Beaufort City Council: Incumbent Mike McFee says ‘citizen safety’ one of his top issues
Public safety issues and concerns are among the top priorities for Mike McFee, one of five candidates running for two seats on the Beaufort City Council.
McFee, an incumbent councilman, was first elected to the City Council in November 2008 and was reelected in 2012 and 2016. McFee lost a reelection bid in 2020 but voters returned him to the council in a 2021 special election called to fill the remaining two years of Stephen Murray’s term after he was elected mayor 2020.
The longtime councilman is the mayor pro tem, serving as mayor in the absence of the mayor.
A Beaufort native, McFee, 63, graduated from Beaufort High School and earned a bachelor’s degree in biology and business from the University of South Carolina. He has been a real estate broker with HomeTown Realty for 30 years.
He previously served on the city’s Tourism Management Advisory Commission and the city’s Waterway Commission. He is chairman of the board for Alzheimer’s Family Services of Greater Beaufort, and trustee with Carteret Street United Methodist Church. He is the past chairman of the board for the Greater Beaufort Chamber of Commerce, past president of the Beaufort Jasper County Realtors Association, past chair of the University of South Carolina Small Business Development Center Advisory Board, and past chair of the Palmetto Chapter American Red Cross.
Candidates received questionnaires from The Island Packet and The Beaufort Gazette and their answers were limited to 150 words:
What’s the most-pressing issue facing the city?
Safety issues/concerns in the city, and retention of the police force. Sustainable economic development, to include the progressive diversity and expansion of our economic base. The management of inevitable growth and protection of our precious natural resources, and an efficient, transparent and accessible staff and governance. Better access to affordable and workforce housing. Better intergovernmental relations regionally.
What are your top issues in the campaign?
Citizen safety, affordable housing and intelligent growth management.
Development and maintaining Beaufort’s historic areas can collide at times. What is your position on development vs. historic preservation?
Our Landmark Historic District is the jewel of our community. The historic, cultural and architectural significance makes us unique and exceptional. There is space for intelligent expansion and infill redevelopment within the district. We have oversight, codes and ordinances, that with the cooperation of our historic partners, afford us the opportunity for compatible, appropriate infill and redevelopment.
Affordable housing is an issue throughout Beaufort County. What should the city do in response, if anything?
In recent years we have been seeking opportunity to work with Beaufort Housing Authority in growing and expanding opportunity for affordable housing. To that end, in cooperation with the county, we launched an affordable housing task force to identify factual analysis and resolutions.
The City has joined the regional housing trust to help address the growing need for affordable and workforce housing, both through rental and home ownership. Local jurisdictions have committed 3% of American Rescue Plan funds to the trust, with ongoing support agreed to for the next 10 years. The city will continue to leverage opportunities to expand availability. Sadly, as a Realtor, I recognize the heightened market exacerbates the cost and availability of affordable land and materials.
What do you think of Safe Harbor Marinas’ plans to expand and improve the Beaufort Marina?
Safe Harbor, as the tenant operator of the City’s Marina, was tasked and willing to make improvements to the infrastructure of the marina. “I feel the proposed expansion is far larger and the impact far greater than appropriate for our waterfront. Recognizing the waiting list and need for added available space, I think a combination of reorganization of existing structure and outward expansion could provide for the needed shortages, without the scale proposed.
Several shooting incidents have occurred in Beaufort neighborhoods in the past year. Is there anything more the city can do in response to these incidents?
There is always more than can be done. Sadly, in several of the cases, witnesses have been few and/or resistant to helping police identify participants. Police work hard to resolve the situation, but we are all partners in helping make a safer community. The city has plans to incorporate more surveillance cameras in the city, and are currently working with Dominion Energy for placement on appropriate poles to expand monitoring around the city.
What can the city do to diversify its economy and bring more jobs to Beaufort?
The city has partnered with Beaufort County Economic Development Corp. and with ownership in the Commerce Park to strive to diversify the economic base with new employment opportunities. Over the last several years we have added 348 jobs/retention and more than $44 million in capital investment with new jobs.
Keeping the police department fully staffed has become a challenge. What more can the city do to keep these positions filled, if anything?
Recognizing there is a common thread of lost jobs within the industry, by virtue of less interest for careers within law enforcement. The city must stay competitive and provide the most up-to-date equipment available to the officers. Regionally we must be as competitive as possible for retention purposes.
