Beaufort Farmer's Market

2-6 Wednesdays

Pigeon Point Park

I hope you and yours had happy and safe Fourth of July holiday weekend. 

Between moving from my home on Ribaut Road last week and not getting reconnected to the internet, and taking a long weekend for the holiday, I did not get a newsletter out on Thursday.  I am sure you enjoyed the break.

City Council has a lot on our plate during the coming weeks. While I have not yet consulted with my colleagues on council, these are my thoughts about what is ahead of us.

We are likely to have a number of work-sessions and council meetings to consider recommendations from the Parking Task Force.

As you may have heard one downtown merchant collected in excess of $1,200 in tickets during the two hour free parking experiment and numerous employees successfully gamed the system.  This is to say nothing of the $60,000 in lost revenue dedicated to improving downtown. And most importantly there was no measurable change in sales downtown during the experiment.

Accordingly, paid parking went back into effect on July 1st though the task force made several recommendations that are under consideration by City Council. Some are short term and others are more likely in the future.

I believe the first order of business will be to establish a two hour time limit for Bay Street Parking at $1.00 per hour, with the current $10 fine and more aggressive management including the use of the boot for repeat offenders who do not pay fines as required.  Two hour limits are the industry standard and should be appropriate for Beaufort.  Those who want to stay downtown to shop and dine can park off Bay Street where there are meters which offer longer stays.

I believe we will consider adjusting hours of parking management so that early morning shoppers will not pay until 11 am and parking management will run until 7 pm.

We will be meeting with the larger downtown employers from whom some Task Force members were led to believe they would be willing to split the cost of parking for their employees in a designated lot away from Bay Street.  If we confirm their willingness, we will determine a designated employee parking lot with a reduced fee and,  if necessary, a shuttle that will drive them to the lot to ensure their safety late at night.

We asked staff to issue an RFP for a parking structure expert to explore sites,  fee structures and the overall financial viability to be determined. I believe at this point, this is a long shot due to financial constraints but am anxious to explore and understand options.

We will also explore creating additional parking spaces at the marina parking lot and possibly another downtown lot. 

Stay tuned for work sessions and council meetings where we will be discussing the recommendations and taking action.

Thanks again to the many who worked on the Parking Task Force.  You produced meaningful results and recommended some changes I think are in the works.

On a final note, I would like your opinion about the Capital Sales Tax that County Council is considering for the 2016 election.  Though it never made it to the ballot, because the Council thought proposals from the Commission they appointed were too ambitious, the City requested funding to expand the Henry C. Chambers Waterfront Park westward with more open space and to build a parking structure to absorb lost spaces from the marina and to create additional parking spaces for employers, employees and customers.  I am disposed to try this route again, but am interested in your thoughts before City Council makes any decisions.

Which Elected Officials do you most Trust?

When I first went to work on Capital Hill in Washington I read and was fascinated by a study released by the Senate Government Operations Committee chaired by Senator Edmund muskie from Maine. The essence of the report indicated that the closer to the people public servants serve, the more trusted they were.  In other words citizens had more trust in their local city council than they did in their state legislature and the US Congress.  I have been fascinated by this subject for about thirty years and attribute its findings to my understanding why I love being Mayor more than having served in the SC House or Representatives or as an aid on Capitol Hill in Washington.

"Poll: Americans Look Locally to Solve Problems"

Extracted from Efficient Gov Web Site, March 12, 2015 

 As partisan gridlock plagues Washington, Americans are increasingly looking to state and local institutions for innovative approaches to solving the country's most pressing challenges, according to poll results released today by The Allstate Corporation (NYSE: ALL) and National Journal. The 22nd quarterly Allstate/National Journal Heartland Monitor Poll explores Americans' experiences and attitudes toward their local communities in comparison to the rest of the country. The poll is part of The Next Economy series, a seven-year partnership between Allstate and Atlantic Media, of which National Journal is a part. 

 The survey reveals an American public that is confident about their own local ingenuity, with 69 percent of Americans believing that new ideas and solutions to the country's challenges are more likely to come from state and local institutions compared to just 22 percent who believe that they will come from national institutions. A majority of Americans (64 percent) think more headway is being made at the state and local level compared to the national level (26 percent). Two-in-three Americans (66 percent) believe that state and local institutions are more equipped to improve the way we educate people. 

 More than six-in-ten Americans (63 percent) also believe that state and local institutions are better at finding new ways to provide opportunities for the disadvantaged and creating new jobs than national institutions. National institutions came out on top only with "finding new ways to save energy and improve the environment" with 51 percent of respondents saying that national entities will do a better job compared to 43 percent at the state and local level, according to poll results. 

 "These results resonate with what we have found while out reporting for The Next Economy-Americans are taking the country's problems into their own hands and solving them through innovation at the local level," said Atlantic Media Editorial Director Ron Brownstein. "While faith has clearly eroded in national institutions and Americans remain uncertain about the direction of the country overall, the public displays much more confidence in the direction of their local community, and the capacity of local institutions to address the major challenges facing the nation." "These poll results confirm what we've always known at Allstate, which is that great ideas start at the local level," said Tom Clarkson, president, West Territory, Allstate Personal Lines. "As a network of small businesses, we see the impact of creative, local problem solving first-hand. Communities are getting stronger and coming back, due to the energy of local individuals, businesses, and institutions." 

 The poll found that Americans believe local institutions provide the best opportunities for revitalizing local economies. Specifically, 89 percent of respondents believe that investments by local businesses would be most beneficial to address challenges facing their local area. And, as for job growth, 62 percent said they see local businesses as more likely than national businesses, government, or non-profit groups to provide the best job opportunities. Americans are also ready to move beyond "tried and tested" approaches to local challenges and are instead looking for more innovative approaches. 

 By a wide margin, 71 percent say they prefer "trying new ideas and solutions, even if the outcomes may be uncertain" compared to 20 percent who prefer "relying on tried and tested ideas and solutions, even if it means a lack of new thinking." 

Respondents also believe that they have greater ability today to drive this change. More than half (53 percent) say that, compared to 10 years ago, their personal resources like time and money allow them to make an impact in their local area. However, despite these resources, a plurality of Americans (44 percent) believe that average people have less influence on their local areas than 10 years ago. Survey Methodology Since April 2009, the Allstate/National Journal Heartland Monitor Polls have explored Americans' personal financial experiences, their views on the financial system, and their opinion of how the federal government's budget situation impacts their personal finances. 

 The most recent Allstate/National Journal Heartland Monitor national poll was conducted by FTI Consulting, from February 18-22, 2015, among N=1,000 American adults age 18+, with 500 reached via landline and 500 reached via cell phone. The Denver polling was conducted February 22-25, 2015. The margin of error for survey is plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.

Seismic Testing for Oil and Gas: Another Chapter

Several months ago, the City of Beaufort and Towns of Port Royal and Hilton Head Island passed Resolutions in opposition to seismic testing and drilling for oil and gas along the South Atlantic Coast. We are among sixty municipalities from NC to Florida who have passed resolutions.

Since then the staff at the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control has issued at least three "permits" to big oil telling them that seismic testing is consistent with SC law. 

 The South Carolina Environmental Law Project (SCELP), state environmental organizations and several cities, of which Beaufort is one, wrote to the DHEC Board requesting board review of permits.  The first request was turned down and it appears the board will not consider our request and leave the matter to staff.

 Subsequently,  SCELP has decided to file petitions in the administrative courts to let the court decide if the DHEC board is obligated to hear us and make the otherwise staff driven determination. The petitions will be delivered next week and we will wait to see what the administrative Judge says.

 City Council has unanimously endorsed this action.  No city funds are being expended on this initiative.  SCELP is a 501-c-3 tax exempt organization which is funding the legal expenses through private contributions.

Climate change is a controversial issue and different people take different sides often based on partisan lines and on emotion.  I believe the following article is helpful to those who want to better understand the issue.

A professional's View about Seismic Testing