Manager Lawrence Blood came to the Monday morning Holiday Island Suburban Improvement District meeting to address what he called misinformation that had risen “to the level of fear-mongering.” He said folks are spreading rumors that Holiday Island is going bankrupt, the water is unsafe to drink and more homes are in danger because of landslides.
What Blood wanted was for everyone to have all the facts they needed so the rumors would dry up. He explained a bit of history to illuminate why the district is facing some infrastructure problems today. Blood said the original infrastructure – water/wastewater systems and roads – were installed quickly and cheaply. He said Holiday Island has 69 miles of water lines, many of them undersized and nearly 50 years old. He claimed he has seen places where lines were installed without bedding or directly on large rocks.
The district, however, regularly upgrades the system and watches for leaks with new detection equipment, and Blood maintained the water is safe to drink and reasonably priced. Nevertheless, the delivery system loses about three-fourths of the water that enters it.
Blood commented he has seen sections of pavement on roadways as thin as one-inch or with no bedding or not enough compacting. He said one of the complaints he has heard was the only roads that get fixed are near the golf course, so he showed maps of road improvements by year from 2013 to the present as evidence road projects were spread all over the district and definitely not clustered around the golf course.
In his manager’s report, Blood said the marina fuel system upgrade project was awarded to Mid-State Petroleum Equipment, and an Environmental Compliance Assessment at the marina will be conducted July 26.
For the water system, 37 pressure reducing valve sites were selected and the valves ordered. These will help narrow down where leaks might be. Blood also reported capacitor banks installed in Wells 4 and 5 will pay for themselves in about 18 months.
Commissioner Dan Kees said he has watched the leak situation for a while, and sees it is a “steady-state problem” with no system collapse coming soon.
Blood said the Fire Department continues to set records for increases in call volume, mostly medical.
Regarding the district losing money because of the golf course, Blood mentioned the golf facility is host to many events for locals that course revenue supports. Trees downed during recent storms were milled into planks for course walkways.
Kees asked Blood to explain again why Hawk Drive has been closed so long, and Blood responded that he chose to pursue aid through the Federal Emergency Management Agency to repair the landslide on Hawk, thus saving money. The process, however, was slow. The event was in April 2017, and a FEMA representative arrived in August.
Another holdup was FEMA wanted to return the site to its pre-landslide condition, but Blood said there was evidence the area has had other landslides, so the district wanted a more durable repair. This change in plans required approvals which delayed the process again, and that was not the last change. Finally, the contract to clean up the slide and repair the hillside was awarded in January.
Kees commented that taking the time required to get help from FEMA was a good idea.
Last but not least
David Makidon recognized Dan Schrader, Holiday Island Water and Waste Water supervisor who started in the field in Greenwood almost 30 years ago, as Employee of the Month “We appreciate all you do to make Holiday Island such a great place to live,” Makidon said.
- Community garden coordinator BJ Dennis reported that the garden was featured in 12 periodicals last year and won several awards from community garden groups. She explained that an individual signs up to sponsor a bed and pays a fee based on its size. She has $1920 in sponsorships now with others on the list for a bed when one is available or a new one completed. “I cannot praise you enough for all you’ve done for the gardens,” commissioner Nita Holley told her.
Next meeting will be Monday, June 18, at 9 a.m.