Posted on May 13, 2020
Fixing Georgetown’s fast-silting inner harbor so it can better handle boat traffic is among dozens of projects that could get money from a proposed sales tax increase that will go before voters in November.
A commission representing different parts of Georgetown County is whittling down a list of $459 million worth of initiatives to be funded by a proposed 1 percent sales tax increase that would raise an estimated $90 million over the next eight years. A referendum to decide whether the tax is approved will be on this fall’s ballot.
The commission hopes to survey county residents to see how they would like the money to be spent before submitting its final list to County Council.
Among the most expensive proposals is $26.3 million to dredge the inner harbor — the Sampit River that winds around Goat Island — to a 15-foot depth that would help fishing fleets, barges carrying supplies, recreational boaters and others better navigate the waterway.
Liberty Steel, which reopened Georgetown’s mill in 2018, has said it wants barges to move supplies and products to and from the riverside plant, but the harbor isn’t deep enough to support the vessels. The mill, which employs about 150 workers, is taking a three-month hiatus because of reduced demand due to COVID-19.
“The inner harbor port for the steel mill has not been sufficient to meet the company’s needs,” Roxanne Brown, international vice president for the United Steelworkers union, told a Congressional subcommittee earlier this year, adding the harbor “needs significant upgrades.”
This is the second time sales tax money has been sought for harbor dredging. In 2014, voters approved a 1 percent tax increase that included $6 million for what county leaders hoped would be a pool of funding sources to dredge the harbor to 27 feet. The ultimate price tag was too high, though, and the work was never done.
This time, county officials are working with the city of Georgetown and Coastal Carolina University to develop a less-expensive plan that would get the minimum needed depth while keeping the waterway from filling with silt as tides come and go.
“We’re trying to come up with a more sustainable solution, rather than waiting for it to fill with silt and then digging it out,” said Brian Tucker, the county’s economic development director.
Coastal Carolina’s Department of Coastal and Marine Systems Science has mapped the inner harbor and installed sensors to measure how water and silt levels are impacted by tides. The hope is to boost water flow through the inner harbor so sediment doesn’t build up.
About $80,000 has been spent on studying the problem. The proposed sales tax revenue would go toward engineering and implementing a solution.
The total cost might not have to come from new sales tax proceeds. There is about $17 million left from the first referendum — including the $6 million set aside for dredging — that could go toward the inner harbor project.
Last week, the commission studying the sales tax proposals discussed ways to get input from the public even as COVID-19 has canceled most face-to-face meetings. The commission wanted to spend $14,250 for a scientific telephone poll of 300 residents but the County Council denied the request. A less expensive, but unscientific, online survey is in the works.
While the commission’s recommendations are non-binding and the council has final say, Commissioner Hank Tiller questioned whether the group could get the public input they need.
“They can take our recommendations and they can buy it or they can throw it away,” Tiller said of the County Council. “So if they don’t give us the tools to work with and come up with an informed decision, why are we spending all this time working on it?”
Commission chairwoman Danisha McClary urged the members to continue working, with a deadline to make their recommendation next month.
“Under the circumstances, all we can do is forge ahead and serve the people of Georgetown County the best we can,” McClary said.
The commission is looking at nearly 100 projects ranging from sewers and sidewalks to rural parks and an aquatic center in Georgetown. Once a list is finalized, only those projects can be funded from the sales tax.
The sales tax referendum that was approved in 2014 raised about $40 million over four years and paid for projects including Murrells Inlet dredging, new emergency services facilities and resurfacing of more than 100 roads.
Reach David Wren at 843-937-5550 or on Twitter at @David_Wren_
Source: postandcourier
