Mayor's Message - April 2024

I do love the time of year we are entering – not the pollen – but the temperatures and longer daylight are always welcome additions.
Lot of projects are going on as you see when you make your way around the island. Some are obvious by sight, but a few are more behind the scenes. A couple to highlight:

•Beach Traffic Planning Session – for the 3rd year we met to prepare for the upcoming busy season. These meetings include mayors and Police Chiefs from IOP, Sullivans, Folly Beach and Mount Pleasant and representatives from SCDOT, Charleston County Parks, Charleston County Council, ABC News 4 and Explore Charleston. These meetings are a significant time investment from our surrounding communities and partners and allow for great collaboration efforts by many entities that care about beach traffic. IOP benefits through improved traffic flow on the islands and surrounding communities during our busiest times through signage, staffing, social media campaigns and other initiatives.

•New Parking Manager – IOP recently partnered with PCI Municipal Services to manage the city’s parking plan. There are no changes to parking fees, stickers,
passes or permits for residents or visitors at this time
Traditionally, the management of the city’s parking plan was handled by the police department. This partnership with PCI will allow the police department’s staff to focus more attention on priority calls for service, have higher visibility on the beach and improve the response time for service calls.

•IOP Website – I hope you were able to participate in the recent survey about the city’s website and provide some feedback for future enhancements. We will work on implementing your suggestions over the coming months. Thank you for taking the time to provide us with your feedback.
Also, some upcoming community events to make note of:

•March 29th – Coffee with the mayor – 9:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. at the Rec Center. Whether you’re a resident, visitor or business owner on Isle of Palms, if you have a question about how things work or are looking for an update on a project or you would like to get involved as a volunteer with our city or provide some constructive feedback, join me at the Rec Center for coffee.

•March 29th – Easter Egg Hunt – 4:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. at the Rec Center. Easter Bunny, egg hunt, jump castles, face painter, music and concessions.

•April 13th – Community Yard Sale – 8:00 a.m. – 12:00 p. m. at the Rec Center. Over 50 vendors will be selling used and like new products.

•April 23rd – Shred Day – 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. at Municipal Parking Lot B. There is a limit of 2 12” x 12” x12” boxes per person. No hazardous waste will be collected during the shredding event.

•April 26th – Coffee with the mayor – 9:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. at the marina.

•May 4th – Isle of Paws Music Fest – 11:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. at the Rec Center. Live music performances from local artists, pet-related vendors and services, food trucks and concessions and dog contest. Bring your lawn chair and four-legged friend for a fund day in the park. No dog, no problem – come out and enjoy live music in the park.

Updated and additional information can be found at iop.net.

Thank you for the opportunity to serve! See you around the island.

Phillip Pounds, Mayor IOP
843-252-5359
ppounds@iop.net