P2 / Transportation P3 / Parks & Recreation P4 / Parks & Recreation P5 / Neighborhood Roads & Storm Water P6 / Economic Development DORCHESTER COUNTY COURIER │ WINTER 2014 It has been my honor and privilege to serve as your county councilman for the last three years. I am excited about what we have done together and look forward to what 2014 will bring. I must thank the hard working staff of the county who daily work to ensure that we are run lean, smart, and with an eye for making sure the citizens service demands are met in a professional way. Also, our County Council and State Delegation are an honor to serve with and care deeply about their jobs. Together with unity, we can accomplish much for you and I am eager to continue that work this year. ROADS BACK ON TRACK Road construction means progress and relief, it also brings the inevitable inconveniences of construction and traffic congestion while the projects are ongoing. Please be patients as our District 7 has a lot of ongoing road projects. see page 2
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Transcript
P2 / Transportation P3 / Parks & Recreation P4 / Parks & Recreation
P5 / Neighborhood Roads & Storm Water P6 / Economic Development
2014 GOALS ( I n n o s p e c i f i c o r d e r )
1. Complete Dorchester Road 2. Continue timely progress of Bacon’s Bridge Road 3. Start Delemar Highway construction 4. Complete Old Fort Drive Extension 5. Continue to make Dorchester County a great place to live, work, and play. 6. Open phase 1 of Ashley River park site 7. Establish EMS expansion in Oakbrook and set timeline for new station at East Edisto 8. Continue to get storm water and neighborhood roadways upgraded and repaired 9. Be a great dad and husband. 10. Make sure Dabo finally beats Spurrier. ;-) 11. Ensure my constituents are served well and feel I am worthy of serving them again.
DORCHESTER COUNTY COURIER │ WINTER 2014
It has been my honor and privilege to serve as your county councilman for the last three years. I am excited about what
we have done together and look forward to what 2014 will bring. I must thank the hard working staff of the county who
daily work to ensure that we are run lean, smart, and with an eye for making sure the citizens service demands are met
in a professional way. Also, our County Council and State Delegation are an honor to serve with and care deeply about
their jobs. Together with unity, we can accomplish much for you and I am eager to continue that work this year.
ATTRACTING JOBS & RETAIL DEVELOPMENT The county continues to work towards making our area competitive for attracting jobs and with an expanding local economy as well as an attractive
place to live, we are starting to see some good prospects for bringing quality jobs into our county. We want to reduce the need to drive elsewhere
for work, goods or services and are focused on creating an environment competitive to compete with Berkeley and Charleston counties. A new
manufacturer come in 2013 to St. George and has plans to expand further. Several new companies are also looking to expand or locate in Jedburg
and other key areas. This results in good paying jobs for our local residents, but also with diversifying our tax base to relieve the burden on
homeowners and existing business owners.
One exciting item of note – Heritage Square, at the corner of Berlin G. Myers Parkway and Highway 78, was finally sold an the new owner will be
building a first class facility that attracts shoppers across the county lines and the region. In addition, the site will be drastically visually improved.
This also helps the Varn tract, across Highway 78 from Heritage Square, more likely to attract large retail development to enhance the shopping for
goods in Dorchester County. This is vital, so we don’t lose valuable sales volume across the county lines and to attract shoppers from across the
county lines to spend money in our county.
Remember, a penny of every dollar spent in Dorchester County goes to improve our roads and
you save at least one-percent in taxes by shopping in Dorchester County.
PAID FOR BY JAY BYARS FOR DORCHESTER COUNTY COUNCIL
This publication was not produced at taxpayer expense.
ROADS BACK ON TRACK Road construction means progress and relief, it also brings the inevitable inconveniences of construction and traffic congestion while the projects are ongoing. Please be patients as our District 7 has a lot of ongoing road projects. see page 2
incorrect installation of the paver base. The problem
essentially lies in the mixture of the cement based paver
base. Not enough cement was used and the results were
obvious to anyone who has had to drive the road for the
last 8 months. The contractor and project management
firm are working through those issues and working to get
the project complete and allow vehicles to move to a new
two lanes on the Ashborough side of the road as they get
the rest of that section finished. Remediation of the paver
base to correct the mistake began this past week.
Work will continue to get the roadways complete as
well as any walls that are left. Most work is being done at
night that would require lane closures and currently the
project is scheduled for completion around March 30th
,
2014. The project should be complete from the Sawmill
Branch Canal to US 17A.
Currently there are a few planted medians near
Colonial State Park that will be landscaped using funds
from a grant and contributions from adjacent
neighborhoods of Ashborough and Ashborough East.
Several citizens were actively involved in helping design
and work towards the grant funding and they are to be
commended for that work as we will all benefit from a
roadway that is more aesthetically pleasing to travel.
As a side note, the SCDOT repaved the section of
Dorchester Road near Wal-Mart recently which was much
appreciated and needed. Please thank Representative
Murphy and Senator Bennett for their help with that.
In 2010, the voters passed a bond referendum overwhelmingly supporting parks and conservation efforts in the county. County Council has
asked me to serve as the Parks representative since 2011 and we have had some great volunteers serving to help make plans a reality. They
deserve many thanks. Since my swearing in, I have worked to ensure that those moneys are spent wisely and towards an end that achieves
the maximum ROI for the taxpayer. While I initially questioned this bond due largely to a lack of any real plan to explain what the money was
to be used for, as a current conservative congressman and I discussed regarding the role of government and parks, I do take a Teddy
Roosevelt viewpoint here in that parks help quality of life, increase property values locally, are an asset on the county’s books, and are a tool
to help attract economic development for the betterment of our county and the lives of our citizens. The work to date has been 100%
volunteer, and has produced some great ideas and vision. We want to be a great place to live, work and play. I hope you agree.
PARKS & RECREATION │PAGE 3
Early in 2012 we asked the Transportation Authority to consider completing Cook’s Crossroads in the
first few months of starting this project as we had major safety and congestion issues in the mornings and
afternoons at key hours. They thankfully agreed and the results are spectacular. Thank you to the hard work
of Banks Construction, Davis & Floyd, and DCTA to help make this open last fall. I have been told that
morning commutes from Legend Oaks are as much as 20-30 minutes better and the intersection handles
students traveling to ARHS much more safely.
Work will continue to widen this road to five lanes from Carolinian Drive to Summerville. As part of this
three year project, several bridges need to be upgraded and replaced. Currently progress is on schedule and
moving nicely, especially with Cooks mostly open and running.
D O R C H E S T E R R O A D
D E L E M A R S H I G H W A Y T O A S H L E Y R I D G E H . S .
This road is currently in the final design and
permitting stages and should begin construction by
the summer of 2014. This road was a priority to get
secured during my election as it represents
potentially the most hazardous road in the county
and has been unfunded for almost ten years.
Working with the state delegation, the county was
able to secure $13M in funding for this road to
widen it to five lanes from the existing two. This
project was identified on a trip with the Director of
the SCDOT as one of the top priority projects late in
2011. Thanks to the help of Representative Horne,
Dorchester County, et al we were able to get the
funding needed to complete this vital road. Once it
starts, the project should last about 18 months.
OLD FORT DRIVE EXTENSION connec t i ng Ladson Road t o Do rches te r Road
If you have noticed construction off of Ladson Road in front of Gilligan’s, you have seen this project which will connect to Old Fort Drive which is the road that leads down to Wal-Mart. This road will allow traffic from behind Wal-Mart to exit onto Ladson Road, as currently there is no other exit from that road therefore the traffic to pull out onto Dorchester will get major relief in this area as residents as well as shoppers will have an alternative route for travel. Creating alternative routes and creating more opportunities for travelers to take is an immediate need. This is a big step in that direction and represents a big connection to relieve many roads in the Oakbrook area as well as creates better access to major shopping centers.
AW A RE NE S S
We are continuing to work on a concept at the County
Courthouse were the county already owns land but we
have encountered more wetlands than expected which
has hurt the project as the cost to mitigate wetlands is
now very prohibitive in the current regulatory
environment even though we are building pervious
surfaces of recreation fields. The concept here will
need additional funding to make it a reality and we are
working towards finding ways to tap into funds and
ideas for grants etc.
Image above shows the road way via the green dotted line. It will connect near Oakbrook schools and exit onto Ladson Road near
Gilligan’s restaurant.
BACON’S BRIDGE ROAD
ASHLEY RIVER PARK One of the highest priority projects for
Council and for me was to grab this site
while we could. The site is over 80 acres on
the Ashley River (over 3600 feet of river
frontage) and was planned for over 100
new homes in 2006. When the economy
tanked, the developer was not able to
continue. Over $7M of capital was tied up
in the site, including already established
sewer lines, road beds, trails, detention
ponds, a gazebo on the 6 acre pond, and a
dock on the river. We were able to
negotiate with the bank and buy the
property for $1.65M: a fraction of the total
value especially considering what is already
in place.
Since then, a conceptual plan has been
developed using feedback from the over
500 people that came to a public walking
tour last year. The park will be a very
special place and will also be able to
connect via bridge and walking path to the
Rosebrock Park across the road and river.
The plans include:
Walking and hiking trails
Fishing pond (already stocked last year by SCNDR with Bass and Bream)
Picnic areas
Playground
Grassy meadows (similar to Wannamaker Park)
Kayak/Canoe launch (rentals likely)
Fishing docks on the pond
Benches and swings in key overlook locations on the river
Pavilion for events
Dog park
Primitive camping sites The current plans are to try and complete
phase 1 of the park to open it in 2014. Stay
tuned for more on this exciting park. There
is currently over $1M left of non – allocated
bond money we may use here if approved
by Council.
PARKS AND
RECREATION
DIRECTOR JOB The county will hire a director soon to help make
these ideas a reality. We were able to eliminate
two unused positions to help make this work
without having to raise taxes, which is always my
goal. The director will help us with grants and
active management of ideas and parks as the
plan is to operate as Charleston County does and
us a “pay to play” approach and use fees and
events to help generate funds so the system is
predominately self-sufficient. There are existing
funds that have been used to fund recreation for
over ten years in the county. We intend to use
these funds in a smarter and planned way. To do
that we identified that expertise is needed on
the ground to make sure we make the right
decisions the first time. This director will help
tremendously in that regard.
COURTHOUSE
PARK
2013 was a year of much progress and yet also of some delays and frustration. However, with that in mind, the projects are all moving forward and even with a major mistake in the paver base on Dorchester Road, even that project is moving along on pace to finish in the coming months of 2014. With that in mind here is some useful information to bring you up to speed on where things stand currently.
TRANSPORTATION │PAGE 2
In the spring of 2013 progress hit a snag with an
incorrect installation of the paver base. The problem
essentially lies in the mixture of the cement based paver
base. Not enough cement was used and the results were
obvious to anyone who has had to drive the road for the
last 8 months. The contractor and project management
firm are working through those issues and working to get
the project complete and allow vehicles to move to a new
two lanes on the Ashborough side of the road as they get
the rest of that section finished. Remediation of the paver
base to correct the mistake began this past week.
Work will continue to get the roadways complete as
well as any walls that are left. Most work is being done at
night that would require lane closures and currently the
project is scheduled for completion around March 30th
,
2014. The project should be complete from the Sawmill
Branch Canal to US 17A.
Currently there are a few planted medians near
Colonial State Park that will be landscaped using funds
from a grant and contributions from adjacent
neighborhoods of Ashborough and Ashborough East.
Several citizens were actively involved in helping design
and work towards the grant funding and they are to be
commended for that work as we will all benefit from a
roadway that is more aesthetically pleasing to travel.
As a side note, the SCDOT repaved the section of
Dorchester Road near Wal-Mart recently which was much
appreciated and needed. Please thank Representative
Murphy and Senator Bennett for their help with that.
In 2010, the voters passed a bond referendum overwhelmingly supporting parks and conservation efforts in the county. County Council has
asked me to serve as the Parks representative since 2011 and we have had some great volunteers serving to help make plans a reality. They
deserve many thanks. Since my swearing in, I have worked to ensure that those moneys are spent wisely and towards an end that achieves
the maximum ROI for the taxpayer. While I initially questioned this bond due largely to a lack of any real plan to explain what the money was
to be used for, as a current conservative congressman and I discussed regarding the role of government and parks, I do take a Teddy
Roosevelt viewpoint here in that parks help quality of life, increase property values locally, are an asset on the county’s books, and are a tool
to help attract economic development for the betterment of our county and the lives of our citizens. The work to date has been 100%
volunteer, and has produced some great ideas and vision. We want to be a great place to live, work and play. I hope you agree.
PARKS & RECREATION │PAGE 3
Early in 2012 we asked the Transportation Authority to consider completing Cook’s Crossroads in the
first few months of starting this project as we had major safety and congestion issues in the mornings and
afternoons at key hours. They thankfully agreed and the results are spectacular. Thank you to the hard work
of Banks Construction, Davis & Floyd, and DCTA to help make this open last fall. I have been told that
morning commutes from Legend Oaks are as much as 20-30 minutes better and the intersection handles
students traveling to ARHS much more safely.
Work will continue to widen this road to five lanes from Carolinian Drive to Summerville. As part of this
three year project, several bridges need to be upgraded and replaced. Currently progress is on schedule and
moving nicely, especially with Cooks mostly open and running.
D O R C H E S T E R R O A D
D E L E M A R S H I G H W A Y T O A S H L E Y R I D G E H . S .
This road is currently in the final design and
permitting stages and should begin construction by
the summer of 2014. This road was a priority to get
secured during my election as it represents
potentially the most hazardous road in the county
and has been unfunded for almost ten years.
Working with the state delegation, the county was
able to secure $13M in funding for this road to
widen it to five lanes from the existing two. This
project was identified on a trip with the Director of
the SCDOT as one of the top priority projects late in
2011. Thanks to the help of Representative Horne,
Dorchester County, et al we were able to get the
funding needed to complete this vital road. Once it
starts, the project should last about 18 months.
OLD FORT DRIVE EXTENSION connec t i ng Ladson Road t o Do rches te r Road
If you have noticed construction off of Ladson Road in front of Gilligan’s, you have seen this project which will connect to Old Fort Drive which is the road that leads down to Wal-Mart. This road will allow traffic from behind Wal-Mart to exit onto Ladson Road, as currently there is no other exit from that road therefore the traffic to pull out onto Dorchester will get major relief in this area as residents as well as shoppers will have an alternative route for travel. Creating alternative routes and creating more opportunities for travelers to take is an immediate need. This is a big step in that direction and represents a big connection to relieve many roads in the Oakbrook area as well as creates better access to major shopping centers.
AW A RE NE S S
We are continuing to work on a concept at the County
Courthouse were the county already owns land but we
have encountered more wetlands than expected which
has hurt the project as the cost to mitigate wetlands is
now very prohibitive in the current regulatory
environment even though we are building pervious
surfaces of recreation fields. The concept here will
need additional funding to make it a reality and we are
working towards finding ways to tap into funds and
ideas for grants etc.
Image above shows the road way via the green dotted line. It will connect near Oakbrook schools and exit onto Ladson Road near
Gilligan’s restaurant.
BACON’S BRIDGE ROAD
ASHLEY RIVER PARK One of the highest priority projects for
Council and for me was to grab this site
while we could. The site is over 80 acres on
the Ashley River (over 3600 feet of river
frontage) and was planned for over 100
new homes in 2006. When the economy
tanked, the developer was not able to
continue. Over $7M of capital was tied up
in the site, including already established
sewer lines, road beds, trails, detention
ponds, a gazebo on the 6 acre pond, and a
dock on the river. We were able to
negotiate with the bank and buy the
property for $1.65M: a fraction of the total
value especially considering what is already
in place.
Since then, a conceptual plan has been
developed using feedback from the over
500 people that came to a public walking
tour last year. The park will be a very
special place and will also be able to
connect via bridge and walking path to the
Rosebrock Park across the road and river.
The plans include:
Walking and hiking trails
Fishing pond (already stocked last year by SCNDR with Bass and Bream)
Picnic areas
Playground
Grassy meadows (similar to Wannamaker Park)
Kayak/Canoe launch (rentals likely)
Fishing docks on the pond
Benches and swings in key overlook locations on the river
Pavilion for events
Dog park
Primitive camping sites The current plans are to try and complete
phase 1 of the park to open it in 2014. Stay
tuned for more on this exciting park. There
is currently over $1M left of non – allocated
bond money we may use here if approved
by Council.
PARKS AND
RECREATION
DIRECTOR JOB The county will hire a director soon to help make
these ideas a reality. We were able to eliminate
two unused positions to help make this work
without having to raise taxes, which is always my
goal. The director will help us with grants and
active management of ideas and parks as the
plan is to operate as Charleston County does and
us a “pay to play” approach and use fees and
events to help generate funds so the system is
predominately self-sufficient. There are existing
funds that have been used to fund recreation for
over ten years in the county. We intend to use
these funds in a smarter and planned way. To do
that we identified that expertise is needed on
the ground to make sure we make the right
decisions the first time. This director will help
tremendously in that regard.
COURTHOUSE
PARK
2013 was a year of much progress and yet also of some delays and frustration. However, with that in mind, the projects are all moving forward and even with a major mistake in the paver base on Dorchester Road, even that project is moving along on pace to finish in the coming months of 2014. With that in mind here is some useful information to bring you up to speed on where things stand currently.
TRANSPORTATION │PAGE 2
PARKS & RECREATION │PAGE 5
One of the most exciting things we are working on is the extension
and enhancement of the trails on Sawmill Branch Canal and Eagle
Creek. The county currently has an approved grant from the SCDOT
to extend the Sawmill Branch trail from its current terminus at the
YMCA to Dorchester Road. This combined with some other key
enhancements will help to connect to the Ashley River at Colonial
State Park and Jessen’s Landing. It will be possible to walk or bike
from downtown Summerville all the way to some great sites on the
river. Now THAT will be some great family fun. This is something I
have been working on since the election and I hope by working with
other entities we can continue to build a connected system over time
that allows families to get outside and bike or walk and enjoy the
beauty of our community in trails that are not threatened by
vehicular traffic in the large majority of the system.
Eagle Creek trail looks to be paved soon so that the park site at Pine
PINE TRACE PARK ad jacen t t o t he Coas t a l Cent e r on M i l es Jam ison Road
This site is over 300 acres off of Miles Jamison Road. Currently the county is under contract to sell about 50 acres to a developer. The
county and school district paid $3M for the site. The county will sell about 50 acres for around $2M. The school district paid $500k
for their 25 acres for an elementary school which means the county effectively paid $500k for about 250 acres of land for a future
park site. This was a pretty good deal and we kept this site from becoming the 700+ homes that a previous developer had planned
here in 2006. The site is adjacent to the Eagle Creek trail so we will connect this with other neighborhoods so families can walk or
bike to the park when we get it going. This park is likely longer term in nature as the plan is to install active recreation here with
upgraded soccer, football, and possibly baseball fields that we sorely need in the community. Currently the fields in Oakbrook are
not up to spec in terms of quality of safety and the drainage is very poor which equates to too many lost days of recreation that
could be played if fields were built properly with drainage. We are working with other organizations to help craft a vision of how this
can work in the future.
AW A RE NE S S
LEGEND OAKS Public works has already addressed an issue at Bentwood Green which is allowing the county to now begin accepting maintenance of drainage and roads that has been an ongoing issue for many years. Special thanks to Janette Chipas and Rob Masten for their work and diligence in this project. Also Silverwood drainage is being addressed and the county is accepting more road maintenance in the neighborhood. There is more to do but progress is being made. Public Works continues to work with the HOA to address the issues.
NEIGHBORHOOD ROADS & STORM WATER UPDATE
DIRECTOR JOB As we all know, last summer was a wet one. And one that exposed some minor and major issues for
storm water runoff that needs to be worked one. Following are a few updates on items in our district
we are working on mitigating as the water issues need to be resolved. Bear in mind that we did have a
pretty major event on July 29th
that dropped over 6” of rain in a few hours and high tide at Bacon’s
Bridge was at exactly the same time that day around 5:30 PM. The water simply had nowhere to go but
there were many other events that showed we have some work to do and we are doing that.
PARKS & RECREATION │PAGE 4
SAWMILL BRANCH & EAGLE CREEK TRAIL IMPROVEMENTS
IRONGATE I have met with constituents on flooding issues here that has been ongoing for many years. Public works has identified the issue with pipes and will be presenting this solution as part of their capital projects to take care of in a few months as part of the coming year’s budget. Details are below:
Flooding has occurred due to inadequate drainage system configuration and piping failure in system from Savannah Round to Mulberry CT and out to adjacent discharge ditch. Cleaning and TV inspection of storm water pipe has revealed damage to the pipe and 200’ of 30” CMP that is undersized. Replace 200’ of 30” CMP and 200’ of 36” CMP with 400’ of 42” HDPE; replace two existing curb inlets with 4x5 curb inlets, associated pavement demo/replacement, concrete driveway demo/replacement and repair/modification of outlet structure and ditch.
Laurel Curve/Irongate – Flooding has occurred due to an inadequate drainage system. Install 130’ of 18” HDPE, re-grade ditch and install riprap at pipe inlet. The intent is to improve runoff capability and provide replacement of deteriorated pipe.
The public works department is making great strides in areas of flooding and maintenance and we feel this department is much stronger. Matt Halter and his staff are really doing a great job and if you have an issue here please let me know so we can have it looked at. We have decades of problems that will take some time to fix but we are getting there. New equipment is being acquired to help maintain better which will do much for our drainage. (I am sure I have left some projects out that were done.) An item of note, not all ditches or drainages are county responsibility. Some are DOT, some the town of Summerville, some private. But let me know of an issue and we can identify who can help.
S U M M E R V I L L E S O C C E R C L U B The county has cleaned out ditches that were grown over to help water clear area and get to the Sawmill Branch canal and off the fields faster. A S H B O R O U G H E A S T The county cleaned out ditch off of Brandywine to help with volume flow from Dorchester Road storm water drainage.
A S H B O R O U G H The county has performed maintenance of several ditches and flooding issues have been addressed.
EAGLE RUN The county is accepting road maintenance to address the issues needed since there is no developer to turn to for fixing the issues required.
QUAIL ARBOR Fellow Dorchester County Council members David Chinnis and Carroll Duncan, Sheriff Knight, State Rep. Jenny Horne and I met with the civic association regarding stop signs, speeding and cut through of traffic. Stop signs are being installed and more traffic enforcement should be seen to mitigate safety concerns here.
Flooding on Ladson Road on July 29th
COUNTY SERVICES NO TAX INCREASE BUDGET Another Zero Tax increase operating budget. We continue to work diligently to live within our means and protect you the taxpayer. The budget improved this year as more people were buying newer cars and the foreclosures were less which equates more taxpayers, not more taxes to deliver the services you demand. For a copy of the budget you can see that on the county website here: http://www.dorchestercounty.net/index.aspx?page=59
JAIL Nobody likes spending money on a new jail. But that can has been kicked down the road too long and I strongly feel you get elected to make the tough decisions. The jail will be in Jedburg and will do a few key things:
- Reduce time to process a violator from 3 hours to 1 because of less travel to St. George from Summerville.
- Allow for growth. The current plan will eventually hold up to 600 safely but we only need 350 for now.
- Eliminate the safety issues and liability currently facing us with the overcrowded jail we now have.
- Allow for more efficient use of man hours and also supplies as the current facility is very inefficient.
E M S The county will be upgrading the EMS for the Oakbrook
area soon to add an additional truck as the population has
grown and the need is there. We had hoped to be able to
expand the existing facility we currently have leased from
the town of Summerville at the Waring station near
Perkins, but due to some unresolvable title issues to
expand we will have to look elsewhere for this. However
that is also a priority as well as getting a station out near
Summers Avenue when the East Edisto project gets moving
as we need to reduce response times to the Legend Oaks
area. Currently that area is served by the Ponds station.
Average response time is 12 minutes which can be reduced
measurably with a closer station. Every second counts. Stay
One of the most exciting things we are working on is the extension
and enhancement of the trails on Sawmill Branch Canal and Eagle
Creek. The county currently has an approved grant from the SCDOT
to extend the Sawmill Branch trail from its current terminus at the
YMCA to Dorchester Road. This combined with some other key
enhancements will help to connect to the Ashley River at Colonial
State Park and Jessen’s Landing. It will be possible to walk or bike
from downtown Summerville all the way to some great sites on the
river. Now THAT will be some great family fun. This is something I
have been working on since the election and I hope by working with
other entities we can continue to build a connected system over time
that allows families to get outside and bike or walk and enjoy the
beauty of our community in trails that are not threatened by
vehicular traffic in the large majority of the system.
Eagle Creek trail looks to be paved soon so that the park site at Pine
PINE TRACE PARK ad jacen t t o t he Coas t a l Cent e r on M i l es Jam ison Road
This site is over 300 acres off of Miles Jamison Road. Currently the county is under contract to sell about 50 acres to a developer. The
county and school district paid $3M for the site. The county will sell about 50 acres for around $2M. The school district paid $500k
for their 25 acres for an elementary school which means the county effectively paid $500k for about 250 acres of land for a future
park site. This was a pretty good deal and we kept this site from becoming the 700+ homes that a previous developer had planned
here in 2006. The site is adjacent to the Eagle Creek trail so we will connect this with other neighborhoods so families can walk or
bike to the park when we get it going. This park is likely longer term in nature as the plan is to install active recreation here with
upgraded soccer, football, and possibly baseball fields that we sorely need in the community. Currently the fields in Oakbrook are
not up to spec in terms of quality of safety and the drainage is very poor which equates to too many lost days of recreation that
could be played if fields were built properly with drainage. We are working with other organizations to help craft a vision of how this
can work in the future.
AW A RE NE S S
LEGEND OAKS Public works has already addressed an issue at Bentwood Green which is allowing the county to now begin accepting maintenance of drainage and roads that has been an ongoing issue for many years. Special thanks to Janette Chipas and Rob Masten for their work and diligence in this project. Also Silverwood drainage is being addressed and the county is accepting more road maintenance in the neighborhood. There is more to do but progress is being made. Public Works continues to work with the HOA to address the issues.
NEIGHBORHOOD ROADS & STORM WATER UPDATE
DIRECTOR JOB As we all know, last summer was a wet one. And one that exposed some minor and major issues for
storm water runoff that needs to be worked one. Following are a few updates on items in our district
we are working on mitigating as the water issues need to be resolved. Bear in mind that we did have a
pretty major event on July 29th
that dropped over 6” of rain in a few hours and high tide at Bacon’s
Bridge was at exactly the same time that day around 5:30 PM. The water simply had nowhere to go but
there were many other events that showed we have some work to do and we are doing that.
PARKS & RECREATION │PAGE 4
SAWMILL BRANCH & EAGLE CREEK TRAIL IMPROVEMENTS
IRONGATE I have met with constituents on flooding issues here that has been ongoing for many years. Public works has identified the issue with pipes and will be presenting this solution as part of their capital projects to take care of in a few months as part of the coming year’s budget. Details are below:
Flooding has occurred due to inadequate drainage system configuration and piping failure in system from Savannah Round to Mulberry CT and out to adjacent discharge ditch. Cleaning and TV inspection of storm water pipe has revealed damage to the pipe and 200’ of 30” CMP that is undersized. Replace 200’ of 30” CMP and 200’ of 36” CMP with 400’ of 42” HDPE; replace two existing curb inlets with 4x5 curb inlets, associated pavement demo/replacement, concrete driveway demo/replacement and repair/modification of outlet structure and ditch.
Laurel Curve/Irongate – Flooding has occurred due to an inadequate drainage system. Install 130’ of 18” HDPE, re-grade ditch and install riprap at pipe inlet. The intent is to improve runoff capability and provide replacement of deteriorated pipe.
The public works department is making great strides in areas of flooding and maintenance and we feel this department is much stronger. Matt Halter and his staff are really doing a great job and if you have an issue here please let me know so we can have it looked at. We have decades of problems that will take some time to fix but we are getting there. New equipment is being acquired to help maintain better which will do much for our drainage. (I am sure I have left some projects out that were done.) An item of note, not all ditches or drainages are county responsibility. Some are DOT, some the town of Summerville, some private. But let me know of an issue and we can identify who can help.
S U M M E R V I L L E S O C C E R C L U B The county has cleaned out ditches that were grown over to help water clear area and get to the Sawmill Branch canal and off the fields faster. A S H B O R O U G H E A S T The county cleaned out ditch off of Brandywine to help with volume flow from Dorchester Road storm water drainage.
A S H B O R O U G H The county has performed maintenance of several ditches and flooding issues have been addressed.
EAGLE RUN The county is accepting road maintenance to address the issues needed since there is no developer to turn to for fixing the issues required.
QUAIL ARBOR Fellow Dorchester County Council members David Chinnis and Carroll Duncan, Sheriff Knight, State Rep. Jenny Horne and I met with the civic association regarding stop signs, speeding and cut through of traffic. Stop signs are being installed and more traffic enforcement should be seen to mitigate safety concerns here.
Flooding on Ladson Road on July 29th
COUNTY SERVICES NO TAX INCREASE BUDGET Another Zero Tax increase operating budget. We continue to work diligently to live within our means and protect you the taxpayer. The budget improved this year as more people were buying newer cars and the foreclosures were less which equates more taxpayers, not more taxes to deliver the services you demand. For a copy of the budget you can see that on the county website here: http://www.dorchestercounty.net/index.aspx?page=59
JAIL Nobody likes spending money on a new jail. But that can has been kicked down the road too long and I strongly feel you get elected to make the tough decisions. The jail will be in Jedburg and will do a few key things:
- Reduce time to process a violator from 3 hours to 1 because of less travel to St. George from Summerville.
- Allow for growth. The current plan will eventually hold up to 600 safely but we only need 350 for now.
- Eliminate the safety issues and liability currently facing us with the overcrowded jail we now have.
- Allow for more efficient use of man hours and also supplies as the current facility is very inefficient.
E M S The county will be upgrading the EMS for the Oakbrook
area soon to add an additional truck as the population has
grown and the need is there. We had hoped to be able to
expand the existing facility we currently have leased from
the town of Summerville at the Waring station near
Perkins, but due to some unresolvable title issues to
expand we will have to look elsewhere for this. However
that is also a priority as well as getting a station out near
Summers Avenue when the East Edisto project gets moving
as we need to reduce response times to the Legend Oaks
area. Currently that area is served by the Ponds station.
Average response time is 12 minutes which can be reduced
measurably with a closer station. Every second counts. Stay
P2 / Transportation P3 / Parks & Recreation P4 / Parks & Recreation
P5 / Neighborhood Roads & Storm Water P6 / Economic Development
2014 GOALS ( I n n o s p e c i f i c o r d e r )
1. Complete Dorchester Road 2. Continue timely progress of Bacon’s Bridge Road 3. Start Delemar Highway construction 4. Complete Old Fort Drive Extension 5. Continue to make Dorchester County a great place to live, work, and play. 6. Open phase 1 of Ashley River park site 7. Establish EMS expansion in Oakbrook and set timeline for new station at East Edisto 8. Continue to get storm water and neighborhood roadways upgraded and repaired 9. Be a great dad and husband. 10. Make sure Dabo finally beats Spurrier. ;-) 11. Ensure my constituents are served well and feel I am worthy of serving them again.
DORCHESTER COUNTY COURIER │ WINTER 2014
It has been my honor and privilege to serve as your county councilman for the last three years. I am excited about what
we have done together and look forward to what 2014 will bring. I must thank the hard working staff of the county who
daily work to ensure that we are run lean, smart, and with an eye for making sure the citizens service demands are met
in a professional way. Also, our County Council and State Delegation are an honor to serve with and care deeply about
their jobs. Together with unity, we can accomplish much for you and I am eager to continue that work this year.
ATTRACTING JOBS & RETAIL DEVELOPMENT The county continues to work towards making our area competitive for attracting jobs and with an expanding local economy as well as an attractive
place to live, we are starting to see some good prospects for bringing quality jobs into our county. We want to reduce the need to drive elsewhere
for work, goods or services and are focused on creating an environment competitive to compete with Berkeley and Charleston counties. A new
manufacturer come in 2013 to St. George and has plans to expand further. Several new companies are also looking to expand or locate in Jedburg
and other key areas. This results in good paying jobs for our local residents, but also with diversifying our tax base to relieve the burden on
homeowners and existing business owners.
One exciting item of note – Heritage Square, at the corner of Berlin G. Myers Parkway and Highway 78, was finally sold an the new owner will be
building a first class facility that attracts shoppers across the county lines and the region. In addition, the site will be drastically visually improved.
This also helps the Varn tract, across Highway 78 from Heritage Square, more likely to attract large retail development to enhance the shopping for
goods in Dorchester County. This is vital, so we don’t lose valuable sales volume across the county lines and to attract shoppers from across the
county lines to spend money in our county.
Remember, a penny of every dollar spent in Dorchester County goes to improve our roads and
you save at least one-percent in taxes by shopping in Dorchester County.
PAID FOR BY JAY BYARS FOR DORCHESTER COUNTY COUNCIL
This publication was not produced at taxpayer expense.
ROADS BACK ON TRACK Road construction means progress and relief, it also brings the inevitable inconveniences of construction and traffic congestion while the projects are ongoing. Please be patients as our District 7 has a lot of ongoing road projects. see page 2