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AUGUST 10 - 16, 2017
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COVERING BEAUFORT COUNTY
Voters asked to OK $5.5M By Sally Mahan
Hunting Island State Park officially reopened on June 2, but it has lost a significant amount of its beach due to Hurricane Matthew, which hit the Lowcountry in October 2016. Photo by Bob Sofaly.
HUNTING ISLAND STATE PARK
Major beach restoration proposed By Amy Rigard Nearly a year after Hurricane Matthew swept through the Lowcountry, Hunting Island State Park’s beaches remain vulnerable due to the devastation to the island’s dune system and vegetation. This increased vulnerability prompted state park officials to significantly increase the scope of a beach restoration project originally proposed in March 2016 and subsequently delayed due to the storm. The new permit request includes dredging, beach nourishment and the construction of low-profile sheet pile groins – manmade structures extending hundreds of feet into the ocean designed to trap and build up sand as it moves down the beach. After assessing the damage caused by Hurricane Matthew, the new proposal nearly doubles the scope of the March 2016 request. Now, engineers plan to increase the amount of sand from 635,000 cubic yards to up to 1.2 million cubic yards along 11,700 linear feet of Hunting Island’s shoreline, and to construct two additional groins, totaling up to four new groins. “The need for beach renourishment is more vital now than ever before,” according to SC State Parks Director Phil Gaines. “As
CREATING LEADERS “Leadership” is the watchword for Beaufort Academy’s new principal, Dan Durbin. PAGE B1
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more visitors continue to come back to the island, and as we enter a new hurricane season, it’s critical that people know we lost the dune system here.” As one of the most vulnerable locations on the island, the north end of the island between the historic lighthouse and the campground would receive the majority of the new sand. A parking lot within feet of the water at high tide, the lighthouse and nearby gift shop are other particularly vulnerable locations. The south beach, which also experienced serious erosion, would receive sand dredged from an area about 2 miles offshore. As a barrier island susceptible to high levels of beach erosion, Hurricane Matthew accelerated the need for and expanded the scale of the newly proposed beach restoration project. While up to four groins are sought in the new permit request, Gaines believes at least two are essential, especially one just north of the lighthouse. That groin would help maintain the new sand and protect the nearby parking lot, gift shop and lighthouse. As visitors continue to return to the island, they may notice some visible differences. See BEACH, page A6
Campground reopens By Amy Rigard
Ten months after Hurricane Matthew devastated Hunting Island State Park, forcing it to close its campground, campers are pitching their tents on the island once again as of Aug. 4. See CAMP, page A6 Photo above: Kylie Granet, left, fills the racks with Hunting Island clothing at the Hunting Island Park Store. Photo by Bob Sofaly.
SOAKING UP THE FUN More than a hundred kids turned out for the Beaufort Charities inaugural Summer Soak Down. PAGE B2
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Voters on Fripp Island will head to the polls on Tuesday, Aug. 15, to cast their ballots on whether to fund $5.5 million in various infrastructure improvements requested by the Fripp Island Public Service District. The money for the projects would be raised by the sale of bonds, which need voter approval. If the sale of bonds are approved, property owners will see a tax increase. For instance, a home valued by Beaufort County at $300,000 would see a tax increase of $72 per year. To calculate your tax increase, visit www.fipsd.org/projects.html. The projects the Fripp Island PSD is proposing include: • Harbor River Waterline Replacement: The South Carolina Department of Transportation intends to replace the swing bridge spanning the Harbor River along U.S. 21 in Beaufort County. The Fripp Island Public Service District's water main, which provides potable water service to Harbor, Hunting and Fripp islands, is located within SC DOT's right-ofway and buried in the causeway approaches on both sides of the bridge. It is suspended from the bridge except at the mobile swing-span, where it drops down and is buried in the bottom of the river. The SC DOT's preferred construction alignment will interfere with the district's waterline for nearly the entire length of the construction. SC DOT policy requires utilities whose lines are located within DOT rights-ofway to relocate their lines at the utility's expense. The district has obtained engineering estimates of up to $3.2 million for relocation of the line. • Fripp Inlet Revetment Repairs: The Fripp Island Public Service District's revetment (a structure to prevent erosion) along Porpoise Drive, which protects the See VOTERS, page A6