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KEEP IT GOING.
Town council recently approved a November 4 ballot advisory referendum question for its residents. The question essentially asks whether you support the Town of Hilton Head Island using general obligation bonds of up to $17 million to support more land acquisitions and to manage growth. We hope you will support and vote for the question.
Residents have supported four previous land acquisition referendum questions in the past by a whopping margin – close to 80 percent. With your vote of confidence, town councils have been able to achieve great things for our island. What are the results of previously approved referendum questions? For this answer, let the numbers do the talking. Total acres purchased: 1,171; total parcels: 127; reduction of potential 4.37 million square feet of commercial development; reduction of potential 1,365 motel rooms; reduction of potential 4,210 residential and timeshare units; and reduction of potential 36,070 peak-hour (4-6 p.m.) driving trips.
As you can see, your support for our land acquisition program has resulted in concrete results. While the numbers have meaning, let me personalize what your support of land acquisition has meant to the community. If your child has played soccer for one of the many Island Recreation Association organized teams at Chaplin Community Park or Barker Field, then you have experienced the benefits of land acquisition. Imagine for a moment if we hadn’t purchased the property Chaplin Community Park now occupies. The fields at the rec enter would be mud from overplay and the center would not have been able to form as many teams as we now enjoy. If you have played tennis at Chaplin along the marsh then thank the land acquisition program. If you and your dog have played the dog park at Chaplin or your child has played in the large playground area, then give yourself a pat on the back since both amenities resulted from the land buying program.
If you’ve been to a concert or festival at Shelter Cove Community Park, then you know what a beautiful marshfront site this and how well it lends itself to such events. From Winefest to Seafoodfest to watching fireworks on a warm summer night with your children, thank the land acquisition program. If you’ve attended a Veterans Day or Memorial Day ceremony at our Shelter Cove Veterans Memorial Park to honor our Armed Services then know that the park would not have been possible without your support. If you’ve been to Honey Horn, the site of the Coastal Discovery Museum, and attended Concours d’ Elegance & Motoring Festival, or a concert, or visited the museum, than congratulate yourself because you made that happen. Honey Horn is probably one of our most significant and largest purchases. The property hosts countless events, small and large, and has been a focal point for our residents. If you haven’t seen it, please do and you will see what your support has meant.
Our land buying program has meant even more than the above. By buying carefully selected property, we have been able to keep hundreds of acres along William Hilton Parkway (US 278) free from development and green. We have preserved historic sites such as Green Shell and Ford Shell rings. We have purchased property in the Mitchellville area, the site of the first Freedman’s Village in the United States after the Civil War. We have developed beach parks, baseball fields at Crossings Park, a skate park, and we have created the potential for more amenities in the future with preserved land.
We need more money to keep the momentum going and we need your vote to accomplish the most critical mission of the town. Your support has meant a greater quality of life for residents and the results have been beyond my widest dreams. By supporting our program, you and your children will benefit, we promise you that. For information on land acquisitions visit hiltonheadislandsc.gov.
