Wiring plan to cost more at Pawleys
By Clayton Stairs
cstairs@gtowntimes.com
With 51 property owners agreeing to pay part of the cost, plans to place utility wires underground on Pawleys Island may soon be underway -- but with a larger price tag.
Pawleys Island Town Council had a lengthy discussion about the project at their regular meeting Monday. Mayor Bill Otis and Council members were concerned that the amount the Town budgeted last year was not enough to cover the increase in cost and the addition of more than 30 property owners.
"This is a much bigger project than we originally anticipated," Otis said. "This includes every house from just south of the South Causeway to the Birds Nest Section of the island."
He credits Hayne Hipp, a resident who has contacted the property owners to get their approval, with the success of this first phase of the underground wire project.
Council voted unanimously (except Otis, who abstained because his property is included in the project) to pay 50 percent -- after deductions for grants and other financial aid -- of the cost for this and any future underground wire projects. They also voted to allow boring in the S.C. Department of Transportation's (SCDOT's) right of way for the underground wire project and to pay any unapproved amount with Town funds.
Council member Sarah Zimmerman said the Town should set a precedent with this first project because there will most likely be other groups of property owners that would like to put wires underground.
Otis brought up the fact that two years ago when a poll was taken of island property owners, 60 percent of them said they would like to have underground wires. However, since 40 percent did not want it, Council decided not to go forward with a project to place all wires on the island underground.
"That wasn't a big enough margin to justify our first tax on property owners," Otis said. "At that time, it was estimated to cost each property owner $600 per year for 20 years."
Not budgeted
Last year, Council budgeted $102,000 for 18 property owners who were then signed up to participate in the underground wire project in the historic district of the island -- with an agreement signed by each property owner to pay $2,400. That amount was half of the total cost per property owner, which was then $4,800.
Since the cost is now approximately $6,600 per lot, Council discussed whether they should go back to property owners with a request for the increased amount of $3,300, or just pay the difference. About 30 of the 51 property owners will have an added expense of $500 to $1,000 to put wires running underground from the street to their home.
Council agreed that the town should split the cost with property owners after subtracting grant money and other funding. Hipp will be contacting homeowners to let them know of the amount change after the final calculations are made.
On track
Representatives from Santee Cooper electric utility -- Project Design Supervisor Gene Smith Jr. and Associate Engineer Noah Rohr -- gave an update on the project and remained to answer any questions from Council.
"The first or second week in November is the target date for receiving bids," Smith said. "If everything comes together, the best case scenario is beginning construction at the beginning of 2009."
He says the easement acquisition from property owners will most likely be the most lengthy part of the process because there is usually a "back-and-forth" between Santee Cooper and the property owners in such matters.
Santee Cooper has communicated with other utility companies including Time Warner and HTC cable companies, which both serve the island.
Other business
* Council voted to pay an invoice for $6,762 to Waccamaw Regional Council of Governments for their help with the recent completion of the Town's application to the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA's) Community Rating System (CRS). If approved, this paperwork will mean an additional 10 percent savings on property owners' federal flood insurance premiums, equaling a total of approximately $80,000.
"The things they did we would not have been able to do," Otis said. "We would have been dead in the water without them."
He gave examples such as using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to determine the size and location of every house on the island.
* Mayor Pro Tem Mike Adams was ready to make a motion for Council to pass a proclamation against a proposed three-story condominium project on the west side of Pawleys Creek. However, Zimmerman reported that the developer put his plans on hold indefinitely at a recent Georgetown County Planning Commission meeting, due mostly to opposition by nearby residents.
* Council passed a proclamation making November Kids Voting Month on Pawleys Island.