Mount Pleasant Magazine Jan/Feb2016

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BoB Brimmer
Until 2015,
Bob Brimmer
showed little
interest in the
political arena,
choosing instead
to get involved in
his adopted
hometown by
donating his time
and talent in a
variety of
appointed
positions. His
decision to place
his name on the
crowded Council
ballot was based
on his belief that
he could do more
to make Mount
Pleasant a better place to live, work and play.
“There was a disconnect between what the Town
Council was doing and what the public was saying,” he
explained. “It concerned me. I wanted to bridge that
disconnect.”
The top recipient of votes in the Nov. 3 election,
Brimmer said much of his support came from people
who agreed with the direction he followed during his six
years on the town’s Planning Commission.
“Those folks were aware of my votes and decisions.
That’s what attracted them to me,” he remarked.
A native of upstate New York who moved south to earn
a bachelor’s degree in Psychology at Lander College in
Greenwood, South Carolina, Brimmer has served on the
town’s Comprehensive Plan Steering Committee and two
blue ribbon education committees. He said his 15 years of
service to Mount Pleasant gave him the experience to
move seamlessly into his seat on the Council.
“I had a front row seat to development issues, what we
were doing right and what we could do better,” he
commented, adding that he was ready to “take public
service to another level.”
Brimmer, who serves as a regional director for the
state Department of Social Services, insisted that the
recent election, which produced four new councilmen,
was not simply a battle between “no growth and pro
growth.” He said the campaign was more about how
quickly the town’s population will expand, what type of
development will be permitted and whether Mount
Pleasant’s infrastructure – its roads, water and sewage
systems and other critical services – will be able to keep
pace with its growth.
“We’re going to grow,” he said. “This is a desirable
community. But we need responsible, balanced growth,
and Mount Pleasant’s future needs to be decided by
Mount Pleasant, not by outside forces.”
According to Brimmer, in the past, the Council has
been too “development friendly,” granting variances to
the town’s Comprehensive Plan and rezoning too much
property from commercial to residential.
“There will be fewer exceptions, and the town will
stick closer to the rules,” he commented. “Residential
and commercial development have to be balanced.”
Brimmer, who earned his master’s in Higher
Education/Counseling Psychology at James Madison
University and has lived in the Lowcountry for 25 years
and in Park West in Mount Pleasant since 2003,
pointed out that he is not opposed to high-density
residential development. He said he would like to see
Coleman Boulevard serve as Mount Pleasant’s main
street, with taller buildings and more density on
Johnnie Dodds Boulevard.
He added that increasing the capacity of Highway 41
will be a priority for the new Council.
Brimmer and his wife, Dianne, have been married for
23 years. Their daughter, Haley, is a senior at Clemson
University, while their son, Alec, is a junior at Wando
High School.
Joe Bustos
Joe Bustos’
message is much
as the same as it
was during his
first stint as a
Mount Pleasant
councilman:
Growth is not a
problem;
uncontrolled
growth is.
“The situation
is similar:
crowded schools,
lots of traffic and
people wanting
things to slow
down a bit,” said
Bob Brimmer
Joe Bustos