Gullah Lives: PAFEN saves three more Plantersville properties – South Strand news

Bit by bit, homeowners' land in Plantersville is being saved from forced tax sales.

Theresa White came to the predominantly Gullah community of Jackson Village in the Plantersville area of Georgetown County on Monday, Aug. 28, with a big check - and four smaller pieces of paper that mean a lot.

She's executive director and founder of the Pan-African Family Empowerment Network at St. Helena Island in Beaufort County.

White has been to Plantersville before, helping save the homes of seven families by paying taxes and fees for those who would otherwise lose their property to forced tax sales. The total amount she broughtAug. 28 was $10,870.30.

Shell be back again Saturday, Sept. 2, when she joins the Rev. Ben Grate and others for a protest rally against similar tax sales and a $250 annual sewer assessment fee that is to be paid every year for 20 years.

Unwanted project

When White met with three of the four people whose property her group redeemed from the forced tax sale, they each said they didnt need and didnt want the sewer project that they said was forced on them.

Aug. 28 was a rainy day as White traveled about 150 miles from Beaufort to Grate's home in Jackson Village.

That community, along with Annie Village, St. Pauls and Bromell Town all part of Plantersville are in an area where the Georgetown County Water and Sewer District put in a sewer system a few years ago.

A process starting about 2006 was designed to bring a sewer system to an area that the GCWSD and the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control said had failing septic tank systems. They were so bad, a DHEC report asserted at the time, that two of those traditional Gullah "village" areas were in danger of imminent health hazards.

People opposed to the sewer system and to development were vocal during a series of meetings in 2006 and 2007 about both the sewer project and county-wide zoning.

Several plantation owners and others pooled their money and paid for repairs or replacements to about 20 individual failing septic systems.

Over time, the GCWSD through its meetings and mailings to property owners secured signatures on agreements that gave it a go-ahead for the project.

Since that time, however, many landowners said they didnt know what they were agreeing to when they signed documents. Others say they never signed and didnt think they should have to pay for a sewer system they didnt need and didnt want.

Just repaired the septic system

Truman Morant grew up in Plantersville, and has been living in a house on property belonging to his dad for 10 years.

I had just had mine (septic tank) redone. I spent about $1,200 for repairs, Morant said. About one or two years later, they said you have to tie in to the sewer system.

He couldnt pay the $3,600 connection fee at once, so $150 per month was added to his water bill.

Morant, his wife, fivechildren and one grandchild live in the home.

Because of tough financial situations, almost $4,000 in taxes, sewer assessment and fees were due.

The property was getting ready to go to the tax sale, he said.

When the public meetings were held a decade ago, he wasnt able to attend because of his work at the container plant for International Paper Co. His wife and dad went to the meetings.

My father and sister are (now) also facing the possibility of a tax sale of their property, he said.

Morant was greatly relieved Aug. 28 when White brought a check for $3,789.30.

Thank you, Jesus, because I didnt have the money to pay it, he said. "Me hearing about this (payment) was the best thing I heard.

Because of the heavy rain on Aug. 28 and other factors, White didnt reach Plantersville until about 6:30 p.m.

She met the people her PAFEN group was helping and then on Aug. 29, she went to the Georgetown County Treasurers Office to pay the four bills.

Didnt sign

Jamie Moore, 41, is a single mom with three children who has lived in her house for almost her whole life.

I didnt have a failing septic tank, Moore said. I actually stood in the way to keep them from digging a hole, because I didnt need sewer.

Moore said she keeps hearing about "majority rules, but believes she shouldn't have been forced into this situation.

The land is in my sisters name. She still hasnt signed a paper," said Moore, adding that her sister was serving in the military service in Colorado at the time the GCWSD agreements were in the mail.

My uncle Earle went down there, and told them they couldnt put it there, Moore said. "The water and sewer bill comes to her. Three years ago, the house caught on fire. They condemned the house."

Despite the condemnation, the sewer bill still comes.

I can pay $100 a year to clean out my septic tank. I cannot pay for the sewer," Moore said. "I didnt tell them to put sewer there. I didnt need it. My septic is working fine."

My question is, how can they put something on another persons property?

Moore is grateful for the help from donors who made the checks through PAFEN available. The amount White brought to redeem Moore's home was $2,610.30.

When asked, what about next years taxes and fees?, Moore said My sister is going to try to get it removed.

Didnt know about assessment

Rochelle Grate and her husband and child have been in their home in Jackson Village for 11 years. She grew up in Plantersville.

My septic tank is fine," Rochelle Grate said. "I just had gotten it when the sewer lines were put in.

She went to the meetings in the community about the sewer project.

At the time, we had a grant. They said it was necessary because of drainage and everything, Rochelle Grate said. "I didnt find out about the $250 (annual) assessment until they started putting stickers on the door.

That was a notice that the house was subject to being sold because of the unpaid fees and taxes.

I thought it was something where they made a mistake,Rochelle Grate said. I didnt hear about the sewer fee until the first part of the year when they started saying they were going to sell my home. There was no way I could pay that amount of money.

White brought a check for $2,052.30 to redeem Rochelle Grates property and keep it from going to a tax sale.

My husband is disabled so we didnt pay taxes. The water is in with the in-laws. But yet, still, I have to pay sewer, Rochelle Grate said. Going forward, Im going to have to deal with it the best way I can. Ill see if I can figure something out.

Another homeowner, Joseph Enoch, wasnt able to be there to meet White. The taxes and fees her organization paid on his behalf totaled $2,418.20.

Record day

This is the most weve done in one day, White said Aug. 28.

Not only was that important for the for these homeowners, but it was also the fourth anniversary of when her group was organized.

The Pan-African Family Empowerment Network was founded to commemorate two major events the March on Washington (Aug. 28, 1963) and a 1992 Pan African event in Savannah, Georgia.

People from all over the world came to that event.

That was the first time I ever heard the word Gullah, White said. We never knew that word when I was growing up. We were familiar with Geechee.

Whites been working in Beaufort, Colleton and now Georgetown counties to help people facing loss of their homes because of taxes and fees.

Previously, shes made two other trips to help save or redeem land for three others in the Plantersville area.

Overall, PAFEN has helped save more than $2.5 million of property at their assessed values.

We are going to help people in other places, she said.

Evelyn Bromell, who also lives in the Plantersville area, is going to be helping the organization with fund raising efforts.

White said they will keep the GoFundMe account but are looking for other ways to raise money.

Protest rally

The Rev. Ben Grate, White and others will be speaking and sharing with community members at a protest rally Saturday, Sept. 2, from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m.

The rally will be held at the Plantersville community park on Jackson Village Road, next to the Plantersville Community Center at 1458 Exodus Road.

Along with flyers in the community, Grates contacted people who live in other states about the rally, asking them to come to Plantersville on Sept. 2.

Grate led a protest in July 2016 on the steps of the State Capitol in Columbia about the sewer project, and he will update people at the rally on efforts to protest the sewer assessment, zoning and other difficulties.

Hes also filed a discrimination complaint with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development over the sewer project. He will share information about his complaint during the rally.

Follow this link:
Gullah Lives: PAFEN saves three more Plantersville properties - South Strand news