Michael Grabman
I hope to offer SIPOA members my experience as a Board Certified Building Inspection Engineer recognized by the National Academy of Building Inspection Engineers and as a Michigan Registered Professional Engineer with a 50-year background in the design and construction of large, complex building projects. This coupled with my SI involvement on its General Operating and Maintenance Committee could allow me to present for the Property Owners to its Board perspectives, questions and opinions that might otherwise be not comprehensively considered.
SI is facing issues and challenges, which could potentially benefit from my background. For example, SI’s staff South Carolina Licensed Professional Engineer, Steve Hirsch, recently advised island roadways will need to be repaved within next few years, estimated cost, several million dollars. Steve confirmed estimate does not include the cost to design or construct roadway improvements. As the island community, we need to decide if we wish to have roadway repaving consider sea rise and land settlement which has occurred over the nearly 50 years since roads were first established. (Sea rise and land settlement, as several sources report, has been measured elsewhere and in Charleston Harbor consistently at 1/8” per year over the last 100 years thus 6” over 50 years).
Most on Seabrook have observed flooding at lower spots on our road system as recently as the Saturday after this Thanksgiving’s high tide event, as well as in the recent past during other high tide and storm events; need to consider this is no surprise. The SI Draft 2019 Comprehensive Plan, which outlines short and longer term (up to 20 years) goals include this concern, but is absent specific action plans. The Sept 4, 2018 DRAFT “Flood Mitigation and Sea Level Rise Adaptation for Kiawah Island, SC” prepared by Town of Kiawah Island suggests sea rise an order of magnitude greater than the measured yearly 1/8” rise, but also cautions “…rate of sea level rise and its impact on Kiawah are uncertain…” Point is, we need to decide what things, if any, beyond current efforts (like improving of island’s drainage systems), we wish to fund and undertake and/or which we don’t.
As further comment, over the last 14 years during which we have owned a single family free standing house on SI (SI residents since mid 2015, per my driver license) during every Board election SIPOA candidates, including me, have consistently advocated better communication between island governance and island residents. Appreciating and agreeing with this need but not knowing how to make it happen, please send me your suggestions, which I will share with the Board whether or not elected.
Finally, I’m asked to explain why I am running. Simply, I was recommended by current and past chairs of the General Operating and Maintenance Committee and was invited and approved to run by the Board’s Nominating Committee.
-Submitted by Michael Grabman
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