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News Release

Charleston Area National Park Sites Close Due to Threat of Hurricane Helene

News Release Date: September 26, 2024

Contact: Brett Spaulding, (843) 883-3123

SULLIVAN’S ISLAND, SC – On September 27, 2024, Fort Sumter and Fort Moultrie National Historical Park and Charles Pinckney National Historic Site will temporarily close due to the threat of Hurricane Helene for the safety of visitors and staff. All concession-operated ferry trips to Fort Sumter have been suspended and no special park use permits will be issued until further notice.

All closures will remain in place until severe weather passes, and the National Park Service conducts post-storm assessments to determine that employee and visitor facilities are safe. Status of the parks will be posted as an alert on the park’s websites.

If the storm track changes, the parks may issue a new advisory with updated status, including any lifting of closures. Please check “Alerts” on the park website for current information. The NPS Hurricane and Severe Weather Response has updates for all National Park Service sites.

For more information about Fort Sumter and Fort Moultrie National Historical Park and Charles Pinckney National Historic Site, visit www.nps.gov/fosu and www.nps.gov/chpi or follow the park on Facebook.

www.nps.gov

About the National Park Service. More than 20,000 National Park Service employees care for America’s 430+ national parks and work with communities across the nation to help preserve local history and create close-to-home recreational opportunities. Learn more at www.nps.gov, and on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.

Dear Island Neighbors,

I hope you’re enjoying the current relief from the summer heat and looking forward to more pleasant temperatures, crisp fall sunlight, and the golden radiance of our Spartina marshes when that light hits them.

Preferably without any hurri**nes.

Now, let’s get down to business—there’s much to cover this month.

Stormwater Management Updates

We have numerous projects underway as part of our long-term efforts to better manage stormwater on the island. You can learn about them at an open house before our regular Town Council meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 15. The open house will be held from 5 p.m. until the Council meeting at 6 p.m. Please come out to learn about these important projects, including the island’s master plan for stormwater management.

Stith Park Master Plan Progress

As you’ve heard from various town communications, including this column, we’ve been working for some time to produce a master plan to guide the future development of our beloved J. Marshall Stith Park. After a competitive bidding process, we awarded the contract for this important project to a team from Thomas & Hutton.

Three design charrettes (public brainstorming sessions) were held at Town Hall. Thomas & Hutton condensed the public input and developed the master plan draft, which is currently being reviewed by the Recreation Committee and Town Council. During the three meetings, T&H discarded some ideas that weren’t popular with attendees and expanded on those that were well received.

In the coming weeks, T&H will conduct an additional survey via the town’s website to gather more opinions and thoughts about the master plan for those unable to attend the design charrettes.

On Nov. 19, Town Council will host an open house from 5-6 p.m., followed by a presentation of the final master plan during the regular Council meeting at 6 p.m. Please plan to attend.

Park Plan: What? A Swimming Pool?

The rumor mill has been busy with misleading information about one aspect of our efforts to enhance our park and make it even more welcoming and valuable for the community. The issue: our inclusion of a POSSIBLE community swimming pool in the list of POSSIBILITIES for the park.

Contrary to various communications you may have received, this was not a nefarious effort to slip something past the public. Based on the number of people who previously expressed a desire for a community pool—either in suggesting we purchase the Sand Dunes Club property or in arguing for the idea of a private club there, we thought it appropriate to ask our park consultants, while they were polishing up the plan for the park, to indicate where a pool might be located, were the Town to decide in the future to consider a pool.

That was it. They offered a few POTENTIAL locations in their last presentation. To be clear, this is not some scheme that was blocked, just an idea that was put out there and found wanting of support.

Kind of like what you might want your local government to do: Hear ideas and suggestions from residents, put them out there for discussion, and use the feedback to determine town decisions.

Come out to the aforementioned Open House on November 19 to offer your input on this and many more important aspects of the possible park improvements.

New Beach Fire Regulations

A number of months ago, after discussion in several meetings, Council voted to change the regulations concerning fires on the beach. This was in response to concerns from our public safety folks about the numbers of fires on the beach and the difficulties they posed for managing the safety aspects of those fires (spread of fires, remains left behind, etc.). There was also a recognition that nearly all coastal communities in South Carolina had actually banned beach fires.

We did not want to go anywhere near that far but wanted to address the safety and enforcement issues brought to our attention. We asked our staff folks to draw up some reasonable proposed regulations, and then Council discussed them and voted to enact a modified version of them.

The new regulations go into effect on Oct. 1, 2024. Permitted fires will only be allowed from October 1 to April 30 each year, only on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday evenings. They will be limited to three locations, and only two fires per evening will be permitted.

For more complete information, please go to bit.ly/SIBeachFire.

Golf Car Safety Info

You may recall my past entreaties to follow the regulations and common sense in your use of our beloved Island golf carts. Recently, the Charleston City Paper highlighted the importance of this issue. I’m sure our Island Eye News hosts won’t mind if I share this link to their informative piece on the matter, which does it better than I ever have: bit.ly/CHSGolfCart

See you around the island!

Mayor Pat O’Neil

843 670 9266

Twitter: @oneilpm1

oneilp@sullivansisland.sc.gov

SULLIVAN’S ISLAND, S.C. (WCSC) - The Army Corps of Engineers have been on Sullivan’s Island for months preparing for a sand project and progress is expected to be made shortly.

They are doing something that has never been done in the Charleston district before, pumping 200,000 cubic yards of sand from dredged material areas right into the low tide of Breach Inlet. The beach access path on the inlet is currently closed due to the work.

“Our contractor has started installing some pipe, they’re preparing to start dredging soon, the pipe that you see out there will be used to deliver sand to the beach,” Project Manager Jakob Kyzar said.

The Corps hasn’t started pumping sand yet and they don’t have a firm date of when they will begin. They are able to do this at no cost to the town and once finished on Sullivan’s, the Corps will do the same on Isle of Palms.

Kyzar said this is a beneficial use project, not a renourishment.

“We will not be seeking to actually build a beach,” Kyzar said. “The sand will be placed within the surf zone to either let nature take it to where it’s gonna go up and down the beaches naturally or to have the communities potentially move it on their own.”

The Town of Sullivan’s Island does have plans for the sand. It will use nearly $650,000 from its capital improvement fund to move it and restore dunes along Breach Inlet and the seaward side of Marshall Boulevard.

Town officials said it will serve as additional protection for the properties in the area. While the town’s aspect of the project is happening, some beach access will be restricted.

“There will be efforts made to make it possible for people to walk above the areas where construction work is being done, so that they can work their way down to adjacent free beach areas,” Councilmember Gary Visser said. “It may better though to use a different section of the beach in the interim.”

Once the Corps completes their work, the town will start their project three-four weeks after and take two-three weeks to complete it.

Copyright 2024 WCSC. All rights reserved.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) has been performing maintenance on the Intracoastal Waterway, clearing out disposal areas to allow for more efficient disposal of dredged materials. As part of a beneficial use project, beach-compatible sand is being relocated to the Isle of Palms and Sullivan's Island.

During the Sullivan's Island Town Council meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 20, Steven Traynum of Coastal Science and Engineering and Dr. Nicole Elko of Elko Coastal Consultants provided an update on the project.

“This has never been done before in South Carolina; there are only one or two examples in the country of clearing out a disposal area and transferring it to the beach,” said Dr. Elko. “We all just need to be patient; understand that the contractor has no experience doing this, and the Corps has never designed something like this before. The next one will be a lot better.”

Traynum announced that sand placement is finally on the horizon after many delays. All equipment is ready, vegetation has been cleared, and the USACE is just waiting to create a large enough stockpile to allow for a continuous feed of sand before starting the placement.

Those delays have caused some confusion with Isle of Palms residents, some of whom have relied upon the schedule to regulate beach repair decisions and have looked at it as a renourishment project. However, the USACE has said that this is a disposal exercise to create space in the spoil area for their next dredge project and is not a renourishment project.

The sand placement will occur sequentially in three piles along the lower intertidal beach—the area exposed during low tide and submerged during high tide. Approximately 200,000 cubic yards of sand will be placed near Breach Inlet, with between 50,000 and 75,000 cubic yards in stockpile one, 75,000 cubic yards in stockpile two, and the remainder in stockpile three.

The Town of Sullivan's Island is coordinating a supplemental project to move up to 71,000 cubic yards of sand from these stockpiles to desired areas on the island, focusing on restoring dunes, improving storm resilience, and expanding the recreational area around Thompson Park.

Additionally, the town plans to establish a 5,000-cubic-yard reserve stockpile on town property, which could be used locally in case of a storm or by individuals with permission from the town for dune nourishment on their property. This collaborative project with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is expected to cost between 10% and 20% of the typical expense of trucking in new sand for beach renourishment.

Although pumped sand from a sand source is less expensive than trucked sand, it is still costly. The quantity of sand, plus deployment cost, is estimated to be about $10 million. The Isle of Palm's Beach Fund stood at $8.9 million at the end of June 2024. In addition, State Senator Chip Campsen was able to secure about $855,000 to help with the erosion control spending over the past year.

Some residents are concerned that this project, if successful, will provide just a fraction of the sand required on the beaches.

Traynum mentioned that it is very likely the sand will wash out into the Breach Inlet delta soon after placement, so the plan is to work closely with the USACE’s contractors to integrate these two projects. When the USACE finishes placing sand in stockpile one and moves to work on stockpile two, the town can begin its supplemental project, following behind the USACE and moving sand to higher elevations as quickly as possible.

Work will occur around the clock through mid-October on Sullivans Island before moving to Isle of Palms, with the USACE’s contractor aiming to minimize the closure zone to the immediate construction areas, allowing public access along the beach.