First, tell us a little about yourself.
Born in Montana, went to Marine Corps Boot Camp six days after high school graduation in 1992.  Went to Tulane University in New Orleans on a Navy ROTC scholarship.  Received a BA in Economics.  Commissioned as a Marine Corps second lieutenant in 1997.  Throughout my career I managed the operation of the second largest airfield in Iraq during the war, I was in charge of establishing large command and control facilities in Afghanistan, and in the U.S. in North Carolina and California.  I led various groups of Marines and civilians, up to 600 at one time, and efficiently managed budgets of over $14 million dollars.  Throughout my career I’ve planned, led, and executed a myriad of complex missions involving large infrastructure projects.

1.  What is your vision for Johns Island?
My vision for Johns Island is a positive one, one where we are not all feeling the pressure of overcrowding and infrastructure that is at the brink of failing our kids, our schools, our families, and our workers.  I firmly believe that we WILL start slowly turning this ship around from the iceberg we’ve been headed towards…and we will avoid it, and get to safer harbors.  We all know that all of this private property development has happened – and will happen for the next few years – because the land was zoned and sold without first ensuring that the infrastructure was in place beforehand to support it.

Furthermore, even given the infrastructure failure to materialize when it was intended, the private developments have been authorized to pack in as many units per acre as they want, which has contributed to the overcrowding on the island.  Those two issues – failure to add infrastructure to support future development, and irrational zoning guidelines that have facilitated irresponsibly crowded development – will start to change very soon with solid, strong City Council representation.

I understand the process at the City and County and State levels that help me see that we can start to make the changes we need now so that our near future will start to show improvements, and our children playing baseball and going to school now will inherit a Johns Island that is the type of Island that all of us constituents moved here for:  One that balances the beauty of the island’s ecosystem with it’s rich local community and small businesses and controlled growth that does not exceed the capacity of our infrastructure.

2.  Given that our major roads are owned by the state and that it is the county and the state that have the funding to improve them, how would you provide traffic congestion relief for Johns Island?
First of all, City Council has “municipal consent” for any County projects within city limits.  That can act as a sort of leverage to force the County to come to the table of the City to ensure they understand the impacts to is residents of any project the County wants to do, on any current or future county road.

Secondly, City Council can appeal to the County Transportation Committee to gain funds for City infrastructure needs, and the funds come from State taxes (not City or County).  This is a far underutilized means to direct State funds to municipalities.

Thirdly, in some cases, on County roads within City limits, the City does have some means to modify or influence traffic control measures on those roads.

3.  What specifically do you propose for traffic relief for the greater Maybank-River intersection?
Short-term:  I will share one “idea” that I have that I may propose when I’m in the City Council seat.  I am purposely cautious about giving lists of my “ideas” to voters because we all know that any one candidate’s “ideas” will face the realities of current City and County processes in place.  Also, we don’t have the benefit, yet, of having easy access to current city planners with engineering expertise to explain if an idea is or is not feasible.

With that disclaimer, my idea for short-term improvements to Maybank at that intersection is reversible lanes.  Reversible lanes are a common practice in larger municipalities with overcapacity traffic.  It typically is employed on three-lane roads (like our portion of Maybank) where, in our case:  a.) during morning rush hours, 2 of the 3 lanes will be used to flow out towards James Island; b.) 2 of the three lanes will be used to flow in towards Johns Island during evening rush hours; c.) the middle lane will be used for a turn lane during the middle hours.  See this link for a visual example.

Longer-term:  First of all, the “northern pitchfork” is under construction now, and will be completed early next year.  That is expected to help relieve maybe 10-15% of the traffic in that intersection.  But, the “southern pitchfork” is not yet funded.  However, in 2024, the County will put on the ballot a new infrastructure half-cent sales tax referendum (which would replace our current 2012 referendum that will end around 2025).  IF the voters vote for it, that referendum will fund the “southern pitchfork,” and it will fund the expansion of Maybank to four lanes (yes, the County DOES own the land to do that, and there will have to be mitigation of tree removal…but it can happen).  So, IF the voters vote for that 2024 referendum, the “southern pitchfork” and the expansion of Maybank to four lanes (near River Road) would be slated to be complete in 2028.

In the meantime, in the next five years until then….traffic will continue to get worse.  So, maybe, just maybe, reversible lanes during rush hour could be a short-term help.

4.  What is your view on the amount and type of housing developments on Johns Island?
I am not against growth or new developments.  I AM against HOW these developments were zoned and planned for.  I live in Oakfield…a great neighborhood.  But the houses are packed in too close together, with relatively small yards.  And I know SO many of our communities are exactly the same way.

Imagine if, over the last 10 years, all of the new communities that were built were built with 20% fewer plots per acre, AND with more drain-water mitigation measures built in.  That would have slowed growth considerably, and it would have afforded all homebuyers more comfortable plots of land…yes, at a slightly higher cost, due to the laws of supply & demand.  That is the type of thinking that must go into any future zoning considerations.

5.  What specific changes to the zoning ordinance would you propose to address housing developments on Johns Island?
I essentially answered that question above.  The problem is, there are hundreds of acers that are already pre-zoned and sold to private developers, and they will develop according to their rights.  However, future zoning must include far more extensive drain water mitigation measures to account for future flooding concerns for the whole island, and would help mitigate packing in too many houses too closely together.  Also, simply limiting how many units per acre absolutely must be a primary consideration.

6.  What is your position on maintaining the Urban Growth Boundary (UGB) in its current location?

The current County Council majority has zero appetite to move the UGB an inch, and are passionate about keeping Johns Island’s rural nature intact.  However, that doesn’t guarantee that a future County Council may not have a different position.  The current procedure to change the UGB is basically a simple vote on the County Council.

I will advocate to the County that the current practice of the City Council’s right of municipal consent be considered as an additional layer of protection and vetting prior to any County vote on the UGB.  I also do understand this publication’s idea of adding additional consent requirements from Kiawah and Seabrook Island; I think that idea has merit, and I will take that discussion to the County Council with and on behalf of the Johns Island Council.