Eye on Beaufort

City council will give feedback on a list of 100 specific recommendations to revitalize the Northwest Quadrant Neighborhood at its workshop Tuesday.

Council is scheduled to meet at 5 p.m. in the city's courtroom at 1901 Boundary St.

The Northwest Quadrant Study Group — a group of six members appointed by city council — met for more than 120 days and presented council with a list of proposals in August.

This is council’s first public discussion of the recommendations since the study group’s presentation.

More than 90 people packed Beaufort’s courtroom Tuesday and listened as Craig Lewis, a representative of the Lawrence Group, highlighted key parts of the city’s 2009 Comprehensive Plan.

Lewis took questions from the audience after the presentation. Below are some of those questions and his responses (which have been paraphrased).

• Question: Are there two or three core decisions the city can make to revitalize the Northwest Quadrant?

The city of Beaufort, Port Royal and Burton Fire District will not meet Monday as scheduled for a hearing with Beaufort County Judge Marvin Dukes regarding disputes over emergency response services.

Both the city and district agreed to postpone the hearing because of an ongoing family medical emergency of one Burton employee essential to the case, said Beaufort city attorney William Harvey.

The hearing has not yet been rescheduled, said Tom Webb, assistant chief of the Burton fire district.

Below are actions Beaufort City Council members took Tuesday that didn’t make it into Wednesday’s Beaufort Gazette:

Second readings and approvals:
• Bladen Street could see more businesses pop up along the downtown corridor in the future. Council members unanimously gave final approval to rezone eight pieces of property along the street from general residential to neighborhood commercial.

Council approved $157,835.67 in accommodations tax grants for the 2009 fiscal year, making some changes to recommendations made by the city’s Tourism Development Advisory Committee.

TDAC recommended the Lowcountry Tourism Commission get $15,000, but council lowered its share to $10,000. The Lady’s Island Garden Club was slated to get $500, but will receive zero. The $5,500 taken from those two groups was reallocated to the Black Chamber of Commerce, giving the chamber $10,500 total to go toward its city visitors guide.

Council approved the following:

The Tourism Development Advisory Committee recommended the city of Beaufort award $157,835 in accommodation tax grants as follows:

Arts Council of Beaufort County: $7,650 for national arts marketing program

Beaufort Performing Arts: $4,000 for season promotion

Black Chamber of Commerce: $5,000 for visitor's guide

Beaufort Regional Chamber of Commerce: $60,052 for visitor's center and destination advertising

Exchange Club: $1,000 for ghost tours

Original Gullah Festival: $7,500 for advertising

Historic Beaufort Foundation: $3,000 for advertising

A young osprey fell from its nest Friday on Fripp Island and, after a coordinated rescue effort, was on its way to the Center for Birds of Prey in Charleston within an hour.

The bird died the next day. But Pete Richards of the Fripp Island Audubon Club said the incident serves as a reminder that help for injured birds of prey is only a phone call away.

Beaufort residents wanting to know more about the city’s financial status can now view the information on the city’s Web site.

A monthly financial “dashboard” reports year-to-date revenues, expenses and the city’s general fund balance. It also outlines department-by-department spending.

The dashboards increase city transparency and offer residents a fast and easy way to keep tabs on the city’s fiscal affairs, Mayor Billy Keyserling has said.

Mayor Billy Keyserling sent an e-mail to constituents outlining what he considers benefits of outsourcing city residential garbage, yard debris and recycling collection. City council will likely discuss the issue at its Tuesday meeting, scheduled for 6 p.m. at the new city court building on Boundary Street. The e-mail reads:

Outsourcing Garbage, Yard Debris and Recycling!
City Council will soon decide whether or not to outsource the collection of garbage, recycling and yard debris. I think it is important to share available facts, my view on the issue and answer any outstanding questions. If you like to review the data, it can be found on the http://www.cityofbeaufort.org> City of Beaufort website.

Beaufort residents looking for more information about Waste Pro’s bid to take over city sanitation services can find it online at the city’s Web site.

Officials outline the pros and cons of outsourcing trash, recycling and yard debris pickup in a presentation available at http://www.cityofbeaufort.org/client_resources/home/residentialwaste.pdf.

For the last 11 months, the city’s in-house solid waste services cost $204,836 more than they generated in revenue.