Mayor's Welcome

I am pleased and proud to welcome you to the City's newly enhanced and updated website. It is my hope residents and visitors will find this user-friendly website an informative and useful tool in making the most of all the wonderful qualities the island has to offer. Our website committee has worked hard to provide residents and interested visitors an interactive website with as much information as possible on all aspects of the City's business and services.

The City has garnered many noteworthy accomplishments and achievements in recent years. We celebrated the completion of a new Recreation Center for our award winning Recreation Department and our Front Beach Enhancement Project, which was nominated for a design award.

While the City is understandably proud of these accomplishments, we must continue to look toward the many challenges and opportunities before the City as we move forward. The City must replace both of our fire stations in the near future. Council has chosen to tackle this capital improvement reality and embrace the opportunity to comprehensively address our capital improvement needs, into our children and grandchildren's futures. To that end, we retained Cole + Russell Architects, a nationally recognized, award-winning firm specializing in municipal long-range planning and design, to conduct a comprehensive needs assessment analysis. Council is currently working toward a final decision regarding the replacement of Fire Station 1. Meanwhile, the City moves forward with the replacement of Fire Station 2. The City is also working on a marina bulkhead replacement project, currently in design phase. Upon completion of the bulkhead replacement project, the City plans to move forward with a comprehensive marina enhancement project.

Although these necessary and worthwhile capital improvement projects will require a significant amount of City resources, Council and staff continue to make every effort to keep operating costs down for the benefit of City taxpayers. I am pleased to announce that Moody's Investor Services has awarded the City an A1 financial rating, a significant achievement that underscores the strength of our island economy and serves as a testament to the wise use of City assets. I want to thank fellow members of City Council, the City Administrator and her staff for good fiscal stewardship of City tax dollars.

The Isle of Palms is proud to be a consecutive Blue Wave Clean Beach award recipient since 2002, the only Blue Wave beach in South Carolina. While our beautiful beaches, marshes and water sports opportunities are unsurpassed, there are many other island festivals and attractions throughout the year to delight visitors and residents alike. Please visit the Recreation Department web page or City calendar often to discover all that our island has to offer. It is often said to me that the Isle of Palms, with its small town neighborhood feel, first quality City service and natural charms, is a small piece of paradise. I invite you to come and enjoy our piece of paradise!