Winter 2014 newsletter

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.

CONTACT INFORMATION

Jay Byars

County Council District 7 │LEADERSHIP MATTERS

[email protected] │843.324.6732 (mobile)

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

www.facebook.com/councilmanjaybyars

@JayByars

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT │PAGE 6

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

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

tuned as we get more information here.

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

tuned as we get more information here.

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.

CONTACT INFORMATION

Jay Byars

County Council District 7 │LEADERSHIP MATTERS

[email protected] │843.324.6732 (mobile)

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

www.facebook.com/councilmanjaybyars

@JayByars

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT │PAGE 6