There’s been lots of back and forth over the last week about the location of the new James Island library, a story first featured in last week’s issue of Charleston Currents.
The current James Island Public Library.
At issue is whether the new library, to be built with part of the revenues from a $108 million bond referendum passed overwhelmingly by county residents, should be in a location recommended by the library board of trustees or in a non-central island location on South Grimball Road backed by county council.
Some folks want the library to be built at the library board’s number one recommended location — on six acres of property along Dills Bluff Road just a stone’s throw away from the existing small Camp Road library. This location, on property gained for free by the James Island Public Service District, apparently will be discussed tonight during a commissioners’ meeting. At issue: Whether to sell it to the library at a reasonable cost.
The library board’s back-up location is an empty 20,000-square-foot storefront next to the Bi-Lo grocery store on Folly Road. Like the Dills Bluff property, it’s centrally located and would serve a dense population. Advocates point to advantages, such as infrastructure already in place and cost savings. Detractors don’t want a library in a shopping center.
The third location, which was not recommended by the library board, is on South Grimball Road next to James Island Elementary School. Backed by people in the neighborhood, it is at the south end of the island, which would make it a haul for people north of the James Island Expressway. It’s also got half of the density of the other locations.
County council is expected to make a decision on June 16. More.
In other news:
Legislature’s Year of the Turtle. Some believe it’s pretty good news that the General Assembly got comparatively little done during its 2015 session. It hasn’t finished with a budget. It didn’t deal with billions of dollars of road needs. Ethics reform is still undone. The list goes on. Check out Statehouse Report’s analysis of what got done, what isn’t done and what’s lingering in the quicksand.
New president. Joseph D. Harbaugh, past dean of two law schools, is the Charleston School of Law’s new interim president. He will oversee day-to-day operations of the recently restructured law school.
“I am delighted Dean Harbaugh is willing to bring his decades of experience in legal education to the Charleston School of Law and I am excited at the opportunity to work closely with him to ensure a bright future for our school,” said Charleston School of Law Dean Andy Abrams. “Not only did he successfully lead two law schools for over 20 years, Dean Harbaugh has held key leadership positions in the American Bar Association and the Association of American Law Schools. He brings a remarkable breadth and depth of knowledge of legal education that will benefit all of us associated with the law school, as we move into our second decade of providing a high quality, hands-on legal education.”
Accreditation. The Advanced Wound Care Centers at Trident and Summerville Medical Centers have each earned a clinical hyperbaric medicine facility accreditation demonstrating their commitment to patient care and facility safety, according to a news release. This voluntary accreditation indicates Trident Health’s high performance standards in general and hyperbaric medicine programs.
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