Energy
Nobody works harder for Beaufort than Mike Sutton. His hands-on approach to problem-solving is the first thing you notice about Mike.
Take this year’s Block-By-Block program for restoration in the Northwest Quadrant, for instance. For years, our City was ineffective in finding a way to work with low- to moderate-income residents in our Historic District. Finding a process to upgrade housing that was deteriorating, barely habitable, and often unsafe was as much a challenge of coordination and expertise as it was one of dollars.
But seeing a problem means nothing without the energy and courage to tackle it head-on.
Beaufort was fortunate to receive a $1 million grant from the South Carolina Department of Housing and matched it with $100,000 of city funds and the promise of a lot of sweat equity. But there was no project management, no one to evaluate the work, no one to oversee contractors and materials suppliers, and no one to coordinate the Habitat for Humanity volunteers and Beaufort-area church members who made up Project Operation Good Neighbor. Worse yet, municipal red-tape seemed likely to doom the initiative. Reconciling Beaufort’s contemporary building code and sanitary standards with its Historic District preservation aims appeared insurmountable.
Mike Sutton saw the problem and began volunteering with Habitat on Saturday mornings in late February. It quickly became clear that someone had to step in and manage the entire process. For the next four months, Mike visited area neighborhoods, building credibility with residents, crawling under houses to see what could be saved, and negotiating with local workers and contractors to get the maximum impact out of every dollar committed, then making sure they could make payrolls on-time. By the time a small army of student volunteers from churches all over the country showed up in mid-June to paint and finish the work, dozens of roofs had been replaced, foundations rebuilt, unsafe houses demolished, and our neighborhood blocks were beginning to turn the corner.
This was a proud moment for Beaufort and represents the skills, energy, determination and character of Mike Sutton. On November 4, will you demand anything less in your next Mayor?
