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Chapters
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KPOG
History
written by Thomas U.
Greer
FROM
HOG TO KPOG - AN
HISTORICAL REVIEW
These were the
years of the Zeller
regime and Kiawah’s
incorporation. 1987 got
off to a bad start on
Kiawah as a severe storm
blew in with the New Year
and caused a high surf
which lashed our island
New Year’s Day. There
was a great deal of
erosion of our sand dunes
and almost all of the
steps at the ocean end of
the community association’s
boardwalks were washed
away.
One of the first
steps taken by the Zeller
administration following
its February election was
to appoint a committee to
review KRG’s by-laws.
This proved to be a
common practice among
incoming presidents and
served to ensure the
by-laws stayed current
with the times. This
committee was chaired by
Bo Turner and recommended
only a few very minor
changes to the wording.
By early 1987
another void had appeared
on the Kiawah scene. For
years the Kiawah Island
Club, which was part of
the Kiawah Island Company
(KIC) and run by Gloria
Pollis, had put out a
telephone directory. The
huge increase in 1985 in
club and tennis dues and
the institution of the
sports card had markedly
decreased club membership
and changed the way the
club operated.
The last phone
directory had been
published by the club in
October of 1985 and no
more were planned. The
KRG board looked into the
situation, quickly
determined a directory
was something property
owners desired, and made
the decision to have KRG
put it out. Bill Widmer,
a director on the board,
volunteered to undertake
this task, and he and his
wife Mary, with help from
Art Naylor, put out the
first of their
directories in the fall
of 1987. Bill and Mary
continued to author these
directories; new ones
were published every
15-18 months, a total of
4 between 1987 and 1991.
Charlie Moore helped with
all the printing details.
KPOG still
continues to publish
periodic revisions of
this very popular
directory, in greater
numbers with each
printing. The directory
not only has the expected
phone numbers, but also
Kiawah addresses and
off-Kiawah addresses of
many non-resident
property owners. It
serves as well to
supplement our faulty
memories. (What’s Joe’s
wife’s name? What
street does Betty live
on? How do you spell Ben
Matthesen’s last name?)
The board became
aware there was no way
handicapped persons could
get to the beach at the
property owners’ pool,
so they set out to
correct this deficiency.
Vice-President Art Naylor
contacted a number of
builders, and received
commitments from several
to pay half the cost of a
ramp if KICA would pay
the other half. In
September 1987, the KICA
board failed to pass a
property owner director
motion to pay half the
cost when developer
directors voted against
the motion. Art Naylor
and the KRG board
persevered and the ramp
connecting the pool to
the boardwalk was
completed in the spring
of ’88. Three Kiawah
builders (Solaris
Properties, Runnerstrom
Construction and Seamar-Fullerton)
contributed part of the
funds; Hal Ravenel, of
Ravenel Associates,
contributed half of the
cost, and the KRG board
voted to pay the balance
out of the KRG treasury.
(This is the ramp being
used today as part of the
temporary access to the
beach at the property
owners’ pool.)
Bob Zeller and
his Bohicket Road
Committee continued to
work to close North
Edenvale Road which
intersected Bohicket Road
on the curve by the small
real estate office, and
to widen Bohicket Road at
its intersection with
Edenvale Road to permit a
left-hand turn lane.
Slowly these changes were
brought about, though it
took constant pressure on
the State Highway
Department brought by
Kiawah, Seabrook and
Johns Island together, an
effort organized and
coordinated by Bob
Zeller. Once the Edenvale
situation was completed,
Bob continued to push to
straighten the
intersection of Bohicket
and River Road in a way
to mesh with the entrance
to what we now know as
the Island Center. That,
too, was eventually
accomplished when the
4-lane Betsy Kerrison
Parkway was built in 1991
just prior to the Ryder
Cup. Thus was completed
the last of the changes
to Bohicket Road that Bob
started working on back
in 1984. It was all done
quietly, behind the
scenes, without a lot of
fanfare – and it was
done through the
perseverance of Bob
Zeller, with KRG support
when necessary.
By far the most
significant issue facing
Kiawah in 1987 was the
annexation/incorporation
issue. In March of ’87
Buzz Sniffen was elected
to the KICA board and
hence found it necessary
to resign as chairman of
the KRG
Annexation/Incorporation
Committee. Don Watters
was appointed the new
chairman of this
committee with Jack
Dover, Bill Fowler, Laura
Pulleyn, Dick Sayers, Jim
Cobb and Kathy Hummers as
committee members. At the
29 June ’87 quarterly
KRG meeting, Don reminded
those present the City of
Charleston had just
recently annexed property
in the vicinity of
Plowground and Bohicket
Road, a little over 5
miles from Kiawah. Don
apprised everyone of how
much our property taxes
would go up were Kiawah
to be annexed by
Charleston, and also
explained what revenues,
which were then going to
the county, would
automatically go to
Kiawah should we
incorporate. Through the
remainder of the Zeller
regime,
annexation/incorporation
would be the most
pressing issue facing
both KRG and Kiawah as a
whole. The role played by
KRG in this controversial
issue was most
interesting and is worthy
of detailed coverage.
The new
committee under Don
Watters quickly built
upon all the groundwork
and information provided
it by Buzz Sniffen and
his committee. They dug
into all the legal
aspects of both
annexation and
incorporation, and sought
the assistance of legal
help with expertise in
this area. As a result of
the series of small
meetings with property
owners held by Buzz
Sniffen, it had become
apparent that the
majority of Kiawah
residents (those property
owners who would be
eligible to vote on an
annexation referendum)
seemed to favor
incorporation, but there
was a vocal minority
adamantly opposed to such
a course of action.
Between the 29 June KRG
meeting and the 5 October
’87 meeting, Don
Watters’ committee made
the decision that the
education phase was over;
Kiawah residents needed
to take a position and
follow the consensus by
actively pursuing
incorporation. They
changed their name to the
Committee for the
Incorporation of Kiawah.
Up until this time needed
funds had been provided
by KRG. Concurrent with
the decision to pursue
incorporation, the
committee sought
financial independence by
soliciting contributions,
and in so doing
established its
independence from KRG.
A group opposing
incorporation, which
called itself concerned
Property Owners of Kiawah
(CPOK), came into being
under the leadership of
George Spaulding and Rod
James, and assisted by
Jean Howe, began to
distribute literature
challenging the position
of Don Watters’
committee. Since those
representing both
positions were members of
KRG, the KRG board faced
a dilemma–should it
take sides? The matter
came to a head at the
October 5, 1987 quarterly
KRG meeting held at the
Church of Our Saviour.
Bob Zeller’s board made
the decision to give each
faction equal time at the
meeting. Don gave his
committee report,
indicating they had
instituted a successful
mail campaign to solicit
petitions required for
incorporation, and for
annexation to Seabrook,
from the necessary
majority of property
owners. They would soon
petition Seabrook for
annexation (a necessary
step required by law–the
committee had been
assured Seabrook would
turn Kiawah down, thus
freeing Kiawah to
incorporate). Don stated
his committee had
received more than
$24,000 in contributions
and was continuing to
study the issues and seek
answers. George Spaulding
spoke for CPOK,
cautioning that there was
a need to thoroughly
examine all the issues to
be sure we were doing the
right things. He
mentioned 5 issues of
concern to CPOK, which
included the possible
financial impact on
Kiawah residents, the
possible loss of our
gate, and the potential
for retaliation by the
Kiawah Island Company.
Bob Zeller
followed these
presentations by making
two points. First, he
said that a thorough
discussion of both sides
of the issues was healthy
and advisable. Because of
the depth of the subject
and the limited time at
the ongoing meeting, a
motion was made and
approved to hold a future
meeting devoted solely to
the incorporation issue.
Second, Bob gave the
position of the KRG when
he stated KRG strongly
supported the efforts of
the Incorporation
Committee to position
Kiawah to be able to
incorporate should that
be the decision of the
voters. Bob went on to
say that based on the
facts as they were then
known, KRG supported
incorporation to insure
against annexation by
Charleston and the loss
of control of our own
destiny which annexation
would bring. In the
newsletter covering this
meeting, Bob urged KRG
members to sign the
petitions. The newsletter
was very even-handed in
its coverage of both
sides of the issue for
its readers.
At the KRG
annual meeting held in
February 22, 1988, Don
Watters read a report
jointly prepared and
agreed to by Don and Rod
James representing CPOK.
This report gave the 200
plus members in
attendance the latest on
annexation and
incorporation and assured
everyone that leaders on
both sides of the issue
had met on several
occasions to better
understand the areas of
disagreement and to
identify points of common
interest. They promised
to keep up the dialogue
and continue discussion
and debate. The presence
of this opposition group
served a useful purpose
in forcing the
Incorporation Committee
to look at all facets of
the issue and to sharpen
its answers to questions.
The promised
special meeting on
incorporation was held on
April 13, 1988, by the
Incorporation Committee,
not by KRG. It was
attended by
representatives of the
new Town of Seabrook as
well as by the attorney
hired by the
Incorporation Committee.
Both sides of the issues
were covered in depth.
Subsequent to this
meeting the Incorporation
Committee filed all the
necessary paperwork with
the Federal Department of
Justice and the Secretary
of State of South
Carolina, and Kiawah was
certified to hold a
referendum on
incorporation. An
Incorporation Commission
had been officially
appointed by the state to
oversee the referendum.
Wally Dornseif chaired
this commission; members
were Stu Force, Ed Green,
Lib Melvin, Art Naylor,
Gloria Stackhouse
(White), and Charlie
Moore. By this time a pro
forma town budget had
been prepared by Don
Watters’ committee with
the volunteer assistance
of Pat Welch. The vote
was held on August 23,
1988, and incorporation
was approved, with 229
persons voting in favor
and 55 against.
A few editorial
comments seem to be in
order summarizing this
incorporation action.
First, the role of KRG
was central. It was KRG
that recognized the
significance of
annexation/incorporation,
formed a committee to
study the issues and
offered to let KICA
assume sponsorship. When
KICA dropped the ball,
KRG picked it up and ran
with it. Once the
decision was made by the
committee to seek
incorporation, KRG
provided a forum to
discuss the issues and
ensured that the
discussions were
evenhanded, with both
sides presented. The KRG
board, at the appropriate
time, made its position
known to the membership
and continued to support
discussion of both sides
of the issues at its
meetings and in Overview.
Second, the work
done by the volunteer
committees was
monumental. The effort
took three years, was
very complex, required
extensive research,
involved mountains of
research, and
necessitated contact with
every Kiawah property
owner. With the exception
of the legal expertise,
all of this effort was
performed by volunteers.
Over the years the
ability of this island to
produce among resident
property owners willing
volunteers with the
expertise and persistence
to tackle any problem has
been truly amazing and a
major strength. At KRG’s
September 26, 1988
quarterly meeting, Buzz
Sniffen, Don Watters,
Laura Pulleyn, Bill
Fowler, Kathy Hummers,
Jim Cobb, Dick Sayers,
Pat Welch, and John
Tiernan were called to
the podium and received a
standing ovation. The
late Don Watters, who was
ably assisted by his wife
Jean behind the scenes,
is deserving of special
recognition for his
outstanding leadership of
this effort. Finally, the
accomplishments of the
Town of Kiawah since
incorporation speak
eloquently for the wisdom
of the Incorporation
Committee and Kiawah
voters.
Returning now to
the chronological
coverage of the Zeller
regime, at the October 5,
1987 quarterly meeting,
committee chairman Stu
force reported on the
Hurricane Preparedness
Committee’s progress in
coordination with
Charleston County, St.
Johns Fire Department and
the US Weather Service.
Art Naylor apprised
attendees of the improved
fire insurance
classification in our
fire district as a result
of the opening of our
on-island fire station.
He reminded attendees of
their responsibility to
notify their insurance
companies in order to
receive the premium
reduction. Art expressed
for all thanks to Jim
Potter, our Kiawah
resident Fire
Commissioner, for his
efforts on our behalf.
Finally, it was reported
that new resident
property owner Dave Hott
had undertaken an
in-depth study of the
Charleston County EMS
system and our
vulnerability because we
were so far from the
closest EMS station. Dave
was working with Hugh
Goodman in his efforts to
work with Seabrook in
securing an EMS station
closer to our two
islands.
A few days
before Christmas in 1987
the Charleston media
announced that John M.
Rivers, Jr., a long-time
Charleston businessman
and both a Kiawah
property owner and KRG
member, had signed an
option agreement for the
purchase of Kiawah Island
from the Kiawah Island
Company. Mr. Rivers
expressed an interest in
meeting with the KRG
board and other island
leaders and the meeting
was held on January 5,
1988. Though the meeting
was very interesting, it
became moot in early
March when, to the
disappointment of most
who knew him, Mr. Rivers
announced he had dropped
his option to purchase.
At the annual
meeting held on February
22, 1988, the board
elections were held with
the following results:
Bob Zeller, Art Naylor
and Louise Irvin were
re-elected as President,
Vice President and
Secretary respectively.
Dot Dornseif became
Treasurer, with Lib
Melvin as her assistant,
and Chris Carven, Stu
Force, George Intemann,
Dot Sullivan and Angie
Vasile were elected as
directors. Annual dues
for 1988 were reduced
(yes, that’s right,
REDUCED). John Tiernan,
chairman of the Security
Committee, gave a report
on the crime statistics
for the previous two
years and then explained
the new crime watch
program. The Kiawah
Island Company still
refused to open up a
dialogue on security with
this committee. Bill
Widmer reported that KRG
membership was presently
in excess of 800.
In the late
spring of 1988, Stu Force’s
Hurricane Preparedness
Committee held a very
informative meeting at
the Church of Our Saviour
on the dangers from
hurricanes, the need for
evacuation of Kiawah
during hurricanes, and
the steps each family
should take to prepare
for the hurricane season.
Every agency in the
Charleston area
associated with hurricane
preparedness was
represented. Everyone who
attended left with a deep
respect for hurricanes
and convinced of the need
evacuate Kiawah when a
hurricane threatens. At
KRG’s summer meeting,
Fire Chief Stewart
English and Kiawah’s
resident fire
commissioner, Jim Potter,
gave a briefing on home
fire alarm systems, their
costs, performance and
reliability. Chief
English offered to assist
any property owner who
needed further
information.
In late April
and early May the rumors
began about the purchase
of Kiawah by Kiawah
Resort Associates. That
became official on June
29, 1988, which caused
the KRG to put out its
first "EXTRA"
of Overview
announcing the sale. This
one page extra was sent
to all property owners as
a courtesy. For the
remainder of 1988 things
were quiet (other than
incorporation, which has
been previously covered)
as KRA, whose arrival was
like a breath of fresh
air, consolidated its
movement into Kiawah.
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