The four years I have served as the District One Councilman has been an interesting and challenging time. With redistricting of Council Districts I look forward to representing part of my old District and some new areas. Again I am asking for your support in the upcoming election on November 8, 2011.
I have stayed true to the one promise I made in the 2007 election campaign. That promise was if you contact me, I will return the call or answer the email.
As your Councilman, I have made difficult decisions affecting all the residents of North Charleston. The City has been fortunate in the last four years. We have provided all the expected services to our citizens with no employee layoffs or furloughs and we have had no tax increase. This has not been easy and has caused delays of certain City projects. These are some of the projects we were able to proceed with:
Equipment Replacement and Upgrading for the Police, Fire, and Public Works Departments.
Construction and opening of Fire Station #12 on Palmetto Commerce Parkway.
Relocation and new building for Fire Station #5 on Dorchester Road.
Phase 1 renovations on the Coliseum.
Community Center for District 1.
Wescott Sports Complex Phase 1.
Established a Farmers Market in District 1 through a partnership with the Coosaw Pointe Business Association.
The major economic development while on council is Boeing's second assembly line for the 787 Dreamliner here in North Charleston. This development will create more than 3,000 jobs in the area when it starts production in 2012. The Clemson Wind Turbine Drive Train Test Facility on the old Navy Base is another development that will also bring high tech jobs to the City.
As with any government endeavor you must have a majority to accomplish something. I was finally able to get the City to recognize the need to have Traffic Calming Devices installed. Although the ordinance is not perfect in its present form it is a beginning in getting these devices installed in the City. I am working on making changes to this ordinance. Another ordinance that we enacted deals with allowing Casino Boat Gambling to operate from the City. This was a difficult decision, but in the end I voted for it. By allowing this type of business to operate from North Charleston I saw a new source of revenue for the City. Unfortunately because of the current economy no boats have started operation.
As the City has grown over the last four years I have been successful in getting the citizens involved in the planning of various developments. Two examples are the Lowes at the front of Wescott and the Planned Development District for the traffic circle at Wescott. Without the community's involvement we would not have the landscape or architectural details on the Lowes complex. While the development at the traffic circle has approval (with much community input) it has not started yet because of the downturn in the economy.
With your support I look forward to another term on North Charleston City Council. If you have any questions or want to share your concerns please contact me northcharleston@edastle.us or at 760-1856 and please visit my website edastle.us for more information.