A once-viable, profitable port operation slumped to a money loser over the years. Last year about 20 ships visited the port. The Port of Charleston accommodates that number of ships in a week. In February 1999, the S.C. Ports Authority submitted an affidavit claiming it would lose $5 million if a temporary injunction prohibiting nighttime port operations was granted to the Town of Port Royal. In 2003, the port lost $58,000, according to authority officials.
The authority and Port Royal residents have been at odds for decades. Air quality, dust, late-night noise and sweetheart deals for private companies operating on port property have been contentious points.
During a brief ceremony and photo opportunity Tuesday afternoon, Gov. Mark Sanford signed a legislative act that will close a money losing port and officially allow the property to be sold. In the 14 months since the governor first suggested selling the port, Sanford's staff and others have identified other state property that could be sold. This is the first step in fulfilling one of his goals of operating state government more efficiently, more like a private business.
Sale of the property not only will offer tax relief to South Carolinians, it also will provide tax money for Port Royal residents. Eventually, the 40 acres will be put back on the tax books of Beaufort County.
"It was no benefit to the town," Mayor Sam Murray said during Tuesday's ceremony. "We didn't get any taxes on it, and we get all the headaches."
Redeveloping the port will not only get the property back on the town's tax rolls, but should help local businesses and improve the quality of life for the town's residents, Murray said.
In addition to the port, Gov. Sanford has suggested that several other parcels of surplus property be sold. The Department of Mental Health's property on Bull Street in Columbia may be worth more than the port's estimated value of $30 million. Vacant property also exists near the State Museum in Columbia, according to a spokesperson for the governor.
Arguments may be made to put the money into new capital projects, as opposed to the state's operating budget, but the progress noted with Tuesday's signing ceremony is a reason to celebrate a new era in South Carolina. Publicly owned land in South Carolina plays a significant role in improving the quality of life here, but when it's in the form of empty building and money losing proposition, it is nothing but a drain.
A thorn may yet bloom in Port Royal.