Since May 2007 PRESORT STANDARD US POSTAGE PAID CHARLESTON SC PERMIT NO 137 POSTAL PATRON
VOLUME 18 ISSUE 21
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A Bittersweet Goodbye
New Year, New Town Officials
K I AWA H I S L A N D ’ S C O U N C I L I S N O W C O M P L E T E
SEABROOK BIDS FA R E W E L L TO A D M I N I S T R AT O R
BY THERESA STRATFORD For The Island Connection
BY THERESA STRATFORD
T
For The Island Connection
he December 17 Seabrook Town Council meeting took a sad turn when Mayor Bruce Kleinman announced the departure of the town’s assistant town administrator Katharine Watkins. She will be leaving her role in early January to be the town administrator for the town of Awendaw. Mayor Bradley Belt. As the assistant town administrator, Watkins took care of the day-to-day operations of the town, performing a variety of functions including human resources, IT, payroll and procurement. Watkins came to Seabrook in 2021 to fill the role that Faye Allbritton had left after her retirement. Allbritton had been with the town for 25 years. Watkins first started with Seabrook as the town clerk/treasurer. Working in the public sector is not new for Watkins, (continued on page 2) and neither is working for a coastal
An Update on Island Park Place
Russell Berner.
BY THERESA STRATFORD For The Island Connection
M
ayor Bruce Kleinman provided an update on the current status of Island Park Place with Charleston County. He announced that he had penned a letter of disapproval of the project to Charleston Luke Farrell. County in November. Kleinman said that his letter was presented to the Charleston County Planning Commission, who ultimately voted unanimously to recommend denying approval of the project to Charleston County Council. Charleston County staff also recommended denying the project. A Charleston County Public Hearing about the project was held on Tuesday, December 10. The Monday before that, a community meeting was held on Kiawah Island and hosted by Kleinman and Mayor Bradley Belt of Madeleine Kaye. Kiawah Island. Kleinman said that Charleston County Council Member Jenny Costa Honeycutt, who represents the Sea Islands, attended the community meeting. He added that the developer was invited, but neglected to respond to the invitations and did not show up to the meeting. He said he was encouraged by Honeycutt’s expression of opposition to the project. Charleston County’s Planning and Public Works Committee was supposed to consider an approval or denial recommendation on (continued on page 2) Lance Spencer.
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or the first time, the new and fully constituted Kiawah Island Town Council met on December 3. With the addition of Lane Spencer, who was elected in November, Council is complete. Mayor Bradley Belt addressed the members, their talents and the expertise that they will bring to the town. “We’re quite lucky because these are all roll-up-your-sleeves types,” he said. He started with Town Council Member Russell Berner, who began his four-year term in 2023. He is Mayor Pro Tempore and chairs the Public Safety Committee. Belt said, “Berner’s portfolio is not just acting as public safety committee chair, but also helping with public safety at large, including law enforcement, EMS, beach patrol and code enforcement. I am particularly impressed with CERT, which is the Community Emergency Response Team, and their level of activity in the past three weeks. It has really expanded over the past three years.” Berner is also a Trustee with the Kiawah Conservancy and a Kiawah Island Turtle Patrol Member. He was a member of the Town’s Board of Zoning Appeals, but that service ended when he was elected to Town Council. He is currently working on two important projects for Kiawah: a design to improve exiting traffic flow at the front gate and a design to reduce flooding on Governor’s Drive. In Berner’s professional life, he was a licensed engineer, and he holds a degree in mechanical engineering. He worked 44 years in the construction industry. He owned a business called Construction Claims Group from 1999 to 2020, where he testified as an expert witness in court 30 times for construction claims. Council Member Madeleine Kaye also began her term in 2023 and will serve until 2027. Kaye serves as the Environmental Committee chair, and she chairs the Marsh Management Committee. Belt said, “Madeleine Kaye is in charge of protecting our natural environment and native wildlife. She has been working on a broad range
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of projects that have gotten a lot of attention recently, some that have garnered some tension and notoriety. One of those topics was the off-leash rules and the impacts that has on nesting shorebirds and the shorebird population. She also deals with the marsh management plan and management of the Kiawah River bridge and many other related matters.” Kaye has a background in communications and public affairs and worked for 30 years for Merck & Company in a variety of managerial positions. She was a member of the Planning Commission, where she said they made key decisions that impact Kiawah’s future, including issues like rezoning West Beach tracts, drafting a sweeping Marsh Management Plan, working on the Town’s next comprehensive plan and crafting a much-needed tree preservation ordinance. Council Member Luke Farrell's term will expire in 2025. He chairs the South Carolina State Accommodation Tax Committee, as well as the Audit Committee and the Ways and Means Committee. Belt said about Farrell: “He has taken the bull by the horns and has updated our accounting policies and procedures, which is ongoing. He is looking at ways to really think about our state accommodations tax or local hospitality tax revenues, which are constrained on how they are used, but we can probably use them in more creative ways than we have before. We want to get more people interested in applying for ATAX funds. He will also be looking into how to review our investment policy.” Farrell has an undergraduate degree in chemical engineering and ran chemical plants for two Fortune 500 companies for over 12 years, which helped him develop strong project management and problem-solving skills. He spent the last 25 years on Wall Street as a trader, analyst, portfolio manager and senior strategist. He worked with and led teams making large financial decisions, while integrating both risk and outcomes, all (continued on page 3) with clear and
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