Bluffton panel places high priority on May River preservation, sewer projects

Projects that help preserve the May River and connect more Bluffton residents to the sewer system should be a high priority for the town in the coming fiscal year.

This was the directive given to town staff Wednesday by Bluffton’s Planning Commission.

Of the nine capital improvement projects the commissioners recommended as high priorities, three directly relate to efforts to improve the river’s water quality.

In fact, the commission voted to move one project — helping residents remove septic tanks and connect to sewer lines — from a long-term wish list to a list of projects the town should undertake in fiscal year 2017.

The new fiscal year begins in July.

“The (benefit) is huge” for the river when septic tanks, which can crack and leach pollutants into the the river, are removed and homes are connected to the sewer system, commission member Terry Hanncock said Wednesday.

“This is a top priority that goes along with everything else we are doing to (help preserve) the May River,” he said.

Commission member Josh Tiller agreed.

“I’ve always considered all of the May River watershed (preservation projects) a high priority,” he said.

The town has about 200 homes that could be connected to the sewer system but are not currently connected, capital improvements program manager John Hutchinson said.

In certain circumstances, the town can step in “and help finance (connections), so folks don’t have to take on (the full cost) themselves,” growth management director Kendra Lelie said.

Over the past several years, the town has pumped roughly $2 million into similar projects in the Buck Island-Simmonsville neighborhood.

The commission also gave high-priority status to two stormwater pond construction projects — one in the May River Preserve neighborhood off of May River Road and another near Bluffton High School off Buckwalter Parkway.

These ponds help keep potentially contaminated stormwater runoff from entering the river.

In all, the commission recommended a total of 24 capital improvement projects for town leaders to consider over the next few years.

Those projects range from short-term items such as adding parking spaces to Dr. Mellichamp Drive to major infrastructure improvements like overhauling the Calhoun Street streetscape.

Staff and Bluffton Town Council members will take these recommendations into consideration as the 2017 fiscal year budget is developed over the next several months.

But just because a project is included on the commission’s list or given a high priority doesn’t necessarily it will be completed soon.

Assistant town manager Shawn Leininger said all the projects “are important, but it comes down to feasibility” in terms of time and funding.

Other action

The Planning Commission voted unanimously Wednesday to recommend a change to the town’s development code that would allow builders to squeeze more homes onto a given plot of land, so long as a portion of those homes are priced at an affordable level for low- and moderate-income residents.

That code change will be introduced to the Town Council for consideration next month.

This story was originally published March 23, 2016 at 8:26 PM with the headline "Bluffton panel places high priority on May River preservation, sewer projects."