Mayor's Welcome
Above and beyond the successful execution of the City’s daily responsibilities in General Government; the Police Department; the Fire Department; Recreation; Building, Planning and Zoning; and Public Works, the City has completed major capital improvement projects to include the Recreation Center expansion and the Front Beach enhancement, and, more recently, the construction of Fire Station 2 and the Beach Restoration Project.
To visit the City’s newly constructed Fire Station 2, travel toward the Isle of Palms Marina on 41st Avenue. The big, red apparatus bay doors on the building are the give-away. Fire Station 2 won a Silver Award for design from Fire Chief magazine, and one of the criteria for the award was the cost per square foot, meaning the City was evaluated on providing the maximum resources for the minimum cost. The building is also designed with a 5-foot FEMA storm surge elevation.
When the island faced an acute erosion crisis on its northeast end, which threatened public safety and structures, I am proud to say that City Council and staff responded diligently and spearheaded the efforts that solved the problem. The City coordinated cooperative efforts between affected parties, secured permits for beach renourishment from regulatory agencies, created a web page to communicate about the project, won $900,000 in funding from Charleston County and $670,000 in grant funding from the state and oversaw construction during the project, which was permitted to place 885,000 cubic yards of sand on the beach from offshore sources. The total project cost was approximately $10 million. The City continues to execute three years worth of post-project monitoring, as required, to carefully observe the state of the beach. Of paramount importance during this project was the protection of our most famous annual visitors: loggerhead sea turtles.
With an eye toward improving and protecting the island well into the future, the City is in the midst of two additional capital improvement projects, both of which should be completed in 2009. First is the replacement of the marina bulkhead, which is the retaining wall that separates the land from the water at the City’s five-acre marina site. After extensive study and evaluation, City Council determined that the best course of action to ensure the safety and functionality of the marina site was to install a new bulkhead over the existing bulkhead. The City has been grateful for the cooperation of its residents, visitors and marina tenants during the construction process.
The second major capital project currently under construction is the new Public Safety Building at the corner of J.C. Long Boulevard and Pavilion Drive. The building has been carefully designed to accommodate both the Police Department and the portion of the Fire Department that services the south end of the island for decades into the future. The goal for the building was to anticipate the needs of future generations and construct a facility that will provide the necessary services to the island’s tens of thousands of residents and visitors for the foreseeable future. When the building is complete, please come visit!
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 tax payers. Standard and Poor’s recently upgraded the City’s bond rating to “AA,” which is a significant achievement for the City particularly in the current challenging economic climate. It evidence of the strength of our island economy and the continued wise use of the City’s assets. I want to thank my fellow members of City Council, the City Administrator and her staff for good fiscal stewardship of City tax dollars.
Of course residents and visitors will benefit immensely from these City projects, but the island also offers innumerable natural amenities for all to enjoy and protect. Our beaches have been awarded the Blue Wave Clean Beach award consecutively since 2002. The Intracoastal Waterway and adjacent marshlands offer a unique marine experience. Check the City Calendar and Recreation Department for information on the many events and festivals that occur on the island. Most of all, come visit and enjoy our piece of paradise.