Mortgage Broker in Summerville, SC

SUMMERVILLE, S.C. (WCSC) - Some businesses say prioritizing a sense of place in the town of Summerville is most important and sometimes that means new development, despite what some people might think.

Dorchester County has a proposed plan to turn 500 N. Main St., also known as their main county building, into a hotel, retail spaces, a parking garage and more.

Some businesses located in the heart of Summerville, like Eva’s Restaurant, think change is about time.

“If we don’t have growth, we don’t have a future,” general manager Tina Howard said.

Eva’s Restaurant has been serving the town since 1944. With the proposed development, Howard says she’s not worried about competition.

“I think it would benefit us as a small business with, you know, bringing in tourists,” Howard said. “...I don’t feel it would hurt us personally because we have such a strong, established business.”

Diane Frankenberger, the owner of People, Places & Quilts, says she’s watched Summerville grow for over 30 years. She says with the old post office as the new public works art center, the old Coca-Cola company as the new YMCA and an old hardware store as her own business, she believes both the county and town councils prioritize preservation.

“You have to go forward with the future,” Frankenberger said. “We still can’t have the same houses around here and the old town hall and no computers and blah blah blah. And so, it’s keeping a sense of place, but moving forward with an eye towards the future.”

The county has already approved plans to preserve part of the county building, which once was the old hospital, and improve the current Veteran’s monument.

“I think when people are calling names or say, ‘Don’t do something,’ let’s wait and see and work together and make the best use of what we’ve got there,” Frankenberger said.

Howard says she wants her 6-year-old grandson to be able to experience a flourishing Summerville, just like she has all her life.

“A lot of people complain about the growth and ‘People will stop coming here, we’re full, don’t come here,’” Howard said. “Without growth, we don’t have a future. The future is growth.”

Frankenberger says she’s ready to move forward.

“No more gas on the fire,” Frankenberger said. “Let’s put water on the fire.”

Dorchester County provided the following statement about the proposed plan:

Dorchester County is looking forward to having greater capacity and flexibility to complete the following projects from fee revenues of the redevelopment:

Funding to preserve the façade of the old hospital building.

A new civic park and improvements to the Veterans Memorial.

An additional $8 Million in funding to DD2 schools to supplement $2 Million from the TIF.

Provide $20 Million in funding for a Community Recreation Facility in the Summerville area.

Provide $2 Million in additional funding for streetscaping and improvements to Main Street and Cedar Street.

Provide credits for workforce housing for teachers, firefighters, law enforcement, and first responders within the multi-family development for at least 15 years.

A modern County office building and additional Class A Office Space in the downtown area.

A new downtown hotel and restaurant to provide much-needed retail and hospitality amenities in the downtown area.

Create additional parking by providing for the construction of a parking garage in the downtown area.

Copyright 2023 WCSC. All rights reserved.

SUMMERVILLE, S.C. (WCBD) – Summerville unveiled its new drone program on Wednesday but some in the community are not thrilled about the new public safety initiative.

The town held a live demonstration for the new drone program, during which a man said he had some questions and concerns related to how money would be allocated along with privacy issues.

“You read in the newspaper and different things about how bigger cities are defunding their public safety department. Well, I want to say this- we are not defunding our public safety department, we’re funding them,” said Summerville Mayor Ricky Waring during Wednesday’s event.

Summerville presented two new drones, which make up the town’s first drone program. They plan to use them for search and rescue missions.

Mayor Waring even mentioned how they could help locate a missing child much faster, possibly preventing tragedies similar to a drowning that happened earlier this year.

But one gentleman in the audience spoke up and asked Mayor Waring for more specific numbers. How much is the town currently paying to use helicopters in searches versus how much will the new drone program cost?

“I was fire chief for 25 years … and we’ve called in helicopters numerous times over the 25 years, numerous times,” he said in response to the man.

“Well give me, numerous is just a very broad term,” the man responded. “It’s squishy, doesn’t mean anything.”

“What do you want?” Mayor Waring asked.

“I want specifics, I want once every six months we call in a helicopter and that helicopter cost $50,000 and this drone program is worth $1,000. You know, something in that realm would be actually real specific information,” the man said.

When Mayor Waring said the man didn’t understand public safety, words got a bit heated.

“He doesn’t understand public safety,” said Mayor Waring during the demonstration.

“I tell you what, thank God you’re not running again,” he replied.

The town’s operator also flew the two drones on demonstration flights to show everyone its capabilities. The drones have technology on them to help find people at night.

Drone operators said with the two batteries they have, they can keep the drone in the air for at least an hour and a half, but since the drone battery could be recharged, it could basically be used for many hours in a row if needed.

SUMMERVILLE — With Ricky Waring retiring, the mayoral seat in this growing community 20 miles north of Charleston is up for grabs.

The candidates: Dickie Miler, a Summerville native and real estate broker; Russ Touchberry, another Summerville native and current town councilman; and Vickie Fagan, who relocated from Staten Island more than a decade ago.

The Post and Courier spoke with the mayoral candidates about some of the big issues and concerns residents have in Summerville.

Fate of the old hospital

Miler said the property at 500 N. Main St., which has become a hot-button issue over the past few months, should be preserved. He has been a vocal opponent of the redevelopment of the property but said if there is redevelopment it should be strategic, sensible and promote enough economic vitality to warrant any changes made.

Touchberry hopes to preserve the old hospital as well, acknowledging it’s an important property. He also said its redevelopment can benefit the town and if done right could be a model for how other properties can be remade.

“We’ve lost the look and feel of Summerville on that side of the railroad tracks all the way to I-26,” Touchberry said. “This is an opportunity for us to have this reinvestment and reestablish our brand, which is what made us so special to begin with.”

Fagan also wants the property to be preserved but believes it can be repurposed as is. With all the available parking, the space could be used for emergency personnel, she said.

Growth and development

Miler said he supports a strategic approach to Summerville’s growth and would want to annex all he could on the periphery to protect the town’s border from neighboring cities like North Charleston and Goose Creek, which are also growing quickly.

“If we annex things on the outside, then we can control how we develop on the inside,” Miler said. “When and if we have to move and grow, we do it the way we want to do it, bringing the developer we want to bring in, have the neighborhood designed the way we want it.”

Touchberry pointed out that Summerville’s municipal boundaries are irregular but could be fixed by aligning the town’s comprehensive plan with the plans of Berkeley and Dorchester counties, and making sure all zoning standards line up as well. He added that if the town doesn’t have a strategic annexation plan, Summerville could easily be encircled by other municipalities.

Fagan said she’d like to assemble a task force for growth management and include voices from elected officials, civic groups and businesses. She said she values input from everyone and paying attention to how growth is affecting people in different areas can help the town come up with a plan as a united front.

Traffic and transport

Miler said he would want to incorporate more public transportation and improve sidewalks and bike paths so people can get around without a car.

“Building more roads is not always the answer,” Miler said.

He added he would be willing to reduce the median for some roads and even remove parking spots — like the parallel parking spots on Main Street at Hutchinson Square — so traffic isn’t as backed up.

Touchberry has been advocating for infrastructure improvements, such as sidewalk repairs, but one of his biggest priorities is finding a way to connect the Berlin G. Myers Parkway to Interstate 26 without the need to use, or cross, Main Street. He said he’s working with the Berkeley-Charleston-Dorchester Council of Governments, as well as Berkeley County and the town, to study that corridor and identify solutions.

Touchberry added that the town missed an opportunity in having the Lowcountry Rapid Transit stop in Summerville; the furthest it is planned to go for now is Ladson. He said he’s ready to fight to make sure the second phase is completed, so the workforce in Summerville can use it to get to Charleston and reduce commute time.

About 300 members across 33 South Carolina chapters of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Incorporated are expected to attend their statewide conference in Summerville

SUMMERVILLE, S.C. (WCSC) - Thursday morning, about 300 members across 33 South Carolina chapters of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Incorporated are expected to attend their statewide conference in Summerville.

But the gathering also has a strong focus on promoting higher education and career readiness. As part of the conference, hundreds of students from across the state will come to the town to take advantage of free academic resources.

The fraternity’s HBCU IMPACT College Fair kicks off Thursday morning at 9 a.m. K. Allen Campbell, the director of conferences for the South Carolina District of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Incorporated, expects close to 600 students statewide will be bussed in to participate.

“We’re just trying to take it to another level,” he said.

The high schoolers, mostly juniors and seniors, will have access to representatives of 12 historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs). Additionally, they’ll get information about the college process and scholarships. Campbell explains not every student has the ability to travel to explore different colleges. So the goal is to bring the students to the colleges all in one location. Beyond the college fair, there will also be a financial literacy course to teach students basic money skills.

“We used to say balancing a checkbook, but people don’t write checks anymore too much,” Campbell laughed. “But if they have that part-time job, how to budget, how important that is to fuse that with your financial goals for college, how much college costs. Just those important things that we tend not to discuss with them until it’s too late.”

While the fraternity is preparing the students academically for college and beyond, members are also showing the importance of dressing the part.

As part of the conference, they’re also hosting their “Let’s Tie Things Up” initiative. It’s an interactive workshop covering how to tie a tie, the importance of dressing for success, verbal communication strategies and career exploration.

“It’s more about a modeling behavior,” George Johnson, the director of communication for the South Carolina District of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Incorporated, said. “And so the young men they see images of who they can become and just seeing the men there dressed and so that inspires them.”

Organizers prefer that students pre-register through their schools in order to participate. But students won’t be turned away regardless.

Below are the additional community events as part of the conference:

HBCU IMPACT College Fair

Thursday, October 5, 2023, 9 a.m.-2 p.m.

Lowcountry Conference Center (Magnolia Ballroom)

406 Sigma Drive, Summerville, SC 29486

Financial Literacy

Thursday, October 5, 2023, 9 a.m.-2 p.m.

Lowcountry Conference Center (Dogwood A)

406 Sigma Drive, Summerville, SC 29486

“Let’s Tie Things Up”

Thursday, October 5, 2023, 9 a.m.-2 p.m.

Lowcountry Conference Center (Dogwood B)

406 Sigma Drive, Summerville, SC 29486

Graduate School and Career Fair

Saturday, October 7, 2023, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.

Lowcountry Conference Center (Magnolia Ballroom)

406 Sigma Drive, Summerville, SC 29486

Blood Drive Event with the Red Cross

Saturday, October 7, 2023, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.

Lowcountry Conference Center (Cypress Multipurpose Room)

406 Sigma Drive, Summerville, SC 29486

Miss Old Gold and Black Scholarship Competition

Saturday, October 7, 2023, 8 p.m. - 10 p.m.

Lowcountry Conference Center (Azalea Ballroom)

406 Sigma Drive, Summerville, SC 29486

Copyright 2023 WCSC. All rights reserved.

The James A. “Gus” Moody Memorial Tournament of Bands takes place this coming weekend in Summerville.

The tournament is 2-7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 7, at John McKissick Field at Memorial Stadium, 900 John McKissick Way in Summerville. Opening ceremonies begin at 2:30 p.m. Tickets are $15 for adults 18 and older; $10 for children ages 5-17, students, members of the military and senior citizens over 60. Children under 4 years old are free and parking is $5.

Named for the long-time band director of Summerville High School and director of the band program at Dorchester School District Two, James Augustus “Gus” Moody served as the band director at Summerville High School from 1960 to 1986.

Moody met his wife, had two daughters – Jan and Julie – and went on to become the band director at Summerville High School, a decision he was glad he stuck with because, he would say, he would never have gotten to know all his children. By “children” he did not mean Jan (Moody Reeves) and Julie (Moody Mise) alone, but the thousands of students he taught in his 26 years at Summerville High.

Moody came from Allendale, South Carolina. He was a lover of jazz music and a skilled saxophonist. He had his first paying job as a jazz player at 13 years old. He attended Furman University and, somewhere along the line, decided to join the army. During that time in the army he got to be stationed at the Navy School of Music in Washington, D.C., which had a big effect on his musical life, Reeves said.

Moody was known for pushing his students to do the right thing, look their best and always be on time – people, to this day, refer to Moody’s clock as “Eastern standard Moody time.” Reeves said summer band practices started at 8 a.m., and students were required to be there five minutes early. If even one person was late, then the next day band practice started at five minutes until 8 (which was really 10 till 8).

“He just had his standards, and they better be met,” Reeves said. “And I think that’s why so many people will say that’s why he impacted them in such a great way.

Even after he retired in 1986, Moody was a very active man who loved to golf, fish and be involved in his church. He had a great love for his grandchildren. The family has a house at Edisto Beach, filled with great memories of going to the beach, fishing and water skiing. He still played his saxophone and enjoyed playing with some of his former students. He would play for different benefits or events such as weddings, funerals or at church.

He was inducted into the South Carolina Band Directors Hall of Fame and the South Carolina Music Educators Hall of Fame. He was the recipient of numerous awards. His bands won three state championships and many other awards.

The well-respected former band director passed away in 2015 at the age of 82.