IOP Connector
The city of Isle of Palms already has hired a consultant to work with the South Carolina Department of Transportation on options for re-striping the IOP Connector. At its Sept. 27 meeting, the IOP Council decided to direct the same consultant, Bihl Engineering, to represent the city concerning potential improvements along Palm Boulevard that include parking, a bike path and an emergency lane. According to Mayor Phillip Pounds, the SCDOT has agreed to pay to develop conceptual design alternatives for Palm between 21st and 41st avenues. Council Member Blair Hahn pointed out that the well-traveled road simply isn’t safe right now. “We’ve got cars backing into traffic, we’ve got cars doing U-turns, we’ve got people walking down the street, we’ve got golf carts and bicycles in the middle of the street, and we don’t have an emergency lane,” Hahn said. “We need to make a place that is safe for everybody. People unloading their cars and going to their cars, excited children, dogs and people who have overindulged all need to be safe.” “Safety of that road is our responsibility. We need to step up,” Hahn added. Council Member Katie Miars said a study should be completed as soon as possible, even if the city was required to pay for it, and Council Member Rusty Streetman added that in addition to being unsafe, the road was “unsightly” as well. The Council eventually agreed to direct Bihl Engineering to work with the SCDOT to come up with options for making Palm Boulevard safer. In other action at its Sept. 27 meeting, the Council unanimously approved an automatic aid agreement for fire protection with the town of Mount Pleasant. City Administrator Desiree Fragoso pointed out that the agreement also includes fire departments in Charleston, North Charleston, James Island, Johns Island and St. Andrews.
IOP Fire Chief Craig Oliverius called the agreement “a wonderful opportunity for us.” At the same meeting, Pounds recommended that the Council’s Personnel Committee – which includes John Bogosian, Jan Anderson and the mayor – “complete the work they had started on the Code of Conduct” and return its recommendations to the Council for review and approval. Bogosian said his committee would have a draft for either the Council’s Oct. 11 workshop or its Oct. 25 meeting. At a special meeting Sept. 13, the Council voted to hold a public disciplinary hearing regarding Miars’ alleged violation of the city’s Code of Conduct. According to Pounds, in an op-ed piece written by Miars and published in the Sept. 9 issue of The Island Eye News, Miars quoted “portions of private attorney-client communications that the city attorney provided to the City Council in a memorandum dated June 9, 2022. The article also disclosed communications between Ms. Miars and the city attorney that occurred in executive session.” The Council also discussed possible changes in the city’s noise ordinance and unanimously approved requests from a production company that will be shooting scenes on the island for the movie “Suncoast,” starring Woody Harrelson and Laura Linney. The company will rent the entire municipal parking lot on Oct. 13 and has asked for permission to use six parking spots on the east side of Ocean Boulevard in front of Coconut Joe’s from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Oct. 12 and eight spaces in the same area from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Oct. 13. The Council also approved intermittent traffic control, with assistance from the IOP Police Department.
In addition, the Council unanimously approved expenditures totaling $295,506 for two pickleball courts and totally renovating two basketball courts at the Recreation Center – $225,000 had been budgeted for the project. Fragoso suggested that the difference could come from a building fund made up of donations from community members.
The Council discussed changes in the city’s dog laws that will be included in an ordinance and discussed at its next meeting. Two special presentations also were made at the meeting: Geoffrey Fourqurean was given the Spirit of the Island award, and Hartley DePass was cited for his win at the Eastern Surfing Association Championships.
