Letters to the Editor: February 19, 2010
Dear Editor,
Did you know that the mayor of Folly Beach has an allotted salary of $9,600? That number is for the entire year, which by my calculations would barely cover my share of rent for the quaint dilapidated beach shack I call home. Carl Beckmann can attest to the fact that being mayor is a full-time job. If I run the numbers at 40 hours a week for 48 weeks out of the year (I threw in 4 weeks of vacation), our mayor makes a whopping $5 an hour. Whoa, that is what I call a labor of love my friends!
On top of that, I think it is amazing that an additional two folks are vying for this job, fellow councilmen Eddie Ellis and Tim Goodwin. The question becomes who should we let sweat for this thankless job. The answer on everyone’s mind should be whomever you think can best work with the city council. Remember now, there is no ‘i’ in team!
Folly government has been sitting in gridlock that is as bad as our summer traffic for far too long. Why is that you may ask? I’ll cut you some slack, and instead of searching for my soap box to convince you to be an active citizen and figure it out for yourself, I’ll give you the scoop. There are ego issues on the council that are so atrocious the council can’t communicate. I saw this first had at the last council meeting on January 26th. Our council failed to get a unanimous vote to approve the traffic study taken last summer for review, not to fund changes nor actively pursue its recommendations, just for the Planning Commission to simply review it. The question I pose to Eddie Ellis, our Council’s token nay sayer, why on Earth did we conduct the study if it wasn’t to review it and make changes to the status quo? Further communication problems reached a zenith similar to a frat-tastic burping contest, which emptied most of the room, when the issue of a public recycling bin was brought up. I’ll explain it for those of you who missed Lauren Dean’s excellent article on the meeting, which appeared in the Current on February 5th.
Once upon a time, we had two options where to put a large multi-purpose recycling bin out in the land of Folly, and each site had pros and cons. They were all discussed and then the magic fairy, Councilwoman Beck, waived her wand and said, “How about we let the City decide between the locations where to put the bin, since they are the ones who have to figure out how to empty it.” The polite peanut gallery nodded to this wise comment. But then, Councilman Ellis through efforts of double speak, showed how his site was better than Councilman Goodwin’s citing facts from conversations with the City about the bin. However, since he had not conveyed any of that information previously to the council nor could figure out a way to succinctly articulate the issue, he decided to win the argument by boring the council and peanut gallery to death. Poor Councilman Goodwin decided to back down off of the issue while Ellis chuckled and exclaimed, “Washington has health care reform and Folly Beach has recycling bins.”
All I have to say is – it is a solitary recycling bin. The problem of a Folly Beach recycling bin should not be as complex as a multibillion dollar reform which affects every single American. Anyone who says they are comparable should not be in politics.
Yet, all of this aside, you as a resident can fix this communication problem. Shazam, you can vote! It is seriously that simple. The voter registration deadline for Folly’s City Council election is March 6th, and the actual elections are April 6th. You can read about the candidates, attend the next council meeting, and see these storybook characters in action.
I know, I know… who has time anymore for issues that seem to take care of themselves? However, this stuff is seriously important – the government takes our money for this. Folly government affects you everyday whether you are willing to admit it or not. We all are part of “Follitics,” so let’s put a stop to this nonsense already and demand a change in behavior from our council. Get pumped for the next Folly Beach Council Meeting, February 23rd on the second floor of City Hall – Game Time is 7 PM! I will see you there.
Sincerely,
Kathryn Miller
Folly Beach Resident
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Dear Editor,
Recently I received my residential parking decal application. Stated in bold I read, “renters are not eligible to receive parking stickers”. I’m afraid this is the first of many steps towards becoming like Kiawah or Seabrook, where property owner’s associations run the city. When I moved here as a renter 29 years ago, I recognized that, unlike other places, Folly took in and accepted everyone, regardless of income or family connections. In this egalitarian atmosphere the garbage man was as likely as the city attorney to attend the same oyster roast. People who move to Folly do so out of choice. Shortly after establishing residence, they take pride in and ownership of their Beach. I’ve witnessed this over and over. This move to ban renters and give stickers to owners only is sure to disenfranchise renters, an important portion of this community. All permanent year-round residents should be allowed parking decals. Otherwise, rename it an “owners” decal because as presently restricted it is most definitely not a “residents” decal.
Anton DuMars
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Dear Editor,
I learned through the Mayor’s letter in the Sandspur that the City was making plans to relocate a diagonal so-called “ditch” on the corner lot at W Ashley and 9th Street, just down the street from me, and relocate Red Sunset Lane by the river from its present location on a man made causeway to possably a bridge causeway combination over the creek and marsh.
I remember the path of the wetlands and ‘whispering tree creek’ back to the river. I have also ‘heard’ from a knowledgeable source that there is a request to relocate part of ‘whispering tree creek’ and fill the wetlands behind the 9th and West Ashley wetland area to the river. I have lived here over 55 years and remember how this area was before Mosquito Control, in an effort to have better drainage of the wetlands, dug some 4′ wide ditches connecting and re-routing some mini creeks in the area behind West Ashley Avenue from 8th Street to 9th Street back to the river. OCRM has marked this wetland area many times. .
The main tidal and drainage blockage is the small culvert under Red Sunset Lane that is the main route for in and out tides and was once 25′ wide marsh and marsh grass until the Red Sunset Lane causeway connector filled it in. Mosquito Control made parts of these creeks and wetlands sections into areas that look like ditches, so I believe that does not make it ok to relocate the salt water path. I have documented pictures of the changes over the years and have seen fiddler crabs and marsh grass coming back only to be cut down by the Mosquito Control maintenance crew.
I believe proper research has not been done regarding filling and re-routing those so-called “ditches.” This is where the tide has come in since I was a kid here and obviously before that. A study of old ariel maps will show how the mini creek winds through the West 9th Street area. When Mosquito Control came in and dug out those areas in the 1950’s they re-routed the mini creeks and marsh into straight lines. Salt water tidal marsh and creeks cannot be filled or re-routed.
It would be more proper if the mini creeks including ‘whispering tree creek’ were put back to there original path before mosquito control dug them out and straightened out there path. The impact to wildlife and wetlands in this area need to be considered because there are only a few acres left untouched on Folly Island as it is. The bob cat population has dwindled to just a few and the natural environment for the birds of Folly Beach has all but disappeared as new sites are developed, especially the marsh and wetlands.
Everyone concerned please look into the projects and contact the necessary authorities to put a stop to the unnecessary abuse of the Folly Island wetlands. We should be putting our efforts to beach erosion as opposed to spending money to fill and relocate the wetlands.
how.e davis
Folly Beach
