Group seeks to disband Daufuskie Island Council by Chris Kardish

Chris Kardish/Bluffton Today

A ferry shoves off the Broad Creek Marina dock for Daufuskie Island. A special ferry tax failed in November, but a group of non-resident property owners trying to dissolve the Daufuskie Island Council cites the measure as a grievance.
Chris Kardish/Bluffton

By CHRIS KARDISH
843-815-0800, Ext. 13 chris.kardish@blufftontoday.com



A little-known group of non-resident Daufuskie Island homeowners wants to dissolve the Daufuskie Island Council, arguing it’s not legally valid and the advisory body didn’t fully review other choices before supporting a new tax to improve ferry service.

The Community Preservation Zone Association (CPZA) asked the Beaufort County Council for a slot on its agenda in a letter dated Jan. 3 to push for replacing the elected board with an appointed group that’s officially enshrined in Daufuskie Island Code. But the group did not respond to requests for comment sent to an email address provided in its letter and even people with ties to the island — from leaders to natives who left it for better opportunities but still maintain property — know little about who’s heading the group or how to reach it.

Aaron Crosby, acting vice chairman of the Daufuskie Island Council, said the effort underscores lingering resentment from non-resident property owners who would’ve shouldered most of the new tax burden, but he noted those constituents are free to run and vote in Island Council elections if they feel they’re being shut out of the decision-making process.

“If someone chooses not to participate, that’s their own individual choice, but it was specifically established to allow for everyone to participate,” he said. “That wasn’t done by accident.”

The tiny island community southwest of Hilton Head rejected a tax increase of up to 16.5 mills 64 to 44 in a November vote that excluded the wealthy golf community Haig Point because its residents already pay for their own private ferry service — a point of contention among opponents, which included many non-resident property owners. A County Council analysis of the parcels in the affected district showed 97 percent of future revenue from the tax measure would have come from non-residents.

Supporters argued the tax district would help leverage grant opportunities and prove the area’s seriousness about launching a regional system eventually connecting Savannah with Daufuskie and other Beaufort County stops.

Crosby takes exception to arguments that Daufuskie leaders didn’t vet other options, pointing to years-long debates that turned up possibilities about greater Lowcountry Regional Transportation Authority involvement but no money to study it.

“It’s a comment that’s made by folks who haven’t been engaged in a process that they were always allowed to be a part of,” Crosby said.

Beyond its ferry critique, the CPZA asserts that the island council isn’t legally valid because it’s not chartered under law, though County Attorney Josh Gruber said that argument doesn’t hold water because the council acts purely as an advisory group with no legal authority.

“The fact of the matter is that they (the CPZA) have just as much influence and input to County Council — who is the only body that can make decisions affecting Daufuskie Island — as the DIC does and, therefore, their argument that this DIC should immediately be disbanded is without any merit,” Gruber said.

Stu Rodman, vice chairman of the County Council, said he sent a message to the CPZA asking it to hold off until after the special election to replace state Rep. Weston Newton, whose District 9 County Council seat includes Daufuskie.

“Essentially, I told them I don’t think council is going to do anything until they have someone there, so just hang loose,” Rodman said, adding he received no response.

Attempts by Bluffton Today to reach the only name associated with the group in its letter, Pamela Simmons, through non-resident property owners and Daufuskie natives were unsuccessful.