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| Town of Beaufort Civil War Map |
Sea Pines
Sea Pines 1965
Sunday, February 22, 2015
Recent Sea Pines Awards and Recognition: Wow!
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| Vintage View of the Beach at Sea Pines |
Inn at Harbour Town ranked #1 Hotel on Hilton Head Island by TripAdvisor
Inn at Harbour Town ranked #6 in Conde Nast Travelers "Best Resorts in the South: Reader's Choice Awards 2014"
The Sea Pines Resort received The Knot's Best of Weddings Award for 2015
The Sea Pines Resort featured on the cover of December US Airways Magazine
The Golf Learning Center honored as a "Top 10 Golf Schol in the U.S." in LINKS Magazine's annuallist
Tim Cooke named one of Golf Digest's "Best Young Teachers in America" on their "Top 40 instructors under 40" for the 2014-2015 year (for the third straight year)
Tim Cooke honored with the Carolinas Section PGA "Teacher of the Year" award
Harbour Town Yacht Basin ranked in the "Top 25 Marinas in North America" by Power & Motoryacht Magazine
Harbour Town Yacht Basin selected as the runner-up of Marinalife's 2014 Best Marina contest for Best Transient Marina
The Sea Pines Resort awarded a "Gold Medal" in GOLF Magazine's 2014-2015 edition of "Premier Resorts"
Harbour Town Golf Links ranked #9 in the U.S. in GOLF Magazine's 2014 edition of "Top 100 Courses You Can Play"
Heron Pointe by Pete Dye ranked #11 in South Carolina in GOLF Magazine's 2014 edition of "Top 100 Courses You Can Play"
Live Oak ranked among top restaurants on Hilton Head Island by Trip Advisor
Coast received an Open Table Diner's Choce Award in December 2014
The Sea Pines Resort received a SmartMeetings 2014 Platinum Choice Award
The Sea Pines Resort received an annual ConventonSouth New/Renovated Award
Monday, February 9, 2015
Saturday, February 7, 2015
More birds, species tallied in Hilton Head Audubon's Christmas Bird Count
By Jeff Kidd via The Island Packet
It's unusual to see a summer tanager in the Lowcountry during the winter, but this one was spotted during the Hilton Head Island Audubon Society's Christmas Bird Count on Dec. 15.
Susan Murphy — Submitted photo
The Hilton Head Island Audubon Society one of several area bird clubs to participate in Audubon's 2014 Christmas Bird Count, counted more birds and more bird species than the year before, the club reported recently.
This year's event was conducted Dec. 14 through Jan. 5 across the Americas, according to the Audubon website. Audubon and other organizations use data collected in this long-running wildlife census to assess the health of bird populations - and to help guide conservation action.
The Hilton Head club conducted its count Dec. 15. Sightings included the federally protected piping plover and a summer tanager, which is not common to the area this time of year but has been spotted in each of the past three counts, according to Susan Murphy, a club bird count liaison. Murphy took the photo of the tanager you see with this story.
Club vice president Robert Rommel offered this report:
Hilton Head Audubon's Christmas Bird Count on Dec. 15 was held on a mild, clear day. The record 249 observers reached a tally of 28,405 birds comprised of 141 different species.
These numbers were higher than last year's count and slightly off the count's 10-year average of 37,228 birds and 150 species. Numbers typically fluctuate from year to year for a variety of reasons including statistical variation, weather, count day conditions, application of effort, and large flocks which are seen on some years but not all. For example, during the 2014 count, numbers were down for nearly all of 18 ducks species that are regularly seen.
Most ducks typically arrive on the island for wintering between December and January and it is possible that with mild conditions elsewhere in the country many ducks remained north longer than most years resulting in lower numbers during the Christmas count.
Observers saw several rare birds during the count including a bright red summer tanager -- a bird that normally spends the winter in South or Central America.
When the data from this citizen science effort is combined with the counts from other areas and examined across several years, it can be used to determine if species are decreasing or increasing over time or changing their geographical patterns.
For example, past count data has helped detect and quantify the decline of the northern bobwhite across much of America including the South Carolina Lowcountry, where it was once common.
Although none of these quail were seen this year, five of the federally threatened piping plovers were observed on our shores during the 2014 count.
New 'Circle to Circle' committee to study Sea Pines to Coligny corridor
By Zach Murdock via The Island Packet
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| Pope Avenue, Hilton Head |
The two traffic circles at the heart of Hilton Head Island and the busy stretch of Pope Avenue between them will get some extra attention this year as part of a new town study.
The study will review existing traffic challenges in that area, its current redevelopment needs and future development plans along the corridor, including the proposed University of South Carolina Beaufort hospitality campus on Office Park Road, according to town leaders and documents.
Next week, the town's Planning Commission will appoint a "Circle to Circle" committee of a dozen citizens and town officials to lead the study, identify a 20-year plan for the area and host public hearings on their findings later this year.
The idea for the study sprouted from an effort by more than a dozen south-island residents to form such a committee and after several meetings about Coligny area improvements last year, said Tom Sharp, a Sea Pines resident who helped form the original group and will serve on the town committee.
Those residents saw one big problem: The conversations about south-end traffic, Sea Pines Circle and Coligny area improvements were all happening separately, said Sharp, a former commissioner of the Indiana Department of Transportation.
"The whole crux is whatever happens in the Coligny district has to move through Sea Pines Circle from a traffic standpoint," he said. "Unless you decide what should happen in Coligny, you can't test the robustness of Sea Pines circle."
"It's just time to take everything together because we seem to have had a tendency in the past to take one piece while disregarding the influence the other might have," he added.
The committee will follow through on new Mayor David Bennett's campaign promise to craft a long-term development plan the Coligny area.
"That area is an area where the town is making a very large capital investment in the coming years," Bennett said. "It's an area that's a concern today with respect to traffic around the Sea Pines Circle."
Bennett hosted many of the meetings about Coligny improvements as leader of the Planning Commission last spring before master planning became a major tenet of his successful run for mayor in November.
"It seemed like a good area to start with," Bennett said last week. "The entire island needs a similar look, and my hope would be to continue" with similar efforts in each of the town's wards.
The committee does not yet have a meeting schedule, but its membership will include citizen leaders such as Sharp, two Planning Commission members and a Town Council liaison, according to town documents. Members also will work closely with town engineers and planners, Sharp added.
"Hopefully we can sharpen our focus, put it together and start talking to people about it," Sharp said. "It has potential to be a joyous time. There will be a lot of ruckus and what have you, but if we focus on facts and not emotion, I think we might get there."
Wednesday, February 4, 2015
Tom Davis, Daufuskie residents discuss island's future
By Zach Murdoch via The Island Packet
More than 60 Daufuskie Island residents packed a community meeting last week with state Sen. Tom Davis, R-Beaufort, to dissect issues facing the island.
The biggest concerns by residents and the Daufuskie Island Council included beach erosion, improvements to the ferry system on and off the island, and the availability of grants to complete those projects, according to residents' notes from the meeting.
The council also discussed with residents its plan to study whether the island should incorporate as a town with the help of researchers from Clemson University. Island leaders and Davis say incorporating could help the island act more independently to secure grants, but that it also is likely to come with some increased costs.
Davis, whose district includes the island, has said he will work with residents and the S.C. Municipal Association to help research incorporation and access issues.
Monday, February 2, 2015
Mayor Bennett Monthly Article
Have you discovered, as I have, that Hilton Head Island is a great place for a treasure hunt? Wherever you explore, you will find something of remarkable value. These discoveries can't help but generate excitement. Our citizens are among these treasures.
Last December, Town Council identified the Master-Planning and Transportation Study of the Coligny Circle to Sea Pines Circle District as a priority. Incredibly, here on Hilton Head Island, we have three former state transportation directors each willing to volunteer their time and talents to our Town in order to achieve the excellent transportation and planning solutions we need to benefit our Island. Treasures!
Setting Priorities
Your Town Council is comprised of unique individuals representing a diversity of Islanders. We came together this past December along with members of staff at a workshop that extended beyond its' original schedule because of the magnitude of issues and opportunities faced by our community.
The Top Priorities developed by this hardworking group include the previously mentioned Circle-to-Circle district as well as:
Vision/Master Plan for the Island
Arts and Culture Collaborative Study
USCB Campus Development
The Mitchelville Project
Water/Sanitary Sewer Service Policies and Plans
Other High Priorities were identified
A complete inventory and analysis of Town-owned land
Initiating the Economic Development Corporation Plans and Initiatives
Forging a Workforce Housing Policy
Town and Community Organization financial/performance oversight and review
A comprehensive Town dredging policy
A schools and education strategy
You Can Participate
How is it that these priorities will become attainable action items? Your mayor, Town Council and staff are committed to these endeavors. But your participation is the treasure that I’d like to discover. Look for upcoming workshops, taskforces and public-private collaborations as your opportunity to be a treasure to your community. Communicate your thoughts and input to me at DavidB@hiltonheadislandsc.gov or speak to your Town Council representative.
This administration has already established two new Town Council Committees; the Finance and Administrative and Community Services committees and council members, John McCann and Kim Likins have been appointed to chair them. The first committee will be responsible for detailed financial oversight and establishing goals for and reviewing the performance of the Town Manager. The Community Services committee will work to develop the full potential of Hilton Head’s arts and cultural organizations. It will also identify affordable and work force housing opportunities.
Citizen of Month Search
We are always searching for the treasures in our community. Please bring to our attention Island residents for consideration for the 2015 Citizen of the Month Award. There are many precious jewels out there; please let us know who they are.