On January 11th, Mayor Tecklenburg addressed a full house at Gage Hall organized by the local grassroots organization Groundswell! Check out their new website.

In attendance at the packed meeting was County Councilman Dickie Schweers, as well as City Councilman Mike Seekings. The Mayor spoke of current City (flood mitigation) efforts and admitted to needing to do better. He also informed the room that construction on the Low Battery seawall will begin this year. Dana Beach, of the Coastal Conservation League, urged Mayor Tecklenburg to consider tapping into funds generated by the recent ½ cent sales tax. Beach suggested these funds as the the most readily available amount of substantial funds currently within reach–a point received well by nearly all in attendance.

The day before, The Society held the initial meeting of its own Flood Task Force bringing together organizations and industry leaders to advance action on this complex issue. Flood mitigation is an incredibly complex issue that affects everyone that lives and works in the City of Charleston. There is no bigger issue facing our community. Everything, from our municipal bond rating to our capacity to develop economically to our quality of life, depends on our ability to stay ahead of and ultimately address the impacts of flooding. Charleston needs to recognize the importance of this issue and unite in the push for action now.