Dear Members of the Negotiating Committee for the Town of Bluffton,

We request that you postpone consideration of the South Street Partner's proposals, which we understand is now scheduled for 10AM, Thursday, January 6.  We ask this because the Palmetto Bluff community has not had the opportunity to understand the proposals and to respond appropriately to them.  We believe that informed feedback from the Palmetto Bluff community is an essential part of the process.

We make this request for five reasons:

1) The developer, now South Street Partners (SSP), has failed to provide any information about the Anson proposals to the property owners and residents of Palmetto Bluff.

2) At the November 9, 2021 Town Council meeting, SSP stated that they had held Town Hall meetings, which was incorrect.  PBNA then sent an email to correct the record.

3) Since then, there has been no information shared, or general meetings conducted, by SSP to inform the members of the Anson proposals and plans, and the reasons why they are requesting changes to the Development Agreement (as amended).

4) Two Town Council members (Fred Hamilton, Larry Toomer) are scheduled to be at Palmetto Bluff to meet with PBNA members to discuss the Anson proposals.  There is very strong interest in this January 13th meeting amongst our 250 members.

5) PBNA can assist the Negotiating Committee and the Town Council assess community input via a survey to the PBNA members (and potentially the entire PB community), if this would be helpful in your deliberations.  Obviously, this will take a few weeks to execute and compile.

The seven volunteer leaders, signing below, unanimously urge you to postpone this meeting.

Bob Morette, Harry Haslam, Ford Bartholow, Eric Sutherland, Richard Cedrone, Graz Graziano, and Arian Ellis

We are excited  to report that Bluffton Town Councilman Fred Hamilton (Mayor Pro-Tempore),  and Councilman Larry Toomer have agreed to come and meet with our membership on January 13th at 3PM at the River Road Lodge. We are very grateful that these two government officials are making time to be with us. We hope that you will save the date and join your neighbors and friends at this session. 

For several months, we have been sending out information to you about South Street Partners’  (SSP) requested changes to the master agreement between the Town of Bluffton and the developer that are beyond the limitations and safeguards put in place in the original 1998 agreement (and subsequent amendments).  These original arrangements provided for a single dry stack storage facility (currently at Wilson Landing) and limited fueling to land side only.  These provisions were put in place to protect the rivers around Palmetto Bluff.  As you know, SSP is requesting fuel over water rights and additional dry stack storage at the planned Anson Marina.

Regardless of where you come down on the proposed expansion at Anson, we hope that you will join us for a respectful discussion of the issues with both Councilmen.  You can learn more about our distinguished guests at the attached link. 

We continue to hope that SSP will hold a Town Hall Meeting with all residents concerning their requested changes.  We believe that it is important that they communicate their intentions directly to property owners and receive feedback from all of us who are most invested in the long-term viability of our community. 

As always, the volunteers of the PBNA enjoy hearing from you.  Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.  Also, if you have neighbors who have not yet joined the PBNA, please encourage them to do so prior to this important meeting. 

Warmest regards,

Palmetto Bluff PBNA Volunteers 

Bob Morette, Arian Ellis, Harry Haslam, Graz Graziano, Ford Bartholow, Eric Sutherland, Richard Cedrone

https://www.townofbluffton.sc.gov/292/Mayor-Town-Council 

Dear Palmetto Bluff Neighborhood Association Members, 

We hope that the upcoming holidays will be a tremendous time of joy and happiness for all of you. 

On November 11, 2021, we sent you a communication concerning South Street Partner’s request to our Town of Bluffton elected officials to expand and change key components of the plan for the marina at Anson.  You may remember that the Town Council sent the issue to the Town’s Negotiating Committee who will begin the negotiating process later this month. Today, South Street Partners sent out a survey to residents concerning those changes. To help you complete the survey, we believe you should understand some important background. 

Specifically, SSP is requesting changes to the master agreement between the Town of Bluffton and developer that are beyond the limitations and safeguards put in place in the original 1998 agreement (and in subsequent amendments), These agreements provide for a single dry stack storage facility (used by Wilson Landing) and limited fueling to land side only. These provisions were put in place to protect the rivers around Palmetto Bluff. 

We have discovered that many of our neighbors and friends that live on Palmetto Bluff have never had the opportunity to see the Anson area of our community.  For that reason, we are forwarding the attached link from the Coastal Conservation League which contains pictures and two very short drone videos of this pristine habitat.  

Regardless of where you may come down on the expansion at Anson, we wanted to ensure that everyone had an opportunity to see the area.  We hope that it is helpful to you.

We are still hopeful that South Street Partners will hold a Palmetto Bluff Town Hall meeting on these requested changes prior to the Negotiating Committee process.  The survey is not a good substitute for actual dialogue with residents.

Feel free to pass this on to your friends and neighbors here on Palmetto Bluff who may not yet be members of the PBNA.  As always, the volunteers of the PBNA love hearing from you.  Please send any questions that you may have. 

Click here to see Anson:

https://www.coastalconservationleague.org/projects/palmetto-bluff/

Warmest wishes for a happy, healthy, and prosperous New Year,

Kindest regards,

Bob Morette, Graz Graziano, Harry Haslam, Eric Sutherland, Richard Cedrone, Ford Bartholow 

Dear Palmetto Bluff Neighborhood Association Members,

 We hope that all of you are enjoying this holiday season with family and friends.  

 

We are grateful for the many PBNA Members (and non-members) who have taken the time to communicate with us lately.  We have worked to answer all of those questions within 24 hours.  We thought that we would share some of those questions and answers here in the form of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs).

 

1.  Question: What is the PBNA working on?  Answer: The group of volunteers that make up the current leadership of the PBNA are working hard to seat a Board that better represents the demographics of PB, create a first-class PBNA website in order to better inform and communicate, and constantly working to inform our Members on topics that we believe you should know about. 

 

2.  Question: How do PB residents communicate with the PBNA?  Answer: By email: pbna2020@gmail.com.  By ‘Snail Mail’: PBNA, P.O. Box 462, Bluffton, SC 29910.  

 

3.  Question:  Can the January 30th PBNA Meeting be live-streamed?  Answer: Our volunteer organization does not yet have this capability but we are working to fill this critical void.  Kindly stand-by for more on this going forward. 

 

While the questions above are not the complete list of inquiries that we have received, they do represent the most frequently asked questions.  

 

Thank you again for your continued interest in making this incredible place that we call, ‘home’, an even better place for PB property owners to live, work, and visit.  As always, we enjoy and appreciate hearing from you.  Please contact us with any questions that you might have. 

 

Kindly forward this to any of your neighbors and friends on PB who might not yet have joined the PBNA.  

With warmest wishes for your continued health and happiness,

Bob Morette, Graz Graziano, Harry Haslam, Eric Sutherland, Ford Bartholow, Richard Cedrone

Dear Palmetto Bluff Property Owners,

We hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday, whether you celebrated here in our beautiful community or elsewhere with family and friends.

In our November 18th communication we mentioned that we remained committed to a meeting of the PBNA during the month of January.  We are pleased to announce that we have secured the Lodge at River Road on Sunday, January 30th beginning at 4:30PM for a meeting of all interested PB property owners.  We hope that all of you will save this date and join us.

At this meeting, we hope to bring everyone up to date on the ongoing work accomplished by PBNA volunteers to reestablish the PBNA.  This includes the first ever PBNA website.  We would also like to  use this opportunity to present an explanation of the key PB foundational documents and contracts, with an emphasis on the rights and obligations of the members and the developer.  You can also expect an update on membership growth and the anticipated next steps of the PBNA.  Finally, we hope to answer any questions that you may have on the reestablishment of the PBNA.   

Please plan on joining your neighbors at this meeting as we continue to discuss our mutual interest in sustaining and improving this beautiful place that we call ‘home’.

In the meantime, please feel free to reach out to any of us if you are interested in learning more about, or becoming involved with, PBNA’s mission and activities.

 

Sincerely,

Bob Morette, Harry Haslam, Ford Bartholow, Eric Sutherland, Graz Graziano, Richard Cedrone

Dear Palmetto Bluff Neighborhood Association Members,

In the spirit of transparency we wanted to share with you some important information.

On November 11th we sent you a communication concerning the results of the November 9th Bluffton Town Council meeting focusing on South Street Partner’s request to our government officials to expand and change key components of the plan for the marina at Anson. In that note, we pointed out an inconsistency in South Street Partner’s narrative with the Town Council during the November 9th public meeting. 

Below for your information is a note that we sent to both the Town Council and the Planning Commissioners correcting the record on behalf of the PBNA Membership. As you will see, we also offered the PBNA’s collaboration with the developer and city officials on any issues where our voice would be helpful. 

Subsequent to sending the note to our government officials, we sat down with two of the Town Council members. They told us that it is their understanding that South Street Partners will conduct  a town hall meeting with the residents of Palmetto Bluff to discuss the changes that SS Partners are requesting to the marina at Anson. Further, once the Town’s Negotiating Committee addresses this topic, it is their understanding that this committee will seek public comments.  Further, once the Negotiating Committee makes a recommendation to the Town Council, the Council will once again conduct a public hearing on the issue. This is all good news. We urge you and your neighbors who may or may not be members of the PBNA to attend both the South Street Town hall meeting when it is announced and the Town Council meeting which will be announced after the first of the year. We will communicate dates, times and locations as soon as they are scheduled.

The PBNA continues to be committed to having another meeting of residents in the January timeframe.  We hope to focus on improving the understanding of the purpose of restarting the PBNA and improve the resident’s (PBNA Members and non-members)  understanding of the governing documents of Palmetto Bluff. In the meantime, we are working hard to attract interested residents to join the Board…especially women so that we can better align the composition of the Board with the resident population.   If you are interested, please let us know.   As always, thank you to the growing PBNA membership for your keen interest in this beautiful place where we live.  Please feel free to share this note with your neighbors.

Click here for a copy of the letter...

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you!

 Sincerely,

 Bob Morette, Harry Haslam, Ford Bartholow, Eric Sutherland, Graz Graziano, Richard Cedrone

Dear Members of the Town of Bluffton Town Council and Planning Commission, 

We are writing you as the Directors of the Palmetto Bluff Neighborhood Association (PBNA).  The PBNA is a South Carolina Non-Profit Corporation made up of property owners of Palmetto Bluff. The PBNA is an independent voice for the Palmetto Bluff resident members. 

The purpose of our communication is four-fold in addressing the outstanding requests by South Street Partners to make amendments to the area of Anson on Palmetto Bluff. 

 First, we want to thank all of you for the thoughtful approach you have taken to this point in determining what is best for Palmetto Bluff, Bluffton, and the larger community.  Some of our members have spoken at your various meetings where you generously requested public comment.  Moreover, many of our members have followed the deliberations with keen interest and admiration for your work.

 Second, we wish to correct the record on a specific claim made by South Street Partners during the November 9th Town Council meeting on this subject.  During the questioning of South Street Partner, Mr. Will Culp, Councilman  Fred Hamilton asked Mr. Culp if South Street Partners had discussed their specific requested changes at a town hall meeting with residents of Palmetto Bluff.   At first Mr. Culp opined that he could not recall if the specific requests had been discussed with the residents. Shortly after that, with some prompting, Mr. Culp reversed himself by saying that, ‘these changes had been explicitly discussed with PB residents during town hall meetings’.   We wish to respectfully communicate to you that at no time did South Street Partners discuss these requested changes at any town hall with the residents of Palmetto Bluff.  Moreover, the first time that residents heard of these specific requests was when South Street Partners petitioned you our elected officials for these amendments.  We applaud Councilman Hamilton’s intent to have Palmetto Bluff residents involved in these drastic changes to the 2005 2nd Amendment to the PB Development Agreement and stand ready to provide South Street Partners feedback if they truly wish to work in an open and collaborative manner.  It is worth mentioning that taken together, the residents of Palmetto Bluff are the largest investor in the community.  

 Third, we believe that there is an immediate need for South Street Partners to provide high level engineering and concept plans for the Anson Marina before better informed comments and decisions can be articulated. Frankly, we have closely followed the public discourse and cannot adequately describe what the resulting marina will look like, or more importantly, what effects their proposals will have on our fragile environment in and around Palmetto Bluff.  

 Lastly, we wish to offer ourselves as resources on any and all issues related to the Town of Bluffton and Palmetto Bluff. We and our members stand ready to partner in an environment of trust and transparency with you on the myriad issues that you adjudicate. 

 Kind Regards,

 Bob Morette, Harry Haslam, Graz Graziano, Eric Sutherland, Richard Cedrone, Ford Bartholow