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CLOSED CAPTIONING PROVIDED BY BUFORT COUNTY.
START WITH THE PLEDGE OF A PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, AND TO THE REPUBLIC FOR WHICH IT STANDS, ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE, WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FRAUD.
MR. MAYOR WILLIAMS, I GUESS YOU CAN GO FIRST.
WE ARE OFF TO A GOOD START, AREN'T WE?
WELL, FIRST OF ALL, UH, GOOD AFTERNOON EVERYONE, AND THANK YOU ALL FOR COMING.
UM, I, I SEE THIS AS THE START OF SOMETHING REALLY GOOD FOR OUR TWO MUNICIPALITIES AND, AND PERHAPS WHEN THAT FOR THE REGION, I MEAN, THINK ABOUT IT, THE TOWN OF BLUFFTON AND THE CITY OF HARDY BILL COMPRISE OVER 110 MILES, SQUARE MILES.
AND BY 2040, WE WILL MOST LIKELY EXCEED A HUNDRED THOUSAND RESIDENTS.
NOW, ADD TO THAT NUMBER, ALL THE ADJACENT, UNINCORPORATED LANDS THAT IDENTIFY WITH BLUFFTON AND HARDY V AND COMBINED, WE HAVE A, A SIGNIFICANT REGION AS WE KNOW ARE OUR WATERWAYS AND OUR ROADWAYS.
OUR RESIDENTS ARE WILL, WILL WORK, THEY'LL SHOP AND THEY'LL DINE INTERCHANGEABLY BETWEEN US AND OUR WORKERS WILL COMMUTE THROUGH OUR TWO TOWNS EVERY SINGLE DAY.
SO HOW WE KEEP THESE WATERWAYS CLEAN, HOW WE PROTECT OUR ROADS, AND HOW DO WE PROTECT OUR RESIDENTS WILL NOT BE MERE MUNICIPAL DECISIONS.
THEY'RE GOING TO NEED REGIONAL SOLUTIONS.
SO I SEE US COMING TOGETHER AND THIS BEING A DISCOVERY ZONE, A PLACE WHERE WE CAN SHARE IDEAS, SHARE OUR REGRETS, AND SHARE OUR, OUR PLANS FOR THE FUTURE.
AND PERHAPS WE CAN FIND WAYS TO COLLABORATE AND, AND ACT AS ONE VOICE TO OUR DELEGATIONS.
PERHAPS WE CAN AVOID SOME MISTAKES THAT WE BOTH HAVE MADE IN THE PAST AND PERHAPS MOST OF ALL, WE CAN SERVE OUR RESIDENTS A LITTLE BIT BETTER.
SO WITH THAT MAYOR TO I'LL TURN IT OVER TO YOU.
UM, I FEEL THE SAME WAY, UM, AS WHAT YOU JUST SAID THERE.
YOU KNOW, THE BIG THING IS HAVING RESPECT FOR EACH OTHER AND EVERYTHING THAT'S GOING ON IN HARVILLE'S A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT THAN WHAT'S GOING ON IN BLUFFTON.
BLUFFTON STARTED A LITTLE FEW YEARS AGO, SO I THINK THERE'S A LOT OF THINGS THAT WE WISH THAT WE HAD DONE DIFFERENTLY, OR THE COUNCIL THAT WAS IN CHARGE AT THAT TIME, UM, AND AS HARRY MEANT ENVIRONMENT'S, THE WHOLE THING, THERE'S A REASON THAT EVERYBODY WANTS TO LIVE IN THIS AREA AND IT'S BECAUSE THEY FOUND US.
THEY LIKE WHAT WE HAVE AND WE HAVE TO BE SO MINDFUL NOT TO LET THE VERY THING THAT WE LOVE ABOUT OUR AREA, AND THE SAME THING THAT ATTRACTS EVERYONE ELSE THAT COMES HERE BE SOLD OUT FOR THE GOD ALMIGHTY DOLLAR.
WE HAVE TO FIGHT TO PROTECT WHAT GOD GAVE US WATERWAYS, THE, THE, THE LANDS, THE JUST THE PEACEFULNESS OF THIS AREA AND NOT BE FOR SALE.
I MEAN, DEVELOPMENTS COME IN, WE KNOW THAT EVERYWHERE YOU LOOK IT'S GOING ON, BUT WE DON'T HAVE TO CHASE EVERY DOLLAR BILL THAT'S WAIVED OUR WAY.
AND I, UM, I'M ADAMANT ABOUT THAT PERSONALLY AND I FEEL SURE THE REST OF MY COUNCIL FEELS THE SAME WAY.
BLUFFTON IS HOME TO THE SITTING COUNCIL.
DAN'S THE ONLY ONE THAT'S KIND OF ONLY BEEN THERE 40 YEARS OR SO.
SO, UM, THE REST OF US PRETTY MUCH BORN AND RAISED IN BLUFFTON AND WE CARE ABOUT IT IN A DIFFERENT WAY THAN MOST PEOPLE.
AND, UM, WE'RE, WE'RE FIGHTING FOR WHAT'S RIGHT AND THE PROTECTION SO THAT OUR KIDS AND GRANDKIDS CAN HAVE THE SAME BLESSINGS THAT WE'VE BEEN SO FORTUNATE TO HAVE.
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POWER IS IN NUMBERS AND RESPECT IS ALL IT TAKES.AND, YOU KNOW, LET'S, I LOOK FORWARD TO IT.
AND I THINK HARRY'S DONE A WONDERFUL JOB OF, HE MENTIONED THIS MEETING TO ME AND I SAID, WOW, LET'S GO.
AND THAT WAS ONLY THREE WEEKS OR SO AGO.
AND, UM, I LOOK FORWARD TO US ALL BEING ON THE SAME TEAM, FIGHTING FOR THE SAME REASONS.
DID HE SIGN IN? SO AS THE MAYOR'S INDICATED, ANYTHING THAT HAPPENS IN HARDY IS GOING TO IMPACT BLUFFTON.
AND CONVERSELY, ANYTHING THAT HAPPENS IN BLUFFTON BY ITS NATURE IS GONNA IMPACT HARDY V BECAUSE OF HOW CLOSELY WE ARE ALIGNED BOTH GEOGRAPHICALLY AND REGIONALLY.
AND SO WANTED TO TAKE AN OPPORTUNITY TO TALK ABOUT ALL OF THE THINGS THAT WE HAVE GOING ON IN HARDY V RIGHT NOW, PARTICULARLY LOOKING AT OUR INCREASE IN POPULATION, UM, OUR COMMERCIAL ACTIVITY, OUR HOUSING INFRASTRUCTURE, OUR ROADS AND AND RURAL INFRASTRUCTURES.
AND THEN A NUMBER OF OTHER THINGS THAT WE'RE WORKING TO PRESERVE QUALITY OF LIFE WITHIN THE CITY OF HARDY V.
AND SO, FIRST AND FOREMOST, ONE OF OUR TOP PRIORITIES ARE OUT ATTRACTING NEW QUALITY HIGH PAYING JOBS FOR THE RESIDENTS WHO LIVE IN HARDY V AND IN GREATER JASPER COUNTY.
AND ALONG THOSE LINES, WE RECENTLY HAD THE PLEASURE OF ANNOUNCING, UM, A NEW MANUFACTURING GROUP THAT IS RELOCATING TO HARDY V.
SO TS CONDUCTOR, UM, HAS LEASED A LITTLE OVER 300,000 SQUARE FEET, UM, OF INDUSTRIAL AND WAREHOUSE SPACE IN THE CLARIUS INDUSTRIAL PARK.
THEY'RE GONNA BE CREATING 462 NEW MANUFACTURING JOBS.
SO NOT FORKLIFT JOBS, NOT CUSTODIAL JOBS, BUT MANUFACTURING JOBS, WHICH WE'RE REALLY, REALLY EXCITED ABOUT.
THIS REPRESENTS AN INVESTMENT OF OVER $134 MILLION.
AND WHAT'S EVEN MORE EXCITING IS WHILE THEY'VE LEASED A 300,000 SQUARE FOOT FACILITY, THEY'VE ALSO SIGNED AN OPTION ON A MILLION SQUARE FEET OF ADDITIONAL SPACE BEYOND THAT.
AND SO THEY'RE ALREADY ANTICIPATING THEIR FUTURE GROWTH NEEDS AND SOME OTHER OPPORTUNITIES THAT WILL HOPEFULLY COME ALONG, UM, WITH THEIR BEING IN OUR COMMUNITY.
IN ADDITION TO CLARIUS, THERE'S OTHER BUILDINGS WITHIN HERE, SO LEMME SEE IF I CAN GET THIS TO WORK OR NOT.
THIS IS THE 300,000 SQUARE FOOT BUILDING THAT THEY'VE LEASED.
CURRENTLY THIS IS THE MILLION SQUARE FOOT BUILDING THAT THEY'VE SIGNED AN OPTION ON, BUT YOU CAN SEE THAT THERE'S A COUPLE OF OTHER FACILITIES THERE.
AND SO ULTIMATELY BY THE TIME IT IS COMPLETELY BUILT OUT, JUST THIS ONE DEVELOPMENT ALONE IS GONNA BE A LITTLE OVER TWO AND A HALF MILLION SQUARE FEET OF INDUSTRIAL AND WAREHOUSE SPACE.
JUST UP THE ROAD ON HIGHWAY 17 FROM CLARIUS IS ANOTHER, UM, OPPORTUNITY THAT WE HAD BACK IN NOVEMBER.
GROUNDBREAKING FOR AN ORGANIZATION CALLED SALT, THE SOUTH ATLANTIC LOGISTICS TERMINAL.
AND AGAIN, THAT'S AN 880 ACRE DEVELOPMENT THAT AT FULL BUILD OUT WILL HAVE ABOUT 6 MILLION SQUARE FEET OF INDUSTRIAL AND WAREHOUSE SPACE, REPRESENTING $200 MILLION IN CAPITAL INVESTMENT AND WILL GENERATE IN EXCESS OF 550 NEW JOBS.
TO THE SOUTH OF THAT IS THE 500 ACRE SHERWOOD TRACK THAT IS PROPERTY THAT IS OWNED BY THE SOUTHERN CAROLINA ALLIANCE.
UM, THEY ARE OUT ACTIVELY MARKETING THIS PARTICULAR PROPERTY FOR AN OEM MANUFACTURER AND ONE OF THE PARTIES THAT I KNOW THEY'RE TRYING TO, UH, MARKET TO IS ANY OF THE TIER TWO SUPPLIERS TO THE HYUNDAI PLANT DOWN IN NORTH GEORGIA.
AND SO KNOWING THAT THERE ARE GOING TO BE SUPPLIERS TO SERVICE THAT FACILITY THAT ARE GONNA WANNA LOCATE IN THE AREA, THEY HAVE BEEN OUT, UH, ADVOCATING FOR THIS PARTICULAR LOCATION AS AN IDEAL PLACE, NOT ONLY BECAUSE OF ITS, UH, PROXIMITY TO THE MEGA PLANT IN GEORGIA, BUT ALSO TO THE PORT OF SAVANNAH AND ALL THE LOGISTICS THAT COME WITH HAVING THAT ACCESS.
JUST A LITTLE BIT FURTHER SOUTH IS THE PROPOSED EXIT THREE.
SO THIS IS GOING TO BE A NEW INTERCHANGE THAT'S GONNA BE BUILT AS PART OF THE I 95 WIDENING PROJECT.
SO CURRENTLY BURG ROAD GOES OVER I 95.
IT DOES NOT ACTUALLY CONNECT WITH THE INTERSTATE, BUT THIS WILL CREATE A NEW INTERCHANGE AT EXIT THREE.
UM, UP HERE IN THE NORTHERN PORTIONS OF THE PROPERTY, THIS IS A VERY LARGE RESIDENTIAL COMMUNITY.
UM, HERE IN THIS AREA THEY'RE PLANNING MEDICAL OFFICES, HOSPITALS, PROFESSIONAL OFFICE SPACE.
THIS AREA HERE IS COMMERCIAL AND RETAIL GROWTH, UH, RELATED TO THE INTERSTATE KEEP COMING DOWN FURTHER.
THIS IS ALL MULTIFAMILY AND DEVELOPMENT.
THIS AREA RIGHT HERE IS CONCEPTUALLY SLATED TO BE A MILLION SQUARE FOOT CONVENTION CENTER WITH HOTELS, RESTAURANTS, AND OTHER ENTERTAINMENT, UH, OPTIONS.
AND THEN AS YOU CONTINUE TO MOVE SOUTH, IT THEN TRANS, UM, FORMS INTO MORE OF THE INDUSTRIAL AND WAREHOUSING CAPACITY
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DOWN HERE.AND SO I BELIEVE THIS SOUTHERN PORTION, UH, REPRESENTS, UH, ANOTHER 4 MILLION SQUARE FEET OF INDUSTRIAL AND WAREHOUSE SPACE AND 200 JOBS AT FULL BUILD OUT JUST THROUGH THIS CORRIDOR ALONE.
WE'RE ANTICIPATING THAT OVER THE NEXT 15 TO 20 YEARS WE'RE GONNA CREATE IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD OF SOMEWHERE ABOUT 7,000 NEW JOBS AS A RESULT OF THE GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT THAT'S GOING TO TAKE PLACE ALONG THIS PARTICULAR CORRIDOR ON THE NORTHERN END OF THE CITY.
WE ANNOUNCED A NUMBER OF MONTHS AGO THAT BUCKY'S WAS GONNA BE COMING.
WE'RE VERY EXCITED ABOUT THEM COMING HERE, NOT ONLY BECAUSE, UM, OF WHAT IT'S GOING TO OFFER IN TERMS OF SERVICES, BUT THE JOBS THAT IT'S GONNA CREATE.
AND I KNOW THE MAYOR'S JOKED ABOUT THAT.
HIS NEXT CAREER IS GOING TO BE, UM, ONE OF THE CUSTOMER SERVICE ATTENDANTS AT THE GAS STATION, UH, BECAUSE YOU CAN MAKE SIX FIGURES WORKING FOR BUCKY'S.
AND SO THEY'RE GONNA CREATE OVER 200 JOBS, GOOD WELL PAYING JOBS THAT ARE GONNA SUPPORT RESIDENTS WITHIN OUR COMMUNITY.
AND IT'S GOING TO GENERATE A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF ADDITIONAL REVENUE, NOT ONLY FOR THE CITY, BUT FOR THE RESIDENTS OF JASPER COUNTY AND THE GREATER HARDY V AREA.
AND SO WE'RE ANTICIPATING THAT BASED UPON JUST THEIR FOOD AND BEVERAGE SALES ALONE, THEY'RE GOING TO DO SOMEWHERE IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD OF ABOUT $30 MILLION IN ANNUAL SALES.
YOU CAN SEE THIS IS THE PROJECT SETTING FOR IT.
AND SO RIGHT HERE ON THE NORTHERN SIDE OF I 95, BETWEEN 17 AND 95, THIS IS WHERE BUCKY'S IS GOING TO BE.
UH, GOING IN JUST CATTY-CORNERED THAT HERE TO THE SOUTH IS A DEVELOPMENT CALLED SOUTH POINT.
AGAIN, THAT AT FULL BUILD OUT IS GOING TO BE 840 MULTIFAMILY UNITS, 580 SINGLE FAMILY UNITS AND A LITTLE OVER 800,000 SQUARE FEET IN COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT SPACE.
SO THERE'S A COMMERCIAL VILLAGE THAT'S ANTICIPATED UP AROUND THIS AREA FOR, UM, EXIT EIGHT AT I 95.
AND THEN, UH, SHOPS AND VILLAGES, I THINK SIMILAR TO WHAT'S MAYBE ENVISIONED FOR THE NEW RIVERSIDE AREA FOR Y'ALL, UM, IS SIMILAR IN CONCEPT TO THIS AREA HERE.
AND THEN THIS IS ALL RESIDENTIAL ON THE PERIPHERY.
IN ADDITION TO THIS, WE'RE ALSO WORKING ON A REDEVELOPMENT INITIATIVE TO SUPPORT AND CREATE A TRUE DOWNTOWN FEEL.
SO THIS IS HIGHWAY 17, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS WHITE HARDY BOULEVARD, COMING DOWN FROM EXIT EIGHT UP HERE HEADING TOWARDS EXIT FIVE.
I EQUATE THIS AREA WHEN I'M OUT TALKING TO FOLKS TO THE LITTLE PLACE CALLED RADIATOR SPRINGS THAT WAS IN THE DISNEY PIXAR MOVIE CARS.
SO BACK IN THE DAY BEFORE THE INTERSTATE EXISTED, THIS WAS A MAJOR CORRIDOR FOR TRANSPORTATION.
AND SO HOTELS, RESTAURANTS HAD ALL GROWN UP AROUND THIS HAVING ACCESS TO THE TRAVELERS.
BUT WHEN THE INTERSTATE CAME IN, A LOT OF THOSE FOLKS BYPASSED THE AREA.
AND SO THAT AREA HAS FALLEN INTO DISREPAIR AND IS NOT WHAT WE BELIEVE IT SHOULD BE TO REPRESENT OUR COMMUNITY.
AND SO, UM, THE CITY A NUMBER OF YEARS AGO ADOPTED A REDEVELOPMENT PLAN FOR THIS AREA.
AND WE'RE REALLY TRYING TO MAKE SOME, UH, STRIDES IN IMPLEMENTING THIS VISION, BUT IT REALLY CALLS FOR A REDEVELOPMENT OF THIS COMMERCIAL CORRIDOR, UH, FOR MIXED USE, BOTH COMMERCIAL AND RESIDENTIAL APPLICATIONS, WHICH AT THE END WILL HOPEFULLY CREATE A TRUE DOWNTOWN AREA AND A SENSE OF PLACE FOR HARDY V, WHICH REALLY DOESN'T EXIST RIGHT NOW.
WE'VE GOT A LOT OF WONDERFUL RESIDENTIAL COMMUNITIES, BUT IF YOU'RE NOT INSIDE OF THOSE COMMUNITIES, THERE'S NO SENSE OF PLACE WITHIN THE CITY ITSELF.
AND SO WE'RE HOPING THAT THIS CAN BECOME THAT AREA AND NOT ONLY SUPPORT SMALL LOCAL BUSINESSES, BUT THIS AREA BACK HERE WILL SUPPORT THE MUNICIPAL HUB COMPLEX, WHICH AGAIN, COULD CREATE OPPORTUNITIES FOR PUBLIC GATHERINGS, FESTIVALS, AND EVENTS WITHIN THIS CORRIDOR.
SO AS THE CITY CONTINUES TO GROW, WE ARE CONTINUING TO GROW OUR STAFF.
IN THE LAST 10 YEARS, WE HAVE DOUBLED THE SIZE OF CITY STAFF TO TRY AND KEEP PACE WITH THE DEMANDS OF GROWTH THAT IS HAPPENING WITHIN OUR COMMUNITY.
AND SO 10 YEARS AGO WE HAD 70 FULL-TIME STAFF MEMBERS.
UM, AND AGAIN, THAT NUMBER IS GOING TO LIKELY CONTINUE TO INCREASE AS WE'RE SEEING MORE PEOPLE MOVE TO OUR COMMUNITY.
SO TALKING ABOUT PEOPLE MOVING TO OUR COMMUNITY, WHAT DO THOSE NUMBERS LOOK LIKE? WE'RE LOOKING AT SOMEWHERE BETWEEN TWO TO 3000 NEW RESIDENTS EVERY YEAR.
AND SO IF WE STAY ON THAT SAME TRAJECTORY OVER A 10 YEAR PERIOD, WE WILL ADD BETWEEN 20 TO 30,000 RESIDENTS TO OUR POPULATION.
AND SO THAT WILL HAVE A SIGNIFICANT IMPACT NOT ONLY ON THE CHARACTERISTICS OF OUR COMMUNITY, BUT THE SERVICES THAT WE HAVE TO PROVIDE AND THEN THE IMPACTS TO OUR INFRASTRUCTURE.
SO WHERE IS THIS GROWTH OCCURRING? IT'S OCCURRING EVERYWHERE.
SO THE CITY'S BOUNDARIES RUN ALL THE WAY OVER HERE, THE NORTHERNMOST PORTIONS.
THIS IS THE, UM, INTERSECTION AT OLDFIELD.
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THIS IS THE EAST A AREA.UM, AND SO THE CITY'S BOUNDARIES BASICALLY START HERE, GO ALL THE WAY UP TO I 95, COME ALL THE WAY DOWN TO EXIT THREE, ALL THE WAY DOWN TO, UM, THROUGH HIGHWAY 17 TO ALLIGATOR ALLEY AND THEN BACK UP, UH, IN THIS DIRECTION.
AND SO WITHIN HERE YOU CAN SEE ALL THE DIFFERENT SPOTS THAT ALL THESE DIFFERENT COMMUNITIES ARE GROWING AND ADDING POPULATION.
AND HERE'S THE NAMES OF THE, UH, THE COMMUNITIES THEMSELVES THAT ARE PART OF THIS GROWTH.
SO HOUSING AND COMMERCIAL DEMANDS.
LAST YEAR, SO AT THE END OF 2024, WE ISSUED 1,363 NEW SINGLE FAMILY RESIDENTIAL PERMITS AND HAD JUST SLIGHTLY OVER 1000 CERTIFICATES OF OCCUPANCY.
AND YOU CAN SEE THAT TRAJECTORY IN TERMS OF THE GROWTH AND THE NUMBERS.
AND AT THIS POINT, YEAR OVER YEAR, WE ARE ON PAR TO BE AT OR ABOVE WHERE WE WERE THIS TIME LAST YEAR.
SO SOMETHING THAT, UM, INTERNALLY AS STAFF, WE ARE CONS CONSTANTLY MONITORING AND LOOKING AT ON A MONTHLY BASIS TO SEE WHERE WE'RE AT IN TERMS OF THE OVERALL AREA.
AND THESE NUMBERS DON'T TAKE INTO ACCOUNT A NUMBER OF FAIRLY RECENTLY APPROVED COMMUNITIES THAT ARE GONNA ADD SOME ADDITIONAL NUMBERS.
SO WE'VE GOT THE MORGAN TRACT, WE'VE GOT HILTON HEAD, LAKES, WEST, UM, SOUTH POINT AND NUMBER OF OTHERS THAT ARE GONNA CONTRIBUTE TO THESE INCREASED NUMBERS AS WELL AS AREAS WITHIN THE EAST A COMMUNITY.
NOW THAT THE SPINE ROAD WILL BE COMPLETED, HOPEFULLY SOMETIME AROUND OF OCTOBER OF THIS YEAR, A NUMBER OF THOSE COMMUNITIES THAT AREN'T CURRENTLY ACCESSIBLE WILL NOW BECOME ACCESSIBLE AND WILL START COMING ONLINE AS WELL.
THIS JUST GIVES YOU AN EXAMPLE OF KIND OF WHERE THE COMMUNITIES ARE AND WHERE PEOPLE ARE GOING.
SO SOME OF OUR FASTEST GROWING COMMUNITIES, UH, WE'RE HERE IN MARGARITAVILLE, ARGENT COTTAGES, SUN CITY, RIVERTON POINT, UM, NUMBER OF THOSE ARE 55 AND UP COMMUNITIES, BUT A NUMBER OF THEM ARE ALSO OPEN TO ANYBODY WITHIN THE COMMUNITY ITSELF.
AND SO YOU CAN SEE WE ARE GROWING ACROSS THE BOARD IN ALL OF OUR RESIDENTIAL AREAS.
UM, JUST A COUPLE OF EXAMPLES OF WHAT THESE NEW HOME PRODUCTS LOOK LIKE.
AND AGAIN, THEY RUN THE, UH, GAMUT IN TERMS OF BUILDERS.
WE'VE GOT DR. HORTON FOR RENO, UM, LENNAR, KIAN.
UM, MOST MAJOR BUILDERS DO HAVE SOME KIND OF PRESENCE WITHIN OUR COMMUNITY.
BUT IN ADDITION TO THAT, THE GROWTH ITSELF AND THE INCREASE IN VALUE OF UNDERLYING LAND AND THE, UH, HOUSING STOCK AS A WHOLE CONTINUES TO BECOME MORE AND MORE EXPENSIVE EACH YEAR.
AND THAT EXACERBATES OUR ALREADY EXISTING AFFORDABLE HOUSING CONCERNS.
AND SO THE CITY IS PUSHING BACK ON THAT WITH AN OPPORTUNITY THAT WAS ALREADY PUT IN PLACE A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO, WHICH WE HOPE WILL CREATE MORE OF A TEMPLATE FOR US TO REPEAT.
AND SO THIS WAS THE HARVEY PLACE.
THIS WAS A PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN THE CITY, A DEVELOPER AND A NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION TO COME TOGETHER TO CREATE TOWN HOMES THAT ARE AFFORDABLE, WHERE THE CITY PROVIDED THE UNDERLYING LAND.
THE BUILDER IN THIS CASE FOR RENO, BUILT THE UNITS AT OR BELOW THEIR COST.
AND THEN THEY, UH, PARTNERED WITH HABITAT FOR HUMANITY TO QUALIFY RESIDENTS AND PUT THEM IN THESE UNITS.
AND SO OUR GOAL IS, UM, WE ARE ACTIVELY IN THE PROCESS OF LOOKING FOR LAND THAT ARE, IS GOING TO ALLOW US TO HAVE HARVEY PLACE PHASE TWO, HARVEY PLACE PHASE THREE, AND TRY TO REPLICATE THIS MODEL MORE THROUGHOUT THE CITY TO CREATE THESE AFFORDABLE HOUSING OPTIONS.
SO WITH ALL THE ROADS OR WITH ALL THE POPULATION COMING, WITH ALL THE HOUSING INCREASES, IT HAS AN IMPACT ON OUR ROADS, UTILITY, AND INFRASTRUCTURE.
AND SO WE ARE ACTIVELY TRYING TO MAKE, UH, PROGRESS IN A NUMBER OF AREAS.
FIRST AND FOREMOST, ONE OF THE BIGGEST THINGS THAT WE'RE GONNA SEE IN OUR LIFETIME IN THIS AREA IS GONNA BE THE WIDENING OF I 95.
UM, SOMETHING THAT, UH, PROBABLY SHOULD HAVE BEEN STARTED A WHILE AGO BUT IS FINALLY HERE AND IS HOPEFULLY MOVING FORWARD THIS CALENDAR YEAR.
IT'S ANTICIPATED THAT IT'S GONNA TAKE THREE YEARS FOR CONSTRUCTION.
I WOULD SAY THAT REALISTICALLY SPEAKING, WE'VE ALL WORKED WITH DOT BEFORE, THAT MEANS IT'S GONNA BE FOUR YEARS BEFORE IT'S OVER, BUT, UM, AT LEAST AT THE OUTSET NOW, WE'RE HOPING THAT THEY'RE GONNA BE ABLE TO STICK TO THESE TIMELINES.
UM, THIS SHOWS YOU THE NEW INTERCHANGE AT EXIT EIGHT.
SO WITH BUCKY'S COMING IN RIGHT HERE IN THIS LOCATION, EXIT EIGHT ITSELF IS BEING COMPLETELY REDONE.
THIS IS CALLED THE CONVERGING DIAMOND INTERCHANGE.
THIS HAS BEEN TESTED IN SOME OTHER AREAS, UM, IN NORTH GEORGIA AND IS NOW THE PREFERRED ALTERNATIVE FOR DOT FOR HIGH VOLUME TRAFFIC INTERSECTIONS.
AND SO WE'LL SEE THAT GOING AT EXIT EIGHT.
THERE'LL ALSO BE SOME IMPROVEMENTS AT EXIT FIVE WHERE THEY'RE GONNA INSTALL NEW TRAFFIC LIGHTS TO HELP WITH GETTING ON AND OFF THE INTERSTATE AS WELL AS A NEW FRONTAGE ROAD GOING BACK BEHIND, UH, THIS IS THE QT, THE WENDY'S AND SOME OTHER BUSINESSES THERE, UH, TO TRY TO LESSEN THE AMOUNT OF TRAFFIC THAT IS CURRENTLY GOING THROUGH THIS CORRIDOR.
AND THEN FINALLY, I MENTIONED THE NEW EXIT EIGHT, UH, WHICH, OR
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EXIT THREE, WHICH DOESN'T EXIST, BUT AGAIN, THIS WILL BE THAT CONVERGING DIAMOND.UM, AND AGAIN, LOOKING UP HERE, THIS IS THE MEDICAL COMPLEX AREA.
THIS IS HEADING NORTH ON PERRYSBURG ROAD TO THE RESIDENTIAL COMMUNITY AND THEN SOUTH TOWARDS ALL THE COMMERCIAL MULTIFAMILY.
UM, AND THEN, UM, THE INDUSTRIAL AND WAREHOUSING EVEN FURTHER SOUTH.
SO IN ADDITION TO THOSE PROJECTS, WE'RE ALSO ACTIVELY WORKING ON A NUMBER OF IMPROVEMENTS, UH, INTERNALLY WITHIN THE CITY.
SO THIS FIRST ONE UP HERE, THIS IS THE INTERSECTION OF 2 78 AND LATITUDE MARGARITAVILLE.
IF ANYBODY HAS EVER TRIED TO DRIVE SOUTH ON 2 78 BETWEEN THE HOURS OF 7:00 AM AND 9:00 AM MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY, YOU WILL LIKELY HAVE EXPERIENCED THIS TRAFFIC LIGHT BECAUSE IN MOST INSTANCES IT WILL TAKE YOU THREE, FOUR, OR EVEN FIVE CYCLES OF THIS LIGHT BEFORE YOU'RE ABLE TO GET THROUGH IT AND THEN CONTINUE YOUR WAY SOUTH.
AND SO WE'VE SIGNED A $1.3 MILLION CONTRACT WITH APAC, UM, TO BEGIN WORK ON IMPROVING THIS INTERSECTION, UM, TO HOPEFULLY ALLOW FOR MORE OF THE MAIN LINE FLOW AND REDUCE THE, THE, UH, BACKLOG THROUGH THERE.
IN ADDITION, THIS MIDDLE ONE HERE, THIS IS THE INTERSECTION OF 2 78 AND JOHN SMITH ROAD.
AGAIN, IF ANY OF YOU HAVE TRIED TO COME DOWN THAT WAY IN THE MORNINGS, YOU UNDERSTAND HOW DIFFICULT OF AN INTERSECTION THIS IS.
AND SO WE RECEIVED $9 MILLION FROM ONE OF OUR DEVELOPMENT PARTNERS TO PAY FOR THE COST OF CONSTRUCTION FOR THE IMPROVEMENTS THAT ARE GONNA BE NECESSARY AT THIS INTERSECTION.
AND THEN LASTLY, THIS IS THE INTERSECTION OF 2 78 AND ARGENT BOULEVARD.
AND AGAIN, IF ANY OF YOU HAVE TRIED TO MAKE THAT LEFT HAND TURN, YOU GOTTA DO ONE OF THESE BEFORE JERKING THE WHEEL.
UM, DOT IS GOING TO BE COMING OUT AND THEY'RE GOING TO BID THIS PROJECT STARTING THIS SUMMER.
UM, WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO THEM GETTING UNDERWAY 'CAUSE THIS IS VERY NEEDED IN TERMS OF LENGTHENING THE TURN LANE AND CREATING GREATER STACKING CAPACITY SO THAT TRAFFIC ISN'T OUT ON THAT MAIN LINE ROAD.
AND THEN IN ADDITION TO THAT, WE'RE LOOKING AT, UM, IMPROVEMENTS ON 17 SHORTCUT, UH, IN ARGENT BOULEVARD, ARGENT BOULEVARD ITSELF.
AND THAT ALL PLAYS INTO THE TRANSPORTATION REFERENDUM THAT JASPER COUNTY WAS SUCCESSFUL IN PASSING THIS PAST YEAR.
AND SO THAT IS GONNA CREATE, UM, ABOUT $376 MILLION TO ADDRESS ROAD CONGESTION AND TRAFFIC ISSUES ALL THROUGHOUT JASPER COUNTY WITH A NUMBER OF THESE PROJECTS SIGNIFICANTLY IMPACTING THE CITY OF HARDY V.
SO FUNDING IN THIS REFERENDUM PROVIDES FOR IMPROVEMENTS TO ARGENT BOULEVARD, WHICH IS DESPERATELY NEEDED.
IT PROVIDES FUNDING FOR WIDENING OF 2 78 FROM I 95 ALL THE WAY DOWN TO THE BEAUFORT COUNTY LINE.
AND THEN IT PROVIDES WIDEN OR INFRASTRUCTURE MONIES FOR SC 46, 1 70 AND THREE 15, AND THEN THE WIDENING OF 17 AND LEVY ROAD IMPROVEMENTS.
SO A NUMBER OF VERY NEEDED, UH, TRANSPORTATION PROJECTS THAT ARE THANKFULLY GONNA BE PAID FOR OUT OF THAT POT OF MONEY.
YOU CAN SEE HERE THE TRIANGLE.
SO THIS IS ARGENT BOULEVARD COMING DOWN TO 2 78, COMING DOWN TO ONE 70.
ARGENT BOULEVARD WILL BE PROVIDED FOR BECAUSE IT'S IN JASPER COUNTY, BUT THE PORTIONS OF ONE 70 AND 2 78 BECAUSE BEAUFORT COUNTY WAS NOT ABLE TO PASS THEIR REFERENDUM, WERE UNCERTAIN AS TO WHEN THEY MIGHT BE ABLE TO MOVE FORWARD WITH ANY KIND OF IMPROVEMENTS TO THOSE AREAS.
EVEN THOUGH I THINK COLLECTIVELY WE, WE'D ALL AGREE THAT THERE ARE A NUMBER OF IMPROVEMENTS THAT NEED TO CONTINUE TO BE MADE TO THIS AREA.
EDUCATION AND WORKFORCE TRAINING.
IF WE ARE BRINGING PEOPLE HERE AND WE ARE CREATING JOBS FOR THEM, WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY ARE READY TO TAKE ON THOSE JOBS.
AND SO IN ORDER TO DO THAT, WE PARTNER WITH A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT ENTITIES, NOT ONLY WITHIN OUR LOCAL COMMUNITY.
UM, AND I ALWAYS WANNA GIVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO SHOUT OUT TO OUR CHARTER SCHOOLS AND OUR PRIVATE SCHOOLS.
THEY ARE DOING FANTASTIC JOBS OF FILLING NEEDS WITHIN THIS COMMUNITY.
AND EVERY YEAR THAT THEY OPEN UP NEW CLASSES AND NEW GRADES, THEY ARE FILLED ALMOST IMMEDIATELY WITH STUDENTS.
AND SO, UM, THAT HAS CREATED AN AWESOME OPPORTUNITY FOR US WITH OUR NEW SCHOOLS THAT ARE COMING TO THIS COMMUNITY.
UM, AND THEN WE ALSO PARTNER WITH THE TECHNICAL COLLEGE OF THE LOW COUNTRY.
WE PROVIDED SOME GRANT FUNDING TO THEM TO SUPPORT THE DEVELOPMENT OF THEIR WORKFORCE TRAINING CENTER, AND THEN OF COURSE PARTNERSHIP WITH USCB AS WELL.
AND IN ADDITION TO ALL OF THAT, THE CITY OFFERS ITS OWN WORKFORCE TRAINING PROGRAM.
SO WE OFFER PROGRAMMING IN WELDING, UH, COMMERCIAL DRIVER'S LICENSE, AND THEN OSHA OCCUPATIONAL, UH, SAFETY HAZARDS, UH, JOB TRAINING.
AND SO LAST YEAR WE HAD 150 GRADUATES WHO RECEIVED, UM, EITHER THEIR WELDING CERTIFICATES OR A CDL.
AND I WOULD TELL YOU, IF YOU'RE A RESIDENT OF JASPER COUNTY OR THE CITY OF HARVILLE, THIS PROGRAM IS LIKELY FREE FOR YOU.
BUT THEN LASTLY, TALKING ABOUT QUALITY OF LIFE AND SOCIAL SERVICE NEEDS, AS I KNOW YOU ALL ARE AWARE, A LOT OF TIMES THE COMMERCIAL GROWTH LAGS BEHIND THE RESIDENTIAL GROWTH.
AND SO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE ARE CONTINUING TO TRY AND ADVOCATE FOR IS AN ACCELERATION OF OUR COMMERCIAL GROWTH.
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THAT MEANS THAT THE NEEDS OF OUR RESIDENTS CAN BE MET WITHIN THE MUNICIPAL LIMITS OF THE CITY OF HARDY V AND NOT HAVING TO GO SOMEPLACE ELSE TO GET THOSE NEEDS MET LIKE THEY CURRENTLY HAVE TO DO.AND SO WE HAVE ENTITLED A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT AREAS FROM A ZONING STANDPOINT FOR COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT, RESTAURANT DEVELOPMENT, RETAIL DEVELOPMENT.
WE JUST HAVE NOT SEEN A LOT OF THAT PRODUCT COMING ONLINE YET, BUT WE KNOW THAT IT WILL AT SOME POINT.
AND SO I'D BE HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THAT Y'ALL MAY HAVE ABOUT WHAT'S GOING ON IN HARDY VILLE.
UM, WHEN YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT THESE DIFFERENT PROJECTS, ROAD IMPROVEMENTS, HAVE Y'ALL, DO YOU HAVE ONE PRIORITIZED OVER THE OTHER? OR I MEAN, HAVE YOU GOTTEN THAT FAR WITH IT? AND ALSO ON THE SAME NOTE, ARE YOU GOING TO BOND US MONEY SO THAT YOU CAN GO AHEAD AND START WORKING NOW INSTEAD OF WAITING 15 YEARS TO? SO AS PART OF THE REFERENDUM PROCESS, IT CALLED FOR THE CREATION OF AN ADVISORY BODY, WHICH CONSISTS OF THE MAYOR OF HARDY, THE MAYOR OF RIDGELAND, THE CHAIRMAN OF JASPER COUNTY, AND THE SCHOOL DISTRICT CHAIR, UM, OR REPRESENTATIVE I THINK.
AND SO THAT BODY HAS ALREADY STARTED MEETING, UM, AND WITHIN THEIR SECOND MEETING, THEY WERE ABLE TO PRIORITIZE AT LEAST AS FAR AS A FIRST TRANCHE GOES.
UM, FOUR PROJECTS, TWO OF WHICH BEING ARGENT BOULEVARD AND THE WIDENING OF 2 78, AS WELL AS THEN A COUPLE OF OTHER PROJECTS, UM, THE ONE IN LEVY ROAD, AND THEN THERE'S ANOTHER ONE UP IN RIDGELAND AND I, I DON'T RECALL THAT ONE, BUT THAT PRIORITIZATION HAS ALREADY STARTED.
THE DISCUSSIONS ABOUT WHETHER OR NOT IT'S GONNA BE BONDED OR NOT ARE STILL BEING KIND OF PULLED TOGETHER WITH SOME INFORMATION THAT THE COUNTY'S PRIMARILY LEADING.
BUT THAT WILL ABSOLUTELY BE PART OF THE CONVERSATION.
UM, AND WITH THE PROJECTS THAT WERE PICKED, ARGENT BOULEVARD IN THE WIDENING OF 2 78, THE DESIGN AND PERMITTING EFFORTS FOR BOTH OF THOSE PROJECTS ARE GONNA BE MULTI-YEAR STAGES.
AND SO IF WE START TODAY ON JUST GETTING THE DESIGN AND PERMITTING WORK GOING, IT WILL LIKELY BE TWO TO THREE YEARS BEFORE WE'RE AT A POINT OF HAVING THE INFORMATION NECESSARY TO GO OUT TO BID AND THEN ULTIMATELY GO UNDER CONTRACT TO CONSTRUCT THESE PROJECTS.
SO IF WE START THOSE NOW, IT'LL STILL BE A COUPLE OF YEARS BEFORE WE START SEEING SOMETHING HAPPEN.
BUT WE AT LEAST NEED TO GET THEM GOING NOW BECAUSE OF HOW BIG THEY ARE IN SCOPE.
AND WE'VE EXPERIENCED THIS JUST IN MY TIME WITH THE TOWN.
IF YOU WAIT UNTIL YOU CAN AFFORD TO DO IT, IT'LL COST TWICE AS MUCH AND YOU WON'T BE ABLE TO AFFORD IT THEN EITHER.
SO JUST NOTHING'S COMING DOWN IN PRICE.
SO JUST KEEP THAT IN MIND AND UNFORTUNATELY AND PAY THE INTEREST AND GET IT DONE.
AND SOMETHING ELSE TO KEEP IN MIND, BECAUSE WE DEFINITELY HAVE THIS ON OUR RADAR, IS THE FACT THAT WHEN THE I 95 PROJECT GOES LIVE, THEY'RE GONNA BE TAKING UP A LOT OF SUBS AND A LOT OF CONTRACTORS BECAUSE THEY'RE GONNA BE TRYING TO DO SIGNIFICANT PORTIONS OF THAT ROADWAY ALL AT THE SAME TIME.
JUST FOR EXAMPLE, I WANNA SAY THAT THERE'S 14 DIFFERENT BRIDGES THAT THEY'RE GONNA HAVE TO REPLACE JUST IN THAT FIRST PHASE OF THE PROJECT.
AND SO WE'RE KIND OF ANTICIPATING THE CONTRACTOR MARKET GETTING EVEN MORE THIN THAN WHAT IT IS NOW.
AND SO AGAIN, THAT'S JUST GONNA RESULT IN ADDITIONAL HIGHER PRICES BECAUSE WE'RE COMPETING AGAINST THE PRIVATE SECTOR AND THE OVERALL GROWTH IN OUR AREA SUCH THAT CONTRACTORS CAN PICK THE HIGHEST BID AND CHOOSE THAT WORK OVER WORKING FOR US OR OTHERS.
AND SO I THINK THERE, THERE WAS AN ARTICLE JUST, UH, IN THE POST AND COURIER LAST WEEK, THE WEEK BEFORE THAT TALKED ABOUT THEY HAVE SEVERAL MILLION DOLLAR PROJECTS THAT THEY CAN'T GET ANYBODY TO BID UPON BECAUSE OF THE VOLUME OF WORK THAT THE CONTRACTORS ARE UP THERE OUT CHASING.
ANY COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS FROM YOUR GUYS? YOU HAVE SOME QUESTIONS.
I'M EQUALLY AS EXCITED TO HEAR SOME OF THE, THE PRODUCTS YOU ALL HAVE PLANNED.
UM, ON THE CONVERSATION OF, UM, OUR ROADWAYS, I WANTED TO KNOW, LIKE WITH THE BUILD FOR EXIT THREE, UM, IS THERE A PLAN TO MAINTAIN INTERSECTIONALITY BETWEEN, UM, BLUFFTON AND THAT PARTICULAR EXIT? LIKE CURRENTLY NOW WE CAN, YOU KNOW, TAKE 46 MM-HMM
WILL IT BE THE SAME WITH THIS ONE? SO RIGHT NOW PERRYSBURG ROAD DOES EXIST, BUT IT IS PRIMARILY A DIRT ROAD FOR SIGNIFICANT PORTIONS OF THIS AREA.
UM, AND SO THAT WILL CHANGE, THAT WILL BE PAVED AND IT WILL BE WIDENED SO THAT IT'LL BE TWO LANES IN EACH DIRECTION.
SO THAT WILL CREATE ADDITIONAL OPPORTUNITIES THAT IF YOU'RE COMING UP 46, YOU MAKE A RIGHT ON, UH, EITHER ONE 70 OR 17, AND THEN YOU'D BE ABLE TO CUT UP WHAT IS GOING TO BE, UM, RIVERPORT PARKWAY IS GONNA BE THE NAME OF THAT ROAD ONCE IT'S CONSTRUCTED.
AND THEN IT'LL GO ALL THE WAY UP TO I 95 AND THEN ACTUALLY CONTINUE BEYOND THAT ALL THE WAY UP TO CHURCH STREET, UH, IN THE NORTHERN PORTIONS OF THE TOWN.
MY OTHER ONE WAS, UM, DO YOU ALL HAVE THAT YOU'RE ON THE FRONT END OF THIS AND I'M BRINGING IN A LOT OF THESE BIG CORPORATIONS,
[00:30:01]
A CONTINGENCY PLAN WHERE YOU CAN, UM, BE ABLE TO LOOK AT A WAY TO, UM, CONSTRUCT AFFORDABLE HOUSING IN A SENSE OF NOT THE TRADITIONAL SENSE THAT EVERYONE THINKS OF, BUT ADDRESSING THE NEEDS OF THOSE AT THAT 60% OR LOWER THAT MAY BE, YOU KNOW, EMPLOYED AT, UM, UH, BUCKY'S OR DOING SOME OF THE MORE SKILLED JOBS THAT WOULD HAVE THEM PRICED OUT FROM, FROM THE THE HOUSING MARKET? YES, MA'AM.SO ACTUALLY OUR PARTNERSHIP WITH HABITAT FOR HUMANITY, KNOWING THE CLIENTELE THAT THEY SERVE, THAT IS THE MARKET THAT WE'RE WORKING ON NOW.
I WOULD ARGUE, AND I I THINK THE COUNCIL WOULD PROBABLY ECHO IT AS WELL.
WE NEED TO CREATE MORE OF THAT, NOT ONLY FROM WHAT WE'VE DONE, BUT EVEN OUTSIDE OF THAT.
AND SO WE'VE ACTUALLY NEGOTIATED WITH SOME OF THE DEVELOPERS TO PROVIDE DIFFERENT INCENTIVE PACKAGES.
AND SO, UM, ONE OF WHICH WAS THE CAR TRACK GAVE, THEY GAVE US A QUARTER OF A MILLION DOLLARS TO BE USED SPECIFICALLY TOWARDS AFFORDABLE HOUSING.
UM, THE OTHER ONE WITH THE MORGAN TRACT, I THINK THEY NEGOTIATED 2% OF THEIR UNITS AND $10,000 PER UNIT.
SO ESSENTIALLY I THINK IT WAS LIKE TWO AND A HALF MILLION DOLLARS IS WHAT IT'S GONNA ONE AND A HALF MILLION DOLLARS, UM, IS WHAT IT'S GONNA CREATE FOR WORKFORCE HOUSING.
SO WE KNOW THAT THERE'S A NEED THERE, WE'RE STARTING TO PUT IN PLACE KIND OF WHAT THOSE OTHER OPPORTUNITIES ARE GOING TO LOOK LIKE, BUT WE KNOW THAT IT RUNS THE GAMUT IN TERMS OF ANYWHERE BETWEEN AMIS OF BELOW 60% TO AMIS ABOVE THAT, THAT ARE STILL JUST NOT AFFORDABLE IN THIS MARKET.
WHEN, UM, I THINK THE AVERAGE COST THAT THERE WAS A HOUSING SYMPOSIUM A COUPLE MONTHS AGO AND THE, THE LADY SAID THAT THE AVERAGE COST OF A HOME ON HILTON HEAD WAS $1.1 MILLION.
THE AVERAGE COST OF A HOME IN BLUFFTON WAS $800,000, AND THE AVERAGE COST OF A HOME IN HARDY WAS $600,000.
AND SO AT $600,000, THAT IS STILL UNATTAINABLE FOR MANY, MANY PEOPLE EVEN ABOVE THE 60% A MI THRESHOLD.
I'M GLAD TO SEE THAT THAT IS A CONSIDERATION.
'CAUSE YOU KNOW, WE ALL REGIONALLY ARE DEALING WITH THAT, BUT WE KNOW WHEN IT COMES TO BUSINESSES, UM, THAT BECOMES DEFINITELY SOMETHING THAT'S ADVERSE TO THEM.
IF THEY CAN'T SUPPLY THE WORKFORCE NEEDED TO KEEP THE BUSINESSES OPERATING, IT IMPACTS EVERYONE.
UM, AND THEN LASTLY, YOU MENTIONED, UM, HAVING A, A WORKFORCE AND BEING ABLE TO TRAIN SOME OF THEM MM-HMM
UM, ARE YOU ALL LOOKING AT POSSIBLY BRINGING IN, UH, OR CREATING A PARTNERSHIP WITH YOUR, YOUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS? SO WHERE IF YOU KNOW, YOU'RE BRINGING IN BIG MANUFACTURING JOBS OR WHATEVER THE NEED IS THAT THEY ARE BUILDING THOSE TYPE OF THINGS INTO THEIR, UM, THEIR, UH, SCHOOLS? I KNOW SOME HAVE DONE LIKE ACADEMIES, SO WHERE IT COULD BE LIKE A, YOU KNOW, RIGHT FROM SCHOOL OUT INTO THAT PARTICULAR WORKFORCE, UM, COMPONENT? WE HAVE DEFINITELY TALKED WITH SOME OF OUR CHARTER SCHOOLS AND PRIVATE SCHOOLS.
UM, THE JASPER COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT, I WOULD SAY IS IN A TIME OF TRANSITION AND CHANGE.
AND SO WE HAVEN'T HAD A LOT OF DIRECT COMMUNICATIONS WITH THEM, BUT ONCE THEY GET TO THE POINT WHERE THEY'RE STABLE, WE WOULD LOVE TO ENGAGE WITH THEM TO HAVE JUST THOSE CONVERSATIONS.
AND SO WHILE THEY HAVEN'T HAPPENED YET, I DO ANTICIPATE THAT THEY'RE GONNA HAPPEN SOMETIME HERE SOON.
PLEASE KEEP THEM ON THE TABLE.
AS A, A FORMER PUBLIC SCHOOL EDUCATOR, THAT'S DEFINITELY A PLACE WHERE YOU HAVE A LOT OF, UH, TALENT FUNNELED THROUGH.
JUDGE, THANKS FOR THE PRESENTATION.
UM, YOU MENTIONED THAT THERE COULD BE 7,000 POSSIBLE JOBS MM-HMM
AND, AND THAT'S OVER EXPAND OF HOW MANY YEARS? I WOULD SAY 15 TO 20.
THAT'S, THAT'S THE LIKELY BUILD OUT CYCLE THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT FOR ALL OF THESE AREAS.
WHAT NEGOTIATION, UH, INCENTIVE WITH THESE, UH, INDUSTRIES THAT WOULD MAKE THOSE LOCAL JOBS.
SO I KNOW THAT, UM, TS CONDUCTORS, FOR EXAMPLE, RECEIVED SOME, UM, INCENTIVES BOTH FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE AND FROM JASPER COUNTY, UH, AS PART OF A MULTI-COUNTY INDUSTRIAL PARK.
BUT BEYOND THAT, THE CITY HASN'T HAD TO OFFER TOO MANY INCENTIVES OR TRY TO OTHERWISE ATTRACT FOLKS AT THIS POINT, JUST BECAUSE WE ARE THE NET NEXT LOGICAL GROWTH AREA WITH HILTON HEAD ALREADY BEING ESSENTIALLY BUILT OUT BLUFF AND GETTING TO THE POINT WHERE YOU'RE CLOSER AND CLOSER TO BEING BUILT OUT.
WE ARE THAT NEXT FRONTIER, AND PEOPLE THAT KNOW THIS AREA KNOW THAT THIS IS WHERE THE JOBS ARE GONNA COME.
AND SO WE HAVEN'T HAD TO OFFER TOO MANY INCENTIVES, BUT I DON'T KNOW IF THERE'S ANYTHING ELSE YOU'D WANT TO ADD TO THAT.
UM, IN TERMS OF THINGS THAT THE CITY MAY HAVE DONE? NO, I MEAN, WE HAVE, AND I, I THINK JOSH IS UNDERESTIMATING
BUT, UM, I DON'T, I DON'T LIKE BUCKY'S, FOR EXAMPLE, THERE WERE NO INCENTIVES OFFERED TO BUCKY'S.
THEY, NO, THERE'S, AND, YOU KNOW, VERY, VERY LITTLE.
THEY CAME IN THAT ONE TS CONDUCTOR, IT'S PART OF A-M-C-I-P, A MULTI COUNTER INDUSTRIAL PARK.
[00:35:01]
AND WE HAVE A FILO THAT WAS IN PLACE EVEN BEFORE THEY CAME MM-HMMBUT ONE OF THE BIG INCENTIVES FOR THIS AREA IS THE FACT THAT JASPER COUNTY IS AN OPPORTUNITY ZONE.
SO ALL THESE BIG WAREHOUSES THAT ARE GOING UP, THEY ARE INVESTMENT COMPANIES THAT PUT 'EM UP AND THEN THEY LEASE 'EM OUT.
EVEN TS CONDUCTOR, THEY'RE LEASED PROPERTIES.
SO, UM, THE, UM, IT IT'S, THEY HAVE INCENTIVES IN, IN, IN, UH, INVESTED IN THEM THROUGH THE OPPORTUNITY ZONES, THE TAX CREDITS THAT GO MAYBE MM-HMM
AND THAT'S WHAT'S GROWN A LOT OF THE INVESTMENT INTO SOUTHERN HARDY.
I THINK MOST OF, UH, BLUFFTON HAS COME TO A PLACE WHERE WE SAY, WE KNOW BETTER, SO WE DO BETTER.
SO I WANT TO SHARE WITH YOU THAT THAT WAS SOMETHING THAT WE DIDN'T KNOW AT THE TIME.
THAT QUALITY OF LIFE MEANS THAT YOU, YOU NEGOTIATE FOR YOUR RESIDENTS TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY CAN HAVE JOBS.
AND THESE, UH, BIG MANUFACTURED COMPANIES OR INDUSTRIES DON'T BRING THEIR PEOPLE TO OUR AREA AND LEAVE US, UM, UH, JOBLESS BASICALLY THAT'S, THAT'S A PART OF, UM, THE GROWTH.
THAT'S A PART OF MAINTAINING THE CULTURE AND, AND PRESERVING AND PRESERVING THAT QUALITY OF LIFE AND CHARACTER OF OUR COMMUNITIES.
SO LET'S, IF YOU KNOW, THE NEXT TIME YOU GET A CHANCE TO BE AT THE TABLE, IF YOU SAY, HEY, HOW MANY JOBS YOU GOING TO GIVE US? THEY'LL LISTEN.
AND HISTORICALLY, JASPER COUNTY WAS ONE OF THE POOREST COMMUNITIES IN THE STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA.
AND SO OUR EMPLOYMENT LEVELS WERE NOT NECESSARILY THE SAME AS WHAT WERE IN OTHER COMMUNITIES.
AND SO A LOT OF THE JOBS THAT WE'RE TRYING TO BRING TO OUR AREA NOW ARE TO SUPPORT THE RESIDENTS WHO ARE ALREADY THERE IN OUR COMMUNITY.
NOW, CERTAINLY THEY MAY BRING SOME WITH THEM, BUT YOU MAKE A GREAT POINT ABOUT MAKING SURE THAT THEY'RE GONNA SELECT, UH, FOLKS WHO ARE ALREADY HERE AND FOLKS WHO WE'VE HOPEFULLY TRAINED FOR THOSE JOBS TO GO RIGHT INTO THAT WORKFORCE.
PARDON, ANYTHING? UM, NO, NO QUESTIONS.
THAT WAS A LOT OF INFORMATION.
THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION.
I'D LOVE TO GET A COPY OF THAT IF POSSIBLE.
UM, I THINK MR. HAMILTON BROUGHT UP A GOOD POINT, JUST, UM, KNOW BETTER AND DO BETTER.
AND I THINK THAT US BEING A LITTLE BIT AHEAD OF Y'ALL WITH THE GROWTH, UM, I JUST, I HOPE THAT YOU, UM, WITH SOME OF THE UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES FROM OUR GROWTH THAT WE'RE NOW SEEING, I JUST HOPE THAT Y'ALL THINK FORWARD THINKING ON ALL OF THAT.
YEAH, I WOULD LIKE TO JUMP IN.
I, UM, YOU KNOW, IT'S FUNNY AND FIRST OF ALL, I WANT TO COMMEND THE MAYORS FOR BRINGING US TOGETHER.
UM, I'M A HUGE, AND, AND FRED SITS ON THE COMMITTEE AND THE MAYOR SITS ON THE COMMITTEE, A HUGE PROPONENT OF, SO LOCO MAYOR WILLIAMS KNOWS THAT, UM, I THINK THAT WE CAN'T GET OUT OF THIS ALIVE IF WE DON'T WORK REGIONALLY.
UM, YOU KNOW, YOU HAVE LIMITED RESOURCES, WHETHER IT'S JOBS, WHETHER IT'S SCHOOLS, WHETHER IT'S ROADS, WHETHER IT'S WATER QUALITY, UH, WHETHER IT'S AFFORDABLE HOUSING, THERE ARE LIMITATIONS TO EVERYTHING.
SO WE NEED A REGIONAL APPROACH.
BLUFFTON IS IN A DIFFERENT POSITION.
UH, AND I, YOU KNOW, I'VE LIVED HERE A LONG TIME MM-HMM
AND I WAS IN, INVOLVED IN JASPER COUNTY, AND, UH, SO I, I'M HAPPY FOR JASPER COUNTY AND HARDY V BECAUSE THEY WERE THE POSTER CHILDREN OF HAVING NOTHING FOR DECADES AND DECADES AND DECADES.
AND SO NOW THEY HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE SOME OF THESE THINGS.
BUT I WILL SAY THAT, UH, DECEASED THAT WE SIT IN, IN BLUFFTON ARE DIFFERENT THAN YOURS.
AND TODAY IN THE SENSE THAT THE NUMBER ONE THING WE HEARD ABOUT ALL OF US IN OUR TRYING TO BE REELECTED WAS GROWTH, GROWTH, GROWTH.
UM, SO ALL OF THE THINGS THAT WE JUST OUTLINED, UH, YOU KNOW, GROWTH, THEN YOU NEED THE JOBS, THEN YOU NEED THE HOUSING, THEN YOU NEED THE TRANSPORTATION.
AND ONE THING THAT'S ALWAYS CAUGHT MY ATTENTION, UM, POLITICALLY WAS I ALWAYS LOOKED AT MOUNT PLEASANT AND CHARLESTON MM-HMM
AND THEY GOT INUNDATED WITH TRAFFIC BECAUSE THE TRANSPORTATION GRID WAS NOT CAPABLE OF MANAGING OR HANDLING THE, THE FLOW OF PEOPLE THAT THEY PUT IN THERE WITH THE JOB SUCCESS AND THE, YOU KNOW, THE BIG CORPORATIONS AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
SO IT'D BE INTERESTING TO SEE HOW WE ALL SHAKE OUT BECAUSE LIKE IN SOUTHERN BEAUFORT COUNTY, THERE'S POSSIBILITY OF BUILDING ONE OR TWO ROADS, POSSIBLY, MAYBE NOT POLITICALLY.
UM, SO THE TRAFFIC FROM BLUFFTON AND SAVANNAH FLOW THROUGH HARDY V AND AS YOU SAID A WHILE AGO, THE TRAFFIC FROM MM-HMM
HARDY V AND, AND SAVANNAH AND BEAUFORT FLOW THROUGH BLUFFTON.
[00:40:01]
SO IT'S JUST GONNA BE INTERESTING TO SEE, UM, HOW WE NAVIGATE ALL OF THIS.AND I HAVE SEEN THAT HYUNDAI PLANT ON 16 AND IT LOOKS LIKE SOMETHING OUT OF A SCIENCE FICTION MOVIE.
NEVER IN MY LIFE HAVE I EVER SEEN ANYTHING THAT MAMMOTH MM-HMM
SO EVEN THAT IMPACTS US, YOU KNOW, THE JOB MARKET AND THE GROWTH AND THE HOUSING, EVERYTHING.
CB'S TEACHING COURSES IN KOREAN CULTURE NOW, SPECIFICALLY TO MARKET TOWARDS THE PEOPLE WHO ARE GONNA BE MOVING HERE TO SUPPORT THAT PLANT.
AND THAT GIVES YOU AN IDEA OF HOW REGIONAL OF AN IMPACT IT TRULY IS.
UM, I KNOW ONE OF THE QUESTIONS THAT I WAS GONNA HAVE FOR KIND OF THE, UM, CONVERSATIONAL POINT WAS GOING TO BE, YOU ALL ARE IN A VERY SIMILAR POSITION IN THAT WE ARE IN THAT MANY, MANY YEARS AGO, DECADES AGO, YOU HAD COUNCILS THAT APPROVED THESE DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENTS BEFORE THE GROWTH HAD COME HERE, ANTICIPATING THAT THESE THINGS ARE GONNA HAPPEN OVER TIME.
AND WE'RE IN A VERY SIMILAR POSITION NOW THAT A LOT OF THIS GROWTH THAT'S COMING HERE IS BASED UPON AGREEMENTS THAT WE'RE APPROVED 20, 25, 30 YEARS AGO.
THAT THERE'S NOT A WHOLE LOT THAT WE CAN DO ABOUT, BECAUSE WE CAN'T, WE CAN'T TAKE IT BACK.
BUT I WAS GONNA ASK YOU ALL, HOW HAVE YOU FOUND OPPORTUNITIES TO IMPROVE UPON THOSE AGREEMENTS OR TO TRY TO MAKE, AND I KNOW IT'S A TOUGH THING TO DO, BUT THAT'S, AGAIN, GIVEN WHERE YOU ARE AND WHERE WE'RE AT, THAT WAS ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I WAS GONNA ASK OF ADVICE AND GUIDANCE THAT Y'ALL MAY HAVE HAD.
CAN I JUMP IN, MAYOR? GO AHEAD.
UM, I, I THINK THE MAYOR HAS BEEN BEATING THE DRUM A LOT, UH, ABOUT THE ENVIRONMENT.
AND THAT IS A DIRECT RELATIONSHIP TO DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENTS.
UM, THE DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENTS THAT WERE WRITTEN THAT WE HAD HAD FLAWED LANGUAGE IN THEM.
FOR EXAMPLE, EVERY DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT SAYS THEY, WHAT IS THE WORD? SHOULD HAVE AFFORDABLE HOUSING SHALL, SHALL, BUT IT DOESN'T SAY WHEN IT HAS TO BE BUILT OR MUST OR, YOU KNOW, YEAH.
OR WHETHER THEY HAVE TO BUILD, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF IT WAS THEY, UM, FOR EXAMPLE, LIKE OVER AT SEA GRASS STATION, IT SAID THAT THEY HAVE TO DO NON AFFORDABLE HOUSING UNITS, BUT IT DIDN'T SAY THEY HAD TO BUILD 'EM AND WIN.
SO THEY SAVED THEM TO THE VERY, VERY END.
NOW WE'RE GETTING TO THE DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT, AND THOSE ARE THE LAST UNITS REMAINING.
I'M PRETTY, AND I MAY BE WRONG, RICHARDSON, I THINK THE WORD SHOULD WAS USED IN A LOT OF THOSE DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENTS.
I THINK THAT THERE'S, AFFORDABLE HOUSING WAS ADDRESSED IN ALL THE DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENTS, BUT IT WAS ADDRESSED AS A, AS A GOAL, NOT AS A SPECIFIC DELIVERABLE.
SO IT WAS ONE OF THOSE THINGS THAT THERE WAS THIS UNDERSTANDING THAT AFFORDABLE HOUSING WOULD BE DEVELOPED IF IT BECAME, I GUESS, PRUDENT FOR THE DEVELOPER IN THOSE DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENTS.
SO WITHOUT HAVING SPECIFIC QUANTIFIABLE DELIVERABLES, IT MAKES IT MUCH HARDER TO ENFORCE THAT OR TO ENCOURAGE THAT AFFORDABLE HOUSING.
SO THAT'S, THAT'S AN ILLUSTRATION OF THE AGREEMENTS WEREN'T WRITTEN AS ACCURATELY OR AS LOCKED UP AND FIRM AS THEY COULD HAVE BEEN.
AND THEN AGAIN, YOU KNOW, WE JUST TOUCHED ON ALL THE OTHER THINGS.
UM, SO THEN YOU GET INTO THE DEVELOPMENT SIDE, AND WE, I DON'T KNOW ABOUT HARDY VILLE, YOU KNOW, NOW WE'RE EXPERIENCING FLOODING ISSUES FROM GROWTH AND ACTUALLY NEIGHBORHOODS, HOUSES, MANY, UH, ONE, ONE DEVELOPMENT'S FLOODED TWICE IN EIGHT YEARS.
UM, THAT IS FROM THE STANDARDS THAT WERE CREATED AT THE TIME WHEN THEY BUILT THE STORMWATER SYSTEMS. BUT, YOU KNOW, THESE ARE ALL CHALLENGES.
I DON'T KNOW, YOUR, YOUR, THE LAY OF YOUR LAND MAY BE DIFFERENT.
BUT AGAIN, I THINK TRAFFIC, AND AS THE MAYOR ALWAYS TALKS ABOUT, IF YOU'RE, IF YOU'RE NOT KEEPING YOUR ENVIRONMENT SQUARED AWAY, YOU, YOU'RE JUST, YOU'RE GONNA RUIN THE QUALITY OF LIFE.
WELL, AND THERE'S NOT A DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT THAT Y'ALL HAVE ON THE BOOKS RIGHT NOW THAT WILL NOT, WHERE THE, THE OWNERS WILL NOT COME AND WANT TO AMEND IT NUMEROUS TIMES.
AND THAT'S YOUR WINDOW WHEN THEY WANT TO CHANGE SOMETHING THAT YOU DON'T REALLY HAVE TO SAY YES TO, THAT'S YOUR ONLY WINDOW TO SAY, OKAY, WE NEED, WE NEED SOME, A CONTRIBUTION FOR SOME AFFORDABLE HOUSING OR ROAD PROJECTS OR WHATEVER IT IS.
BECAUSE NONE OF THOSE AGREEMENTS WERE BULLETPROOF.
I MEAN, THEY, THEY, THEY'RE GENERAL IN DEVELOPMENT AND THEY GOT ALL THEY COULD FROM YOU, JUST LIKE THEY DID FROM US.
I MEAN, THEY, AND THEY'LL BUILD EVERY INCH THAT THAT'S RIGHTFULLY ALLOWED.
BUT THAT'S, THAT'S AN ADVANTAGE FOR THE ONLY THE OPPORTUNITY FOR YOU GUYS TO, YOU KNOW, WHEN THEY ASK FOR MORE OR, OR CHANGING THIS AND CHANGING THAT, GET SOMETHING FOR THE TOWN.
GET SOMETHING FOR THE PEOPLE, AFFORDABLE HOUSING OR WHATEVER IT MAY BE, MAKE THEM CONTRIBUTE.
[00:45:01]
STILL BE THERE ON THE TABLE.WE HAVE TO, WE CAN NO LONGER ALLOW CLEAR CUTTING OF OUR LANDS.
WE'VE SEEN THE RESULTS, YOU'VE MENTIONED THE FLOODING.
THESE WERE DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENTS THAT WERE WRITTEN 20 YEARS PLUS AGO, AND THEY WERE MOSTLY WRITTEN BY THE DEVELOPERS AND PRESENTED TO THE CITIES AND APPROVED AT THAT TIME.
THE DOOR OPENS, WE HAVE TO STEP IN AND WE HAVE TO LOOK FORWARD FOR WHAT OUR CHILDREN, GRANDCHILDREN, WHAT ARE WE GONNA LEAVE THEM HERE? WE CAN NO LONGER ALLOW THE, THE TREES TO BE CUT AND TO BE REPLACED WITH PINE TREES AND NON-NATIVE.
WE HAVE HERITAGE OAKS THAT WE CAN NO LONGER LOSE.
IT'S WHY I MOVED HERE AND WHY A LOT OF PEOPLE HAVE MOVED HERE.
WE HAVE TO MAKE IT A PRIORITY.
TO ADD TO YOUR, UM, YOUR QUESTION THERE, UH, JOSH, A LOT OF GREAT THINGS HAVE BEEN SAID.
UM, ANOTHER WAY, UH, THAT WE'VE HANDLED, ADDRESSED SOME OF THOSE ISSUES IN THE TIME THAT I'VE BEEN ON COUNCIL.
UM, I KNOW, UH, WE HAVE COME UP COLLECTIVELY WITH IDEAS ON THINGS THAT WE PUT IN A REFORESTATION PLAN.
SO LIKE YOU, THERE'S REALLY A LOT OF LIMITED THINGS YOU CAN DO WHEN IT COMES TO TELLING A PRIVATE PROPERTY OWNER WHAT THEY CAN AND CANNOT DO WITH THEIR LAND IF THEY'RE ABIDING BY WHATEVER STAT, UM, STATE, YOU KNOW, STATUE STATE.
BUT IN SAYING THINGS LIKE, NO, YOU CAN'T GO BACK AND CUT DOWN A OAK AND THEN PLANT A PINE TREE.
YOU HAVE TO, YOU KNOW, REPLACE IT WITH A NATIVE TREE AND THESE ARE THE, THE SPECIFIC TREE TYPES, AND IT HAS TO BE AN ARBORIST THAT TELLS YOU THAT YOU WERE ABLE TO, YOU KNOW, REMOVE A TREE.
YOU CAN'T JUST SAY, OH, IT WAS DEAD WITHOUT HAVING STAFF BE ABLE TO WEIGH IN.
UM, WHEN IT CAME TO, UM, UM, EVEN LOOKING AT SOME OF THE DEVELOPMENT THINGS FROM AFFORDABLE HOUSING, YOU KNOW, STANDPOINTS, UM, AND I DON'T KNOW WHERE NECESSARILY EVERYONE AGREES, BUT IT WAS AN OPPORTUNITY EVEN FOR YOU ALL TO LOOK AT MAYBE HAVING A DEVELOPER, UM, YOU KNOW, GIVE FEES OR SOMETHING IN LIEU OF THAT YOU COULD INTEND AND, UH, SAID, YOU KNOW, STEWARD THOSE FUNDS.
UM, ONE OF OUR GREAT QUALITY OF LIFE PROGRAMS HAS BEEN THE NEIGHBORHOOD ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.
AND SO WE KNOW THAT WE CAN'T BUILD A BRAND NEW HOME FOR EVERY ONE OF OUR RESIDENTS WHO CAN'T AFFORD TO HAVE ACCESS TO IT, BUT WE CAN REPAIR SAFE AND DRY STRUCTURES BY, YOU KNOW, HELPING TO REPAIR A ROOF OR WHATEVER IT IS.
AND IT'S AFFORDED A LOT OF, OF RESIDENTS, UM, TO BE ABLE TO MAINTAIN THEIR WAY OF LIFE AND STAY IN THE AREA AND STILL WORK.
SO IT'S ONE OF THE THINGS WHERE, YOU KNOW, EVERYONE SOMETIMES USES IT AS A POLITICAL POINT ON WHAT THEY'RE GONNA, UM, STOP THE GROWTH, THE DEVELOPMENT.
AND THE REALITY IS THERE'S ONLY BUT SO MUCH WE CAN DO BECAUSE OF THOSE STATE, UM, CODES.
BUT IT'S HAVING THE FORESIGHT TO LOOK AHEAD AND SAY THAT WE'RE NOT AFRAID OF GROWTH, BUT THE GROWTH HAS TO BE SMART AND IT HAS TO BALANCE TO NOT WHERE YOU ARE NOW, BUT THAT PLAN FOR BEING AHEAD.
BECAUSE ONLY 17 YEARS AGO WE WERE NOT ANNEXED WITH A PALMETTO BLUFF FOR BUCK WALTER AND HAD ALMOST 20,000 ACRES THAT WE ANNEXED IN AND GOT GROWTH, BUT IT WAS NEEDED.
WE DIDN'T HAVE MONEY IF, IF YOU DON'T DO IT.
SO IT'S KIND OF LIKE GOVERNMENT'S HAND IS TIED AT TIMES, BUT THERE'S SMART WAYS TO DO THINGS BY LOOKING AHEAD TO PLAN FOR THOSE UNATTENDED THOSE, UH, UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES.
UM, STEVEN, YOU WANNA, I'M GLAD TO AND THEN WE'LL CONTINUE.
DID YOU SUPPOSEDLY PICTURES JOSH TOOK YOU
SO AS YOU'RE GONNA HEAR FROM US, SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT THAN HARDY V JUST A LITTLE BIT.
I DON'T THINK WE HAVE, BUT YOU KNOW, ONLY A COUPLE MILLION SQUARE FOOT OF COMMERCIAL.
UM, BUT AS, AS JOSH KIND OF ALLUDED TO, AND WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THE DIFFERENCE IN THE REGION DOWN HERE IS THAT, YOU KNOW, HILTON HEAD IS DEVELOPED WITH ITS OWN UNIQUE CHARACTER BECAUSE OF THE BEACH, THE TOURISTS, THE BRIDGE WE'VE DEVELOPED BECAUSE OF OUR ENVIRONMENT, OUR RIVER, OUR LOCATION, AND Y'ALL WITH THE INTERSTATE AND EVERYTHING, HAVE DIFFERENT THINGS THAT HAVE LED TO THE DIFFERENT TYPE OF DEVELOPMENT THAT HAS TAKEN PLACE IN THE COMMUNITY.
UM, AND THAT'S ALSO IMPACTED HOW WE'VE PLANNED AND DEVELOPED AROUND OUR COMMUNITY.
UM, WHAT YOU'RE GONNA HEAR FROM US IS THAT WE'RE A LITTLE FURTHER DOWN THAT CURVE OF GROWTH THAN, UH, WE'RE, WE'RE NOT, WE'RE BEHIND HARDY OR BEHIND, UH, HILTON HEAD, BUT AHEAD OF Y'ALL.
UM, LIKE THE 3, 3, 3 KIDS THERE.
UM, SO I'M GONNA GO A LITTLE BIT OVER THE OVERVIEW.
BLUFFTON TODAY GROWTH DATA, SOME OF OUR PROJECTS THAT ARE GOING ON IN THE COMMUNITY THAT ARE GONNA BE BENEFICIAL TO THE ENTIRE REGION.
'CAUSE AGAIN, EVEN THOUGH WE'VE, WE ARE SEPARATE ENTITIES, WE ALL TOUCH EACH OTHER, WE ALL DEPEND ON EACH OTHER.
WE ALL HAVE A DIFFERENT CHARACTERISTICS THAT DEPEND AND SUPPORT EACH OTHER.
AND THEN, UH, TALK ABOUT SOME OF THE LAND ACQUISITION WE'RE DOING.
AND THIS GOES INTO KIND OF SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE'RE DOING WITH THE DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENTS TO TRY TO, NOW THAT WE'VE REACHED A CERTAIN POINT STOP DEVELOPMENT FROM OCCURRING, UM, AS WELL AS JUST TALKING ABOUT OUR STRATEGIC PLANNING AND SOME OF OUR CIP PROJECTS.
[00:50:01]
LARGEST MUNICIPALITY IN LANDMASS.WE USED TO BE FOURTH, WE GOT PASSED BY SOMEBODY DOWN ON THE INTERSTATE.
UM, AGAIN, SINCE 2000 WE'VE HAD MORE THAN A 14000% GROWTH.
AND OUR, UH, I'M SORRY, 1400% GROWTH ADDED AN EXTRA ZERO.
UM, OUR MEDIAN AGE, THE LAST TIME WE DID OUR, UM, SURVEY WAS AROUND 37 AND A HALF.
I THINK IT'S A LITTLE OVER 40 THIS TIME.
UM, IT CONTINUES TO GROW UP AS PEOPLE MOVE AND LIVE HERE.
UM, AGAIN, IF YOU SURVEY, I'M SURE PROBABLY HARDY V HILTON HEAD, WE'RE PROBABLY YOUNGER THAN MOST OF THOSE AREAS.
I THINK WE ONLY HAVE TWO NEIGHBORHOODS WITH TWO DEVELOPMENTS WITHIN THE TOWN THAT ARE AGE RESTRICTED.
UM, I THINK FOUR SEASONS AND THE HAVEN AND THE HAVEN, EVERYTHING ELSE IS, UH, NO RESTRICTIONS FOR AGE.
UM, YOU SEE OUR AVERAGE HOUSEHOLD INCOME, AVERAGE RENT, MEDIAN HOME VALUE, AND AS YOU SAID, THAT'S MEDIAN.
IT'S, THEY'RE SELLING THE, THAT WAS IT, UH, LAST YEAR.
SO THIS YEAR IT'S PROBABLY AVERAGING A HUNDRED THOUSAND MORE THAN THAT OR SO.
UM, THERE WE ARE IN 87 1 SQUARE MILE HERE WE ARE TODAY A LITTLE OVER 54 SQUARE MILES.
UM, PROBABLY PUSHING 55 SINCE WE ANNEXED A LITTLE BIT OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS.
UM, YOU, BUT WITH US, YOU CAN SEE ALL THOSE NICE DONUTS, ALL THE WHITE SPOTS THAT ARE UNINCORPORATED BEAUFORT COUNTY, AND I'LL TALK ABOUT THOSE IN A MINUTE ABOUT HOW THEY IMPACT OUR AREA.
UM, SO WE HAVE OUR GROWTH FRAMEWORK AND WHAT YOU'RE SEEING TODAY MATCHES OUR GROWTH FRAMEWORK THAT HAS BEEN IN PLACE FOR A COUPLE DECADES.
SO THAT, UH, BRIGHT RED SPOT YOU SEE IN THE MIDDLE IS THE INTERSECTION OF BLUFFTON PARKWAY AND BUCK WALTER.
AND IF YOU GO, UH, IN A MINUTE, I'M GONNA TALK ABOUT EVERYTHING THAT'S GOING ON RIGHT THERE.
THAT IS OUR BIGGEST HOTSPOT FOR DEVELOPMENT RIGHT NOW.
BUT AS YOU CAN SEE WITH THE YELLOW CIRCLES ON THE PERIMETER, THERE'S UM, YOU'VE GOT THE TRAFFIC CIRCLE OUT THERE, A NEW RIVERSIDE.
YOU'VE GOT THE INTERSECTION OF 2 78, 1 70 UP ON 2 78, AND DIFFERENT AREAS WHERE WE'VE SEEN COMMERCIAL GROWTH TAKE PLACE.
UM, AND Y'ALL SEE THIS EVERY TIME YOU DRIVE, AS YOU SHIFT FROM EAST TO WEST, AS THE GROWTH HAS GONE WITH THE TOWN, WITH RESIDENTIAL FROM EAST TO WEST, YOU CAN GO BACK AND SEE THE COMMERCIAL FALLING BEHIND IT.
SO NOW BUCK WALTERS FILLING IN THE INTERSECTION OF 2 78 AND OR ONE 70 AND NEW RIVERSIDE.
AND WE'LL CONTINUE TO SHIFT MORE EAST AND NORTH TOWARDS AS, AS THE, UM, COMMERCIAL DEVELOPS OUT.
UM, THE GREEN IS ALL OF OUR DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENTS WE'RE VERY SIMILAR TO Y'ALL.
WE'RE 92% IN DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENTS.
I DON'T KNOW, Y'ALL ARE PROBABLY SOMEWHERE AROUND THAT SAME.
UM, AND THEN WE HAVE A FEW AREAS THAT ARE, UM, TYPICAL ZONING, WHICH IS OUR OLD TOWN AREA AND MOST OF OUR BUCK ISLAND SIMMONS NEIGHBORHOODS.
SO THIS IS WHAT I WAS TALKING ABOUT EARLIER.
SO THIS IS KIND OF A REGIONAL MAP.
EVERYTHING THAT'S GREEN ARE APPROVED.
DEVELOPMENTS WITHIN THE TOWN FOR NEIGHBORHOODS, EVERYTHING THAT'S BEIGE IS OTHER RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENTS THAT HAVE BEEN BUILT THAT ARE NOT IN THE TOWN.
BUT WE GET BLAMED FOR, YOU KNOW, SO WE GET TOLD Y'ALL ARE THE REASON THAT THERE'S DEVELOPMENT AT ROSE HILL OR WHERE, YOU KNOW, THEY CALL AND WANT TO COMPLAIN TO THE TOWN.
BUT THE CHART ON THE RIGHT, YOU CAN SEE THIS ON OUR MAP GALLERY.
WHAT IT GETS DOWN TO IS WHEN YOU GET TO THE VERY END, YOU'LL SEE THAT THE TOWN'S APPROVED JUST ABOUT 30,000 RESIDENTIAL UNITS.
THE UNINCORPORATED COUNTY HAS ABOUT 30,000 RESIDENTIAL UNITS.
SO AS MUCH AS WE'VE ALLOWED GROWTH TO OCCUR WITHIN THE TOWN OF BLUFFTON, THERE'S JUST AS MUCH RIGHT AROUND US THAT WE HAVE NO CONTROL OVER WHATSOEVER THAT BEAUFORT COUNTY HAS APPROVED THROUGH ALL THE DIFFERENT NEIGHBORHOODS, INCLUDING SUN CITY, BE FAIR, ROSE HILL, CRESCENT, UM, AND EVEN RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE TOWN WITH, UH, GRANDI OAKS AND SOME OTHER PLACES LIKE THAT, THAT ARE COMPLETELY SURROUNDED BY THE TOWN.
SO THIS IS WHERE WE ARE KIND OF FROM YEAR TO YEAR.
YOU CAN SEE JUST LAST YEAR WE'VE GROWN ABOUT 2% OF OUR RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT WAS BUILT OUT.
OUR COMMERCIAL ACTUALLY WENT DOWN, AND THAT'S BEEN BECAUSE WE, UH, EXPIRED ABOUT 29 ACRES, BUT WE ANNEXED IN 65 MORE.
SO WE ANNEXED IN RIGHT OFF OF, UH, BUCK WALTER AND, UH, BLUFFTON PARKWAY.
SO OUR, UM, BECAUSE OF THAT, WE HAVE MORE COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT THAT WE BROUGHT IN, BUT WE HAVEN'T BUILT IT.
SO THAT ACTUALLY WENT DOWN THIS YEAR.
AND YOU CAN SEE MOST OF OUR DEVELOPMENT HAS TAKEN PLACE OVER HERE ON THE WEST SIDE OF TOWN, SOUTHWEST.
THIS IS IN THE P PRESENTATION.
YOU GOT, THIS IS A CHART WE PUT TOGETHER.
WE, WE, WE SEND IN EVERY COUNCIL PACKET, BUT UM, IT JUST KIND OF GOES THROUGH WHAT'S REMAINING FOR ALL OF OUR RESIDENTIAL UNITS.
UM, AND THEN WE PUT IT OUT ON, WE HAVE A MAP THAT SHOWS EVERYTHING THAT GOES ON IN TOWN, ALWAYS THROW IT IN THERE JUST FOR, AS WE'RE DOING ANYTHING OUT IN THE PUBLIC.
IN CASE ANYBODY EVER WONDERS YOU DRIVE BY AND YOU SEE A BACKHOE MOVING DIRT, YOU CAN COME ON HERE, CLICK THE BLUE DOT, YOU CAN SEE WHAT'S BEING BUILT.
YOU CAN SEE A COPY OF THE PLANS WHEN THEY'RE INSPECTED AND SO FORTH AND SO ON.
UM, IF IT'S SOMETHING YOU DON'T HAVE, IT'S SOMETHING I WOULD RECOMMEND BECAUSE IT HELPS A LOT WITH THE COMMUNITY, WITH RESIDENTS AND, AND COUNCIL
[00:55:01]
WHEN THEY GET CALLS TO DIRECT PEOPLE TO KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON.SO A BUNCH OF UPCOMING PROJECTS, WE HAVE TWO HOSPITALS THAT ARE ABOUT TO BE BUILT, UM, ONE'S BROKEN GROUND AND IS ACTUALLY GETTING READY.
IT'S GOING VERTICAL, UH, SOON.
THE OTHER ONE IS IN THE PROCESS OF PERMITTING.
THEY'RE BOTH AT THE INTERSECTION OF BUCKWALTER AND BLUFFTON PARKWAY.
ONE IS THE BLUFFTON COMMUNITY MEDICAL CAMPUS, WHICH IS BEAUFORT MEMORIAL HOSPITAL, WHICH IS BEING BUILT, UM, ON THE NORTH SIDE OF BLUFFTON PARKWAY.
AND IT'LL BE ABOUT 91,000 SQUARE FEET MEDICAL OFFICE WITH EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT.
AND IT'LL HAVE, I THINK 30 GIVE OR TAKE BEDS IN THERE DIRECTLY ACROSS FROM IT.
SOUTH RIGHT HERE IS WHERE NOVANT'S ABOUT TO BUILD A FOUR STORY NEW HOSPITAL RIGHT THERE.
THEY'RE GOING THROUGH THE PERMIT PROCESS AND THEY'RE TRYING TO, UM, BREAK GROUND HERE, I THINK IN END OF THIS MONTH, OR THE FIRST PART OF MAY.
AND THEY'LL BE BUILDING ANOTHER HOSPITAL THERE, AND THEY'RE GONNA HAVE ONE COMPLETELY BUILT OUT.
YEAH, BETWEEN 90 AND A HUNDRED, UH, BEDS THERE.
SO SOMETHING THAT'S DESPERATELY BEEN NEEDED, SOMETHING THAT WE'VE BEEN TRYING TO PRIORITIZE AND PUSH FOR.
UM, THE STATE CERTIFICATE OF NEED LAW EXPIRING IS HELPING THAT ACTUALLY MOVE FORWARD.
BUT BECAUSE OF THAT, WE'LL HAVE TWO HOSPITALS IN OUR AREA THAT WE'LL A, THAT OUR CITIZENS WILL BE ABLE TO USE RIGHT AROUND THERE.
JUST NORTH, WE'RE GETTING AN ACTUALLY STANDALONE EMERGENCY ROOM SIMILAR TO TIDE WATCH, WHICH I'M NOT SURE IF IT'S IN Y'ALL'S TOWN LIMITS OR NOT.
UM, A, A STANDALONE EMERGENCY ROOM BY NOVANT RIGHT ACROSS FROM WASHINGTON SQUARE.
AND WE'RE ALSO HAVING A MEDICAL OFFICE BUILT DIRECTLY THIS WAY, WHICH WILL BE A PARTNERSHIP WITH MUSC BECAUSE SO MANY OF OUR CITIZENS, IF THEY CAN'T SEE SOMEBODY HERE, THEY HAVE TO DRIVE TO CHARLESTON TO BE ABLE TO SEE 'EM AND GO TO MUSC.
SO IT'LL ACTUALLY BE A PLACE WHERE MUSC DOCTORS CAN ACTUALLY SEE REP PATIENTS HERE ON A REGULAR BASIS SO RESIDENTS DON'T HAVE TO COMMUTE BACK AND FORTH TO CHARLESTON QUITE AS MUCH.
SO ALL OF THOSE ARE UNDER CONSTRUCTION AND THEN RIGHT BEHIND IT THERE'S A WATER TOWER GOING UP TO HELP MAKE SURE THEY'VE GOT PLENTY OF WATER TO, UM, OPERATE AS THEY MOVE FORWARD.
UM, WE'RE ALSO DOING SOME ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT WITH OUR DON RYAN CENTER, WHICH IS A PARTNER WITH UM, VILLE.
UM, RIGHT NEXT TO OUR POLICE DEPARTMENT.
WE'RE PARTNERING, UH, WITH DOLNICK TIM DOLNICK TO BUILD, UM, 36,000 SQUARE FEET OF LIGHT INDUSTRIAL WAREHOUSE.
THAT'S ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'RE HEARING'S MISSING THE MOST WITHIN OUR TOWN.
AS WE KNOW, LAND IS TIGHT AND IT'S EXPENSIVE, BUT THE MIXED WAREHOUSE WHERE IT COULD BE SAY LIKE A PLUMBER WHERE YOU MAY HAVE AN OFFICE IN FRONT HVAC, SOMETHING LIKE THAT, AND THEN YOU HAVE A WAREHOUSE MIXED USE IN THE BACK AND A PLACE TO STORE YOUR VEHICLES AND EQUIPMENT OVERNIGHT SO THAT YOU CAN SERVICE OUR RESIDENTS.
'CAUSE ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE HEAR FROM OUR RESIDENTS AS WE'VE GROWN SO MUCH, AND I'M SURE Y'ALL PROBABLY GETTING THERE AS WELL, IS WE HAVE A TOUGH TIME FINDING PEOPLE TO PROVIDE SERVICES, LIKE YOU SAID, BRINGING IN THE JOBS FOR THE PEOPLE WHO ALREADY LIVE HERE.
UM, THE OTHER THING WE'RE DOING WITH IT IS THE TOWN IS ACTUALLY GONNA GET THIS BUILDING BACK RIGHT HERE AND DON RYAN CENTER IS GONNA MANAGE THAT AND THAT'S GONNA BE A INCUBATE, UH, A STAR WHERE PEOPLE CAN, UM, USE AS A COWORK SPACE INCUBATOR SPACE GROW THEIR BUSINESS LANDING PAD.
WE'LL HAVE A CHILDCARE FACILITY IN THE BOTTOM OF IT THAT'S GONNA BE RAN BY ONE OF OUR DRCI CLIENTS.
AND, UM, WE'LL HAVE SOME, UH, LOW INCOME CHILDCARE SPOTS.
SO THEY ARE GUARANTEED TO, UH, HOLD FOR RESIDENTS AS PART OF THAT PARTNERSHIP.
UM, AND THEN THE GOAL IS WE'LL HAVE A COUPLE MIXED USE SPACES IN THERE AS WELL.
THE GOAL IS AS PEOPLE ARE GOING THROUGH OUR DRCI PROGRAM AND THEY NEED A SPACE TO LAND, THEY'VE GOT A LANDING SPACE.
IF THEY'RE GROWING, THEY CAN GROW IN THERE.
BUT THE GOAL IS NOT TO KEEP 'EM HERE FOREVER.
THE GOAL IS TO GET 'EM IN, GET 'EM SET AND LET THEM GO.
FIND ANOTHER SPACE TO MOVE INTO SO THAT WE CAN BRING SOMEBODY ELSE IN TO START ANOTHER BUSINESS OR CONTINUE TO GROW A BUSINESS.
THESE ARE A COUPLE OTHER DEVELOPMENTS YOU MENTIONED NEW RIVERSIDE VILLAGE.
IT'S GOING ON RIGHT THERE AT THE INTER INTERSECTION OF THE TRAFFIC CIRCLE.
THERE'S A COMMERCIAL ALL IN AROUND THE E EXTERIOR AND THEN, UM, TOWN HOMES AND APARTMENTS IN THE BACK.
THIS IS WASHINGTON SQUARE UP ON, UH, BUCK WATER.
SO YOU CAN SEE THERE'S A MIXTURE OF, UH, TOWN HOMES HERE.
AND THEN WE HAVE COMMERCIAL ALONG THE FRONT OFFICE AND INSTITUTIONAL BACK RIGHT HERE.
UH, THEY JUST COMPLETED THE FIRST BUILDING.
THEY'RE GETTING READY TO BUILD THE MIRROR TO IT BACK HERE.
UM, SO AGAIN, SO THESE ARE JUST SOME OF THE MAJOR DEVELOPMENTS THAT ARE GONE.
AGAIN, YOU HEARD WHERE YOU SAW THOSE RED AND YELLOW SPOTS.
THAT'S WHERE ALL THESE ARE GOING.
EVERYTHING IN BUCK WALTERS WHERE THE MEDICAL, WHERE WASHINGTON SQUARE, THAT'S AT THAT HOT SPOT RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE.
THE YELLOW IS WHERE YOU SEE NEW RIVERSIDE
[01:00:01]
VILLAGE, MAY RIVER CROSSING THAT'S OVER THERE AT THE INTERSECTION OF, UH, AND THE REASON I POINT THOSE OUT IS BECAUSE, AS YOU MENTIONED EARLIER, CONNECTED BY THE ROADWAYS, WHEN THOSE HOSPITALS GET BUILT, BLUFFTON ISN'T GONNA BE THE ONLY RESIDENT OR PEOPLE THAT ARE GONNA BE USING THOSE HOSPITALS.WE KNOW THEY'RE GONNA BE A REGIONAL RESOURCE FOR EVERYBODY.
UM, AND ACTUALLY BOTH OF 'EM HAVE SAID THAT'S WHERE THEY ANTICIPATE IS THAT TO BE THEIR SOUTHERN BEAUFORT, BEAUFORT COUNTY, THEIR HUB FOR SOUTHERN BEAUFORT COUNTY TO HUB OUT TO HARDY V AND HILTON HEAD FROM THERE.
SO WHAT GUIDES ALL OF WHAT GOES ON IN THE TOWN, IT'S ALWAYS OUR STRATEGIC PLAN.
UM, THIS IS OUR CURRENT JUST, UM, COVER, BUT YOU CAN SEE WE'VE HAD THE SAME, I THINK WE ADDED A SEVENTH IN ABOUT SIX OR SEVEN YEARS AGO.
BUT SINCE THEN WE'VE HAD THE SAME SEVENTH TOPICS THAT HAVE BEEN UP THERE THAT DRIVE EVERY DECISION THAT COUNCIL MAKES.
UM, SO WHEN IT COMES TO ANYTHING WE'RE DOING, IT'S GONNA IMPACT ONE OF THOSE SEVEN AREAS.
IT ALSO DIRECTS WHERE OUR FUNDING GOES TO MAKE SURE THAT IF WE'RE PUTTING MONEY INTO A CIP PROJECT, THAT IT'S GONNA ADDRESS ONE OF THOSE, THOSE ITEMS. ONE OF THOSE THAT WE'RE DOING RIGHT NOW IS LAND ACQUISITION.
WE'VE BEEN SETTING MONEY ASIDE FOR YEARS, SO WE'RE TRYING TO ACTUALLY BUY LAND RIGHT NOW.
UM, AND THE REASON WE'RE TRYING TO BUY IT IS BECAUSE ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE DIDN'T DO AS PART OF OUR DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENTS IS WE DIDN'T ASK THEM TO RESERVE ANY LAND FOR, UM, CIVIC USE.
SO SCHOOLS, FIRE STATIONS, HOSPITAL, YOU KNOW, ANY OF THAT KIND OF STUFF THAT NEEDS TO COME BACK BEHIND PARKS AND STUFF LIKE THAT.
SO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'RE RUNNING INTO IS THE SCHOOLS ARE RUNNING OUTTA SPACE.
THEY NEED TO BUILD MORE SCHOOLS, THEY HAVE TO BUY LAND TO BE ABLE TO DO SO BECAUSE NEW RIVERSIDE DIDN'T GIVE 'EM A HUNDRED ACRES TO BUILD ON.
THEY HAD TO BUY THE LAND TO BUILD ON.
YOU KNOW, WE DIDN'T GET LAND FROM CYPRESS RIDGE, WHICH IS 1900 HOMES.
THEY'VE GOTTA BUY LAND TO THEN SERVICE THEM.
SO THAT'S ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WASN'T INCLUDED IN WHEN WE TALKED ABOUT LESSONS LEARNED FROM DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENTS.
THAT WAS ONE WE DIDN'T, DIDN'T INCLUDE.
I KNOW Y'ALL HAVE DONE SOME OF THAT IN SOME OF YOUR DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENTS.
SO RIGHT NOW WE'RE TRYING TO, WE'RE WORKING WITH A SCHOOL DISTRICT TO BUY WHAT'S CALLED WILLOW RUN TRACK, WHICH IS ON 2 78.
IT'S RIGHT HERE AND THERE'S A FIRE STATION RIGHT THERE.
AND THEN EAGLES, I THINK IT'S EAGLES POINT, EAGLES.
THAT EAGLES POINT IS RIGHT HERE.
SO WE'RE WORKING TO BUY THAT AND IT'LL TAKE OFF, UH, ABOUT 350 RESIDENTIAL UNITS.
IT'LL TAKE OFF ABOUT A MILLION SQUARE FOOT OF COMMERCIAL OF DEVELOPMENT RIGHTS.
UM, AND THE TOWN ALREADY HAS A PIECE OF PROPERTY DOWN THERE IN THE RED.
WE'RE GONNA END UP SWAPPING FROM HERE.
WE BOUGHT THIS PROPERTY AND BEEN HOLDING IT FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING.
SO WE'LL SWAP THAT AND THEN WE CAN PUT OUR AFFORDABLE HOUSING UP HERE AND THEN THE SCHOOL CAN BUILD THEIR SCHOOL FURTHER OFF THE ROAD, WHICH IS WHERE THEY WANT TO BE.
WE'LL HAVE A WORK SESSION WITH COUNCIL ON IT AT OUR MAY MEETING.
AND THE GOAL IS TO FINALIZE IT, HOPEFULLY AROUND TWO FIRST AND SECOND READING OF EVERYTHING IN JUNE AND JULY AND CLOSE IN JULY.
SO THIS GIVES YOU AN IDEA OF WHAT WE'RE, WE'RE, LIKE I SAID, WHERE WE'RE LOOKING TO SWAP LAND.
AND THEN THERE'S EVERYTHING WE'RE LOOKING TO TAKE OFF.
I FORGOT THE TWO, UH, 150 UNIT HOTELS AS WELL THAT WE'LL GET ACCESS TO.
AND THE GOAL IS, AS YOU HEARD MENTIONED, UM, WHAT OUR COUNCIL HERE IS IN THE COMMUNITY IS WE HAVE TOO MUCH GROWTH.
WE NEED BETTER SCHOOLS, OR OUR KIDS NEED SPACE IN SCHOOL, SO FORTH.
SO WHAT'S DRIVING THIS IS TRYING TO REDUCE SOME OF THE DEVELOPMENT THAT CAN TAKE PLACE SO WE CAN PRESERVE MORE GREEN SPACE AND, AND, AND DROP THAT.
UM, OUTSIDE OF THAT RIGHT BELOW WILLOW RUN, WE'VE GOT GREEN PENNY APPLICATION IN FOR THESE TWO PROPERTIES HERE WITH BEAUFORT COUNTY TO BUY THESE TWO PROPERTIES AND HOLD THEM IN PRESERVATION FOR THE FUTURE.
THEY CURRENTLY DON'T HAVE ANY DEVELOPMENT RIGHTS ON 'EM, BUT THEY'RE IN BUCK WALTER DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT, WHICH MEANS THAT IF SOMEBODY BOUGHT, SAY THIS PIECE OF PROPERTY RIGHT HERE AND THEY HAD DEVELOPMENT RIGHTS, THEY COULD JUST MOVE IT OVER TO THAT PROPERTY AND DEVELOP IT.
SO WE'RE TRYING TO PRESERVE 'EM WITH THE BRIEFING OR FOR FUTURE COUNCIL WANTS TO, DECIDED TO GIVE THEM DEVELOPMENT RIGHTS IN THE FUTURE.
YOU KNOW, 20 YEARS DOWN THE ROAD WHEN GROWTH IS SLOW, SOMEBODY MAY SAY, HEY, THIS IS A GREAT SPOT AND THAT COUNCIL MAY AGREE.
SO THIS WOULD KEEP IT PRESERVED THROUGH THE GREEN PENNY.
UM, AND WE COULD DO NATURE TRAILS OR SOME STUFF LIKE THAT, BUT THAT'S ABOUT IT.
UM, THE OTHER PARTNERSHIPS THAT WE'RE WORKING ON IS SEPTIC TO SEWER.
SO ONE OF THAT'S A BIG PUSH THAT WE'RE HAVING AS WE TALKED ABOUT ENVIRONMENT IS PROTECTING OUR RIVER.
OUR NATURAL RESOURCES IS TRYING TO GET SOME OF THESE SEPTIC TANKS THAT ARE FAILING AROUND THE AREA, THAT ARE POLLUTING INTO THE RIVER AND REMOVE THEM.
WE GO BACK TO OUR STRATEGIC PLANNING, OUR ENVIRONMENT IS ONE OF OUR BIG THINGS.
PROTECTING THE MAY RIVER AND SURROUNDING WATER SOURCES IS ONE OF THE BIG ONES.
SO WE'VE PARTNERED WITH B-J-W-S-A AND THE COUNTY TO DO STONY CREEK PROJECT, WHICH IS GONNA REMOVE, UM,
[01:05:01]
STONY CREEK CAMPGROUND PLUS ABOUT AN ADDITIONAL A HUNDRED PROPERTIES OFF OF FAILING SEPTIC SYSTEMS ONTO SEWER, WHERE THE HEAD OF THE MAY RIVER SITS RIGHT HERE TO KEEP IT AND TRY TO PRODU REDUCE THE AMOUNT OF FECAL COLIFORM THAT GOES INTO THE RIVER RIGHT THERE.STEVEN, IF I MAY, THE, THE ONE YOU JUST MENTIONED, THE TRIFECTA OF THE AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE THREE PARTIES, B-J-W-S-A AND THE COUNTY.
THAT IS, THAT IS AN UNINCORPORATED BUFORT COUNTY THAT IS NOT IN THE CITY, IN THE TOWN.
THERE'S A VERY, VERY, LIKE RIGHT HERE THAT, THAT AREA THERE, THE REST OF THIS IS ALL UNINCORPORATED.
UM, THERE'S ALSO, WE'VE BEEN TALKING WITH THEM ABOUT, UM, AJOY AS WELL AS A PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN THE COUNTY US.
'CAUSE AGAIN, YOU HAVE FAILING SEPTIC SYSTEMS THAT DRAIN DIRECTLY INTO THE MAY RIVER.
AND, UH, TRY TO ADDRESS THOSE, UH, OTHER PARTNERSHIPS IS LATS.
Y'ALL ARE MEMBERS OF LATS, I THINK, UH, MAYOR, I THINK YOU'RE THE CHAIR OF IT.
SO, UM, AS LONG AS I'LL LET YOU BE CHAIR AND, UH, NO, I
PROJECTS THAT ARE BEING STUDIED, AS WE TALKED ABOUT WITH TRANSPORTATION, THAT'S ONE OF OUR STRATEGIC PLAN ITEMS. IT'S ALSO A BIG REGIONAL TRANSPORTATION ISSUE.
YOU HIT ON SEVERAL OF THE MAIN AREAS, THE ORIGIN, THE 4 46, 3 15.
UH, RIGHT NOW WE'RE DOING A BLUFFTON PARKWAY CORRIDOR THAT GOES ALL THE WAY FROM ONE 70 TO THE FLYOVER ON THE BRIDGE.
UM, TRYING TO LOOK AT IMPROVEMENTS THAT MAY BE NEEDED ON INTERSECTIONS OR QUEUING OF VEHICLES.
UH, EVEN THE ROUNDABOUT AT, UM, UH, BLUFFTON ROAD AND SO FORTH.
UM, THE COUNTY HAS SOME PROJECTS LIKE BURNT CHURCH ROAD IMPROVEMENTS THAT ARE PART OF PREVIOUS BOND REFERENDUMS THAT WE'RE STILL WAITING ON THEM TO COMPLETE.
UM, SO WE'RE, UM, GOING THROUGH THOSE.
AND THEN THERE'S SOME LONG-TERM PROJECTS WITH LIKE 46 WIDENING TO THE COUNTY LINE, UM, UH, POTENTIAL PARKWAY, UM, FIVE B REALIGNMENT, ANY OF THOSE KIND OF THINGS THAT MAY COME OUT OF THE FUTURE STUDY OR ANY OF THAT KIND OF STUFF.
BUT AGAIN, REGIONAL TRANSPORTATION IS A MAJOR ISSUE WHEN IT COMES TO Y'ALL'S GROWTH, OUR AND, AND WHAT WE'VE ALREADY HAD.
SO IT'S A MATTER OF MAKING SURE THAT THEY'RE GETTING STUDIED AND THAT THAT'S A REGIONAL, UM, LOOK INTO IT.
SO WE'RE ALSO WORKING ON CAPITAL PROJECTS FOR OUR CITIZENS AND THAT, I'M SURE I, I WOULDN'T BE SURPRISED LIKE WITH THE NEW RIVERSIDE PARK THAT WE'VE OPENED, IF WE DON'T HAVE SOME COMING OVER FROM YOUR NECK OF THE WOODS TO BRING KIDS, GRANDKIDS OVER TO VISIT IT.
BUT THESE ARE AGAIN, OUR, A LIST OF OUR CAPITAL PROJECTS THAT WE'RE WORKING ON, SOME THAT WE'VE COMPLETED.
WE HAVE A NEW WELCOME CENTER THAT WE OPENED UP EARLIER THIS YEAR WITH SQUIRE POPE.
UM, WE HAVE OUR SPLASH PAD THAT WE OPENED UP LAST NOVEMBER, JUST, UH, REOPENED IT BACK UP FOR THE SEASON RIGHT BEFORE, UM, 1ST OF APRIL.
UM, WE HAVE OUR NEW RIVERSIDE BARN PARK.
AND AGAIN, TRYING TO KEEP UP WITH WHERE THE GROWTH'S GOING.
THIS IS A HUGE PARK OVER WHERE WE'VE HAD OUR FAST GOING AREA.
UM, WE'RE STILL CONTINUING TO WORK ON THE BARN.
YOU CAN SEE THE WALKING TRAILS IN THERE.
THERE'LL, THERE'LL BE A PHASE TWO OF TRAILS THAT GO BACK THROUGH THE WOODS.
UM, AND THEN WE'LL FINISH UP THE BARN AS AN EVENT VENUE.
AND IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE DONE AT THE END OF THIS YEAR.
IT'S OUT FOR BID RIGHT NOW TO RESURFACE OR TO SURFACE THE NEW RIVERSIDE TRAIL FROM THE RIVER UP TO 46.
AND THEN PHASE TWO WILL BE FROM 46 UP TO THE BACK OF SUN CITY, UM, RIGHT THERE ON THIS POWER LINE EASEMENT THAT RUNS RIGHT THERE.
UM, SO WE'LL BRING THAT TO COUNCIL.
SHOULD BE, UM, IN MAY TO AWARD THAT.
AND THEN WE WILL START WORKING ON THAT.
SO AGAIN, TRYING TO, UM, CONTINUE IMPROVEMENTS, AMENITIES FOR OUR CITIZENS AS WE'RE CONTINUE TRYING TO GET THEM INTO THE AREA WHERE OUR CITIZENS HAVE BUILT AND MOVED INTO.
THE OTHER THING WE'RE DOING IS SIMILAR TO WHAT YOU'RE DOING AND, UH, YOUR DOWNTOWN IS STREETSCAPE.
WE'RE TRYING TO, UM, WE'RE CONTINUING STREET SCAPES IN OLD TOWN.
UM, WE DID PART OF BRIDGE STREET AND WE'RE GETTING READY TO START, UM, PHASE TWO OF BRIDGE STREET THIS YEAR.
UM, PRITCHARD STREET AND A COUPLE OTHER BOUNDARY CALHOUN, THE MAIN STREETS.
SO WE'LL HAVE KIND OF OUR, OUR MAIN THOROUGH AFFAIRS AND BRIDGE STREET WITH STREETSCAPES GOING FORWARD.
UM, SO THESE ARE A COUPLE BIG PROJECTS WE HAVE COMING UP THAT'S GONNA HAVE A BIG IMPACT ON OUR OLD TOWN OVER THE NEXT THREE YEARS.
AND WE MAP 'EM OUT AND TRY TO KEEP UP WITH THEM IN CASE CURIOUS ABOUT ANYTHING THAT'S GOING ON.
I MEAN, WE'RE, AGAIN, WE DON'T HAVE, UH, THE MILLIONS OF SQUARE FOOT OF COMMERCIAL.
UM, YOU'VE HEARD OUR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PITCH THAT I DID AT THE BLUFFTON REGIONAL BUSINESS COUNCIL.
YOU'LL HEAR THE MAYOR SAY IT, WE'RE MORE OF A 10 DIMES IS BETTER THAN THREE QUARTERS
WE, WE, WE WORK ON THE SMALL SCALE.
WE, UH, UH, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
[01:10:01]
THAT WE'RE DOING MAYBE CREATING 15 JOBS OR 20 JOBS.BUT IF WE CAN GET 10 OF THOSE, THEN WE'RE HITTING SIMILAR TO SOME OF THE, THE BIGGER ONES.
PLUS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IS, IT'S UNIQUE IN EVERY DIFFERENT AREA.
'CAUSE WE DON'T HAVE THE LAND.
IF WE, IF SOMEBODY CAME TO US RIGHT NOW AND SAID THEY NEEDED A HUNDRED ACRES TO BUILD A MANUFACTURING FACILITY, YOU CAN'T FIND A HUNDRED ACRES IN BLUFFTON THAT EITHER IN TO BUY OR EVEN THAT HAS THE RIGHT TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT.
SO IT'S A, UM, ONE, ONE THING I WANTED TO, UM, MENTION, STEVEN, THAT, THAT YOU HIT ON IT, BUT I DON'T KNOW IF YOU GUYS UNDERSTAND WHEN WE WERE TALKING ABOUT THE WHAT'S IN THESE DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENTS WHEN THEY'RE SIGNED 20 YEARS BEFORE OR 15 YEARS OR WHATEVER.
IN OUR PARTNERSHIP WITH THE SCHOOL DISTRICT, WE ARE SPENDING TWO AND A HALF MILLION DOLLARS TO GET BACK WHAT WE GAVE AWAY.
SO THAT PROPERTY IN THAT DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT, THAT OWNER WAS ALLOWED 324, WHAT WAS THE NUMBER THREE? ABOUT 340 RESIDENTIAL UNITS.
RESIDENTIAL UNITS, 250 ROOM HOTELS, ANOTHER MILLION OR SO SQUARE FOOT OF COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT.
SO THAT'S WHAT THE TOWN AT THAT TIME SAID, OH YEAH, THIS WOULD BE WONDERFUL.
NOW THAT WE KNOW BETTER, WE'RE BUYING WHAT WE GAVE AWAY.
BASICALLY SPENDING 200, TWO AND A HALF MILLION DOLLARS TO GET TO PREVENT THAT MUCH DEVELOPMENT FROM GOING THERE.
AND, AND NOT ONLY THAT PARCEL, OTHER PARCELS AS WELL.
SO, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S, UM, TRICKY.
WE'RE, WE'RE LEARNING
WE CAN'T FIX IT ALL, BUT WE CAN FIX SOME OF IT.
UM, I DIDN'T PUT IT IN HERE, BUT ONE OF THE THINGS, WHEN YOU ASKED A QUESTION ABOUT LESSONS LEARNED AND TALKING, WE, I KNOW WE TALKED ABOUT AFFORDABLE HOUSING A LITTLE BIT AND SOME OF THE LANGUAGE AND ALL THAT, BUT ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'RE DEALING WITH RIGHT NOW IS ALSO CONNECTIVITY.
SO THERE'S A COUPLE DIFFERENT PLACES, OR ABOUT THREE THAT WE'RE WORKING WITH RIGHT NOW WHERE IN THE DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENTS IT REFERRED TO POTENTIAL FUTURE CONNECTIONS OR JUST FUTURE CONNECTION.
AND THERE WAS NO LANGUAGE OR NO REQUIREMENT TO FORCE THAT CONNECTION TO BE BUILT.
SO RIGHT NOW WE'RE ACTUALLY WORKING AS SOME THINGS ARE GETTING DEVELOPED TO TRY TO PUSH THOSE CONNECTIONS TO BE MADE BETWEEN DEVELOPMENTS.
SO BECAUSE THE DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT LACKED THE LANGUAGE TO BE ABLE TO FORCE THAT.
SO THAT'S ONE THING I WOULD MENTION.
AGAIN, WORDS, ESPECIALLY LEGALESE HAVE IMPORTANT MEETINGS AND SHELL VERSUS MAY OR SHOULD, UM, MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE WHEN IT COMES TO THAT.
AND SO I KNOW Y'ALL GET, UM, Y'ALL HAVE HAD SOME FUNDS GIVEN TO Y'ALL, UM, TO HELP WITH ROAD IMPROVEMENTS.
THAT'S ONE THAT I WOULD CONSIDER IS THOSE CONNECTIVITY BECAUSE WE'RE TRYING TO GO BACK NOW AND AGAIN, NOTHING IS AS CHEAP AS IT COULD HAVE BEEN 20 YEARS AGO OR 10 YEARS AGO.
SO TRYING TO MAKE THOSE CONNECTIONS ADD UP AND, UH, I'LL BE MORE THAN GLAD TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS.
I KNOW KIND OF WENT OFF SEVERAL TOPICS.
THE, I'VE BEEN HERE IN THE LOW COUNTRY NOW FOR 11 YEARS.
UH, THE FIRST FIVE YEARS I WAS IN, UH, BEAUFORT COUNTY.
CAME TO HARDY VILLAGE IN 2019.
AND AS IF YOU SAW WE HAD ABOUT 6,000 PEOPLE.
WE'LL FINISH THIS YEAR AT 20,000.
IT'S A DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT THAT'S 20 PLUS YEARS OLD.
MY INVOLVEMENT WITH THE COUNCIL BE WAS BECAUSE OF SOME OF THE THINGS THAT I HAVE SAW THAT I DISAGREE WITH THE DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENTS.
UM, COUNCILMAN WHITE HAS SAID SOMETHING AND I REALLY F FIND MYSELF ADHERING TO THAT.
DO NOT BE IN A HURRY TO MAKE A MISTAKE.
MISTAKES MADE 20 YEARS AGO THAT WE ARE DEALING WITH TODAY, 20 YEARS FROM NOW.
I WANT THE PEOPLE IN BLUFFTON AND HARDY V TO SAY, BOY, I'M SURE GLAD THE COUNCILS DID THAT INSTEAD OF WHAT WE MAY BE SAYING TODAY IS I WISH THEY WOULDN'T HAVE DONE THAT.
WE HAVE THAT OPPORTUNITY AS THESE DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENTS COME TO BE OPEN, AS MAYOR TUBER HAS SAID, THEY WANT SOMETHING.
WE NEED SOMETHING WE HAVE TO PLAN FOR THE SCHOOLS, THESE JOBS THAT ARE GONNA BE OPENING UP HERE, THEY'RE NOT FOR ME AND MY 55 PLUS COMMUNITY, THEY'RE GONNA BE FOR THE YOUNGER FOLKS THAT ARE GONNA BE MOVING HERE TO TAKE THOSE JOBS AND THEY'RE GONNA HAVE CHILDREN.
SO THE SCHOOLS HAVE TO BE RAMPED UP TO DO THAT.
WE HAVE TO BE PREPARED TO DO THAT.
OUR INFRASTRUCTURE, WE ARE JUST NOT QUITE THERE.
WE HAVE PLANS, BUT WE ARE NOT THERE.
[01:15:01]
UP WITH THE INFRASTRUCTURE AS OUR GROWTH HAS BEEN.AND THAT'S A THING THAT A LOT OF OUR NEW FOLKS COMING IN HERE, THEY, I I SAY PATIENCE, JUST TAKE PATIENCE.
THEY'RE NOT BLUFFTON, THEY'RE NOT BEAUFORT COUNTIES, THEY'RE NOT JASPER COUNTIES OR HARDY V'S.
THEY BELONG TO THE STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA.
WE ARE DEALING WITH SOMETHING THAT MOST PEOPLE WHERE THEY'VE COME FROM HAVE NEVER HAD THAT BEFORE.
SO IT'S THE PATIENCE THAT WE ALL HAVE TO SHOW.
BLUFFTON, I THINK YOU'RE DOING A GREAT JOB.
I REALLY SEE THINGS HAPPENING THERE.
HARDY V WE'RE DIFFERENT, BUT WE'RE GETTING THERE.
YOU'RE, YOU'RE, YOU KNOW, WE HOPE TO BE WHERE YOU'RE AT IN 10, 15 YEARS.
OUR GROWTH IS COMING AND YOU KNOW, YOU'VE DONE SOME, THERE'S SOME RIGHT THINGS AND WE'RE LEARNING AND THAT'S WHERE OUR GROWTH IS GOING TO BE.
WE'RE GONNA MANAGE THAT GROWTH AND WE'RE GONNA DO IT.
SO 20 YEARS FROM NOW, PEOPLE ARE GONNA SAY, BOY, I'M SURE GLAD THEY DID IT.
AND AND I HAVE ONE REBUTTAL FOR YOU, SIR.
REMEMBER THAT WE DID SOME THINGS WRONG,
DON'T FOCUS ON THE WRONG THINGS.
BUT REMEMBER THE WRONG THINGS.
YOU ALWAYS PULL THE FOCUS ON THE RIGHT THINGS.
'CAUSE YOU ALWAYS WANNA BE POSITIVE, BUT YOU GOTTA LEARN FROM YOUR MISTAKES.
OKAY, I HEARD ANOTHER GOOD QUOTE TO GO WITH YOURS, COUNCILMAN HAMILTON, DON'T BE IN A HURRY TO MAKE A BAD, MAKE A MISTAKE.
AND YOURS IS ALWAYS KNOW BETTER, DO BETTER.
SO WE GOT TWO GOOD ONES THERE.
ANY MORE QUESTIONS, JOHN? UM, I'M A NATIVE FROM HERE TOO.
AND, UM, SOME OF, AND, AND, AND, UM, MAYOR, UH, TOMA WAS KIND OF ALLUDING TO THE SAME THING 20 YEARS AGO OR WHATEVER.
A LOT OF THESE AGREEMENTS THAT WE MADE IN A WAY WE DIDN'T HAVE A CHOICE.
WE WANTED THE, I MEAN, WE NEEDED, UM, DEVELOPMENT AND WE NEEDED INDUSTRY AND, UH, JASPER KENNEDY WAS EVEN, AND HARVILLE WAS EVEN WORSE THAN, UH, BLUFFTON.
AND, AND SO A LOT OF THESE AGREEMENTS WE MADE, EVEN THOUGH WE PROBABLY, SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE DID, WE PROBABLY KNEW AT THE TIME WEREN'T THE BEST.
THAT'S ALL WE COULD DO TO GET 'EM IN.
AND NOW, LIKE YOU SAY, THE ONLY WAY WE GONNA RECTIFY THAT IS WHEN THEY COME IN AND WANT AN AMENDMENT OR WHATEVER AND CHANGE IT.
BUT, UH, STEVE, YOU HAD ALSO MENTIONED SOMETHING, UH, ABOUT YOUR DONUT HOLES.
AND I KNOW THAT CAN BE A, IT'S GOT TO BE AN ISSUE FOR Y'ALL SOMETIME.
HOW DOES, DO Y'ALL WORK WITH BEAUFORT COUNTY WITH THAT? ARE THEY COOPERATIVE OR, SO, SO I KNOW, I GUESS YOU GOTTA BE
SO, SO I I, I'LL SAY WHEN IT, UH, THE, THE, THE BIGGEST ISSUE THAT'S ALWAYS A IMMEDIATE NEED FOR ANYTHING LIKE THAT IS IF SOMEBODY CALLS 9 1 1 AND WE HAVE A GOOD RELATIONSHIP WITH BETWEEN US AND THE, AND THE, AND THE SHERIFF'S OFFICE TO DEAL WITH THE ISSUE.
AND THEN WE'LL SORT OUT EVERYTHING ELSE AS WE NEED TO, BUT ADDRESS THE ISSUE IMMEDIATELY.
UM, IT DOESN'T HURT US REALLY WITH FIRE SERVICE BECAUSE THE COUNTY HAS THE BLUFFTON TOWNSHIP FIRE DEPARTMENT, AND AGAIN, THAT'S THE SERVICE THEY PROVIDED BEFORE WE STARTED GROWING THE WAY WE DID.
SO THE FIRE DEPARTMENT'S SEPARATE FROM US.
SO WHEN IT COMES TO EMERGENCY SERVICES, THOSE ARE, THOSE ARE HANDLED PRETTY WELL.
UM, WHERE IT COMES IN A LOT IS WHENEVER WE'RE ACTUALLY HAVING A DEVELOPMENT OR A CONVERSATION WITH COUNCIL, IS HEARING SOMETHING WITH A DEVELOPMENT AMENDMENT OR INITIAL MASTER PLAN, AND THE PEOPLE WHO ARE IN THOSE DONUT HOLES GET UPSET THAT THEIR VOICE DOESN'T CARRY OR NECESSARILY AS MUCH WEIGHT AS RESIDENTS DO, OR THEY WON'T, THEY THINK THAT THEY'RE PART OF THE TOWN WHEN THEY NECESSARILY REALLY NOT, AREN'T.
UM, THAT DOESN'T MEAN THEIR VOICE DOESN'T CARRY WEIGHT, IT'S JUST THEY, I THINK THEY, THAT THAT LEADS TO SOME, UH, STRUGGLE WHEN THEY COME IN AND TRYING TO ADDRESS ISSUES, UM, THAT ARE IN THEIR BACKYARD BUT ARE NOT IN, THAT ARE UNINCORPORATED VERSUS INCORPORATED.
AND MANY OF 'EM DON'T KNOW THAT THEY'RE NOT IN THE TOWN OF BLUFFTON.
ONE OF OUR MOST VISITED MAPS WE HAVE ON OUR WEBSITE IS, DO I LIVE IN THE TOWN OF BLUFFTON? BECAUSE A LOT OF PEOPLE HAVE A BLUFFTON ADDRESS AND DON'T REALIZE THAT THEY'RE IN ONE OF THOSE DONUT HOLES.
I WANTED TO SAY ONE OTHER THING TO YOU, JOHN.
I, YOU KNOW, WHEN I FIRST WAS ELECTED, I HATED THE DONUT HOLES.
I JUST THINK IT WOULD BE GREAT IF THE, IF THE LAWS WOULD ALLOW US TO, IF FULFILL OUR DESTINY AND CLOSE 'EM UP, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE I'VE ALWAYS LOOKED AT IT FROM THE PERSPECTIVE, FOR EXAMPLE, THAT BLUFFTON BUILT A GREAT COMMUNITY, CUTE TOWN, LOVELY PEOPLE KEEP MOVING HERE, BUT THE PEOPLE IN THE DONUT HOLES USE OUR FACILITIES.
BUT OUR TAXPAYERS BUILT EVERYTHING, OKAY? SO THEY DON'T HAVE TO PAY THE TAXES FOR THAT.
BUT AT THE SAME SIDE OF THE COIN, YEARS LATER DOWN THE ROAD, AND YOU'VE HEARD US ALL TALK
[01:20:01]
ABOUT OUR PROBLEMS THAT WE'VE ENCOUNTERED AT THE TAIL END OF THE GROWTH CYCLE, UM, IN THE LAST FEW YEARS BECAUSE MOST OF THE PROPERTY IN UNINCORPORATED BEAUFORT COUNTY IS, UH, THEIR DENSITY'S LOWER.OKAY? AND SO WE'VE HAD MULTIPLE ORGANIZATIONS WANT TO ANNEX INTO THE TOWN AND WE'VE NOT ALLOWED THEM TO.
THEY WANT MORE AND MORE THAN WE'RE WILLING TO GIVE.
WE'VE TURNED DOWN QUITE A FEW ANNEXATIONS THAT MOST PEOPLE ARE NOT EVEN AWARE OF.
THE OTHER ANNEXATION IS THAT WE DID TAKE, AND HE REFERENCED ONE A WHILE AGO, BASICALLY WE BEAT 'EM DOWN TO THERE WAS NO UPZONING, THEY HAD A CHOICE.
THEY COULD HAVE HALF A PROJECT IN, IN, IN BLUFFTON AND HALF THE SAME PIECE OF LAND, HALF THE PROJECT IN BLUFFTON AND HALF THE PROJECT IN BEAUFORT COUNTY.
THEY DIDN'T WANNA DEAL WITH TWO GOVERNMENTAL ENTITIES, BUT WE BEAT 'EM DOWN.
AND THEN THE SAME THING WITH THE, UH, ST.
GREGORY, THE GREAT PIECE OF PROPERTY OUT ON 2 78, UH, STAFF WORKED WITH THEM.
WHAT THE COUNTY OFFERED THEM IS WHAT BY RIGHT? AND WE WENT AND WENT DOWN AND LOOKED AT ALL OF THAT.
AND WE, WE PAIR THOSE THINGS DOWN.
WHEN IT'S IN OUR BENEFIT, WE PAIR IT DOWN TO MAKE THEM MAKE A CHOICE.
DO YOU REALLY WANNA BE IN THE TOWN OR NOT? SO WE HAVE TURNED DOWN A LOT IN TIME.
I AGREE WITH EVERYTHING THAT'S BEEN SAID.
THE OTHER THING I THINK ABOUT FOR ALL THIS GROWTH AND THINGS THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT, WORKFORCE TALENT TO GET A LOT OF THIS DONE AND THEN ASSIMILATING ALL THESE SERVICES TOGETHER TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY WORK AND DELIVER WHAT THEY'RE SAYING.
HE TALKED ABOUT THE FIRE AND SOME OF THESE OTHER THINGS.
IT'S, UH, IT'S A LOT OF LOGISTICS AND A LOT OF MAGIC THAT NEEDS TO BE THERE TO MAKE A LOT OF THAT HAPPEN BESIDES, UH, GETTING THE PEOPLE.
SO THAT'S ONE OF THE THINGS I THINK ABOUT AS I'M LISTENING.
AND THAT MAGIC CARPET ON THE STATE OF THE REED
YEAH, THAT'S WHY YOU CAN GET OUT OF TOWN FAST.
UM, I'VE BEEN LISTENING TO EVERYBODY TALK ABOUT DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENTS.
AND WHEN I READ A DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT, THAT'S THE FASTEST WAY TO GET MY BLOOD PRESSURE UP BECAUSE I SEE IT WRITTEN SPECIFICALLY TO BENEFIT THE DEVELOPER.
IT DOES NOT BENEFIT ANYBODY ELSE BUT THEMSELVES.
AND WHEN I FIRST CAME IN GREEN BEHIND THE EARS AND EVERY PLACE ELSE, I WAS TOLD, YOU CANNOT TURN DOWN A DEVELOPMENT BECAUSE OF THE FEAR OF BEING SUED BY THESE DEVELOPERS.
SO WE KIND OF HAD TO BITE THE BULLET, GET WHAT WE COULD, AND LET THE CHIPS FALL WHERE THEY MAY, WHICH USUALLY BENEFITED THE DEVELOPER.
SO YESTERDAY I CAME ACROSS A VERY INTERESTING ARTICLE THAT TALKS ABOUT CONCURRENCY.
AND I DON'T KNOW HOW MANY OF YOU HAVE SEEN THAT ARTICLE IN THE POST AND COURIER WHERE, UM, SOUTH CAROLINA STATE LAW, THEY'RE GOING TO TRY AND CHANGE IT WHERE IT'LL GIVE POWER TO THE LOCAL GOVERNMENTS TO SAY WHERE THESE DEVELOPMENTS GO.
UH, AND THEN ALSO TO, TO DEMAND THAT THE INFRASTRUCTURE GOES IN ALONG WITH THOSE DEVELOPMENTS.
I THINK THAT'S A GREAT OPPORTUNITY FOR ALL OF US, YOU GUYS AS WELL AS US, BECAUSE Y'ALL ARE ALMOST BUILT OUT AND NOW THEY'RE ENCROACHING IN, IN HARVILLE.
AND I THINK IT'S A, IT'S A GREAT OPPORTUNITY FOR BOTH OUR REGIONS AND ACTUALLY THE ENTIRE REGION TO COME TOGETHER TO SUPPORT OUR LOCAL LEGISLATORS IN GETTING THIS LAW PASSED.
BECAUSE I THINK IT'LL BENEFIT EVERYBODY.
I MEAN, YOU HEAR PEOPLE SCREAMING ABOUT THE TRAFFIC EVERY DAY.
I MEAN, YOU HAVE TO JUST GO ON 2 78 AND THEN TRY TO HEAD TOWARDS THE ISLAND AND YOU SEE WHAT GRIDLOCK AND THAT'S ONLY GOING TO GET WORSE BECAUSE WE HAVE MORE AND MORE HOMES COMING IN AND THOSE PEOPLE ARE STILL WORKING.
AND YOU KNOW, THAT'S AN ADDITIONAL CAR OR TWO ON THE ROADS THAT WERE LAST EXPANDED WHEN WE, I I WHEN WERE THE, WHEN WAS 2 78 WIDENED IN THE EIGHTIES.
OKAY, SO NOW WE ARE 20, 25 AND, AND THERE'S THAT MANY MORE CARS ON THE ROAD.
SO, AND THEN WE KEEP ADDING MORE AND MORE AND MORE DEVELOPMENTS.
SO WE'VE COME TO THE POINT WHERE WE ARE BURSTING AT THE SEAMS. AND UNLESS WE GET ON HARRY'S MAGIC CARPET PRETTY SOON WE ARE NOT GONNA BE ABLE TO GO ANYWHERE.
AND I, I I, IT, IT BOTHERS ME BECAUSE IF WE
[01:25:01]
HAVE A MAJOR HURRICANE AND WE HAVE TO EVACUATE EVERYBODY, IT, IT'S, IT'LL BE, IT.I I WILL TAKE MY CHANCES AND STAY IN MY HOUSE BECAUSE I DON'T WANNA DIE ON THE ROAD WHEN MY CAR GETS FLIPPED OVER SOMEWHERE BECAUSE WE'RE STUCK THERE AND WE ARE CAUGHT IN THE STORM.
SO I THINK IF, IF YOU HAVE NOT READ ABOUT THE CONCURRENCY ISSUE, IT'S, IT WAS IN THE POST AND COURIER, UH, SENATOR DAVIES HAS POSTED AN ARTICLE ABOUT IT ON HIS WEBSITE.
UH, I THINK IT'S GREAT IF WE CAN GET TOGETHER AND FORMULATE SOMETHING SO THAT WE CAN, AS A REGION PUSH THIS TO MAKE IT HAPPEN BECAUSE IT'S AFFECTING, IT AFFECTED YOU GUYS AND IT'S GONNA AFFECT US.
AND I THINK IN THE LONG RUN, IT'LL BENEFIT EVERYBODY IF WE CAN HOLD THIS DEVELOPERS' FEET TO THE FIRE AND HAVE THEM PUT THE INFRASTRUCTURE IN.
BECAUSE I THINK IT'S NOT FAIR AS A CITY THAT WE HAVE TO EXPAND.
WE HAVE TO COME UP WITH THE FUNDS TO BUILD MORE ROADS TO, TO EXPAND OUR POLICE DEPARTMENTS, TO EXPAND THE FIRE DEPARTMENTS AND PROVIDE ALL THE SERVICES THAT THEY CREATE.
MY MOM TOLD ME WHEN I WAS GROWING UP, YOU MAKE A MESS, YOU CLEAN IT UP.
IF THEY MAKE THE MESS, THEY SHOULD BE RESPONSIBLE TO CLEAN IT UP.
UM, I JUST HAVE A COUPLE OF QUE QUICK QUESTIONS.
UM, THE COMMERCIAL, YOU HAVE A HECK OF A LOT MORE COMMERCIAL IN BLUFFTON, AND THEN OF COURSE THAT'S DEVELOPED OVER YEARS.
UM, HOW DID YOU RECRUIT IT? WAS THERE A, UM, INCENTIVE? WAS THERE A MARKETING PROGRAM OR DID IT JUST HAPPEN BECAUSE YOU HAVE A LOT OF HOUSES? WAS THERE, HOW DID IT HAPPEN? THAT'S A PART OF OUR ZONING.
SO ZONING DICTATES HOW MUCH COMMERCIAL SPACE CAN BE, UH, IN THAT DEVELOPMENT, UH, AS WELL AS HOUSING.
SO IT IS, YOU CREATE THAT WITH YOUR ZONING, UM, UH, UM, PRETTY MUCH.
AND WE ALSO KNOW THAT COMMERCIAL HELPS PACE SOME OF THE, THE EXPENSE OF, OF RUNNING THOSE COMMUNITIES AND, AND, AND KEEPING THE TOWN, UM, I GUESS YOU HAVE TO BE SUSTAINABLE.
AND SO WE LOOK FOR THE LONG TERM OF BEING, HOW WE GONNA SUSTAIN, UM, AFTER DEVELOPMENT IS, IS, IS LONG GONE.
SO WE HAVE, WE HAVE THE ZONING WITHIN EACH PLAN DEVELOPMENT DISTRICT.
THERE'S A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF COMMERCIAL IN THERE.
WHAT WE DON'T HAVE IS THE COMMERCIAL INTEREST COMING TO FILL THOSE, FILL THAT ZONING.
WE, WE'VE GOT THE SAME PROBLEM.
AND WE'VE HAD MULTIPLE DEVELOPERS WANTING TO CHANGE, AMEND THAT DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT TO NOT BILL THE COMMERCIAL AND BILL MORE RESIDENTIAL SINCE COVID AND SINCE WE'VE HAD THIS MAJOR INFLUX OF EVERYBODY WANTING TO BE HERE.
UM, THE DEVELOPERS WOULD RATHER BILL RESIDENTIAL NOW THAN COMMERCIAL, WHERE 15, 20 YEARS AGO, IF YOU OWNED COMMERCIAL PROPERTY THAT WAS HIGH DOLLAR PROPERTY, YOU KNOW, I MEAN, COMMERCIAL PROPERTY WAS WORTH MORE MONEY THAN JUST LAND TO BUILD RESIDENTIAL LOTS.
SO THAT'S WHAT WE HAVE NO MORE AGREEMENTS.
AND SOME OF THOSE AGREEMENTS HAD IN THERE WHERE THE DEVELOPER HAD THE RIGHT TO CHANGE, WHAT DO YOU CALL IT, CHANGE IT, OR THEY COULD CONVERT, CONVERT TO RESIDENTIAL.
THAT'S THE WORD I WAS LOOKING FOR, CONVERT.
THEY'RE KEPT OUT INTO RESIDENTIAL, BUT WE HAVE NO MORE DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENTS WITH THAT WARNING AND WE ARE NOT INTERESTED IN ALLOWING ANYONE TO DO THAT.
SO NOW WE'RE FINALLY GETTING THAT COMMERCIAL PROPERTY THIS YEAR WE PROBABLY IN THE LAST YEAR, WE'VE HAD MORE COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT THAN COMING.
IT'S ROOFTOP NUMBERS A LONG, LONG TIME.
AND WE KEEP HEARING THE SAME THING, BUT MARKET BEING THERE FIRST, NOVA DEVELOPER WANTS TO BUILD COMMERCIAL UNTIL THE PEOPLE ARE THERE TO SUB, YOU KNOW, TO SUSTAIN IT AND MAKE IT WORK.
MAYOR WILLIAMS, I THINK TO THE QUESTION THOUGH THAT HE WAS ASKING IS, UM, WE RECENTLY HAVE HAD, UH, A PROGRAM WHERE WE DID CREATE INCENTIVES TO BUSINESSES WEST OF OUR AREA, UM, TO PROVIDE SERVICES THAT WE, WE DIDN'T HAVE THAT WERE MORE SO CONGESTED JUST IN THE CENTRAL PORTION.
SO THINGS LIKE OFFERING, UM, CERTAIN TAX CREDITS THAT WE COULD DO, WAIVING CERTAIN, UM, FEES THAT WE, YOU KNOW, COULD DO OF COURSE IN A, IN COMPLIANCE WITH STATE, UM, LIMITATIONS.
AND THEN, UM, ALSO, UM, WORKING OVER TIME FOR THEM TO BE ABLE TO MAINTAIN, UH, A CERTAIN INCENTIVE IF IT WAS LIKE DEMAND SERVICES WE NEED.
SO HEALTH, UM, MEDICAL, UH, FACILITIES, CHILDCARE FACILITIES.
AND THEN WE ALSO HAVE, UM, A PARTNERSHIP WITH THE BEAUFORT COUNTY
[01:30:01]
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, UH, COMMITTEE.AND SO THEY HAVE TAKEN SOME OF OUR, UM, UNDEVELOPED LANDS, PARTICULARLY ON BUCK WALTER AND, UM, TECHNOLOGY AND THE DIGITAL CORRIDOR.
TECHNOLOGY'S ANOTHER ONE OF OUR, UM, UH, PROGRAMS THAT WE INCENTIVIZE COMMERCIAL DEVELOPERS FOR.
BUT, UM, JOHN O'TOOLE WITH THAT PARTICULAR, UM, PROGRAM HAS SHOPPED THAT SPACE OUT TO POTENTIAL, UM, DEVELOPERS ON A COMMERCIAL LEVEL THAT WOULD FIT INTO ONE OF THOSE, UH, CATEGORIES THAT WE AS A COUNCIL SAID IT WAS A PRIORITY.
I WILL, I WILL SAY, UM, TONGUE IN CHEEK, UM, WE BUILT SUCH A BEAUTIFUL TOWN.
THAT'S PROBABLY THE RIGHT ANSWER.
WELL, YOU KNOW, I'M GONNA GO BACK.
UM, WE HAVE NO INDUSTRY AS WE'VE ALL ESTABLISHED AND WE DON'T HAVE A LOT OF LAND, BUT THE OLD TOWN MASTER PLAN THAT WAS DEVELOPED IN 2005, AND YOU AND I HAVE TALKED IN DEPTH ABOUT THAT, AND I'M SURE YOU PROBABLY GLANCED AT IT, BUT, UM, I, I THINK BLUFFTON HAD A COOL FACTOR GOING ON AND YOUNG FAMILIES STARTED MOVING HERE.
YOU KNOW, OUR AVERAGE MEDIAN, I USED TO TELL MAYOR, SO CALL ALL THE TIME, PAY ATTENTION TO THE AVERAGE MEDIAN AGE.
IF IT'S LOW, YOU'RE ATTRACTING YOUNG PEOPLE.
AND I LIKE TO SAY THAT, UH, OLDER PEOPLE WILL GO TO WHERE THE YOUNG PEOPLE ARE, BUT YOUNG PEOPLE ARE NOT GONNA GO TO WHERE THE OLDER PEOPLE ARE.
SO WE'VE GOT A LOT OF THAT GOING ON.
SO, AND I THINK IT JUST NATURALLY BROUGHT IN THE COMMERCIALIZATION ALONG WITH THE ROOFTOPS.
RIGHT? AND ONE THING THAT, UM, I JUST WANT TO ADD TO THIS, I KNOW WE'RE ABOUT RUNNING OUT OF TIME.
THE COMMERCIAL BUSINESSES, NOT ONLY DO WE NEED THEM FOR THE SERVICE OF OUR RESIDENTS, ESPECIALLY MEDICAL AND, AND JUST, YOU KNOW, UH, STARBUCKS, ALL THESE, YOU KNOW, SMALL THINGS THAT EVERYBODY NEEDS, COFFEE SHOPS AND GROCERY STORES AND STUFF, BUT THEY WILL HELP US NOT HAVE TO GO UP ON OUR TAXES TO OUR YOUNGER FAMILIES WITH THAT COMMERCIAL.
THAT'S WHERE IT'S, IT'S SO VITAL FOR THE FUTURE OF THE TOWN TO PAY ALL THE TOWN STAFF AND ALL THE TOWN'S EXPENSES, POLICE DEPARTMENT INCLUDED.
THAT COMMERCIAL ASPECT OF IT IS HUGE.
AND, AND WE HAVE TO HAVE THAT COMMERCIAL, YOU KNOW, TO BE ABLE TO STAY.
NOT THAT YOU CAN AFFORD, MOST PEOPLE CAN'T AFFORD TO LIVE THERE ALREADY, BUT TO PREVENT US FROM HAVING TO RAISE OUR TAXES TO THE POINT WHERE NOBODY, NONE OF OUR YOUNG PEOPLE CAN STAY IN BLUFFTON.
YOU KNOW, THAT'S MY DREAM IS TO KIDS BORN HERE MAKE, I WANT 'EM TO STAY HERE AND CALL US HOME AND HAVE A SENSE OF, OF LIKE, I HAVE, YOU KNOW, JUST A DIFFERENT DESIRE THAN TURNING IT INTO ANOTHER CITY.
BLUFFTON HAS, UH, THE DEVELOPMENT, THE COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT, UH, I'M JEALOUS.
I HAVE TO ADMIT THAT I, THAT I AM JEALOUS, UH, OF ALL OF THAT.
AND HARDY, THE DAY WILL COME WHEN THAT THAT COMES HERE.
IT'S FUNNY BECAUSE I'M LEARNING THAT HARDY, UH, MS. GUZMAN AND I ARE NEW TO THE COUNCIL.
WE'RE, BUT WE'RE LEARNING QUICKLY.
UM, HARDY TO ME IS ALMOST THE TALE OF TWO CITIES WITHIN ONE.
WE HAVE, I LIVE IN THE NEWEST PART.
UH, IT'S ALL NEW TO US, BUT THERE'S OLD HARDY DOWNTOWN, HARDY V THIS IS WHAT JOHN HAS TRIED TO, TO INSTILL IN US THAT IT'S ALL ONE CITY.
MY DEVELOPMENT, I HAVE TO URGE PEOPLE TO COME OUTTA MY DEVELOP AND, AND TURN LEFT AND GO DOWN TO WHERE HARDY V IS.
THAT'S HARDY V WE'RE, WE WE'RE NEW, BUT THERE IS HARDY V THERE AND THE COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT WILL COME.
EXIT THREE IS GOING TO IGNITE THAT EXIT EIGHT, EXIT FIVE.
AND I TELL PEOPLE IT WON'T HAPPEN OVERNIGHT, BUT IT WILL.
IT'S JUST GONNA TAKE SOME PATIENCE SOME TIME, AND SOME COMMITMENT BY THE CITIZENS AND THE DEVELOPERS TO MAKE IT HAPPEN.
UH, MAYOR WILLIAMS HAS BEEN THERE FOR SEVEN YEARS AND HE HAS SEEN WHERE WE HAVE STARTED, WHERE WE'RE AT AND WHERE WE'RE GOING TO BE.
UM, I HOPE, YOU KNOW, IN 20 YEARS THAT I SEE WHERE HARDY V IS, WHERE BLUFFTON IS TODAY AND BLUFFTON IS CONTINUING TO GROW.
I HOPE I'M STILL AROUND IN 20 YEARS.
SO ANYWAY, YOU KNOW, SO WE CAN PUSHING IT, UM, YOU KNOW, I DON'T WANT TO KEEP EVERYBODY OUT, BUT ALWAYS LIKE TO, I THINK THIS IS A GREAT FIRST STEP AND I ALWAYS LIKE TO TALK ABOUT WHAT OUR NEXT STEPS ARE.
UM, I WOULD HOPE, AS I SAID IN THE OPENING STATEMENTS, THAT THIS IS JUST THE START OF SOMETHING THAT WE COULD DO ON A REGULAR BASIS.
UH, WHETHER THAT REGULAR BASIS BE TWICE A YEAR, ONCE A QUARTER.
I THINK EACH OF OUR COUNCILS SHOULD, UH, GET TOGETHER
[01:35:01]
AND OFFER A SUGGESTION AFTER WE'VE TALKED ABOUT IT, WHAT WE, WHAT WE'VE GOT TO.UM, I THINK THERE'S ALSO TWO IMMEDIATE ISSUES, UM, THAT I THINK BLUFFTON AND HARDY HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY OR THE CHANCE TO BE THE SPEARHEAD IF WE WORK TOGETHER.
ONE IS WHAT, UH, VAL JUST TALKED ABOUT CONCURRENCY, AND I HAVE A COPY OF THAT BILL THAT'S SPONSORED, UH, BY SENATOR DAVIS AND IT'S COMING OUTTA HIS COMMITTEE.
ONE OF THE ESSENTIAL PART OF THAT BILL IS TO GIVE US THE MUNICIPALITY, THE CHANCE, EVEN WITHIN A DEVELOPMENT DISTRICT TO REQUIRE CERTAIN INFRASTRUCTURE GO IN BEFORE THE DEVELOPMENT GOES IN.
IT DOESN'T MEAN WE HAVE TO USE IT, BUT IT GIVES US THAT TOOL IN THE TOOLBOX.
IT BRINGS A LITTLE BIT OF THAT INTO, UH, OUR HOME RULE.
SO THAT'S SOMETHING, AND I'LL, I'LL SEND THAT TO YOU, UH, TO, I'LL SEND IT TO STEVEN, UH, THAT BILL.
I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING THAT PERHAPS WE MIGHT WANT TO TAKE UP AS A TWO TOWN, UH, COMMITTEE ALSO LAST THURSDAY.
THERE'S ANOTHER THING THAT, UH, I THINK IS VERY IMPORTANT.
HARDY, WE PASSED AT OUR COUNCIL MEETING THE RESOLUTION RECOMMENDED BY THE CHILDCARE SUBCOMMITTEE OF SO LOCO.
UM, OUR, OUR COUNCIL WILL ALSO CONSIDER PERHAPS, UM, WE'LL TAKE UP THE SUBJECT OF BEING A TEST CASE.
THIS IS, UH, AND WE ASKED THAT COMMITTEE, THEY GAVE US A PRESENTATION TO STRUCTURE WHAT A TEST WOULD LOOK LIKE THAT NOT ONLY FROM SO LOKO, BUT AS, AS TWO TOWNS THAT ARE, HAVE OUR WORKFORCE SO TIGHTLY TOGETHER THAT THIS MAY BE SOME WAY THAT PERHAPS THE TWO OF US WANNA BE THE TEST BABY ON HOW WE CAN DO THIS.
WE HAVE A YEAR, BECAUSE THE TRI SHARE MODEL DOES NOT, UM, REQUIRES THE STATE TO FUND A THIRD OF THAT, THAT, UM, TRI SHARE.
THEY WANT, WE MISSED THIS BUDGET YEAR.
SO WE HAVE A YEAR TO TEST IT TO SEE IF IT, YOU KNOW, TASTE IT, THINK IT AROUND AND SEE IF THIS IS SOMETHING THAT COULD BE A GOOD MODEL.
SO I WOULD, I WOULD WELCOME THE TOWN OF BLUFFTON TO, UH, DID I GO UP MY THREE MINUTES? YEAH,
SO TO, TO, UH, THINK ABOUT THAT.
AND CERTAINLY, UH, THE, OUR COUNCIL HAS SHOWED HIS COMMITMENT TO THE, TO THAT RESOLUTION THAT IS PART OF SO LOCO, AND IF WE COULD GET THE WHOLE REGION TO SIGN ONTO THAT, THAT RESOLUTION, WE HAVE A CHANCE.
IT'S NOT, IT DOESN'T SOLVE THE PROBLEM, IT'S JUST, IT, IT, IT TAKES ONE BITE OUT OF A VERY BIG ELEPHANT.
SO THERE'S A NEED TO FOLLOW UP WITH YOU ON THAT BECAUSE WE'VE HAD A LITTLE BIT OF CONVERSATIONS, BUT I'M NOT EXACTLY SURE OF EVERYTHING.
SO AT SO LOCAL TOMORROW I'M GOING TO ANNOUNCE THAT OUR COUNCIL HAS HAS PASSED IT.
I'M GOING TO ASK THAT ALL THE JURISDICTIONS AT LEAST LET ME KNOW.
ARE YOU INTERESTED? YOU'RE NOT, YOU'RE NOT GONNA GO FORWARD.
AT LEAST WE KNOW WHO'S IN AND WHO'S OUT WITHIN THE, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE I DON'T WANT THE YEAR TO GO BY AND THEN NOTHING GETS DONE.
SO THERE'S, UH, I THINK THOSE ARE TWO AREAS THAT WE CAN, UM, JOINTLY, YOU KNOW, BE A LEADER IN OUR, IN OUR REGION.
SO, UM, I'LL END WITH STEVEN DID, I'M SORRY I INTERRUPTED.
I JUST, BEFORE WE WRAPPED UP, I JUST WANTED TO SAY ONE THING AS WE WERE TALKING ABOUT DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENTS AND, UH, ONE OF THE MAIN REASONS I ASKED RICHARDSON TO BE HERE TONIGHT.
'CAUSE I, MY UNDERSTANDING FROM TALKING TO JOSH WAS THERE MIGHT BE A TOPIC OF WHAT WE ADOPTED RECENTLY WITH OUR WETLANDS ORDINANCE.
AND I KNOW WE'VE, UM, SOME OF THE STUFF THAT CAME UP EARLIER IN TALKING ABOUT DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENTS AND SOME OF THE ISSUES YOU'RE DEALING WITH, UM, WE'VE WORKED WITHIN THE DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENTS WHERE IT REFERENCES, UM, THE HEALTH WELFARE, WHAT'S THAT? HEALTH WELFARE, SAFETY, SAFETY THAT IS OUTLINES IN THE DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENTS TO PUSH AS MUCH AS WE CAN WHEN IT COMES TO THE LOCAL LEVEL.
[01:40:01]
MITIGATION, WHEN IT COMES TO CLEAR TREE CLEARING WITH OUR STORM WATER.I KNOW Y'ALL DON'T HAVE STORM WATER YET, SO THAT'S A LIMITING FACTOR THAT YOU HAVE, BUT IT'S ALSO A TOOL THAT WE HAVE WHERE WE CAN TIE IN THE WETLANDS, WE CAN TIE IN TREE CLEARING AND WE CAN TIE IN THOSE KIND OF THINGS WITHIN THE DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENTS TO PUT SOME LIMITATIONS IN PLACE.
SO, UM, IF IT'S SOMETHING, AND I, I DON'T WANT TO HASH IT OUT TONIGHT, JUST IF IT'S SOMETHING THAT IS, AS Y'ALL EXPLORE THAT FURTHER, WE'LL BE MORE THAN GLAD TO SHARE ANYTHING THAT WE HAVE AND, AND, AND WORK ANY WAY WE CAN TO HELP SUPPORT YOU.
AND I THINK THOSE ARE THE KINDS OF THINGS WE WANT TO GET OUT OF THIS.
WHEN I, WE FOUND OUT ABOUT YOUR, YOUR ORDINANCE CHANGE, UM, IT WAS RECEIVED WIDELY AS A POSITIVE STEP OF THE REGION.
AND OUR COUNCIL ASKED JOSS TO LOOK INTO OUR ORDINANCE AND SEE IF WE CAN ADOPT SOMETHING SIMILAR THAT YOU, WE CAN LEARN FROM EACH OTHER.
AND, AND YOU KNOW WHAT, AND THAT'S WHAT THE BEAUTY OF TONIGHT IS.
IT'S THE FIRST STEP AND POSSIBLY, YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, LEARNING FROM EACH OTHER AND, AND AVOIDING THE MISTAKES THAT WE BOTH OF US HAVE MADE THAT WE WISH I HAD THAT ONE BACK.
BUT, YOU KNOW, UM, WE TALK, WE'RE RIGHT NEXT TO EACH OTHER.
I I THINK THIS IS, COULD BE THE START OF A BEAUTIFUL THING.
MR. STEVES, YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT THE HEALTH SAFETY AND WELFARE THING.
WERE YOU REFERRING TO THE SOUTH CAROLINA ENABLING ACT OF 1994? BECAUSE I HAVE USED THAT COUPLE TIMES TO NOT VOTE FOR A DEVELOPMENT.
'CAUSE IT ACTUALLY, OUR, OUR DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT TO ACTUALLY HAVE A CLAUSE IN THERE THAT ALLOWS OH, YOU DO.
MAY I, UM, BOTH THE DEVELOP THE LOCAL DEVELOP GOVERNMENT DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT ACT, UM, IT DOES HAVE THAT LANGUAGE IN THERE THAT YOU CAN DO AMENDMENTS BE IF IT'S FOR LIFE SAFETY, HEALTH WELFARE OF THE PUBLIC.
UH, BUT OUR AGREEMENTS HAVE THAT SORT OF LANGUAGE IN THERE AND ALSO HAVE SOME EXCEPTIONS THAT THE ZONING REGULATIONS ARE LOCKED IN PLACE EXCEPT FOR LARGELY THE STORMWATER REGULATIONS, WHICH THE DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENTS ANTICIPATE WILL GROW AND CHANGE AS DEVELOPMENT CONSTRAINTS, UH, NECESSITATE.
SO BOTH OF THOSE HAVE BEEN USED KIND OF IN, UM, COORDINATION WITH ONE ANOTHER TO ALLOW SOME MORE, UM, RESTRICTIVE REGULATIONS TO GO IN PLACE, LIKE THE GRADING TREE PRESERVATION, STORM WATER, AND A FEW OTHER THINGS.
WELL, UM, THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR I, I THINK A VERY PRODUCTIVE FIRST STEP.
UH, I WE'RE, WE'VE GOT A LOT TO TALK ABOUT AND WE'RE GONNA TRY TO TALK ABOUT IN A, ALL OF THIS IN A VERY SMALL KIND OF PRESENTATION TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC ABOUT WHAT WE WANT TO DO.
UH, IF Y'ALL REMEMBER, UH, WE STARTED WORKING ON A NEW SCHOOL RESOURCE OFFICER OPPORTUNITY LAST YEAR, UM, BECAUSE WE KNEW, AND WE HAVE KNOWN THAT TRYING TO RECRUIT LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS TO BE CLASS ONE CERTIFIED, WHICH IS WHAT THE STATE REQUIRED.
UH, YOU KNOW, TO BE IN OUR SCHOOLS AS SCHOOL RESOURCE OFFICERS, WHICH IS A SPECIAL, I THINK WE ALL AGREE THAT THAT IS REALLY A SPECIAL CANDIDATE THAT WE CONSIDER TO BE THAT CLOSE IN ASSOCIATION TO OUR KIDS.
BUT WE KNOW THE IMPORTANCE OF THE SCHOOL RESOURCE OFFICER PROGRAM BECAUSE OF THE SAFETY FACTORS IT CREATES, NOT ONLY IN OUR SCHOOLS, BUT WITH OUR, WITH OUR COMMUNITIES AS WELL, BECAUSE THE SCHOOL IS A MELTING POT OF THE COMMUNITIES THAT WE SERVE.
SO HAVING THAT RIGHT PERSON IN THAT JOB AND THAT ROLE TO PROVIDE SECURITY TO OUR KIDS LEADERSHIP, TO OUR KIDS, UH, AND GIVING THE CONFIDENCE TO THE STAFF TO WORK IN THE SCHOOLS, I MEAN, IT'S IMPORTANT TO FIND THAT RIGHT PERSON.
SO IT'S DIFFICULT TO FIND A CLASS ONE OR A CLASS ONE LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER, FOR THOSE THAT DON'T KNOW, IS ONE THAT GOES TO THE ACADEMY FOR 12 WEEKS, SPENDS 12
[01:45:01]
WEEKS FOR THE MOST PART IN COLUMBIA.AND WE DO SOME OF THE TRAINING HERE LOCALLY, BUT EVERYTHING ELSE, UH, HAS TO BE DONE IN COLUMBIA.
AND THERE ARE A LOT OF PEOPLE THAT WE'RE TRYING TO ATTRACT TO BE SCHOOL RESOURCE OFFICERS THAT REALLY DON'T WANT TO GIVE UP THEIR LIFE AND THEIR FAMILY TO GO TO COLUMBIA AND GO THROUGH BOOTCAMP TO BE A CLASS ONE LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER.
SO I HAD OUR TRAINING STAFF PUT TOGETHER A TRAINING SYLLABUS FOR A, WHAT WE CALL A CLASS THREE.
UH, AND IT WAS A CLASS THREE DESIGNATION FOR SCHOOL RESOURCE OFFICER.
WHAT THAT DID IS IT ALLOWED US TO CREATE A TRAINING SYLLABUS THAT WE COULD TAKE A PERSON, UM, YOU KNOW, OF, OF ANY AGE, UM, AND THAT WE WOULD BRING THEM INTO LAW ENFORCEMENT ENVIRONMENT, YOU KNOW, WITH BLUFFTON OR BEAUFORT OR PORT ROYAL OR THE SHERIFF'S OFFICE.
UH, AND WE WOULD TRAIN THEM HERE IN BEAUFORT COUNTY.
ALL OF THEIR TRAINING WOULD BE DONE RIGHT HERE.
UH, IT WOULD BE EIGHT WEEKS, MAYBE A LITTLE MORE THAN EIGHT WEEKS OF TRAINING.
UH, WE WOULD LIKE TO START THIS, UH, OUR FIRST CLASS.
WE'D LIKE TO START IT IN JUNE.
UH, THAT WAY WE CAN GET 'EM THROUGH THE PROGRAM AND BE READY FOR DEPLOYMENT, UH, WHEN SCHOOL STARTS IN AUGUST.
UH, I, I THINK IT'S AN AWESOME PROGRAM.
WE, WE, WE SENT THE TRAINING SYLLABUS TO THE ACADEMY THAT TRAINS ALL OF OUR LAW ENFORCEMENT IN SOUTH CAROLINA.
THEY APPROVED IT, UH, WITH THE BLESSING OF THE SOUTH CAROLINA TRAINING COUNCIL.
SO WE ARE READY TO GET THIS THING MOVING AND GET IT STARTED.
AND I THINK FOR US, UH, WE JUST NEED TO KIND OF TELL OUR CITIZENS, YOU KNOW, WHO ARE WE LOOKING FOR? UH, THE ROLE IS SCHOOL RESOURCE OFFICER.
IT'S A CLASS THREE LAW ENFORCEMENT DESIGNATION.
UH, IT'S A UNIFORM POSITION, IT'S AN ARMED POSITION.
UH, THEY HAVE ARREST POWERS, UH, AND THEY HAVE ALL THE POWERS OF ANY OTHER LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER ON THE SCHOOL GROUNDS, UH, THAT THEY'RE ASSIGNED TO.
SO WHAT DO YOU THINK, JOE, SHERIFF? I THINK IT'S A GREAT IDEA, AND THANK YOU FOR TAKING LEAD ON THIS.
UM, WE HAVE FOUR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS IN BLUFFTON THAT CURRENTLY ARE NOT STAFFED BY CLASS THREE OR HIGHER OFFICERS.
AND I THINK THAT THIS PROGRAM IS GONNA ATTRACT PEOPLE TO THESE POSITIONS AND IT'S GONNA PROVIDE MORE OF A SECURITY BLANKET FOR OUR SCHOOLS TO INCLUDE OUR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS.
SO WE'RE DEFINITELY EXCITED ABOUT IT.
WE'RE EXCITED TO BE PART OF IT.
WHO, WHO DO WE WANT TO ATTRACT? I THINK WE'VE GOT A, WE'VE GOT AN ENORMOUS NUMBER OF RETIRED MILITARY FOLKS HERE MM-HMM
THAT ARE ABLE TO RETIRE FAIRLY YOUNG AND MAY BE LOOKING FOR THAT JOB.
THEY MAY HAVE CHILDREN IN OUR SCHOOLS AND WITH THE, WITH THE PROGRAM THAT YOU WERE ABLE TO PUT TOGETHER.
UM, THEY'LL BE HOME WHEN THEIR CHILDREN ARE HOME, NOT IN SCHOOL.
AND, UM, AND I'VE ALWAYS SAID, YOU AND I HAVE HAD THIS CONVERSATION, SHERIFF, WE, WE NEED TO GET INTO THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL IF WE, IF WE WAITED UNTIL HIGH SCHOOLS WERE TOO LATE.
I'M, I'M GLAD THAT YOU TOOK THE LEAD ON IT.
I'M, I'M EXCITED TO SEE IF WE CAN GET SOME PEOPLE IN.
BUT I REALLY THINK THE YOUNG RETIRED MILITARY PEOPLE ARE, THEY'RE JUST MADE FOR THIS, YOU KNOW, AND WE'VE GONE THROUGHOUT OUR CAREERS, UH, IN THE COUNTY OF BEAUFORT, AND WE'VE HAD CONVERSATION AFTER CONVERSATION WITH DIFFERENT PEOPLE THAT SAY, YOU KNOW, I'M RETIRED, I'D LIKE TO FIND SOMETHING TO DO.
AND THEN YOU START TALKING TO 'EM AND THEY'RE A RETIRED TEACHER OR RETIRED LAW ENFORCEMENT, RETIRED FIRE DEPARTMENT, RETIRED MILITARY, RETIRED BANKERS, RETIRED, I MEAN, RETIRED, THIS, THAT, AND THE OTHER.
AND THEY'RE STILL, STILL IN AN AGE THAT THEY COULD, UM, THEY, THEY COULD DO THIS JOB WITH NO PROBLEM AT ALL OF ANY KIND.
UM, AND THOSE ARE THE ONES THAT, THAT I'D LIKE TO SEE.
I'D LIKE TO SEE, UH, THOSE THAT ARE STILL, THAT STILL FEEL LIKE THEY CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE, THAT MAYBE HAVE ALWAYS LOOKED AT LAW ENFORCEMENT AS BEING A JOB, BUT BECAUSE OF THE PAY AND BECAUSE OF THE, YOU KNOW, THE WORKING CONDITIONS AND FAMILIES AND, AND ALL THAT, THEY JUST DIDN'T WANNA DO IT.
BUT HERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY, UH, TO MAKE $45,000 A YEAR STARTING PAY TO WORK BASICALLY THE SCHEDULE OF THE TEACHING AND SUPPORT STAFF OF THE SCHOOL DISTRICT, WHICH IS A PRETTY GOOD SCHEDULE.
IT IS, UH, TO HAVE BENEFITS, UH, TO BE IN THE RETIREMENT SYSTEM AND TO BE ABLE TO BRING THEIR MATURITY, UH, THEIR LIFE EXPERIENCE AND, AND, YOU KNOW, TO, TO ELEMENTARY SCHOOL AGED KIDS WHO WILL BENEFIT GREATLY FROM JUST HAVING THAT OPPORTUNITY TO SOCIALIZE AND BE AROUND, UH, THESE FOLKS THAT BRING A LOT TO THE TABLE.
AND I, WE AND OUR COMMUNITIES.
YOU TAKE BLUFFTON AND BEAUFORT AND, AND IN THE COUNTY AND THEN IN PORT ROYAL, THOSE PEOPLE ARE HERE.
AND THEY'RE LOOKING FOR THINGS TO DO.
AND I JUST THINK THIS IS AN AWESOME OPPORTUNITY FOR THEM TO, YOU KNOW WHAT,
[01:50:01]
JUST DO IT KINDA LIKE NIKE.UH, YOU KNOW, I THINK IT'S, THE TRAINING IS, I THINK THEY'LL ENJOY THE TRAINING.
AGAIN, IT'S ALL DONE RIGHT HERE.
THEY, THEY'LL STAY AT HOME, THEY'LL SLEEP IN THEIR OWN BED, THEY'LL HAVE THEIR OWN PILLOW, AND THEN THEY CAN COME TO TRAINING.
AND ONCE THEY'RE CERTIFIED, UH, THEN THEY'LL START THE SCHOOL YEAR, UH, AUGUST OF THIS YEAR.
SO, I MEAN, I KNOW YOUR COMMUNITY REPRESENTS THAT OPPORTUNITY AS WELL.
YOU KNOW, SO WHAT ELSE, WHAT ELSE DO YOU THINK THIS, UM, THIS PROGRAM'S GONNA DO IN TOTALITY FOR WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO ACCOMPLISH? I THINK, I THINK THIS PROGRAM, ONE WILL BE ABLE TO GET US OVER THE TOP.
I THINK WE'LL BE ABLE TO GET, WE'LL BE ABLE TO GET A POLICE OFFICER IN EVERY SCHOOL IN BEAUFORT COUNTY, WHICH IS IMPORTANT.
A POLICE OFFICER AND I, AND I, AND YOU KNOW, WE, WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THIS.
THERE'S A LOT OF TRAINING THAT GOES ALONG WITH THIS JOB.
THERE IS, AND YOU KNOW, THIS IS NOT A SECURITY OFFICER.
THIS IS A LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER, UH, THAT'S GONNA BE WELL TRAINED, UH, IN THIS.
AND I, I THINK THAT AT THE END OF THE DAY, THAT'S, IT'S EXTREMELY IMPORTANT.
AND I THINK WITH THE YOUNG CHILDREN TARGETING THE RETIREES MM-HMM.
WHETHER THEY'RE RETIRED TEACHERS, RETIRED MILITARY IS IMPORTANT.
THEY'VE GOT THE LIFE EXPERIENCE FOR THE, FOR THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS.
AND, AND TO GET THAT STARTED OFF.
SO
POSSIBLY A THIRD COMING ON BOARD.
SO, I MEAN, IN TOTAL, AND HERE'S THE THING.
IT, IT DOESN'T MATTER IF YOU WORK AT THE CITY OF BEAUFORT OR THE TOWN OF BLUFFTON, UH, OR PORT ROYAL OR FOR THE SHERIFF'S OFFICE.
YOU KNOW, WE WANT YOU TO COME TO WORK.
AND LAW ENFORCEMENT TO BE A CLASS THREE SRO, DOESN'T MATTER WHERE YOU GO, DOESN'T MATTER WHO YOU ARE EMPLOYED BY.
THE WORK ENVIRONMENT'S BASICALLY THE SAME.
THERE MAY BE A DIFFERENCE IN UNIFORM THAT YOU WEAR AT THE SCHOOL THAT YOU'RE ASSIGNED TO, UH, THE PAY.
I MEAN, EVERYTHING IS GOING TO BE BASICALLY THE SAME.
SO ALL WE WANT PEOPLE TO DO IS PUT THEIR APPLICATIONS IN, GIVE US THE OPPORTUNITY TO SIT DOWN AND EXPLAIN THE PROGRAM IN DETAIL.
AND IF YOU REALLY HAVE AN INTEREST IN IT, UH, THEN LET'S, LET'S, LET'S GET STARTED.
AND, AND ONE THING THAT I WANT TO HIT ON IS THIS PROGRAM IS IMPORTANT AND, AND REASON BEING IS NONE OF OUR KIDS SHOULD FEEL AFRAID GOING TO SCHOOL.
UM, THEY SHOULD BE GOING TO SCHOOL TO LEARN AND NOT WORRYING ABOUT THEIR SAFETY.
UM, AND WHAT THIS DOES IS THIS PROVIDES ANOTHER LAYER OF SAFETY FOR ALL OF OUR SCHOOLS, ESPECIALLY THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS.
UM, IT ALSO PROVIDES PEOPLE WITH AN OPPORTUNITY TO MENTOR THESE YOUNG MEN AND WOMEN MM-HMM
UH, AS THEY'RE COMING UP THROUGH THE SCHOOL SYSTEM.
AND SO, LIKE THE SHERIFF SAID, IF YOU TRULY WANT TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE, UH, THIS IS A POSITION THAT YOU REALLY, REALLY WILL BE MAKING A DIFFERENCE.
I JUST HOPE THE APPLICATION START POURING IN.
AND IF YOU GET MORE THAN, THAN YOU NEED THEN AND, AND WE NEED TO GO TO BEAUFORT OR WE NEED TO GO TO THE, THE SHERIFF'S OFFICE OR, OR PORT ROYAL, WE JUST NEED, WE NEED TO PUT THESE PEOPLE TO WORK.
WE NEED TO FILL THESE VACANCIES, UH, AND LET'S MAKE OUR SCHOOLS IN BEAUFORT COUNTY AS SAFE AS THEY POSSIBLY CAN.
AND I THINK THE UNIQUENESS OF THIS PROGRAM, THESE OFFICERS WILL BE TRAINED BY PEOPLE THAT HAVE CHILDREN IN THESE SCHOOLS.
THEY HAVE THE SAME DESIRES, THE OUTCOMES THAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR.
SO I'M, I'M LOOKING FORWARD, LOOKING FORWARD TO IT.
WELL, I MEAN, THE GREAT THING ABOUT IT IS THAT WE ARE, WE WILL BE DOING THE TRAINING TOGETHER.
IF YOU GET, IF YOU GET, IF YOU HIRE ONE OR TWO AND YOU HIRE FOUR, AND YOU KNOW, AND I CAN FILL THE NINE THAT WE NEED, WE'RE ALL GONNA BE TRAINING TOGETHER.
SO THIS IS GONNA BE ONE TRAINING SYLLABUS BUS TO BENEFIT, UH, THE SCHOOL RESOURCE OFFICER PROGRAM.
I MEAN, THIS IS GOING TO BE, THIS, THIS PROGRAM IS FOR SOUTH CAROLINA AS A WHOLE.
THIS IS NOT JUST FOR BEAUFORT COUNTY.
BUT I'M EXCITED THAT WE'RE GOING TO START THIS AND INITIATE, YOU KNOW, THE SRO CLASS THREE POSITION HERE IN BEAUFORT COUNTY.
AND WE'RE GONNA SHOW THE STATE IT WORKS.
AND THE GREAT THING ABOUT THE TRAINING TOGETHER, SHERIFF, IS YOU'RE CREATING A NETWORK BEFORE YOU EVEN GET STARTED.
SO YOU'RE GOING TO KNOW PEOPLE FROM DIFFERENT SCHOOLS WHERE IF YOU CAN RUN INTO A PROBLEM, YOU HAVE SOMEBODY ELSE THAT YOU CAN CALL AND GET SOME ADVICE OR TALK TO THEM ABOUT THINGS GOING ON IN THEIR SCHOOL AND CURRENT TRENDS THAT ARE HAPPENING IN THEIR SCHOOLS.
SO IT'S A GREAT COLLABORATION OF ALL THREE DEPARTMENTS IN THE ENTIRE COUNTY GETTING TOGETHER, BECAUSE HAVING THAT NETWORK AND PEOPLE THAT YOU CAN RELY ON FOR ADDITIONAL ADVICE IS INVALUABLE.
WELL, I TELL YOU WHAT, I MEAN, I WANT, I WANT PEOPLE TO BE ABLE TO, TO MAKE THOSE PHONE CALLS OR GROW ONLINE AND RESEARCH, YOU KNOW, UH, JUST THE, THE, THE CLASS THREE SRO, UH, THROUGH ALL AGENCIES.
SO I THINK LINDSEY, IF WE CAN, I MEAN, AT THIS POINT, I THINK IF WE PUT THAT INFORMATION ON THIS VIDEO, FOR BLUFFTON BEAUFORT, PORT ROYAL IN THE SHERIFF'S OFFICE, WEBPAGE AND PHONE NUMBERS.
UH, I THINK WE'LL, HOPEFULLY WE'LL START GETTING CALLS.
[01:55:01]
SOUND GOOD TO Y'ALL? YES, SIR.HUNDREDS OF YEARS AGO, THE FREE FLOWING WATERS OF MANY SOUTH CAROLINA RIVERS BECAME PATHWAYS.
PATHWAYS FOR TAKING PEOPLE WHERE THEY WANTED TO GO.
THESE WATERS CARRIED INTREPID EXPLORERS TO OPPORTUNITIES ALONG AND ACROSS THE ATLANTIC OCEAN.
NOW THE PEOPLE OF THE GREAT RIVERS HAVE A NEW PATHWAY TO TAKE THEM FARTHER THAN THEY EVER DREAMED POSSIBLE.
AN EDUCATIONAL INITIATIVE CALLED PERSONAL PATHWAYS TO SUCCESS.
THIS INNOVATIVE PROGRAM CREATED BY SOUTH CAROLINA'S EDUCATION AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ACT OF 2005 CONNECTS ACADEMIC STUDIES WITH PREPARATION FOR ENTERING COLLEGE OR THE WORKFORCE.
IT GIVES ALL OF US SPECIFIC WAYS TO POUR OUR TALENTS AND ENERGIES INTO EDUCATION.
IT GIVES STUDENTS NEW TOOLS FOR FOCUSING THEIR ASPIRATIONS AND MAKES PARENTS PARTNERS IN THE PROCESS.
IT OFFERS ADULTS NEW CONNECTIONS TO EDUCATION, INSPIRES EMPLOYERS AND HELPS BUSINESSES PROMOTE THEIR COMPANIES AND INDUSTRIES AND GROW THE STATE'S ECONOMY.
HOW DOES PERSONAL PATHWAYS TO SUCCESS GUIDE STUDENTS LIKE ME? STUDENTS BEGIN EXPLORING CAREERS IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, CREATE INDIVIDUAL GRADUATION PLANS IN MIDDLE SCHOOL, AND UPDATE THEIR PLANS YEARLY TO GUIDE THEM TOWARD FULFILLING JOBS AND CAREERS.
ALONG THE WAY, THEY CAN SEE EXACTLY HOW SCHOOLWORK IS RELEVANT TO THEIR CAREER GOALS.
WHY IS INVOLVEMENT BY PARENTS SO IMPORTANT? BECAUSE PARENTS ARE SO ESSENTIAL TO HELPING KIDS PLAN FOR THE FUTURE.
PARENTS CAN TALK TO THEIR CHILDREN ABOUT THEIR INTERESTS, HELP THEM FILL OUT THEIR INDIVIDUAL GRADUATION PLANS WITH GUIDANCE PROFESSIONALS AT SCHOOL, AND ASSIST THEM IN FINDING HANDS-ON TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES.
HOW DOES THE PROGRAM HELP EDUCATORS AND GUIDANCE PROFESSIONALS? BY ADDING ADDITIONAL RESOURCES AND PUTTING MORE GUIDANCE PROFESSIONALS IN SCHOOLS TO HELP STUDENTS CHOOSE EDUCATIONAL PATHWAYS THAT ARE RIGHT FOR THEM.
HOW DOES IT HELP ADULTS ALREADY IN THE WORKFORCE? BOTH STUDENTS AND ADULT LEARNERS CAN CONNECT WITH THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY AT THE ONLINE REGIONAL EDUCATION CENTERS, WHERE 12 VIRTUAL CENTERS ARE DESIGNED TO SUPPORT THE PERSONAL PATHWAYS TO SUCCESS INITIATIVE, THE CENTER WORKS WITH BUSINESSES IN THE COMMUNITY TO ORGANIZE OPPORTUNITIES SUCH AS INTERNSHIPS, JOB SHADOWING, COMPANY EVENTS, AND INTERVIEWS WITH BUSINESS LEADERS.
WHY SHOULD BUSINESSES AND THEIR EMPLOYEES GET INVOLVED? BECAUSE THE PROGRAM SUPPORTS WHAT BUSINESSES NEED MOST.
A MORE SKILLED AND MOTIVATED WORKFORCE THAT IS EASIER TO TRAIN, RECRUIT, AND RETAIN LONG-TERM PERSONAL PATHWAYS TO SUCCESS WILL ALSO HELP PREPARE OUR FUTURE WORKFORCE, INCREASED PRODUCTIVITY, RAISE PER CAPITA INCOME, AND HELP OUR STUDENTS COMPETE GLOBALLY.
IF YOU ARE A STUDENT, LEARN MORE.
IF YOU ARE A PARENT, TALK TO YOUR CHILD.
IF YOU ARE AN EDUCATOR, ASK QUESTIONS.
IF YOU ARE AN ADULT, TAKE THE NEXT STEP.
IF YOU ARE A BUSINESS OR COMMUNITY LEADER, GET INVOLVED.
YOUR TIME AND EFFORT WILL HELP US CREATE AN ECONOMY OF PEOPLE WHO CAN COMPETE FOR JOBS.
BRINGING NEW BUSINESSES TO THE STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA WITH YOUR ENTHUSIASM AND SUPPORT FOR EDUCATION, THE SOUTH CAROLINA RIVERS WILL CONTINUE TO REPRESENT PATHWAYS FOR TAKING PEOPLE EXACTLY WHERE THEY WANT TO GO.