A new day dawns for the Daniel Island Town Association

This isn’t Colby Hollifield’s first rodeo when it comes to community governance.  

He’s served on the Daniel Island Community Association Board of Directors for four years and as president for the last year. But soon he, and fellow Daniel Island residents Mike White and Otto Orr, will saddle up for a new adventure as the first property owners elected to the Daniel Island Town Association board.  

“I’m excited about it,” said Hollifield, a partner in the Daniel Island Ferry. “We moved here 20 years ago for pretty much the same reason everyone else did – because it’s such a fantastic place and an awesome island. A great place to raise kids. You can be a four-year-old and love it, and you can be an 80-year-old and love it. That’s hard to pull off.” 

Hollifield commended the Daniel Island Company for its vision and stewardship over the years but understands that the motivation for the new DITA board’s work may change once he, White, and Orr take over the reins on Jan. 1.  

“They didn’t have to build it the way they built it,” Hollifield continued, recognizing the developer’s efforts. “They didn’t have to make it this nice. They’ve been very dedicated to the standards. I look at it like they’ve done such an awesome job, and now what we need to do is continue doing that work. The biggest difference is as property owners, we don’t have the profit motive. We have a lifestyle motive. We have a property value motive.” 

More than 80 commercial property owners, including businesses, condominium complexes, and apartment entities, are members of DITA and have voting privileges. The association oversees all of the island’s commercial areas, as well as the common areas shared by DITA, the Daniel Island Community Association, and the Daniel Island Park Association, such as the island’s trails, stormwater ponds, playgrounds, and pocket parks that are not part of amenities or city-owned open spaces.  

White, broker-in-charge for Charleston Industrial LLC, has been a Daniel Island resident for 19 years and sees the changing of the board from developer-controlled to property owner-controlled as a pivotal moment.  

“Our board will have a fiduciary responsibility,” White explained. “We’re no longer working for the developer; we’re working for the actual ownership. We’re going to run this properly, transparently, like a business.” 

A graduate of West Point who served 11 years in the U.S. Army, White is planning to utilize some of his military background in his new role. 

“I want to create metrics for success,” he said. “I want to create what we call in the military ‘course objectives.’ We’re not going to be able to fix things in a month. We’re probably not going to fix it for three months. But I think by midyear next year, we’ll be hitting our stride and we’ll know what we have, where the revenue comes in, and where the revenue comes out.” 

The first task White would like to complete is a “listening tour" among the DITA property owners to better understand their needs. He’d also like to hear from other association board members and the staff members of the Daniel Island Property Owners’ Association to learn more about their roles. 

As per the bylaws, Mary Stuart Sutton, chief operating officer for the Daniel Island POA, will serve as a declarant appointee on the board for two years to ensure a smooth transition. Sutton will not be a board member but will have veto power. 

Hollifield, who also serves on the Daniel Island Community Fund Board of Directors, doesn’t expect any issues with the changeover.  

“There were zero surprises that I had as a (DICA) board member of how the Daniel Island Company and the POA were doing things on behalf of residents,” he said. “Now that doesn’t mean I don’t have a lot to learn. But I had no surprises. And the property owner employees currently, and really everyone I’ve ever met in the past 20 years there, have one thing in common, one common thread – a passion for Daniel Island. Every single one of them.” 

Among the items the new DITA team hopes to focus on are improving communication, changing the board make-up to five members instead of three, studying erosion issues on the Wando River waterfront, and ensuring a transparent balance sheet. 

“We’re going to take this on, and we’re going to do it right,” White said. “I really want to protect everything that has been created over the last 30 years and make it better. (The developer) did a phenomenal job, and I want to honor that, I want to protect that, and I want to build upon that.”