Dear Island Neighbors, 

I hope this finds you well.

Nope, I haven’t resorted to ChatGPT or its kin for these missives (yet!), but I bet you thought from that giveaway first sentence that I had already done so...and if I knew how to make an “em dash” I’d have thrown that in too. But since my first two topics are about scam v. spam v. reality, the nod to AI seemed appropriate.

DON’T FALL FOR FAKE INVOICES
As a reminder, last month I mentioned the problem of scam emails going to people with business before the Town, with the emails appearing to be from the Town and telling the recipients they had to pay their “invoice” to a non-governmental platform. The Town never uses any online payment system other than that at “sc.gov”.  If you get one of these emails please let us know, but otherwise ignore it.

And the deadbeats go on... for example:

THE JURY’S STILL OUT
Our Clerk of Court Becky Williams asks me to share important info about true and false jury summons info you might get. Regrettably, in the last several months we have had residents call or come in to let us know that they have received threatening calls, purporting to be from the Town, that they have missed jury selection. This is a scam. We may send a letter informing a resident that they missed their jury duty, but we will not send any threatening letters and will never call or send a police officer to speak to them.  

Offering legitimate information, Becky notes that the Town holds Jury trials twice a year (Spring and Fall sessions):

“We get our list from the Charleston County Election commission of everyone currently registered to vote on the Island. Each term of jury trials, our system randomly selects 150 of those residents who are registered to vote. We then mail out juror summonses to those people, via USPS only, in a Sullivan’s Island Municipal Court envelope. They are mailed to the address that is listed on the resident’s identification for voting.  It is not sent by certified mail. 

“Because our Island is small, anyone’s chances of being selected, and selected somewhat often, are greater than if they were in a larger town or city.”

There is great information about our court and its processes at the Town website at  the municipal court page: https://bit.ly/TOSICourt .

REMINDER ABOUT PROVIDING CONTACT INFO TO OUR WATER AND SEWER DEPARTMENT
When you’re out of town or just off the Island for a few hours, you will want to be notified if a water outage is affecting your house, or if your water line has sprung a leak. Please make sure Water Department Billing Clerk Mary Poole (843-883-5733; mpoole@sullivansisland.sc.gov) has your current emergency contact phone number on your account. The importance of this was shown during our recent freeze when water was seen pouring from a line under a house, but the owner was away and could not be reached initially. 

When calls go out about water outages, they come from a notification service we use. They are calling from an out of state number (Oklahoma; area code 405). If you don’t answer they should leave a message for you. This is also the service we use to notify customers with delinquent accounts that their water service is subject to being shut off. So a call from area code 405 is not necessarily a spam or scam call!

BUDGET PLANS
It’s that time of year again. Town Council and staff are developing our budget for the fiscal year that starts July 1. We will have a Finance Committee meeting devoted to this at 10:00 AM on Wednesday, March 11. This is a good opportunity to learn about the coming year’s budget and the process of its development. Please come on out or, if you miss it, the video can be watched on the website within 48 hours after the meeting.

MUSIC FOR OUR 250TH ANNIVERSARY
As you have no doubt heard, this year is the 250th anniversary of our nation’s founding. There will be many related events around Charleston, which is one of only 4 “signature cities” designated for the national observance. Some of these will be on the Island at Ft. Moultrie, sponsored by the National Park Service and its Friends, especially on Carolina Day (June 28) and Independence Day weekends.

Elsewhere on the Island, there will also be a special free musical concert to mark the occasion. “Life, Liberty and Pursuit of Happiness” will be presented by the Sullivan’s Island Club, under the artistic leadership of Islander Carol Antman.

As Carol says, “As the war raged and soldiers fought, communities were sustained by their music and storytelling traditions...this concert will feature music from three of the country’s historic cultures: The African American, Native American and colonists, performed by the Southeast’s most eminent performers including Ann Caldwell, The Bright Family and Singers, Carol Rifkin’s Appalachian Trio plus Delia Chariker and Keepers of the Word.”

On Saturday, June 20, there will be performances at Sunrise Presbyterian Church at 4PM and 7:30 PM. Admission is free but seating is limited. Funding for the concerts has been provided by the SC Sestercentennial Commission and by the Town of Sullivan’s Island.

Mark the date so you won’t miss this unique and creative celebration of our 250th birthday.

See you around the Island!

Pat O’Neil
Mayor
843 670 9266
oneilp@sullivansisland.sc.gov