The State of West Ashley

When Charleston City Counciliman Keith Waring speaks Wednesday, Aug. 24  to the West Ashley-James Island Business Association (WAJIBA), he’ll present four bullet points.
First of all, Waring expects to kick off a thorny questions-and-answers session after he talks about “integrity” in the process of putting together a West Ashley Revitalization Commission.
Waring will put nominees “on notice” that their work best be focused on what’s best for West Ashley, and not for themselves.
Second, Waring will delve into the coming TIF, or tax increment-financing zone, that will redirect close to $70 million in collected municipal tax revenues from the West Ashley area back to the Sam Rittenberg commercial corridor.
He will stress that the TIF, while not an increase, will be an opportunity for locals in West Ashley to get more involved in the direction of the area’s revitalization. “This is not an opportunity for people to just cross their arms,” he says.
Waring wants to see the kind of organization and involvement he bumps up against on the peninsula take root in West Ashley.
“Currently, there is no group on this side of the river like the Historical Society, or the Preservation Society; those groups, including the Ansonborough Neighborhood Association, are well organized and add to the dialogue” between citizens and City Hall,” he says.
Waring’s fourth admonition will be that West Ashley should “not settle” for anything other than best practices and City Hall’s full attention. Randolph Park, near Stono Elementary, has been passed over for a decade for uplift.
Additionally, West Ashleyians should no longer “settle” for utility fees paid to the city not going to put power lines underground. “That way, when you come here, our main roads would have been lined with majestic oaks.”
Councilman Keith Waring speaks to WAJIBA on Wednesday, Aug. 24 from 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m.  at Bessinger’s BBQ , located at 1602 Savannah Hwy. Cost is free for WAJIBA members and $20 for non-members and includes a buffett lunch. For more information, visit www.wajiba.org or email wajibiz@gmail.com