Eye on Beaufort

The Metropolitan Planning Commission -- a board with members from the city of Beaufort, town of Port Royal and Beaufort County -- meets at 5:30 tonight at Beaufort City Hall, 1911 Boundary St.
One issue is on the agenda and although it is listed as a Port Royal project, it affects all three municipalities.

Beaufort is on a short list of cities and towns vying for the title of America’s Happiest Seaside Town of on 2013.
However, Beautiful Beaufort by the Bay needs your votes to beat out nine other contenders.
Coastal Living Magazine includes the city in its online contest that runs through Feb. 28. People can vote every hour until then. The winner and list, ranked by votes, will be published in the June edition.
Competition is:
• Harwich Port, Mass.
• Kennebunkport, Maine.
• La Jolla, CA
• Newport, R.I.
• Paia Town, Maui, Hawaii
• Pescadero, Calif.
• Rowayton, Conn.

The city of Beaufort has released agendas for the City Council worksession and meeting, Design Review Board meeting and Historic District Review Board meeting this week.
City Council meets 5 p.m. Tuesday in the Planning Conference Room, City Hall, 1911 Boundary St., for a worksession discussion regarding allowing boat hotels in the conservation preservation district and the state investment pool. A regular, voting meeting will follow at 7 p.m. in Council Chambers to decide whether to defer or move forward with accommodation tax grants for 2013.

Yemassee bustled for decades during the 1900s with tens of thousands of Marines passing through by train on their way to Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island.
And then interstates and other modes of transportation changed that. The barracks by the Yemassee Depot, where many Marines stayed briefly during their sojourn to boot camp, were decommissioned in the early 1960s. The building was sold, eventually moved down the road and converted into a furniture store.

The city of Beaufort issued a news release Wednesday asking residents to help keep storm drains clear by keeping leaves and yard debris out of the roads.
Leaves and yard debris must be bagged and placed at roadside for city collection.
The debris complicates efforts to maintain the drainage and stormwater systems that have been upgraded in recent years, public works director Isiah Smalls said.

The Beaufort Regional Chamber of Commerce has provided this presentation, which was made during the Dec. 18 Beaufort City Council meeting. Initial coverage of the presentation is available at Beaufort Chamber intends to track, analyze tourism statistics, along with an editorial at Know marketing basics and look at long term.