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Inside the Island Connection...
 Volume 2 Issue 24
PRESORT STANDARDUS POSTAGE PAIDCHARLESTON SCPERMIT NO 437
page 12
choraliers
page 9
catr
page 8
FreshFields
March 20, 2009
FREE
Herbs 
continued on page 6
I
 one were to close their eyes and walk into Sea IslandSavory Herbs, their rst impression would be that they had walked into a French kitchen. Te hot, ecund smello kitchen herb seedlings sprouting happily in hundredso small plastic containers lls the air around the smallbusiness; inviting guests through the bamboo-shadedentrance and into a welcoming patio area surroundedby low green houses and dozens upon dozens o pottedplants. Although Pete’s Herbs has been around or severalyears, owners Pete and Caroline Madsen have decided tostep back rom the day to day operations in order to spendmore time with their growing amily; and as o the New Year, have handed over the management o the business tolong-time employee Kirk Young and Julie Hart. Julie, a Charleston native, has spent mosto the past 19 years in Massachusetts.However, when she heardabout the opportunity tohelp run Pete’sHerbs,she hopped the rst plane back to the sunny south. “It’sbeen a thought, a dream, a vision o mine or years,” Juliesmiled. However, when she arrived on Johns Island inNovember and saw the state o the small herb business, sheknew she had her work cut out or her. Although Pete’s Herbs, now known as Sea Island Savory Herbs, has been quite a successul local business, theMadsens had started to let the grounds go in late summerand Kirk and Julie have been working hard to get theplants and acilities back to their ormer glory. “It’s been along process getting the plants back to health,” said Julie,”but there’s great stock here and we’ve been doing a lot o propagating.”Te Pete’s Herbs triecta – tomatoes, peppers andeggplants – will still be available in the same abundantvarieties under the care o Kirk and Julie, but they planto expand on the selection with the addition o lettuces,cucumbers, squash and other garden vegetables. And they  will keep growing, selling and expanding on their herbselection as well. Already, hundreds o little basils, romchocolate to lemon to thai to Genovese, are sprouting inthe spacious greenhouses. Several types o lavender bloomnearby and seedlings o rosemary, savory, mint, thyme,marjoram and several dozen others are scattered about,ready or the kitchen window garden. Although it’s a little early to start planting, it’s never tooearly to start planning and already, some o the heartiergreeneries can be planted without ear o rostbite: suchas rosemary and any o the leay greens. “A good ruleo thumb is to start planting ater the rst ull moon o  April,” said Julie. “Tat’s apparently when the last rost will have passed.”Landscaping plants will also be available this year, as well as a wide variety o native plants rom the gardensat Mepkin Abbey. Andrew Maier, a horticulturist at SeaIsland Savory Herbs and student o acclaimed nativeplant expert Dr. Gene Everett, is a wealth o knowledgeon native plants and will be happy to regale you with thehomeopathic properties o each species, as well as theircare and placement in the garden. New native species atSavory Herbs include Cardinal fowers, Lobelia, Horsetailgrass (used by settlers or cleaning because o their highsilica content), dotted mint, also known as horsemint(oten used to soothe colds and the fu), and pitcher plants,
Sea Island Savory Herbs:the name says it all
By Kristin HacKler
 Andrew Maier explains the diferences in types o basil.
 
2March 20, 2009
www.islandconnection.com
Civic Calendar 
The IslandConnection 
Lynn PierottiPublisher
lynn@luckydognews.com 
Kristin HacklerManaging Editor
kristin@luckydognews.com  
Swan RichardsGraphic Designer
swan@luckydognews.com 
Ali AkhyariAssistant Editor
ali@luckydognews.com  
Brittany UrbachReporter
brittany@lukcydognews.com 
Chelsea LanganAdvertising
chelsea@luckydognews.com 
InternsJennifer MillarBridget HinkebeinBri HorahanAshley AndersonEvans CraddockContributorsJennifer BarbourDr. Charles BensonhaverWayne BillianHelen BosshartChris BrooksJerry CumminDavid FarrowBecca FinleyLinda FoxMary GiraultDwight S. IvesTom PrevostPublished byLucky Dog Publishingof South Carolina, LLCP.O. Box 837Sullivan’s Island, SC 29482843-886-NEWS
Future deadlines:March 25 forsubmissions.
Lucky Dog Publishing, LLC
Publishers of 
 Island Eye News
,
The Island Connection
and
 The Folly Current 
.
Tuesday, March 24
Seabrook Island Town Council
 All own Council meetings will be heldat 2:30pm at the own Hall unless notedotherwise on the own bulletin board.
Wednesday, April 1
Seabrook Island Planning Commission – work session
 All Planning Commission meetings willbe held at 2:30pm at the own Hall unlessnoted otherwise on the own bulletinboard.
Thursday, April 2
 Johns Island Council Meeting 
7pm – 8pmBerkeley Electric Co-Op on Maybank Rd.
Kiawah Island Arts Council
3pm - 5pmown Hall - 2nd Floor Conerence Room
Monday, April 6
Kiawah Island EnvironmentalCommittee
3pm - 5pmown Hall - 2nd Floor Conerence Room
Tuesday, April 7
Kiawah Island Town Council
2pm - 4pmown Hall Council Chambers
Kiawah Island Ways and MeansCommittee meeting 
8amKiawah Island Municipal Center’s 2ndFloor Conerence Room
Wednesday, April 8
Kiawah Island Planning Commission
3pm - 5pmown Hall Council Chambers
Seabrook Island Planning Commission
 All Planning Commission meetings willbe held at 2:30pm at the own Hall unlessnoted otherwise on the own bulletinboard.
Kiawah Island Town Hall
21 Beachwalker DriveKiawah Island, SC 29455Phone: 768-9166Fax: 768-4764Email: cwilson@kiawahisland.org
Seabrook Island Town Hall
2001 Seabrook Island RoadSeabrook Island, SC 29455Phone: 768-9121Fax: 768-9830Email:lmanning@townoseabrookisland.org
 Johns Island Council
Meetings are held at the Berkeley Electric Co-op located at 3351Maybank Hwy, John’s Island.Chairman Chris Cannon: 343-5113
Charleston County Council
4045 Bridge View Drive, NorthCharleston(843) 958-4700
City o Charleston
75 Calhoun St.(843) 724-3745
KI Council 
continued on page 4
March is Red Cross Month
Mayor Wert opened the meeting by moving that a proclamation declaring themonth o March as Red Cross Month beapproved by Council. Council approvedthe proclamation unanimously.
Kiawah Island Parkway 
Councilman Orban reported that he hasbeen meeting on a bi-weekly basis withTomas & Hutton Engineering aboutthe new Kiawah Island Parkway andbikepath and “things are moving along well”. As or the project schedule, Orbanstated that they are still trying to work out some details with Berkeley Electric, which will need to lay underground linesbeore the parkway project begins, but work on the parkway is still set to beginin June.
Saving unding in State ATAX 
Mayor Wert reported that revenues orthe own are down and will continueto be down. “Tis year, because o thedownturn, our rst quarter dues weredown 5% and 25% by the third quarter,”the Mayor stated. “We expect to be downabout 30% this year all together.” He alsopointed out that Kiawah only has twosources o income: the State and County  Accomodations taxes and the businesslicense tax. Te Ways and MeansCommittee has recommended cuttingapproximately $118,000 out o theSAAX unused budget to insure undsare available or next year. Recommendedareas or budget cuts include: equipmentor beach maintenance ($23,546 with$10,000 remaining in unused undsor the year), deputies ($85,187 with$56,427 remaining) and the KICA visitors booklets ($10,000 with $28,300remaining). Council approved the Waysand Means recommended revisionunanimously.
Kiawah Investment Policy 
Mayor Wert motioned to pass Resolution2009-01, which makes two changes tothe Kiawah Island Investment Policy. Telines in bold were removed rom section XIII. Maximum Maturities:o protect public unds rom marketyield losses resulting rom rising interestrates, the own will limit the maximumterm o maturity. o the extent possible,the own will attempt to match itsinvestments with anticipated cash ow requirements. In order to maintain
 
liquidity, no more than 70 percent o theportolio will have a maturity in excess o (1) year. Unless matched to a specic cashow, the own will not directly investin securities maturing more than (5) veyears average rom the date o purchase.
 Arts Council
Councilman Lipuma reported that therecent Arts Council events have beenseeing bumper crowds at their last ourperormances, and they seem to beattracting more and more residents rom Johns Island and even James Island. Atthe big band concert, a reported 25% o the audience was rom Seabrook. “It’sgreat!” said Lipuma. He also noted that thenext perormance will be the College o Charleston Orchestra at the Church o OurSaviour at 4pm on Sunday, March 22.
Ocean Course parking 
Councilman Lipuma also reported thatTomas and Hutton Engineering wasin the process o preparing an exhibit toshow the parking lot at the Ocean Course which will show areas or availableparking and the 12 oot wide access pathto the beach.
Financial
“Our revenues and business licensesare down, but not dramatically,”Councilman Orban reported. However,he noted that he has the entire own sta looking into ways they can cut down inall areas and other ways in which they can o-set costs. Finally, he stated thatthe AAX Committee will be meeting onMarch 26 at 2pm at the own Hall.
Environmental Committee
 April 19 is the Kiawah Island Gol Resort’s Earth Day Celebration, reportedCouncilman McHugh. “It soundsgreat and looks like it has a lot o unactivities,” he remarked. He also reportedthat there had been some reports o excessive algae in the lakes, but pointedout that this was airly normal. In thespring, he said, the ilapia will comearound and eat all o the extra algae.McHugh also noted that the Bobcatresearch is successully underway withnine bobcats captured, seven collaredand only our or ve collars remaining toattach.Finally, McHugh commented on therecent Kiawah Comprehensive BeachStudy written by Dr. Kana, and saidthat the reported stated that Kiawahbeach sand has become airly compact, aact which might deter sea turtles romnesting on the island. “We might have torun a trawl to loosen the sand,” smiledMcHugh, “but stay tuned. We wouldn’t want a turtle to break a nail.”
External Afairs
Councilman Burnaord said that he hadattended the last Johns Island Councilmeeting, but it was airly short and there wasn’t much to report. As or the JohnsIsland roads, he reported that he andDr. Paul Roberts had met with a goodamount o people throughout JohnsIsland and Charleston City and County to speak with them about the CrossIsland Parkway. He also reported on theUrban Land Institute’s ndings on theMaybank highway widening situation,stating that the ULI had ound thatthree lane-ing Maybank rom the StonoBridge to River would be an adequatesolution to the congestion problem,and they had also recommended a roado the Stono Bridge that would runroughly along the current power lineeasement and would help to reducethe trafc on Maybank on it’s way to the southern parts o the island.Councilman Burnaord also met withMayor Riley to discuss ways in whichthey could work closer with Johns Islandlandowners, which went avorably,and talked with Dickie Schweers, theCounty representative or East Cooper,Councilman McKeown and others todiscuss their most recent ideas or thepotential Cross Island Parkway.
Kiawah Island Council – March 3, 2009 
 
www.islandconnection.com
March 20, 2009
 
3
 JI Council 
continued on page 13
Sea Island Habitat for Humanity 
Secretary John Kozma introduced NikkiSeibert and Jilllian Cain rom Sea IslandHabitat or Humanity as the speakers orthe night’s meeting. Seibert is the GreenBuilding Coordinator or Sea IslandHabitat and Cain is the DeconstructionManager. Seibert thanked Kozma or theintroduction and began by explainingsome o what Habitat or Humanity is all about. “We are an internationalecumenical Christian ministry,” saidSeibert. “and we believe that every personon earth deserves decent housing.” O the 1700 Habitat aliates in the UnitedStates, the Johns Island location is thethird oldest. Founded in 1978, Sea IslandHabitat or Humanity has built over 250homes in their coverage area o JohnsIsland, James Island, Hollywood, Edistoand Wadmalaw Island. “As ar as theamount o homes constructed, we arenumber 14 out o the top 100 in the US,”said Seibert.Since it is becoming harder and harderor people to purchase their rst homenowadays, Habitat is doing their best tohelp people become homeowners. Whatkinds o people are homeowners? Mainly people in the service industry, such asremen and nurses with a amily o our,an income o around $30,000 a year anda credit score o 580 or above. “We’remore stringent on our qualicationsbecause we need to know that the amily can keep up with their payments,” Seibertexplained. “We don’t just give housesaway. Tis is a hand up, not a hand out.Each amily is required to put in 500sweat equity hours and to attend homeownership training classes.” Payment orthe home consists o a 30 year mortgage with no interest, and the cost is only thecost o construction: between $60, 000and $80,000 per house.A new approach that Sea Island Habitatis taking with their home building underrecently appointed Executive Director Andrew Beck is that o green buildingand Earth Crat certication. “No moreclear-cut elds ull o houses,” saidSeibert, in reerence to the recent upsetover the Brownswood Place development.“We’re limiting our ootprint.” She notedthat Earth Crat certication covers water usage, education, landscaping,material sources and interior air quality,among other points. “It’s a very indepth process,” she remarked. Tebenets, however, are substantial. Greenbuilding not only allows the housing tobe aordable as well as healthy, it alsoincreases the value o the home. Roosare built with 30 year liespans andproducts are used that are able to last along time in order to reduce waste. Tehomes also include low fow xtures andenergy ecient appliances, as well as atight home “envelope” in order to cutdown on heating and air conditioningbills. Future homeowners are taughthow to live a less wasteul liestyle withthe use o green cleaning products andrecycling. McCloud Place in Wadmalaw Island eatures a ew o these new houseplans, which are more green and moreaesthetically pleasing, including siteplans with better connectivity, walkways,playgrounds and green spaces.Seibert then handed the foor to JillianCain, who described the Habitat’s latestprogram: Deconstruction. “Our twogreatest costs are land acquisition anddevelopment,” said Cain. “Our sourcesare usually private donations, gits inkind (materials such as couches, tools,construction material, etc.) undraisers,corporate sponsorships and mortgagerepayments.” One o the ways Sea IslandHabitat raises unding is through theirReStore outlets, where new and usedurniture and building materials areresold to the public. “All money romthe ReStore goes toward building new homes,” Cain noted. Since the ReStoreopened on Johns Island, they havediverted over 665 tons o material romthe landll. Although this program is working well, Cain and the Habitat teamsoon realized that there is a need orpeople to go into homes that are inthe process o remodeling and removeall the old xtures. “We saw this as anopportunity where we could go intohomes, remove the old xtures and resellthem in the store,” said Cain. “Tis isthe Deconstruction project. We take windows, doors, toilets, vanities, sinks,tubs, all appliances, water heaters, HVACunits, washers, dryers, light xturesand other items and resell them in theReStores.”Cain remarked that their teams hadtaken apart everything rom a masterbath to an entire house. However, shenoted that they can not take a housedown to its rame; they can only do what’s known as a “sot strip” whereinthe last layer o items in a building, thosethat are more or less easy to remove,are stripped rom the remodeling area.However, the services are ree o chargeand help the homeowner avoid the costo paying their contractor or removal,as well as the cost o dumping the items.Sea Island Habitat is also ully insured,so i a water line is nicked and it damagesthe carpet, it’s taken care o. “Tat’s only happened once,” smiled Cain.In the past six months, theDeconstruction project has already diverted over 40 tons o material rom thelandll.Chairman Chris Cannon asked Seibert what developments Habitat is currently  working on and i they have any plans orthe uture. Seibert replied that the only project on Johns Island right now is thethird phase o the Brownswood Placedevelopment. “As ar as projects downthe road,” said Seibert, “We’re just tryingto buy property. We have land in Edisto,Hollywood and Ravenel. I we don’t getany more land out here on Johns Island, we’ll start working on these ringe areas.”Seibert also noted that Sea Island Habitat will be holding design charettes oruture developments in order to avoidunsightly site plans such as the clearcutting at Brownswood Place.Council member Henry Chavis askedSeibert why Habitat has sold homesto illegal immigrants in the past, andSeibert replied that their previous Family Services Coordinator had been let go orthat reason. “It’s hard to go back on pastissues,” said Seibert, “but our new amily services coordinator is very strict on ournew homeowners’ qualications.”Council member and reasurer SamBrownlee remarked that he commendedboth o them or all their hard work.“Tank you or what you do,” he said.
Treasury 
reasurer Sam Brownlee reported thatthe Council has $746.31, and as there were no expenses this month, the accountbalance remains the same.
CHATS report 
Brownlee reported that the SC DO haslisted the bridge at Brickyard Road asnumber 18 in their list o 402 projects inthe state, as per a request rom CHAS.“Tere have been a lot o complaintsabout the highway department,” saidBrownlee, “but I have to commendLimehouse. He started working onprojects or that stimulus money beore iteven arrived.”
 Johns Island developments
Chairman Cannon reported thatthe only meeting this past month ondevelopments on Johns Island had beenduring the County Council meeting,and that was simply to ask questionsabout the PUD requests at ChisolmRoad and Bryans Dairy Road. “Tey  were kind o asking or the same thingat these properties,” said Cannon. “Bothare trying to get the ComprehensivePlan changed so that they can turn theirproperty into Agricultural ResidentialFuture Land Use with higher density zoning.” Bryans Dairy would double thedensity rom eight houses to 16 on 58acres, and Chisolm would have roughly one house per acre and a hal. “TeCouncil seems to be split,” said Cannon.“Some were in avor, some were not. It will be interesting to nd out what willhappen.” He did note that there wasvirtually no opposition rom nearby residents to either development.Cannon noted that there was nothingreally coming up concerning JohnsIsland on either the City or the County agendas or the rest o March.
 Johns Island Airport extension
Resident Rich Tomas commented onthe expansion o the Charleston Regional Airport on Johns Island, noting that therunway is going to be extended 350 eetcloser to River Road. “I don’t know how much room there is between the enceand runway,” said Tomas, “but it gotme wondering i there is some scheme toreroute River Road to bring it more tothe west/northwest: it kind o set o a warning bell or me.” Alan Burnaord o Kiawah own
 Johns Island Council meeting – March 5, 2009 
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