Spencer (Provided)
For 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 (Provided)
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 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.”
Farrell (Provided)
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 with clear and measurable accountability.
Kaye (Provided)
His work on the Kiawah Island Planning Commission allowed him to apply his work experience to decisions affecting land-use, zoning, conservation and comprehensive planning.
The newest council member, Lance Spencer, who attended his first meeting on December 3, will be on Town Council until 2027. He serves as the liaison for CARTA, and he is chair for the Infrastructure and Public Works Committee.
Belt commented, “Council Member Spencer will work on the infrastructure in the public works portfolio. Telecommunications is a critical part of that, which will be ongoing. It is this campus, our roads and leisure trails we are responsible for, but also relationships with all our infrastructure providers, like Telecom, Seabrook Island Utility, Kiawah Island Utility and Berkeley Electric.”
Spencer has undergraduate and graduate degrees in engineering. He was an Air Force officer and has been deployed multiple times. He was presented the esteemed Legion of Merit by the Vice Chief of Staff of the Air Force at The Pentagon’s Hall of Heroes and was recently named to the Air Force’s highly selective Cyberspace Hall of Fame. He was a senior executive in a Fortune 13 company, leading a major business unit. He negotiated with global companies to win crucial contracts and established an industry consortium of over 30 of the largest international companies to develop next-generation solutions. He was also heavily involved in the previous community he lived in, where he served on the Community Association Board and the Traffic Task Force.
In his role, Mayor Belt serves as the liaison for the Kiawah Conservancy, Kiawah Partners, Kiawah Golf Resort, Kiawah Island Community Association, South Carolina Councils of Governments, City of Charleston, Charleston County, Charleston Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, Johns Island Task Force, Edens, St. Johns Fire District, and the Town of Seabrook Island.
Mayor Belt (Provided)
Belt spent the last decade or so in executive roles with asset management and investment banking firms. Prior to that, he served in the Administration of President George W. Bush as the head of the agency responsible for overseeing and ensuring private sector pension plans. He had leadership roles with two “think tanks,” and early in his career, served in senior counsel roles at the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
Throughout his professional career, Belt served on the fiduciary or advisory boards of various companies, nonprofit organizations, and professional associations, including the Social Security Advisory Board and UNICEF USA (MidAtlantic). Belt’s term will expire in 2025.
Belt concluded the meeting by mentioning that they need more residents to serve on Town committees. “If citizens have the energy and expertise, you should put your name in the hat,” he coommented.
