Visit to Waterfront Park could nibble at wallet
By PRENTISS FINDLAY
The Post and Courier
The war memorial begins to take shape at Mount Pleasant's Memorial Waterfront Park on Thursday.
The Post and Courier
The Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge towers over the new Mount Pleasant Visitor Center under construction at the new Memorial Waterfront Park.
Previous Stories
PRC might run, maintain pier; Town negotiating agreement with Charleston County Park and Recreation Commission, published 09/17/08 (has link to earlier story)
MOUNT PLEASANT — It will cost $1 per hour to park at the new Memorial Waterfront Park if the Town Council approves the suggested fee to cover operating and maintenance costs.
Town Administrator Mac Burdette said Thursday that $400,000 will be needed annually to run the park, money that is not in the town budget because of lean times. He has implemented a hiring freeze to reduce town staff by 40 positions through attrition.
"We don't like the idea of pay parking, but we are in difficult times. We've got to get our money back somehow. We just don't have it," he said while touring the park with members of the town Accommodations Tax Advisory Committee.
The proposed hourly fee for about 250 spaces at the park is patterned after a kiosk system at the Isle of Palms, he said. Resident parking passes also would be available for purchase. For large public events, the parking fee would be suspended. Short-term, 15-minute parking for pick-up and drop-off would be free, he said.
The town aims to open the $14 million park on Memorial Day weekend in 2009, but it may not happen until the Fourth of July, he said. "If they're not ahead of schedule, they're on it. But the rainy season hasn't gotten here yet," he said.
The town anticipates opening an extension of Wingo Way that runs in front of the park in about two months. The road connects to Patriots Point but is now closed for construction. The 14-acre park site is next to the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge.
The Sweetgrass Cultural Arts Center, the Visitors Center, the war memorial and the pier are taking shape. The name of the 1,400-square-foot open-air Sweetgrass Pavilion was changed because Wild Dunes claimed rights to the name in a letter to the town.
The war memorial will include 73 names of veterans from east of the Cooper who lost their lives in service to their country, including Wando High School graduate Richie Cliff, 29, who recently was killed in Afghanistan. Twelve columns will surround the memorial centerpiece, which is an eight-foot bronze female sculpture. In the woman's left hand is a tri-folded flag presented to grieving widows and mothers. Her right hand rests on a World War II helmet, supported by a rifle. The memorial will have a fountain.
The 1,250-foot-long pier, billed as the longest in the Southeast, will offer close-up views of the towering Ravenel bridge and the cargo ships that pass by. The vista will range from the aircraft carrier Yorktown to the Charleston waterfront to Remley's Point. An 8,100-square-foot covered pavilion will be at the end of the pier. Dances and other events will be held there.
The park will include the 6,200-square-foot Visitors Center that will be managed by the Charleston Area Convention & Visitors Bureau.
The town is in negotiations with the Charleston County Parks and Recreation Commission to manage the pier, which was built on lopped-off pilings of the Silas Pearman Bridge.
The town is paying for park construction through tax increment financing, the same method used to buy a $6 million property on Shem Creek. The tax increment financing method borrows funds for improvements that are expected to increase property values, thereby generating more taxes to pay back the debt.
Reach Prentiss Findlay at 937-5711 or pfindlay@postandcourier.com.
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moonpie (anonymous) says...
Leave it to MT P. to mess up a good thing.
October 3, 2008 at 6:19 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
bribetaker (anonymous) says...
If the parking fee is dropped....who do you think will pay the operating expenses? The taxpayers of Mt. P, of course.
If a fee is charged, might some money be collected from people outside of Mt. P, e.g. tourists? I think the answer to that one is yes.
No one likes fees, but we gotta realize that when the gov't does something, much like private industry, it's not free, someone will pay. The question becomes, what's the most equitable way to pay. This allows for the people that use the park to help foot the bill.
I see this like a toll road. The taxpayers paid for the road but there's still a fee for those that use it.
October 3, 2008 at 7:08 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
bribetaker (anonymous) says...
One additional comment....all the Charleston County parks we have, were built with taxpayer money, charge $1 per person for entry, but I don't hear people jumping up and down about that fee. Seems to be the same thing....
October 3, 2008 at 7:11 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
theronce (anonymous) says...
Oh, let's buy some more land with the public's money, taking that land out of the tax base, and build another park where we can charge the public to use what they own. Only the users pay for the upkeep, so forget about the other parts of the public that sunk their money into it to possess it. Government, like public education, never has enough money and has an untold number of good reasons why they need more. Pony up.
October 3, 2008 at 7:34 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
RTC (anonymous) says...
I frankly don't care, because I have no intention of using it. The whole conglomeration looks like it's going to be one major cluster you-know-what.
I would prefer to pay to go to Palmetto Islands where it's not so crowded, and the atmosphere is much more peaceful.
The town does what the town wants to do no matter what.
I won't be voting for any of the council members next election. They all need to go.
October 3, 2008 at 8:10 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
CharlesN (anonymous) says...
We come to the area 2-3 times a year from Georgia. I know I'm not a local, but I don't mind chipping in a few dollars to enjoy the new Waterfront Park or any other park in the area. They bring a lot of relaxation and some really nice views.
It's unfortunate that officials of most localities underestimate maintenance costs for new public constructions. The Folly Beach pier recently took about $1.22 million to renovate? Granted, it's not the same kind of structure, but I wonder how many people see that kind of maintenance coming in 10-15 years?
October 3, 2008 at 8:37 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
majorjohnson (anonymous) says...
How much did Mt. Pleasant just pay for a thimble full of land down by Shem Creek to make a park out of? Well, it wasn't really to make a park, that was just the excuse to prevent a private property owner from creating jobs and adding to the tax base because that indicates wealth and is a slap in the face to the poor poor pitiful poor. Now you have 2 parks you can't afford.
October 3, 2008 at 8:57 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
MSC (anonymous) says...
Parking around The Battery is free.
Parking meters downtown run 75cents for an hour.
I hope they planned to place bike racks at the park.
I wonder how much that will cost.
October 3, 2008 at 9:25 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
sbs920 (anonymous) says...
LOL! only in Mt.UnPleasant could you come up with kind of thought process! King Harry and Yuppy Council haven't put much thought into this one that is for sure, well maybe he did, but just forgot. We at least he get to meet new people everyday. . .
October 3, 2008 at 9:52 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
MP (anonymous) says...
They are not charging to use the park. They are charging to park a car in a parking lot. A parking lot that will require fairly constant additional expense to maintain. Would you rather them charge to use the park? I dont think I would. Plenty of places to park nearby for free and either walk or ride your bike to the park.
October 3, 2008 at 9:52 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
OverHere (anonymous) says...
This just in: Mt. Pleasant run by giant sacks of crap
Charging for public services would be a great way to fix the schools as well. That way only those that could afford to would use the facilities.
October 3, 2008 at 10:15 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
TinaR (anonymous) says...
To Bribetaker,
If someone pays $1 to entry the Charleston County Parks, they are not paying $1 an hour that they are there. THey could stay all day if they wanted whereas if someone uses this new park and the lot after spending all day they would be paying significantly more than $1. You simply cannot equate the two.
October 3, 2008 at 10:20 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
wjhamilton3 (anonymous) says...
The history of this entire project is a sad commentary on the Mayor and some members of council's understanding of public space. They understand it only as a tourist attraction. They don't really value or understand public space as a place for community to come together.
They've eleminated the proposed community sailing center and water access for Kayaks, probably due to an indirect pressure campaign from the State Ports Authority.
The dog park has apparently been eleminated (though I can't really tell any longer). The playground has been moved around, resized and may now be under the bridge. The cars are parked out in the sunlight. The children are in the dark. The small fountain/water play feature for children was eleminated. I'm sure some members of council could stand the idea of white and African American children playing in the same water. Shame on them!
I haven't even seen a current plan for the park online. Apparently the only place you can see that is a sign on the construction site. I'm not sure that is accurate either.
The Visitor's center has been planted in the middle of the park, blocking the view to the water from many locations there.
After years of public input and hearings, the entire plan developed with public input has been discarded and replaced with whatever the Mayor and his friends want. We had plans for a wonderful park for the use of residents. We went to dozens of public hearings and input sessions.
October 3, 2008 at 10:22 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
wjhamilton3 (anonymous) says...
I'm sorry, but I need to continue my comments:
They are now building a tourist oriented outdoor context for a money losing convention center, with further, redundant military monuments.
I'm happy to honor our veterans, but an Aircraft Carrier, Cold War Submarine Memorisl, Statue in the Patriot's Point Round-A-Bout, Vietnam Fire Base recreation, several blue star veterans highway designations and another Veterans Memorial Round-A-Bout on Rifle Range Road seem adequate to me.
Mt. Pleasant is conservative and pro military. Even it's liberals are ready to honor our veterans. Our Christmas parade is dedicated to the community's veterans. What is so inadequate here that we needed to spend hundreds of thosuands of dollars on another memorial, even if some of it was raised privately?
Perhaps militarism so saturates the local culture that significance is elusive. The capital of North Korea probably has more war and veterans memorials than Mt. Pleasant. It also has an unresponsive, repressive government. I suppose the connection is that when your Government is undemocratic, you hang your civic focus on warfare.
This is a park created to serve the values of greedy old men built with the last of the Town's money.
I saw wonderful waterfront parks enjoyed by the public along miles of waterfront in Vancouver, Candada; Seattle and New York this summer. They have a fairly nice new waterfront park in N. Charleston. Charleston's waterfront Park, Brittlebank park and Battery are popular. You didn't have to go far to see it done right.
But the greedy old men decided to do it wrong to serve their buddies who own the Hotels nearby and the tourists who they value so much more highly than their citizens.
If you disagree with them like Mr. Mimms did this summer, Hallman's police department will escort you out of the Town Council meeting public comment period.
We create this sort of town by tolerating this sort of government. If you want change, I'm registering voters on Saturday morning, Oct. 4 at Alex's Restaurant on Coleman Blvd. from 8 am to 12 noon. It's the last day to register before the General election.
October 3, 2008 at 10:23 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Charleston_21 (anonymous) says...
They are aware that we are in dier need of all our money and they understand that, but they're still going to charge us something?
I'm sorry, but why build something you don't have enough money for and then just let the citizens pick everything up?
October 3, 2008 at 10:28 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
bigwhip (anonymous) says...
I wonder how many "officials" will get "passes" so they can park free.
October 3, 2008 at 10:40 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
outrage (anonymous) says...
"The town is paying for park construction through tax increment financing, the same method used to buy a $6 million property on Shem Creek. The tax increment financing method borrows funds for improvements that are expected to increase property values, thereby generating more taxes to pay back the debt."
There it is! We will use your tax money, so we can increase the amount of taxes on the people who paid for the park.
Mac Burdette needs to go!
October 3, 2008 at 11:09 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
RTC (anonymous) says...
Yes, Burdette needs to go. I understand that he was handed a kevlar vest by the police dept. and told to try wearing it with no a/c on in his car. Idiot!
October 3, 2008 at 12:01 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
MP (anonymous) says...
I agree that the park is an abomination as currently proposed by our selfless, intelligent, community oriented town council members. They took a wonderful apportunity and screwed it up at every turn. With each step made it worse and worse. But, the fact remains that if the town of Mt. Pleasant is required to pay for the upkeep, it can only come from one of two sources - property taxes on the residents of Mt. Pleasant or some form of use tax paid by users of the park. Many of those users will not be from Mt. Pleasant. How about this? A parking or use fee for non-residents of Mt. Pleasant? You play, you pay. Do the same with our 38 county public boat ramps that are paid for by Charleston County taxes. Yet, during the summer the boat ramps are all clogged every weekend by people from outside the county. We pay, they play- for free. Charge them a use fee to balance this out, too.
October 3, 2008 at 12:38 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
icunvme (anonymous) says...
if u didnt have the money to fund it why build it?
October 3, 2008 at 1:49 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Rebel_Yell (anonymous) says...
I guess it would be too much thought to just have a pier and open space until MP gets some revenue to add on other features. Then again, why pay for land that was given to MP for free by the DOT? Open space costs nothing to maintain--it's the new construction that requires $400,000 per year to maintain. It's so obvious that the people lost to special interest on this one.
October 3, 2008 at 2:44 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
majorjohnson (anonymous) says...
Spankerbuns is obviously johnq by a different name. Not only does he lack the reading skills neccessary to read my post and actually understand what I wrote, he then resorts to calling me major douchebag, which was always his favorite name for me when he had no rational argument, which is pretty much any time of the day or night.
October 3, 2008 at 4:53 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Perspective (anonymous) says...
If they don't charge for parking, it will become a commuter parking lot for carpooling into the city.
Have you seen the KMart on Bowman Rd lately? On weekdays it looks like a yuppie used car lot.
As for the park upkeep. Why not build a cheaper park for ONLY 10 million dollars and use the other 4 million for up keep?
October 3, 2008 at 9:55 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
MP (anonymous) says...
Good thought Perspective. Bet the Council never thought of that but you are right. The parking lot would definitely be clogged with commuter vehicles during the week. Parking there for free and paying $3 or $4 a day for CARTA beats the heck out of downtown parking prices.
October 4, 2008 at 7:34 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
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