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Published on 6/30/2009

Impact fee support

I have been following the Georgetown County impact fee discussions with interest.

Nationally, many communities have enacted growth management programs to try and control the amount and pace of development so as not to overburden local government and taxpayer's ability to fund new infrastructure.

Impact fees are a successful method used to address the problem of helping a community to absorb the cost of new facilities by passing some of the cost to the new developments that directly benefit from them.

The public continues to pay for most of the infra-structure cost, including the operating expenses, but new development pays its share up-front so as not to overburden a community's tax rates, especially the property tax.

In effect, an impact fee is actually a user fee that requires the primary beneficiaries of the new services to pay for a small part of the capital costs for construction.

In my 37 year career as an urban planner, I have found that impact fees provide an attractive alternative to development moratoriums that sometimes result from a community's inability or unwillingness to absorb new debt for facilities to serve new development.

I note that while growth management tools, including impact fees, are in wide use across the country, they are always controversial.

It seems that everyone wants them, but no one likes them.

Programs that directly link the fees charged for new development with specific facility improvements appear to be the most successful.

I congratulate Georgetown County for doing a great job of proposing such linkage in a straight forward manner.

The program appears to be well researched and is based on an analysis of the local market and demographics.

The impact fee program will provide certainty and predictability to both the development industry and residents as to the actual public costs of new growth and how costs are shared.

This will help maintain the quality of life in our growing community while sustaining a more stable and affordable tax base in the future.

Both are important community goals.

Joe Davis

Pawleys Island

Coal-plant proposal

When it comes to energy efficiency and the use of renewable energy is South Carolina dumb or ignorant, or perhaps, "dugnorant!"

Santee Cooper, our state-owned utility, could be the leader bringing energy efficiency to homes and businesses to customers and businesses, but their heads are stuck in the sand of dirty coal.

Instead of proposing a new 1320 MW coal plant they should be increasing investments in off- shore wind, solar and biomass.

Coal pollutes our air and water, impacts the health of citizens across the state.

Every day we are reminded of the dangerous impacts of coal: mercury warnings on every coastal river and stream, increasing asthma rates, particularly among children, higher cancer rates and increased heart and lung disease.

How much longer will we stay dumb and ignorant?

I don't know about you, but I want a new energy future for South Carolina, not a "dugnorant" future.

James Williamson

Hartsville, S.C.

On Glen O'Connell

The following message was sent to Georgetown County Councilman Glen O'Connell, which I request be published, as recognition of his unselfish service to the citizens of the county.

Dear County Councilman O'Connell,

You are our idea of the true consummate elected official!

Your spirit and sense of fair play is exemplary.

Voluntarily offering to reduce your salary as councilman is just one of the proofs of that spirit, and it is a gesture your constituents admire and appreciate.

Your service to the citizens of Georgetown County has always been unselfish, even before your election.

This is especially pertinent in today's economy crisis. It is a gesture that all elected officials in all forms of government ought to emulate.

It will be interesting to see who will follow. I believe the public will certainly be watching.

Respectfully,

Robert Johannemann

Pawleys Island

On Sanford's acts

Having publically hung my hat on Gov. Sanford, I deeply regret having to call for his resignation. By the time this reaches print I hope that that has happened.

We Republicans hold our party and our leaders to higher moral standards than he has recently exhibited.

Even in light of all the good that he has stood for, he has to step down.

We are not the party of Bill Clinton and Ted Kennedy.

We will not ignore the fact that an elected official is expected to be a moral example and when that official fails that mark, regardless of their worth in other fields, they have to go.

By standing up for "Right" and suffering sacrifice we become a stronger party.

Bill Hills

Murrells Inlet

Poor S.C. education

In a story today about Governor Mark Sanford, the New York Times chastened him because he stoically refused to be stimulated even though it meant that teachers would be laid off.

This made no sense, the Times said, in a place ranking 39th in the education provided to children in the 50 States.

39th.

That's right, 39th. Not 49th. 39th, up 10 places notches from our traditional rank and reason to thank God for Mississippi.

And I was thinking the news about public education was all bad. What a doofus.

Tom Rubillo

Georgetown

Church's thank you

The members of Rose Hill Baptist Church really and truly had a blessed week during the second week of June.

The "Brotherhood Builders" came to Rose Hill. There were around 100 volunteers from West Virginia, California, Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina.

These 100 volunteers along with members of Rose Hill constructed the shell of the multi-purpose building and a drive thru shed onto the existing gym.

This building will have a kitchen, bathrooms and a spacious dining room area. The building fund had enough money to purchase the materials to build the shell of the building.

That is why the Brotherhood Builders came and donated their skills and time to help build this building.

The food committee was in charge of feeding this group lunch each day that they were here with us.

The food committee was very blessed to receive enough donations to feed around 140 people each day and keep them hydrated with water, Gatorade, etc.

This could not have been done without the donations that we received. God has truly blessed us and we would like to say "THANK YOU" to each person and business listed below:

Pepsi Cola of Georgetown, Dominos of Georgetown, Pizza Hut of Georgetown, Food Lion of Georgetown, Food Lion of Hemingway, Walmart of Georgetown, Piggly Wiggly of Johnsonville, Piggly Wiggly of Georgetown, Bestway of Hemingway, Mingo Exxon, Carvers Bay Convenience Store, Johnny's 66 Convenience Store, Rex's Auto & Tractor, Cagle Diesel Repair, Edaphell McDaniel, Windell & Dalene McDaniel, Faye Hickson, Gene Trotter, Wendy Cooper, George's Restaurant, Custom Printing & Office Supplies, Baxley Farms, Penny's Tax Service, Nathan Cagle's Excavating, Kentucky Fried Chicken of Georgetown, Gene Ward's Convenience Store, Georgetown Small Engine, B&T Structural, County Line Arena, Phyllis Roberts, Winyah One Stop Shop, Carolina Charm, Frosty Mountain Water, Piney Forest Baptist Church, Mt. Zion Baptist Church, Center Baptist Church, Brotherhood Builders: West Virginia, California, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Members of Rose Hill Church, RH Hostess Committee, RH Maintenance Committee, RH Long Range Committee, Rose Hill Youth Group, Pastor Dale Tripp & Diana.

We would like to thank Rev. Wil Bradham and the Southeast Baptist Association for the use of the emergency shower trailer for the week.

We had several people who took advantage of showering and washing clothes during the week.

This was a special blessing to be able to offer that to the volunteers.

Rose Hill Baptist Church