES THAT, THAT MAY NEED AND, AND BE ABLE TO BENEFIT FROM THESE SERVICES. SO WE, I WILL DEFINITELY, I MADE A NOTE OF THAT AS WELL, TO, TO NETWORK WITH, UM, WITH HEATHER IN THE COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT, CAROLYN, WITH CAROLYN WITHIN THE COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT TO, UH, TO FIGURE OUT, UH, WAYS AND STRATEGIES. SO THANK YOU FOR THAT FEEDBACK. I MEAN, DOES, YOU KNOW, DOES FOOD DOES THAT AND IS THAT A DRIVER? I MEAN, IT'S SIX O'CLOCK AT NIGHT. ARE YOU COOKING , ? WE GOT COOKIES THAT I'M, YOU KNOW, LIKE WE TALKED ABOUT THE THIRD PARTY PROVIDERS. , THE THIRD, THIRD PARTY COOKING CONSULTANT. YEAH, WE, WE'LL, UM, WELL I JUST MEANT LIKE IN TERMS OF IF, IF LIKE I PICKED UP ON YOUR, THE WORD OFFERING, RIGHT? SO IT'S AN OFFERING. SO WHEN YOU'RE OFFERING TO PEOPLE, LIKE WE'RE OFFERING THEM, LIKE FOOD IS PART OF THE OFFERING, BUT IT'S LIKE, IT'S SO THAT THEY CAN CONSUME THE THINGS THAT WE ARE, ARE DOING. AND THEN, I DON'T KNOW, I DON'T KNOW IF THAT THE YOUNGER GENERATION, IF THEY'RE INTO MORE INTO CUISINE, UM, AND IF THAT COULD BE A FACTOR, IT'S MORE, IT'S MORE LIKE A MIXER, BUT THERE'S LIKE A PART OF IT THAT, IS IT BOARDS THAT WE DISPLAY? IS IT LIKE A TALKING THING? BUT JUST THINKING OF LIKE THE COMMUNITY EVENTS THAT WE'RE HELD WHERE IT'S LIKE A MIXER. WHY CAN'T OUR, WHEN WE GO INTO THE COMMUNITY WITH THESE MEETINGS, IT'S MORE LIKE AN OFFERING. THERE'S NO CRISIS, BUT WE'RE OFFERING THINGS, BUT WE ARE OFFERING FOOD TOO. RIGHT. UM, SO MAYBE THAT JUST A CO THE WORD OFFERING, UH, SORT OF RUNG A BELL. THAT'S, THAT'S IT. YEAH. GOOD IDEA. THAT'S ALL. THAT'S A GREAT IDEA. AND I'M THINKING ABOUT BUDGET , UH, I'M SORRY, I'M THINKING ABOUT THE, THE MONEY. YEAH. AND IF WE DID SOMETHING LIKE THAT, IT WOULD BE THE ADVANTAGEOUS OF US TO LOOK FOR SPONSORSHIP TO DO THAT. ABSOLUTELY. ABSOLUTELY. THANK YOU. WE WILL NEED TO, UH, FORMALLY ADOPT THE, THE MEETING SCHEDULE. SO I NEED A MOTION, GENTLEMEN. SO MOVED. SECOND DISCUSSION. OH, UM, SO WE ARE REMOVING APRIL 16TH FROM YES. THE PROPOSED CALENDAR. LET'S REMOVE APRIL 16TH. YES. SO AS LONG AS THE MOTION INCLUDES THAT, THEN I'M, I'M GOOD WITH IT. ALRIGHT. SORRY. SO I, I'M TURN THIS INTO A TOWN COUNCIL MEETING, NOT QUITE. SO I, I'LL MOVE THAT WE APPROVE THE PROPOSED MEETING DATES WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THE APRIL MEETING. SECOND. ANY OPPOSED? OKAY. ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. ALRIGHT. THANK YOU FOR ADOPTING OUR MEETING SCHEDULE WITH THE EXCEPTION OF OUR APRIL 16TH MEETING. UM, AND THAT CONCLUDES, UM, THAT PORTION OF OUR AGENDA, UH, CHAIRWOMAN. THANK YOU. UM, WE [6. Public Comment - Non Agenda Items] HAVE ITEM NUMBER SIX, WHICH IS PUBLIC COMMENT ON NON-AG AGENDA ITEMS. DO WE HAVE ANY? [00:55:01] HAVING NONE. I'LL OPEN IT UP AGAIN. IF NOT, I NEED A MOTION TO ADJOURN. OH, I, I HAVE A, A CITIZEN COMMENT OR A QUESTION. OH. UM, NOW I KNOW THAT, YOU KNOW, NOT PUT IN ALAN AND ALEX ON THE SPOT, BUT I WAS LISTENING TO THE COUNCIL MEETING THIS MORNING FROM LAST NIGHT, AND THEN I HEARD THE PART ABOUT LIKE THE STONY BUDGET BEING DRASTICALLY CUT, LIKE THE IMPROVEMENT, I THINK IT'S LIKE 3.75 FOR THAT AREA, IF I'M MISTAKEN. RIGHT. WE WERE TALKING ABOUT THE, THERE'S LIKE THE, THE PSD DISTINCTION FOR THAT LINE. AND THEN, SO IS THAT, IS THAT FROM THIS WINDMILL HARBOR THROUGH TO SPANISH WELLS OR IS THAT LIKE, YOU KNOW, WHERE THE COMMUNITY, THE WELCOME CENTER USED TO BE TO SPANISH WELLS. AND IS THAT FOR LIKE, IN THAT SORT OF LIKE WHATEVER PROJECT WE'RE DOING IN THAT AREA? THAT'S THE BUDGET. I JUST WANTED SOME CLARIFICATION. SO IN, IN THE RESOLUTION, WHICH IS, UM, A, WHICH IS THE TOOL TO GET IT TO THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION, THE STATE OF INFRASTRUCTURE BANK TO FIND OUT WHERE THEY'RE GOING TO TAKE THINGS. UM, THE COUNTY HAS COME UP WITH FUNDING OF THREE AND A HALF MILLION DOLLARS FOR IMPROVEMENTS WITHIN THE STONY AREA SQUARE POPE LIGHT, UM, YOU KNOW, REALLY BASICALLY FROM THE END OF JENKINS ISLAND TO SPANISH WELLS. UM, AND THEN ANYTHING THAT'S, THAT IS REMAINING FROM THE CONSTRUCTION WOULD BE EARMARKED TO GO BACK TOWARDS THAT AREA. SO THERE'S A LOT OF UNKNOWN WITH THAT AT THIS POINT IN TIME. UM, AND WE PROBABLY WON'T KNOW FOR, YOU KNOW, THE DEADLINE FOR COUNCIL TO HAVE REALLY, UM, BOTH COUNTY AND TOWN TO HAVE THIS RESOLUTION BACK TO THE, TO THE STATE IS MARCH 31ST. AND I IMAGINE IT'LL BE SOMETIME AFTER THAT COUPLE OF WEEKS OR MORE BEFORE WE WOULD KNOW WHERE THE STATE IS GOING WITH EVERYTHING. SO THERE'S A LOT TO BE, TO BE DETERMINED THERE. UM, COUNCIL WILL HAVE CONVERSATIONS ABOUT, UM, ADDITIONAL PROJECTS WITHIN THAT AREA, BOTH FROM A TOWN STANDPOINT AND A COUNTY STANDPOINT TO SEE IF THERE'S ADDITIONAL FUNDING FROM THE COUNTY THAT CAN BE UTILIZED OR IF THERE'S A TAX INCREMENT FINANCING OPTION THAT MAY EXIST THROUGH COUNCIL'S APPROVAL TO PROVIDE ADDITIONAL FUNDING AS WELL. I JUST ADD, UH, MR. WHITE, UM, THE MAYOR CAPTURED IT EXACT, UM, YOU KNOW, SENATOR DAVIS, UM, WAS, UH, INTEGRAL IN US STARTING THE CDC. OKAY. UM, AS HE DELIVERED THIS NEW OPTION TO US AS FAR AS THE BRIDGE IS CONCERNED, WHEN WE FOUND OUT THAT THE REFERENDUM FAILED AND THERE WAS NOT ENOUGH MONEY TO DO EVERYTHING, UM, HE MADE MENTION OF, UH, SORT OF A MASTER PLAN THROUGHOUT THE AREA. OVER THE YEARS WE HAVE HAD DISCUSSIONS, UM, OUT LOUD WITH CONSULTANTS, UM, ALSO WITH THE PROPERTY OWNERS IN THE STONY AREA ABOUT WHAT COULD BE. AND THE CDC EXISTS BECAUSE OF THAT. SO, UH, THE MAYOR IS ABSOLUTELY RIGHT. WE'VE GOTTA DO, UM, OUR, OUR, OUR JOB AS, AS TOWN COUNTY AND EVEN STATE OFFICIALS TO TRY TO COBBLE UP FUNDING SO THAT WE CAN DO A BETTER JOB THROUGHOUT THAT CORRIDOR. AND THE CD C'S GONNA PLAY A, A HUGE PART IN THAT, UM, BECAUSE IT'S GONNA BE PUBLIC INVESTMENT. BUT YOU WOULD, YOU WOULD HOPE THAT THE PRIVATE PROPERTY OWNERS WILL PARTICIPATE AS WELL. AND WE ALL KNOW THAT IN A LOT OF CASES THEY DON'T NECESSARILY HAVE THE CAPITAL TO PARTICIPATE. SO THERE'S A LOT GOING ON HERE. UM, YOU KNOW, I I, I WANNA MAKE THIS STATEMENT 'CAUSE I DON'T WANT ANYONE TO THINK THAT BECAUSE THE REFERENDUM FAILED AND WE NOW HAVE A SMALLER POT OF MONEY THAT WE'RE JUST FORGETTING ABOUT WHAT NEEDS TO HAPPEN ON HILTON HEAD. AND I DON'T THINK THAT'S THE CASE AT ALL, ACTUALLY. APPRECIATE IT. ANYTHING ELSE FOR PUBLIC COMMENT? HEARING NONE THEN WE'RE AT THE POINT OF ADJOURN. I NEED A MOTION TO ADJOURN. WE MOVED SECOND. ALL IN FAVOR. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. WE ADJOURN. * This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.