Hilton Head Town Council candidates discuss native islanders’ concerns

Native islanders asked candidates running for Hilton Head Island Town Council how they would address workforce and economic issues during a candidate forum Thursday.

The four contenders, running for a four-year spot on the council in Ward 1 and Ward 3, were asked a series of questions during the event held at the First African Baptist Church by the Native Islander Business and Community Affairs Association.

David Ames, Ward 3 incumbent, said the town has an opportunity to commit money to meet the transportation needs of the island’s workers. He said the funds could help Palmetto Breeze, which operates the public bus system, pay for additional bus routes to bring workers to their jobs.

It also could provide more transportation options to those who need to move around the town.

“There has to be an internal system here,” Ames said. “It is a combination of decreasing deficiencies to get people on the island and then have a way for them to go where they need to go once here.”

Ryan James McAvoy, Ward 3 challenger, said the town could use some of the funds it spends contracting with the Hilton Head Island-Bluffton Chamber of Commerce to meet the challenges the island’s workforce are facing.

The town gives the chamber more than $1.5 million in accommodations tax funding annually. The funds are collected from lodging and restaurants.

“I think that funding should instead go to help small businesses,” McAvoy said.

He said these funds could possibly make it easier for businesses to provide better pay or options for the workforce along with more opportunities for native islanders.

Marc Grant, Ward 1 incumbent, said he has worked diligently to improve opportunities for native islanders during the past four years.

“I made sure that (accommodations tax) funding increased for Mitchelville every year,” Grant said, referring to the nation’s first Civil War freedmen’s village, which is located on the island and receives town funding each year to help with preservation efforts. “I met with Mitchelville preservation members and talked about what needed to get done.”

This resulted in a $100,000 executive director job being created and funded by the town for Mitchelville, Grant said.

Ibrahim Abdul-Malik, the Ward 1 challenger, said the town needs to commit money to create better transportation options while also providing incentives to businesses to provide better pay.

“I know we can’t make the businesses provide better wages, but we can provide options that would encourage them to treat their employees better,” he said.

The candidates face off in the Nov. 8 election.

This story was originally published October 27, 2016 at 8:55 PM with the headline "Hilton Head Town Council candidates discuss native islanders’ concerns."