Beaufort faces growth and infrastructure pains. Mayoral candidates offer contrasting visions
Councilman Josh Scallate, a 33-year-old firefighter who joined the Beaufort City Council two years ago wants a promotion to the top spot. In his way is Mayor Phil Cromer, a 74-year-old who came out of retirement to win the job in a special election 10 months ago. He's hoping to be reelected Nov. 5 to a full four-year term.
The important election for Beaufort is a clash of generations, styles and visions.
The winner will lead the state's second-oldest city for the next four years as it faces challenges in managing the growth that's denuding its treasured tree canopy. Figuring out how a city of 14,000 residents can finance a multi-million repair or replacement of the underwater supports at the city's iconic Waterfront Park, which are being weakened by saltwater and age, has become a central issue in the campaign. So has a 40-year lease the city has with its marina operator that was improperly approved in 2019. Critics are now calling for a new lease or even for the city to take over management.
"It's a perfect storm," said Cromer , who also had to deal with the impacts of a real tropical storm in Helene, which hammered the city Sept. 27. "I picked the worst time to run for mayor. But somebody's gotta do it."
Cromer, who served two terms on City Council from 2014 to 2022, was lured back into local politics to run for mayor in a December 2023 special election in the wake of the resignation of Stephen Murray. The dapper dresser, known for signature bow ties and measured approach, has a keen interest in history. The resident of the Spanish Point neighborhood says his experience in local government — he holds a master's in public administration from the College of Charleston and the University of South Carolina and held jobs as administrator of Port Royal and Ridgeland and risk manager for the South Carolina Municipal Association — gives him the experience the job requires.
"I'm retired so I have the time to do it," Cromer says. "I don't have any agenda other than I want to keep this place as the special place it is for future generations."
Scallate joined the council two years ago when he finished second by a razor-thin margin in a five-person race for two seats. He wasted little time jumping into the fray, coming to meetings well-read and prepared to speak his mind.
Scallate, a Mossy Oaks neighborhood resident, says he would draw on the communication and teamwork skills he's gained working for more than a decade as a firefighter with the Lady's Island-St. Helena Fire District, the last seven as a lieutenant.
"That's more or less what a mayor does, collaborate with a team," Scallate says.
He sees the job as mayor as making sure council members are working together and that the city manager has clear direction so the city can maintain momentum on its goals.
The two candidates have served with each other for the past 10 months but do not know each other well.
Scallate sees the race in stark terms: The future versus the past.
"I'm probably going to prepare us for the future and Phil is really focused on preserving the past, our history," Scallate says . "While I do think that's important, I think we've put aside the youth in preparing our economy to be sustainable past just tourism and the military."
The city, says Scallete, needs to work harder at developing job opportunities for young people. He wants to see "explorer programs" implemented in local schools, for example. The hands-on Explorer Program is for young people interested in a criminal justice system career. And he backs adding computer science to the mix of training opportunities at the South Coast Cyber Center, a Beaufort-based hub for cybersecurity education, training and innovation.
"For me, the most important thing is preparing for the future and we need to prioritize the needs of our young people," Scallate says.
If he wins the mayor's race, Scallate believes he would become the youngest serving mayor, at 33, in the city's history behind Murray, who was 39 when he was elected in 2020. The city of Beaufort said it had no way to verify the city's youngest serving mayor.
For his part, Cromer says, his vision is ensuring the city's history, natural environment and architecture, which he sees as the community's main attractions and "our economic engine," are protected. "You have to preserve what's special about your community," he says.
"I'm not discounting the future," Cromer adds, "but you can't discard the past either. It's part of who you are."
Cromer says his record shows he's voted for investment in projects across the city and "I'm not just focusing on the historic district."
"That's just something that people are trying to use against me and that's not the case," Cromer says.
Waterfront Park front and center
The condition of seawall and support structures underneath Waterfront Park, a treasured local amenity and a tourism draw to the downtown area, has become a central issue in the campaign.
Every five years, the city completes inspections of the relieving platform and the seawall and the underwater pilings that support the infrastructure. An April report showed serious degradation of the pilings and severe build-up of sediment that made even inspecting some of the infrastructure impossible. The entire support system may need to be replaced, which would cost millions.
Scallate says Cromer's public response to the Waterfront Park problems was a key factor in his decision to run for mayor.
At the time the April inspection report came out, Cromer commented that he was "shocked" by the condition of the infrastructure.
"I didn't understand why he would be surprised because he had been on the council since 2014," Scallate said. Two previous inspections of the waterfront infrastructure, completed while Cromer was a member of the City Council, Scallate notes, also showed problems with the pilings. It is clear to him, Scallate said, that "proper preparation wasn't implemented" at that time to get ahead of the problems, "So we now carry the burden of a 50-year structure and no money set aside."
Cromer counters that the two previous Waterfront Park reports that came out while he was serving on the City Council only recommend encapsulating the pilings that were in the worst condition to extend their life. The city, he adds, agreed to spend more than $1 million toward that effort.
In contrast, the conditions had markedly worsened in the most recent report, especially sediment build-up that made even inspecting some of the pilings impossible. That's why he expressed surprise, Cromer said. "He (inspection engineer) basically said we need to think about replacement," Cromer said. "They never said that in the other reports." Had those previous reports recommended replacement of the relieving platfrom, Cromer said, the City Council would have taken different action.
Bad marina deal or 'blessing in disguise'
Controversy over the city's lease with Safe Harbor Marinas to manage the city marina at Waterfront Park is another issue in the campaign.
The city found out earlier this year that the City Council ran afoul with state law when it approved the 40-year lease with Safe Harbor without first passing an ordinance and getting two rounds of public comment. An ordinance is required whenever the city sells or leases property. The oversight surfaced earlier this year as critics were questioning a major marina expansion proposed by Safe Harbor. The city is now contemplating whether to negotiate a new lease or possibly taking over management. When the 2019 lease was improperly approved, Scallate notes, Cromer was on the City Council.
"I don't think I can pretend that didn't happen," Scallate says. That the city approved the lease without taking the first step of gathering public input "surprises me and Phil was there for that," he added.
In hindsight, says Cromer, the City Council at the time "made a mistake." "But you learn from your mistake and this is probably a blessing in disguise. If this hadn't occurred, we'd be locked into a 40-year lease."
It's Cromer's opinion the lease is now invalid because of the city's improper approval. As a result, he says, the city now has an opportunity to negotiate a better lease.
Rapid growth concerns candidates
Rapid housing development, specifically multi-family housing, is a concern of both candidates. The city has approved 2,500 units of housing, almost all of it major apartment complexes , along Highway 170 alone.
Scallate points out that Cromer served on the council when the city approved many of those housing units. While the council does not approve housing plans, it does control rules contained in the comprehensive plan and development code. Scallate argues the city has been poorly prepared for this development because the development code is not aligned with the goals in the comprehensive plan. He says he would push to make sure those two documents are better aligned. As it stands now, he says, "a lot of stuff we see approved isn't what the community wants."
In Scallate's opinion, several developments that have been approved in the city should have been required to put in several acres of green space, parks and walking paths, "and we didn't do that. Some of that is the code doesn't require it. Other times, the code does require it but it got past the boards."
Cromer says one of the main reasons he's running for mayor is because he's concerned about "all this rapid growth," which "is way ahead of our infrastructure," and destroying the city's charm, environment and quality of life.
Cromer says he wants to see design guidelines added to the "Beaufort Code" to prevent "Soviet-style" architecture. "So when you come into Beaufort the buildings will reflect the Lowcountry feel," he says.
Much of the growth is occurring along major highways, Cromer notes. A few tweaks could make it harder for larger companies to construct buildings with "stock designs."
Scallate argues Cromer doesn't communicate very well with other council members or the community.
The 2019 marina contract and the strong neighborhood opposition to the King Street drainage project earlier this year are two examples of poor communication with the community in general, he says, which left the city ill-prepared to move forward.
As for the King Street project, the city lined up millions in grant funds and came up with a design before getting the necessary feedback from the community. "That's backward in my opinion," said Scallate, who said he would focus on identifying neighborhood leaders and making sure feedback is received before design phases begin.
As for internal communication, he says he's only spoken with Cromer twice by telephone since he was elected last December. Dialogue between individual council members and the mayor, he says, is important to make sure everybody is on the same page. "I don't think we're working well as a team because we are not communicating," he says.
Cromer says the city is improving its public outreach. The response to the King Street work helped to drive that change, he says. "I think sometimes we tend to think we know what they want and that's not always the case," Cromer said. Deputy City Manager JJ Sauve, Cromer said, has worked closely with the neighborhood to address their concerns.
Cromer also says the city is now taking more public comment with a recent change to the public comment period at meetings in which the public can now comment at the beginning and the close of meetings. "We're encouraging public engagement," he said.
As for calling individual City Council members, says Cromer, "he's right. Maybe I should do that." When he first became mayor, he said, it took time to adjust to the role, which he said was much more demanding than he thought it would be. At the same time, Cromer added, when it comes to communicating with council members away from official meetings, there are open meeting laws to consider when discussing city business and "we do have work sessions and we do talk and people do know where we're coming from."
Addressing the Waterfront Park infrastructure problems and the city's stormwater drainage challenges are why he's running for a second full term because "you can't get anything done in 11 months," Cromer says.
"We're just getting started," Cromer said.
