Hilton Head Island Ward 4: Kim Likins aims to regain spot as town councilwoman
After leaving her Town Council seat to run for mayor in 2018, Kim Likins is looking to unseat incumbent Councilwoman Tamara Becker and reclaim her previous office.
In her mayoral campaign, Likins earned just over 29% of the vote in the general election and triggered a runoff with current and outgoing mayor, John McCann. She earned around 43% of votes cast in the runoff.
Before her mayoral run, Likins had represented Ward 4 from 2010-2018.
She is currently the executive director of the Boys and Girls’ Club of Hilton Head Island and earned a bachelor’s in communications from UNC-Chapel Hill.
Candidates on contested races were given questionnaires tailored to their campaigns and asked to limit their responses to 150 words.
Here’s are Likins’ answers:
Which campaign issue is most urgent to you? Why do you feel that issue should be the top priority?
I have two issues as my top priorities — housing and health care.
Public/private housing partnerships and workforce housing has reached a crisis point on Hilton Head Island. We need town leadership to plan, fund and implement public-private workforce housing solutions.
The proposed Northpoint public-private development is a good start to developing long-term rentals for our working professionals (nurses, teachers, pharmacists, firefighters). Yet, by itself, it will provide only a fraction of the needed housing. We need to immediately identify other real estate tracts and start the work to get more housing units started in the next few years.
On health care, our rapid loss of physicians and health-care workers needs a solution. My 20-plus years with a Fortune 100 health-care company makes me uniquely qualified to tackle this issue. I will champion a health-care recruitment and retention program to aid in this effort.
What steps would you take to address the shortage of housing on Hilton Head? Is the solution a public or private sector issue? Should Hilton Head focus on encouraging housing off-island through the Regional Housing Trust Fund or build locally?
Everyone benefits when good housing is available close to work for the island’s valued employees. Workforce housing has reached a crisis point. Our Town Council must take a leadership role in solving this problem by immediately implementing the town’s workforce housing strategic plan, including public/private partnerships. We can do this in a high quality way that will keep our island vibrant and make us proud.
What is your position on the recently approved U.S. 278 bridge plan?
The town must lead in this project. In 2018, I helped to establish the 278 Citizens Committee to review the scope of work that resulted in the project’s guiding principles.
As the gateway to our community, the final decision must deliver our principles of improved resident safety, protection of our environment, and our continued quality of life. It must be beautiful and welcoming. The installation of a synchronized stoplight system and independent engineering review must be completed before we move forward with municipal consent of the corridor expansion.
The Chamber of Commerce receives significant public funding each year, but is not subject to the same transparency laws as the Town Council. What steps would you take, if any, to secure greater transparency from the chamber on where public funds are being used?
I was proud to be part of the Town Council that successfully implemented the first MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) agreement with the chamber on their marketing efforts for Hilton Head Island. This has strengthened through the pre-set checks and balances set forth in the agreement. The contract is a solid starting point, and like many other government endeavors, always a work in progress.
We need to improve upon this while following the constraints of state law.
Friction between development and maintaining Hilton Head’s character has been highlighted recently. How do you think the town should balance the two? At this time, is it more important to develop for the future or preserve the past?
It’s our job as community leaders to truly embrace our Island history and celebrate that history in various ways. We must embrace the need for housing of our essential workers while also evaluating the need for transportation onto the island. I am running for Town Council again because I am optimistic about our island’s future and I believe that together we can work to preserve all that we love about living here. We do have our challenges and without thoughtful action, our island lifestyle can slowly erode away.
I am eager to bring my combined experience in business, public service and the nonprofit sector to work for the Residents of Ward 4!
