What will Hilton Head leaders do at 3-day workshop? According to the agenda, they’ll eat
On Thursday, the Hilton Head Island Town Council will gather to set goals and hear updates on projects at its annual workshop.
But the public doesn’t know that for sure, because the workshop’s agenda — which was posted to the town’s website Monday morning — includes no details about which issues or projects the council will discuss while meeting an hour away at the Best Western Sea Island Inn in Beaufort.
The agenda, which serves more as a meeting announcement than a plan for the three-day workshop, includes only details of when the council will eat meals, at taxpayers’ expense, at Breakwater Restaurant and Bar, Panini’s on the Waterfront and Wren Bistro.
The agenda does not specify the name of the consultant who will facilitate the workshop or when the leaders will tackle issues such as workforce housing, the U.S. 278 corridor project or construction projects. It lists only 7-hour blocks of “workshop reconvenes” and “workshop wrap-up.”
In years past, the workshop has been timed to the minute. In 2018, the agenda included timestamps for discussions and presentations so citizens who were interested could plan to attend. Dozens did.
While the agenda meets the standard for the Freedom of Information Act, which requires public bodies to publish agendas for meetings 24 hours in advance, it does not help those who are interested in specific issues their elected leaders will discuss. No official votes are expected to be taken, but the lack of information on which discussions will happen when may chill attendance at the public meeting being held 41 miles from Hilton Head Island Town Hall.
The latest change in the workshop’s structure comes as Hilton Head Mayor John McCann insists that the workshop is “for the council,” not the community. It has been held on Hilton Head for the past three years.
Prior to that, the meetings were held at the Best Western in Beaufort from 2011 through 2015.
This year’s workshop is also set to cost taxpayers more money. Although the town budgeted $25,000 for the workshops on Hilton Head, this year’s event has been estimated to cost $40,000, according to John Troyer, the town’s finance director.
In addition, council members and their spouses are invited to stay overnight in Beaufort at the Rhett Inn — a bed and breakfast across the street that runs about $180 per night.
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This story was originally published December 2, 2019 at 12:34 PM.
