Monthly Archives: August 2015

A Survey of IOP Blogs

. Uncategorized

Here is a list of the blogs/websites currently offering commentary on the IOP:

http://www.ioptoday.com  This is realtor and councilmember Jimmy Carroll’s website.  He usually posts the agendas of upcoming meetings and will, from time to time, write a nice concise summary of issues before council.  I find his summaries to be unbiased and informative.

The website invites comments and has a form to enter them but never posts them.  This editor has posted 2 comments (both reasonable and sincere) and neither was published.  I don’t believe any other comments have ever been published.

Of note, he does not miss an opportunity to let the reader know the island rental market is subsidizing our lifestyle (and, of course, much more so, his!).  Speaking only for myself, I don’t want or need someone to subsidize my lifestyle; I am perfectly capable of paying for the lifestyle I choose.

http://www.iopdaily.com  This blog is produced by former councilmember Tom Gear.  He turns a nice phrase and puts up some good photos, but only seems to do so about twice a year.  A contest he started last summer still has not posted any winners and losers.  The site is running out of gas and that’s too bad.

http://www.ryanbuckhannon.com  This site was touted as “The Conservative Voice of the Islands” later changed to “Your common sense voice of the islands.”  The site appears to have gone dead as there is no content listed.

Send the observer an email if you know of other websites or blogs and we will get them recognition.

Pat Yourself on the Back

. City Council .

Here is how you pat yourself on the back and take a veiled shot at your opponents:

JC on FB re July 4

As Paul Harvey used to say, here is the rest of the story.

The IOP Fire Department needed to replace its rescue truck.  The replacement was originally budgeted at $229k.  The department submitted a request for a truck upgraded with the capacity to pump water, making it more versatile in responding to a variety of public safety incidents.

The cost of the pumps added $24k to the cost.  Because of inflation and new regulatory requirements, the truck would now cost $352,528.  Fire Chief Graham and the department felt this upgrade was needed to keep us safe.

This was discussed and voted on at the Ways and Means meeting on Feb 17 and at the City Council meeting on Feb 24.

Only 3 councilmembers voted against the truck.  Yep, you guessed it, the hot dog cookers.

Jimmy Carroll

Sandy Ferencz

Jimmy Ward

I could be wrong, but I bet our public safety personnel would rather have the equipment they need to keep us safe rather than someone cooking them some hot dogs one day a year.

The councilmembers who did not show up to cook some dogs voted to give the department the equipment they needed.  The final vote was 6-3, with one hot dog chef, Ryan Buckhannon, voting with the majority.

Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda

. Livability .

At which of these two places would like to spend an evening:

Freshfield 1Freshfiield 4

Front beach 1Front beach bench

Question:  Does anyone reading this ever spend an evening at the IOP Front Beach Business District (also known as North Charleston at the Beach.)  Why not?  The answer, of course, is obvious.  There is one nice restaurant and a nice pizza place and that’s about it.

The top 2 photos are from Freshfields Village at Kiawah.  The bottom 2 photos are from the IOP front beach business district.

Here is the really sad part.  Had previous city councils had a vision and worked to implement it, we could have had something similar to Freshfield.  But all city council wanted to do was see how many parking spaces they could put on the street.  This, of course, was after they bowed to threatened lawsuits and permitted the front beach BUSINESS district to be built out with  condos instead of actual businesses.

Think for just a moment how nice it would be if there were shops and restaurants and nice pubs with outdoor seating and a large green space where all those cars are parked.  Would non-IOP residents come across the connector in the fall, winter and spring to spend an afternoon or evening there?  Of course they would.

The point is this:  Had city council been proactive instead of reactive, we could have had a really, really nice business district where residents could spend time with each other while their kids played in the greenspace.  Think about this as the election approaches.

Put the Cheese on the Cracker*

. City Council .

There is a city council election coming up in November of this year.  If you would like to see some changes, here is your opportunity to find out how sausage is made.

The incumbents up for re-election are:

Ryan Buckhannon

Jimmy Carroll

Mike Loftus

Jimmy Ward

All have picked up petitions to run again.  If you would like to challenge one of them, pick up the voter petition from at City Hall on the second floor.  Your petition must contain the name, address, signature and voter ID number of at least 5% of the registered voters on the IOP.  This will come to somewhere a bit over 200 signatures.  City Hall will be able to give you the exact number.

Most signers will not know their voter ID number.  City Hall has a master list of voters and you can look up the numbers there.

These petitions must be turned in by August 24, and just like that, you will be on the ballot.

If you are tired of city council’s inability to deal with parking, quit kvetching and do something about it.  There are a lot of talented people with some great ideas on this island.  Sitting on your tookus in front of the TV and complaining changes nothing.  Get out there and make IOP a better place to live.

*If you can name the source of this quote without resorting to Google, you will be prominently mentioned in a future iopobserver posting.  Or not.

The 4 Million Dollar Marina Question

. Livability .

Marina Boat Ramp

Riddle me this Batman:  Why do IOP residents have to pay to use a boat ramp they own?

A little background.  The marina property was bought by the city in January 1999 for $4,100,000 and financed with a 20 year bond.  That bond has been refinanced several times and will be paid off in February 2019.

The city currently owes $1,175,000 on the property.

So this property was bought and is being paid for by the residents of IOP.  Why, then, do we have to pay to launch a boat and park the trailer at a city property that we are paying for?

Charleston County operates 19 boat ramps, 14 of which are large enough from which to launch a boat from a trailer.  As far as I know there is no fee to launch your boat or park your trailer.

I doubt there is a lot of maintenance required for the above ramp, but any maintenance that may be needed could be financed by boaters who do not live on the IOP.

It is past time for the residents who live here to reap some rewards in return for the other inconveniences we cheerfully tolerate.