Setting the record straight on Main Street

On the day this story about the filling of potholes on Hilton Head Island’s Main Street was published, I got a call back from the president of the group that owns the roadway.

David Staley wanted to set the record straight on a few things, starting with an important point where this story is concerned: The Main Street Commercial Property Owners Association owns the stretch of roadway in question and it — not the Town of Hilton Head Island — was responsible for patching the holes in the road. (The story goofed on the first point, and the headline accompanying it goofed on the second.)

Staley also said:

• No one from the town ever told the association about a staff recommendation that the group he represents make $107,000 in improvements before the Town of Hilton Head Island consider taking ownership of the road.

• The potholes were filled because “as roads fail, you make repairs,” not because of the town staff’s recommendation.

• Property owners on the roads — with the exception of Island Lutheran Church, All Saints Episcopal Church, Bible Baptist Church and Congregation Beth Yam — pay 17 cents per-square-foot of their property to the association each year. The dues pay for road and landscape maintenance.

Staley was not a source for the story because attempts to reach him for comment were unsuccessful. He said today that he was unavailable because he was traveling.