CPST rakes in $2.8 million in January; more projects are set to start
From the lake to the Bypass and from Hodges to Ninety Six, Greenwood County is seeing the power of a penny.
The Capital Project Sales Tax has raked in more than $44 million so far, with a $2.8 million check deposited in January from the penny sales tax’s earnings over three months near the end of 2021. County Treasurer Steffanie Dorn has projected that the tax will bring in $86.7 million over its lifespan — more than 98% of the original projected target of $87.9 million.
On Tuesday Greenwood County Council approved a final design draft for the Wilbanks Sports Complex. More than $9 million in CPST funds will go to renovating the sports facilities at the old Civic Center lot on Highway 72/221, with much of this year’s penny tax funds going toward this project.
Josh Skinner, CPST coordinator, said he met Thursday with officials to discuss how the county will bid the work at the Wilbanks center out. That same day, he toured the work done at the J.C. Fox Boozer Complex in Ninety Six, which has had its baseball fields graded and finished, along with much of the infrastructure and site work.
“All the walkways are in, the fences are up, the fields are in. I think all the parking lot is done,” Skinner said.
Constructions crews are working on a new concessions and restroom stand, and the county’s Ninety Six parks supervisor Tee Timmerman said he thinks the renovated fields will make for a more playable space for teams. An additional ball field also makes the park prime for tournaments.
“It’s going to be an awesome thing for the rec department here. This is the first big set of upgrades we’ve had here at the park since the beginning,” Timmerman said. “It’s just being able to show the kids and their families that the county knows how important it is they have quality fields to play on.”
Grace Street, Foundry and Magnolia parks are set to see upgrades too. The recent demolition of the decommissioned water treatment plant on the Bypass has made room for designers to start drafting a new park entrance and building for Grace Street Park, and the county is working with the city to ready the Foundry Road site for park construction. Greenway Construction has the bid for the work on Magnolia Park but will work on Hodges’ park first.
By Break on the Lake along Highway 72/221, crews have already sank the first half of a new boat ramp Skinner said could be ready to ease boats into the lake by early summer. Workers will make the ramp first, then turn toward paving the parking lot and building a pavilion and restroom facility.
“They’re racing the rising water level out there,” Skinner said.
The county has built fire stations, with the finished Miller Road station set to open March 12. Skinner said there’s two more to go: one on Highway 221, the other on Morgan Road in Hodges. In 2023, CPST funds will go toward an about $5 million multi-agency training center for firefighters, EMS and law personnel.
In Ninety Six, Davis & Floyd is working on designs for a drainage line that will run through the set-to-be-renovated town park, also being upgraded with CPST dollars. Construction should start on both projects just after this year’s Festival of Stars, Skinner said. Work is also underway on laying new water lines in Ninety Six to replace old galvanized pipes with PVC.
The next few years have a watershed study, the widening of Highway 246, phase two of the North Greenwood Industrial Park, renovation of Katherine Hall in Ware Shoals and upgrades to the Dr. Benjamin E. Mays Historic Site.
“All of that is an example of what we can do to enhance the quality of living in this county,” said County Council Chairperson Chuck Moates. “I think it’s able to provide things for this county that we would not be able to provide without significantly raising taxes.”
Council member Robbie Templeton said a portion of this tax revenue comes from shoppers from out of town.
“It’s painless, really, for our citizens,” he said. “What we get for that money far outweighs the costs.”
This is why Moates said it’s essential to soon start laying the framework for the next CPST campaign. Passing the 2016 CPST took setting up committees to explore and vet project applications and to build up public support for it, he said.
Templeton said there are some projects already in mind for another CPST if it were to pass. As building costs have increased through the coronavirus pandemic, he said some projects have had to be cut back for cost. A second CPST could give the chance to complete work that might be cut for cost in current projects.
“We cannot wait until ‘24-and-a-half to start trying to put this together,” Moates said. “It’s too critical and important a project — a need in our community, not to start sooner rather than later.”
Originally Published by Index-Journal on:Feb 18, 2022
By DAMIAN DOMINGUEZ ddominguez@indexjournal.com
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