Island to increase fees to pay for drainage projects inside gated communities

Hilton Head Island plans to increase fees to pay for drainage projects inside its gated communities, but officials still are trying to determine how much that increase should be.

With the number of stormwater problems throughout the low-lying island and with much of the existing drainage system getting old, town engineers would like double the fee from $50.76 for an average-sized home to $100.43.

However, some Town Council members last week questioned raising the fee so much when many households are financially strained. Town employees then proposed $83.23, an amount engineers expect would have to be raised again next year.

Now the debate is whether residents should pay now or pay later.

If the town chooses a more gradual increase this year, "We're just going to be here next year considering an increase for what we should have already been doing," said Mayor Tom Peeples. "Drainage issues aren't going away ... and an extra $17 per household isn't going to break anyone's back."

But Councilman George Williams, who represents Sea Pines, said the town is getting into the business of funding elective projects. He advocates delaying projects to keep the fees down.

"In my opinion, some of the projects are good to have rather than ones we need to have," he said.

Stormwater fees are assessed based on the amount of impervious surface on each particular lot. Small homes pay 50 percent less than an average sized home -- defined as 4,900 square feet of hard surfaces -- while large ones pay 50 percent more. Similarly, businesses also pay based on the size of their buildings and parking lots.

The Town Council is expected to decide by July so the new fee can be included in the next round of property tax bills mailed in October.

Bluffton, a town struggling to improve the water quality of the May River, doubled its stormwater fees a year ago. Fees there now range from $49 to $147, depending on the size of the home.

Why raise the fees?

Hilton Head officials say the hike is needed, in large part, because the town is responsible now for most of the town's gated communities.

Recently, the town took over stormwater management in Sea Pines, Hilton Head Plantation, Shipyard and Port Royal Plantation.

Other neighborhoods will soon fall under the town's jurisdiction, including Palmetto Hall and Indigo Run in 2011 and Wexford in 2012.

Drainage in those neighborhoods previously was handled by property owners associations, while the town focused on problems outside of the gates.

"The needs in my mind aren't going away and, if anything, only become greater as we enter into agreements with more (gated communities)," said town director of public projects Scott Liggett.

Why fund drainage projects behind the gates?

The expansion of the town's responsibilities was envisioned when the county stormwater utility was formed in late 2001 and early 2002.

It's an issue of fairness, town officials say.

Residents of the gated communities have paid both the town stormwater fees and dues to their property owners association for drainage projects, yet the town's money hasn't been used for projects in their neighborhoods.

But the costs to the town are significant. Over the next five years, the island plans to spend almost $5 million in those communities, compared to only about $1 million in other areas of the island.

And then there's the unknown -- projects that have yet to, but almost certainly will, pop up.

Liggett said the town has a firm grasp on major stormwater systems island-wide, but not as clear a picture of all the small ditches, pipes and swales that help drain the island.

Hilton Head has focused on the drainage equivalents of major arteries like William Hilton Parkway, Pope Avenue, Spanish Wells Road and Mathews Drive.

"Now, we're working on the side streets," Liggett said, following that roads analogy. "We have a pretty good idea of where things are, but in terms of their condition and whether there are pressing maintenance issues, that's what were not as clear on."