TOKI Talk: A Podcast From The Town of Kiawah Island

From Town Council Member Michael Heidingsfelder (mheidingsfelder@kiawahisland.org): Our family first visited Kiawah Island in 1999 and instantly fell in love with its nature, beach, and relaxing setting. We purchased our home in 2004 and moved here full-time in 2015. We love this island, as do our children, who come here as often as they can.

My Master’s education in Engineering and Business Administration prepared me well for my roles as COO and CEO with large private and public cooperations in the consulting, automotive, and instrumentation industries. Building companies from the ground up and enhancing the professionalism of organizations to be best prepared for the challenges in their businesses, improving customer satisfaction and leading them to financial stability have been at the core of my career. These always global business responsibilities have taken me frequently to many countries and cultures worldwide. But whenever I passed the first gate, I was home.

Several years ago, I started to engage in matters important to this island. First with ongoing service to the Lowcountry Foodbank and then as a member of the TOKI Noise Ordinance Workgroup. Earlier this year, I was appointed to the TOKI Planning Commission. This involvement made me realize that we as a joint community – with all stakeholders from residents and property owners to TOKI and KICA, the ARB, the Partners, and the Resort – need to develop a thoughtful and comprehensive vision for the future of our island. Foremost, to answer the remaining questions: How do we as a community want to be recognized 10+ years from now? What do we not want to look like in a few years?

We have seen positive development in the past. Still, today we are facing challenges triggered by both man and nature: There is an increasing concern in the community about over-development, rising traffic, the impact of a changing environment and rising sea levels, not always transparent decisionmaking processes, a gap in communication about important matters to the community and – unfortunately – sometimes a lack of civil cooperation among certain stakeholders. I believe that our joint community wants a meaningful and transparent resolution of these challenges without harming our neighborhoods and the island envisioned as a perfect synergy between nature and modern life.

I promise to the community that I will do my best to help preserve, protect and enhance life on Kiawah and foster collaboration between the community and our governance.

Bobcat Guardian (Linked here)

From Town Council Member Bradley D. Belt ([email protected]): Along with our four-legged girl, Folly, Laura and I live in the RiverView neighborhood. After visiting over the years, we bought a home in 2019, intending to split our time between Washington, DC, and Kiawah. During the pandemic, we realized how much we enjoyed life here and decided to make Kiawah our permanent home, becoming full-time residents in 2020.

Before semi-retiring a year ago, I had spent the last decade and a half in executive roles with asset management and investment banking firms. Prior to that, I had been privileged to serve in the Administration of President George W. Bush as the head of the agency responsible for overseeing and ensuring private sector pension plans. I’ve had leadership roles with two “think tanks,” and early in my career, I served in senior counsel roles at the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.

Throughout my career, I have served on the fiduciary or advisory boards of various companies, nonprofit organizations, and professional associations. Currently, I serve on the executive board of a private equity firm and the board of UNICEF USA (Mid- Atlantic). My previous service includes a Presidential appointment to the Social Security Advisory Board and the Board of Trustees of the Protestant Episcopal Cathedral Foundation, as well as several private companies and organizations On Kiawah, I am on the board of the RiverView POA and was one of the founders of PreserveKiawah.

In many respects, we are at an inflection point for life on and around Kiawah Island. We are nearing the end of growth on Kiawah but aren’t there yet. And there is going to be substantial additional development and growth off Island. This growth has profound implications for our physical infrastructure, fragile natural ecosystem, and quality of life on and around Kiawah. I believe that the Town of Kiawah needs to play a leadership role in addressing the challenges we face, and we can best do so by engaging the community and working collaboratively with all stakeholders

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The South Carolina Legislative Act 369 created the St. Johns Fire District in April of 1959. The District is comprised of four barrier islands covering a land mass of approximately 185 square miles. These islands are Johns, Kiawah, Seabrook and Wadmalaw.

The St. Johns Fire District is governed by a nine member commission which is appointed by the Governor based on recommendations by Charleston County Council. Each of the four islands has representation on the commission which participates in monthly commission meetings and other functions as necessary.

The St. Johns Fire District currently has seven fully staffed fire stations. There are three stations located on Johns Island, two stations located on Kiawah Island, one station located on Seabrook Island and one station located on Wadmalaw Island. The district has seven front line pumper/tankers, two aerial apparatus, one rescue apparatus and one tender. 

The St. Johns Fire District currently employs 145 personnel of which 129 are fire suppression certified. The district also maintains its own maintenance division with three personnel and an administrative staff with five personnel. 

The St. Johns Fire District utilizes a three shift rotation providing emergency services twenty four hours a day, seven days a week. Minimum daily staffing is thirty five fire suppression rated personnel and one Battalion Chief to perform all emergency services and maintain the daily operations through the district. An officer is assigned to each fire station to manage the operation throughout the day. 

The St. Johns Fire District is made up of a group of dedicated men and women striving to improve the level of life and fire safety to the residents and guests of our community and is constantly seeking ways to improve on the standards set forth by the Federal, State and local Governments as well as National Consensus Standards.

Upcoming events: https://www.kiawahisland.org/events/

Jim has served as Wildlife Biologist for the Town of Kiawah Island since 2000. He is from Columbia, SC, and received a bachelor’s degree in Biology from Furman University and a Master of Science Degree in Wildlife Ecology and Management from the University of Georgia.  Jim’s work at Kiawah involves nuisance wildlife management, invasive plant control, beach management, wildlife population surveys, community outreach, and wildlife research. He has conducted and coordinated a variety of research projects on Kiawah Island, focusing primarily on white-tailed deer ecology and fawn survival, bobcat ecology, and habitat use, songbird migration and banding, and most recently, alligator physiology and behavior.

To spread awareness of our Bobat Guardian program, The Town was excited to interview Jim Jordan, as he discussed their roles, what led to the 2017-2020 decline in Bobcat populations, and the mission of Bobcat Guardian.

In Fall 2019, the Town amended its Comprehensive Plan to prioritize flood mitigation and sea-level rise risks. One of those risks identified was focusing on the other significant natural resource for Kiawah, the salt marsh. Through several community engagement initiatives (maybe a shout out to the Town’s Flood Mitigation and Sea Level Rise Sub-committee and the Planning Commission on their efforts toward resiliency planning for Kiawah), the Comprehensive Plan was amended by Town Council to establish a new natural resources goal of formalizing a marsh management plan that explores various methods of protection for the Island’s marsh.

Both Biohabits and Elko Coastal Consulting collectively have been brought on to assist us with the Marsh Management Plan.

Dr. Elko is President of Elko Coastal Consulting based in Folly Beach, SC;  Science Director for the American Shore and Beach Preservation Association (ASBPA); an Executive Director of the U.S. Coastal Research Program, and Executive Director of the South Carolina Beach Advocates.  She is presently serving as one of the three civilian members of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Coastal Engineering Research Board (CERB) and as a member of NOAA’s Hydrographic Services Review Panel (HSRP). Both the CERB and HSRP are Federal Advisory Committees that provide advice to agency leadership on national coastal research and development needs.  She served on Governor McMaster's South Carolina Floodwater Commission in 2019.  Dr. Elko received her Ph.D. (Geology) from the University of South Florida after working with the USGS Coastal Marine Geology Program, St. Petersburg, and while serving as the coastal coordinator for Pinellas County, FL. She has nearly 25 years of experience in coastal science and management and has assisted with many projects along the U.S. Southeast and Gulf coasts

The Town is asking for the community's input in regard to Kiawah's Marshes. Click here to respond to the survey and the interactive mapping tool to help inform the planning process.