Posted on June 18, 2019
Beachfront stabilization at Pawleys Island will get a boost from groin maintenance that was completed in recent months. And so will the Town’s coffers.
During the June 10 regular meeting of Pawleys Island Town Council, members approved a grant agreement for just under $130,000 from the S.C. Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism. The island’s beachfront has more than 20 groins that are designed to help control erosion. Over time, all but one of the groins came to need significant work.
The total cost of the repair project was $412,489.42. The grant covers almost a third of the cost, with the town paying the local share of $282,890.56.
“All the groins required some level of repair and/or maintenance except the one located at the far south end. Work started in January and finished up in March,” Town Administrator Ryan Fabbri said.
Mayor Jimmy Braswell complimented the contractor, saying “The way the material was done, you can hardly tell they did the work.”
Heavy equipment was brought onto the beach to dig out sections of the groins buried deep under the sand. The groin work needed to be done before the larger beach renourishment project could be undertaken.
That multi-million-dollar project has had a few delays, Fabbri told Council, in getting some paperwork completed.
As for the beach renourishment project, Fabbri said, the Army Corps of Engineers changed some of the wording in its agreement with the Town of Pawleys Island. “It’s not major,” he said. “We got that on (June 7).”
A few of the “right of entrance” agreements north of the Amy Corps section weren’t properly signed or notarized, he said. He didn’t think it would be a problem to get those corrected.
Fabbri said that the cost of the project will be higher than what the Corps originally estimated, and it’s taking the Corps more time to deal with the cost changes. “They say it’s not anything to be concerned about,” Fabbri told Council members.
Recycling program
Braswell noted that Town Council learned at a previous meeting that Georgetown County is not recycling the trash collected on Pawleys Island. That’s because the company handling garbage collection puts recyclables placed in the blue bins with other household trash. Also, there are some items placed in the blue recycle bins that are not supposed to be in there.
“The only thing I’d like to propose is we put out an email saying we will come up with a plan when Georgetown (County) has it,” Braswell said. He added that individual homeowners can go to the county’s recycling center and put newspapers, certain plastics and other items in the appropriate containers.
The email will ask people to continue using the blue bins but ask that people don’t put garbage in them.
Other business
Two items required Town Council approval. One was for Waccamaw Landscaping for $14,584. That was for landscaping and irrigation work around the new Town Hall. The company had pledged a $5,000 donation/discount on the work, reducing the cost to $9,584, which Council approved.
Anther bill was from Pleasant Landscaping for $3,800 for work at the South End parking lot for Memorial Day weekend. An area had sand placed there from another part of the island. The sand was “squishy,” Fabbri said, and needed to be removed and packed down, since cars were getting stuck. Council approved the payment.
- Police Report – Chief Mike Fanning said “Just about all our incidents are traffic related. There were a few bird calls” for injured birds.
- The Town has submitted statements to FEMA for costs to prepare for Hurricane Florence, for a little less than $12,000. Fabbri also said the Town sold a 2013 Ford Explorer for $5,000.
- Council discussed making a donation to an Eagle Scout service project that would involve placing life rings at each beach access. Council members asked attorney David Durant to check on potential liability for the Town. The request was tabled until the liability question is answered.
- Council members said they liked a draft report produce by a committee looking into possible uses for the old Town Hall building. Fabbri asked Council members to read over the report and get back to him with any ideas for the July meeting.
Council agreed to move the date of the next meeting to July 15 because of the Fourth of July holiday.
Source: southstrandnews.com
