Newsletter March 2010
With the installation of the new Town Council members, ominous changes are taking place on Edisto Beach. The first of these is the complete overhaul of the Bell Property Committee including the removal of the very effective chairperson, Mrs. Cheryl Van Metre. In the past this committee has made good, if not painfully slow, progress on development of the property. These things have been accomplished:
Several iterations of the master plan have been submitted to public hearings. The old residence has been removed. The retail seafood shop has been surveyed and found that it could not be renovated without bringing it up to current building code. Since that would mean putting it up on pilings, it was torn down. Likewise the old kitchen and the pump
house were demolished. DHEC has surveyed the contaminated areas and a remedy approved, requiring simply covering them with soil. The old garage has been renovated and a covered slab added to increase the space under cover. A committee to collect historic photographs and make a display is well along in its task. The pier is now repaired and once the lot has been graded for drainage it will be ready for use. Land disturbance permits are in the works for grading and installation of a seawall along the waterline. A boardwalk is planned for the shoreline.
All this means that Phase 1 is nearing completion. Cheryl VanMetre, Chairman of the Committee, has done a magnificent job at scheduling and pushing the development along.
The newly constituted Town Council has radically changed the makeup of the Committee
by reducing the number of members from seven to five eliminating Cheryl, Archie Johnston and Charlie Boozer, Sr. and adding two new members, Bob Foster and Bill Houston.. Mayor Lyons, Drew Weeks and Ray Archibald were retained.
The funding for the Park was approved in a bond referendum in 2006 with $700,000 earmarked for development. Of that amount, $267,610.42 has been spent and $432,386.58 remains for the completion of the master plan. That would include landscaping, a covered pavilion, a stage and rest rooms along with the seawall and boardwalk. The bids for construction are coming in lower than expected due to the slow economy and the money is being spent locally, benefiting the local contractors. This is the ideal time to spend this money.
However, if the influence of the new Town Council members is a reinforcement of the attitude of the two holdover Council members, the Park development will be drawn out. At the end of the last Council meeting I pointed out the situation described in the preceding paragraph and pointedly asked the Council members if they would vigorously support progress on the park. Only Burley Lyons stated emphatically that he would. The other four remained silent. Ominous.
The Park is being funded by a 1 mill town tax. This amounts to $20.00 per year on a $500,000 property for a resident and $30.00 for a non-resident. We have about 2,400 properties on the Beach sharing the cost with the non-residents paying the lions share.
I have never yet lived in a town yet that did not have a public park and this one will be a magnificent addition to Edisto Beach as it gives access to the creek and provides an outdoor gathering place.
If you agree that the Park is desirable and want to see it pursued vigorously, write to the Council members and insist on progress at all deliberate speed. They are: Susan Hornsby, Pete Anderson, Babe Hutto, Burley Lyons and Tom Mann. You can use the Town Hall address for all: Edisto Beach Town Hall, 2414 Murray St. Edisto Beach, SC 29438.
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The following is an ad dealing with Bill H4585 now in the SC Senate. If we can’t get this bill stopped by persuasion, NoHomeTax will run this ad in all major SC papers.
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TAX WARNING to HOMEOWNERS
A Movement is Afoot to Tamper with your Property Tax!
In 2007, Act 388 essentially cut the property taxes by half on your residence.
House bill 4585, if passed, will allow the TRAC commission (Tax Realignment Commission) to examine every tax statute and provision of the constitution to look for additional tax money. This includes Act 388 and the constitutional 15% cap on periodic reassessments. The law defining its mission specifically prohibited the TRAC commission from reconsidering the property tax exemption of school operating expense for owner occupied homes created by Act 388.
Your Property Tax Reduction is in Jeopardy!
H4585 was fast tracked through the House in only 9 days and is now in the Senate! They’re definitely up to something and we’re informed it is to change Act 388. There are 2 million homeowners in this state and all are affected by H4585.
Call, write, fax or email your Senator to stop H4585!
The address of all senators is: c/o Gressette Bldg., P.O. Box 142, Columbia, SC 29202-0142. The fax number for all Senators is: 803-212-6299.
The Counties and Municipalities all have lobbyists pleading their case in the Legislature for more of our money.
The Homeowner Has No Advocate Except NoHomeTax.org.
Support this organization by sending a donation to NoHomeTax.org,
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Send your donation to EBPOA Lobbyist Fund: We have a seat on the NoHomeTax board and that way EBPOA will have more clout with that organization.
David Cannon, President EBPOA
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