Business View Magazine | May 2019

278 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE MAY 2019 our number-one issue right now is storm water and flooding issues, which started really heavily three years ago with Hurricane Matthew. We are now in the process of addressing nine major storm water and flooding areas throughout the city. The major concern is an 800-acre drainage area known as Mossy Oaks. We have all our engineering and funding in place, but for the next two to three years, after we have final approval from the Army Corps of Engineers, DHEC (Department of Health and Environmental Control), and all the other regulators, we will move forward with, basically, mitigating a lot of the flood damages we have.” That speaks to short-term infrastructure, but long-term planning is also in progress to address overall issues facing the city. A recently concluded program called “Beaufort 2030” involved 94 participants in two brainstorming sessions over two months, where they discussed the trends, the threats, and major issues facing the city. Among those invited to take part were middle school, high school, and college students, teachers, principals, company presidents, major developers, the dean of the university, head of the technical college, and local healthcare specialists – a full cross-section of the community, along with Beaufort city councilors, and area politicians. Seven key needs emerged from Beaufort 2030: 1. To increase the number of affordable housing units (workforce housing) in the city. 2. To increase