Incorporation bid challenging

James Island leaders cover every detail in their efforts to become a town again

DENESHIA GRAHAM/STAFF

Now that James Island has gained state approval for another attempt at incorporation, leaders and supporters behind the effort are optimistic about the formation of the town. Shown are attorney Trent Kernodle (seated) and the island's commissioners for incorporation, (from left) Bill Wilder, Karen Bennett, Paul Hadley, Leo Simonin, Gwen Johnson, Mary Clark and Parris Williams.

BY DENESHIA GRAHAM
Of The Post and Courier Staff

     James Island is at the point of incorporation once again, and leaders behind the most recent effort to form a town say that it's been particularly challenging this time.
     From obtaining signatures for the petition, to drawing up maps with the boundaries of the proposed town, they feel they've had to pay extra special attention to every detail, dotting every "i" and crossing every "t."
     After all, they say, the first town was dissolved as a result of a lawsuit by the city of Charleston concerning the annexation and ownership of marshes and waterways.
     But their efforts seem to be paying off.
     On March 22, when Secretary of State Jim Miles visited leaders and supporters of the James Island Alliance for Self-Government, the news was good.
     All the paperwork, finally completed and turned in to the Columbia office at the beginning of this year, satisfied a long checklist from the state, allowing approval of another incorporation effort.
     "It seemed impossible up until Friday," said Paul Hadley, co-chairman of the alliance, referring to the visit from Miles. "It's a vindication of sorts. There's been a lot of effort in this."
     "It was a dream come true (after) five years of work," said Mary Clark, a one-time vice chairman for the alliance. "We have fought an uphill battle the whole time."
     While there have been and still are many fervent supporters behind the incorporation effort, the core of leadership came from Hadley, Clark, co-chairman Bill Wilder and Trent Kernodle, the attorney for the alliance.
     Now that they're allowed to seek incorporation, the next step is to hold a referendum with the residents of James Island not already annexed into the city of Charleston. The population of noncity residents on the island is 26,000, half of them registered voters, Hadley said.
     The referendum vote will allow residents to decide several things: if they want a town or not, the town's name, its form of government and whether it should be partisan or not, and the terms of office for elected officials.
     By law, Kernodle said, the first mayor and four council members would serve a two-year term, at-large and nonpartisan.
     The target date for the vote is May 21.
     The alliance will hold an island-wide meeting April 23 at 7 p.m. at Fort Johnson Middle School on Camp Road. Islanders will get a quick overview of the entire effort and information about the referendum vote.
     The alliance will give reasons why the town is a good idea and get citizens' input.
     Of course, there's still no guarantee that James Island will again become a town. What if residents vote against its formation?
     That's fine, too, say the leaders, who unanimously agree that all they want is the right for residents to choose, either way.
     "We will respect that and leave it alone," Kernodle said. "But if they say yes (to the town), we expect everyone to respect that, too."
     However, Clark believes the town is imminent, judging from interaction she's had with residents in the petition process, which totaled about 2,500 signatures, she said.wait and see," Clark said with a mixture of excitement and optimism.
    
FUTURE AND PAST
     If the referendum for a town is approved, the next election - this time for officials - would be held "immediately" thereafter, by law, Kernodle said.
     "Immediately" doesn't have a time frame, he said, unlike the referendum vote that has to happen no less than 20 days after confirmation from the state and no later than 90 days.
     This will be the fourth known attempt at a town, said Clark, a historian of the James Island area.
     In both 1969 and 1975, islanders voted against incorporation. In 1975, they also voted against annexation into the city of Charleston, she said.
     Both times, she said, the residents of the largely rural island felt they weren't ready to form a town of their own.
     But in 1992, she said, the island "had to get the town" because of increasing annexations of the island to the city.
     So it did. The town was formed, and a mayor, Joan Sooy, and four council members were elected.
     The town lasted through two elections for mayor and the council members, all with two-year terms. The town was dissolved in 1997 before the end of that second term.
     The basis of the town's demise was that its boundaries crossed marshes and waterways already annexed by the city.
     The case climbed to the S.C. Supreme Court, where the decision was made that the boundaries of the Town of James Island were illegal.
     Clark adamantly declares that the town was "stolen," and unabashedly blames the city.
     They cite a desire for continued development on the island and an increased tax base for the city as reasons to want to dissolve the town.
     City of Charleston Attorney Bill Regan adamantly disagrees.
     "I think the incorporators the last time were at fault," Regan said in response to the charge that the town was stolen by the city. "They didn't do it legally," he said, adding that the S.C. Supreme Court agreed that the town's boundaries were illegal.
     Regan added that it's "not true" that the city wants to enlarge its tax base. The town, he said, will take a portion of the state shared revenues given to municipalities like the city of Charleston, North Charleston and Folly Beach. The town, he said, will divert these funds but will still have to depend on these municipalities, as they don't have many services in the proposed town.
     The former town diverted $600,000 in state shared revenue from the city, Regan said.
     "You always follow the money," Kernodle said in a prior interview, referring to what he sees as the city's ultimate motive.
     Regan, who lives in the proposed town limits of James Island, said he doesn't know if the city will challenge the incorporation. He's been asked by the city to review the matter, but there is no conclusion as of yet, he said.
     At the time of the town's end, the first response was to march. For about six months, town supporters picketed and demonstrated at city hall downtown, led mostly by Wilder.
     "We had no idea that we were going to lose the town," Wilder said.
     After the marching ceased, what would become the James Island Alliance for Self-Government started.
     While they would say it's been all up hill, the alliance had a significant achievement in the year 2000. A bill in their favor, introduced by Sen. Glenn McConnell, passed in the state Legislature.
     The bill stated that marshes or waterways could not be owned, and the same ones could be used in other annexations, with some distance limits.
     The demise of the first town explains, they say, their close attention to detail when it came to the documents and maps sent to the state to allow them to seek another incorporation.
     This time, they are confident in the thoroughness of their work and its ability to withstand any criticism, should it come their way.
    
LOOKING AHEAD
     Kernodle, who also serves as the attorney for the James Island Public Service District, considers this little people making big changes.
     He's affectionately referred to as "Papa Trent," as the leaders and other alliance members have frequented his office with questions and concerns and even use a conference room at his office for their meetings.
     Kernodle, of Kernodle, Root & Coleman on Folly Road, started working with the effort two years ago and has been working for free the entire time.
     "He's truly a blessing to us," Wilder said.
     Kernodle, a James Island resident, said he has simple reasons for supporting the group and lending his legal expertise.
     His personal preference, he said, would be to have one countywide government.
     "If I can't have the government I want, I'll have the government I choose," he said, adding that his choice isn't for city annexation.
     After the first town ended, Kernodle believes that many people were under the faulty assumption that their basic services would stop. That's why some of them hurriedly annexed into the city, he concludes.
     But in reality, residents are still being provided for by the James Island Public Service District, which provides sanitation, wastewater transportation and fire services to non-annexed islanders, he said.
     "We provide some of those services to annexed islanders now," said Michael Balzarano, district manager for the PSD.
     Fire service is provided to any area annexed after November 1996, and sanitation is provided by the PSD to areas annexed after May 2000, Balzarano said.
     Charleston County will continue to provide police services, he said.
     Donald Hollingsworth, PSD commission chairman, said they are in favor of the town being incorporated.
     "We'll finally have a voice for the people," he said, adding that the services provided by the PSD will continue if the town is incorporated.
     The PSD, Hollingsworth said, would still exist, probably with the town contracting with it for its services.
     In the former town, Hadley lost a bid for mayor, and Wilder lost for council. Hadley said he would run for an elected office again if James Island becomes a town.
     Wilder said he would run only if he felt elected officials were leading the town off the course against overdevelopment and for preservation.
     Clark has no plans to run for an elected office but said that doesn't mean she wouldn't.
     Kernodle's brief answer was a definite "No."
     Since the announcement in March by that the islanders could move toward town incorporation, alliance leaders and some supporters have earned the new title from Secretary of State Jim Miles, "commissioner of incorporation."
     The commissioners are Clark, Hadley, Wilder, Gwen Johnson, Karen Bennett, Parris Williams and Leo Simonin.
     As commissioners, they will continue the effort toward town incorporation, including appointing election managers.
    
     Deneshia Graham covers West Ashley. Contact her at 937-5744 or dgraham@postandcourier.com.