GOOD NEWS: County to replace Folly Beach pier

Staff reports  |   The 1,045-foot-long Folly Beach Fishing Pier will be replaced by Charleston County Parks to allow the icon to continue to serve the community.  Construction is expected to start later this year.

“The 24-year-old Folly Beach Pier, while still currently safe for visitors, is deteriorating, its wooden piles impacted by marine boring worms,” according to a press release.  The parks department began dive inspections of the pier pilings in 2013, and encapsulated many of the piles over the past five years in an effort to strengthen them, kill the worms and maintain the integrity of the pier. The walkway has been continually inspected as well.

Though the pier has been determined safe for use at this time by consultants, the pile deterioration is a continuous process that cannot be stopped. Wooden timber pile piers typically have an average life expectancy of 20-25 years. As the Folly Beach Pier reaches the end of its life, the agency has begun planning to remove the existing structure to replace it with a new pier.

According to the county, the replacement of the Folly Beach Pier is in the design development phase. The agency  filed an initial permit with the state Office of Coastal Resource Management (OCRM) and the Army Corps of Engineers in April. The new pier will still have all of the elements visitors love about the existing pier, including fishing stations, places to watch the sunset and the beloved Moonlight Mixer dance series. The design of the new Folly Beach Pier is still being finalized and will be shared with the public in the near future.

The walkway section of the pier will be closed for 18 months to 22 months during the walkway construction phase. During all phases of the project, the Pier 101 restaurant, the Folly Pier gift shop and restroom facilities are expected to remain open for normal operations. The rectangular deck area behind these facilities will remain open during walkway construction. During the construction, which could begin as early as later this year, access around and under the pier will also be restricted as heavy equipment and construction materials are loaded onto the pier. About a third of the pier’s parking lot may be impacted during construction as well.

Fishing from and events on the pier will be impacted. The Folly Beach Pier will still host the following events in 2019 prior to the space closing for construction: Moonlight Mixers (May 24, June 21, July 26, Aug. 16 and Sept. 13); and the Cast Off Fishing Tournament (May 25 and June 22).

• More information:  Charleston County Parks.

In recent Good News:

Hat tip to MUSC.  Congratulations to MUSC Dr. Kathleen T. Brady, who this month was awarded the 2019 Governor’s Award for Excellence in Science by Gov. Henry McMaster.  As vice president for Research and Distinguished University Professor, Brady has dedicated 30 years of service to MUSC addressing evidence-based treatments for alcohol and drug addiction as well as common co-occurring psychiatric disorders such as post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and bipolar disorder in civilians and military veterans.

Hat tip to C of C.  Five students and graduates at the College of Charleston have received Fulbright scholarships for the second year in a row, making the college as a “top producer” of the coveted award.  Congratulations to this year’s winners: Jolie Hiers ’18, an Honors College graduate who majored in foreign language education and Spanish; Sophie Kreutz, also in the Honors College who is a marine biology major with minors in studio art, Spanish and chemistry; Hillary McLaurin, who is a double major in computer information systems and German; Alexandra Helfgott, another Honors College student and a political science and Spanish double major; and Haley Moore, also an Honors College student double majoring in psychology and Spanish with a minor in linguistics.

Jazz residency.  Middle school and high school students with one year of music experience can sign up for the Youth Jazz Orchestra Camp, which is a week-long residency with performer Charleton Singleton at the Charleston Gaillard Center.  He and seven guest teachers will promote mastery of jazz and teach its history. Students will learn about improvisation, jazz standards and jazz styles. Cost: $250, with scholarships available. More info.

End of session looms.  Out of the thousands of bills filed this year by state legislators, less than four dozen have been ratified into law, reports Lindsay Street for our sister publication, Statehouse Report.  That might have some wags smiling with thoughts of lawmakers following the medical axiom of Hippocrates (“First, do no harm.”)  But with three days left in the session, there’s still a lot lawmakers can do, as reported in this detailed story.