• Renewed his challenge to the Community Foundation of the Lowcountry to create an interest-free loan program to provide moderate-income residents with a means to pay for getting sewer service. The program is a key component of his sewer initiative, but Peeples said he has heard no response from the foundation.
• Said the No. 1 priority for the town in the coming year will be to make sure Hilton Head is as prepared as possible to deal with a hurricane or other disaster.
He stressed the need for home and business owners to be aware of insurance and disaster readiness in the wake of a record-breaking and devastating hurricane season.
The Town Council this year adopted an ordinance that eliminates red tape to allows owners to rebuild their property immediately after a hurricane.
"You have to walk away with a set of plans (for your building) ... We have created a way to let these structures go back together as quickly as possible."
• Invited residents of Jenkins Island to consider seeking annexation into town limits, but said the town government won't try to forcibly annex the land. The move to annex the area arose after Hilton Head lowered its tax rate earlier this year, making it slightly lower than the Bluffton Township's Fire District, which Jenkins Island is part of.
"Those folks believe they're part of the town; they ought to be part of the town. I believe it's in their best interest and in the best interest of our community."
• Stressed the importance of constructing Bluffton Parkway and eventually extending it from the bridges to Hilton Head Island all the way to Interstate 95. The issue is of particular importance now that the hurricane season raised concerns about evacuation routes, he said. Johnston said local governments will have to get Hardeeville to participate in paying for and constructing the roadway.
• Encouraged efforts to get the parkway designated U.S. 278-A, making it eligible for federal dollars. The Lowcountry Council of Governments this week also endorsed the effort. Johnston also said he supports building flyovers on the parkway at S.C. 46, Simmonsville and Buck Island roads.
• Said the referendum on a 1 percent sales tax that failed last November needs to be revisited to help pay for transportation improvements. "I'm here to tell you, it's not over. We have to do that again and pursue that."
• Pushed for more economic diversification in the county. Of 106,000 parcels in the county, only 4,000 to 5,000 are commercial properties, he said.
The New River campus of the Technical College of the Lowcountry now under construction and the planned May River Technology Park will help that problem, Newton said.
• Said roadway construction on U.S. 278 and Bluffton Parkway are important steps to help relieve congestion in the area. Newton said the county is working to get the parkway project added to the state's project priority list to make it available for state and federal money.
• Declared that cooperation between Bluffton, Hilton Head and Beaufort and Jasper counties is crucial to the success of the southern Beaufort County regional plan, but the governments first need to address a projected $360 million funding gap in the plan.
"The real challenge will be implementing the plan at each governmental level. It's more important than ever to address our transportation needs regionally."
This is cache, read story here
