Isle of Palms residents will have the opportunity to find out everything there is to know about a major beach renourishment project at the southwest end of the island at a public meeting Nov. 13.
The meeting, concerning a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers project that is expected to bring around 500,000 cubic yards of sand to the IOP beach, is slated for 5 p.m. at the Isle of Palms Exchange Club. The sand was previously dredged out of the Intracoastal Waterway. The project is scheduled for completion sometime between January and June of 2024.
Meanwhile, the Isle of Palms is taking a three-pronged attack to protect 10 properties that have been seriously affected by erosion. City Administrator Desiree Fragoso told IOP Council members at their regularly scheduled Oct. 24 meeting that 25,000 to 30,000 cubic yards of sand had been trucked to the beach, sand scraping was underway and sandbags were expected to be placed Oct. 25 at properties from 120 to 206 Ocean Blvd.
She added that some residents might be interested in paying to install sandbags to protect their properties. The Council voted 7-2 at a special meeting Oct. 10 to allow residents as far north as 914 Ocean Blvd. to circumvent a city ordinance that prohibits “hard erosion control structures” within 250 feet of the high-water mark of the Atlantic Ocean. Two Council members, Blair Hahn and Kevin Popson, voted against the ordinance, which will expire after 60 days but can be extended by the Council.
In other action Oct. 24, the Council voted unanimously to pay Trident Construction and McMillan Pazdan Smith Architecture $68,267, and possibly another $9,867, to develop conceptual design options for renovating City Hall. Based on input from the city staff, Trident will come up with four options: comprehensive renovation; partial renovation; necessity-focused renovation that meets only critical needs; and a new building.
Director of Building, Planning and Zoning Douglas Kerr explained that city code specifically prohibits IOP from taking competitive bids for design work.
“This first stage is basically all design work, so the way we’ve done it is dictated by our code. We would have the option at subsequent stages. We could do it competitively then, but, at this stage, it’s really just working through concepts with us,” he said.
The Council also voted unanimously not to accept any of the profit from the Oct. 7 IOP Connector Run. Under the bylaws of the event, Mount Pleasant and Isle of Palms each receive 10% of the proceeds, which amounted to around $8,200 last year, Mayor Phillip Pounds said. The race benefits 10 local nonprofits. The city contributed a $7,500 sponsor fee this year.
The Council also authorized the consumption of beer and wine during the LOWVELO Bike Ride Nov. 4 and approved a proclamation declaring Nov. 16 as World Pancreatic Cancer Day in IOP.
