Mayors from 4 Berkeley County municipalities talk growth, infrastructure

BERKELEY COUNTY, S.C. (WCBD) – Mayors from four Berkeley County towns and cities participated in a panel discussion Thursday focused on the state of their municipalities.  

The meeting featured presentations showcasing growth strategies, infrastructure projects and economic development initiatives.

Summerville Mayor Russ Touchberry discussed how their downtown district is expanding by about five blocks and said they are looking at unique ways to address traffic concerns.

“My hope is that we create an environment that provides our citizens opportunities to live and work closer to Summerville and when they have those opportunities, they don’t have to hop on the interstate and sit in traffic for a long period of time,” he said.

Goose Creek Mayor Greg Habib talked about the Uptown Carnes development, which is designed to offer a place to congregate. He also said the new Central Creek Park has been transformational for Goose Creek.

“We are again a highly educated, highly diverse, high earning, very young community that is growing in that same direction and it is the great awakening of Goose Creek,” said Mayor Habib.

Hanahan Mayor Christie Rainwater told those gathered that they are revitalizing the look and feel of Hanahan. They just opened a new 53-acre park, the Hawk’s Nest, and another waterfront park will open later this year.

“Hanahan is in a great spot. We’re growing with our economic development. We have new parks that’s making the city better than ever, and we’re just really excited about what’s to come,” she said.

Moncks Corner Mayor Thomas Hamilton said while they are the fourth fastest growing city in the state, they are picky about what is going to be developed in the future. He said he has told developers they do not want their lowest product being built in Moncks Corner.

“The Lowcountry has a lot of population. We have a lot of power if we work together. We definitely need to go after road funding, homelessness funding, so there’s things out there that we can work together on and make it better for all of us,” he said.

The discussion was hosted by the Berkeley County Chamber of Commerce at Charleston Southern University.

The Berkeley County Chamber of Commerce’s next big meeting is May 10th. That will be their annual legislative delegation meeting.