Introduction: The Club provides a forum for the candidates to present their positions to voters and respond to brief written questions. The location is the Community Center and commences at 7 P.M. Tuesday, February 21^st. The Club invites as many of the voters/residents to attend as can fit safely in the room.

Process

The Vice President will give a brief welcome.

The moderator will read the biography and the candidate has no more than 4 minutes to speak. There will be a time keeper

After the speeches there will be a refreshment interval. Snacks and soft drinks will be provided.

On reconvening the moderator will read out a question for the candidate. The candidates have one timed minute to reply.

This process will be repeated until either it is time for the meeting to end or the questions become exhausted.

Rules for Questions:

THERE ARE FIVE (5) CANDIDATES SO TIME WILL BE SHORT. QUESTIONS MUST BE SHORT AND CAPABLE OF SHORT ANSWERS.

• must be LEGIBLE and Signed;
• must be a question not a statement;
• must not be defamatory;
• to be used, the author of a question must be present;

Production of Questions

Email questions received before the meeting and questions deposited in a question box at the library ( 12^th March onwards) or handed in at the door will be reviewed for use. Note cards and pencils will be provided. The question cards will be collected and sorted by Club Volunteers. The same Three (?) questions considered of prime importance to the community, created by the Civic Club, will be asked in random order of each candidate. This will allow voters to compare candidates’ answers to the same question.

THERE WILL BE MORE QUESTIONS SUBMITTED THAN THERE WILL BE TIME TO ANSWER SO PLEASE REALIZE YOUR QUESTION MAY NOT GET ASKED.

Library requirements

The room has to be returned for library use so the audience will be asked to allow the club members to restack the chairs and set out the tables for the next day by 10 P.M

DJ Rich

DJ Rich

Dear Friends and Neighbors-

It has been an honor to serve you on Folly Beach City Council, and I look forward to our bright future together. As your representative, I am constantly working with not only other members of our Council, but elected officials statewide, to ensure Folly Beach has the best present and future possible, while learning lessons from our past. You can’t know where you are going without knowing where you have been, and keeping our rich history and heritage should be a top priority.

We have met many of our goals, and our island is in a great place right now. We are very healthy financially, have a thriving business district, new-look police department, more green space and parks. We updated building codes to lower flood insurance, strengthened our Beach Management Patrol, and brought police dispatch back to Folly Beach. Overall, our City has improved significantly over the past 2 years (please visit VOTETEAMDJ.com for more info), and I look forward to new challenges in the future.

As we work towards these goals, we need input from you. This is your island and your future as well, and we need to hear from you on making our island a better place to live. Please feel free to contact me anytime with questions or concerns (djforfolly@yahoo.com). Your vote for me on April 3^rd will ensure that we keep a cohesive Council, working together without mediation, while keeping Folly’s history alive. Thank you for your time and support. 

Sandy Hickman

Sandy Hickman

I am Sandy Hickman, and I am asking you for your support on April 3rd in my bid for city council. I was born and raised on East Erie, where I currently reside with my husband, Ken. Both my parents, Marcia and Angus Smith, were involved in the Folly community. My father was a Volunteer Fireman and Civic Club member. My mother is known by many as the “Bread Lady” for the Sandbar Restaurant. My daughter, Veronica Bolus, was also born and raised here on Folly and is active in the surfing community. I am a Board Member of the Folly Exchange Club where my, brother, Angus, is also currently the President. I am in the process of retiring so I can devote more time to Folly.

I have seen many changes take place here on Folly Beach. The present Council and Mayor are taking Folly in the right direction. Folly Beach has always been a laid back town and I believe it should remain that way for years to come. In order for this to occur, we all must be respectful and considerate of each other in our community as well as visitors. The stress of the day melts away as I approach Folly. “There’s no place like HOME”! I am available to speak to any and all of my fellow Folly Beachers. I can be reached at 437-0340 or sandi4council@yahoo.com.

Tom Scruggs

Tom Scruggs

My links to Folly Beach are broad and deep. I operated the “Twister” at the old amusement park, and helped run Folly Bingo (later the Islanders Shag Club and now Taco Boy). When I wasn’t working, I was either surfing or listening to awesome bands on the old pier. After graduating from James Island High School, I earned a business degree from the University of South Carolina and served in the U.S. Air Force.

In 2000 my wife Sandy and I became permanent residents of Folly Beach. I retired last March from my career as a human resources and risk management specialist (managing compensation, benefits and training programs, workers compensation and safety, and finding personnel for key positions all over the country). I’ve been working part-time on our Beach Management Patrol, helping to keep our beach and streets litter-free and serving as an “ambassador” for our city.

Our son Matt and his wife live on James Island and our daughter Carla lives in North Carolina with her husband and child. My sister Sandra Boyd lives on Folly Beach and my twin brother Tim lives in Hanahan.

I’m a member of the Folly Beach Civic Club, member/past president of the Islanders Shag Club, an Elder for James Island Presbyterian Church. Sandy and I continue to help with the FB Halloween Carnival and “Save the Light” (Morris Island Lighthouse Preservation).

If you elect me, I’ll put my personnel, finance, and planning experience to good use for Folly Beach.

Sincerely, Tom Scruggs

Eddie Ellis

Eddie Ellis

Hi! I’m Eddie Ellis. Thank-you for electing me two terms. In 2004, I promised to vote no to a property tax increase, and an increase in zoning density. In 2008, again I pledged those promises, and “to work to keep Folly a laid back residential community”. I kept my promises! If re-elected, I promise the same. Therefore, I’m asking for your vote on April 3. Please vote for me!

Serving entails more than simply voting no. I have provided fiscal responsibility and looked out for the taxpayer. In 2007, I reduced the property tax increase by $114,000. I improved the sewer finances by eliminating the $60,000 yearly PILOT, which was draining our sewer reserves. Moving forward, I want to work to establish a utilities capital improvement plan, and an infrastructure reserve. I know the city finances, and I’m confident I can serve to provide fiscal integrity, and work against property tax increases.

Legislation I introduced and passed PROHIBITS any further CONDO DEVELOPMENT, and reduces development density. Other legislation prohibits any further increase in beachfront commercialism, and limits transient vendors in our business district. I REFUSE to let Folly be a CASH COW!

Effectiveness takes working with others. I opposed County Consolidated Dispatch, and worked to overturn it. It took perseverance and cooperation from others to return our dispatchers. I’m experienced, effective, and as a graduate of MASC Elected Official’s Institute, I’m educated. Most important, I can work with mayor, council, and staff. That’s what it takes – and your vote – so please do! Contact : 588-9595 or eddie.ellis@comcast.net.


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Shameful. Outrageous. Disrespectful. All of these adjectives could be used to describe the condition in which parts of Charleston County’s beaches were left after the recent Fourth of July holiday. However, one must hesitate to use the word “surprising”.
All of our barrier islands, from Isle of Palms to Folly Beach, saw an increase in the number of people coming to the beach during a typical weekend due, partially, to the fact that July 4 occurred on a Saturday this year. Furthermore, the rapidly growing population in Charleston County has become less likely to travel due to the economy and prefer to take what has recently been coined as “stay-cations”. The result was a huge influx of visitors and daytrippers to local beaches who wanted to enjoy the July 4 holiday.

Photo by Bubber Hutto

Linda Lovvorn Tucker, the City Administrator for Isle of Palms, stated that they had one of the largest beach visitation records during the July 4 weekend that the Town has ever known. Folly Beach had an estimated 40,000 visitors that Saturday alone. The more people you have, the more likely you are to have environmentally insensitive people. Who knows why, but to loosely quote the witty “Agent K” from the movie Men in Black, “A person is smart, but people are stupid.”
However, it was Folly Beach that found itself in the throes of a media avalanche when the trash story was attached to a possible ban on alcohol, as several residents presented pictures and strongly worded letters describing the amazing amount of trash that some environmentally insensitive people left on the beach. In the midst of their rage, many residents began crying for blood … or lower blood-alcohol levels, at least. Folly resident Bubber Hutto supplied pictures and several letters requesting that the City of Folly Beach follow Isle of Palms and Sullivan’s Island by banning alcohol on the beach in order to fight litter. However, the Folly Beach City Council recognized that litter and alcohol were inherently different issues at a July 14 workshop.
Folly Beach Mayor Carl Beckmann set the tone by pointing out that the Isle of Palms and Sullivan’s Island had the same experience as Folly on July 4,and that both municipalities were inundated with visitors’ trash. Despite providing more trash cans on their beach accesses, Tucker stated that receptacles on the Isle of Palms were also overflowing, and that trash had been left on the beach, as well. It was something of a perfect storm; a situation that encouraged large amounts of trash to be generated in the beach area.
“I believe that timing circumstances impacted the appearance of the trash,” Tucker said. “From Friday until Sunday, the trash that was collected had no off-island destination.”
Despite having alcohol bans, the Isle of Palms and Sullivan’s both had similar experiences. In fact, it was Sullivan’s Island in the news last year when a section of their beach was completely trashed by visitors. To combat the problem, Sullivan’s Island has been very straightforward in their use of signs at beach accesses and even a large traffic sign on the Ben Sawyer Causeway that warns visitors against littering. They also have a beach patrol which Fire Chief Anthony Stith believes helped to keep things more controlled this year.
The Isle of Palms has hired Schupp Enterprises to regularly sweep the beach. Bill Schupp, the company owner, stated that they picked up more trash this past Fourth of July than they have had to pick up during any weekend on record.
“We all had the same problem. Which direction we want to go in and how best to attack the problem is what Folly Beach has to decide,” says Folly Beach Mayor Carl Beckmann.
Currently, the trash “problem” is only a problem during the summer and only a severe issue for several days out of the year. Folly Beach Council member Tom Scruggs pointed out that the area of beach he patrols for their turtle watch program was not even impacted during the July 4 weekend. In other words, the problem is isolated. An alcohol ban for the entire community would not impact the litter issue.
“This Council has a trend of solving problems with new rules banning things,” Council member Eddie Ellis stated. He’d like to see the Council go in a different direction this time. In fact, he’d like to see community based solutions that reflect a smaller government.
The Folly Beach City Council spent an hour and half discussing how to fight litter on the beach. They considered putting more trash receptacles and trash bags at walkovers, as well as conducting more trash pick-ups. They also discussed doing a “litter blitz” over the course of several weekends in order to show that Folly Beach will enforce state litter laws, which can include up to $1000 in fines and jail time. It was noted that the blitzes could cost up to $10,000. However, that cost could be offset by the fines, Ellis said. Better enforcement of existing laws was also a focal point, and these ideas, as well as others, will be presented at a Folly Beach public meeting scheduled for August 4.
Other factors besides alcohol are largely to blame for the litter that was left on Folly Beach. However, that does not mean that an alcohol ban is not on the table for Folly residents. The Council also discussed “inappropriate behavior”, which had some Council members discussing a ban. Council member Laura Beck led that discussion and suggested partial bans that would only apply to certain “high holidays”, like July 4, that tend to include more drinking than usual.
However, one of the more popular ideas was a new law enforcement program that included a citizen patrol modeled after Del Rey, Florida. Citizens would be trained to patrol certain areas and work with the Public Safety Department to provide more “eyes and ears” to help local law enforcement catch inappropriate behavior, such as public urination, disruptive behavior and underage drinking.
Banning alcohol was not among the ideas that the City of Folly wanted to present in their battle against litter or inappropriate behavior. A survey provided by the Folly Island Voters Association (FIVA) suggested that the vast majority of people want a ban. However, a Post & Courier survey told quite a different story with 304 people against a ban and 149 people in favor of one. Our own Folly Current survey suggested that 85 percent of people do not want an alcohol ban and nearly 70 percent did not think an alcohol ban would significantly impact litter. 65 percent of those surveyed were either full-time residents, property owners, or previous residents of Folly Beach.
Those who will be attending the August 4 meeting will have an opportunity to say whether or not Folly Beach should ban alcohol on the sand. Despite the opinion that alcohol on the beach is not really associated with litter, Mayor Beckmann stated that they would get a poll from attendees on whether alcohol should be banned.
The August 4 meeting is expected to be held at the Holiday Inn at 6pm or 6:30pm. The event has not been officially scheduled, so be sure to check with City Hall. The meeting will also be posted on the calendar at www.follycurrent.com once the meeting becomes official.

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Council member Eddie Ellis makes his point as the Folly Beach City Council discussed litter and alcohol on the beach during a July 14 work session.

While the term “alcohol ban” has been getting a lot of attention in conjunction with Folly Beach lately, the City Council hardly mentioned it during an emergency work session aimed at dealing with the trash problems that surfaced after recent July 4 celebrations. However, the option is still very much on the table and citizens will have a chance to weigh-in during an August 4 public meeting.

Members of City Council recognized that littering on the beach and alcohol are separate issues. Mayor Carl Beckmann pointed out that Isle of Palms and Sullivan’s Island, both of which already ban alcohol, had the exact same problems with excessive trash, beach litter, and trash receptacles overflowing with bags, bottles, and cans that Folly Beach had during the July 4 weekend. The majority of Council seemed to agree that banning alcohol was not a solution for reducing litter on the beach and they worked hard to focus on solving the litter problem and brainstormed many options that could change the image of Folly Beach from an “anything goes” party to one that demands respect.

Some of the ideas the Council produced to reduce litter included providing trash bags at walkovers, banning styrofoam coolers, and getting rid of the “cup” rule which requires alcohol to be poured into plastic cups but simultaneously creates more trash. Many Council members were hesitant to create more legislation. Instead, they wanted to do a better jof enforcing existing laws. While the City does not have its own litter law, State laws which include jail time and a $1000 fine could be enforced. Council member Eddie Ellis was adamant that new legislation would only work to “water down” the already thin Public Safety Department. One of the more popular ideas that could be immediately implemented was “litter blitzes”, where the Public Safety Department comes out in force over the course of several weekends heavily focused on enforcing litter laws on the beach in order to get the message across.

The Council also worked on another problem: inappropriate behavior. Folly Beach, it seems, has become plagued with disrespectful visitors, and residents as well, who throw trash in peoples’ yards, fight, and even urinate on private property. It was during this discussion that banning alcohol began to raise its head. While Council member Laura Beck said that she preferred not to create more legislation, she led the charge with ideas that focused on banning alcohol in one form or another. Among the suggestions were banning alcohol during “high holidays” such as July 4.

One of the more interesting and popular ideas was a “citizens patrol” idea that was modeled after a Del Rey, Florida program in which volunteers out of the community are trained to patrol particular areas in conjunction with the local police force. Charlie McCarty introduced the idea and pointed out that Folly Beach has over 30 property assocations and groups that could be engaged to patrol their particular areas of the island in order to combat inappropriate behavior.

The Council produced many ideas and will present their suggestions at an August 4 meeting that is expected to be held at the Folly Beach Holiday Inn. Public input will be heard at the meeting. While alcohol and litter are two separate issues for the City Council, Mayor Beckmann stated that a poll would be taken from attendees of the meeting on whether alcohol should be banned in its right. The public sentiment seems to be a 50/50 split, according to the City Council. Details have not been finalized on the August 4 meeting, so contact City Hall for more information. The City Council is scheduled to hold their regular meeting on July 28.

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