Town of Hilton Head to discuss legality of chamber of commerce contract

Hilton Head Island officials meeting Tuesday will discuss whether the town broke any rules when it selected the Hilton Head Island-Bluffton Chamber of Commerce as its designated marketing organization last year.

While the town has been using the chamber as its DMO for decades, it did not enter into a formal contract with the organization until November, when the town approved a 5-year agreement giving it more oversight over how the chamber spends the more than $1.5 million it receives each year in revenue from the island’s accommodations tax on lodging and restaurants.

When council meets 4 p.m. Tuesday, it will discuss hiring an attorney to determine if it was required to follow its procurement code before it entered into the contract, such as first holding a competitive bidding process or explaining why no other organization but the chamber could fulfill the role of DMO.

Town attorney Brian Hulbert thinks not, according to a Dec. 3 memo released Monday.

“Because the Town was not seeking to procure the provision of services from a new organization, the Town was not required to follow our procurement code,” he wrote in the memo to town manager Steve Riley.

The town, Hulbert continued, did not have to use any procurement process at all before contracting with the chamber in November.

At council’s last meeting May 3, Riley said Hulbert’s legal advice was being reviewed by council attorney Gregg Alford. But Mayor David Bennett said he already had serious doubts about the legality of the town’s contract with the chamber and would seek an independent legal opinion if anyone on council still had doubts after hearing from Alford.

The discussion follows the swearing in of new council member David Ames, who was elected May 3 to fill the seat vacated by Lee Edwards’ move out of Ward 3. The night he was elected, Ames said he wanted to see council clear up the town’s relationship with the chamber, which has drawn repeated criticism and threats of legal action from local businessman Skip Hoagland.

Ames declined to say whether the town should sever its contract and open it up for bidding, as Hoagland has demanded, but said the issue is “a distraction in this community” that needs to be resolved.

At Tuesday’s meeting, the town will also consider whether to engage Charleston-based consulting firm Rawle Murdy to develop a communications plan for its Island Wide Vision and to hire a vision consultant to implement the project.

The town began its “visioning process” earlier this year, when it delved into existing plans dictating the island’s future. Bennett has said it is one of his top priorities to develop a new plan dictating the island’s development, from easing traffic problems to helping the tourism industry thrive.

This story was originally published May 16, 2016 at 10:56 AM with the headline "Town of Hilton Head to discuss legality of chamber of commerce contract."