Elliotts Island residents urge Dorchester County to prioritize urgent road repairs

During public comment, Norm Bray Bukowski, an Elliotts Island resident, described severe rutting and erosion on the island’s primary access road and asked the council to begin a repair plan and pursue funding from state and federal sources, including DNR and FEMA.

Bukowski said the road has stretches with ruts as deep as 8–12 inches and estimated about 8 miles of repairs are needed between Savannah Lake South and Elliotts Island; he said roughly 50 full‑time residents and about 100 weekend property owners rely on the road. "We have only one way in and one way out," Bukowski said, urging the council to form a core local group to work with county staff and potential funders.

Andrew Bukowski, also of Elliotts Island, told the council that recent emergency calls and a vehicle running off the road highlighted public-safety concerns and reiterated a request for county coordination with state grant programs. Council members thanked the speakers and said they would have public-works staff reevaluate the road and talk to state grant contacts; the president noted a separate living‑shoreline grant previously awarded for the entrance area intended to reduce erosion.

No formal motion or funding appropriation was taken during public comment; council asked staff to follow up with public works and report back.