Large-scale capital project sales tax ventures progressing countywide
Nearly three years after voters agreed to charge themselves an additional sales tax penny to finance dozens of capital improvement projects around the county, fruits of those investments are starting to be seen in significant ways.
From the construction of a groundbreaking manufacturing training center at Piedmont Technical College to long-ignored parks getting much needed attention, some of the most high profile items on the list are in various stages of development.
As of April 5, all funds have been collected to build the William O’Dell Center for Upstate Manufacturing Excellence on the campus of Piedmont Technical College. Almost half of the $15 million project is being paid for through money collected locally, with $6.09 million set aside through the sales tax levy to finance it.
Josh Skinner, coordinator of the county’s CPST program, said pre-construction work has begun, with the Greenwood Commissioners of Public Works laying down water lines to help with site grading.
“I think they’re thinking by the end of the year they’ll have it pretty much completed, so that’s a lofty goal,” Skinner said.
Piedmont Tech President Ray Brooks said the 15,000-square foot complex could open as early as the fall, or in January 2020 at the latest.
“I think workforce is going to be one of the big challenges and opportunities that we all have going forward,” he said. “I think we’re very fortunate that Greenwood citizens were visionary enough to pass the sales tax because the return on investment will go many, many years into the future,” he said.
In its 2016 funding application, Greenwood Parks and Trails identified eight proposals at a cost of $6.5 million. The organization built Magnolia Park, located at 244 Magnolia Ave., in the late 1990s. Officials hope to use $183,000 to renovate its pavilion, walking trails and playground equipment.
County leaders made it clear in a joint meeting with city officials in February that day-to-day maintenance of any public park located within an incorporated area must be absorbed by local councils.
Nearly half of the $5.57 million allocation for improvements to public parks are in hand, with a civil engineer and landscape architect team already chosen to help with design.
Skinner said $2.53 million has already been collected, and the remaining funds should be in hand by 2021.
“Magnolia Park, Hodges and Troy parks we’ve all agreed have been implemented first to break ground,” Skinner said.
“There was discussion about who’s going to staff and who is going to maintain certain parks, and it seems like to me, before these parks are built, those negotiations need to be completed so that everybody will have the same understanding,” County Council chairman Steve Brown said.
County Manager Toby Chappell said municipalities were told of the county’s position early in the process.
“The answer to your question is, ‘No, that you should not assume the county is going to staff any of these parks.’ When we met with the cities, we were explicit that we would build these project, but they would take ownership of what was in them,” he said.
Just a month after voters approved the sales tax package in November 2016, county officials agreed to a $4.1 million contract with Motorola to provide upgraded radios for public safety agencies, buying 400 of them that tie into Palmetto 800, a statewide network of 75 agencies.
At the time, county leaders balked at going into debt — however temporary — to secure the technology, but Motorola offered Greenwood a $435,000 discount and zero interest until November 2018 if they agreed to the deal at the time.
Skinner said those funds have since been collected and paid in full to satisfy terms of the deal.
Last month, an architect with Charleston-based Meadors Inc. met with caretakers of the GLEAMNS Dr. Benjamin E. Mays Historic Preservation Site, which is moving forward with a major expansion using $646,592 in capital project sales tax proceeds.
Originally Published by Index-Journal on:Apr 17, 2019
By ADAM BENSON abenson@indexjournal.com