Eye on Hilton Head

The Hilton Head Island Town Council will have second reading of a proposed redistricting plan at 4 p.m.Dec. 6.

Town Council has recommended proposed redistricting plan #3 as the preferred option for submittal to the U.S. Department of Justice for consideration. The meeting will be held in the Benjamin M. Racusin Council Chambers at Hilton Head Island Town Hall, 1 Town Center Court.

The Beaufort-Jasper Water and Sewer Authority will temporarily change the method of disinfecting drinking water for its customers next month.

The change is part of a routine maintenance program for the water distribution system, according to the authority. All of BJWSA’s retail and wholesale customers will be affected by the change, including utilities that receive wholesale water.

Customers might notice a chlorine taste or odor in the tap water beginning Dec. 3 through Dec. 19. Crews will also flush the system by opening fire hydrants at various locations.

Members of the Beaufort County Airports Board bristled Thursday over not being consulted by County Councilman Steve Baer before he proposed a study of a regional airport with Jasper County.

Baer asked Beaufort and Jasper county officials earlier this month to push for a study of a regional airport.

The idea of a Beaufort-Jasper Regional Airport has been broached before but not seriously studied.

Board chairman Joe Mazzei asked Baer during the meeting why the idea wasn’t brought before the body to be vetted.

Below are conceptual plans presented Wednesday to the Town of Hilton Head Island Planning Commission by Blanchard & Calhoun Commercial for the Mall at Shelter Cove.

Read tomorrow's story in The Island Packet for more information or go to www.islandpacket.com.

TUESDAY, Nov. 15
Town of Hilton Head Island
Intergovernmental Relations Committee: 2:30 p.m.; Conference Room 3, Town Hall, 1 Town Center Court
Agenda: Not yet available
On the Web: www.hiltonheadislandsc.gov

Town Council: 4 p.m.; Benjamin M. Racusin Council Chambers, Town Hall, 1 Town Center Court

The intersection of Arrow Road and Dunnagans Alley will close to traffic Monday to accommodate final paving associated with construction of a new roundabout.

Work will be performed from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. and last one day, according to the Town of Hilton Head Island.

Motorists should use William Hilton Parkway, Palmetto Bay Road and Target Road as alternate routes.

Details: Contact Bryan McIlwee at bryanm@hiltonheadislandsc.gov or 843-341-4775.

Hilton Head Island town manager Steve Riley has been elected to the board of directors of the Municipal Association of South Carolina. His terms expires in July 2012.

Riley has served as the island’s town manager since 1994. Prior to that, the Omaha, Neb., native served as the town’s community development director and as a planner for the City of Beaufort and Beaufort County.

The nonpartisan, nonprofit association represents and serves the state’s 269 cities and towns, offering programs and tools to promote efficient and effective government, according to its website.

The federal government will conduct the first-ever nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System Wednesday at 2 p.m.

The notification and warning system enables the President to address the American public during extreme emergencies. Additionally, the system can be utilized by South Carolina, Beaufort County and the Town of Hilton Head Island to send emergency information regarding local situations.

Hilton Head Island town staff made a pitch Monday to the Public Safety Committee for a request to the S.C. Department of Transportation to increase the speed limit on the Charles E. Fraser Toll Bridge and Palmetto Bay Road.

Town traffic engineer Darrin Shoemaker said the “inequitable, over-conservative” 40 mph speed limit on the bridge has created what many perceive as a speed trap targeting tourists.

Inquiries and requests about the appropriateness of the speed limit have persisted since the Cross Island Parkway opened in 1998, Shoemaker said.

The Jasper County Council will depart from the Hilton Head Island Airport Tuesday morning for a trip sponsored by the S.C. Aeronautics Commission to airports across the state. They will receive presentations on airport design, development and operations.

In 2008, the state studied building a larger airport in Jasper County as part of a 20-year plan guiding airport construction in South Carolina.