Port Royal residents want to continue port cleanup

Port Royal resident Jane Abrams said during Wednesday night’s town council meeting that she and some neighbors want to help clean up the Port of Port Royal.
The S.C. State Ports Authority owns the downtown waterfront property and has been attempting to sell it since 2006. This fall, it hired The Greenery to clear out some of the brush from open areas inside the property to make the area more attractive to potential buyers.
But Abrams said the scope of the work was not large enough to benefit neighbors on Madrid Avenue near 9th and 10 streets. She and a few other volunteers are willing to clear brush and debris away from the fence line to open up the view.
Town manager Van Willis said going onto the property presents a liability issue, but Mayor Sam Murray told Abrams residents could start working on the growth outside the fence. The town will remove any debris residents pile up.
Officials and residents want the Ports Authority to make more improvements to the property.
“We've looked at this trash for 50 years and it's about time to start twisting some arms and getting this done,” Councilman Vernon DeLoach said.
Willis said The Greenery gave the authority “an extremely fair price” for the clean up. Local Greenery branch manager Jerry Ashmore said the contract outlined specific work and was for $5,200.
Three attempts by developers to buy the land have fallen through. The most recent ended this summer when developers were unable to finalize financing. The Port Royal Redevelopment Group lost several hundred thousand dollars it paid the authority in non-refundable deposits.
“I know what they received in earnest money from the last contract, so I know they can afford it (the cleanup),” Willis said of the Ports Authority.
The property is listed for sale at $20.4 million by real estate firm NAI Avant.
In other business, council:
• Granted initial approval to annexation and rezoning requests for properties at the corner of Robert Smalls Parkway and Savannah Highway. Attorney David Tedder, who represents the owners of almost 17 acres in the 800-block of the parkway, told council there have been discussions with the Beaufort County Open Land Trust to preserve part of the area. He said plans include the creation of a buffer between any commercial development and the Broad River.
• Approved a one-year extension on a landscaping contract with The Greenery at a cost of $168,523. The original contract was for $162,390. The work will involve maintaining public spaces along roadways and cleanup after storms.