MUSC
Dear Editor:
Joe Cronin is right to be irritated at the Medical University Of South Carolina. (“Further Discussion Needed,” Island Connection, July 2023.) MUSC displayed a complete lack of respect and common courtesy by not calling Cronin to tell him that the Medical Pavilion will be moved next to Seafields.
Instead, Cronin found out by chance in a Kiawah Town Council meeting. Maybe now you have a taste of the same disrespect Seabrook Property Owners feel from SIPOA and our town government. Maybe.
Cronin said that: “A lot of communication needs to happen.” Communication requires listening, talking and respect. Just like MUSC disrespected the Seabrook town government, the Seabrook Planning Commission disrespected the very people it represents by voting 4:1 in favor of the Andell Annexation. The final tally of “citizen votes” was: 441 AGAINST and 31 FOR (an unprecedented turnout: more than what elected you!).
Jim Newton was the only Planning Commissioner who respected his neighbors enough to vote NO. Stan Ullner (Chair), Wayne Billian (Vice Chair), Tom Hund and Sharon Welch all voted YES. Chair Ullner played the victim-card by calling dissenting views “intimidation.”
Why does this project warrant your steamrolling over basic tenets of small-town government? It would be understandable if the annexation is needed for something critical, like a municipal water well or an expansion of the sewer treatment plant or improved ingress/egress for hurricane evacuation. But a new private marina/yacht club/lodging is not necessary, and in fact does nothing for Seabrook property owners or the surrounding community (who also oppose the annexation). The annexation benefits only the developer and his syndicate of out-of-town investors by providing sewer service and access to our beach. It would marginally raise the tax base, which means a big bonus for Town staff; it would marginally increase sewer fees, which means a big bonus for the Utility Commissioners.
But your neighbors have told you by a 15:1 ratio: “We understand your increased tax base argument, and we still don’t want it!”
Now that you have been disrespected by MUSC and have a taste of the same disrespect experienced by your neighbors, and now that you know the magnitude of the opposition of your neighbors, what will you do? Will you show respect to your neighbors by voting NO or at least tabling the annexation so you can interact with us in a meaningful way before holding a referendum (ie: Cronin’s communication needs to happen)? Or are you going to disrespect your neighbors and kowtow to a developer and his money partners who only value Seabrook as a vessel into which they can flush their toilets?
Sincerely,
Terrell Bowers
Seabrook Island