health insurance agent in Johns Island

JOHNS ISLAND, S.C. (WCIV) — The daily commute has been longer for some on Johns Island lately thanks to the addition of a new traffic light.

But for others, their commute is now much safer.

The daily commute has been longer for some on Johns Island lately thanks to the addition of a new traffic light. (WCIV)

You can’t miss the bright yellow sign indicating a new traffic light as you approach the intersection of Maybank Highway and Fenwick Hall Allee.

Chances are you also won’t miss the traffic.

“What used to take 10 minutes might take 30 minutes right now just because they are not used to what’s going on with the traffic,” said Blake Van Oordt, Johns Island resident.

For Wayne Morris, who lives near that intersection, it’s been a life saver.

Read More: Developers share plan to address traffic with Union Pier redevelopment

“They say it slows down traffic, but I ask them if you had to put your life, your wife’s life or husband’s life or your kids life in danger every time you leave your home, would you still be against the stop light and very seldom I get an answer that no well that makes sense,” Morris said.

The intersection was getting dangerous. The City of Charleston reported 88 accidents- including one fatality- at that spot during the last five years, so a temporary light was installed early.

“For the permanent signal, we’re about a year out before that will be installed,” said Robert Somerville, Director of City of Charleston Traffic and Transportation.

Read More: SCDOT's updated plan for I-526 corridor

Charleston County officials said the pitchfork project is slated to be complete by the end of 2023.

“A connection from Maybank with Fenwick Hall Allee that will go over and connect with River Road, so that is moving forward with the construction of the road as well as the development of some housing over there at this time,” said Somerville.

In the meantime, Somerville asks for patience.

“We are working with the county as well as the DOT to try to resolve this problem. The county has placed counters out there now, they got data prior to the signal being installed, so they are going to cross-reference with this new data.” Said Somerville.

Read More: SCDOT seeking feedback on Long Point Road Interchange project

They are also studying three different intersections on Maybank- the first at River Road, then at Fenwick Hall Allee, and the third at Headquarters Plantation.

“It's a capacity issue ... there is a lot of traffic. Of course we got dual left turns that come off of River on to Maybank and then you got the merge, so that makes it a little difficult but we are going to try to see what we can do to figure it out,” said Somerville.

The goal is to time it out just right and keep the traffic flow as smooth as possible. New data is expected next week– hopefully improving drive times sooner than later.

JOHNS ISLAND, S.C. (WCBD) – Some Johns Island neighbors like the new traffic light, and some say it’s causing traffic issues on the island, but city officials say they’re working to make sure this new light doesn’t become a problem for drivers moving forward.

The new traffic light at the intersection of Maybank Highway and Fenwick Hall Allee is causing quite a controversy amongst Johns Island neighbors. Some are appreciative of the addition.

“This light I feel like it does help a lot,” Johns Island resident Liz Jannetta said, “especially for this community.”

Some believe it’s the cause of increased commute times across the island.

“Little bit of a negative coming back because it starts to bottleneck,” Johns Island resident Marek Pawulski said. “People coming onto Johns Island and leaving Johns Island.”

But Charleston City officials say because the new light has only been in operation for a week, no one can definitely say it’s the reason for the congestion.

“I would say it’s speculation,” Robert Somerville, director of traffic and transportation for the City of Charleston, said. “We really need to get some data collected.”

Somerville says Charleston County has already begun the process of gathering that data.

“They have counters placed on Maybank so we can look at the volumes,” he said, “and compare it to pre-installation of the signal to the volumes that we’re seeing now.”

With more than 80 accidents at the intersection, including multiple fatalities, neighbors in the Fenwick Plantation subdivision would like others to see why this new light is needed.

“I have three teenage kids,” Jannetta said, “two who both drive now and putting them, before this light came, having them make lefts out of this neighborhood it was gut-wrenching. I don’t even know what else to say.”

And though some people see the new light as a main cause for backups on the island, they understand it was installed for everyone’s safety.

“If this light came in for the purpose to prevent accidents and save lives then I think it’s a good thing,” Pawulski said. “But like you said, I think they need to set up the timing a little bit better so it doesn’t bottle up towards Headquarters or way past River Road.”

Charleston City officials say they will continue working on the timing of the light, and they’re urging all drivers to be patient during that process.

Copyright 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

The South Carolina Office of Resilience has announced they will be giving several million dollars to the City of Charleston to improve drainage on Johns Island.

Published: Mon Mar 20 2023

JOHNS ISLAND, S.C. (WCSC) - The South Carolina Office of Resilience has announced they will be giving several million dollars to the City of Charleston to improve drainage issues affecting around 500 acres of Johns Island.

Stormwater Management Director Matthew Fountain said Monday the city is trying to build a naturalized area and a new stream near the homes of the Barberry Woods neighborhood off Maybank Highway to reduce flooding.

“Getting this grant in helps close the funding gap,” Fountain said. “We’ve seen some huge cost increases over the last three to four years as everybody knows in construction, especially.”

Fountain said the $4.6 million grant from the state will cover about half of the project’s $10 million price tag. He added the city has invested a couple million dollars alone buying up nearby vacant properties.

Neighbors also shared videos of how extreme the flooding was during Hurricane Ian in Barberry Woods, with one neighbor who could be seen taking his children on a kayak ride along the street.

Fountain said the state’s grant money will help cover some of the construction costs, including tree clearing, digging out soil and reshaping the land. The project also calls for a 20-to-25-acre area complete with walking trails.

“The water can basically act like in a natural wetland system over the top of the stream banks and hold in the wetland areas instead of being in people’s roads and streets,” Fountain said.

A few years ago, the city, in conjunction with the Dutch embassy, brought over experts from the Netherlands, Europe and across the country to recommend ways to address flooding. Fountain said this project was one of those recommendations.

“How do you restore the ability of the land to handle the water like it used before you basically did all this development in the area,” Fountain said. “This project is directly looking at how do we take land that could be developed into something – commercial or homes – and basically convert it back into wetlands and streams like it would have been hundreds of years ago potentially to help manage the flooding challenges that are currently affecting the developed properties around it.”

Neighbors like Brian Mack said they are glad a potential solution is underway.

“We get a lot of the drainage from neighborhoods up the road, and it tends to pool down here in the middle of the road and come out toward our house and the back of the neighborhood,” Mack said.

Mack said his neighbors have to prepare in case of heavy rain, so they’re not stuck.

“Some cars have to park in the front and either walk barefoot through or put galoshes on just to get to their homes,” Mack said.

Fountain said he expects to receive these state funds in the next month or so, and they’re on track to start construction in about a year to a year and a half.

“It’ll take a little bit of time, but upon completion of the project, one of the advantages of something like this is you’ll see immediate improvements,” Fountain said.

Copyright 2023 WCSC. All rights reserved.

Something green is coming to Charleston, and we’re not talking about St. Patrick’s Day. A new state park is in the works at the tip of James Island. We spoke with SC State Parks Director Paul McCormack for the latest on the project.

The waterfront park will be located on 23 acres at the end of Fort Johnson Road, adjacent to the Fort Johnson historic site. The parcel is managed by the SC Dept. of Parks, Recreation & Tourism.

In 2021, the state purchased the land from the Sisters of Charity of Our Lady of Mercy for $23 million. The May Forest Convent located on-site is expected to be converted into an event venue that will be the main component of the new park. Funding has not yet been secured for the venue construction project.

Charlestonians can look forward to a day-use recreation and picnicking area with views of the Charleston Harbor, the Ravenel Bridge, and Fort Sumter. There is an existing gazebo and bench swing. Conceptual images are not yet available, but stay tuned.

An event space, lodging, and a dock may be added in the future. A structural assessment of the property is expected to determine park features down the road. What would you like to see this new park offer? Let us know.

In addition, there is a master plan that envisions the entire ~100-acre Fort Johnson area that is separate from the state park project.

The park is expected to open this spring or summer. There is currently no timeline for potential future amenities, but keep an eye on the newsletter for updates. The plans for Fort Johnson, which surrounds the state park area, are long-term.

A 72-unit senior affordable housing development on Johns Island is running into funding hurdles due to recent changes in state tax-credit policies.

Developers are about $2 million short of the $22 million project budget because state legislators recently took action to limit spending on such projects.

In May, Gov. Henry McMaster signed House Bill 5075 into law, reforming the state-low income housing tax- credit system. It put a cap on the program, stating that South Carolina can’t allocate more than $20 million worth of tax credits to affordable housing developments each year.

Among other changes, it stated that the amount of tax credits that an individual project receives is based on whatever the anticipated cost of the project is when it is first proposed, not when it breaks ground. If, after going through months to years of approval processes, the estimated total cost of the project goes up, the amount of tax credits allocated to the project when construction begins will not increase.

That’s what caused the funding gap for the Johns Island complex, developer of the project Raymond Nix said.

“It can be 18 months between when you apply for tax credits and the time you are breaking ground,” he said.

The new method of calculating state tax credits is a departure from the previous process. Under the same program at the federal level and under the prior version of the state program, once a project broke ground, it would receive tax credits based on its most up-to-date cost estimate.

Inflation, increased construction costs and other factors meant that the developers had to recalculate the total cost of the Johns Island project before breaking ground. But the tax credits received from the state won’t reflect those cost increases.

“The (state law) adjustment resulted in a $1.7 million hole in the project immediately,” Nix said.

Nix, president of Nix Development Co., gave a presentation to the Charleston City Council’s Community Development Committee on Nov. 17, asking if the city is able to step in and fill the project’s funding gap.

The 72-unit development, called Esau Jenkins Village, is located at Maybank Highway and Bohicket Road. It will be run by Sea Island Comprehensive Health Care Corp. The nonprofit, which has an office in front of the 7-acre development site, operates programs for senior citizens and disabled people in parts of Charleston and Colleton counties.

The construction site abuts a nearly 19-acre undeveloped tract owned by Angel Oak Park LLC. The city of Charleston owns 6.5 acres around the Angel Oak Tree and nearly 8 acres are owned by St. Johns Church.

An existing 88-unit, single-story, subsidized housing complex affiliated with Sea Island Comprehensive is across the highway.

Nix and other leaders of the project are seeking funding from local governments and nonprofits to fill the $2 million shortfall.

The city of Charleston hasn’t taken any action yet. Officials indicated an interest in helping it get across the finish line if other funding avenues don’t pan out. But the Esau Jenkins Development isn’t the only one of its kind seeking more funding.

“Quite honestly, this has probably been the fifth request that we’ve had to help with gap financing as a result of state housing change in legislation,” said Geona Shaw Johnson, Charleston housing director.

Nix said he’s aware that he’s not the only developer seeking out assistance after facing unanticipated costs. Even projects that have already broken ground are having to adjust their funding sources, he said.

“I would argue that any affordable housing developer that you call right now is grappling with this same issue except for ones that were just recently awarded funding,” he said.

The tax-credit program, called Workforce and Senior Affordable Housing Act, was originally approved during the state’s 2019-20 legislative session. It was designed as a way to provide a first-of-its-kind, state-level affordable housing tax credit that would match federal housing tax credits to help get affordable housing proposals to viability.

Lawmakers saw it as a bargain. According to a fiscal impact statement associated with the bill, state analysts anticipated the credit would cost the state roughly $16 million in annual revenue by the 10th year of the program, all while filling a significant hole in the state’s housing stock.

Affordable housing advocates credit the program with spurring the development of nearly 9,600 units across the state in just two years. But it was also unsustainable, fiscal hawks argued, with the number of applicants far exceeding the anticipated number of credits lawmakers thought they were agreeing to.

The original cost estimates, based off of historical demands for state affordable housing credits, were well off the mark.

According to a 2021 memo from Frank Rainwater, executive director of the S.C. Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Office, the state treasury was on pace to issue more than $50 million in tax credits in 2021 alone, with an anticipated impact of $5.16 billion to the state’s general fund over the next 20 years.

Tax-credit applications were put on hold at the beginning of 2022 while lawmakers hashed out the details of the reform bill that ultimately capped the program’s annual spending.