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Since May 2005 • Volume 19 • Issue 21 • IslandEyeNews.com
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IOP Council looks at expanding use of tourism money
Another year, another IOP Front Beach Fest
Photo by Kather
ine Berry.
Photo courtesy of the IOP Rec Department.
Residents and visitors of all ages are invited to a day of dancing, eating and fun along Ocean Boulevard on the Isle of Palms March 2. The annual Front Beach Fest will feature music from The Coppertones and The Yacht Club. Scheduled from noon to 4 p.m., the event will include handmade arts and crafts from more than 40 local vendors, while island restaurants and other local food vendors will fill the street, offering their favorite dishes. There also will be multiple areas dedicated to kids’ entertainment.
Spring might be here before Corps of Engineers project gets underway By Brian Sherman For The Island Eye News A federally funded project that eventually will bring much-needed sand to the erosion-ravaged beach at the southwest end of the Isle of Palms probably won’t get underway until spring officially arrives – or possibly later. According to Army Corps of Engineers Project Manager Jacob Kyzar, the earliest 500,000 cubic yards of sand will begin its journey through a pipeline from the Intracoastal Waterway to the Breach Inlet area of IOP will be mid-to-late March. The project, which will cost an estimated $10 million, includes an additional 175,000 cubic yards for the Sullivan’s Island beach. The Corps originally was supposed to look at bids on the project on Dec. 29 of last year, but the bid opening has been delayed until Jan. 31. “We had a few internal delays finalizing the docu-
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ments. We moved it back to give us more time to work through those issues,” Kyzar said. “I don’t know how many bidders there will be,” he added. “Sometimes they come in at the last minute. I think we have a lot of interested prospective bidders, and I’m hopeful we’ll get a good amount of competition.” Kyzar said it would take 30 to 45 days to transport the sand – which has been dredged from the Intracoastal over the past 10 to 15 years and stored in areas along the Waterway – to Sullivan’s Island and the remainder of the six-month project for IOP to receive its allotment. He said he didn’t know yet which of the barrier islands would be the first to receive sand. Neither island will pay for the sand, but both will be financially responsible for moving it after it is delivered between the high tide and low tide lines. Fragoso said Jan. 17 that the city was meeting with its consultant, Coastal (Continued on page 4)
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By Brian Sherman For The Island Eye News Isle of Palms officials will consider using more of the money the city collects from tourism-related activities to pay for items such as salaries and benefits for police officers and firefighters. At the City Council’s Jan. 11 workshop, City Administrator Desiree Fragoso pointed out that IOP already has one of the lowest property tax rates in Charleston County because it is able to leverage the money that comes in from the hospitality tax on food and beverages, as well as the city and state taxes on short-term rental properties. She told Council members that the city’s 1% accommodations tax on short-term rentals pays for three firefighters and two police officers, while the hospitality tax covers the cost of a firefighter, a livability and special services officer and a police officer. The 2% state accommodations tax, meanwhile, pays for half the cost of the city’s public relations and tourism coordinator, two firefighters, three paramedics and one police officer. According to Fragoso, the state accommodations tax pays for 22% and 17% of the Fire Department and Police Department personnel costs, respectively. “We had a conversation last year about using more tourism dollars. I think we would be comfortable moving that up 25%, maybe 30%,” she said. “That is an opportunity for us to leverage the tourism dollars and potentially add positions that have not been funded by tourism dollars that I think are well-justified to do so.” Fragoso noted that since the flow of tourism dollars can be affected by the economy, (Continued on page 6)
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