Newly-appointed board member Harry J. Butler Jr., who hosted the weekend retreat at his plantation, said the getaway was just what the board needed to fuse its relations and elicit frank discussion about operating the port more efficiently.

Board Chairman Whit Smith said new appointments by Gov. Mark Sanford seem to have invigorated the board.

"I felt like, for the first time, we really came together as a board," said Smith, a 1999 appointee of Gov. Jim Hodges. "This board wants to be much more engaged. They want to roll up their sleeves and feel like they are really participating."

Some of the issues discussed over the weekend are expected to result in board actions in the coming weeks, Butler said.

But while board members said the casual affair, complete with cocktails and cozy country accommodations, was in the state's best interest, the mostly private meeting raised concerns about the openness of one of the state's highest-profile boards.

The meeting was announced hastily to the public late Wednesday and held at night on a weekend at an out-of-the way location.

Altogether, the board spent about six hours in executive session Friday night and Saturday morning.

State law allows government boards to meet privately only for specific reasons, such as proposed contract discussions, personnel matters and some legal issues.

Retreats are common in government circles, but they usually are open to the public.

Smith said the board stuck to the issues that are exempt from the state's public meeting law and took no action.

Specifically, he said, the board discussed proposed port-related contracts, including one related to the possible expansion of an existing industry in the state.

The board also discussed trimming the agency's work force through attrition and planned retirements.

SPA President and CEO Bernard Groseclose Jr., the only member of port management invited to the retreat, and a financial consulting team hired by the board were allowed to attend the executive sessions.

Butler said he could understand the public might have concerns about the retreat but said the board needs to find ways to meet more frequently for extended talks instead of cramming complicated decisions into its monthly meetings.

"The only concern we have is that this port be efficient," Butler said during Friday's meeting. "We are real concerned that we do what's right for the state. We don't want to do anything hidden."

The problem with busy agendas might have been exacerbated in recent years by the board's abandonment of committees, which when used, could do much of the board's work.

The board has sometimes made quick decisions with little or no debate, leading to criticisms that it was a rubber-stamp for port management.

Since the arrival of the new members, the board has re-established committees, including those for real estate and finance.

Sanford has made four appointments to the board since taking office in January, including Butler and one announced Friday night. Glen Kilgore, a business consultant from Beaufort, replaces longtime board member Bill Bethea, a former chairman.The other new members are Carroll A. Campbell III, son of former Gov. Carroll Campbell and Richard Dillard, an Upstate textile executive.

Surrounded by massive oaks in a hunt-club setting, seven of the board's nine members seemed relaxed in button-down shirts and khakis.

The scene was in stark contrast to the often tense monthly meetings in the SPA's boardroom in downtown Charleston, where statements are measured and the attire is polished.

Before closing the meeting Saturday at about noon, the board discussed possibly holding two such retreats each year.

It's unclear how the openness issue would be dealt with at future retreats.

The board may be weighing whether the SPA should return a chunk of its annual profits to state coffers.

There also has been talk of the SPA selling off or overseeing private development on some of its surplus land, including part of its 1,300-acres on Daniel Island.

The change afoot at the SPA is perhaps most reflected in its relatively swift move to close the Port of Port Royal, which along with the ports of Charleston and Georgetown, is one of three ports operated by the SPA.

The closure of the unprofitable facility, supported by the governor and the SPA, would require amending the state's constitution, something that state leaders are planning to address when the General Assembly reconvenes in January.

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