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Hilton Head leaders narrow strategic priorities to infrastructure, growth and safety after two‑day workshop
Summary
At a two‑day strategic workshop, Hilton Head Island council and staff trimmed a 51‑item plan into nine candidate priorities — with infrastructure/stormwater, growth management (LMO), corridors and public safety drawing the strongest council support — and asked staff to produce a draft strategic framework tied to budget and CIP planning.
Hilton Head Island’s town council and staff finished a two‑day strategic planning workshop with a notably shorter list of candidate priorities and clear next steps for staff to turn discussion into a draft plan. The session, led by consultant Matt Horne and Town Manager Mark Orlando, reduced the sprawling 51‑item plan to nine focus areas and instructed staff to prepare tactics and a draft framework for an April review ahead of FY2026 budget decisions.
“We made a $25,000,000 investment,” Orlando said, underscoring the stakes of decisions about partnerships and land use as he described the town’s public investments and ongoing projects. Horne, the facilitator, pressed council to focus on outcomes and team governance, telling members that “trust is vulnerability without fear of repercussions” and urging the group to define measurable success for each strategy.
Why it matters: Council members repeatedly told staff they want priorities that are fundable and measurable. Workshop exercises that let each member place dots next to priority placards produced clear clustering: infrastructure and stormwater, managing growth (including Land Management Ordinance updates), enhanced corridors/streets and public safety received the strongest immediate support. Council asked staff to return with a draft strategic framework that ties those priorities to a funded capital improvement program and concrete timelines.
What happened: Orlando reviewed projects that generated discussion in the first day — from a bid on the Modern Classic Motors site intended to advance health‑care facilities on the island to the town‑owned Jonesville equestrian stables, which staff propose leasing. The group discussed the underused USCB campus and the town’s TIF investment; Orlando said the property has an operational agreement with a reverter clause and recommended legal review before further action.
Public comment: Residents pressed elected officials on environment and public health topics, including integrated pest management and protection for sea turtles and marshes. “We need a true integrated pest management policy,” Pamela Evans told council during public comment. Advocates for pesticide safeguards and park improvements said the town must move from policy to implementation.
What’s next: Staff will catalog council’s action items and tactical requests, then draft a strategic framework that pairs selected priorities with projected timelines, funding and staff assignments. Orlando said staff would aim to present a draft for council review in April so the plan can inform FY2026 budget and CIP decisions.
The workshop adjourned with no formal votes; council members said the dot exercise was a guiding tool to prioritize staff work and not a final adoption of policy.
