Audubon International Sustainable Communities Program: The Economic Vitality Pillar

The Economic Vitality Pillar

            By now, all of you who have been following the series know that there are three pillars to achieve sustainability.  The first two pillars, a high Quality of Life and a Healthy Environment, were covered in earlier posts.  This month we will address the third pillar, Economic Vitality.  In the previous articles, it was clear that a good quality of life and a healthy environment were inextricably connected.  You will find the same is true with the economic vitality pillar.

Economic Vitality

            The Audubon International Sustainable Communities Program requires its certified communities to be economically sustainable over an indefinite period of time.  This means that our fiscal planning must address near-term costs, like the electric bill for our streetlights, as well as long-term obligations, such as paying down the debt on our newer facilities, for instance the Lake House and the Beach Club.  In addition there are requirements for capital expenditures for new items or programs as we go along to further enhance Seabrook Island and what it has to offer, whether for new computer software systems or for pickle ball courts.

What are the requirements to ensure dynamic economic vitality on Seabrook Island?  What attracts people to come to Seabrook, either as property owners, renters, visitors or investors?  When considering these questions, it is wise to take a look from 30,000 feet and recognize that we are competing with other communities that run the coast lines in the southeastern United States.  What are the things we need to focus on to ensure our sustainability?

Our Beaches and Environment

            Three miles of pristine beaches have always ranked at the top of our amenity list.  Surely our economic vitality depends on maintaining our beaches to compete with those of other ocean front communities.  A key requirement to maintain our beaches is to dredge a new channel across the Kiawah Island spit periodically to promote the accretion of sand on the beach.  Completed for the third time in its history in 2015, the SIPOA Board has already begun building a fund to accomplish this approximate $1 million project in the next 10 – 15 years.

Living in a community with a healthy environment, both the natural environment and the built environment, is an important factor to many people when selecting a place to live.  It is important to recognize that as the island heads toward build-out, additional emphasis will be required to maintain an environment that is so dynamic that it will continue to attract new residents.

Housing

            In addition to a world-class beach and top notch environment, what else will be economically desirable for Seabrook Island?  Answer:  High quality, affordable housing that will attract potential property owners and residents to the island.  There are now about 420 unimproved building sites on the island, with 20 to 30 new homes being built each year in recent years.  There is no question that the houses being built are top notch, with imaginative home owners, their architects and builders, and the Architectural Review Committee, participating in the process.  Our challenge in the housing arena is to encourage and motivate the owners of older properties to improve them, so that they become competitive with other previously owned properties, not only on Seabrook but also with our competitors in the larger community.  The SIPOA has formed an ad hoc committee to address this challenge.

Getting the Word Out

            So how do we get the word out about the desirability of Seabrook Island?  All three of the island’s governing bodies, the Town of Seabrook Island, the SIPOA and the Club, have joined together in a campaign to sell Seabrook Island.  On behalf of all three entities, the Town has contracted with an advertising company that has issued a number of ads in prominent magazines (Southern Living and airline magazines, for example).  Both the Town’s contractor and the Seabrook Island Realty have sent representatives to various conferences and other gatherings to represent Seabrook Island.  All three of the entities have completed major improvements to their respective web sites, to tie them together and make it easier for internet users to get the right scoop on the island.

Fiscal Awareness

            Finally, it’s hard to fully discuss economic vitality without discussing costs.  Each property owner faces costs for insurance, fees or assessments for the SIPOA as well as many of the regimes, Club dues and fees.  Through astute management, the SIPOA and the Club have raised fees at very modest rates over the past couple years.   The slight increase in SIPOA fees this year was the first time the rate has been increased in the last four years.  Another consideration is the fees and costs for the management of the forty plus regimes on the island.  Some regimes are well positioned by collecting capital fees to address maintenance and emergency repairs to regime units.  Other regimes are encouraged to put such practices in place to avoid hefty assessments when major maintenance and repair bills come due.  After incurring significant debt to finance the construction of the Horizon Plan facilities, the Club and SIPOA are both on track to pay off this debt on established schedules.  The financial reports presented at the annual meetings of the SIPOA and the Club were most positive.

Wrap-up

            This article wraps up the series to address the three pillars of sustainability – a good quality of life, a healthy environment and economic vitality.  Carl Voelker and Jim Bannwart will continue to keep you updated on our steering committee’s progress in working through the Stage 2 process of the Sustainable Communities Program.  Please let us know if you have any comments or suggestions.

-Sumitted by Jim Bannwart