By Lolita Huckaby
BEAUFORT
It’s politics front and center … or at least it will be after Halloween.
The roadside signs are up, major intersections are drawing groups of enthusiastic political supporters waving signs and here, in Beaufort county, 31,814 (as of Oct. 26), or 22 percent of the registered voters have cast their ballots prior to next week’s big day.
“They’re saying” … whoever they is … the presidential election results probably won’t be known for a day or two … maybe a month or two … maybe for the next four years. But here in Beaufort County, it’s pretty certain we’ll know the fate of the penny sales tax, and the Beaufort mayoral and council races before the sun comes up on Nov. 6.
There have been candidate forums to give voters opportunities to learn more about the two mayoral candidates and four city council candidates who are running for two seats. Will the incumbents – current Mayor Phil Cromer and Council members Neil Lipsitz and Mitch Mitchell – take the day? Or will the challengers – City Councilman Josh Scallate who wants to be mayor after two years on council, Josh Gibson and Julie Crenshaw – take the oath of office in December?
Do the majority of Beaufort city voters want a change in leadership or are they confident those holding office now are the best candidates to serve this growing municipality? Or will it be a combination of “old” and “new” with the rants on social media playing a heavy role in swaying voters, especially those who haven’t been watching the operations of city government closely and rely on “what they hear”?
And what about the fate of the penny Transportation Sales Tax referendum designed to last 10 years or when $950 million is generated? The sales tax which would finance not just road improvement projects but more sidewalks and bike paths, more dirt roads paved, improved mass transportation, buried power lines. General opinion seems to be the tax referendum is not expected to pass especially since the county Republican Tea Party jumped in early with a “fool us once, shame on you. Fool us twice, shame on us” campaign.
(For the record, the 2018 sales tax referendum passed by 56.8 percent.)
Despite the county engineering department’s efforts to provide a wealth of information about the proposed sales tax and reasons why the 2018 10-year or $950 million sales tax referendum didn’t cover projects as promised, the opposition has come on strong, primarily using social media and some print ads. Even the County Council members have reluctantly gotten on board the campaign by scheduling individual community meetings to provide information about the tax.
The municipal city councils, which stand to receive large portions of the tax revenues, have also reluctantly embraced the tax referendum, using the excuse state law prohibits elected officials from spending tax money on referendums.
Jasper County voters, on the other hand, have their own penny sales tax for road improvements and land conservation to vote on. And word is, their referendum question looks like it will pass. Our neighbor will be considering a sales tax designed to raise $470 million over a 15-year period.
And while the fates of these two referendums look divided one week before the actual vote, some of road projects on both ballots address joint problem areas – the intersection of U.S. 278, S.C. 170 and Argent Boulevard (referred to as “the Triangle”) and S.C. 46. Jasper County may have the sales tax money to contribute to the improvement projects, Beaufort County’s gonna have to rely on state and federal funds to help deal with those bottlenecks.
Who knows what the voters will decide, at least not until next week.
Bluff boats update
BEAUFORT – While some folks are still cleaning up debris from Helene five weeks ago, city officials are keeping an eye on the boats that were blown from their moorings in the Beaufort River onto the Bay Street bluff.
Nine boats were pushed beyond the high tide mark into the marsh and as of this week, five remain. Four were able to get pulled off in last week’s king high tides but officials have collect boat owner information on the remaining vessels. Next step will be to contact the owners to find out their plans for removal. There’s also the state Department of Natural Resources removal procedure but everyone’s hoping it gets resolved before that action must occur.
Lastly, but not about voting
BEAUFORT – The “fire” on Bay Street last Wednesday, which caused the closure of Bay Street for an hour, was, luckily, not a fire at all. It was the smell of “something burning” from a vent in the “Mr.” retail store, former site of Harvey’s Barber Shop. The Harvey boys left Bay Street in 2020, after 86 years in that location, but they’re still cutting hair on Lady’s Island.
And speaking of long-time businesses, an adios to John and Jeni Feeser who transferred the ownership of Lowcountry Bikes to new folks last week.
The business has serviced the cycling needs of Lowcountry riders for 37 years, first on Port Republic Street as a neighbor to the also-gone Emily’s restaurant, and then on Lady’s Island.
Thirty-seven years, no easy feat these days. But they did it, with the help of their friends, and now they can enjoy retirement.
Lolita Huckaby Watson is a community volunteer and newspaper columnist. In her former role as a reporter with The Beaufort Gazette, The Savannah Morning News, Bluffton Today and Beaufort Today, she prided herself in trying to stay neutral and unbiased. As a columnist, these are her opinions. Her goal is to be factual but opinionated, based on her own observations. Feel free to contact her at bftbay@gmail.com.
