By Jeff Dennis
Edisto Beach officials have set several goals for the growing town, including working on new infrastructure and building more recreation, and these leaders have also passed a near $9 million budget to keep the town moving forward and to help meet these goals.
The new vision statement for the town goals includes census tracking for the growing number of people who are living at Edisto year-round; adding more bike paths for recreation; ditch maintenance; improving infrastructure; more beach renourishment and focusing on the town’s Public Works personnel.
“The census tracking goal is a newly identified area that we are going to be keeping a closer eye on in the future,” said Edisto Beach Town Administrator Iris Hill. “This pertains to how people vote, and specifically if they are registered to vote in the Town of Edisto Beach. The trend revealed in the last census is that more voters are listing their Edisto property as a secondary address, and as those numbers decrease, then so does the Town’s ability to receive certain government funds.
“Regarding infrastructure, the Town of Edisto Beach staff has grown from eight people to 38 employees,” said Hill. “The current Town Hall was built in 1985, and we do not have appropriate office space or parking space. Therefore, the town council funded a drawing of a new Town Hall, and we can now begin to seek funding for that in the future.
“The Town has (also) just completed a Recreation Master Plan for improvements to Bike Paths.”
According to Hill, the town will be applying for a grant for some of these funds from the State Land and Water Conservation Fund.
“We try and multiply our budget funding with grants whenever possible,” she said.
These goals for the town were created by Edisto Beach Town Council during their planning retreat, which was held in January of 2021. Also involved in this retreat were Hill and new Assistant Town Administrator Mark Aakhus.
Beach and Ditch Improvements
Two of the biggest goals set by Edisto Beach Town Council and Mayor Jane Darby focus on keeping water flowing through the town and avoiding flooding. This is a part of ongoing efforts to improve ditch maintenance and drainage.
“Ditch maintenance can relate to all sorts of projects, but we are having a staffing shortage presently,” said Hill. “The Town has budgeted money for the improved drainage at Arc and Billow Streets. We are also staying mindful of areas that sustained damage via flooding like during Hurricane Dorian. Today’s climate provides new challenges like when it rained 3-inches on July 22, causing some ponding on Palmetto Boulevard.
“The Town is systematically working on the interior lagoons to improve flow, and has requested SCDOT clean all road rights of way at the water crossings,” she said.
According to Hill, the town’s leaders are also seeking funds and a partnership with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. This joint project would “protect properties from storm surges by nourishing the beach,” said Hill.
“Also, the Town has contracted to have 5000 sea oat plants installed on the new dunes located between Beach Access 1 and 4, and at Beach Access 28,” she said. “Each planting will be cordoned off and have signage installed. Sea oats provide stabilization and capture wind driven sand that can sustain the dunes. Another spot renourishment program through FEMA will add an additional 10,000 more sea oats.”
The Edisto Beach budget for the fiscal year of 2021-2022 was passed unanimously in June of this year, with the budget total at $8,812,292-dollars.
A part of this budget includes a cost-of-living increase in pay for town employees.
“There is a cost-of-living increase for staff in the new budget,” said Hill. “We did not have a work stoppage at Town Hall during the Covid shutdown,” she said. “The Town Council approves State Accommodations Tax funding for the addition of a new law enforcement officer and a law enforcement vehicle, to assist (Edisto Beach Police) Chief Steve Miano.”
Recreational and Beach Improvements
In addition to focusing on improving infrastructure needs, Edisto Beach leaders are also working to improve the day-to-day resources that beach goers need and want.
These include adding more handicap-accessible beach mats. There are also plans to improve parking and possibly add public restrooms at Edisto Beach.
“We are ordering more mats to use at beach access points since they are proving more popular and more economical than boardwalks. We have money budgeted for outsourcing Public Works Personnel due to a high rate of employee turnover,” said Hill.
“The Town continues to see a rise in the demand for public safety, waster services, restrooms and parking,” said Hill. “Day visitors do not pay while on Edisto Beach, and we have to consider what is and what is not working at other coastal beaches. Our traffic volume already rivals Folly Beach, but it is not as noticeable since our traffic flows more freely. We hope to balance Edisto’s desirability, while preserving quality of life.”
