Hilton Head Town Council Ward 5: Steve Alfred looks to extend his years of government experience
The candidate with the most experience in elected office in Hilton Head’s municipal elections is 88-year-old Steve Alfred, who is looking to extend his years of municipal service in Ohio as the Hilton Head Town Council’s representative from Ward 5.
Before moving to Hilton Head Island, the retired attorney spent 16 years in office in Shaker Heights, Ohio — eight years as the city’s mayor and eight on its City Council.
Currently, Alfred is a member of Hilton Head’s Planning Commission. Beyond local government, Alfred previously worked as an advocate for campaign finance and ethics in the Georgia State House.
Alfred holds degrees from Princeton University and Harvard Law School.
The Island Packet sent questionnaires to candidates in contested races and limited them to 150 words per answer. (Alfred’s opponent, Chuck Dowd, withdrew from the race in October.)
Here are Alfred’s responses:
Which campaign issue is most urgent to you? Why do you feel that issue should be the top priority?
As a Sea Pines resident, the longtime traffic problem at Sea Pines Circle is a top priority. It impacts not only those going in and out of Sea Pines, but also the merchants along Pope Avenue and Coligny Circle as well as beachgoers.
After that, I am most concerned about developing affordable and workforce housing, considering ways to moderate the growth of development and traffic, making sure the short-term housing regulations are effective, getting ahead of climate change by enhancing our stormwater drainage system to diminish coastal flooding, and supporting arts and cultural affairs at all levels.
What is your position on the recently approved U.S. 278 plan?
I am pleased the MOU [Memorandum of Understanding] was approved so the project can finally move forward. Two bridge spans would have cost $25 to $30 million more, taken several additional years to complete, and raised additional environmental problems — it simply was not practical. The agreement does call for an end-to-end traffic study, as requested by a citizens group, which will take a number of additional months to complete.
Traffic light synchronization for the length of 278 is highly desirable and is moving forward. While the county is legally in charge of the project, the town must still provide its “municipal consent,” which it will be called upon to do after the traffic study in order for the project to proceed.
The decision is the responsibility of the current Town Council. Not only was the county (and some council members) pushing for a prompt decision, but the current council is the one that has been working closely with the issues and the negotiations for the last several years.
What steps would you take to address the shortage of workforce housing? 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?
The town, as it is doing, should make town-owned land available for this purpose, retain a private sector entity to guide it in this process, and make the land available at a discount in order to give developers an economic incentive to build such housing. After gaining some knowledge with the northside post office tract, the town should move ahead with additional such developments, both large and small. The town should also look into improving transportation facilities for off-island workers.
While it would be nice if the private sector could build such housing, as the Sea Pines Resort has done, smaller entities do not have the capital and wherewithal to participate. Indeed, the town changed its zoning ordinances to permit greater density on workforce housing developments as an incentive, but not a single response was received. So, while there will be some participation from the private sector, much of the development will have to be done under the aegis of the town.
Again, while local construction should be the primary focus, the town should also participate in the Regional Housing Trust Fund to encourage off-island development as well, as some HHI workers may prefer to live off-island.
The Chamber of Commerce receives significant public funding each year, but is not subject to the same transparency laws as Town Council. What steps would you take, if any, to secure greater transparency from the chamber on where public funds are being used?
The town and the public should know how the chamber is spending its public ATAX funds received from the state through the [Accommodations Tax], and that is largely being done. (The chamber also receives private funding from the hospitality industry.) The council as a policy-maker should be providing general guidance to the chamber related to town goals. For example, the town should know the demographics of the audience targeted for magazine ads, as well as whether the amenities advertised (golf, beach, hotels, restaurants) are the only ones to be focused on and why.
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?
The town needs to do both affordable housing and the 278 project. The funding for the 278 Corridor Project has essentially been secured. Funding for workforce housing projects from governmental bodies as well as private sources still needs to be obtained, which the outside consultant will presumably be helpful on. One of the town’s primary financial contributions will be the discount it offers on a sale or lease of town-owned tracts to a development agency.
While historic preservation, such as that underway at Mitchelville, is important, we need to focus heavily on matters affecting our future, such as our drainage system to ameliorate flooding and rising tides.
This story was originally published October 21, 2022 at 4:28 PM.
