Town Government Citizen Services Public Safety About Our Island How Do I... Employment Opportunities Contact Us Topic Index
     
 
Members
Wards
Meeting Schedule
Current Agenda
Approved Minutes
Goals
Mayor's Article

The Road to Incorporation

Mayor Tom Peeples As Seen in Hilton Head Monthly Magazine

 

Remarks from Former Mayor Ben M. Racusin.
By Mayor Tom Peeples

I would like to share with you condensed remarks presented by Former Mayor Benjamin M. Racusin (1983-1985) at the Town of Hilton Head Island’s 25th Anniversary Celebration held on May 13, 2008 regarding the history that led to incorporation:

Summer, 1969-Island Population 2,500
“BASF announced they were going to build a $100 million petrochemical complex in Bluffton along the Colleton River. It would have been the largest single industrial development in South Carolina. Opposition resulted in an organization of Native Islanders, developers and business persons organized to oppose the Project. The Project was cancelled and this was the beginning of the Community Association which later successfully opposed the building of the Chicago Bridge and Iron oil barges in the same area of the Colleton River. These events impacted the ultimate incorporation of the Town of Hilton Head Island.”

Why a Town?
“A population at that time did not envision an Island of 35,000-40,000 persons and the term ‘Town’ was more in keeping with the idyllic vision for which most of us came to the island.”

1974-Population 6,500

“In April 1974, the swing bridge from the mainland was struck by a tug and barge traveling on the Inland Waterway knocking it out of line with the approaches at the end. Immediate efforts to bring it all back into line failed although enterprising people could walk across. No vehicles could cross. To facilitate vehicular traffic, the Army Corp of Engineers strung a network of pontoon bridge parts (803’ in length).

“Although Lt. General Bert Connors, a resident of the Island who recently had become President of the Community Association was absent at the time of the disaster, he was able to call on his Army friends to provide this military support.

“State support came in from the person of General Craft, the South Carolina State Crisis Manager from Columbia, who came to the island to coordinate the non-military requirements. He found that this task carried a heavy load and requested help from the Community Association.         
“As former President of the Association, I was asked to coordinate the varied and tremendous amount of requirements.  General Craft explained to me that when a crisis occurred in South Carolina, he would work through the existing government.  That statement stuck in my mind.

“After seven weeks, the damage was repaired, the pontoon bridge was disassembled and order was restored.  At that point, remembering the words of General Craft, I made contact with the Political Science Department at Clemson University requesting the assistance of a graduate student in community planning.  The head of the department returned my call and said that they could not send a graduate student and my heart sank until he added that “this” was such a unique opportunity for a faculty such as theirs to get in on the ‘ground floor’ of the genesis of a new community for South Carolina, they would send Dr. Horace Fleming, a professor in the department.

“Horace spent 3 months studying the area: Savannah, Beaufort, and Hilton Head Island.  The Fleming Report indicated that incorporation was not an option at this time due to state regulations which required a fixed number of housing units and population density, but offering us other options to consider.

“We asked for approval of an Island Commission which would provide support and assistance for the Council Member from Hilton Head Island.  This had to undergo hearings on the Island by County Council.  Due to opposition from the County and the African American community, a request for an Island Commission was rejected.  Although later, a Commission was approved and existed for several years.”

The Birth of the Town of Hilton Head Island
“In 1979, after the County Council approved the development of a 5-story pre-fab housing unit, it became apparent that action needed to take place.  The Hilton Head Island Chamber of Commerce picked up the ball and ran with it creating the Committee for Incorporation.

“Although I was not a member of the Chamber of Commerce, I was asked to serve on the Committee and participated in the events that followed which ultimately resulted in the birth of the Town of Hilton Head Island.”