The purchase of new vehicles and equipment, the paving of dirt roads and the construction of new facilities should be among Aiken County’s priorities for spending the proceeds from Capital Project Sales Tax V.
Aiken County Council’s CPST V Ad Hoc Study Committee included those recommendations on a list completed April 23 after a series of meetings at the Aiken County Government Center.
The county is expected to receive approximately $127.6 million from the 1% tax if local voters approve it in November.
“I think we have a really good variety of projects that are wide in scope and have very strong geographical representation,” said County Council Chairman Gary Bunker. “Just on our list alone, all sections of the county have something coming to them, plus all the towns and cities [in the county] will have their own lists.”
Bunker served as the chairman of the ad hoc committee. He appointed Sandy Haskell and Mike Kellems to serve with him on the panel.
Their spending recommendations included the following:
• $12 million for emergency medical services ambulances and “upfit” equipment.
• $10.7 million for paving dirt roads.
• $10,556,423 for general fleet and equipment additions and replacements.
• $8 million for communication system upgrades and towers for volunteer fire departments and public safety agencies.
• $7 million for Sheriff’s Office vehicles and equipment.
• $5 million for the construction of new emergency medical services stations and the expansion of existing stations.
• $5 million for Whiskey Road intersection and corridor improvements.
• $5 million for the construction of a new sheriff’s office headquarters.
• $4,565,000 for renovations and improvements at the Carrol H. Warner Savannah River Research Campus.
•$4.5 million for Boyd Pond Park upgrades and land acquisition.
•$4 million for the resurfacing of paved roads.
There also was an allocation of $11 million to build a new Aiken County Sheriff’s Office headquarters in the county’s spending plan for CPST IV proceeds.
Construction hasn’t begun yet, but Bunker believes that enough additional money from CPST overages and interest collected on CPST funds in recent years will be available to cover the cost of the facility.
“It’s a $30-million-plus project,” Bunker said. “The land [in the Wire Road area] is free because we already own it, so that’s a big help. McMillan Pazdan Smith did a very high level rough order of magnitude study with a range that showed we probably could get there.”
County Council is scheduled to consider a resolution involving CPST V during its May 7 meeting. At that time, the list of the county’s projects for CPST V could be revised.
CPST V would generate more than $260 million, based on population and point of sale data from the South Carolina Department of Revenue.
The money would be divided among the county and its 10 municipalities.
The City of Aiken’s share is expected to be $79.7 million.
North Augusta would receive $48.6 million.
Burnettown, New Ellenton, Wagener, Jackson, Perry, Salley, Windsor and Monetta also would get CPST V money.
