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Residents press council on Elbit Systems incentives; Kiawah Conservancy clarifies gravesite concerns
Summary
Members of the public urged Charleston County Council on Jan. 14 to end county incentives for Elbit Systems; other speakers defended the company as a local employer. The Kiawah Conservancy clarified that a questioned parcel does not encroach on a nearby church cemetery and pledged to protect any burial sites.
A string of public comments at the Jan. 14 Charleston County meeting focused on a dispute over Elbit Systems and on a separate land-preservation question.
Members of the Elbit Out of South Carolina coalition and other residents urged the council to reconsider financial incentives and local agreements with Elbit Systems, which several speakers said supplies weapons used in conflicts abroad. Alfred Peeler told the council the coalition has staged weekly pickets and that coalition members had been struck by a car during protests; he said the group had filed police reports and asked for a meeting with Chairman Kylan Middleton. "We can't ignore this pretend like our county is not subsidizing a genocide when it is," Peeler said.
Other speakers echoed the same demand. Julian Bergeron said Elbit's presence diverted public funds that could otherwise support schools, transportation and affordable housing. Matt Mossberg described specific weapons he said were made at the Charleston facility and called for the county to reconsider incentives.
Representing the Charleston Jewish Federation, Brandon Fish urged restraint in protests and defended Elbit as a local employer and part of the county's aerospace and defense manufacturing base. Fish said the company had invested about $30 million in the community and would employ roughly 300 people at the Charleston facility. "They're great people," Fish said, adding that incentives are an industry tool to reduce tax burdens and encourage local job creation.
Speakers on both sides requested meetings with council leadership. Several public-commenters said they had emailed council members without receiving responses and asked for a direct conversation with the chair.
Separately, Collie Farrell of the Kiawah Conservancy read a letter clarifying that the conservancy does not believe its property at 4346 Betsy Carson Parkway encroaches on the Greater Saint John's AME Church graveyard and said the conservancy would study and protect any burial sites on its holdings. "To the best of both the conservancy's and the church's knowledge, no graves belonging to the Greater Saint John's AME Church are located on the property at 4346 Betsy Carson Parkway," Farrell read.
Ending: Chairman Middleton invited those who requested meetings to contact the clerk to schedule time with him; several speakers said they would follow up with the clerk.
