Eye on Beaufort

If tourism officials chose to pursue conference center in northern Beaufort County, the enterprise would be a money-losing proposition, according to a study released Tuesday during a Beaufort Regional Chamber of Commerce meeting.
The study, by PKF Consulting, indicates a conference center would cost $8.5 million to build. Although it would host approximately 275 events annually, that would not be enough to sustain the center financially and it would have annual losses of at least $250,000, according to consultants.

A few hours of free parking downtown for the holidays is enough to stir the on-going parking debate in Beaufort, because free time is a reminder that it usually costs a few quarters.
Parking is also on the mind of city councilman George O'Kelley, who wants to get everyone talking in hopes of finding a better way to handle parking year-round.
Last year, kiosks replaced quarter meters. Public uproar ensued and all but one kiosk — in the marina parking lot — was replaced by new quarter meters.

The regional tourism video I wrote about last week has gone live on the Beaufort Regional Chamber of Commerce Visitor & Convention Bureau's website and can be reached directly at www.beaufortsc.org/more/photo-video-gallery. The 2:11 minute video shows the Beaufort, Port Royal and Sea Islands region and was shot from the top of a Segway to approximate an eye-level experience.
Information about the areas highlighted in the video is available by clicking on the video credits and captions link underneath the video and downloading the six-page PDF attachment.

It is shocking for some residents to see trees trimmed down the middle after SCE&G makes its rounds to clear branches away from cables stringing from utility poles. The technique the company uses is designed to help train trees to grow away from power lines and improve their long-term health, and it is approved by the Tree Care Industry Association, according to a spokeswoman. To help residents understand the new trimming technique SCE&G published an educational video, which you can find at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWgy26a2WT4.

When Roland Dubay’s mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s almost four years ago, he already how difficult the disease could be. Her brother died from it, but not before the disease took away his memories, stability and physical health.
Today, Dubay and his wife care for his mother in their Beaufort home, where they moved six months ago from Santa Fe. It’s been a challenge to see his vibrant mother start to lose her memories and forget who Dubay’s wife is, sometimes confusing her with Dubay’s daughter, he said.

Updates on the Bladen and Boundary streets projects are planned for a 5 p.m. meeting of the Redevelopment Commission at Beaufort City Hall, 1911 Boundary St. Several zoning changes related to the Bladen Street project have recently come before city council for approval. The city is applying for a $30-million federal stimulus grant for the Boundary Street project.

Several studies and projects — both planned and under way — could clean up county waterways, according to discussion Tuesday at Together for Beaufort’s quarterly water-quality committee meeting.
The group of municipal, county, state and water authority representatives compared notes on progress at the Beaufort-Jasper Water & Sewer Authority.
“We’re thinking all of 2012 will be spent looking at where we are and where we go next,” Fred Leyda of the Beaufort County Human Alliance.

The City of Beaufort has updated the agenda for Tuesday's council meeting and taken the executive session off the list of planned action items. The updated agenda can be found here.