April 7, 2016 Minutes

John’s Island Council
Post Office Box 208
John’s Island, SC 29457
MINUTES OF APRIL 7, 2016
Members attending: Sam Brownlee, Chris Cannon, Rich Jenkins, John Kozma, Thomas Legare, James Owens, Tim Squire
Monica Smith, the Wadmalaw Island representative, was also present with a guest from Wadmalaw Island. Gregg Bragg of the JI Messenger was also present.
The meeting was called to order at 7:37. Following the pledge of allegiance, a motion was made, seconded and passed to approve the minutes of the March 3, 2016 meeting.
Treasurer’s Report:
Sam reported no expenditures for the previous month. The ending bank balance was $637.06. There was no CHATS meeting.
Chairman’s Report:
Chris stated that there was no new zoning or planning activity last month impacting Johns Island. The application by the power company for the removal of seven grand trees, discussed at last month's meeting, was approved with a condition for mitigation.
Wadmalaw Island:
Monica said there was nothing new to report, but reminded everyone that the regular Wadmalaw Island Planning Committee meetings are held on the second Tuesday every month. She said the water situation has not changed since last month, and that the county has continued to truck in drinking water daily. Tom suggested that it might be cheaper for the county to actually deliver water to each resident's door, given the cost of the arrangement with the water truck.
Old Business:
There was no old business.
New Business:
Chris opened a discussion about the annual meeting next month. Council members and officers are elected at the annual meeting. According to the bylaws, there can be a maximum of 21 members, each serving a term of three years. Elections for members are staggered so there are seven vacancies at each annual meeting. Chris said there are currently about 15 members.
Publicity for the annual meeting was discussed. Chris emphasized that greater participation from the community is needed. If new Johns Island residents form groups around single issues or neighborhoods rather than working with the Council, zoning boards and other government authorities will be less likely to pay attention to our input.
One issue that was suggested by a guest at the previous meeting was schools. Monica, who has served on the Johns Island constituent school board, said there is an ongoing search for a location to build a replacement for Mt. Zion Elementary school. Tom noted that Eric Mack, a consolidated school board candidate who spoke at a candidate forum meeting, said there is a requirement of 16 acres for new school sites, which limited the possibilities for suitable locations. Tom suggested that the best solution would be to rebuild on the Haut Gap site.
Monica said that Johns Island schools are underfunded because so many Johns Island residents send their children to schools on James Island. Sam asked what members thought about a proposal to allow children from outside Charleston County to attend schools in Charleston County.
A motion was passed to form a nominating committee to nominate officers and new members for the annual meeting. Tom, Chris, and Rich Thomas volunteered to serve. Sam, Chris, and Rich said they would all be willing to serve again as officers. The nominating committee will focus on finding new members who are willing to take an active role in Council business.
Tom mentioned that he has spoken to Ken Hill from Charleston Water (formerly CPW) about coming to a Johns Island Council meeting to talk about the trucks that have been carrying sludge and leachate from the landfill to the pumping station on Murraywood Road. Tom said his Facebook post drew a number of replies. Ken called him and was going to speak at the April meeting, but had to postpone.
There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 8:22PM.
Respectfully submitted,
John Kozma, for Catherine Poag, Secretary