* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting. [00:00:01] CLOSED CAPTIONING PROVIDED BY BUFORT COUNTY. I'D LIKE TO CALL THE, [1. CALL TO ORDER] UH, FINANCE ADMINISTRATION AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE, UM, UH, TO ORDER, UH, TODAY IS MONDAY, MAY 19TH. IT IS 2:00 PM UH, IF EVERYONE CAN STAND FROM THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE, PLEASE. I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND TO THE REPUBLIC, WHICH IT STANDS. ONE NATION, ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE, WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL. AND SARAH, [3. STATEMENT OF COMPLIANCE WITH FOIA] HAS THIS, UH, MEETING BEEN, UH, PUBLICIZED AND, UM, UH, WITH, IN ACCORDANCE WITH FOIA? YES SIR, IT HAS. OKAY, GOOD. UM, ALRIGHT. I'D ASK FOR SOMEONE [4. APPROVAL OF AGENDA] THEN TO APPROVE OUR AGENDA FOR TODAY. SO MOVED. ALRIGHT. THANK YOU. MR. PASSMAN. IS THERE A SECOND? PLEASE? SECOND IT. THANK YOU. UH, ANY DISCUSSION? SEEING NO DISCUSSION? WE'LL APPROVE THE AGENDA WITHOUT OBJECTION. AND I DO NOT SEE ANY OBJECTION. UM, I'D ASK THEN, UH, FOR [5. APPROVAL OF MINUTES] SOMEONE FOR THE APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES, AND I DON'T SEE THE DATES ON THAT, SARAH, FOR THE MINUTES, APRIL, APRIL 21ST OF THIS YEAR, UM, I'D ASK FOR SOMEONE TO APPROVE THE MINUTES FOR APRIL 21ST. I'LL MAKE THE MOTION, MR. CHAIRMAN. ALL RIGHT. IS THERE A SECOND, PLEASE? I SECOND IT. ALRIGHT. ANY DISCUSSION REGARDING THOSE MINUTES? SEEING NO DISCUSSION? WE ALSO WILL APPROVE THOSE WITHOUT OBJECTION AND SEEING NO OBJECTION. THE MINUTES ARE APPROVED. UM, LET'S GO ONTO OUR CITIZEN'S COMMENT. AND, UH, RIGHT NOW I DON'T THINK WE HAVE ANYONE SIGNED UP IN PERSON OR ONLINE. THERE'S ANYONE FROM OUR AUDIENCE THAT WOULD LIKE TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF OUR, UM, CITIZEN'S COMMENTS, SEEING NO ONE. WE WILL THEN MOVE ON [7. ASSISTANT COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR REPORT] TO, UH, NUMBER SEVEN ON OUR AGENDA, WHICH IS THE ASSISTANT COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR'S REPORT. AND THIS IS, UH, MS. HARRIET, OUR CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER. UH, MS. HARRIET, THANK YOU FOR COMING. HI. OKAY, WELL, WHILE WE ARE WAITING FOR THE PRESENTATION TO PULL UP, I WOULD LIKE TO MAKE SOME INTRODUCTIONS OF SOME NEW FINANCE STAFF THAT WE HAVE RECENTLY JOINED US. UM, IN, IN THE FRONT ROW HERE, WE HAVE SANDY NOVAK, WHO IS OUR, IN OUR NEW FINANCE DIRECTOR. WE ALSO HAVE ALLISON KIRBY, WHO IS OUR NEW GRANTS ADMINISTRATOR. AND THEN WE HAVE JILLIAN MURRAY, WHO IS OUR SENIOR BUYER IN PROCUREMENT. UM, THESE THREE LADIES COME, UM, WELL, SANDY ORIGINALLY COMES TO US FROM OREGON WITH, UM, WORKING FOR MC FOR COUNTY AS ALMOST AS LARGE AS BUFORT. AND THEN SHE SPECIALIZES IN DEVELOPMENT OF INTERNAL CONTROLS AND POLICIES TO ENSURE COMPLIANCE WITH COUNTY, STATE, AND FEDERAL REGULATIONS IN THE MOST EFFICIENT MANNER. SANDY JOINED US ON APRIL 14TH, SO SHE'S BEEN A LITTLE UNDER A MONTH WITH US, OR A LITTLE OVER A MONTH ACTUALLY. AND THEN ALLISON, UH, JOINED HAS MORE THAN 25 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE IN VARIOUS CAPACITIES IN THE GOVERNMENT AND NONPROFIT SECTORS. UM, AS A GRANT ADMINISTRATOR, PRIOR TO JOINING BEAUFORT COUNTY, SHE SERVED AS THE GRANT WRITER FOR A LOCAL PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT IN COLUMBIA FOR 10 YEARS. IN THAT ROLE, SHE SECURED MORE THAN 33 MILLION IN COMPETITIVE GRANT FUNDS TO SUPPORT DISTRICT AND SCHOOL INITIATIVES. ADDITIONALLY, SHE MANAGED THE 23 PLUS MILLION IN FEDERAL FUNDS RELATED TO THE CORONAVIRUS, UH, THE SCHOOL DISTRICT'S VERSION OF, UH, ARPA AND, UM, THE AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN ACT AS WELL, DISTRICTWIDE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS, HEALTH AND SAFETY INITIATIVES, AND LEARNING LOSS, LEARNING LOSS INITIATIVES. SHE BRINGS AN EXTENSIVE KNOWLEDGE OF FEDERAL GRANT COMPLIANCE, GRANT DEVELOPMENT AND ADMINISTRATION PROGRAM EVALUATION AND STRATEGIC PLANNING. SO ALLISON STARTED WITH US ON MAY 5TH, SO BARELY WHAT, 15 DAYS IN . AND THEN WE HAVE JILLIAN WHO JOINED, UM, JOINED BEFOR COUNTY ALSO ON MAY 5TH. JILLIAN, UH, EARNED HER BACHELOR'S DEGREE IN BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION FROM SOUTHERN NEW HAMPSHIRE UNIVERSITY IN 2023. SINCE THEN, SHE HAS BEEN AN ACTIVE MEMBER OF SOUTH CAROLINA ASSOCIATION OF GOVERNMENT PURCHASING OFFICIALS KNOWN AS GPO, I HAVE A WORD ABOUT THAT ONE. AND THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF GOVERNMENT PURCHASING. ORIGINALLY FROM PENNSYLVANIA, JILLIAN RELOCATED TO BUFORD IN 2021. DUE TO HER HUSBAND DUSTIN'S MILITARY SERVICE. SHE HAS SINCE FALLEN IN LOVE WITH EVERYTHING IN THE LOW COUNTRY. IT HAS TO OFFER. WE LIKE IT TOO. IN HER FREE TIME, SHE ENJOYS SPENDING TIME WITH HER FAMILY AND HER THREE DOGS, GARDENING AND SHELLING AT THE BEACH. SO PLEASE WELCOME OUR [00:05:01] NEW STAFF MEMBERS TO FINANCE. THANK. AWESOME. ALRIGHT, SO WE ARE GOING TO, I DID SOMETHING, SORRY, . UM, SO WE'RE GONNA PRESENT OUR YEAR TO DATE FINANCIALS AS OF MAY 15TH. IS THERE A CLICK NO? ALL RIGHT. HERE ARE, AND I'M APOLOGIZING 'CAUSE I CANNOT SEE THAT FAR. BUT HERE ARE OUR GENERAL FUND REVENUES. UH, TODAY WE ARE 93% COLLECTED. UM, AVALARA TAXES IS AT A HUNDRED PERCENT AND STILL COLLECTING, UM, LICENSES AND PERMITS ARE AT 92%. INTERGOVERNMENTAL IS 66%. CHARGES FOR SERVICES IS 91% FINES AND FORFEITURES 87, INTEREST 140%. WE'RE STILL COLLECTING A LOT OF INTEREST, REVENUE, SO, UH, INCOME, EXCUSE ME, AND MISCELLANEOUS IS 170%. SO OVERALL GENERAL FUND REVENUES ARE AT 93%. SO WE'RE TRENDING TO FINISH OUT THE FISCAL YEAR. PRETTY GOOD GENERAL FUND EXPENDITURES. NEXT, SORRY. UM, HERE'S OUR EXPENDITURES BY CATEGORY. IN THE GENERAL FUND, UH, WE'RE 73% FOR GENERAL GOVERNMENT. PUBLIC SAFETY IS 82. PUBLIC WORKS IS 78. PUBLIC HEALTH IS 73%. PUBLIC WELFARE 105. AND CULTURAL AND RECREATION IS ABOUT 80%. SO OVERALL 77%. AND WE STILL HAVE ABOUT THREE MORE PAYROLLS TO GO IN THE, IN THIS UPCOMING FISCAL YEAR OR THIS FISCAL YEAR. SORRY. NEXT SLIDE. THANK YOU. WELL OVERVIEW OF OUR ENTERPRISE FUNDS. UM, SOLID WASTE AND RECYCLING IS AT 72% FOR REVENUE. STORMWATER, IS IT 65%? BUFORT EXECUTIVE IS AT 82% IN HILTON HEAD. AIRPORT IS AT 90% FOR REVENUES. NEXT ONE, SOLID WASTE IS AT 73%. STORMWATER IS AT 45% FOR EXPENDITURES. BUFORD EXECUTIVE IS AT 31% AND HILTON HEAD IS AT 66%. SO THIS IS A BRIEF SUMMARY OF OUR ENTERPRISE FUNDS. AND THEN ANY QUESTIONS ON THE YEAROR DATES BEFORE WE GO FURTHER? ALRIGHT, THE NEXT ONE, OH, THE BUDGET TRANSFER REPORT. YEAH, SORRY, I COULDN'T FIT THAT. IN A POWERPOINT YOU'LL SEE ATTACHED IN YOUR BACKUP, THE BUDGET TRANSFER REPORT. AS YOU CAN SEE, THERE'S A LOT OF ACTIVITY HAPPENING TOWARDS THE END OF THE FISCAL YEAR. A LOT OF LINE ITEM CLEANUP FOR DEPARTMENTS. SO THERE IS, UH, FOUR, WELL, THREE AND THREE AND A HALF PAGES WORTH. YOU'LL SEE MORE OF THESE AS WE WRAP UP THE FISCAL YEAR PREPARING FOR AUDIT AND GETTING READY TO, UH, START OUR PRELIMINARY. AND THAT'S REALLY SMALL, SO, UM, IT IS IN YOUR BACKUP WITH MORE DETAILS. YOUR JUSTIFICATION COLUMN HAS EXACTLY WHAT EVERYONE WAS TRANSFERRING FUNDS FOR TO COVER THEIR LINE ITEM EXPENDITURE. I KNOW IT'S REALLY SMALL, BUT IT'S IN YOUR BACKUP IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS. QUESTIONS, ANY QUESTIONS FOR MS. HARRIET? NO. NOPE. SEEING NO QUESTIONS. UM, THANK YOU PINKY. OF COURSE. ALL RIGHT. THE NEXT ONE'S NOT MINE. , I'LL BE BACK LATER. THANK YOU. AND, AND, AND AGAIN, WOULD LIKE TO WELCOME SANDY AND ALLISON AND, AND JULIANNE FOR, FOR COMING TODAY. AND AGAIN, CONGRATULATIONS WITH GLAD YOU'RE A BOARD. SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH. UM, ALRIGHT, LET'S [8. REQUEST TO AUTHORIZE THE COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR TO EXECUTE A CONTRACT WITH USI INSURANCE SERVICES FOR BEAUFORT COUNTY BENEFITS CONSULTING. (FISCAL IMPACT: $72,954/year, total impact of $218,862 over three-year contract. Expense will be paid from the Human Resources Professional Services line item (1000-10-1160-51160) - Katherine Mead, Director of Human Resources] MOVE ON THEN TO, UM, OUR NUMBER EIGHT, WHICH IS REQUEST TO AUTHORIZE THE COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR TO EXECUTE A CONTRACT WITH USI INSURANCE SERVICES FOR BEAUFORT COUNTY BENEFITS CONSULTING. UM, FISCAL IMPACT IS $72,954 A YEAR. TOTAL IMPACT IS $218,862 OVER A THREE YEAR CONTRACT EXPENSE. WE PAID FROM THE HUMAN RESOURCE PROFESSIONAL SERVICES LINE ITEM. UM, AND WE HAVE, UH, MS. CATHERINE, ME TO PRESENT THIS, WHO IS OUR DIRECTOR OF HUMAN RESOURCES. SO CATHERINE, THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE. GOOD AFTERNOON. I'LL MAKE THE MOTION. OH, THANK YOU. NO MOTION. IS THERE A SECOND FOR US TO DISCUSS THIS? I'LL SECOND. ALRIGHT, THANK YOU MS. BROWN. UM, MS. MEAD, GO AHEAD. GOOD AFTERNOON. UM, SO YES, WE ARE REQUESTING APPROVAL TO MOVE TO FULL COUNSEL, THE AUTHORIZATION OF THE COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR TO SIGN INTO THIS CONTRACT. UH, WE DID POST AN RFP FROM FEBRUARY 25TH THROUGH APRIL 1ST. UM, SOME OF THE ITEMS THAT OUR CONSULTANT HELPS US WITH IS STRATEGIC PLANNING AND CONSULTING, BENEFIT PROCUREMENT AND RENEWAL SERVICES PLAN, DESIGN AND COMPLIANCE, EMPLOYEE COMMUNICATION AND SUPPORT, DATA ANALYSIS AND REPORTING AND VENDOR MANAGEMENT WITH OUR HEALTH, DENTAL, VISION AND STOP-LOSS VENDORS. AND THEY ALSO HELP US WITH EMPLOYEE WELLNESS ENGAGEMENT. SO WE DID RECEIVE FOUR RESPONSES [00:10:01] FROM THE R-F-P-U-S-I WAS THE SECOND LOWEST BID, UM, THE LOWEST BID. THAT VENDOR IS NOT A REGISTERED AGENT TO WORK WITH BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD OF SOUTH CAROLINA, WHICH IS OUR MEDICAL AND STOP-LOSS VENDOR. SO AS, AS THE UM, A SI MENTIONS, THIS IS A THREE YEAR CONTRACT, IT'LL BE BILLED MONTHLY. WE ALSO HAVE A TWO YEAR RENEWAL OPTION BUILT INTO THE CONTRACT. SO I WILL OPEN THE FLOOR FOR ANY QUESTIONS. ANY QUESTIONS FOR MS. MEAD? ALRIGHT. SEEING NO QUESTIONS, UM, I'D LIKE TO MOVE THIS FORWARD WITH NO OBJECTION. UH, ANY OBJECTION. THIS WILL MOVE TO COUNSEL FOR AN APPROVAL. THANK YOU. THANK YOU MS. MEAD. ALRIGHT, LET'S MOVE ON THEN. UH, NUMBER NINE, [9. APPROVAL OF A REQUEST TO PURCHASE (1) LT 40 BUCKET TRUCK FOR FACILITIES MANAGEMENT (FISCAL IMPACT $188,893 Fleet Services Vehicle Purchase for Public Works, Facilities Management Division - Account Balance $1,556,991)- Frank Stroncheck, Director of Facilites Management, John Robinson, Assistant County Administrator- Public Safety, and Todd Davis, Director of Fleet Services] APPROVAL TO REQUEST A PURCHASE. ONE LT 40 BUCKET TRUCK FOR FACILITIES MANAGEMENT FISCAL IMPACT, $188,893. FLEET SERVICES, VEHICLE PURCHASE FOR PUBLIC WORKS FACILITIES MANAGEMENT DIVISION. ACCOUNT BALANCE THERE IS $1,556,991. AND, UH, WE HAVE MR. STRACH, UM, GONNA BE COMING FORWARD TO, UH, TO PRESENT THIS FOR US. UM, AND HE IS A DIRECTOR OF FACILITIES MANAGEMENT. MR. STRECK, THANK YOU FOR COMING. I WILL MAKE VERY MUCH, SORRY. WE MAKE THE MOTION. IS THERE A SECOND? I'LL SECOND. ALRIGHT, THANK YOU MS. HOWARD. UH, MR. STRECK, GO AHEAD. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. UM, FIRST OF ALL, I'D JUST LIKE TO POINT OUT A COUPLE THINGS. UH, THE REASONS AND JUSTIFICATIONS FOR THIS PARTICULAR, UH, PIECE OF EQUIPMENT. UH, THE FIRST IS THAT, UH, WE'VE ALWAYS HAD ONE WITHIN THE FACILITIES DEPARTMENT FOR THE PAST 18 YEARS. UM, THE LAST TRUCK THAT WE HAD, WE HAD REMOVED FROM THE DEPARTMENT DUE TO, UM, MECHANICAL PROBLEMS. AND THAT WAS TWO YEARS AGO. UH, FOR THE LAST TWO YEARS, WE HAVE PETITIONED AND REQUESTED A, A BUCKET TRUCK, UH, AND HAVE YET TO RECEIVE ONE. UM, A FEW THINGS TO POINT OUT. IN ADDITION TO THAT, THE, UH, LIGHTING MAINTENANCE IS REALLY CRITICAL. AND WITHOUT A BUCKET TRUCK, WE CANNOT GO INTO REPAIRING PARKING LOT LIGHTS, BALL FIELD LIGHTS, AND ENSURING, MOST IMPORTANTLY, THE SAFETY AND SECURITY OF INDIVIDUALS IN THOSE LOCATIONS. NUMBER TWO, THE BUILDING MAINTENANCE IS REALLY, REALLY CRITICAL. UH, USED FOR GUTTER CLEANING, ROOF INSPECTIONS, EXTERIOR REPAIRS, AND MULTI-STORY BUILDINGS THAT WE CANNOT ACCESS SAFELY WITHOUT A BUCKET TRUCK. HVAC SUPPORT, UH, CRITICAL FOR LIFTING PARTS AND EQUIPMENT ONTO ROOFTOPS FOR THE HVAC REPLACEMENTS AND MAINTENANCE, UH, DETENTION DETENTION CENTER NEEDS, UH, REQUIRES A BUCKET TRUCK FOR ACCESSING THE ROOF EVERY MONTH JUST TO CLEAN OUT THE SNAKE PIPES ALONE. UH, AND LET'S NOT FORGET EVERY YEAR, BEFORD COUNTY HAS A PRETTY BIG CHRISTMAS TREE RIGHT OVER HERE. AND, UH, WITHOUT THE BUCKET TRUCK, WE CAN'T GET IT. THANK YOU. ALRIGHT, ANY, UH, QUESTIONS I HAVE, MR. CHAIRMAN, I HAVE A QUESTION. UM, A COUPLE, I THINK. LAST FINANCE COMMITTEE WE WERE APPROVING A BUCKET TRUCK IS, OR IS IT THE SAME BUCKET TRUCK? OR IS THIS HERE'S IT'S A DIFFERENT BUCKET TRUCK. THIS IS A DIFFERENT BUCKET TRUCK. YES. YES, MA'AM. AND THE, SO THE PREVIOUS TRUCK WAS FOR TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT. UH, IT IS THE IDENTICAL TRUCK, BUT FOR TWO DIFFERENT PURPOSES. SO TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT, YOU APPROVE THEM A TRUCK. THIS IS FACILITIES MANAGEMENT. SO MY QUESTION WAS, WHY DO WE NEED TWO? CAN'T THEY SHARE? WELL, VERY GOOD QUESTION AND EXACTLY WHAT, UH, FRANK WAS TALKING ABOUT. THIS IS AN EXERCISE IN EFFICIENCY. SO TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT HAS NEEDS ALL OVER BEAUFORT COUNTY FOR THOSE SAME TYPES OF TRUCKS TO REACH THESE ELEVATED, UH, PIECES OF EQUIPMENT THAT NEED TO BE REPAIRED. UH, FACILITIES, RIGHT NOW, BEAUFORT COUNTY HAS MORE THAN 200 BUILDINGS. MORE THAN 160 OF THOSE ARE OCCUPIED. ALL OF THOSE ARE MAINTAINED BY OUR FACILITIES MANAGEMENT FOLKS. SO THE EFFICIENCY OF HAVING THIS, UH, THIS ASSET IS INCREDIBLE. JUST FOR ONE WEEK FOR US TO RENT A UNIT WAS ALMOST $4,000 TO RENT ONE PIECE OF EQUIPMENT THAT IS NOT ON, WELL, IT'S ON WHEELS, BUT IT WASN'T DRIVABLE. SO THEY HAD TO TRANSPORT THAT FROM PLACE TO PLACE ON A TRAILER. THIS IS A VERY EFFICIENT USE OF COUNTY DOLLARS. AND AS FRANK POINTED OUT, THIS IS REPLACEMENT OF AN EXISTING, OF AN EXISTING ASSET. THIS IS NOT AN ADDITIONAL ASSET TO THE FLEET. HOW ABOUT THE OTHER BUCKET TRUCK? WAS THAT A REPLACEMENT OR IS THAT AN ADDITION? SO TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT HAD PREVIOUSLY TWO OF THOSE BUCKET TRUCKS LAST YEAR. WE HAD A FEW OF THOSE THAT WERE DAMAGED, NOT DUE TO US, OTHER FOLKS RAN INTO THEM. [00:15:01] ONE HAD TO BE REPLACED, UH, DURING AN EMERGENCY, UH, PROCUREMENT BECAUSE WE WERE, WE STILL, WE HAD TO RENT THEM FOR A WHILE. SO ONE WAS REPLACED ON AN EMERGENCY PROCUREMENT. THE LAST ONE THAT WAS JUST, THAT YOU JUST APPROVED WAS A REPLACEMENT OF AN EXISTING ASSET. I FEEL THAT FACILITIES NEEDS THIS BUCKET TRUCK AND MAYBE THE OTHER ONE DIDN'T NEED. OKAY. ALRIGHT. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OR DISCUSSION? ALRIGHT. AND, UH, THIS CAN BE APPROVED AT COMMITTEE LEVEL, SO, UM, SOMETHING THAT, UM, IF THERE'S NO OBJECTION, WE WILL APPROVE THIS AT COMMITTEE LEVEL. I SEE. NO OBJECTION. SO THIS HAS BEEN APPROVED. MR. STRACH, THANK YOU FOR COMING TODAY. WE APPRECIATE THAT. THANK YOU. ALRIGHT, LET'S MOVE ON THEN [10. AN ORDINANCE TO PROVIDE FOR THE LEVY OF TAX FOR SCHOOL PURPOSES FOR BEAUFORT COUNTY FOR THE FISCAL YEAR BEGINNING JULY 1, 2025, AND ENDING JUNE 30, 2026, AND TO MAKE APPROPRIATIONS FOR SAID PURPOSES - Dr. Frank Rodriguez, BCSD Superintendent; & Tonya Crosby, CPA, BCSD Chief Financial Officer] TO NUMBER 10 ON OUR AGENDA IN AN ORDINANCE TO PROVIDE FOR THE LEVY OF TAX FOR SCHOOL PURPOSES, FOR BEAUFORT COUNTY, FOR THE FISCAL YEAR, BEGINNING JULY 1ST, 2025, AND ENDING JUNE 30TH, 2026. AND TO MAKE APPROPRIATIONS FOR SAID PURPOSES. TODAY WE HAVE, UM, FROM BEAUFORT COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT, OUR SUPERINTENDENT, MR. FRANK RODRIGUEZ, AND THEN ALSO TANYA CROSBY, WHO IS THE CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER. SO THANK YOU FOR COMING. APPRECIATE, I'LL MAKE THAT MOTION. THANK YOU. THANK YOU ALL. AND I'LL SECOND THAT. THANK YOU BEING THERE. IT'S A PLEASURE TO BE HERE WITH YOU TODAY. AND, UH, IT'S GOOD TO SEE ALL OF YOU AGAIN. UH, FROM OUR LAST JOINT MEETING TOGETHER. UH, AS YOU MENTIONED TODAY, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT, UH, OUR, OUR FUNDING FOR THE UPCOMING SCHOOL YEAR. AND, UM, I HAVE, UH, MS. CROSBY WITH US WHO'S GONNA DO A BRIEF PRESENTATION FOR YOU TODAY, UH, AND SHARE, SHARE SOME OF THE INFORMATION, UH, FOR YOU AS WELL. OKAY. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. AND IT'S GREAT TO SEE Y'ALL, MS. CROSBY, THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE. SURE. GOOD AFTERNOON. SO, UH, WE HAVE A POWERPOINT OR, UM, OR PDF THAT WE COULD PULL UP. SO WE HAVE, UH, WE ACTUALLY BEGAN OUR BUDGET IN ABOUT DECEMBER, UH, LOOKING AT, UM, VARIOUS THINGS FROM THE PREVIOUS YEAR, SORT OF AT THE PROCESS AT THE CALENDAR. AND, UH, WE GATHER ALL A LOT OF INFORMATION. WE HAVE A LEAN STAFF, UH, BECAME EVEN LEANER MIDWAY THROUGH THE YEAR THIS YEAR. AND, UH, BUT WE'VE, UH, GOT A GREAT TEAM AND ABLE TO TACKLE THAT. SO, UM, THE, IT'S A POWERPOINT IN PDF FORM. IT HAS A, I YOU, THE NEXT ONE. THEY ALL GOT THE FLYER. YEAH, IT'S BEHIND IN THE PACKET. IT'S BEHIND THE FLYER, I BELIEVE. BEHIND THE ORDINANCE THERE. WE OKAY. IT WILL, THAT WOULD REQUIRE, ALL RIGHT, THERE WE GO. SO THIS IS THE, UH, FISCAL YEAR 25, 26 PROPOSED, UH, GENERAL FUND BUDGET FOR THE SCHOOL DISTRICT. UM, SO THERE WE GO. OKAY. UM, THERE'S, THAT'S ACTUALLY, OKAY. THERE WE GO. . WE'LL GET IT TOGETHER. WE'LL GET IT TOGETHER. UM, SO THERE'S SOME GREAT THINGS HAPPENING IN BEAUFORT COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT. WE HAVE A LOT OF THINGS GOING ON, ROUNDING OUT THE END OF THE SCHOOL YEAR. UM, BUT WE CONTINUE TO PLAN, UM, FOR FUTURE YEARS AND, AND BUILD ON WHAT WE'VE ALREADY DONE IN THE PAST. WE'VE HAD A LOT OF INITIATIVES IN THE LAST, LAST BUDGET YEAR, AND MANY THAT WILL CONTINUE. AND THEN SOME NEW INITIATIVES AS WELL. WE CONTINUE TO HAVE, UH, ONE OF THE HIGHEST TEACHER STARTING SALARIES IN THE STATE. WE ACTUALLY FAILED TO NUMBER FOUR THIS YEAR. UM, BUT WE'RE STILL, UH, COMPETITIVE, UM, AND, AND STRIVING TO BE A LITTLE MORE THAN THAN NORMAL. AND YOU'LL SEE THAT IN THE REST OF THE PRESENTATION. UH, WE'RE EXPANDING SOME CAREER AND TECHNOLOGY EDUCATION PROGRAMS AND, UH, SOME ADDITIONS IN SOME OF OUR SCHOOLS. WITH REFERENDUM FUNDS, WE'RE ABLE TO ADD IN SOME ADDITIONAL CLASSROOMS TO SERVE STUDENTS AT A FEW DIFFERENT HIGH SCHOOLS LOCATIONS. UH, ADDITIONAL, UH, TIDES CAMPUS, THE, UH, DUAL ENROLLMENT PROGRAM, FULL DAY, DUAL ENROLLMENT WITH, UH, PARTNERSHIP WITH TECHNICAL COLLEGE OF THE LOW COUNTRY, AND, UH, GROWING COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS. UH, WE'RE FINISHING OUR 2019 REFERENDUM PROJECTS. WE JUST HAVE A FEW MORE TO CLOSE OUT AND COMPLETE IN THAT EFFORT. AND THEN WE HAVE ALREADY BEGUN THE, UH, START OF THE 2023 REFERENDUM PROJECTS. IF YOU'VE BEEN BY HILTON HEAD HIGH SCHOOL, THAT'S A PERFECT EXAMPLE OF THE WORK THAT WE'RE DOING THERE. YOU ALREADY HAVE A THREE STORY, UH, EXPANSION OF THAT BUILDING. UH, SO ASIDE FROM DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE, BEAUFORT COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT IS THE LARGEST EMPLOYER IN BEAUFORT COUNTY. WE HAVE ABOUT 3000 EMPLOYEES WITH ABOUT 1800 OF THOSE TEACHERS, UH, WHICH IS ALMOST TWO THIRDS, AND THEN ABOUT ANOTHER THOUSAND CONTRACTED EMPLOYEES BETWEEN MAINTENANCE, FOOD SERVICE, CUSTODIAL, AND OTHER OUTSOURCED VENDORS. SO, PRETTY SIGNIFICANT. WE'VE GOT A LOT GOING ON. UM, PRETTY SIGNIFICANT [00:20:01] OPERATION. BUT AT THE SAME TIME, WE HAVE SOME CHALLENGES. UH, AND YOU ALL MAY HAVE EXPERIENCED MANY OF THESE AS WELL, BUT, UH, THE MOST PREVALENT ONE RECENTLY HAS, HAS BEEN STATE FUNDING. UH, I'M GONNA TALK ABOUT THAT A LITTLE MORE IN THE PRESENTATION FURTHER BACK. UM, SO I WON'T LINGER ON IT NOW, BUT THAT'S BEEN A REAL CHALLENGE FOR US THIS YEAR. FEDERAL FUNDING UNCERTAINTIES IS ANOTHER AREA, UM, FEDERAL. WE RECEIVE, NOT JUST IN, YOU'LL SEE VERY SMALL, UH, SLIVER OF FUNDING IN THE GENERAL FUND FOR FEDERAL FUNDS, BUT WE HAVE ABOUT A HUNDRED SPECIAL REVENUE FUNDS OUTSIDE OF THIS, AND THOSE $27 MILLION OF THOSE INCLUDE FEDERAL FUNDING. SO, BUT SO FAR NO FEDERAL FUNDING CUTS HAVE COME OUR WAY. BUT WE DO HAVE A COUPLE OF GRANTS THAT WE'RE, WE WERE, UH, WAITING ON TO BE AUTHORIZED BY CONGRESS THAT WE HAVE NOT SEEN YET AND HAVE BEEN DELAYED BY ABOUT A MONTH. SO WE'RE REACHING OUT TO OUR LEGISLATIVE PARTNERS AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL, UH, AND DOING VARIOUS THINGS AT A LOCAL LEVEL TO BE ABLE TO HELP PUSH, YOU KNOW, GET THOSE PUSHED ALONG. SO WE CAN AUTHORIZE MAYBE A FIFTH YEAR OF A FIVE YEAR GRANT OR, UM, UH, AUTHORIZE SOME ANNUAL FUNDING THAT TYPICALLY COMES BY NOW, BUT HASN'T YET BEEN, UH, NOTIFIED TO THE DISTRICTS LIKE TITLE ONE IDEA AND THOSE SORTS OF THINGS. WE DO EXPECT IT TO COME. UM, BUT WE DO HAVE TO JUST THINK ABOUT WHAT HAPPENS IF IT, YOU KNOW, IF, IF THERE ARE FURTHER DELAYS, LABOR SHORTAGES. WE CONTINUE TO SEE THOSE, PARTICULARLY IN THE TEACHING INDUSTRY. RISING COSTS OF CONTRACTED SERVICES. WE'RE SEEING THAT A LOT IN OUR CUSTODIAL AND MAINTENANCE CONTRACTS, WHICH ARE OUR BIGGEST, UH, OUTSOURCE CONTRACTS, WHICH WE HAPPEN TO BE GOING OUT FOR BID ON ONE OF THOSE THIS YEAR. AND, UH, ANOTHER NEXT YEAR. TARIFF IMPACTS HAVING TO REALLY LOOK AT THE TIMING OF WHEN WE'RE BUYING COMPUTERS FOR STUDENTS AND VARIOUS THINGS, ESPECIALLY TECHNOLOGY ITEMS, AFFORDABLE HOUSING, AND THEN INCREASE OF COSTS OF CONSUMER GOODS, JUST DAY-TO-DAY SUPPLIES. SO THOSE ARE THE THINGS THAT WE REALLY SEE AS CHALLENGES THROUGHOUT THE YEAR. BUT, UM, WE WORK TOWARD, UH, BUILDING THE BEST BUDGET THAT WE CAN, UH, KNOWING WITH THOSE THINGS IN MIND. SO BUDGET ENGAGEMENT IS A HUGE PART OF, UH, THE SCHOOL DISTRICT'S BUDGET. UM, AND WE BEGIN REALLY WITH, UH, INTERNAL DISCUSSIONS, BUT THEN WE TALK TO THE BOARD, SCHOOL STAFF, PRINCIPALS. WE DO SURVEYS ONLINE. WE, WE, UH, SEND OUT INFORMATION TO THE DEPARTMENTS, RECEIVE BACK, UM, AND STUDENTS. WE HAVE A STUDENT ADVISORY EVERY MEETING, MEETING EVERY YEAR. UM, AND THREE HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS FROM EVERY ONE OF OUR DISTRICT HIGH SCHOOLS ATTENDS. THAT IS PROBABLY THE MOST, UH, EDUCATIONAL MEETING IN TERMS OF WHAT OUR NEEDS ARE, IS POSSIBLE. IT, IT IS VERY, UM, VERY REWARDING. AND THEN WE GO OUT TO THE PUBLIC, WHICH WE'VE DONE TWO PUBLIC FORUMS, AND THEN, UH, WE'VE ACTUALLY, THE BOARD HAS SEEN THE BUDGET TWICE NOW AND EXPECTED TO SEE IT TOMORROW NIGHT AS WELL. YES. SO, UM, IN ALL OF THAT WORK, UM, HAS EMERGED THREE TOP PRIORITIES, TEACHER AND SUPPORT STAFF, COMPENSATION, ACADEMIC PROGRAMS, AND SAFETY AND SECURITY. SO THIS BUDGET IS TOTALLY SURROUNDED AROUND THOSE THINGS. PRIMARILY, IT HAS OTHER NEEDS AS WELL, OPERATIONAL NEEDS. UM, BUT THOSE ARE THE PRE PRIMARY THREE AREAS OF, UH, PARTICULARLY THE FIRST TWO OF INCREASES THAT YOU'LL SEE TODAY. SO, TEACHER SALARIES, ONE OF OUR GOAL IS TO MAINTAIN ONE OF THE HIGHEST TEACHER SALARIES IN SOUTH CAROLINA. AND THE REASON WE NEED THAT IS WE HAVE TO ATTRACT HIGHLY QUALIFIED CANDIDATES, INCREASE JOB SATISFACTION, IMPROVE RETENTION, AND REDUCE OUR TRAINING COSTS A LITTLE BEHIND THERE. SO THIS IS WHERE WE STAND CURRENTLY IN SOUTH CAROLINA. UM, CHARLESTON'S NUMBER ONE AT 56,000 THIS YEAR. UH, BERKELEY AT THIS IS THE STARTING TEACHER SALARY, BACHELOR'S WITH NO EXPERIENCE AS A TEACHER COMES IN FOR THE FIRST YEAR. UM, BEAVERT CURRENTLY RANKS FOUR OF 74 DISTRICTS IN THE STATE. TWO OF THE THREE DISTRICTS ARE, ARE, ARE IN NEARBY COUNTIES, WHICH WE ACTIVELY COMPETE WITH. AND THEIR COASTAL COUNTIES, WHICH ARE VERY ATTRACTIVE YOUNG PEOPLE. COASTAL AREAS, UM, ARE VERY ATTRACTIVE. SO YOU'RE GONNA DRAW YOUNG PROFESSIONALS TO THESE AREAS. UM, SO CHARLESTON COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT IS STARTING THEIR TEACHERS NEXT YEAR AT STEP FIVE. SO THAT'S, UH, A, IT WAS AN INTERESTING CONCEPT THAT WE LOOKED AT AND, UH, HAVE BUILT SOMETHING SIMILAR TO THAT INTO OUR BUDGET AS WELL FOR NEXT YEAR. SO WE ARE LOOKING TO MOVE TO A $60,087, STARTING NEW, STARTING TEACHER SALARY. UH, BY DOING THAT, WE CURRENTLY ARE AT 51, AND WE WOULD PROPOSE A $4,000 INCREASE TO THE BASE TEACHER'S SALARY AND EVERY SALE ON THE SCHEDULE TO GO TO 55. AND THEN WE WOULD SELL ZERO THROUGH FIVE WOULD BECOME $60,000. SO A, A NEW TEACHER STARTING WOULD BE BASICALLY ADVANCE THAT FIVE YEAR AMOUNT. MARK SHOULD BE AT, HE OR SHE WOULD BE [00:25:01] AT 60,000, AND THEY WOULD REMAIN AT 60 WITH ANY, UH, COST OF LIVING INCREASES THAT WOULD COME UP IN THE, IN THE FUTURE YEARS. UM, SO YOU WOULD NOT HAVE A STEP INCREASE, BUT THEY WOULD HAVE A COST OF LIVING INCREASE. SO, FOR EXAMPLE, IF WE GAVE A THOUSAND DOLLARS COST OF LIVING INCREASE, THEY WOULD GET THE BENEFIT OF THAT. SO THERE, THERE'S A CONCEPT OF, UH, THEY WOULD HAVE AN INCREASE. SO, UH, WE'RE SORT OF MIRRORING, UH, BORROWING THE, THE GOOD IDEAS OF OTHER DISTRICTS IN MANY WAYS. AND THIS IS JUST ONE OF THE MANY WAYS THAT WE ARE, UM, PROPOSING TO DO THAT. SO IF YOU LOOK AT THE TWO COMPENSATION, UH, GROUPS IN, IN, UH, EMPLOYEE GROUPS, SIDE BY SIDE, TEACHERS ON THE LEFT WILL BE A $4,000 INCREASE TO TEACHER BASED SALARY. THEY'D HAVE A MANDATED TEACHER STEP INCREASE, UM, THEIR MAX STEP, WE ARE PROPOSING TO MOVE FROM 28 TO 30. AND SO THE TEACHER SALARY SCHEDULE AT THE STATE LEVEL, UM, IS AT 28 STEPS. UM, WE BEGAN WITH 24 STEPS ABOUT FOUR YEAR, FIVE YEARS AGO. UM, AND THE ELIGIBILITY OF RETIREMENT IS 28 YEARS. UM, AND SO WE MADE A CONCERTED EFFORT TO MOVE UP ONE STEP PER YEAR. AND THIS YEAR, IN AN EFFORT TO HOLD ON TO THOSE MOST VETERAN, MOST, UH, EXPERIENCED TEACHERS, WE ARE PROPOSING TO MOVE TWO STEPS UP. AND WE HAVE ABOUT 184 TEACHERS IN THOSE CATEGORIES THAT WE HAVE THE POTENTIAL OF, UH, THEY COULD RETIRE OR THEY COULD HANG ON FOR AND STAY WITH US FOR ANOTHER YEAR OR TWO. SO WE'RE, DO, WE'RE DOING WHAT WE CAN TO MAKE SURE THAT THAT HAPPENS IF THEY CAN STAY WITH US. AND THEN AGAIN, CONSOLIDATING STEP ZERO TO FIVE. AND THEN IN ALL OTHER GROUPS, CLASSIFIED PROFESSIONAL, ADMINISTRATIVE, WE'RE PROPOSING 3% COST OF LIVING, UH, A STEP INCREASE. AND THEN MA UM, ALIGNING THE STEPS WITH THE TEACHERS AT 30 STEPS AS WELL. SO THE BIG GOAL THIS YEAR WAS 60,000. WE, UM, WE ASKED THE RECRUITERS, HOW DO WE GET PEOPLE INTO BEAVER COUNTY? HOW DO WE KEEP THEM? UM, AND SO THEY SAID, WE NEED TO BE IN THE 60,000 RANGE. SO THIS WAS AN EFFORT TO ENSURE THAT WE MADE IT THERE, AND THAT IT WAS A VERY ATTRACTIVE NUMBER FOR OUR RECRUITERS, FOR, FOR YOUNG PEOPLE COMING OUT OF COLLEGES TO BE ABLE TO SELECT A PLACE THAT THEY COULD, UH, LIVE, WORK AND PLAY AND MAKE A LIVING DOING THAT. ALL RIGHT. SO THE NEXT AREA IS ONE OF OUR SECOND PRIORITY IS ACADEMIC PROGRAMS. SO LAST YEAR, I'VE GOT A SIDE BY SIDE HERE LAST, OR THE CURRENT YEAR, EXCUSE ME. UH, WE MADE A CONCERTED EFFORT TO, UM, TO, UH, SUPPLEMENT AND ATTRACT SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHERS TO THAT FIELD AND KEEP THEM, UH, WE ADDED A 6% SUPPLEMENT ONTO THEIR BASE SALARY THAT REMAINS THIS YEAR. SO THERE'S NO INCREASE, IT'S JUST REMAINING. SO THAT WE'RE LOOK ADDRESSING A CRITICAL NEEDS AREA. MATHEMATICS. ALSO, WE PROBABLY WOULD CONSIDER THAT A CRITICAL NEEDS AREA, ESPECIALLY AFTER THE PANDEMIC. SO WE PUT SEVERAL EFFORTS IN TO MAKE SURE THAT WE WERE INCREASING TEST SCORES. UM, IN THAT AREA. WE, UH, EXTENDED LEARNING PROGRAMS. AS OUR ESSER FUNDS SUNSET, WE HAD TO MAKE SOME HARD DECISIONS ABOUT WHAT, WHAT, UH, ONGOING, UH, AND RECURRING PROGRAMS WE WOULD CONTINUE. AND SO WE CONTINUED WITH OUR, UH, EXTENDED LEARNING PROGRAMS, WHICH ALSO HELP STRENGTHEN OUR COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS, EMPLOY CHILDCARE AND MENTAL HEALTH. UH, THIS YEAR WE'RE LOOKING AT EX DOING SOME EXPANSIONS ON FINE AND PERFORMING ARTS. THAT WAS A HIGH NEEDS AREA IN TERMS OF STUDENTS AND STAFF WE'RE REQUESTING THIS, INCLUDING THE BOARD, UH, SCIENCE, CAREER IN TECHNOLOGY, EDUCATION, DUAL ENROLLMENT AND EDUCATION TECHNOLOGY, AI. SO AI IS REALLY TRANSFORMING OUR WORLD. I KNOW IT'S TRANSFORMING EVERYONE'S, UM, BUT PARTICULARLY IN THE ED IN THE EDUCATION WORLD AS WE'RE PREPARING STUDENTS TO GO FORWARD AND HIRE, UM, EITHER IN, IN THE WORKFORCE OR IN COLLEGES TO KNOW HOW TO USE IT SAFELY AND PROPERLY. SPEAKING OF SAFETY, SAFETY AND SECURITY IS ANOTHER AREA OF A PRIORITY. UM, SO WE, THERE AREN'T MAJOR INCREASES IN THIS AREA, IN THIS BUDGET, BUT WE ARE, THAT IS A PRIORITY THAT WE MAINTAIN THAT FUNDING. UM, FOR SECURITY OFFICERS, WE DO HAVE EITHER A SCHOOL RESOURCE OFFICER OR A SECURITY GUARD AT EVERY SINGLE SCHOOL. AND WE HAVE ABOUT THREE OR FOUR SCHOOLS THAT WOULD STILL BE ABLE TO BE ELIGIBLE FOR THE STATE GRANT TO OFF IF WE ARE, UH, GIVEN THE LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENTS, UH, LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY GRANT. SO WE WOULD REPLACE ANY REMAINING, UH, STATE SECURITY GUARDS WITH, WITH SCHOOL RESOURCE OFFICER, WHICH WOULD BE WITH LOCAL, UM, ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES, LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES. SO THE CATEGORIES [00:30:01] OF OUR INCREASES ARE, UM, KIND OF, WE TOTALED THEM UP. AND EMPLOYEE COMPENSATION INCREASES REALLY MAKE UP ABOUT 80% OF THIS BUDGET. UM, YOU'RE GONNA SEE SOME SCHOOL STAFFING AND SUPPORT ALLOCATIONS AT A 1.9 MILLION NEGATIVE. WE DID PAIR BACK IN ORDER TO HELP COMPENSATE OR OFFSET THE COSTS OF THE INCREASES. UH, WE HAD, WE DID, UH, ALIGN OUR STAFFING ALLOCATIONS WITH THE CURRENT ENROLLMENT, AND WE'VE REDUCED 60 POSITIONS THIS YEAR, UM, THAT IS IN THE CLASSROOM AND INTERVENTION SERVICES AS WELL. UH, SO ALIGNING THAT SAVED US $1.9 MILLION. UM, I MENTIONED CUSTODIAL AND MAINTENANCE BEING LARGE INCREASES THAT $4 MILLION IS AN OPERATIONAL INCREASE THAT WE EXPECT TO INCUR. AND, UH, UTILITIES, INSURANCE, OTHER, UH, INCREASES ARE 800,000. AND, UH, WE HAVE OUR PARTNERSHIP WITH BEAUFORT, JASPER ACADEMY FOR CAREER EXCELLENCE. UH, THEY FOLLOW OUR SALARY SCHEDULES, SO THEY WOULD, WE'D PASS ON, UH, AN INCREASE TO THEM AS WELL, UH, WHICH WOULD INCUR A DIFF UH, AN ADDITIONAL COST TO BUFORT AND JASPER COUNTIES. AND THEN OUR CHARTER SCHOOL HAS A STATE MANDATED FORMULA THAT THEY WOULD HAVE AN INCREASE THIS YEAR AS WELL. SO THE TOTAL IS 17.8 MILLION, UH, INCREASE, UH, WITH A PROPOSED BUDGET OF $376,980,000, $376,980,000. SO THOSE INVESTMENTS ARE IN PRIMARILY 70% IN INSTRUCTION AND INSTRUCTIONAL SUPPORT, UH, WITH ABOUT 11.6% IN LEADERSHIP AND OTHER, AND OPERATIONS OF 18.4. AND WHERE DOES THE FUNDING COME FROM? SO, UH, AS WE TAKE A LOOK AT THIS SLIDE, EVERY YEAR, UM, WE LOOK AT, UH, PRIMARILY, ALMOST MORE THAN TWO THIRDS OF OUR BUDGET, OR A LITTLE LESS THAN TWO THIRDS OF OUR BUDGET, EXCUSE ME. UH, THE REVENUE COMES FROM LOCAL TAX REVENUE. UH, THE REST IS PRIMARILY STATE REVENUE OF 36%, AND THE STATE REVENUE HAS DECREASED BY 1.4% THIS YEAR. SO I HAVE A FEELING, UM, IF CAN THINGS CONTINUE IN THE WAY THAT THE MANNER IN WHICH THEY ARE, THAT OUR STATE REVENUES ARE GONNA CONTINUE TO SHRINK AND THE, AS THE LOCAL REVENUES CONTINUE TO, UM, HAVE TO HELP TO FUND THIS BUDGET. SO THE NEXT SLIDE IS ABOUT THE STATE FUNDING UPDATE. UM, SO THERE WAS A, ABOUT THREE YEARS AGO, THERE WAS A, A CHANGE FROM EFA, WHICH IS EDUCATION FINANCE ACT, THAT WAS, UH, IN STATE LAW TO, UM, STATE AID TO CLASSROOMS FUNDING. AND SO THERE WAS A, A, A PUSH TO SIMPLIFY EFA TO HELP CLARIFY THE NUMBERS AND MORE EVENLY FUND EQUITABLY FUND SCHOOL DISTRICTS ACROSS THE STATE. UM, AND SO, UH, THEY, THERE WAS A MAJOR CHANGE TO IT. AS A RESULT OF THAT CHANGE, THERE ARE SOME UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES OF THE FORMULA. UH, THERE'S NO ONE AT FAULT. THERE'S NO, UH, NO ONE TO BLAME. IT'S JUST A MATTER OF THE, THE NUMBERS WORKED AND HOW THEY, WHAT WEIGHTINGS THEY'VE PUT IN TO EXAGGERATE THOSE AND HOW THEY COMPOUND OVER TIME. UM, SO THE PAST THREE YEARS, THE STATE HAD, UM, TWO YEARS AGO THEY HAD 3 MILLION DO $300 MILLION OF NEW FUNDING FOR EDUCATION. THIS YEAR, THEY HAD $200 MILLION NEW MONEY OF FOR EDUCATION. NEXT YEAR, THEY HAVE $100 MILLION OF NEW MONEY FOR, FOR EDUCATION. SO AS THAT NUMBER DECLINED, THIS FORMULA BECAME VERY OBVIOUS THAT IT HAD A FLAWS IN IT. UM, SO COUPLED WITH A WEIGHTED STUDENT UNIT WITH A PROPORTIONAL ALLOCATION, IT'S YIELDING DISPROPORTIONAL RESULTS. ALL OF THAT TO SAY THERE ARE WEIGHTINGS THAT ARE GIVEN TO STATE FUNDED CHARTER SCHOOLS, NOT LOCALLY FUNDED. UM, SO THOSE ARE, THOSE ARE CHARTER SCHOOLS THAT COME FROM THE PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOL DISTRICT OR ERSKINE, OR LIMESTONE, NOT LOCAL DISTRICT SPONSORED. UM, SO THOSE ARE GIVEN MORE PROPORTIONAL WEIGHTINGS FOR BEING A CHARTER SCHOOL AND HAVING THE INABILITY TO GENERATE LOCAL TAX REVENUE, UH, IN ORDER. BY DOING THAT, THEY'RE GIVING THEM TWO OR THREE TIMES THE WEIGHTINGS THAT A TRADITIONAL, UH, SCHOOL DISTRICT IS RECEIVING. AND THEREFORE, WHEN YOU ALLOCATE A SMALLER POT OF MONEY, UH, OF 46% OF THE FUNDING IS GOING TO 7% OF THE STUDENTS IN SOUTH CAROLINA, WHICH ARE IN CHARTER SCHOOLS. SO IT'S A VERY DISPROPORTIONATE, UM, AND, UM, FORMULA. AND THE STATE MADE SOME SMALL TEMPORARY MEASURES TO ADJUST THE WAITINGS AT THE LAST MINUTE BEFORE, UH, ONE OF THE SESSIONS ENDED BEFORE THE SENATE SESSION ENDED. AND THEY HAVE, UH, COMMITTED TO MAKING LONGER TERM, UH, GETTING A FOR TASK FORCE, OR HAVING THE DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE AND FISCAL AFFAIRS, FRANK RAINWATER TO STUDY THE ISSUE [00:35:01] BEFORE THE NEXT LEGISLATIVE SESSION NEXT YEAR. SO WE'LL HAVE TO LIVE WITH THAT THIS YEAR. THE EFFECT ON BEAUFORT COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT THIS YEAR WAS A LOSS OF $2.9 MILLION IN STATE FUNDING. SO INSTEAD OF RECEIVING MONEY FOR, FOR INCREASES IN TEACHER SALARIES, WE HAD 3 MILLION LESS. UM, AND SO THE, THE MINOR TEMPORARY FIX GAVE US BACK $291,000. SO VERY MINIMAL, UH, IMPROVEMENT IN OUR, UM, IN OUR FUNDING. SO WE WILL STILL HAVE A LOSS OF 2.6 MILLION. SO THAT'S THE SORT OF THING THAT WE'RE BATTLING AT THE, AT THE SCHOOL DISTRICT LEVEL. AND OTHERS HAVE JOINED FORCES ACROSS THE STATE TO REALLY BRING ATTENTION TO THIS. AND SO SOME MAJOR CHANGES ARE GONNA HAVE TO HAPPEN NEXT YEAR IN ORDER TO BE MORE EQUITABLE TO THE, UH, 93% OF THE STUDENTS IN THE STATE WHO ARE AT TRADITIONAL SCHOOL DISTRICTS INSTEAD OF, AS OPPOSED TO STATE CHARTER SCHOOL DISTRICTS. SO THAT'S ONE OF THE MAJOR CHALLENGES THAT WE'RE FACING AND, AND REALLY WHY WE ARE HERE TODAY AS IF WE HAD RECEIVED SOME OF THE STATE FUNDING, UM, THE NEED FOR ADDITIONAL REVENUES WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN AS A PARENT. UM, SO LOCAL REVENUES ARE CURRENTLY, KEEP FORGETTING THIS PART, UH, 233.5 MILLION AT THE CURRENT 121.8 MILS. UH, STATE REVENUE IS 134.5. STATE AND FEDERAL REVENUES, I MENTIONED A VERY SMALL PORTION IN THIS GENERAL FUND, BUT IS IN OTHER SPECIAL REVENUE 620,000 FOR A TOTAL OF 368 MILLION. SO ADDITIONAL REVENUES TO BALANCE THE BUDGET OF, UH, 8.2 ARE NEEDED. UH, AND THIS WOULD CALCULATE TO A 4.3 MIL INCREASE. UM, JUST A QUICK MENTION, UM, IN THE CALCULATION OF THE MILL VALUE, PLEASE. UM, THE SCHOOL DISTRICT DIFFERS FROM THE COUNTY IN THAT WE DO NOT RECEIVE FUNDING ON OPERATIONS ON PRIMARY HOMEOWNERS OPERATIONS TAX ON PRIMARY HOME. SO OUR MILL VALUE IS 1 MILLION, ABOUT $1.9 MILLION FOR THE SCHOOL DISTRICT. OUR DEBT SERVICE MILL VALUE IS CLOSER TO 3 MILLION, LIKE THE COUNTIES. BUT SINCE SCHOOL OPERATIONS TAX WAS REMOVED IN ACT 3 88 BACK IN 2006, OUR, UH, WE LOSE ABOUT A MILLION DOLLARS OF LOCAL TAX REVENUE IN THAT CHANGE. SO, UM, THAT IS CALCULATED ON A LITTLE UNDER ONE POINT, UM, $9 MILLION, WHICH INCLUDES A GROWTH FACTOR OF ABOUT 4.8%, HAVE SOME GROWTH, GREAT GROWTH IN THE LAST FEW YEARS, AND WE ARE PROJECTING A LITTLE BIT LOWER AMOUNT NOW. UH, BUT, UM, 4.8% IS ON THE HIGH END OF, OF MY COMFORT LEVEL, ON THE GROWTH FACTOR. AND HOW DOES THAT AFFECT THE TAXPAYER? UM, EXCUSE ME, I'M SORRY. THIS IS THE MILLAGE INCREASE. UM, CURRENT MILLAGE IS 1 21 0.8 ON THE OPERATIONS MILL. UM, PROPOSED INCREASE OF 4.3 TO TAKE US TO 1 26 0.1. UH, THE MAXIMUM ALLOWABLE BY LAW, AND I BELIEVE IT WAS IN THE ORDINANCE. UM, WELL, 1 47 0.6 WAS THE MAXIMUM ALLOWABLE. AND THEN, UM, THE ORDINANCE PROVIDES A, A, UH, INFORMATION ABOUT THE, UH, WHAT THE LOOK BACK IS IN VARIOUS, UH, THE VALUES, WHAT THE INCREASE WAS, AND SO ON. UM, SO WE ARE PROPOSING TO, UM, HAVE NO INCREASE IN THE DEBT SERVICE MILLAGE. IT'S 36.3 AND WILL REMAIN AT THAT LEVEL, THE IMPACT ON THE TAXPAYER. UM, SO JUST TO TAKE A, THE MEDIAN VALUE I'M PROVIDING HERE MAY SEEM A LITTLE HIGH FOR SOME OF YOU MAY SEEM A LITTLE LOW FOR SOME OF YOU. UM, THAT WAS JUST AN AVERAGE MEDIAN VALUE IN THE ENTIRE BEAUFORT COUNTY, UM, THAT I PULLED AND DID A CALCULATION OF WHAT THIS EFFECT WOULD HAVE ON A PRIMARY HOME SECONDARY HOME IN A VEHICLE. SO AT A $540,000 MEDIAN HOME VALUE OF, OF A PRIMARY HOME ASSESSED AT A 4% RATIO, A 4% CENT, UM, UH, ASSESS, OR A 4.3 MIL INCREASE WOULD HAVE ZERO IMPACT ON A PRIMARY HOMEOWNER ON THEIR, ON THEIR HOME. A SECONDARY HOME AT THAT VALUE AT A 6% RATIO WOULD BE 4.3 MILS AND APPROXIMATELY $140 PER YEAR INCREASE. AND THEN A VEHICLE OF ABOUT 50,000, UH, WOULD, AT A 6% RATIO WOULD BE ABOUT $13 PER YEAR. SO, AS I MENTIONED, UM, WE'RE GONNA HAVE, UH, BUDGET CERTIFICATION TOMORROW EVENING, AND OUR BUD, OUR BOARD, UM, PASSES OR CERTIFIES BOTH THE OPERATIONS AND THE DEBT SERVICE MILLAGE. SO THEY DO GET THE DETAILS. AND I THINK, UH, WE ARE BACKED WITH YOU ALL ON MAY 27TH, UH, PROVIDED SOME OTHER HANDOUTS AND DETAILS. [00:40:01] I'M NOT GONNA GO OVER THOSE THIS SE THAT THIS AFTERNOON, BUT I AM, UM, HAPPY TO TAKE ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS THAT YOU HAVE. MR. CHAIRMAN? YES, GO AHEAD. SO, JUST SO YOU KNOW, I DID PROVIDE THEM, IF YOU KEEP SCROLLING TO THE NEXT ONE, SARAH, SO EVERYONE SAW SOME OF YOUR BASIC INFORMATION, GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE. NOPE. IT'S A WHOLE SEPARATE SHEET. IT'S IN OUR PACKET. YEAH, IT, SO JUST SO EVERYONE KNOWS, IN YOUR PACKET IN FRONT OF YOU, YOU CAN SEE THE COMPREHENSIVE BUDGET OUTLINE. THAT'S WHAT TANYA'S NOT GONNA GO OVER. AND I LOVE YOUR STRATEGY OF COLLAPSING STEP ZERO THROUGH FIVE. WE TALKED ABOUT IT AT OUR JOINT MEETING. I THOUGHT THAT WAS VERY CREATIVE. WHO CARES THAT YOU STOLE IT FROM SOMEONE ELSE? WE DON'T CARE. UM, AND, AND IF, UH, MY COLLEAGUES WOULD GO TO PAGE EIGHT IN YOUR HANDOUT, THAT'S THE GENERAL FUND INFORMATION BY, UM, LINE ITEM MORE OR LESS, IF YOU WANNA READ IT THAT WAY. THERE ARE PIE CHARTS IN HERE, BUT I WAS HOPING DR. RODRIGUEZ OR TANYA, I, ANYBODY WOULD TALK ABOUT PAGE 20 IN OUR PACKET, WHICH IS THE WEIGHTED STAFFING MODEL. SURE. I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT. DR. RODRIGUEZ TALKED TO US ABOUT STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT WHEN WE MET TOGETHER AND THE PROGRESS THEY'RE MAKING, BUT WE ALL SHOULD BE AWARE OF THE WEIGHTED STAFFING MODEL. ONE OF OUR COUNCIL, OH, MR. YO GLOVER'S JOINING US, WE TALKED ABOUT WHAT DO WE DO TO HELP STUDENTS WHO ARE, YOU KNOW, FURTHER BEHIND. SO IT IS IN OUR PACKET. IT IS PAGE 20, AND IF YOU WOULD JUST TALK ABOUT THE WEIGHTED STAFFING MODEL, THAT WOULD BE GREAT. UH, I'LL START. AND THEN IF YOU HAVE ANYTHING TO ADD. UM, SO ABOUT THREE YEARS AGO, UM, WE REALIZED THAT, UM, WE HAD MANY DISTRICTS ACROSS THE COUNTRY ARE USING A WEIGHTED STAFFING MODEL. AND THE REASON FOR THAT IS THAT SOME OF OUR HIGHEST POVERTY, LOWEST ACHIEVING SCHOOLS NEEDED ANOTHER LEVEL OF SUPPORT. UM, WE NEED A STAFFING FORMULA FOR MANY REASONS, AND THAT WE HAVE ANY OF OUR FEDERAL FUNDS MUST, UH, SUPPLEMENT, NOT SUPPLANT. THEY CAN'T, THEY MUST BE ABOVE AND BEYOND A FORMULA THAT WE'VE CREATED AND AND FUND WITH THE GENERAL FUND DOLLARS. UM, SO THE WEIGHTED STAFFING MODEL PROVIDES A, A LOWER, UM, PER PUPIL RATIO IN EVERY CLASS SIZE PER, UM, AND THEN WE USE THREE DIFFERENT LEVELS. UM, THE CURRENT LEVEL OF THE STAFFING MODEL, UM, MORE THAN 50% POVERTY AND MORE THAN 75% POVERTY. AND SO FOR EACH LEVEL, WE ADD, UH, LOWER THE CLASS SIZE BY ONE STUDENT AND ARE ABLE TO SERVE THEM AT, UM, A HIGHER LEVEL, UM, AND, UH, CREATE OUR CLASS SIZES A LITTLE SMALLER. UM, SO THAT IS SOMETHING THAT MANY OF OUR SCHOOLS, UH, PARTICULARLY THOSE THAT ARE 75% OR MORE REALLY BENEFIT FROM IN THE LOWER CLASSES, PARTICULARLY AFTER WE EMERGED FROM THE PANDEMIC, IT WAS OBVIOUS THAT WE NEEDED THAT SUPPORT, UH, FOR OUR STUDENTS. DO YOU HAVE ANYTHING TO ADD? I WOULD JUST ADD IT'S JUST A STRATEGIC APPROACH, UH, IN ORDER TO TO, TO HELP, UM, HELP OUR CHILDREN REACH THEIR HIGHEST POTENTIAL. AND SO, UH, THIS EFFORT, WHAT SEVERAL THINGS IT DOES. ONE, AS SHE MENTIONED, UH, WITH THE PER PUPIL RATIO, LOWERING THE PER PUPIL RATIO. BUT IT'S, IT'S PART OF WHAT WE DO IN TERMS OF TARGETING WHERE WE SEE THE GREATEST NEEDS, RIGHT? AND, UH, OUR EXTENDED LEARNING SITES ARE ANOTHER EXAMPLE. SHE MENTIONED THAT EARLIER IN THE PRESENTATION, WHERE WE TARGET WHERE THE MAJORITY OF THOSE EXTENDED LEARNING SITES EXIST, IS WHERE WE SEE THE GREATEST NEED. AND SO ONE OF THE RESULTS OF THAT KIND OF WEIGHTED STAFFING MODEL AND THAT KIND OF A STRATEGIC APPROACH IS THAT, UH, FOR THE FIRST TIME IN, I, I CAN'T TELL YOU HOW MANY YEARS THE BEAUFORT COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT DOES NOT HAVE ANY, UH, UNSATISFACTORY RATED SCHOOLS. AND WHAT YOU SEE HAPPENING IS LIFTING UP AND PUSHING FORWARD THE PROGRESS AND THE RATING OF ALL OF OUR SCHOOLS WHERE OUR, OUR, UH, EXCELLENT SCHOOLS, OUR GOOD SCHOOLS, THE, THE, THE AVERAGE RATED SCHOOLS. AND SO WE SEE A LIFT WHEN WE HAD SEVERAL UNSATISFACTORY COMING OUT OF THE PANDEMIC. WE DON'T SEE THAT. WE DON'T HAVE THAT ANYMORE, BUT THAT'S PART OF WHAT A STRATEGIC APPROACH, LIKE A WEIGHTED STAFFING MODEL, HELPS YOU TO ACCOMPLISH. THANK YOU. ANYBODY ELSE? I'M DONE. ALEX, GO AHEAD. I HAD A QUESTION. I FIND IT DISTURBING THAT THE STATE IS, IF I GOT THE STATISTICS RIGHT, UM, TAKING 46% OF THEIR MONEY AND GIVING IT TO 7% OF THE STUDENTS IN THE STATE, WHAT REASSURANCES DO YOU HAVE, HAVE, IF ANY, FROM OUR LEGISLATORS THAT THIS WON'T HAPPEN AGAIN NEXT YEAR, GOING TO THE CHARTER SCHOOLS INSTEAD OF THE TRADITIONAL PUBLIC SCHOOLS? I THINK, UM, WHAT WE'VE SEEN WHEN THIS, THIS CAME TO LIGHT WAS JUST THAT, UM, THERE WAS AN EFFORT AMONG, UH, SCHOOL DISTRICT SUPERINTENDENTS TO CONNECT WITH THEIR LEGISLATIVE DELEGATION. I KNOW OUR LEGISLATIVE DELEGATION, UH, MEMBERS THAT I SPOKE WITH, TOOK MY CALL, LISTENED TO THE CONCERNS, UH, AND THEY BEGAN TO, TO MAKE WHAT EFFORT THEY COULD ON THAT. AND THEN THEY COMMITTED [00:45:01] TO ESTABLISHING A TASK FORCE TO REVIEW THAT STAFFING MODEL. UH, AND I THINK THAT'S, THAT'S KIND OF WHERE WE ARE, UH, TODAY. AND DO YOU NEED SUPPORT FROM COUNTY COUNT INDIVIDUAL COUNTY COUNCIL MEMBERS FOR THIS? NOT TO REPEAT ITSELF IF POSSIBLE? I THINK, YOU KNOW, A, A VOICE IS IMPORTANT ALL, UH, ANYTIME THAT, THAT, THAT, UH, THE VOICE IS THERE, I THINK IT'S ALWAYS BENEFICIAL AND HELPFUL. AND, UH, I'M HAPPY TO KEEP YOU APPRISED AS TO, UH, ANY PROGRESS AROUND, UH, THAT TASK FORCE AS IT FORMS AND AS IT DEVELOPS. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. APPRECIATE IT, CHAIRMAN. YEP. GO AHEAD MR. GORDON, JUST QUICK, QUICK, QUICKLY, I WANT FOLLOW UP ON YOUR COMMENT YOU JUST MADE, YOU DON'T THINK IT'D BE MORE OF AN IMPACT IF IT CAME FROM COUNCIL OR YOU WANT INDIVIDUALS TO, I THAT'S UP TO THE WILL OF COUNSEL AND, UM, BECAUSE THIS IS, I, YOU KNOW, I HAVE A PROBLEM, MA UH, MAKING A MOTION TO THAT REGARD, BECAUSE I THINK IT'S VERY IMPORTANT THAT, UM, UH, OUR STUDENTS, UH, RECEIVE THE FUNDING THEY NEED AND NOT A FEW, BUT THE MAJORITY. SO, YOU KNOW, I'LL BE GLAD TO TAKE YOUR LEAD AND, AND, UM, AND MOVE FORWARD WITH A RESOLUTION FROM COUNCIL IF THAT'S APPROPRIATE. NOW OR LATER, LATER. AIRMAN, WHAT DO YOU THINK? SHOULD WE, UH, IT'S WHATEVER THE WILL OF THIS, UH, COMMITTEE IS. I, I, I'LL, I'LL, I'LL, I'LL, I'LL STAND. UM, I, I CAN YIELD TO LATER. WE CAN THINK ABOUT IT AND WE CAN MOVE FORWARD, BUT I THINK IT, IT BASICALLY WAS SENT A STRONGER MESSAGE THAN ME INDIVIDUALLY. YEAH. OKAY. I MEAN, I CAN DO IT, BUT I THINK WE CAN SEND A STRONGER MESSAGE IF WE DO IT AS A BODY. THANK YOU. THANK MR. CLEVER MR. PASSMAN. WELL, THAT'S TOTALLY APPROPRIATE AND I ABSOLUTELY SUPPORT THIS, THAT WE SHOULD DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT. IT IS NOT PERTINENT TO THIS DISCUSSION. THIS IS THE ADOPTION OF THEIR BUDGET. THEREFORE, WE SHOULD INSTRUCT ADMINISTRATION TO WORK WITH THE APPROPRIATE COMMITTEE TO MAKE SURE THIS RESOLUTION IS PUT ON THE NEXT AVAILABLE MEETING. NOT GOOD RIGHT NOW, MR. CHAIRMAN, ONE OTHER THING, I JUST WANNA RECOGNIZE THE PRESIDENT OF THE CHAIR OF THE, I DON'T KNOW, WE CALL YOU PRESIDENT OF THE SCHOOL BOARD, COLONEL GEIER, CHAIR OF THE SCHOOL BOARD, AND DALLAS CARLTON, DALLAS VICE CHAIR. THEY CAME TO HEAR WHAT WE HAD TO SAY. THANK CONGRATULATIONS FOR A JOB. YOU'RE DOING WELL. I, I THINK, UM, COUNCILMAN PASSMAN AND COUNCILMAN GLOVER ARE BOTH CORRECT. SO, UM, WE CAN FIGURE OUT WHICH COMMITTEE THAT SHOULD GO TO. THAT WOULD BE GOOD. ALRIGHT, GOOD. AND, AND I DON'T HAVE A QUESTION, BUT LEMME JUST MAKE A, A STATEMENT THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, WE ARE HERE AT COUNTY COUNCIL TO APPROVE YOUR BUDGET, UM, AND APPROVE YOUR MILLAGE INCREASE OR WHATEVER, WHATEVER HAPPENS WITH THAT. I KNOW IN THE PAST, UM, COUNTY COUNCIL THOUGHT IT WAS OUR RESPONSIBILITY TO BE MORE INVOLVED, BUT OBVIOUSLY THE, UH, SCHOOL BOARD, UM, IS AN ELECTED BOARD AND THEY HAVE THEIR OWN, UM, UH, UH, PEOPLE THEY HAVE TO, TO, UM, UH, LOOK OUT FOR AND, AND THEY GET REELECTED THAT WAY. SO AS OUR COUNCIL, WE HAVE STEPPED AWAY AND, AND GAVE YOU MORE AUTONOMY WHEN IT COMES TO WHAT YOU'RE DOING AND HOW YOU DO IT. BUT OBVIOUSLY IT, IT'S YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO COME TO US AND PRESENT TO US, AND THEN WE OBVIOUSLY APPROVE THE BUDGET. AND THAT'S THE ONE THING THAT I DIDN'T REALIZE UNTIL, UM, LATER IN LIFE. I HAD FOUR KIDS IN A PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM AND REALIZED THAT NONE OF MY TAXES WENT TO PAY FOR SCHOOLS. UM, I HAD THE HOMESTEAD EXEMPTION OR THE, THE, UH, RESIDENTS, THE 4%. AND PEOPLE DON'T REALIZE THAT, THAT IF, IF YOU'RE A 4% PERSON, NONE OF YOUR MONEY GOES TO THE SCHOOL SYSTEM. IT'S ALL MADE UP FROM COMMERCIAL PROPERTY, SECOND HOMES AND, UM, VACANT LOTS. UM, THAT, THAT YOU TAKE THE SCHOOL BUDGET AND IT'S SPREAD ACROSS ALL THOSE FOLKS. THAT'S WHO'S PAYING FOR OUR, OUR SCHOOL FROM THAT ACT. UM, 3 88. AND AGAIN, ACT THREE EIGHT WAS DONE SO THAT WAY RESIDENT'S SCHOOL TAXES DIDN'T GO UP AND THEY WEREN'T PRICED OUT OF THEIR HOMES FOR, FOR TAX REASONS. BUT AGAIN, UM, WE'VE BEEN BEGGING AND ASKING OUR LEGISLATURES TO, TO LOOK AT DOING SOMETHING DIFFERENT. SO I JUST WANNA POINT THAT OUT, THAT THAT IS SOMETHING THAT PEOPLE DON'T REALIZE. AND THAT'S JUST THE WAY SOUTH CAROLINA HAS BEEN SET UP. SO, NO, I APPRECIATE EVERYTHING THAT Y'ALL DO. Y'ALL HAVE BEEN, UH, VERY FORWARD. UM, AND AGAIN, THIS IS SOMETHING THAT, UM, IS AN ORDINANCE THAT WE HAVE TO SEND THIS TO COUNSEL AND THEN BE VOTED ON THREE TIMES FOR APPROVAL. IS, IS IS THEIR ACTUAL BUDGET. SO ANY OTHER QUESTIONS BEFORE WE MOVE ON? NO, THANK CHAIRMAN. I DON'T HAVE A QUESTION. YES, BUT I JUST WANT TO COMMEND THE, UH, SUPERINTENDENT FOR THE ACHIEVEMENT. I WAS MOST, UH, IMPRESSED, UM, ON YOUR GOALS THAT YOU'RE SETTING FOR THE NEXT FIVE YEARS. UM, AND AS FAR AS I'M CONCERNED, IF I REACH FOR THE MOON, BUT ON, I ONLY GET TO THE SKY. I'M A LITTLE HIGHER THAN I USED TO BE. THANK YOU, SIR. YES, SIR. THANK YOU. AND THANK ALL OF YOU FOR, UH, HEARING US TODAY AND WE APPRECIATE YOUR TIME. MOST CERTAINLY. AND YOUR SUPPORT. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, THANK YOU. IS THERE, UM, ANY OBJECTION TO, UH, MOVING, UH, APPROVAL OF THIS TO COUNTY COUNSEL? NO OBJECTION. NO OBJECTION. UH, SO AGAIN, UM, IT HAS BEEN APPROVED AND WE'LL MOVE FORWARD [00:50:01] TO COUNTY COUNSEL FOR FIRST READING. AND THANK YOU MR. RODRIGUEZ. UM, THANK YOU MS. CROSBY. WE APPRECIATE YOU BEING HERE. THANK YOU. ALRIGHT, LET'S MOVE ON, UH, TO OUR, UH, NEXT, UM, ITEM. AND, UM, WE ARE LOOKING AT, UM, NUMBER 11. HANG ON. NUMBER 11, [11. PRESENTATION OF FY2025- 2026 BUDGET REQUESTS BY OUTSIDE AGENCIES] MY FIRST NUMBER HERE. SO PRESENTATIONS OF OUR, UH, FISCAL YEAR 2025 AND 20 20 26 BUDGET REQUEST BY OUTSIDE AGENCIES. UM, AND, UH, MS. HARRIET, IF YOU'D LIKE TO TEE US OFF FOR THIS AND SURE. WE HAVE, UM, SEVERAL OF OUR OUTSIDE AGENCIES HERE TODAY TO PRESENT. YOU HAD YOUR FIRST SET ON APRIL 19TH, UM, COUNT FINANCE COMMITTEE MEETING, AND NOW WE'RE DOING THE SECOND SET. SO IN THE THEME OF EDUCATION, WE'LL START OFF WITH TCL, UH, WITH DR. GAO AND . WE DON'T NEED A MOTION. WE DO NEED A MOTION TO DISCUSS THIS. ALL RIGHT. HAVE A MOTION PLEASE TO DISCUSS MOTION. ALRIGHT. THANK MS. BROWN. AND MS. HOWARD IS A SECOND. ALRIGHT. AND ANY DISCUSSION ON THAT SENIOR? NO DISCUSSION. WE'LL PROVE IT WITHOUT OBJECTION. UH, SIR, WE HAVE OUR FIRST PRESENTATION AND, UM, UH, MR. GOFF, THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE. UH, IT'S ALWAYS GOOD TO SEE YOU AND WHEN AGAIN, WE APPRECIATE ALL THAT YOU DO. AND, AND MS. CARNES AS WELL, THAT'S WHO WITH YOU TODAY. WELL, THANK YOU IN THE SPIRIT OF MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL, I'M GLAD TO LEAD OFF. I WANNA BE THE LEAD OFF HERE 'CAUSE I'M GONNA GET ON BASE HERE. SO, UH, THANK YOU FOR GIVING US AN OPPORTUNITY TO COME BEFORE YOU TODAY. UM, I'M GONNA TURN THIS OVER IN A MOMENT TO MARY LEE CARNES. 'CAUSE YOU'RE, YOU'RE GONNA ENJOY WHAT SHE HAS TO SAY MUCH MORE THAN WHAT I HAVE TO SAY, BUT I'LL BE AVAILABLE TO ANSWER HER QUESTIONS. BUT I WOULD LIKE TO TELL YOU THAT YOUR COMMUNITY COLLEGE, YOUR TECHNICAL COLLEGE, IS DOING VERY WELL, UH, BY ALMOST EVERY, BY EVERY MEASURE THAT YOU COULD IMAGINE. UH, I BELIEVE, UH, WE'RE DOING WELL, INCLUDING, UM, OUR ACCREDITATION COMPLETED, UH, WITH NEAR NEARLY PERFECT SCORE. UM, OUR, UH, LICENSURE AND RATES ARE, UH, THROUGH THE ROOF WITH ALL OF OUR HEALTH SCIENCE PROGRAMS. OUR, UH, GROWTH IN TERMS OF ENROLLMENT HAS BEEN AMAZING. ABOUT 7% FOR THE PAST ACADEMIC YEAR, 18% FOR THIS SUMMER, AND LOOKING AT 4% NOW FOR NEXT FALL, WHICH IS A REALLY GOOD SIGN. UM, AND I KNOW THAT MARY LEE'S NOT GONNA MENTION THIS, AND I'M SORRY THAT DR. RODRIGUEZ HAS DEPARTED THE PATTERN HERE, BUT I WANT TO GIVE A SHOUT OUT TO OUR PARTNERS, UH, INCLUDING THE BEAUFORT COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT, UM, USCB. DR. PANNU IS IN THE BACK AND OTHER PARTNERS IN THE AREA, AND TO THE COUNTY COUNCIL FOR THE OUTSTANDING SUPPORT YOU'VE GIVEN TO THE COLLEGE IN THE PAST. AND I HOPE CONTINUE. SO, UH, THANK YOU TO THEM. AND BECAUSE OF THEM, FOLKS LIKE DR. RODRIGUEZ AT US, AT, UH, THE BEFOR COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT, WE'RE NOW STANDING AT NEARLY 900 DUAL ENROLLMENT STUDENTS. AND THAT PUTS US AT PROBABLY ONE OF THE HIGHEST, IF NOT THE HIGHEST, IN THE STATE IN TERMS OF OUR PARTICIPATION BETWEEN THE TECHNICAL COLLEGES AND THE, UH, SCHOOL DISTRICT. SO WE'RE VERY PROUD OF THAT, AND A LOT OF, A LOT OF THAT HAS TO DO WITH THEM. HEY, DR. GOFF, I'M THE ONE THAT PUT THE POWERPOINT TOGETHER, . SO WE'RE PRIMARILY HERE JUST TO THANK YOU FOR YOUR INVESTMENT AND YOUR CONFIDENCE IN THE TECHNICAL COLLEGE OF THE LOW COUNTRY. WE KNOW EACH OTHER PRETTY WELL, SO I'M NOT GOING TO GO LINE BY LINE ON OUR POWERPOINTS RIGHT NOW. THIS PAST ACADEMIC YEAR, WE HAD ABOUT 4,000 STUDENTS IN BOTH CREDIT AND NON-CREDIT, UM, PROGRAMS. 80% OF THOSE PROGRAMS ON BOTH SIDES ARE FREE TO THE CITIZENS OF SOUTH CAROLINA THROUGH THE SOUTH CAROLINA WIND SCHOLARSHIP. THAT'S ONLY AVAILABLE THROUGH THE SOUTH CAROLINA TECHNICAL COLLEGE SYSTEM. WE SERVE WORKING LEARNERS. SO SEVEN 77% OF OUR STUDENTS ARE PART-TIME. THEY'RE WORKING IN AND OUT OF THE CLASSROOM. AND WE'RE LOCAL, LIKE ALL, ALL COMMUNITY COLLEGES ARE. WE DESIGN OURSELVES AND OUR PROGRAMS. WE FOCUS OUR MISSION AND OUR STRATEGIES TO SERVE THE LOCAL NEEDS OF THE COMMUNITIES THAT WE SERVE. THE WORKFORCE NEEDS AND 95% RELEVANT, OUR STUDENTS COME FROM THE COMMUNITY. THEY RETURN TO THE COMMUNITY. THEY TAKE THEIR DEGREES AND THEIR EDUCATION AND TRAINING, AND THEY LIVE LOVE, WORK AND WORSHIP HERE IN OUR COMMUNITY. THIS WAS, I THINK, A PARTICULARLY FUN FACT THAT CAME OUT IN THE WALL STREET JOURNAL RECENTLY, AND IT REALLY REFLECTS THE JOB MARKET NATIONALLY. THIS IS A NATIONAL FIGURE, BUT IT WAS LOOKING AT UNEMPLOYMENT RATES BY GRADUATES OF, OF INSTITUTIONAL TYPES. AND FOR COMMUNITY COLLEGE VO-TECH STUDENTS, THE UNEMPLOYMENT RATE IS 2.1% FOR FOUR YEAR INSTITUTIONS, IT'S 15.3. AND FOR ADVANCED DEGREES IT'S 8.1. NOW, I WANNA EMPHASIZE THIS [00:55:01] IS A NATIONAL STATISTIC. WE DO FIND IT LOCALLY AT THE TECHNICAL COLLEGE OF THE LOW COUNTRY, BUT IT MAY NOT NECESSARILY REFLECT ON USCB, YOUR INVESTMENT, THE CULINARY INSTITUTE OF THE SOUTH HAS BEEN EXTREMELY SU UH, SUCCESSFUL. WE'RE EDGING UP TO ALMOST 200 STUDENTS IN A NEW PARTNERSHIP WITH THE BUFORT COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT STARTING IN SPRING 2026. WELL, I THINK THERE'LL BE 20 STUDENTS FROM THE, UM, BUFORT COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT, UH, WHO WILL ATTEND FULL-TIME AT THE CULINARY INSTITUTE OF THE SOUTH TO, UM, EARNED THEIR CULINARY DEGREE AND THE ARTHUR ABRAM REGIONAL WORKFORCE TRAINING CENTER. THIS IS AN EFFORT THAT WE'RE FULLY COMMITTED TO GETTING OFF THE GROUND PHYSICALLY, UH, THIS YEAR. AND I WANNA SPEND A LITTLE MORE TIME WITH THAT. WANNA GIVE AN UPDATE WHERE WE ARE? WE HAVE 22 MILLION FOR THE COST OF THE BUILDING. WE'RE LOOKING FOR SIX MORE. UM, JUST TO PUT THAT IN PERSPECTIVE, YOU KNOW, WE STARTED PURSUING THE WORKFORCE TRAINING CENTER IN 2016. AND IN 2016 IT WAS ABOUT A LITTLE MORE THAN A $16 MILLION COST TO BUILD A 50,000 SQUARE FOOT REGIONAL WORKFORCE TRAINING CENTER. IT IS NOW A $29 MILLION COST TO BUILD A 50,000 SQUARE FOOT REGIONAL WORKFORCE TRAINING CENTER. AND FOR EVERY QUARTER THAT WE DON'T GO TO GROUND, IT COSTS AN ADDITIONAL $250,000. SO WE NEED TO GET IT, GET IT OFF THE GROUND, AND WE'VE PUT A NUMBER OF STRATEGIES IN PLACE TO GET THE, THE BALANCE. THE ALTERNATIVE IS WE SCALE IT DOWN, BUT TO SCALE IT DOWN DOES NOT MEET THE NEEDS OF THIS COMMUNITY. UM, BUT WE'LL KEEP UP TO DATE ON THAT. UH, ONE OTHER THING, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE PUT IN, WE PUT IN A GRANT FOR THIS AND, AND A, A COUPLE THINGS TO SHARE THAT'S COME OUT OF THAT, SINCE 2020, MORE THAN 23 COMPANIES AND OUR HAS COME TO OUR REGION, EITHER NEW OR EXPANDED, IT'S BEEN A $1.5 BILLION INVESTMENT. AND IT'S SPENT ADDITIONAL 5,000 JOBS, ADDITIONAL 5,000 JOBS IN ADDITION TO THE 9,600 BUSINESSES THAT ARE ALREADY HERE AND ARE LOOKING FOR WORKFORCE. SO WORKFORCE IS GETTING EXTREMELY COMPETITIVE. AND THE REGIONAL WORKFORCE TRAINING CENTER, WE'LL CERTAINLY BE OF HELP WITH THAT. YOUR MILLAGE IS IMPORTANT AND WE WANT TO, WE PUT THIS SLIDE, WE WANTED TO SHOW YOU HOW IMPORTANT IT IS, UM, TO OUR OPERATING BUDGET. AND WE ARE, WE ARE GRATEFUL FOR YOUR SUPPORT. WE'RE GRATEFUL FOR YOUR LEADERSHIP LOCALLY AND FOR YOUR LEADERSHIP IN THE STATE FOR SUPPORTING HIGHER EDUCATION, THE TECHNICAL COLLEGE TO THE LOW COUNTRY AND THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA BEAUFORT. UM, THAT'S, THAT'S EXCEPTIONAL. AND WE ARE GRATEFUL. THAT'S OUR LAST SLIDE. IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS FOR DR. GOFF OR MYSELF, ANY, UH, QUESTIONS REALLY, YOU'RE GETTING OFF EASY, I THINK. UH, TAB. ARE YOU SURE? SURE. YOU DON'T HAVE A QUESTION, ABSOLUTELY NOT. I I I APPRECIATE THE TECHNICAL COLLEGE. THEY'RE THE BEST IN THE STATE. THAT'S RIGHT. TCOI ALREADY HEARD THAT. AND I'VE BEEN TO THE FOOD SEA, WHICH WAS GREAT. AND SO, NO, I DON'T HAVE A QUESTION. YOU GOT OFF EASY. THANK YOU. GOOD. THANK YOU FOR COMING OUT TODAY. AND M WHAT'S YOUR, YOUR VICE PRESIDENT? WHAT'S YOUR OFFICIAL TITLE? YOU DO YOU KNOW IT ? IS IT REALLY? OKAY. HE GETS PAID BY THE WORD. EXACTLY. YEAH, THAT'S WHY. OH, HE TOOK MY JOKE. SO VICE PRESIDENT FOR ADVANCEMENT AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT. AND MY JOKE IS, IT DOESN'T REFLECT MY SALARY. ISN'T IT? BIG TITLE. THAT'S FUNNY. YEAH. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU ALL FOR COMING. DR. GOFF, UH, MARY LEE, UH, CARNE, THANK YOU FOR COMING. WE APPRECIATE YOU BEING HERE. ALL RIGHT. OUR LAST EDUCATIONAL ENTITY WILL BE USCB. HERE'S DR. PANU. DR. PURDUE, THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE TODAY. WE APPRECIATE YOU COMING. THANK YOU. IT'S A TRUE HONOR AND A PLEASURE TO BE HERE WITH YOU. AND THANK YOU SO MUCH AGAIN FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO, UH, PRESENT BEFORE YOU, UM, AND MAKE SOME OF OUR REQUESTS. BEFORE I JUMP IN, LET ME INTRODUCE, UM, OUR VICE CHAIR FOR THE USCB EDUCATION FOUNDATION. DICK STEWART, WHO, UH, UNDER THE LEADERSHIP OF THE USCB EDUCATION FOUNDATION, BEEN VERY INSTRUMENTAL IN THE WORK RELATED TO THE CAPITAL. AND I'LL ASK HIM AT SOME POINT TO JUST GIVE A WORD OR TWO, UM, TO UPDATE ON THE WORK THAT'S BEEN TAKING [01:00:01] PLACE THERE. AND, UH, ORDINARILY I WOULD ALSO BE ACCOMPANIED BY OUR VICE, UM, CHANCELLOR FOR BUSINESS AND FINANCE AND OPERATION. BUT, BUT, UH, WE LOST ONE , SO, SO, UM, ANYHOW, BUT SHE'S HERE, SO MAYBE THERE ARE QUESTIONS THAT, THAT SHE KNOWS ENOUGH TO BE ABLE TO, TO ANSWER FOR US. SO THANK YOU. USCB, UM, AS YOU KNOW, IS, UM, LOCATED ON THREE CAMPUSES RIGHT HERE, UH, IN THE BEAUFORT COUNTY, BOTH ON THE NORTH AND THE SOUTH OF THE COUNTY. AND WE ARE ABSOLUTELY COMMITTED TO SERVING THE ENTIRE COMMUNITY AND BEYOND. AND THAT WOULD ALSO INCLUDE ADJOINING COUNTIES. I LIKE THIS PICTURE. I WANTED TO SHOW IT TO YOU. WE JUST HAD A COMMENCEMENT, UH, MAY 2ND, AND WE HAD SEVERAL THOUSAND PEOPLE ATTENDING COMMENCEMENT. AND YOU CAN SEE JUST FROM A, AN ANGLE OF THE ARROW VIEW, A LITTLE BIT OF WHAT IT WAS LIKE, UM, TO HAVE THERE. OVER 400 STUDENTS HAVE GRADUATED THIS YEAR, BUT ALSO, THIS IS THE 20TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION FOR USCB. 20 YEARS AGO, USCB UH, BECAME A FOUR YEAR DEGREE GRANTING INSTITUTION IN THIS REGION. AND IN PART, AND IN PART IN LARGE MEASURE THANKS TO THE VISION OF THE COUNTY COUNCIL. AND, UM, I WANNA THANK YOU BECAUSE THOSE, THAT VISION, THAT INVESTMENT, UH, HAS BORN TREMENDOUS FRUIT. AND, UH, YOU CAN SEE THAT. AND JUST SO HAPPENED IT, WITH OUR 20TH ANNIVERSARY, WE ALSO WERE RECOGNIZED BY US NEWS AND WORLD REPORT IN THE TOP 10 UNIVERSITIES, COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES IN THE SOUTH. AND WHAT'S MORE IMPRESSIVE TO US ABOUT THAT IS THE COMPANY IN WHICH WE WERE, MOST OF THE INSTITUTIONS THAT ARE MAKING THAT LIST HAVE BEEN IN THAT BUSINESS FOR 50, 60 OR MORE YEARS. SO TO BE THERE WITHIN 20 YEARS IS, UH, SOMETHING THAT IS, AGAIN, REFLECTING THAT INVESTMENT THAT YOU MADE, UM, IN, IN HAVING USCB BECOME A FOUR YEAR DEGREE GRANTING INSTITUTION. LET ME QUICKLY RUN THROUGH SOME THINGS THAT ARE GIVING YOU, UH, A SENSE OF, UM, THE FACTS, IF YOU WILL, FOR USCB. IT'S THE NEWEST FOUR YEAR COMPREHENSIVE UNIVERSITY IN, UM, SOUTH CAROLINA. AND, UM, PRIOR TO THE PANDEMIC, WE WERE RANKED IN THE TOP 10 FASTEST GROWING INSTITUTIONS IN THE COUNTRY. OF COURSE, THE PANDEMIC DID CAUSE A DIP FOR MOST OF US, BUT WE HAVE SINCE AFTER THE PANDEMIC RECOVERED, THE CONTINUED GROWTH. UH, THERE WE ARE OFFERING 20 BACCALAUREATE DEGREES AND TWO MASTERS, BUT WE'VE ALSO HAVE CONCENTRATION GIVING US TOTAL AREA OF SPECIALIZATION TO ABOUT 58. WE HAVE THREE HONORS COHORTS, UM, THAT ARE PRIMARILY FOCUSED ON THE BEAUFORT CAMPUS. WE HAVE INCLUDED HIGH DEMAND PROGRAMS SUCH AS CYBERSECURITY THAT IS PART OF THE INFORMATION SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY PROGRAM AND CONCERT WITH THE SOUTH COAST CYBER CENTER AND GRANT FUNDED. UM, FEDERALLY WE HAVE BEEN NAMED A TOP PRODUCER OF, OF, UM, FULBRIGHT SCHOLARS. AND WE HAVE WITHIN A UNIVERSITY SYSTEM OF SOUTH CAROLINA FOR THE PAST SIX OUT OF SEVEN YEARS, RECEIVED THE MOST RECOGNIZED AWARD FOR FACULTY, UM, AWARD THE CAROLINA TRUSTEE PROFESSORSHIP. AND IT SPEAKS TO THE INCREDIBLE QUALITY OF FACULTY THAT WE HAVE SERVING, UM, OUR STUDENTS HERE WITH YOUR HELP. USCB. OH, OKAY. USCB IS CONTINUING TO MAKE A TREMENDOUS DIFFERENCE RIGHT HERE, UH, IN OUR COUNTY, WE HAVE FOR [01:05:01] THE FALL 2024, FOR WHICH WE HAVE STATIST DATA, UH, COMPLETED OVER 400, I MEAN 859 STUDENTS ENROLLED FROM BEAUFORT COUNTY. AND, UM, WE ARE SERVING OUR DUAL ENROLLMENT POPULATION. AND AS I INDICATED EARLIER, WE HAVE, UM, NOW OVER 400 BACCALAUREATE DEGREE GRANT, UM, DEGREES BEING GRANTED ON, ON A YEARLY BASIS AND, AND HOPEFULLY CONTINUING TO INCREASE THERE. MANY OF YOU PERHAPS ARE VERY FAMILIAR WITH THE ALI PROGRAM. IT'S ONE OF THE BEST ALI PROGRAM IN THE COUNTRY. THIS IS THE OSHA LIFELONG LEARNING INSTITUTE AND HAVING OVER 1700 BEAUFORT COUNTY MEMBERS. WE ARE ONE OF THE LARGEST EMPLOYERS IN THE BEAUFORT COUNTY, AND WE HAVE A STRONG PARTNERSHIP WITH OUR SCHOOL SYSTEM HERE, UH, BOTH IN TERMS OF PRODUCING TEACHERS AND, UH, ALSO THE MASTERS IN IN LITERACY AND, AND OF COURSE OUR ENGAGEMENT WITH REGARD TO DUAL ENROLLMENT PROGRAMMING THAT ARE THERE. IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT FOR US TO THINK ABOUT THE IMPACT. AND OUR GOAL, AND IT'S STATED IN OUR MISSION, IS TO LEVERAGE THE STRENGTH OF THE REGION AND FOCUS ON THE NEED OF THE REGION. AND WE ARE PROUD TO BE CONTINUING TO EXPAND THE WORKFORCE NEED THAT IS REFLECTED IN THIS AREA BY THE, UH, THE, THE GRADUATES THAT THAT WE ARE PRODUCING AND THE AREAS IN WHICH WE ARE PRODUCING THOSE, THOSE GRADUATES AMONGST THE COMPREHENSIVE INSTITUTIONS IN A STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA, USCB HAS THE LOWEST TUITION, THE LOWEST TUITION. AND FOR A LONG TIME WE ALSO WERE DEEPLY BELOW THE FUNDING IN TERMS OF THE PARITY WHEN WE COMPARE OURSELVES TO OTHER COMPREHENSIVE IN THE STATE. THANKFULLY, OUR LEGISLATIVE DELEGATION HAS WORKED VERY DILIGENTLY TO TRY TO BRING US THERE, EVEN THOUGH WE'RE STILL AT THE LOW END. UM, MADE TREMENDOUS PROGRESS. AND YOU HAVE HERE, GIVEN TO, UH, YOU ON THIS SLIDE, UM, A SENSE OF THE PROFILE OF OUR STUDENTS IN TERMS OF THE BREAKDOWN FIRST GENERATION AND, AND GENDER, ET CETERA. BECAUSE OF OUR COMMITMENT TO EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING, WE GET STUDENTS ENGAGED NOT ONLY IN UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH, BEST KNOWN PRACTICES FOR DEEPER LEARNING, BUT ALSO INTERNSHIP OPPORTUNITIES, SERVICE LEARNING, VOLUNTEERISM, AND OTHER OPPORTUNITIES. AND THEY, IF WE WERE TO MONETIZE THE HOURS SPENT IN THOSE AREA, IT COMES, UH, TO AROUND $3 MILLION IN INVESTMENT. RECENTLY, AN UPDATED ECONOMIC IMPACT FOR USCB WAS MEASURED AND, AND, UH, ESTIMATED AT $141 MILLION AND, AND THE 63.6 IN TERMS OF LABOR INCOME. AND YOU CAN SEE THE NUMBER OF JOBS ALSO THERE PROPOSED. WE ARE TREMENDOUSLY THANKFUL AND GRATEFUL FOR THE SUPPORT THAT WE RECEIVE FROM BEAUFORT COUNTY. HERE'S A QUICK OUTLINE OF HOW THE FUNDING FROM BEAUFORT COUNTY ALLOCATION GOING THROUGH THE BEAUFORT JASPER HIGHER EDUCATION COMMISSION CONTRIBUTES TO THE USCB GENERAL FUND SUPPORT FOR EDUCATION AND GENERAL EXPENDITURE AND CONSIDERING ALL THE SOURCES OF REVENUE, THIS IS A HUGE, HUGE IMPORTANT PART OF WHAT OUR EXPENDITURE IS. AND THIS HELPS US IN ALL AREAS. AND YOU CAN SEE THE BREAKDOWN OF THE DIFFERENT CATEGORIES OF, UH, AREAS IN WHICH OUR APPROPRIATION FROM BEAUFORT COUNTY HENS AND SUCH. UH, HELPING US, WE HAVE TWO ASPECTS TO OUR REQUEST THAT YOU'LL HEAR TODAY. MOSTLY I'M SPENDING ON OUR RECURRING, UM, UH, REQUEST, BUT I'M ALSO GOING TO ASK, UH, DICK AT SOME POINT TO JUST GIVE A, A QUICK BRIEF OVERVIEW FOR AN INITIATIVE THAT WE HAVE BEEN TALKING ABOUT FOR SEVERAL YEARS. AND HOPEFULLY WE'LL HAVE THE PROPER VENUE TO BE ABLE TO TALK AT LENGTH ABOUT THAT. WITH REGARD [01:10:01] TO OUR RECURRING REQUEST THAT WE HAVE THE MILITARY REQUEST, WE ARE RESPECTFULLY ASKING FOR YOUR SUPPORT TO RAISING THE MILLAGE RATE FROM THE 1.1 THAT WE CURRENTLY HAVE TO 1.3. THIS SUPPORT IS GOING TO ASSIST US IN NUMEROUS WAY, INCLUDING RECOGNIZING THE RISING COST IN PERSONNEL WEDGES AND HEALTH INSURANCE INCREASES INFLATION AND RISING OPERATIONAL COST. OBVIOUSLY, AGING INFRASTRUCTURE AND DEFERRED MAINTENANCES THAT WE HAVE TO BE WORRIED ABOUT, INCLUDING INCREASED STUDENT SUPPORT SERVICES AND NEEDS THAT WE HAVE. YOU PROBABLY KNOW HOW CRITICAL MENTAL HEALTH HAS BEEN, UM, ESPECIALLY IN THE RECENT YEARS AND ATHLETIC OPERATION SUPPORT. THESE ARE ALL SOME OF THE AREAS THAT ARE GOING TO NECESSITATE FOR US TO BE ABLE TO, UM, MAKE THIS REQUEST FOR THE, UM, MILLAGE INCREASE. LET ME JUST KIND OF GENERALIZE THOSE IN, UH, HIGHLIGHTING SOME CRITICAL AREAS THAT ARE IMPORTANT FOR US TO HAVE THE CONTINUED GROWTH THAT WE HAVE HAD. WE DO NEED NEW ACADEMIC PROGRAMS. HAVING 20 MAJORS IS ONE OF THE LOWEST THAT YOU WOULD HAVE AMONGST THE COMPREHENSIVE. AT THE BEGINNING OF THIS PARTICULAR YEAR, WE MADE A REQUEST BECAUSE WE KNOW WE NEED TO OFFER ENGINEERING PROGRAM, AND IN PARTICULAR, ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING WAS ONE OF THE REQUESTS. THESE KINDS OF PROGRAMMING FOR NEW ACADEMIC PROGRAM REQUIRE ADDITIONAL INVESTMENT. AND UNFORTUNATELY, IT DOESN'T LOOK LIKE THE STATE FUNDING THIS YEAR IS GOING TO BE ABLE TO MAKE THAT, UM, AN OPTION. WE HAVE, AS I SAID, THE LOWEST TUITION, UH, IN A STATE AND BY STATE MANDATE AND BOARD OF TRUSTEES. WE ARE NOT GOING TO BE ABLE TO INCREASE TUITION. UM, AND THE TUITION MITIGATION THAT WE GET SOMETIMES JUST DOES NOT COVER WHAT OUR COST IS GOING TO BE AND THE NEED FOR MAKE, FOR MAKING THAT GAP. BEING A YOUNGEST INSTITUTION, WE DON'T HAVE A HUGE ENDOWMENT THAT GIVES US OTHER OPTIONS, UM, FOR BEING ABLE TO TAP ON THAT, ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU'RE LOOKING AT INCREASING PROGRAMMING. WE ALSO HAVE AGING INFRASTRUCTURE THAT WE NEED TO BE CONCERNED WITH THAT ARE GOING TO RE RE REMIND, I MEAN, REQUIRE THAT WE, UM, PUT SOME DOLLARS TO IT. SO WE THANK YOU AGAIN AND RESPECTFULLY REQUEST THAT INCREASE IN THE MILLAGE. LET ME AT THIS POINT TURN THE MICROSO MICROPHONE OVER TO DECK TO GIVE US A QUICK UPDATE ON WHAT WE'VE COME TO CALL THE SAND SHARK 2020 PROJECT. THANK YOU, MR. STEWART. THANK YOU FOR COMING AND WE, WE KNOW YOU WELL AND WE APPRECIATE ALL THAT YOU DO AND, AND, UH, OBVIOUSLY AS A PAST COUNCILMAN AS WELL. BUT, UH, YOU'VE, THANK YOU CHAIRMAN LAWSON, AND THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR SERVICE AS COUNTY COUNCILMAN. I KNOW IT'S NOT ALWAYS THE MOST POPULAR TASK, BUT THE GOOD NEWS, IT DOESN'T REQUIRE WEEKENDS OR EVENINGS, SO THAT'S JUST WONDERFUL THAT IT WORKS OUT THAT WAY, ISN'T IT? I'M SURE MANY OF YOU HAVE BEEN IN MEETINGS ALL DAY, AND I APPRECIATE YOUR SERVICE. AS WE WERE SITTING IN THIS ROOM, I WAS CONCERNED THAT YOU MIGHT BE IN THE JURY BOX, SO I'M GLAD THAT YOU'RE NOT. BUT WHILE I WAS SERVING , OR YOU MIGHT BE, BUT IT'S A DIFFERENT BOX TODAY, BUT, UH, AS I LOOK AROUND THE ROOM, I SEE HARRIET KLING, AN OLD FRIEND WHO HELPED AS WE WERE MAKING U-S-C-B-A FOUR YEAR SCHOOL INSTEAD OF A TWO YEAR SCHOOL. COLD AND BAT, WHO AT THAT TIME WAS SERVING ON THE, UH, STATE HIGHER EDUCATION COMMISSION WAS A REAL, UH, UH, SUPPORTER. AND AS COLDEN WOULD SAY, THOSE PEOPLE IN COLUMBIA AREN'T GONNA DO IT, DICK, WE'RE GONNA DO IT. WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO DO IT HERE, . AND THAT'S MY BAD INVITATION OF COLDEN. AND JUDGE KIMBERLAND, WHO'S ONE OF MY FAVORITES OVER THERE, WHO ALSO, IN ADDITION TO BEING A GREAT JURIST, WAS A GREAT SAXOPHONE PLAYER AND POKER PLAYER. SO HE HAD A LITTLE BIT OF A LUNG PROBLEM LATER IN LIFE AND USED TO TELL ME THE KEY TO THE FUTURE IS GETTING PEOPLE WHO LIVE HERE TO KNOW WHAT THEY CAN DO AS OPPOSED TO PEOPLE WHO LEAVE HERE. SO THEY CAN FIND THAT OUT. YES, YOUR HONOR. YES, YOUR HONOR. SO I'M HAPPY TO BE HERE AND I'M HAPPY TO SHARE ON BEHALF OF MANY PEOPLE IN THE CITIZENRY AND THE TAXPAYERS. WE DISCUSSED EARLIER THE LEADERSHIP OF THIS COUNTY COUNCIL TO LET USC BE BECOME A FOUR YEAR SCHOOL, BECAUSE AS A TWO YEAR SCHOOL, WHEN I CAME BACK HOME IN 98 AND BEGAN ASKING WHY THIS RAPIDLY GROWING AREA OF THE STATE, ONE OF THE FEW PLACES DIDN'T HAVE A FOUR YEAR SCHOOL, WE WERE TOLD, YOU'RE GONNA GET ONE WHEN YOU HAVE A THOUSAND FTES. AND I [01:15:01] SAID, WELL, WHERE'S THAT WRITTEN? AND THEORETICALLY IT WAS WRITTEN 'CAUSE THAT'S WHAT THEY DID IN MYRTLE BEACH. I ENDED UP GOING TO COLUMBIA AND CHECKING INTO A HOTEL AND GOING OVER THE ARCHIVES AND READING THOSE RECORDS. AND THROUGHOUT THAT RECORD IT SAID, WE'RE NOT GONNA HAVE ANY MORE FOUR YEAR SCHOOLS. THIS IS THE LAST ONE. BECAUSE THEY DEEMED WE HAD TOO MANY IN THE STATE, BUT WE HAD NONE HERE. BUT BECAUSE THE LEADERSHIP OF BEAUFORT COUNTY COUNCIL, YOU PASSED A BOND REFERENDUM THAT FUNDED THE BEGINNING OF THE CAMPUS. THAT, UH, BLUFFTON. BUT THAT BOND REFEREND WAS CONDITIONED UPON THE STATE APPROVING THIS BEING A FOUR YEAR INSTITUTION. JANE UPSHAW, WEST JONES, AND I TRAVELED AND OCCASIONALLY TOM TAYLOR'S COUNTY COUNCIL CHAIR TRAVEL. AND WE WENT TO COLUMBIA, GREENVILLE, FLORENCE. WE DIDN'T HAVE TO GO TO CHARLESTON 'CAUSE THEY WERE IN COLUMBIA THE DAY WE WERE THERE. AND ALL OF THOSE IN 45 MINUTES OR SO WOULD SAY, WE'VE ALWAYS WANTED TO DO THIS. WE DON'T HAVE RESOURCES. WE'RE GLAD YOU'RE STEPPING UP. AND THEY WOULD SORT OF TAKE THE CHECK AND WE'D GET APPROVAL. SO IN THE MATTER OF A FEW MONTHS, WE BECAME A FOUR YEAR INSTITUTION, DIDN'T HAVE A SINGLE DEGREE APPROVED, DIDN'T HAVE ANY MASTER'S DEGREE, DIDN'T HAVE ANY OF THAT STUFF. AND HERE WE ARE 20 YEARS LATER. SO NOW WE'RE LOOKING AT WHAT WE DO NEXT. AT THAT TIME, PEOPLE WERE SAYING, WELL, CAN WE RECRUIT STUDENTS? WILL THEY COME? CAN WE RECRUIT PROFESSORS? ALL THOSE QUESTIONS HAVE BEEN ANSWERED. SO I'M NOT GONNA TELL YOU ALL ABOUT THIS TODAY, BUT PLEASE HAVE A WORK SESSION. WE HAD HOPED WE COULD HAVE ONE BEFORE NOW, BUT I UNDERSTAND BUDGET PROCESS MAY TAKE A FEW MINUTES OUT OF YOUR SCHEDULE. SO WE'RE PERFECTLY HAPPY TO DO THAT. AFTER THAT'S OVER AND WE WANT TO INVITE YOU, WE'LL BE HAVING A PUBLIC INFORMATION SESSION FOR, UH, THE PUBLIC, YOU, UH, MEMBERS OF JASPER COUNTY COUNCIL, HARDY TOWN COUNCIL, BLUFFTON TOWN COUNCIL, AND OTHERS TO TALK ABOUT THIS PROJECT, WHAT WE REFER TO AS SAN CHALK 2020. AND BEING OVER THE AGE OF 40, UH, I DID NOT PUT A POWERPOINT TOGETHER, BUT I DO HAVE A PIECE OF PAPER WITH IT ON WHAT YOU'LL SEE HERE, UPSIDE DOWN. YEP. WELL, THAT'S INTENTIONAL. THANK YOU, . I SHOULDN'T, I DUNNO, WHO WOULD TELL ME FIRST, AND I DON'T KNOW WHO WOULD'VE LOST, BUT I WOULD'VE PICKED TAB. UH, THIS IS THE LINE THAT'S IN BEAUFORT COUNTY, THAT'S JASPER COUNTY. WHAT WE'VE GOT HERE IS A NEW CONVOCATION CENTER ARENA LOCATED RIGHT HERE. AND THIS IS WHERE THOSE 4,000 TO 5,000 PEOPLE YOU SAW STANDING OUT IN THE SUNSHINE LAST WEEKEND ON A RAINY OR COLD OR CLEMENT DAY CAN BE FOR A GRADUATION AS WELL AS FOR ATHLETIC EVENTS, UH, OTHER SYMPOSIUM, EDUCATIONAL EVENTS AND, UH, OCCASIONAL PLAYS AND CONCERTS, NOT TO MENTION BASKETBALL, VOLLEYBALL, AND OTHER SORTS OF ACTIVITIES THAT ARE TYPICAL FOR A COLLEGE EDUCATION. THERE ARE ATHLETIC FIELDS HERE, THE NICE FOLKS IN HARDY THAT THE SOFTBALL AND BASEBALL GAMES FOR USCB OCCUR OVER THERE. NOT EXACTLY THE EXPERIENCE I HAD AS AN UNDERGRADUATE, OR PROBABLY YOU DID EITHER. SO WE LIKE TO BRING THOSE ON CAMPUS. AND THIS IS A TRACK AND FIELD FACILITY. MR. GLOVER, YOU MAY REMEMBER, AND I, I'M NOT SURE, GERALD, YOU MIGHT, AND ALICE, YOU'VE BEEN HERE LONG ENOUGH. YOU, YOU KNOW HERBERT GLAZE WHO COACHES TRACK AT BEAUFORT HIGH HERBERT'S BEEN COACHING WOMEN'S CL UH, TRACK AT BEAUFORT HIGH. WELL, IT'D BE A PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM FOR OVER 50 YEARS WHEN I WAS A KID IN HIGH SCHOOL. AND THE BEAUFORT RELAYS WERE ONE OF THE PREEMINENT TRACK MEETS FOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS IN THE STATE. AND WE REGULARLY BEAT THEM. NOW WE WERE THE DOORMAT AND FOOTBALL, BUT WE WERE GREAT IN TRACK. DOES THAT SOUND LIKE A MEMORY? YOU MIGHT RECALL? SO WE'D LIKE TO BRING SOME OF THAT HERE. THIS FACILITY BEING WHERE LOCATED WHERE IT IS, IS USEFUL TO DO THAT FOR THAT PURPOSE. NOW, IF YOU'LL COME TO THESE MEETINGS AND GIVE US THAT WORKSHOP, WE'RE HAPPY TO GIVE YOU GREAT DETAIL. BUT JUST LET ME SAY THIS, MY SOURCES ARE CORRECT. 32% OF THE PEOPLE THAT LIVE IN BEAUFORT AND JASPER COUNTY HAVE BEEN HERE FEWER THAN FIVE YEARS. THEY DON'T KNOW WHAT USCB HAS ACCOMPLISHED IN 20 YEARS. SO IN ADDITION TO THE STUDENT EXPERIENCE AND THE PUBLIC BENEFITS OF CONCERTS, ENTERTAINMENT, SYMPOSIUM, OTHER THINGS THAT WILL OCCUR IN THESE FACILITIES, THERE'S ALSO THE ENGAGEMENT OF THE PEOPLE THAT ARE NOT YET ENGAGED WITH USCB. WE, ON THE EDUCATION FOUNDATION, HAVE INVESTED IN SOFTWARE AND FUNDS, SO WE CAN MANAGE OUR ALUMNI BASE AND OUR CONTRIBUTOR BASE. HAVING PEOPLE COME ON CAMPUS, GET ENGAGED AND PARTICIPATE IN THIS LIFE WILL BE INTEGRAL, UH, INTEGRAL TO THE GROWING OF THAT BASE AND GROWING NUMBER OF ALUMNI EACH YEAR THAT ARE COMING OUT. IF YOU LOOK AT THE TYPICAL, UH, CONTRIBUTOR TO A, A COLLEGE, IF THEY WERE THE FIRST GRADUATING CLASS OF FOUR YEAR DEGREES 20 YEARS AGO, THEY'RE STILL IN THEIR PRIME AND RAISING FAMILIES AND NOT, UH, LOOKING TO DISPOSE OF THAT HUGE AMOUNT OF WEALTH. THEY WILL HAVE A COM ACCUMULATED BY THE TIME THEY'RE OLD AND GRAY, LIKE SOME PEOPLE WE KNOW, WE WANT THEM TO BE ENGAGED IN USCB. IF YOU LOOK, ONE OF THE THEMES YOU'LL SEE IN OUR DOCUMENTS IS GOING TO BE MORE THAN YOU IMAGINE. WHEN WE STARTED THIS SEVERAL YEARS AGO, MAKING U-S-C-B-A FOUR YEAR SCHOOL, WE HAD HOPED A NUMBER OF THINGS WOULD HAPPEN. DR. POU AND HIS TEAM AND JANE UPSHAW BEFORE HIM HAVE ACHIEVED EVERY ONE OF THOSE GOALS AND PRETTY MUCH BLOWN IT OUT OF THE WATER. UH, CHAIRMAN HOWARD, YOU AND I HAVE TALKED ABOUT PRITCHARD'S ISLAND, WHAT THAT WAS AND WHAT IT HAS BECOME. THE MARINE BIOLOGY ASPECTS OF WHAT WE HAVE HERE AT USCB ARE SECOND TO NONE. THEY'RE CHILDREN THAT WANNA COME. THEY WANNA HAVE THOSE EXPERIENCES, AND SOME OF THE PEOPLE WANNA HAVE EXPERIENCES WHERE THEY CAN PARTICIPATE IN THE SOCIAL LIFE [01:20:01] OF A REGULAR CAMPUS. NOW, JUST SO YOU'LL KNOW THIS TIME, IT'S NOT ALL ON YOU. LAST TIME IT WAS BEAUFORT COUNTY ALONE. THIS TIME THE STATE HAS COMMITTED $40 MILLION TO THIS PROJECT. THAT'S A HUGE THANK YOU TO OUR, UH, LEGISLATIVE DELEGATION FOR THAT LEADERSHIP. WE'RE ASKING YOU TO PARTICIPATE IN ABOUT A TWO TO ONE RATIO, AND WE HAVE A MEANS TO DO THAT. WON'T RAISE PROPERTY TAXES, WON'T LIMIT YOUR JAIL BORROWING ACTIVITIES, AND WE'LL TALK ABOUT THAT RECOMMENDATION. AND ADDITIONALLY, JASPER COUNTY WILL BE PARTICIPATING IN THIS ONE. HENCE THE MULTI-COUNTY ASPECTS OF THAT. I MENTIONED THE STATE AND JASPER COUNTY AS OUR PARTNERS IN CO-FUNDING ACTIVITIES. IF YOU WILL APPROVE THIS, IF YOU'VE GOT SOME OTHER WAY TO PAY FOR IT, WE'RE WHATEVER YOU WANNA DO, WE'D BE GREAT. WE JUST NEED THE PROJECT. BUT THE LAST THING I ALSO WANNA LEAVE WITH YOU IS WHAT MY OTHER FRIEND TOLD ME WHILE WE WERE GOING THIS CONVERSATION, SAID, THE FOLKS AT UFC COLUMBIA DICK ARE NOT GONNA GIVE US A PENNY DOWN HERE BECAUSE THEY GOT SO MANY PRIORITIES AND SO MANY EXPENDITURES THEIR OWN THAT THEY HAVE NEVER GOTTEN ENOUGH FUNDING TO HAVE ANY LEFTOVER FOR US DOWN HERE. THAT HASN'T CHANGED. SO, AS HE PUT IT, IF WE'RE GONNA HAVE THE UNIVERSITY, EVERYBODY HERE WANTS AND EXPECTS AND ARE WILLING TO SUPPORT, WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO FUND THAT A LOT LOCALLY. SO AS A TAXPAYER, I'M NOT EXCITED ABOUT IT, BUT I'M DELIGHTED TO HAVE A FUNDING MECHANISM THAT DOESN'T RAISE PROPERTY TAXES IN MY MIND, HAVING THIS FOUR YEAR UNIVERSITY HERE AND THE IMPACT IT HAS ACTUALLY KEEPS OUR PROPERTY TAXES LOWER. HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS TODAY, BUT HOPE YOU WILL COME TO THE WORKSHOP. IF YOU WILL GO GRANT US ONE AND COME TO THE PUBLIC SESSION SO WE CAN TALK ABOUT IT THEN. ANY QUESTIONS FOR MR. STEWART? I BETTER RUN NOW THEN. I APPRECIATE YES, SIR. YOU RAISING YOUR HAND AND WAVING GOODBYE. NO, I KNOW EXACTLY WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE. , THANK, WE'VE BEEN WORKING THIS FOR OVER FIVE YEARS WHILE THE CULINARY INSTITUTE AND ALL THAT STUFF. SO, UH, WHAT JOE'S REFERRING TO IS, UH, HE'S HEARD THIS ALL THE TIME, YOU WANT TO HEAR IT, BUT THANK YOU FOR YOUR LEADERSHIP AT LETTING US DO THAT. THANK YOU ALL MR. STEWART. THANK YOU DR. PANNU. I JUST WANTED TO INTRODUCE ANOTHER COLLEAGUE OF, OF OURS RIGHT HERE. QUINN MANHEIM IS OUR ATHLETIC DIRECTOR. AND AS MOST OF YOU KNOW, IN THE PAST, UM, WE, WE ARE NOW IN OUR THIRD YEAR OF TRANSITIONING USCB FROM NAIA TO NCAA DIVISION TWO ATHLETICS. AND THE AMAZING LEADERSHIP HE HAS PROVIDED AND THE INCREDIBLE ACHIEVEMENT THAT HAS HAPPENED IS, HAS BEEN REMARKABLE. IN OUR SECOND YEAR OF OFFERING BASKETBALL PROGRAM, THE MEN FOUND THEMSELVES RUNNER UP FOR THE CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP. THE MEN'S GOLF HAS WON THE CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP, AND THIS IS JUST THE THIRD YEAR OF BEING HERE. WE'RE STILL IN PROVISIONAL STATUS. AND IN ADDITION TO THAT, THE WOMEN, UM, THEY HAD THE BEST PLAYER FOR THE WOMEN, THE BEST PLAYER FOR THE MEN. AND SO THREE, THREE OUT OF FOUR POSSIBLE RECOGNITION IN GOLF WERE, WERE ALL USCB FOR. SO IT'S JUST AN, A SAMPLING OF SOME OF THE REMARKABLE THINGS THAT HAVE TAKEN PLACE, AND WE ARE JUST VERY PROUD OF THAT, AND I THINK THE FUTURE IS EVEN BRIGHTER. THANK YOU. CHAIRMAN. YES. GO. YEAH, DR. UE, I JUST WANT TO ASK A QUESTION. UM, I AM VERY CONCERNED ABOUT, UM, TEACHERS, UM, BEING EDUCATED HERE, UM, LOCAL AND BEING ABLE TO, UM, SUPPLY, UH, EMPLOYMENT, UM, AT THE SCHOOL DISTRICT. SO IF YOU CAN COMMENT ON THAT, I SURE APPRECIATE THAT. YEAH, IT'S, IT'S, AND TEACHERS AND HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS IN MANY OTHER AREAS, WE WANT THEM TO BE ABLE TO, UM, HELP AND STAY IN, IN THIS AREA. AND THAT'S IMPORTANT. UH, JUST THE OTHER DAY I WAS READING A STORY WHERE, UM, NOVANT WAS, HAD JUST GIVEN ONE OF ITS MAJOR RECOGNITION FOR NURSES, AND IT WAS A-U-S-C-B GRAD THAT WAS RECOGNIZED IN, IN THAT REGARD. SO WE KNOW, AND WE TALK OFTEN ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF THEM BEING HERE, BUT THERE ARE MANY OTHER CHALLENGES THAT ARE GOING TO, UM, TO IMPACT THEIR ABILITY TO STAY HERE. AND HOUSING IS JUST ONE OF THEM, AND THERE ARE OTHERS. BUT, UM, WE, WE, WE, WE OFTEN TALK ABOUT WHAT WOULD IT TAKE FOR THEM TO STAY HERE IN EDUCATION. UM, I, I DO KNOW THAT THIS MORE THAN JUST HOUSING, IT'S ALSO SOCIALIZATION, ET CETERA, ET CETERA. AND, YOU KNOW, YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT MOVING THAT DIRECTION, BLAH, BLAH, THAT SORT OF STUFF. BUT I, I, I, I REALLY WOULD LOVE TO SEE MORE AND MORE ENROLLMENT, STUDENT ENROLLMENT IN EDUCATION. OH, YEAH. SO INCREASING THE ENROLLMENT AND EDUCATION. ABSOLUTELY. [01:25:01] AND SO, AS YOU KNOW, THERE ARE MANY OTHER AREAS IN EDUCATION BESIDES LET'S SAY ELEMENTARY AND MIDDLE AND, UH, SECONDARY EDUCATION. SO WE, WE WANT TO EXPAND, AND THAT'S PART OF THAT PROGRAMMING THAT WE TALKED ABOUT. YEAH. THANK YOU. ABSOLUTELY. YES. YEP. GOOD. DR. MANU, UH, THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRESENTATION. THANK YOU. AND YOUR STAFF AND THE SUPPORT TEAM THAT YOU HAVE BUILT AROUND YOU TO HAVE ACCOMPLISHED, UH, UM, UH, THINGS THAT YOU HAVE ACCOMPLISHED AT THE UNIVERSITY AND THE PROPOSED THINGS YOU HAVE TO ACCOMPLISH IN THE FUTURE. THANK YOU FOR THE GREAT WORK THAT YOU'RE DOING. ANY OTHER COMMENTS? AND DR. PNU, THANK YOU SO MUCH AGAIN. MY WIFE GRADUATED FROM USCB, MY DAUGHTER GRADUATED FROM USCB, SO WE'RE, WE'RE IN IT, UM, UH, FULL TIME. SO, UM, AGAIN, THANK YOU SO MUCH. AND AGAIN, YOU DO A WONDERFUL JOB. MR. STEWART, THANK YOU FOR COMING. MR. MOHAN, THANK YOU FOR COMING AS WELL. GOOD ATHLETICS HAVE TAKEN OFF OUT THERE, SO AGAIN, YOU GUYS ARE DOING PHENOMENAL AND, AND, AND THOUGH WE LOST HER. YEAH. , THANK YOU. YOUR LOSS IS OUR GAME, SO WE'RE SO GLAD TO HAVE HER. SO THANK YOU SO MUCH. VERY GOOD. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THANK YOU. GOOD AFTERNOON. OKAY, SO NOW WE HAVE SOME OTHER OUTSIDE AGENCIES. WE ARE GONNA START OFF WITH THE SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CENTER, AND THIS IS MR. MARTIN GOODMAN. AFTERNOON COUNSEL. UH, FIRST OF ALL, THANK YOU FOR ALLOWING ME TO COME AND TALK TO YOU A LITTLE BIT ABOUT OUR PROGRAM. OKAY. UH, PACKETS FOR BEING DISTRIBUTED THAT I PREPARED. UH, AND, AND OF COURSE, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE SUPPORT THAT YOU'VE GIVEN OUR PROGRAM OVER THE PAST FEW YEARS. UM, TO GIVE YOU, SOME OF YOU ARE VERY FAMILIAR WITH WHO WE ARE, UH, AND, UH, KNOW WHAT WE DO TO SOME OF YOU WHO MAY NOT. THE SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CENTER PROGRAM IS A NATIONAL PROGRAM. UH, WE HAVE, UH, UM, SBDC AND IN ALL STATES, UH, THE PROGRAM IS FUNDED THROUGH A GRANT PROGRAM, UH, THAT CONGRESS, UH, PUT FUNDS INTO THE PROGRAM, THE PROGRAM'S ADMINISTERED BY THE US SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION, AND THEN IT IS MATCH FUNDED IN SOUTH CAROLINA AND MOST STATES BY THE LEGISLATURE. WE'RE ALSO GRATEFUL THAT BEAUFORT COUNTY HELPS SUPPORT THE TWO OFFICES THAT ARE HERE IN BEAUFORT COUNTY. UH, WANT TO THANK ALSO USCB FOR THEIR SUPPORT. WE HAVE BEEN ON THEIR CAMPUS, UH, FOR WELL OVER 35 YEARS, AND THEY, THEY SUPPORT US WITH, UH, PLACES TO MEET WITH CLIENTS AND OFFICES. UH, OUR BUDGET PROGRAM IS, UH, UH, LIMITED. WE DO NOT GET A LOT OF MONEY FROM THE FEDERAL, UH, PROGRAM. UH, AND THEN THE STATE MATCH. AND WE DO HAVE, UH, UH, CENTERS ALL ACROSS THE STATE, PRIMARILY LOCATED IN STATE UNIVERSITIES. UH, IN OUR CASE, UH, OUR TOTAL BUDGET, 94% OF THE BUDGET IS TO SUPPORT TWO STAFF MEMBERS. UH, I AM HERE IN BEAUFORT AT USCB AT HISTORIC BEAUFORT CAMPUS, AND WE HAVE A CONSULTANT THAT IS IN THE HILTON HEAD CAMPUS. UH, HER NAME IS PAT, UH, CAMERON. UH, WE HAVE BOTH BEEN WITH THE, UH, SBDC FOR A LONG TIME. UH, SO, UH, WE ARE HERE AND, UH, WE WORK WITH CLIENTS. UM, SO OUR, OUR, OUR BUDGET IS, IS VERY LIMITED AND, UH, IT PRIMARILY GOES TO STAFF WITH THE REMAINDER BEING, UH, A LITTLE BIT FOR UPGRADES IN TECHNOLOGY AND, UH, SOME TRAVEL FOR TRAINING AND, UH, PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT. I'D LIKE TO TAKE A COUPLE MINUTES TO TELL YOU A A LITTLE STORY ABOUT, UH, AN EXAMPLE OF WHAT WE DO, UH, WITH OUR CLIENTS. WE MEET WITH CLIENTS, UH, WE PROVIDE CONSULTING SERVICES THAT ARE CONFIDENTIAL, AND ALL OF OUR CONSULTING SERVICES ARE AT NO COST TO ALL OF OUR CLIENTS. THE THINGS WE DO FOR THE BUSINESS OWNERS AND PROSPECTIVE BUSINESS OWNERS IN BEAUFORT COUNTY IS AT NO COST TO THEM. UH, THANKS TO Y'ALL. WE, UH, UH, I HAVE A CLIENT THAT I STARTED WORKING WITH. WE GET A LOT OF REFERRALS FROM BANKS. UH, BACK IN 2019, I HAD A, UH, A BANK REFER A CLIENT TO ME. THEY WERE INTERESTED IN BUYING A BUSINESS. AND, UH, IT WAS, UH, A HUSBAND AND WIFE TEAM. THEY WERE INTERESTED IN BUYING A BUSINESS HERE IN BEAUFORT. UH, THE BUSINESS THEY WERE BUYING WAS A LONG ESTABLISHED BUSINESS, AND THE OWNERS WERE INTERESTED IN SELLING THE BUSINESS, UH, TO RETIRE. UH, WE WORKED WITH THEM. THE [01:30:01] BANK WANTED A ROBUST, UH, LOAN PACKAGE THAT INCLUDED THREE YEARS OF FINANCIAL PROJECTIONS WITH GOOD ASSUMPTIONS, UH, AS WELL AS A WRITTEN BUSINESS PLAN THAT SUPPORTS, UH, THE IDEAS AND THE PLANS THAT THE BUSINESS OWNERS HAD, AS WELL AS, UH, WHAT, UH, UH, THE FINANCIALS. IT SUPPORTED THE EXPLANATION OF THE FINANCIALS THE OWNERS WERE, WERE INTERESTED IN, IN BUYING THIS EXISTING BUSINESS. AND THEY WERE GONNA CONVERT IT TO A FRANCHISE. AND THEY DID. UH, WE WORKED THROUGH, WE WORKED WITH THEM. WE GOT THE LOAN PACKAGE TOGETHER. IT WENT TO THE BANK. THEY GOT APPROVED, THEY MADE THE ACQUISITION AND STARTED THEIR BUSINESS IN MARCH OF 2020. UH, IF YOU RECALL, THAT WAS THE FIRST MONTH OF COVID. UH, SO ALL THE PLANS THAT THEY HAD MADE ABOUT, UH, CHANGING THIS, THIS BUSINESS FROM WHAT IT WAS TO WHAT IT CAN BE, UH, WERE ALL PUT ON HOLD. THEY WENT TO, INTO A SURVIVAL, UH, MODE. AND, UH, AND THEY CAME OUT ON THE END OF COVID. VERY SUCCESSFUL. UH, THIS BUSINESS IS ALPHA GRAPHICS OF BEAUFORT. I'M SURE MANY OF YOU KNOW ABOUT ALPHA GRAPHICS WITH, UH, BARRY AND RITA WILSON. UH, THEY ARE VERY GOOD CLIENTS OF MINE. THEY'RE VERY ACTIVE CLIENTS. I WORK WITH THEM ALL THE TIME. WE DO, UH, STRATEGIC PLANNING EVERY FALL. UH, I HELP THEM WITH A BUDGET EVERY YEAR. WE, UH, WE WORK AND WE MEET EVERY MONTH TO GO OVER THE FINANCIAL POSITION AND REVIEW WHERE THEY ARE WITH THE BUDGET. UH, AND, UH, I CONTINUE TO HELP THEM WITH VARIOUS QUESTIONS THAT THEY MAY ASK. UH, THE, UH, OWNERS ARE VERY INVOLVED IN THE COMMUNITY. UH, BARRY IS VERY IN INVOLVED WITH ROTARY AND THE, UH, ACTIVITIES THAT ROTARY SUPPORTS, AND ALSO DOES SOME TUTORING. UH, RITA IS VERY INVOLVED IN THE COMMUNITY AND SERVES ON MANY BOARDS AND, AND, UH, IS, UH, UH, A BOARD MEMBER OF THE BEAUFORT CHAMBER. UH, I'M, I'M VERY PLEASED TO ANNOUNCE THAT IN, UH, UH, NOVEMBER OF LAST YEAR, I NOMINATED RITA FOR ONE OF THE STATEWIDE SBA AWARDS. UH, I NOMINATED HER FOR THE, UH, SMALL BUSINESS PERSON, UH, THE FEMALE SMALL BUSINESS PERSON OF THE YEAR. AND, UH, EVEN MORE HAPPY TO, UH, LET YOU KNOW THAT ON MAY 9TH, SHE WENT TO COLUMBIA AND RECEIVED THAT AWARD. SO, RITA WILSON OF ALPHA GRAPHICS IS THE STATEWIDE, UH, SBA WINNER FOR FEMALE SMALL BUSINESS PERSON A YEAR, WHICH IS A GREAT TRIBUTE TO, UH, THEIR WORK, EXCUSE ME, THEIR WORK AND THE HARD WORK THEY'VE DONE IN CONTRIBUTING TO THE COMMUNITY AS WELL AS, UH, BEAUFORT COUNTY AND WHAT IT HAS DONE TO SUPPORT THEIR BUSINESS. SO I'M VERY HAPPY, AND IF YOU SEE RITA, UH, CONGRATULATE HER, UH, I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS YOU HAVE. THAT WAS A, THAT WAS AN EXAMPLE OF HOW WE WORK WITH CLIENTS FROM PREVE, UH, STARTUP THROUGH THE GROWTH OF THEIR BUSINESS. AND NOW WE, WE WORK WITH VARIOUS BUSINESSES WHO ARE LOOKING AT EXIT STRATEGIES AND HELPING THEM DETERMINE DO THEY WANT TO SELL THEIR BUSINESS? THEY WANNA MAKE IT A LEGACY BUSINESS WITH THEIR CHILDREN, OR MAYBE THEIR EMPLOYEES ARE GONNA TAKE THAT BUSINESS OVER. SO WE WORK ALL THE WAY AROUND THE SPECTRUM. THAT WAS AN EXAMPLE OF WHAT I'VE DONE, UH, OF A CLIENT THAT I'VE WORKED WITH, PAT, PAT CAMERON. AND, UH, HILTON HEAD HAS NUMEROUS EXAMPLES OF THE SAME THING WITH THE CLIENTS THAT SHE WORKS DOWN THERE. ANY QUESTIONS FOR MR. GOODMAN? YEP, GO AHEAD. I HAVE A QUESTION. SO, UM, YOU SAY IN YOUR NARRATIVE THAT IT'S DUE TO AN UNCERTAINTY OF FEDERAL FUNDING STREAM. WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU GET FEDERAL FUNDING? UH, IF, IF OUR FUNDING GETS CUT, UH, PREDOMINANTLY, UH, OF COURSE OUR PRO, UH, IF IT GETS CUT COMPLETELY, THEN OBVIOUSLY WE'RE IN TROUBLE. WE DON'T ANTICIPATE THAT. BUT SHOULD WE GET SOME FUNDING CUTS OR NOT GET INCREASES, UH, THEN WE WILL, UH, CONTINUE TO SURVIVE. UH, BUT WE JUST WILL NOT HAVE, UH, PAY INCREASES FOR THE, FOR PAT AND ME. WELL, WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU GET FEDERAL FUNDING? UH, WE DO GET IT. WE ALREADY GET NO, NO. IF YOU GET THAT LEVEL OR ABOVE, DO YOU STILL NEED 25% INCREASE FROM THE COUNTY? THAT'S WHAT YOU'RE ASKING FOR. YES, BECAUSE WE'RE NOT ANTICIPATING GETTING ANY ADDITIONAL FUNDS, UH, OUT OF THE BUDGET. THE, THE, UH, CONGRESS HAS BEEN WORKING ON A CONTINUING RESOLUTION. UH, AND SO THE FUNDING TO THE SBDC PROGRAM HAS BEEN FLAT FOR SEVERAL YEARS. [01:35:01] UH, THE LEGISLATURE ALSO HAS NOT BEEN FORTHCOMING IN IT AND GIVING US INCREASES IN FUNDING. AND MY OTHER QUESTION IS, I, WE HAVE THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION, SO WHY WOULD YOUR GROUP NOT BE IN ARM OF THAT OR WORK WITH THEM SINCE WE FUND THAT EXTENSIVELY? TELL ME, HELP ME UNDERSTAND THE BIG DELINEATION, WHY YOU ARE SEPARATE AND NOT PART OF THAT. UM, FIRST OF ALL, WE'RE SEPARATE PROGRAM, SO, OH, I MEAN, WHY WOULDN'T YOU BE BROUGHT INTO THAT? BUT WE DO WORK WITH JOHN O'TOOLE AND HIS STAFF. UH, THEY REFER CLIENTS TO US. WE WORK WITH THEM BACK AND FORTH. AND I'VE WORKED WITH THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION SINCE ITS BEGINNING. UH, THE PRIMARY DIFFERENCE BETWEEN WHAT WE DO AND WHAT THEY DO, UH, THEY ARE AT A HIGHER LEVEL. THEY'RE LOOKING FOR BUSINESSES AND, AND BRINGING BUSINESSES INTO THE COUNTY THAT HAVE, UH, THAT ARE BIGGER BUSINESSES, HAVE MORE EMPLOYEES AND HAVE BIGGER IMPACT. WE WORK WITH THOSE SMALL BUSINESSES, THE RETAILERS, THE SERVICE INDUSTRY BUSINESSES, THOSE BUSINESSES THAT ARE REALLY KIND OF UNDER THE RADAR OF WHERE JOHN AND HIS STAFF WORKS. BUT WE DO WORK EXTENSIVELY WITH THEM, AND THEY REFER CLIENTS TO US, AND, AND WE WORK BACK AND FORTH WITH THEM. AND I GUESS I'M JUST ASKING, TO ME, THERE SEEMS TO BE DUPLICATION HERE. THEY, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION SHOULD TAKE THE LOW HANGING FRUIT AS WELL, IT'S ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT. SO I'M JUST NOT UNDERSTANDING WHY YOU'RE NOT A WING OF THEIRS AND WHY IT'S A SEPARATE ENTITY. I, I, I CAN'T ANSWER THAT. WE'VE, WE'VE BEEN, WE'VE BEEN HERE FOR, UH, 30, OVER 35 YEARS AS E-S-B-D-C. AND SO, UM, YOU KNOW, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, UH, IN BEAUFORT COUNTY HAS, HAS COME AND GONE WITH DIFFERENT GROUPS AND DIFFERENT, UH, ENTITIES. AND, UH, WE'VE WORKED WITH ALL OF 'EM AS THEY CAME ALONG. UH, BUT WE, UH, AND WE CONTINUE TO DO SO. BUT, UH, WE ARE A SEPARATE PROGRAM. AND, AND BECAUSE WE'RE A FEDERAL AND STATE PROGRAM, UH, HOW, HOW COUNTY COUNCIL WOULD DEAL WITH THAT, THAT WOULD BE UP TO YOU. I'M JUST LOOKING AT REDUNDANCY AND YOU'RE ASKING FOR $50,000 AND WE FUND EDC FOR PLENTY OF MONEY. I'M JUST LOOKING, IS IT REDUNDANT? THAT WAS MY QUESTION. AT THIS POINT, IT IS NOT REDUNDANT. THEY DO NOT MEET WITH THE CLIENTS AT THE LEVEL WE MEET WITH THEM. THEY COULD, I DON'T KNOW THAT, I CAN'T ANSWER THAT FOR YOU. I'LL LEAVE IT THERE FOR YOU. YEAH, THAT'S GOOD. I KNOW YOU DEAL WITH SMALLER BUSINESSES. WHAT'S THE AVERAGE SIZE NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES THAT YOU WOULD, IF YOU, IF YOU CAN KIND OF GUESS? I KNOW IT, IT'S DIFFERENT. IF IT'S A RESTAURANT, IT'S DIFFERENT IF IT'S ANOTHER, IF IT'S A RESTAURANT, YOU'RE GONNA HAVE A LOT OF EMPLOYEES PARTTIME. IF IT'S A RETAIL STORE, YOU'RE GONNA HAVE FIVE MM-HMM . UH, IF IT'S A SERVICE INDUSTRY, YOU'RE GONNA HAVE FIVE TO 10, JUST DEPENDING. SO, UH, A A LOT OF WHAT WE DO ARE WHAT WOULD BE CAPITAL, UH, CHARACTERIZED AS MOM AND POP INDUSTRIES, UH, WHERE IT'S THE OWNER AND MAYBE THEIR, THEIR SPOUSE OR ONE OR TWO EMPLOYEES. UH, A LOT OF RETAIL STORES, UH, A LOT OF SERVICE INDUSTRY, OBVIOUSLY. WE HAVE A LOT OF FOLKS IN THE CONSTRUCTION TRADES AS WELL AS LANDSCAPING, HOUSEKEEPING, THINGS LIKE THAT. WE WORK WITH ALL OF THEM. UH, A LOT OF WHAT WE DO IS HELP PEOPLE WITH THEIR LOAN PACKAGES SO THEY CAN SECURE THE FUNDING, UH, TO START AND GROW THEIR BUSINESS. THAT WAS MY NEXT QUESTION. DO YOU HELP 'EM WITH THEIR LOAN PACKAGES AND WITH THE MARKETING PLAN? WE DO, IF THEY DON'T HAVE ONE, WE DO. WE ABSOLUTELY DO. AND, AND WE HAVE SOME SPECIALISTS ACROSS THE STATE THAT, UH, ARE CONSULTANTS THAT SPECIALIZE IN VARIOUS AREAS. UH, WE HAVE SOME CONSULTANTS THAT SPECIALIZE IN EXPORTING, UH, MARKETING. UH, WE HAVE FOUR CONSULTANTS RIGHT NOW THAT ARE VERY INVOLVED WITH CYBERSECURITY AND TRYING TO MAKE SURE OUR CLIENTS UNDERSTAND THE EFFECTS OF CYBERSECURITY PROTECTION AND MAKING SURE THEY'RE, THEY'RE UP TO DATE ON CMMC PROTECTIONS AND THAT SORT OF THING, ESPECIALLY THE MID-SIZE AND, AND LARGER BUSINESSES THAT WE'RE WORKING WITH. UH, ARE THESE CONSULTANTS PAID BY THE STATE THAT YOU UTILIZE? WE ARE ALL PAID THE SAME WAY I JUST DESCRIBED TO YOU. UM, YOU KNOW, EACH, EACH, THE STATE DIRECTOR, UH, SPLITS THE MONEY OUT TO THE REGIONS AND TO THE INDIVIDUAL OFFICES. AND, AND SO IT'S ALLOCATED TOWARD, UH, WITH THE RESOURCES THAT WE HAVE TOWARD THE, THE NEEDS. ALRIGHT. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? AND MR. CHAIRMAN? NOPE, GO AHEAD. YEAH, THANK YOU. UH, THANK YOU, MR. GOODMAN. I, [01:40:01] UM, I'VE KNOWN MR. GOODMAN FOR SOME YEARS, UM, AND BEFORE I EVEN CAME ON COUNCIL. AND HE'S BEEN VERY, A VALUABLE RESOURCE IN THE COMMUNITY, WORKING PRIMARILY WITH SMALL BUSINESSES, DOING THEIR BUSINESS PLAN, UM, ALLOWING THEM AND HELPING THEM GET TO THE BANKING, UH, ARENAS SO THAT THE FINANCES IS IN ORDER AND THEN FOLLOWING UP ON IT. SO, UM, THAT SERVICE IS THE VALUABLE SERVICES TO THIS COMMUNITY. UM, SINCE I'VE BEEN ON COUNCIL, UM, YOU HAVE BEEN REQUESTING, UH, 40, $40,000 A YEAR. AND I THINK WHEN I FIRST CAME ON COUNCIL, I EVEN ASKED YOU, UM, DON'T YOU THINK YOU NEED AN INCREASE? AND YOU SAID, NO, WE CAN DO WITH THE 40. SO NOW HE'S, AFTER MY EIGHT YEARS ON COUNCIL, HE'S NOW ASKING FOR A $10,000, UH, INCREASE THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN ASKED FOR SOME YEARS AGO. UM, I, I THINK IT'S A VERY MODEST INCREASE FOR YOUR PROGRAM AND FOR THE SERVICE THAT YOU ARE PROVIDING, UM, ON THE NORTH SIDE. AND YOUR COMPANION IS DOING IT ON THE SOUTH SIDE. UM, SO IT WORKS ON, UH, FOR THE WHOLE ENTIRE COUNTY. UM, I DON'T HAVE A PROBLEM WITH THE REQUEST THAT YOU'RE MAKING AT THIS TIME, JUST BECAUSE OF THE SERVICE THAT YOU'RE PROVIDING FOR SMALL BUSINESSES. AND A LOT OF THESE BUSINESSES ARE SOME OF OUR LEASE IN THE COUNTY. THANK YOU. YEAH, YEAH, SURE. AND I, I DO APPRECIATE, I HAVE WORKED WITH, UH, UH, COUNCILMAN GLOVER OVER THE YEARS, UH, WITH SOME PROJECTS WITH THE GOAL OF FARMERS AND, AND, UH, UH, VARIOUS THINGS, UH, THAT HE HAS BEEN SUPPORTING. UH, WE ARE AN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PARTNER WITH YOU. WE WE'RE, WE'RE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, EVEN THOUGH WE MAY NOT BE PART OF THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION. THAT IS WHAT WE ARE. AND THIS IS, UH, IN THE SHEET, THIS IS THE IMPACT THAT WE HAD LAST YEAR, UH, BETWEEN THE VIEW FROM HILTON HEAD OFFICES. THE ONE THING THAT WAS DOWN, UH, IS THE CAPITAL FORMATION. GENERALLY WE'RE AT FOUR, FIVE, $6 MILLION IN CAPITAL FORMATION IS LOANS AND EQUITY THAT WE WORK WITH OUR CLIENTS TO PUT IN THEIR BUSINESSES. BUT LAST YEAR, UH, THE BANKS WERE JUST NOT INTERESTED IN LENDING. THEY HAD SHUT DOWN. UH, WE HAD CLIENTS THAT WERE GOING TO THE BANK GETTING TURNED DOWN. SO PART OF OUR JOB WAS TRYING TO HELP THEM FIND OTHER SOURCES FOR FUNDING THROUGH, UH, OTHER LENDING AREAS LIKE CDFIS, COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT, FINANCE INSTITUTIONS, UH, TO HELP THEM FIND THE FUNDING. I'M HAPPY TO SAY THIS YEAR IT'S NIGHT AND DAY. UH, WE ARE, PAT AND I BOTH ARE VERY BUSY. WE'VE GOT A LOT OF CLIENTS THAT HAVE BEEN REFERRED TO US. THEY'RE BIG DEALS. SOME OF THEIR ACQUISITIONS, SOME OF THEM ARE, ARE, UH, NEW BUSINESSES COMING OUTTA THE GROUND RIGHT NOW. I WAS JUST LOOKING AT IT AND IN THE PIPELINE WITH THE CLIENTS THAT I'M WORKING WITH, AND, AND, AND PAT AND I ASSOCIATE WITH SOME OF THOSE, UH, WE HAVE OVER $19 MILLION IN THE PIPELINE IF THOSE LOANS, UH, MATERIALIZE. SO, UH, AND, UH, AND IT WOULD BE, UH, UH, A SIZABLE NUMBER OF JOBS AS WELL. SO WE'RE, WE'RE VERY PLEASED WITH THE TURNAROUND IN THE ECONOMY AND THE, AND WHAT THE BANKS ARE WILLING TO DO THIS YEAR. CHAIRMAN, THIS CHAIRMAN, ANOTHER COMMON SENSE. HE, HE, HE, HE RAISED THAT, UM, QUEST, I MEAN, A STATEMENT. UH, I HAVE MET WITH, UM, MR. GOODMAN AND MR. OUL, UM, IN SEVERAL SETTINGS LOOKING AT, UM, WORKING TOGETHER TO, TO ACTUALLY WORK WITH SMALL BUSINESSES, UH, IN THE COMMUNITY. SO, UM, THEY DO PARTNER, THEY DO WORK TOGETHER. THEY ARE AWARE OF WHAT EACH OTHER ARE DOING. UM, BUT I JUST WANNA MAKE A COMMENT, MR. GOODMAN. I, I KNOW YOU DIDN'T HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH THIS BROCHURE, BUT I LOVE THAT PICTURE. THEY WERE WITH THAT FARMER. HE JUST BROUGHT BACK MEMORIES TO ME. YEAH, THANK YOU. YEAH, HE'S, HE, UH, HE'S VERY GOOD, UH, FARMER. UH, HE'S A HOG FARMER. WELL, YEAH, THAT'S, THAT'S WHAT I LIKE ABOUT THE PITCHING . ALRIGHT. AND, UH, TAB, I THINK THAT'S A GOOD QUESTION ABOUT THE REDUNDANCY, BUT, BUT I LOOK AT THIS AS ACTUALLY TWO COMPLETELY DIFFERENT THINGS. I MEAN, UH, THE, UH, MR. O'TOOLE WITH THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IS LOOKING AT BRINGING IN LARGER COMPANIES TO, THAT ARE SUCCESSFUL TO BEAUFORT COUNTY. AND, UM, WHAT THE, UH, SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT, UM, DOES, IS ACTUALLY HELP TO, TO GRASSROOT GROW PEOPLE THAT ARE HERE TO BECOME A, A BUSINESS, WHETHER THEY'RE, THEY'RE SMALLER OR LARGER, BUT TO HELP THEM, UM, YOU KNOW, FROM, FROM INSIDE OF BEAUFORT COUNTY THAT'S HERE ALREADY TO GROW AS WELL. SO WE APPRECIATE ALL YOU DO. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FOR MR. GOODMAN? I JUST HAVE A COMMENT. I AGREE WITH YOU AND MR. GLOVER. I THINK THIS IS, UH, MUCH ON THE GROUND RIGHT HERE THAN, UM, BEAUFORT COUNTY AND ECONOMIC. I'M LAY LIAISON FOR BEAUFORT [01:45:01] COUNTY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORP. AND, UH, I, I FEEL THAT WE SHOULD GIVE HIM THE 25%. OKAY. ALRIGHT. UM, MR. GOODMAN, THANK YOU FOR COMING. IF YOU OTHER QUESTIONS, UM, CAN I JUST POINT OUT THAT WE HAVE A MEETING STARTS AT FIVE O'CLOCK? YOU'VE GOT SIX MORE PRESENTERS, SO IF WE DON'T KEEP THEM TO 10 MINUTES, WE'RE GONNA RUN LATE FOR A MEETING. OKAY. THANK YOU. WE DO. ALRIGHT, LAURA, LET'S MOVE THEM ALONG. THANK YOU FOR COMING. APPRECIATE THAT ALL UP. NEXT WE HAVE THE MILITARY ENHANCEMENT COMMITTEE AND MEGAN MORRIS IS HERE TO PRESENT 10 . MS. MORRIS, THANK YOU FOR COMING. WE APPRECIATE THAT. AND OBVIOUSLY THERE'S THE WARNING SHOT, SO, UH, YEAH, THANK YOU. THE WARNING SHOT. I GREW UP BORN AND RAISED IN BEAUFORT, BUT YOU'RE TELLING ME TALK FAST. THAT'S RIGHT, I GOT IT. , UH, MS. BROCK IS PULLING UP A PRESENTATION THAT I'VE PREPARED FOR YOU ALL TODAY. I'M ACTUALLY HERE PRESENTING ON BEHALF OF THE MILITARY ENHANCEMENT COMMITTEE. UM, AND THAT IS CHAIRED BY WARREN PARKER, WHO IS A BEAUFORT COUNTY DELEGATE APPOINTEE TO THAT COMMITTEE. UM, AS YOU ALL SAID, MY NAME'S MEGAN MORRIS. I'M WITH THE BEAUFORT REGIONAL CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. UH, I'M GONNA GO AHEAD AND KEEP GOING AND WE'LL LET THE SLIDES CATCH UP IF THAT'S OKAY. UH, THE MILITARY ENHANCEMENT COMMITTEE, THE MEC, HAS A LONG TRADITION OF SERVING AS A CRITICAL BRIDGE BETWEEN THE MILITARY INSTALLATIONS AND OUR BROADER COMMUNITY. UM, SPEAKING OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, UH, WE CAN ALL APPRECIATE THE CONTRIBUTIONS THAT OUR THREE MILITARY BASES THAT WE'RE VERY FORTUNATE TO HAVE HERE, UH, CONTRIBUTE TO OUR OVERALL ECONOMIC HEALTH HERE IN BEAUFORT. UM, THE MEC ITSELF HAS BEEN EVOLVING IN REALLY EXCITING WAYS, UM, ORIGINALLY DEVELOPED TO SUPPORT, UH, ANTI BRACK, UH, ACTIVITIES AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL. NOW WE ARE, UH, TURNING OUR ATTENTION TO WAYS THAT WE CAN ENHANCE AND STRENGTHEN AND SUPPORT OUR BASES SO THAT THEIR LONGEVITY HERE, UH, REMAINS. UH, WE ARE VERY FOCUSED ON STRENGTHENING THE TIES BETWEEN OUR INSTALLATIONS, UH, AND OUR COMMUNITY. AND WE ARE GONNA SHARE WHAT SOME OF THOSE ITEMS ARE HERE WITH YOU TODAY. VERY QUICKLY, HERE ARE THREE KEY POINTS OF THE MISSION OF THE MEC, WHICH IS TO FACILITATE GOVERNMENT AND COMMUNITY SUPPORT TO SUSTAIN AND ENHANCE THE QUALITY AND VALUE OF THE MILITARY INSTALLATIONS. AS WE'VE ALREADY SAID, WE WANNA MAKE SURE WE ARE HELPING TO DOCUMENT AND COMMUNICATE THE BASIS CONTRIBUTIONS TO NATIONAL SECURITY, WHICH ARE QUITE IMPRESSIVE. AND WE ALSO, UH, SERVE AS THAT LINKAGE BETWEEN THE BASES AND THE COMMUNITY. THE BASE COMMANDERS THAT WE MEET WITH REGULARLY AND HAVE VERY GOOD RELATIONSHIPS WITH. THEY CONSISTENTLY EMPHASIZE, UH, THE ROLE THAT WE PLAY AND THE IMPORTANCE OF HAVING LINKS, UH, TO THE COMMUNITY, HAVING THE COMMUNITY INTEGRATED IN WITH THE BASES, THE SERVICE MEMBERS, THEIR FAMILIES, THE CIVILIANS, AND OF COURSE THE VETERANS WHO ARE INCREASINGLY, UH, RETURNING TO BEAUFORT COUNTY, UH, TO LIVE AFTER SERVICE. THEY'VE ALSO, UH, PARTICULARLY LATELY, UH, EMPHASIZED A FEW KEY AREAS THAT THEY WOULD LIKE OUR SUPPORT WITH. UH, ONE OF THOSE IS HEALTHCARE ACCESS, BOTH FROM THROUGH THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AND THROUGH OUR LOCAL HEALTHCARE, UH, AVENUES, UH, INCREASING EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES FOR MILITARY FAMILIES, PARTICULARLY SPOUSES, UH, WHO TRAVEL HERE WITH THE MILITARY SERVICE MEMBERS. AND INTERESTINGLY, UH, THERE ARE OVER A THOUSAND SERVICE MEMBERS AT OUR BASE EACH YEAR THAT WILL SEPARATE FROM SERVICE. SO THEY WILL EITHER FINISH A CONTRACT TERM OR THEY WILL RETIRE. AND WE WANNA DO A BETTER JOB OF RECRUITING AND RETAINING THOSE FOLKS HERE, UH, IN OUR WORKFORCE. AS YOU'VE HEARD MANY TIMES TODAY, THIS WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVE IS REALLY IMPORTANT TO A LOT OF OUR BUSINESSES. UH, THEY ALSO WANNA MAKE SURE THAT THEY HAVE TIES TO THE COMMUNITY TO SUPPORT THINGS LIKE EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES AND RESOURCES, AS WELL AS CHILDCARE, WHICH IS A GROWING PROBLEM AND RECOGNIZED BY, UH, OUR FEDERAL BASIS AS A DIFFICULT CHALLENGE FOR THEM AS WELL. UH, THEY KNOW THAT HAVING A HIGH QUALITY OF LIFE HERE IN THE SURROUNDING COMMUNITY WHEN FOLKS DRIVE OFF OF THE BASES THROUGH THE GATES, IS REALLY, REALLY IMPORTANT AS WELL. AND THAT THEY HAVE A GREAT NEED FOR MORE COMMUNITY CENTRIC RESOURCES TO SHARE WITH, WITH THEIR SERVICE MEMBERS AND FAMILIES. SO IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT FOR US TO SERVE AS, UH, AN INDEPENDENT ADVOCATE IN THIS WAY AND A LINKAGE TO ALL OF THOSE OTHER PARTNERS THAT WE WORK WITH CONSISTENTLY. UH, HERE IS THE STRUCTURE OVERVIEW, WHICH I, I TRY TO SHOW WITH TO YOU ALL EACH YEAR. AS A REMINDER, THIS IS A PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP. UM, WE HAVE EIGHT VOTING MEMBERS. TWO ARE APPOINTED BY YOU ALL ON BEAUFORT COUNTY, AND THEY ARE WARREN PARKER WHO SERVES AS THE CHAIRMAN, AS WELL AS ED SAXON FORMER, UM, CEO, UH, OF THE BEAUFORT JASPER WATER SERVICE AUTHORITY. UM, WE ALSO HAVE AN APPOINTEE FROM THE TOWN OF PORT ROYAL, WHICH IS JIMMY BOOZER, AN APPOINTEE FROM TOWN OF HILTON HEAD, WHICH IS CARLTON DALLAS, WHO WAS HERE EARLIER. UH, AN APPOINTEE FROM TOWN OF BLUFFTON, WHICH IS FORMER MAYOR EMMETT [01:50:01] MCCRACKEN. AND TWO APPOINTEES FROM US AT THE BEAUFORT REGIONAL CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, WHICH ARE CURRENTLY LISA PHIL MCKAY. AND, UH, BEN LIGHT FUNDING, UH, IS RESERVED FUNDING FOR THE MEC COMES FROM LOCAL GOVERNMENT SUPPORT. UH, THE PAST THREE YEARS, WE'VE RECEIVED A HUNDRED THOUSAND FROM THE COUNTY AND 15,000 FROM TOWN OF CORAL AND THE CITY. ALL OF THAT IS KEPT SEPARATELY FROM ALL CHAMBER ACTIVITIES AND, UM, WE MAKE SURE THAT THAT IS USED VERY RESPONSIBLY. UH, SO THESE FOLKS ARE ALL VOLUNTEERS, BY THE WAY, I SHOULD SAY THAT. UH, AND ALL THE FUNDING GOES DIRECTLY TO PRODUCING SOME OUTCOMES TO SUPPORT THE MILITARY AS THEY'VE, UH, ASKED OF US. HERE ARE REASONS. HERE'S OUR WHY. WHY IS THE MEC IMPORTANT? WELL, IT'S REALLY THE MAIN ENTITY THAT SERVES AS THIS LINK BETWEEN COMMUNITY GOVERNMENTS, BUSINESSES, AND MILITARY COMMUNITIES. WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE TAUGHT, UM, MAKING, MAKING IT VERY CLEAR HOW HEAVY OF A ROLE THAT PARIS ISLAND MARINE CORPS AIR STATION AND NAVAL HOSPITAL PLAY IN OUR NATIONAL DEFENSE AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL. UH, OF COURSE, WE HAVE ALL RECRUITS EAST OF THE MISSISSIPPI, UH, IN THE MARINE CORPS COMING TO US HERE AT PARIS ISLAND. AND WE HAVE THE HUB FOR F 35 AVIATORS IN TRAINING GLOBALLY, UH, RIGHT DOWN THE STREET IN THE OTHER DIRECTION. SO, TWO VERY IMPORTANT BASES. UH, AND OF COURSE, OUR NAVAL HOSPITAL BEAUFORT SITE ALSO SERVES AS THE VA CLINIC, THE ONLY VA CLINIC CURRENTLY IN BEAUFORT COUNTY. SO WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE SUPPORTING THOSE EFFORTS AND, UH, HONORING THE HISTORY AND CULTURE OF BEING A VERY STRONG AND MILITARY FRIENDLY COMMUNITY. UH, AND THERE ARE A FEW NUMBERS THERE WHERE YOU CAN SEE MORE OF THE ECONOMIC IMPACT THAT THOSE BASES HAVE ON OUR AREA, WHICH MAKE THEM EXTREMELY IMPORTANT. THE GENERAL FUNCTIONS OF THE MEC ARE LISTED HERE. SO THESE ARE THINGS THAT WE HAVE ALWAYS DONE AND WILL ALWAYS CONTINUE TO DO. UH, WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE DO WHAT WE CAN TO MAKE SURE THAT THE COLLECTIVE OF BEAUFORT COUNTY, WHICH INCLUDES OUR GOVERNMENTS AND OUR BUSINESSES, OUR EDUCATIONAL PARTNERS, AND OTHER FOLKS HERE TODAY, THAT WE CREATE THE BEST MILITARY COMMUNITY IN THE UNITED STATES. WE DON'T WANNA BE SHY ABOUT BEING NUMBER ONE THERE. UH, WE CONTINUALLY, UH, DIALOGUE WITH LOCAL BASE LEADERS, UH, WHICH, YOU KNOW, CHANGE EVERY COUPLE OF YEARS. SO THAT'S A LOT TO KEEP TRACK OF. UM, BUT THERE'S A GREAT PRECEDENT, PRECEDENT SET IN HAVING THAT ESTABLISHED RELATIONSHIP THROUGH THE MEC. UH, WE TRACK AND ANALYZE PUBLIC POLICY, WHICH OF COURSE AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL AND EVEN AT THE STATE LEVEL, HAS A BIG IMPACT ON, UH, OUR MILITARY BASIS HERE. UH, I'D LIKE TO THINK WE ARE A VERY TRUSTED LIAISON. WE ATTEND FREQUENTLY DIFFERENT CEREMONIES, UH, FOR THE MILITARY TO HELP REPRESENT THE COMMUNITY ITSELF. UH, WE ALSO MAKE, KEEP A CLOSE EYE ON THE NDAA NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT, WHICH COMES OUT EVERY YEAR, AND DETAILS HOW THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT WILL BE DIRECTING AND, UH, APPROPRIATING, UH, FOR PROJECTS, UH, THROUGHOUT THE GLOBE, UH, IN OUR ARMED SERVICES. UH, AND WE MAKE SURE THAT WE ALSO AT THE STATE LEVEL KEEP OUR EYES ON FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES AND PARTNERS LIKE THE SOUTH CAROLINA DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS, UH, AND OTHERS, AND COMMUNICATE WITH THEM AS WELL ABOUT FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES AND SUPPORT OPPORTUNITIES. UH, WHICH LEADS ME TO MY NEXT SLIDE. BEYOND OUR GENERAL FUNCTIONS, WHICH KEEP OUR, UH, AMAZING MEC TEAM VERY BUSY, WE HAVE SPENT QUITE A BIT OF TIME STRATEGIZING AND PLANNING FOR, UH, A VERY, VERY, UH, PRODUCTIVE YEAR AHEAD IN MAKING SOME STRIDES. AND THOSE THINGS ARE OUTLINED HERE. WE ARE GOING TO PURSUE THE DESIGNATION OF MAKING BEAUFORT A GREAT AMERICAN DEFENSE COMMUNITY, UH, THAT IS DONE THROUGH THE ASSOCIATION OF DEFENSE COMMUNITIES, OF WHICH THE MEC, UH, MAINTAINS MEMBERSHIP. WE ARE IN THE, UH, VERY EARLY EXCITING STAGES OF ESTABLISHING A COLLABORATIVE, UH, WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM THAT WILL SPECIFICALLY FOCUS ON MILITARY SPOUSES. AND THEN ON THOSE SEPARATING MILITARY MEMBERS IS A PHASE ONE AND TWO APPROACH, UH, WHICH PROVES, UH, WE HOPE PROVES TO BE VERY, VERY VALUABLE. UH, WE WANNA MAKE SURE WE STRENGTHEN OUR MILITARY AND COMMUNITY RELATIONS. UH, WE'RE GOING TO BRING BACK OUR STATE OF THE BASES EVENT, WHICH WE'RE VERY EXCITED ABOUT. UH, WE WANT TO CONTINUE TO IDENTIFY AND ADVOCATE FOR INVESTMENTS IN BOTH INFRASTRUCTURE AND RESILIENCY. AS YOU'VE SEEN IN THE PA PAST FEW YEARS, UH, THAT EFFORT THROUGH THE STATE HAS BROUGHT $13 MILLION TO BEAUFORT COUNTY, UH, FOR PROJECTS THAT BRING TOGETHER A COMMUNITY AND MILITARY NEEDS. AND WE WANNA MAKE SURE WE'RE KEEPING OUR EYES OPEN IN OUR BLINDERS, UH, SIDEWAYS SO THAT WE'RE NOT USING TUNNEL VISION ON JUST INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS, BUT OTHER MISSION SUPPORTING PROJECTS. WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE ALSO SUPPORTING THE IMPROVEMENTS OF HEALTHCARE FACILITIES. UH, THERE'S BEEN SOME TIE UP AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL, NOT SURPRISING. UH, ANOTHER THING WE'VE HEARD A GREAT DEAL ABOUT TODAY, UH, BUT THERE ARE SOME EXCITING ADVANCEMENTS COMING UP, UH, IN THE PIPE PIPELINE HERE, UH, SOON THAT WILL HELP [01:55:01] SUPPORT BOTH VETERANS AND ACTIVE DUTY MILITARY MEMBERS. AND WE'VE SPENT A LOT OF TIME BEHIND THE SCENES ADVOCATING, UH, FOR THOSE TO TAKE SHAPE. AND THEN, UH, WE PARTICIPATED IN A DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE, UH, HOUSING STUDY THAT WAS CONDUCTED OVER THE PAST FEW MONTHS. UH, AND WE'RE EXCITED FOR THAT TO BE RELEASED AND TO BE A GUIDE FOR US LOCALLY AS TO HOW WE CAN BETTER SUPPORT THE HOUSING NEEDS OF OUR MILITARY FAMILIES AS WELL. SO THESE ARE ALL REALLY BIG ITEMS THAT WE'RE WORKING COLLECTIVELY ON WITH PARTNERS AND, UH, WITH FOLKS IN POSITIONS LIKE YOURSELVES, STATE AND FEDERAL LEVEL. UH, WE'RE DETERMINING A LOT OF THESE, UH, COSTS AND PROJECTS, UH, PROCESSES THAT ARE GONNA BE PUT IN PLACE. AND OF COURSE, WE HAVE TO SAY WE ARE DEPENDENT, UH, OUR ACTIVITIES ARE DEPENDENT ON THE ACTIONS AND APPROVALS THAT COME DOWN FROM THE FEDERAL LEVEL. SO, IN CLOSING, THE BUDGET WE'VE, UH, PUT TOGETHER FOR THE MEC THIS YEAR FOR THE ACTIVITIES THAT I'VE JUST SHARED WITH YOU, UH, TOTALS $126,000. THIS IS A LEVEL FUNDING REQUEST FROM THE PAST FEW YEARS. UH, SO NO INCREASE IN IN OUR REQUEST THIS YEAR, BUT A PRETTY, UM, EXCITING ARRAY OF THE WAY WE'RE GOING TO UTILIZE IT. UH, FIRST WE HAVE OUR A A DC DESIGNATION PROCESS TO BECOME A GREAT AMERICAN DEFENSE COMMUNITY. WE'VE GOT, UH, A COLLABORATIVE WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM THAT NEEDS SOME MARKETING AND SOME, UH, COMMUNICATIONS, BUT WE'RE WORKING WITH SEVERAL PARTNERS ON THAT. SO WE'VE GOT A LOT OF BANDWIDTH, WHICH IS REALLY, REALLY, UH, HELPFUL. THERE ARE SOME ACTIVITIES THAT ARE COMMUNITY SUPPORT ACTIVITIES THAT THE MEC DOES, INCLUDING THE STATE OF THE BASES, MILITARY APPRECIATION DAY, THE CYBER SUMMIT, THINGS OF THAT NATURE. UM, WE HAVE IN THE PAST UTILIZED CONSULTANTS TO ASSIST WITH THE HEALTHCARE AND POTENTIAL LAND, UH, IMPLICATIONS OF NEW HEALTHCARE FACILITIES. WE PUT THAT ON PAUSE WHILE WAITING ON THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TO MAKE SOME FINAL DECISIONS BECAUSE WE WANT TO USE THE FUNDING VERY, VERY CAREFULLY. UM, BUT WITH ANNOUNCEMENTS COMING UP IN Q3 THIS YEAR, WE BELIEVE WE'LL BE ABLE TO RESTART SOME OF THOSE ACTIVITIES. AND OF COURSE, WE GOTTA MAKE SURE WE HAVE EVERYTHING WE NEED FOR OPERATIONS AND COMMUNICATIONS AND MARKETING, YOU KNOW, UH, AS WE HELP THE COMMUNITY UNDERSTAND WHAT THE MEC IS, WHAT THE MEC DOES, AND, UH, THE GOOD THINGS THAT ARE COMING OUT OF OUR WORK TOGETHER. WE DO HAVE SOME MEETINGS AND TRAVEL PLAN TO HELP FACILITATE SOME OF THESE ITEMS MOVING FORWARD. AND WE'D LIKE TO BRING IN A MILITARY AFFAIRS LIAISON TO MANAGE ALL OF THESE PROJECTS AND MORE, ALONG WITH OUR VOLUNTEER MILITARY ENHANCEMENT COMMITTEE. AND OF COURSE, THE CHAMBER WILL ALWAYS OFFER ANY SUPPORT POSSIBLE. SO I CLOSE ON A PICTURE OF SOME OF THE ACTIVITIES THAT WE'VE DONE AROUND OUR BASES AND AROUND OUR COMMUNITY RECENTLY, AND I'M HAPPY TO TAKE ANY COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS. ANY QUESTIONS FOR MS. MORRIS? NO, YOU'RE NOT ASKING FOR ANY MORE MONEY, RIGHT? SURE. I MA'AM. COULD YOU EXPLAIN JUST QUICKLY, HEALTHCARE SLASH UM, LAND ACQUISITION? I THINK IT IS. WHAT'S THAT? SO A, UM, A LOT OF THINGS, UH, ARE IN THE WORKS RIGHT NOW THAT I WOULDN'T WANNA SAY TOO PUBLICLY IN CASE THEY AREN'T OFFICIAL. BUT WITH THE DEVELOPMENT OF MORE HEALTHCARE SERVICES BY BOTH THE DOD ITSELF TO BETTER SUPPORT THE BASES, UM, AND VETERANS AS WELL AS OUR LOCAL HEALTHCARE INITIATIVES, THERE COULD BE SOME DOMINO EFFECT, UH, OPPORTUNITIES THERE. OBJECTION, EMPHASIS ON, ON CONSULTANTS. I GOT YOU NOW. OKAY. THANK YOU. START. DID I MAKE IT IN 10? I HAVE A QUESTION. UM, I, ON ONE OTHER SLIDE, YOU NOTED A HUNDRED THOUSAND FROM THE COUNTY, AND THEN YOU SAID BEAUFORT CITY AND PORT ROYAL, THEY GIVE YOU 15,000, CORRECT? CORRECT. WHAT ABOUT YOUR OTHER PARTNERS? HILTON HEAD AND BLUFFTON? WE ARE WORKING ON THOSE, THAT'S AN INITIATIVE, A MORE INTERNAL INITIATIVE IN THE COMING YEAR. UH, WE'VE HAD, UH, MR. MCCRACKEN ACTUALLY PRESENTED TO THE TOWN OF BLUFFTON RECENTLY TO GIVE THEM AN UPDATE ON THE MEC. UM, AND I THINK WE HAVE SOME OPPORTUNITY THERE. WE'RE ACTUALLY PULLING SOME DATA THAT SHOWS THAT QUITE A FEW OF THE SENIOR, MORE SENIOR OFFICERS, UH, ESPECIALLY AT THE AIR STATION, DO LIVE, UH, AND SEND THEIR KIDS TO SCHOOL IN BLUFFTON. SO WE'RE WORKING ON BOTH OF THOSE ACTUALLY, UH, WITH, UH, BOTH OF THOSE AREAS ARE NOT ONLY INVOLVED IN THE MEC, BUT THEY'RE BIG PARTNERS WITH OUR NEW WORKFORCE COLLABORATION EFFORT AS WELL. ANY HOPE FOR FUNDING FOR 26 FROM THEM? THOSE TWO, WE'RE GONNA TRY. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. GREAT. THANK YOU MEGAN. UM, MR. CHAIRMAN, I'D LIKE TO RECOMMEND THAT WE JUST TIME EVERYBODY 10 MINUTES BECAUSE WE'RE NOT GONNA, SO EVERYBODY CAN GET THROUGH. IS THAT, THAT'S OKAY. THAT IS OKAY. I'LL YOU BE THE TIMER. OKAY. NEXT. ALL RIGHT, UP NEXT WE HAVE LRTA, ALSO KNOWN AS PALMETTO BREEZE. MR. BRIAN SULLIVAN. OKAY. GIVE HIM A WARNING AT NINE MINUTES THEN, OR, THANK YOU FOR COMING. THANK YOU. THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME. I WILL TRY TO BE BRIEF. UM, I'M GONNA GO AHEAD AND START, UH, WHILE WE TEE UP A PRESENTATION. UH, FOR THOSE WHO MAY NOT KNOW, PALMETTO BREEZE IS A, UH, 3,267 SQUARE MILE SERVICE AREA COVERING FIVE COUNTIES. UH, BEAUFORT [02:00:01] COUNTY BEING OUR LARGEST AND BUS BUSIEST. UH, BY FAR WE HAVE SEVEN COMMUTER ROUTES, AND THEN WE HAVE NINE OTHER, UH, FIXED ROUTE COORDINATOR ROUTES, DEMAND RESPONSE ROUTES. UM, ONE OF, I ALWAYS SAY THE MOST IMPORTANT THING WE PROVIDE IS EMERGENCY OPERATIONS SUPPORT IN CASE OF AN EVACUATION. UM, SEVERAL OF OUR TEAM MEMBERS ARE INVOLVED IN THE EOC HERE AT BEAUFORT COUNTY, MYSELF INCLUDED, WHERE WE PROVIDE TRANSPORTATION TO AND FROM THE SHELTERS AS NEEDED. UH, WE PARTICIPATING IN ALL THE TRAINING. WE HAVE SOME TRAINING THIS WEEK, SO I, I ALWAYS LIKE TO REMIND PEOPLE THAT'S THE MOST IMPORTANT THING WE PROVIDE. WE ALSO KEEP A REGISTRY OF FOLKS WHO MIGHT NEED EVACUATION SERVICES. UH, TOTAL RIDERSHIP IN BEAUFORT COUNTY, WHICH IS THE VA LIKE I SAID, THE BIGGEST, MOST, UH, OR BUSIEST COUNTY THAT WE SERVE. UH, THE GRAND TOTAL FOR FISCAL 24, WHICH IS THE MOST RECENT FULL YEAR. SO JULY OF 23 TO JUNE OF 24, WE HAD 168,725 PASSENGERS IN BEAUFORT COUNTY ALONE. UM, DAILY COMMUTER ROUTES ARE ABOUT 72,000. UH, HILTON HEAD ISLAND ROUTES, UH, ARE 47,463. BLUFFTON ROUTES 21 407, UH, PORT ROYAL CITY OF BEAUFORT. COMBINED DEMAND RESPONSE ROUTES ARE 16 0 5 0 5 2, AND THEN OUR COORDINATED SERVICES, 6,000, UH, NORTH OF BROAD AND 3000, ALMOST 4,000 SOUTH OF BROAD. AND THEN FINALLY, USCB, UH, WITH ABOUT 1100 PASSENGERS CONNECTING THE TWO CAMPUSES OF BLUFFTON AND BUFORT. UM, SOME OF THE, OUR RECENT ACCOMPLISHMENTS, UH, WE HAVE MAINTAINED RIDERSHIP LEVELS. THAT'S, THAT'S A, A KEY THING. UH, WE HAVE ACHIEVED SOME MARKETING AWARDS IN OUR INDUSTRY. UH, WE CONSISTENTLY ACHIEVED THE GFOA CERTIFICATION FOR EXCELLENCE IN ACCOUNTING AND FINANCE. UM, WE HAVE, UH, ACTUALLY WE HAVE A DRIVER. UM, AND IF YOU HAVE THE PRESENTATION IN YOUR PACKET, UM, HIS NAME IS DEONTAY ELLIS. HE'S AN 18-YEAR-OLD GRADUATING SENIOR IN HAMPTON COUNTY. UH, HE CAME TO US AS A NON CDL DRIVER WHILE HE WAS STILL IN HIGH SCHOOL, ACHIEVED HIS CDL WITH OUR ASSISTANCE, AND HE IS NOW GONNA BE A FULL-TIME CDL DRIVER FOR US RIGHT OUT OF HIGH SCHOOL. THAT'S AN AMAZING ACCOMPLISHMENT. I'VE NEVER HEARD OF THAT IN THIS INDUSTRY, AND I'VE BEEN IN IT SINCE 1995. SO I'M VERY PROUD OF DEONTAY, AND I THINK DEONTAY IS THE FUTURE OF OUR ORGANIZATION. I TOLD HIM THAT, I SAID, NO PRESSURE, BUT I THINK YOU'RE GONNA HAVE MY POSITION SOMEDAY THAT THAT'S AN AMAZING ACCOMPLISHMENT AT 18. UM, AND WE'VE HAD STEADY SUCCESS HIRING DRIVERS. THAT WAS A PROBLEM IN THE PAST. YOU MAY HAVE HEARD ABOUT, UM, RIGHT NOW, KNOCK ON WOOD. NOT A PROBLEM. UH, RIGHT NOW WE'RE IN THE MIDDLE OF OUR NORTHERN BEAUFORT COUNTY TRANSIT MASTER PLAN. SO NORTHERN BEAUFORT COUNTY BECAME A SMALL URBANIZED AREA AS FAR AS THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT CON IS CONCERNED IN AFTER THE 2020 CENSUS, WHICH AFFORDS US AN, UH, ADDITIONAL APPROPRIATION OF FEDERAL AND STATE, UH, TRANSIT FUNDS. UM, SO WE'RE CONDUCTING THAT STUDY THAT IS SET TO BE COMPLETED BY THE END OF, UH, OF, UH, SEPTEMBER OF THIS YEAR. UM, AND LIKE I MENTIONED, THAT HA, THAT AFFORDS US THE OPPORTUNITY TO ACCESS, ACCESS MORE FEDERAL TRANSIT MONEY. UM, THAT, UH, SOME OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS WE ANTICIPATE THERE. UH, FIXED ROUTE SERVICE IN BEAUFORT AND PORT ROYAL WITH FREQUENCY NEW FACILITIES THAT MIGHT INCLUDE A TRANSIT CENTER, UH, BUS STOPS AND SHELTERS, PARK AND RIDES THAT EVERYONE'S ASKED FOR. AND THEN PROBABLY MAINTENANCE AND OPERATIONS, LORD WILLING, UH, NORTH OF THE BROAD. UM, I SEE IT AS A TRANSIT NETWORK, UH, BASICALLY A TRANSPORTATION HUB IN THE BEAUFORT PORT ROYAL AREA. UH, THERE WOULD LIKELY BE A CIRCULATING SERVICE, HOPEFULLY A TROLLEY SERVICE IN DOWNTOWN BEAUFORT, USCB LADIES, ISLAND PORT ROYAL, UH, IMPORTANTLY TRANSIT SERVICE FOR MILITARY AND THEIR FAMILIES. WE GET THAT REQUEST A LOT, AND WE DON'T HAVE A LOT TO OFFER RIGHT NOW. AND THEN COMPLIMENTARY, A DA PARATRANSIT SERVICE WHERE WE PROVIDE FIXED HEALTH SERVICES. UM, WE BUILD OUR BUDGET. WE START WITH, UH, THE TWO POTS OF MONEY, BASICALLY RURAL MONEY AND URBAN MONEY. SO IT'S DIVIDED INTO TWO. AND OUR TOTAL, UH, RURAL ANTICIPATED REVENUE IS ABOUT $3.3 MILLION. THAT'S ABOUT 165,000 AFFAIRS, WHICH IS A VERY SMALL PERCENT, AS YOU MIGHT IMAGINE. FEDERAL GRANTS OF ABOUT 1.5 MILLION STATE MASS TRANSIT FUNDS OF 417,000. AND THEN A LOCAL MATCH, A TOTAL LOCAL MATCH OF 1,148 TO, TO TOTAL 3,300 ROUGHLY. THE, THE MATCHES THEN DIVIDED UP, UH, AMONGST THE RURAL COMMUNITIES, WHICH IS OUR FIVE COUNTY SERVICE AREA, UH, INCLUDING BUFORT COUNTY. IT'S DIVIDED UP BY BOTH RIDERSHIP. THERE'S A FORMULA RIDERSHIP AND POPULATION. SO AS YOU CAN IMAGINE, BUFORT COUNTY CARRIES THE LOAD, 66% OF POPULATION, 65% OF OUR RIDERSHIP. UM, THE REST OF THE COUNTIES, UH, MUCH, MUCH SMALLER PERCENTAGES BECAUSE THE, THE LOWER POPULATION, [02:05:01] LOWER RIDERSHIP. AND, UM, AND SO IN YOUR PACKET, THAT'S WHERE THOSE NUMBERS CAME FROM. THAT'S, THAT'S HOW THE, UM, THE, THE SPLIT OCCURRED ON THE RURAL AREA SERVICE. UM, I'LL SKIP THAT REAL QUICK. UH, ON THE URBAN SIDE OF THINGS, WE ANTICIPATE A TOTAL REVENUE SOUTH OF THE BROAD OF 2.8, ALMOST 2.9 MILLION, AND NORTH OF THE BROAD OF 1.1 MILLION. UH, NORTH OF THE BROAD IS A BRAND NEW URBAN SERVICE AREA FOR US. SO THAT IS ENTIRELY MADE UP RIGHT NOW OF CAPITAL ITEMS. UH, WE HAVE NO, UH, SERVICE PLAN YET IN NORTH OF THE BROAD, IN THE NORTH OF THE BROAD AIR COMMUNITIES UNTIL FISCAL 27. UH, BASED, BASED ON LARGELY ON THAT RESULTS OF THAT STUDY. UH, THE FEDERAL GRANTS, THERE ARE ABOUT 2.1 MILLION TOTAL. UM, FARES ARE ABOUT 165,000, SAME AS OUR RURAL. THEY'RE, I BASICALLY SPLIT ABOUT 50 50 ACROSS BOTH RURAL AND URBAN SERVICES. UH, STATE MASS TRANSIT FUNDS ARE ONLY $74,500. UH, AND A AND A LOCAL MATCH THAT'S SIMILAR TO THE, UH, RURAL SERVICE OF ABOUT 1.2 MILLION. AND THEN CONTRACTED REVENUES. UH, THESE ARE ADDITIONAL REVENUES WE HAVE WITH THE COMMUNITIES THAT WE HAVE, UH, RELATIONSHIPS WITH. SO, TOWN OF HILDE, TOWN OF BLUFFTON, UH, I DON'T THINK WE'VE DONE ANYTHING IN BUFORT OR PORT ROYAL YET, BUT THOSE ARE ADDITIONAL CONTRACTED REVENUES. UH, LIKE USCB, FOR EXAMPLE, IS ONE OF THOSE SERVICES THAT'S AT ABOUT $250,000. UH, AND AGAIN, HOW THE LOCAL MATCH IS DETERMINED FOR OUR URBAN SERVICES, THAT IS ENTIRELY ON POPULATION. SO, UH, THE TOWN OF HILTON HEAD'S SHARE HAS DROPPED, AT LEAST SINCE I'VE BEEN INVOLVED WITH PALMETTO BREEZE FROM A HIGH OF 52%, ALMOST 53% NOW DOWN TO, UH, 33.68%. UH, AND THE, AND THE INCREASES HAVE OCCURRED IN BLUFFTON AND BEAUFORT, NOT INCORPORATED BEAUFORT COUNTY. SO THE, UH, BUDGET REQUEST THAT YOU HAVE BEFORE YOU, FOR PALMETTO BREEZE, FOR FISCAL 26 IS A TOTAL, UH, OR, UH, REQUEST OF 1.23 MILLION. UH, 672 3 92 IS RURAL. 452 IS LOCAL MATCH FOR THE SERVICE SOUTH OF BROAD. AND A HUNDRED FIVE FOUR OH FOUR ONE SIX IS BACK. BASICALLY THE MATCH THAT WE REQUIRE FOR THE CAPITAL ITEMS THAT WERE THE FUNDING WE HAVE APPROPRIATED FROM THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TO PURCHASE VEHICLES IN ANTICIPATION OF SERVICE IN FISCAL 27. UM, UH, MY PRESENTATION HAS A, IT'S A DETAILED COMPARISON OF HOW WE SPENT BEAUFORT COUNTY'S, UH, CONTRIBUTION TO OUR MATCH IN FISCAL 25. AND, AND LIKEWISE HOW WE WOULD PLAN TO SPEND IT IN FISCAL 26. IT'S, IT'S BROKEN DOWN BASICALLY BY ADMINISTRATION, MAINTENANCE OPERATIONS, AND CAPITAL CATEGORIES. BROAD, KIND OF BROAD BRUSH CATEGORIES, OBVIOUSLY WE HAVE, WE CAN DRILL DOWN ON THAT IF THE, IF THE COUNTY IS INTERESTED. THE REASONS FOR THE BUDGET INCREASE ARE THINGS YOU'VE ALREADY HEARD A LOT TODAY. UM, IN FACT, THE FIRST FOUR BULLET POINTS ON THE SCHOOL DISTRICT SLIDES ARE ALMOST THE SAME AS OURS. UH, WE ASSUME 3% INFLATION AND COSTS. UM, OUR INSURANCE RESERVE FUND, WHICH IS, UM, LIABILITY INSURANCE FOR VEHICLES, IT'S PRETTY IMPORTANT. THAT WENT UP 30% THIS YEAR. SO THE STATE IS CATCHING UP WITH INSURANCE RATES ACROSS THE COUNTRY, AND WE ARE PAYING THE PRICE. UM, HEALTH INSURANCE COSTS ARE UP 4.6. UH, WE HAVE A, A RETIREMENT SURCHARGE THAT WAS PREVIOUSLY UNBUDGETED. WE WERE BUDGETING THAT, UH, WE HAVE A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN MAINTENANCE COSTS. SO CONTRACTED SERVICES, BASICALLY, UM, IT'S MORE COSTLY TO ACQUIRE NEW VEHICLES AND MAINTAINING THEM IS ALSO MORE COSTLY, BUT IT'S, YOU HAVE TO PICK YOUR POISON THERE, BASICALLY. SO WE, WE'VE CHOSEN NOT TO TRY AND ADDRESS ADDITIONAL CAPITAL INVESTMENTS THIS YEAR, AND INSTEAD WORK TO MAINTAIN THOSE COSTS, UH, MAINTAIN THOSE VEHICLES, MAINTAIN THOSE ASSETS, AND AT THE SAME TIME, IT'S VERY DIFFICULT TO HIRE MAINTENANCE TRAINED MAINTENANCE TECHNICIANS. UM, BUT LUCKILY TODAY IS DAY ONE OF A, THE FIRST NEW MAINTENANCE TECHNICIAN AT PALMETTO BREEZE IN OVER TWO YEARS. SO THANKFULLY WE HAVE ONE, AND WE'RE WAITING ON A BACKGROUND CHECK FOR A SECOND. SO WE FEEL PRETTY CONFIDENT THAT OUR MAINTENANCE, UH, CAPABILITIES ARE GONNA GO UP DRAMATICALLY. UM, TWO OTHER THINGS ARE HAPPENING THAT, THAT ARE, UH, DIAMETRICALLY OPPOSED TO EACH OTHER. WE ARE GROWING. SO OUR MISSION IS TO SERVE A GROWING POPULATION. UM, UNFORTUNATELY OUR FEDERAL, EVEN OUR FEDERAL AND STATE GRANTS DO NOT KEEP PACE. THEY'RE ALWAYS GONNA BE ABOUT A YEAR BEHIND. IT'S KIND OF CRAZY THE WAY THE FEDERAL CYCLE WORKS VERSUS OUR LOCAL CYCLES. SO BA THE, THOSE APPROPRIATIONS ARE BASICALLY, GRANT MONIES ARE BASICALLY APPROPRIATED BY POPULATION. AND SO WE HAD IT LAGS BEHIND. SO, UM, I, I'LL JUST CLOSE WITH, UM, A STATEMENT ABOUT WHAT HAPPENS IF LOCAL MATCH IS NOT ACHIEVED. UM, WE OBVIOUSLY HAVE TO ADJUST OUR BUDGET. [02:10:01] UM, POSSIBLE ADJUSTMENTS INCLUDE A HIRING PROMOTIONS FREEZE, UH, AGGRESSIVE ASSU, MORE AGGRESSIVE ASSUMPTIONS ON FUEL AND MAINTENANCE, UH, TRANSIT SERVICE REDUCTIONS, WHICH IN OUR WORLD REQUIRES PUBLIC OUTREACH, PUBLIC HEARINGS THAT COULD INCLUDE ROUTES AND OR DAYS OF SERVICE, UM, AN ADMIN OR OPERATIONS STAFF REDUCTION, BUT WE'RE SO LEAN ALREADY, IT WOULD'VE A VERY MINIMAL IMPACT AND, AND POSSIBLY FAIR INCREASES. AGAIN, A VERY, VERY MINIMAL IMPACT BECAUSE THE FARES ARE ALREADY, UH, PRETTY MUCH IN LINE WITH WHAT PUBLIC TRANSIT FAIR ARE ACROSS THE COUNTRY. AND THEY JUST, THEY DON'T HAVE THAT MA MATERIAL OF AN IMPACT, UH, AT TRANSITS ALL OVER THE COUNTRY. SO, SO THAT WOULD BE VERY MINIMAL IMPACT IF WE WERE TO TRY AND, UM, INCREASE FARES. UM, I'LL CLOSE REAL QUICK WITH JUST A STATEMENT. UM, PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION. THE, THE AMERICAN PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION ASSOCIATION HAS A RATIO THAT THEY USE THAT, UM, THE ECONOMIC RETURN ON EVERY DOLLAR IS $5. AND SO THE, UH, AND ON TOP OF THAT, 87% OF THAT RETURN STAYS LOCAL. AND SO FOR EVERY DOLLAR THAT THE COUNTY OR ANY OF OUR PARTNERS GRANT US, UH, THAT'S A $5 IMPACT TO THE, THE ECONOMY AND ABOUT A $4 IMPACT TO THE LOCAL ECONOMY. SO, UH, BASICALLY THE REQUEST WE'RE MAKING HERE TODAY WOULD NET A 4.1 MILLION IN ECONOMIC IMPACT. IN OUR CASE, THAT IS NOT INCREMENTAL BECAUSE WE ARE NOT GROWING THE SERVICE, WE ARE HOPING TO MAINTAIN THE SERVICE. SO OBVIOUSLY, IF WE HAD, WOULD HAVE TO ADJUST OUR BUDGET REDUCE SERVICE, THE, THE NET ECONOMIC BENEFIT GOES DOWN. SO IT'S NOT INCREMENTAL, UNFORTUNATELY. HOPEFULLY IN THE FUTURE, NOT TOO DISTANT FUTURE. UM, THOSE NUMBERS WILL BE INCREMENTAL AS YOU SEE GROWTH, ESPECIALLY HERE NORTH OF THE BROAD. UH, AND WITH THAT, I'LL CLOSE IT. I'M GONNA HAVE TO DELAY OUR FIVE O'CLOCK. ALRIGHT, UH, MR. SULLIVAN. THANK YOU. IS THERE ANY QUESTIONS, MR. SULLIVAN? YEP. TAB, GO AHEAD. SO IN THE SHEET YOU PROVIDED AND, AND WHAT WAS ONLINE, YOU HAVE NOT RIDERSHIP FOR BUFORT COUNTY 98,636, THAT'S TOTAL RIDES OR PER PERSON OR PEOPLE THAT RODE, THOSE ARE PASSENGER TRIPS. SO SOME OF THE PASSENGERS RIDE FIVE DAYS A WEEK. CORRECT. SO THAT'S NOT INDICATIVE OF PEOPLE SERVED. CORRECT. AND ON THE BACK, UM, IT SAYS HAMPTON COUNTY MOST LIKELY NOT PAYING FULL AMOUNT. HILTON HAD REQUESTED 5 0 7, POSSIBLY THREE 50, SO YOU'RE NOT GONNA GET A FULL AMOUNT. AND THEN THE OTHERS ARE ON HERE. SO I'M PRESUMING YOU'RE ASKING US 72% INCREASE, AND I'M GUESSING YOU'RE ALREADY LOOKING AT HOW TO REDUCE YOUR FUNDING BECAUSE THESE GUYS AREN'T GIVING IT CORRECT. THAT IS A CORRECT ASSUMPTION. GOT IT. THANKS. ANYONE ELSE? YEP, GO AHEAD JOE. UH, CAN YOU GIVE US AN UPDATE ON THE WALTERBORO, UH, ROUTE SERVICE? IS THAT STILL IN EFFECT? YEAH, ABSOLUTELY. WALTER BURROS, ONE OF OUR MORE PRODUCTIVE OR, UH, RURAL ROUTES, UH, DAILY SERVICE, 362 DAYS A YEAR. AND THEN WE HAVE A CIRCULATOR UP IN WALTERBORO TOO, THAT'S PAID FOR BY COLLEGE AND COUNTY MONEY, AS WELL AS SOME OF OUR GRANT MONEY. MR. SELLEN, THANK YOU SO MUCH. THANK YOU. APPRECIATE YOU BEING HERE. APPRECIATE YOUR TIME. THANK YOU. 45 MINUTES, FOUR TO GO, SO RIGHT. ALRIGHT, NEXT IS SOUTH CAROLINA DEPARTMENT OF MENTAL HEALTH. DR. ANGIE, SALLY, I HAVE A FEELING THAT PEOPLE COMING HERE FOR FIVE O'CLOCK, I BE DELAYED. THERE'S A BAD ACCIDENT. ROSE HILL. THERE'S, UH, FOUR ACCIDENTS. 2 78 IS CLOSED, UM, IN FRONT OF ROSE HILL COMING FROM HEADING THIS WAY. YEAH, I THINK DOING THAT A LITTLE BIT PROBABLY IS NOT GONNA HURT. YEAH, BECAUSE SOMEONE JUST CONTACTED ME AND SAID THEY'RE NOT GONNA GO. THEY'RE GONNA BE HERE LATE. AND, UH, DR. SALLY, THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE. THANK YOU ALL. AND THEN GOOD AFTERNOON. SO I WOULD LIKE TO MAKE A COUPLE OF CORRECTIONS THAT NEED TO BE ADDED PROB IN YOUR MINUTES. SO IT IS NOT DR. SALLY. SO THAT'S AN ERA SOMEHOW THAT . UM, I THANK YOU FOR THE PROMOTION, BUT NOT YET. . , THANK YOU ALL FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE HERE TODAY. UM, BEAUFORT COUNTY COUNCIL AND THANK YOU, UM, WITH SINCERE GRATITUDE AND APPRECIATION FROM, UM, COASTAL EMPIRE COMMUNITY MENTAL HEALTH CENTER FOR YOUR SUPPORT AND AGAIN, FOR ALLOWING US TO PRESENT TODAY. SO THE OTHER CORRECTION IS, UM, WHEN WE FIRST PUT TOGETHER OUR PRESENTATION, WE WERE STILL UNDER THE SOUTH CAROLINA DEPARTMENT OF MENTAL HEALTH, UM, COASTAL EMPIRE COMMUNITY MENTAL HEALTH CENTER IS A DIVISION OF THE STATE GOVERNMENT. ON APRIL 28TH, GOVERNOR MCMASTER SIGNED INTO LAW THE ELIMINATION OF THE SOUTH CAROLINA DEPARTMENT OF MENTAL HEALTH, THE ELIMINATION OF THE DEPARTMENT OF DISABILITIES AND SPECIAL NEEDS, ALONG WITH THE, UH, DEPARTMENT OF ALCOHOL, DRUGS AND OTHER SUBSTANCES. SO THE NEW NAME IS THE DEPARTMENT OF BEHAVIORAL HEALTH AND DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES, AND WE ARE THE OFFICE OF MENTAL HEALTH. THAT'S [02:15:01] A WHOLE NOTHER PRESENTATION IN ITSELF, OKAY, . BUT WHAT I REMIND EVERYBODY IS WE CONTINUE TO DO WHAT WE DO. OUR MISSION IS STILL THE SAME. IT IS TO SUPPORT THE RECOVERY OF INDIVIDUALS IN OUR COMMUNITIES WHO ARE LIVING WITH MENTAL ILLNESSES. OUR SERVICES ARE STILL THE SAME IN ALL OF OUR AREAS. UM, IN BEAUFORT COUNTY, WE, THIS IS OUR LARGEST OPERATION, AS I'VE TOLD YOU BEFORE. SO COASTAL EMPIRE SERVES FIVE COUNTIES. WE COVER THAT SAME AREA OF TERRITORY THAT THE GENTLEMAN BEFORE ME JUST PRESENTED TO YOU. IT'S OVER 3000 SQUARE MILES OF TERRITORY. AND, UM, NEEDLESS TO SAY, BEAUFORT COUNTY, UM, BY FAR IS OUR LARGEST COUNTY SERVED OF BEAUFORT, JASPER, ALLENDALE, HAMPTON, AND CARLETON. AND SO A LOT OF OUR BUDGET, A LOT OF OUR, UM, ACTUAL OPERATIONS AND STAFF OVER, I BELIEVE IT IS 45% OF OUR STAFF. AND I, I DO HAVE WITH ME, I'M VERY SORRY. UM, DOCTOR, THIS IS THE DOCTOR, DR. JENNIFER COBB HAYES, WHO IS THE DIRECTOR OF ADMINISTRATION FOR COASTAL, BASICALLY OUR CFO, WHO'S WITH ME HERE TODAY THAT CAN ANSWER MORE INTRICATE DETAILS ABOUT OUR BUDGET, UM, WHEN WE GET TO THAT PART. BUT JUST, UM, I'M NOT GONNA BORE YOU WITH THE DETAILS AND I KNOW THAT, UM, COMMITTEE MEMBER MS. BROWN IS KEEPING THAT CLOCK ON ME, SO I'M GOING TO KEEP GOING. . SO BASICALLY, COASTAL EMPIRE IS YOUR COMPREHENSIVE OUTPATIENT COMMUNITY MENTAL HEALTH CENTER. WE SEE EVERYONE IN THE COMMUNITY THAT IS, UM, OUR, MOST OF OUR SERVICES ARE VOLUNTARY. WE DO DEAL WITH THE PROBATE COURT, WITH COURT ORDERED TREATMENT, OF COURSE. UM, OUR SERVICES ARE NOT FREE. THE SERVICES ARE, ARE BILLED, BUT WE DO HAVE A POPULATION, A LARGE POPULATION OF SELF-PAY PATIENTS. WE DO NOT REFUSE TREATMENT TO ANYONE BASED UPON THEIR INABILITY TO PAY. SO IF SOMEONE PRESENTS TO US AND MANY PEOPLE DO WITH HARDSHIPS THAT THEY ARE NOT ABLE TO, UM, THEY DON'T HAVE INSURANCE OR THEY DON'T HAVE AN INCOME, WE STILL SERVE THOSE INDIVIDUALS AND WE STILL SERVE THEM BASED UPON THEIR LEVEL OF CARE IN THEIR NEEDS, NOT BASED UPON THEIR ABILITY TO PAY OR THE SERVICES THAT THEY CAN PAY FOR. COASTAL IS, UM, STAFFED WITH PSYCHIATRISTS, PSYCHIATRIC NURSES, MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSIONALS. WE HAVE SUPPORT STAFF. WE HAVE A FULL ADMINISTRATION TEAM THAT SUPPORT OUR OPERATIONS. AND IN BEAUFORT COUNTY, COASTAL EMPIRE HAS TWO OFFICES. SO WE HAVE AN OFFICE ON REBOUND ROAD, AND WE ALSO HAVE A OFFICE OVER IN HILTON, HEAD ON DILLON ROAD. AND SO THIS IS THE ONLY COUNTY THAT WE ACTUALLY HAVE TWO OFFICES. UM, OF OUR 84 STAFF MEMBERS, WELL, 83, I'M SORRY, OF OUR 83 STAFF MEMBERS, 45 OF THOSE STAFF MEMBERS ARE LOCATED IN BEAUFORT COUNTY OR OFFICE IN BEAUFORT COUNTY. OF THAT 45, 30 OF THEM ARE DEDICATED SOLELY TO BEAUFORT COUNTY. UH, I'M SORRY, I'M NOT WORKING THIS VERY WELL. I'M . SO THE SERVICES THAT WE OFFER INCLUDE MENTAL HEALTH ASSESSMENTS AND INCLUDES INDIVIDUAL THERAPY, FAMILY THERAPY, NURSING SERVICES, MEDICATION ASSESSMENTS, CRISIS INTERVENTION. UM, THIS IS LATER IN THE PRESENTATION, BUT I'LL GO AHEAD AND SAY TO YOU, COASTAL OPERATES A MOBILE CRISIS TEAM THAT IS 365 DAYS A YEAR, 24 7 A DAY. AND THAT TEAM IS GROWING. THEY ARE PRIMARILY LOCATED IN BEAUFORT. AND FROM THAT TEAM, WE ACTUALLY HAVE TWO OF THE THREE THAT ARE DEDICATED TO BEAUFORT COUNTY ONLY. WE ALSO HAVE A MOBILE MENTAL HEALTH UNIT THAT GOES OUT INTO OUR VARIOUS COMMUNITIES. AND IN BEAUFORT, UM, IT IS, UM, ACTUALLY ONE OF OUR SITE LOCATIONS IS OUT IN ST. HELENA. WE ARE LOOKING AT A, A SECOND LOCATION FOR BEAUFORT COUNTY, OR WE HAVE IDENTIFIED A SECOND LOCATION IN BEAUFORT COUNTY. IT IS OUT AT THE LOKO LIBRARY. AND SO WE LOOK, WE HAVE THOSE OPERATIONS ONCE A MONTH AT BOTH SITES TO PROVIDE TREATMENT AND CARE TO THOSE INDIVIDUALS WHO HAVE BARRIERS IN GETTING INTO OUR OFFICES AND TO ANYONE ELSE WHO'S INTERESTED IN SERVICES, IN MEETING WITH OUR STAFF, UM, TO CONNECT TO OUR CLINICS. I TALKED TO YOU ABOUT THE TWO LOCATIONS IN BEAUFORT, UM, JUST AS, JUST SOME, UM, DATA REGARDING THE CURRENT OR THE PAST ADMISSIONS FROM FY 24 AND WHERE WE ARE IN FI IN OUR CURRENT FISCAL YEAR AS FAR AS THE NUMBERS THAT WE'RE SERVING. SO, UM, OVER 50% OF THE PATIENT POPULATION [02:20:01] THAT WE SERVE FOR COASTAL EMPIRE IS BEAUFORT COUNTY. SO OF OUR 2,538 PATIENTS AT THE TIME OF THIS PRESENTATION THAT MAY HAVE GROWN BY A FEW, 1,415 OF THOSE PATIENTS ARE, ARE FROM BEAUFORT COUNTY. THE, UH, CRISIS SERVICES THAT WE HAVE PROVIDED, WHICH IS WHAT WE WANT TO SEE, BECAUSE THOSE CRISIS SERVICES ARE DIVERSIONS. THEY DIVERT PEOPLE FROM GOING TO JAIL WHO DON'T NEED TO BE IN JAIL, PEOPLE WHO ARE SUFFERING OR IMPACTED BY A MENTAL ILLNESS AND COULD HAVE HAD SOME TYPE OF INTERACTION WITH LAW ENFORCEMENT OR OTHER MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY. THEY ALSO DIVERT INDIVIDUALS FROM GOING TO THE EMERGENCY DEPARTMENTS WHO MAY NOT NEED TO BE IN AN EMERGENCY SITUATION, BUT JUST NEED TO BE CONNECTED WITH, UM, OUR SERVICES BECAUSE OF HAVING INCREASED PERSONNEL IN BEAUFORT COUNTY, UM, IS, IS I LIKE TO SAY, IF WE TELL PEOPLE ABOUT IT AND IF WE ARE PRESENT, THEY WILL COME. THE PHONES ARE RINGING MORE. WE HAVE HAD AN INCREASE ALREADY, OR WE SEE TO DATE THAT WE'VE HAD 553 TOTAL CRISIS CALLS ALREADY. ALL OF LAST YEAR WE HAD 585 OF THOSE CALLS THAT WE'VE HAD. WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO PROVIDE 118 DIVERSIONS SO FAR THIS YEAR. AND THIS IS DATA THAT WAS JUST THROUGH THE FIRST THREE QUARTERS OF THE YEAR. LAST YEAR WE DID 123 DIVERSIONS FOR THE WHOLE FISCAL YEAR. FROM JULY ONE TO JUNE 30TH OF LAST YEAR, WE HAVE HAD OVER 127 ONSITE RESPONSES SO FAR, WHICH IS OUTSTANDING. THAT MEANS THAT WE HAVE TWO MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSIONALS RESPOND IN PERSON ON SCENE. THEY RESPONDED SOMEWHERE IN BEAUFORT COUNTY 127 TIMES, UM, TO HELP PROVIDE SOME TYPE OF DIVERSION AND ASSISTANCE TO SOMEONE WHO WAS IN A MEN IN MENTAL DISTRESS. AND THESE CALLS JUST DON'T COME FROM LAW ENFORCEMENT. THEY ALSO COME FROM MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY, THE PATIENT THEMSELF OR FAMILY MEMBERS. AND OUR EXPECTATION IS FOR THEM TO RESPOND IN LESS THAN 60 MINUTES. AND WE ARE DOING AN OUTSTANDING JOB WITH THAT BECAUSE OUR TOTAL RESPONSE TIME THIS YEAR SO FAR HAS BEEN ON AVERAGE 47 MINUTES. AND THESE FOLKS ARE COMING FROM ALL OVER WHEN THEY RESPOND AFTER HOURS, BUT DURING THE DAY, THEY ARE COMING FROM BEAUFORT COUNTY. WE ARE ALSO IN YOUR SCHOOLS IN BEAUFORT COUNTY, AND WE HAVE A STRONG PARTNERSHIP WITH OUR BEAUFORT COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT. AND SO, UM, JUST PROVIDING THAT FOR YOU FOR INFORMATION, WE ARE IN 14 SCHOOLS IN BEAUFORT COUNTY. AND WE STAFF THOSE 14 SCHOOLS WITH, I BELIEVE IT'S SIX PERSONNEL RIGHT NOW, JEN, THAT ARE SCHOOL MENTAL HEALTH COUNSELORS. THESE ARE MASTERS LEVEL CLINICIANS WHO ARE IN THE SCHOOL ANYWHERE FROM THREE TO FIVE DAYS A WEEK PROVIDING MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES TO PATIENTS. AND THEY CAN ALSO SEE FAMILY MEMBERS AT THE SCHOOL AS WELL. NOW THEY DO HAVE TO COME TO THE CLINIC FOR SOME OF THEIR APPOINTMENTS, BUT MOST OF THEIR SERVICE DELIVERY, AND THIS IS DONE TO DECREASE THE INTERRUPTION IN LEARNING FOR OUR STUDENTS TO KEEP THEM IN SCHOOL. AND IT EMBEDS OUR COUNSELORS OR OUR THERAPISTS WITH THE SCHOOL ENVIRONMENT. THEY PARTICIPATE IN ALL OTHER KIND OF ACTIVITIES, UM, JUST THIS MORNING IN ANOTHER COUNTY. BUT WE DO THIS HERE IN ALLEN OR DO THIS HERE IN BEAUFORT AS WELL. IN ALL OF OUR COUNTIES, WHENEVER THERE ARE TRAGEDIES, UM, WITH OUR CHILDREN OR WITH OUR SCHOOL PERSONNEL, WE SEND IN TEAMS TO PROVIDE SUPPORT TO OUR DISTRICT PERSONNEL TO SEE STUDENTS, TO SEE TEACHERS, FAMILY MEMBERS OR WHOMEVER THAT MAY HAVE BEEN IMPACTED BY THAT TRAGEDY. AND SO WE COORDINATE THOSE RESPONSES. AND AGAIN, UM, THIS MORNING AT EIGHT 30 IN ALLENDALE COUNTY, WE HAD SEVERAL PERSONNEL THAT WERE THERE TO SUPPORT THAT DISTRICT, UM, AFTER A TRAGEDY THAT OCCURRED WITH THE STUDENT THIS WEEKEND. SO I DON'T HAVE THE ACTUAL NUMBERS ON HOW MANY TIMES WE'VE DONE THAT IN BEAUFORT, BUT WE HAVE, WE'VE RESPONDED ALSO TO REQUESTS FOR IN-SERVICE TRAINING FOR SCHOOL DISTRICT PERSONNEL. AND WE PROVIDE THAT TO THEM WHENEVER IT'S NEEDED. WE HAVE A SCHOOL MENTAL HEALTH COUNSELOR OR SCHOOL MENTAL HEALTH, I'M SORRY, DIRECTOR WHO OR CHILD ADOLESCENT SERVICES DIRECTOR. WE HAVE A LOT OF ACRONYMS AND SO I, PLEASE FORGIVE ME FOR NOT BEING ABLE TO KEEP THEM ALL STRAIGHT. WE ACTUALLY CALL HER THE CALF DIRECTOR. UM, THAT'S PRETTY INTERESTING TO MOST PEOPLE AND THEY WANT TO KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS. CHILD, ADOLESCENTS AND FAMILY DIRECTOR, SHE WORKS VERY CLOSELY WITH THEM. SO WE, WE ARE ASKING FOR, I WILL SAY THIS IS THAT THE REASON WHY WE'RE ASKING FOR YOUR CONTINUED SUPPORT IS TO STRENGTHEN OUR MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES FOR OUR HEALTHIER COMMUNITY TO HELP BUILD RESILIENCE, UM, AND TO ENSURE THAT WE ARE MAKING AN IMPACT. AND SO, AND THAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR [02:25:01] THIS ON A LONG-TERM BASIS IN BEAUFORT COUNTY. UM, WE'VE HAD THE MENTAL HEALTH CENTERS HAD A LONG RELATIONSHIP WITH BEAUFORT COUNTY OVER THE YEARS, AND SOMEWHERE ALONG THE LINE WE KIND OF GOT, AND I THINK THAT HAD SOMETHING TO DO WITH COVID. AND SO WE WERE ABLE TO COME BACK TO YOU LAST YEAR AND ASK FOR YOUR SUPPORT. AND WE DO THANK YOU FOR WHAT YOU DID FOR THE MENTAL HEALTH CENTER. WE FIND OURSELF. UM, I KNOW THIS IS PROBABLY JUST KIND OF, UM, OVERKILL TO NOT OVERKILL BECAUSE IT IS THE TRUTH, BECAUSE OF THE IMPACT, UM, IN AREAS OF WHERE WE HAVE LOST FUNDING. THAT IS WHY WE HAVE INCREASED OUR ASK, UM, THIS YEAR TO YOU ALL. SO THE IMPACT TO OUR FUNDING HAS BEEN FROM THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. UM, WE LEARNED A MONTH AGO THAT WE WERE LOSING ONE OF OUR GRANTS, THAT WE WEREN'T JUST LOSING AN OPERA GRANT THAT COMES THROUGH THE SUBSTANCE ABUSE AND MENTAL HEALTH SYSTEMS ADMINISTRATION, WHICH IS AN ACRONYM SAMHSA THAT MANY PEOPLE KNOW. SO SAMHSA PROVIDES LOTS OF GRANT FUNDING TO MENTAL HEALTH AND SUBSTANCE USE AGENCIES TO DO COMMUNITY PROGRAMS. IT WAS ONE OF OUR, UM, ONE OF OUR GRANTS THAT WE PRETTY MUCH COUNTED ON. UM, IT HAD ALREADY BEEN AWARDED FOR THE 2025 YEAR. AND FOR THE FIRST QUARTER OF 2026, THAT GRANT WAS NOT ONLY TERMINATED, BUT THE FUNDING THAT WAS LEFT, THE $225,000 WAS REVOCATED FOR THE UPCOMING FISCAL YEAR THAT WE HAD. UM, AND I CANNOT TELL YOU OTHER THAN THAT, IT WAS JUST BASED ON, UM, SAMHSA LOSING BILLIONS OF DOLLARS AND OF THE 11 BILLION THAT THEY LOST 1 BILLION IMPACTED PROGRAMS SUCH AS OURS. AND THAT THOSE ARPA GRANTS WERE TERMINATED AND THE REMAINING FUNDING REVOCATED. AND SO WE ARE ASKING FOR YOUR SUPPORT, UM, IN, AND I DID MAKE AN ERROR IN THE, UH, OR SENT YOU THE WRONG COPY OF THE ORIGINAL PROPOSAL IN WHICH WE ASKED FOR $112,500 AND SAID THAT IT WAS HALF OF TWO 50, WHICH WE ALL KNOW THAT IS WRONG. IT WAS HALF OF THE 225,000. AND I DID SEND A CORRECTION TO PINKY AND I'M NOT SURE THAT IF SHE WAS ABLE TO GET THAT TO YOU, I, I UNDERSTAND. AND SO I DO APOLOGIZE FOR THAT. ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS? SALLY? WHAT, WHAT IS YOUR BUDGET FOR EVERYTHING? SO OUR TOTAL BUDGET COME ON, ON DR. COBB HAYES. UM, ACTUALLY FOR LAST YEAR IT WAS 10.4 MILLION. AND BECAUSE OF OUR LOSS OF THE GRANT THIS YEAR, IT ACTUALLY IS DOWN TO 9.4 MILLION. UM, ABOUT 49% OF THAT COMES FROM THE STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA. UM, THAT IS ALSO DOWN ABOUT 3% FROM LAST YEAR. UM, 'CAUSE OBVIOUSLY THEY'RE HAVING STATE FUNDING, STATE FUNDING ISSUES ALSO. UM, SO, UH, ABOUT THE OTHER 52% WILL ACTUALLY COME FROM EARNED REVENUE. UM, AND THAT 49% FROM STATE, FROM THE STATE ACTUALLY COVERS THE, BASICALLY THE $2 MILLION THAT I WRITE OFF EVERY YEAR FROM THOSE SELF-PAY PATIENTS THAT DON'T HAVE PAY, DON'T HAVE ANYTHING MONEY TO PAY. SO. GREAT. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? NO, BUT THANK YOU SO MUCH. YES. THANK YOU FOR COMING. WE APPRECIATE YOU BEING HERE. THANK YOU ALL. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT, MOVING RIGHT ALONG. NEXT UP IS BUFORT SOIL AND WATER DISTRICT, MS. DENISE PAR, ICK. SORRY. THAT'S ALRIGHT. . SORRY. GOOD AFTERNOON. AFTERNOON. DOUBLE DISADVANTAGE. ALMOST LAST ON THE LIST AND DOWN TO THE MINUTES. OKAY. THIS IS THE HARDEST PART. HANG ON ONE SECOND. SHE, HE'S SO BEHIND. WELL, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THIS OPPORTUNITY. UM, THE BEAUFORT CONSERVATION DISTRICT, UH, IS PLEASED TO SAY THAT WE ARE NOT ASKING FOR A WHOLE LOT OF MONEY. UM, I PROMISE YOU WE'RE NOT GONNA USE IT FOR CLASSES ON TECHNOLOGY FOR THE COMMISSIONER. DID YOU HIT THE BUTTON? THERE YOU GO. GO. [02:30:01] OKAY. SO, UH, I AM A COMMISSION WITH BEFOR CONSERVATION DISTRICT, AND I KNOW MANY OF YOU, UM, CURRENTLY THE COUNTY CONTRIBUTION THAT WE RECEIVE, WHICH IS $26,250, PAYS FOR OUR MONTHLY RENT AND OFFICE SPACE. IT'S, IT'S, UM, A ROOM, A STORAGE ROOM IN OUR OFFICE SPACE AT CRYSTAL LAKE PARK. WE ARE VERY HAPPY TO BE AT CRYSTAL LAKE PARK. WE ENJOY HAVING OUR PARTNERS WITH THE, THE DEPARTMENT, THE LAND, UH, PRESERVATION DEPARTMENT. THAT RENT INCLUDES, UM, PHONE, INTERNET, AND ELECTRICITY. IN ADDITION, IT PAYS FOR THE DISTRICT MANAGER. SHE WORKS PART-TIME 25 HOURS A WEEK. HER SALARY IS $15 AN HOUR. WE ALSO HAVE A FEW OFFICE SUPPLIES FROM TIME TO TIME. SO THAT IS THE CONTRIBUTION THAT YOU GIVE US RIGHT NOW. THAT'S WHAT WE USE THE MONEY THAT WE GET FROM YOU. BUT THAT IS NOT ALL OF WHAT WE ARE ABOUT. WE HAVE WRITTEN GRANTS. MANY OF YOU MAY HAVE MET WALTER MACK. UH, AT LAST YEAR'S, OUR PRESENTATION TO YOU, UM, WE, WE HAVE WRITTEN, WE HAVE RECEIVED GRANTS FROM THE NATURE CONSERVANCY IN THE AMOUNT OF $65,000 FROM THE TIME SPAN THAT'S SHOWN. AND THEN, UH, AND WE HAVE WRITTEN, WRITTEN AN ADDITIONAL GRANT TO GET A CONTRIBUTION FROM THE SOUTH CAROLINA ASSOCIATION OF CONSERVATION DISTRICTS, WHICH ALSO GETS THEIR FUNDING FROM NATURAL RESOURCE SERVICES. AND THAT AMOUNT WAS 14,000. ALL OF THAT MONEY HAS GOT TO BE SPENT ON THAT FIELD AGENT OR HIS WORK. UM, IT IS FOR THE FARMERS, THE LANDOWNERS, IT IS AN IMMENSE, IMMENSE OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO HAVE HERE. UM, WE HA HE HAS, UH, FOUND 15 NEW LANDOWNERS THAT HE'S BEEN ABLE TO ASSIST WITH. UM, WE HAVE SEEN, UH, FARM BUREAU MONIES GO TO SOME, SOME OF THE FARM FARMERS IN THE AMOUNT OF $115,000 FOR THIS YEAR. ONLY. HIS, HIS ABILITY TO BE OUT AND ABOUT IN THE COMMUNITY HELPS RECOGNIZE PROBLEMS AHEAD OF WHEN THEY, WHEN THEY MIGHT NORMALLY BE SEEN, SUCH AS EROSION AND DAMAGE FROM STORMS. HE HAS HELPED PEOPLE BY GETTING FARM SERVICE AGENCY FOLKS INTO OUR OFFICE SO THAT WE CAN THEN GET THE FARMER IN. BECAUSE WITHOUT A FARM SERVICE AGENCY NUMBER, WITHOUT A FARM NUMBER, NO FARMER CAN CAN GET ANY OF THE OPPORTUNITIES AFFORDED TO THEM FOR ANY ASSISTANCE, EITHER TAX BREAKS OR FED FEDERAL FUNDINGS OR ANY, ANY NATURE CONSERVANCY MONIES. THEY HAVE TO HAVE A FARM NUMBER. WALTER HAS ALSO BEEN ASKED ALL OVER THE PLACE TO COME AND, UH, DO PRO PROGRAMS. YOU ALL ARE GONNA RECEIVE A BOOK, THE SOUTH CAROLINA WILD, THE SOUTH CAROLINA WILDLIFE MAGAZINE, UM, ON PAGE 50, WALTER AND THE CONSERVATION DISTRICT IS, UM, FEATURED FOR THE, THE WORK THAT HE HAS DONE. UH, I'LL LOOK, KNOW THAT. YOU'LL ENJOY READING THAT. AND BY THE WAY, UM, MR. DAWSON, YOU ASKED WHEN WE PRESENTED THE LAST TIME, YOU WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT MR. MACK WAS GETTING, UH, A SALARY. IN FACT, HE GETS DOUBLE THE SALARY OF ALL OF OUR, UH, ANY OF OUR OTHER EMPLOYEES BECAUSE, BECAUSE OF THE GRANT, IT STIPULATES WHAT HE SHOULD MAKE. AND, UM, SO YOUR QUESTION, ALRIGHT, SO THE MAJORITY OF WHAT WE DO AFFECTS THE STUDENTS AND, AND THE, AND THE PARENT, THE PEOPLE OF BEAUFORT COUNTY. OUR MISSION IS TO PROTECT, PROMOTE AND PRESERVE THE NATURAL RESOURCES. YOU'RE NOT GONNA PROTECT SOMETHING THAT YOU, YOU DON'T KNOW ABOUT AND, AND YOU DON'T LOVE. AND HOW ARE YOU GONNA LEARN TO LOVE SOMETHING IF YOU DON'T KNOW ABOUT IT? AND WE ALL KNOW THAT THERE'S PROBLEMS TODAY WITH KIDS BEING BEHIND THEIR PHONES MORE THAN THEY GET OUTSIDE. AND SO WE ARE VERY PROUD OF THE PROGRAMS WE ARE ABLE TO, UH, PROVIDE. THIS IS THE SOIL TUNNEL. IT IS, IT IS OUR MOST POPULAR PROGRAM FOR OUR YOUNGER STUDENTS. KINDERGARTEN THROUGH SECOND GRADE. YOU SEE THE TABLE IN THE BACKGROUND ON TOP OF THE TABLE ON THE LEFT IS, UH, A A LITTLE PLAY SCHOOL KIND OF THING OF A HOUSE. IN THE MIDDLE IS FOREST AND ON THE RIGHT IS A FARM UNDERNEATH, AS YOU CAN SEE WITH THE LITTLE BOY ON THE LEFT [02:35:01] ARE PANELS UNDERNEATH THE TABLES THAT MATCH WHAT'S UP ON TOP. SO THE STUDENTS GET A FLASHLIGHT AND THEY GET TO CRAWL THROUGH THE TUNNEL. AND OF COURSE WE'VE, WE'VE GIVEN THEM THINGS TO BE LOOKING OUT FOR, UM, AND WHAT THEY THINK THEY MIGHT SEE. AND, AND THEY'LL SEE PAINT, YOU KNOW, PAINTED ON THE THINGS. SEPTIC TANKS. THEY'LL SEE, UH, SNAKES, THEY'LL SEE INSECTS, THEY'LL SEE ALL KINDS OF THINGS UNDERNEATH THOSE VARIOUS THINGS. IT'S, IT'S JUST, IT'S JUST A JOY JUST TO WATCH THEM GO THROUGH. AND THEN IN THAT SAME TIME THAT THEY, THEY ALSO HAVE TO HAVE A CHANCE TO HANDLE WORDS. OKAY. AND OLDER KIDS LIKE WORMS ALSO, WE, WE DO CLASSROOM PRESENTATIONS. TEACHERS REQUEST THE PRESENTATIONS. WE HAVE, UM, SNAKES, TURTLES, DOLPHINS, SHARKS, YOU NAME IT. OUR PRESENTERS ARE ALL EITHER ALL OR HAVE COLLEGE EDUCATIONS. AND MOST ARE MASTER NATURALISTS. OH. UM, THE, OUR PROGRAMS, OUR TEACHER REQUESTED. WE, OUR, UH, EMPLOYEES ARE NOT SITTING AROUND WAITING FOR THE CALL. WE CALL THEM TO COME IN TO DO THE PROGRAM WHEN IT'S REQUESTED FROM THE SCHOOL INSIDE YOUR, UM, MAGAZINES. YOU'LL ALSO SEE JUST A COUPLE EXAMPLES OF MONTHS OF OUR ACTIVITY THAT COMES OUT OF, UM, OF OUR OFFICE. WE'D LOVE TO GET THEM OUTSIDE. THIS WAS AT PORT ROYAL SOUND, UM, FOUNDATION, MARITIME CENTER. WE, WE UTILIZE LOCAL EXPERTS. THIS IS THE BUTTERFLY GUY. UH, AND THESE FOLKS COME AT NO CHARGE FOR THE, AGAIN, FOR THE JOY. AND AS I MENTIONED, WE USE OUR OWN PRESENTERS. ECO CAMP IS OUR POPULAR CAMP. IT'S BEEN, UH, 34 YEARS. UM, WE HAVE BEEN ASKED TO GO AROUND THE STATE TO PRESENT ON HOW WE, HOW WE DO OUR ECO CAMP. UM, AND A PICTURE IS WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS THAT LITTLE GIRL WILL NEVER FORGET THE DAY THAT SHE HELD A LITTLE CHICK OR THAT THE FIRST TIME THEY EVER SAW A GOAT. UH, AND WE HAVE WRITTEN A GRANT FOR BINOCULARS. SO ANY GROUP THAT WE TAKE OUT, UM, FOR EXAMPLE, IN THIS CASE, IT WAS ONE OF OUR EMPLOYEES WHO IS A, A MAT MASTER NATURALIST, HAS A MASTER'S DEGREE AND IS A BIRDER. AND, UH, WHAT, WHAT ELSE COULD YOU ASK FOR? ONE OF THE IMPORTANT THINGS THAT WE DO IS THAT EACH YEAR THE OUTSIDE FOUNDATION TAKES ALL SEVENTH GRADERS IN THE COUNTY OUT ON A KAYAK. NOW THAT IS AN UNBELIEVABLE ADVENTURE. WE SUPPORT THEM BY SENDING OUR EMPLOYEES TO DO A PROGRAM CALLED THE ENVI SCAPE, WHICH TEACHES POINT AND NON-POINT SOURCE POLLUTION. WE ALSO MENTOR GREEN STEP SCHOOLS AND WE PARTICIPATE IN FESTIVALS. I SEE YOU STANDING TO MY RIGHT. . DO MORE AGAIN. YOU HAVE A MINUTE LEFT. ABOUT 50 SECONDS. SORRY. UM, SOCIAL CRAFT FESTIVAL OR JUST SOME, SOME OF THE OTHER FESTIVALS THAT WE ATTEND. ALRIGHT, SO OUR EDUCATION COORDINATOR MAKES $15 AN HOUR. YOU REMEMBER WHAT THE DISTRICT MANAGER MADE? THE EDUCATION SPECIALIST? ALL, THAT'S WHAT WE CALL ALL OF OUR PEOPLE THAT GO OUT AND TEACH CLASSES. MAKE 1450 AN HOUR. THIS IS ON THE RIGHT. YOU'LL SEE WHAT THE SALARIES ARE GOING FOR A CAMP COUNSELOR, A HEAD CAMP COUNSELOR, WHICH WOULD BE LIKE OUR EDUCATION COORDINATOR. AND WHAT A REGULAR CAMP COUNSELOR, A PART-TIME, PROBABLY COLLEGE KID FOR THE SUMMER IS GONNA BE MAKING. WE ARE ONLY ASKING FOR IT. IT SOUNDS LIKE A LOT 'CAUSE IT'S A HUGE PERCENTAGE BECAUSE WE JUST ASK FOR SO LITTLE TO BEGIN WITH. BUT, UM, WE WOULD LIKE TO RAISE A SALARY BY A A DOLLAR AN HOUR, A DOLLAR AN HOUR. AND OF COURSE, YOU KNOW, THAT COMES WITH ALL THE FICA AND ALL THOSE OTHER THINGS. UM, SO THAT WE CAN CONTINUE TO DO FESTIVALS SO WE CAN CONTINUE TO SUPPORT THE SEVENTH GRADERS IN THEIR KAYAKS SO THAT WE CAN CONTINUE TO HELP EVERYBODY LOVE, UM, BEAUFORT COUNTY AND APPRECIATE IT AND WANNA TAKE CARE OF IT. OKAY. OKAY. DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? NOT FAIR. , I HAVE A QUESTION FOR HER. IN YOUR, UM, IN YOUR DIALOGUE YOU SENT US, IT SAYS, WITHOUT ADDITIONAL FUNDING, YOU'LL MAKE THESE CHANGES, GIVE UP COMMUNITY OUTREACH FESTIVALS, INCREASE AMOUNT REQUESTED, BLAH [02:40:01] BLAH, ELIMINATE CLASSROOM PRESENTATIONS SOUTH OF THE BROAD, AND I WOULD CAUTION YOU TO BE CAREFUL WHEN YOU SAY WE'RE GONNA SERVICE NORTH TO NORTH ABROAD, NOT SOUTH. I UNDERSTAND, BUT THE OTHER PART WAS THE FESTIVALS YOU WOULD ELIMINATE. IN YOUR PRESENTATION IT SAYS THE STATE FUNDING COVERS THE FESTIVALS. THAT'S WHAT YOU HAD UP THERE. WE HAD THAT AT 25,000. OKAY. SEE THERE AGAIN, IN, IN TRYING TO BE BRIEF, THE, THE STATE FUNDING THAT WE GET IS $25,000. CORRECT. AND YES, IT GOES TOWARDS OUR THING, BUT 25,000 IS ALL WE CAN GET FOR THE STATE EV THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES, WHICH ALSO CONTRIBUTES TO A LOT OF OTHER THINGS. UM, THEY GIVE THE SAME AMOUNT TO EVERY COUNTY. DOESN'T MATTER IF YOU'RE THE BIGGEST, THE SMALLEST, THE RICHEST, THE POOREST, THE MOST ACTIVE OR NO ACTIVE. THERE'S NO WAY OF ASKING FOR MORE MONEY. THERE'S NO WAY OF EARNING MORE MONEY FROM THE STATE. SO THE STATE IS OUR BASELINE DATA. THAT'S WHY WE NOW ARE COMING TO YOU. THAT IN ADDITION TO JUST PAYING FOR THE PERSON IN THE OFFICE AND THE OFFICE BUILDING, THAT WE WANT YOU TO HELP US DO THE CONSERVATION THINGS THAT WE DO OUT IN THE FIELD WITH THE PEOPLE. WELL, I WOULD JUST SUGGEST YOU CHANGE YOUR SLIDE THAT SAYS DNR ANNUAL SUPPORT COVERS THE BUDGET FOR ALL EDUCATION, CLASSROOM PRESENTATIONS, FESTIVALS, AND COMMUNITY EVENTS. THAT'S YOUR SLIDE. SO THAT CONTRADICTS WHAT YOU WROTE AND I'M NOT UNDERSTANDING THAT. OKAY. I'M OKAY. JUST A CLARIFICATION. THEY, THEY DO WHAT WE, WHAT WE DO NOW, THEY DO DO IT ALL NOW WITH THAT SALARY. BUT IF TO INCREASE THE SALARY, WE CAN'T INCREASE OUR STATE FUNDS. DO YOU SEE THAT? I UNDERSTAND. THANK YOU. AND I'M SORRY ABOUT SAYING ANYTHING ABOUT SOUTH OF THE BROAD. IT'S SIMPLY ABOUT MILEAGE MOSTLY AND THE LENGTH OF TIME IT TAKES TO GET THERE. AGAIN, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE OF OUR LIMITED BUDGET. THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION. SPARSE. THANK YOU FOR COMING. APPRECIATE YOUR PRESENTATION. SURE. OKAY. WE'RE GONNA ASK THE LAST TWO TO MAYBE LIMIT IT TO FIVE MINUTES A PIECE, UM, SO WE CAN GET THROUGH THE LAST TWO PRESENT PRESENTERS. ALL RIGHT. UM, KEEP BEAUFORT COUNTY BEAUTIFUL, MR. JEAN Z AND CHRIS CAMPBELL. GOOD AFTERNOON EVERYONE. I KNOW YOU'RE TIRED AND I'M SORRY CHRIS, THANK YOU FOR ALL YOU DO. UH, I'M GONNA REALLY JUST TURN IT OVER TO JEAN. KEEP BEAUFORT COUNTY BEAUTIFUL. WE, WE, YOU KNOW, WE TRY, WE'RE BEAUTIFICATION, WE'RE LITTER CONTROL, WASTE REDUCTION, PLASTICS. YOU KNOW, WHAT WE'RE ALL TRYING TO DO. SO I'M, I'M NOT GOING TO TAKE ANY MORE TIME. I HAD A LOT TO SAY, BUT WE WERE OUTTA TIME. THANK YOU. WE'RE START, I WAS KIND OF COUNTING ON A LITTLE BIT MORE INTRODUCTION THAN THAT, . THAT'S OKAY. THAT'S OKAY. WE'LL GET THERE. UM, SO TO GET THROUGH THE, THE SLIDES, REALLY THE, UM, IF YOU GO TO THE THIRD ONE, UM, JUST A REALLY BRIEF, WHAT DID WE GET DONE THIS YEAR? UM, AND I, WE HAVE TO GO BACK A LITTLE BIT. I JOINED, UM, IN DECEMBER. UH, FIRST MEETING WAS IN FEBRUARY, REALLY. UM, AND CHRIS HAS BEEN WONDERFUL TO, UH, BRING ME ON BOARD AND HELP, YOU KNOW, KIND OF GET SOME, BRING SOME NEW ENERGY TO IT. UM, SO THE, THE TEAM HAS DONE SOME WORK AT, UM, UH, PLANNING AND IMPLEMENTING NEW DRIVEWAY AND LANDSCAPE AT DALE COMMUNITY CENTER. UH, UH, CREPE MERLE, UH, INSTALLATION, UH, IN DALE ALSO. UM, WE'VE BEEN ACTIVELY SUPPORTING THE SINGLE USE PLASTIC, UM, CONVERSATION, TRYING TO HELP UNDERSTAND THAT LEGISLATION AND WHERE THAT'S WHERE THAT'S GONNA GO. UM, WE SPONSORED A WATER BUGGY. UH, YOU'VE NEVER SEEN A WATER BUGGY. IT IS A WATER CONTAINER THAT'S PULLED BEHIND A PICKUP TRUCK. IT'S 3000 GALLONS. YOU PULL IT UP TO A EVENT AND YOU NO LONGER HAND OUT OR SELL PLASTIC BOTTLES. SO WE'RE REDUCING PLASTIC, WE'RE REDUCING LITTER. THAT IS A WONDERFUL INVESTMENT THAT YOU GUYS HAVE MADE. WE'RE DOING WITH, WITH UAN. AND UH, WE'RE CO-SPONSORING IT FOR TWO YEARS AND SO WE GET TO USE IT. SO THAT'S A REALLY GOOD INVESTMENT. UM, WE'RE ALSO KIND OF BRINGING NEW ENERGY INTO WHAT IS, UH, KEEP, UH, BEAUFORT COUNTY BEAUTIFUL. ONE OF THEM THAT'S NOT ON THE LIST HERE IS CHRIS AND I, UM, WENT UP TO DC TO THE NATIONAL CONFERENCE FOR KEEP AMERICA. BEAUTIFUL. AND THERE WERE ABOUT 400 PEOPLE THERE. SOUTH CAROLINA DELEGATION WAS ABOUT 25 PEOPLE. IT WAS AWESOME. WE WENT TO VISIT LEGISLATION LEGISLATORS ON BOTH SIDES OF THE, UM, HOUSE AND THE SENATE HAD OUR CHANCE TO TALK FOR A COUPLE MINUTES WITH THE LEGISLATOR ABOUT WHAT IS KEEP AMERICA BEAUTIFUL AND HOW ARE WE DOING OUR SUPPORT HERE IN, IN SOUTH CAROLINA. SO I THINK IT'S, WE IT WAS A GREAT TRIP AND ABSOLUTELY WORTH OUR TIME TO GO. YOU GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. UM, ONE OF THE QUESTIONS THAT WAS ASKED THAT I DID A POOR JOB OF PROVIDING [02:45:01] INFORMATION, PINKY, I APOLOGIZE FOR THAT, UM, WAS WHAT HAVE WE DONE WITH THE MONEY THAT WE DID LAST YEAR? I HAD SOME OF THE DETAILS, THE BIG THINGS THAT WE ACCOMPLISHED, BUT I WANTED TO JUST VERY QUICKLY, Y'ALL GAVE US $50,000 LAST YEAR. WE DIDN'T REALLY GET OUR ACT TOGETHER TILL ABOUT FEBRUARY. SO SINCE FEBRUARY WE'VE BEEN KIND OF PULLING OUR PLANS TOGETHER AND WE'VE BEEN, WE'VE BEEN SPENDING SOME OF THAT MONEY, WE THINK, UH, IN A GOOD WAY. UM, WE ORIGINALLY GOT $50,000. WE THOUGHT THAT IN APRIL WE COULD SPEND 39. IN THE END, A BIG PART OF OUR BEAUTIFICATION PROJECTS HAVE BEEN DELAYED BECAUSE OF PERMITTING PROBLEMS. AND AGAIN, WE'RE WORKING THROUGH HOW DO WE GET PERMITS DONE BETTER NEXT TIME AND NEXT YEAR WE WILL HAVE THAT PROCESS DOWN. WE'VE ALREADY WORKED WITH PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT. THEY'RE THE ONES WHO ARE GONNA PULL THE PERMITS FOR US. 'CAUSE REALLY CHRIS AND I CAN'T DO THAT. UM, I WANTED TO ADD THAT ALSO WE'VE BEEN WORKING WITH THE PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT FOR PROCUREMENT. THEY'VE GOT A, A GOOD PORTION OF OUR ACTIONS ARE IN FRONT OF THEM. WE'VE APPROVED WHAT WE WANNA BUY AND NOW THE PUBLIC WORKS FOLKS IS, ARE WORKING THROUGH THAT. SO IT'S A, UM, SOME MARKETING MATERIALS. IT'S SOME PLANTING MATERIALS FOR NEXT YEAR, UM, ET CETERA. UM, IF YOU WANNA SEE WHICH OF THE COMMITTEES ARE DOING WHAT WORK, I KIND OF PUT THAT AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE HERE, A LITTLE BIT OF AN EYE CHART. BUT YOU'VE GOT, UM, UH, WRITTEN DOCUMENTS IN FRONT OF YOU AS WELL. SO WHAT DO WE WANNA DO? UM, IN 26? UM, WE WANNA PROVIDE SUPPORT FOR, UH, LITTER PICKUP. UH, THE COUNTY DOES A GOOD JOB. UM, CHRIS AND I WERE BOTH PART OF THE, UM, EARTH DAY EVENT WHERE THE COUNTY ORCHESTRATED ACROSS THE WHOLE COUNTY AND WE WENT OUT AND PICKED UP LITTER LIKE EVERYBODY ELSE. AND IT WAS GREAT. UM, HOWEVER, WE HAVE THIS IDEA THAT WE'D LIKE TO FOUR TIMES A YEAR IN FRONT OF MAJOR EVENTS, PROBABLY MEMORIAL DAY HOLIDAY, PROBABLY BEFORE THE, UM, UH, GOLF TOURNAMENT. UH, AND WHAT OTHER BIG EVENTS? UM, DO A SWEEP OF THE COUNTY. AND WE WOULD DO THAT, UH, BY AUGMENTING THE COUNTY'S CAPABILITIES. AND WE WOULD BUY A CONTRACTOR TO DO THAT WORK. SO WE WOULD PAY A CONTRACTOR TO DO A SWEEP AT VARIOUS TIMES OF THE YEAR. WE'RE THINKING RIGHT NOW FOUR. UH, BUT THAT'S ONE OF THE, THE BIGGEST, UH, ITEMS IN THE, UM, IN THE, UH, BUDGET REQUEST. WE ALSO HAVE A HANDFUL OF BEAUTIFICATION PROJECTS AND WE'VE GOT SPECIFIC DETAILS FOR EACH PLANTS AS WELL. YOU, YOU SHOULD HAVE DOCUMENTATION ON THAT. UM, WE WANNA INSTALL SOME NEW SIGNS IN THE COUNTY, THE BUSIEST ROAD IN THE COUNTY, 2 78, THE BEAUFORT COUNTY SIGN IS THIS BIG. IF YOU'RE DRIVING BY IT, YOU, YOU ALMOST CAN'T SEE IT. AND IT'S AN OLD STATE SIGN, SO IT'S HORRIBLE. WE WANNA REPLACE THAT. AND, AND CHRIS HAS BEEN WORKING WITH SOME OTHER SIGNS. YOU PROBABLY HEARD HIM TALK LAST YEAR ABOUT, WE WANNA PUT SOME, UH, REALLY CUSTOM SIGNS THAT REALLY KIND OF GO BACK TO THE HISTORY OF WHAT THE COUNTY IS ALL ABOUT. ON, ON OTHER PARTS OF THE, UH, COUNTY. I THINK THOSE ARE, THOSE ARE BOTH NORTH OF BROAD, UM, EDUCATION AND OUTREACH. UM, KEEP BEAUFORT KIND OF BEAUTIFUL, HAS BEEN KIND OF QUIET AND NOT REALLY VISIBLE. UM, WE WANNA CHANGE THAT. UM, WE'VE BEEN TO MANY MORE EVENTS IN THE PAST FEW MONTHS. WE WANT TO GET OUT THERE AND PARTICIPATE WITH A LOT OF DIFFERENT ORGANIZATIONS. UM, OUR PLAN IS TO BE AT OR SPONSOR 12 EVENTS, UH, ONE A MONTH FOR THE WHOLE, NOT LITERALLY ONE A MONTH, BUT 12 EVENTS FOR THE YEAR. SO WE WILL CO-SPONSOR IT OR WE WILL SET UP A TABLE AND WE WILL BE OUT IN THE, IN THE, UH, COMMUNITY, WORKING WITH THE COMMUNITY. UM, WE ALSO HAVE BEEN WORKING A LOT WITH THE, UH, PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT AND, AND RECYCLING. AND WE'VE, OUR BIGGEST RECYCLING ACTIVITY WE WANNA TAKE ON NEXT YEAR IS WE WANT TO FIGURE OUT HOW DO WE GET ACTIVELY ENGAGED IN SCHOOLS. IF WE CAN CAPTURE THE MINDS OF THE FIFTH, SIXTH, SEVENTH YEAR OLD SEVENTH GRADERS, WE CAN PROBABLY CAPTURE THEM FOR THE REST OF THEIR LIVES. AND I DON'T THINK WE'RE DOING MUCH OF ANYTHING RIGHT NOW. I HAVE A QUESTION, PLEASE. SINCE I'M THE LATEST LIAISON AND I WASN'T AT THE LAST MEETING, I APOLOGIZE. I WAS OUTTA TOWN. UH, WHEN IS YOUR NEXT MEETING? 'CAUSE I LIKE TO GO OVER THIS WHOLE THING. THIS WHOLE I ALL THE IDEALS YOU'VE HAD. OKAY. SINCE WE DON'T REALLY HAVE TIME TO DISCUSS EVERYTHING. SO WHEN IS THE NEXT BOARD MEETING? UH, IT'S JUNE SOMETHING. YEAH. JUNE. JUNE 12TH I BELIEVE. 12TH. YEAH. AND DO YOU GUYS KNOW WHERE IT'S GONNA BE? 'CAUSE WE'RE ALL SPREAD OUT EVERYWHERE HERE. OH, IT'S, IT'S IN THE OTHER, IT'S ALWAYS BEEN IN OTHER BUILDING. ARTHUR HORN BUILDING. I'M NOT SURE WHERE WE'RE GOING. OH, BECAUSE OF THE CONSTRUCTION? YEAH, BECAUSE WE DON'T, WON'T HAVE IT WHERE WE NORMALLY HAVE IT 'CAUSE IT'S UNDER CONSTRUCTION. OKAY. THANKS A LOT. SO WE HAVE A, YEAH, LET'S TALK ABOUT IT THEN. 'CAUSE WE'D LOVE TO, WE HAVE A, WE, WE HAVE A FULL AGENDA FOR THAT MEETING, SO MAYBE WE CAN TALK ABOUT ANOTHER WAY TO OH, OKAY. ENGAGE. WE'RE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT, NOT HOW DO WE CATCH UP, BUT HOW DO WE GET AHEAD. OKAY. AND THIS YEAR WE HAVE ABSOLUTELY BEEN TRYING TO CATCH UP, RIGHT? WE HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO SPEND THE SMALL BUDGET THAT YOU GAVE US. WE'VE GOT GREAT PLANS, WE WANNA DO MORE THINGS, UH, GOING INTO NEXT YEAR. UM, BUT YOU KNOW, WE'VE, WE'VE, I'VE GIVEN YOU [02:50:01] A LIST OF SPECIFICALLY WHICH PROJECTS WE WANNA TAKE ON, WHERE THEY ARE, WHAT WE WANNA DO, UM, ALL KINDS OF DETAILS, UH, MUCH AS YOU CAN POSSIBLY CONSUME. UM, AND THAT'S, THAT'S IT. SORRY. ALRIGHT. I KNOW WE'RE SHORT ON TIME, SO WE GOOD? YOU'RE GOOD. GREAT. THANK YOU. COUNCIL HAS MORE QUESTIONS. WILLIE MELIAN. OKAY. THAT'D BE GREAT. OKAY. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. ALL RIGHT. LAST BUT NOT LEAST ISLAND REC CENTER, MR. FRANK. WELL, THANK YOU. APOLOGIZE. REALLY CRUSHING OUT WITH ALL THE FOLKS FROM HILTON HAD HER HERE. THAT'S RIGHT. SO BEFORE I WAS ABLE JUST GONNA BE ABLE TO DO IT ON TV, FIVE MINUTES OR LESS. UM, I HOPEFULLY THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO COME SPEAK TODAY. REAL QUICK IS THAT I, I'M HOPING THAT DURING YOUR BUDGET CON UH, UH, CON, UH, DURING TALKS THAT YOU WOULD CONSIDER FUNDING IS A FULL LEVEL THAT WE REQUESTED, WHICH WAS 225,000. I'M NOT GONNA DO MY ON MY REPORT OR ANYTHING. I'M JUST GONNA ASK Y'ALL IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS. WE JUST PASSED OUT OUR ANNUAL REPORT AS PART OF OUR, UH, WHICH WAS PART OF OUR THING. BUT JUST TO LET YOU KNOW THAT WE HAD OVER 645,000 PARTICIPANT VISITS AT THE ISLAND REC CENTER IN OUR PROGRAMS THIS YEAR. WE ALSO HAD OVER 77,000 PARTICIPANTS THAT CAME TO THE POOL. AND AT THE POOL WE PROVIDED SWIM LESSONS. AND WITH YOUR HELP FROM THIS YEAR, WE'RE ABLE TO PROVIDE SWIM LESSONS YEAR ROUND. AND WE ALSO HAD A NEW OPPORTUNITY WITH THE BLUFFTON POOL BEING CLOSED. PLEASE REMEMBER THAT THE ISLAND REC CENTER POOL IS THE ONLY PUBLIC POOL SOUTH OF ABROAD CURRENTLY. BUT HAVING SAID THAT, WE ARE ABLE TO ALSO ABLE TO PROVIDE SWIM LESSONS TO, UH, SCHOOLS IN BLUFFTON. WE PROVIDED TO, UM, MICHAEL C. RILEY AND, UH, RIDGE, RI RIVER RIDGE ACADEMY. SO WE PROVIDED OVER 280 CHILDREN IN SECOND GRADE, UH, WITH SWIM LESSONS. AND PART OF THAT WAS BEING ABLE TO DO THAT IN THE WINTER MONTHS. UM, WE'RE ASKING TO JUST BE ABLE TO KEEP UP. OUR STARTING PAY AT THE ISLAND REC CENTER FOR A LIFEGUARD IS 15 COUNTY STARTING PAY IS 19. ALLS WE'RE DOING WITH THE EXTRA, UH, $25,000 IS ASKING TO KEEP UP. WE ALSO HAVE ASKED FOR FUNDING FOR OUR SCHOLARSHIP FUND. LAST YEAR WE, UH, TWO YEARS AGO IT WAS 217. THIS YEAR WAS $250,000 THAT WE PROVIDED TO CHILDREN MAJORITY THAT WENT TO OUR CHILDCARE PROGRAM WITH OVER $226,000 THERE. SHORT AND SWEET. I WAS PROBABLY THE BEST PERSON TO GO LAST 'CAUSE I CAN DO IT VERY QUICKLY. UM, I HAVE, UM, ANY QUESTIONS? GO AHEAD. SO IF YOU RECALL LAST YEAR, THE MAJORITY OF COUNCIL VOTED TO GIVE YOU $50,000, WHICH WAS A 34% INCREASE WHEN OTHER OUTSIDE AGENCIES GOT 5%. AND THE EXPLANATION AS PROVIDED BY OUR ADMINISTRATION WAS MC RILEY WAS CLOSED AND THAT WOULD AFFORD THOSE PEOPLE THE OPPORTUNITY TO COME TO YOUR CENTER. HOW MANY PEOPLE FROM MC RILEY, BECAUSE IT WAS CLOSED, CAME TO THE REC CENTER? I, I DON'T KNOW HOW MANY PEOPLE FROM BLUFFTON BECAUSE, UH, I CAN LOOK THAT UP FOR YOU, BUT I KNOW THAT WE DID MC RI WE DID HOST TWO OF THE SCHOOLS FOR SWIM LESSONS THAT WOULD'VE GONE THERE. AND THAT POOL IS STILL CLOSED. OKAY. THE POOL WILL BE OPENING JUNE 1ST, BUT OKAY, SO 34% INCREASE LAST YEAR. NOW YOU'RE ASKING FOR 12% MORE AND YOU USE THE SAME THOUGHTS AGAIN. UH, OFFSET LIFEGUARD SWIM INSTRUCTORS AND RISING COST OF POOL CHEMICALS. SO THAT WOULD BE A 46% INCREASE IN TWO YEARS, WHICH IS WAY ABOVE ANY OTHER EXTERNAL AGENCY. SURE. BUT WE'RE TRYING TO KEEP UP WITH THE COUNTY AND THE COUNTY, UH, PAYROLL THAT THEY'RE OFFERING. I SAID THAT EARLIER, OUR STARTING PAY FOR A LIFEGUARD IS ONLY $15. YOURS IS 19. WE'D LIKE TO BE ABLE TO CRE INCREASE THAT WITH YOUR HELP. WE'LL BE ABLE TO DO THAT. ALSO, UH, THE COST OF PROPANE, OBVIOUSLY A COLD WINTER THIS YEAR. THE COST OF PROPANE HAS GONE UP FOR US. WE ALSO SEE THE COST OF CHEMICALS GOING UP ON A REGULAR BASIS AND OUR SCHOLARSHIP FUNDING. AND I UNDERSTAND ALL THAT. OKAY. SO THAT, I MEAN, YOU'VE ASKED ME TO JUSTIFY, SO I I THOUGHT I JUST YEAH, I UNDERSTAND THAT. I HAVE SIX POOLS IN SUN CITY. I GET IT RIGHT. BUT MY, MY COMMENT TO MY WHOLE GROUP HERE IS, UM, YOU KNOW, WE KEPT HEARING FEDERALS REDUCING FUNDS, STATES REDUCING FUNDS. SO EVERYBODY'S ASKING COUNTY AND WHERE DO THE COUNTY COME, FUNDS COME FROM MILLAGE FROM OUR RESIDENTS. SO EVERYTHING'S PUSHING DOWN, COMPRESSING AND WE'RE TRYING TO KEEP MILLAGE LEVEL. SO THAT IS WHY EVERYONE'S PRESENTING AND WHY I ASK THESE QUESTIONS. WE'RE TRYING TO NOT RAISE MILLAGE ON OUR RESIDENTS, WHICH MEANS EVERYONE HAS TO TIGHTEN THEIR BELT, PERIOD. WE HAVE TO, EVERYBODY THAT PRESENTED TODAY, IT WAS GREAT TO HEAR IT ALL, BUT THIS ADDS UP TO $3 MILLION FOR THESE AGENCIES. AND I JUST SUGGEST TO MY COUNCIL MEMBERS, WE HAVE TO BE FISCALLY RESPONSIBLE. MR. CHAIRMAN? MR. CHAIRMAN? YEAH. LAST, LAST QUESTION, FRANK, I DON'T HAVE ANY QUESTIONS. I JUST WOULD LIKE TO MAKE A STATEMENT OF, UH, SUPPORT FOR [02:55:01] YOUR OPERATION ON HILTON HEAD. UM, THE ISLAND REC CENTER SERVES RESIDENTS OF BUFORD COUNTY FROM HILTON HEAD, BLUFFTON, AND THE OTHER SURROUNDING AREAS. THE COUNTY DOES NOT HAVE ANY SPECIFIC SEPARATE FREESTANDING COMMUNITY RECREATION BUILDING AND OR STAFF ON HILTON HEAD. THE ONLY FACILITY SERVING THE PEOPLE WHO USE IT IS THE ISLAND REC CENTER. UH, ALL AGE GROUPS, UH, USE THIS FACILITY FROM YOUNG CHILDREN TO SENIOR CITIZENS. AND I'LL COUNT MYSELF AS ONE OF THOSE AND YOU CAN PICK THE CATEGORY. THE FACILITIES THAT SERVE OUR RESIDENTS ARE SUPERB AND THEY ARE VERY EXPENSIVE TO MAINTAIN. AS YOU STATED, OVER 6,640 5,000 VISITS WERE RECORDED LAST YEAR IN ALL YOUR PROGRAMS AND ACTIVITIES. THE OPPORTUNITIES, UM, THAT ARE OFFERED, UH, FOR OUR FOUR EXERCISE AND RECREATION INCLUDE THE YEAR-ROUND POOL, THE YEAR-ROUND POOL, THE GYM, THE INDOOR TRACK, THE TENNIS AND PICKLEBALL COURTS. THE TENNIS COURTS WERE USED BY 2,700 PEOPLE LAST YEAR AND THIS IS A REMARKABLE NUMBER. THE PICKLEBALL COURTS 29,250 PARTICIPANTS. ADDITIONALLY, THERE ARE MEETING ROOMS AVAILABLE FOR RESIDENTS USE. THE MAJORITY OF THE BUDGET FOR YOUR OPERATION IS PROVIDED BY THE TOWN OF HILTON HEAD BY DONATIONS AND BY FUNDRAISING EVENTS. I DON'T THINK THIS IS AN UNREASONABLE REQUEST AND I FULLY SUPPORT THIS REQUEST AND I CONGRATULATE YOU FOR THE GOOD WORK YOU'RE DOING FOR THE RESIDENTS OF BEAUFORT COUNTY WHO HAPPEN TO LIVE IN HILTON HEAD AND BLUFFTON. THAT'S RIGHT. THANK YOU. AND LEMME JUST CLOSE BY SAYING, FRANK, I THINK YOU GUYS DO A GREAT JOB. I'VE ALWAYS BEEN A BIG SUPPORTER, LIVED IN HILTON HEAD FOR SIX YEARS BEFORE COMING TO BLUFFTON. SO AGAIN, UM, I ALSO SUPPORT EVERYTHING THAT YOU DO AS, AS, UH, AS, AS THE REC CENTER FOR HILTON HEAD AND, AND THEN ALLOWING EVERYONE FROM BLUFFTON TO COME AS WELL. SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR BEING HERE. CHAIRMAN. YES. MAY I JUST ADD ONE THING? YES, GO AHEAD. SORRY ABOUT THAT. MR. SOWELL, THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE. I KNOW WE'RE GONNA COME BACK TO YOU, YOU'LL COME BACK TO US WITH MORE BECAUSE WE'RE LIMITED TIME, BUT WE SUPPORT AND I SUPPORT MR. MCKELLAN TALKED ABOUT, WE TALK ABOUT INCORPORATED ON THE ISLAND UNINCORPORATED. YOU DO AN AWFUL LOT FOR OVER THE BRIDGE AS WELL AND WE APPRECIATE THAT. THANK YOU. THANK YOU SIR. SORRY, MR. CHAIRMAN, BEFORE WE END AND WE'RE DONE, TIM, UM, MS. HARRIET HAS SOMETHING TO SPEAK ABOUT THE PUBLIC DEFENDER BECAUSE SHE DID NOT PRESENT AND WE DID NOT LOOK AT HER BUDGET. AND I CAUGHT IT IN THE BUDGET DOCUMENTS THIS WEEKEND. CORRECT. UM, THE PUBLIC DEFENDER WAS SUPPOSED TO PRESENT BACK IN APRIL AND THEN WAS NOT ABLE TO, UH, PRESENT. SO WE HAD ORIGINALLY BUDGETED, UM, UH, 70% OF WHAT WE WERE PROVIDING THE SOLICITOR BASED ON THOSE TWO ENTITIES DISCUSSIONS TOGETHER. UM, BUT RECENTLY, UH, AS OF THIS AFTERNOON WE RECEIVED A REQUEST FOR 2.5, WHICH IS NOT WHAT WE HAD ORIGINALLY APPROPRIATED FOR THE PUBLIC DEFENDER. WE HAD APPROPRIATED THE 70% BASED ON THE DISCUSSIONS WE'D HAVE WITH BOTH PARTIES. SO IT'S A LITTLE OVER $1.9 MILLION IS WHAT WE HAVE ALREADY BUILT INTO THE BUDGET. AND IF IT'S YOUR DESIRE TO HAVE HER COME PRESENT AGAIN OR TRY TO REPRESENT, WE CAN DO THAT AT THE NEXT, UH, COUNCIL MEETING. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. UM, ALRIGHT, [12. REAPPOINTMENT OF STEVEN GREEN TO THE ACCOMMODATIONS TAX (2% STATE) BOARD FOR A FOUR-YEAR TERM WITH THE EXPIRATION DATE OF FEBRUARY 2029.] LET'S, UH, MOVE ON TO OUR FINAL, UM, UH, ITEM WHICH IS REAPPOINT, UH, OF REAPPOINTMENT OF STEPHEN GREEN TO THE ACCOMMODATIONS TAX. A 2% BOARD FOR FOUR YEAR TERM WITH THE EXPIRATION DATE OF FEBRUARY, 2029. CAN I HAVE A MOTION FOR THAT PLEASE? I'LL MAKE A MOTION. I'LL SECOND. SECOND. ALL RIGHT. UM, AND ANY OBJECTION, ANY DISCUSSION? UM, I JUST WANNA SAY I CHECKED WITH MEMBERS OF THE ATEX COMMITTEE AND THEY RECOMMEND HIS RE HIS REAPPOINTMENT. THANK YOU, MS. TABER. AND, UH, ANY MORE DISCUSSION? SEEING NO DISCUSSION, WE WILL PASS THIS WITHOUT OBJECTION. IS THERE ANY OBJECTION? AND THERE IS NO OBJECTION. UH, WE WILL ADJOURN THIS MEETING. UM, WE APPRECIATE EVERYONE'S PATIENCE AND IT'S TAKING LONGER AND A LOT OF PEOPLE COME OUT TO US AND, UH, THEIR, THEIR CAUSES ARE VERY IMPORTANT. THAT'S WHY WE TRY TO GIVE THEM AS MUCH TIME AS WE DO. AND WE APOLOGIZE FOR EVERYONE THAT WE CUT SHORT TODAY AS WE GOT NEAR THE END. BUT AGAIN, THANK YOU FOR COMING OUT. UM, WE'RE GONNA TAKE A FIVE MINUTE BREAK. SO, UH, WE WILL BE STARTING, UM, AT, UH, SIX MINUTES AFTER FIVE. * This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.