[00:10:41]
[00:10:42]
JOSH,[00:10:43]
COME JOIN US,DAN, COME ON, GIVE 'EM COMPANY.
WE DON'T WANT ANY EMPTY SEATS UP HERE.
I HOPE EVERYONE HAD A, A WONDERFUL THANKSGIVING WEEKEND.
UM, WE ARE GONNA GET GOING AS WE TYPICALLY DO RIGHT AWAY.
[I. CALL TO ORDER]
ON THE BOARD UP HERE.IF YOUR GREEN LIGHT'S NOT ON, IF YOU, WHEN YOU TALK, UH, MAKE SURE THAT GREEN LIGHT'S ON.
UM, WE'RE GONNA START TODAY WITH AN UPDATE FROM THE BUFORT, JASPER HOUSING TRUST AND CHAIR, WENDY ZARA.
[1. Update from Beaufort Jasper Housing Trust. Board Chair Wendy Zara.]
THANK YOU FOR JOINING US.THANK YOU FOR INVITING US HERE
[II. OLD BUSINESS]
AS THE VOLUNTEER CHAIRMAN OF THE BEAUFORT JASPER HOUSING TRUST, WHICH HAS, AS YOU KNOW, A VOLUNTEER BOARD OF EIGHT MEMBERS.I WANNA THANK YOU FOR DOING THE INCREDIBLY HARD WORK OF CREATING A REGIONAL APPROACH TO ADDRESSING AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND GETTING BUY-IN FROM EIGHT DIFFERENT JURISDICTIONS, WHICH I THINK YOU ALL KNOW IS PRETTY REMARKABLE.
ALSO, THANK YOU FOR ARRANGING ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT WITH COMMUNITY WORKS IN GREENVILLE, AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, FOR PROVIDING US A PROVISION IN THE IGA FOR US TO FORM A 5 0 1 C3.
ALL OF OUR VOLUNTEER BOARD MEMBERS WOULD CLASSIFY THESE FIRST 10 MONTHS AS A LEARNING EXPERIENCE, A PRODUCTIVE EXPERIENCE, AND A CRITICALLY IMPORTANT EXPERIENCE.
IT'S IMPORTANT BECAUSE WE HAVE LEARNED THAT THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING CRISIS IS BIGGER THAN EVER WITH RENTS AND HOME PRICES WAY BEYOND WHAT MANY PEOPLE CAN AFFORD.
AND AS YOU ALL KNOW, EMPLOYERS CAN'T ATTRACT WORKERS OR RETAIN THEM BECAUSE THEY CAN'T AFFORD TO LIVE HERE.
IT IS BEEN PRODUCTIVE BECAUSE COMMUNITY WORKS WAS ABLE TO MANAGE AN RFP FOR US THAT ATTRACTED SEVEN APPLICANTS, WHICH WE HAVE WHITTLED DOWN TO THREE AND WE THINK WILL CREATE 150 TO 200 AFFORDABLE HOUSINGS.
UM, AND COMMUNITY WORKS ALSO IS PARTNERING WITH US ON OUR FIRST LOAN, UH, TO CARRINGTON MANOR, AND IT GIVES US A TWO TO ONE LEVERAGE ON OUR FUNDS.
LASTLY, WE HAVE LEARNED AS A VOLUNTEER BOARD THAT THIS BUSINESS IS COMPLEX WITH SCORES OF PARTNERS AND PLAYERS.
WE HAVE ALSO LEARNED THAT OUR PARTNERSHIP WITH COMMUNITY WORKS DID NOT REALLY WORK WELL FOR EITHER THEM OR US.
THE AGREEMENT THAT YOU ALL ENTERED INTO WITH COMMUNITY WORKS IS ENDING ON DECEMBER 31ST AND OUR 5 0 1 C3 JASPER HOUSING TRUST HAS ENTERED INTO AN AGREEMENT WITH DANA TOTMAN, WHO'S HERE TODAY.
I'LL INTRODUCE HIM IN A MINUTE TO PROVIDE PART-TIME.
INTERIM EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF SERVICES.
WE ARE REALLY EXCITED THAT DANA MOVED TO BEAUFORT FOLLOWING A NATIONALLY RECOGNIZED AND INCREDIBLY PRODUCTIVE CAREER IN AFFORDABLE HOUSING.
UM, AND WE REALLY, REALLY ARE SO EXCITED TO HAVE HIM HERE.
AND I'M GONNA LET DANA TELL YOU MORE ABOUT HIMSELF.
UH, I'M DANA TOTMAN AND I AM THE PART-TIME INTERIM EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE BEAUFORT JASPER HOUSING TRUST.
UM, I'VE COMPLETED THREE HALF WEEKS, SO, UM, HAVEN'T SOLVED THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING CHALLENGE YET, UM, BUT HAVE, UM, SPENT A WHOLE LOT OF TIME OBSERVING, ASSESSING, UH, LISTENING, UM, AND HAVE A FEW THOUGHTS, UH, ALREADY ABOUT WHAT I THINK, UH, IS NEEDED IN THIS AREA, UH, AND HOW WE MAY GO ABOUT IT.
[00:15:01]
UM, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I'VE OBSERVED IS WITHIN THIS, UH, THESE TWO COUNTIES, UM, THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING CHALLENGE ISN'T THE SAME IN EVERY COMMUNITY.UH, SOME COMMUNITIES ARE GROWING VERY RAPIDLY AND QUICKLY, UM, AND NEED PROBABLY MORE AFFORDABLE RENTAL HOUSING.
OTHER MORE RURAL AREAS ARE NOT GROWING AS FAST, HAVE A SUBSTANDARD HOUSING STOCK, AND PROBABLY NEED MORE HOME REPAIRS.
AND SO THERE ARE DIFFERENCES FROM ONE SIDE OF THE REGION TO THE NEXT.
AND THAT'S NOT PARTICULARLY UNUSUAL.
UM, IF YOU TRAVEL THROUGH THE WHOLE STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA, IT WILL LOOK DIFFERENT FROM ONE TOWN TO ONE CITY TO THE NEXT.
AND SO AFFORDABLE HOUSING LOOKS DIFFERENT FROM COMMUNITY TO COMMUNITY.
UH, AND THAT'S TRUE ACROSS THE NATION.
IT'S ABSOLUTELY TRUE ACROSS THE NATION.
BUT WHAT'S CONSISTENT ACROSS THE NATION IS THERE IS AN AFFORDABLE HOUSING CRISIS, AND IT'S GETTING BIGGER.
THAT MISMATCH BETWEEN WHAT PEOPLE CAN AFFORD AND WHAT HOUSING IS COSTING IS GETTING BIGGER AND BIGGER.
AND IT'S CERTAINLY VERY EVIDENT HERE.
UM, YOU KNOW, AS I'VE, UH, KINDA LOOKED AT THIS, YOU KNOW, IT'S ALWAYS COME TO ME THAT'S LIKE, MY GOD, THERE'S SO MANY PLAYERS INVOLVED AND THE MONEY, AND IT'S SO COMPLEX AND IT'S REAL ESTATE AND IT'S ZONING AND IT'S FINANCE.
YOU KNOW, I HAVE LEARNED A LITTLE BIT ALONG THE WAY HERE.
I RETIRED A YEAR AGO FROM A CAREER THAT I LOVED AND AFFORDABLE HOUSING.
AND I WAS THE PRESIDENT, CEO OF A NONPROFIT, UH, IN MAINE WHERE WE SERVED MAINE IN NEW HAMPSHIRE.
UH, AND I WAS THERE FOR 22 YEARS.
AND, UM, WHEN I LEFT, WE HAD 3,200 AFFORDABLE RENTAL HOMES.
WE HAD A, UH, HOME OWNERSHIP CENTER WHERE WE PREPARED PEOPLE TO BUY THEIR HOMES.
WE HAD TWO ASSISTED LIVING, UH, FACILITIES.
WE CREATED AN AFFORDABLE HOUSING COALITION.
UM, AND COLLECTIVELY WE HAD, UH, ASSETS OF ABOUT $320 MILLION AND A ANNUAL BUDGET OF ABOUT 55 MILLION, AND A STAFF OF ABOUT 300 PEOPLE.
I DON'T SHARE THAT WITH YOU TO IMPRESS YOU BY ANY MEANS.
THE POINT IS THAT ORGANIZATION LIKE BEAUFORT, JASPER HOUSING TRUST STARTED SOMEWHERE AT SOME POINT.
AND WHEN I CAME THERE IN THE EARLY DAYS, IT WAS A MUCH DIFFERENT ORGANIZATION.
PRIOR TO THAT, I WAS THE DEPUTY DIRECTOR AND THE ACTING DIRECTOR OF THE MAIN STATE HOUSING AUTHORITY, UH, MAINE'S HOUSING FINANCE AGENCY.
AND PRIOR TO THAT, I RAN A COMMUNITY ACTION AGENCY HELPING PEOPLE LIVING IN POVERTY FOR 10 YEARS.
SO, ALONG THE WAY I'VE REALLY DEVELOPED THIS PASSION FOR, FOR TWO THINGS.
ONE IS AFFORDABLE HOUSING, UH, AND THE OTHER IS FOR NONPROFITS AND MAKING THEM AS HEALTHY AND PRODUCTIVE AS THEY CAN BE.
SO I'M, I'M HERE, UM, AND I'M STILL PHYSICALLY AND MENTALLY ABLE TO DO SOMETHING.
AND SO, UM, SOMEWHAT BY COINCIDENCE, BOTH COMMUNITY WORKS AND MEMBERS OF THE BEAUFORT, JASPER, UM, HOUSING TRUST BOARD ASKED, MIGHT I FILL IN AND LEND A HAND TO HELP GET THIS ORGANIZATION RUNNING? AND I THOUGHT, WELL, THAT'S A PRETTY NICE WAY TO GET TO MEET PEOPLE AND TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS AREA.
AND SO I SAID, YES, UM, FOR AN INTERIM PERIOD.
SO, UM, YOU KNOW, I'M TRYING TO THINK BACK OF, YOU KNOW, HOW HOW DID THE ORGANIZATION THAT I WAS INVOLVED IN, UM, BECOME STRONGER AND MORE EFFECTIVE? AND IT WAS REALLY BY ESTABLISHING RELATIONSHIPS, DEVELOPING STRATEGIES, AND CREATING THE ORGANIZATIONAL CAPACITY BY ROLLING UP OUR SLEEVES, COMMITTED AND PASSIONATE ABOUT THIS AFFORDABLE HOUSING CAUSE.
BECAUSE BOTTOM LINE IS, WE FELT THAT EVERYONE DESERVES, UH, A SAFE, DECENT, AFFORDABLE HOME TO GO TO EACH NIGHT.
SO WHAT HAVE I SEEN IN THE FIRST THREE WEEKS HERE? I'VE, THERE ARE MANY, MANY DIFFERENT PLAYERS INVOLVED IN AFFORDABLE HOUSING WITHIN THESE TWO COUNTIES.
AND HOW TO GET THEM ALL US ALL TO COORDINATE AND MAKE SURE WE'RE NOT DUPLICATING THAT INSTEAD WE'RE FILLING IN THE GAPS AND THAT WORKING AS COOPERATIVELY AS WE POSSIBLY CAN, THAT'S A CHALLENGE.
AND, AND WE NEED TO PAY ATTENTION TO IT.
THERE'S A LOT OF PLAYERS INVOLVED IN AFFORDABLE HOUSING, BUT GETTING THEM ALL SORT OF MOVING IN THE SAME DIRECTION IS A BIT OF A CHORE.
ANOTHER THING I'VE UH, NOTICED HERE, AND IT'S NOT UNIQUE, IS THAT THE RELATIONSHIP
[00:20:01]
BETWEEN SOME OF THE ENTITIES HERE AND THE STATE AND FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, UM, IS LESS THAN PERFECT.THERE'S NO DENYING THE FACT THAT AT THE END OF THE DAY, THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AND THE STATE GOVERNMENT PROVIDE THE VAST MAJORITY OF THE RESOURCES THAT GO TO AFFORDABLE HOUSING.
THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AND THE STATE GOVERNMENT, MUCH OF THE FEDERAL MONIES COME THROUGH THE STATE GOVERNMENT, AND THEN THEY IN TURN FIGURE OUT WHAT THEY'RE GONNA DO WITH IT TO HELP THEIR LOCAL COMMUNITIES.
AND SO IT'S IMPERATIVE THAT WE HAVE AN EFFECTIVE RELATIONSHIP, PARTICULARLY, UM, WITH THE STATE OFFICIALS AND PARTICULARLY THE SOUTH CAROLINA, UM, HOUSING TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY KNOW THIS REGION OF THE STATE EXISTS.
AND TO BE PERFECTLY FRANK, UM, I'M NOT CONVINCED THAT WE ARE GETTING OUR FAIR SHARE OF FINANCES HERE.
UM, AND SO I THINK WE NEED, WE ALL NEED TO COLLECTIVELY WORK TOGETHER TO MAKE SURE THAT THOSE RESOURCES ARE COMING OUR WAY.
AGAIN, I'M ONLY THREE WEEKS IN, BUT AS I LOOK AT OUR ORGANIZATION, I SORT OF BREAK THE WORK THAT I NEED TO BE INVOLVED IN DOWN INTO TWO, TWO BUCKETS.
UM, ONE IS WE REALLY NEED TO, UM, UH, BUILD UP OUR ORGANIZATIONAL CAPACITY.
UM, THERE ARE EIGHT INCREDIBLY HARD WORK, AND I CAN'T BEGIN TO TELL YOU THE AMOUNT OF HOURS AND EFFORTS THAT THEY'RE PUTTING IN AS VOLUNTEERS, EIGHT PEOPLE, UM, INTO THIS EFFORT.
UM, WE MIGHT NEED MORE THAN EIGHT AND WE MIGHT NEED SOME FOLKS WITH DIFFERENT SKILLS, BE IT LEGAL SKILLS OR BANKING SKILLS, OR COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE SKILLS, WHICH ARE NOT REPRESENTED ON THE BOARD.
SO WE MAY HAVE TO STRENGTHEN OUR BOARD.
CLEARLY WE'VE GOTTA STRENGTHEN OUR STAFF.
THEN WE NEED TO START LOOKING AT JUST THE BASIC THINGS OF, YOU KNOW, DO WE HAVE OUR DATA SYSTEMS? DO WE HAVE OUR ACCOUNTING SYSTEMS? DO WE HAVE OUR SOFTWARE SYSTEMS? YOU KNOW, DO WE HAVE RUNNING WATER IN AN OFFICE? DO WE HAVE SIGNS? DO WE HAVE A WEBSITE? IT'S ALL THOSE THINGS THAT NEED TO GO TO BUILD UP AN ORGANIZATION.
AND SO THAT ENTIRE AREA OF BUILDING OUR ORGANIZATIONAL CAPACITY IS ONE HALF OF THE WORK THAT I'M FOCUSED IN HERE INITIALLY, BECAUSE WITHOUT IT, WE'RE NOT GONNA GO ANYWHERE OR BE EFFECTIVE OR TO DO WHAT YOU CREATED US TO DO.
THE SECOND, UM, PIECE THAT IS INCREDIBLY, UH, IMPORTANT AND MORE OBVIOUS IS THE PROGRAMMATIC REACH.
AND THAT IS HOW ARE WE INVESTING OUR MONEY? HOW ARE WE LEVERAGING OUR MONEY? ARE WE SPENDING OUR MONEY ON AFFORDABLE RENTAL UNITS? ARE WE SPENDING IT ON HOME OWNERSHIP? ARE WE SPENDING IT ON HOME REPAIR? UH, WHO ARE WE PARTNERING WITH? IS IT FOR-PROFITS, NON-PROFITS? ARE WE LOANING, ARE WE GRANTING? HOW ARE WE LEVERAGING OUR MONEY TO GET THE BIGGEST BANG FOR THE DOLLARS THAT YOU INVESTED IN US? UM, SO THAT ENTIRE PROGRAMMATIC REACH AND TO, UH, AGAIN, A WHOLE LOT OF LISTENING TO HEAR FROM YOU OF WHAT YOU WANT, UM, HAS TO GO ON BECAUSE WE DON'T WANT TO BE JUST SPENDING MONEY, UM, WITHOUT A SOLID STRATEGY AND INVESTING IN THE WRONG THINGS.
'CAUSE WE START MAKING MISTAKES OUT OF THE GATE AND IT'S VERY HARD TO RECOVER.
SO WE WANNA BE, UM, STRATEGIC IN HOW WE SPEND THE MONIES THAT YOU'VE INVESTED, UM, AS WELL AS THE MONEY THAT, UM, UH, SENATOR DAVIS WAS ABLE TO SECURE FOR OUR ORGANIZATION, $3 MILLION.
SO IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE VERY STRATEGICALLY USE THAT MONEY TO HAVE THE BIGGEST BANG FOR THE BUCK.
UM, ANOTHER THING I JUST WANT TO KIND OF MENTION THAT'S, UH, IMPORTANT IS YOU'LL HEAR US TALK ABOUT NUMBERS A LOT.
OFTENTIMES IN THIS WORK, WE DON'T COUNT WHAT WE'RE DOING.
AND, AND I LEARNED SOMEWHERE ALONG THE LINE IN OF COURSE, THAT IF YOU DON'T COUNT THINGS, YOU DON'T REALLY DO THINGS.
YOU CAN'T REALLY SAY THAT YOU'VE DONE ANYTHING.
SO WE'RE GOING TO COME TO YOU AND SAY, WE CREATED X NUMBER OF AFFORDABLE RENTAL HOMES.
WE HELPED X NUMBER OF PEOPLE BUY THEIR FIRST HOME.
WE WERE ABLE TO MAKE IMPROVEMENTS TO X NUMBER OF HOMES.
WE'VE GOTTA MEASURE WHAT WE DO, AND WE'VE GOTTA SET THOSE AS TARGETS SO AT THE END OF THE YEAR, WE CAN SAY, DID WE GET IT DONE OR NOT? AND Y SO THAT'S THE TYPE OF WORK THAT WE'VE GOT TO, UM, EMBARK ON.
AND IN FACT, IN ADDITION TO SENDING, SETTING THOSE NUMERICAL TARGETS, I WOULD SHARE WITH YOU THAT THERE ARE SOME AROUND THE COUNTRY THAT ARE GOING A STEP FURTHER AND EVEN SAYING, WELL, SO WHAT, SO YOU DID CREATE, UH, X NUMBER OF AFFORDABLE RENTAL HOMES, OR Y NUMBER OF, OF HOME BUYERS.
[00:25:01]
HOW DID THAT CHANGE THEIR LIVES? DID THEIR EARNINGS GO UP BECAUSE THEY WERE ABLE TO SPEND LESS MONEY ON TRAVEL BECAUSE THEY'RE CLOSER TO THEIR JOB? DID THEIR KIDS DO BETTER IN SCHOOL AND GET BETTER GRADES? DID THEIR HEALTH GET BETTER BECAUSE THEY WERE CLOSER TO HEALTHCARE? HOW DID THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING CHANGE PEOPLE'S LIVES? I DON'T THINK WE'RE THERE BY ANY MEANS TO BE ABLE TO MEASURE THAT, BUT THAT IS AN ASPIRATION THAT IS REALLY AT THE END OF THE DAY, THAT WE'RE TRYING TO IMPROVE LIVES BY CREATING AFFORDABLE HOUSING.SO, UM, YOU KNOW, I'D LIKE TO SAY THAT, UM, IT'S ALL GONNA COME TOGETHER SMOOTHLY AND, AND, UH, UH, AND EASILY.
BUT I AM, UM, ENJOYING MY TIME HERE.
I'M, UH, INCREDIBLY INDEBTED TO THE EIGHT WENDY AND THE THE OTHER SEVEN MEMBERS OF THIS BOARD.
I KNOW YOU ALL INVESTED AND CREATED THIS ORGANIZATION WITH A VISION IN MIND.
UM, AND IT'S INCUMBENT UPON US TO FULFILL THAT VISION, UM, TO MAKE SURE THAT, UM, WE'RE SERVING WHAT YOU WANTED US TO DO AS EFFECTIVELY AND POSITIVELY AS POSSIBLE.
UM, JUST A COUPLE OF NOTES FOR EVERYBODY WHO'S IN THE AUDIENCE THERE.
THE AGENDA MEETING DATES FOR NEXT YEAR, AND THE AGENDA TOPICS ARE ON THE TABLE OVER THERE.
AND ALSO ANYONE WHO IS NOT ON THE MAILING LIST FOR SOKO, UM, YOU CAN SIGN IN AND WE'LL MAKE SURE YOU'RE ADDED TO THE MAILING LIST IF YOU'D LIKE TO BE DONE.
SO PLEASE, BEFORE YOU LEAVE, UM, OR IF YOU WANT TO GET THE AGENDA, IT'S UP THERE.
NOW I DIDN'T, I DID WHAT I SHOULD HAVE DONE EARLIER.
UH, ANYONE FROM THE BOARD AND THE BOARD MEMBERS IN THE AUDIENCE ARE, EVEN THOUGH YOU'RE NOT UP HERE, PLEASE, UH, BEFORE WE, UH, GO TO THE AUDIENCE, UH, ANY QUESTIONS, MAYOR, PUSH.
UM, I KNOW WE HAVE OUR OWN BOARD MEMBERS, SO I, I GUESS MY QUESTION'S MORE TOWARD THAT 'CAUSE IT STARTED GOING, HAVE YOU MET WITH EACH OF THE TOWNS AND OUR OWN AFFORDABLE HOUSING COMMITTEES THAT WE HAVE SET UP? BUT, UM, COURTNEY'S OUR REP AND THEN VICKY IS OUR REP.
SO WE GET IT FROM BOTH OF THEM.
HAVE YOU SAT, WHAT HAVE YOU DONE INDIVIDUALLY WITH YOUR BOARD MEMBERS? 'CAUSE I THINK BOTH ARE VERY AWARE OF WHAT INDIVIDUAL NEEDS ARE.
YOU KNOW, WE HAVE JOINT NEEDS, WE ALL KNOW WE NEED IT, BUT THEN EACH TOWN, LIKE YOU SAY, WE'RE JUST DIFFERENT.
AND I DON'T THINK WE'RE ANY DIFFERENT FROM A LOT OF PLACES.
SO THAT'S KIND OF THE QUESTION ON YOUR INTERACTION WITH OUR BOARD MEMBERS.
AND I'VE MET WITH, WELL, ONE, WE HAD A, A, UH, SIX HOUR RETREAT MM-HMM.
AND SO SPENT SIX HOURS WITH THEM, UM, ON THE SECOND WEEK OF MY THREE WEEKS IN.
AND SO SPENT A LOT OF TIME WITH THEM THEN HAVE HAD ONE BOARD MEETING, UM, THAT THEY WERE ALL IN ATTENDANCE.
AND I HAVE MET WITH ABOUT TWO THIRDS OF THEM INDIVIDUALLY FOR AN HOUR OR TWO, UH, EACH, UM, AND PLAN TO, WITH, WITH, WITH THE REST.
AS, AS WELL AS REPRESENTATIVES FROM THE COMMUNITIES.
UM, WE'RE GOING TO HILTON HEAD, UH, FRIDAY, AND WE'RE TRYING TO SET UP, UH, MEETINGS WITH, WITH EVERYBODY, LIKE I SAID AT THE BEGINNING, THERE ARE SO MANY INVOLVED HERE.
I REALLY WANNA FIND OUT, YOU KNOW, WHAT ARE THE THEMES THAT I'M GETTING FROM, FROM THESE VARIOUS, UM, FOLKS AND WHAT THEY HAVE TO SAY TO FOLLOW UP HILTON HEAD, BUT I'M IN BLUFFTON.
ARE YOU WORKING YOUR WAY LIKE HILTON HEAD AROUND? HAVE YOU BEEN IN CONTACT WITH OUR TOWN MANAGERS TO SET UP THOSE MEETINGS? AND WHAT DO YOU SEE IN THOSE MEETINGS WHEN YOU GET OUTTA YOUR BOARD WORLD? UM, I DO HOPE TO MEET WITH ALL OF THE TOWN AND CITY MANAGERS AND COUNTY MANAGERS AND THEIR HOUSING OFFICIALS.
EVERY GOVERNMENT OPERATES A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT.
SOME DELEGATE A LOT TO THEIR, UM, OTHER STAFF, SOME DON'T.
UM, SO IT'S, IT'S TOWN BY TOWN AND COMMUNITY BY COMMUNITY AND, YOU KNOW, IN SOME CASES THE ELECTED OFFICIALS WILL WANNA SIT IN.
IT'S REALLY, IT DOESN'T MATTER TO ME.
UM, EVERYBODY HAS AN OPINION OF WHAT THEIR HOUSING NEEDS ARE.
SO, UM, I'M, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, IN MY, MY 20 HOURS A WEEK, UM, I CERTAINLY LOOK FORWARD TO GETTING AROUND TO, TO MEETING ALL THE FOLKS.
ANYONE ELSE FROM THE BOARD HAVE A QUESTION? I, I HAVE, I HAVE A COUPLE.
THERE'S, I WAS MAKING SOME NOTES AS YOU WERE TALKING AND, UM, YOU, YOU TALKED ABOUT BUILDING AN ORGANIZATION AND I ASSUME THAT HAS SOME COST ATTACHED TO IT.
[00:30:01]
TALKED ABOUT, UM, EXTENDING THE BOARD TO SOME OTHER ENTITIES LIKE BANKING, ET CETERA.UM, THE QUESTION IS, WILL YOU COME BACK AND, UH, MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS, UH, TO, I, I GUESS THE BOARD MAKES THOSE DECISIONS, BUT WOULD YOU COME BACK AND REPORT TO, SO LOCO YOU KNOW, WHAT, WHAT YOUR PLANS ARE AND WHAT YOUR SUGGESTIONS ARE? AND THE COST, OF COURSE, BECAUSE ALL THE ENTITIES FUND THE PROGRAM.
THAT MAY BE SOMETHING THAT YOU WANT TO BRING BACK TO US AS WELL.
HAPPY TO COME BACK AND, AND SHARE OUR PROGRESS AND, AND UPDATES AND WORK WITH YOU AS WE, UM, ADVANCE IN THOSE AREAS.
UM, I OFFER EVERY MONTH, YOU KNOW, WENDY, AND AS THE BOARD CHAIR IF YOU WANT TO TIME AT THESE, UH, AT SO LOCO.
SO THAT'S ALWAYS ON THE TABLE FOR YOU.
AND, UM, I'LL CONTACT YOU AS WE'RE WE'RE SETTING THE AGENDA EACH MONTH, IF YOU, AND HOW MUCH TIME YOU WOULD LIKE TO, UH, GIVE IF I COULD.
UM, YOU KNOW, AS WE LOOK AT THE HOUSING CHALLENGES, OUR ORGANIZATION ISN'T GONNA SOLVE ALL OF THEM ANYMORE THAN ANY INDIVIDUAL COMMUNITY.
BUT THERE MAY BE TIMES WHEN WE COME TO YOU AND SAY, YOU KNOW, MAYBE IF YOU TRIED YOUR ZONING OR YOU MIGHT CONSIDER THIS, WE'LL HAVE SOME IDEAS THAT WE'LL BRING TO YOU AS GOVERNMENTS THAT YOU MAY WANT TO CONSIDER.
UM, CERTAINLY DRIVING DOWN HERE, I THINK IT WAS ARGENT BOULEVARD THAT I DROVE BY AND PROBABLY SAW 300 UNAFFORDABLE HOMES BEING BUILT ALONG THERE.
AND I'M SCRATCHING MY HEAD AND SORT OF SAYING, IS THAT THE WAY IT HAS TO BE? YOU KNOW, WHAT WOULD IT TAKE TO SPRINKLE IN A LITTLE MORE AFFORDABILITY THERE? AND THAT MAY BE SOMETHING THAT YOU ALL NEED TO CONSIDER OR NOT, IT'S OBVIOUSLY YOUR DECISION, BUT AS I LOOK AT LAND BEING GOBBLED UP, LEAVING LESS LAND FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING ENDEAVORS, IT STRUCK ME THAT WE NEED TO HAVE SORT OF THESE DISCUSSIONS PROBABLY SOONER THAN LATER.
SO I LOOK FORWARD TO COMING TO SHARE THOSE, THOSE IDEAS.
ONE FOLLOW UP QUE WELL ON THAT ACTUALLY, UH, I FEEL LIKE WE'RE KIND OF STARTING FROM SCRATCH, UM, WHICH IS FRUSTRATING BECAUSE WE ALL KNOW IMMEDIATE LITTLE BASE HITS THAT I THINK WE CAN GET RIGHT NOW, HONESTLY.
UM, WHERE ARE YOUR APPLICATIONS NOW SINCE COMMUNITY WORKS? ARE THEY STILL WORKING THEM THROUGH THE END OF THE YEAR? ARE YOU, YOU KNOW, SOME OF THE, THE FOCUS HAS NOT BEEN WHAT THIS GROUP TOLD OUR BOARD MEMBERS.
SO WHERE ARE YOU ON APPLICATIONS CURRENTLY AND ARE WE GONNA SEE ANY MORE APPROVALS MAYBE OTHER THAN LITECH? UM, MAYBE, UM, THERE ARE, UM, AS WENDY INDICATED, THREE WAS STILL WORKING WITH, ONE WAS A TAX CREDIT ONE, UM, UH, WAS NOT, AND ONE PROBABLY WILL BE MET YESTERDAY WITH A DEVELOPER THAT HAD A NON-TAX CREDIT PROJECT.
SO THERE'S A LOT OF IDEAS OUT THERE, BUT I REALLY THINK WE NEED TO BE A LITTLE BIT MORE SYSTEMATIC WITH OUR PROCESS.
SO HOW, YOU KNOW, ARE WE GONNA DO ANOTHER RFP OR ARE WE GONNA HAVE A WALK-IN SYSTEM? YEAH.
UM, SO THERE'S A LOT OF DIFFERENT WAYS OF HANDLING MONIES, AND I'VE DONE THIS BEFORE THAT IT HAS TO BE, UM, FAIR GEOGRAPHIC, TRANSPARENT.
AND WE'RE SCHEDULING A MEETING FOR LATER THIS WEEK TO START JUST THOSE, THOSE DISCUSSIONS.
SO YOU, YOU PUT YOUR FINGER ON AN IMPORTANT ELEMENT AND, UM, UH, KEEP IN MIND THE, UH, APPLICATION PROCESS THAT COMMUNITY WORKS HAD BACK IN MAY WAS AN APPLICATION WHERE PEOPLE WERE APPLYING TO BOTH PLACES.
BUFORD, JASPER HOUSING TRUST AND COMMUNITY WORKS FOR MONIES.
AND SO THAT'S KIND OF UNRAVELED A BIT.
AND SO WE NEED TO FIND OUT HOW DOES, UH, COMMUNITY WORKS GONNA PROCEED WITH THESE APPLICATIONS ON THEIR END.
SO, UM, IT SEEMS, YOU KNOW, SIMPLE TO JUST KIND OF FINISH OFF THOSE APPLICATIONS, BUT I THINK IN FAIRNESS TO THE APPLICANTS, WE GOTTA HAVE MORE DISCUSSION AND, AND I THINK THE CONNECTION WITH ALL OF US IS IMPORTANT.
UM, I, I APPRECIATE THE MEETINGS.
I HOPE WE CONTINUE TO GET THE ZOOM LINKS SO WE CAN WATCH THE MEETINGS.
UM, AND I WOULDN'T WASTE A LOT OF TIME.
YOU NEED TO REALLY BE AWARE OF THE DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENTS, DON'T SPEND ALL YOUR TIME ON TRYING TO MAKE US CHANGE THINGS THAT ARE PROBABLY IMPOSSIBLE TO CHANGE.
BUT THERE'S PLENTY OF AREAS OUTSIDE OF DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENTS YOU JUST HAPPEN TO RIDE THROUGH ONE THAT WAS, UM, THAT THEY'RE PRETTY TIGHT.
SO I THINK JUST DON'T GO DOWN THAT PATH OF TRYING TO TELL US TO CHANGE.
WE ALL KNOW THE ZONING WE NEED TO CHANGE.
AND YOU SAW IT ON HILTON HEAD, IT WAS A STRUGGLE, BUT THEY GOT THAT THROUGH WITH C-D-C-C-D-C AT THE CIRCLE.
[00:35:01]
UM, I JUST, YOU'VE GOT A LIMITED AMOUNT OF TIME HERE AND WE WANT YOU TO DO REALLY WELL,UM, GOING BACK TO YOU DON'T THINK WE GOT OUR FAIR SHARE, WHICH THAT HAPPENS A LOT FROM THE STATE, UNFORTUNATELY IN OTHER AREAS TOO.
WHAT WOULD, WHAT WOULD YOU THINK THE, UH, PROBLEM IS WITH THAT? IS IT BECAUSE WE, WE WEREN'T ORGANIZED OR BECAUSE, UM, OR IS THERE ANY WAY TO KIND OF PINPOINT WHAT THE PROBLEM MIGHT BE? UM, NOT YET.
AND, AND, AND I'M NOT POSITIVE THAT YOU HAVEN'T GOT YOUR FAIR SHARE.
UM, AS I LOOK AT THE VARIOUS MULTI-FAMILY DEVELOPMENTS THAT HAVE BEEN BUILT IN THE LAST SEVEN YEARS, THERE'VE BEEN NONE IN HILTON HEAD.
SO, YOU KNOW, THERE'VE BEEN SEVERAL IN, IN, IN, UM, BEAUFORT.
BUT, UM, I WOULD WANNA LOOK AT ALL OF THE NUMBERS AND, AND TO COME BACK TO THE STATE, UM, HOUSING FINANCE AGENCY, SOUTH CAROLINA HOUSING AND SAY, GEEZ, YOU'VE GOT A SMALL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM HERE THAT DOESN'T USE TAX CREDITS.
YOU HAVEN'T DONE ANY DOWN HERE.
BUT THEY MIGHT SAY, WELL, THEY'VE ONLY DONE THREE IN THE WHOLE STATE.
AND SO THEN THE QUESTION BECOMES, WELL, WHAT CAN WE DO TO HELP YOU SORT OF RESTRUCTURE YOUR PROGRAMS? SO I DON'T THINK, YOU KNOW, PART OF IT I THINK IS MAYBE ACCIDENTAL FRANKLY, WITH THEIR TAX CREDIT SCORING SYSTEM OR THE WAY THEY'VE DESIGNED THEIR RURAL PROGRAM OR THE WAY THEY'VE CREATED A, A HOME REPAIR PROGRAM THAT HAS SERVED VERY FEW HOMES IN GENERAL.
UM, SO I WOULD REALLY, YOU KNOW, I WON'T, I WOULD WANT TO STUDY A LITTLE BIT MORE TO MAKE SURE YOU'RE GETTING, UH, POOR SHARE, INADEQUATE SHARE.
BUT THE POINT IS, UM, YOU SPEAK UP COLLECTIVELY WITH A VOICE AND SOMETIMES THEY MIGHT DO A SET ASIDE FOR A SOUTHERN AREA OR, UM, SOMETHING FOR A COMMUNITY THAT HASN'T GOT AWARDS IN THE PAST.
AND SO YOU CAN SORT OF PUT YOUR BEST FOOT FORWARD.
SO, UM, BUT THE IMPORTANT THING IS THAT, THAT BE A COLLECTIVE, UM, UH, REQUEST TO THE STATE, UM, HOUSING FINANCE AGENCY.
DOES THAT HELP? MM-HMM,
IF I COULD FOLLOW UP WITH, UH, MS. HOWARD'S QUESTION.
I KNOW IN, IN CONVERSATIONS WITH THE NUMBER OF, UH, THE OFFICIALS THAT ARE MAKE UP THE REGION AS WELL AS, SO LOCO, UM, ONE THING WE'VE ALL BEEN, UH, I WON'T SAY ALL, BUT THERE'S BEEN A, A CONCERN IF WE, IN ORDER TO, UH, GET THE NEXT LEVEL FROM THE STATE AND GET MORE FUNDING FROM MANY SOURCES, IT, WE FEEL IT'S IMPORTANT TO SHOW SOME SUCCESS.
EVERYBODY WANTS TO BE PART OF SUCCESS.
AND SO WE'VE URGED, UH, SEVERAL OF US HAVE URGED OUR BOARD MEMBERS GO AFTER SMALL SHORT TERM SUCCESSES, LOW HANGING FRUIT TO USE A A TERM.
UM, AND I'M, I'M NOT EXPECTING AN ANSWER, BUT THAT'S ONE THING THAT I THINK WOULD HELP OUR EFFORTS IN AT THE STATE LEVEL.
IF WE COULD SHOW IN AS SOON AS POSSIBLE SOME SUCCESS, UM, IF I COULD, UH, PLEASE.
HAVING WORKED AT THAT HOUSING FINANCE AGENCY, PUTTING THAT HAT ON, THAT HELPS SOME, AND CERTAINLY THE DEGREE WITH WHICH YOU CAN SHARE WITH THEM, WE'VE GOT SOME IDEAS, WE'VE GOT THE ABILITY TO DELIVER, WE'VE DONE THIS, THAT ADDS SOME CREDIBILITY, BUT MORE COMPELLING TO THOSE PEOPLE FROM MY EXPERIENCE, UM, AMONG THE HOUSING FINANCE AGENCIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY, IS NEED, IF YOU CAN DEMONSTRATE THAT THE MISMATCH BETWEEN THE HOUSING THAT'S NEEDED AND THE HOUSING YOU HAVE, OR THE COST OF RENTS VERSUS PEOPLE'S INCOME OR THE COST OF A FIRST HOME VERSUS WHAT A FIRST TIME HOME BUYER, THE MORE YOU CAN DEMONSTRATE AND ARTICULATE THAT NEED, UM, THAT I THINK IS EVEN MORE EFFECTIVE OR IS EFFECTIVE AS WELL AS THE LOW LOW HANGING FRUIT APPROACH.
AND SO IT TAKES SOME RESEARCH AND, AND WE HELP TO DO, DO A SYMPOSIUM HERE A WEEK OR TWO AGO TO KIND OF GOT THAT, GET THAT STARTED.
BUT NEED IS WHAT DOES TEND TO COMPEL, UM, THAT, UH, HOUSING FINANCE AGENCY.
AND IT PROBABLY ALSO HELPS THE AREA LEGISLATORS MAKE A COMPELLING CASE OF SAYING, WE GOT PEOPLE DOWN HERE WHO ARE DRIVING 60 MILES TO GET TO THEIR JOB AND THEY THAT CAN'T CONTINUE.
SO, UH, BOTH, IS THAT RIGHT? NO, THAT'S A A GREAT POINT.
[00:40:01]
I NEVER THOUGHT OF IT IN THOSE TERMS, AND THANK YOU.JOSH, YOU HAD A QUESTION? YEAH, ACTUALLY, SO MY, MY QUESTION WAS RIGHT IN LINE WITH, UM, MS. HOWARDS, AND THEN YOU HAD TALKED A LITTLE BIT ABOUT SUCCESS, BUT, UM, I GUESS MY, MY QUESTION WAS, YOU BROKE IT DOWN INTO TWO PARTS THAT YOU NEEDED.
ONE, BUILD UP THE ORGANIZATIONAL CAPACITY AND THEN TWO PROGRAM REACH AND KIND OF MEASURING THAT PROGRESS.
AND SO I WAS WONDERING IF BY DOING THOSE TWO THINGS, IF THAT BY NATURE MAKES US MORE CAPABLE TO RECEIVE THOSE STATE AND FEDERAL DOLLARS, WHICH YOU'VE ANSWERED THAT QUESTION, BUT JUST TO COMMENT ON DEMONSTRATING THE NEED.
I THINK THAT INFORMATION'S ALREADY THERE.
THOSE STUDIES HAVE ALREADY BEEN DONE, AND WE COULD GET INTO THE COMPREHENSIVE PLANS BACK TO THE NINETIES AND PULL, UM, HOW MUCH AND HOW OVERWHELMING THE NEED IS FOR WORKFORCE AND AFFORDABLE HOUSING SPECIFICALLY TO THIS AREA.
SO I THINK IT WOULD JUST BE A MATTER OF COLLECTIVELY GARNISHING THE INFORMATION THAT'S ALREADY BEEN PAID FOR AND DOCUMENTED AND PUTTING IT IN ONE PLACE TO WHERE WE COULD PRESENT IT TO THOSE IN STATE OR FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.
THE DATA IS OUT THERE PRESENTING IT IN THE MOST COMPELLING WAY BACK TO THE STATE OFFICIALS.
THEY KNOW, THE STATE OFFICIALS KNOW THERE'S WAY MORE NEED THAN THEY CAN FUND.
THEY HAVE TO MAKE THESE VERY DIFFICULT DECISIONS OF, WE'VE GOT X HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS, BUT WE'VE GOT X BILLIONS OF DOLLARS OF NEED.
HOW DO WE SPRINKLE OUR RESOURCES AROUND TO THE NEED? AND SO THE IMPORTANT PIECE, I THINK IS TO TAKE THAT DATA AND PRESENT IT IN SUCH A WAY TO THE STATE OFFICIALS THAT OUR NEED IS MORE COMPELLING THAN GREENVILLE'S, OR OUR NEED IS MORE COMPELLING THAN, YOU KNOW, IF IT'S A FEDERAL THING, THEN NORTH CAROLINAS.
SO IT'S, AND THERE, THERE IS CERTAINLY THE GROWTH AND WHAT'S GOING ON HERE, THERE IS SOME COMPELLING DATA.
SO THE DATA IS THERE, IT'S PRESENTING IT IN THE BEST, MOST EFFECTIVE WAY.
UH, YOU GO BACK TO THE, UH, FIRST OF ALL, THE SYMPOSIUM WAS VERY INFORMATIVE.
I MEAN, I LEARNED A LOT AND I, I LEARNED SOME IDEAS THAT I THOUGHT ABOUT AND BRING FORWARD.
BUT ANYWAY, TALKING ABOUT, UH, DISPARITY BETWEEN, UH, INCOME AND JOBS.
IN THIS AREA WE HAVE BEAUFORD AND HILTON HEAD THAT PROBABLY HAS THE HIGHEST INCOME, AND WE HAVE JASPER, WHICH IS PROBABLY ONE OF THE LOWEST INCOME, RIGHT? UH, I ALWAYS BRING THIS OUT.
BEAUFORT HAS A $2.2 MILLION VALUE IN THEIR MILL.
JASPER COUNTY HAS TWO POINT, EXCUSE ME, 210,000 BUCKS.
WHEN YOU GET THIS INFORMATION, DO YOU DO IT AS A REGION OR DO YOU HAVE TO SEPARATE IT FROM BUFORD, JASPER, BECAUSE THAT'S, THAT'S IMPORTANT HERE, BECAUSE MOST OF THE PEOPLE THAT ARE, ARE GONNA BE WORKING IN HILTON HEAD CAN'T AFFORD HILTON HEAD.
THEY'RE GONNA COME FROM JASPER AND THE LOWER INCOME, THE LOWER INCOME AREAS.
UM, THAT'S PROBABLY GONNA BE ONE OF THE HARDEST DISCUSSIONS THAT THE BOARD HAS OF WHO ARE WE TRYING TO HELP.
WHERE I, I THINK, YOU KNOW, THE FACT THAT THESE WERE EIGHT, UM, LEVELS OF GOVERNMENT THAT CAME TOGETHER, THEY'RE ALL HOPING THAT SOMETHING GOOD HAPPENS IN THEIR COMMUNITY.
SO WHAT WE DO IN, UM, JASPER COUNTY IS PROBABLY GONNA BE FAR DIFFERENT THAN WHAT WE DO IN HILTON HABITS.
THERE SHOULD BE SOMETHING DONE THERE, WHETHER IT'S A SMALL HOME OWNERSHIP PROGRAM OR IT'S AN EXPANDED HOME REPAIR PROGRAM.
IT'S GONNA BE DIFFERENT THAN CREATING THE 50 UNITS OF, OF WORKFORCE HOUSING, MAYBE IN, IN, IN BLUFFTON.
SO THERE HAS TO BE THOSE, UH, UM, SOMETHING FOR EVERYBODY IN THE EVENTUALLY, OBVIOUSLY THE FIRST DEVELOPMENT'S GOTTA GO SOMEWHERE AND ALL THE OTHER AREAS DON'T, UM, UH, DON'T SEE IT.
BUT IT'S, IT'S ONE OF THE HARDEST THINGS.
IT, I MEAN, THERE'S, TO BE PERFECTLY FRANK, AND I CAN, BECAUSE I'M TEMPORARY AND, AND
AND IT'S INCUMBENT UPON OUR ORGANIZATION TO BE SENSITIVE TO THOSE.
AND SO IT'S, IT'S ONE OF THE HARDEST AREAS AS WE GO FORWARD, BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, AS I INDICATED HERE, WE, YOU KNOW, WE COULD SPEND ALL THE MONEY TOMORROW.
WE COULD WRITE A CHECK AND CREATE SOMETHING WHEREVER IT IS A RENTAL PROJECT IN, IN HILTON HEAD OR A, YOU KNOW,
[00:45:01]
HOME BUYING PROGRAM IN BLUFFTON.OR WE COULD SPEND IT ALL TOMORROW.
BUT, YOU KNOW, THAT'S NOT WISE.
SO HOW DO WE MAKE THE BEST USE OF OUR MONEY IS A VERY HARD, DIFFICULT THING.
LOANS VERSUS, SO ANYWAY, IT'S, IT'S THE HARDEST THING WE HAVE TO DO.
AND SO YOU PUT YOUR FINGER ON IT.
WELL, I THINK THIS, WHEN WE FIRST STARTED THIS, AT LEAST WHEN I GOT INVOLVED WITH IT, THAT WAS ONE OF THE MAJOR DRAWBACKS THAT HILTON HAD SO MUCH DIFFERENT THAN RIDGELAND TELL YOU TRUTH.
I MEAN, IT'S, BUT, BUT THE IDEA IS THAT RIDGELAND, THEY MAY BENEFIT BETTER PHYSICALLY, BUT REALLY IT'S HILTON HEAD THAT'S GONNA REALLY HELP BECAUSE THAT'S WHERE THE SOURCE OF THE, IN, UH, THE EMPLOYMENT COMES FROM.
AND IF, HOPEFULLY THE COMMUNITIES WILL REALIZE THAT WHAT HAPPENS IN RIDGELAND MAY BE, MAY BE HELPING IN BLUFFTON IS A VERY GRACIOUS RESPONSE.
CAN WE, OR IS THERE A WAY TO CREATE A DISTRICT RATHER THAN, UH, HAVE A BLUFFTON, UH, BUFORD, JASPER HARDY V RIDGELAND IS THERE GOING COMBINE IT SOMEHOW OR SO WHEN THE STATE LOOKS AT IT, THEY LOOKS AT IT AS A TOTAL RATHER THAN INDIVIDUAL.
THEY, THEY DO HAVE THE ABILITY, THEY HAVE, UM, AREAS, IN SOME CASES IT'S COUNTIES, AND SOME CASES IT'S MSAS.
IN SOME CASES IT'S, I MEAN, THEY HAVE THE ABILITY TO, TO LOOK IN, UH, AREAS.
IN FACT, WHEN THEY, THEY'VE GOT INCREDIBLE DATA JUST THROUGH THEIR, UH, MARKET STUDIES THAT VARIOUS DEVELOPERS HAVE GIVEN THERE.
AND THE MARKET STUDIES ARE ALL BROKEN OUT WITHIN A REASONABLE AREA.
AND YOU CAN JUST GO ON TO SOUTH CAROLINA HOUSING FINANCE AGENCY AND GOOGLE MARKET STUDIES, AND YOU CAN LEARN MORE ABOUT SPECIFICS OF THIS AREA THAN YOU EVER COULD IMAGINE.
SO THERE, THERE, THERE IS A NUMBER OF WAYS TO DO THAT.
WELL, UH, ONE MORE QUESTION, JUST A QUICK QUESTION.
IF YOU WOULD, IF WE CAN SHARE HOW WE CAN CONTACT YOU AND COMMUNICATE WITH YOU, GREAT.
UM, SO WENDY, COULD YOU, UH, OR SUPPLY DANA'S INFORMATION ABSOLUTELY.
AND EITHER TO ME AND, AND CURRY AND ROBIN WILL MAKE SURE IT GETS OUT TO THE, THE BOARD MEMBERS.
AND IF YOU WOULD SEND ALL OF, SO LOCO THE INVITATIONS FOR THE LINK WITH THE LINK FOR THE REC LINK FOR THE REGIONAL MEETINGS, THAT WOULD BE BENEFICIAL AS WELL.
I THINK BRAD'S BEEN DOING THAT.
UM, HE SENT IT OUT LIKE TWO MONTHS AGO, BUT THE LAST LINK DIDN'T WORK.
WE HAD TO GET IT FROM WE, OUR REP.
SO IF YOU'LL JUST MOVING FORWARD, MAKE SURE IT GOES OUT TO ALSO LOCO WHENEVER THE AGENDAS GO OUT, ALL THAT TOGETHER.
AND PLEASE DON'T TAKE OFFENSE TO THE TWO OH SEVEN AREA CODE TO MY PHONE NUMBER, AND THEN I'M STILL WORKING ON THIS.
UH, UH, WELL EMAIL I, IF YOU HAVE 8 4 3, I I'VE BEEN HERE EIGHT AND A HALF YEARS.
I STILL HAVE 2 0 1, I THINK TWO OF US UP HERE.
WE WISH YOU, UH, GREAT SUCCESS BECAUSE GREAT SUCCESS FOR YOU IS GREAT SUCCESS FOR EVERYBODY.
UM, NEXT WE'RE GOING TO HAVE AN UPDATE, UH, IF EVERYBODY RECALLS, WE DID, UH, FORM
[2. Growth Committee Update. Committee Chair Rob Merchant & Councilwoman Alice Howard.]
ANOTHER SUBCOMMITTEE.UH, I THINK WE GENERALLY CALLED IT THE GROWTH COMMITTEE.
AND, UM, ROB MERCHANT AND, UH, COUNCILWOMAN ALICE HOWARD, UH, WE'RE, WE'RE TASKED AND WE DID HAVE A REALLY GREAT REPORT FROM THEM A FEW MONTHS AGO.
SO ALICE, THAT'S THE END OF MY INTRODUCTION.
UM, ROB WAS GONNA BE HERE, BUT SOMETHING MUST HAVE HAPPENED.
SO, BUT HE, AND HE AND I TALKED YESTERDAY, I WOULD LIKE TO THANK ALL THE PLANNING STAFF, PEOPLE THAT'D BEEN WORKING REALLY HARD, UM, ON THIS.
THEY HAVE COME UP THROUGH THE, WHICH I NEVER WOULD'VE THOUGHT OF THIS, I, I, THE 9 1 1 SYSTEM HAS HELPED THEM IN WITH GIS WITH A NUMBER OF, UM, AND VANS NODDING HIS HEAD, MAYBE NOAH TOLD YOU ABOUT THIS, BUT THEY, IN BEAUFORT COUNTY, WE GOTTA DO MORE WORK IN JASPER COUNTY.
UM, THEY LOOK AT THE, THE EXISTING NUMBER OF UNITS IN AN APPROVED SUBDIVISION OR PUD AND THEN HOW MANY ARE VACANT, AND THAT WILL HELP US.
AND THEN THEY'VE COLORIZED IT BY INTENSITY.
UM, IT'S GOTTA BE, UM, I'D SAY GROUND PROOFED A LITTLE BIT BY PLANNING STAFF, BUT IT'S A GOOD START.
SO, UH, SO WE'LL SAY, UH, KWASSA ISLAND, IT MAY HAVE ONLY 50 VACANT LOTS, JUST FOR INSTANCE THAT I DON'T EVEN KNOW IF THAT'S CORRECT, BUT THAT OR ANOTHER ONE, UH, MAY HAVE 150 VACANT LOTS OUT OF, SO MANY APPROVED.
[00:50:01]
THEY, THEY'RE WORKING ON THAT AND IT'S GONNA BE VERY VISUAL, I THINK, TO SHARE.UH, BUT THEY'VE GOT MORE WORK TO DO
SO IT'S, I THINK IT'S A GOOD TECHNIQUE.
SO, UM, OH, AND WE HAVE THE COUNT ONE OTHER GOOD NEWS, THE COUNTY HAS HIRED A TRANSPORTATION PLANNER.
UM, AND HIS LAST NAME IS SULLIVAN.
WHAT'S HIS FIRST NAME? KEVIN SULLIVAN.
HE CAME FROM MARYLAND, WHICH IS, UH, BUT HE'S ORIGINALLY FROM BEAUFORT COUNTY AND HE BRINGS A LOT TO THE TABLE, UM, BECAUSE HE'S LIKE, AT THE MEETING THEY HAD YESTERDAY, HE'S LIKE, OH YEAH, WE'RE GONNA HAVE A PROBLEM THERE, EVEN THOUGH WE MAY NOT KNOW THERE'S A PROBLEM THERE JUST BY LOOKING AT THE INTENSITY OF THE GROWTH.
DID HE REPLACE ERIC ALSO? IS HE REPLACING ERIC AS NO, HE, HE'S ANOTHER POSITION JUST INSIDE ENGINEERING TRANSPORTATION, BUT HE, HE WILL LEND HIS SUPPORT IN A REGIONAL WAY BY WORKING ON THIS GROUP.
I THINK HE'S ALREADY WORKING, UM, WITH BLUFFTON AND, AND BEAUFORT, POSSIBLY PORT ROYAL AS FAR AS THEIR TRANSPORTATION, THEIR REVIEW BOARDS.
AND HE'LL, HE'LL BE WORKING WITH THIS GROUP TOO, SO.
UH, ANYONE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FOR, UH, MS. HOWARD FROM THE BOARD? UM, SINCE WE'RE RUNNING AHEAD A LITTLE BIT, UM, I'D LIKE TO INVITE ANYONE FROM WHO'S NOT ON THE BOARD WHO, IF THEY HAD ANY QUESTIONS FOR THE HOUSING TRUST OR, UH, FOR MS. HOWARD REGARDING, UM, THE COMMITTEE SHE'S WORKING ON.
THE ONLY, THE ONLY THING, AND I I HOPE I'M NOT GONNA CATCH HANK AMUNDSON OFF GUARD, BUT THE COUNTY
AND I THINK THEY'VE BEEN WORKING WITH THE TOWN OF BLUFFTON ON A PROJECT WITH A HOSPITAL, UH, RECENTLY.
IT'S, YOU GOT THREE ENTITIES WORKING TOGETHER ON AFFORDABLE HOUSING.
UH, THOSE ARE THOSE, I WON'T CALL 'EM LOW HANGING FRUIT.
THESE ARE BIG DEALS OF COURSE, BUT, UM, THEY, IT'S A, IT'S A GOOD THING.
SO I DON'T KNOW IF HE WANTS TO SHARE ANY OF THAT YET OR NOT.
WELL, YOU PUT HIM ON THE SPOT, SO HE SAID, COME ON, HANK.
AND THEN WE'VE BEEN WORKING WITH THE HOSPITAL ON ANOTHER PROJECT TOO.
THERE ARE A COUPLE DIFFERENT ONES.
LET'S START WITH THE ONE IN BEAUFORT.
IT'S BEEN A LONG PROCESS OF, UH, WE'RE CURRENTLY, DHEC IS LOCATED DOWNTOWN IN BEAUFORT AREA TO, UH, WORK WITH THE DEVELOPER TO DO A COMBINATION OF AFFORDABLE AND MARKET RATE HOUSING.
UM, THAT HAS HAD A LOT OF HELP FROM, UH, SCOTT AND STAFF AT THE CITY OF BEAUFORT.
UH, SAME THING IN BLUFFTON WHERE WE PUT A PIECE OF PROPERTY UNDER CONTRACT ON BUCKWALTER, AND IMMEDIATELY KEVIN AND STEVEN AND THE MAYOR WE'RE ALL IN CONTACT OF HOW CAN WE DO THINGS RIGHT AND WORK TOGETHER TO ACCOMPLISH OUR GOALS, WHETHER THAT'S AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND EVEN A COMPONENT.
SO IT'S, UH, A GOOD WAY THAT JUST TO DEMONSTRATE WORKING TOGETHER.
AND WE WE'RE WORKING ON OTHER ONES WITH THE HOSPITAL BECAUSE THEY HAVE NEEDS, WHETHER IT'S OFFICE SPACE, BUT THEY ALSO HAVE AFFORDABLE HOUSING NEEDS.
AND THEY'VE GOTTEN, UH, I THINK RUSSELL WOULD SAY, HE WOULDN'T SAY RELUCTANTLY, BUT BECAUSE THEY KNOW IT'S A NEED AND THEY DON'T SEE AN ENTITY STAND UP TO DO IT, THEY'RE DOING IT.
AND THAT'S ANOTHER GOOD ENTITY THAT WE WANNA PARTNER WITH AT EVERY TURN BECAUSE WE BENEFIT FROM THE MEDICAL SIDE AND THE HOUSING SIDE.
AND JUST SO YOU KNOW, WE ARE INVOLVED IN BOTH OF THOSE.
WE ARE INVOLVED IN THOSE PROJECTS AS WELL.
THE, THE, THE TRUST, RIGHT? D WENDY? YES.
UM, JUST A, A GENERAL QUESTION FOR THE, UH, MUNICIPALITIES.
HAVE YOU ALL TALKED ABOUT THE 15% OF ATEX MONEY YET? ANYBODY? BLUFFTON? I, I DON'T KNOW THAT WE'RE MOVING FORWARD ON IT, BUT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT IT.
OUR, THE HARDY COUNCIL HAS, UH, I DON'T THINK WE, WE DIDN'T TAKE AN OFFICIAL VOTE, BUT WE HA OUR STRAW POLL THAT WE WILL BE, UM, ALLOCATING THE 15% THAT THE NEW LAW ALLOWS FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING.
MIKE, WE, UH, WE DIDN'T PASS THAT RESOLUTION YET.
HAVE YOU'VE DONE YOUR STUDY? UM, NO.
WE'RE, THAT'S WHY WE, STEVEN, GO AHEAD.
SO, SO THERE'S TWO DIFFERENT FUNDING SOURCES.
THERE'S LOCAL A TAX AND STATE A TAX.
IF YOU DID THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING COMPONENT IN YOUR COMP PLAN, THE LOCAL A TAX, YOU SHOULD BE GOOD TO USE YOUR 15% THERE.
THE ADDITIONAL STUDY IS WHAT'S NEEDED FOR THE STATE AT TAX.
AND THAT'S WHERE THERE'S A STRUGGLE
[00:55:01]
AND, UH, AND TRYING TO GET THAT DONE.AND THAT'S ONE OF THE THINGS WHERE I THINK EVEN THE REGIONAL HOUSING TRUST FUNDS TALKED ABOUT, CAN WE TAKE WHAT WE DID WITH, UH, ASCO ROBINSON AND MAYBE UPDATE THAT AND MAKE THAT FOR OUR WHOLE AREA AND MAYBE IMPROVE, MAYBE TAKE THAT AS A, A LAUNCHING POINT.
BUT WE ADOPTED THAT WITH OUR BUDGET FOR THE YEAR.
SO IT'S PART OF OUR BUDGET ORDINANCE FOR THIS CURRENT FISCAL YEAR.
UM, SO WE'RE DOING THE 15% AT BLUFFTON FOR THE LOCAL AT TAX, STATE AT TAX.
WE PUT IT THERE, BUT WE WON'T USE IT UNTIL WE GET THE STUDY DONE.
SO WE'RE, WE'RE MOVING THAT WAY.
UM, BUT WE MADE IT PART OF THE BUDGET ORDINANCE AHEAD OF THE RESOLUTION OR THE ACT WE KNEW WAS COMING FROM THE STATE.
SO, AND THIS STUDY HAS TO BE DONE BY JURISDICTION, RIGHT? EACH JURISDICTION AND IT SPECIF, THERE'S NO REAL GUIDE FOR IT AS PART OF THE ISSUE.
SO, BUT YOU HAVE TO DO AN INDIVIDUAL STUDY FOR YOUR COMMUNITY ON WHAT THE GAP IS FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND THEN, 'CAUSE THEY WANT TO COME BACK IN, I THINK IT'S SEVEN YEARS AND JOSH, I THINK HE PROBABLY CAN HELP, BUT THAT'S LIKE, THEY WANNA COME BACK LATER AND SHOW THERE WAS ACTUALLY A BENEFIT SO THAT THEY CAN CONTINUE IT FORWARD.
SO WE'VE ACTUALLY JUST COMPLETED THE HOUSING IMPACT ANALYSIS THAT'S REQUIRED BY THE STATUTE FOR THE STATE AT TAX, FOR THE STATE AT TAX.
WE JUST RELEASED IT YESTERDAY AS OUR FIRST DRAFT AT OUR HOUSING, UM, IMPACT, UH, MEETING.
SO, SO AS WE DO IN GOVERNMENTS, CAN WE ABSOLUTELY.
WE'LL BE HAPPY TO SHARE WITH EVERYBODY.
AND WE, AND WE ACTUALLY, WE WORKED WITH, UM, UM, TAMMY HOY HAWKINS, UH, TO PRODUCE THAT.
AND THEN SHE IN TURN WORKED VERY CLOSELY WITH OUR HOME BUILDERS ASSOCIATION.
AND, AND IN CASE YOU DON'T KNOW, THAT WAS THE GROUP THAT WAS KIND OF BEHIND MAKING SURE THAT THAT DOCUMENT WAS INCORPORATED INTO ACT 57? YES.
AND SO THE, THE ONE THAT WE HAVE, WE FEEL VERY COMFORTABLE WITH, THEY'VE REVIEWED IT, THE HOME BUILDERS ARE GOOD WITH THE DATA.
UM, IT'S SOMETHING THAT, IT'S ONLY A SNAPSHOT BECAUSE IT'S GONNA CHANGE OVER TIME, BUT IT'S THAT PREREQUISITE STEP THAT YOU HAVE TO COMPLETE, DISTRIBUTE, AND THEN ADOPT INTO YOUR COMPREHENSIVE PLAN.
SO WE, WE KNOW WE HAVE A BASE, SOMEBODY WE CAN, UH, THAT'S BEEN OUR BEST CASE THAT WE CAN BUILD FROM.
WE CAN GET THAT DONE AND AHEAD OF BUDGET YEAR FOR NEXT YEAR, HOPEFULLY.
HOW WAS THE CALL STUDY? CAN YOU TELL US? UM, I DON'T KNOW THAT WE HAVE ALL THE INVOICES IN YET.
MATTER, BUT CERTAINLY CAN PROVIDE THAT.
IT'S CHEAPER THAN WHAT WE'LL BE ABLE TO SET TO WITH THE 15% TO SET ASIDE TO ACTUALLY SUPPORT AND, AND AFFORDABLE HOUSING.
TWO, TWO QUICK POINTS WITH THAT.
ONE, THERE WAS AN ATTORNEY, OH, NOT ATTORNEY GENERALS.
THERE WAS A LEGAL OPINION THAT THE TOURISM EXPENDITURE REVIEW COMMITTEE, WHO'S THE OVERSIGHT BODY OF STATE AT TAX EXPENDITURES, THE OPINION THAT THEY RECEIVED BASICALLY SAID LOCAL GOVERNMENTS WILL PRODUCE THIS DOCUMENT, THEY WILL SEND IT TO YOU, BUT THERE REALLY IS NO REVIEW OF THE DOCUMENT.
IT'S JUST THEY ACKNOWLEDGE RECEIPT OF IT AND IT CHECKS THE BOX BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT'S REQUIRED BY THE STATUTE.
SO YOU WANNA TALK ABOUT YOUR AG OPINION AND, AND I CAN TALK ABOUT THE AG OPINIONS TOO.
SO BECAUSE THE STATUTE WAS SO NEW, WE SOUGHT SEVERAL, UM, QUESTIONS WITH THE ATTORNEY GENERAL'S OFFICE JUST TO INTERPRET THE LANGUAGE THAT WAS ADOPTED IN ACT 57.
AND TO KIND OF VERY BRIEFLY SUMMARIZE IT, IT'S APPROPRIATE TO PROVIDE STATE AND LOCAL AT TAX TO EITHER NON-PROFIT OR FOR-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS.
SO LONG AS IT COMPLIES WITH THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE STATUTE, THAT IT IS DEDICATED TOWARDS WORKFORCE HOUSING PURPOSES.
AND THEN MEETS THE GUIDELINES THAT WERE SET FORTH IN THE STATUTE, WHICH I THINK IS A, A FLOOR OF 30% A MI AND A CEILING OF 120% A MI.
SO AS LONG AS IT'S WITHIN THERE.
AND THEN THEY WENT ON TO SAY THAT THERE SHOULD ALSO BE SOME KIND OF GUIDELINES PUT IN PLACE FOR FUTURE REPORTING, MONITORING, JUST ALL THOSE KIND OF SAFEGUARDS THAT ONCE YOU GIVE THE MONEY, YOU CAN TRACK AND REPORT ON IT IN THE FUTURE AND MAKE SURE THAT IT'S BEING USED FOR THOSE PURPOSES OR MENTAL OR OWNERSHIP.
SO THE, THE STATUTE SAYS THAT HOME OWNERSHIP HAS TO BE A COMPONENT, BUT IT DOESN'T SAY HOW IT HAS TO BE A COMPONENT.
SO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'VE LOOKED AT IS, UH, IF WE, FOR EXAMPLE, WERE FUNDING A RENTAL PROGRAM, UM, WE WOULD REQUEST THAT THAT ENTITY PROVIDE SOME KIND OF FINANCIAL COUNSELING OR OTHER SERVICES TO THOSE RENTERS THAT WOULD ALLOW THEM AT SOME POINT TO MAYBE BE ABLE TO AFFORD A HOME AND THEN SATISFY THAT CRITERIA OR RENTALS THAT COULD CONCEIVABLY OWN WHAT THEY'RE RENTING AT SOME POINT.
IT, IT, IT'S NOT SPECIFIED WHAT IT HAS TO BE.
IT JUST SAYS IT HAS TO HAVE A HOME OWNERSHIP COMPONENT.
EVERYBODY HAS THE, UM, LIST OF 20, 24 DATES.
[1. Results of 2024 Agenda Priorities.]
THESE ARE, IT'S THE FOURTH TUESDAY OF EVERY MONTH[III. NEW BUSINESS]
AT 10:00 AM AND THEY ALTERNATE BETWEEN BLUFF AND AND HARDY.ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS WITHIN ANY OF THESE DATES OR ANY SUGGESTIONS TO CHANGE?
[01:00:03]
OKAY, NEXT, YOU ALSO, EVERYBODY HAS AND, UH, THE AUDIENCE, IF YOU DON'T HAVE 'EM, IT'S UP ON THE TABLE.UM, I ASKED EVERYBODY TO WEIGH IN ON WHAT THEY WOULD LIKE TO SEE AS, UH, AGENDA
[IV. DISCUSSION]
ITEMS FOR 2024, BECAUSE THE NUMBER SYSTEM WAS IMPOSSIBLE[1. January Agenda Topics]
TO PUT IT ALL TOGETHER.I JUST PUT IT AS HIGH PRIORITY, MEDIUM AND LOW.
UM, AND, AND IT WAS JUST A ROUGH AVERAGE OF ALL THE RESPONDEES.
SO MY QUESTION TO THE BOARD IS, UH, MOST PRESSING JANUARY WE WILL HAVE, UM, ELECTIONS AND, AND A NEW BOARD.
SO EACH JURISDICTION, IF YOU HAVE ANY NEW APPOINTEES TO THE SO LOCO BOARD BASED ON THE ELECTIONS, UH, PLEASE, UH, HAVE THAT PREPARED FOR JANUARY.
UM, AND ALSO ON JANUARY, UH, BECAUSE WE ARE LOSING OUR CO-CHAIR, UM, WE WILL NEED TO HAVE ELECTIONS FOR CHAIR, UH, CO-CHAIR AND FOR, UM, WE CALL 'EM SECRETARY, BUT IT'S REALLY JUST A CONSULTANT.
THEY, THEY DON'T HAVE ANY WORK TO DO.
THEY DON'T HAVE TO TAKE NOTES.
UM, SO ANYONE WHO WOULD LIKE TO, UH, BE NOMINATED FOR THOSE POSITIONS, UM, PLEASE PREPARE TO DO SO AT THE JANUARY MEETING.
SO I'D LIKE TO HAVE SOME INPUT.
UM, I ASSUME THE HIGH PRIORITIES IS WHERE YOU'D LIKE TO, UH, START WITH, BUT IT, IT'S NOT NECESSARILY HAVE TO BE THAT WAY.
THIS IS OUR AGENDA, OUR MEANING THE ENTIRE BOARD.
AND WE WANNA PUT UP WHAT YOU'D LIKE TO TALK ABOUT.
SO ARE THERE ANY SUGGESTIONS? LET'S, LET'S GO FOR THE FIRST QUARTER.
WHO WOULD LIKE WHAT YOU'D LIKE TO SEE ON THE AGENDA FOR JANUARY, FEBRUARY AND MARCH? MR. CHAIRMAN, UH, THE GREEN SPACE PROGRAM, WE ARE, WE'VE BEEN TAKING APPLICATIONS AND WE'LL BE MAKING DECISIONS FOR THE FIRST ROUND, UH, THIS, THIS, THIS MONTH AND, AND COUNTY COUNCIL WILL.
SO MAYBE SOMETIME IN JANUARY OR FEBRUARY, AN UPDATE ON THE GREEN SPACE PROGRAM WOULD BE GOOD.
WILL YOU BE READY JANUARY? WOULD YOU PREFER, UH, FEBRUARY.
CHECK WITH THE CHAIRMAN, BUT OKAY.
AND, UM, MR. CHAIR? YES, PLEASE.
UM, AND I'M GLAD JARED'S HERE, YOU KNOW, 'CAUSE HE'S PROBABLY GONNA BE THE DR. RODRIGUEZ OF THE PENNY.
UM, THAT WOULD BE INTERESTING TO JUMP ON AND GET OUT IN THE PUBLIC NOW.
AND I HAD SENT AN EMAIL TO ALL OF Y'ALL ABOUT OUR BTA GROUP THAT WAS VERY TRANSPARENT, VERY HELPFUL WITH THE JARED OF THAT TIME.
SO MAYBE WE COULD DISCUSS THAT BTA GROUP TO BE PART OF THAT COUNTY PENNY TAX.
UM, JUST TO DISCUSS HOW THE ELECTED OFFICIALS CAN MEET PUBLICLY, TRANSPARENTLY, AND REALLY BE ABLE TO GET THE MESSAGE ACROSS COAST.
THAT'S GONNA BE A BIG PENNY PLUS.
AND WE, I, I THINK WE ALL SUPPORT IT, BUT WE HAD TO GET MORE PEOPLE THAN US TO SUPPORT IT.
SO, UM, SO THAT BALLOT WOULD BE COMING UP.
UH, WOULD THE BOARD LIKE ME TO PUT THAT ON JANUARY AGENDA TO, TO SPEAK TO THE, UM, THE TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEE? MM-HMM.
I, I THINK THAT'S APPROPRIATE BECAUSE THE COMMITTEE IS GONNA COME BEFORE COUNTY COUNCIL ON DECEMBER 11TH.
COUNTY COUNCIL THEN WILL HAVE TO ACT ON THAT.
UH, SO IT WOULD BE APROPOS A JANUARY TIMEFRAME BECAUSE AS YOU SAID, ONCE, ONCE WE SOLIDIFY WHAT WE WANNA DO, NOW WE HAVE TO DO THE EDUCATION TO GET PEOPLE ON BOARD.
JOE, WHO, WHO WOULD YOU LIKE TO PUT ON THE AGENDA TO GIVE THAT PRESENTATION? UM, ONE OR YOU CAN LET ME KNOW EITHER, EITHER JARED WOULD DO IT BECAUSE HE IS PART OF THE COMMITTEE, OR WE HAVE DEAN MOSS WHO WAS THE CHAIR OF THE COMMITTEE, AND PROBABLY DEAN WOULD PROBABLY BE THE BEST PERSON TO, YOU KNOW, COME BEFORE THIS GROUP AND SAY WHAT HE'S PRESENTED TO COUNCIL AND WHAT WE WANT TO DO MOVING FORWARD.
SO WE'LL PUT THAT ON THE, IF, IF THE BOARD'S OKAY WITH, THAT'LL PUT THIS ON THE AGENDA FOR JANUARY.
AND I'LL CONFIRM WITH YOU, JOE, WHETHER IT'S DEAN MOSS OR JARED MM-HMM.
IN FEBRUARY WE'LL HAVE THE GREEN SPACE.
[01:05:01]
MARCH LORD, OR WE CAN ALWAYS DO THAT IN JANUARY IF, IF YOU PREFER.JOSH? REAL QUICK QUESTION, AND THIS MAY BE, UM, SIMPLY ANSWERED, BUT WHAT IS THE DISTINGUISHING DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE HIGH PRIORITY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT? UM, IT LOOKS LIKE IT'S DIRECTLY RELATED TO BLUFF IN ORDINANCE AND THEN IT SAYS ET CETERA.
SO I'M NOT SURE WHAT THAT MEANS.
AND THEN THE LOWEST PRIORITY OF RECRUITMENT OF COMMERCIAL GROWTH? UM, I DON'T KNOW.
I, I THINK, UM, RECRUITMENT OF COMMERCIAL GROWTH IS, UM, YOU KNOW, THAT'S SELF-EVIDENT THAT I THINK, YOU KNOW, HOW DO WE, DO WE WANT TO HAVE IDEAS.
IT'S NOT NECESSARILY THE SOLUTIONS, IT'S JUST THE TOPIC.
SO, UM, YES, AND MAYBE CLARIFY, THIS HAS BEEN GOING ON FOR A LONG TIME, BUT WE QUICKLY, THIS TOWN LEFT HIM, PASSED THIS STUFF QUICKLY, STEVEN'S LIKE ON A TRAIN, BUT WE PASSED OUR OWN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ORDINANCE TO COMPLIMENT OUR BEAUFORT COUNTY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION TO RECRUIT THE NEEDS THAT WE SEE WE NEED.
SO THAT WAS PASSED AND PROBABLY ADDED ON AFTER RECRUITMENT OF COMMERCIAL GROWTH.
THAT'S, THAT'S PROBABLY WHAT IT WAS.
SO, WE'LL, UM, AND I, OF COURSE, I'LL HAVE THE, UH, HOUSING TRUST.
I'LL CHECK WITH WENDY EACH MONTH IF WE NEED.
AND DANA, IF WE NEED A, AN UPDATE NOW.
UM, WE'RE GONNA HAVE A NEW BOARD.
THERE'S GONNA BE SOME NEW FACES.
UM, BUT WE'LL PROBABLY HAVE MORE IN JANUARY.
UH, CERTAINLY WE'RE GOING TO HAVE A, A DIFFERENT PERSON NEXT TO ME, WHICH I'M, I'M GOING TO BE, UH, QUITE AT A LOSS.
SO, UM, AS A FAREWELL, UM, I HAVE A PRESENTATION I'D LIKE TO MAKE.
NOVEMBER 26TH MEETING DATE? IT'S THE DAY BEFORE THANKSGIVING.
IS THAT THANKSGIVING WEEK? NEXT IS THANKSGIVING WEEK.
I'LL, I'LL GET BACK TO THE BOARD ON THAT.
UM, ISHA, WOULD YOU PLEASE COME FORWARD AND OH, AND DAN.
DAN HAS DAN, I, I GAVE DAN AN ASSIGNMENT.
HE HAS, UH, COULD YOU GIVE THE CARD, UH, ALSO TO LUCIA? OH, THAT'S NOT FOR YOU.
UM, I'D LIKE TO PRESENT TO MAYOR SALKA.
THIS IS A CERTIFICATE OF RECOGNITION FROM SO LOKO.
UH, THE CERTIFICATE IS AWARDED TO LISA SULKE IN RECOGNITION OF HER REMARKABLE CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE SOUTHERN LOWCOUNTRY REGIONAL BOARD.
AS ONE OF THE ORGANIZATION'S FOUNDING MEMBERS AND VICE CHAIR YEAR OF TIRELESS EFFORTS AND COMMITMENT TO INTERGOVERNMENT COOPERATION HAVE MADE A SIGNIFICANT IMPACT.
AND WE ARE GRATEFUL FOR YOUR MANY YEARS OF SURFACE.
HARRY WILLIAMS CHAIR, CITY OF HARDY.
BILL MAYOR, THIS IS, THANK YOU
I KNOW YOU WOULD PREFER ORANGE FLOWERS.
NO, WE ORANGE SHINED THIS WEEKEND.
CLOSEST WE CAN GET IF, IF ONLY THE ORANGE IN FLORIDA COULD.
UM, THIS IS FROM THE BOARD MEMBERS.
AND BEST WISHES, YOUR FINGERPRINTS WILL FOREVER BE ON EVERY SO CONFERENCE ROOM.
AW, WELL, I'M ONLY GONNA BE SITTING NEXT TO HEIDI, I MEAN, COURTNEY AND, UM, ASHLEY ON THE OTHER SIDE, BUT I APPRECIATE IT.
I WAS GONNA SAY THIS FRIDAY, BUT I'LL SAY IT TODAY.
UM, EVERY COUNCIL MEMBER IN BLUFFTON PLAYS SUCH A BIG PART IN WHAT WE'VE DONE.
AND, UM, THIS GUY IS THE ONE THAT PUSHED TO GET THIS STARTED AGAIN.
BECAUSE BEFORE IT WAS STARTING, NO ONE CAME AND NO ONE WANTED TO COME.
AND I GOT ELECTED CHAIR 'CAUSE I DIDN'T SHOW UP ONE DAY,
UM, AND SO IT WAS, I WAS HAPPY TO NOT HAVE A MEETING.
BUT FRED, THANK YOU FOR DOING THIS.
WE'VE DONE A LOT AND I THINK WE ARE REGIONALLY, EVEN THOUGH WE DO KIND OF TERRITORIALLY, REGIONALIZE OURSELVES, BUT WE DO WANT THE BEST FOR OUR WHOLE REGION.
AND I JUST LOVE Y'ALL AND I'M GONNA MISS YOU HERE.
[01:10:01]
KEEP ME ON THE LIST.UM, IF, UNLESS THERE'S ANY FURTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS, WE, I HAVE JANUARY OR
[2. 2024 Schedule]
FEBRUARY, UH, AGENDA, UH, IDEAS SET.WE'LL, WE'LL SET MARCH AT IN JANUARY, UM, TO EVERYBODY.
[V. ADJOURNMENT]
A HAPPY HOLIDAY SEASON AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR.WE'LL SEE YOU BACK HERE IN BLUFFTON IN JANUARY.