* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting. [00:00:01] CLOSED CAPTIONING PROVIDED BY BUFORT COUNTY. [1. CALL TO ORDER: Alice Howard, Chair] GOOD SEEING HIM AGAIN. UH, GOOD MORNING. I'D LIKE TO CALL THE COUNTY COUNCIL BUDGET WORKSHOP TO ORDER, UH, APRIL 20TH, 2026. PLEASE RISE FOR THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE. I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE MR. TO THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND TO THE REPUBLIC FOR WHICH IT STANDS, ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE, WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL. AND THIS MEETING WAS, UH, ADVERTISED IN COMPLIANCE WITH SOUTH CAROLINA FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT. YES, MA'AM, IT WAS MS. BROCK. UH, I'D LIKE [4. APPROVAL OF AGENDA] TO ENTERTAIN A MOTION TO APPROVE THE AGENDA. SO MOVED. I'LL SECOND IT. A MOTION BY COUNCILMAN PASSMAN AND A SECOND BY COUNCILMAN LAWSON BY SHOW OF HANDS. ALL IN FAVOR. AND WE HAVE ONE COUNCIL MEMBER ON ZOOM, WHICH IS COUNCIL. AND THEN WE HAVE ONE THAT'LL BE HERE IN A FEW MINUTES, BUT WE'RE GONNA GO AHEAD AND START. UM, WE DID NOT HAVE ANYONE SIGN UP FOR PUBLIC COMMENT, SO WE'LL GO ON DOWN TO, UM, THE NUMBER SIX [6. CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER UPDATE] ON OUR AGENDA, WHICH IS, UH, AN UPDATE BY OUR CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER UPDATE. GOOD MORNING. GOOD MORNING. UM, JUST A QUICK UPDATE. WE JUST WRAPPED UP, UM, CALCULATING VALUE OF A MILL FOR THE UPCOMING YEAR. AND WE ARE NOW GOING THROUGH WITH THE ADMINISTRATION AND REVIEWING GENERAL FUND EXPENSES DEPARTMENTS, LOOKING AT, UH, HOW WE CAN CUT DOWN SOME EXPENSES 'CAUSE WE HAVE A LITTLE MORE IN EXPENSES THAN WE DO IN REVENUE. SO WE'RE, UM, KIND OF UPDATING SOME THINGS TO SEE WHERE WE LAND. UM, AND THEN TODAY IS MOSTLY FOR, UM, OH, THE COUN, THE ADMINISTRATOR'S RECOMMENDED BUDGET PRESENTATION WILL BE ON MAY AT THE COUNCIL WORKSHOP ON MAY 5TH. THAT'S ON THE AGENDA. SO THAT'LL BE US TALKING THROUGH EVERYTHING THAT WE HAVE, UM, BUILT BUDGET AROUND. AND TODAY [7. FY 2027 OUTSIDE AGENCY BUDGET REQUEST PRESENTATIONS ] WE ARE HAVING THE REMAINING OUTSIDE AGENCIES GIVE THEIR PRESENTATIONS, UM, TO COUNCIL. AND TO START US OFF, WE'LL BE NONE OTHER THAN HANK EMON. Y'ALL KNOW THAT GUY? . ALRIGHT. A FAMILIAR FACE. HELLO EVERYBODY. MORNING. GOOD MORNING. I'VE BEEN IN THE NEW ROOM. WELCOME BACK IN THE NEW DIOCESE'S. PRETTY COOL YOU GUYS. IT'S GOOD. YEAH. UM, AS ON THE AGENDA THOUGH, MY NAME WAS SPELLED HANK AND . YES, I KNOW . I MEAN, I THOUGHT, I THOUGHT SARAH WAS MESSING WITH ME. THAT WAS NOT ME. WELCOME BACK. . BUT ANYWAY, SO I'M HERE AND MY NEW JOB TO EXPLAIN A LITTLE BIT ABOUT OUR BUDGET REQUEST FOR LOW COUNTRY COUNCIL GOVERNMENTS. BEFORE WE GET INTO THAT, I'LL, I KNOW WE HAVE SEVERAL BOARD MEMBERS THAT ARE ON COUNCIL, BUT ANYBODY WHO'S NOT A BOARD MEMBER BUT WOULD LIKE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT IT, GIMME A CALL. WE CAN, I'LL COME HERE AND MEET WITH YOU. WE CAN GO TO LUNCH. THERE'S A LOT THAT THE COG DOES THAT I DON'T THINK PEOPLE REALIZE. YOU PUT LUNCH IN THERE. I PROBABLY DIDN'T WANT TO GO. WHAT'S THAT? I SAID YOU SENT, YOU ADDED LUNCH IN THERE. I . I MIGHT WANNA, I DIDN'T SAY WHO WAS PAYING . NO, I COME FOR MY OWN LUNCH. UM, ACTUALLY, SO WE HAVE TWO DIFFERENT WAYS THAT WE REQUEST FUNDS. ONE IS PART OF DUES. THE COGS WERE SET UP IN THE SEVENTIES AND TO PAY PER CAPITA DUES, THEY WENT UP A LITTLE BIT THIS YEAR. SO OUR TOTAL ASK IS $295,000. THAT'S ACTUALLY A COUPLE THOUSAND DOWN FROM LAST YEAR. UH, BECAUSE WE DIDN'T NEED ANY FUNDING FOR HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN OR LONG TERM, LONG RANGE TRANSPORTATION. 'CAUSE THOSE ARE PERIODICALLY UPDATED. SO THAT BREAKS DOWN AS DUES ARE 177,000 7 61. 'CAUSE IT'S 95 CENTS PER CAPITA. 75,000 IS FOR THE HOME CONSORTIUM MATCH. AND A LOT OF PEOPLE DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT IS. HOME CONSORTIUM IS WHERE WE GET BETWEEN THE FOUR COUNTIES, $125,000. THAT HELPS US PULL DOWN THIS YEAR IT'S ACTUALLY 300, 633,000 FROM HUD. PLUS WE HAVE SOME LOCAL MATCH THAT WE GET ADDITIONALLY. SO IT'S OVER $800,000 JUST FOR HOME CONSORTIUM. AND HOME CONSORTIUM DOES TWO THINGS. ONE IS WE REPAIR HOUSES THAT ARE EXISTING. OH, STICK-BUILT MEMBER, OWNER OCCUPIED HOMES. WE CAN GO IN AND REPAIR HOMES. WE DO THAT EVERY YEAR. SECONDLY, WE ALSO WORK ON NEW CONSTRUCTION. WE PARTNER WITH HABITAT FOR HUMANITY IN THE LOW COUNTRY. WE'VE DONE THINGS, UH, ALL OVER THE AREA. AND WE HAVE SOME IN THE SOUTHERN PART OF THE COUNTY THAT ARE BEING FUNDED RIGHT NOW. UM, [00:05:01] AND THEN THE LAST PART IS LATS. I KNOW A LOT OF YOU ARE INVOLVED IN LATS WHEN TRANSPORTATION PLANNING AND THAT HELPS US BE THE COORDINATING ENTITY. AND THAT HELPS US PUT ON FUNDING FROM DOT AND FTA. THE BIG ONE THAT I THINK WE CAN DO MORE ON IS, UH, COMMUNITY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT. SO WE WORK A LOT WITH THE MUNICIPALITIES. WE HAVE A COUPLE PROJECTS WITH THE COUNTY, BUT THE, IF YOU ADD IT ALL TOGETHER, THE $295,000 OF DUES IN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, THE COMMUNITY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT ALONE HAS GENERATED $5 MILLION LAST YEAR. SO I MEANT TO SAY IN THE BEGINNING, THE COG IS ONE OF THE FEW PLACES THAT'S A FORCE MULTIPLIER WHERE YOU ACTUALLY PUT MONEY OUTTA YOUR BUDGET AND IT TURNS INTO MORE MONEY. AND THE FIRST EXAMPLE IS THAT FIVE PLUS MILLION DOLLARS THAT WE PULLED DOWN IN GRANTS. THAT'S BETWEEN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ADMINISTRATION, COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT, BLOCK GRANTS, HUD AND RURAL INFRASTRUCTURE. I'VE ALREADY MET WITH MIKE AND NICOLE. THERE ARE MORE THINGS THAT WE CAN DO. THERE'S ONE PROJECT THAT NEEDS TO GET WRAPPED UP. BUT ONCE THAT'S WRAPPED UP, THERE ARE SEVERAL THINGS WE CAN DO TO HELP POTENTIALLY OFFSET SOME OF YOUR STORMWATER PROJECTS AND DIFFERENT THINGS. 'CAUSE WE CAN SERVE CERTAIN AREAS THAT MIGHT BE ABLE TO ENABLE YOU TO FOCUS ON OTHER AREAS AND MAKE YOUR DOLLARS GO FARTHER. LET'S SEE. AGING DEPARTMENT, YOU GUYS ARE ONE OF THE ONLY ONES IN THE STATE, BUT WE DO OUR AGING PROGRAM THROUGH CONTRACTORS. THE CONTRACTOR FOR US IS THE PARKS DEPARTMENT. THEY DO A GREAT JOB. AND IN THAT DEPARTMENT, BACK TO THE MULTIPLYING OF FUNDS, WE HAVE PULLED DOWN STATE AND FEDERAL FUNDS THAT WE PAY SOME TO YOU GUYS IN THE, TO THE TUNE OF $1.25 MILLION. A LOT OF PEOPLE KNOW ABOUT MEALS. MEALS ARE WHAT HAPPENED AT YOUR CENTERS, BUT IT'S A LOT MORE THAN THAT. SO BETWEEN MEALS AND TRANSPORTATION, THE STUFF THAT YOU DO, THAT'S 600,000. WE ALSO DO HOME REPAIR FOR SENIORS. YOU KNOW, RAMPS, SOME ROOF REPAIRS, CERTAIN THINGS THAT HOME CONSORTIUM CAN'T DO. WE CAN HELP FOR SENIORS TO HAVE A SAFE HOME, TO STAY AS LONG AS POSSIBLE. AND ALSO HOME CARE. SO THERE'S SENIORS THAT ARE ELIGIBLE FOR LIGHT HOUSEKEEPING PEOPLE TO COME IN AND HELP THEM CLEAN, DO DISHES, ET CETERA. AND THE LAST ONE IS CALLED CAREGIVER SUPPORT. UH, I'M PERSONALLY AFFECTED BY THIS, WHERE MY DAD TAKES CARE OF MY MOM. AND A LOT OF YOU PROBABLY KNOW PEOPLE THAT TAKE CARE OF OTHERS. AND WE ALWAYS THINK ABOUT THE PERSON THAT'S GETTING THE CARE, BUT THE PERSON THAT'S GIVEN THE CARE IS USUALLY THE ONE THAT BREAKS FIRST. AND SO A CAREGIVER SUPPORT PROGRAM PAYS FOR PEOPLE TO COME GIVE THAT PERSON A BREAK OR COUNSEL OR SOME SUPPLIES TO HELP TAKE CARE OF THE PERSON THAT THEY'RE TAKING CARE OF. AND SO ALTOGETHER, THOSE ARE OVER $1.2 MILLION. GONE THROUGH THE ORIENTATION WITH OUR NEW BOARD MEMBERS. I THINK WE NEED ONE MORE BOARD MEMBER FROM THE COUNTY SOON. YES, WE DO. IT'S FINE. WELL, WE'LL TALK ABOUT THAT. BUT IN DOING THOSE ORIENTATIONS, IT, IT, IT HELPS SEE THAT THE COG HELPS PEOPLE. AND SO WE'RE JUST HAPPY THAT YOU GUYS ARE MEMBERS AND IF YOU EVER WANT TO TALK ABOUT IT AND LEARN MORE JUST TO GIMME A CALL. HEY, LET'S OPEN IT UP FOR QUESTIONS. YES. COUNCILMAN PASSMAN. THE PER CAPITA IS BASED UPON THE ACTUAL COUNT THAT WAS DONE IN 2020. THE CENSUS. YES SIR. OKAY. YES. I THINK I'VE ASKED THIS LAST YEAR, BUT IN THE HOME CONSORTIUM, HOW MUCH ACTUALLY IS SPENT FOR BEAUFORT COUNTY RESIDENTS? BECAUSE I BELIEVE WHEN I LISTEN AT THE MEETINGS, IT'S REALLY NOT PRIMARILY BEAUFORT COUNTY BUT'S. WELL, I CAN TELL YOU THAT THE NUMBERS I GAVE YOU TODAY WERE ALL BEAUFORT COUNTY. SO HOME CONSORTIUM HAS, IN BEAUFORT COUNTY, 386,000 OF PROJECTS. OH, OKAY. LAST YEAR WE PAID, UH, 705,000 TOWARDS THE CARRINGTON MANOR PROJECT. MM-HMM . AND SO, UH, THE HARD PART IN THE HOME REPAIR PROGRAM, AND THIS IS, I NEED YOUR HELP TO MARKET THIS ACTUALLY. 'CAUSE IF YOU KNOW SOMEBODY WHO HAS A HOME, THEY OWN THEIR HOME AND THEY NEED SOME REPAIR, SEND THEM OUR WAY. BUT THE HARD PART IS FEDERAL FLOOD ZONES. WE CAN'T SPEND CERTAIN FUNDS IN CERTAIN ZONES. BUT THAT DOESN'T MEAN DON'T CALL US. 'CAUSE IF YOU CALL US, WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO FIND SOMETHING ELSE FOR THEM. BUT THAT HOME REPAIR PROGRAM CAN BE AFFECTED BECAUSE OF OUR LOW LYING LAND. YEAH. I THINK WE DON'T TELL OUR RESIDENTS ENOUGH BECAUSE WE DO HAVE RESIDENTS THAT NEED HOME REPAIR. AND I KNOW, UM, THE BLACK CHAMBER THEY'VE RENAMED, BUT THEY WERE DOING IT. AND I KNOW BEAUFORT CITY DOES SOME OF IT AND I REALLY HAVEN'T SEEN OUR RESIDENTS TAKE ADVANTAGE OF IT. RIGHT. SO THAT I'M, I'M, I'M DOING THE BUDGET PRESENTATION AND I KNOW YOU GUYS HAVE BEEN WORN UP BY LONG ONES BEFORE, BUT I'D LOVE TO COME BACK SOME OTHER DAY ON A LIGHT AGENDA AND USE THAT AS A WAY TO HELP MARKET THESE SERVICES SO THAT THE PEOPLE KNOW TO COME CALL. WHETHER THEY CALL HERE AND THEY POINT 'EM MY WAY OR THEY CAN CALL STRAIGHT TO THE COG. OKAY. YEAH. WE NEED TO ADVERTISE THAT. MM-HMM . OKAY. THANKS. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? NO. OKAY. [00:10:01] ALRIGHT. WELL THANK YOU. THANK YOU. NICE TO SEE YOU. YOU TOO. ALRIGHT, NEXT IS, UM, BEAUFORT MEMORIAL HOSPITAL. RUSSELL BAXLEY. MORNING. GOOD MORNING. MORNING. RUSSELL GOT A POWERPOINT. OH, OKAY. I WON'T GO THROUGH THE WHOLE POWERPOINT, I PROMISE. IT'S MONDAY MORNING. I KNOW IT IS , IF YOU'LL ALLOW ME, I WILL KEEP IT BRIEF. BUT TO THE POINT, , THANK YOU. YES. YOU GUYS HAVE HEARD THIS PLENTY OF TIMES. RUSSELL, THIS IS WHAT WE HAVE. YOU'RE, OH, THERE'S NO POWERPOINT. YOU WANNA TALK ABOUT THIS? I DON'T HAVE IT SAVED. OKAY. ALRIGHT. MIKE DID, DID DID WE SEND THAT TO YOU GUYS? I THOUGHT IT WAS A BIG FILE. IT'S IN HERE. IS IT IN THERE? YEAH, I THINK IT'S IN. OKAY. I WAS JUST PULLING IT UP MYSELF. OKAY. AS IT DIDN'T PRINT HERE. ALL RIGHT. I'LL TELL YOU WHAT, I WILL TALK ABOUT THIS AND THEN I'LL, I'LL KEEP MOVING. OKAY. SO THERE IS A, A MISTAKE ON OUR REQUEST. SO, UH, LET ME JUST START. I'LL GET TO THE END AND MAYBE I'LL BACK UP TO THE FINISH. BUT I'LL GET TO THE CONCLUSION. SO WE'RE NOT ASKING FOR ANYTHING DIFFERENT THAN PREVIOUS YEARS, UH, IN SUPPORT OF THE EMERGENCY ROOM IN PSYCHIATRIC CARE. THE INDIGENT CARE THAT WE PROVIDE FOR BEAUFORT COUNTY, UH, THAT'S A LITTLE OVER A MILLION DOLLARS. AND AS YOU GUYS KNOW, WE DO ABOUT 120 VISITS A DAY IN EMERGENCY ROOM. UH, 44,000 A YEAR. ABOUT 15 TO 20% OF THOSE ARE UNINSURED OR UNDERINSURED AS WE CALL IT. SO A LOT OF THAT IS AT THE COST OF BEAUTIFUL MEMORIAL. AND OUR PSYCHIATRIC CARE ABOUT THE SAME PROBLEM. WE HAVE ABOUT 20% PLUS THAT ARE UNINSURED THAT WE SEE IN THE 18 BED ADULT MENTAL HEALTH UNIT. THIS, THIS COUNCIL KNOWS WE ARE THE ONLY ADULT MENTAL HEALTH UNIT IN THE, UH, THREE COUNTY AREA. AND WITHOUT THIS ADULT MENTAL HEALTH UNIT, UH, NOT JUST OUR EMERGENCY ROOM, BUT EVERY EMERGENCY ROOM IN THE AREA WOULD PROBABLY BE OVERFLOWING WITH WHAT WE CALL CYCLES, UH, WAITING FOR TELEMEDICINE CONSULTS, WAITING FOR BEDS ACROSS THE STATE, UH, TO OPEN UP. AND THAT WOULD OBVIOUSLY CAUSE UH, THROUGHPUT PROBLEMS AND LONG WAITS IN ALL THE EMERGENCY ROOMS THROUGHOUT THE COUNTY. UH, IF WE ARE HOLDING, YOU KNOW, 5, 7, 8, UH, PSYCHIATRIC PATIENTS, UH, A DAY, AND THAT'S PROBABLY WHAT THAT WOULD EQUATE TO. WE ALREADY HOLD SOME DUE TO, UM, DUAL DIAGNOSIS AS WE CALL IT. SO PSYCHIATRIC AND ADDICTION, UH, OR PEDIATRIC OR EATING DISORDERS, THOSE WE DON'T DEAL WITH. BUT A LOT OF THOSE WE DO. AND THE OTHER POINT I WOULD NOTE, UH, IS THAT, OR IS THAT WE ARE OF A VERY STRONG RELATIONSHIP WITH THE, UH, MILITARY HERE. AND A GOOD PORTION OF WHAT WE DO IS IN COORDINATION, ESPECIALLY ON THE PSYCHIATRIC UNIT, UH, WITH THE INSTALLATIONS HERE, UH, AS WE SERVE, UH, BOTH THOSE INSTALLATIONS, UH, BOTH ON INPATIENT AND OUTPATIENT PSYCHIATRIC BASIS, AND OBVIOUSLY, UH, AS WELL AS THE, UH, EMERGENCY ROOM, UH, AND ADMITTED. SO, UH, BETWEEN THOSE TWO, AGAIN, WE'RE NOT ASKING FOR ANYTHING DIFFERENT. WE'RE JUST ASKING FOR THE SAME BUDGET THAT HAS LAST YEAR IN THE PREVIOUS YEARS AS APPROVED BY THE COUNCIL. UH, OUTSIDE OF THAT, BECAUSE I DON'T HAVE THE PRESENTATION, I WILL JUST GIVE YOU A FEW UPDATES. UH, WE ARE SEEING A BIT OF AN EFFECT OF THE BIG BEAUTIFUL LAW. AND MOSTLY, UH, WHAT WE'RE SEEING IS NOT AS MUCH PEOPLE COMING OFF OF THE, UH, AFFORDABLE CARE ACT ROLES, BUT MOSTLY THOSE WHO HAD SILVER OR GOLD PLANS ARE MOVING TO BRONZE PLANS. AND SO WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? UH, A BRONZE PLANS MEANS I HAVE A HIGHER OUT OF POCKET, WHICH MEANS THE INSURANCE IS GOING TO TAKE LONGER TO START PICKING UP, UH, UNTIL I MEET THAT A HUNDRED PERCENT DEDUCTIBLE. SO WHAT WE'RE SEEING IS A, A MUCH LONGER DELAY, UH, IN TERMS OF RECEIVING PAYMENTS FROM INSURANCE COMPANIES BECAUSE PATIENTS ARE, ARE SEEING THAT HIGHER OUT OF POCKET. OBVIOUSLY MOST PATIENTS DON'T HAVE $10,000, WHICH IS WHAT A BRONZE PLAN, UH, OUT OF POCKET WOULD BE. AND SO WE ARE SEEING THE DELAY IN THAT WAY AS WELL IN TERMS OF THE FIRST THREE TO FOUR MONTHS OF THE YEAR. AND WE DO THINK THAT'S GOING TO BECOME MORE PROBLEMATIC, UM, AS A BIG BEAUTIFUL LAW CONTINUES TO TAKE EFFECT. BUT MOSTLY IN 2028, UH, WHICH I'VE BEEN ON THE RECORD MULTIPLE TIMES AT MULTIPLE MEETINGS, TALKING ABOUT THE CONCERNS, ESPECIALLY FROM THE STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA, WHAT THAT MEANS TO THE MEDICAID PROGRAM, UH, AND OTHER PROGRAMS THAT HELP SERVE THE UNDERSERVED HERE. BUT THAT'S WORTH ABOUT $15 BILLION STARTING IN 28 TO HEALTHCARE IN THIS STATE FOR THE MEDICAID AND UNDERINSURED. SO WE ARE WATCHING THAT. UH, THE HOSPITAL IS TAKING PROACTIVE STEPS TO KIND OF MITIGATE SOME OF THESE CUTS THAT WE'RE GOING TO SEE ABOVE AND BEYOND WHAT WE'RE SEEING ALREADY. UH, STANDING UP ACCOUNTABLE CARE ORGANIZATIONS, VALUE-BASED PURCHASING PLANS, UH, PATIENT-CENTERED MEDICAL HOME MODELS. SO WHAT THAT MEANS IS, IS WE ARE, UH, SPECIFICALLY GOING MORE TO A VALUE-BASED PURCHASING, UH, MODEL WHERE WE GO AT RISK WITH INSURANCE COMPANIES. SO WE ARE ABLE TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF SHARED SAVINGS, UH, AS WE TRY TO KEEP PEOPLE OUT OF THE HOSPITAL. AT THE SAME TIME, IF WE DON'T KEEP PEOPLE OUTTA THE HOSPITAL, UH, WE ARE AT RISK, [00:15:01] UH, AND COULD FACE A POTENTIAL PENALTY WITH SOME OF THESE PAYERS. WE ARE ENTERING SOME OF THESE VALUE-BASED CARE CONTRACTS. SO WE ARE PROACTIVELY TAKING STEPS TO KIND OF MITIGATE AND ADJUST TO THE NEW WORLD WHERE FEE FOR SERVICE CONTINUES TO GO DOWN. RIGHT. UH, PHYSICIAN PAYMENT CUTS, MEDICAID, HOW CAN WE, UH, ALLEVIATE THAT IN FUTURE YEARS WHILE TRYING TO FIND OTHER OPPORTUNITIES TO DIVERSIFY OUR REVENUE, SO TO SPEAK, UH, LARGE PROJECT UPDATES FOR YOUR AWARENESS. SO, UH, I'LL FIRST START WITH HOUSING BECAUSE I KNOW YOU GUYS ARE VERY INVESTED IN IT. WE HAVE PARTNERED IN IT. UH, WE CONTINUE TO MAKE WHAT I SAY IS GOOD, BUT SLOW PROGRESS ON LIVEWELL TERRACE IN BLUFFTON. THAT'S THE 120 UNITS, UH, THAT THE COUNTY HAS HELPED TO PROVIDE FOR THE LAND US AND WOODA COOPER AND OBVIOUSLY CITY OF BLUFFTON. RIGHT NOW WE ARE WORKING THROUGH ONE LAST, I WILL SAY TEMPORARY UTILITY EASEMENT WITH BUFORT JASPER AND THE, UH, UH, HOA OF BUCK WATER PLACE. UH, WE DO HAVE TO RE, UH, RECEIVE A TEMPORARY EASEMENT FROM THE DEVELOPERS THAT OWN ALL THE LAND AT BUCK WATER PLACE. WE HAVE NOT YET RECEIVED THAT APPROVAL FROM THEM FOR THE TEMPORARY EASEMENT. THE BUFORT JASPER WATER, UH, SAYS THAT WE REALLY DO NEED TO HAVE FOR THIS PROJECT. SO WE ARE WORKING THROUGH THAT. IF WE SECURE THAT TEMPORARY UTILITY EASEMENT, UM, I THINK WE HAVE THE FULL 100% GREEN LIGHT TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THESE UNITS. SO FINGERS CROSSED WE BREAK GROUND IN THE NEXT, UH, COUPLE OF WEEKS TO A MONTH ON THE 120 UNITS. THAT'S THE LAST HURDLE IN MY OPINION. SECONDARILY TO THAT 120 UNITS, WE ARE ROUNDING THE BEND ON THE CANAL APARTMENTS ACQUISITION. SO BEAUFORT MEMORIAL IS GOING TO BE PARTNERING WITH, UH, WDA COOPER ON ANOTHER PROJECT HERE NORTH, THE BROAD RIVER. UH, WELL, WDA COOPER WILL BE ACQUIRING THE CANAL APARTMENTS, WHICH ARE 20 WORKFORCE HOUSING UNITS HERE, UH, IN BEAUFORT, RIGHT BEHIND LOWE'S. IF YOU KEEP GOING DOWN JERICHO ROAD IN THAT AREA, UH, WE WILL ACTUALLY BE ACTING AS THE BANK, UH, FOR WOODA COOPER. SO SPEED TO MARKET WAS IMPORTANT HERE. UH, THAT GROUP HAD PUT CANAL APARTMENTS, UH, ON THE MARKET, UH, AND WE HAD WORKED WITH THEM AND WOODA COOPER TO MAKE SURE THAT THIS, THESE REMAINED AFFORDABLE AND ATTAINABLE HOUSING UNITS, UH, FOR THE WORKFORCE HERE IN THE BEAUFORT AREA. AND THEN, AS YOU GUYS KNOW, THE THIRD PROJECT, ANOTHER COLLABORATION WITH THE COUNTY, UH, BEAUFORT MEMORIAL AND THE HOUSING TRUST FUND THAT, UH, YOU GOT, WE'RE WORKING THROUGH THE PROCESSES NOW, BUT ULTIMATELY WHEN IT COMES TO ATTAINABLE WORKFORCE HOUSING, UH, BETWEEN THOSE UNITS, WE SHOULD HAVE ABOUT 160 PLUS UNITS, UH, THAT IS SOMEWHAT WORKING THROUGH THE BEAUTIFUL MEMORIAL, UH, PIPELINE AND PROCESS. UH, LASTLY, THREE OTHER BIG PROJECTS, AND THEN I'LL OPEN IT UP TO QUESTIONS. UH, MAY RIVER PRIMARY CARE, WHICH AS YOU GUYS KNOW, EXPANDING ACCESS TO CARE IS IMPORTANT, UH, TO US AND TO YOU, UH, FOR YOUR CONSTITUENTS AND OUR PATIENTS. UH, WE WILL BE BREAKING GROUND ON A NEW PRACTICE AT MAY RIVER CROSSINGS OVER BY PUBLIX OFF OF, UH, ONE 70. UH, THAT WILL BE FOUR NEW PRIMARY CARE PROVIDERS, TWO OF WHICH ARE ALREADY RECRUITED AND WILL BE STARTING, UH, THIS FALL. UH, WE'LL BE PUTTING THEM IN OTHER LOCATIONS UNTIL THAT PRACTICE OPENS, BUT WE EXPECT ABOUT A 12 MONTH CONSTRUCTION AND OPENING, UH, FOR THAT NEW PRACTICE. UH, ON THE ISLAND OF HILTON HEAD, WE HAVE THE NEW FSED IN URGENT CARE. UH, ON YOUR POWERPOINT YOU HAVE PRESENTATIONS OR PICTURES, UH, TO SEE THE PROGRESS, BUT, UH, YOU SHOULD SEE THE VERTICAL STRUCTURES START COMING UP, UH, IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF WEEKS. AND WE'RE VERY PROUD OF THAT FACILITY BECAUSE AGAIN, IT'LL BE ONE OF THE STATE'S FIRST EVER, UH, HYBRID MODELS WHERE A PATIENT CAN ENTER AND EITHER RECEIVE URGENT CARE, UH, OR EMERGENCY CARE. UM, BUT, UH, THE BENEFIT TO THE PATIENT IS, IS THAT THEY'LL RECEIVE THE RIGHT CARE AT THE RIGHT TIME FOR THE RIGHT PRICE. RIGHT. AND WE THINK WE CAN SAVE PATIENTS ON AVERAGE ABOUT $1,800 PER VISIT, UM, BECAUSE OF THIS HYBRID MODEL VERSUS A TRADITIONAL FREESTANDING EMERGENCY ROOM DEPARTMENT, STILL OPEN 24 7, STILL AN EMERGENCY ROOM PHYSICIAN JUST ALLOWS US TO, UH, BE VERY CREATIVE IN HOW WE DELIVER THAT CARE, KEEPING COST IN MIND. UH, AND THEN LASTLY, UH, IF YOU DRIVE BY BLUFFTON THESE DAYS AT BUCK WATER PLACE, YOU WILL SEE THE NEW HOSPITAL. UM, NOVEMBER IS STILL A REAL DATE FOR SUBSTANTIAL COMPLETION, UH, FOR THE 28 BED COMMUNITY HOSPITAL AT BLUFFTON, AT BUCK WATER PLACE. AND WE WOULD SUSPECT THAT THROUGH LICENSING AND MOVE IN, UH, EARLY MARCH IS WHEN WE'LL BE SEEING OUR FIRST PATIENTS. SO IF WE COMPLETE END OF NOVEMBER, UH, AROUND 90 TO 120 DAYS FOR MOVING IN LICENSING INSPECTIONS, UH, AND THEN SEEING OUR FIRST PATIENTS. SO WE'RE VERY EXCITED ABOUT OBVIOUSLY ALL THE GROWTH, THE HOUSING, AND WE VERY MUCH DO VALUE YOUR PARTNERSHIP AND SUPPORT, UH, THROUGH EVERYTHING THAT WE DO. SO I WILL OPEN IT UP TO QUESTIONS. YES. MM-HMM . CERT CERTIFICATE OF NEED GOES AWAY JANUARY ONE OF 27. THAT IS CORRECT. UM, I KNOW WHEN YOU WERE PLANNING FOR THIS HOSPITAL, YOU WERE PLANNING, UH, EVENTUALLY TO HAVE ADDITIONAL BEDS. WILL THEY BE AVAILABLE? YES. YES. SO, SO COUNCILMAN PASSMAN BRINGS UP A GOOD POINT. I KNOW, UH, TWO OF OUR, UH, COUNCIL MEMBERS ARE ON THE BOARD. UH, BUT, UH, I WILL UPDATE THE REST OF THE BOARD BECAUSE, UH, WE WERE ABLE TO GO BACK AND SUBMIT FOR A NEW CON JUST FOR THE BEDS THAT WAS APPROVED. UH, AND SO NOW INSTEAD OF A TWO PHASED APPROACH, UM, WE ARE NOW BUILDING, UH, TODAY A BRAND NEW HOSPITAL. SO WHEN WE OPEN, UH, LET'S CALL IT MARCH ONE, IT WILL BE A FULLY FUNCTIONAL HOSPITAL. [00:20:01] UH, NOT WAS, WHICH ORIGINALLY WAS DISCUSSED, WHICH WAS AN A SC EMERGENCY ROOM WITH THE BEDS TO COME ONLINE LATER. UM, THAT APPROVAL THAT WE RECEIVED ABOUT A YEAR AGO NOW ALLOWED US TO MOVE FORWARD AS A HOSPITAL IN ONE PROJECT. SO MARCH 1ST, IT WILL BE A, UH, FULLY LICENSED ACUTE CARE HOSPITAL, DAY ONE. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? YES. SO, UM, CAN YOU CALL UP THE PACKET ON PAGE NINE? I REALLY APPRECIATED YOU PUTTING ACTUAL NUMBERS IN HERE. YES. INSTEAD OF ASKING FOR 1.5 MILS, WHATEVER, BUT, UM, THERE'S A FUNDING REQUEST ON ACTUALLY ON PAGE 10 WHERE IT SAYS, UH, GRANTS DETENTION CENTER SITE. YEAH, TAKE THAT OUT. THAT WAS A CLERICAL OR ON OUR PART. YEAH. UH, AND PEAKY AND I WERE JUST DISCUSSING THIS. UM, SO THAT IS THE RELATIONSHIP THAT WE HAVE SEPARATE FROM, UM, THE VALUE OF THE MILL, UM, WHICH IS OUR PSYCHIATRIC DEPARTMENT MANAGING THE DETENTION CENTER PSYCHIATRIC SERVICES. THAT'S WHY THERE'S NOTHING IN THERE THAT'S CORRECT. SO THAT, THAT WAS MANAGED BY I THINK, ARPA FUNDS, THAT IS NOT A REQUEST THAT WE ARE REQUESTING. AGAIN, THAT'S, THAT, THAT SHOULD BE ZEROED OUT AND THAT IS OUR MISTAKE, UM, THAT PINKY POINTED OUT TO US THAT THAT SHOULD BE ZERO. OKAY. AND MY OTHER QUESTION IS, HOW DO THE, YOUR SERVICES OVERLAP IN ANY WAY WITH THE SERVICES PROVIDED BY VIEW BEAUFORT, JASPER HAMPTON COMPREHENSIVE SERVICES? WELL, WE SHARE A LOT OF PATIENTS, UM, BEAUFORT, JASPER, AND WE DO, UM, AND, UH, THEY SUPPORT, UH, A LOT OF THE MORE RURAL, UH, PRIMARY CARE PEDIATRIC CARE OB CARE THAT SOMETIMES THAT WE DO NOT GET TO AS AN ORGANIZATION. UM, WE'RE ALSO WORKING TO PARTNER WITH DR. POL K AND HER TEAM ON A POSSIBLE RESIDENCY PROGRAM. AND I DON'T WANNA, UM, YOU KNOW, DIVULGE TOO MUCH BECAUSE IT'S STILL VERY MUCH ON THE, UH, BEGINNING PHASES. BUT WE PARTNER WITH THEM ON A LOT OF THINGS ALONG WITH PATIENT CARE, RURAL ACCESS TO CARE, OB CARE. AND WE'RE EVEN WORKING ON A RURAL, UH, RESIDENCY PROGRAM POTENTIALLY, UH, TO BRING TO BEFORD COUNTY THAT WOULD NEED US BE MEMORIAL AND BEFORD JASPER TO COLLABORATE TOGETHER. UM, WHICH, UH, DR. POLKE AND AND I ARE WORKING TO COLLABORATIVELY ON RIGHT NOW. THANK YOU. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? COMMENTS? NO OBJECT. JUST ONE COMMENT. OH, YES SIR. MM-HMM . ON, ON THE PRESENTATION, IT APPEARS THE FILE SIZE WAS TOO LARGE, SO WE DIDN'T GET IT LAST WEEK, BUT IF WE CAN GET THAT WORKED OUT, WE'LL FORWARD IT OUT TO ALL COUNCIL MEMBERS FROM TO HAVE, BUT WHAT YOU DO HAVE IS THE REQUEST THAT, UH, WAS JUST UP ON THE REQUEST ITSELF. SO. WELL, THANK YOU. AND AS USUAL ISS VERY INTERESTING. EVERYTHING GOING ON WITH HEALTHCARE ALWAYS IS MEMORIAL HOSPITAL . ALRIGHT. NO OTHER QUESTIONS. WE'RE DONE. OKAY. OKAY. THANK YOU. THANK YOU GUYS. THANK YOU. I APPRECIATE IT. ALRIGHT, NEXT IS, UM, BEAUFORT, JASPER HAMPTON COMP HEALTH SERVICES, UM, WITH DR. POKA. GOOD MORNING. MORNING. GOOD TO SEE EVERYBODY TODAY. THANK YOU. UM, LOOK, WE CAN, WE CAN TALK THROUGH THE POWERPOINT. I THINK YOU ALL HAVE THE POWERPOINT. WE, WE DO, YES. MM-HMM . SO A LOT OF IT'S BACKGROUND INFORMATION. I THINK, I THINK I'VE GOTTEN Y'ALL UP TO SPEED ON WHO WE ARE, WHAT WE DO AS A, UH, FAIRLY QUALIFIED COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTER, PRIVATE, NOT-FOR-PROFIT. UM, UM, OH, OKAY. I'M NOT GONNA GO THROUGH ALL OF THIS, BUT A LOT OF IT IS FOR INFORMATION, BUT THIS IS JUST SO YOU UNDERSTAND OUR, UM, REQUIREMENTS FROM HRSA, UH, PROVIDING A SLIDING FEE SCALE. SO THAT'S PARTICULARLY RELEVANT HERE BECAUSE THOSE ARE FOR PATIENTS WHO ARE UNINSURED UP TO 200% OF POVERTY. WE MUST, AS A COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTER, PROVIDE, UM, A DISCOUNT ON OUR CHARGES FOR THOSE PATIENTS. UM, UH, DOWN TO A NOMINAL FEE FOR THE PATIENTS WHO ARE, UM, AT 100% OF POVERTY OR LESS. OUR NOMINAL FEE IS $30. IT'S POSTED AND IT HAS BEEN $30 FOR A WHILE. UM, BUT WE THINK THAT THAT'S A GOOD, UM, WAY TO ENSURE ACCESS FOR THE PATIENTS. AND OF COURSE OUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS MUST BE AT LEAST 51% PATIENTS. SO THAT'S DIFFERENT FROM A LOT OF OTHER BOARD OF DIRECTORS. YOU KNOW, THE PATIENTS ARE THE FOLKS WHO KEEP US HONEST AND AND ENSURE THAT THE SERVICES THAT THEY'RE GETTING ARE, UM, YOU KNOW, WHAT THEY NEED. ALRIGHT, SO BEEN HERE FOR 56 YEARS, 11 CENTER LOCATIONS, 10 SCHOOL-BASED HEALTH CENTER LOCATIONS, THREE MOBILE UNITS, AND THEN ALL THE SERVICES THAT YOU SEE THERE, INCLUDING PHARMACY. AND THEN THE OTHER SUPPORTIVE SERVICES. UH, THESE ARE THE BEAUFORT COUNTY LOCATIONS. SO YOU'LL SEE OUR ST. HELENA, SHELDON, UH, CHELSEA, WHICH IS IN OKEE. AND THEN PORT ROYAL, WE'VE GOT THE MEDICAL CENTER, OB, GYN AND OUR SAME DAY. AND THEN THE SCHOOLS WHERE WE PHYSICALLY ARE IN THE SCHOOLS IN BEAUFORT COUNTY ARE DAVIS, ST. HELEN ELEMENTARY, BROAD RIVER, AND THE WELL BRANCH CLUSTER. AND THEN OUR MOBILE UNIT. SO WE'VE GOT A SCHOOL-BASED MOBILE UNIT, OUR COMMUNITY MOBILE UNIT. AND FINALLY OUR NEW DENTAL MOBILE UNIT THAT WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT. SO Y'ALL REMEMBER OUR RONALD MCDONALD, WHERE WE HAD A PARTNERSHIP WITH Y'ALL AND RONALD MCDONALD. WELL, THAT IS RETIRED. IT IS FINALLY RETIRED. IT'S TAKEN BACK TO WHERE MOBILE UNITS GO WHEN THEY'VE SERVED THEIR TIME . UM, AND SO WHILE WE ARE NOT PARTNERING WITH, UH, RONALD MCDONALD ANYMORE, WE DO HAVE THIS IN MOBILE UNIT, WHICH SHOULD BE OPERATIONAL, [00:25:01] UM, BY THE END OF APRIL, EARLY MAY. WE ANTICIPATE GOING TO SCHOOLS. UH, WE HAVE SOME PARTNERSHIPS WITH SOME OF THE SENIOR CENTERS AND THEN JUST LIKE, I JUST WANNA BE ABLE TO SHOW UP SOMEWHERE, I DON'T KNOW, BURN WELLS AND BE OUT THERE AND, AND BE ABLE TO PROVIDE DENTAL SERVICES. SO WE'LL SEE. WE'LL SEE. WE'LL TRY TO HAVE A SCHEDULE THERE ONCE WE KIND OF GET THINGS UP AND RUNNING. BUT REALLY EXCITED FOR THAT MOBILE UNIT, UM, BUDGET. SO $41 MILLION, ABOUT 300 STAFF. UH, WE'VE BEEN INCREASING OUR PATIENT, UM, NUMBERS OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS. SO COID PRIOR TO COVID, WE SAW ABOUT 17,000, 18,000 PATIENTS A YEAR. UH, AFTER COVID IT DIPPED DOWN TO 12,000. WE'VE BEEN STEADILY INCREASING. LAST YEAR WAS 18,000 PATIENTS, AND THIS YEAR 21,000 PATIENTS WITH OVER 65,000 ANNUAL VISITS. SO LET'S TALK ABOUT BEAUFORT COUNTY. UM, BEAUFORT COUNTY RESIDENTS. AND THIS NUMBER, THE 48% IS ACTUALLY MORE LIKE 63%. 48% IS THE MEDICAL VISITS ALONE. BUT WHEN WE INCLUDE DENTAL, NUTRITION, ALL OF THOSE KINDS OF VISITS, IT'S ABOUT 63% OF THE PATIENTS WE SERVE ARE FROM BEAUFORT COUNTY. 70% THOUGH OF OUR PATIENTS, OF OUR UNINSURED PATIENTS ARE FROM BEAUFORT COUNTY. UH, SEE THERE WAS ONE OTHER THING ABOUT THAT. SO, UM, AS FAR AS WHO WORKS IN BEAUFORT COUNTY, SO 75% OF OUR EMPLOYEES WORK IN BEAUFORT COUNTY. AND THAT ACCOUNTS TO, FOR ABOUT $14 MILLION OF, OF THE $22 MILLION THAT WE SPEND ON SALARIES IS ABOUT $14 MILLION OR FOR PEOPLE WHO WORK IN BEAUFORT COUNTY. SO, UH, LAST YEAR, FROM JULY 1ST, 2024 TO JUNE 30TH, 2025, UM, AMONG THE CHARGES OF PATIENTS WHO WERE UNINSURED, BECAUSE THAT IS WHAT, UH, THE FUNDS HELP US SUPPORT. UH, IT WAS ABOUT $2 MILLION OF CHARGES THAT WEREN'T REIMBURSED. SO AGAIN, IT'S PATIENTS SLIDING FEE SCALE OR IF THEY CAN PAY MORE. SO, UH, ABOUT 2 MILLION, WELL, WE'VE ALREADY SEEN THIS YEAR, SO FROM JULY 1ST THROUGH MARCH 31ST, WE'VE ALREADY EXCEEDED THAT. SO THERE WAS A LITTLE DIP IN, UH, THE NUMBER OF UNINSURED PATIENTS THAT WE SAW IN THAT 24, 25 COMPARED TO THE YEAR BEFORE. STILL TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT THAT IS. SOME OF IT IS OUR LARGEST CENTER. CHELSEA WAS UNDER CONSTRUCTION, SO WE HAD TO KIND OF DIVERT SOME PATIENTS AND SOME PEOPLE JUST DIDN'T COME IN. UM, THE OTHER THING THAT I'M NOTICING IS THAT, UM, OUR UNINSURED PATIENTS, UM, ARE GETTING INSURANCE. SO SOME OF WHAT RUSSELL WAS TALKING ABOUT, SO WE HAVE A, A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO WERE GETTING AFFORDABLE CARE ACT, UM, AND GETTING SOME, UM, HAD THE SUBSIDIES, RIGHT? SO WE HAVE PEOPLE WHO ENROLL PATIENTS IN INSURANCE AND WE'RE REALLY WORKING HARD ON THAT. SO WE HAVE A LOT MORE ADULTS AND I CAN KIND OF TALK TO YOU ABOUT THE TRENDS, UM, WHO WERE INSURED COMPARED TO THE YEAR BEFORE. I'M NOT SURE WHAT THAT'S GONNA LOOK LIKE THIS YEAR BECAUSE THE SUBSIDIES HAVE GONE AWAY. UM, AT LEAST FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE ABOVE 200% OF POVERTY. AND SO WE'LL JUST HAVE TO SEE HOW THAT AFFECTS THE UNINSURED RATE. WE'RE ALREADY SEEING THAT WE HAVE MORE PEOPLE WHO ARE COMING IN WHO ARE UNINSURED COMPARED TO THE YEAR BEFORE. SO IT'S REALLY A CONTR, UH, A TREND THAT WE'LL HAVE TO, TO PAY ATTENTION TO. UM, WE, UH, IN BEAUFORT COUNTY, THE ZIP CODES WITH THE HIGHEST UNINSURED 2 9 9 0 6. SO I GUESS THE BURTON AREA, 2 9 9 1 0, UM, THE BLUFFTON AREA, AND THEN 2 9 9 2 OH ST. HELENA AREA. UM, WE DID SEE, UM, A TREND TOWARDS LESS CHILDREN WHO WERE UNINSURED IN 2025. SO WHEN I COMPARED IT TO 2024, WE HAD A LOT MORE CHILDREN WHO WERE UNINSURED. WE ARE ATTRIBUTING THAT TO, THERE WAS MEDICAID REDISTRIBUTION. SO, UM, DURING C-O-V-I-D-A LOT OF KIDS STAYED ON. THEY, THEY DIDN'T HAVE PEOPLE HAVE TO KIND OF RE-UP ON MEDICAID. WELL, IN 2024, THE STATE SAID, NOPE, YOU GOT TO RE-UP AND REAPPLY. AND SO A LOT OF PEOPLE FELL OFF THE ROLL. SO IT TOOK SOME TIME TO GET THAT BACK UP. WE ACTUALLY HIRED WORKERS WHO SPECIFICALLY WAS CHECKING FOR CHILDREN WHO WOULD BE, UM, ELIGIBLE FOR MEDICAID. AND SO WE SAW SOME INCREASE IN THAT. SO MORE KIDS WITH MEDICAID IN 2025 COMPARED TO THE YEAR BEFORE. UM, SO IT WAS CHILDREN WHO WERE ELIGIBLE BUT JUST WEREN'T ABLE TO GET IT. AND SO WE'RE HELPING THEM WITH THAT. UM, AND THEN SLIGHTLY LESS ADULTS WHO WERE UNINSURED IN 2025. I, I HOPE THAT CONTINUES. SO WE HAD AN INCREASE OF ADULTS WITH MEDICARE, SO WE'VE SEEN MORE MEDICARE, UH, PATIENTS AND THEN SOME WITH PRIVATE INSURANCE INCLUDING AFFORDABLE CARE ACT. THAT'S JUST SOME OF THE TRENDS. UM, THIS JUST SHOWS OUR SAVINGS TO THE SYSTEM. WE, WE TRY TO DO IT AS EFFICIENTLY AS POSSIBLE TO KEEP PEOPLE OUT OF THE HOSPITAL, [00:30:01] UH, WORKING WITH THE HOSPITAL, BUT THEY LIKE IT WHEN WE KEEP PEOPLE OUT OF THE HOSPITAL TOO. RIGHT. UM, BECAUSE THAT IS A MUCH MORE EXPENSIVE LEVEL OF CARE. UM, A FEW THINGS. UM, WE DID ADD A FOOD PANTRY. SO WE'RE WORKING WITH THE LOW COUNTRY FOOD BANK AND AT OUR OAT TEA LOCATION WE HAVE IT, IT IS PRETTY COOL ACTUALLY. Y'ALL SHOULD COME AND SEE IT, UM, WHERE IT'S FRESH FRUITS AND VEGETABLES, MEATS. WE HAVE A FREEZER THAT'S IN OUR NUTRITION DEPARTMENT. THEY EVEN HAVE, YOU KNOW, NON-PERISHABLES. THEY EVEN PROVIDE SPICES. LIKE I WENT IN THERE AND THEY HAD LIKE GARLIC POWDER, . I'M LIKE, OKAY, . UM, SO THAT IS SOMETHING WE'D LIKE TO DO IN OTHER LOCATIONS TOO. UM, WE HAVE SOME NEW PROVIDERS, UH, AN OB GYN THAT STARTED INTERNAL MEDICINE. AND THEN OUR ONGOING PARTNERSHIPS, USCB PROVIDING, UH, SCHOOL-BASED HEALTH SERVICES WITH OUR MOBILE UNIT THERE ON CAMPUS, BOTH IN THE BEAUFORT SIDE AND THE BLUFFTON SIDE. UM, WELL I GUESS HARDY SIDE, UM, HEAD START. AND THEN OF COURSE LOW COUNTRY FOOD BANK. UM, THESE ARE JUST SOME OTHER STATISTICS JUST SHOWING THAT WE ACTUALLY, UM, ARE ACCOUNTABLE AS FAR AS THE CARE. I KNOW, UH, RUSSELL TALKED ABOUT KIND OF THIS, UH, NEW WAY OF SEEING PATIENTS. IT'S NOT ENOUGH TO JUST SEE MORE PATIENTS, BUT IT'S HOW YOU SEE THE PATIENTS AND RATHER YOU HAVE GOOD OUTCOMES OR NOT. AND SO THAT'S WHAT VALUE-BASED CARE IS AFFORD. UM, THE ACCOUNTABLE CARE ORGANIZATIONS. AND SO, YOU KNOW, COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTERS, THAT'S WHAT WE DO. AND WE, UM, SEND OUR INFORMATION, OUR QUALITY SCORES TO THE GOVERNMENT EVERY YEAR. AND IT'S POSTED ON, UH, HRSA'S WEBSITES. YOU CAN SEE EXACTLY HOW WE COMPARE TO OTHER COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTERS. AND I'M PROUD TO SAY THAT WE DO A REALLY GOOD JOB OF CONTROLLING BLOOD PRESSURE, REDUCING THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO HAVE UNCONTROLLED DIABETES. AND WE DO HAVE THE HIGHEST RATE FOR BREAST CANCER SCREENINGS AMONG OTHER HEALTH CENTERS IN THE STATE. SO WE'RE REALLY PROUD OF THAT. SO OUR REQUEST FOR THIS YEAR IS ABOUT THE SAME AS LAST YEAR. A LITTLE BIT OF A 3% INCREASE TO COVER, SOME INCREASED COST, BUT 1.227, UM, FOR THIS YEAR. HEY, WE'LL OPEN IT UP FOR QUESTIONS. YES MA'AM. I THOUGHT YOUR PRESENTATION WAS VERY INFORMATIVE. I REALLY LIKED IT. UM, SO MY QUESTION WAS THE FOOD PANTRY. YEAH. I KNOW ALL ABOUT BLUFF AND SELF-HELP. I KNOW ABOUT LOW COUNTRY FOOD BANK. SO I WAS JUST WONDERING WHY YOU'RE JUMPING IN THAT ONE. THEY ALREADY PROVIDE, WE ARE PARTNERING WITH THEM, SO IT'S TO PROVIDE AN ACCESS POINT FOR THEM IN AN AREA WHERE THERE WASN'T ANOTHER FOOD PANTRY. SO WHERE WE ARE ON ONE 70, THERE ISN'T ANOTHER FOOD PANTRY IN THAT AREA. AND WE HAVE A LOT OF PATIENTS THAT IF THEY DON'T GET IT WHILE THEY'RE THERE, THEY WON'T BE ABLE TO TO GO TO SOMEPLACE ELSE TO GET IT. SO WE TRY TO BE THAT ONE STOP SHOP. AND SO THI THIS ISN'T OURS, IT IS LOW COUNTRY FOOD BANK HAS PRETTY MUCH JUST MADE US ANOTHER LOCATION. I MEAN, DONE. THEY'RE DOING IT WITH YOU. YES. AND SO YOU HAD TELEHEALTH. DO MANY OF YOUR CLIENTS USE TELEHEALTH? SOME DO. WE FIND, UH, ACTUALLY MORE THE KIDS, UH, PARENTS, YOUNGER PARENTS TEND TO USE IT A LITTLE BIT MORE. WE'VE HAD SOME OF OUR, SOME OF OUR MEDICARE PATIENTS USE IT TOO. UM, BUT IT'S DEFINITELY NOT AS POPULAR AS IT WAS SAY DURING COVID. YEAH, PEOPLE WANNA COME IN PERSON, BUT WE STILL OFFER IT, SO ABSOLUTELY. BECAUSE SOME OF SOME RESIDENTS MIGHT NOT WANNA COME IN BUT DO A QUICK TELEHEALTH. SO I WAS JUST CURIOUS HOW MANY USE IT. AND WE'RE STILL USING IT ACTUALLY FOR, UH, REMOTE PATIENT MONITORING. SO WE SEND PATIENTS HOME WITH BLOOD PRESSURE CUFFS, WITH GLUCOSE MONITORS AND UM, WE CAN DO A TELEHEALTH VISIT BASED UPON THE RESULTS THAT THEY DO IN THEIR OWN HOME. AND I THINK YOUR NUMBERS FOR, UH, THE DIABETES PROGRAM AND THE OTHER PROGRAMS ARE QUITE IMPRESSIVE. SO YOU'RE OBVIOUSLY MAKING AN IMPACT. THANK YOU. APPRECIATE IT. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? I HAD ONE, UM, DESCRIBE JUST FOR COUNCIL, I KNOW Y'ALL DO A LOT OF WORK WITH THE MIGRANT WORKERS DURING THE SEASON. UM, WHAT, WHAT, WHAT, WHAT, WHAT YOU'RE DOING OUT THERE ON ST. HELENA'S SERVICES? YES. SO, UM, THAT'S ACTUALLY ANOTHER THING THAT WE'RE PRETTY PROUD OF. PRETTY MUCH SINCE OUR FOUNDING SINCE 1973, UM, WE'VE BEEN WORKING WITH FARM WORKERS. SO WE CONTINUE TO HAVE A NIGHT CLINIC. I CALL IT OUR SIGNATURE NIGHT CLINIC. SO DURING HARVEST SEASON, FROM LATE MAY TO EARLY JULY, WE OPEN UP OUR ST. HELENA OFFICE AND, UH, SEE PATIENTS FROM WHEN THEY COME IN AT 6:00 PM AFTER THEY'VE BEEN WORKING AND SEE THEM UNTIL, SO SOMETIMES WE'RE THERE TILL MIDNIGHT, ONE O'CLOCK DOING MEDICAL, DENTAL, NUTRITION, BEHAVIORAL HEALTH. WE HAVE PHARMACY ON SITE. UM, WE SEE, UM, SOME, UH, YOUNG MEN MOSTLY. BUT THEN WE ALSO HAVE SOME OF OUR HAITIAN FARM WORKERS ARE ACTUALLY FIFTIES, SIXTIES, SEVENTIES. WE HAD AN 80-YEAR-OLD. WOW. YES. AND THEY COME AND THEY'RE LIKE, WE WANT OUR MAMMOGRAM BECAUSE THEY COME BACK EVERY YEAR BECAUSE IT'S, YOU KNOW, A SEASONAL MIGRANT TYPE THING. AND SO THEY COME BACK EVERY YEAR AND WE WILL PROVIDE THEIR SERVICE FOR THEM EVERY YEAR. THAT'S A GREAT PROGRAM. ALRIGHT. ANY, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? WE APPRECIATE YOU COMING TODAY. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. YOU APPRECIATE [00:35:01] IT. MM-HMM . ALL RIGHT. NEXT ON OUR AGENDA IS, UM, THE TECHNICAL COLLEGE. AND WE HAVE MARY LEE ENCE AND, UM, DR. GOFF. YEAH. RICH, GO. GOOD MORNING EVERYBODY. GOOD MORNING. GLAD, UH, TO HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO COME AND TALK TO YOU THIS MORNING. I THINK THIS IS MY 11TH OR 12TH, UH, TIME HERE IN FRONT OF YOU, . AND, UH, I'VE SURVIVED EVERYONE AND I HOPE THIS, UH, FOLLOWS SUIT WITH THAT SURVIVED. YEAH. AND, UH, WE'VE ALWAYS BEEN VERY GRACIOUS AND GOOD TO THE COLLEGE. THIS, UH, THIS MORNING YOU'RE GONNA HEAR A BUDGET REQUEST, UH, WAS IN THE LETTER. WE ARE NOT ASKING FOR AN INCREASE ABOVE LAST YEAR. WE'RE ASKING FOR JUST A CONTINUATION OF OUR HISTORICAL, UH, UH, MILLAGE AMOUNT RATE THAT WE'VE RECEIVED FOR THE LAST FEW YEARS. AND, UH, I'M GONNA HAND THIS OFF TO MARIE LEE, MY VICE PRESIDENT FOR ADVANCEMENT, WHO YOU ALL KNOW. UH, SHE WILL COME UP AND TELL YOU A BIT ABOUT WHAT'S HAPPENING AT THE COLLEGE, UH, BOTH CURRENT AND FUTURE. AND I'M GONNA STAND BY HERE AND FIELD YOUR QUESTIONS IF YOU HAVE ANY. I APOLOGIZE. OH, DON'T. OH, A DO NOW. THAT'S GOOD. THE TWINS MAYBE. NO, NINE MONTHS AND 15 MONTHS. OH, SHE'S GRANDMA. GRANDMA. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. SO THIS IS JUST A BRIEF SLIDE DECK JUST TO KIND OF REMIND YOU OF YOUR INVESTMENT. UM, AND TO POINT OUT THAT WE'RE A GOOD IN, WE'RE A GOOD INVESTMENT. I AGREE. UPDATED OUR SLIDES A LITTLE BIT FOR YOU. 'CAUSE WE DO TRACK THESE METRICS VERY CLOSELY. ABOUT 80% OF OUR WORKFORCE PROGRAMS NOW ARE FREE TO SOUTH CAROLINA RESIDENTS. UH, 77% OF OUR STUDENTS ARE ATTENDING PART-TIME, AND THAT'S BEEN A STEADY STATE FOR MANY YEARS. AND THAT'S CLASSIC TO COMMUNITY COLLEGES. THE STUDENTS ARE WORKING IN THE CLASSROOM AND OUT OF THE CLASSROOM. UM, MANY WITH FAMILIES, 91% LOCAL. UM, OUR SERVICE AREA, AS YOU KNOW, BEAUFORT, JASPER, UM, HAMPTON AND CO. OF THAT 91% OR OF THE TOTAL STUDENT BODY, 70% ARE FROM BUFORT COUNTY AND 95% RELEVANT, UM, BECAUSE OUR GRADUATES GO INTO OUR LOCAL WORKFORCE. THIS IS ALSO ONE OF MY FAVORITE SLIDES 'CAUSE THAT NUMBER INCREASES EVERY YEAR. 89,000 STUDENTS SINCE 1968 AND MORE THAN 2000 GRADUATES IN THE PAST FIVE YEARS. I WANTED TO SHARE THIS 'CAUSE I WAS SPEAKING TO A GROUP RECENTLY AND I PUT THIS TOGETHER. UM, THESE ARE THE FACES OF SOME OF LAST YEAR'S NURSING STUDENTS. IT'S THE FACES OF OUR COMMUNITY. WE HAVE 420 STUDENTS IN OUR HEALTH SCIENCE PROGRAMS. THAT'S NURSING, SURGICAL TECHNOLOGY, UH, RADIOLOGY TECHNOLOGY, PHYSICAL THERAPY, UM, ASSISTANCE. THESE FOUR FACES THAT YOU SEE, AND AT LEAST 95% OF THE, OF THE GROUP BEHIND THEM. BUT THESE FOUR FACES IN PARTICULAR WENT RIGHT INTO OUR LOCAL WORKFORCE IN OUR LOCAL HOSPITALS. I, AND JUST TO UPDATE YOU ON SOME OF THE THINGS THAT HAPPENED IN THIS PAST ACADEMIC YEAR, UM, I THINK YOU'RE AWARE OF THE COLLEGES AND THE SCHOOL DISTRICTS TIDES HIGH SCHOOL PROGRAM THAT IS BRINGING QUALIFIED NINTH GRADERS AS EARLY AS NINTH GRADE INTO THE COLLEGE, ATTENDING FULL-TIME HIGH SCHOOL, UH, CLASSES AND COLLEGE CLASSES, AND PUTTING THEM ON A CAREER TRACK, UH, AND INTRODUCING THEM TO LOCAL, UH, CAREERS. ALTOGETHER THERE'S MORE THAN 900 HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS ENROLLED IN THE COLLEGE'S DUAL ENROLLMENT PROGRAM. THIS PAST ACADEMIC YEAR, WE LAUNCHED THE ROBOTICS PROGRAM, THE ELECTRIC VEHICLE TECHNOLOGY PROGRAM, AND THE MEDICAL DIAGNOSTIC SONOGRAPHY PROGRAMS. UM, ALSO THIS PAST YEAR, IN ORDER TO BRING MORE FOCUSED AND MORE CAPACITY, UH, TO OUR HEALTH SCIENCES, UH, THE COLLEGE REORGANIZED, UM, THE SCHOOL OF ALLIED HEALTH SCIENCES INTO TWO FOCUSED UNITS, TWO DEANS, SEPARATE FACULTY, THE SCHOOL OF NURSING AND THE SCHOOL OF HEALTH SCIENCES. ALSO, THIS PAST JULY IN PARTNERSHIP WITH CO COUNTY, UH, WE OPENED THE TCL COLL CAREER AND SKILLS CENTER. AND ALSO THIS PAST YEAR WE LAUNCHED EMPLOYER SOLUTIONS, UM, AS A COMMUNITY COLLEGE. WE HAVE A DUAL CLIENT MISSION, THAT STUDENT AND THAT BUSINESS. UM, [00:40:01] THE EMPLOYER SOLUTIONS PROGRAM, THE PRI PRIMARY CLIENT IN THAT IS THE BUSINESS. AND WE'RE WORKING ONE-ON-ONE WITH BUSINESSES. THIS IS EMPLOYER DRIVEN TRAINING TO UPSKILL THEIR INCUMBENT WORKERS. YOU KNOW, WORKFORCE IS A WARM BODY ISSUE, UM, AI, UM, TO HELP RETRAIN AND UPSKILL AND BUILD CAPACITY IN SMALL AND LARGE BUSINESSES. AND WE HAVE MOSTLY SMALL BUSINESSES. WE'RE WORKING DIRECTLY WITH BUSINESSES TO BRING TRAINING EITHER INTO THEIR FACILITY REMOTELY OR IN OUR FACILITY TO UPSKILL THEIR CURRENT WORKFORCE. AND I, I ALSO WANNA GIVE A SHOUT OUT 'CAUSE I KNOW COUNCIL, UH, PASS YOU ATTENDED, UH, JOBS NOW. 2026 WAS A COMMUNITY EFFORT. IT WAS A TECHNICAL COLLEGE OF LOW COUNTRY USCB, THE CHAMBERS DOWN TO SAVANNAH DE SCAD, UM, SAVANNAH STATE ALSO PARTICIPATED. UH, IN THAT ONE DAY, 400 INDIVIDUALS CAME THROUGH TO MEET EMPLOYERS, UM, TO TALK ABOUT JOBS. AND IT WAS REALLY FOCUSED ON OUR EMPLOYERS AND OUR WORKFORCE. UM, BEAUFORT COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT WAS AN IMPORTANT PARTNER WITH THAT. THEY BROUGHT IN, THEY BUST IN THEIR STUDENTS. UM, IN ORDER TO MEET THE JOBS THAT ARE HERE LOCALLY, WE CAN'T ASSUME THE STUDENTS KNOW WHAT'S HERE FOR THEM. UH, AND THIS WAS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR 60 EMPLOYERS WITH A WAITING LIST OF 40. 'CAUSE WE COULDN'T FIT THEM ALL. UM, BUT NEXT YEAR JOBS, NOW 2027 WILL BE, BE EXPANDED, BIGGER FOOTPRINT. AND AS DR. GO SAID, UM, THIS IS REALLY A THANK YOU TO A DEMONSTRATION OF OUR VALUE, UM, TO YOU AND TO THE COUNTY. UM, WE'RE NOT ASKING FOR ANY ADDITIONAL FUNDS, BUT THE FUNDS THAT YOU SU UM, SUPPLY ARE VERY IMPORTANT, UM, TO OUR, TO OUR OPERATIONS AND WE'RE VERY GRATEFUL FOR, FOR THAT. AND JUST REALLY ENDING ON THE LAST SLIDE, UH, WE HOPE WE DEMONSTRATE TIME AND TIME AGAIN THAT WE ARE A GOOD INVESTMENT, UH, DELIVERING WORKFORCE READINESS AND ECONOMIC IMPACT, UH, TO BEAUFORT COUNTY AND BEYOND. AND WITH THAT, YOUR, YOUR QUESTIONS. YEAH. SO OPEN IT UP. YES, MA'AM. SO I REALLY ADMIRE THE TIDES HIGH SCHOOL DUAL ENROLLMENT PROGRAM. I'M USED TO THAT FROM OHIO TOO. I THINK IT'S GREAT. THE SCHOOL DISTRICT APPLAUD YOU FOR ENGAGING WITH THEM ON THAT. AND YOU HAVE 900 HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS ENROLLED. I THINK THAT'S GREAT. IT'S NOT ALL TIDES. YEAH, I KNOW THAT. JUST TO BE CLEAR. YEAH. BUT THEY, BUT THE TIDES HAVE, FROM YEAR OVER YEAR, IT'S BEEN A 328% INCREASE IN, IN, IN THE TIDES ENROLLMENT. IT'S A GREAT PROGRAM FOR OUR STUDENTS TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT. UM, AND I APPRECIATE THAT YOU'RE ASKING FOR THE STEADY STREAM. IF WE WENT, IF WE CONTEMPLATED NOT GIVING MILLS, BUT GIVING THE 3 MILLION, THAT'S WHAT YOU'RE ASKING FOR. IN OTHER WORDS, WHEN YOU, WHEN WE GIVE MILLAGE, THAT VARIES YEAR TO YEAR, HOPEFULLY UP. WELL, , THERE'S NO PROMISE. RIGHT? BUT SO YOU'RE ASKING FOR 3,000,015 FIVE, ARE YOU ASKING JASPER COUNTY FOR ANY MORE? 10,000 SEEMS REALLY LOW FOR JASPER COUNTY SINCE THEY'RE BOOMING. YEAH. WELL, JASPER, JASPER, JASPER COUNTY HAS ACTUALLY IN THE PAST FEW YEARS, ALL MY YEARS HAVE ACTUALLY BEEN QUITE LOW. BUT THEY'VE HELPED US IN OTHER WAYS. FOR EXAMPLE, THERE WAS A RECENT, UH, DONATION OF A MILLION DOLLARS TOWARDS THE REGIONAL WORKFORCE TRAINING CENTER, UH, PROGRAM. SO THEY TEND TO FAVOR THAT SORT OF APPROPRIATION. SO YEAH, WE'VE ASKED THEM FOR MORE, BUT I DON'T EXPECT THERE'D BE MUCH MORE IN THE ANNUAL APPROPRIATION FROM JASPER. KEEP ASKING 'EM. THEY'RE GROWING AS YOU SAW IN THE PAPER. ALRIGHT, THANK YOU. AND I LIKE THAT MANY OF YOUR GRADUATES STAY IN THE COUNTY. THAT'S REALLY A BONUS FOR US. AND OTHER SPACE IS BEAUTIFUL. I JUST HAD TO SHOW YOU, THAT'S WHY. YEAH, THAT WAS GREAT. YEAH, DAVID. SO, UM, MY VOICE IS GOING OUT, SO I MAY SEND YOU AN EMAIL, BUT, UM, , I, I KNOW THAT WE'VE, I'VE TALKED TO BOTH THE, OUR ADMINISTRATOR AND TO YOU ABOUT THIS, UM, POTENTIAL PARTNERSHIPS VIA CONTRACT FOR REAL WORLD EXPERIENCE TO HELP, UH, REDUCE THE OVERALL COST. UH, ONE EXAMPLE I'LL GIVE IS WE'RE TRYING TO REDO OUR WEBSITE. IS THERE A WAY THAT WE COULD POTENTIALLY CONTRACT WITH A THIRD PARTY THAT COULD WORK WITH THE STUDENTS IN THOSE PROGRAMS TO HELP REDUCE THE OVERALL COST AND GET REAL WORLD TRAINING? CAN'T SPEAK TO THE COST, BUT I CAN SPEAK TO THE EXPERIENCE THAT THE SECTOR A POTENTIAL WOULD BE FOR TO STUDENTS. AND I'M THINKING MORE WITHIN APPRENTICESHIPS AND INTERNSHIPS IN WORKING WITH, YOU KNOW, YOUR CONTRACTOR, WHICH WOULD BE A BUSINESS. UM, AND THOSE ARE INCREASINGLY VALUABLE, ESPECIALLY IF THESE CONTRACTORS ARE LOCAL. BECAUSE WE WANT OUR STUDENTS, WE WANT THEM, WE ALL WANT THEM TO STAY LOCAL. WE WANT THEM TO BE SKILLED AND LOCALLY EMPLOYED [00:45:01] BECAUSE THEY'RE GOING TO LIVE HERE, WORK HERE, THEY'RE GONNA PAY THEIR TAXES HERE. UM, SO I THINK THAT, UM, CALCIUM AND OLO U IS WHERE THE INTERSECT IS. OKAY. YEAH, I'D, I'D LIKE TO CONTINUE TO EXPLORE THAT. 'CAUSE IT MAY BE A COST SAVINGS TO THE, TO THE TAXPAYER, BUT ALSO THE, IT COULD BE VALUABLE EXPERIENCE TO THE STUDENT. RIGHT. YEAH. I HAD A QUESTION. UM, THE, UM, OTHER COUNTIES THAT, THAT, YOU KNOW, COLLETON AND JASPER AND HAMPTON, DO THEY HAVE A SIMILAR HIGH SCHOOL PROGRAM? ARE THEY WE DO. THEY'RE, BUT THEY'RE MUCH SMALLER THAN BEAUFORT. UM, THE TOTAL NUMBER RIGHT NOW IS APPROACHING A THOUSAND, IF YOU INCLUDE THE OTHER COUNTIES. UM, WE'RE ABOUT A HUNDRED IN, IN, UH, THESE ARE DUAL ENROLLMENT STUDENTS, NOT TOTAL ENROLLMENT FROM HAMPTON, FOR EXAMPLE, BUT ABOUT A, ABOUT 80 STUDENTS FROM HAMPTON COUNTY, UM, ABOUT A HUNDRED OR MORE FROM JASPER COUNTY. AND WE'RE JUST GETTING SOME GOOD TRACTION AT THE, IN COTON, IN WALTERBORO WITH THE, THE EARLY, UH, CAREER CENTER MM-HMM . THAT WE JUST OPENED UP, WHICH IS, UM, OFF TO A GOOD START. SO YEAH, WE DO HAVE PARTICIPATION, BUT BY FAR BEAUFORT IS THE LARGEST, WELL, THEY'RE SMALLER SCHOOL DISTRICTS TOO. AND THEY ARE. YEAH. BUT THEY, THEY ARE COOPERATE. I MEAN, THEY WANNA DO IT. YEAH. OKAY. TECHNICALLY, YOU KNOW, THE TIDES PROGRAM IS, IS A, A UNIQUE AND DIFFERENTLY ORGANIZED MM-HMM . YOU KNOW, DOING ENROLLMENT PROGRAM, SO THERE'S NOT A TIDES PROGRAM. RIGHT, OKAY. IN WITH THE OTHER MM-HMM . WITH THE OTHER COUNTIES. UM, I, I REMEMBER GOING TO A MEETING AT, UM, AND WATCHING THE BEAUFORT COUNTY SCHOOL BUS PULL UP AND DROP THE STUDENT'S OFFICE. SO EXCITING TO SEE 'EM, UM, DOING THAT. IT'S GREAT. A LOT OF THAT'S THAT. WELL, THAT'S BEING OFFERED BOTH HERE ON THE, ON OUR MATHER CAMPUS AND IN, UM, OUR NEW RIVER CAMPUS. MOST OF IT'S AT NEW RIVER. YEAH. THIS IS AT NEW RIVER. YEAH. RIGHT. AND SO WE HAVE, UH, REALLY MAXED OUT ON THE NUMBER WE CAN SUPPORT WITH THE FACILITY WE HAVE THERE. SO I THINK THAT NUMBER'S GOING TO STABILIZE REALLY QUICKLY. BUT, UM, WE WERE VERY, VERY PLEASED AND I CAN'T SAY ENOUGH ABOUT HOW WONDERFUL THE BEAUFORT COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT HAS BEEN TO US AND WORKED WITH US. THEY'VE BEEN A WONDERFUL PARTNER. THAT'S GREAT. WONDERFUL PEOPLE. THAT'S GREAT. ANY OTHER GOOD TO HEAR COMMENTS, QUESTIONS? I HAVE? YES, MA'AM. DO YOU, DO YOU ALL TRAIN FOR PLUMBERS, ELECTRICIANS, ET RIGHT? MM-HMM . WE DO. AND NURSES OBVIOUSLY, RIGHT? YEAH, WE DO. SO, UM, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU KNOW THIS OR NOT, BUT LOWE'S IS, IS HAS A COMMERCIAL OUT THERE, HAVE YOU SEEN IT? NO. YEAH. LOWE'S. YEAH. THE HOME STORE. AND, UM, THEY'RE SAYING, YOU KNOW, AI'S GONNA TAKE A LOT OF JOBS, YOU KNOW, REGULAR JOBS, WHATEVER, BUT REAL JOBS IS, YOU HAVE TO HAVE YOUR HANDS ON PLUMBERS, ELECTRICIANS AND STUFF. THEY'RE, I THINK THEY'RE STARTING SOME KIND OF PROGRAM. IF I UNDER, IF I UNDERSTAND THAT CORRECTLY, I'LL LOOK INTO THAT. I DUNNO, LOWE'S PROGRAM IN IN PARTICULAR, IT DOESN'T SURPRISE ME. UM, BECAUSE THERE'S SUCH DEMAND FOR THOSE SKILLED TRADES. YEAH. RIGHT. SO WITH THAT, THAT IS, THE PLUMBERS AND ELECTRICIANS ARE ALL WITHIN OUR BUILDING CONS, UH, CONSTRUCTION PROGRAM. SO THAT'S KIND OF A BIG TITLE FOR ALL, ALL THESE, UM, TRAINING CAPACITIES ALSO WHEN WITHIN HVAC, ELECTRICAL IS A STRONG PART OF, OF BOTH. UM, WE HAVE WAITING LISTS FOR THOSE PROGRAMS. CAN'T TAKE ANY MORE STUDENTS. OH, THAT'S GOOD. YEAH. UM, THAT GOES, I WAS WAITING IF YOU ASK ABOUT THE REGIONAL WORKFORCE TRAINING CENTER, UM, BUT I'LL JUMP IN ON DO YOU KNOW ON THAT BECAUSE IT'S DIRECTLY RELATED TO THAT. UM, 'CAUSE WE WILL EXPAND THOSE PROGRAMS INTO THAT, THAT NEW FACILITY. AND WE ARE COMMITTED, AND I, I, I KNOW I TOLD THE COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR THIS RECENTLY IN THE PAST, I THINK JANUARY'S MEETING OF GOING TO GROUND THIS YEAR. UM, WE'RE WAITING, WE ARE VERY OPTIMISTIC THAT WE WILL GET THAT EDA GRANT. UH, WE'RE DOING THE, THE FINAL KIND OF ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS, LIKE IT HAD TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE PAPER, UM, YOU KNOW, THINGS LIKE, YOU KNOW, UH, LIKE THAT. UM, BUT WE'RE ANTICIPATING THAT 6 MILLION, WHETHER IT COME WITHIN THE NEXT 30 OR 45 DAYS, UH, WHETHER IT COMES AND CORRECT ME, SIR. UH, OR WHETHER IT DOESN'T, IT'S EITHER GONNA BE A $28 MILLION CONSTRUCTION OR IT'S GONNA BE A $22 MILLION DISCRETION, UH, CONSTRUCTION. BUT WE'RE GONNA GO FORWARD, YOU KNOW, WITH IT. I DIDN'T KNOW THERE WAS A WAITING LIST FOR ALL THOSE. THAT'S THE MAIN YEAH. AND THAT'S A RELATIVELY NEW PHENOMENON. YEAH. WE'VE ALWAYS HAD A MORE DEMAND IN SUPPLY, BUT FOR THE LAST YEAR OR TWO, ALL OF OUR TRADE PROGRAMS HAVE BEEN FILLED. HVAC PLUMBING, ELECTRICAL, LIKE CONSTRUCTION IN GENERAL. UM, IT'S BEEN TREMENDOUS. IT'S BEEN, BEEN WONDERFUL. THANK YOU. YOU SHOULD, IF I CAN SHARE ONE MORE THING. UM, WE'VE EXPANDED THE HVAC PROGRAM INTO THE ORIGINAL AND CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTE. UM, AND IT'S BEEN VERY, VERY SUCCESSFUL. THERE'S ALREADY ALREADY BEEN TWO GRADUATES FROM THAT PROGRAM WHO HAVE JOBS, UM, WHO ARE, ARE NOW IN THE WORKFORCE BEING, BEING VERY PRODUCTIVE. UM, BUT THAT'S BEEN, [00:50:01] THAT'S, THAT'S A PROGRAM. YOU HEAR THEIR STORIES AND THEY, THEY WRITE LETTERS AND, AND, YOU KNOW, SAYING THANK YOU. AND IT'S VERY MOVING AND VERY BENEFICIAL PROGRAM. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT. NEXT WE HAVE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA BUFORT BUDGET REQUEST PRESENTATION BY DR. PNU AND, UM, LANDON JONES. MORNING. MORNING. HI. GOOD MORNING. GOOD MORNING. GOOD MORNING. HOW ARE YOU? THANK YOU. DOING GOOD. THANK YOU SO MUCH. MADAM CHAIR COUNCIL MEMBERS, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE, UM, THIS CONVERSATION FOR US. AND AS MY COLLEAGUES FROM TCL INDICATED, THIS IS ALSO A TREMENDOUS OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO SAY THANK YOU FOR YOUR VISION FOR YOUR INVESTMENT 20 YEARS AGO, A LITTLE BIT OVER 20 YEARS AGO, THANKS TO THE VISION OF THE LEADERSHIP OF THIS COMMUNITY REFLECTED IN C COUNCIL WAS, UM, THE CURRENT VERSION OF USCB CRE. AND IT WAS DONE SO BECAUSE OF THE IMPORTANCE OF RESPONDING TO REGIONAL NEEDS AND THE UNDERSTANDING OF A FOUR YEAR INSTITUTIONS THAT WAS GOING TO HELP WITH THAT WAS ALSO THE CULTURAL ENRICHMENT THAT WAS, UH, NECESSARY. THAT CAME ALONG WITH, WITH, UH, WITH SUCH A VISION. AND I AM DELIGHTED TO BE ABLE TO TELL YOU THAT USCB IS THE YOUNGEST COMPREHENSIVE UNIVERSITY IN THE STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA, HAS DONE THAT AND IS CONTINUING TO DO THAT. WHETHER WE ARE TALKING ABOUT WORKFORCE NEEDS, MORE SPECIFICALLY TALKING ABOUT TEACHER PREPARATION, UM, HEALTHCARE NEEDS, UM, TALKING ABOUT, UM, HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY, THAT, THAT DRIVES US HERE. UM, THESE ARE ALL VARIOUS ASPECTS THAT THAT, THAT USCB IS ALSO ENGAGED IN. WE ALSO ARE VERY MUCH, UM, CRITICALLY INVOLVED IN, IN CULTURAL ENRICHMENT ACTIVITIES. OUR ALI PROGRAM IS ONE OF THE BEST ALI PROGRAMS IN THE COUNTRY AND ONE OF THE MOST SELECTIVE, UM, PLACES. ALI, UH, ONLY ENGAGES WITH A HANDFUL OF UNIVERSITIES, I THINK ASIDE FROM USCB IN THE STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA, IT'S ALSO A FIRM. AND THAT THAT HAS ALSO THE OTHER ALI PROGRAM. AND WE HAVE CHAMBER MUSIC, WE HAVE MANY OTHER ACTIVITIES RECENTLY. WE NOW INAUGURATED THE JONATHAN GREEN MARITIME CULTURAL CENTER THAT IS GOING TO BE PART OF THIS ENGAGEMENT. JUST WANTED TO GIVE A QUICK OVERVIEW BRIEFLY BEFORE I ASK MY COLLEAGUE, UM, LONDON, OUR CFO TO COME AND, AND DISCUSS THE PRESENTATION FOR OUR BUDGET REQUEST. BUT WHAT I REALLY WANT YOU TO TAKE AWAY FROM, UM, JUST THE OVERALL PICTURE IS THAT IT HAS BEEN A TREMENDOUS INVESTMENT ON YOUR PART. AND WE WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT, UH, WE, WE ARE GREAT STEWARDS OF THAT INVESTMENT. AND EVEN THOUGH WE HAVE THE LOWEST TUITION IN THE STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA, UM, WE HAVE MADE THE MOST OF IT. UM, AND SO WE, WE WANT, WE WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT AND, AND WE ARE LOOKING FORWARD TO, UH, FURTHER CONVERSATION ON THAT. LONDON COMES TO US FROM UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI. HE'S BEEN HIT THE, UH, DECK RUNNING HERE. AND I THINK, UH, YOU'LL BE PLEASED WITH, UM, SOME OF THE CONVERSATION. THANK YOU. GOOD MORNING. GOOD MORNING. OKAY. SO WE WILL ROLL INTO THIS. UM, A LOT OF THIS INFORMATION IS JUST FOR AWARENESS. I KNOW THERE'S A LOT OF MOVING PIECES. YOU'LL SEE A LOT OF DIFFERENT ORGANIZATIONS. SO I JUST WANNA PROVIDE JUST SOME GENERAL FACTS AND FIGURES. UM, SO JUST A COUPLE OF FAST FACTS THAT I'D LIKE TO KEY IN ON. UH, OUR TOTAL ENROLLMENT GROWTHS ABOUT 31%, UH, 32%, UH, FOR [00:55:01] NEW FRESHMAN ENROLLMENT GROWTH. UM, WE HAVE ABOUT 68 AREAS, UH, SPECIALIZED STUDY WITH 19 BACHELOR'S AND TWO MASTER'S DEGREES. UH, THE CYBERSECURITY CONCENTRATION CONTINUES TO GROW AND WE CONTINUE TO ADVANCE, UH, THOSE INITIATIVES. AND THEN, UM, WE ARE, WE ARE RECOGNIZED AS A TOP PRODUCER OF FULBRIGHT SCHOLARS. SO LOOKING AT THE ACADEMIA AT USCB, UH, THIS IS OUR TOP FIVE MAJORS, UM, BY SIZE. SO BUSINESS BIOLOGY, NURSING, PRE-NURSING, PSYCHOLOGY, AND PUBLIC HEALTH. UM, I DO WANT TO KIND OF, UH, TEE UP NURSING HERE. THIS YEAR WE STARTED OUR INTRODUCING OUR THIRD COHORT, UH, WHICH IS ABOUT 24 ADDITIONAL RNS THAT WE'RE GONNA BE PRODUCING EACH YEAR, UM, INTO OUR LOCAL COMMUNITY. UH, NEW ACADEMIC PROGRAMS, MASTER OF ARTS TEACHING CRIMINOLOGY. UM, WE ARE LOOKING TO TRY AND OPEN UP AND INTRODUCE ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING, UM, ON OUR BEAUFORT CAMPUS. UH, SO WE ARE CONTINUING TO WORK THROUGH THAT PROCESS. UM, AND THEN WE'LL LOOK TO HIRE THE FACULTY AND STAFF TO SUPPORT THAT PROGRAM. UH, NEW GRANTS THIS YEAR. SO WE DID GET THE HRSA GRANT ABOUT $3.8 MILLION OVER FOUR YEARS. IT REALLY HELPS US BOLSTER AND ADVANCE OUR NURSING PIPELINE AT USCB. UM, WE'VE HAD A VARIETY OF OTHER, UH, GRANTS THAT HAVE COME THROUGH, UH, THE DONNELLEY FOUNDATION, 200,000 OVER TWO YEARS. UM, AND THEN JUST OUR NEWEST CENTER, THE JONATHAN GREEN MARITIME CULTURAL CENTER. UH, IF YOU HAVE NOT HAD A CHANCE TO GO SEE THAT, PLEASE DO. UM, JONATHAN IS A VERY VALUABLE MEMBER. UH, UH, SO IS DR. KIM LONG AND THEY'VE DONE A REALLY GOOD JOB WITH THAT FACILITY. ALRIGHT, EDUCATION AND EMPLOYING. UH, SO IN BEAUFORT COUNTY, UH, WE HAVE CURRENTLY 750 STUDENTS FROM BEAUFORT COUNTY ENROLLED THIS FALL. THAT ACCOUNTS FOR ABOUT 34% OF OUR, OF OUR TOTAL STUDENTS. UM, WE DO HAVE 150 HIGH SCHOOL DUAL ENROLLMENTS. UH, WE CONTINUE TO, UM, BE A LEADING EMPLOYER IN BEAUFORT COUNTY, UH, 383 EMPLOYEES, 249 FTE FOR STAFF. UM, AND, AND AN ASSORTMENT OF PART-TIME ADJUNCT INSTRUCTORS, SOME FULL-TIME INSTRUCTORS. UM, AND AS WE CONTINUE TO GROW, WE CONTINUE TO EMPLOY, UH, MORE IN THE COUNTY. SO, UH, LOOKING AT THE ECONOMIC IMPACT, UM, ROUGHLY IT'S 141.3 MILLION ECONOMIC IMPACT ANNUALLY. UH, HOWEVER, THAT DOES NOT ACCOUNT FOR THE EDUCATION FOUNDATION, WHICH CONTRIBUTES AND THE, UH, BEAUFORT JASPER HIGHER EDUCATION COMMISSION. UM, WE DO HAVE AN INITIATIVE WORKING THROUGH THE B-J-H-E-C AT THIS POINT. UM, WE ARE WORKING ON SUBMITTING A P THREE, UH, A PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP FOR DORMS AND FOR FIELDS AT USCB. SO WE'RE VERY EXCITED ABOUT THAT. UH, WE'RE GONNA ADD A DORM TO BLUFFTON THAT'S REALLY GONNA FOCUS ON OUR FRESHMEN. UH, THERE'S CERTAIN DESIGNS AND ELEMENTS IN A BUILDING, UM, ESPECIALLY A DORMITORY FOR FRESHMEN THAT REALLY MAKE THEM SUCCESSFUL AND KEEPS THEM ON TRACK AS THEY GO INTO, UH, THE NEXT COUPLE OF YEARS. UM, WE'RE ALSO GOING TO, UH, HAVE A DORM OUT ON HILTON HEAD. AND SO WE HAVE A DESIGN THAT'S, UM, THAT WE, WE FEEL REALLY GOOD ABOUT THAT'S GONNA SUPPORT THAT COMMUNITY OUT ON HILTON HEAD. UH, I DID WANNA MENTION 61% OF OUR RESIDENTS FOR OUR NURSING GRAD, SORRY, 61% OF OUR NURSING GRADUATES, THEY DO WORK AND STAY IN BEAUFORT COUNTY. UM, 80% OF OUR HOSPITALITY DOES AS WELL. UM, SO OUR STUDENTS ARE COMING HERE GETTING A GREAT EDUCATION. SO I LIKE TO SAY IT'S A PRIVATE SCHOOL EDUCATION AT A PUBLIC SCHOOL PRICE. WE ARE THE LOWEST IN THE STATE. UH, WE CONTINUE TO STAY THERE. UM, OBVIOUSLY WE HAVE NOT INCREASED TUITION IN MANY, MANY YEARS. UM, THAT'S A MANDATE BY THE STATE, AND SO THE STATE HELPS US OUT KIND OF OFFSET SOME OF THOSE, UH, COST OF LIVING ADJUSTMENTS THROUGH WHAT THEY CALL TUITION MITIGATION. HOWEVER, THIS YEAR WE HAVE SEEN A SIGNIFICANT DECLINE ACROSS ALL UNIVERSITIES IN SOUTH CAROLINA WHERE TUITION MITIGATION HAS DECREASED. SO IT REALLY PUTS A LOT OF PRESSURE ON US. SO WE HAVE TO MAKE EVERY PENNY GO AS FAR AS POSSIBLE. UM, JUST REAL BRIEFLY, HOW, UH, BEAUFORT COUNTY FUNDING COMES IN AND SUPPORTS THE UNIVERSITY. IT RUNS THROUGH, THROUGH THE B-J-H-E-C, AND THEN WE ALLOCATE, UH, THOSE FUNDS TO USCB THROUGH OUR GENERAL, UH, UH, GENERAL EDUCATION FUND. [01:00:01] SO THE REQUEST THAT WE HAVE FOR THIS YEAR, UM, IS THE MILLAGE RATE TO INCREASE THE MILLAGE RATE FROM 1.1 TO 1.4. UH, AS, AS I MENTIONED BRIEFLY, WE TALKED ABOUT THE ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING PROGRAM THAT WE WOULD LIKE TO START UP IN, IN PLACE IN BEAUFORT. WE THINK THAT'S A, THERE'S A LOT OF VALUE IN THAT PROGRAM, ESPECIALLY TO OUR REGION. OBVIOUSLY, IT'S GONNA HAVE A HUGE IMPACT, UM, BUT IT COMES WITH COSTS, UM, AND IN ORDER TO MAINTAIN THOSE, AND WE CONTINUE TO SEE TUITION MITIGATION DECLINE ACROSS THE STATE FOR EVERYONE. UH, SO WE'RE ASKING FOR A SLIGHT INCREASE. UM, AND I KNOW IT'S NOT POPULAR RIGHT NOW WITH THE MILLAGE, SO I, I CERTAINLY UNDERSTAND, BUT IF YOU DON'T ASK, YOU CAN'T GET, CAN'T, CAN'T, UH, GET AN OPPORTUNITY TO ACTUALLY GET IT. SO I FIGURED I'D ASK. UM, WE DO NEED TO CONTINUE GROWING OUR FACULTY FTE THIS YEAR. WE ARE LOOKING TO, UH, CHANGE OUR MODEL A LITTLE BIT WHERE WE'VE HISTORICALLY RELIED A LOT ON ADJUNCTS. UM, WHEN YOU LOOK AT STUDENT SUCCESS, UH, HAVING ACTUAL FACULTY, FTE, UM, KEEPS YOUR STUDENTS HERE AND IT INCREASES STUDENT SUCCESS. SO, UH, WE'RE LOOKING TO HIRE 11 ADDITIONAL FTE FACULTY THIS YEAR. SO THIS IS THE, IT'S A BIG STEP FOR USCB. IT'S GOING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION, SO WE'RE REALLY EXCITED ABOUT THAT. UM, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT THE, UH, MILLAGE RATE DIFFERENCE, UM, UH, I KIND OF RAN THE NUMBERS AND LOOKED AT THE FTE BETWEEN USCB AND TCL, UM, JUST OUTTA CURIOSITY, JUST TO SEE WHAT THE DIFFERENCE WAS. AND SO WHEN WE LOOK AT, UH, FUNDING FOR TCL VERSUS USCB, OBVIOUSLY WE HAVE A LARGER FTE COUNT THAN THEY DO. AND SO FOR EVERY, UH, ONE FTE, THERE'S A DIFFERENCE OF $653. SO IT WORKS IN, UH, IT CONTINUES TO WORK IN TCLS FAVOR MORE THAN US. HOWEVER, WE DO APPRECIATE THE MILLAGE WON'T SAY NO TO IT, UM, BUT THERE IS A FUNDING GAP BETWEEN THE TWO. AND I JUST WANTED TO SHARE THAT. I'M, I'M NOT SURE IF YOU ALL HAVE EVER LOOKED AT IT, BUT I WAS JUST INTERESTED IN WANTING TO SHARE THAT . OH, THERE WE GO. OKAY. UH, CHALLENGES THAT WE CONTINUE TO SEE, OBVIOUSLY THE LOW TUITION WHERE WE FREEZED OUR TUITION RATES, UM, WE'RE NOT INCREASING THOSE AND WE DON'T WANT TO INCREASE THOSE BECAUSE THEN THAT COULD TAKE AWAY ACCESS TO ANY STUDENT THAT MAY WANT TO PURSUE HIGHER EDUCATION. SO WE WANNA MAINTAIN STAYING WHERE WE'RE AT WITH OUR TUITION. UM, IN ORDER TO DO THAT, THE STATE PROVIDES WHAT YOU CALL TUITION MITIGATION. AND AGAIN, WE, WE TOOK A BIG HIT THIS YEAR. UM, I KNOW THE BUDGET'S NOT SET, BUT IT'S A LOT LOWER THAN WHAT, WHAT IT REALLY NEEDS TO BE. AND SO EVERY SINGLE UNIVERSITY ACROSS THE STATE TOOK THE SAME HIT THIS YEAR. UM, WE ARE LOOKING TO ADD THE ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING DEGREE PROGRAM. WE ARE NOW OFFICIALLY NCAA DIVISION TWO. UM, AND WITH THAT COMES SOME ADDITIONAL COST. AND THEN, UM, WE'VE HAD A, I'M SURE YOU'RE ALL VERY WELL AWARE, THE INDIRECT COST RATES HAVE PLUMMETED. UM, A LOT OF RESEARCH GRANTS AND THINGS LIKE THAT WERE PULLED, UM, OVER THE PAST YEAR AND TWO YEARS. SO IT, IT'S BEEN CHALLENGING, UH, TO, TO GET GRANTS AND IT'S BEEN CHALLENGING TO GET, UH, APPROPRIATE INDIRECT, UH, COSTS. SO WE, AS THE UNIVERSITY ARE ASSUMING, UM, A LOT OF THOSE COSTS NOW WHERE WE WERE NOT HISTORICALLY. ALRIGHT. UM, LIKE TO OPEN IT UP FOR QUESTIONS. SURE. NO QUESTIONS. YES, SIR. CAN, UH, CAN YOU EXPLAIN THE, THE TUITION FREEZE A LITTLE BIT MORE? YEAH. SO THAT WAS DONE DR. PANNU, IT WAS DONE BEFORE I WAS HERE. I'M SORRY. IT'S BEEN SEVERAL YEARS THOUGH. YEAH. SO THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES IS, IS USUALLY THE BODY RESPONSIBLE FOR US BEING ABLE TO, THERE'S BEEN, AT THE STATE LEVEL, TREMENDOUS PRESSURE TO MAINTAIN THE TUITION, UM, NOT HAD TUITION INCREASE IN PAST EIGHT YEARS. SEVEN OUT OF THOSE, UM, EIGHT. AND I UNDERSTAND THE REQUEST FOR MILLAGE INCREASE, AND I, I GET IT, EVERYTHING'S GOING UP, BUT YOU WOULD THINK, I KNOW YOU WANNA MAKE THE TUITION ACCESSIBLE, BUT IT SEEMS LIKE SLOW INCREMENTAL INCREASES OVER TIME WOULD'VE BEEN A BETTER APPROACH TO, TO COVER THOSE SHORTFALLS INSTEAD OF ASKING FOR A MILLAGE INCREASE. I AGREE A HUNDRED PERCENT. YEAH. ALSO, THE CONTEXT IN THE STATE, IN THE SOUTHEAST, UH, REGION, SOUTH CAROLINA [01:05:01] IS ACTUALLY RELATIVELY HIGH IN TERMS OF THE TUITION, UH, COMPARED TO MANY OTHERS. WE ONLY HAVE, UH, VIRGINIA AND LOUISIANA AS THE OTHER STATES THAT HAVE HIGHER TUITION THAN SOUTH CAROLINA. SO THERE'S BEEN REALLY, OVER THE YEARS, A THE, THE RATIO BETWEEN THE STATE SUPPORT VERSUS TUITION USED TO BE 65% STATE AND 35% TUITION, AND IT'S BEEN REVERSED. THANK YOU. OTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? YES, SIR. COUNCILMAN GLOVER? YES. UM, THANK YOU MADAM CHAIRMAN. I, UM, I'M GOING TO SPEAK PERSONALLY ABOUT THE INCREASE YOU ASKING FOR ON THE MILLAGE. UM, WHEN THIS COUNCIL SET THOSE MILLS SOME YEARS AGO, UM, BEAUFORT, UM, THE TECHNICAL COLLEGE OF THE LOW COUNTRY, AS WELL AS USC CAME IN AND THEY AGREED ON THAT, UM, THE EFFORT. AND THIS COUNCIL BASICALLY SAID THAT THE ANTICIPATED GROWTH, UH, THAT YOU EXPERIENCE, WE ASK THAT YOU STAY WITHIN THE ANTICIPATED GROWTH OF THE MILL. SO EVERY YEAR YOUR MILLAGE IS GOING TO, THE DOLLAR AMOUNT IS GONNA ALWAYS GO UP, BUT THE MILL REMAINS THE SAME. UM, YOUR PRESENTATION IS KIND OF DISTURBING IN THAT, UM, FOR, TO ME, BECAUSE YOU ASKING US TO NOW WEIGH ONE UNIVERSITY OVER THE OTHER, UM, WE BASICALLY KEPT Y'ALL AT, UH, PARITY, UM, EVEN FUNDING, AND THEN YOU WORK WITHIN THOSE FUNDS. SO I'M JUST A LITTLE AT EASE WITH INCREASING THE MILLAGE. UM, I'M ASKING YOU TO STAY WITHIN THE GROWTH OF THE MILL FOR YOUR PROGRAMS AND LEAN MORE ON THE STATE FOR FUNDING BECAUSE THEY'RE THE MORE APPROPRIATE WE ARE JUST HERE TO HELP. THAT'S MY COMMENT AND I'LL LEAVE IT LIKE THAT. THANK YOU, SIR. THANK YOU. YOU DON'T HAVE TO RESPOND. I'M JUST TELLING YOU WHERE I AM. THANK YOU. I HAD A QUESTION ABOUT THE FULL-TIME EQUIVALENT, SO THAT MEANS, JUST TO MAKE SURE I UNDERSTAND IT AND THE PUBLIC UNDERSTANDS IT, THAT'S, I, I MEAN, WE JUST HEARD FROM TCL AND MOST OF THEIR STUDENTS ARE PART-TIME. SO IS THAT WHAT YOU MEAN BY FULL-TIME EQUIVALENT THAT YOURS ARE FULL-TIME STUDENTS? YES. IT'S, IT'S FULL-TIME STUDENTS. SO EVEN THE PART-TIME STUDENTS, YOU KNOW, WHETHER THEY'RE 30% OR WHATEVER, YOU COMBINE THEM TOGETHER, MAKE UP, AND SO TO MAKE UP THE FTE. OKAY. AND THEN THE, UM, THE OTHER QUESTION I HAD WAS, UM, HOW MANY OUT-OF-STATE STUDENTS APPROXIMATELY DO YOU HAVE? WE, WE WE'RE USUALLY RUNNING AROUND 85 TO 90% IN STATE. IN STATE. OKAY. SO THE OUT OF STATE IS, IS SOMEWHERE BETWEEN 10 TO 15%. IT'S INTERESTING THAT WE'RE THE THIRD HIGHEST, UM, TUITION IN THE, IN THE SOUTHEAST IS WHAT YOU SAID, IN THE STATE, IN THE, IN THE SOUTH SOUTHEAST REGION OF THE UNITED STATES, CORRECT. YEAH. YEAH. YES. I THINK, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF, A LOT OF PEOPLE GO TO NORTH CAROLINA. I THINK, UM, THERE'S TUITIONS OR GEORGIA'S, ALABAMA ALL CHEAPER, YOU KNOW, THAN SOUTH CAROLINA. WE, WE GET OUT COMPETED REALLY IN SOME WAYS. UH, SOME OF STATES. MM-HMM . GEORGIA HAS A LOWER TUITION, THEY HAVE LOWER TUITION. GEORGIA SOUTHERN GETS A LOT OF PEOPLE, I THINK, FROM HERE. OKAY. ANY OTHER COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS? YES. MM-HMM . SO YOU MENTIONED THAT 34% OF THE STUDENTS ARE FROM BEAUFORT COUNTY? YES. OKAY. SO THAT, I MEAN, WHEN YOU'RE SAYING 90% ARE IN STATE, THEY'RE NOT MOSTLY BEAUFORT COUNTY. AND I WAS PRETTY SURPRISED THAT ONLY 48% OF RECENT GRADUATES AND TEACHING STAY IN THE COUNTY. I MEAN, WE'RE, WE'RE, THE COUNTY IS SUPPORTING THE UNIVERSITY AND ONLY 48% ARE STAYING HERE. AND WE INCREASED TEACHER SALARY LAST YEAR QUITE A BIT. SO THAT WAS SURPRISING TO ME. UM, THE OLLIE PROGRAM IS SPECTACULAR. I MEAN, I'M FROM SUN CITY, I CAN'T, YOU KNOW, ALL OUR SUN CITY PEOPLE GO THERE, COME IN THE GOLF CARTS. AND SO THAT'S REALLY A SPECTACULAR PROGRAM. UM, I ECHO WHAT MR. GLOVER SAID. I THINK THE STATE NEEDS TO STEP UP. UNFORTUNATELY, THE FEDS CUT BACK, THE STATE CUTS BACK AND EVERYBODY COMES TO THE COUNTY. BUT OUR RESIDENTS, WE'RE TRYING TO STAY MILL, MILL NEUTRAL. AND OUR RESIDENTS ARE GONNA BE, WE'RE BEING HIT BY EVERY OUTSIDE AGENCY. SO WHAT'S YOUR PLAN [01:10:01] B? IF WE DON'T GO TO 1.4 MILLS? WE'RE, WE'RE GONNA KEEP DOING WHAT WE'RE DOING. UH, WE'LL, WE'LL CONTINUE TO REQUEST FUNDING THROUGH THE STATE EACH YEAR TO START UP THE ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING PROGRAM. UH, THIS IS YEAR TWO THAT WE'VE SUBMITTED THAT REQUEST AND RECEIVED NO FUNDING FOR IT. UM, AND SO WE'RE GONNA KEEP DRIVING FORWARD WITH, WITH THAT, THAT ASK. I MEAN, THAT'S A GREAT PROGRAM TO HAVE HERE. IT'S CRITICAL HERE IN OUR REGION. SO, UM, AS FAR AS THE, UH, THE EDUCATORS, UM, SO YOU, YOU ALL MAY BE AWARE OR MAY NOT BE AWARE AT ONE POINT, YOU KNOW, ALL OF OUR, UH, EVERYBODY'S EDUCATION STUDENTS, UM, ENDED UP COMING OUT OF BEAUFORT COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICTS FOR A SHORT TIME PERIOD, RIGHT? WELL, IN ORDER TO GET OUR STUDENTS BACK INTO THEIR TEACHING IN THE CLASSROOMS, IT COST US AN ADDITIONAL $38,000 IN LIABILITY SO THAT WE COULD BE COMPLIANT. WE ARE, THE USCB IS THE ONLY UNIVERSITY THAT HAS STUDENTS IN YOUR SCHOOLS. WHY, WHY IS THERE LIABILITY? WHAT, WHAT IS THERE'S ADDITIONAL LIABILITY REQUIREMENTS. IT, IT WAS SOME CHANGE WITH THE STATE OR THE COUNTY MADE A CHANGE. I'M NOT CERTAIN ON WHAT THAT WAS. UM, ALL I KNOW IS THAT WAS ONE OF THE FIRST THINGS I HAD TO ADDRESS WHEN I GOT HERE. AND IT COST US $38,000 MORE IN ORDER TO BE COMPLIANT. DOESN'T MAKE SENSE TO ME. IT'S, IT'S, IT'S FOR STUDENT TEACHERS, CORRECT? IT'S FOR STUDENT TEACHERS, YES. UM, LIKE SEXUAL ASSAULT TRAINING. YEAH. SO THERE WAS SOME TRAINING, ADDITIONAL TRAINING AND PLATFORMS AND THINGS LIKE THAT, THAT WE HAD TO, WE HAD TO PAY FOR IN ORDER FOR OUR STUDENTS TO TAKE THAT TO QUALIFY TO BE IN THE CLASSROOMS ALONG WITH ADDITIONAL INSURANCE COVERAGE. IT'S NOT 38,000 PER STUDENT TEACHER? NO, NO, NO. IT'S $38,000 FOR THE PROGRAM. OH, OKAY. LEMME ALSO, UM, JUST ADD A COMMENT IN TERMS OF THE STUDENTS WE'RE GRADUATING. WE ALL WANT OUR STUDENTS TO REMAIN HERE, BUT EVERYBODY ELSE IS COMPETING FOR THEM. AND, UM, IF STUDENTS ARE BEING OFFERED A BIT MORE MONEY BY, UM, NEIGHBORING COUNTY OR STATE OR ET CETERA, THEY, THEY WILL BE, WE WILL GET OUT COMPETED IN PART. BUT ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE DO THAT'S BEEN A MAJOR THEME FOR USCB IS EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING FOCUS, BOTH IN TERMS OF UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH. LIKE TODAY, WHEN WE LEAVE HERE, WE ARE GOING TO A, ESSENTIALLY A PLATFORM WHERE OVER A HUNDRED STUDENTS ARE PRESENTING THEIR RESEARCH. AND, AND THEY DO THIS, YOU KNOW, IN, IN OTHER PLACES. UH, EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING ALSO INCLUDES, UM, INTERNSHIP OPPORTUNITIES THAT THEY, THEY ARE INVOLVED WITH. IT ALSO INCLUDES SERVICE LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES. THEY HAVE A LOT OF COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT IN TERMS OF PROJECT AND OUTREACH. YOU, THE QUESTION THAT CAME UP ABOUT WEBSITE, I THINK, UM, IS AN EXAMPLE. WE'VE WORKED WITH MANY ORGANIZATIONS TO HELP WHERE THE STUDENTS ARE HELPING WITH THE DEVELOPMENT OF WEBSITES AND SO ON AND SO FORTH. YES, YES, YES. COUNCIL PASSMAN, UH, ON THE NUMBER OF, UH, EDUCATORS GRADUATING AND, BUT NOT STAYING IN BUFORD COUNTY. PART OF IT IS SUPPLY AND DEMAND. YOU KNOW, I GET A DEGREE AND, UH, MY CERTIFICATION IS A HISTORY AND THE BEAUFORD SCHOOLS DON'T HAVE A HISTORY PROGRAM FOR ME TO START. I'M LOOKING AT ANOTHER COUNTY. AND THAT'S PART OF THE PROBLEM. WE, OH, WELL. AND I THINK IT'S, I THINK IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT THAT OUR STUDENTS ARE EXPOSED, WORKING IN THE LOCAL SCHOOLS AND THE DISTRICTS HERE. THAT'S WHAT'S GONNA HELP RETAIN THEM. 'CAUSE THEN THEY BUILD THOSE RELATIONSHIPS WITH EVERYONE. SO THAT'S REALLY HOW WE NEED TO ATTACK KEEPING THOSE, THOSE STUDENTS HERE IN OUR SCHOOLS. AND CHAIRMAN, I'M JUST MAKE A COMMENT. YES, SIR. UM, I, UM, I, I WAS IMPRESSED WITH THE 48% STUDENTS STAYING HERE. UM, SIMPLY BECAUSE I KNOW THAT BEAUFORT DOESN'T OFFER A LOT OF SOCIALIZATION AND A LOT OF YOUNG KIDS COME, STUDENTS, EDUCATORS COMING OUT, THEY WANT MORE THAN JUST SALARY. THEY WANT OTHER THINGS TO DO. WE HAVE TO SOMEHOW WORK TOWARD HOW DO WE IMPROVE THAT SOCIAL LIFE FOR PEOPLE AND STUFF. BUT ANYWAY, THAT'S JUST ME AS AS, UM, I THINK Y'ALL, WHEN YOU TALK TO THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND YOU KNOW, THE SIDEWALKS ROLL UP IN BEAUFORT AND THE CITY OF BEAUFORT AFTER ABOUT NINE O'CLOCK, I GUESS IT'S NOT A LOT. UM, UNLESS NOT A LOT GOING ON. I THINK THAT'S WHAT YOUR, YOUR POINT, RIGHT? COUNCILMAN GLOVER? YEAH. YEAH. MM-HMM . YEAH. AND [01:15:01] THEY, CHARLESTON WOULD HAVE MORE APPEAL, I'M SURE FOR YOUNG, YOUNG PEOPLE. I'M, I'M, I'M SURE FOR YOUNGER PEOPLE, YEAH. WITH SMALL FAMILIES, A TREMENDOUS, WELL HEALTHY ALTERNATIVE THAT COULD BE CREATED. THAT ARE, THAT ARE. SURE. ALRIGHT, WELL THANK YOU VERY MUCH. WE APPRECIATE YOUR TIME. UM, ALRIGHT, WE'RE MOVING ON, ON THE AGENDA. WE HAVE TWO. THANK YOU VERY MUCH APPRECIATE. THANK YOU. WE HAVE TWO MORE ITEMS. UM, RIGHT NOW IS, UH, BEAUFORT CONVENTION AND VISITORS BUREAU. BUDGET REQUEST PRESENTATION. ROB WELLS. DAVID. GOOD MORNING COUNSEL. IT'S, UH, ALWAYS FUN TO FOLLOW UP OR FOLLOW USCB AND TCL. I'M VERY GRATEFUL FOR BOTH OF THOSE INSTITUTIONS IN OUR, IN OUR COMMUNITY, REGARDLESS OF THAT, ESPECIALLY WITH, UM, CHILDREN ATTENDING DUAL ENROLLMENT THROUGH TCL PROGRAM, WHICH IS VERY NICE. AND OF COURSE, THE JONATHAN GREEN, UH, MARI MARITIME CULTURAL CENTER TO OPENING UP HERE IN IN BEAUFORT. ALSO GRATEFUL FOR THE HONORS COLLEGE IN BEAUFORT AS WELL. UM, THIS IS A PRETTY, UM, GREAT OPPORTUNITY FOR THE VISIT BEAUFORT PORT ON THE SEA ISLANDS TO COME BEFORE YOU GUYS AGAIN TODAY. UM, WHILE WE'RE MAKING BUDGET REQUESTS, WE ARE TIED TO, UH, BOTH THE STATE ORDINANCE AND THE COUNTY ORDINANCE OF HOW THOSE FUNDS ARE DISTRIBUTED. AND SO WE WANNA MAKE SURE WE'RE, UH, GOOD STEWARDS OF THOSE FUNDS AND HOW WE PRESENT THOSE BACK TO YOU GUYS AND SHOW YOU KIND OF THE WORK THAT'S BEING DONE AND, AND HOW WE GO THROUGH THAT. UH, VIS BUFORT ALSO, UH, APPLIES FOR GRANTS THROUGH THE, UH, 2% AAX GRANT PROCESS AND THE LOCAL 3% AAX GRANT PROCESS. BUT TODAY WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE STATE 2% AS WE BRING IT UP. WE SERVE AS THE DMO, UH, FOR NORTHERN BEAUFORT COUNTY, WHICH IS BASICALLY LEMON ISLAND UP TO FRIPP ISLAND DOWN THE, UM, YOU KNOW, THE MC PORTIONS, UH, HARBOR AND HUNTING IN THE CITIES OF BEAUFORT, THE TOWN OF PORT ROYAL. LET'S JUMP RIGHT INTO IT. TOTAL INVESTMENT FOR FISCAL YEAR 24, 25 WAS AROUND 1.3 MILLION. I'LL SHOW YOU THAT. BEAUFORT COUNTY WAS IN AT 42% BASED ON THE COMBINATION OF GRANTS AND DISTRIBUTION OF THE 2% AT TAX, UH, FUNDS. AND HERE'S WHERE WE STAND TODAY, AND THIS IS ACTUALS, WHICH INCLUDES THE GRANTS THAT WE DID RECEIVE REIMBURSEMENT FOR. WE'RE AT 457,000, UH, FOR THIS FISCAL YEAR WITH, UH, I THINK TWO MORE QUARTERS, I BELIEVE, TO BE DISTRIBUTED AT THE END OF THE YEAR, WHICH IS, WHICH IS GOOD. NOW THOSE, THOSE LAST TWO QUARTERS ARE A LITTLE BIT SLOWER, BUT, UH, WE'RE ANTICIPATING, UH, SOME, SOME POSITIVE NUMBERS AS WE, AS WE MOVE BACK. UH, LET ME BOUNCE RIGHT INTO HOW THOSE ARE DISTRIBUTED AND HOW WE, HOW WE SPEND THAT. SO 76% OF OUR FUNDS ARE SPENT IN THE MARKETING PROMOTION, AND YOU CAN SEE HOW THEY'RE DISTRIBUTED THROUGH OPERATION, SALES AND VISITOR SERVICES. NOTE THAT SALES IS NOT US GENERATING REVENUES INTERNALLY. THAT IS REVENUE, REVENUES FOR OUR HOTELS, RESTAURANTS, ATTRACTIONS AS WE GO OUT AND RECRUIT MEETINGS AND SPORTS TOURISM AS WELL AS TOUR OPERATORS, TOUR BUSES, UH, GROUP TOURS OF THOSE LIKES. THAT'S WHAT WE DEFINE AS SALES AND, AND PERSONNEL IS INCLUDED IN EACH OF THOSE, UH, DIFFERENT, DIFFERENT CATEGORIES FOR WHICH THEY, THEY PLAY A BETTER FEEL FOR THE TEAM. WE ARE A LEAN TEAM. UH, WE, WE, THAT'S, THAT'S ALL OF US RIGHT THERE, UH, ON THERE. AND WE HAVE THREE FULL-TIME STAFF. EIGHT, WE DO HAVE A LOT MORE, UH, OF THE VISITOR CENTER, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, THAT SERVE BOTH FROM A VOLUNTEER BASIS AND A AND A AND A PART-TIME STATUS THERE. UH, A WEALTH OF INFORMATION. I JUST WANTED JUST TAKE THAT DIVE JUST TO INTRODUCE THOSE, THOSE FOLKS AND HOW WE DISTRIBUTE THOSE FUNDS AS YOU GET AN IDEA OF, OF WHERE THOSE FUNDS ARE BEING DISTRIBUTED. NOTE THAT OUR REQUEST FOR THE 2% E TAXES BASED ON AN, AN, JUST SOME BASIC NUMBERS. AND I'M GONNA TURN OVER MY SHOULDER AND LOOK, WE WE'RE IN AGREEMENT THE TWO 60. SO THAT IS A EQUAL SPLIT SHARE BETWEEN US AND THE HILTON HEAD, UH, ISLAND, UH, BLUFFTON, UH, CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, WHO SERVES AS A SOUTHERN DMO. AND I THINK WE HAD THOSE CONFIRMED FROM ALLISON. IN OUR PRESENTATION TODAY. I DO WANNA SHARE SOME OF THE SUCCESS THAT WE'VE HAD OVER THE PREVIOUS YEAR. NOW, LET ME BE VERY CAREFUL. I DO NOT WANNA COME UP HERE AND, AND, AND TELL YOU IT WAS ALL GREEN NUMBERS. WE DID HAVE A, A LITTLE BIT OF A SLUGGISH 25. NOW, WHERE YOU'RE GONNA SEE THOSE NUMBERS HOLD WAS THAT WE DID MAKE REVENUE. SO, FOR EXAMPLE, FLIP ISLAND, ONE OF THE LARGER RESORTS IN THE UNINCORPORATED PORTION OF THE AREA, UH, SAW THE REVENUE NUMBERS HOLD. THEY MADE IT UP IN REVENUE, NOT IN OCCUPANCY OR VISITOR DEMAND. AND SO YOU'RE STARTING TO SEE SOME CHANGES IN HOW WE GRAB VISITORS TO OUR AREA, BUT IT'S NOT BECAUSE OF A LACK OF CREATING DEMAND OR CREATING, UH, ADVERTISING AND PROMOTION AND EFFORT. WE SAW SOME OF OUR LARGER PROMOTIONAL EFFORTS THIS PAST YEAR, UH, 2.5 MILLION [01:20:01] PAGE VIEWS FOR OUR, FOR OUR AREA. ONE OF THE BIG THINGS THAT WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE DOING IS THE 420,000 PARTNER REFERRALS THAT LEAVE OUR SITE TO US. THAT'S VERY IMPORTANT. WE'RE NOT A TRANSACTIONAL WEBSITE. IN OTHER WORDS, YOU'RE NOT GONNA BOOK YOUR HOTEL ROOM FROM OUR WEBSITE. YOU'RE GONNA GO ONLINE, YOU'RE GONNA FIND THE RATES, WE'RE GONNA PUSH YOU TO THE RESORTS OR TO THE, TO THE HOTEL TO BOOK THE ROOM. SO THEY CAPTURE A HUNDRED PERCENT OF THE REVENUE. UH, THAT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT WE WANTED TO, TO BE INVOLVED WITH. THAT IS PART OF OUR STRATEGY TO, UH, BOOK DIRECT. WE DO THAT FOR RESTAURANTS AND ATTRACTIONS, AS WELL AS NOT TAKING COMMISSIONS OR ANY STRUCTURE ONLINE. JUST PASS THOSE ON. SO THOSE REFERRALS MEAN MORE TO OUR PARTNERS THAN EVER BEFORE. AND SO, A BIG FOCAL POINT OF OUR DIGITAL TRAFFIC. UH, LET'S LOOK AT OUR SOCIAL MEDIA. SO I HEARD A COMMENT MADE ABOUT AI AND, AND ITS EFFECT AS HAVING AN EFFECT AS FAR AS SEARCH IS CONCERNED. AT ONE POINT, I THINK I READ SOMEWHERE LIKE 80 SOMETHING PERCENT OF SEARCH WAS BEING CONDUCTED ON CHAT GPT OR SOME AI COMPONENT, RIGHT? THAT'S A PRETTY BIG NUMBER. IT'S LESS THAN 10% WAS ACTUALLY LIKE, FULFILLING THE BOOKING. THEY WERE STILL GOING TO FIND TRADITIONAL WAYS TO BOOK AND GO. AND SO THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE HAVE TO WORK THROUGH AS THE, AS THE YEARS GO ON. BUT ONE OF THE WAYS THAT WE SEE THAT IS, IS WORKING WITH OUR AUDIENCE AND SOCIAL MEDIA. UH, OUR PODCAST, INTERCOASTAL PODCASTS HAVE BEEN VERY INFORM, UH, UH, VERY IMPORTANT FOR US IN OUR GROWTH MECHANISM. BUT I WANNA SHOW YOU THAT WE ARE A FULL-FLEDGED AND FULL ANGLED ADVERTISING PROMOTIONAL ARM. IT'S NOT JUST A ONE TRACK SYSTEM FOR US. IT'S NOT JUST BUYING, BUYING ADS, IT'S ALSO GENERATING CONTENT THROUGH OUR SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS AND PASSING OUT AND SHOWCASING THE AREA. UH, WE ALSO WORK THROUGH OUR PUBLIC RELATIONS, UH, WHETHER THAT IS STORIES AND, AND WORKING THROUGH ARTICLES. AND I, I, I KNOW I HEAR IT AND SEE IT RECENTLY, UH, JUST SOME LAST MONTH, UH, TRAVEL AND, UH, FOOD AND TRAVEL MAGAZINE. WHAT A, WHAT A, YOU KNOW, SIX PAGE SPREAD ON, ON THE BEAUFORT FORT OIL AND SEA ISLANDS AREA OF THINGS TO DO IN FOOD, UH, SOUTHERN LIVING, AGAIN, RANKING BOTH HILTON HEAD AND BEAUFORT. I THINK, UH, LISTING US PRETTY, PRETTY COOL, UH, AS WE SEE THOSE THINGS GO THROUGH, THESE ARE VERY IMPORTANT FOR US AS WE MOVE FORWARD, BECAUSE THESE ARE AUDIENCE THAT ARE BUILT TRUST FACTORS, AND THOSE TRUST FACTORS WORK FOR, YOU KNOW, AUDIENCES FINDING, YOU KNOW, HEY, LOOK, I DO, I DO KNOW WHAT I'M GONNA GET THERE. UH, THIS, THIS, THIS, THIS PERSON WRITING THIS ARTICLE. I CAN SEE IT. I CAN GO VISIT IT. UH, WE HAVE BEEN ABLE TO, IN NORTHERN BEAUFORT COUNTY, FIND A LOT OF SUCCESS BEHIND PUBLIC RELATIONS. AND IT'S A, IT'S A CORNERSTONE TO OUR STRATEGIC INITIATIVES FROM AN ADVERTISING AND PROMOTIONAL STANDPOINT. UH, I DON'T WANT TO LABOR TOO MUCH ON, ON SOME OF THIS, BUT OUR DIGITAL MARKET, I JUST WANNA SHOW YOU HOW WE PRESENT, UH, THE AREA. IT'S NOT JUST A SINGLE FOCUS ON, ON WATER. UH, ALTHOUGH WATER IS STILL THE MAIN DRAW FOR, FOR FOLKS COMING INTO THE AREA. THAT COULD BE BEACH. IT COULD BE RIVER, UH, UM, BUT IT'S ALSO HISTORY AND CULTURE. IT'S ART. IT'S THE THINGS THAT WE, UM, COME TO FIND THAT WE LIKE PERSONALLY FROM A QUALITY OF LIFE SITUATION. THESE ARE ALL THINGS WE FIND SPECTACULAR ABOUT OUR AREA. WE ALSO SHOWCASE THAT IN OUR ADVERTISING. WHAT YOU DON'T SEE IS AI GENERATED CONTENT, UH, FROM OUR, FROM OUR PROMOTIONAL STAND. AND THERE'S A REASON FOR IT. YOU KNOW, WE HAVE A BEAUTIFULLY NATURAL LOCATION THAT SPEAKS FOR ITSELF. AND WE HAVE BEAUTIFUL, SPECTACULAR FOLKS WHO TELL THE STORIES OF THIS AREA THAT WE DON'T NEED TO, YOU KNOW, AI GENERATE THESE TYPES OF, OF, UH, OUTLOOKS. IT'S KIND OF A, WHAT YOU SEE IS WHAT YOU GET AND WHAT WE CAN PRESENT IS WHAT YOU'LL SEE WHEN YOU GET HERE. AND THAT HAS BEEN OUR, OUR PLATFORM BOTH DIGITALLY AND IN PRINT OR WHEREVER YOU CONSUME, UH, OUR MEDIA. UH, I DID MENTION BRIEFLY THE INTERCOASTAL PODCAST. UH, WE'RE UP NOW TO 130 SOMETHING EPISODES AS, AS OF THIS REPORT, UH, OVER 53,000 LISTENS. UH, WE CONTINUE TO SEE THIS GROWTH IN THIS PLATFORM CONTINUE NOT ONLY FOR TELLING THE STORIES OF EVERY, BUT HAVING OUR PARTNERS TELL THE STORIES OF THE AREA, WHETHER THAT'S CAPTAIN THORNTON, LACEY, UH, WHETHER COASTAL EXPEDITIONS TELLING THE STORY OF THE WATER AND THE HISTORY AND THE CULTURE FROM HIS PER PERSPECTIVE, OR SOMEONE TALKING ABOUT THE SPANISH MOSS TRAIL. YOU KNOW, THOSE, THOSE ARE DIFFERENT WAYS TO EXPERIENCE, UH, UH, OUR AREA. AND WE USE THE INTER POST INTERCOASTAL PODCAST TO DO JUST THAT. UM, JUST, I DO LIKE TO GET INTO THE NUMBERS. I'M NOT GONNA BORE YOU AT ALL. THERE'S, YOU COULD SEE IT IN YOUR REPORT, BUT I DO WANNA HIGHLIGHT A COUPLE THINGS THAT KINDA REFLECT OF WHAT USDB WAS SEEING WITH SOME OF THEIR INSTATE, UH, STUDENTS. AND WE SEE THAT FROM OUR, FROM OUR AREA, OUR TOP DEMOGRA, OUR TOP MARKETS HAPPEN TO BE THE GREENVILLE AND COLUMBIA AREA, WHICH IS, YOU KNOW, CORRESPONDS KIND OF WITH THE STUDENT SECTION. BUT ALSO FASCINATING FOR US IS CHARLOTTE AND THE ATLANTA. I CONTINUE TO BE, YOU KNOW, TWO OF THE LARGER METROS IN THE SOUTHEAST AS FAR OUR [01:25:01] DRIVE MARKETS. BUT THE BEST WAY TO, TO FIGURE OUT WHERE WE'RE TARGETING IS WE'RE IN THAT FIVE TO SIX HOUR WINDOW FOR TRAFFIC. THAT'S, THAT'S FOR, FOR OUR AREA. LET'S JUST BE HONEST. FOR EVERY HOUR THAT I'M GONNA PUT MY FAMILY IN A VEHICLE TO DRIVE TO A DESTINATION, THAT DESTINATION NEEDS TO BE ABLE TO PROVIDE THREE TO FOUR HOURS OF ACTIVITY. AND SO THAT PUTS YOU ABOUT THE FIVE TO SIX HOUR MARK FOR SAY, BEAUTIFUL PORT ROYAL IN THE, IN THE SEA ISLANDS. NOW, THAT DOES EXTEND A LITTLE FURTHER. IF YOU'RE DOING WEEK LONG, MULTI-GENERATIONAL TRAVEL, SAY THE BEACH TRIP, AND YOU SEE SOME OF THOSE MARKETS ADVANCE INTO SOME OF YOUR LARGER REGIONS OR SOME OF THE FURTHER REGIONS, SAY A CINCINNATI, OHIO, UH, KIND OF MARKET IN NORTHERN KENTUCKY. UM, BUT FOR OUR TOP DMAS, YOU CAN SEE THOSE, THOSE RIGHT IN THERE WITH AUGUSTA, GEORGIA BEING ONE OF THE, UH, ONE OF OUR FASTER GROWING, UH, MARKETS IN THE AREA, WHICH IS, UH, COOL TO SEE. UH, AND I I, ONCE AGAIN, I DID REPEAT THIS UP THERE. I'LL JUST SHOW YOU VISUALLY SOME OF THOSE WHO ARE VISUAL NEED TO SEE IT ON THE MOUNT. WITH THAT, I'LL OPEN UP TO ANY QUESTIONS. I, I, I DO WANT TO QUESTION QUESTIONS. YES, SIR. YOU, YOU MENTIONED, YOU MENTIONED THE DIP AND THE 2025 NUMBERS. YEAH. UH, CAN YOU ELABORATE ON THAT? YEAH. UH, FOR, FOR WHAT WE SAW, WE SAW A LITTLE BIT OF RELAXATION, UH, JUST IN GENERAL LEISURE TRAVEL DROP. WE WERE ABLE TO BACKFILL THAT WITH THROUGH, YOU KNOW, SOME SPORTS ACTIVITIES, SPORTS TRAVEL. WE DID SOME SUMMER ACTIVITIES THAT FILLED SOME OF THAT, UH, MARINE GRADUATIONS. SOME OF THAT WAS PROBABLY A LITTLE BIT ON THE, YOU KNOW, JUST KIND OF THE UNEASINESS WITH THE ECONOMY. UH, BUT FOR, FOR US, REVENUES HELD SO, SO HEAR ME OUT. SO WHY WE DIDN'T HAVE THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE, WE WERE ABLE TO MAKE IT UP THROUGH RATE. NOW THAT MAY NOT BE THE CASE IN THE SOUTHERN PART. I'M JUST SPEAKING TO WHAT WE SAW IN THE NORTHERN, NORTHERN BEAUFORT COUNTY PORTION. SO, GOING ON THAT, I TRIED TO, UH, BOOK MY WIFE A HOTEL FOR A STAYCATION THIS WEEKEND. , MY GOD, THE COST OF THESE PLACES AROUND HERE, MAKE OUR NUMBERS SOMEWHERE, RIGHT? YEAH. I MEAN, NO, I WAS LIKE LITERALLY BLOWN AWAY. I WAS LOOKING AT SOUTH OF THE BROAD END HERE. YEAH, ABSOLUTELY. THERE WERE SOME THAT WERE OVER A THOUSAND DOLLARS A NIGHT. OH, THAT'S, THAT'S, THAT'S HILTON HEAD. THAT'S GOOD TO MY, THAT'S GOOD NEWS ACROSS THE BOARD, WHETHER IT'S IN HILTON HEAD OR HERE FAR AS AFFORDABILITY. WELL, CORRECT. IS THAT THE TARGET MARKET? BAD WEEKEND? THAT'S, THAT'S FAIR. AND SO PLEASE UNDERSTAND THAT, UM, DEMAND DRIVES RATE. AND SO IT IS A, A DEMAND DRIVEN TIME PERIOD RIGHT NOW WITH SPRING IS IN THE AIR, THE WEATHER'S GREAT. WE'RE COMING OFF THE, THE, THE HERITAGE JUST WRAPPING UP THIS PAST WEEKEND. NOW YOU'RE ROLLING INTO MAY, YOU KNOW, APRIL, MAY ZONE, UH, I'LL TELL YOU IN THE, IN THE CITY OF BEAUFORT AND IN NORTHERN BEAUFORD COUNTY AS A WHOLE, MAY IS GONNA BE A POPULAR MONTH AND RATES TEND TO BE PEAKING OUT. SO MAYBE THAT'S WHAT YOU'VE RUN INTO. BUT, UH, I WAS, WE, WE DID NOT DO THE STAYCATION. STAYED AT HOME, I WOULD SAY BOOK A LITTLE FURTHER OUT IN THE, IN THE THING, AND, AND THAT WOULD, THAT MAY HELP YOU OUT, BUT YEAH. BUT I APPRECIATE YOU THE STAYCATIONS. ANY OTHER QUES? YES, MA'AM. SO ROB, UM, ONE THING, CAN YOU TELL THE COUNCIL, I MEAN, I KNOW THIS, YOU AND I HAVE TALKED THE AMOUNT OF SUPPORT THAT YOU LEND TO OTHER ATAC GRANTEES. UM, YOUR GOAL IS ALWAYS TO TRY, AND WE TALKED ABOUT THIS WHEN WE DID INTERVIEWS. YOUR GOAL IS ALWAYS TO TRY TO PUT HEADS AND BEDS AND BUTTS AND SEATS DURING OFF TIMES. SURE. CAN YOU TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THAT ? SURE. SO ONE OF THE THINGS WHAT COUNCIL, UH, TABER IS SPEAKING TO IS ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE WORK WITH MAJORITY OF AT TAX REQUESTS OR GRANTS OR FOLKS WHO HAVE RECEIVED AT TAX FUND IS TO HELP BETTER ALIGN KIND OF THEIR MARKETING MESSAGING. AND WHEN THE TARGET FOLKS THAT COME INTO THE MARKET, SO FOR EXAMPLE, I JUST MENTIONED THAT THE SPRING IS A REALLY PEAK TIME IN, IN THE AREA. IT'S JUST A POPULAR TIME, JUST LIKE SUMMER IS, UH, FOR OUR BEACH. BUT THERE'S SOME TIMES DEFINITELY THROUGH THE CALENDAR THAT ARE SOFT, AS WE CALL IT, SOFT. THERE'S NOT AS MUCH PEOPLE IN IT. AND SO IF YOU STACK A BUNCH OF EVENTS UP IN SAY, PEAK MAY, WE HAVE PEOPLE ALREADY COMING. SO WHAT IF WE, WHAT IF WE TARGETED THOSE FOR AREA IN TIMES THAT MAYBE THOSE FOLKS AREN'T COMING TO THE AREA AND MAYBE OFFER THEM AN OPPORTUNITY TO COME TO THE AREA. AND WE'VE SEEN THAT SAY BEAUFORT OYSTER FESTIVAL IN JANUARY IS A GOOD EXAMPLE OF CREATING DEMAND IN A TIME THAT THERE'S NOT A LOT OF DEMAND GOING ON. UM, THAT IS ONE WAY TO DO THAT. ALSO, IF THEY'RE SPENDING ADVERTISING DOLLARS AND TARGETING FOLKS FROM OUTSIDE THE AREA TO COME TO THE MARKET, WE WANNA SHOW THEM BASED ON, HEY, THIS IS WHERE WE'RE SEEING THE PEOPLE COME. AND THEN WORKING WITH EACH ONE OF THOSE PROVIDERS IN ATTRACTIONS OR EVENT FESTIVALS TO SAY, HEY, HERE'S WHAT WE SAW DURING YOUR EVENT. YES. IS IT BETTER? AND THIS IS SOMETHING OPPOSED TO YOU GUYS, IS IT BETTER TO HAVE A MILLION PEOPLE IN TOWN SPENDING A DOLLAR OR ONE PERSON SPENDING A MILLION DOLLARS? THAT'S HOW YOU DEFINE IT. , RIGHT? MM-HMM . IS IT A VOLUME GAME OR IS IT A, YOU KNOW, SPEND GAME? AND I WOULD SAY IT'S PROBABLY BOTH TO SOME DEGREE. AND SO IF WE CAN SPREAD THAT SPEND OVER A CERTAIN PERIOD OF TIME THAT MAYBE NOT HAVE THE VOLUME, BUT THE SPEND IS PRESENT, THEN WE'RE ABLE TO MAKE THOSE REVENUES FOR OUR PARTNERS AND STAKEHOLDERS. SO EXPLAIN TO THE COUNCIL WHEN IS THE, THE OFF PEAK [01:30:01] TIME? YEAH. SO WE CAN GET AWAY FROM SUMMER AND PROBABLY SPRING, BUT DEFINITELY IN THE WINTER TIME WE, WE SEE, YOU KNOW, A LITTLE BIT DIP IN THERE. BUT FOR US, BACK TO SCHOOL, AUGUST, AUGUST HAS BEEN A, A TOUGH TIME FOR SPEAKING FOR NORTHERN BEAUFORD COUNTY. UH, A TOUGH TIME FOR US TO, TO RECRUIT IN THERE. NOT ONLY IS IT A LITTLE WARM, BUT IT'S ALSO SCHOOLS BACK IN. AND SO THOSE MARKETS THAT WE'VE, WE'VE TARGETED IN THE PAST, WE'VE HAD THIS SHIFT, THOSE, AND IN SEPTEMBER, GIVEN THE UNEASY WITH SOME WEATHER PATTERNS THAT MAY TAKE PLACE AS HAS BEEN A TARGET. SO WE ASK FOR THOSE GROUPS THAT ARE LOOKING TO TARGET, BRING NEW EVENTS, LET'S LOOK AT THOSE AREAS AND THEN HOW DO WE AS A TEAM, UH, RECRUIT, YOU KNOW, TOUR OPERATORS OR MEETINGS AND SPORTING ACTIVITIES THAT MAY COME INTO THE AREA DURING THAT TIME PERIOD. AND SO YOU'LL SEE US MOVE, WHETHER IT BE A, A FISHING TOURNAMENT, A RED FISH TOURNAMENT, OR SOME SORT OF, UH, ATHLETIC EVENT. YOU WANNA DO YOUR STAYCATION IN AUGUST. . UM, THE OTHER THING IS, I KNOW YOU USE GEOFENCING MM-HMM . WE DO TO GATHER DATA. CAN YOU EXPLAIN THAT TO EVERYBODY A LITTLE BIT? ABSOLUTELY. SO GEOFENCE IS JUST A, A, A DATA COLLECTION THAT WE USE. I KNOW THE HILTON HEAD CHAMBER, UH, USES AS WELL. AND, UH, TO KIND GET A SENSE OF PEOPLE WHERE PEOPLE ARE COMING FROM. UH, WHILE WE DON'T LIKE IT AS A ONE-TO-ONE PEOPLE COUNT, UH, IT DOES HELP US KIND OF GET AN IDEA OF THE SIZE OF THE SUCCESS OF THE EVENT ONE WAY OR THE OTHER. BUT IT ALSO ALLOWS US TO KNOW HOW PEOPLE INTERACT WITHIN THE MARKET. SO HERE'S WHAT IT IS. IT'S NOT YOU INDIVIDUALLY, IT'S NOT INDIVIDUAL PEOPLE. IT'S DEVICES MOVING ABOUT THE, THE MARKETPLACE. AND WE KIND OF GET AN IDEA. SO GOOD EXAMPLE, A FESTIVAL COMES, LET'S SAY THAT 12%, IF WE'RE ABLE TO FIND OUT THAT 12 TO 15% OF THE PEOPLE ARRIVE TO THAT FESTIVAL, WERE AT A HOTEL, IT WOULD GIVE YOU SOME, AN IDEA THAT, HEY, WAIT A MINUTE, WE HAVE SOME OVERNIGHT FOLKS WHO ARE SHOWING UP TO THAT PROPERTY. THIS EVENT DROVE OVERNIGHT ACCOMMODATION TRAFFIC. IT'S SOME OF THAT TO HELP OUT WITH. AND WE DO UTILIZE THAT A LOT. WHERE WE THINK WE REALLY BENEFIT FROM IS WHAT WE SEE THROUGH SPEND DATA. HOW ARE PEOPLE SPENDING MONEY WITHIN THE MARKET? IF ON AVERAGE THEY'RE SPENDING LET'S SAY $3,500 FOR A WEEK LONG VACATION, WHERE THAT BEING CONSUMED AT? IS IT OVERNIGHT, LIKE ACCOMMODATIONS? MAYBE? IS IT FOOD? PROBABLY? IS IT GAS AND TRANSPORTATION? WE HOPE SO. THAT'S A WELL-ROUNDED VISITOR, RIGHT? WHERE THEY'RE SPENDING MULTITUDE AND MANY DIFFERENT CATEGORIES AS OPPOSED TO SOMEONE WHO COMES IN CONSUMES AND LEAVES WITHOUT DROPPING MUCH MORE FROM A SPIN THING. AND WE'RE ABLE TO GIVE THAT AND, AND TRACK IT AS, AS MY FOLKS IN THAT CORRECT. I HAVE A TWO QUESTIONS AS USUAL. YOUR GRAPHICS ARE WONDERFUL. UM, LOTS OF INFORMATION. UM, ONE OF YOUR SLIDES HAS A $2 AVERAGE COST PER CONVERSION. WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? YEAH, SO AS I MENTIONED, OUR CONVERSIONS ARE WHETHER THEY WENT THROUGH THE PORTAL AND, AND BOOKED A ROOM, OR IF THEY, UH, REQUESTED A VISITOR GUIDE OR SOME OTHER WAY THAT WE CAN COMMUNICATE WITH THEM. THAT'S HOW WE MEASURE CONVERSION FOR US OR PASS TO A REPORT. THAT'S WHAT IT'S COSTING US ON THE DOLLAR SPENT. SO IT'S, IT'S TO ACHIEVE THAT CONVERSION THAT, YOU KNOW, IT'S NOT, IT USED TO BE 11 TO ONE, NOW IT'S TWO TO ONE, WHICH MEANS WE'RE MORE EFFICIENT. I THINK DATA HELPS US DO THAT. UM, WITH WHAT, WHAT MS. TABER WAS TALKING ABOUT WITH THE GEO, ARE YOU ABLE TO TRACK LIKE PEOPLE WHO ARE USING THE SPANISH MOSS TRAIL? UM, NOT INDIVIDUALLY PEOPLE, NO. BUT WE DO SEE THEM PEOPLE ON THE TRAIL MIXING AND MATCHING. YEAH. YOU CAN SEE THAT WAS THE PRO. YEAH. 'CAUSE I, I SEE PEOPLE WITH, UM, CAR TAGS FROM OUTTA STATE. ABSOLUTELY. PARKED AT, UM, AT SOME OF THE PARKING SPACES, RIGHT? THE SPANISH MALL TRAIL, UH, CYPRESS WETLANDS. MM-HMM . UM, FORT FREMONT, YOU KNOW, HUNTING ISLAND STATE PARK. YOU KNOW, YOU'RE GONNA SEE BOTH INSTATE STATE OUTTA STATE LICENSE PLATES IN AND AROUND, UH, UTILIZING THE SPORT, UTILIZING THE SPACES. UH, SPANISH MALL TRAIL DOES THAT. I KNOW A LOT OF THE PROPERTIES IN THE AREA, YOU KNOW, SAY, HEY LOOK, THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY TO GET ON THE TRAIL AND, AND, AND DO A BIKE RIDE OR RUN, HOWEVER IT IS. IF YOU DON'T WANNA NAVIGATE THE CITY STREETS OR WHATNOT, IT'S A BENEFIT. UH, NOT RIDDEN THE WHOLE THING. UM, BUT, UH, BEEN ON PARTY AND I'VE SEEN JUST LIKE YOU HAVE MM-HMM . PEOPLE FROM ALL OVER. WELL, THANK YOU. ANY OTHER? YES, SIR. COUNCILMAN GLOVER. JUST QUICKLY, UM, SO WELLS, YOU, YOU, YOU, I SAW IN YOUR WRITEUP, UM, UM, THE BEST DAY TRIP FROM CHARLESTON. NOW YOU LEFT SAVANNAH OUT BECAUSE WE ALREADY GETTING THAT CROWD FROM SAVANNAH, WHICH, OR BECAUSE I GOTTA ASK REAL QUICK, WHICH ARTICLE WAS IT AN ARTICLE THAT WAS IN THERE? IT WAS JUST IN YOUR BROCHURE A FEW MINUTES AGO? IT HAS, I JUST SAW THE BEST. SURE. IT MAY BE, IT MAY BE, UH, THE DAY TRIP FROM CHARLESTON, MAYBE A FOCUSED AD THAT WE'RE DOING AS, AS CHARLESTON'S, ONE OF THE LARGER MARKETS. SAVANNAH, WE DO RECEIVE VISITORS FROM SAVANNAH. I THINK SAVANNAH'S UP ON THE LIST. I DON'T REMEMBER HOW FAR. I DON'T KNOW WHERE IT'S AT WITHIN THE ORDER. MAYBE SIX. UM, [01:35:03] DEPENDS ON WHAT WE'RE OFFERING. WE SEE SAVANNAH AS A TOP MARKET SOMETIMES FOR OUR FESTIVALS AND EVENTS, DEPENDING ON WHAT THE FESTIVAL AND EVENT IS. UH, THERE IT IS. SO IT'S RIGHT UNDERNEATH CHARLESTON. UM, WE KNOW THAT SAVANNAH TRADITIONALLY IS A DAY TRIP, AND SO YOU, WE SEE THEM IN THE FESTIVALS, BUT SO YOU ARE ALREADY GETTING SAVANNAH, SO YOU'RE NOW MARKETING CHARLES TO COME. OKAY. JUST WONDERING. RIGHT. I WOULD SAY THAT AD WAS PROBABLY NOT IN CHARLESTON PER SE. IT'S PROBABLY TARGETED TO SOMEONE SAYING, HEY, INSTEAD OF A DAY TRIP TO CHARLESTON, ONCE YOU COME VISIT BUFORD. YEAH, JUST PUT IT IN THERE. THANK YOU. YEAH. WELL THANK YOU AGAIN. I APPRECIATE ALL THE INFORMATION. THANK YOU. IT'S FASCINATING. THANK YOU. ALRIGHT, AND THE LAST PERSON ON OUR AGENDA IS, UM, HILTON HEAD ISLAND CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, UM, ARIANA PANIS. AM I SAYING THAT RIGHT? ARIANA VICE PRESIDENT. AYE. GOOD MORNING. UM, THANK YOU FOR HAVING US. UM, AS YOU MENTIONED, MY NAME IS ARIANA PICE. I'M THE VICE PRESIDENT OF THE HILTON AND ISLAND BLUFFTON CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, AND I OVERSEE THE DMO. I'D LIKE TO INTRODUCE SOME OF MY COLLEAGUES. I'M EXCITED TO HAVE THEM WITH ME TODAY. CHASE O'DELL, WHO IS IN CHARGE OF OUR RESEARCH, AND HE'LL BE JOINING ME AT THE PODIUM THROUGHOUT THE PRESENTATION. AND TARA FRANK, WHO IS OUR DIRECTOR OF SALES, UM, SO EXCITING TO HAVE THE TEAM WITH US. AND, UM, BEFORE WE BEGIN, I JUST WANNA SAY THANK YOU TO YOUR TEAM AND YOUR STAFF. THEY HAVE DONE AN AMAZING JOB OF GUIDING US THROUGH THIS PROCESS. UM, IT'S BEEN A REAL PLEASURE TO WORK WITH THEM AND JUST WANTED TO SAY THANK YOU PUBLICLY FOR THAT. BUT, UM, PERFECT. AND AM I PROGRESSING? YES, THANK YOU. SO WE'RE HERE TODAY FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO NOT ONLY TAKE A LOOK BACK ON THE CALENDAR YEAR OF 2025, BUT ALSO TO LOOK FORWARD FOR FISCAL YEAR 26 27 IN PARTNERSHIP, UM, WITH YOU AS THE DMO FOR SOUTHERN BUFORD COUNTY. WE ALSO ARE PARTNERED WITH ROB WELLS, AS HE JUST GAVE HIS PRESENTATION, UM, TO, YOU KNOW, IN PARTNERSHIP, GOOD FORWARD WITH PROMOTING TOURISM INTO THE LOW COUNTRY, UM, FOR HIS, HIS EFFORTS FOR NORTHERN BEAUFORT COUNTY. HOPEFULLY YOU'RE GONNA SEE SOME, UM, PARTNERED EFFORTS HERE AND SOME PART, UM, EFFORTS THAT, UM, LOOK SIMILAR IN TERMS OF WHAT WE WERE TARGETING VISITORS TO COME INTO THIS AREA. SO JUST AS AN OVERVIEW OF HOW WE'LL APPROACH TODAY'S AGENDA, WE'RE GONNA GO OVER, YOU KNOW, 2020 FIVE'S YEAR IN REVIEW, A QUICK, UM, OVERVIEW OF HOW WE APPROACH TOURISM FOR SOUTHERN BUFORT COUNTY, AND THEN OUR PLANS FOR 26 27. SO, UH, YEAR IN REVIEW, WE WANTED TO TAKE A QUICK SNAPSHOT OF THE VACATION PLANNER. IT IS OUR ONE OFFLINE PIECE THAT WE HAVE THAT WE FEEL VERY STRONGLY ABOUT, THAT WE FEEL IS THAT COFFEE TABLE PIECE THAT BRINGS THE DESTINATION TO LIFE AND WHEN IS, UM, REQUESTED OR IT HAS PICKED UP, WE FEEL REALLY ALLOWS THAT, UH, DESTINATION, THE TOUCHPOINT, THE IMAGERY, THE STORYTELLING TO COME TO LIFE AND LIVE IN SOMEONE'S HOME OR, UM, IN THEIR PLACE THAT THEY'RE DISCOVERING AND THINKING ABOUT TRAVEL. UM, 365 DAYS A YEAR. SO WE ARE IN BOTH, UM, IN BLUFFTON, UH, REGIONAL BOOK AND ALSO THE HILTON HEAD REGIONAL BOOK. AND WE REALLY DO, UM, BELIEVE STRONGLY IN THIS BOOK FOR TWO REASONS. ONE IS BECAUSE, AGAIN, YOU GET THAT OPPORTUNITY TO HOLD SOMETHING IN YOUR HAND, HAVE THAT DEEPER STORYTELLING OPPORTUNITY. UM, AND I STILL LOVE, AS I'M SURE MANY OF YOU DO, TO STILL PICK UP A PHYSICAL PEACE AND HOLD IT AND, AND REALLY GET TO DISCOVER SOMETHING THAT WAY. BUT THE FULFILLMENT OF IT, WHERE WE'RE SEEING DISTRIBUTION OF THIS BOOK IS NOT ONLY FROM THE REQUESTS COMING THROUGH ONLINE PHONE CALL OR WALKING IN, BUT THEY'RE AT ALL OF OUR AAA OFFICES. THEY'RE AT ALL OF OUR STATE WELCOME CENTERS. WE'RE TAKING THEM TO ALL OF OUR MEDIA AND PR EVENTS AS WELL AS, YOU KNOW, UM, ANY OPPORTUNITY WE HAVE FOR EVENTS, WE DO PLACE THEM THERE. SO AGAIN, THE BOOK IS BEING WELL RECEIVED. AND AGAIN, THE GREAT, UM, AND DEEP STORYTELLING THAT'S HAPPENING GOING ONLINE WHERE WE KNOW A MAJORITY OF OUR VISITORS LIVE, UM, IS THE WEBSITE. AND WE FEEL THAT BOTH THE, UH, VISIT BLUFFTON AND THE DUSKY WEBSITES ARE GREAT WAYS TO SHOWCASE OUR VIRTUAL FRONT DOORS. AND WHEN YOU SAY THAT, IT'S REALLY BECAUSE AS WE KNOW, WE'RE NEVER NOT WITH OUR DEVICES, RIGHT? WE ALL HAVE OUR OWN DEVICES, WHETHER AT WORK OR ON PERSONAL AND GENERALLY SPEAKING, WE HAVE MULTIPLE DEVICES ON OR BEING SERVED MESSAGING THROUGH MULTIPLE WAYS. SO THAT WEBSITE SERVES AS THAT VIRTUAL FRONT DOOR, AS YOU CAN SEE HERE IN SOCIAL MEDIA AS YOU LOOK ALL THE WAY TO YOUR RIGHT OR LEFT, IS REALLY THE OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO REALLY BRING THAT DESTINATION TOP OF MIND, UM, TO GET PEOPLE TO THE WEBSITE. AND SOCIAL MEDIA HAS BEEN SUCH A REALLY STRONG TOOL IN OUR TOOLKIT OF GETTING THE BRAND BRANDS OUT THERE AND, UM, VISUALLY, UH, SPEAKING TO WHAT GREAT ASSETS WE HAVE WHEN IT COMES TO SOUTHERN BEAUFORT COUNTY. AND SO SOCIAL MEDIA, AGAIN, JUST REITERATING THAT IT'S WORKING SUPER HARD FOR US AS A DESTINATION WHEN WE LOOK AT HOW WE'RE BRINGING THE DESTINATIONS TO LIFE AND THEN BRINGING THEM [01:40:01] TO THE WEBSITES, WHICH IS GREAT. AND THEN WE COMPLIMENT THAT WITH OUR MEDIA PARTNERSHIPS. THIS ONE, WHAT WE'RE HIGHLIGHTING IS WITH CONDE NAST TRAVELER, WHICH JUST SPEAKS TO, UM, AGAIN, SOMEONE ELSE, A THIRD PARTY ENDORSING THOSE DESTINATIONS. AS ROB MENTIONED, WE ALSO, UM, AND FROM A SOUTHERN BEFORD COUNTY PERSPECTIVE, WE'RE, UM, HAD A GREAT YEAR IN TERMS OF ACCOLADES AND RED RECOGNITION. SO SOUTHERN BEAUFORT COUNTY AS A WHOLE, WE WERE RECOGNIZED IN SOUTHERN LIVING, COUNTRY, LIVING EBONY TRAVEL AND LEISURE AND COUNTRY LIVING. SO AGAIN, ACCOLADES, THAT THIRD PARTY ENDORSEMENT, THE READERSHIP OF THOSE PUBLICATIONS ARE SAYING, THIS PLACE IS GREAT. WE LOVE IT IN SOUTHERN BEFORD COUNTY, AND WE WANNA KEEP THAT TOP OF MIND. SO AGAIN, WHEN YOU ARE LOOKING AT THE CONSUMER'S MINDSET, UM, TODAY IT'S DIFFERENT THAN IT USED TO BE EVEN FIVE YEARS AGO. THEY'RE BEING HIT BY A MILLION DIFFERENT MESSAGES THROUGH MULTIPLE DEVICES THAT THEY'RE CONSTANTLY BEING, HAVING IN FRONT OF THEM AT ONE TIME. SO TO BE ABLE TO RISE ABOVE THAT AND KEEP, UM, YOU KNOW, OUR DESTINATIONS TOP OF MIND IS VERY IMPORTANT. AND WE'RE SEEING THAT EFFORT PAY, PAY DIVIDENDS BECAUSE OF OUR EFFORTS WITHIN KIND OF THE DIGITAL, THE OFFLINE AND THE SOCIAL SPACE. WE'RE SEEING THAT PAYOFF WITH THESE ACCOLADES. PEOPLE ARE KEEPING US TOP OF MIND. THEY'RE RECOGNIZING US, UM, AND THEY'RE CHOOSING US AS A DESTINATION OF CHOICE WHEN WE THINK ABOUT HOW WE'RE PROMOTING THE DESTINATIONS, WE WANTED TO, UM, HOLD HANDS WITH, I THINK MANY OF THE THINGS YOU JUST HEARD ROB TALK ABOUT, BUT WHAT BRINGS THESE, THESE DESTINATIONS TO LIFE. AND WE SEE THAT COMING THROUGH THE MAY RIVER COASTAL LIFESTYLE, LUXURY EXPERIENCES, COLOR, CULINARY AND DINING CULTURE AND HERITAGE EVENTS AND COMMUNITY. SO WE WANNA TAKE THAT TIME TO DO DEEPER STORYTELLING THROUGH THOSE EFFORTS. AND SO WE'LL SEE A THEME GO THROUGH, WHETHER IT BE THROUGH THE WEBSITES, SOCIAL MEDIA, THE VACATION PLANNERS, UM, OUR BLOGS. YOU'LL SEE SOME OF THOSE PIECES ALL BEING, UM, PULLED THROUGH WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE DESTINATIONS. AGAIN, WE LOOK AT THEM, UM, AS BEING A PART OF A COLLECTIVE EFFORT OF SOUTHERN BEAUFORT COUNTY. BUT AGAIN, BLUFFTON AND DUSKY HAVE THEIR OWN, UM, EFFORTS IN PLACE IN TERMS OF HOW WE MAKE THEM UNIQUELY DIFFERENT, UM, BUT ALSO SHARE A PARTNERSHIP. AND SO HERE WE WANTED TO LAY OUT SOME OF OUR GOALS AND OUR STRATEGIES WHEN REGARDING OUR DESTINATION EFFORTS IN REGARDS TO TOURISM. SO WE WANNA MAKE SURE FIRST AND FOREMOST THAT WE'RE ALIGNING WITH THE COMMUNITY'S INITIATIVES AND WHAT THEIR PRIORITIES ARE. 'CAUSE I THINK THAT IS HOW YOU FIND PARTNERSHIP IN TOURISM, IS THAT MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE, WE'RE REALLY BRINGING FORWARD WHAT'S IMPORTANT TO THE COMMUNITIES. FIRST, WE WANNA MAKE SURE WE'RE SUSTAINABLE WHEN IT COMES TO TOURISM. AND THAT WE'RE THINKING MUCH LIKE, UM, NORTHERN BEAUFORT COUNTY, THE TIMEFRAMES IN WHICH WE'RE BRINGING TOURISM ARE THEY NEED TIMEFRAMES, UM, IN TERMS OF WHEN DO WE HAVE THOSE POCKETS OF OPPORTUNITIES SURROUNDED BY EVENTS, ACTIVITIES, AND ALSO HEADS AND BEDS. UM, UH, IN TERMS OF A NEED, WE WANNA ELEVATE AND BRING IN THOSE QUALITY OF VISITORS THAT ARE DESIRED BY ALL AND WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE, UM, NOT ONLY THE LEISURE SALES COMPONENT, BUT THE MEETINGS AND GROUPS COMPONENT COVERED AS WELL. THE BUDGET COMPONENT, WE WANTED TO SHOW THE COMPREHENSIVE BUDGET BETWEEN, UM, SOUTHERN BEAUFORT COUNTY AND BLUFFTON. SO WE PUT THAT IN FRONT OF YOU. THIS YEAR'S, UM, EFFORT FOR THE 30% OF, UH, SOUTHERN BEFORD COUNTY IS 260 AS ROB MENTIONED. SO YOU'LL SEE THAT OUTLINED HERE. AND THEN I, THIS IS WHERE I'M GONNA HAVE CHASE COME UP WITH ME, UM, AND TALK THROUGH DEMOGRAPHIC DEMOGRAPHICS AND PERSONAS, UM, CHASE, IF YOU WILL. YEAH. SO EVERY YEAR WE WORK WITH SOME OF OUR RESEARCH PARTNERS, UH, TO INCORPORATE SOME INFORMATION, UM, NOT ONLY FROM PUBLICLY AVAILABLE INFORMATION LIKE, UH, UH, YOU KNOW, TAX, UH, AT TAX COLLECTIONS FROM THE HOTELS AND THE HOME OF VILLAS, BUT ALSO INFORMATION FROM SURVEY RESPONDENTS. AND LIKE ROB WAS TALKING ABOUT THAT GEOLOCATION DATA. UM, WE, UM, WORK WITH OUR PARTNERS TO BASICALLY CREATE THESE PROFILE OF OUR VISITORS TO FIGURE OUT WHO THEY ARE, WHERE THEY'RE COMING FROM, WHAT THEY'RE SPENDING TIME DOING WHEN THEY'RE HERE AT THE DESTINATION. SO WHAT YOU'RE SEEING HERE IS KIND OF, UH, WE CALL IT OUR TARGET LEISURE TRAVELER. IT REFLECTS THE KIND OF VISITOR WE HAD IN CALENDAR 2025. IN 2025. OUR VISITORS DID TEND TO SKEW FEMALE, WHICH IS SOMETHING THAT WE'RE SEEING NOT ONLY IN THE, UH, NOT ONLY, UH, IN THIS COUNTY, BUT IT'S KIND OF A TREND NATIONWIDE. UM, WE HAVE A MORE AFFLUENT VISITOR SOMEWHERE WITH A HOUSEHOLD INCOME OF AROUND A HUNDRED TO $200,000 PER YEAR. VERY HIGHLY EDUCATED. ALMOST TWO THIRDS OF THEM ARE HAVE A UNDERGRADUATE DEGREE OR HIGHER. AND THEY TYPICALLY COME ON TWO TO TRIPS, TWO TO FOUR TRIPS PER YEAR, NOT NECESSARILY TO THIS LOCATION, BUT OUR TARGET TRAVELER GOES ON AT LEAST TWO TO FOUR VACATIONS PER YEAR. AND WHEN THEY DO COME TO OUR DESTINATION, THEY'RE HERE FOR ABOUT FIVE NIGHTS. AND AS WE IDENTIFY WHO THE TRAVELER IS AND WHO WE'RE TARGETING, WE ALSO LIKE TO BREAK [01:45:01] IT DOWN A LITTLE FURTHER BECAUSE WHAT DO THEY LIKE TO DO NOW? EVERYBODY LIKES TO DO THE SAME THING. SO AGAIN, WITH OUR RESEARCH AND DEEP INSIGHTS THAT WE, UM, GARNER FROM THE WEBSITE AND ALONG WITH ADDITIONAL PLATFORMS THAT CHASE WILL SPEAK TO IN JUST A FEW MOMENTS, WE BREAK IT DOWN EVEN FURTHER. SO IS THIS A FAMILY ORIENTED TRAVELER? IS THEY PREFER QUICK TRIPS AND DO THE WEEKENDS, ARTS AND CUL ARTS AND CULTURE, SO ON AND SO FORTH. SO WE REALLY DO TRY TO TARGET OUR MESSAGE TO BE MORE PERSONALIZED, BUT THAT WAS A LOOK BACK AND HOW WE APPROACH TOURISM. AND I THINK WHAT'S GOING, UM, WHEN WE LOOK FORWARD, IT REALLY IS A SCIENCE AND AN EXCITING NEW OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO TALK ABOUT ALL THE DEEP RESEARCH THAT WE HAVE ACCESS TO. AND THAT ROB ALLUDED TO A LITTLE BIT EARLIER, UM, WE'VE TAKEN AN INTEGRATED APPROACH WHEN IT COMES TO RESEARCH. AND WHAT THAT MEANS IS, YOU KNOW, NOTHING BEATS A HAND TO HAND SURVEY AND SOMEONE WILLING TO TAKE THE TIME TO TAKE THAT, UM, AND WRITE DOWN WHY THEY CHOSE THIS AREA TO TRAVEL TO. BUT THERE'S ALSO SOME OF THE DETAILS THAT COME WITH SOME OF THAT OTHER RESEARCH THAT ROB AGAIN SPOKE TO, BUT CHASE HERE WILL SPEAK TO, WHICH IS PLACER AI DATA, WHICH ALLOWS US TO GEOFENCE OR CIRCLE A CERTAIN AREA TO UNDERSTAND WHO IS ACTUALLY VISITING REAL TIME. SO WE'LL GO INTO A BIT OF THAT. I DIDN'T KNOW IF THIS IS THE TIME OR DO YOU WANNA WAIT OR JUST A LITTLE BIT? UH, YEAH. OKAY. I THINK MAYBE JUST KIND OF SET THE STAGE AND THEN WE CAN GO INTO IT A LITTLE DEEPER. YEAH, LIKE ARI WAS MENTIONED, AND LIKE ROB KIND OF MENTIONED, WE DO HAVE ACCESS TO THESE, THIS GEOLOCATION INFORMATION THROUGH PLACER AI AND ANOTHER COMPANY CALLED ZICO. UM, THAT REALLY ALLOWS US TO PINPOINT, UM, OUR, YOU KNOW, THE ENTIRE AREA OR SPECIFIC POINTS OF INTEREST, WIND THAT AREA, UM, TO KIND OF SEE, UM, NOT ONLY, YOU KNOW, KIND OF THE AMOUNT OF PEOPLE COMING, BUT AS ROB ALSO MENTIONED, UH, IT'S NOT JUST YOU DON'T WANNA FOCUS JUST ON THE AMOUNT OF PEOPLE. YOU WANNA FOCUS ON WHAT THOSE PEOPLE, UH, LOOK LIKE FROM A DEMOGRAPHIC PERSPECTIVE. LIKE WHERE ARE THEY COMING FROM? ARE WE SEEING A LOT OF, UH, PEOPLE FROM, UM, YOU KNOW, WITHIN THE MARKET, OR ARE WE SEEING A DISPROPORTIONATE AMOUNT OF PEOPLE AT AN ATTRACTION COMING FROM 50 MILES OR FURTHER AWAY? AND IF THEY ARE COMING FROM 50 MILES OR FURTHER AWAY, WHERE ARE THEY COMING FROM AND ARE THOSE DESTIN? ARE THOSE AREAS THAT WE CAN TARGET OUR MARKETING TO, TO HELP BRING MORE PEOPLE IN? UM, IN ADDITION TO THAT, IT ALSO CAN HELP BUILD PROFILES FOR WHAT THESE PEOPLE LIKE TO DO. UH, ONE OF THE, UH, EXAMPLES THAT I USE, PLACER CAN SORT PEOPLE INTO LIKE A BUNDLE OF DEMOGRAPHIC CATEGORIES LIKE AGE, INCOME, EDUCATION, AND KIND OF CREATE A PROFILE AROUND THAT PERSON. UM, SO WE KNOW, OKAY, WE DISPROPORTIONATELY GET THIS KIND OF VISITOR, THIS KIND OF VISITOR LIKES TO, UM, READ THIS SPECIFIC PUBLICATION OR LISTEN TO THIS SPECIFIC PODCAST. AND THAT REALLY ALLOWS US TO HONE OUR, OUR MARKETING MESSAGE IN, SO WE HIT EXACTLY THE KIND OF GROUP WE'RE LOOKING FOR. SO IT'S A MUCH MORE TARGETED, MUCH MORE DATA FOCUSED APPROACH. UH, AND I THINK IT'S ONE THAT'S EXCITING AND, UM, IT'S DEFINITELY A BIG PIECE OF OUR, OUR OF OUR RESEARCH PLAN GOING FORWARD. YEAH, THANK YOU. CHASE AND I SHOWS HOW NIMBLE WE ARE, UM, AS A PARTNERED EFFORT BETWEEN ROB AND OURSELVES, UM, REALLY TAKING INTO ACCOUNT AND BEING LEADERS IN THE SPACE WHEN IT COMES TO RESEARCH AND THE TOOLS THAT WE HAVE ACCESS TO. SO WE WON'T EVER NEGATE THE FACT THAT WE HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO DO THE HAND-TO-HAND SURVEY OPPORTUNITIES, BUT I THINK BEING RESPONSIBLE AND TAKING IN THAT TECH PIECE OF IT ALSO IS VERY IMPORTANT AS WE, AS WE MOVE FORWARD, UM, AND UNDERSTANDING NOT ONLY WHO WE ARE RECEIVING TODAY, BUT WHO WE WILL BE RECEIVING AND WHO WE CAN TARGET AND TO BE MORE EFFICIENT WITH THE DOLLARS OF, UM, FUNDED TOWARDS TOURISM, UM, TO ENSURE WE'RE GETTING THE RIGHT, UM, TRAVELER TO OUR AREA. SO THIS IS A VISUAL, I'M A, I'M IN MARKETING AS, AND I THINK A VISUAL ALWAYS HELPS TELL THAT STORY. SO WE ARE, AS, UM, WE'VE MENTIONED IN THE PAST, WE'RE NOT A POINT OF SALE. OUR GOAL IS REALLY TO BRING QUALIFIED VISITORS TO THE WEBSITES TO ENSURE THAT WE'RE GETTING THOSE, UM, POTENTIAL VISITORS TO SHAKE HANDS OF THE BUSINESSES, WHETHER THAT BE FROM A HOTEL STANDPOINT, A RESTAURANT, AN EXCURSION, AN ACTIVITY, OR AN EVENT, AND REALLY MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE BRINGING THEM AND THEY'RE TRULY QUALIFIED, THAT THEY REALLY HAVE THAT NOT ONLY INTENT TO TRAVEL, BUT INTENT TO TRAVEL TO OUR AREA BASED ON THE, UM, ATTRIBUTES AND ASSETS THAT WE HAVE. SO, AGAIN, A VISUAL HERE, BUT REALLY JUST TALKING THROUGH WHAT WE JUST WENT THROUGH, WE REALLY WANNA GENERATE BRAND AWARENESS, GENERATE THE DEMAND, AND BRING THEM THROUGH, UM, TO THE WEBSITES. SO CHASE, YEAH, SO YOU GUYS ARE OBVIOUSLY ALL AWARE THE, THE, THE IMPACT THAT, UM, AI HAS HAD ON THE INTERNET AS A WHOLE, UM, AND TO CALL IT DISRUPTIVE WOULD REALLY BE AN UNDERSTATEMENT. THE WAY PEOPLE ARE SEARCHING NOW IS COMPLETELY DIFFERENT. YOU KNOW, BACK, UH, EVEN FIVE YEARS AGO, IF I WANTED TO GO ON A VACATION, I COULD SAY, UH, YOU KNOW, WHAT IS THERE TO DO IN SOUTHERN BEFORD COUNTY THIS WEEKEND? UH, WE GET A LIST OF WEBSITES. I WOULD CLICK ON ONE, I WOULD GO THERE, I WOULD READ ABOUT THE EVENTS THEY [01:50:01] HAVE, AND THEN I'D DECIDE WHICH ONE TO GO TO. UM, AND THAT WAS JUST HOW IT WORKED. BUT NOW, EVERYONE, UH, EITHER USING CHAT, GPT OR GOOGLE NOW HAS, I BELIEVE, IS PUSHING OUT AI AI MODE BY DEFAULT. YOU GO IN, YOU TYPE, WHAT AM I GONNA DO IN SOUTHERN BEAVER COUNTY THIS WEEKEND? IT GENERATES A RESPONSE. YOU SEE WHAT YOU, YOU SEE WHAT YOU NEED AND YOU MOVE ON. YOU NEVER CLICK OVER TO A NEW WEBSITE. SO THAT HAS COMPLETELY CHANGED HOW WE MEASURE SUCCESS FOR A WEBSITE IN, UM, 2026 AND FORWARD. SO NOW, RATHER THAN FOCUSING COMPLETELY ON WEBSITE VISITATION, UM, YOU KNOW, MAKING SURE THAT THAT TRAFFIC ALWAYS GROWS UP OR YOU GET REFERRALS FROM YOUR WEBSITE, UM, WHILE THAT'S STILL IMPORTANT, THAT IS NOT THE ONLY MEASURE OF SUCCESS ANYMORE. WHAT'S IMPORTANT IS MAKING SURE THAT, UM, AI UNDERSTANDS YOUR WEBSITE AS THE, UH, SOURCE OF AUTHORITY FOR THAT SUBJECT SO THAT WHEN YOU, UH, GET A AI CITATION OR AN AI OVERVIEW, THE INFORMATION THAT THAT AI IS GIVING THE USER IS INFORMATION THAT IT'S SCRAPING FROM OUR WEBSITES. SO BECAUSE IT TRUSTS US AS THE AUTHORITY FOR THAT INFORMATION, SO MAKING SURE THAT OUR WEBSITE IS EASILY CRAWLABLE, UM, FOR AI BOTS, MAKING SURE THAT OUR WEBSITE IS SET UP IN A WAY THAT'S AI FRIENDLY, IS GONNA BENEFIT THE DESTINATION BY MAKING SURE THAT AI SEES US AS THAT AUTHORITY SO THAT IT SERVES THAT INFORMATION TO USERS, EVEN IF THEY NEVER ACTUALLY MAKE THEIR WAY INTO ONE OF OUR WEBSITES. SO WHAT I THINK WE'RE SAY IS WEBSITES ARE STILL VERY RELEVANT, WE STILL NEED THEM, HOWEVER, IT'S JUST A DIFFERENT WAY IN WHICH WE'RE UTILIZING THEM. SO WE ARE WORKING JUST AS HARD, IF NOT HARDER, TO ENSURE ALL THE CONTENT, ALL THE, UM, BUSINESS INFORMATION, ET CETERA, ARE ACCURATE IN THAT. GOOGLE, AGAIN, AS CHASE MENTIONED, SEES US, UM, AS A DESTINATION WEBSITE KIND OF OVERSIGHT, UM, THAT IT, THEY ARE SEEING US AS THE AUTHORITY. SO THE WORK AND THE IMPORTANCE OF THE WEBSITE IS STILL THERE. UM, BUT NOW IT'S BEING LEADERS IN THE SPACE OF UNDERSTANDING HOW GOOGLE AND OTHERS ARE USING IT TO SERVE, UM, THE CONSUMER TODAY. SO AGAIN, A LOT OF WORK BEING DONE ON THAT. I THINK THIS VISUAL HELPS KIND OF SIMPLIFY HOW IT'S HAPPENING, BUT AGAIN, THE DEEP INSIGHTS THAT, THAT CHASE AND, AND OTHERS BRING TO THIS TABLE IS IMPORTANT THAT WE STAY RELEVANT. UM, SO AGAIN, WE CAN BE, UH, ENSURING THAT THE INFORMATION BEING SERVED IS, IS ACCURATE. SAY THE NEXT FEW SLIDES ARE. THE NEXT FEW SLIDES ARE, UH, A LOT OF THIS IS GONNA BE JUST, UM, KIND OF MORE IN THE WEEDS ABOUT WHAT WE JUST TALKED ABOUT. UM, BUT AGAIN, THE OVERARCHING, THE OVERARCHING IDEA HERE IS THAT, UM, OUR ENTIRE, NOT JUST LIKE THE USER EXPERIENCE ON OUR WEBSITE, BUT THE BACKEND OF OUR WEBSITE THAT WE WORK IN EVERY DAY, ALL OF THAT HAS TO COMPLETELY CHANGE AND BE REDONE SO THAT IT MAKES IT MORE FRIENDLY FOR THESE AI BOTS TO BE ABLE TO PULL THE INFORMATION AND PULL IT IN A WAY THAT THEY KIND OF UNDERSTAND INFORMATION TO BE STRUCTURED. UM, SO THAT'S WHAT A LOT OF OUR EFFORTS ARE DOING ON OUR WEBSITE NOW. IT'S NOT, AGAIN, NOT JUST THE USER EXPERIENCE, BUT THAT BACKEND EXPERIENCE FOR THOSE, UM, FOR THOSE AI BOTS THAT COME THROUGH AND CRAWL OUR WEBSITE, THOSE THINGS THAT YOU'RE NEVER ACTUALLY CAN PHYSICALLY SEE. UM, BUT IT'S STILL IMPORTANT. THAT'S WHAT WE SPEND A LOT OF TIME DOING, UM, TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE, YOU KNOW, TOP OF MIND. UM, SO AGAIN, MORE OF THE, MORE OF A VERY SIMILAR INFORMATION. THE GOAL HERE IS TO BECOME THE ANSWER FOR AI, STAND OUT WITHIN THOSE AI PLATFORMS, FUTURE PROOF OUR STRATEGY BY WORKING ON THAT WEBSITE BACKEND. AND THEN, UH, FIND A WAY TO TRACK AND ANALYZE THESE NEW METRICS THAT ARE GOING TO BECOME THE INDUSTRY STANDARD WITHIN THE NEXT COUPLE OF YEARS. SO OUR TRADITIONAL, THE OLD KPIS, UH, WE KINDA MENTIONED EARLIER, PAGE VIEWS, ORGANIC TRAFFIC. WHAT'S THE BALANCE RATE? WHAT KINDA LIKES ARE YOU GETTING? WHAT KIND OF REFERRALS ARE YOU GETTING FROM YOUR WEBSITE TO A PARTNER? NOW THOSE NEW METRICS ARE DIFFERENT. LIKE WHAT PERCENTAGE OF CITATION SHARE ARE YOU GETTING ON, UM, YOU KNOW, UH, CHAT GPT OR GOOGLE. UM, HOW MANY OF THEM ARE THEN COMING OVER TO, UM, A, A WEBSITE, UH, BASED ON LIKE A CITATION WITHIN THE AI OVERVIEW? UM, HOW MANY TIMES IS YOUR SITE GETTING CALLED FROM ONE OF THESE, UM, AI, UH, UM, API CONNECTIONS, BASICALLY HOW THEY COMMUNICATE WITH YOUR WEBSITE. HOW MANY TIMES IS THAT AI BOT CRAWLING YOUR WEBSITE TO GET INFORMATION? AND THEN ALSO, HOW ACCURATE IS THE INFORMATION THE AI IS SERVING? WE KNOW THAT AI IS PRONE TO HALLUCINATION FROM TIME TO TIME. UM, SO ONE THING YOU CAN DO BY MAKING YOURSELF THE AUTHORITY IS MAKING SURE THAT WHEN THE, UM, AI BOT IS CITING YOU IN A SOURCE, THAT THAT INFORMATION IS CORRECT, AND MAKING SURE THAT THE INFORMATION YOU'RE SERVING THE AI BOT LEADS TO A HIGH LEVEL OF ACCURACY. AND I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT AS THESE NEW METRICS ARE DEFINED, THAT WE ARE STAYING TOP OF MIND AND, UM, ENSURING THAT WE HAVE AN UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT THOSE KPIS ARE GOING TO BE FOR THE INDUSTRY MOVING FORWARD. SO WE'RE WORKING VERY CLOSELY. CHASE IS WORKING, UM, AND HAS MADE, UM, MANY EFFORTS TO WORK DIRECTLY WITH GOOGLE, BUT ALSO WORKING WITH DESTINATIONS INTERNATIONAL, WHO IS, UM, YOU KNOW, THE, THE ONES LEADING THE CHARGE ON WHAT THOSE NEW KPIS WOULD BE FOR THE INDUSTRY. UM, THOSE HAVEN'T BEEN, UH, FORMALLY REDEFINED, BUT HE IS IN LOCKSTEP WITH THEM TO UNDERSTAND AS WE PROGRESS, WE ARE [01:55:01] KEEPING THOSE, UH, MEASUREMENTS OF, OF WHAT WILL BE NEW IN PLACE. YEAH. AND ONE LAST THING I'LL MENTION, IT'S NOT JUST, UH, ONE OF THE BENEFITS OF THIS IS THAT IT NOT ONLY CAN TELL YOU WHEN IT'S CITING SOMETHING FROM YOUR WEBSITE, UH, BUT YOU KNOW, IF WE, IF THERE'S A, IF THERE'S A STORY OUT THERE IN A, IN A CONDE NAST OR A SOUTHERN LIVING THAT FEATURES SOUTHERN BEAUFORT COUNTY, WE CAN SEE THAT THE, A AI IS CITING THAT ARTICLE AS A SOURCE, BUT WE KNOW THAT THAT SOURCE EXISTS BECAUSE OF THESE RELATIONSHIPS WE HAVE WITH THESE, UM, PUBLISHERS. THEN, YOU KNOW, THAT'S THE WAY, THAT'S SOMETHING WE COULD TRACK THAT MAYBE WE COULDN'T IN THE PAST. SO, UM, IT'S NOT JUST THOSE DIRECT, UM, THE DIRECT INFORMATION THAT WE FEED THE AI, BUT KNOWING THAT BECAUSE OF OUR, UH, OUR BRAND STRENGTH, THAT THAT'S COMING THROUGH OTHER PLATFORMS AS WELL. AND OUR INFORMATION IS STILL TOP, EVEN IF IT'S NOT COMING DIRECTLY FROM US, IT'S COMING FROM ONE OF THOSE PEOPLE WE PARTNER WITH. I'LL KIND OF JUST GO THROUGH THIS NEXT PART 'CAUSE IT'S VERY SIMILAR TO WHAT WE JUST TALKED ABOUT. UM, AND WE'LL JUMP INTO, UM, KIND OF THE DESTINATION WEBSITE. SO I MENTIONED, UM, AND I'LL LET ARI SPEAK TO THE, UM, KINDA THE, UH, GENERAL IDEA OF THE WEBSITES BEING OUR VIRTUAL, UH, FRONT DOOR. UM, BUT AGAIN, A LOT OF THE WORK WE'RE DOING, UH, GEO GENERATIVE OP, INTER GENERATIVE ENGINE OPTIMIZATION, VERY HARD TO SAY QUICKLY, UM, IS BASED ON MAKING SURE THE BACKEND OF OUR WEBSITES ARE FRIENDLY FOR THOSE SPOTS. WEBSITES, AGAIN, VISUALLY APPEALING VIRTUAL FRONT DOORS, WAY PEOPLE ARE SEEKING US, UM, WHEN THEY'RE LOOKING FOR TRAVEL INTO THE LOW COUNTRY SOUTHERN BEFORD COUNTY AREA. BUT AGAIN, IT'S ABOUT PERSONALIZATION. IT'S ABOUT, UM, ON CHASE'S SIDE, UH, AND WORKING TOGETHER THAT THE DATA STRATEGY BEHIND HOW WE MAKE THAT A PERSONAL EXPERIENCE. AND SO, AGAIN, WE DON'T LOOK AT ANY ONE THING AS AN INDIVIDUAL EFFORT, BUT WE LOOK AT THEM AS ALL TOOLS WITHIN OUR TOOLKIT THAT BRING PEOPLE TO THIS PERSONALIZED EXPERIENCE ON THE WEBSITE. SO AGAIN, A LOT OF INDIVIDUAL EFFORTS CREATE THE, THE, UM, EXPERIENCE THAT YOU HAVE ONLINE. AND, UM, WE JUST WANTED TO KIND OF SHOWCASE BOTH OF THOSE WEBSITES FOR YOU. UM, AND THEN AGAIN, I SPOKE A LITTLE BIT ABOUT SOCIAL MEDIA AND HOW IMPORTANT SOCIAL MEDIA IS. IT IS REALLY WORKING SO HARD FOR, UM, THE DESTINATIONS. AND I THINK WHAT WE, UM, A STRATEGY MOVING FORWARD FOR FISCAL YEAR 26, 27 IS TO REALLY, UH, LEAN INTO THE SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS. AND WE'RE TALKING NOT JUST, UM, INSTAGRAM AND FACEBOOK, WHICH ARE TO STRONGEST PLATFORMS, BUT IT'S ALSO HOW, UM, WE'RE ALSO WORKING ALONGSIDE, UM, YOUTUBE AND OTHER PLATFORMS THAT HELP US TELL A LITTLE BIT OF A LONGER STORY. UH, YOUTUBE SHORTS IS EXPANDING AND PEOPLE ARE REALLY USING THAT AS ANOTHER OR AN EXTENSION OF A GOOGLE. PEOPLE ARE ALSO FINDING YOUTUBE AS A SOURCE OF, UM, WHERE THEY FIND WHERE THEY WANT TO TRAVEL. THEY'RE BEING INFLUENCED ON SOCIAL MEDIA AND THE SHORTER, YOU KNOW, FIVE SECOND, 32ND CLIPS, 15 SECOND CLIPS WHEN YOU HAVE AN INFLUENCER OR JUST SEE A BEAUTIFUL VIDEO. UM, AND THEN ALSO CHASE SPOKE ABOUT LARGE LANGUAGE MODELS. SO YOU HAVE YOUR CHAT, GBT AGAIN, ANOTHER DISRUPTION IN THE MARKET IS PEOPLE ARE BOOKING TRAVEL NOT ONLY VIA SOCIAL MEDIA, BUT ALSO ENSURING THAT THEY'RE GOING ON LARGE LANGUAGE MODELS, IE CHAT GBT AND FINDING OUT WHERE TO GO THERE. AND I THINK, SO WE NEED TO STAY RELEVANT. WE NEED TO BE A SOURCE THAT IS KIND OF OMNIPRESENT AND WHEN IT COMES TO SOCIAL MEDIA, AND I THINK THE STRATEGY THAT HAS BEEN PRESENTED TO YOU ALLOWS US TO DO THAT. THESE ARE JUST A QUICK OVERVIEW OF THE SOCIAL MEDIA GOALS. WE WANNA OBVIOUSLY INCREASE OUR AUDIENCE, BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY, WE WANNA INCREASE ENGAGEMENT. WE WANNA KNOW THAT PEOPLE ARE LEAVING COMMENTS, THEY'RE SHARING, THEY'RE LIKING OUR EFFORTS. UH, WE WANNA GROW OUR VIDEO. WE JUST SPOKE ABOUT. THAT VIDEO REALLY IS, UM, A FOCUS FOR US MOVING FORWARD, NOT ONLY ON OUR OWN PLATFORMS, BUT WHEN WE'RE THINKING OF PARTNERSHIP WITH A, UM, CONDE NAST OR OTHER PLATFORM, UM, FROM A PUBLICATION STANDPOINT, WE WANNA MAKE SURE THEY HAVE VIDEO CONTENT AS WELL. UM, WE WANT TO MOVE FROM INSPIRATION TO TRIP PLANNING. SO AGAIN, WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT IF THEY'RE NOT ONLY LIKING OUR, OUR SOCIAL MEDIA EFFORTS, BUT THEY'RE CLICKING THROUGH TO OUR BUSINESS PARTNERS AND, UH, REALLY ENSURING THAT THEY'RE MAKING THAT NEXT STEP IN TERMS OF BOOKING THEIR TRAVEL HERE. UM, AND AGAIN, ON CHASE'S SIDE, JUST DISCOVERABILITY, WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE AVAILABLE AND PEOPLE CAN SEE US EVEN WITH ALL THE DISRUPTION, UM, IN THE MARKET AND PR. SO MY COUNTERPART, CHARLIE CLARK, UM, DOES A WONDERFUL JOB TO EXTEND PARTNERSHIPS AND OUTREACH WHEN SHE'S TELLING NOT ONLY THE DESTINATION STORIES, BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS WITHIN THE PR SPACE, USING INFLUENCERS AND CREATORS, UM, TO GET THAT THIRD PARTY ENDORSEMENT. AND AS YOU SAW THAT LONG LIST OF ACCOLADES AND RECOGNITION. SO IT'S CONTINUES TO BE ANOTHER TOOL IN OUR TOOLKIT THAT WORKS VERY HARD FOR US. SO LEISURE [02:00:01] MEDIA WILL BE A FOCUS, UM, WHEN IT COMES TO IT. SO WE WANT THEM TO GO OUT AND, YOU KNOW, DISCOVER BLUFF AND DISCOVER DUSKY AND REALLY TELL THAT STORY THROUGH THEIR LENS. I, BUT AGAIN, UM, IN SUPPORT WITH TARA, UH, TARA FRANK, WHO IS HERE, UM, LEADING OUR MEETINGS AND GROUP, UM, EFFORTS, SHE HAS BEEN A GREAT ADDITION TO THE TEAM AND HAS A REALLY STRONG LENS ON WHAT WILL MOVE THE NEEDLE FOR US WHEN IT COMES TO MEETINGS AND GROUPS. WE TALKED ABOUT THOSE NEED TIMEFRAMES. IT'S WONDERFUL OPPORTUNITY TO BRING IN THE MEETINGS AND GROUPS INTO THIS AREA AND TO SHOWCASE THIS DESTINATION, UM, AND, AND HELP, UM, FILL SOME OF THOSE OCCUPANCY NEEDS DURING THOSE TIMEFRAMES. WE CONTINUE TO HAVE A STRONG DRIVE MARKET WHEN IT COMES TO BUSINESS HERE, UM, WITHIN THE BLUFFTON, SOUTHERN BUFORT COUNTY, UM, DUSKY AREA. SO AGAIN, YOU'LL SEE HERE ATLANTA, CHARLOTTE, CHARLESTON, JACKSONVILLE, THOSE WERE ALL REALLY STRONG DRIVE MARKETS FOR US. BUT THEN WE ALSO LIKE TO, UM, TAKE INTO ACCOUNT THOSE THAT WE'RE HAVING COME IN VIA THE AIRPORT. SO THE SAVANNAH HILTON HEAD INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT HELPS US SERVE THAT, THAT NEED. UM, AND WE ARE ABLE TO FILL THOSE, UM, THOSE HEADS AND BEDS. WHEN YOU LOOK AT HOW WE'RE APPROACHING MEETINGS AND GROUPS, THERE ARE DEDICATED, UH, RESOURCES NOT ONLY ON THE WEBSITES, BUT ALSO THROUGH TARA'S, UM, STRONG NETWORKING OPPORTUNITIES, A TRENDING TRADE SHOWS AND DIFFERENT CONFERENCES TO BUILD THOSE LEADS. UM, THAT WEBSITES SERVES AS A, A REALLY A ONE-STOP SHOP FOR WHERE, UH, THOSE LEADS CAN COME IN AND THEN THEY CAN FOLLOW UP AS A TEAM. UM, IN ADDITION TO THE CONFERENCE SPACE AND THE ROOMS THAT THEY'RE LOOKING FOR, THEY ALSO HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO BUILD OUT DIFFERENT ITINERARIES BASED ON THE PILLARS THAT WE SPOKE ABOUT EARLIER, TO REALLY GIVE 'EM THAT, UM, SOUTHERN BUFORD COUNTY LOW COUNTRY EXPERIENCE. WE TALKED ABOUT THE FULFILLMENT, UM, AND PROMOTION OF THE, UM, BOOKS WHICH WE LOVE. SO AGAIN, THOSE ARE TWO OPPORTUNITIES FROM A FULFILLMENT STANDPOINT. AND THEN CHASE ON THE RESEARCH AND ANALYTICS. I DUNNO IF THERE'S ANYTHING MORE HERE. YEAH, SO I'LL JUST RUN THROUGH THIS PRETTY QUICK, BUT OUR APPROACH TO RESEARCH IS VERY MUCH, UH, MAKING SURE THAT WE UNDERSTAND OUR VISITORS BEFORE THEY, WHILE THEY'RE HERE, AND THEN THE IMPACT THAT THEY HAVE ONCE THEY LEAVE. AND SO WE DO THAT THROUGH A VARIETY OF DIFFERENT WAYS. WE HAVE, UM, THE GEOFENCE THAT WE MENTIONED EARLIER. UH, WE PUBLISH A VISITOR PROFILE STUDY, UH, FOR BLUFFTON EVERY YEAR WHERE WE ACTUALLY HAND SURVEYS TO PEOPLE AND HAVE TO COMPLETE IT. WE SUPPLEMENT THAT WITH SOME OF THE GEOLOCATION INFORMATION SO WE CAN UNDERSTAND NOT ONLY THE VISITOR DEMOGRAPHIC, BUT ALSO SOME OF THE VISITOR SENTIMENT. YOU KNOW, WHAT DO THEY LIKE ABOUT THE DESTINATION, WHY DID THEY COME HERE? WE ALSO ASK PEOPLE WHO MAYBE WERE THINKING ABOUT COMING HERE WHO DIDN'T, WHY DIDN'T YOU COME HERE? WE WANNA KNOW WHERE YOU WENT INSTEAD. SO WE KIND OF KNOW WHO THOSE COMPETITORS ARE. SO THAT'S THE BEFORE PART. UH, WHILE THEY'RE HERE, WE DO TRACK LODGING METRICS, THE TYPICAL ONES OCCUPANCY, UM, RATES, REVENUE PER AVAILABLE ROOM, UH, TO KIND OF SEE HOW THE, UH, LODGING SECTOR IS FAIRING. AS ROB MENTIONED, THIS YEAR WAS A BIT OF A LIGHTER YEAR FOR LODGING METRICS. A LOT OF THAT IS SOME ECONOMIC UNCERTAINTY. UH, A BIG PORTION OF THAT, OF COURSE WAS WE CAME PRETTY CLOSE TO, UH, TAKING A HURRICANE DIRECTLY TO THE COAST BEFORE IT GOT PULLED OUT. UH, LUCKILY AT THE LAST SECOND. UH, SO THAT HAD AN IMPACT ON IT. UM, BUT UH, AGAIN, ECHOING WHAT ROB SAID, WE ARE SEEING, UH, THROUGH OUR, UH, ECONOMIC IMPACT REPORT, WHICH WE PUBLISH EVERY YEAR FOR, UH, BEAUFORT COUNTY, UM, THAT VISITORS SPEND IS STILL REMAINING STRONG. SO EVEN THOUGH WE'RE HAVING LESS VISITORS, THE ECONOMIC IMPACT IS STILL, UM, IS STILL RAISING EVERY YEAR. SO WE ARE HAVING LESS VISITORS THAT ARE SPENDING MORE MONEY, AND THAT'S ENCOURAGING TO SEE MM-HMM . UM, WE ALSO PARTNER WITH, UM, UH, USCB, UH, AND DO KIND OF SOME EVENT RESEARCH FOR MAJOR EVENTS ON THE ISLAND TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE FILLING THOSE NEED TIMEFRAMES OR SORRY, IN THE, UM, ENTIRE REGION, UH, TO MAKE SURE WE'RE, UM, MEETING THOSE NEED TIMEFRAMES. UH, BECAUSE, UM, YOU KNOW, UH, MAY, JUNE, JULY ARE TYPICALLY VERY VISITOR HEAVY, BUT THOSE OFF MONTHS, UH, HAVING THOSE OFF MONTHS IS IMPORTANT. SO WE MAKE SURE WE WORK WITH OUR, UM, EVENT PARTNERS TO MAKE SURE WE'RE MEETING THEIR NEEDS THERE. AND THEN, UM, YEAH, WE, UH, I THINK I ALREADY MENTIONED, WE DO THE VISITOR PROFILE STUDY, THE ECONOMIC IMPACT REPORT TO KIND OF GET AN IDEA OF THE TOTALITY OF THE IMPACT THAT TOURISM IS HAVING ON THE REGION. OKAY. WE OPEN IT UP FOR QUESTIONS, COMMENTS? YES SIR. YOU HAVE HAVE THE VACATION TRAVELER AND YOU HAVE IT AT VARIOUS SITES. DO YOU ALSO HAVE IT AT THE AIRPORTS? YES. AND HOW ABOUT OUR, UH, WELCOME CENTERS WHEN YOU'RE ON I 95? YES. OKAY. ALL OF THEM, CORRECT? YES, ALL OF 'EM. THANK YOU. YES, SIR. SO, KIND OF SIMILAR QUESTION, UH, SO VISITOR VISITORS ARE DOWN FOR 2025, BUT THE COST IS, THE EXPENDITURES HAVE GONE UP. HAS THAT BEEN ADJUSTED FOR INFLATION? IS THAT DUE TO INFLATION? WHAT'S THE DRIVE FACTOR THERE? SO THAT'S NOT A NUMBER THAT'S BEEN ADJUSTED FOR INFLATION. PART OF IT OBVIOUSLY IS GOING TO BE DUE TO INFLATION, JUST DEFINITIONALLY. UH, BUT WE [02:05:01] ARE SEEING EXPERIENCES WHEN, UH, VISITORS VISIT THE DESTINATION. THEY'RE SPENDING MORE ON EXPERIENCES, UM, DINING, UM, WHETHER THAT BE, UM, AT A RESTAURANT OR EVEN AT A GROCERY STORE. A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO STAY AT, UM, A SHORT-TERM RENTAL, YOU KNOW, THEY DO. SO, UM, THINGS LIKE, YOU KNOW, GOING TO A SPA GOLF HAS BEEN OBVIOUSLY A PARTICULAR PARTICULARLY LARGE DRIVER. SO, UM, PART OF IT YES, IS GOING TO BE THAT DIFFERENCE IN INFLATION, BUT A LOT OF IT IS THE VISITORS WHO ARE COMING ARE STAYING HERE AND SPENDING MONEY ON EXPERIENCES AND JUST FOLLOW UP TO THAT ARE THE EFFORTS. AND, AND I APPLAUD THE EFFORTS. I MEAN, I THINK IT'S GREAT TO HAVE PEOPLE COMING IN JUST A LARGE PART OF OUR, OUR COUNTY, UH, IS TOURISM DOLLARS, BUT IN, IN THE EFFORTS TO GET PEOPLE HERE, ARE WE ALSO DRIVING UP THE SHEER COST OF LIVING FOR PEOPLE THAT DO RESIDE HERE? , ? I MEAN, IT'S A HARD QUESTION TO ANSWER, UH, OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD, RIGHT, LIKE THAT. UM, YES, OBVIOUSLY, UM, IF PEOPLE ARE COMING AND SPENDING MORE MONEY, UM, YOU KNOW, SUPPLY AND DEMAND SAYS THAT IF PEOPLE WILL PAY MORE THAN PRICES ARE GONNA GO UP. UM, BUT I DON'T HAVE AN EXACT NUMBER THAT I CAN QUANTITATIVELY GIVE YOU RIGHT NOW. AND, AND I GUESS THE, THE FOLLOW UP YOU DON'T HAVE TO ANSWER IS FINE, BUT, YOU KNOW, STRIKING THAT BALANCE. NO, I AGREE. BETWEEN, YOU KNOW, THE PLACE WHERE WE LIVE AND ALSO ATTRACTING PEOPLE TO IT. SO THANKS. I HAD TWO THINGS I'D LIKE TO COMPLIMENT YOU ON YOUR EXPLANATION ABOUT THE IMPACT OF AI. 'CAUSE UM, I THINK WE'RE ALL KIND OF WONDERING IN OUR HEADS WHAT'S GOING ON WITH THAT. BUT THAT WAS EXCELLENT EXPLANATION OF HOW IT'S IMPACTED WHAT, WHAT YOU DO AND WHAT YOU MEASURE. UH, THE OTHER THING HAVE YOU HAVE IN THE CITY OF BEAUFORT AND THE TOWN OF PORT ROYAL, UH, RECENTLY, UH, SHORT TERM RENTALS ARE HAVING AN IMPACT. HOW DO YOU GET GATHER DATA FOR THE SHORT TERM RENTALS? THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION. WE DID SOME RESEARCH PRIOR TO, OR, OR, OR, OR DO YOU, IT SOUNDS LIKE YOU DO GATHER INFORMATION. YEAH, WELL WE DO GATHER INFORMATION. UM, SO FOR, UH, A LOT OF SOUTHERN BEAUFORT COUNTY, UM, IT'S HARD TO GET DIRECT INFORMATION ABOUT SHORT TERM RENTALS 'CAUSE A LOT OF THEM ARE BE, ARE OWNED BY INDIVIDUALS. UM, SO WE DO HAVE ACCESS TO ANOTHER TOOL CALLED AIR DNA THAT ACTUALLY CAN SCRAPE INFORMATION FROM AIRBNB AND VRBO AND DEDUPLICATE INFORMATION TO MAKE SURE THAT, YOU KNOW, WE'RE ONLY COUNTING UNIQUE LISTINGS. UM, AND SO WE'RE ABLE TO GET SOME INFORMATION ON THOSE INDIVIDUALLY OWNED, UH, SHORT TERM RENTALS THAT WAY. AND THAT KIND OF GIVES US SOME INSIGHT. AND THEN, UM, FOR THE HOTELS, A LOT OF THEM USE, UM, UH, BOOKING ENGINES OR BACKEND BOOKING SYSTEMS THAT, THAT WE HAVE ACCESS TO THROUGH A COMPANY CALLED KEYDATA. IT'S AGGREGATE, IT'S NONE OF IT'S INDIVIDUALIZED, BUT THAT KIND OF GIVES US INSIGHT INTO, UH, THE HOTEL PIECE. IT'S A BIT MORE CORPORATE, IT'S EASIER TO KIND OF GET OUR ARMS AROUND THAT. ANY OTHER COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS? SOME QUESTIONS? UM, MM-HMM . THERE WAS A LOCAL PODCAST, UH, ABOUT A MONTH AGO ABOUT THE $3 DESTINATION FEES THAT ARE CHARGED TO EVERYBODY'S, UM, HOTEL BILL. AND I WENT BACK AND LOOKED AT MY OLD HOTEL BILLS FROM LIKE CHARLESTON MOUNT PLEASANT, EVEN BACK WHEN WE WENT AS FAR AS BACK TO OUR ANNUAL CONFERENCE UP IN ISLE PALM. AND THERE'S A $3 DESTINATION FEE. AND I UNDERSTAND FROM THE PODCAST, WE DON'T HAVE TO PAY THAT, BUT IT'S ON THERE. AND WE DO, MOST TOURISTS DON'T EVEN KNOW, BUT THAT BRINGS IN MILLIONS OF DOLLARS. SO, I MEAN, UM, WHY DO YOU NEED PUBLIC MONEY WHEN YOU GET A LOT OF PRIVATE MONEY? I GUESS THAT'S MY QUESTION. UH, WE, SO THAT'S A LOT OF MONEY. SO I THINK WE NEED TO JUST CLARIFY A LITTLE BIT ON THE, HOW THE FUNDING MECHANISM WORKS. SO RIGHT NOW, JUST IF WE CAN TAKE THE BIGGER PICTURE OF HOW, UM, THE 30% DOLLARS ARE FUNDED, UM, THAT IS FROM A STATE, UM, YOU KNOW, BED TAX THAT IS COLLECTED. AND THEN THERE ARE OTHER PROGRAMS THAT HOTELIERS CAN PARTICIPATE IN, UM, THAT ALLOW FOR THE DESTINATION FEE TO HELP OFFSET SOME OF THEIR EFFORTS AND MARKETING COSTS AS WELL. UM, AND THOSE CAN BE SHARED COOPERATIVE PROGRAMS THAT ARE THERE. SO AGAIN, THERE'S NO COMMUNITY, UM, OR LOCAL FEE THAT'S CHARGED. BUT HOWEVER, THE, THE VISITOR DOES INCUR THE COST FROM A TAX THAT IS, THAT IS CHARGED AT, AT THE STATE LEVEL. AND THERE CAN BE AN EXTRA, UM, THERE ADDITIONAL DESTINATION FEE CHARGED. AND THAT IS USED WIDELY, NOT JUST IN SOUTH CAROLINA, BUT ACROSS, UM, ALL EFFORTS FROM A TOURISM INDUSTRY TO HELP OFFSET THOSE COSTS. OKAY. I'M ALREADY CONFUSED. . YEAH. OKAY. SO, UH, I GO INTO A HOTEL AND THEY CHARGE US $3 A NIGHT FOR THE DESTINATION FEE. WHERE DOES THAT MONEY GO? IT GOES TO THE STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA, I BELIEVE IT'S COLLECTED. IT'S COLLECTED OR THE CHAMBER. THE CHAMBER RECEIVES PROGRAMMING FOR LIKE, WE HAVE OFFSET THE COST, NOT JUST OUR CHAMBER. UM, BUT, UM, ENTITIES FROM A DMO PERSPECTIVE ARE ALLOWED TO PARTICIPATE IN THOSE STATE [02:10:01] FUNDS. THE COOPERATIVE DOLLARS. SO IT GOES TO THE STATE, IT DOESN'T GO TO A LOCAL CHAMBER. THEY RECEIVE A PERCENTAGE OF IT TO DO PARTICIPATING PROGRAMS. DO YOU KNOW WHAT THE PERCENTAGE IS? I DON'T OFFHAND. I IF YOU BREAK THAT PERCENT, YOU DON'T, YOU DON'T KNOW. I DON'T HAVE THAT NUMBER OFFHAND. BUT THEN THE STATE, WHAT DO THEY DO WITH IT? THE STATE ALLOCATES? WELL, WE CAN BREAK DOWN THE, THE NUMBERS FOR YOU AND I'M HAPPY TO TAKE THAT OFFLINE 'CAUSE I WANNA MAKE SURE I'M GETTING MY PERCENTAGES CORRECT FOR YOU. YEAH, I DON'T REALLY CARE. YEAH, I'M JUST WANT, I'M JUST CURIOUS, WHY WOULD THE STATE GET IT IF IT IT CAME FROM LOCAL MONEY. IT'S NOT LOCAL MONEY. IT'S COLLECTED FROM A DESTINATION FEE. SO I THINK THAT'S THE CHANGE. I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE WE'RE USING THE RIGHT TERMINOLOGY. 'CAUSE LOCAL WOULD ASSUME THAT IT'S THE COMMUNITY PAYING. IT'S, THERE'S NO COMMUNITY FEE. IT'S THE VISITOR PAYING THE DESTINATION FEE AS WELL. THAT'S RIGHT. YEAH, YEAH. THE VISITOR IS PAYING THAT VISITOR. SO SOMEONE GOES TO THE STATE AND SOME GOES LOCALLY, THEY'RE, THEY'RE REALLOCATED BACK FOR, UM, DESTINATION DOLLARS OR THE PROGRAMMING THAT IS FUNDED THROUGH THAT. WHERE'S THE COUNTY FOR THAT? THE COUNTY THE COUNTING. WHERE'S THAT? WHERE WE GONNA FIND THAT? YEP. WE CAN, WE CAN GET YOU ALL THOSE DETAILS. I DON'T HAVE ANY OF THAT IN FRONT OF ME BY APOLOGIZE. OKAY. BUT WE CAN GET THAT DETAIL FOR YOU. THAT'D BE GREAT. YEAH. THANK YOU. ANYTHING ELSE? NO, THANK YOU VERY MUCH. YES, THANK YOU. I APPRECIATE IT. I THINK WE ALL GOT A LITTLE BIT OF EDUCATION TODAY ABOUT YEAH, AI TOO. HAPPY, HAPPY TO EXPLAIN ANY MORE TO YOU. THAT'D BE GREAT. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE OPPORTUNITY. APPRECIATE, THANK YOU. OKAY. ANY OTHER BUSINESS FOR THIS PART OF OUR MEETING TODAY? NO. OKAY. AND, UM, MS. BROCK, DO YOU WANNA ANNOUNCE THERE, THERE IS GONNA BE LUNCH PROVIDED IF ANYONE, IT SHOULD BE HERE AT 1145. OKAY. ALRIGHT. ALRIGHT. THIS MEETING IS ADJOURNED. THANK YOU . YOU'RE WATCHING BEAUFORT COUNTY TV. THE COUNTY IS ONE OF THE OLDEST FORMS OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. EARLY SETTLERS FROM ENGLAND BROUGHT THE TRADITION OF COUNTY GOVERNMENT TO AMERICA. TODAY MORE THAN 3000 COUNTY GOVERNMENTS PROVIDE SERVICES THAT AFFECT ALMOST EVERY CITIZEN'S LIFE. SOUTH CAROLINA'S 46 COUNTIES ARE VERY REPRESENTATIVE OF HOW COUNTY GOVERNMENT HAS EVOLVED NATIONALLY. THE COUNTY UNIT IN SOUTH CAROLINA WAS REGARDED AS A LOCAL EXTENSION OF STATE GOVERNMENT, BUT A STATE CONSTITUTIONAL REFORM MOVEMENT IN THE EARLY 1970S LED TO THE SOUTH CAROLINA GENERAL ASSEMBLY, PASSING THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT LAW, ALSO KNOWN AS THE HOME RULE ACT. IN 1975, THE HOME RULE ACT GREATLY EXPANDED COUNTY AUTHORITY AND CHANGED THE NATURE OF COUNTY ORGANIZATION AND ADMINISTRATION TO WHAT WE KNOW TODAY. BEAUFORT COUNTY WENT FROM HAVING A BOARD OF DIRECTORS TO A COUNTY COUNCIL. MEMBERS OF THE 1975 COUNCIL INCLUDED CHAIRMAN ARTHUR HORN, VICE CHAIRMAN, GRADY THAMES, LEROY BROWN, GARY FORDHAM, WILLIAM GRANT, HARRIET KEISLING, DAVID JONES, BILL MCBRIDE, AND BOOKER WASHINGTON. AS THE NEW COUNCIL SOUGHT TO DISTINGUISH ITSELF, COUNCIL MEMBERS DESIRED AN OFFICIAL SYMBOL THAT WOULD REPRESENT THE JURISDICTION'S IDENTITY AND UNIQUE CHARACTER COUNCIL APPOINTED AN AD HOC COMMITTEE TO UNDERTAKE THE TASK AND CARRY OUT A CONTEST FOR THE BEST COUNTY SEAL DESIGN. HARRIET KLIN WAS A MEMBER OF COUNTY COUNCIL, AND IT WAS HER IDEA BECAUSE WE DIDN'T HAVE ANYTHING THAT COULD SIGNIFICANTLY IDENTIFY OUR BEAUTIFUL BEAUFORT COUNTY. WE MET THEN UP AT, UH, I THINK IT WAS A CAROLINA BANK AND SOME YEARS AGO BACK THERE ON WEST STREET. AND THEN WE PUT 'EM IN PILES. YOU KNOW, LIKE, GOOD, BAD MAYBE UNTIL WE FINALLY GOT IT DOWN TO THE ONE THAT WE NOW USE. COUNTY COUNCIL APPROVED THE SEAL COMMITTEE'S RECOMMENDATION, WHICH REFLECTED THE COUNTY'S HISTORY, TRADITIONS, [02:15:01] AND NATURAL BEAUTY. THE SEAL'S COLORS OF BLUE AND GREEN REPRESENT THE COLORS OF THE COUNTY'S OUTDOOR ENVIRONMENT WITH ITS MANY WATERWAYS, MARSHLANDS, AND MARITIME FORESTS. THE FIVE IMAGES WITHIN THE SEAL DEPICT SOME OF THE COUNTY'S DISTINGUISHING FEATURES. ANCIENT LIVE OAK TREES, THE SEAFOOD INDUSTRY, RICH NATURAL RESOURCES, AND A RARE MARINE ECOLOGY, LOW COUNTRY ARCHITECTURE, AND MILES OF RIVERS, CREEKS, AND INLETS. I WAS REALLY IMPRESSED. I THOUGHT IT ENCOMPASSED WHAT THE, WHAT WE AS A BODY WAS LOOKING FOR A SEAL. IT WOULD, WHEN YOU LOOKED AT IT AND JUST THOUGHT ABOUT IT A LITTLE BIT, IT REALLY COVERS THE ASPECTS OF BEAUFORT COUNTY. SO HE DID A GOOD JOB OF BRINGING TOGETHER THE THINGS THAT WE, UH, WHOLE, SO DEAR AND WHAT WE REALLY LIKE ABOUT BEAUFORT COUNTY. COUNCILMAN BILL MCBRIDE WAS AN OFFICE WHEN THE CONTEST WAS HELD AND WAS PRESENT WHEN THE COMMITTEE REVEALED THE WINNING DESIGN. I THINK COUNCIL WAS ECSTATIC ABOUT IT. UH, WE THOUGHT THAT THE, THE STEMS ON THE SEAL REPRESENTED, UM, ASPECTS OF LIFE IN MUTT COUNTY. THERE IS A SLIGHT CHANGE IN THE ORIGINAL ON DRAFT THAT WAS PRESENTED TO US WHERE YOU HAVE THE SHRIMP BOAT TODAY. INITIALLY, THAT WAS A PLEASURE CRAFT, A SAILBOAT YACHT TYPE BOAT. AND, UH, IT WAS CHANGED BY COUNTY COUNCIL BECAUSE WE FELT THAT THE SHRIMP BOAT WAS A BETTER REPRESENTATION, UM, OF A MORE COMPREHENSIVE, UH, ASPECT OF BEAUFORD COUNTY LIFE BECAUSE YOU HAD OTHER THINGS ON THE SEAL THAT REPRESENT THE PLEASURE AND RECREATION, THE FISHING AND THE BEACH. SO THEY THOUGHT THE SHRIMP BOAT, WHICH WAS A VERY IMPORTANT PART OF BEAUFORD COUNTY CULTURE, SHRIMPING, ESPECIALLY AT THAT TIME, WOULD BE REFLECTED ON THE SALE. THE WINNER OF THE CONTEST WAS AN ARTIST FROM HILTON HEAD ISLAND, THE LATE LEE PAYNE, WHOSE DESIGN WAS SELECTED FROM MORE THAN 126 CENTURIES SUBMITTED FROM AS FAR AWAY AS INDIANA AND TENNESSEE. HE WAS AWARDED $250 FOR HIS DESIGN. BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY, HE CAPTURED THE LEGACY OF OUTDOOR BEAUTY, CULTURE, AND HISTORY THAT HELPED TO DEFINE IMPORTANT ASPECTS OF LIFE IN BEAUFORT COUNTY. TO SEE MORE BEAUFORT COUNTY MOMENTS GO TO THE BEAUFORT 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.