Parking, bridge and homeless problems. Here’s what Beaufort’s mayoral candidates say

A trolley system to solve the city’s parking problems? A blue-ribbon panel to address the homeless problem? A third bridge in northern Beaufort County?

Beaufort’s mayoral candidates took on the city’s hot-button topics for an hour at a forum Monday. Mike Sutton and Phil Cromer answered 15 questions on a stage at the USCB Performing Arts Center before an audience of 140 people. Early voting has already started and election day is Tuesday.

Besides downtown-area parking woes, the need for a third bridge crossing and more affordable housing, the issues addressed ranged from controversial Ribaut Road upgrades to run-down houses in some neighborhoods to endless legal battles over development.

Sutton and Cromer are battling to serve out the remaining term of Stephen Murray, who resigned in September. The forum was more of a polite talk about the issues, not a debate, with Cromer and Sutton being candid that the other guy would do a good job if elected.

Murray surprised the community when he resigned on Sept. 15 with 15 months remaining in his term that runs through 2024. His departure came as fissures between development and preservationist escalated. The flash point was a decision by the City Council to remove a dedicated seat for the Historic Beaufort Foundation (HBF), a historic preservation group, on the city’s Historic District Review Board (HDRB).

Both Cromer and Sutton have previously served two terms on the City Council.

“I’m retired, I can give it my all, I have no ax to grind,” said Cromer. “I’m doing this because I want to serve my city and my community. And I’m committed to serving all of our citizens. Not just any one individual, any group or any neighborhood.”

Cromer was town administrator of Ridgeland and town manager of Port Royal. He was also a risk management consultant for the Municipal Association of South Carolina.

“It’s not about the who, it’s about what. The what is our city,” said Sutton. “We have a lot of things we can do in our city but we’ve got to stop paying attention to the things that are not as important and pay attention to the things that are important. And we can do that but it’s going to take more than five council members. It’s going to take our community to get reengaged in our government.”

Sutton owns Sutton Construction, an historic restoration company in Beaufort. He serves on the Historic District Review Board and the Building Board of Appeals.

The Beaufort Regional Chamber of Commerce organized what interim CEO and President Megan Morris described as an important forum to introduce voters to the candidates and their thoughts on the top local issues.

“This is a great crowd,” said Morris at the start, “and it will probably grow as we go.”

When asked about their top priorities, Cromer said continuing stormwater projects to build the city’s “resiliency” to coastal flooding and rising tides is one priority. The city is preparing the first stages of a $28 million project to fix aging infrastructure to curb flooding problems plaguing homes and businesses across 200 acres near downtown Beaufort. Other priorities for Cromer are completing the strategic goals set by the city council and streamlining the building permitting process to make it easier for businesses and developers.

Sutton described his candidacy as “brick and mortar,” with infrastructure, strong business, the impact of tourism on neighborhoods, housing and mental health his top issues. “Close to my heart is mental health issues like homelessness in the park,” Sutton said. “Those are issues we haven’t addressed.”

What’s good in Ribaut Road plan?

Beaufort County is leading a discussion of proposed improvements on 5.5 miles of busy Ribaut Road. Parts of the plan have been controversial, like reducing lanes between Duke Street and Reynolds Street in Beaufort. Beaufort residents have expressed significant concerns about the plan. When the candidates were asked if there were parts of the plan that they support both agreed that burying power lines and widening sidewalks would be an improvement.

Third bridge needed?

In light of recent malfunctions at the historic Woods Memorial Bridge, is it time for a third bridge crossing in northern Beaufort County? In January, the bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places at the request of the city and the Historic Beaufort Foundation.

“The Woods Bridge is a time bomb waiting to happen,” Sutton said.

Yes, the bridge is historic, Sutton said, but growth on Lady’s Island has surpassed its ability, and that of the McTeer bridge, the area’s other bridge, to serve the region. More study of a third crossing is needed, Sutton said, to figure out how to get people off Lady’s and St. Helena islands but it is a regional issue. Building more roads and bridges won’t to fix the problem, he added.

Cromer said he supported the nomination of the Woods Memorial bridge to be on the historic register of places. “It’s much like the Brooklyn Bridge is to New York City and the London Bridge is to London.”

A third bridge may be necessary at some point if current growth rates continue, says Cromer, but he wants to keep and maintain the Woods bridge. Since it is on the national register the state will do everything to maintain it. Poor planning on Lady’s Island has led to the growth, he said.

Parking woes hot issue

The candidates were asked how to solve Beaufort’s parking crunch.

Cromer called it a huge problem that he says might be solved with a park and ride. He says the city should study a trolley system that could shuttle people to events.

The need for a parking garage is not a new issue, Sutton said. He supports 303 Associates’ plan to build a parking garage on an existing parking lot it owns downtown. The best place to put a parking garage, Sutton says, is on a parking lot.

Crime in the city

The candidates were asked to assess the city’s crime rate and to discuss solutions.

Cromer says he wants more cops on the streets and downtown-area parks and traffic enforcement. He also supports more cameras and lights in high-crime areas

Sutton says “we need consistent policing.” He also supports more personnel and giving police more tools they need to do their jobs including for traffic control. “People drive through our streets like there’s no police there,” Sutton says. Degradation of moral character occurs, he said, when you don’t enforce the basic rule of law.

How would you address homelessness?

Arresting people for panhandling won’t fix the problem, Sutton said. The real issue is mental illness. If elected, he said, he would bring mental health professionals and residents together and create a blue ribbon panel and find a way to “intervene.” The city should work with mental health professionals. But the city should come up with its own type of intervention and not follow the path of larger cities, which has not worked. “We can’t have the homeless camped out in our parks and in our streets.”

Cromer said the problem needs to be addressed on a regional basis. Drug addiction is part of the problem. Cromer said the city needs to have a place for those without homes to go, especially when it’s very cold. As mayor he would work with mental health and drug addiction specialists to try to come up with a system to help people “where we actually go out and do outreach.”

A flurry of lawsuits

The city is facing lawsuits over downtown development projects and other issues. The candidates were asked what they would do to curb wasteful and expensive lawsuits.

“Lawsuits only make money for certain people and they take money out of your pockets,” said Sutton, calling the legal disputes “ridiculous.” He noted the city also has lawsuits with fire districts. The city needs to get people in a room, away from lawyers, and figure out how to solve the differences, Sutton said.

Cromer said it takes positive engagement to identify problems before they become serious and end up in court. “If you have your ear to the ground you’ll notice that ahead of time,” he said.

Affordable housing

The candidates were asked what policies they would support to increase affordable housing.

The issue needs to be approached regionally because Beaufort is “tiny” in the bigger picture, Sutton said. Government needs to get out of the way and let the market take the lead. He doesn’t think using taxpayer dollars and impact fees is the solution. Residents also need to ask themselves whether they really would support affordable housing near them, said Sutton, noting that nobody seems to want to be adjacent to mobile or modular homes. There was even a backlash in the city when a few additional houses were proposed on one block, Sutton noted. If residents really want affordable housing, he said, they shouldn’t block it and let it be known to the City Council.

The city has donated some land for some small affordable housing projects and had some success, Cromer said. The city is partnering with a regional housing trust involving other municipalities which he says hopefully will bear fruit in the future. It’s a regional issue that’s too big for the city to handle alone. The city has received 24 recommendations from an affordable housing task force that will be coming before the City Council, Cromer said.

Homes that need repair

Uninhabitable homes in the Northwest Quadrant neighborhood of the historic district was another issue discussed.

Neighborhood development corporations can be useful in addressing the problem, Cromer said. He cited a new effort, spearheaded by the newly formed Freedman Arts District as one possibility in revitalizing neighborhoods by investing in restorations of vacant houses. He thinks the Historic Beaufort Foundation should get involved and he thinks they already may be.

Sutton says the city does very little help families improve these houses. The city is chasing people out of affordable housing and then saying it doesn’t have affordable housing. More needs to be done. “We can’t just talk about preservation, we have to do preservation,” he said. Not-for-profits need to step up to the plate and save the city’s heritage and help people less fortunate.

Do you support park upgrade?

The candidates were asked if they supported $6 million in improvements to Southside Park, which includes a new playground, pavilions, parking and a half basketball court. The city is planning to borrow against its parks and tourism fund to cover a portion of the cost. Both gave their support for the project.