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- Two years plus now since COVID had redefined our way of life, our business, and in general, all public affairs and private issues.

I'm Chris William, and welcome again to the most widely watched and longest running program on Carolina business, policy and public affairs seen each and every week across the Carolinas for 30 years now, and this week is no different.

We will unpack those things that are issues of the day.

Later on, we are joined by the chief executive of one of the most cultural and oldest cities in the country, as well as the Carolinas.

Mayor John Tecklenburg from Charleston joins us, and we start right now.

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The Duke Endowment, a private foundation enriching communities in the Carolinas through higher education, healthcare, rural churches and children's services.

(lively music) On this edition of Carolina Business Review, Patrick Woodie of the NC Rural Center, Karen Riordan from the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce, and special guest Mayor John Tecklenburg of Charleston.

(lively music) - Hello, and welcome again to our program.

Karen, Patrick, good to see you both.

Thank you for joining us.

Happy Spring.

Hope you all are doing well.

- [Karen] Happy Spring.

- And to you.

- Karen, I'll start with you, because I have these, it's almost PTSD of gridlock on Highway 501 heading into Myrtle Beach and the Grand Strand during this time of the year.

I know that's probably the last thing you want to hear as a chamber exec, but it has happened in the past.

So it seems like the decades-long dialogue around an I-73 interstate going into Myrtle Beach is actually taking shape.

Do you feel like this is actually going to unfold now?

- Yes Chris, we are feeling really hopeful.

As you said, this has been a long journey, but I think that it's just been a total understanding I think that maybe coming out of the COVID era has actually pushed this more to the forefront that as we plan for the growth that we're having in South Carolina, particularly here along the coast, infrastructure is a huge issue.

And Secretary Hall has a huge goal and job in front of her, not just with the creation of a new interstate like I-73, but of course making sure the 95 exchange coming out of North Carolina is strong.

I-26 is also on the list, so we do believe that roads and infrastructure overall, to create better mobility to reduce that traffic congestion is absolutely on the forefront of a lot of people's minds, not just our delegation here in the Grand Strand, but throughout the state.

So we're feeling hopeful that we'll be able to secure some state funding.

We've got pledges of local funding from both in Myrtle Beach and the city of North Myrtle Beach, so we're excited about that.

Of course, that will also allow us then to go after grants.

We'll be able to go after raise grants at the federal level to match some of that money to actually bring it to fruition.

- You know Karen, and just one more quick word on that.

What you talk about is more than hope.

It seems like there are real concrete plans now, and many people would blame the State House in Columbia that there was a will, but there really wasn't a way to get the funding.

Is it accurate to say that the majority of the funding looks like it's actually going to happen?

- Yeah, I think that is accurate.

I think it's there, and again, we've just been in such a great position as a state.

Obviously, we have been able like other states to receive American Rescue Plan Act money, but I think it's just that the policy that we've had as a state has allowed us to come out of COVID strong so that we have surplus.

And so of course, ways and means and Senate finance have hard decisions to make, but the dollars are actually there to put towards priorities like roads, like tax reform, education reform, and other things that have been a priority, but haven't always had the funding mechanism apparent for them.

So I think we are feeling like this is the year that we could actually really see this come to fruition.

We've had a permit now since 2017 by the federal government, so my fervent hope is that we actually turn dirt later this year in 2022 and start building this.

I know our friends in North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, all the way up to the Canadian border, we sit on a coalition together and they are doing the same thing in their states as well.

North Carolina is way ahead of us.

They have most of of 73, 74 built, but we like to join them up there at the Rockingham Exchange with 73 South Carolina and actually get this party started.

So we think it's gonna be huge for the state of South Carolina to have this interstate.

- Patrick, come on in the dialogue here and let's shift a little bit from transportation as Karen just talked about the transportation corridor.

Let's look at another one of the big bugaboos, if you will, that is facing both Carolinas, and that's the idea of Medicaid expansion.

Both General Assemblies have really given the Heisman to taking these federal dollars.

Is there a shift, is there a thawing in the possibility of North Carolina's General Assembly actually accepting these dollars in the near term?

- Yeah, it's been a long road to try to get us to Medicaid expansion.

We're one of only 11 states, I guess South Carolina included in that 11, that haven't expanded Medicaid yet.

I believe in North Carolina we're closer than we've ever been.

There's a joint committee that's been appointed of both the House and the Senate that have been holding hearings over the last couple of months.

We were invited to make a presentation to that joint committee.

What I see is real momentum building toward expanding Medicaid in North Carolina.

I think a lot of the issues that were at the forefront of preventing that from happening before have been addressed or have gone away as major issues.

I'm more optimistic than I've ever been, but we're not across the finish line yet.

It would close a coverage gap in North Carolina that affects about 600,000 North Carolinians, and among that group, that group is disproportionately rural.

So the rural center has a real interest in seeing us get across the finish line.

It would make a huge economic impact on our rural communities.

- Another important element here is the idea of broadband access as you talk about Medicaid and Karen, as you talk about transportation.

Both of you all know that this broadband access has been a challenge to say the least, but it seems like there's money, there's a will, and it seems like a win for everyone.

Karen, let me start with you.

Broadband access in rural South Carolina, is it just trying to figure out policy around hanging on utility poles?

Is that what we're down to?

Is that it?

- Yeah, I think there are a lot of the most technical issues, yes, but again, we couldn't have a bigger supporter in South Carolina than Representative Jim Clyburn.

There's not a conversation I have with Jim Clyburn that isn't about broadband and how important it is for all the citizens of South Carolina.

So it's not gonna directly affect the Grand Strand because we're not rural.

We do have access.

We've got good supply here in terms of distribution and partners, but as we go further into even our county that Myrtle Beach sits in, of Horry County, and go further out to the rural parts of South Carolina, it is a huge issue.

It definitely sets a table for us to be able to provide again better educational platforms for our students, which is still a huge priority I think for every business owner in the state, because educating our kids is critical.

That is our future workforce, and if there's one topic that I hear more about than anything else in 2021 and so far in 2022, it's workforce and the future and making sure our kids are educated and ready to enter that workforce.

And so broadband is a big, big place at the table to help enable what we need to happen in education.

- So Patrick, in about a minute, let's give you the final word, at least before we bring our guest in.

Is it as simple as just trying to figure out policy around allowing on utility poles, and is that more of a distract and redirect when it comes to partisan politics?

Is that what it's down to?

- Well, there's a lot of partisan, not partisan politics, but there's a lot of politics that are caught up in the pole attachment issue.

I would say that's not the major obstacle.

The real obstacle is making sure there's accountability built into the system that as communities support applications by private providers to provide last mile service in unserved or underserved areas, that we build that accountability into the system so that we're actually building the infrastructure and not just moving the dollars to the bottom line of a big for-profit provider.

And that's an issue, quite frankly, and one of the things we're doing at the Rural Center is helping communities know how to negotiate those agreements.

They are signing on to support applications to the state for last mile projects.

It is actually the internet service provider that makes that application, but they need to do so in partnership with a local government and in this case, counties.

We're really working to educate the counties on how to go about making those agreements in a way that guarantees they get the end result that they want.

We have far too many parts of rural North Carolina that are unserved or underserved, and we have a lot of interest and a lot of interesting partnerships that are coming together in our state among cooperatives, both telephone cooperatives and electric cooperatives and for-profit companies and a lot of small ISP companies, so I'm really optimistic.

- I was just gonna ask you that, just to wind it up in 10 seconds.

Are you optimistic there's going to be a solution in the near term?

- I am, and even on pole attachments, we've got a solution.

Our General Assembly put $100 million Pole Attachment Fund in place that won't last forever, but it does provide a solution for the immediate future.

- It is hard not to be in love with the Holy City.

Who doesn't like the culture of Charleston?

Who doesn't like the fact that it personifies Low Country and drips Southern style and culture?

We welcome now the Chief Executive Officer of sorts of the city of Charleston, Mayor John Tecklenberg.

Your Honor, welcome to the program and thank you for joining us.

- So glad to be with you, Chris.

Thank you.

- Sir, let's start with what you have laid out as a top priority, and that's the idea of flooding, of drainage.

What has changed over the last few years that has made this public enemy number one for you?

- Well, the realization that sea level rise is actually happening, it's real, and then the combination of extreme weather that we've seen year after year.

It wasn't my fault, but after I got elected, it seemed like we had a hurricane come every year.

There was Matthew, there was Irma, there was Michael, there was Florence.

In addition, let me share that we've been measuring the sea level in Charleston Harbor for over 100 years, and during that period, we've actually measured an average sea level rise increase of about 14 inches.

Now that doesn't sound like a lot, but listen to this.

Over the last 20 years, the rate of increase has quadrupled so that half of that increase really came in the last 20 years, and NOAA just recently confirmed the projections that in the next 50 years that we will see another foot to foot and half increase.

So when you're the Low Country and you've already got tidal flooding occurring at high tides and closing off city streets, this becomes an existential threat if you think about the future in the next 50 to 100 years, and I'm not gonna be the mayor to sound the retreat call to the hills, to head for the hills.

We're gonna protect this city.

We love Charleston.

It's such a beautiful place.

It is worth protecting, and that's why this issue has really risen to the top.

- I don't want to characterize this darkly, but it's a bit like whistling past the graveyard when you look at the example of what's going on in New Orleans for one, certainly the Mississippi Delta.

Are you optimistic that Charleston leadership, Low Country, will be able to manage this to keep Charleston the way it is?

- I am, because we started strategies a few years ago that included building the projects for drainage, finding the resources, the money and the expertise, including the Friends of the Dutch, and also the Corp of Engineers to help us to setting policies so that in the City of Charleston, new development and redevelopment will do no harm to neighboring properties or to properties in their drainage basin.

And importantly, involving our citizens.

We can all store water, have rain gardens, have cisterns and make a difference in stormwater management.

It's a function of learning to live with water and managing water, but also at the same time, you gotta do some infrastructure protection at the same time.

- Karen, question?

- Well thank you, Mayor, and I think again, your economy, like the economy of the Grand Strand is very dependent on tourism, so I'd love your thoughts on how you think these proactive measures that you're taking with sea level rise and flooding.

What does that mean, do you think, for the future of tourism in Charleston and Low Country?

- Well, as I say, flooding is an existential threat, not just to people that live here, but to people that visit.

I mean, you're not gonna have tourism if people are out wading in the water, right?

So that's why all the measures that we're taking, the policies we're setting, will make a difference long term.

Right now, the little city of Charleston is spending a $100 million this year, that's a lot of money for a city our size, on drainage improvements, everything from deep tunnel systems to collect water and pump it out into the harbor to elevating the battery, to creating parks, West Ashley, that will retain and store more water, to doing maintenance on the old archway tunnel system that was put in place starting back in the 1840s.

It was the city's first sewer system.

We are fortifying it and reconnecting it to the storm water system to improve drainage.

So we got all these things going at the same time, and the long term is to protect our city, not just for tourism, but for us been heres that live here.

- Absolutely, for your citizens.

- Thank you, Patrick?

- Mayor, it's a pleasure to meet you, and you drive a very large and growing economy there in Charleston that reaches that out and has tentacles that reaches the suburban areas and in the rural areas.

I attended a conference at Duke University this past Monday, really focused on exploring and understanding the connections within metropolitan areas between the real core urban parts and the further out, more remote, rural parts of the region.

I wonder if you could just speak to the connections that Charleston has to the more remote, less densely populated rural areas.

I imagine workforce healthcare delivery are some of the issues that are really important.

- Well thank you, Patrick.

And really, we talk about tourism a lot in Charleston, but really there are five pillars of our economy.

And the first one is the best port, natural port, on the east coast of the United States.

It connects not just Charleston, but South Carolina to the world.

And in fact, they claim that one in 10 jobs in the state of South Carolina, rural areas included, can be tied to port activity.

Second, our medical services here led by the Medical University are a major component of our economy.

In fact, the hospital district of Charleston is the highest density employment per acre, certainly within our metro area, but I would bet probably as high as any place in the state.

So as you know, the Medical University is reaching out to other towns and cities and extending their healthcare network throughout the state.

Thirdly, good old government funding is still strong in the local economy here, but notably joint-based Charleston.

Our air force base combined with the other armed services has a $12 billion impact on the local economy, and we can't thank enough our men and women who serve our country and the veteran population that has settled here in Charleston.

So that's third.

Fourth, and who would've guessed it 25 years ago when they closed the naval base, that manufacturing has really come back to Charleston.

Of course, the big examples are Boeing and Volvo and Mercedes, but this has created thousands of high paying, good jobs for our area that again not only impact the local economy, but they sell their products worldwide.

So lastly, tourism.

We've become a number one rated city in all these magazines and we love the great benefits that has brought to our city.

You wouldn't have the restaurant scene that we have in Charleston if this tourism hadn't occurred.

So there are many benefits.

There are some challenges.

We have to manage tourism when it gets to a level that it's at in Charleston.

But I gotta tell you, after COVID, we bounced back faster than I think any destination market in the United States.

We focused on regional tourism.

Our hotel occupancy has been back, pre-COVID levels for some time now.

Our average daily rate for hotels is actually 20% higher than it was before the pandemic.

Charleston is alive and happening.

This weekend, we've got the Cooper River Bridge Run, the women's tennis tournament.

Summerville has the Flower Town Festival.

We're a happening place.

If you haven't been down here lately, come and visit.

- I don't think that's gonna be lost on many people.

A couple of program notes.

One of our panelists, I'd ask you all to turn the volume down on your machines.

We're hearing a little bit of feedback.

The other thing is this program, for you who are watching this program, is being recorded the weekend of April first and second, so our comments are our perspective of that weekend.

Let me come back to something Mayor, as you talked about COVID, and we are all now mostly out of the triage mode of reacting to what this public health crisis was.

Charleston, as it always does, historically goes through changes.

Two years ago, there were protests.

There was violence on King Street and in downtown, and it was scary, and I know it was for those of you that live in the Low Country.

What have you learned about this balance between public safety and racial equity?

What's come of that?

- Well, they're not mutually exclusive.

You have to embrace racial equity and racial conciliation, and we as a city have done that.

In fact, we even apologized a few years ago for the city's direct role in the administration of slavery in our city, and that could be another day, another topic.

It would blow your mind how in the weeds the city of Charleston was in managing and controlling the institution of slavery.

That being said, we did not fall into the trap of other cities around this country and the hogwash of talking about defunding the police.

In fact, we've increased our police and fire budget every year over the last six years.

We now annually spend $10 million more per year on police, $12 million more on fire than we did when I first became mayor.

We have excellent leadership in Chief Luther Reynolds, and I'm knocking on wood as I'm telling you this, but this year, unlike many cities in America, our violent crime year to date here in 2022 is down 17%.

Our nonviolent crime is down 21%.

We are doing community policing, and part of that is because we have built trust.

We did a racial bias audit of our police department and the way they were operating three years ago and making those kinds of improvements to build trust with the community, and that leads to better public safety when you have trust with all segments of your citizens.

- We have about three minutes left, Karen.

- Workforce, I'd love to talk a little bit about that.

I think we mentioned earlier in this segment just how important our future is tied to our children and their education, but also the ability to attract the workers that we need in Charleston but throughout our whole state.

I'd love, Mayor, for you to touch a little bit on that and some of the strategies that your administration's looking at to attract great talent and keep great talent in the Low Country.

- Well thank you, Karen.

I think the best way to attract talent is having a great quality of life, and that's what we continue to focus on in Charleston and having such a beautiful place in the Low Country, working on our parks and making Charleston an even more livable space is really what attracts the talent that we've been seeing coming to Charleston.

From an economic development point of view, we started to Charleston a digital corridor some years ago.

We now brag that we have 800 technology companies over the last, I guess it's been 15 years now that have located to Charleston, driving up salaries.

The average wage of our digital corridor companies is now over $100,000 per year compared to hospitality employment.

- We have about a minute left, Mayor.

- So focusing on that quality of life really attracts the talent, and then focusing on those businesses that are technology, life sciences, we've got a separate life science initiative going on as well as software and technology, and trying to improve the income and quality of life of our citizens.

I think that's the ticket long term, although everybody's gotta acknowledge there's workforce challenges right now after COVID finding employees.

- Mayor, thank you.

We didn't get a chance to unpack your economic development background during the city and bring some of that out through affordable housing, so please come back.

- Oh, I'd love to.

Thank you, Chris.

Thank you for having me.

Thank you, panelists.

- Absolutely.

Mayor, thank you, Patrick, good to see you.

Karen, always good to see you.

Until next week, I'm Chris William, and we hope your business and your weekend are good.

Goodnight.

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