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Former Bluffton mayor praises growth, recounts origins of Palmetto Bluff barn project
Summary
Lisa Salka, former mayor of Bluffton, described how the town acquired and transformed a locally known barn site into a community asset, credited staff and partners for negotiations, and placed local growth in the context of statewide population gains.
Lisa Salka, the former mayor of Bluffton, reflected on the town's recent growth and the history behind a prominent Palmetto Bluff barn during an interview on the Beaufort County reports program.
Salka said she was mayor when the project first took shape in what she described as the "1718" period and that the parcel was long known in the community for its barn and its location near the riverside area of Palmetto Bluff. "Everyone knew this land because of the barn," she said, and she told the host there had been "a lot of behind the scenes work with the county and even the state to possibly turn this into condos," framing earlier development proposals that were ultimately not pursued.
She credited town staff and local partners for the acquisition and redevelopment. Salka specifically praised Town Manager Mark Orlando for working "with Palmetto Bluff for us to purchase this," and said staff creativity shaped the final outcome: "Pat Rooney's thumbprint is on every inch of this," she said.
Salka recounted an internal debate about how quickly to develop the site. She said some council members favored a phased approach while then-Mayor Toomer advocated financing and building the project all at once. "We just disagreed really on how fast we can build it out," she said.
Placing local change in a broader context, Salka cited Gov. McMaster, saying "80,000 new people moved here last year in our state," and argued that population growth has contributed to Bluffton's expansion. She praised the current council for attempting to balance growth with quality-of-life considerations, calling the area discussed "the largest growth area in probably the county."
The interview closed with mutual appreciation between Salka and the host; no formal actions, votes or policy decisions were taken during the segment.
Salka's comments were personal recollections and attributions to local officials; the statistic she relayed and the references to earlier development proposals were presented as claims in the interview and were not independently verified on air.
