New Bluffton mayor has annexation on her mind

Lisa Sulka, a four-year Bluffton Town Council veteran, will hold her first meeting as mayor Tuesday.

Among her first goals: "Getting our Town Council issue resolved," she said.

Sulka, 48, will preside over only three council members -- Fred Hamilton, Charlie Wetmore and Oliver Brown -- at her inaugural meeting. The fifth seat remains open following a host of appeals to fill it by all four candidates in the disputed Nov. 4 election.

Those appeals have ascended from the Beaufort County Board of Elections and Voter Registration to the S.C. State Election Commission, and finally, to the S.C. Supreme Court.

While the council has no control over the outcome -- a decision is expected from the Supreme Court by the end of the month -- Sulka said she's hoping for a quick and easy resolution.

"Hopefully we'll have a light load on council until then," she said.

Here are some other things Sulka, a Realtor who served two years as mayor pro-tem, hopes to accomplish as she begins her three-year mayoral term:

FOSTERING COMMUNICATION

Sulka said she wants increased communication between the council and town staff. She said she also wants more discussion among council members.

"We need to be attuned to what's going on. I don't want any surprises," she said, referring in particular to two incidents last year.

In one, council members were unaware that town manager Bill Workman had given a man who filed a federal complaint against the town nearly $10,000 to run golf-cart tours through the historic district.

In another, former Mayor Hank Johnston sent two controversial commercial construction projects to the town's negotiating committee without first discussing them with the council.

"Council wants to be in the know a little more," Sulka said.

Sulka said she also wants more communication with other local governments in the region.

"Our planning department should be meeting with Beaufort County's planning department," she said. "Our environmental staff should be meeting with theirs."

Sulka said she wants to extend those conversations to Jasper County -- especially in light of two recent departures from Bluffton's staff. Former senior planner Dave Jirousek is now Jasper County's planning director, and assistant town manager for planning Wendy Kelly will leave Bluffton next week to become Jasper County's deputy administrator for development services.

ANNEXATION PLANS

Bluffton has grown from one square mile to more than 50 in just a decade. It's done that through a series of annexations of unincorporated county land.

Requests for annexations routinely come before the council, so the issue of continued growth likely will be debated as Sulka begins her term.

The new mayor said she wants the state to pass legislation to make it easier for the town to annex land -- especially the so-called "doughnut holes" of unincorporated county land that are surrounded by Bluffton town limits. Currently, landowners must ask to be annexed; the town cannot make the first move.

Filling in the doughnut holes would help the town better serve residents in terms of police protection and other town functions, Sulka said.

"Take the Lanese family," she said, referring to victims of a brutal attack Oct. 30 in a neighborhood that sits in one of those doughnut holes. "Bluffton Police can respond quicker because they're closer." The area currently is served by the Sheriff's Office.

Doughnut holes are listed in the town's comprehensive plans as areas that should be considered for annexation. Sulka said the council also should consider annexations that aren't in that plan.

In October, for example, Sulka voted for a measure to consider annexing 235 acres scattered along both sides of the

Okatie River between U.S. 278 and S.C. 170, although parts of that area were not listed in the plan.

At the time, Sulka said the proposal was worth town staff analysis and that the Town Council could later vote down the proposal if it wanted to. Following a tie 2-2 vote, the measure failed to move forward to the town's negotiating committee.

CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS

Development in Bluffton has slowed dramatically in the past year. As a result, Bluffton officials projected in October there would be a shortfall in the town's operating budget of about $1.7 million, or 13 percent.

That could mean some capital improvement projects will be cut or delayed.

Sulka said she doesn't yet know how those projects could be re-prioritized, but she wants to move ahead without delay on the Streetscape projects for May River and Bruin roads, aimed at revitalizing the historic district, and with the town's future law enforcement center.

An update on both of those projects will be discussed Tuesday by the Town Council.

Sulka said she'll handle the responsibilities of being mayor differently than her predecessor.

"He thinks 15 years out," she said, referring to former mayor Hank Johnston. "I think for tomorrow. ... That can be a good thing."