Beaufort Co. council votes to go ahead with Battery Point property ... for now
Despite an offer to buy a piece of county-owned, undeveloped property that was an “unauthorized” purchase, Beaufort County Council voted Monday to move ahead with its development as a home for clients of the county’s Disabilities & Special Needs Department.
The lot at 1 Bostick Circle within Battery Point has been the center of a controversial deal since it was acquired by former Beaufort County Interim Administrator Josh Gruber for $34,000 in February 2018 without county council’s consent.
During Monday night’s council meeting, members voted 7-4 in favor of keeping the property and weighing costs to determine how much it will take to make the land suitable for DSN housing.
Assistant County Attorney Chris Inglese said one of the main council concerns was further delay of the project, which could result in interference from the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
“The fact is that delaying this project effects four families, four disabled residents and we are already nine months behind,” Inglese said. “... We are at that point where continued delay (and) continued excuse is potentially setting us up for some real problems. The body of law is enormous on this. You don’t have to intentionally discriminate. .... HUD is not going to care about the mistake that the former interim administrator made.”
The vote came after Andy Allen, a Battery Point resident, told council of his desire to purchase the property for the second time.
Allen had offered to buy the property from the county for $34,000 at a previous meeting and said the lot — which he jokingly called the “Bostick Mosquito Farm” — would not be developed or sold to someone who would.
Instead, he offered to work with Battery Point’s homeowners’ association to remove and replace some trees to landscape the area.
Allen previously told The Island Packet and The Beaufort Gazette that he has lived in Battery Point since 2006, and that heavy rains leave the lot flooded for weeks at a time.
That concern has been echoed by a number of Battery Point residents. Those residents have previously voiced concern over flooding within the lot, how it retains water and is not a suitable site for a DSN facility. Others have added that they believe a house in that location would be an eyesore.
But council said reports on the property from the county’s engineering and architecture consultants were positive for preparing the site for building.
“I don’t see any reason not to go forward with it,” Vice Chairman Paul Sommerville said. “When you hear things like it’s going to effect property values or I don’t want to do it because my children won’t be safe, that angers me greatly. ... I know the optics are bad on this. The optics look like people are just trying to keep these folks out of the neighborhood.”
Prior to Monday’s vote, Councilman Brian Flewelling — a Battery Point resident — suggested the county look at another site for DSN housing within Battery Point.
“I’m working on an effort to find another lot in the same neighborhood where it would be more appropriate,” Flewelling said. “I found a lot down the road. It’s almost double what we paid for this lot, but I don’t believe we need truckloads of dirt to fill it.”
The vote allows the county to proceed with the design and contracting process, but the decision to build the home on the site must go before council after that information is gathered prior to construction.
Voting against the measure were council members Chris Hervochon, Michael Covert, Flewelling and Chairman Stu Rodman.
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