Penny could provide $8.6M to city

Now Orangeburg County voters are being asked to renew the tax for seven years once the current round expires next year. If voters approve the tax on Tuesday, it is expected to raise $74.3 million for a variety of projects throughout the county.

The city plans to use its share of the money on a number of projects, including the construction of ball fields off North Road and the redevelopment of Railroad Corner, officials say.

“County Council has had great foresight and wisdom in allocating a portion of each penny’s sales tax to the 17 municipalities across the county,” Orangeburg City Administrator John Yow said. Municipalities are given a share of the money based on population.

The “penny tax” was first approved in 1998.

The first round of the tax included about $1.3 million for the paving of the runway at the Orangeburg Municipal Airport, $1.3 million for the construction of the Orangeburg Department of Public Safety building on Middleton Street and $650,000 for the construction of two city fire stations.

Yow said the new fire substations led to lower insurance premiums for nearby homeowners.

The penny also contributed to the construction of the Orangeburg City Gym on Broughton Street last year, renovations to Stevenson Auditorium and the development of the Veterans Memorial Park.

About $3.3 million was used for the downtown district streetscape project, which included new lighting, resurfacing, sidewalks, drainage and crosswalks on Russell Street and Middleton Street.

The penny also went toward the construction of the new Orangeburg City Council Chambers, municipal parking and other projects throughout the city.

The Edisto Gardens spray park was also helped with the penny.

If county voters renew the 1 percent sales tax, the city could receive about $8.6 million over the next seven years.

“The penny helps to prevent the need for raising taxes,” Butler said.

Recreational complex

Land clearing began earlier this month between the North Road Walmart and Medway Drive for the city’s recreational complex project.

The recreational complex will be built behind the upper Orangeburg Preparatory Schools campus. It will include two clusters of nine baseball and softball fields, restrooms, concession stands, press boxes and meeting rooms.

“We have talked to different people about playing out there and bringing tournaments here,” Yow said.

It will include walking and biking trails, picnic tables, playground equipment, open green space, as well as about 600 parking spaces.

Yow said the plans are flexible.

Construction on the ball fields will begin in March 2017 with the fields being opening to the public possibly in the spring of 2018.

The clearing will allow development of a road from North Road to the future ball fields. In addition to the road, utilities will also be constructed during the initial stage.

The road project is being developed through a private partnership with Fort Motte Partners LLC, a company of Century 21 The Moore Group and C.F. Evans Construction Company. Fort Motte donated about five acres to the city to allow for additional amenities and parking.

“We want to make sure the complex has two exits and two entrances,” Yow said.

About $200,000 from the fourth penny is set aside for the complex and traffic control, including turning lanes.

About $12 million has been allocated toward the project from the first three rounds of the tax.

Yow said while the ball fields have been planned several years, such a project takes time.

“The first penny was just to acquire land,” Yow said. “Once we got into the project, city council decided they wanted to deal with a much bigger project than just the initial three ball fields. The scope of the project has changed.”

Another reason the project has yet to begin is because the money was not available to the city until about 18 months ago, Yow said.

“When that penny is voted in, the county does not just have that money. It takes years to develop that money,” Yow said. “When the project was expanded and added an extra $7 million, the city did not have $7 million to build that property.”

Yow said a sewer station also had to be upgraded before the fields could be built. He says that sewer station has since been upgraded and is ready to go.

The complex will also likely be funded through the city’s hospitality and accommodations tax.

Yow estimates the entire project will cost between $12 million and $15 million.

The project could be built in multiple phases, if necessary.

The design phase of the project is about 95 percent complete.

Butler said the ball fields will create a “good problem” for Orangeburg.

“We will have a lot of traffic going out there,” he said. “Those restaurants out there, Walmart, those grocery stores down there will benefit from some of the ball fields.”

“Recreation is everything to a city,” Butler continued. “It builds the city.”

Butler said the city is also hoping more development will help revitalize the Prince of Orange Mall.

“We have some plans for that mall,” Butler said, declining to say what the specific plans may be.

Railroad Corner

If voters approve another round of the tax, it will also include about $3 million for the development and upgrade of Railroad Corner, where Russell, Boulevard and Magnolia streets meet.

This will include infrastructure and property acquisition. About $6.5 million in federal money was also allocated toward the project.

“If we can’t obtain all the properties, we will buy the ones we can and redesign the project around the properties we can develop,” Yow said.

Yow said the city is currently in negotiations with owners for property on Treadwell, Russell and Boulevard streets.

“We would like to obtain 20 to 25 of them,” Yow said. “We think it is very critical to economic development for downtown. We think it is very important for the universities and the experience of the college students.”

Council previously wanted to move ahead with the project but was unable to obtain the all the property it needed, so the efforts ceased.

City officials envision mom-and-pop stores, restaurants, a sports bar and bicycle trails for the area.

Downtown library

About $1 million is set aside for the construction a county-owned library in downtown Orangeburg.

There have been discussions about building a library on Russell Street across from the Department of Public Utilities building.

The county library is currently located on Louis Street. It has a leaky roof and is subject to flooding.

Both county and city officials have expressed the desire to relocate the library.

“We are interested in seeing that whole block redeveloped,” Yow said. “The city is willing to work with the county and partner with other groups to redevelop the entire block.”

Yow said a downtown library will be of great importance.

“I think the location near the gardens would also be advantageous for school field trips,” he said.

About 17,000 people walk through the library’s doors on a monthly basis.

Other projects

If voters approve, the fourth road of the penny would provide $1 million for Orangeburg Municipal Airport. Work could include construction of two corporate-sized hangars to accommodate larger planes.

Yow said the city would like to investigate the matter more fully.

“We would like to explore with the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) projects that are eligible for FAA grants and see if we can use the penny to leverage FAA grants,” Yow said.

Other projects include:

• $1.2 million — City Hall and Stevenson Auditorium expansion. The expansion would accommodate the Finance Department and add a reception area for Stevenson Auditorium events.
• $600,000 — Improvements to city-owned streets, including Pine Top subdivision.
• $400,000 — Mirmow Field improvements including resurfacing of parking lots, painting, new lighting, electrical work and circulation fans.

Yow said the improvements will help tie in Mirmow Field into the new gymnasium.

• $571,949 — Edisto Gardens improvements and riverfront development. This includes a paved parking lot in front of the Orangeburg County Fine Arts Center and riverfront development. Specifics on the type of development have not been identified but some discussion was held about a fishing deck or restaurant.
• $150,000 — City Gym parking expansion.
• $100,000 – Sidewalks.