Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2009

County plans have to wait

GEORGETOWN -- Georgetown residents will have to wait an extra five years for their new library, and the recreation center in Andrews will be put off six extra years as well.

With the economic recession and current market conditions making an impact on property taxes, bond interest, impact fees and accommodations taxes, Georgetown County projects a loss of about $14 million for its $330 million Visions II capital improvement projects.

As a result, the county has extended its multiyear capital improvement plan another year to end in 2018, pushing back the completion date on some projects. In addition, the county will determine when projects will start, dependant on operations and maintenance costs.

Georgetown County Council heard the updated projections during a special meeting called Tuesday. The county has two weeks to review the updated plan and give the county administrator the green light to proceed with the next three years of the plan.

The council still will need to individually approve each project and budget allocations.

About $750,000 will be lost in property tax revenue through 2017, when the Visions II capital improvement program was originally set to be completed. The projects have been pushed out until 2018.

The largest in revenue - $9.6 million by 2017 - will be from impact fees, due to the slowdown in construction because of the recession and delay in implementing the fees.

The county projects losing another $4.3 million in accommodations tax through 2017, about $500,000 in reduced interest earnings, according to Tuesday's report.

The county will use operations and maintenance projections for each planned project to determine when a project in the Visions II plan begins.

The county could also consider charging user fees for some of the facilities to help cover operations and maintenance costs, said County Administrator Sel Hemingway.

"We have been highly encouraged by other jurisdictions to consider user fees," Hemingway said. "While there may be an outcry of people saying 'Why am I paying my taxes for?' The answer is the revenue [from taxes] is paying for the capital costs of building the facility, but only partly operations and maintenance. The numbers don't work out. There are going to be other revenues added to keep projects going and O&M."

The revised Visions II plan calls for spending $39.2 million on transportation projects, $80.6 million on recreation and leisure, $11.9 million on economic development projects, $22.4 million on community enhancement projects and $47.8 million on facilities projects.

Major projects that are being delayed or are contingent on funding are the construction of a new Georgetown Library, a detention center expansion and completion of the Andrews Recreation Complex.

Roof renovations and a new Georgetown Library were originally expected to cost about $15 million and to be completed in 2013, according to projections released in April 2008.

Now, the project is expected to cost about $11.5 million and will be completed in 2018.

Andrews was expected to have a new $10 million recreation center and parks complex by 2012. Several recreation areas in Andrews are set to be ready by 2011 including multipurpose fields, tennis courts and baseball complex, but the recreation center and pool will not be done until 2018.

The detention center is so heavily laden with operations costs that the only way to expand the number of beds at the site will be to ensure the state and the federal government can help cover the operations and upkeep, Hemingway said.

The county has completed or is near completion on some of the projects in the Visions II plan, including the $7 million Carroll Ashmore Campbell Marine Complex, which is expected to be completed at the end of this month.

Completed projects include the $20 million judicial center, demolition of the Old Andrews gymnasium, installing fencing and lighting at Wachesaw Park and new playgrounds at Wachesaw.

The council must also consider whether to increase the renovation budget for the old courthouse at 129 Screven St., from about $500,000 projected in April 2008 to about $1.8 million in order to relocate planning and zoning, building and stormwater there, to make it a one-stop shop for residents.