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Since May 2005 • Volume 19 • Issue 19 • IslandEyeNews.com
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December 29, 2023
Rain, high tides pummel IOP and Sullivan’s Island
Photo by Della Watson.
By Brian Sherman For The Island Eye News Heavy rain and unexpectedly high tides combined to cause flooding, erosion and other storm damage to the Isle of Palms and Sullivan’s Island Dec. 17. On IOP, most of the impact of the storm was felt on the beach, both at Breach Inlet and along Beachwood East in Wild (Continued on page 8) Dunes, according to City Administrator
Power company to start trimming SI trees Jan. 2 Access to the IOP beach was limited after the Dec. 17 storm due to damage to this Front Beach walkway.
Pay hike for IOP employees might not require property tax increase By Brian Sherman For The Island Eye News The new year will bring a substantial raise in pay for Isle of Palms employees, which might or might not require a property tax increase for island residents in fiscal year 2025. At its final meeting of 2024, held Dec. 18, the IOP City Council voted unanimously to raise the salaries of fire and police personnel by an average of
14%, while the rest of the city’s employees will receive pay hikes of 7% to 7.5%. The measure was passed after a presentation by Council Member John Bogosian, chair of the Administration Committee. Individual salary increases will be determined by City Administrator Desiree Fragoso, with input from department heads. The annual impact of the pay raises, $550,000 for salaries and a total of around (Continued on page 4)
By Brian Sherman For The Island Eye News With some Sullivan’s Island residents apparently still feeling the pain of Dominion Energy’s 2019 efforts to trim and eliminate trees that compete for space with the island’s power lines, the electric company is getting ready to repeat the process. Mark Branham of Dominion Energy told members of the Sullivan’s Island Town Council Dec. 19 that work on trimming trees along 16 miles of overhead lines will begin Jan. 2. He said the project would begin at the Fort Moultrie end of the island and that the first phase would take eight to 10 weeks to complete. Dominion then will determine which palmetto trees, which he said are “a big safety and reliability concern,” will be removed. Local resident Karen Byko spoke during the citizens’ com(Continued on page 4) ments part of the meeting, Photo by Brian Sherman.
A Christmas present to the region Sullivan’s Island comes through for Toys for Tots program By Brian Sherman For The Island Eye News An array of town employees, Mayor Pat O’Neil, Council Member Jodi Latham, representatives from the military and the staff of Timmy Hayes Moving joined forces to load up 355 bicycles and 70 helmets for a trip to North Charleston Dec. 18, an initiative deemed by the mayor to be “Sullivan’s Island’s Christmas present to the region.” Collected by the Sullivan’s Island Police Department as part of the Marine Corps’
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Toys for Tots program, the bikes and other presents were delivered to children throughout the tri-county area on Christmas Day. The 355 bikes are nearly 100 more than were donated by residents, businesses and churches on and off the island last year. “It was nothing short of amazing,” said Deputy Police Chief Glenn Meadows, who has run the program since he joined the Department in 2021. “We’re blown away.” Meadows pointed out that the Police Department had lots of (Continued on page 6)
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Town Administrator Andy Benke, left, and Police Sgt. Gary Erickson were among those loading up bikes Dec. 18 to be transported to North Charleston and distributed to children on Christmas day.
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