Dear Island Neighbors, 
Happy Fall!...or what passes for it. 

ISLAND CLUB FUNDRAISER, SATURDAY, OCTOBER 17!
If you haven’t seen the Island Club building recently (1452 Poe Avenue, next to the Fish Fry Shack), it’s worth checking out.  It’s received impressive renovations over the last couple of years, with partial support from the Town and more support from members and residents. Even more impressive is the Club’s programming: lots of varied recreational opportunities for Islanders of all ages, whether longtime residents or new neighbors. 

You’ve got a chance coming up to support the Club while enjoying a wide sampling of food and beverages from Island businesses.

Here’s what Club President Trey Sedalik tells us:“Following a sell-out crowd in 2025, The Island Club will again host its Taste of Sullivan’s Island fundraiser on October 17, from 12 to 3 p.m. Tastes and sips from Home Team BBQ, Sullivan’s Fish Camp, Poe’s Tavern, Longboard, High Thyme, Mex 1, Dunleavy’s Pub, Island Coastal Lager, Republic Ice Cream, the Wine Shop and Rebel Rabbit High Seltzer are included in the ticket price. Proceeds will benefit renovations to the historic building, which has been hosting events since 1946. Limited tickets are on sale now at https://sullivansislandclub.org for $100, children under 3 years old are free.”

Get your tickets while you can!

OUR OLD TOWN HALL
For quite some time now, as an initiative of Council’s Public Facilities Committee, an adhoc committee of interested residents has been exploring possible uses for our old Town Hall at 1610 Middle Street. It’s an historic building (c. 1915) that originally served as Fort Moultrie’s Ordnance Office. The ad hoc committee has been led by our Planning and Zoning Director, Charles Drayton, and our Building Official, Max Wurthmann. 

Recently, Charles and Max arranged for a mutually beneficial opportunity with Professor Christina Butler of Charleston’s own American College of the Building Arts.  The students in her Historic Preservation 202 course (Documenting & Researching Historic Buildings) needed a building to use for this course requirement: “The primary product of this course will be a preservation report for a selected building, including drawings, condition assessments, remediation recommendations, and research findings.”  

 Enter the old Town Hall.  Professor Butler thought it would be a great object of study for her students, so it represented a great match. The Town will learn about this building with an interesting background AT NO COST and the students can have easy (but supervised) access to it. Of course we’ll have the necessary memorandum of understanding to clarify any legal issues. 

As you might expect, the rumor mill has spun this win-win arrangement into something warranting grave suspicion...as in: the idea that it indicates the Town is preparing to spend taxpayer dollars on a rehab effort on this building for some undefined (but no doubt nefarious) purposes. Well, as above, the expertly supervised information we will be receiving costs us nothing. It should also be emphasized that there is no obligation on the Town’s part to do anything with any recommendations the students might make.

Councilmember Carl Hubbard, Chair of Council’s Public Facilities Committee, had these important observations: 

“I appreciate Charles engaging with the school to offer this opportunity for the students to further their studies. I expect the results of their work will provide another significant piece to the Island’s historic fabric. I see no downside to this collaboration, and I look forward to sharing their findings with everyone. 

“There are no immediate plans for the future of the old Town Hall. We continue to work with the citizen ad-hoc committee to review all possibilities for the structure. We’ve cleared some lingering title issues with SCDOT, and working with the school is the next step. I have welcome all thoughts and comments from Islanders (chubbard@sullivansisland.sc.gov ). These will be shared with the ad-hoc committee as it moves forward with its deliberations.”

ABOUT YOUR WATER AND SEWER BILL
As you know, the Town has a separate Water & Sewer Department that provides our water and maintains the pipes and infrastructure needed to get it to us and move it back to our own sewer treatment plant once it goes down the drain. Mayor Pro Tem Justin Novak chairs Council’s Water and Sewer Committee, and he provides this relevant information:

“The town recently went through extensive negotiations and finally agreed upon updated terms for the purchase of water from Charleston Water System, which delivers water to the town through a pipe that runs under Charleston Harbor. In this contract, the town secured the right for residents to have access to up to 850,000 gallons per day (gpd) for the next 40 years. The town also secured the right to purchase additional capacity in blocks of 50,000 gpd up to total of 1 million gpd. This additional capacity is likely to be needed because residents are using more water in larger new and renovated homes, in pools, and in yards through irrigation – all part of island life! 

“The updated contract also allows the town to purchase water at a discount. Fortunately, the town was able to keep rates stable this year without any increase either to residents’ water or sewer bills! 

“Now that an updated contract has been secured, the town’s Water & Sewer Committee has been looking at how the Water & Sewer Department can best meet its mission of providing these services to residents at cost – charging customers only what it costs to provide the services. As part of this process, the Committee is taking a hard look into how we structure our rates, apply revenues to operational costs, and fund known and anticipated future costs, such as infrastructure maintenance and equipment replacement. 

“While most people would rather not think about how the water gets to the tap or leaves the toilet, its an important part of the services the town provides to residents in our barrier island community. 

“To learn more, see ta the video of the Committee’s meeting on August 27, 2026: https://sullivansislandsc.suiteonemedia.com/event/?id=2155. Our next meeting is currently scheduled for 9:15 am on Thursday, September 24, 2026.” 

FALL JURY TRIALS
Clerk of Court Becky Williams tells us that fall jury trials will be held at the end of October. Jury summonses were mailed out on Monday September 7. If you received a summons and have questions or concerns, please reach out to Becky at 883 5734. 

In light of scams that are occurring nationally involving false notices or calls claiming the recipient owes money for missing jury duty, be aware that our only official notices of jury duty go out in official Town envelopes, hand signed by the clerk and blue-ink stamped with the court’s seal. And we will never call you demanding payment related to jury duty. 

See you around the Island!

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