Junk Removal in Sullivan's Island, SC

SULLIVAN’S ISLAND, S.C. (WCBD) — The town of Sullivan’s Island could have its water supply cut off this summer, amid a dispute with the Charleston Water System.

According to a letter sent to the town from Charleston Water System (CWS) in October 2023, when Sullivan’s Island purchased 750,000 gallons per day of capacity from the Charleston Water System in 1994, it was a 30-year term which expires on July 19, 2024.

The water system tells Sullivan’s Island leaders that if there is not a new contract by then, service will be disconnected for the town’s 2,000 residents on July 20.

In addition, in the letter, the water system said the town has been paying $0.88 per thousand gallons of water since 2017, and calls that rate “arbitrary and unsupported by facts.”

Charleston Water System says the rate in 2017 was $0.96, and each year, there is a new projected rate for the town. For example, the rate last year was $1.53 per thousand gallons. At the end of the year, an adjusted rate was given which amounted to $1.11.

CWS also said in the letter to Sullivan’s Island that they are willing to provide water service to the town as long as it pays all outstanding amounts owed to the water system. As of February, that amount totaled $1.08 million.

In previous letters responding to Charleston Water System, Sullivan’s Island Mayor, Patrick O’Neil, said they have been paying the correct rate and that a memorandum of understanding on a rate formula was never approved.

“SI (Sullivan’s Island) has been paying the undisputed portion of the volumetric rate since 2017. SI does not owe capital charges unless SI purchases additional capacity which SI has not done.” a letter dated June 30 to CWS reads.

Sullivan’s Island leaders claim that the contract with the water system is clear that capital charges should not be charged on top of the initial capacity the town purchased in 1994. The town also adds that “because SI has not given written notice to CWS not to renew the contract, the contract will be automatically renewed for 15 years or until July 19, 2039, as set forth in the contract.”

In its October letter responding to the town, CWS CEO, Mark Cline, said CWS cannot agree to a rate formula that does not include capital charges or a perpetual term.

As of now, Sullivan’s Island and Charleston Water System are in legal remediation for the issue.

On Friday, Sullivan’s Island leaders released a statement to News 2:

“It’s disappointing that the leadership at Charleston Water System has apparently decided to ignore the confidentiality agreement put in place during the mediation of our long-standing dispute.

Years ago, CWS decided to raise our rates as if our signed contract with them did not exist.

As CWS knows, we’ve simply been continuing to pay the undisputed amount set in our long-standing, signed agreement.

We hope everyone will understand we’re standing firm on the principle that signed contracts are signed contracts. It’s the right thing to do for our citizens.

We will continue our good faith efforts to reach an appropriate agreement through mediation, or if need be, in the court.”

– Sullivan’s Island town leaders

SULLIVAN’S ISLAND, S.C. (WCBD) – The future of water service on Sullivan’s Island remains uncertain amid a contractual dispute between the town and Charleston Water System.

“The island has the ability to generate taxes and they need to figure it out because what they did in 2017 was, they just quit paying,” said Sullivan’s Island resident, Dave Spurgin.

A 30-year water supply contract between CWS and the Town of Sullivan’s Island went into effect on July 19, 1994.

Based on letters provided by CWS, there has been a disagreement over the rates since 2017. The water system claims the town owes them $1,078,000 as of last month.

“Years ago, Charleston Water System decided to raise our rates as if our signed contract did not exist. The town disputed that rate increase and has continued to pay the undisputed amount owed in accordance with our longstanding signed agreement,” said Sullivan’s Island Town Councilman Justin Novak on Monday night during a special council meeting.

The statement was part of a longer motion read aloud before council voted to pay $227,361 to satisfy the disputed portion of the amount owed. Island leaders said the amount was calculated by a nationally recognized rate consultant.

CWS CEO Mark Cline released the following statement to News 2 on Tuesday.

“Charleston Water System does not agree with the Town of Sullivan’s Island’s viewpoint or its recollection of the historical facts. We fully intend to discontinue the Town’s water service July 20 unless their past due amount is fully paid and they have entered into a new contract that appropriately covers the costs of providing water service to their community. It’s not fair that our other customers have been subsidizing the Town’s service for years now, and that would continue under their terms.”

Spurgin, who has lived on Sullivan’s Island for nearly 30 years, said he is not concerned about the potential water shut-off.

“No, because we’re going to need our water. They’re not going to shut the water off. The town’s going to have to figure out, the town council is going to have to figure out how to come up with the money,” Spurgin told News 2.

Sullivan’s Island Mayor Pat O’Neil released the following statement.

“Apparently CWS is having very-late-onset buyer’s remorse about a legally binding contract they willingly entered into almost 30 years ago. When we entered into this agreement in the aftermath of Hurricane Hugo, the Island was at one of its most vulnerable points in its centuries-long history. Nonetheless we have abided by the language of this contract. It’s hard to accept that CWS (or anyone else) is “subsidizing” SI when we paid almost $2 million (in 1994 dollars) to support the infrastructure that allowed them to sell water to us and to our neighbors on the Isle of Palms, and when in 2020 we gave them an easement through our public park and playground so there would be additional capacity to sell water to our neighbors in Mount Pleasant.”

While Irish culture might be celebrated this weekend in the form of green beer, Celtic music and a raucous good time, there are certainly many other ways the Emerald Isle has made its mark on Charleston.

In fact, it goes all the way back to one of the first settlers of South Carolina, for whom a nearby beloved island and popular beach town is named.

Florence O'Sullivan, who was an Irishman of the 1600s working for the British crown, is a notable fellow for quite a few reasons, at least from what we know of him via few surviving documents and an 1897 text called The Shaftesbury Papers that looks back on the founding of South Carolina as a proprietary colony.

Sullivan's Island is named after him, assumingly because he manned a cannon in the area where Fort Moultrie now sits that was directed at any approaching enemy ships during the earliest days of the colony. He was one of the first nonindigenous people to survey and settle in the Lowcountry, docking at Charles Towne Landing in 1670. But he actually never owned land on Sullivan's Island.

Local Charleston County Public Library historian and the voice behind the Charleston Time Machine podcast, Dr. Nic Butler, has done some extensive research on O'Sullivan, prompted by his own Irish heritage and a fascination for learning about South Carolina's past.

Sullivan's Islanders, also hungry for knowledge of their home's origins, have turned to Butler to shine a light on this enigmatic figure of local (and beyond) historical significance.

An Irishman under the British crown?

The colonization of a land already inhabited by Native Americans, who were then decimated by Europeans through war and disease, is part of Charleston's (and the United States') complicated history. But by looking at this past, Butler and other historians can better paint a true picture of how our state, and nation, came to be and how it has informed our modern-day society and culture.

When O'Sullivan comes into play, there are some interesting politics involved that speak to one particular point of tension: the Irish and British. The fact he was an Irishman working for the British crown is a fascinating and rare occasion of the times, Butler told The Post and Courier.

It is perhaps because of his status as an Irishman that he is portrayed so negatively by his peers in the documentation we do have.

"He was depicted as this weird guy… a very one-dimensional bad character," said Butler. "He was appointed surveyor general, deemed completely incompetent, and historians write him off, that he was an idiot, and an Irish idiot on top of that."

"Some of that may be true, but many South Carolina historians are looking at South Carolina from a very English perspective, and that makes sense because this was an English colony. But most Americans are not aware of the really intricate, subtle and meaningful distinctions between Ireland and England at that moment."

Ireland was a part of the British Isles and treated repressively by England. Not only were there religious differences (English Protestants very openly despised and subdued Irish Catholics — and that goes way back to the English Reformation in the 1500s), but there was a general mistrust due to English slave traders capturing Irish people and shipping them away to work in the British Empire being established at the time alongside enslaved Africans.

Indentured servants also worked for the British, receiving passage to these new lands and some payment in return; O'Sullivan helped the British recruit some such servants when he contracted with the Lord's Proprietors of Carolina to establish where we now live.

Getting into and out of a mess

Butler suggested that O'Sullivan was possibly born between 1630 and 1640 in Barbados or born in County Cork in Ireland and quickly moved to Barbados, perhaps ousted during the Irish Confederate Wars of 1640 and British Reconquest of Ireland, 1649-53.

He likely had poor Irish parents and spoke the native Gaeilge language, Butler said, and plausibly had no choice other than to use the British crown to advance his own life with the possibility of property and prosperity, despite its maltreatment of the Irish people.

"He was probably too poor to cling to the luxuries of principles," said Butler. "O’Sullivan likely held his tongue, took the king’s shilling to fight under the English flag and pushed against adversity to escape a bad situation."

The first records of him are in 1666 in Barbados, when he was a captain of an infantry unit seeking to recapture the English portion of St. Kitts from the French. He was shipwrecked during a hurricane and had to battle with French soldiers in the jungle for survival; he was then captured and spent nearly an entire year as a prisoner of war.

Somehow he paid a ransom for his release and was transported to England; in 1668, he was unemployed, penniless and in danger of being imprisoned for debt in London.

He submitted a petition to King Charles II asking for financial assistance, citing his imprisonment as a sacrifice for the crown; it was granted, along with a small catch that he must return to Barbados.

Then the Lord's Proprietors of Carolina appeared as a beacon of hope, recruiting for a new settlement in the wilderness of what would be known as Carolina. In the position of surveyor general, O'Sullivan would receive free passage and promise of land ownership in the new territory.

Charleston Scene

Settling Carolina

This is where the bad talk about O'Sullivan enters from his peers, as he begins surveying in the new settlement.

“O’Sullivan doth act very strangely and was a very dissentious troublesome young man in all particulars," one source shared.

Another complained that O’Sullivan “doth by his absurd language abuse the governor, counsel and country and by his rash and based dealings he hath caused everyone in the country almost to be his enemy.”

This "absurd language" might have been him speaking in the native Irish tongue, countered Butler. And perhaps he didn't get along with anyone because he wanted to scout out his land and then be left alone, finally escaping the British dominion that had almost entirely consumed his life and career.

Columbia

A few years later, O'Sullivan was replaced as survey general and commissioned as a captain in the nascent militia, where he likely made raids against neighboring Native tribes.

It was 1680 before he officially was granted parcels of land totaling 2,460 acres. The largest tract stretched from the northwest of Shem Creek to the southeast of McCants Drive and Rifle Range Road to Haddrell's Point northward to the vicinity of Venning Road. Another spanned Charleston Harbor to Home Farm Road in Mount Pleasant. And the smallest covered some of the Old Village.

Surprisingly, unlike his peers of the time, O'Sullivan sold most of this land to neighbors while others were expanding their territories.

“Florence O’Sullivan’s downsizing in the 1680s provides yet another example of his divergence from the contemporary norms," said Butler. "Perhaps he scorned the use of enslaved labor and cultivated far less acreage than his more affluent neighbors.”

While there is no record of a wife, O'Sullivan did have a daughter, Catherine, and withdrew to a more private life East of the Cooper, while likely manning a cannon as lookout on Sullivan's Island.

Irish resiliency

"While he might’ve just been a cantankerous, belligerent man, we can at least entertain the possibility that he was something far more interesting and sympathetic: a refugee from a broken country, a poor migrant searching for a home," said Butler. "Rather than seeking riches and possessions in the Carolina colony, perhaps he simply wanted to be left alone, free to express his own beliefs and opinions in the language of his ancestors."

This idea of Irish resiliency is one that Butler paints through O'Sullivan in an episode of his podcast on the subject.

Perhaps by considering O’Sullivan as a stoic Irishman struggling within an Anglo-centric framework, we might lift the veil shrouding his enigmatic story, he offered.

Joseph P. Kelly, director of Irish and Irish American Studies at the College of Charleston, notes that while O'Sullivan's story is a lesser-known one, there have been many Irish people since in the Lowcountry who have made a significant impact on society.

Take Simon Felix Gallagher, the first Irish Catholic professor at the College of Charleston, and one of the first we might associate with our modern definition of who the Irish are, said Kelly, like those behind the St. Patrick's Day parade.

The list goes on, but two organizations in particular stand out.

Today, we can look to the Hibernian Society as a melding of the Catholic and Protestant Irish. At its beginnings in 1801, it was truly a symbol for freedom of religion, a promise that had been made in the New World but not truly upheld.

Opinion

That, of course, changed with the separation of church and state in 1776, and the Hibernian Society sought to bring together Irish culture in its diverse forms that had since developed from the early days of the Carolinas.

The Ancient Order of the Hibernians, an entirely Catholic organization that had a presence in Charleston in the 1860s, sought to rebel against years of prejudice against Irish Catholics, fighting stereotyping and discrimination.

Both are still going strong today in Charleston, as local Irish culture lives on in its many forms. Perhaps we have O'Sullivan to thank for a small piece of that, a figure who defied norms, ruffled some feathers along the way and had a whole island named after him that he didn't even own.

There's something to think about next time you're walking the beach at Sullivan's Island. You might end up at Dunleavy's Pub for a Guinness and Reuben after.

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Middle Street on Sullivan’s Island could look sparse in the new year. Sixteen miles of streets and roadways on the barrier island are part of Dominion Energy's routine tree-trimming project at the start of 2024.

Dominion Energy has contracted with Xylem Tree Experts to trim limbs that are within unsafe proximity to power lines, beginning Jan. 2. Work will begin near Fort Moultrie, and crews will make their way toward Breach Inlet over an eight- to 10-week period.

The 16-mile collection of streets and roads on Sullivan’s Island is part of a larger trimming effort that spans 87 miles and includes portions of Mount Pleasant, Isle of Palms and Goat Island.

Each time a trimming project is announced, feedback and concern from residents is expected — particularly when the removal of palmetto trees is a possibility.

Sullivan’s Island is no stranger to this: the power utility had plans to remove over 200 palmetto trees on the island in 2020, but paused the effort following a meeting with the town’s mayor, Patrick O’Neil.

“We certainly understand the passion surrounding trees in the Lowcountry; we work and live here, too," said Dominion Energy spokesman Paul Fischer. "These are our communities, as well, and we understand that, but safeguarding overhead electric lines is critical to keeping the lights on for all the customers we serve.”

About 100 palmetto trees were not cut down as a result of that meeting and continued to grow, O'Neil said. This time around, Sullivan's Island may not get so lucky.

"We got a stay of execution for about 100 or so of them that were not definitely intruding on the required space that power lines have around them," O'Neil said. "I'm assuming a large number of them will have to go this time, unfortunately. But you know, we've made it clear to them that we hope they won't do anything more than is absolutely necessary."

Fischer said there are currently no palmetto trees specifically targeted for removal, but the trees that pose a risk to overhead lines soon will be identified. Trees needing removal will be marked with spray paint at the base, Mark Branham, Dominion Energy forester, said during a presentation to Sullivan’s Island Town Council on Dec. 19.

Jimmy Dye, founding partner and broker-in-charge of The Cassina Group, successfully represented the owners on the sale of 1702 Ion Avenue, a significant transaction for Sullivan's Island. The property, a stunning 5-bedroom, 3.5-bath, 7,344 square foot home, was sold for $9,000,000, marking a notable milestone for the island's real estate market.

, successfully represented the owners on the sale of 1702 Ion Avenue, a significant transaction for Sullivan's Island. The property, a stunning 5-bedroom, 3.5-bath, 7,344 square foot home, was sold for $9,000,000, marking a notable milestone for the island's real estate market.

Originally constructed as the Base Commandant's Quarters, this exquisitely preserved historic home holds a unique place in history as the largest and most elaborate surviving structure of offices at Fort Moultrie. Its significance was further accentuated during World War II when it became the residence of the chief of staff, George C. Marshall.

"I am thrilled to have had the opportunity to represent the sellers on this extraordinary property," said Jimmy Dye. "Its rich history and timeless elegance make it a truly one-of-a-kind home, and I am proud to have been involved in the sale."

The property's distinctive features include expansive wraparound porches, tin printed ceilings, multiple fireplaces, gracious rooms, 9-foot ceilings throughout, a renovated kitchen, and a private pool, among others. Its charm and historical significance were a draw for buyers, leading to the property going under contract a mere 7 days after being listed with Dye.

This sale not only underscores the enduring appeal of Sullivan's Island but also highlights Jimmy Dye's exceptional ability to navigate high-value transactions in the luxury real estate market. The Cassina Group has a dominant presence on Sullivan's Island, closing 2023 as the #1 firm for sales on the island.

For more information on The Cassina Group, please visit TheCassinaGroup.com.

About The Cassina Group

The Cassina Group is a boutique real estate brokerage with offices in Mount Pleasant, SC and Charleston, SC. The firm is managed by founding partners and brokers-in-charge, Jimmy Dye and Robertson Allen, and Owen Tyler, partner and managing broker. Recent awards include top honors from Charleston Magazine, Inc. 5000, T3 Sixty and SC Biz News. For more information, visit TheCassinaGroup.com or call 843-628-0008.

Media Contact

Simon Ashton, SIMS Agency, 1 8433219292, simon@simsagency.com

SOURCE The Cassina Group