Mortgage Broker in Johns Island, SC

The reliever airport on Johns Island will grow by more than a hundred acres after Charleston County Aviation Authority paid $4 million for land where a housing development was proposed, and the agency is seeking conservation funding to reimburse one-fourth of the purchase price.

The agency bought two parcels totaling 137 acres at the end of August from Dr. Keith Lackey and eight others after several months of negotiations, according to Charleston County land records.

A developer had proposed dividing the property, called Oakville Plantation off Burden Creek and River roads, into 242 lots for a development to be called River Run.

Charleston airport officials wanted to buy the land to prevent a new home community from sprouting on the edge of the 1,333-acre Charleston Executive Airport next to the Stono River.

The land purchase will allow the Aviation Authority to consider revamping a taxiway that runs north-south through the center of the airport by returning it to its original use as a runway when the military built the airfield at the end of World War II, said Elliott Summey, Aviation Authority CEO.

That will require widening it and extending it on the north side where the purchased parcels are located since the south side is hemmed in by the river. The newly purchased parcels will not be developed but serve as a clear zone for the future runway.

“Buying the land gives us a chance to extend the runway and protect the wetlands and the clear zone,” Summey said. “We don’t need to put any buildings there ... and putting houses there was the wrong idea.”

The airfield has two runways: one is 5,350 feet long and is laid out east-west while the other is about 1,000 feet shorter and runs next to the Stono River.

The length of the new runway would be between 6,700 and 7,000 feet if built, Summey said.

Development of the new landing strip is at least four years away, he said.

To help fund part of the land purchase, the South Carolina Conservation Bank awarded $500,000 to the Lowcountry Land Trust Sept. 22 for an easement on 94 acres. An equal amount of money will be sought through the Charleston County Greenbelt Program.

“It will help pay us back some of the money for buying the land,” Summey said.

The application for greenbelt funding has not been made yet, according to program director Cathy Ruff.

Applications for the next funding round open in November, but they won’t be considered until the spring of 2022, she said.

Projects awarded funding by the Greenbelt Advisory Board must then be considered by Charleston County Council. Ruff said the process will likely bleed into next summer before a decision is made.

If approved, a joint announcement is expected once all of the funds are in hand, Summey said.

The future addition of a third runway is not the only development occurring at the airport on Johns Island.

Qatari defense firm Barzan Aeronautical plans to break ground in mid-October on a new light industrial development code-named “Project Rose.”

Barzan, which has an office in Charleston, proposes to build three structures and a 200-space parking area on about 10 acres near an abandoned taxiway beside the airfield to develop spy drones.

Site plans presented to the city of Charleston in April show a 54,000-square-foot aircraft manufacturing plant, an 18,400-square-foot office building and another structure near the parking area with offices, conference room and classroom.

Also, in the works at the Johns Island airfield are proposals for two new privately owned hangars.

JZI Hangars LLC wants to build an 8,000-square-foot airplane storage building at the airport. The firm is registered to Johns Island resident Adam Baslow of New Leaf Builders.

Also planning to build a 5,370-square-foot hangar is UEC Aviation LLC, registered to Philip J. Ufkes of Sullivan’s Island. Ufkes and his wife, Rebecca Ufkes, once owned defense contractor UEC Electronics in Hanahan before selling it in 2014 to Michigan-based Arotech.

With the land purchase completed, Summey said the next step is to develop a comprehensive master plan for the airport and to seek approval from the Federal Aviation Administration for future development.

The master plan, including a financial analysis, is expected to take several months, he said.

The Boone Hall Pumpkin Patch

The Boone Hall Pumpkin Patch has become one of the largest fall attractions in the state. This year will mark the 25th year for this event which has become a fall tradition for people of all ages. And this year, Boone Hall is returning to a full event with all attractions and festival favorites after the COVID-19 pandemic led to a smaller version last year.

Oct. 1-31. 10 a.m.-6 p.m., Fridays-Saturdays; 12-6 p.m., Sundays. $12/ages 2+. Boone Hall Farm. 2434 N. Hwy. 17. Mount Pleasant. boonehallplantation.com

Splash-n-Dash inaugural Bariatric Triathlon

Come cheer on the community’s bariatric patients as they compete in the first-everSplash-n-Dash Bariatric Triathlon. From beginners just starting their weight-loss plansto those who have achieved health goals, everyone is welcome to join.

Oct. 17. 7:30 a.m.-9:30 p.m. Free to attend. Coastal Carolina Bariatric & Surgical Center.900 Crosscreek Drive. Summerville. ccbariatricandsurgical.com

Pink Promenade Catwalk and Cocktails

This month is Breast cancer Awareness Month, and to honor survivors, Mount Pleasant Towne Center is back hosting the third annual Pink Promenade Catwalk and Cocktails Fundraiser. Enjoy a morning of champagne cocktails, brunch bites and front-row seats to the runway. All proceeds will be donated to the Roper St. Francis Foundation Breast Cancer Program.

Oct. 16. 11 a.m.-1 p.m. $25/ticket. Mount Pleasant Towne Center. 1218 Belk Drive. Mount Pleasant. mtpleasanttownecentre.com

Halloween Parent/Child Paint Party

Estuary Beans & Barley is hosting a parent-child painting party for Halloween with a step-by-step instruction from a local artist. The design will be pre-stenciled on canvases before the event. Estuary has an on-site food truck as well as snacks and drinks for everyone who comes out, with a special treat for the kiddos. (And of course, Estuary’s brews will be flowing for those 21+.) Costumes welcomed.

Oct. 14. 6-8 p.m. $30/adult; $25/child. Estuary Beans & Barley. 3538 Meeks Farm Road.Johns Island. estuarybeansandbarley.com

Intro to Natural Dyeing Workshop

Lowcountry fiber artist Kristy Bishop is leading workshop participants through the world of natural dyes and techniques. Whether it be onion skins and annatto seeds from a local grocer, goldenrod picked from the roadside or exotic dyes like indigo or madder root, participants will learn to extract bright and permanent color and dye fabric samples of linen, silk, cotton and wool.

Oct. 16. 9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Prices vary. Dill Sanctuary. 1163 Riverland Drive. James Island. charlestonmuseum.org

Charleston County School District is extending its mask requirement by 30 days, meaning all students, staff and visitors will be required to wear masks in its schools until at least Nov. 12.

The board of trustees voted 8-1 to move back the expiration date at an Oct. 11 meeting. The mandate was originally supposed to end on Oct. 15.

The district started enforcing the mandate last month, saying students who refused to wear a mask or did not have a religious or medical exemption would have to learn virtually. The decision sparked several small protests outside of Charleston County schools and the previous board meeting.

Cindy Bohn Coats was the only board member who voted against the mask extension. At the meeting, Coats asked Superintendent Gerrita Postlewait for data on the percentage of students who were wearing masks back when they were optional. Postlewait said the district was did not track mask usage before the mandate was enforced.

“There was this massive conversation in September about protection and I just can’t find this massive number of students who were not doing it,” Coats said during a phone interview with The Post and Courier after the meeting.

Coats has either voted against or abstained from all votes on mask mandates this school year.

The board received legal advice about the mandate in a closed session before the vote. After exiting the closed session, the board directed staff and public health experts “to develop guidelines to inform mask requirements for the remainder of the school year.”

Postlewait also said the number of COVID-19 infections had declined in recent weeks. There were just over 200 cases during the week of Sept. 27, down from a high of 473 cases the week of Aug. 30.

Additionally, the district announced it was offering more testing for students and staff members in an effort to control the spread of the virus. Chief Operating Officer Jeff Borowy said testing is available at seven schools.

On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, testing is available at Laing Middle School in Mount Pleasant, the Cooper River Center for Advanced Studies in North Charleston and the West Ashley Center for Advanced Studies.

On Tuesdays and Thursdays, people can get tested in the cafeterias at St. Johns High School on Johns Island, the old Lincoln High School building in McClellanville and the old C.C. Blaney Elementary School in Hollywood.

Testing is available at the Burke High School cafeteria on Saturdays.

The testing is funded by a grant from the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental control. The DHEC grant covers the testing costs.

Students and staff members can sign up for a test by visiting rrtesting.app/SCSchools. Students and employees will also have to fill out a consent form prior to their testing appointment, which can be found at ccsdschools.com.

JOHNS ISLAND, S.C. (WCSC) - People who live on Johns Island and community groups are weighing in on the city’s proposal to raise funs to finance infrastructure projects.

The Municipal Improvement District is a form of tax assessment, according to City of Charleston Director of Planning, Preservation and Sustainability Robert Summerfield.

He says this assessment would be taken from future developments, not existing homes or properties, and the money would go to projects only on Johns Island.

The Johns Island Task Force, which is an alliance between several community organizations on the island, just sent a letter to Charleston Mayor John Tecklenburg in support of the project but with some recommendations.

The task force is urging officials to use those funds to create a “framework of civic activity,” instead of many individual and isolated projects. Some of the recommendations listed in the Johns Island Task Force letter include an Island Center for community activities, a network of roads parallel to Maybank, and a CARTA bus route along Maybank.

Summerfield said officials are happy to get the feedback.

“[The Johns Island Task Force,] not only are they on board with this opportunity to raise these funds, but they’re also thinking about specific projects that in the future this money could be put toward, and that’s tremendous,” he said. “There’s nothing on this this list that’s not a potential fundable project once the MID is adopted and we start seeing some revenue from it.”

Not everyone on Johns Island is sold on the project.

“I’m not a big fan of it,” Johns Island native Thomas Legare said. “I think new homes, both in the city of Charleston and the county of Charleston, should pay some type of impact fee, but I don’t think the taxpayer or the homeowner should be the ones paying it.”

Instead, Legare said he believes homebuilders and developers should be the ones to pay a fee to fund development projects in the area.

“They’re the ones that should be adding that into the price of their homes or taking it out of their profits,” he said. “When they’re issued a building permit, they should be paying the impact fee that would go toward improving our infrastructure.”

Summerfield said community members like Legare will be able to share their opinions and concerns about the MID at the public hearing on Aug. 17.

Copyright 2021 WCSC. All rights reserved.

JOHNS ISLAND, S.C. (WCSC) - The Charleston County School District is holding two community input meetings to update Johns Island residents on plans for a new school on Johns Island.

The first meeting is from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday at Mt. Zion Elementary. The second meeting is schedule for the same times Thursday at Angel Oak Elementary.

Charleston County School District COO Jeff Borowy says the main topic of the presentation and discussion will be the location of a new school.

Borowy says the referendum for a new Johns Island elementary school was passed by Charleston County tax payers in November of last year. He says they have not determined a location for the new school yet, but hope to have it identified by the end of this year.

Johns Island community input will be considered in the board of trustee’s final decision and Borowy says Angel Oak Elementary and Mt. Zion Elementary families will be impacted by rezoning when the new school comes. That’s why Borowy says these families’ feedback is so important.

Borowy says there are overcrowding issues at both Mt. Zion and Angel Oak. He says at Angel Oak, they’ve had to bring in eight trailer classrooms.

“Parents have to say, ‘hey look, as an example, you know, I’m zoned to Angel Oak. Is there an opportunity for me to be zoned to this new school?’ You know, or I would rather stay in the zone of Angel Oak?” Borowy said. “They’ll have an opportunity to provide that input as well as look at what the potential impact would be on commuting distances, how that might positively help them, or they might want to stay where they’re at.”

Borowy expects about 600 students will move to the new Johns Island elementary school when it opens in a few years.

“There’s nothing as satisfying as being at school on the first day when we open a new building,” Borowy said. “To see kids have a bigger classroom, see kids have brand new everything. Both them and the teachers in that school, it’s just a refreshing feeling, it’s a recharge for everybody, and it really makes a huge difference in attitudes and desire to be in school when you’ve got something like that.”

Borowy says a video of the meeting will be uploaded online, and parents can email questions as well. He plans to post all comments on the school district website after the meetings.

Copyright 2021 WCSC. All rights reserved.