Managing tourism and preservation are hot topics separating three Ward 6 Hilton Head candidates
Election season could bring as many as three new faces to the Hilton Head town council. Candidates from Wards 1, 3 and 6 are seeking election this cycle. The elected candidates’ term will begin in January 2025. Representatives from Wards 2, 4 and 5 will continue serving on the council until their term expires in December 2026.
Ward 6 represents north island communities, including Palmetto Hall, Mitchelville, Fish Haul and Hilton Head Plantation. Melinda Tunner, Paige Cope and Rex Garniewicz come from very different professional backgrounds, but are each hoping to secure their spot as the Ward 6 representative on the council.
The Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette asked the Ward 6 candidates questions about top issues facing the town from the penny sales tax to the U.S. 278 Corridor Project. The paper asked the same seven questions of each candidate with a word count limit of 200 words for each response. The candidates were given the same timeline to complete responses to the questions. These responses are in the candidates’ own words.
Ward 1 and Ward 3 candidates have also answered the same questions.
Ward 6 candidates
Melinda Tunner has more than 30 years of experience working in finance for Allstate Insurance as a corporate officer and controller. When she moved to Hilton Head ten years ago, she served as a poll manager and clerk for the Beaufort County Board of Voter Registration and Elections on the north end of the island. She advocated for a local precinct in her community, Palmetto Hall, and served as the treasurer and president of the Palmetto Hall Owners Association Board. Tunner is a member of St. Andrew by the Sea and volunteers as a mentor with the international women’s empowerment group “Women Within.”
Paige Cope
Paige Cope is a sixth-generation Lowcountry native. She graduated from Thomas Heyward Academy in Ridgeland and Trident Technical College in Charleston. Cope has worked in the spa industry for the majority of her career throughout the Lowcountry, and has worked as the director at the Omni Hotel’s spa on Hilton Head for the past nine years.
Cope declined our request for a photograph.
Rex Garniewicz
Rex Garniewicz has served as the president and CEO of the Coastal Discovery Museum on Hilton Head since 2014 and sits on the Hilton Head Plantation Board of Directors. He holds a doctorate in anthropology from the University of Indiana. Before moving to the island, he served as the vice president of science and technology at the Indiana State Museum and the deputy director at the San Diego Museum of Man where his combined interests in the environment and fiscal responsibility emerged.
Affordable housing
The question: Once in office, what specific steps would you try to persuade the council to take to address workforce and affordable housing issues?
Melinda Tunner
The town of Hilton Head is making progress on the issues of workforce and affordable housing. This is demonstrated through the addition of a Housing Action Committee, dedicated town staff, the creation of a Housing Fund, grants to nonprofits and the development agreement for the Northpoint project. The recent purchase of 7.19 acres at 30 Bryant Road provides a new opportunity for potential homeownership.
This is a complicated issue and will not be solved by one approach. I will advocate for adaptive reuse of commercial real estate, an update to the land management ordinance to encourage workforce housing development and a review of public/private partnerships. We must ensure we are leveraging all regional, state and federal funding opportunities. Measurement will be an important component to understand program outcomes and to make future investment decisions. Ultimately, we are looking to increase the total number of workers that live on the island.
Paige Cope
As someone who was born and raised in the Lowcountry and having lived on the island most of my life, I strongly believe workforce housing is incredibly important for the future of our island and I will work to make sure that it comes to fruition. I do believe we need to educate our residents to remove the negative stigma that some feel it brings. Education with communication is always key!
I also would like to review the financial terms of the housing. I do not think a household making six figures should qualify for workforce housing. We need to look at traffic flow and what impact the housing would have on already congested areas. With many of our workforce holding positions in hospitality, food and beverage and healthcare, perhaps there won’t be a measurable impact on traffic as these positions do not cater to the traditional 9 to 5 hours. I would love to see this improve our sense of community by having a member of each unit give back by donating a few hours of their time volunteering in one of our many programs as part of the criteria to obtain housing.
Rex Garniewicz
Workforce housing is critical for all residents. It provides us essential workers including first responders, medical professionals, caregivers and teachers. This issue requires a multifaceted approach, including private investment, nonprofit efforts and municipal support.
The town’s leadership in the Northpoint development is an excellent model where a long-term land lease ensures that this remains workforce housing over the term, and by recording affordability covenants on the property ensure Northpoint will be preserved for workforce housing in perpetuity. One of the most important steps the council can take is to acquire land to stop high density development. This land can in the future be developed at an appropriate density as workforce housing, as Northpoint will be.
By preserving this land for future uses, the town will also slow the rampant growth of unregulated housing on the island which only makes the workforce issues worse. The town has several revenue streams that can be applied to this issue that do not come from residential property taxes and I would encourage the well thought out use of these funds to address this significant issue. We must also rewrite the town land management ordinance and address STRs (short-term rentals) as these affect affordable housing long term.
Island safety
The question: How would you characterize the safeness of the island?
Melinda Tunner
Hilton Head Island is currently a safe place for our residents, business owners and visitors. Crime rates are below the national average, and we are statistically one of the safest municipalities in South Carolina. The most recent Beaufort County Sheriff Office’s report for Hilton Head shows a continued decline in crimes against persons and property. However, vehicle collisions are up. I would like to see a stronger presence from our sheriff’s department to help reduce speeding and the frequent running of red lights which has become all too common.
In addition, we are fortunate to have first-class fire and rescue focused on preserving life and protecting our property on the island. They are exceptionally well trained and prepared to handle fires, medical emergencies, hazardous material incidents and rescues. They have proven to serve our community well in times of emergencies.
Paige Cope
I believe our island to be safe. If you look to our neighbors north and south of the Broad, our crime rate is much lower. That does not mean that you cannot do your due diligence to increase your personal safety. Look after your neighbors, see something, say something. Bringing a sense of community back improves everyone’s safety.
Rex Garniewicz
Crime on the island is on par with the state of South Carolina, but I’d like to think that we could do better. Part of this advancement will be continuing to rebuild our relationship with the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office and part will be with our town staff reporting to our Public Safety Director. Code enforcement does a great job of interacting with our many visitors and could probably have a stronger presence if empowered to levy administrative fines.
It would be great to have our own team working on issues that do not rise to the level of being state criminal violations. We outperform many comparable cities when it comes to overall safety – and I believe part of this is because we have such great fire and EMS response times. When it comes to your survival after a shockable cardiac event – on Hilton Head you have a 55% chance of surviving 5 years, compared to 9% nationwide. When I think of investments we’ve made for our residents, a strong Fire Rescue department has made a tremendous difference for all of us by preserving life, protecting property and conserving the environment. We need to protect this funding in our budget.
Penny sales tax
The question: Do you support or oppose the penny sales tax on the November ballot?
Melinda Tunner
I do not support the Beaufort County Transportation Sales and Use Tax Referendum. Is there a need for funding transportation projects? Yes, there is. Do I agree with the timing of this referendum? No, I do not. Beaufort County has shown on-going credibility issues surrounding their procurement and approval processes, management of programs and transparency. The new County Administrator, Michael Moore, needs to demonstrate significant improvement in these areas to earn back public trust before asking to vote on this again.
I also do not support the second referendum for the issuance of $515 million for Beaufort County general obligation bonds to fund completion of the transportation projects. There has been little to no communication regarding this additional request.
If the referendums do not pass, I urge the County Council to not increase our property taxes to pay for these projects and instead wait and try again for a referendum in the future.
Paige Cope
I oppose the penny sales tax. (1% sales tax).
Rex Garniewicz
Did you know that 70% of our town’s expenses are paid by revenue that does not come from your property tax? I always appreciate it when tourists are required to pay their fair share, and the penny tax is one way to do this. Part of this funding is tied to projects which are important to our safety on the island, such as improving critical evacuation routes as well as reworking intersection configurations and improving crossing areas to reduce accidents and improve pedestrian safety.
I support the penny tax as it will also enable our town to better enhance the 278 corridor and ensure that the new bridge meets the needs of our communities both outside and within the gates. This sales tax will also lead to a direct investment of $30 million for projects within the town of Hilton Head Island. I think of projects like refurbishing Main Street and putting in sidewalks so that kids going to school don’t have to walk in the road. I have little doubt that our transportation infrastructure needs work, and this is a great way to pay for it.
U.S. 278 Corridor Project
The question: Do you support or oppose the current version of the U.S. 278 Corridor Project? Do you agree with the portion of the plan that calls for improvements to the bridges?
Melinda Tunner
The town council has given municipal consent and did so without any conditions due to input from the Secretary of Transportation. The conditions were then put into a separate resolution as an memorandum of agreement (MOA) outlining “expectations” associated with the design elements, Stoney Historic Community Improvements and Economic Sustainability. I believe the U.S. 278 corridor project needs to reflect our community goals and desired look and feel of the area.
Whether you agree with the design or not, it is important to understand the next steps as this will be a long process with many decisions to be made. I have asked a number of questions regarding these next steps at the William Hilton Gateway Committee meeting and town council to include when Beaufort County plans to vote on the MOA, and what will happen if the county does not agree to approve the MOA as written or specific items are removed. I agree that we need to replace our bridges, but there were components of the design that I don’t agree with, and there is still much work to be done finalizing our downstream impacts.
Paige Cope
I oppose the current version of the corridor project. A new safer bridge does need to be built, however, I do not agree that we need the type of bridge proposed. While we need safe passage to and from the mainland, we also have a responsibility to protect our waters, marine life and our native islanders. I am firmly against taking away native islanders’ land that has been theirs for generations to support a road. I do not believe we have yet looked for outside-the-box ideas to help our traffic issues before taking on adding more lanes.
Rex Garniewicz
Replacing the bridge onto Hilton Head Island was contentious, but I believe necessary for both safety and traffic control reasons. I do not believe we found a perfect solution, but I do believe that we will be better off because the project is moving forward. At this point, about 30% of the plan is finalized and 70% still needs to be determined. Much of this is covered in the municipal consent resolution providing the sense of town council’s project expectations.
I think it is critical that the incoming town council members work together to make this project meet as many of our expectations as possible. This includes improving safety and aesthetics of the project in the Historic Stoney Community, ensuring that access to 278 to and from residential communities is not negatively impacted and properly planning the impacts of this bridge to downstream traffic intersections. Many of us who live on the North end of the island have concerns that our traffic patterns will be disrupted in an effort to streamline traffic to the South end. I want to be your voice on council to make sure our needs are taken into consideration.
Conflicts of interest
The question: Are there any conflicts of interest that would cause you to recuse yourself from any town council matters? If so, which matters?
Melinda Tunner
I have no conflicts of interest that would cause me to recuse myself from any town council matters. I am running for office to solely serve and represent the residents of Ward 6. Identifying conflicts of interests, both direct and indirect, is crucial to maintaining the public trust and ensuring fair governance. Even if there isn’t a direct or indirect conflict, it’s important to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest, otherwise the public may question whether you’re serving the town’s interest or your own.
Paige Cope
No.
Rex Garniewicz
It is important to have some council members who are still actively employed on the island and represent the island workforce – but we are also more likely to have to recuse ourselves on some matters because of our business interests.
I joined the Coastal Discovery Museum as President/CEO over ten years ago and report to a the board of directors of this 501c3 nonprofit organization. The museum operates on land leased from the town of Hilton Head Island and receives significant state ATAX funding which is approved by the town council. The town also makes capital improvements to the Honey Horn property and provides the museum with some direct support.
I will of course recuse myself from any matters relating to the funding and/or operation of Coastal Discovery Museum and Historic Honey Horn, and I discussed this with town and external legal counsel prior to filing. Fortunately, over my 10-year tenure here, there is extensive public documentation on the support the museum has received from the town, and any changes in this trajectory would be obvious. I am proud that last year I raised $1,374,880 privately to cover most of the museum’s operating costs.
Transparency
The question: If elected, will you make yourself available to answer questions and state and defend your individual position, or will you follow the philosophy that the council should always present a united front in public?
Melinda Tunner
As a member of town council, I would make myself available to answer questions and explain my individual position. I believe in transparency and being accessible to the residents of Hilton Head Island. That accessibility not only provides an opportunity to answer questions, but more importantly to listen to the feedback and concerns of our residents. By listening, I can better understand resident concerns and ideas, gaining new perspectives in the process.
I appreciate the transparency of the public meeting process, and the town’s commitment to live-streaming and on-demand videos. In this way, the public can always see the dialogue and decision-making. However, I do think there is room for improvement regarding the outcomes of executive session. When town council reconvenes, there is typically no one from the public in attendance as they don’t know how long they will need to wait. If action is taken there is usually a quick vote with little to no discussion, and no opportunity for the public to provide feedback. Perhaps town council should consider having executive session prior to the town council meeting, so any vote can be discussed while the public is in the room and can provide comments.
Paige Cope
Transparency should be non-negotiable. Right is right, wrong is wrong. I will be available to answer questions and state and defend my position.
Rex Garniewicz
I believe that transparency and openness need to take place prior to decisions being made by town council. That is why I have shared my personal phone number and email address on my campaign materials. I want people to be able to share their views with me, whether they agree or disagree with my positions. There have been many instances where I have learned new information or approached an issue from a different perspective because someone disagreed with me, and I think this is a healthy perspective to take when you are representing all of your constituents. I will take what I learn from our community and use it to advocate for you at town council meetings.
As to the policy of a unified front in public, I am not opposed to policy disagreements being discussed at town council meetings and working respectfully as colleagues towards achieving a policy that we can all get behind. I think that once town council approves a resolution or code that we should all get behind it even if we have let our dissent be known prior to that point in open discussions.
Other priorities
The question: Are there other issues you consider top priorities that we haven’t asked about?
Melinda Tunner
If I picked one, the issue that is top of mind for our residents is the continued development of the island and its impact to our infrastructure and environment. The one refrain I hear from residents, as I have been meeting with them for more than six months in home groups and forums, is a desire to preserve what makes this island special for future generations to come. To do that we need to update our land management ordinances, to establish new guidelines for development including the mass and scale of buildings, the transportation impacts, tree protections, stormwater management, lighting standards and signage regulations.
Paige Cope
Overdevelopment, preserving a balance for residents while still welcoming visitors, maintaining our Gullah heritage and providing a voice for our native working residents.
Rex Garniewicz
I often hear from full-time residents, particularly in the summer, that we have too many tourists.
Tourism drives our economy, but we need to look carefully at how and why we are recruiting visitors and whether this results in an improvement in our quality of life. We should be drawing tourists here who share our values – we chose to live here because of this beautiful natural environment, the pace of island life and the many amenities that surround us from arts and culture to golf courses and the beach.
Do our tourists share our values and are they likely to become future residents on this island? If the answer is no, we need to work with our selected Destination Marketing Organization to attract visitors who have a better alignment with our values. Our town government has had some struggles with efficiency that are structural and I believe there are ways town council can reduce bureaucracy. I believe we should provide strategic direction and guidance to the town manager, but not micromanage every department. I want to encourage him to build a community we will all be proud of and I have confidence that he can do so.
This story was originally published October 1, 2024 at 12:54 PM.
