Soon Haig Point won’t run the Daufuskie public ferry. There’s a new provider and unanswered questions
Beaufort County officials have left residents frustrated and uncertain after months of last-minute changes and a lack of information about the public ferry service between Hilton Head and Daufuskie Islands.
Starting next week the Haig Point Community Association will end its seven-year-long stretch operating the public ferry between Hilton Head and Daufuskie Islands. As the contract switches to Lowcountry Ferry, residents are relying upon word-of-mouth from other residents to find out about changes in fees and schedules. The Jan. 16 switch looms, and Daufuskie residents say the county hasn’t been transparent with the process. They’re still uncertain about how reservations will be made, how luggage will be handled and what type of boats they’ll be riding.
For the around 200 year-round residents who live outside of the private Haig Point Community on Daufuskie, which has a private ferry, the public ferry is a lifeblood and many’s only transportation to the mainland. They rely upon it for groceries, work, doctor appointments and family events.
Parking is also an essential part of resident’s commute, and they say they’re equally as frustrated about the Daufuskie side of it. While the country temporarily resolved parking on the Hilton Head side, on the Daufuskie side, the Melrose Resort tacked on parking fees residents say they didn’t have until recent months, forcing residents to find their own parking solutions.
The Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette began reaching out to county spokesperson Hannah Nichols via text and phone call for more information Jan. 3. The county announced the finalization of the contract and basic information about scheduling in a press release Jan. 5. Nichols said she has been unable to touch base with Special Assistant to the County Hank Amundson to provide more details. As of Monday morning, Nichols said via text there isn’t an update and nothing’s moved forward.
“Everybody’s a little scared that there isn’t as much transparency as they would like with this whole deal, especially because it’s a livelihood,” Daufuskie Island Council Vice Chairman Kade Yarborough said. “It’s vital that we can plan around what’s going on.”
Contract switch
In September the county started the bidding process for a new public ferry contract and Lowcountry Ferry won the five-year contract at a proposed cost of $365,000 per fiscal year, according to Dec. 11 Beaufort County Council materials. They outbid three other contractors, including an updated bid from Haig Point.
Previously, the Haig Point Community Association provided the ferry service to the county at, $375,000 per fiscal year, according to Sept. 11 Beaufort County Council materials.
For the remainder of the 2024 fiscal year, Lowcountry Ferry’s contract will cost at most $250,000. That money will in part cover the temporary leases on the Tanger Outlet welcome center for parking and Melrose Landing, where the ferry docks on Daufuskie Island.
The county has set aside $4.3 million to condemn Melrose Landing and land on Helmsman Way planned for parking near Cross Island Boat Landing, which is set to be the permanent embarkation. The county previously said that Pinckney Island’s C.C. Haigh, Jr. Boat Landing is a temporary embarkation site until it condemns the Helmsman Way land. As of last month, the county hasn’t condemned the land on Daufuskie or Hilton Head Islands.
Parking on Daufuskie
Last year, parking near Melrose Landing went from being free to $100 a month, required to be paid three months in advance, according to Daufuskie Island resident Melissa Davis. It’s a change enforced by Melrose Resort owners and developers Whitestone Resources, she said.
The residents aren’t paying it. Instead, Davis cleared a lot of land she oversees next to the landing for free parking.
“I’ve tried to make as much parking as possible,” she said. “(For) the poor and the natives and the handicapped, to give them a place to park without having to pay that money.”
Davis said that for those with fixed incomes, like many who rely on social security, $300 at a time is a big expense. She said that aside from company vehicles, the Melrose Resort parking lot is empty.
“We are a community and we love each other,” she said. “We help each other. We’re an island family.”
