* 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, UH, HERE PRESENT WITH US THIS MORNING. AND THOSE WHO, UH, WILL WATCH LATER ON TODAY OR DURING THE WEEK. THANK YOU FOR YOUR INTEREST. UH, ALL THAT WE SAY AND DO IS TO TO, TO BETTER SERVE YOU. SO AS WE GO FORWARD, WE REALIZE YOU HAVE A VESTED INTEREST. UH, AND SO WE THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRESENCE HERE. UH, CAN I GET A MOTION TO, UH, THE ADOPT THE, UH, AGENDA FOR TODAY? SO MOVED. SECOND. PROPERLY MOVED. AND SECOND THAT WE ADOPT THE, UH, UH, AGENDA FOR TODAY. AND WE WILL PROCEED. ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. AYE. AYE. ALRIGHT. OPPOSES. THERE'LL BE NONE. WE HAVE A FULL AGENDA TODAY AND WE, WE VALUE YOUR TIME WHERE WE'RE GONNA BE CERTAIN THAT WE, UM, MOVE FORWARD IT AS EXPEDITIOUSLY AS AS POSSIBLE. UH, THE MINUTES FOR THE LAST MEETING HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR YOUR RECEIPT AND YOUR READING. UH, HOW SHOULD WE PROCEED? MOVE FOR APPROVAL. SECOND. ALRIGHT, PROPERLY MOVED. AND SECOND FOR THE APPROVAL OF THE LAST, UM, UM, MONTH MEETING. ALL IN FAVOR. LET BE KNOWN BY THE SIGN OF AYE. AYE. ALRIGHT. SO WE HAVE, UM, SOME PRESENTATIONS HERE TODAY. UH, THANKFULLY I DON'T HAVE TO DO A WHOLE LOT OF TALKING IN THIS MEETING. UH, THE PRESENTATION TODAY FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, UNFINISHED BUSINESS AND NEW BUSINESS, UH, WE WILL BE CHAMPIONED BY KIM. SO LET'S FIRST START, UM, WITH OUR PRESENTATIONS FROM, UH, THE REPORT OF THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. UH, MR. CHAIR. GOOD MORNING, UH, BOARD, GOOD MORNING. COMMUNITY, UH, BOTH AT PRESENT HERE WITH US TODAY, IN PERSON AND THOSE WATCHING, UM, OR STREAMING ONLINE. THANK YOU ALL FOR BEING HERE. THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENDANCE. UM, I WOULD LIKE TO BEGIN, UM, THE MONTHLY EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S REPORT, UM, BY SPEAKING ABOUT OUR, SOME ONGOING WORK THAT WE HAVE BEEN ENGAGED IN BOTH, UH, ONE, THE FIRST ORDER OF BUSINESS BEING THE COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION ACTIVE IN DISASTER. UH, WE TALKED A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THAT, UM, IN OUR SEPTEMBER MEETING. UM, AND WE WILL HAVE A PRESENT, A BRIEF PRESENTATION, UM, HERE LATER IN THE AGENDA BY OUR EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT DIRECTOR, MR. TOM DUNN, WHO'S PRESENT WITH US TODAY. BUT, UM, THIS PARTICULAR, UM, GROUP IS, IS A GROUP THAT HAS BEEN MEETING BIWEEKLY DURING THE, UH, HURRICANE SEASON, WHICH WILL TRANSITION TO A MONTHLY MEETING, UH, NOW THAT WE HAVE MOVED, UH, THROUGH HURRICANE SEASON. AND WITH OUR FINGERS CROSSED, HOPEFULLY WE DON'T EXPERIENCE ANY LATE SEASON STORMS. BUT THE PURPOSE OF THIS PARTICULAR GROUP IS, IS TO BEGIN TO MANAGE RESOURCES AND TO BUILD A COALITION THAT CAN SUPPORT, UM, THE COMMUNITY OUTSIDE OF OUR PUDS IN THE EVENT THAT WE HAVE, UM, ANY TYPE OF STORM, YOU KNOW, ANY DISASTER THAT DOES NOT NECESSARILY, EVEN THOSE THAT DON'T MEET FEDERAL DESIGNATION. THOSE ARE SOME OF THE STORMS THAT, UM, UNFORTUNATELY NEGATIVELY IMPACT OUR COMMUNITY. UM, AND SO, UM, JUST AS A REMINDER, OUR GOAL AT, AT A FUTURE MEETING WILL BE TO CONSIDER FOR, UM, OUR CDC TO CONSIDER SERVING AS A LEAD FISCAL AGENT FOR, UM, FOR THIS PARTICULAR ORGANIZATION. UM, SO THAT, UM, WE CAN BEGIN TO RAISE FUNDS AND HAVE, UM, A POT OF FUNDING THAT CAN SUPPORT OUR COMMUNITY IN THE NEED IN THE EVENT THAT THE NEED ARISES. UM, NEXT PIECE, UM, LAND MANAGEMENT ORDINANCE FOCUS GROUP, AS YOU KNOW, UH, TOWN COUNCIL HAS RECENTLY, UM, SEATED, UH, TASK FORCE OR, OR CONTINUING TO SEE THE TASK FORCE THAT WILL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR UPDATES TO OUR LAND MANAGEMENT ORDINANCE. UM, SO AS THE CDC, I FELT THAT IT WAS A PROACTIVE APPROACH TO BEGIN TO MEET WITH MEMBERS OF OUR COMMUNITY THAT HAVE A VESTED INTEREST IN, UM, ANY CHANGES, UM, MOVING FORWARD WITH THE LAND MANAGEMENT ORDINANCE, IT'S A SMALL GROUP OF, OF COMMUNITY MEMBERS THAT HAS BEEN MEETING. UM, OUR MOST RECENT MEETING WAS ON NOVEMBER THE SIXTH, AND WE WILL MEET AGAIN IN DECEMBER, UM, TO JUST KIND OF DISCUSS SOME OF THE PROPOSED CHANGES TO THE LAND MANAGEMENT ORDINANCE AND TO RECEIVE SOME FEEDBACK. UM, AND SO THAT MEETING IS ONGOING. AGAIN, WE MET ON, UM, WE MET, UM, NOVEMBER THE SIXTH, AND WE WILL MEET AGAIN IN DECEMBER PRIOR TO THE HOLIDAYS. AND JUST HAVE SOME, SOME ONGOING DISCUSSIONS. UM, AND THE PURPOSE OF THIS WILL BE TO PROVIDE FEEDBACK, UM, AS THAT TASK FORCE IS SEATED, UM, TO GIVE SOME FEEDBACK TO [00:05:01] THOSE MEMBERS, UM, ON ITEMS THAT ARE OF UTMOST IMPORTANCE TO THE COMMUNITY, UM, SPECIFICALLY IN THE HISTORIC NEIGHBORHOODS. UM, STONY CORRIDOR, HIGHWAY 2 78 AS, UM, UM, WE HAVE A MEETING SCHEDULED, UH, LATER ON TODAY WITH SOME OF THE STAKEHOLDERS, UM, PROPERTY OWNERS, UM, WITHIN THE 2 78 CORRIDOR. JUST A BIT OF HISTORY, UH, AS WE ALL KNOW, UM, LAST SUMMER, UH, MUNICIPAL CONSENT WAS, WAS A, A HOT TOPIC. AND THE, UM, THE F THE BALLOT INITIATIVE THAT FAILED IN NOVEMBER CREATED A SITUATION WHERE THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION IS, UH, FUNDING THE EASTBOUND SECTION OF HIGHWAY. UM, AND WE HAD SIGNIFICANT, WE HAD SEVERAL DIFFERENT PROPOSALS ON HOW TO IMPROVE THE CORRIDOR THAT, UM, THAT BASICALLY WAS, UH, WENT AWAY WITH THE FUNDING, UM, THAT WAS DECLINED THROUGH THE BALLOT INITIATIVE. BUT THERE ARE CONVERSATIONS ABOUT HOW WE MIGHT IMPROVE, UM, THE STONY CORRIDOR, UM, SPECIFICALLY FROM WINDMILL HARBOR TO SPANISH WELLS ROAD, UM, AS THE HIGHWAY IS, IS WIDE INTO THREE LANES, YOU KNOW, WHAT ARE THE, THE IMPACTS WITHIN THE CORRIDOR. SO THESE ARE SOME CONVERSATIONS THAT WE WILL, THAT WE ARE COMMITTED TO CONTINUING TO HAVE WITH THE PROPERTY OWNERS, UM, WITHIN THE STONY CORRIDOR. AND SO WE'LL, WE'LL BE, UM, HOSTING A MEETING RELATED TO THAT THIS EVENING. UM, MONEY TALKS, UM, UM, EXCUSE ME, EXPERIENCE GULLAH, UM, THE WEBSITE AND THE APP, WE OFFICIALLY LAUNCHED OCTOBER THE SECOND WITH A GREAT, UH, COMMUNITY TURNOUT. UH, WE ARE MOVING INTO PHASE TWO OF THE PROJECT, AND WITH THAT, AND I, AND I'LL COVER A LITTLE BIT OF THIS A LITTLE BIT LATER, BUT WE ARE LOOKING TO, UM, TO MOVE INTO ADVERTISING AND MARKETING WITH SOME OF OUR BUSINESSES. AND IT KIND OF DOVETAILS INTO, UM, THE, OUR FINANCIAL EDUCATION WORKSHOP SERIES, BECAUSE PART OF THE TARGET OF OUR MONEY TALKS FINANCIAL EDUCATION SERIES ARE SMALL BUSINESSES HERE ON HILTON HEAD ISLAND. AND SO, UM, WE WANT TO UTILIZE THE BUSINESSES THAT WE HAVE BEEN BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS WITH OVER THE PAST COUPLE OF YEARS, AND PROVIDE OPPORTUNITIES FOR THEM TO HAVE WEB-BASED PRESENCE WITH OUR, UH, WITH OUR NEW WEBSITE AND, AND APPLICATION. UM, SO WITH OUR FINANCIAL EDUCATION WORKSHOP SERIES, UM, SINCE OUR LAST MEETING, SEPTEMBER, THE TOPIC WAS THE LEGAL ASPECTS OF BUSINESS OWNERSHIP. AND WE HAD, UH, REPRESENTATIVES FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA, JOSEPH F. WRIGHT SCHOOL OF LAW. UM, THEY'RE DISCUSSING SOME OF THEIR SERVICES THAT ARE AVAILABLE TO SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS, UH, BUSINESS STRUCTURE, BUSINESS FORMATION. UM, THEY HAVE A, UM, A SUITE OF SERVICES THAT ARE AVAILABLE FOR, UM, FOR SMALL BUSINESSES THAT THEY'RE OFFERING, UM, ON A NEEDS BASED. UH, SOME SERVICES ARE OFFERED AT NO COST. SOME SERVICES ARE OFFERED AT COST, BUT, UH, THE, THE GOAL BEING TO ASSIST BUSINESS OWNERS, POTENTIAL BUSINESS OWNERS IN DEVELOPING THEIR BUSINESSES. UM, OCTOBER'S TOPIC, NON-TRADITIONAL LENDING, FEATURED A SPEAKER FROM FULL HORN FINANCIAL BASED OUT OF, UM, COLUMBIA, UH, OR I'M SORRY, CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA. AND, UM, THEY ARE A NON-TRADITIONAL LENDER, SO THEY ARE ABLE TO SUPPORT BUSINESSES, UM, THAT MAY NOT NECESSARILY MEET THE STANDARDS OF YOUR TYPICAL LENDING INSTITUTION, FINANCIAL INSTITUTION. UM, AND HE GAVE US SOME VERY GOOD INFORMATION, UH, FOR THE NICHE ROLE THAT THEY PLAY IN THE FINANCIAL ECOSYSTEM. UM, LAST NIGHT WE HOSTED, UM, OR YESTERDAY DOING BUSINESS WITH THE TOWN AND PARTNER WITH THE ISLAND REC CENTER. UM, WE WERE BASICALLY PRESENT AT THE REC CENTER FOR A EXPO THAT STARTED AT 3:00 PM WE HAD SEVERAL OF THE DEPARTMENTS OF TOWN GOVERNMENT PRESENT, UM, TO SPEAK WITH MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY ABOUT UPCOMING PROJECTS AND DIFFERENT PROCUREMENT OPPORTUNITIES. UM, CAPTAIN JENKINS I SEE PRESENT HERE TODAY. HE WAS WITH US YESTERDAY, THANK YOU FOR PARTICIPATING YESTERDAY. UM, BUT WE HAD, UM, A VERY GOOD EVENT, UM, GEARED TOWARDS OPENING THE DOORS OF TOWN HALL, IF YOU WILL, SO THAT, UH, INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE INTERESTED IN PARTICIPATING FROM A BUSINESS PERSPECTIVE, DOING BUSINESS WITH THE TOWN, THAT THEY HAD AN OPEN DOOR TO MEET SOME OF THOSE FOLKS THAT MAKE DECISIONS IN ALL OF THE INDIVIDUAL DEPARTMENTS. AND LASTLY, I WANTED TO, UH, MAKE SURE INVITE AND INVITE, UM, OUR, OUR GENERAL PUBLIC TO OUR, UH, CHRISTMAS PARTY THAT WILL BE HOSTED ON DECEMBER THE 12TH, UH, FOR FRIDAY DECEMBER THE 12TH. UM, UM, FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE VISIT US ONLINE. IT IS NECESSARY THAT YOU ARE AS VP, UM, BUT, UM, WE LOOK FORWARD [00:10:01] TO SEEING, UM, MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY ON DECEMBER 12TH AS WE CELEBRATE 2025 AND PREPARE FOR 2026. THAT CONCLUDES MY, UM, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S REPORT, AND I'LL ASK IF ANYONE WOULD HAVE ANY QUESTIONS. JUST ONE. THOMAS, YES. ON THE MONEY TALK SERIES, HAVE YOU SEEN AN INCREASE OR A STEADY, UM, ATTENDANCE AT THESE FROM MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY? I THINK THAT, UM, IT'S BEEN A, A FAIRLY STEADY ATTENDANCE. WE PROBABLY AVERAGE ABOUT 15, 15 ATTENDEES. IT'S, AND IT'S, AND THAT'S BEEN PRETTY STEADY, UH, E EVEN YESTERDAY AT OUR DROP IN EXPO. AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'LL BE, UH, WORKING ON IS, IS PROCESS IMPROVEMENT. HOW DO WE CONTINUE TO IMPROVE THAT PROCESS, UM, TO RECRUIT MORE PEOPLE TO ATTEND? I THINK THAT THESE ARE SOME EXCELLENT TOPICS THAT WE COVER. UM, AND IT IT'S OF BENEFIT TO SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS. UM, I SEE, UM, MS. SHERMAN AND, UH, SHE WAS PRESENT YESTERDAY AND THANK YOU FOR BEING THERE YESTERDAY. UM, UM, BUT I THINK THAT WE DEFINITELY CAN IMPROVE, YOU KNOW, OUR ATTENDANCE AND WE'LL BE WORKING TO DO THAT. BUT I THINK THAT I ALSO BELIEVE THAT EVERYONE WHO WAS SUPPOSED TO BE THERE WAS THERE AND GOT SOMETHING BENEFICIAL. SO THAT'S WHAT WE'LL STAND ON. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? UH, NOT A QUESTION. JUST WANTED TO, UH, MAKE A FEW COMMENTS ON THE, UH, LMO, UH, REWRITING THE TEAM THAT YOU'VE, UH, PUT TOGETHER THERE. I RAN INTO SOMEBODY YESTERDAY AND I HADN'T SEEN THEM IN ABOUT A YEAR, AND THEY STARTED ASKING ME WHY MY BEARD WAS SO GREAT. UH, THINGS, 'CAUSE THINGS ARE HAPPENING FAST. UM, AND I, YOU KNOW, UH, OBVIOUSLY, UH, MR. CHAIRMAN WILL BE, UH, SITTING ON THAT LMO UH, TASK FORCE, UM, COMMITTEE. AND, UH, THE MAN, I'VE TALKED ABOUT THIS JUST A LITTLE BIT. UM, I REALLY SEE THAT AS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO BE FORWARD THINKING AND, AND WE HAVE TO, AND AS IT RELATES TO THIS GROUP, YOU KNOW, WE TALK A LOT ABOUT COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT, WE TALK A LOT ABOUT ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT. AND AS WE GO THROUGH THIS PROCESS OF REWRITING OUR LMO, I THINK THERE'S A PORTION OF THE COMMUNITY THAT'S GOING TO WANT TO LOOK IN THE REAR VIEW MIRROR VERSUS THE WINDSHIELD. OKAY? AND LET'S FACE IT, THE WORK THAT WE ARE DOING HERE ON THIS COMMITTEE IS VERY FORWARD THINKING. YOU KNOW, IT'S GOING TO BE IN PLACE FOR THOSE THAT ARE GONNA COME BEHIND US, RIGHT? UM, SO JUST TO SORT OF MAKE THIS AS SIMPLE AS POSSIBLE, UH, WE'LL WRITE A CODE. WE HOPEFULLY WE'LL BE DONE WITHIN, IN ABOUT A YEAR. AND IT'S GONNA LAST US ABOUT 10 YEARS, MAYBE BEFORE IT'S REWRITTEN AGAIN, I GUARANTEE YOU THAT IN THOSE 10 YEARS OF THIS NEW CODE, THERE'S GONNA BE A MOBILE HOME THAT NEEDS TO BE REMOVED AND REPLACED. HOW DO WE WRITE CODE TO ENCOURAGE THAT? IT'S NOT ANOTHER MOBILE HOME THAT COMES? OKAY? I THINK THAT'S IMPORTANT FOR US TO THINK THROUGH THOSE TYPE OF LENS. OKAY. THE OTHER THING THAT WAS ON MY MIND WAS, UH, THOMAS IS HAVING ALL THESE EDUCATIONAL SERIES AROUND SCALING UP YOUR BUSINESS. WELL, LET'S NOT WRITE CODE THAT SAYS THAT SOMEONE CAN'T PARK THEIR PLUMBING TRUCKS IN THEIR YARD, RIGHT? SO IT'S JUST THOSE LITTLE THINGS THAT I KNOW WILL COME UP AS WE HAVE IN THE DISCUSSION THAT IF, IF IS, IF WE ALL THINKING OF LOOKING THROUGH THAT LENS, I THINK WE'LL HAVE A BETTER CODE FOR US IN THE FUTURE. THAT'S THE ONLY THING I WANTED TO SAY ABOUT THAT. I CAN FOLLOW UP ON ALEX'S POINT PRACTICE TO EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR. THERE'S GONNA BE A FINANCIAL COMPONENT OF MOVING AN OLD, UH, TRAILER AND REPLACING IT WITH A NEW TRAILER. I THINK THAT MAY BE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR THE CDC TO PLAY SOME KIND OF ROLE IN THE FUTURE. NOW, I DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT IS TODAY, BUT I JUST SEE THERE'S GOING TO BE THE FINANCIAL COMPONENT, AND THIS ORGANIZATION IS IN A POSITION MAYBE TO ASSIST. THE OTHER THING I WOULD ADD TO THAT LMO DISCUSSION, THAT ANY TIME THAT THIS CDC CAN PLAY AN INNOVATIVE ROLE IN, UH, DIRECTING AND [00:15:01] INFLUENCING LMO, UH, LANGUAGE, I THINK IT WOULD BE, UH, A BENEFIT NOT ONLY TO THE NEIGHBORHOODS, BUT ALSO TO THE ISLAND. SO I, I'M ENCOURAGING THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR TO DO SOME RESEARCH ON HOW OTHER COMMUNITIES HAVE ADDRESSED THIS ISSUE. I'M, I'M NOT, I'M NOT ENCOURAGED BY WHAT YOU MIGHT LEARN, BUT I'M HOPEFUL THAT OUT OF THAT RESEARCH, UH, THIS ORGANIZATION MAY BE ABLE TO INPUT IN AN INFLUENTIAL WAY WHAT WE CAN DO ON THIS ISLAND THAT SETS THE TONE FOR OTHER COMMUNITIES. THANK YOU. AND IF I MIGHT FOLLOW UP JUST A LITTLE BIT ON THAT, UM, THERE'S BEEN A LONGSTANDING HISTORY THAT WHAT HAS BEEN DONE HERE ON THE DEVELOPMENT SIDE AND LAND MANAGEMENT SIDE HAS BEEN ONE OF COPY, RIGHT? PEOPLE HAVE ALWAYS COME TO US AND COPIED WHAT WE'VE DONE HERE, AND IT'S THE UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES OF WRITING A, REWRITING A LAND MANAGEMENT ORDINANCE, WHICH CREATES THE TROUBLES, UM, THAT, THAT REALLY, UH, CAN AFFECT US 10 YEARS DOWN THE ROAD. SO, UM, AS YOU'RE ON THAT COMMITTEE, AND, AND THOMAS AS YOU'RE WORKING WITH THIS AS WELL, THROW OUT THE THOUGHTS OF THE UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES, BECAUSE THIS IS A TIME REALLY TO VET EVERYTHING. AND THIS IS WHAT WE'RE ASKING EVERY MEMBER OF THAT COMMITTEE TO DO, UM, IS TO REALLY LOOK AT THE DETAILS AND WHERE THE PROBLEMS ARE. AND WE DON'T WANT TO DETER ECONOMIC GROWTH, WE WANT GROWTH MANAGEMENT. UM, WE WANNA MAKE CERTAIN WE'RE NOT OVERBUILDING, BUT WE WANNA MAKE CERTAIN THAT EVERYONE HAS THE PROPER RIGHTS TO THEIR PROPERTIES. SO THANK YOU FOR THAT. THANK YOU FOR THOSE COMMENTS. BUT BEFORE, BEFORE WE MOVE ON, LET, LET ME SAY JUST A FEW THINGS TO WRAP THIS UP. FIRST OF ALL, I WANNA GIVE KUDOS TO, UM, OUR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR FOR THE WORK THAT HAS BEEN DONE. AS YOU CAN SEE IN HERE, THERE IS A LOT THAT IS ONGOING THAT YOU MAY NOT SEE ON A DAY-TO-DAY BASIS. UH, BUT LET ME SEE, SAY TO YOU THAT, THAT IN THE FIELD OF SERVICE, UM, THERE'S ALWAYS MORE THAT IS REQUIRED OF US TO DO OR REQUIRED OF SERVANTS. AND THAT IS WHAT YOUR CDC BOARD SITS TO DO, IS TO SERVE YOU. UH, ONE THING I WANT TO ASK YOU TO DO IS TO PARTNER WITH US, TO TEAM WITH US, TO, TO COME ALONG BESIDE US, UH, SO THAT WE CAN BETTER SERVE YOU SO THAT YOU CAN BE AN ASSET TO, BECAUSE IT, IT'S ABOUT YOU. IT IT'S ABOUT MAKING YOUR LIVES BETTER, YOUR SITUATIONS BETTER. AND SO WE APPLAUD YOU, WE ENCOURAGE YOU TO DO THAT. NOW, THERE IS A LOT, UH, THAT'S GONNA BE DISCUSSED TODAY. YOU WILL GET AN OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK. SO I WANT TO ENCOURAGE YOU TO TAKE NOTES, UH, SO THAT IF, IF IT'S ANY ONE OF THESE POINTS THAT WERE SIX OR SEVEN POINTS AGO IN THE PAST, THAT WHEN THIS, YOU AFFORDED THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK, THAT YOU MAY ADDRESS IT. UH, BUT KUDOS TO, UM, MR. OXLEY FOR WHAT HE HAS DONE, UH, FOR THE YEOMAN, THE, YOU KNOW, OUT THERE BEING IN, IN FRONT. UM, BUT WE, WE, WE ENCOURAGE YOU TO WALK BESIDE US AS WE MAKE THE DECISIONS TO THAT, THAT BEST, UH, BENEFIT YOU. WE, WE NEED YOUR INPUT SO THAT WE COULD BETTER SERVE YOU. UH, SO THAT IS AN ASK THAT IS IN A RE A REQUEST OF OURS. NOT THAT YOU HAVE NOT DONE THAT, UH, IN 2025, BUT CERTAINLY WE APPLAUD AND ENCOURAGE EVEN MORE OF IT. SO WE NEED YOU, UM, EACH ONE REACH. ONE TO ENCOURAGE YOUR PEERS, THOSE WHO ARE NOT PHYSICALLY PRESENT TO COME ON BOARD WITH US AS AS WE PRESS FORWARD IN 2026. MR. CHAIR, IF I COULD JUST ADD ONE THING TO THAT, AS THAT LMO TASK FORCE BEGINS TO MEET THE PUBLIC IS, IS NOT ONLY INVITED, BUT EXPECTED TO BE THERE TO VOICE THEIR OPINIONS AS WELL. SO IT'S NOT JUST THE MEMBERS OF THAT TASK FORCE. VERY GOOD POINTS. UM, VERY GOOD POINTS, EVERYBODY. AND I THINK THAT THAT IS ONE OF THE, UH, ONE OF THE KEY KEY COMPONENTS TO ALL OF THIS. UM, UM, SOMEONE ONCE SAID, AND I DO NOT KNOW WHO IT WAS, SO I WILL NOT ATTEMPT TO QUOTE THEM, BUT DEMOCRACY IS NOT A SPECTATOR SPORT. . IT IS, IT IS A ACTIVE SPORT, AND IT REQUIRES THAT WE ARE ALL, ARE ACTIVE AND, UH, PERFORM OUR CIVIC DUTY. WHETHER THAT'S VOTING, WHETHER THAT'S SHOWING UP, AND WHETHER THAT'S LETTING OUR VOICES BE HEARD. SO THANK YOU ALL FOR THOSE COMMENTS. UM, IF THERE ARE NO OTHER COMMENTS, UH, WELL FIRST LET ME CHECK IN WITH OUR FOLKS ONLINE. WELL, UH, SARAH, DAVID, UM, ARE THERE, I MEAN, UM, UM, I, I JUST CALLED YOU YOUR UNCLE'S NAME, ANDRE, UH, . SARAH ANDRE. GOOD MORNING. DO YOU ALL HAVE ANY COMMENTS? NO, I DON'T HAVE ANY COMMENTS. OKAY. YEAH. GOOD MORNING. I DON'T EITHER. NOT YET. ALRIGHT. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. UM, NEXT ITEM, NEXT ITEM ON OUR AGENDA. UM, WE HAVE, UM, [00:20:01] WAY FINDINGS. SO, UM, THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO CAME OUT AND PARTICIPATED IN OUR LAUNCH EVENT IN OCTOBER. UM, I THINK THAT WE HAD A, A VERY, VERY SPECIAL EVENT AT THE, UM, AT THE, THE PARK AT SQUIRE POPE, WHICH WE WILL TALK ABOUT HERE IN A LITTLE BIT, UM, AS FAR AS THE PARK IS CONCERNED. BUT, UM, WE HAD A, A, A VERY GOOD TURNOUT. WE UTILIZED ONE OF OUR LOCAL BUSINESSES TO PROVIDE REFRESHMENTS FOR US. AND, UH, WE WERE INTRODUCED TO THE EXPERIENCED GULLAH SITE. SEVERAL PEOPLE HAVE DOWNLOADED THE APPLICATION AND, UM, AND HAVE IT AVAILABLE ONLINE. UM, AND I WOULD LIKE TO DISCUSS A COUPLE OF, A COUPLE OF ITEMS THAT WE WILL BE WORKING ON. AND WHEN I SAY WE, I'M, I'M SPEAKING TO MYSELF AND, AND, UM, MS. STEWART HERE. GOOD MORNING, MS. STEWART, UH, WHO, UM, WHO IS SO VERY ACTIVE WITH ME AND BESIDE ME AS WE DO THIS WORK IN THE COMMUNITY. UM, BUT SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE ARE WORKING ON, AS I MENTIONED BEFORE, IS, UM, THE IDENTIFICATION OF, UH, THREE TIERS OF BUSINESSES THAT WE WANT TO APPROACH AS WE MOVE INTO 2026. THOSE TIERS ARE NATIVE ISLAND, GULLAH OWNED BUSINESSES, UH, ISLAND OWNED BUSINESSES THAT ARE OWNED BY NON GULLAH BUSINESS OWNERS, AND THEN NON ISLAND OWNED BUSINESSES THAT, UM, HAVE A NEED TO ADVERTISE AND MARKET ON HILTON HEAD ISLAND. SO AGAIN, THESE ARE THREE DIFFERENT CATEGORIES OF BUSINESSES THAT WE HAVE IDENTIFIED THAT WE WILL WORK TO APPROACH, UM, AND, AND SOLICIT, UH, ADVERTISING WITH AND FOR AS THEY SEEK TO GROW THEIR BUSINESSES. UM, AND SO WITH THAT BEING SAID, I JUST WANTED TO, YOU KNOW, TO INFORM YOU THAT, UH, THE INVESTMENT THAT WE MADE, UM, IS, IS DEFINITELY, UM, IS, IS A WORTHWHILE INVESTMENT. WE HAVE, YOU KNOW, WE'VE RECEIVED VERY POSITIVE FEEDBACK IN RELATIONSHIP TO THE DIFFERENT STOPS THAT ARE AVAILABLE AS FAR AS THE HISTORICAL, UM, ASPECTS OF, OF, OF THE WAY FINDING PORTION OF IT. BUT WE ARE ALSO MOVING INTO THE, EXCUSE ME, MOVING IN THE DIRECTION OF, OF WORKING WITH BUSINESSES TO DEVELOP THAT WEB-BASED PRESENCE. AND SO THESE ARE SOME OF THE IDEAS THAT WE ARE BUBBLING UP TO THE TOP NOW. AND JUST TO GIVE YOU JUST A LITTLE BIT OF A, OF A IDEA AS TO, UH, WHAT THE PERFORMANCE, AND, AND THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE ARE BEGINNING TO DIG INTO AS WELL, BUT, UM, IN, IN THE LAST 28 DAYS, UM, WE HAVE HAD, UM, ROUGHLY ABOUT 250 SITE VISITS, UM, AT EXPERIENCE GULLAH. UM, AND, AND BY SITE VISITS, IT'S KIND OF BROKEN INTO TWO CATEGORIES, UM, IMPRESSIONS, WHICH IS ACTUALLY SOMEONE THAT HAS ACTUALLY TYPED IN, UM, A TAG WORD, A KEY WORD, UM, TO ACCESS, EXPERIENCE GULLAH, AND THEN, AND THEN CLICKS. SO, SO IMAGINE THAT IF YOU'RE DOING A WEB SEARCH AND YOU TYPE IN, UM, YOU KNOW, GULLAH AND EXPERIENCE GULLAH POPS UP IN YOUR BROWSER AND YOU CLICK ON, OR, OR IN YOUR GOOGLE SEARCH, AND THEN YOU CLICK ON THAT LINK AND THE PAGE POPS UP, THAT'S, THAT'S AN IMPRESSION, RIGHT? YOU'VE SOUGHT OUT THE SITE AND YOU GET AN IMPRESSION. CLICKS ARE WHEN YOU ACTUALLY BEGIN TO BROWSE INTO THE SITE. SO WE'VE HAD 200 AND ROUGHLY 250 TOTAL IMPRESSIONS IN THE LAST 28 DAYS, AND THOSE HAVE, UM, HAVE COME FROM VARIOUS LOCATIONS. UM, AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT REALLY JUST KIND OF, UH, TOOK ME BY SURPRISE IS THAT, YOU KNOW, THAT FOLKS ARE SEARCHING FROM VARIOUS PARTS OF THE WORLD. LIKE WE'VE EVEN HAD IMPRESSIONS FROM, FROM JORDAN BELARUS, UH, JUST, UH, YEAH, IT'S, IT'S REALLY INTERESTING. A FEW, A FEW FROM, FROM AFRICA. UH, YEAH, IT'S, IT IS A LOT OF, UM, UH, IT IS, IT IS A VERY INTERESTING THING WHEN YOU START LOOKING INTO THE, THE BACK OFFICE ANALYTICS. SO, UM, SAYING ALL OF THAT TO SAY THAT WE HAVE A VERY, VERY HIGH PERFORMING TOOL THAT WE CAN UTILIZE TO, UM, TO SUPPORT OUR BUSINESSES HERE ON HILTON HEAD. AND, AND SO, UH, YOU KNOW, I WAS JOKING WITH SOME FOLKS LAST NIGHT, SERIOUSLY JOKING WITH SOME FOLKS LAST NIGHT AT OUR, UM, UH, FINANCIAL EDUCATION WORKSHOP SERIES WAS LIKE THE HILTON HEAD ISLAND GULLAH COMMUNITY IS GLOBAL NOW, YOU KNOW? SO, UM, I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE NOT, UH, MISSING ANY OPPORTUNITY THERE AND ARE, UH, WORKING TO PROMOTE OUR BUSINESSES SO THAT THEY CAN HAVE THAT GLOBAL PRESENCE. SO WITH THAT, I'LL BE, I'LL, I'LL OPEN IT UP FOR ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTARY ON WHAT [00:25:01] YOU ALL, UH, WHAT YOU ALL THINK. HEY, THOMAS, THIS IS ANDRE. JUST QUICK QUESTION. CAN YOU TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE, THE REVENUE STREAM FROM ADVERTISING CONTRACTS OR FEE-BASED ADVERTISING SERVICES, WHAT THAT LOOK LIKE? YEAH, SO THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'LL CONTINUE TO WORK THROUGH, UM, OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF WEEKS. BUT I'M, I'M THINKING ABOUT, UM, YOU KNOW, A MONTHLY FEE, UM, PER BUSINESS, UH, OR AN ANNUAL FEE. UH, IT COULD BE BROKEN DOWN QUARTERLY. UM, I DO NOT, I DO NOT HAVE A, A SOLID NUMBER THAT I HAVE LANDED ON YET. I'M STILL KIND OF RESEARCHING THAT, BECAUSE AGAIN, WE'VE GOT THREE DIFFERENT CATEGORIES. WE'VE GOT NATIVE ISLAND OWNED BUSINESSES THAT, UM, THAT I WOULD LOVE TO BE ABLE TO PROVIDE, UM, YOU KNOW, AN ENTRY RATE, IF YOU WILL, FEE, UM, FOR THOSE SERVICES. AND THEN WE HAVE OUR, UM, YOU KNOW, THE OTHER CATEGORIES THAT WE IDENTIFIED, RIGHT? NON-NATIVE ISLAND OWNED, UM, BUSINESSES, AND THEN NON ISLAND OWNED BUSINESSES, YOU KNOW, SO I WOULD LIKE TO STRUCTURE THIS IN A WAY THAT IS FAIR, BUT ALSO IN A WAY THAT, UM, THAT GENERATES REVENUE FOR US, RIGHT? SO I'M WORKING THROUGH SOME OF THE LEGAL RAMIFICATIONS OF THE CONTRACTS AND WHATNOT, BUT I, I CAN'T TELL YOU THAT I'VE ALSO BEEN APPROACHED BY, YOU KNOW, SOMEONE THAT'S, THAT'S INTERESTED IN, UM, IN ADVERTISING WITH US THAT, UM, THAT, UM, IS DOING SOME WORK IN THE CORRIDOR AS WELL. SO THERE ARE DIFFERENT SOLICITATIONS THAT ARE COMING THROUGH AT THIS PARTICULAR POINT IN TIME. DID THAT ANSWER YOUR QUESTION, ANDRE? IT DID. THANK YOU. YOU, ANY OTHER THOUGHTS? I, I WANNA GET THE, THE BOARD'S THOUGHTS ON, THOMAS MENTIONED THERE'S SOMEONE IN THE CORRIDOR THAT MAY HAVE SOME INTEREST IN, YOU KNOW, THE, THE THREE CATEGORIES HERE. ONE IS NON ISLANDER OWNED BUSINESSES. I'VE ALWAYS FELT THAT THE LOCATION OF HILTON HEAD GEOGRAPHICALLY, UH, AS IT RELATES TO THE GULLAH GEECHEE CORRIDOR WAS VERY SIGNIFICANT, RIGHT? AND IF SOME OF THE OPPORTUNITIES ARE GONNA BE AROUND CULTURAL TOURISM, UM, OBVIOUSLY THERE ARE THE OFFERINGS HERE ON HILTON HEAD, BUT THE ALSO OFFERINGS THROUGHOUT THE CORRIDOR, YOU KNOW, IF SOMEBODY WANTS TO COME IN THIS AREA FOR A FEW DAYS, THEY COULD EXPERIENCE A LOT OF DIFFERENT PLACES OUTSIDE OF JUST HILTON HEAD. UM, SO JUST UNTIL WE SORT OF, YOU KNOW, GET OUR ARMS REALLY WRAPPED AROUND THIS, I'M, I'M JUST PUTTING THIS OUT TO THE BOARD FOR SOME FEEDBACK, YOU KNOW, IS THERE, IS THERE A NEED FOR US TO FOCUS WITHIN THE CORRIDOR AS FAR AS WHO WE'RE GONNA OFFER ADVERTISEMENT TO AND NOT GO ANY FURTHER THAN THAT? UM, SO THAT WE DON'T GET SORT OF WATERED DOWN? I JUST WANTED TO THROW THAT OUT AS A, A QUESTION. YEAH. IF I MIGHT, I WAS KIND OF THINKING ALONG THE SAME LINES, ALEX. UM, FIRST AND FOREMOST, YOU DON'T WANT TO HAVE A WEBSITE THAT'S LITTERED WITH ADVERTISEMENT. UM, YOU GOTTA MAKE, UH, IN MY OPINION, IT'S GOTTA BE FOCUSED ON WHAT YOU ARE TRYING TO PROMOTE THROUGH THAT SITE. AND SOMETIMES TODAY WE SEE A LOT OF SITES THAT ARE, THAT ARE JUST AD AFTER AD AFTER AD, AND THAT'S ALL YOU SEE. UM, SO I THINK A FOCUS THERE IS VERY IMPORTANT ON WHAT WE WANT AND HOW LARGE WE WANT IT TO BE ON AN ADVERTISING BASIS, AND WHAT KIND OF REVENUE IS EXPECTED FOR IT TO GENERATE OVER THE, OVER THE YEARS. UM, AS THE ATTENTION GROWS ON THE SITE AND THERE ARE MORE, UH, CLICKS, YOU KNOW, THERE'S MORE LANDINGS, THE VALUE INCREASES. UM, I ALSO LOOK AT THE NON ISLANDER OWNED BUSINESSES AS AN OPPORTUNITY TO RECRUIT BUSINESSES TO THE ISLAND. AND I THINK THAT IF WE'RE GONNA OPEN THAT UP, IT NEEDS TO BE, UH, IDENTIFIED THAT THERE IS SOME VALUE FOR THEM TO BRING A BUSINESS HERE, AND ESPECIALLY TO THE, TO THE, UM, GULLAH COMMUNITIES. SO I THINK THERE'S SOME THOUGHT IN THAT REALM THAT NEEDS TO TAKE PLACE AND SOME DISCUSSION TO REALLY IDENTIFY WHAT WE WANT IT TO BE. 'CAUSE IT CAN BE A RECRUITING TOOL TOOL AS WELL. AND, YOU KNOW, 28 DAYS, 250 HITS, THAT'S AWESOME. BUT WE KNOW THAT'S JUST THE BEGINNING. AND AS WE GET TO, YOU KNOW, THOUSANDS A MONTH, RIGHT, THE VALUE REALLY INCREASES. SO WE DON'T WANNA PUT SOMETHING OUT TOO LOW THAT'S GONNA HAVE A GREATER VALUE DOWN THE ROAD. SO, THOMAS, YES. UM, ARE, ARE THERE ANY OTHER POLICY QUESTIONS THAT THE BOARD OUGHT TO BE CONSIDERING? OR ARE THERE ANY LEGAL RAMIFICATIONS TO EXCLUDING ONE GROUP OF BUSINESSES FROM ANOTHER? UM, I, I, I DEFINITELY THINK THAT WE WANT TO, YOU KNOW, MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE BEING AS, AS [00:30:01] OPEN AS WE POSSIBLY CAN. AND THAT IS THE INTENT. UM, I'M NOT AWARE OF ANY LEGAL, UM, ISSUES OR, OR CONSIDERATIONS AT THE MOMENT. BUT THAT BEING SAID, I AM MEETING WITH LEGAL AS WE MOVE FORWARD AND DISCUSS THESE, THESE, UH, THESE ITEMS SPECIFICALLY AROUND, UM, YOU KNOW, CONTRACTUAL ARRANGEMENTS, UH, FOR ADVERTISING, ET CETERA. UM, MATTER OF FACT, I MEET NICK, UM, DECEMBER, THE FIRST WEEK OF DECEMBER WITH LEGAL TO HAVE SOME OF THOSE DISCUSSIONS TOO. SO DOES THE BOARD HAVE TO WEIGH INTO ADOPTING SOME KIND OF RESOLUTION REGARDING THIS IN ORDER FOR IT TO BE, UH, PROTECTED? THOSE ARE LEGAL QUESTIONS. I JUST, IN MY MIND, MAYBE YOU NEED TO BE ANSWERED, RIGHT? AND, AND WE'LL LOOK INTO THAT. I, I, AT FIRST GLANCE, I DON'T SEE WHERE THERE WOULD BE A NECESSARY, IT'D BE NECESSARY TO ADOPT SOME FORM OF RESOLUTION, BUT I THINK THAT THOSE CAN BE HANDLED. I THINK THAT ANY, ANY POTENTIAL LEGAL RAMIFICATION FROM, FROM A ADVERTISING OR MARKETING PERSPECTIVE CAN BE RECTIFIED THROUGH, THROUGH LEGAL, THROUGH THE LEGAL PROCESS, THROUGH, UM, OR, OR THROUGH OUR CONSULTATION WITH LEGAL. THOMAS, WHEN YOU COME BACK TO THE BOARD, WILL YOU HAVE, I'M ASSUMING YOU WILL HAVE GONE THROUGH THE LEGAL RESEARCH ABSOLUTELY. TO MAKE SURE BEFORE WE ADOPT ANYTHING. UM, I AGREE WITH ALAN'S COMMENTS REGARDING NOT OPENING IT UP. SO IT JUST BECOMES ONE BUSINESS AFTER ANOTHER. SO I THINK YOU NEED TO REALLY GIVE THAT SOME THOUGHT IN HOW YOU WANNA IDENTIFY THE CORRIDOR. IS THAT ANOTHER, IS THAT ANOTHER, UM, CATEGORY OR WOULD YOU PUT THAT WITH THE FIRST CATEGORY, THE NATIVE ISLAND GULLAH GEECHEE. AND THEN MY FINAL THOUGHT IS, UH, ARE THERE ANY PLACES THAT YOU COULD BENCHMARK TO LOOK AT BEST PRACTICES WITH SIMILAR SITES? I MEAN, OUR SITE IS VERY UNIQUE, BUT ARE THERE ANY SIMILAR SITES THAT ARE DOING ANYTHING LIKE THAT? THIS SITE IS VERY UNIQUE. YOU RAISE A VERY VALID POINT, UM, PEACHES IN THAT THERE, THERE IS A UNIQUENESS TO THIS SITE. UM, AND, AND THE OTHER COMPONENT THAT I, YOU KNOW, THAT WE NEED TO CONSIDER, UM, AS WE DID, SO THIS IS THE UNIQUENESS OF THIS SITE. WHEN YOU CLICK ON SOME SITES, YOU HAVE POSTER AFTER POSTER OF ADVERTISEMENT THAT JUST KIND OF BOMBARDS YOU. AND THAT IS NOT THE INTENT BY ANY MEANS OF THE IMAGINA OR ANY, ANY STRETCH OF THE IMAGINATION. WELL, WE WANT TO, WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE DO NOT LOSE THE CULTURAL VIABILITY OF WHAT WE CREATED THROUGH THIS SITE. WE WANT TO CONTINUE TO ADD SITES THAT, UH, ARE OF CULTURAL SIGNIFICANCE TO THE ISLAND. BUT WE ALSO HAVE GULLAH TV, WHICH IS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO, TO REALLY BEGIN TO ADVERTISE IN THAT SPACE AND NOT, UM, DILUTE, IF YOU WILL, THE CONTENT THAT WE HAVE ON THE ACTUAL SITE AND IN THE ACTUAL APPLICATION. BUT, BUT RATHER UTILIZING THE, UH, THE GULLAH TV AS AN OPPORTUNITY TO RUN 15 SECOND, 32ND ONE MINUTE ADVERTISING SLOTS, UM, AS PEOPLE ARE DOWNLOADING AND WATCHING CONTENT IN THAT PARTICULAR APPLICATION. AND IT DOES HAVE A SLIGHTLY SEPARATE URL, IT IS WATCH DOT EXPERIENCE GULLAH.ORG VERSUS EXPERIENCE GULLAH.ORG. THERE IS A DIRECT LINK ON THE SITE WHEN YOU, YOU CAN CLICK INTO GULLAH TV, BUT IT IS ITS OWN SEPARATE URL, IF YOU WILL. SO THAT WAS DESIGNED SPECIFICALLY SO THAT WE DON'T HAVE THAT CONVOLUTION OF, OF, IF THAT IS A TERM, I MAY HAVE JUST MADE UP A WORD, BUT, UM, ALL OF THE, YOU KNOW, THE, THE OVER ADVERTISING THAT WE SEE ON, ON VARIOUS SITES THROUGH OUR, THROUGH OUR DAILY ACTIVITIES ONLINE. LET, LET ME TIE INTO SOME OF THE COMMENTS THAT THE MAYOR MADE, PEACHES MADE, ALEX MADE, YOU MADE, I, I THINK INITIALLY, 'CAUSE THIS IS THE INITIAL FORAY, RIGHT? WE NEED TO ESTABLISH A FOOTING, UH, BE INTENTIONAL AND STRATEGIC ABOUT WHO IT IS AND WHAT IT IS THAT WE'RE TRYING TO, UM, PREVAIL. WE, WE HAVE SOME PARTNERS AND BACK TO WHAT WAS THE REVENUE STREAM? WE HAVE SOME, SOME, UH, PEOPLE WHO MAY NOT HAVE THE REACH THAT WE HAVE, HAVE THAT ARE DOING THE SAME THINGS THAT WE'RE DOING, SAY, IN, IN CHARLESTON, SAY IN, IN IN SAVANNAH. THAT'S, THAT'S WHEN YOU COME TO HILTON HEAD, YOU KNOW, THAT'S WITHIN, YOU KNOW, A, A SHORT ENOUGH DRIVE TO GET THERE. UH, MAYBE WE CAN INCORPORATE THEM IN THE INITIAL FORAY. UM, AND THEN WHEN ONCE WE ESTABLISHED [00:35:01] OUR PLATFORM, THEN THAT ALLOWS US TO STRETCH INTO OTHER AREAS. BUT WE, WE CAN'T DO THE STRETCHING UNTIL WE ASSURE THE FOOTING. UH, AND, AND SO I, I THINK THAT THAT SHOULD BE A, A PART OF THE THOUGHT PROCESS AS WELL, UH, BECAUSE THAT PARTNERSHIP WITH SOMEBODY THAT'S DOING THE SAME THING, BACK TO THE QUESTION ABOUT INCOME STREAM, UM, PROMOTING THEM. 'CAUSE THEY DON'T HAVE THE REACH THAT WE HAVE, SO IT WOULD BE A WIN-WIN FOR US AND FOR THEM, BECAUSE THEN WE'RE POR UM, SUPPORTING AND PUSHING NOT JUST HILTON HEAD, BUT PORTIONS OF THE CORRIDOR. THANK YOU. ANY OTHER COMMENTS? HEY, THOMAS. UH, THE GULL, THE GULLAH TV, UM, DOES THAT STREAM THROUGH OTHER PLATFORMS LIKE APPLE TV OR YOUTUBE? UH, OR IS IT JUST, YOU HAVE TO GO TO THE GULLAH TV URL FOR CONTENT? THANK YOU FOR THAT QUESTION, ANDRE. AND, AND YOU ARE RIGHT. IT, IT DOES STREAM THROUGH OTHER PLATFORMS. IT IS AVAILABLE ON APPLE TV. UM, IT IS AVAILABLE ON YOUTUBE TV. UM, AND, AND, UM, THE OTHER PLATFORMS AS WELL. UM, APPLE, YOUTUBE, UM, DRAWING A BLANK ON SOME OF THE OTHER ONES. UM, BUT IT IS AVAILABLE OUT ON OTHER PLATFORMS. SO, UM, AND OH, GO AHEAD. AND WHERE I, AND WHERE I WAS GOING, I KNOW WHEN, WHEN THINGS ARE STREAMED THROUGH THOSE PLATFORMS, RIGHT? THERE'S ADVERTISEMENT AGREEMENTS OR THERE'S SOMETIMES CONTENT COMES WITH ADVERTISING, RIGHT? HAVE YOU GUYS LOOKED AT, LOOKED AT THAT AT ALL? THAT IS, YES, WE ARE OPTIMIZED AND, AND PREPARED FOR THAT. THAT WAS PART OF THE, THAT WAS PART OF THE ACTUAL BUILD. AND SO OUR, OUR CONSULTANT ACTUALLY WAS VERY FORWARD THINKING AS, AS WE WENT DOWN THE PATHWAY OF DEVELOPING THIS SITE SO THAT IT IS ALREADY FRONT LOADED WITH THAT, WITH THAT CAPACITY AND CAPABILITY. AND, AND I WAS JUST BRINGING THAT UP BECAUSE THAT'S A DIFFERENT TYPE OF ADVERTISING THAN JUST THE SORT OF, YOU KNOW, LOCAL BUSINESSES OR, YOU KNOW, RIGHT. THAT WOULD, THAT COULD BE A BROADER, A BRO, A BROADER REVENUE STREAM FOR ADVERTISING THAT'S SIMILAR TO, UM, ANY TYPE OF CONTENT CREATOR. YEAH, VERY TRUE. YEAH. THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE CAN DEFINITELY, THAT, THAT WE'LL DEFINITELY WALK INTO AS WE CONTINUE TO GROW. I WANTED TO MAKE SURE, AND, AND YOU KNOW, THIS, IT IS A BABY RIGHT NOW, AS, AS ALAN MENTIONED, YOU KNOW, WE'RE, WE'RE JUST SCRATCHING THE SURFACE, BUT IT IS DEFINITELY BUILT FOR THE LONG HAUL. SO, UH, SO YEAH, WE, AND WE WILL HAVE OPPORTUNITIES AS WE MOVE FORWARD AND AS THE SITE CONTINUES TO GROW TO, UH, TO EXPLORE SOME OF THOSE BROADER MARKETING AND ADVERTISING OPPORTUNITIES. BUT TO YOUR POINT, WE WILL HAVE ACCESS TO THE PARTNERS THAT, UM, THAT OUR CONSULTANT HAS IN THEIR HOSTING, IN THEIR HOSTING PACKAGE AND PLATFORM. SO, SO THAT WILL BE A, A POSITIVE THING AS WE MOVE FORWARD. THANK YOU. GOOD CONTENT. GOOD. I MEAN, GOOD COMMENTS. DOES ANYBODY HAVE ANY OTHER COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS ON THAT TOPIC? ALL RIGHT. IF NOT, MOVING FORWARD, OUR NEXT, UM, AGENDA ITEM IS, UM, THE, UH, REVIEW DISCUSSION REGARDING THE RENAMING OF THE ROWING AND SAILING CENTER IN FAVOR, EXCUSE ME. IN FAVOR. . NEXT ITEM. NEXT ITEM. RIGHT. OH. SO, UM, JUST A LITTLE BIT OF BACKGROUND FOR THOSE WATCHING WHO, WHO MAY NOT HAVE BEEN WORKING ON THIS FOR THE PAST 10 YEARS, UH, OR SO, UH, OR LONGER. UM, AS PART OF OUR ONGOING MISSION TO HONOR THE CULTURE AND, AND PRESERVE THE CULTURE HERE ON, UH, HILTON HEAD ISLAND, UH, WE ARE PROPOSING A NAME CHANGE FROM ROWING AND SAILING CENTER AT SQUIRE POPE COMMUNITY PARK TO THE HILTON HEAD ISLAND FISHING COOPERATIVE PARK. UM, THE REASON BEING IS, IS THIS NAME CHANGE WOULD HONOR AND, AND RECOGNIZE THE INDIVIDUALS THAT, UM, THAT ACTUALLY ONCE OWNED THAT SITE, AND WHO DID, WHO, WHO MADE SUCH AN INVESTMENT IN THE COMMUNITY, UM, AND IN THEIR BUSINESSES, UM, IN THE SEAFOOD INDUSTRY. AND, UH, PROVIDED JOBS, PROVIDED A, A LOCATION FOR DRY EDGE, UH, UH, DRY DOCK STORAGE, COLD STORAGE, UM, DOCKING, ET CETERA. AND WHAT, AS I WAS DOING SOME OF THE RESEARCH ON THIS, UM, THE EARLIEST REFERENCE THAT I SAW, AND I'M NOT, I'M NOT CLAIMING TO, TO BE THE EXPERT ON THIS OR TO KNOW THE EARLIEST DATE. I'M SAYING THE EARLIEST REFERENCE THAT I SAW WAS IN 1966, [00:40:01] UM, A REFERENCE TO THAT SITE AS THE HILTON HEAD ISLAND, UM, UH, FISHING COOPERATIVE. AND, UM, AND THAT WAS 17 YEARS PRIOR TO THE TOWNSEND CORPORATION. SO I THINK THAT THIS, UM, THIS RECOMMENDATION TO THE LARGER TOWN COUNCIL IS SOMETHING THAT'S LONG OVERDUE. AND I THINK THAT THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WOULD BE WELL RECEIVED BY OUR COMMUNITY, BY OUR NATIVE VIOLENT COMMUNITY AS WE CONTINUE TO WORK TO DO REPARATIVE JUSTICE IN, IN THE GULLAH COMMUNITY. SO, WITH THAT, I'LL, I'LL PUT A, AS MY GRANDFATHER USED TO SAY, I'M GONNA PUT THE COTTON, TAKE THE COTTON OUTTA MY EARS AND PUT IT IN MY MOUTH AND ASK IF THERE ARE ANY COMMENTS. YEAH. UM, FIRST, HAVE THERE BEEN OTHER, UH, SUGGESTED NAMES? NOT TO MY KNOWLEDGE. OKAY. UM, HILTON HEAD ISLAND FISHING COOPERATIVE PARK IS A MOUTHFUL. MM-HMM . UM, SO IF IT IS, IF THAT IS THE DIRECTION THAT WE'RE LOOKING TO GO, I WOULD, I WOULD ASK WHAT IT WOULD BE COMMONLY KNOWN AS VERSUS THE OFFICIAL NAMING. RIGHT. BECAUSE I, I CAN SEE IT BEING SCALED RIGHT DOWN TO THE HHI FISHING CO-OP PARK, OR THE FISHING CO-OP PARK. UM, SO I, I THINK THAT NEEDS TO BE KIND OF PART OF THE CONVERSATION, BECAUSE WHEN WE GET THESE LONG DRAWN OUT NAMES, IT DOESN'T GET UTILIZED MAYBE THE WAY THAT IT SHOULD. UM, SO I THINK THAT, THAT WE NEED TO BE COGNIZANT OF THAT. UM, I UNDERSTAND NOT PULLING OUT AN INDIVIDUAL'S NAME ON THIS, BECAUSE IT'S NOT ABOUT ONE INDIVIDUAL. RIGHT. UM, BUT I'M IN FAVOR OF, OF RENAMING IT TO REPRESENT THAT WHICH TOOK PLACE THERE. THANK YOU. UM, I'M LITTLE OVERWHELMED HERE. UM, LISTEN TO THE MAYOR, UH, 'CAUSE HE AND I TALKED ABOUT THIS. WE WERE FIRST ELECTED THAT WE NEED TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT. AND, UM, I'M GLAD TO, TO SEE THAT WE'RE GOING DOWN THIS PATH. UM, TO THE MAYOR'S POINT, UM, US GUS, WE DON'T ALWAYS SAY A WHOLE LOT AS I WAS COMING UP AND THERE WERE STILL SHRIMP BOATS DOCKED DOWN THERE, AND MY DAD USED TO TAKE ME DOWN SO WE CAN GET SHRIMP. UH, WE ALWAYS BE GOING TO THE FISHING COPE, PERIOD, WHAT WAS CALLED. SO, UM, TO YOUR POINT, YOU KNOW, AS WE GO THROUGH THIS PROCESS, I THINK, YOU KNOW, THERE NEEDS TO BE SOME TYPE OF SHORTENING BECAUSE, UM, THROUGHOUT THE COMMUNITY, IT'S GOING TO BE REFERRED TO AS, AS SOMETHING, AND I KNOW FOR A PRETTY FIRM FACT THAT WITHIN THE GULLAH COMMUNITY, IF YOU GO HERE, THEY'RE GONNA CALL IT DEFICIENT QUAT. I LIKE THAT. YEAH. A COMMENT ON THAT. SOMETIMES LESS IS MORE. UH, IF YOU GIVE A NAME OR SOMETHING AND YOU HAVE TO EXPLAIN WHAT IT IS AND WHAT IT MEANS AND BREAK IT DOWN EVERY TIME THAT YOU USE IT OR YOU PRESENT IT, THEN THAT'S A PROBLEM. UM, SO I, I, I'M PIGGYBACKING ON WHAT THE BOTH OF YOU SAYS, OR WHAT, WHAT, WHATEVER IT LANDS ON, IT NEEDS TO BE SOMETHING THAT IS RECOGNIZABLE, SOMETHING THAT YOU DON'T HAVE TO EXPLAIN, UH, AND EX DID EVERY TIME YOU SAY IT. MAYBE I'M BEING A LITTLE BIT TOO SIMPLISTIC HERE, BUT, UH, TO ALEX'S POINT, IF THAT'S WHAT IS CALLED IN THE COMMUNITY, THEN THAT'S THE NAME. IT SHOULD BE THANK YOU. BECAUSE IT'S IN THE COMMUNITY AND IT'S HONORING THE PEOPLE IN THAT COMMUNITY. VERY GOOD POINT. THERE'S, THERE'S A, THERE'S, AND I DON'T DISAGREE WITH THAT. I DO AGREE WITH THAT. BUT IN REFERENCE TO THE CHAIRMAN'S, UH, COMMENT, THERE'S ALSO AN OPPORTUNITY TO EXPLAIN, TO EDUCATE, WHEN PEOPLE SAY, WELL, WHAT IS THE FISHING CO-OP? SO I THINK IT'S, IT'S GOOD THAT WE ARE USING SOMETHING THAT IN THE COMMUNITY MEANS SOMETHING, BUT IT'S ALSO AN OPPORTUNITY TO EDUCATE PEOPLE. WHAT IS THAT, WHAT'S THE HISTORY? UM, I'M THROWING THIS OUT AGAIN FOR , FOR THOUGHT. SORRY, PASTOR. I LIKE THE PROVOKE THOUGHT. UM, IS, IS THIS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO MAKE A CONNECTION WITH THE COMMUNITY, PARTICULARLY THE FAMILIES THAT WE'RE A PART OF THE FISHING CO-OP AND OWNED THE PROPERTY BEFORE? UM, YOU KNOW, I, I, I, I THINK WE SHOULD, IN THIS EXERCISE, [00:45:02] TAKE A, TAKE A MOMENT TO ENGAGE WITH THEM FIRST. UM, AND, AND THEN SORT OF COME BACK WITH THE PACKAGE IS WHAT, UM, IS ON MY MIND AT, AT THE MOMENT. SO, POINT, POINT, WELL TAKEN. 'CAUSE I, FOLKS FROM WHERE I SIT AS AS A PASTOR, I MEAN, WE'RE ONLY AS SUCCESSFUL AS THE BUY-IN THAT WE GET THE SUPPORT THAT WE GET. AND THAT WE WANNA SAY THAT YOUR VOICE MATTERS. YOUR OPINION MATTERS, AND YOU HAVE TO SEEK IT. UM, SOLICIT IT AND, AND LISTEN TO IT. SO I THINK THAT WOULD BE A GREAT EXERCISE. IF WE'RE GONNA, IF WE SAY THAT'S WHO WE ARE AND THAT'S WHAT WE'RE GONNA DO, THEN REACH OUT. AND IF THERE'S A CONSENSUS TO MOVE FORWARD, WELL TAKEN. WELL, THAT'S WHAT WE'LL DO. THAT'S WHAT WE'LL DO. THIS ITEM DID NOT REQUIRE ANY FORMAL, UH, WELL, IT DID REQUIRE A RECOMMENDATION, BUT WHAT WE CAN DO IS WE CAN TABLE THAT AND, UM, AND WE'LL GO THROUGH OUR PROCESS OF REACHING OUT TO, UH, THE DESCENDANTS OF THOSE, UM, UM, WHO CREATED, UH, WHO ONCE OWNED THAT SITE, AND, AND SEE WHAT, WHAT KIND OF FEEDBACK WE GET AND BRING, BRING BACK A, BRING BACK A POTENTIAL NAME. THANK YOU. ANY OTHER COMMENTS? MR. CHAIR? THERE IS PUBLIC COMMENT. LONG OVERDUE. THANK YOU. I DON'T, I DON'T THINK WE WE'RE QUITE DONE AT, AT THE END. WE HAVE NOT FORGOTTEN. AND I, I, I ENCOURAGE THEM TO TAKE NOTES. I HOPE THAT THEY HAVE, WE'VE GOT, YOU WANNA GO AHEAD WITH, WITH THE PRESENTATION AND THEN ASK FOR THE, THE COMMENTS ON WHAT DO IT NOW. ALRIGHT. SO LET'S ENTERTAIN IT NOW. THANK YOU. UH, MR. WILLIAMS, MS. WRATH. THANK YOU, CHAIRMAN. HEATHER WRATH, FOR THE RECORD, I WANTED TO GIVE, UH, THE COMMITTEE A LITTLE BIT OF HISTORICAL CONTEXT AROUND THE NAMING OF THIS PARK AND WHEN THAT OCCURRED IN 2015, 10 YEARS AGO. UM, I WAS CHAIR OF PARKS AND REC WHEN WE BUILT THIS PARK, AND THEN ALSO WHEN WE NAMED IT, UM, AND I REMEMBER THAT, UM, I WAS ACTUALLY JUST SITTING HERE REFLECTING ON IT. MY SON IS TURNING 10 YEARS OLD NEXT WEEK, AND I MISSED THE RIBBON CUTTING BECAUSE I WENT INTO LABOR EARLY. AND, AND, AND THE RIBBON COMING WAS ON DECEMBER 1ST, 2015. AND HE'S NOW TURNING 10 YEARS OLD. UM, THESE CONVERSATIONS ABOUT WHAT THIS PARK SHOULD HAVE BEEN NAMED 10 YEARS AGO WERE HOT AND HEAVY. UM, WE HAD A LOT OF PRESSURE TO BUILD THIS PARK FROM SOME COHORT ORGANIZATIONS THAT WE'RE GOING TO BRING FORWARD, UM, SOME RESOURCES THAT DID NOT APPEAR. UM, AND THEN WE HAD SOME PRESSURE FROM COUNCIL TO NAME IT A CERTAIN WAY. UM, I MANAGED TO GET THE SQUIRE POPE COMMUNITY PARK THROWN IN AT THE LAST MINUTE. SO THAT WAS MY PIECE OF IT, TO TRY AND TIE THE COMMUNITY TIES TOGETHER. I'M TELLING YOU ALL OF THAT BECAUSE THERE'S BEEN SOME HISTORY HERE. UM, AND THERE WAS A PUSH TO NOT NAME IT THIS 10 YEARS AGO. AND I LED THAT CHARGE. I FAILED. BUT I WANNA LET YOU KNOW THAT YOU HAVE MY FULL SUPPORT IN RENAMING. I ALSO HAVE THE ORIGINAL NEW YORK TIMES ARTICLE FROM 1970 THAT I WILL GIVE TO YOU MR. OXLEY, ON THE BASF CONFLICT. AND, UM, WHAT THEY WERE CALLING THIS PARK IN THE ARTICLE, WHICH WAS THE FISHING CO-OP. UM, AND THEN LAST BUT NOT LEAST, I DEFINITELY WANT TO REMEMBER, UM, MR. GREEN, BEN GREEN, WHO LED, UM, THE FISHING INITIATIVE FOR MANY YEARS UNTIL HIS, UM, HE PASSED AWAY LAST YEAR. HE WAS MY KID'S SECOND GRANDFATHER, AND HE WOULD BE SO PLEASED ON THE RENAMING OF THIS PARK. SO JUST WANTED TO OFFER THOSE COMMENTS AND I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS ON THE HISTORY, UM, OR ANYTHING ELSE QUESTION. SO, YES, SIR. UM, YOU SAID IT WAS HOT AND HEAVY? YES. OKAY. . UM, BECAUSE I'VE, I'VE TRIED TO TALK TO FOLKS THAT MAY HAVE BEEN PART OF THE, UH, THEY WERE NOT PART OF THE CONVERSATION. OKAY. ALRIGHT. THANK YOU. IS THAT WHAT YOU WERE ASKING ME, ALEX GOING BECAUSE OF HISTORIC, I DIDN'T NEED TO JUMP IN. THE HISTORIC, UH, NEIGHBORHOODS HAD THEIR OWN PROPERTY OWNED ASSOCIATIONS. CORRECT. TYPICALLY, THEY WOULD ENGAGE. THEY WERE NOT PART OF THE CONVERSATION. OKAY. ALRIGHT. THANK YOU. YEAH, THERE WAS, UM, IT WAS A, IT WAS A SINGLE GROUP THAT WAS PART OF THE CONVERSATION AND LED THE CONVERSATION AFTER LOTS OF PROMISES TO COUNCIL. UM, AND WHERE WE WERE WHEN WE WERE STARTING BUILDING THE PARK AND REALIZING THAT THOSE PROMISES WERE NOT GONNA COME TO FRUITION AS WE WERE TOO FAR DOWN THE ROAD. SO WE CONTINUED BUILDING THE PARK. HEATHER, YOU SAY THERE WAS A SINGLE GROUP? YES, SIR. YES, MA'AM. OKAY. AND THEY HAD NOTHING. THESE WERE NOT GULLAH? NO. OH, NO MA'AM. THIS WAS AN OUTSIDE GROUP THAT, YEAH. AND THEY MADE A LOT OF, OF PROMISES TO COUNCIL AND TO STEVE RILEY AT THE TIME THAT THEY WOULD BE DELIVERING, UM, FUNDING AND OTHER MECHANISMS TO HELP, UM, AUGMENT THE COST OF THE PARK. UM, AND WHILE THOSE [00:50:01] FUNDRAISERS DID OCCUR, THE MONEY WAS NEVER REALIZED. HMM. OKAY. YEAH, I DO RECALL ALL OF THAT. YES. YES. AND ALAN, ALAN KNOWS EXACTLY WHERE WE'RE GOING. THAT BEING SAID, I'M TOTALLY WITH ALEX IN TERMS OF WHAT WE ARE TRYING TO DO WITH THE LMO. LET'S NOT LOOK BACK, LET'S LOOK FORWARD. BUT I'M HERE TO OFFER THAT HISTORY. AND I DISTINCTLY REMEMBER THE FIGHT THAT WE HAD RIGHT THERE. I WAS SITTING RIGHT WHERE YOU ARE CHAIRMAN, TRYING TO FIGHT AGAINST THE NAMING OF THIS PARK. AND WE HAD A ORGANIZATION AS WELL AS A TOWN COUNCIL MEMBER THAT WAS ADAMANT THAT THIS WAS THE NAME. AND I'M REALLY, REALLY, REALLY HAPPY THAT 10 YEARS LATER WE ARE, WE ARE FIXING THAT. OKAY. THANK YOU. ANY OTHER COMMENTS? NO. HELLO. I HAVE THE CO-OP. YES. OKAY. AND IDENTIFY YOURSELF PLEASE, SHARON. SHE, UM, I LIKE THE IDEA OF CHANGING THE NAME TO BACK TO FISHING COOP BECAUSE I, I DON'T WANNA BE BIASED AT THIS FAMILY. AND I WAS, AS YOU WERE SPEAKING, I JUST TOLD MY NIECE THAT I WAS GONNA TAKE HER BACK 'CAUSE I DID DO THE KIOSK. I LOVE THE IDEA AND I THINK IT'S A GOOD IDEA TO TAKE IT BACK. THAT WAS IT. BYE. THANK YOU. THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE, MS. SHERMAN, AND THANK YOU FOR BEING WITH US TWO DAYS IN A ROW TO YOU AND YOUR NIECE. YES. YES. ALRIGHT, ANY OTHER COMMENTS, UH, UH, RELATED TO THAT ITEM? OKAY. HEARING NONE, AND I GUESS WE, WE'LL MOVE ON. UM, OUR NEXT ITEM, UM, ON THE AGENDA IS REVIEW AND DISCUSSION OF COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS ACTIVE IN DISASTER. UM, AS I MENTIONED IN MY REPORT, UM, THIS IS, UM, THE IMPORTANCE OF THIS BECAME CLEAR AND EVIDENT TO ME IN 2024 WHEN, UM, THERE WERE HURRICANES IN THE ATLANTIC AND WE WERE SPARED, WE MISSED, YOU KNOW, ANY SEMBLANCE OF A DIRECT HIT, BUT WE DID HAVE SOME HIGH WINDS. AND I RECEIVED, YOU KNOW, PROBABLY ABOUT EIGHT TO 10 CALLS, UM, FROM COMMUNITY MEMBERS, UH, SPECIFICALLY OVER IN, UM, IN SPANISH, IN THE SPANISH WELLS NEIGHBORHOOD AREA, AS WELL AS IN THE MARSHLAND AREA, UH, OF DOWN TREES, SIGNIFICANT DOWN TREES. AND, UM, AND HAVING HAD THE OPPORTUNITY AT THAT POINT TO, UM, TO HAVE A SEAT AND PARTICIPATE IN THE EMERGENCY OPERATIONS COMMAND CENTER, UM, WITH MR. DUNN, WHO YOU'LL HEAR FROM HERE MOMENTARILY, UM, IT, IT REALLY DAWNED ON ME THAT, THAT WE HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY TO, TO ASSIST, UH, YOU KNOW, OUR COMMUNITY WHO OFTENTIMES ARE, UH, DO NOT HAVE THE RESOURCES WHEN THESE STORMS DO NOT REACH FEDERAL DESIGNATION AND THE RESOURCES POUR INTO IT, INTO THE COMMUNITY. UM, I CAN TELL YOU THAT, YOU KNOW, IN, IN, YOU KNOW, REMOVING TREES IS A VERY EXPENSIVE UNDERTAKING TO THE TUNE OF EIGHT TO $10,000 PER TREE, DEPENDING, DEPENDING ON SIZE, RIGHT? AND, AND SO, YOU KNOW, FOR FOLKS THAT ARE, YOU KNOW, IN NEED AND, AND HAVE, YOU KNOW, A PRESSING ISSUE AT THO IN THOSE TIMES, I THINK IT'S JUST VERY RESPONSIBLE OF US TO BEGIN TO BE PROACTIVE. AND SO WITH THAT, I WANT TO, UM, TO INVITE MR. DUNN UP TO GIVE US A BIT OF A, OF BACKGROUND ON WHAT HE AND I HAVE BEEN WORKING ON OVER THE PAST, UM, PROBABLY A LITTLE OVER A YEAR NOW. AND, UM, AND, AND, AND HE'LL FIELD SOME QUESTIONS IF YOU HAVE ANY RELATED TO, TO WHAT WE'RE WORKING TOWARDS AND, AND OUR NEXT STEPS. SO TOM DUNN. EXCELLENT. THANK YOU COMMITTEE, MR. BOXY. THANK YOU GUYS FOR HAVING ME THIS MORNING. FORGIVE ME, MY VOICE IS STRUGGLING A LITTLE BIT. SO, UM, I'M HERE TALKING ABOUT COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS ACTIVE IN DISASTER AS, UH, AS THOMAS MENTIONED, UH, WE STARTED THIS PROBABLY BACK IN 2024. UH, THAT'S THE FORMAL DEFINITION OF A COAD. UM, I THREW THAT UP THERE BECAUSE THERE'S, THERE'S TWO DIFFERENT VERSIONS OF IT OUT THERE. THERE'S WHAT THEY CALL A VA, WHICH IS VOLUNTARY ORGANIZATIONS ACTIVE IN DISASTER, AND THEN A COAD, WHICH IS COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS ACTIVE IN DISASTER. THEY'RE SOMEWHAT INTERCHANGEABLE IN, IN THE, UH, EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT WORLD, BUT I PREFER THE COAD BECAUSE IT SAYS COMMUNITY. SO THAT'S KIND OF THE REASON WE, WE HEADED DOWN THAT DIRECTION. UH, SO KIND OF WHERE WE, WHERE HAVE WE BEEN? SO LIKE THOMAS MENTIONED IN EARLY 24, WE, WE, WE, WE, WE CAME TOGETHER ALMOST INFORMALLY. WE HAD A SMALL GROUP BASED ON SOME OF THE NEEDS THAT THOMAS SPOKE ABOUT JUST A SECOND AGO. UM, WE CAME TOGETHER, WE, WE BEGAN TO SUPPORT THOSE, UH, THOSE INDIVIDUALS THAT NEEDED MOSTLY TREE WORK IS THE MOST OF THE BIGGEST THING THAT WE HAD AT THAT TIME. BUT, UM, AT THAT POINT I REALIZED IT WAS AN OPPORTUNITY TO BRING THIS COAD TOGETHER. THIS, WE CALLED IT A COMMUNITY NEEDS GROUP AT THE TIME. UM, BRING THAT GROUP TOGETHER AND BEGIN TO START TO GROW IT INTO THE COMMUNITY AND BE ABLE TO SUPPORT, SUPPORT THE COMMUNITY. SO AS THIS GROUP BEGAN [00:55:01] TO WORK, WE REALIZED THAT ONE, THESE GUYS CAN WORK INFORMALLY AND CONTINUE TO SUPPORT THE COMMUNITY, BUT WE ALSO NEEDED TO BE TO, TO HAVE SPACE FOR THEM TO WORK IF, IF THERE'S A REAL LARGE EVENT, THEY NEEDED TO BE ABLE TO COME TOGETHER AFTER THE EVENT AND HAVE A SPACE TO WORK TOGETHER. SO WE BEGAN TO IDENTIFY A COUPLE OF LOCATIONS ON THE ISLAND THAT THEY COULD BEGIN TO WORK TOGETHER. UM, ONCE WE GOT TO THAT POINT, WE IDENTIFIED THOSE SPOTS, WE REALIZED THAT, YOU KNOW, LET'S HAVE A LARGER CONVERSATION. SO WE BROUGHT IN THE, UH, SOUTH CAROLINA OFFICE OF RESILIENCY, THEIR BOAD COORDINATOR, AND SHE DID A, UH, ABOUT A TWO HOUR PRESENTATION ON BOAD, WHAT THEY LOOK LIKE, HOW THEY LOOK, SOME OF THE THINGS THAT, UM, WOULD BENEFIT US IF WE BECAME MORE FORMAL. SO WE DID THAT. AND THEN WE ALSO HAD A MEETING WITH GEORGETOWN COUNTY. UM, THEY HAVE A CO-ED THAT'S PROBABLY THE GOLD STANDARD IN THE STATE. THEY'RE ONE OF THE BEST. THEY GAVE US SOME GREAT ADVICE. UM, AND THE BIGGEST PIECE OF ADVICE WE REALLY CAME OUT OF THAT WITH BOTH IS WE NEED TO BEGIN TO FORMALIZE. SO AFTER THOSE TWO MEETINGS, WE BEGAN TO START TO CHANGE OUR DIRECTION AND BEGIN TO LOOK AT WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE IN A, IN A DIFFERENT SENSE. SO, AS I MENTIONED, FORMALIZE, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE WANNA DO IS BE MAKE THE GROUP MORE FORMAL AND CREATE BYLAWS, POLICIES, PROCEDURES FOR THIS GROUP TO FUNCTION AND OPERATE UNDER. UM, AS THOMAS MENTIONED, YOU KNOW, HAVING A FIDUCIARY PRIMARY ORGANIZATION THAT'S A FIDUCIARY FOR THE, FOR THE GROUP, UM, THAT IS HUGE TO BE ABLE TO GET GRANT FUNDING THAT'S COMING IN FROM, UH, THE OFFICE OF RESILIENCY, RESILIENCY IN OTHER PLACES. SO THAT'S A, THAT'S A KEY PIECE THAT IF WE WANT TO HAVE THIS GROUP IN A LARGER FORMAL CAPACITY, WE NEED TO HAVE. UM, AND THAT, AS I MENTIONED, THAT BRINGS IN FUNDING. ONE OF THE OTHER THINGS THAT WE REALLY WANT TO DO IS EXPAND OUR PARTNERSHIP. RIGHT NOW IT'S A SMALL, REALLY SMALL COLLECTIVE. UM, AT THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR, UH, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT THOMAS AND I PLAN TO DO IS TO ACTUALLY WRITE LETTERS TO A LOT OF THE ORGANIZATIONS, BUSINESSES AND, UH, OTHER, OTHER ENTITIES ON THE ISLAND TO SAY, HEY, HERE'S WHAT WE'RE DOING. CAN YOU COME BE A PARTNER WITH US? UM, I THINK LONG TERM, I SEE IT BEING TWO PIECES, HAVING A VERY FORMAL MEMBERSHIP THAT ARE SIGNED ON TO THE BYLAWS, BUT ALSO THERE'S VERY INFORMAL OR PARTNERS THAT MAY COME IN AS WE NEED THEM. UM, REALLY THE BIGGEST PIECE THAT, UH, OR ONE OF THE OTHER PIECES THAT I SEE THAT THIS GROUP WILL ALLOW US TO DO, UM, THE UNITED WAY, UM, AT THE LOW COUNTRY, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT THEY'RE BUILDING IS A LARGER REGIONAL OF VA AND A LONG-TERM RECOVERY GROUP. UM, WHAT US HAVING OUR OWN COAD HERE LOCALLY AND FORMALLY ALLOWS US TO DO IS ONE, TO FOCUS ON, ON THE COMMUNITY HERE, BUT TWO, IT ALLOWS US TO ROLL INTO THAT LONG-TERM RECOVERY GROUP, WHICH IS THAT POST-DISASTER SCENARIO. SO ONCE FEMA'S GONE, ONCE FEMA LEAVES, THAT LONG-TERM RECOVERY GROUP IS STILL FILLING THE GAPS THAT, THAT, THAT COULDN'T BE FILLED BY FEMA IN OTHER, OTHER WAYS. SO THAT'S KIND OF WHERE WE'VE BEEN AND KIND OF WHERE WE'RE GOING. UM, I'LL KIND OF STOP, KIND OF STOP THERE AND, AND, AND, AND ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS YOU GUYS MAY HAVE AND, AND THEN MAYBE FILL IN ANY BLANKS THAT THAT NEED TO BE FILLED IN IF YOU'D LIKE. I GOT, I GOT A FEW THINGS. ABSOLUTELY. I, I'M GLAD THAT Y'ALL DOING THIS. FIRST OF ALL, UM, OBVIOUSLY WE'VE HAD EVENTS IN THE PAST AND, UM, WE WE'RE BLESSED TO BE IN A COMMUNITY WHERE VOLUNTEERS ALWAYS STEP UP. UH, A LOT OF TIMES IT'S THE CHURCHES THAT SORT OF TAKE THE LEAD. UM, BUT, YOU KNOW, CHURCH LEADERSHIPS CHANGE. YEP. VOLUNTEERS CHANGE . AND THEN THREE YEARS DOWN THE ROAD, THERE'S ANOTHER STORM THAT IS GIVING US AN ISSUE. SO FORMALIZING SO THAT WE KNOW WHERE TO GO IS SO IMPORTANT. SO I APPRECIATE THE EFFORT. UM, CAN WE SPEAK, UH, A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THE, UH, GRANT OPPORTUNITIES? UM, UH, SO, BUT IF THIS BODY'S BEING ASKED TO, TO TAKE THE LEAD MM-HMM . AS THE FIDUCIARY, UM, YOU KNOW, I'M JUST WANNA UNDERSTAND WHAT THOSE OPPORTUNITIES LOOK LIKE AND, UM, THE WORK INTO WRITING THE GRANTS AND THAT SORT OF THING. YOU KNOW, HOW, HOW ARE WE GONNA GO ABOUT THAT? UM, THAT'S THE, THE WRITING AND ALL THAT. WE'LL, WE'LL HAVE TO FIGURE THAT OUT. OKAY. UM, THAT'S, THAT'S NOT SOMETHING WE'VE TALKED ABOUT YET. UM, BUT IN TALKING WITH THE OFFICE OF RESILIENCY, UM, A LITTLE BIT OF CONVERSATION WITH THE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION, UM, THE OFFICE OF RESILIENCY HAS GOT A LOT OF OF RESOURCES THERE RELATED TO GRANTS AND GRANT OPPORTUNITIES. SO THERE'S SOME STANDARD ONES OUT THERE THAT, THAT WE COULD PROBABLY GO AHEAD AND, AND TRY TO GET, YOU KNOW, GO AFTER. BUT EACH STORM OR EACH EVENT AND DOWN THE ROAD WILL BRING DIFFERENT GRANT OPPORTUNITIES OUT THERE. THOMAS, DO YOU WANT TO ADD TO THAT? 'CAUSE YOU WERE IN THE, IN THAT CONVERSATION AS WELL, AND YOU THINK THAT YEAH, I, UM, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT GRANT OPPORTUNITIES AND, AND, UH, THE, LIKE, UM, ONE OF THE, ONE OF THE MEMBERS OF THIS COALITION, UH, THAT, THAT IS A FAITH-BASED ORGANIZATION IS BASICALLY PLEDGED TO, AND IF THE NEED PRESENTS ITSELF, UM, TO, TO PAY FOR AND FUND THE REMOVAL OF, OF THE COST OF TWO TREES, SO THAT THAT'S LIKE RIGHT AT $20,000, UM, THAT HAS ALREADY BEEN PLEDGED. [01:00:01] AND ALL I WOULD HAVE TO DO IN THE EVENT THAT THAT EMERGENCY PRESENTED ITSELF WOULD, WOULD PRESENT, WOULD BE TO PRESENT THEM WITH AN INVOICE. SO, UM, THERE ARE THOSE TYPES OF ORGANIZATIONS THAT ARE, UM, THAT ARE THERE WILLING TO SUPPORT US. AND, AND TO MR. DUNN'S POINT, UM, YOU KNOW, HAVING A, AND TO YOUR POINT AS WELL, ALEX, HAVING THE FORMALIZED RELATIONSHIP, UM, THERE ARE, UH, YOU KNOW, GROUPS, UM, I THINK IT'S LIKE, UM, LIKE FOR EXAMPLE, LIKE HILTON HEAD PRESBYTERIAN THAT HAS LIKE, UM, A, A TREE, UH, THE, THE TREE TRIMMING, THE, THE TREE REMOVAL OPERATIONS JUST DOWN TO A SCIENCE. AND, UH, THEY ARE AT THE TABLE WITH US. AND SO IT'S, IT'S NOT LIKE, IT, IT'S NOT EVEN AS DIFFICULT AS, AS PICKING UP THE PHONE AND MAKING A CALL AND WAITING ON A CALL BACK. IT'S THAT THEY'RE SITTING AT THE TABLE WITH US AND, UH, RIGHT THERE AS THE NEED PRESENTS ITSELF. SO THAT, THAT'S PART OF THE VALUE. SOME OF THE, SOME OF THE COST AND SOME OF THE, THE, THE, YOU KNOW, THE NON-COST RELATED IMPACT THAT WE, WE ARE ABLE TO HAVE. BUT, BUT YES, WE DO HAVE A DIRECT COMMITMENT, UM, FOR SOME FUNDING TO REMOVE, YOU KNOW, TO, TO INVOLVE, TO ENGAGE IN TREE REMOVAL SHOULD THAT NEED PRESENT ITSELF ON THE TABLE, UH, ALREADY. YEAH. I'LL, IF I COULD EXPAND ON THAT OR MAYBE EXPLAIN THAT A LITTLE, ADD A LITTLE CONTEXT TOO. UH, THE WAY, THE WAY I LOOK AT IT IS THE COAD, THE, THE MEMBER ORG, WE'LL CALL IT MEMBER ORGANIZATIONS NOW. THAT'LL BE YOUR FIRST LINE OF DEFENSE TO MEET THAT NEED. SO THEY'LL HANDLE IT, THEY'LL PAY FOR IT, WHATEVER THE CASE MAY BE THE SECOND LINE IS THE, THE PRIVATE SECTOR ENTITIES. I HOPE THAT AT SOME POINT WILL FALL IN, WE'LL FILL THAT NEXT LEVEL OF GAP. AND IN THAT THIRD LAYER WOULD BE ANY FUNDS THAT WE COULD GET THROUGH GRANT FUNDS OR DONATIONS THAT WOULD BE SET INTO A DIFFERENT ACCOUNT. SO MY, THAT'S, IT'S ALMOST THREE LAYERS OF FUNDING AVAILABILITY THERE BEFORE WE, YOU KNOW, BEFORE WE RUN OUT OF FUNDING, IF THAT, FOR LACK OF A BETTER WAY OF SAYING THAT. DOES THAT BETTER ANSWER YOUR ANSWER QUESTION? OH, YEAH, ABSOLUTELY. I, I JUST THINK WE, WE HAVE TO BE, YOU KNOW, AGGRESSIVE AND OBVIOUSLY THE NONPROFIT WORLD, WHICH WE ARE, TEND TO HAVE A LITTLE BIT BETTER RESPONSE WHEN ASKING FOR DONATIONS. UM, AND THE OTHER THING, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT TREES, WHICH IS PROBABLY THE BIGGEST YES. UM, OBSTACLE DURING, DURING STORMS. UM, I'M JUST WONDERING IF THERE'S ANY OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO HAVE CONVERSATIONS WITH OUR LOCAL TREE VENDORS, ABSOLUTELY. ABOUT, UH, HELPING US OUT WITH, WITH THIS. CAUSE UM, THERE WAS A TREE DOWN ON 2 78, UH, LAST WEEK, AND THAT THING GOT PICKED UP IN ABOUT 20 MINUTES. I CAN'T IMAGINE WHAT THAT BILL LOOKED LIKE. BUT THE POINT THAT I'M TRYING TO MAKE IS, YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WAS AN EMERGENCY HAD TO HAPPEN RIGHT AWAY. THERE'S A COST INVOLVED IN THAT. BUT IN THIS CASE, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT, UM, ABOUT PEOPLE'S LIVES. YOU KNOW, I'VE SEEN SITUATIONS WHERE WE'VE HAD HANGERS YES. AND PEOPLE ARE AFRAID TO COME OUT OF THEIR FRONT DOOR. MM-HMM . AND, UH, ALL, ALL DUE RESPECT TO HILTON HEAD PRE FOR BEING ABLE TO CUT TREES. BUT WHEN THEY'RE HANGERS, LIKE YOU NEED PROFESSIONALS TO COME IN RIGHT. AND, AND DO THAT. SO IF THEY CAN OFFER UP ANY TYPE OF DISCOUNT, UH, TO THIS CO-ED, IF THERE'S SOME WAY TO FORMALIZE THAT, I THINK THAT WOULD BE IMPORTANT AS WELL. ABSOLUTELY. THAT'S PART OF THE, THAT'S DEFINITELY PART OF THE PLAN FOR SURE. MM-HMM . SO, UM, EXPANDING ON THAT JUST A LITTLE BIT, 'CAUSE I WAS HAVING THE SAME THOUGHT AS WELL. MY MIND WENT TO CROWDER GOLF. MM-HMM . WE'VE GOT ON CONTRACT AT THE TOWN THAT COMES IN AND, AND REMOVES THE TREES. SO WE'RE NOT TALKING ABOUT REMOVING THE TREES, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT GETTING THE TREES TO A POINT WHERE THEY CAN BE REMOVED, RIGHT? YES. WE'RE, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT MAKING A, A RESIDENCE SAFE. YES. YES. SO, UM, HAVING THE PARTNERSHIP WITH THOSE BUSINESSES LOCALLY IS, IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT. UM, BUT THERE'S ALSO THE HOME REPAIR PROGRAM THAT I THINK COULD HAVE A PART IN THIS AS WELL. SO I, YOU KNOW, IT'S JUST TO EXPAND IT SO THAT IT'S MORE ENCOMPASSING. UM, BUT ALSO HAVING THOSE BUSINESSES COMMITTED TO SAY THAT WE CAN GO IN AND MOVE TREES, REMOVE THOSE LIMBS AT A SET COST FOR CERTAIN AREAS, UH, TO EXTEND THE LIFE OF THE GRANTS IS, IS REALLY IMPORTANT, UM, TO HAVE RELYING ON THE CHURCHES AND THOSE NONPROFITS TO REALLY STEP IN WHEN EVERYBODY IS COMING TO THEM. HAVING SOMETHING MORE FORMALIZED, SET IN, IN STONE, WORKING FORWARD. I, YOU KNOW, THAT'S, THAT'S WHERE WE NEED TO GO. I, I THINK THIS IS ABSOLUTELY A, A GREAT IDEA AND WELL NEEDED, YOU KNOW, UM, I WAS JUST READING SOMETHING THIS MORNING THAT THIS IS THE FIRST HURRICANE SEASON WHERE THERE HAS BEEN NO STORMS THAT HAVE HIT, UH, FROM THE GULF OR THE ATLANTIC TO, TO THE STATES. SO, AND THAT'S BEEN IN DECADES, RIGHT, TOM? YEP. AT AT LEAST 10 YEARS. YEAH. SO I MEAN, THAT UNUSUAL YEAR. [01:05:01] UM, BUT WE, BUT IT'S A GREAT TIME TO PLAN FOR THAT EVENT NEXT YEAR AND TO REALLY GET THINGS LINED UP SO THAT THERE'S THAT PROTOCOL THAT, THAT, YOU KNOW, SOP IN PLACE THAT YOU KNOW EXACTLY HOW TO MOVE FORWARD, WHO TO REACH OUT AND, AND REALLY THAT, THAT BOOK TO FOLLOW. SO VERY VALID POINT. MM-HMM. I, I, I WANNA MAKE A COMMENT ON THIS. I, I THINK THIS IS EXCELLENT AS WELL. I REMEMBER THE HORROR STORY WHEN WE DID EVACUATE. UH, I FORGOT WHAT, WHAT YEAR IT WAS. AND YOU HAD TO COME THROUGH BLUFFTON AND YOU COULDN'T GET THROUGH BLUFFTON. IT WAS LIKE PICKUP STICKS. I MEAN, TREES WERE EVERYWHERE ON 46. UM, SO IF WE, IF WE CAN GET A, A, A PLAN, UM, TO YOU TO HELP MITIGATE THAT BEFORE IT HAPPENS AGAIN. THE, THE DUE DILIGENCE THAT YOU'RE PUTTING IN NOW IS, IS A WIN-WIN, UM, FOR, FOR THE ISLAND AND JUST FOR ALL AREAS. BUT I, I SEE SOMETHING THAT NEEDS TO BE DONE. I EXPERIENCED SOMETHING ON, ON SUNDAY. IT WASN'T NECESSARILY TREES IN THE ROAD. MM-HMM . IT'S A 2 78 THING. IT'S A DISASTER WAITING TO HAPPEN. THERE WAS AN ACCIDENT, UM, SUNDAY ON 2 78, UH, AT SQUIRE POPE ROAD, UH, ACROSS HOLLAND PARKWAY WAS GRIDLOCK. PEOPLE ON 2 78, GOT OFF OF 2 78 IN FRONT OF PARKERS, WENT AROUND TO SQUIRE POPE ROAD. RIGHT? SO YOU HAD THE FLYOVER 2 78, AND THEN WHEN THEY GOT SQUIRE PORT ROAD, EMERGENCY VEHICLES WERE THERE. MM-HMM . SO THERE WERE GRIDLOCKS STUCK ON SQUIRE PORT ROAD. THEY COULDN'T GET OFF. THEN THEY STARTED GOING THROUGH THE PARKING LOT AT, UH, MEMORY MATTERS, TOTAL DISASTER. AND I'M SITTING THERE THINKING, WHAT IF THIS WAS AN OPPORTUNITY WHEN PEOPLE ARE TRYING TO EVACUATE, WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IN A SITUATION LIKE THAT? I DON'T KNOW HOW MUCH OF THAT IS 2 78, I DON'T KNOW. BUT YOU SITTING THERE, SOME PEOPLE WHO, WHO I SHUDDER TO THINK WHAT WOULD BE HAPPENING TO THEM IN, IN A, IN A MOMENT, IN AN OPPORTUNITY WHEN THEY REALLY NEEDED TO EVACUATE. AND THIS IS NOT TREES, IT'S VEHICLES AND IT'S LOGISTICS AND IT'S GRIDLOCK AND PEOPLE ARE TRYING TO GET OFF AND GET, GET AROUND SOMETHING THAT IS NOT OF THEY DOING JUST AS THE TREE'S FALLING DOWN. UH, IS THERE A PLAN? I'M NOT CERTAIN. 'CAUSE WE STAYED ON 2 78 AND I TOLD MY WIFE, I SAYS, WE'RE NOT GETTING OFF. AND IF WE GO AROUND THE SQUAD, POPE, WE DON'T KNOW WHAT WE'RE GONNA MEAN AT THAT LIGHT. AND THE ACCIDENT WAS AT THAT LIGHT, AND IT WAS, THEY HAD TO BE BACKED UP THAT ROUNDABOUT ALL THE WAY IN FRONT OF MY CALVARY. IT WAS JUST THAT BAD AS FAR AS I COULD SEE WITH CARS. SO HOW IN, IN, ARE THERE PLANS, UH, IN, IN THE EVENT THAT SOMETHING LIKE THAT HAPPENS? I'M NOT CERTAIN WHETHER THE, THE, THE WIDENING PORTION OF THE 2 7 8 WOULD, WOULD ADDRESS THAT, BUT ON ANY, AND THIS WAS NOT, UM, TOURIST SEASON IS OVER. UM, AND SO YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT HURRICANE SEASON, THAT'S IN THE MIDST OF TOURIST SEASON. I MEAN, WHAT DO WE DO? IS, IS, IS THAT A THOUGHT PROCESS? SOMETHING THAT, UM, DISCUSSION HAS BEEN HAD WITH SOMEBODY SOMEWHERE BECAUSE IT'S BOUND TO HAPPEN. SO I'LL, I'LL GO AHEAD AND, AND TAKE THAT ONE. UM, , THAT IS A VERY HEAVY TOPIC OF CONVERSATION THAT WE'VE JUST SPENT TWO DAYS IN WORKSHOPS, UH, WITH COUNCIL MEMBERS DISCUSSING. UM, MOST LIKELY THERE'S SOME REFINING THAT IS COMING TO THAT CORRIDOR AND HOW WE'RE GOING TO ADDRESS THAT AND ALLEVIATE THOSE PINCH POINTS AND EXPECT TO SEE THAT SOMETIME IN JANUARY. UM, IT HAS BEEN A, A TOP PRIORITY BECAUSE WE'RE GOING AFTER FUNDING IN JANUARY WITH, AT THE STATE LEVEL. UM, SO ALL THE WORK IS BEING DONE RIGHT NOW. TOM, GOOD TO SEE YOU AGAIN. UM, I, I MAY HAVE MISSED SOMETHING, BUT IS THIS A NONPROFIT CHARITABLE ORGANIZATION, UH, INDEPENDENT OF THE TOWN? OR IS THE TOWN OPERATING THIS WITH THE ASSISTANCE OF PUBLIC? SO THAT'S THE, IT'LL BE A COMPLETELY INDEPENDENT ORGANIZATION, UM, WITH, DEPENDING ON HOW THE BYLAWS ARE WRITTEN. SO HAVE WRITTEN, EXCUSE ME, IT'LL HAVE, UM, A CHAIR HAVE A FORMAL COMMITTEE AND ALL THAT WHERE, AND THEN AS THE FIDUCIARY, IF YOU GUYS CHOOSE TO DO THAT, WE'LL BE A SIGNIFICANT MEMBER OF THAT. AND OBVIOUSLY, DEPENDING ON HOW WE WRITE THE BYLAWS, BUT THE TOWN WILL BE KIND OF A SUPPORT ENTITY. OKAY. AND, AND THAT YES. MM-HMM . RESTRICTED TO THE ISLAND. YES. ALL RIGHT. I'VE GOT SOME THOUGHTS, BUT FOR A LATER DATE. THANKS. I JUST WANNA GO BACK TO, I THINK IT WAS, UM, DEBBIE, UM, DOWN ON JONESVILLE ROAD TREE, WENT THROUGH TRAILER, UM, THE TOWN STEPPED IN AND PROVIDED ASSISTANCE IMMEDIATELY, YOU KNOW, HAD A TREE COMPANY OUT THERE WITHIN A, I THINK A COUPLE HOURS TO GET IT OFF OF THE HOUSE. UM, THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT, HAVING THE, THE, THE PROTOCOLS IN PLACE TO ADDRESS THAT. I'M NOT TRYING TO FIGURE IT OUT ON THE FLY, SO I JUST WANNA MAKE THAT POINT THAT IT IS, HAS HAPPENED IN THE PAST, RECENTLY, JUST A COUPLE YEARS AGO, AND THE TOWN JUMPED ON IT TO HELP. SO YEAH, HAVING THE PROTOCOLS IN PLACE AS WELL AS, AS TO ALL OF THE POINTS THAT WERE RAISED. AND DAVID, IF, IF WE WOULD DEFINITELY [01:10:01] WELCOME ANY FEEDBACK THAT YOU HAVE. ABSOLUTELY. BECAUSE, UM, WE WILL BE SENDING AGAIN, UM, THE PROPOSED BYLAWS TO LEGAL FOR REVIEW. AND SO ANY COMMENTARY THAT YOU ALL MAY HAVE, I WOULD LOVE TO GET THAT BACK SO THAT I CAN INCORPORATE THAT INTO, UM, THE REVIEW BY LEGAL IN THE MONTH OF DECEMBER, EARLY DECEMBER. UM, SO, SO PLEASE DO PROVIDE THAT FEEDBACK. BUT WE WILL ALSO BE WORKING ON PRE-POSITIONING, RIGHT? BECAUSE THERE WILL BE EQUIPMENT NEEDS, OBVIOUSLY. AND SO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT, THAT, UM, THAT TOM AND I AND SOME OF THE OTHER MEMBERS OF THE COALITION HAVE BEEN DISCUSSING IS LIKE, WHAT RENTAL COMPANIES CAN WE DEVELOP A CONTRACTUAL ARRANGEMENT WITH SO THAT WE COULD GET, YOU KNOW, A BOOM LIFT OR EXTRA CHAINSAWS, WHATEVER, WHATEVER TYPE OF EQUIPMENT THAT WE COULD HAVE PRE-POSITIONED, OR A CONTRACTUAL ARRANGEMENT WITH A RENTAL COMPANY TO PROVIDE TO US, UM, UM, YOU KNOW, AS A FIRST, AS A FIRST, UM, OPTION. UM, SO THOSE ARE SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE'RE ALSO DISCUSSING. GOT ONE MORE QUESTION. UM, LAST WEEK THERE WAS A FIRE AT, UM, SOUTH PARK, NO SAND SANDALWOOD PARK. WOULD THIS COME INTO PLAY WITH THAT AS WELL? IT VERY WELL COULD, YES. OKAY. JUST WANNA THINK ABOUT THOSE. MM-HMM . THOSE OPPORTUNITIES TO PROVIDE ADDITIONAL ASSISTANCE ABOVE AND BEYOND, OR IN ADDITION TO THOSE ORGANIZATIONS THAT ALREADY RESPOND. CORRECT. YEAH. DISASTER. I MEAN, IT, IT, IT COMES IN MANY DIFFERENT FORMS, NOT JUST DURING HURRICANE SEASON, BUT WE DO, TO YOUR POINT, WE DO HAVE COMMUNITY MEMBERS THAT HAVE A NEED, YOU KNOW, FOR THE ONE OFF TYPE OF, OF SITUATION. SO YEAH. THOMAS? YES. WOULD IT BE YOUR TELEPHONE NUMBER THAT WOULD RING ? NO, IT WOULD BE THIS THOMAS . WELL, THAT'S, THAT'S MY POINT. WHO, WHO HAS THE, UH, INSTANTANEOUS ACCOUNTABILITY RESPONSIBILITY TO SOLVE A PROBLEM? IS IT THE TOWN OR IS IT A NONPROFIT? IT WOULD DEFINITELY FALL INTO THE REALM OF THE, OF THE NONPROFIT. THIS COALITION. NOT THE, NOT THE TOWN PER SE. YEAH. IT'S, IT'S THE TOWN PROVIDING INFORMATION TOO, IS THE BEST WAY TO LOOK AT THAT. AND ANOTHER PIECE THAT I'LL ADD IS, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE HAVE DONE IN, UM, HERE RECENTLY IS I ADDED A, A COAD SEAT IN THE EOC. SO THOMAS WILL HAVE THAT SEAT IN THE EOC TO BE ABLE TO COORDINATE WITH THAT GROUP FOR DURING A HURRICANE OR OTHER DISASTER, BUT ALSO THAT, THAT DAY TO DAY. YES, SIR. AND, AND I WOULD ADD, YOU KNOW, WE'VE GOT MY HHI, HOW COULD THAT EITHER BE INCORPORATED OR MIRRORED? BECAUSE YOU'RE GONNA HAVE A, YOUR PHONE'S GONNA BE BUSY ALL THE TIME, RIGHT? BUT HOW DO YOU CREATE THAT LOG OF NEED THAT'S GREAT. IN, IN A TIME OF REAL DISASTER? UM, SO I, YOU KNOW, THAT'S A, JUST ANOTHER PROCESS TO THINK ABOUT. ALL GREAT. GOOD FEEDBACK. THANK YOU. UM, UH, SARAH ANDRE. OKAY. AWESOME. I DON'T HAVE ANYTHING. OKAY. THANK Y'ALL. ALL GOOD. THANK YOU. WELL, THAT CONCLUDES, UH, I'LL TURN IT BACK OVER TO MR. CHAIR. LET ME NOT OVERSTEP MY RESPONSIBILITIES AS DIRECTOR. I'M, I GOTTA MAKE SURE AND GIVE, HAND THIS BACK OFF TO OUR CHAIR. NO, YOU'VE BEEN DOING AN AWESOME JOB. TRUST ME. UH, THANK YOU SO MUCH. THERE WAS A LOT, AS I SAID, WHEN WE STARTED ON THIS JOURNEY AND ON THIS MORNING, UH, FULL OF, UH, GOOD USEFUL INFORMATION FOR YOU. WE THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTIVENESS. THANK, UH, THIS BRINGS US TO, TO THE CLOSE OF WHAT WE HAVE, UH, PREPARED FOR YOU FOR AN OPEN SESSION. UH, WE WILL OPEN THE FLOOR. NOW IS WE GOT ONE MORE THING. THAT'S OKAY. I'M SAYING, I'M SAYING, BUT THEY WON'T SPEAK ON THAT THOUGH. I SEE. I DO THE SAME THING SOMETIMES. TRY TO SKIP RIGHT OVER AND GET ON. ALRIGHT, SO WE WILL, THEY'RE, THEY'RE HITTING ME ON BOTH SIDES. SO I'M GONNA STOP TALKING NOW, . ALRIGHT. ALL RIGHT. THE CALENDAR EVENT. SO, SO THE NEXT , THE NEXT ITEM THAT DRAWS OUR ATTENTION AND DRAWS YOUR ATTENTION, UH, IS A SCHEDULE FOR, UM, MEETINGS FOR NEXT YEAR. UM, SO WHAT DO WE HERE, IF I, IF I CAN TELL YOU ABOUT A COUPLE OF, UH, UM, CHALLENGES. JANUARY 21ST IS WHEN THE MUNICIPAL ASSOCIATION OF SOUTH CAROLINA HAS THEIR CONFERENCE, I BELIEVE. UM, SO ALEX AND I BOTH WOULD BE OUT OF TOWN AT THAT POINT IN TIME. OR IT'S ALSO THE, UM, BEACH ADVOCATES COMMITTEE MEETING THAT'S HERE. IT'S ONE OF THOSE. WELL, LET ME, I GOT MY PHONE RIGHT HERE ON, LEMME NOT GUESS. NOPE, NEVERMIND. FORGET THAT. ON THE 21ST, 'CAUSE WE'LL BE COMING BACK THAT DAY. UM, AND THEN ON APRIL 15TH IS, THAT'S HERITAGE WEEK. [01:15:01] AND THAT'S ALWAYS A CHALLENGING TIME. OH YEAH. AND TEXTING, UNLESS THEY CHANGE THAT. THANK YOU. OUTSIDE OF THOSE TWO DATES? NO, JUST, JUST THE ONE. I I OH, OKAY. I CONFIRMED THE 21ST IS OKAY, GOTCHA. YOU, SO OUTSIDE OF THE APRIL 15TH DATE, WHICH WE CAN FIND A, A, AN ALTERNATIVE, UM, TO, UM, MR. CHAIRMAN, UM, ENTERTAIN A MOTION TO ACCEPT OUR MEETING DATES FOR 2026 WITH, UH, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THE APRIL 15TH. DO WE HAVE A MOTION? I SO MOVE. SECOND. SECOND. ALRIGHT. PROPERLY MOVED. AND SECOND THAT, UH, THE DATES THAT ARE PROPOSED FOR 2026 BE WITH THE ACCOMMODATIONS. UH, BE ACCEPTED. ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. AYE. AYE. THOSE HAVE THE SAME, RIGHT? AYE. NOW LET'S SEE IF I'M ON POINT. THEY WON'T HIT ME ON BOTH SIDES THIS TIME. DO WE HAVE ANY PERSONS WHO SIGN UP FOR PUBLIC COMMENTS? ACTION. ALL RIGHT. THERE BEING NONE. AND THAT BRINGS US TO THE CLOSE OF THIS MEETING. WE THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. WE WILL ADJOURN THAT. NO, WE'LL AURN AND GO TAKE EXECUTIVE. WE'LL ADJOURN US 'CAUSE THEN WE WILL BE ABLE TO GO IN NEXT SESSION. ALRIGHT. A MOTION TO GO INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION. SO MOVE. SO MOVE . OKAY. SECOND. IS THERE A SECOND? ALL ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. AYE. AYE. I MAKE A MOTION TO MOVE OUT OF EXECUTIVE SESSION. SECOND QUESTION. NO, A, A A ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. AYE. AYE. ALRIGHT. NOW CAN GET A MOTION TO UHHUH ACCEPT UHHUH. YES. I MAKE A MOTION TO APPOINT DAVID BY TOWN OF HILTON HEAD ISLAND FINANCE DIRECTOR AS A NON-VOTING MEMBER TO THE GULLAH GEECHEE HISTORICAL NEIGHBORHOODS COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION WHO SHALL SERVE WITHOUT TERM LIMITS. SECOND QUESTION. DO WE HAVE TO SAY OR HIS DESIGNEE IN ORDER? 'CAUSE HE ISN'T OBLIGATED. I DON'T THINK THAT IT'S NECESSARY. 'CAUSE HE ACCEPTED THAT ROLE. OKAY. ALRIGHT. ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. AYE. AYE. AYE. SO MOVED. AYE. NOW CAN I ENTERTAIN A MOTION TO END THE MEETING? HOLLY? SO MOVED. SECOND. ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. AYE. SO MOVED. THANK YOU. YOU'RE WATCHING FE CI AM DENNIS ADAMS. AND THIS IS A BUFORT COUNTY MOMENT. FORREST GUMP, THE PRINCE OF TIDES, THE GREAT SANTINI. THESE ARE JUST A FEW OF THE BIG HOLLYWOOD MOVIES FILMED IN BUFORT COUNTY DURING THE 1980S AND 1990S. BUT THE EARLIEST BIG SCREEN PRODUCTION, A SHOT HERE DATES BACK NEARLY A CENTURY. LATE IN NOVEMBER, 1917, AMERICAN FEATURE FILMS OF GREENVILLE, SOUTH CAROLINA SENT A COMPANY OF ACTORS ON LOCATION TO ST. HELENA ISLAND AND AMONG THE ANTEBELLUM MANSIONS OF BEAUFORT. IN THE WORDS OF THE BEAUFORT GAZETTE, THE RISE AND FALL OF THE CONFEDERACY IS ONE OF THE MOST REMARKABLE AND STUPENDOUS MOTION PICTURE SCENARIOS EVER ATTEMPTED BY ANY DRAMATIST. IT CERTAINLY WAS A COSTUME DRAMA WITH OVER 640 PIECES OF PERIOD CLOTHING SHIPPED IN FOR THE ACTORS. JOINING THE PRODUCTION JUST BEFORE FILMING WAS ONE WILLIAM CUNNINGHAM OF PEERLESS FILM COMPANY OF LOS ANGELES. HE LENT A HOLLYWOOD TOUCH TO THE PRODUCTION. UNFORTUNATELY, THE FILM HAS DISAPPEARED. [01:20:01] IT WOULD SEEM THAT THE STUDIO EXAGGERATED ITS CLAIMS OF THE MOST IMPRESSIVE MOVING PICTURE SINCE THE BIRTH OF A NATION. I'M DENNIS ADAMS, AND THIS HAS BEEN YOUR BUFORT COUNTY MOMENT. TO SEE MORE BUFORT COUNTY MOMENTS GO TO THE BUFORT COUNTY LIBRARY HOMEPAGE AND CLICK ON THE LOCAL HISTORY TAB. * 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.