The new year will barely be here before city leaders will be taking actions to move Isle of Palms toward a future that is already arriving. As the island progresses toward a balance to maintain resident life, year-round vacationers and coastal land that is constantly under threat from weather and waves, IOP City Council members will be working on multiple fronts that will not only directly affect the island’s quality of life, but influence factors such as growth, traffic, tourism and beach preservation for decades to come.
A special meeting will take place Jan. 6 to swear in new members and confirm all committee assignments and appointments and nominations for boards and commissions. The members nominated at the council’s December 2025 special meeting are up for the following appointments:
Bev Miller
Berkeley-Charleston-Dorchester Council of Governments
BCDCOG is a regional agency whose primary objective is to assist local governments in developing local and regional plans and provide them with planning and technical support to improve the quality of life in the region. If appointed, Miller said a priority would be to work with other area leaders about putting together a plan on how to keep pace with growth.
“I’m starting to do my homework on regional issues,” said Miller, who was recently elected to her first term on council. “I once served on the Johns Creek City Council outside of Atlanta from 2006-13, and had to build relationships at the local, county and regional levels. And I’m looking forward to doing that again now with IOP City.”
Jimmy Ward
Charleston Area Regional Transportation Authority Board of Directors
As the state’s largest public transportation provider and ranked as one of the top systems in the Southeast, CARTA operates Charleston’s public transportation system for the entire metro area, with a ridership of more than 4 million annually. While Ward has long championed bus service to and from the island to help manage visitors, traffic and parking concerns, he is hoping that a few ideas in 2026 will push the effort further than ever.
“I’ve been on the CARTA board now for about eight years, and in the early 2020s, we installed a Reach the Beach project that offers free rides on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, just in the summer,” said Ward, now in his fifth non-consecutive term on council. “We’ve increased ridership every year since I’ve been on the board, and I’d like to expand the service to more days and see the emergency lane of the original IOP Connector come back and open up for emergency vehicles and CARTA buses only.”
David Cohen
Beach Preservation Committee
In what might easily prove to be the council’s most critical committee role for the rest of the decade, Cohen will spearhead what Pounds called “the first inaugural” Beach Preservation Committee, created to have a group of residents dedicated to IOP beaches and ongoing renourishment projects.
“I felt my background as a member of the planning commission tasked with development of the IOP comprehensive plan which included goal and recommended actions related to beach preservation and consideration of the effects of sea level rise would be an asset to this committee,” said Cohen, also recently elected to his first term on council, polling more votes than any other candidate. “The city has received several recommended approaches to beach preservation. The next step, which the city is currently undertaking through this committee, is to compare and contrast these recommendations, including their feasibility and determine the city’s long-range approach to beach preservation.”
Rusty Streetman and John Bogosian
Charleston Visitors Bureau
The CVB, or Explore Charleston, is a regional tourism marketing organization that represents 10 different funding governments located in Charleston, Dorchester and Berkeley counties. Council will vote on either Streetman or Bogosian to serve on this committee.
Katie Miars
Environmental Advisory Committee
IOP City Council formed this nine-member committee in 2021 to advise council in part on matters regarding ways to pursue energy conservation, help reduce island litter and pollution and to protect the island’s environment, endangered species and natural resources.
As people, traffic, noise, garbage collection and artificial light continue to increase across the island, Miars, who was recently re-elected to the council, will engage in discussions and measures with other EAC members and representatives from the Department of Natural Resources as necessary to keep wildlife habitat as much as possible in its natural state.
Other nominations by the Administration Committee included:
Environmental Advisory Committee: Re-appoint Laura Lovins and Todd Murphy; appoint Britton Foy and Susan Smith and appoint Charlotte Webster to the student position.
Planning Commission: Re-appoint Ron Denton, Suzanne Nagelski, Jeffrey Rubin, Rich Steinert and appoint Bill Laughlin.
Accommodations Tax Advisory Committee: Re-appoint Barb Bergwerf, Chrissy Lorenz, Mike Boykin and Margaret Miller.
City Judge: Michael Molony
Associate Judge: Christopher Skipper
City Attorney: Mac McQuillin of Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd, P.A.
City Prosecutor: Culver Kidd
By L. C. Leach III
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